Ed Weick said: Part of the historic problem > was, as I understand it, a country difficult to govern, essentially a > federation of autonomous provinces and strong class interests. But I'm not > clear about how much of a role all of that may have played.
And if the current American Conservatives on and off the Supreme Court have their way we will have that same situation here much as we had prior to the American Civil War in the fight over States Rights and local control versus the National Model. It is noteworthy that NY follows the Dr. Tarr and Mr. Fether model with public and private issues in this case. One does it for a while and then we reverse when we see how nutty the current faction is. We had a "fluke" when the terrorists bombed the World Trade Center and brought the two sides together for a time. At that time we elected a former Democrat Jewish CEO of his own Media company who had decided that Democrats couldn't win and changed to Republican. (Yes folks that IS America!) Our former Italian Mayor had governed with the hand of the Prosecuting Attorney and more than a little of a "police state" mentality. When someone didn't agree or protested he would stop it by sueing them with the force of the city's legal department which he would always lose but force his opponents to spend heavily to defend themselves against him. As a result he had fewer and fewer critics willing to commit themselves. When the buildings fell he became a hero as he ran for his life and those around him died. But where was he with terrorists when he was involving the city in those frivolous suits and harassing the Blacks and Hispanics in the poor sections with his police force? Why was it that we could all feel something coming but these dopes couldn't? They didn't know until they were running for their lives. A good example of what I speak is our school system. Today our new Mayor CEO faces a decentralized (Dr. Tarr) educational system with over a million students in the system. The State had decentralized the system years ago when the government was incompetant in running it from the top down. The answer was in local control and elected boards. Last week the State gave the control to the Mayor (a former Mr. Fether but now with the powers of Dr. Tarr.) But he has the subtility of Mr. Fether at working coalitions which the last Dr. Tarr Mayor did not. He succeeded in getting the State Government of a Republican Governor to give an important power away to one man. (Have you noticed how the right wing always praises individuality but tends to have small "War Lords" while the Left Wing praises cooperation but tends to "go" for Kings? ) Today the King of the one million student school system is one man. The largest by double, school system in America and this Media CEO with the cunning eyes and the beguiling manner, may succeed in turning the inherant distrust of the former Dr. Tarr Mayor with his fascist tendencies, into a big success by sheer force of personality. If he succeeds I predict he could become the first Jewish President in American History and might even rescue the National Republicans from their Medi(a)crity. Ain't America wonderful? Cousin REH
