Rant of the Week

Wild and Crazy Politicos

 

The Green Party in Germany has some really interesting ideas.  In the past year, they have proposed the following:

Don't you wish that we had a Green Party?  Actually, I think we do, but they never seem to win any seats.  Maybe their ideas are different from the German Green Party, adapted for North American sensibilities, and thus too drab and boring to attract serious attention.  But think about this:  Joschka Fisher, the leader of the Green Party, has just quit smoking, changed his diet, and now jogs six miles a day.  I think that's the kind of guy I would like to have as a leader.   Lots of self-discipline and self-control. 

I really think we could learn from the Green Party of Germany.  We need to have more imagination.  We need to think of more different things that we haven't tried before.  Like, instead of one leader for as long as the party stays elected, why don't we rotate the leadership among five or six colorful individuals?  Do you think we'd ever have a black or a woman as prime-minister or president otherwise?  Not a chance.  Well, wait, we did have a woman prime-minister-- Kim Campbell-- for about six months.  Maybe we're crazier than I give us credit for.

But how about these for some imaginative new ideas for the next election:

But I see I'm being inconsistent.  The effects of other crimes also obviously last a long time.  So I say even pollution will have a statute of limitation of, say, 25 years after the pollution occurred.  But in return, all shareholders of any company that creates any kind of toxic substance as a result of the processes used to create their products must put a bond to guarantee any possible clean-up costs if the company goes under.  Better yet, they all pay into a clean-up insurance fund.

© Copyright 1998 Bill Van Dyk

 

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 1998 All Rights Reserved