Must We Reap what the So and Sos Sow?

Throughout history people have understood that we reap that which we sow so is it any wonder that there is more anger in the air, more frustration than ever before?
Little by little this anger can be seen as a creeping weed invading the once plentiful garden of our country.
We see it in the words used in twitter to describe anyone not totally in agreement with our opinion. I have fallen into the trap myself and use so called bad words speaking about the right wing and conservatives of our Nation.
But to be fair and to use a childish refrain, they started it!
Now I realize that is no excuse to join them in the muck and mire of name calling but at some point the frustration of seeing the country and all the good people who deserve better getting less and less
becomes a strain on the walls of civility's dam.
We elect men and women to office that we feel have integrity to do what's the best for America, be it
the entire country or our State or even local county.
But instead of public service the job these people have decided is utmost on their agenda is raking in more money and getting reelected.
When I hear every Republican and especially members of their neo radical right wing aka the Tea Party refer to members of the party on the left side of the aisle as "My Democrat opponent" he or she is doing so from a script that says you must always demean them.
In case you don't know the use of the phrase or word Democrat in place of the correct term, Democratic is a childish attempt to use a word that rhymes with rat.
It is from the same right wing brain that tried to and is still trying to kill the affordable care act when they dubbed it Obamacare. They felt tying it to the one person they so despised that it makes them lose sight of not only the big picture but any picture was a good strategy!
Now we have a new insidious self-serving creature to deal with. A freshman Senator in Congress who fashions himself a new sort of savior for the country. He is using a mixture of McCarthy and (I hesitate to use the name so I will only hint at it) a former evil dictator of Germany to get his way.
And I say his way because that is exactly what it is, HIS WAY!
And those two words are the first part of what has become the Tea Party's mantra, Our Way or the highway!
Sadly their way is the LOW way as it could in fact bring down government. It most certainly will bring the government to a standstill and hurt a majority of people who do not seem to understand or remember the ramifications of what happens when good people don't stop bad people from doing bad things.
One thought looms large when thinking of this group of nay-sayers on the far right and that is, if you really hate government and want to shrink it to the size of a pea so you can flush it down the toilet one would think a job in government might not be your wisest choice!
But once again it is important to realize these people don't care about anyone but themselves so ruining government IS their end game. And in some delusional way they feel once that is accomplished the country will beat a path to their door for guidance on what to do next!
However I do not think anyone is completely evil in every respect, nor do i think anyone is completely without fault, except for me of course. Therefore I know that the junior Senator from Texas and many of his colleagues probably have some good points here and there.

When will we learn from history???
This type of evil maniacal  bastard CANNOT
be allowed to take over America again!!!

But I also know that they are going about it the wrong way.
As anyone with children will tell you temper tantrums rarely work out well for anyone involved but especially not for the one throwing the tantrum! After a while the sane rational thinking parents will push back. In this case we already see the less radical members of the Republican Party basically telling Cruz to shut up and let them do their jobs, such as it were.
As for America in this era of nearly total Tea Party takeover of the terrible Republican Party if things do not change what will be sown will only delight the GRIM reaper.

The Complacency of the Consistent Complainer

There are so many things wrong in America today that picking out just the top three would appear impossible.

Of course we can say the economy but what exactly do we mean?

The wealthy are doing great.  Banks and Wall St. firms are handing out record bonuses.  So the rank of the economy on that list would certainly appear subjective.

Well there is a tremendously high ‘un’ or under employment problem in America, right?

Again it depends on who is asked after all the Republican Party and their duped followers, many of whom are themselves unemployed would argue that jobs exist for those willing to do the hard work.  And then the discussion will devolve into a fight about illegal aliens taking jobs away from Americans.  The argument is old and false and the numbers would prove it if only the fear mongers would listen.

The two party system in Washington appears to have outlived it’s usefulness as one side’s winning strategy of ‘just say no’ to anything and everything the other side proposes has moved them to the brink of taking majority control of the government.

Surely when this happens the other side will wake up, I have no idea why they are sleeping now but…  And once the Democratic alarm clock kicks into gear some bright young man or woman on the left side of the aisle will forge a plan to do exactly the same thing.

