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 >>> >>> >> >>