The Daring Dufas wrote:
HeyBub wrote:

The Daring Dufas wrote:

If the "board of directors" I'm stuck with had a fingerprint reading
lock with a retina scanner, they'd probably stick their finger in
their eye trying to open the lock.

*snicker* I know people like that too. How is
it that folks with such dazzling intelligence
always seem to wind up in charge of things?


It's the "Peter Principle." A person does a good job and gets
promoted. This sequence repeats until the person reaches a level at
which he is incompetent. There he stays, doing an incompetent job,
until retirement.

Here's how it works at the Houston Police Department.

1. An incompetent manages (through guile, lies, or payoffs) to get
past the probationary period. But his supervisor knows he should not
be interacting with the public. He's assigned in the file room, where
he has nothing to do but study for the sergeant's exam.
2. He aces the exam, and is assigned to the property room. Again, he
has nothing to do but study for the lieutenant's exam.
3. After passing the exam with the highest possible marks, he's
assigned to the academy. This cushy job leaves ample opportunity to
study for the captain's exam.
4. After becoming captain, he's assign to the mayor's security detail
where he can major in brown-nosing the politicians. When an opening
for deputy chief appears, he's the logical candidate.
5. After a couple of years as deputy chief, he gets offered a job as
chief of a smaller city (Omaha, Minneapolis, etc.).
6. With a few years as chief of a medium-sized metropolis, he comes
back to Houston as chief.
7. Then to the Department of Homeland Security, then to retirement.

You'll notice he's never made an arrest or conducted an investigation.
I would say he's never interacted with a criminal, but he's been
paling around with politicians for about ten years.

I heard Lawrence J. Peter give a lecture once. The most memorable
line: "I have been studying government, man and boy, for over forty
years. I have yet to discover whether we are being led by well-meaning
fools or by really intelligent folks who are just putting us on."


I disagree with #7. The Homeland Security people that I encounter are
not bright enough to to pass any exam. I strongly suspect that 9/11 was
the best thing that happened to them. They were unemployed on 9/10 and
after 9/11 they had a uniform, authority and a guaranteed guberment
paycheck.