The nation will go from left to right and DC from Democratic to Republican and back again ad infinitum.

Sooner or later the rest of the world will stop looking to us as the intelligent leaders of the free world and merely a nuisance.

So what should we do?  Do we get together and form a few more parties?  One such party was in fact formed out of the chaos that is the Congress today but unfortunately it was usurped by the Republicans and the ‘right.’

Some of the ideas of the Tea Party are good but the people chosen to deliver them are for the most part idiots or evil geniuses.

The agenda of that quasi autonomous group is unclear but rooted in the Republican rhetoric of smaller government, whatever that means.

So the people who are most affected by the power grab in DC become more and more frustrated and turn to the only thing they know how to do, complain.

And we all know there is plenty to complain about.

Unfortunately we have become accustomed to airing our views over the internet in the form of blogs, such as this one.  I guess we mistakenly feel that someone will sit up and take note but that will never happen.

The agenda of those in power is to stay there, not to make our problems go away.  If they actually did what we elected them to do we might enjoy peace and prosperity.  But how can you run for office without promoting fear?

Any student of politics, the art of the possible will notice that most if not all of our leaders say one thing on the campaign trail and do other things in office.  Some even vote against their own proposals just to piss off the other side.  These days they are commonly known as Republicans but that may change.

So the blogging continues and the complaints mount.  And we are happy to complain and have someone else read our thoughts and agree with us.  That has become our goal for we believe if enough people agree with us we can form a movement and perhaps bring about real change.

We are idealistic, we are deluded.

We have been defeated and we have become complacent.

But we will continue to complain since we have no other choice.

Today's Eclectic Compendium

These are the issues that are hitting my hot button today (sorry Ed.)

The business world and Republicans still blaming Obama administration for the uncertainty about rising health care costs.  They claim that is the reason for not hiring new workers.  But if anyone is to blame for raising rates and bilking the public shouldn’t it be the actual companies who are doing the dastardly deed?  Let’s face it the insurance industry is reaping record rewards by raping the consumer.  The Obama administration merely tried to stop them from their upward trend but had to do so without the help of the Republicans who branded his efforts as anti-American and claimed he just wanted to kill grandma!

It has finally been revealed that BP knew exactly what it was getting into when it used tainted and low quality cement on their oil rigs.  While it should come as no surprise that a company took shortcuts on their way to increase profits it should be noted that the “Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead” attitude of this renegade corporation is actually the norm.  Many companies knowingly produce inferior products only removing them from the shelf after being caught or sued by those adversely affected.

In a side issue the plastic additive BPA has now been linked to a lower sperm count in males.

At this point I would suggest that any new company leave the initials BP out of their name.  Just saying…

Quick economics lesson for the mathematically challenged Tea Party members on Long Island and elsewhere, LIPA is seeking to have their taxes lowered as a way to reduce the rates they must charge customers for electricity.  That sounds great, right?  Who doesn’t wish to have their monthly bill lowered?

But the fact remains that the taxes paid by LIPA and other utilities goes to funding local town functions such as the schools and mundane other necessities of life.

So as a result of lowering the taxes on LIPA we may end up paying them a slightly lower monthly amount but will then pay a far greater amount in town and school tax.

The bottom line is it costs money to run a government be it local Statewide or National!
Merely shifting around the pain and pleasure does no good.  At the end of the day (I still hate that phrase) we the tax paying public are footing the bills and end up with less money in our pockets.

Tighten up all budgets, get rid of fluff, stop political patronage, and get all political houses in order.  There is quite enough money floating around to do so!

Staying on Long Island a local Republican, Fran Becker who is running for Congress against Carolyn McCarthy stated today that he is surging.  As far as the upcoming election the polls say otherwise so if he is surging it must be in a different way.
Therefore all I can say is hey Fran we’re not interested in your sex life.

