Wednesday, August 26, 2009

The Way I See It What are we going to do about it?

Living in a home means you're responsible for keeping it maintained. If a toilet stops up or stops working, you have a couple of sensible options: call a plumber, or if you're handy, figure out why it's not working, or what part's not working, then you get it fixed. Of course, there's another option... tear the whole house down first, then investigate and fix it. That's pretty stupid, isn't it? Not to mention slow and expensive. In other words, the cure would obviously be worse than the disease.

Living in the White House means you're responsible for keeping it maintained and fixing whatever's stopped up or not working... like health care. Now we may not be Harvard grads, nor smarty-pants lawyers, but congress should be ashamed of the fact that we're smarter than they are. I'm not talking about I.Q.; I'm talking about what's required to live life on a daily basis... common sense. The common sense that tells us it's stupid to demolish the house when all you need is a new float, or even just a plunger.

That demolition mentality and lack of common sense, among other things, are the reasons for my love/hate relationship with politics and politicians. I love that they give me so much to think and write about. On the other hand, I hate that they're so smarmy... so lacking in character and selfless servant-hood... so sure they're the most, and only, important things in the galaxy... so willing to sell out their constituents for power and financial gain. Yet, in spite of my cynicism, I still want to believe that some people step into the political arena with the right hearts and motives... with a clear understanding that it's not about them, it's about us and the U.S.

Unfortunately, our culture's obsession with the glitz and glamour of celebrity... the superficiality of beauty that's only skin-deep... clever speeches and sound bites... has turned elections into beauty pageants and popularity contests. We don't care whether the candidates lie, cheat, or whatever, to ensure their success and financial gain; we only care what they look like... how cool they are... what they're wearing... how smoothly they tell us what we want to hear.

Maybe that's why the health care protests and protesters have caught congress by surprise. It's the 2009 version of Shock and Awe. It's the proverbial slap upside the head. Maybe that's why they don't get it, no matter how many people show up at Tea Parties or Town Hall meetings. Maybe it's because we've been telling them in so many words and so many ways for so many years... no, make that decades... that whatever they do, as long as they look good saying it, have the moves and get the laughs when they're on some late night show, that no matter how many times they put themselves smack dab in the middle of an ugly scandal, that no matter how much they lie, cheat and steal from us, we'll keep putting an X next to their names. It's not a question of forgiveness... it's a question of expectations. Expecting integrity, honesty and accountability. So far they've lived down to our low expectations. So, what are we going to do about it?

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

A.W.O.L.

Well, talk about character. Or lack thereof. Governor Mark Sanford, (R-SC) disappeared for a week. Since nobody knew where he was, and he hadn't handed authority over to his Lt. Governor, essentially, the state of South Carolina was without a Governor. The people of South Carolina were lucky that nothing really big happened requiring his attention and/or emergency action. If, like John Stewart, you're shrugging your shoulders... it's just South Carolina... that's an attitude you can afford only if you don't live there.
Anyway, initially it was reported that he was in the Appalachian Mountains. Hiking. Just getting away from it all. But, unless international flights use the Appalachian Trail as a runway, that obviously wasn't it. 'Cause when he returned, he stepped off a flight from Argentina. That's where he was while he was AWOL. He was "visiting" a woman with whom he was having an affair. Like that's not bad enough, this guy is not only married, but he and his wife have 4 sons. And, even if he and his "friend" have a child together, you'd think he'd consider postponing his visit to Argentina until after Father's Day, in order to spend it with his (first) 4 kids, wouldn't you?
I may be in the minority here, but to say that I'm disappointed would be a gigantic understatement. But putting my disappointment and my reasons for it aside, I know what's usually the response to this "kind of thing": "I don't care about his personal life." Well, guess what!? I DO. Read my previous post where I talked about Integrity and Character.
Putting those two things aside, if that's possible, I have to wonder what was he thinking? Of course, that's assuming he was using the brain that's in his skull, attached to his neck, not the one... well... Whatever. Anyway, what is with these politicians who somehow think they can even have a public life? They don't call it "public" service for nothing. (As for the "service" part, well, that's a subject for another time.) When you decide to run for an office, if you are so naive and uninformed as to think otherwise, you would be well-advised to look for a future elsewhere.
Of course, now he says he's sorry. Now he says the affair is over. Now he wants the whole world to know that he didn't mean for this to happen... that it started out as an innocent, "dear friends" email relationship. And, according to him, it was only because when you're in politics where everything is fodder for the evening news, you can't talk to people about what's going on. For fear it'll be spread around, I suppose. I'm sorry, but isn't that one of the "perks" of having a husband or wife... you have someone to talk to that you can trust to keep your secrets?
Unless that secret is a mistress, of course. In that case, I'm pretty sure that's not something most wives would want to sit down and chat about over a cup of coffee, is it??

