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Monthly Archives: November 2011

We can Retire them.


A recent opinion in a local paper stated that the current legislature needed to retire. I agree but the voters have had  the ability to retire them long before they make that decision on their own. Much of the fault in government is the people have trusted these same people time after time to do the right thing and they have not. The  idea  that one legislator stated that “people are leaving the General assembly because it is no longer fun” cause me to think that “fun” means they can longer pull the “political wool”over the eyes of the voters. If we look back at the times when we were unhappy with certain members of  the general assembly yet   they managed to remain employed  by our seeming unwillingness to pink slip them by our vote. The voters hold the key to good government.

Super What!


The super committee has failed but apparently it’s no ones fault since each side blames the other for the failure. Our prominent politicians have  led us to believe that they did their best but upon reflection we find that they  are just following the same  path they have traveled for the past 20 years or more. What is accomplished when one doesn’t know how to do a job or maybe doesn’t want to?  Nothing! The Super group is representative of the breakdown in our Congress. Each member appears to be more involved in staying in office and the confirmation of their retirement options (aside from the considerable pension they created for themselves).  The greed of our financial community is only second to the greed and greed and visible ineptitude of our Congress. I would rename this Committee “The Super Pooper Scoopers” as it appears that they are really good at shoveling it!

Nothing Good About It.


Recent news contained some disturbing information on Texas Republican college students who in the name of the party have spoken about the assassination of the President. This information was subject to some damage control after it was publicly aired. With all of the negative publicity on both parties, the Dupublicans appear to be still fighting the civil war. These young people have been so thoroughly indoctrinated as to believe they are correct in their thinking and God is on their side. This appears to be the same type of fanatic thought processes that the  middle eastern Muslims are accused of. The Dupublican party has so completely played the role of “people’s” party that reality has been overshadowed by covert racism. Our problems are not with Race, religion or social standing but with the people we have elected and who have no regard for our true needs. Remembering that the offices of Representative and Congress were originally part-time offices and now have been subverted to be fulltime (per se) and with no time limit on the amount of time served. These politicians (both parties) through the enactment of laws (many of them are lawyers) have carved a niche for themselves that brings them wealth, power and a perfect set of perks including retirement and medical benefits that are the envy of many workers who put in 30 plus years on an 8 hour a day job. I am really disturbed by the idea that our Congress has assumed the role of telling the voters (their bosses) what to think and attempt to make us believe they are right by the high pressure advertising tactics and semi truths used by Companies to get us to buy their products. These same companies that have been called on the carpet before one  Congressional committee or another for using the same tactics. So I ask who is wrong here, the companies or the overseers (Congress) who give a tacit OK to what they do.

 

LAND OF THE FREE


I read today about a coastal California town that has been sliding towards the Pacific ocean for years. Now part the highway has slid into the ocean. The property owners are concerned about their property values. I would think that the property values would be the least of their worries. To further pursue this, I would think that the property values and their relationship to the ocean might have persuaded the local homeowners  to reconsider their  purchase. Now with the natural cycle of  earth movement their investment has become a victim of that natural occurrence. I  have tried to understand the thought process behind the building of towns and cities along fault lines and in areas that are active geological areas, given that many cities and towns were settled long before the science of geology, seismology and weather systems were as advanced as they are, I think the locations were selected because of the local natural resources and convenience to available transportation hubs. This is the land of the free and people are free to live wherever they want even in the path of natures perils.

The End Of The Day.


The often used phrase “at the end of the day” is really not the end of the day. The real end of the day is when the subject of the quote is really ended, finished or completed. While the phrase is catchy, it is inaccurate. The end of the day denotes a completion of the 24 hour cycle we know as a day, even though many of us sleep through about 8 hours of it. So the end of the day is just a way to convey a termination of a situation regardless of when the actual end of the day occurs. So at the end of the day there is no end of the day! At the end of the day – maybe this is why our Congress cannot do the job they pay themselves for in the time frame they have set as their working periods.

Not A School!