A report came out about the wonderfully brave men and women who serve in our country's armed forces around the world.  It stated that most of these soldiers found nothing wrong with working alongside openly gay human beings.
The report also went on to say that the feelings did not carry over into the Semper Fi sect as many Marines told the pollsters that they would quit if gays were allowed to serve.
Way to go guys!  That's protecting the American way of life!  Who would want a gay or lesbian soldier protecting them and watching their back when the enemy was about to shoot them?  We'd all rather die, right?
Pathetic!  Pick up your medals as you leave guys!  America thanks you for your service.

In a story that can be good and bad and then good and then bad again according to the news dentists have come up with an interesting idea.  They intend to keep our children’s teeth healthy by limiting their candy intake.  They are offering to buy back any candy collected during Halloween at the rate of $1 per pound.  As a result kids will make money while keeping their teeth in good shape.  They will also not have that unhealthy surge of sugar the day after the spooky celebration.

So just what will happen to all that chocolate and gooey caramel?  The dentists plan on doing what American drug companies have been doing for years when they sent drugs the FDA could not approve to foreign countries.  They will be shipping the unwanted candy overseas.  But not to worry, no American children will be harmed in the ensuing cavity bonanza.

The Saudis are now advising the owners of that downtown Manhattan property to move their Mosque away from the 9-11 memorial area.  They say they do not wish to cause any more pain and suffering.  But they also add that the Mosque would be too close to the already established bars and strip clubs that pepper the area.  Is it just me or was that a slap at normal and money making American businesses?

And speaking of business as usual in Somalia two children were executed for being spies by the ruling class yesterday.  The 15 and 18 year olds were sentenced and then moments later shot by firing squad without a chance of appealing the obviously ridiculous ruling.  It seems that in that country the only requirements needed to be judge and executioner is one must be male and know the Quran.  Done!
What that country needs is a Sadie Hawkins Day where the women get to run things for 24 hours.  Hey guys - drop your pants and pray the women have bad aim!  Of course with targets as large as yours it's doubtful they will.

Hey folks, did you know that there was another tsunami?  This one was near the other one and devastated towns, businesses and lives as well.  But only 1,000 people were killed or missing so far and it didn’t happen on Christmas and we are going through a momentous election period so you may not have heard about it.  Oh, and I believe no Americans were killed during the event.

And finally it has been pointed out that many of the Tea Party candidates are running for office because they claim to hear the voice of the people!
Unfortunately all too many of them are actually only hearing voices!

Train Your Politician

When we are upset with a politician for not doing what we want we vote them out of office. Unfortunately that is often the wrong thing to do although at times it appears as though it is our only choice.

That has always been the preferred method and is known as 'working within the system.'  It is certainly better than a military coup as some other countries use.

But many times the alternative candidate is far worse.

There is a reason for the adages, ‘A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush’ or ‘Better the devil you know than the devil you don’t.’

So what is the solution to our current problem?

How can we change Congress and the inactive, ineffective way our elected officials are performing?

Well we could go the screaming and yelling route, tossing out anyone 'in' to replace them with anyone 'not in.'

That Tea Party tactic turns Government topsy turvy.

Or we could use our voices in a saner, more rational and quiet way to get the job done.

We may not wish to hear this but politicians have two jobs.

One is to fight for legislation that helps the plight of their constituency and the other is to get enough money in their campaign funds to get re-elected.  For most that second job has become job one!  And for many that has become their only job!!

It is up to us to make them realize the error of their ways and get them back on track and working toward their original purpose; helping the people they represent.

We who sit back and expect our representatives in government to glean our needs by looking at polls or sticking their wetted fingers in the air to sense the wind’s direction are at fault.  We have to be proactive and let these men and women know our true feelings.

We can do this with letters and emails and phone calls and personal visits to their local offices.

But when we go this route we must be respectful of their position and not treat them like children.  We must not yell at them but rather calmly explain our thoughts.

Remember another adage that is also true, “You get more bees with honey than vinegar!”

Make believe America is a company and our congressmen and women work for us.  Isn't it better and more cost effective to tweak their skills rather than hire new workers and start from scratch?

And if our employees listen and do the right thing then we reward them with your vote!