Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.1 6/24/83 v7 ucbtopaz-1.8; site ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!mhuxr!mhuxt!houxm!whuxl!whuxlm!harpo!decvax!ucbvax!ucbtopaz!mwm From: mwm@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA Newsgroups: net.politics.theory Subject: Re: corruption a non-word: accountability in Govt. Message-ID: <847@ucbtopaz.CC.Berkeley.ARPA> Date: Sat, 23-Mar-85 03:25:03 EST Article-I.D.: ucbtopaz.847 Posted: Sat Mar 23 03:25:03 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 27-Mar-85 23:42:09 EST References: <827@oliven.UUCP> <535@whuxl.UUCP> Reply-To: mwm@ucbtopaz.UUCP (Praiser of Bob) Organization: Missionaria Phonibalonica Lines: 29 Summary: In article <535@whuxl.UUCP> orb@whuxl.UUCP (SEVENER) writes: >There certainly *is* a marketplace in government services: >it's called "elections". If you think the government is corrupt then >you have a choice every election: throw the rascals out of office. Tim, you know not of what you speak. In most elections, you have two choices: the democrats or the republicans. In other words, no choice at all. In some states, any marks on the ballot outside of the squares next to peoples names is illegal, and invalidates the ballot - so you can only vote for state approved people. Even in the states where you can vote for other parties, the demopublican control of the media is so great that most people haven't even *heard* of anything but the big two. If voting could change the system, it'd be illegal. Also, you've swallowed the myth that "the will of the majority" is in some way inherently "just". Does that need to be destroyed again? >It is simply ridiculous to claim that businesses are never either corrupt >or downright criminal. If McDonald's takes to adding arsenic to people's >hamburgers rather than sawdust then not only is this activity corrupt, >I would say it is outright criminal. I would also say criminal, even in the case of sawdust. The crime in question is fraud. Of course, a politician isn't expected to keep "campaign promises," so it isn't fraud. Maybe some brave soul would like to try sueing a politician for fraud when he failed to keep his campaign promises?