It is conceivable to me that our major problems have more to do with our lack of clarity in the election process. First many voters do not understand that regardless of how we vote for the Commander-in-Chief, the final word comes from the electoral college as defined: The Electoral College, administered by the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), is not a place. It is a process that began as part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution. The Electoral College was established by the founding fathers as a compromise between election of the president by Congress and election by popular vote. The people of the United States vote for the electors who then vote for the President.  This information will possibly fall on deaf ears and blind eyes but our elected politicians depend on our lack of interest  We are represented by men and women who have mastered the art of politispeak and have used it to garner our votes. These “ordinary citizens” who quickly learn the art of “wealth building” through their participation on the many committees who interact with the very companies whose sole purpose is profit at any cost. This method of operation is endemic in America on many levels. What’s unfortunate is the public never knows about the problem until it’s effects are felt by all of us. Our current fiscal problems, the multiple wars and other associated problems are all based on the lack of action by our Congress on behalf on their constituents. We have had many of these members caught up in scandals that have cost the taxpayers dearly yet we continue to allow them to represent us. The one thing to remember is Congress makes the laws and they have enacted some that virtually insure their ability to become wealthy just by being in office and serving on a committee for a long enough time period. The constant appearances in mass media and the sound bites serve as distractions designed to keep our focus on matters other than their malfeasance. The many protests around the country are just a start to what we as voters need to be doing, during the next election we need to ignore the debates, the sound bites, other unrelated information and vote the old guard out.

Exigengies of Politics


Normally we associate the term “exigent circumstances” with law enforcement situations. As I looked this term up for a pure definition I was unable to find one but there were several others that related primarily to law enforcement.After considering what my thought process on this was I decided to relate that to political situations. Exigencies as defined is:”The state or quality of requiring much effort or immediate action”. Our political process has evolved into an individual and collective effort of exigencies which serve only to promote and enrich the users. It has become an expected perk on the office and is commonly used to increase the future financial and personal situation of the in office Congress. We have now a group of 500 plus representatives who cannot come close to reasonable decisions regarding the economic and fiscal problems of the U.S.  Recent revelations about the financial dealings of some Congressional members which are considered  illegal for others yet legal for them.   Our elected officials are busily continuing business as usual while espousing outrage over the banking and financial community’s improprieties. We truly have the foxes in the henhouse while we wring our hands in despair. It is certainly easy to quarterback from outside the “beltway” but the football coordinators see more of the game than the coaches.

Hmmm.


I wonder if Illinois will ever have real Governor? It appears that some thing in the political waters in our state creates a political madness in the elected officials and aspirants who succeed to the offices. Why else would the office holders do what ever they can to enrich themselves while their constituents suffer? When confronted with their misdeeds, they simply deny, apologize,try not to go to jail. There are instances where they have truly been contrite but perhaps more because of being discovered than for committing the acts. There appears to be more of a “rock Star” aura around our political leaders(?) but we expect rock stars to be raucous and unconventional not the people who make our laws and run our country locally and Nationally. What if before running for office candidates had to take drug tests,integrity tests? Some of the fallen high-profile folks have hit the speech for hire trail and are espousing a clarity in the system that they used against the same people they are now asking to pay to hear them talk. The American voters are so used to hearing clouded, occluded and highly seasoned information that they are desperate for some truth yet when this truth is put forth it is unrecognizable as truth.

Better in Pictures


Looking at the various fast food ads touting the major burger chains. I was struck by the beauty and tasty looks of the burgers and other sandwiches. Each ad has the product (that’s what it is) looking perfect. When you go to the restaurant, the actual burger or sandwich looks nothing like the ad.The burger or sandwich is tasty but being a visual and smell connected transaction, there is no comparison to the ads.It appears there is no way possible to get a product that looks like the ads, going by my experience the product is not as colorful, the garnish (lettuce is usually shredded) not a whole leaf as depicted, the tomato actually looks like the ad.There never appears to be any mustard or ketchup but given the runny texture of those condiments may be why those are not shown. We are advertised into purchasing food as well as voting for the wrong people for office.

Enough!


If I were able to reach a wider audience, I would extol the virtues of voting Congress out every 6 years. There is no more crucial way of insuring proper Congressional legislature as the idea that a person will only have 6 years or less to get work done. This would allow for a regular turn over of personnel and leave no room for the current custodial thinking and deal making. Our Congress has essentially thumbed their noses at the voters by politispeak and the Congressional posturing we know so well. The idea that we elected them and our voices should be heard rather than the big donors and lobbyists is foreign to most of them. During the “campaign” season (all year) our tax dollars and donations pay for their indiscretions and errors while they continually assail the President (who ever that is) and cover their own Butts. The idea that Congress is working for the voters is ludicrous to say the least. These past several years have shown the true colors and make up of our Congress, they have been shown to be no better than the vilest of villains from our past history. They are as bad as some of the worse criminals we have read about and some who are currently incarcerated but they are unencumbered by bars or monitoring devices. These “representatives” apparently feel they are above the law even in the light of the trials and convictions their colleagues. Some of these disgraced political figures are not ashamed of what they have done and have even become lobbyists for the same companies and to their former colleagues. What we have are criminals in Congressional clothing who still believe the voters will forgive then and keep them in office. It is time to say enough!