Morning Madness Meditations

 

Cutting thru the crazy in suburban NJ

 

It’s another manic day in the deepest. darkest suburbs of central NJ but my mind is turned westward.  I am very worried about the mental state of our Petulant Klown.  He’s got some serious hypergraphia lately, for good reason.  But Klowns like voters can be very unpredictable.  He’s obviously worried about the Democrats.  I expected the Democrats to roll out some extra special strategy with secret sauce after labor day and instead, their strategy seems to be playing chicken with their base.  I think they underestimate their base.

Yeah, it would totally suck if Republicans won.  They’re a wild and crazy bunch alright.  Everybody is losing their jobs and houses and then there’s that whole redistricting thing that will make voting all but a formality for many.  But the Supernanny treatment was never going to be easy.  The brats are going to scream and wail that it’s all your fault but you’ve got to remain firm.  Either the Democrats get their act together before election day or the this version of the party is history and not a moment too soon.

(BTW, as a voter in NJ under the regime of Republican governor Chris Christie, I can report that there are some unexpected benefits.  Everytime the municipality or school district cuts back on something, the perfectly legitimate excuse is “the budget didn’t pass”.  So now I know that when Brook develops permanent curvature of the spine from carrying home 80 pounds of tattered books instead of accessing her books online like she did last year, I will remember that it was Chris Christie who slashed the state aid to schools that forced local taxpayers to reject yet another significant hike to their local property taxes.  We only have to live through 3 more years of this before we are sick of Republicans once and for all.)

If the Democrats want us back in the fold, they can stop the beatings until morale improves.  Oh, and kill the Catfood Commission BEFORE the election.  Kill it dead.  We don’t want any zombie committees later.

In the meantime, I’m thinking about attending Jon Stewart’s Rally to Restore Sanity in Washington on October 30.  Yeah, Jon Stewart was a total dick to Hillary during the 2008 primary season but I’ve seen enough of his stuff lately that suggests that he knows he made a terrible mistake.  Anyway, he gets the party.  All too well.

On a related note, Lambert at Corrente had a post on a study on collective intelligence. The study showed that groups dominated by a single individual who bogarts the conversation are less collectively intelligent than groups where the opinions of all members of the group are solicited.  But wait!  There’s more.  In the journal Science where the paper was published, the researchers found that collective intelligence, c, was composed of several principal components.  The most significant component is “social sensitivity”.  “Social sensitivity has to do with how well group members perceive each other’s emotions,”  To their surprise, the researchers found that the number of women in a group is a significant component as well and is correlated to social sensitivity.  Collective intelligence has no correlation with the mean or max intelligence of the individual members of a group.  (Of course, if all of the members of the group were socially sensitive, you wouldn’t need women.  I believe this can be taught.  Maybe some women should teach it.)

In other words, if you have one person in your group making all the decisions, getting all of the plum projects and all of the limited budget resources and all of the praise, and shutting every other person in the group out of the conversation, that group will be less effective than one where there is more delegation and sharing of information and resources.  If the rumors and complaints about the Obama White House are true, ie, that it is micromanaged and subordinates are told to shut up and do what they’re told, then we are in trouble.

So, verily we say unto you, Barack Obama, if you want to make your administration more collectively intelligent, add more women to it.  And LISTEN TO THEM.  If I recall correctly, you have fewer women in your administration than either George Bush or Bill Clinton.  And you know what?  It shows.

I’m off!  (Well, I’m always a *little* off).

One last thing: Jeralyn, you should be ashamed of yourself for picking on people who just want to have a little fun.  It really is beneath you to be so petty and mean spirited and reveals a want of character on your part.  We don’t pick our mothers.

You owe myiq2xu an apology.

The Supernanny Inspired Guide to Politics: Vote for Daggett

Voters’ Meeting

I have spent some time observing your country, taken a look around.  First, I’d like to say that you are the owners of a wonderful country.  It is bright, vibrant, diverse.  It has a lot of potential.

However…

You are letting your politicians walk all over you.  They ignore you when you tell them what to do.  They laugh at you when you express your displeasure.  They hang around with people who you have forbidden them to talk to.  They behave as if your vote doesn’t count.  And you let them get away with it.  When they scream and cry for money, you give it to them.  When they accuse you of being “old, stupid, reactionary, Republican, racist, terrorists”, you vote for them anyway.  And in all that time, they have made only half-hearted efforts to clean up the environment and make the tax system more fair.  They think you’re not serious about health care reform, financial regulation and giving you the best educational system in the world.  They fight- *constantly*- with each other and other countries.

And they will continue to do this because they think you are total pushovers.  You have not enforced any discipline in your politicians.  You let them get away with everything.  If you want your country and control back, something’s got to change.  You have to be willing to step up and make some changes.  Are you ready to roll up your sleeves and put this country back in order?

Step One: Laying down the rules

The first thing we need to do is tell the politicians what we want and then deliver that message clearly and unambiguously.  If politicians aren’t delivering the results you want, it could be because you are sending them mixed messages.  You need to establish what kind of government you want and then stick with it.  You have to figure out what you value and put it into  words.  Your politicians’ noisy friends will try to distract you whilst you are thinking about this.  So, I recommend you shut the TV off whilst you are composing your set of rules based on your beliefs.  You can use our credo as an example

Second, deliver these values and rules to your politician.  Your politician now has no excuse for ignoring you.  You have told him/her what you expect and there should be no confusion about it from this point forward.

Step Two: Discipline

This step will require a committment from you because it will take some time before your politician gets it.

If your politician is not following your rules and living up to your values, you should immediately issue them a warning.  Call your politician’s or party’s office or meet them in person.  Use your authoritative voice and say, “I don’t like what you’re doing.  If you do not stop, I will put you in the Naughty Spot for your next term of office.”  If your politician does not comply, put him/her in the Naughty Spot.  For a Congressman, this is two years; for a Senator, six years; for a Governor, four years, etc.

When the politician attempts to get out of the Naughty Spot, calmly put them back on the Spot.  Do not attempt to argue with them if they make a fuss.  Simply repeat the reasons why you have taken the steps you are taking: They knew the rules.  They made an infraction.  You warned them.  They are being disciplined.  If they want off the Naughty Spot, they have agree to listen to you and to apologize to you.

In order for this to work, the Voter has to present a united front with other voters.  You have to have the courage to enforce the rule.  This is your responsibility as citizens.  You can’t run away from your responsibilities and expect that someone else is going to keep your politicians in line or that they will do it themselves.  They need your guidance and committment and they will comply much more quickly when they see you mean business and that voters are backing each other up.

This will not be easy.  It will take time and persistence.  You will feel like you’re not getting anywhere for awhile.  But stick with it.  Throwing a few of them on the Naughty Spot will focus their attention more effectively than you think.  Before you know it, they will be much more cooperative and life more harmonious with your values.

Here is your first opportunity, voters of New Jersey.  Neither Chris Christie or Jon Corzine has behaved in a manner worthy of your vote.  They both represent parties that have taken you for granted and will continue to do so for four years.  Chris Daggett is a smart, optimistic man who has potential to deliver for you, the voters of NJ.  He has been endorsed by the Sierra Club, he has a plan to reduce property taxes and he knows that if you don’t like him as governor, he can be thrown out in four years.  The other two candidates are going to walk all over you.  What are YOU going to do about it?

Well, I know what I’m going to do.  I’m throwing Chris Christie and Jon Corzine on the Naughty Spot for four years and I’m voting for Daggett.  Go forth, NJ, and do likewise.

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