Halfway Between Sanity and Bedlam

By Alan Caruba

“In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations, and epochs it is the rule.” – Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900)

To listen, watch, or read the news these days, one is struck by the sheer insanity of most of the activities sanctioned by the government and encouraged by the signs of sanity reflected by the outcome of the midterm elections.

The people have spoken! And they are still at risk of being ignored by the White House and the Democrats.

For example, the “enhanced” airport inspections complete with full-body scanners and “pat downs” that have managed to enrage air travelers. The Israelis don’t do this and they have never had an El Al flight hijacked or blown up. Meanwhile, al Qaeda is enjoying the way the Department of Homeland Security has vastly over-reacted to its threat. As many rational observers have pointed out, identifying ARABS and/or MUSLIMS for a closer look is a very good idea. There is no record of a Catholic nun having ever hijacked a commercial jet.

In March of this year close to a million Americans showed up near the Capitol steps to protest Obamacare. They were dismissed by David Axelrod, a White House advisor, who said, “They’re wrong.” This was followed by Speaker Pelosi telling Americans that Obamacare had to be passed first so everyone could know what was in it and that included the members of Congress who voted for it. That is a definition of crazy. Almost immediately, corporations and unions began to file for waivers for their employees and members. Laws are supposed to apply equally to all Americans. Obamacare does so by raising your health insurance premiums.

The Federal Reserve, charged with the responsibility of protecting the value of the dollar, hasn’t done that for decades. Since the dollar is not pegged to a commodity such as gold, it is merely a piece of paper that the government promises to honor. That is now in jeopardy as the Fed engages in yet another “quantitative easing”, buying U.S. debt with devalued U.S. dollars. Other nations watching this slight-of-hand are not fooled and at some point they will stop buying $50 billion in U.S. securities every day.

One sign of sanity were the midterm elections that returned power in the House to the Republicans and narrowed the power of Democrats in the Senate. Members of the Republican Party and Independents are waiting to see if its leadership has figured out that they do not want any compromise with the White House that has never shown any compromise during the last two disastrous years.

The Republicans have real depth in terms of whoever they might choose to run against Obama, but all the “buzz” remains focused on former Governor Sarah Palin who can be seen these days in a Discovery Channel series about her family and Alaska. I doubt Sarah will take us on a tour of the utterly barren Alaska National Wildlife Refuge under which lies millions of barrels of untapped AMERICAN oil. It is just insane to not tap the enormous reserves of oil that are known to exist throughout and offshore of AMERICA.

On November 20, General Motors held an initial public offering (IPO). You will recall that, instead of being allowed to go through the normal process of bankruptcy and restructuring, the Obama administration stepped in and made all Americans part owners. Isn’t that called Communism?

John Berlau of the Competitive Enterprise Institute said this of the IPO: “What exactly is so remarkable about a company coming back to life after a $65 billion taxpayer bailout, additional billions in tax breaks not available to other companies, and even an amazing “sovereign immunity” exemption for this IPO from anti-fraud securities laws and lawsuits? With this massive infusion of government aid and favors, even a company selling ketchup Popsicles to women wearing white gloves would likely show a profitable quarter!”

If, by now, you have seen a pattern of public policy that has staggered back and forth between sanity and bedlam, you are not alone. The first two years of the Obama administration has systematically destroyed confidence in America from within and without.

The international slap-downs the President has encountered speak to an insane policy that includes adding trillions to the national debt; thus putting the United States on a par with member nations of the European Union that are in financial trouble.

Americans, usually known for their common sense, are in near rebellion.

They don’t want to be fondled on their way to a vacation or business flight.

They don’t want the government to tell them what they should eat.

They don’t want a million mandates about everything they purchase.

They don’t want their children brainwashed in schools and colleges to believe utter nonsense about “climate change” and all the absurd claims attached to it. Change is what the climate has done for 4.5 billion years on planet Earth.

They don’t want amnesty programs for people who entered the nation illegally.

They don’t like the fact that government workers, thanks to the largest union in America, earn far more than those in the private sector and receive outsized pension and health benefits.

Et cetera!

America lost its mind over a totally unknown Senator from Illinois in 2008. In 2010 it is struggling to regain its sanity and is demanding the same of those whom it has elected to protect the nation against him.

© Alan Caruba, 2010