Liberty Lies in the Heart

More and more people are dissatisfied with the direction in which our leaders are taking us. We may not be geniuses... not that our leaders are... but it's been obvious for decades that there's something wrong with our government. And what's missing in the equation is not genius, but COMMON SENSE: sound practical judgment, independent of specialized knowledge or training. And INTEGRITY: steadfast adherence to a strict ethical or moral code; doing the right thing for the right reason, even when no one is watching. I'm talking about CHARACTER... the sum of your parts... Who You Are. This can't be over-emphasized, because as long as those things are missing, there will be chaos in the lives of every day people like you and I.
I'm not saying that every politician is lacking character, or that every American is the embodiment of character. But it seems that the average politician is lacking it more than the average American embodies it. I think that's why when people talk about where our country is headed, they say, "I'm discouraged. Our leaders are doing things that are illegal, immoral... even unconstitutional... and there doesn't seem to be a way to stop them". They want to just opt out... disengage... tune it all out. Maybe they want to believe that will work for them on some level, but the hard, painful truth is that the process, whatever it is, continues. With or without them. And one morning they'll wake up "shocked" to find themselves left to grapple with the results.
Perhaps they'll wake up like auto dealership owners did with all their hard work, money and dreams stolen, without explanation. Without rhyme or reason. Without recourse. Just taken through action initiated by their government.
Or perhaps they'll wake up like auto bond investors did expecting to be first in line in bankruptcy court, as law dictates, only to be last, after the government and the UAW. As this administration dictates.
Maybe they're business owners, desperately needing work, who'll wake up to find that they're not allowed to even submit a bid for work generated by stimulus money. Because they're not a union shop.
Maybe they'll wake up on a gurney in a "government" hospital praying they'll be cared for before it's too late... or being denied necessary care because a political appointee sitting in an office somewhere, decides they're too old or too sick to "waste" time, energy and money on.
Liberals call this "alarmist rhetoric". I call it recognizing the facts... a wake-up call. People world-wide have been, and still are, imprisoned or killed by their own governments for wanting a government like ours... one that Abraham Lincoln, in his Gettysburg Address, said should not be allowed to perish... a government "of the people, by the people and for the people":
Instead of giving up we need to keep standing up for what's right and what's ours... while our freedoms are still intact and our lives are still ours to live as we choose.
  • Liberty lies in the hearts of men and women; when it dies there, no constitution, no law, no court can save it. - Judge Learned Hand

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Uighurs, Secrets, Cronies and Pals

