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Monthly Archives: October 2011

You Can’t Save The World


You can’t save the world but you can save yourself. How often have we wanted to save the world whether it is our immediate world or a greater area? It is true, you can’t save the world but you can save your self! What does saving yourself have to do with the world? Consider your place in this life. Are you happy with the folks we have elected to do the work of the people? If the answer is no, then you can change the world! The only qualifications required for this change is to vote and be skeptical of the people we are voting for. A sure “red flag” is a candidate’s past history, current statements in the media and how many terms they have served. There is no reason the voters cannot be the real deciding factors in any election just by voting their common sense rather than the media hype and “politispeak”. Every candidate now has media consultants and “spin doctor” who determine how to get our attention and our votes. These folks are no more than ad men whose sole purpose is to convince us to vote for their candidate much the same as convincing us to buy a car or toothpaste. The saving of the world is in the hands of the people who vote and vote based on their own sense of duty and a smattering of skepticism.

Kerfluffled, Bamboozled and scammed!


For the past 20 or so years (possibly more) we have been “had” by our government. Understand that Government is Congress and not the President (who ever that may be) nor the High Court. It is extremely unfortunate that we so desperately want better Government that we believe the hype, hyperbole and outright lies put out by aspiring candidates for high office as well as the incumbents who want to remain in office. These elitist wannabes hire people to spin information in their favor and against their opponents. Our current system is not really broken, it has merely been subverted to accommodate the existing Congress’s needs and the majority party that supports them. With all of the pundits weighing in we are even more confused as each has their own “spin” on what is happening. It does not take a genius to understand that except for own laziness we could have better Government in this country.First we need to disregard the constant airing of blurbs by our elected officials as these interruptions have more to do with being elected than solving National issues.The primary reason for running for and gaining a public office used to be to serve the people and this appears to be true except the people who reap the benefit seem to be the wealthiest. We have all been victimized and advertised into voting for inadequate representatives.This bi annual and quadrennial event of voting for President and Congress has become a rote exercise as we never get a straight answers about their agendas until it’s too late.

Tyrants At Home


Gaddafi of Libya is gone but the tyrant of Head Start remains. We have experienced the down fall of several dictators in the Middle East yet our local Head Start continues to be ruled under the heavy hand of a management team as ruthless as any of them. Short of physical assault this management group has singlehandedly gutted the local Head Start. Since May of 2010 no less than 50 Teachers, teacher assistants, drivers and maintenance personnel have been eliminated. All for dubious reasons that have yet to be explained. Even the advent of a Union did not slow the steam rolling of a needed program for the residents of the East side and near West sides of Springfield. In these times of budget deficits and tight funding can we afford another agency run by the equivalent of “Jack Booted” thugs?

How Do We Know?


How do we know if a candidate for office is honest and knows what they are talking about? The answer is : WE Don’t! Each candidate gathers a staff of people who are supposed to inform and keep the candidate informed on current events along with pertinent news related to their candidacy. Unfortunately these staffers aren’t always as sharp as they could or should be.Often these staffers make poor judgements on content of speeches and press statements, these errors can cost a candidate an election now or later. Those errors (mistakes?) ultimately remain in the public memory and are very hard to eliminate or overcome. The voting public is bombarded by so much information that the truth is often lost in the shuffle. We can only rely on our own common sense and ability to tell truth from fiction. We may not know a candidates background but we can identify their veracity if we listen and look carefully when they speak or appear in public media. It does not take a PhD to make a judgement about a person seeking election or re-election. All that is required is to understand what is theater and what is not. We all like being entertained but not by the people we elect to do serious work. Our current administrators of Government are not much more than seat warmers who seem to be milking the positions to garner the lucrative pension and perks of the office rather than serving as required by the position. Answer to the question is: Do not believe all you see and hear from candidates for office as their “AD Men” have scripted their appearance to deceive us.

Political fall in on drivers


A recent discussion about politics and other things brought to light how many poor drivers are on the roads today. When there were a series of distracted driving incidents, the law makers jumped on the banning of texting, cell phone operation without a hands free device to name a couple. This uproar went on for several months then died on the vine. All of the posturing on cell phone use was wasted as there are still folks texting and not using hands free device while in their vehicles. It is a certainty that when a person follows too close behind you there is usually a distraction or when a person consistently stops the vehicle in the cross walk at an intersection. I have seen drivers who upon stopping (usually in the cross walk) looking down in their lap (texting) or leaning to one side to rest their elbow in an upright position to talk on the phone. My favorite is the driver who has both hands at the top of the steering wheel while dialing the phone or texting. These are all distractions. Using a hands free device is less of a distraction but safer than not using one as the hands are free to be used for driving. Perhaps the political leaders (?) don’t feel that this is an issue that will win votes or maybe it is not important but how many accidents or possibly lives may be affected by distracted driving?

