House of Eratosthenes

I’ve been noticing something about these two things Emperor “Can I Live?” is known far & wide for doing this week: The swinging open of the jail cell doors for the drug dealers, and the Iran deal. Something has changed. I guess you have to be a certain age, and willing to recall past events, to be able to see it.

I’m so old I can remember when the Political Left was willing to threaten. Not just the way they do, as in for-reals, to move their agenda forward, like “Donate to Rainbow-Push or I’ll smear your corporation as racist” and things like that. But in their gusty rhetoric. “If we don’t take steps to end global warming,” as in, give leftist organizations lots of money, “the climate will reach a ‘tipping point’ after which it will be completely out of control” or some such.

I’m guessing they’re not too pleased with the results of that. The rebuttal from the opposition, supposedly anti-science, was easy: “What is this ‘control’ of which you speak?” At any rate, here we are. The “If we don’t” thing seems to be on a permanent vacation.

In the business world, it’s important. You put it in your project charter, or whatever document it is that defines where the resources are going to be going, should the project be green-lit, that you show to the people who would make the decision about green-lighting. There has to be a section called “cost of non-implementation” or “ramifications of doing nothing” or “consequences of inaction” or some such. It’s what you want to know, as a homeowner, when a contractor comes up to you and says “I’m afraid I can’t do the [blank] because there is [blank] in the [blank], and what you’ve really got to do, is [blank].” The executives want to know what you’d want to know: What do you mean by “got to”?

In all the sections that are expected to be present in the project charter, this one — call it what you will — looms large in importance. The “go” call hinges on this. Anyone who’s been in the position of the homeowner, understands why.

America’s First Holy Emperor, and His supporters, are going awfully light on that sort of talk lately. The air is cackling with the words from His Eminence, which fly thick and fast and inform all who may be concerned, about the futility involved in opposing His will. “The world would not support an effort to permanently sanction Iran into submission”…”I will veto any legislation that prevents the successful implementation of this deal.” Ah yes, the pen and the phone.

But, that does not answer the question. Ditto with the commutation of the 46 drug offenders. “I believe that at its heart, America is a nation of second chances, and I believe these folks deserve their second chance…” Glad You believe that, I’m sure the people who are being placed in real danger find that reassuring. But to them, and all the rest of America’s citizens who never got into this sort of trouble because they didn’t do anything wrong, what’s the difference between doing this and not doing this? Why are we doing this?

What if You were to treat this as Kate Steinle’s funeral, and simply not participate?

In both of those, I’m still fuzzy on that.

In the most controversial move ever made by President Obama’s predecessor, say what you will about the man and what you think of his real motives, but he was extremely clear on this sort of thing.

Ah, but see, oh Thou who are not blessed with the Wit of the Liberal, those 46 drug offenders are not true offenders. They were merely the “non-violent involved.” Mere passers-by to the waters of life, that whisked them hither and thither passed a sea of drug-deals, broken lives and shattered dreams. Why, even our RINO friends can tell you that his Eminence has truly shewed His mercy in this time nearing the Completion of His Change.
- P_Ang | 07/15/2015 @ 08:31
Yes, I do remember the crazy years from one of my favorite authors. This is way too much worse.
- Theo | 07/15/2015 @ 22:45
Excellent note on the major failing of our accounting systems – the missing line for lost opportunity costs.
Because that never shows up, the cowards (private enterprise) and hacks (government) get to do nothing, risk nothing, yet prosper.

The IBM guys who would only “rent” DOS avoided personal career risk but cost IBM billions.
The FDA hacks who say no avoid personal career risk but let millions suffer and die by inaction.

As for Obama, all he’s done is given Iran 18 months head start. The interest charges on that will be a ten fold increase in the lives lost, when we finally shut down the ayatollahs.
Same story – we should have stopped Hitler in Sudetenland for 50,00o lives, but instead stopped him at Normandy for 500,000 lives.
- Robert Arvanitis | 07/16/2015 @ 06:11

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

Recent

Items of Interest

Monthly Archives

What They Say

Links

The Cost of Not DoingWednesday, July 15th, 2015

The Cost of Not Doing
Wednesday, July 15th, 2015