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A rant, that will hopefully help us all get it out of our systems and into view. |
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I just can't stand it anymore! It should be so much simpler, so I think I'd like to take a shot at it all...... It seems that we keep electing the wrong people. They get to the Capitol and forget they were elected to do the work of the nation, they look out for their party, their friends, and themselves. Here's a few examples: 1. They got together and voted for a national Lacrosse day. I never played Lacrosse, and don't know anyone else who did. But our congressional leaders got together and ignored the real issues for approximately three days to set this up and make the declaration. 2. Every time I turn around, it seems that congress is getting involved with professional sports with committees, hearings, etc. At a cost of millions of dollars, I think our tax dollars should be used to concentrate on issues that affect the public, like unemployment, education, poverty, and health care. I don't care how much the NFL pays its players and coaches. I don't contribute to all that, but I do pay taxes for a congress that is supposed to be taking care of the public trust, and not armchair quarterbacking the NFL (pun intended). 3. I think we all hear from our elected officials only when their re-election bids are approaching. 4. And speaking of taxes, why is it so many of the rich and powerful pay nothing in taxes? You know, we can fix this..... Let's think about this: If a congressman or senator has been in Washington for two terms, it is time for them to leave. No more incumbents. There doesn't need to be a term limit, we should limit them ourselves! If a member of congress misses more than 3 votes, they should forfeit $1000 from their salary. Once they reach missing 10 votes, they should forfeit $10,000. The House Majority Leader and the House Minority Leader should be required to share an office. That's right. If we force them to look at each other day in and day out, maybe they'll remember that they should be Americans first, and represent their parties only when out of the office. Let's get rid of the tax code and the IRS. No more income tax. A 1% federal sales tax would ensure that EVERYONE contributes to the government's needs, not just those who make too much to collect public assistance, but don't make enough to hire a CPA to find every loophole. That way, I figure a millionaire will pay a fair tax on his Ferrari, just as I will on my Ford. How about making a rule that would prohibit a former member of Congress from practicing law in their home state for a period of 2 years upon leaving office? If we could get the lawyers to quit running for office, maybe we could get some honest people who would do the job in Washington. Sigh. Okay, I'm done for now, what do you think? |
| I wonder if our president has ever been out to see the Statue of Liberty? I get the distinct impression that he would probably feel it a waste of his valuable time, which is a shame in itself. For those of you who have never seen her, she is a magnificent sight. And especially significant is her name, "Mother of Exiles" as stated in the poem by Emma Lazarus on her pedestal, "The New Colossus". I won't place it here, it's easily found. Look it up and read it. I would think that today, she would weep if she could. Maybe he'll tear her down and sell her for the copper scrap value so he can use the pedestal to erect his own statue... I can see it now: The Donald, standing proud in copper, with the hair flip in bronze, his right middle finger extended to the world to tell them his opinion of all. Sigh...oh well...sorry I added this already, but I think it has to be said. |
| Okay, I will be hopeful and believe that the new administration will do alright. In the past, many have feared these changes, but it is something that usually turns out okay in the long run. I am trying to keep an open mind about the President Elect, and I wish him well. I will, however, keep a close eye on his actions, and will call for all Americans to do the same, just to hold him accountable for his actions. I will admit that I don't trust him, but I will qualify that by saying I don't trust anyone who has exhibited the actions he has in the past. Now I know there will be those who will immediately take issue with that by saying "Like What?!" so to cut that off at the start, I will state my objections to him: 1. He has a history of evading the truth about himself and his holdings. 2. He has declared bankruptcy on many occasions, lining his pockets with cash each and every time. 3. He has a long history of not paying people who have performed services for him and his organization. I'm sure he feels that he is THE answer to all America's ills. I'm hoping that he will turn out to be the answer to a few of them, at least. |
| Well, it seems I find a reason to cringe on a daily basis as I hear about our President Elect and how things are going with the transition. Talking to Taiwan: Well, I can't say I disagree with him talking to the leader of any nation, and I feel he should be willing to talk to all of them, BUT, I think he could have been a little more diplomatic in the way he handled the complaints made by China in voicing their reaction. They have a very different view of the friction between the mainland and Taiwan, and we should be aware of that. Stating a willingness to support Assad and the Russian forces in Syria: Where to start on this...let me see...how about "KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT!" It is obvious to anyone who keeps an eye on what is happening in that part of the world that Assad is a tyrant who is being assisted by Russia to beat everyone in his nation into submission...not just ISIS, but EVERYONE. I understand that he may be a good businessman, and has a good head for business situations...but a hostile takeover in diplomatic matters has a whole different meaning to the kind he's used to. Instead of Profit and Loss statements and Due Diligence reports, they involve shattered lives and bloodshed. I do hope he will begin to think about these things before he ruins what credibility we have left in the international community. |
| Okay, the gerrymandering will continue as long as congressional districts remain able to be changed at the will of the controlling party. But what if we changed that? Say...the only time districts can be redrawn is every ten years, post census, and again, no more that six lines to demarcate the district? And then we could work on changing the Electoral College vote distribution to percentages of party vote per state, rather than "winner take all"...just sayin'. |