Political Carp


Transparency in government seems to appear only when needed some what like using the A bomb as a last resort regardless of the amount of destruction it causes. That appears to be the effect Herman Cain has on the political process at this time. Aside from espousing the same tired lines the “Dupublicans” have put forth for the past 20 years, we now have 9-9-9 proposal along with a darker face. I see the main purpose of Mr. Cain’s presence as another dark face running for the Presidency to show that the party is not racist. This is another ploy to confuse the true issues of the party and that is to keep the status quo. It is no secret that racial issues exist in America, not as overt as in the past but certainly underlying many political decisions and corporate structures. This latest act of disrespect for the voters is just another milestone on the road to continuing government malfeasance. This is not to say that the “Scamocrats” are any better however since the “Dupublicans” seem to be the majority party and have control over which laws are enacted, they are the 800 lb .gorilla in the room. Our political system is in shambles which affects the government so the solution seems to be electing some new faces under different guidelines. The “new” guidelines are old ones revisited so the solution is vote against the representatives you feel are inadequate and for the ones you believe are capable. Continuity in office in these times is not as important as letting the legislature know that they serve at the behest of the voters.

Exploiticians


The latest articles in several daily and weekly publications have given a good picture of the “plotitics” (not a misspelling) we are being exposed to.
Were it possible to create a chart of the candidates and their records we would find that they do not differ very much. They all have advisors (first 2 letters Ad as in advertising) whose sole job is to determine what they perceive is the public pulse and what can be used as “hot button issues”. These advisors are by no means getting or giving the real feeling of the country as a whole so their input is often skewed to the point of distraction. There are times when these advisors will adjust their input to accommodate or counter regional needs, thoughts and perceptions. This is advertising at it’s best. We in effect are not being given facts in politics but more being advertised into voting one way or another. This of course is nothing new but a far cry from the pre internet and electronic communication days of whistle stops and “real” town hall meetings. Each day we are cajoled, challenged and coerced in to voting one way or another by appealing to our fears and prejudices. The idea of self promotion to move forward is not new but “public servants” have the media ear and eyes to do a great job of it while we never know exactly what they are about. The art of governing is supposed to be one of providing guidance for the good of the people and be paid a reasonable salary for the effort not “secret” raises on the back of the people or “special” deals unavailable to the voters. How many of us could benefit from guaranteed “cost of Living Increases”? Our Congressional shills are busier publicly lambasting any proposals made rather than spending that time and energy finding a way to tweak the proposal so it works for all of us.

Big Money


As the political contest heats up, it has become clear to me that some of the very wealthy Americans who have the ability to influence elections through donations (that would be better used to assist the poorest Americans). These individuals seem to care more about how to alter the Legislative and judicial processes to enhance their lives and positions. I am sure the single, double and triple digit donations from the average American have less impact than the “super donors”. Of course all donations are welcome but more attention is paid to the biggies. These big donors identities are kept secret as their income generating enterprises may suffer. It is ironic that the very people who garner their wealth from the people work so hard to keep those same people on the bottom rungs of the social order. Yes the world needs all levels of workers but to pointedly affect the outcome of an elective process that allows the people to freely elect someone who they believe is on their side is absolutely wrong. This is one of the primary reasons that there are several protests occurring in cities across the country against banking and corporations. There is no “little guy” anymore but now it is a national trend of rebellion against the Corporate structure that has held sway for the past 20 – 30 years to the detriment of us all. All the while our Congress has accepted donations and been influenced by that structure on our behalf without our explicit permission.

voters remorse


Are we sorry we voted for the officials we placed in positions of trust? Are we just still being used as pawns for the political gain of the individual and their party? There are many voters and various factions who are not sure they have picked the right party or candidate to do the works that is needed. Looking at the political system, one is at once moved to think that the political system is broken or ineffective. With the current availability of information on candidates, their core issues and what we Think they stand for, we as voters are still not sure if we make the right choices. Our current Congress is probably the worst overall in credibility that we have seen in some time.These individuals have stymied efforts by our President to get bills passed that could very well put us on a forward track in solving the economic crisis they (Congress) allowed to happen. What is it other than politics that would cause the Congressional leaders to publicly comment on the Presidents request to pass laws that appear to be well-reasoned and of some value. Our Congress is our primary source for all legislation yet they appear to be ineffective or unwilling to do whats required, exception:passing laws guaranteeing their cost of living increases and their pensions.

State License Scam


I recently read a news paper article written by an Illinois resident who spent in excess of 1000.oo in pursuit of a plumbers license. This situation is not unique to the plumbers. I spent well over 1500.00 (including classes and testing fees)to get a Home Inspectors license. I took the course twice (once in person and once by correspondence). The correspondence course had no monitoring system to track your progress and no periodic tests or reviews that one could gauge your progress yet required an 10 hour lab course in which the instructor gave hands on instruction in what to look for in heating, electrical and plumbing. There was a test at the end going over what was covered. During the lab session the instructor regaled us with his exploits as an inspector and how the State licensing board was established along with their debate as to which of them would get the first license (#001). At the establishment of the State licensing board , any existing Inspectors were grandfathered in without any further testing. Then there was a final exam (you paid again for this “privilege”), this exam read more like a math exam and to me was unrelated to the material covered and some instances the wording was ambiguous at best. I protested to the School and was given an opportunity to take the entire course again at no charge.I declined this great opportunity after speaking to the college president about the lack of monitoring (his response was that we never monitor). I elected to try a different route and pursued this ambition with another State approved outfit, after completing this course and receiving the required certification of completion, I took the State mandated test twice and failing by 1 point each time. I am of the opinion that these so-called State mandated tests have the purpose of keeping the licensed pool low enough to let current license holders exist with less competition.