Gov. Andrew Cuomo is just the latest politician to get caught reaping the rewards of public service. How can we maintain a democratic Republic when political life is a lazy way for mediocre people to get the perks associated with entertainment celebrities — fame, power, money, sex?
Bill Whittle and Zo Rachel bring you the moral and ethical quandaries behind the news of the day twice weekly on The Virtue Signal.
Video below hosted at Rumble.
21 replies on “Fame, Power, Money, Sex: The Rewards of Political Public Service”
I like the background design, but the color contains too much orange. A darker red would be better.
Bill and Alfonso,
I am impressed the new backgrounds and the graphics. I sometimes have to view many of your shows in one sitting. Sometimes even twelve or more, but I did want you to know I am an avid viewer and you are right on target all of the time. Thank you for giving me different viewpoints on matters you discuss.
I have been working on an analysis of our current senate makeup. It amazes me how many of these people have only ever worked in politics. The number who got into politics late stand out due to their small numbers. I hope to post something in the blog or forum this week.
Also, the number of Senators who are or will be 85+ at the end of their current term is ridiculous. These are now essentially lifetime appointments. Really, Iowa, you can’t find anyone else than Grassley? They cling to these jobs for a reason; whether it is power or prestige or both.
From a benefit standpoint, why are congresscritters and their staffs, and Senators and their staffs Federal employees? They are representatives of the people of their states or their states. They should be state employees and paid as such. They would then all be paid less than their governors.
How that happens, maybe our resident Constitutional scholar Scott Ott could help.
If the federal government requires their attendance, then the feds should pay the salary. The staff should be state employees.
Also, I worry about cutting their salaries because then they may be more prone to accepting kickbacks or insider trading tips.
Once upon a time the staff was paid by the Rep or Senator. Out of their own money.
We have the perfect lie detector now. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can turn the lie center of the brain off for half an hour. The subject literally can’t lie. Can you imagine a political campaign debate where that was mandated? Can you imagine the parliament debate? The catch is we don’t know if it turns off the deception detection capacity of the subject. In testing at a university near you!
Democrats always and ever eat the seed corn.
The late political writer Mike Royko said that the Chicago City Seal would more accurately be depicted as an outstretched palm with the motto, “Ubi Est Mea?” English translation: “Where’s Mine?” A oft-heard justification for reelecting one’s representative is, “He’s been good for our district,” meaning we value him getting us ours. In that lies the confirmation of Mr. Rachel’s point. A self-interested electorate gets the representation they deserve.
Bill: ” There’s a burning city behind me!”
Well, you are in LA…
If I’m not mistaken, in the beginning of this country under the Constitution, Federal representatives were only paid a small amount and only when the legislature was in session. It wasn’t designed as a full time job. Even then, there were those that used their position to gain favor with certain factions that wanted things to be done that would favor them and not everyone. Bribery was a thing that was expected by some and was by no means unheard of. Today they are called Lobbyists and they still control the government.
What we need right now is a total remake of the Justice Department because without there being consequences for wrongdoing, there can be no control of people who can do as they please. Laws are only enforced for people who don’t do what they are supposed to do to satisfy the liberal agenda. They have seduced the military to the point that even a military coup isn’t possible.
Is it the lobbyists or the people who pay the lobbyists who do or seem to control the government? Lobbying itself is still part of free speech, even if the identity of the real speaker is still hidden.
So the issue becomes how do we open the process to expose undesired corruption and favoritism? If we have foreign agent reporting requirements (FARA?), I don’t see why we can’t have requirements upon our public employees (congress and staffers) to document who they spoke with about what and when. Coupling that with follow up on just what they supported and who benefited can do a lot, but not enough. We are faced with folks who have a strong specific interest vs. the vast bulk of us for whom the impact is too small to bother fighting (I think there is a term or phrase for this, but I don’t recall it right now).
Waivers for national security purposes?? Maybe up to a point, at least as to technical and financial details before contracts are awarded? Most of this realm is actually more public than most of us realize or acknowledge.
Hi Bill, Politicians want to be in charge. They will use any lie or misinformation to control us by controlling the narrative that propagates the end game. That being; “They are in charge and we are at their mercy”.
The video below has specific informational and a warning about the Covid-19 virus and what the implications for humanity could be. How the world governments are controlling the population through fear and intimidation. This needs to be shared so we can proceed into our future with eyes wide open.
https://cairnsnews.org/2021/07/06/a-final-warning-to-humanity-from-former-pfizer-chief-scientist-michael-yeadon/
Thank you for sharing the video. I watched it and believe Dr. Yeadon is sincere in his belief, has the knowledge and background to form his opinions and the goodness of character to share them even though he is realistic about how much good it will do. I don’t disagree with anything he said, nor would I presume to do so. I have no credentials, but I do possess reason, and judgement to know the difference between truth and propaganda.
I encourage all BW members to watch the video.
This will be shared with everyone I know. I’ve felt from the start that we weren’t being told the truth, but “hopefully” it’s more about money than population control although Dr. Yeadon has given me reason to reconsider. Thanks JD for posting this.
Bill, the backdrop graphics look good. I cannot help noticing that yours is the red of a firebrand and Zo’s is the blue of the calm, collected conversationalist. Was that intentional?
Being a Batman fan, I really like the “V” symbol above the skyline..
Yeah, instead of the Bat Signal it’s the Virtue Signal.
I did like Alfonzo’s high-tech look background of the previous few episodes, too.
“V” for virtue.
“V” for victory.
Both are applicable in this context.
The sword in the stone would not come out for any of the knights who wanted to be king.
It might for Hunter if he is stoned enough.
Or was that a paint brush?
I know its old, but I can’t resist. Politics: from the word poly, which means many, and tics: which are blood sucking animals. IE: many blood sucking animals. I’ve said it before, and I will say it again. Many in politics, and most of the ones on the left, want the old feudal system with nobility at the top and everyone else as serfs, only with high tech making life easier…. But of course, only the nobility can have all of it. And the nobility is them.
And the no ability is them — FIFU 🙂