Judas H Priest. Here is DOGE and 'Conservative Politics' in a nutshell. First you hollow out your public organization 'till it stumbles, then wear out any remaining, responsible public servants 'till they surrender or quit, and replace them with facile hacks, and then 'Privatise!': the clever coup de gras of self-governing, publicly responsible institutions. Then you and the chainsaw wielding grifter will get their 'appropriate' percentage.
It all reminds me of how very, very far we've fallen from George Bailey's intervention (and ideals) in the bank run scene from Frank Capra's film, "Wonderful Life" (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM ) If it doesn't bring tears, I'd suggest having your ducts checked; but, to Mr. Tucker's point here,
These people (Koch's ALEC, et al ) have been working on this project for fifty years, and this bit of artful dodgery on the part of Koch, et al, and their wholly-owned subsidiaries in Des Moines leaves me just sputtering. I guess I was fortunate that my Iowa-related retirement moneys as city administrator were able to be deposited to the ICMA retirement fund, but I take small comfort in that. Their management is caught in the same vortex, along with all of us 'little people's' money.
Outstanding reporting and digging here, Mr. Tucker. It used to be that there'd have been a number of papers around the state that'd have dug into this, but Art Cullen's just one guy, and Old Man Potter's bought out everything else.
You’re right that there was a time when more local outlets would have dug into a story like this from multiple angles. Part of why I do this work is because too many important public-interest stories are now left underexplained, or explained only after the damage is already in public view.
I’m trying to stay disciplined and keep the reporting document-based, but I agree with your larger point: when fewer people are watching, powerful institutions get far too comfortable.
Thank you again for reading and for taking the time to say so.
Judas H Priest. Here is DOGE and 'Conservative Politics' in a nutshell. First you hollow out your public organization 'till it stumbles, then wear out any remaining, responsible public servants 'till they surrender or quit, and replace them with facile hacks, and then 'Privatise!': the clever coup de gras of self-governing, publicly responsible institutions. Then you and the chainsaw wielding grifter will get their 'appropriate' percentage.
It all reminds me of how very, very far we've fallen from George Bailey's intervention (and ideals) in the bank run scene from Frank Capra's film, "Wonderful Life" (here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iPkJH6BT7dM ) If it doesn't bring tears, I'd suggest having your ducts checked; but, to Mr. Tucker's point here,
These people (Koch's ALEC, et al ) have been working on this project for fifty years, and this bit of artful dodgery on the part of Koch, et al, and their wholly-owned subsidiaries in Des Moines leaves me just sputtering. I guess I was fortunate that my Iowa-related retirement moneys as city administrator were able to be deposited to the ICMA retirement fund, but I take small comfort in that. Their management is caught in the same vortex, along with all of us 'little people's' money.
Outstanding reporting and digging here, Mr. Tucker. It used to be that there'd have been a number of papers around the state that'd have dug into this, but Art Cullen's just one guy, and Old Man Potter's bought out everything else.
Tim Long, Just Up the Hill from Lock 15
Thank you, Tim. I really appreciate that.
You’re right that there was a time when more local outlets would have dug into a story like this from multiple angles. Part of why I do this work is because too many important public-interest stories are now left underexplained, or explained only after the damage is already in public view.
I’m trying to stay disciplined and keep the reporting document-based, but I agree with your larger point: when fewer people are watching, powerful institutions get far too comfortable.
Thank you again for reading and for taking the time to say so.