What Do You Need To Run a Country

A bunch of rich friends (who will let you down as soon as you have nothing to offer anymore), a pair of advisers (by whom you'll pay your debts abroad), serenity in lying, and a good, healthy lack of interest for the people. If you are stupid, also, the least you can get is the minister of health's office.

What's ours?

"Life was a continuous repetition of work, sleep and funerals" - Fred Copeman.

On Liberty [made in Romania]

As Hobbes said, "there is not ordinarily a greater sign of the equal distribution of anything than that every man is contented with his share." But seeing the political actors today, methinks the problem has changed. At least in the case of liberty, we have to say that there is no greater sign of equal contentment than that every man finds its share unequally distributed, especially when he should be in prison, but has instead the greater liberty to chase the pedestrians with a limo.

Absurdania

That should be the name of this country. Today, millions of Romanian citizens are living in the more civilized countries of Europe. The foreign affairs minister pompously said that their votes will not be hindered. Well, if we count the 18,212,980 on the lists, minus 639,870 (the number of ballots sent abroad!), we have 17,573,110 voters expected to come to the poll centers in the country. Well, I don't think there are today in Romania so many human individuals! That means, if all individuals having the right to vote are going to vote, we'll have a percent of participation around 65. As we cannot count on that, probably that percent will be (on aggregate, home and abroad) somewhere around 50, if we are optimistic. Add here the way of putting the question, which will let many as bewildered as if they would be in front of a Martian, and you'll have a result at heaven's will. Now, what did all those surveys counted? What all these "politicians," "sociologists," "political analysts," etc. are discussing? The vote of the people? What people?

How To...

pull the strings for distorting a referendum, and... lose the game.
1. First of all, you have to change the electoral law, after you have fixed up all the details for the referendum.
2. Second, you can set up the ballots, so that most of the voters won't know if they have to say "Yes" or "No" - no matter what they really intend.
3. Third, you can make an alliance with all political foes, calling their supporters to vote like yours.
n. Last, but not least, you have to distribute just about 500,000 ballots abroad, when the official statistics say that there are 2,000,000 Romanians living abroad. (Notwithstanding that there are probably more than 5,000,000!) That way, you just shut their mouths up, which is, alas!, not enough...

Corollary: You must be really stupid to believe that most of the people are so stupid as your advisers say.
Second corollary: Stupidity is equally distributed among political parties' supporters.

N.B. Any resemblance with the plans of Romanian government is pure reality.

Why Politicians CANNOT Win

For they all (well, the democrats excepted, but that's an accident) curse the president, and, contrary to what they believe - namely that if they are together they're right also -, the people's instincts work impeccable, signaling that it is something wrong when all "liberals," "social-democrats," "grand Romanians," and "conservators" are united for "saving Romania."
That's why, although there will be fraud and chicanes on poll, the dismissed president shall regain his seat.

Justice Doesn't Go Right

The public prosecutor who is in charge with the harsh cases of the leaders of Conservative Party and Hungarian Democratic Union is proposed for dismissal by the brand new minister of justice. Hard blows are gonna come.

The Ominous Country

When you wake up in the morning, this country may seem beautiful. In fact, it is beautiful until you have to get in touch with the authorities (of whatever kind). Any person can be happy until it comes the day in which he tries to get the mail from the post office, to respect the law - and get an ID card, for example -, or to pay a tax. Then you are in front of the Law, which is stupid, humiliating for the common citizen and enforced by a usually stupid clerk, happy to humiliate everyone around... In the main time, the first priority of the politicians is to change the (newly changed) Constitution, for it is weak!!! And (for the major part of them) to dismiss the president, who has violated it, they claim.

Freaking News (What their Mums Taught them Better)

The Romanian l-i-b-e-r-a-l* government has planted a new tax, alongside the hundreds and thousands already in place, some invented by social-democrats, some by themselves. It's a tax for protecting historical monuments, 2% from each amount betted. From the state lottery to the last owner of a slot machine, every "fortune game operator" shall pay the tax. It is not the only one in the industry. There are already in place: license - 5%; the tax for the minister of culture - 1%; the tax for the national sports agency - 5%; profit tax - 5%; social tax - 10%. There is still room for many, so... smile, and make the bets! The winner of the lottery pays taxes only if the amount won is bigger than... I don't know how much. Which is double imposing, anyway (in fact, these are already imposed amounts).

And now, the deliciousness of the fact. Of course, each operator will need another form, which will be filled and registered separately, as it is the case for the dozens of taxes paid by each economic agent. And then, the sum has to be spent. That's the point. Somebody will have some more cash, painting a statue or digging a hole for strengthening it. No wonder if some schmucks will declare their own houses (taken from the former owners lawfully) historical monuments.

For those who don't know what "governing" is: imagine a bunch of guys, most of them irritated, taken from their business, gathered in a room. One of them says, inspired by a mate that has a firm, "Hey, we have a problem out there! The historical monuments!" Nobody cares, and the ones that knows both terms are few. But a voice raise, "let's put a new tax." "On what?" "Well, the lottery hasn't got any tax in the last years." "OK, done." And so on...

*in the old good European meaning!

Ueber Sinn und Bedeutung (On Sense and Signification)

The headquarter of the Bucharest Electoral Office for the May 19th referendum has been established in the State Circus' building.

Why Democracy Doesn't Work...

when it is planted backward? [i.e., it is not "discovered" step by step, in a quest for power equilibrium, but made in laboratory, with the only aim of classical principles' contentment.]

Simply because you can have a bunch of guys settled to follow their own rational interests. They choose rationally, they respect all the principles of democracy, but the result is a pure "taking over." They took over the Romanian democracy, with a limping Constitution, sets of well pondered laws, and several herds of "supporters" (bunches wanting to plant their interests among the top rationale...)

And the result? A marvelous picture. A free elected man can reach the no. 1 on the list of public enemies, for obscure reasons. The others seek not only his substitution, but his total destruction, as the "social-democrat" leader yell in front of a crowd gathered to taste free beer and "mititei." Another "social-democrat," ex foreign affairs minister (Adrian Severin), blames the Western Conservatory Press (Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Der Standard, Wall Street Journal) for taking side in the "democratic fight" and being intoxicated. As if these positions weren't astonishing enough, the "liberals" fill up all the media and the public place with their love declarations for the social-democrats. You cannot help yourself to ask: What the heck did Basescu? Tried to disband the business junta?