| I listen to Public Radio a lot on my way to and from work. NPR seems to be the last vestige of good journalism sometimes. Today, they were talking about the looming changes that the president elect wants to make to the Affordable Care Act. I had just had a conversation with a friend of mine who had found the coverage for his family on the healthcare marketplace. He's already been informed that his premiums will double next year, and there seems to be no relief in sight. I'm not a fan of the ACA, but the idea behind it was a good one. We are the only developed nation that doesn't have some kind of measure in place to care for our population. I do hope that there will be an effort made to keep the idea behind the ACA, but in a better form than before. The time has come for us to look around and see what can be done to help our neighbors stay on their feet. Any thoughts? |
| I must admit I am hopeful that Mr. Trump is trying to overcome the image that seemed to dog him in the campaign season. He does seem to be wanting people who don't necessarily agree with him to be a part of his administration. Some of them are odd, to be sure, but there does seem to be a growing balance of thinking in his nominees. We'll just have to hope that he does his best to uphold the legacy of previous presidents and doesn't allow himself to be drug too far afield from the needs of the nation. |
| Yes, there is an undercurrent that most of us are aware of, yet few think about. The congressional districts, and how they are mapped. Whenever they redraw the district lines, it sets the stage for jerrymandering (gerimandering? jerimandering? well, you know, stacking the deck) that makes everyone wonder who their congressman really is from time to time. And these maps are redrawn time and time again for the express purpose of satisfying the politicians currently in power, and making the leadership of the respective parties happy. It needs to change. Sooooooo....let's try something different. Instead of drawing a district map that looks like someone dropped a soggy hot-dog on the sidewalk, let's put together a map set out by a formal guideline that says something like this: The district boundaries must be delineated by at least four but no more than six distinct boundary lines. Isn't that simple? No more little "fingers" or "bridges" of territory that a local representative can use to say "Oh, I don't serve THAT three block area, that's not in the district." Or "I don't serve that side of the street right there, but I do two blocks down." Then, we set the boundaries for a minimum period of eight years, with changes being decided by a committee of people from the communities served, that MUST include one member of the local school board serving that district. It's just a thought. Especially the six boundary lines and the eight year no-change. As for the Electoral College, well...hmmmm...how about the number of electoral college votes be divided up into ten districts in each state having more than ten electoral votes, with those electoral votes going to the person who win that district's popular vote? The districts would be set up similarly to the congressional district idea, you know, at least four but no more that six boundary lines. In other words, do away with the winner-take-all idea in each state. Just a thought.......comments? |
| In looking back through this election cycle, I am reminded of some of our previous presidents... Gerald Ford, who tripped over everything; Jimmy Carter, who smiled at the most inappropriate times; Richard Nixon, who belied his Quaker upbringing with an attitude that could have made a tinpot dictator proud; and even Millard Fillmore, who never seemed to be convinced that the earth was round (seriously). The nation survived all those, I'm sure we will survive this one as well, just as we would survive if Hillary Clinton had been elected. We all just need to stand together and support him when he's right, and howl him down when he's wrong. And be kind to one another, no matter who voted for whom. After all, we're all in this together. |
| I went to a local convenience store this morning on the way home. The owner, a man who is very popular in the community and well respected, was installing a bullet proof booth for his register area. When I asked him what had happened to prompt this, he gave me a sad smile and said, "Trump. I just don't know how safe we will be now." This man is a good friend and neighbor in our community who has made a good life for his family here after emigrating from the Middle East in the early '90's. I told him not to overreact, but he said, "I think about what Hitler did to my grandparents in Germany that made them flee back to Lebanon to avoid going to the camps." The only thing I could do is tell him that he doesn't need to be afraid. I gave him my cell number and told him that if he needed help, to call the police, and then call me, and I would get there before the cops and help him protect his business. He thanked me, and placed the note on the wall above the phone. Thankfully, several other people did the same, and he thanked us all. I spent most of the day thinking about that sheet of paper hanging by that phone. Is this really what it has come to? A few minutes ago, I read once again a favorite poem of mine called "The New Colossus" by Emma Lazarus. It is inscribed on a plaque in the base of the Statue of Liberty. I wonder what the Mother of Exiles would say about my friend across the street and his new found fear of his adopted nation. America and it's promise of freedom was the reason all those French children collected the pennies that created her skin. Are we really ready to become a place that will now strike fear into the hearts of the hopeful? I hope he will never need to call me, but if he does, I intend to help him stand his ground. Read the poem, and be mindful of what our president elect has said. We cannot slide back into isolationist actions. We have come too far for that. If nothing else, be ready to help protect your neighbor from the bigotry we have fought so hard to overcome all these years. I trust that the actions of individual Americans will be the true test of what we have become. |
| A good friend who went downrange with me some years ago just called from his home in Australia. He was laughing his ass off and couldn't believe we elected Donald Trump. He then sent me an IM with the song "Send in the Clowns" imbedded in the message. .....sigh..... I guess the time has come for us all to start packing to leave or building fall out shelters, because the Cold War is probably coming back now. Maybe I'm being reactionary about this...there's probably a good side to all this. Let me see.... Nope, we're screwed.  |
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This is pretty much how I felt when he said that the U.S. can't go into debt because we could just print more money.