Twelve years ago today. Life moves on relentlessly.
Among the many wise statements made by Winston Churchill was: “It has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried." Never had these words seemed truer than when Anthony Weiner, aka Carlos Danger, and Eliot Spitzer, aka Client 9, re-entered the political scene as candidates in the NYC primaries. I don’t understand how anyone, even a strident leftist, would even consider voting for either of these persons when they are opposed by others with similar liberal policy history. Fortunately, enough liberals came to their senses and elevated other players. Still, 48% voted for Spitzer and 5% for Weiner. What were these people thinking? With 98% of the votes counted, it looks like Bill DeBlasio will be the Democratic nominee for mayor. I believe, if elected, he will damage NYC severely. I believe Weiner would have done the same, so in this case the lesser of two evils triumphed. I’m not sure how Scott Stringer, who defeated Spitzer, will do as comptroller, if elected. The office does not set policy. It simply oversees the city’s finances. Spitzer wanted to change that and go after Wall Street. A child of wealth, he exhibits, curiously, the hallmarks of a totalitarian. He is scary. Unfortunately, I doubt either Spitzer or Weiner will cease trying to gain elected office. They aren’t cut out for anything else.
I do not like recall elections, even when they oust candidates who are on what I believe is the wrong side of an issue. I see nothing wrong in waiting for a term to end before making a change, unless the politician is proven corrupt. Colorado had its first recalls yesterday. Two Democrats in favor of strict gun control lost, despite massive donations from NYC Mayor Bloomberg and the like. The backlash on this issue is fascinating and, to me, unexpected, given the horrendous mass shootings this great nation suffers. I always feel it is wiser to err on the side of freedom, although it occasionally is dismaying, so I balk at gun control. The only thing that worries me about such a stance is that rigid application of principle is sometimes self-defeating. For instance, the stop and frisk policy that has helped reduce crime in NYC is on shaky ground constitutionally, but eliminating it risks an escalation in the murder rate. Also, I favor surveillance in this age of terror. The government must be trusted in this respect until it is proven that it has exploited the policy for other means than security. Life will never be perfect. The task of those of good faith is to find what works best.
The floating book shop survived the one-day heat wave. My thanks to the woman who bought the military Bible and SAT primer, and to Richie, who bought three works of non-fiction that included a 1966 edition of Mao's Little Red Book. He's not a commie, if that's what you're wondering. His taste runs toward the unconventional, particularly philosophy.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx
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