On the Job

After the World Cup ended, work has been a bit of a drag. The place where I work is very loud with everyone shouting into phones, and I have taken to wearing headphones.

The Protection of Information Bill is going through Parliament, and ODAC is one of several organizations trying to change some of the awful parts of the bill. The ANC has a huge majority in the parliament, and can basically do whatever they want. Watching them, most seem to be like the itinerant members of city councils or local governments who stridently and incoherently attempt to retain and secure their own power by railing against the past. Under the auspices of 'national interest' the government should be able to prevent any information from being released that it chooses. There was much comment about 'democracy being built on trust' and how the government should be trusted to do the right thing.

It is as if reacting to the exposure of all the rampant corruption in SA, they are trying to limit exposure rather than cut corruption. There were no claims of libel by the media or anything like that. This blog posting sums up my fascination well.

It strikes me as the type of bill that the Nixon administration would have tried to push if the Republican clout had been so substantial to eliminate possible impeachment proceedings and Tricky Dick had not resigned. There are not enough people angry about this. Imagine if Woodward and Bernstein had been publicly villainized by the government?

The ANC reminds me of the worst part of both parties. The xenophobic nationalism and appeal to cultural superiority of right-wing Republicans with the big government, race-conscious, and poor-pandering populism of the Democrats. In other words, the exact opposite of the brand of sensible libertarianism that I believe in and will stunt any political ambition.

Here is The Economist on the ANC.