Bouncing off a post by LCAggie Sith at Hookers and Booze, this comment:
Jerry Pournelle’s essay on “Voodoo Sciences” should be read by every American with more active brain cells than a 10-year-old cracked cock of kimchi has. That, of course, excludes the electric sheep on the Left, automatons mimicking human behavior by parroting Mass MEdia Podpeople Hivemind memes, perhaps (no, probably; no, precicely) because they do NOT possess more active brain cells than a 10-year-old cracked cock of kimchi.
Pournelle’s essay really resonates with me. Sure, my degrees and most of my life’s work experiences are in fine arts (music) and humanities (history, philosophy, theology, literature, languages, etc.), but I had a serious crush on the science sciences early on and found statistics much more fascinating after a few semesters of calculus (because that experience made more of the formulas make sense). Now, after another 40+ years of observing the passing scene, Pournelle’s comments ring even truer.
Early in the essay, speaking about just one of the “voodoo sciences”, Pournelle commented,
“We have by law a Council of Economic Advisors to report to the president, while the Congress has its own staff of economists to tell them what they should do.
“From all the evidence I’ve seen, we’d do as well to give the president a Council of Voodoo Practitioners, and let the Congress consult its Chief Astrologer. In fact, I suspect that a chief hungan and mambo would do less harm than our present economists: we’d be less likely to take them seriously. However much our Chief Voodoo Advisor protested that his work was scientific, we’d demand some kind of track record, some evidence that his predictions might once in a while come true; while we impose no such burdens on economists, which is just as well, since their track record is one of universally dismal failure.”
Hmmm… new constitutional amendment? Bills should have clear objectives stated up front, and if the laws/regulations resulting can be shown to not obtain those objectives, then the laws/regulations go *poof*? Goodbye Headstart. Goodbye 99.999% of Department of Education and EPA mandates. Heck, goodbye roughly 85% of “feddle gummint” laws, regulations and “bureaucrappy”.
Balance the budget and reduce the debt quickly, that would, eh? Heck, putting “feddle gummint bureaucraps” and “law enfArcement” officers (primarily those engaged in blatant infringement of human/civil/constitutionally guaranteed rights via the unconstitutional “war on drugs”* and darned near every “security theater” law and regulation) on the dole would be less expensive than paying their salaries and benefits. Let them eat cake. Crow cake.
