John, the whole point of the Founding Fathers' limits on power, checks and balances and everything 
else to encourage SMALL and EFFICIENT government that is, at its core, nothing more than a 
facilitator of personal liberty, was because history is full of "High Office" holders who were 
crazy, tyrants, crooks, incompetence or all of the above. Very few people seek positions of 
leadership for altruistic reasons. It's foolishly idealistic to study history (including vast swaths 
of US history) and conclude otherwise. A system of minimal government, with checks and balances at 
every level, democratically elected, is still the best ideal for maximizing individual success and 
happiness in the context of an inter-connected society.

We are now far afield of audio collections and restoration!

-- Tom Fine

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Haley" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 2:25 PM
Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Radio


> You are giving them far too much credit, I think, Tom.  There is no
> requirement to have a high school diploma to run for office in this
> country.  And we don't just sit by.  It's worse---we elect some of these
> fools and morons.  To follow along Dennis' thoughts about decline of "the
> public good," I personally deplore the fact that "high public office" has
> become such a disreputable occupation.  Maybe it always was, but at least
> there were double standards of decency to uphold--now we don't even bother
> much with the lip service.  Public office is really about service, not
> self-aggrandizement, but an awful lot of them missed the memo on that one.
>
> Best, John
>
>
>
> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 1:13 PM, Tom Fine <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>
>> I actually think it's worse -- I think they know the Constitution all too
>> well, and know exactly how to abuse it for short-cuts, personal gains and
>> to enrich their benefactors. Again, what astounds me is that so many of us
>> just sit by and let it happen. A whole other discussion is, in the modern
>> media age, would any "normal" (by any definition) or indeed SANE man or
>> woman run for high public office. What lure remains except personal
>> enrichment and ego-fulfillment.
>>
>> -- Tom Fine
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Haley" <[log in to unmask]>
>> To: <[log in to unmask]>
>> Sent: Wednesday, July 03, 2013 1:01 PM
>> Subject: Re: [ARSCLIST] Radio
>>
>>
>>
>>  Re civics classes and the Constitution, remember that we have people who
>>> run for president and vice-president who have obviously never read the
>>> Constitution, and I think quite a few people serving in the Congress as
>>> well.  Some of these people would not even be equipped to understand all
>>> the words.
>>>
>>> Best,
>>> John Haley
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> On Wed, Jul 3, 2013 at 12:37 PM, Roderic G Stephens
>>> <[log in to unmask]>wrote:
>>>
>>>  As far as classical music via excellent streaming .mp3, I get KUSC (the
>>>> Los Angeles USC station), KDFC (the San Francisco USC supported station),
>>>> KPFR (Chico State University) and my local favorite (which I subscribe
>>>> to)
>>>> Jefferson Public Radio AKA KSOR out of Southern Oregon University.  So,
>>>> if
>>>> you look for it, there a plenty of outlets that can still fulfill your
>>>> musicial tastes.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> ______________________________**__
>>>>  From: Donald Clarke <[log in to unmask]>
>>>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>>> Sent: Wednesday, July 3, 2013 6:26 AM
>>>> Subject: [ARSCLIST] Radio
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> The government handed broadcasting on a plate to commercial interests
>>>> right after WWI, and that's why it's mostly been a vast wasteland. There
>>>> aren't any record stores anywhere any more, but travelling in Europe in
>>>> the
>>>> 1980s I heard Billie Holiday from the ceiling in a French hypermarket (as
>>>> opposed to the noisy trash in your nearest shopping mall), and in every
>>>> hilltop town in Tuscany there was a mom-and-pop record shop that had the
>>>> popcrock, both Italian and English-language, but also decent selections
>>>> of
>>>> jazz and classical, because kids in those countries grow up hearing it on
>>>> their national radio stations, whereas most people in the USA never hear
>>>> any of either.
>>>>
>>>> And speaking of 'national', the biggest American problem may be that we
>>>> are not a nation at all, but a loose union of 50 squabbling little
>>>> countries, so that the corporations can walk all over us.
>>>>
>>>> Donald Clarke
>>>>
>>>>
>>>
>>>
>
>