The More Things Change the More They Stay the Same

 By Rich Kozlovich

Some years back I created a page called Club For the Galacticly Stupid, and linked articles dealing with the idiotic things prominent politicians say and promote, with some comments of my own.  But that was just more work and stopped posting new links with the same kind of idiocy that seems to be chronic and incurable.   Well, I'm finding that page is being hit so I went back and started reading the links.  These links go back to 2012, 2013, and 2014, and nothing's changed, except some of these people have passed away.  But the fact remains..... you just can't fix stupid.  Some of these links no longer work so you will have take my word for what I'm presenting.... or not.... it's up to you.

 Let's start with SCOTUS Justice Sotomayor.  In 2014 the Michigan legislature passed a law forbidding racial discrimination in college admissions (yeah... Michigan's changed a lot in the last 12 years). But Sotomayor decided prohibiting racial discrimination is racial discrimination, which race hustler Attorney General Eric Holder thought was just fine and dandy.  Sotomayor owes Ketanji Brown Jackson as the latest court member a big... .big .... thank you. since now Sotomayor is no longer the dumbest member of the court. 

We're watching the current Justice Department go after politicians who've broken the law, and who were getting a pass from Obama and Biden.  The link to this article no longer works, but in 2014 Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.), the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee,  said that the nation’s current debt of $16.7 trillion dollars is not endangering the company  and thinks "some debt is not a bad idea".  An idea  other Democrats shared with him.  In 12 years that debt has spiraled to 40 trillion dollars, and Bloomberg reported there was no need to worry because the USA has an infinite amount of money.  It comes off printing presses.

Barney Frank compared al Qeada to the Tea Party, Senator Harry Reid told the press; "You guys have an obligation to report the democrats are right", and they agreed, and have acted according.  Yale mulled paying for students' sex change operations, and the President of the Club For the Galacticly Stupid, Maxine Walters claimed any sequester over the budget would cost America “over 170 million jobs”, which was interesting because at that time only 134 million people had jobs, and fewer than 113 million had full time jobs. 

Disgraced Charles Rangel who was censured by the House of Representatives for dodging his taxes sued to have his censure overturned.  I would be willing to bet that almost everyone else in the United States who dodged income taxes on rental property for 17 years, filed misleading documents knowingly to the IRS, failed to report three million in dealings from 2002 to 2006 and didn't list the earnings on the sale of property would have had to worry about a lot more than censure.  

He didn't go to jail, he didn't lose his seat in Congress, he didn't' pay the big fines ordinary citizens would have paid, and he is still whining. In fact two other prominent Democrats,  former Senator Tom Daschle and Tim Geithner who became Secretary of the Treasury all were also caught making “honest” or “careless” mistakes so none of them had to pay the penalties everyone else would have to pay. I'm just shocked he didn't declare that it was all inspired by racism.  Now we're seeing the same kind of idiocy in defense of Ilhan Omar.  No one is above the law, except Democrats.

Michelle Obama said   Walmart had a moral obligation to sell healthy foods, and she would decide what was healthy.  

Walmart has no moral responsibility other than to obey the law and honestly make as much money for their stockholders as they can.....which is coded in law and known as “ fiduciary responsibility”.....and that's it.   Get over it!

All this Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) claptrap these companies fall for is a clear demonstration that the guys at the top,  making the big bucks, are still capable of qualifying for the ‘Club of the Galacticly Stupid”.  When companies fail to properly identify why they are in business that is when things start to go wrong….just do your job and society can make all the other decisions.

Walmart already sold healthy foods.  I don’t care if its cake, candy, bacon or whatever else society wished to buy, the responsibility to decide what is healthy belongs to the public.  For people to be telling companies what they should be selling to society is a form of central planning, which has failed everywhere by everyone who has tried it.   It isn’t Walmart’s responsibility to tell people ‘what to buy’ it is their job to sell what the public ‘wants to buy’.   If there ever was a clear delineation between liberals (or whatever they wish to call themselves now) and conservatives this is it.  Conservatives who live a vegan lifestyle….if there are any…merely do it and keep it to themselves.  Leftists who live a vegan lifestyle aren’t happy until they can force everyone else to live one also.

I will say this.  If Michelle wishes to see that people only eat the kind of foods she approves of then let she and her friends collect enough money and buy Walmart and then sell what they deem proper......or moral as it were.  Or, if that is too expensive then start their own company in competition with Walmart and force them out of business by selling only what you determine is healthy.  I do so admire people act on their principles with their lives, money or both.  I'll be watching! 

Finally, I picked this one from 2012, and for obvious reasons.

Francois Hollande lurches Right in historic U-Turn to save French economy "bowed to massive pressure for business tax cuts to pull France’s economy out of slump and stave off industrial decline, ditching a core element of his socialist platform.   Company taxes will fall by €20bn a year equal to 1pc of GDP, to be phased in gradually by 2015 under a convoluted system of rebates."  

That was 14 years ago, Hollande, lasted five years and France is now a facing even a bigger disaster.   Think about this. The French have had a at least 13 primary forms of government and up to 20 if you include short term provisional controlling authorities since 1789.  In 237 years they've had, in one form or another, 20 ruling authorities in France.  That averaged out to one every 11.85 years.   If you only consider the 13 primary forms of government that averages out to one every 18.23 years. 

1. Constitutional Monarchy (1789–1792): Began with the Revolution and the limit of the king's power before the monarchy was abolished.  
2. First French Republic (1792–1804): Established after the king's overthrow, featuring the National Convention, The Terror, and the Directory, which ended with Napoleon's coup.
3. The Consulate (1799–1804): A transitional authoritarian regime led by Napoleon Bonaparte as First Consul. 
4. First French Empire (1804–1814): Imperial rule under Napoleon I.
5. The Bourbon Restoration (1814–1815 / 1815–1830): The restoration of the Bourbon monarchy under Louis XVIII and Charles X (briefly interrupted by Napoleon's Hundred Days in 1815).
6. July Monarchy (1830–1848): A more liberal constitutional monarchy under King Louis-Philippe.
7. Second French Republic (1848–1852): A short-lived republic created after the 1848 revolution, ending in a coup by Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte.
8. Second French Empire (1852–1870): Imperial rule under Napoleon III.
9. Third French Republic (1870–1940): A long-lasting parliamentary republic that ended with the German invasion and defeat in World War II.
10. Vichy Regime / French State (1940–1944): An authoritarian collaborative puppet state led by Marshal Philippe Pétain, alongside the Free France government-in-exile.
11. Provisional Government of the French Republic (1944–1946): A temporary post-liberation administration led by Charles de Gaulle.
12. Fourth French Republic (1946–1958): A parliamentary republic plagued by cabinet instability and the Algerian crisis. 
13. Fifth French Republic (1958–present): The current semi-presidential system established under Charles de Gaulle with a strengthened presidency.

The Fifth Republic championed by Charles de Gaulle, replaced weak legislative rule with a semi-presidential system featuring a strong executive branch designed to ensure political stability.  But this is France, and even Charles de Gaulle said even he can't stop the French from being French, and we may see the end of the Fifth Republic.