Fix the problem, not the symptom

So, would it prevent another Renkes fiasco to make the AG an elected position? Hmm ... to avoid potential politicization and conflicts of interest, we'll make it an elected position, so the AG candidates will have to raise funds from the same people they'll be overseeing ....

The problem was never just Renkes, and the problem was never just the system ... it's the guy who appointed Renkes and is controlling the system. When we stop electing croneyist partisan hacks like Gov. Dorkowski, we'll stop having the ethics problems.

The nipster

So, just as I wax annoyed about the uninformed ramblings of Jack Frost, I find the KUDO web site has a forum on the same topic - "Why Jack Frost?" indeed.

Many folks who have the time and inclination to post on such fora have a tendency to get wrapped around the axle. Such was the case there - in the heat of the argument, they forgot what they were arguing about. The point still remains, though. Frost is opinionated, but offers little in support of his opinions other than half-baked spin. Although he may be a very pleasant fellow to BS with, his arguments are neither prinicipled nor informed, so why do his opinions matter? And why is a "progressive" radio station offering him its airwaves?

BTW

I noticed that I hadn't gloated yet about the Renkes affair ... so, neener neener, and all that.

Of course, Renkes was just a malignant outgrowth - the cancer still rages unabated. Gov. Dorkowski fronts a group that believes that the purpose of government is to protect and aid the wealthy and connected. These croneyists have made various arrangements of convenience with idealogues of various stripes, but they are not idealogues themselves - they are power junkies. And they have been allowed to preside because they are willing to play on our divisions and prejudices, and because they have turned the media into a hazy and confusing shouting match, and we have lost the capacity to see them through that haze.

Nipping at my brain ...

I had the unique displeasure of tuning in to KUDO ("a voice for change"), and, instead of being soothed by angry progressives, hearing the nonsensical faux-folksy ramblings of Jack Frost, former mayoral candidate and ubiquitous pitchman.

Of what possible use can it be to disseminate the insipid and asinine cliches that a man like Frost uses as a substitute for thought? And on the issue of social security no less .... Example: Frost is pitching Bush's "crisis" meme, and tosses out the startling notion that the social security "trust fund" is being plundered by those dastardly Big Gummint types (still insidiously controlling things despite being out of power for the last 5 years), and when it comes time to start using the "trust fund" to pay benefits, we'll find that "there's just a bunch of IOUs in the vault!"

Egad! Stock up the root cellar and bury your gold!

In reality, the government has been spending social security funds indirectly, because those funds have been invested in government securities (T-bills, that is). Treasury bills are, of course, the most conservative and secure investment into which these funds could have been put - a judgment revisited and reaffirmed by every Federal Reserve Board since Eisenhower. This investment is backed by the full faith and credit of the US government, which is constitutionally bound to honor it. If T-Bills become risky, our problems are a lot deeper than social security.

In short, Frost is either an idiot who doesn't understand the way the system works, or he is deliberately misleading people into a false sense of alarm. Either way, he is not to be listened to ...

Which raises the question - why is he on the air?

If you're not good enough to be a judge ...

... then being named Attorney General is a nice consolation prize.

Scott Nordstrand, you may recall, was the spark for one of Gov. Dorkowski's earlier ham-fisted, croneyist power grabs. Mssr. Nordstrand, a longtime Murkowski loyalist, put in for a judgeship, but didn't make the Judicial Council's list of "qualified applicants." Gov. Dorkowski was outraged. "What is this BS about 'qualifications?' Don't they understand that government exists to reward the connected??!!" (The thoughts coursing through the alcohol-smoothed contours of Gov. Dorkowski's brain were probably less coherent, but you get the idea). This was a matter of Principle - and not just any Principle, but THE Principle: I get to give good stuff to my buddies. Gov. Dorkowski would stand stout and firm.

Unfortunately, Gov. Dorkowski didn't have a leg to stand on, as the constitutional appointment scheme was specifically designed to prevent croneyist hacks from completely undermining the justice system.

But now there's a consolation prize, and he doesn't even have to get it past his co-religionists in the legislature. A balm it must have been to his little heart to have this little gift to give his faithful servant ....

Now, all this having been said, I'm sure that Mr. Nordstrand will do just fine. He's a decent big-picture guy, has actually been a practicing lawyer (and thus understands little niceties like "ethics"), will have taken note of what happened with Renkes and Ruedrich, and is certainly likeable enough - plus, he's a Packer fan. Certainly there are more qualified people out there, but if Gov. Dorkowski has succeeded in anything, it's in lowering our standards. From this group, "not crooked, arrogant and incompetent" will do just fine.

Back in the Saddle

So much happening, so little commentary. As I've mentioned before, I've been suffering a Shrum-induced depression that rendered me incapable of offering anything other than dark-roast, gloomy opinions topped with a froth of rage. I'm adjusting, though, to the new reality, and am seeking the shafts of light that occasionally pierce the gloom of our public discourse ... there might be something worthwhile to do after all.

And, yes, the Renkes Affair has quite a bit to do with this.