How 'bout them Uighurs! (Pronounced: we-grrrrs, in case you care.) They sought, and received, training in the East Turkestan Islamic Movement's paramilitary camps. Uh, huh... that's that al-Qaeda affilite that has been officially designated by the U.S., under U.S. law, as a terrorist organization. They trained to be terrorists, fought against Coalition forces and, were captured by Coalition forces after the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan. That's how they ended up doing "hard time" (Ha!) at Guantanamo Bay. Now that it's been determined that they should be freed, the poor terrorists can't go home, 'cause China's their home and China might just really treat them like terrorists. They might hurt them, or something worse. So, we (the U.S.) have found them a new home... in Bermuda. Spiffy pink cottage to live in over-looking pink sands, aquamarine seas, clear blue skies above... Not only is their new home looking good, they look pretty darned good themselves. Have you seen the footage of them? They're healthy, with quite a bit more meat on their bones, I'm sure, than they had when they were skulking around in the Afghanistan mountains. Good looking, white teeth. Big smiles. I'm guessing the guys left behind are green with envy! Of course, really... what do they have to complain about at Gitmo? I mean, beachside digs in tropical Cuba... food cooked to their (religious) specifications... lots of free time to read and protest with other Gitmo terroristas... perhaps even plot more murder and mayhem. What more could a terrorist want? Except maybe the freedom the Uighurs in Bermuda have to wander freely around their new paradise, eating ice cream and stuff...
But their happiness has caused quite a bit of consternation in the British government. Bermuda is a British colony, you know. The consternation comes from the fact that the government in Bermuda has had its head together with whomever in our government working out this plan to accept the Uighurs without consulting the British government... they plotted behind their backs. Can you imagine a government doing something like that? Conspiring in secret... the left hand not telling the right hand what it's doing? You can't? Wow. It goes on every day in our own nation's capitol. Somebody climbs up behind a podium and gives us the news of the day. Not the whole news, of course. The whole news is available to the "People" on a need-to-know basis, and it seems we pretty much don't need to know... well... anything. Like this administration has done from day one, plans are made, people and pawns put into place, private and personal agendas are executed quietly, then, like the British government, we learn about it bit, by bit, by bit... after it's a leeeetle late to change anything. Of course, they don't think any change is needed. They really do think they know more than we do, and know better than we do what's best for us. Like all parents of tw0-year olds do.
Unfortunately, their plans for us don't include blue skies, aquamarine seas, pink sand and cottages. Nope. Their plans for us only include green.. as in money. Ours to earn. Theirs to take and spend to take care of slackers, Uighurs, political backers, cronies and pals.

The Czar Czar

Our founders wanted a strong and fair national government. They wanted to protect individual freedoms and prevent the government from abusing its power. They believed those things could be accomplished by having three separate branches of government: (1) The Legislative branch is made up of the 2 houses of Congress, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Their duty is to make laws that are written, discussed and voted on in Congress. (2) The Judicial branch oversees the U.S. court system. The Supreme Court is the head of the Judicial branch. Unlike criminal courts, the Supreme Court rules on whether something is Constitutional... permitted under the Constitution.
Before going on to the 3rd branch, take a look at, and compare the constitutional/legal responsibilities as laid out above... where we started... to where we are today, and it becomes quite clear that we took a wrong turn somewhere. As a result, the majority party in Congress (Democrats) is exluding the minority party (Republicans) when discussing and writing laws. The Supreme court is no longer simply one branch among three co-equal branches, but is not the "supreme" branch. Many of our current policies on criminal justice, education, morality, etc., are the result of action by the Judiciary branch, not the Legislative branch. Making it even worse, in a number of cases recently, the courts have unilaterally reversed the outcome of direct elections by the people.
The President heads the 3rd branch, the Executive, which makes laws official. He approves and carries out laws passed by the Legislative branch. He appoints cabinet members, negotiates treaties, is Head of State and Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces. The cabinet consists of the heads of the 15 major departments of government.
Since January 20th, we've watched this president and administration go far beyond the aforementioned duties to not only appointing Cabinet members, as he's supposed to, but also appointing... Czars. I don't know how many Czars they had in Russia, but I'm thinking Obama's out-czaring them. Easily. So, now we have an Energy Czar, Bank Bailout Czar, Drug Czar, Great Lakes Czar, Border Czar, Stimulus Accountability Czar, Urban Czar, Regulatory Czar, Middle East Czar, Iran Czar, an Afghanistan and Pakistan (Af-Pak) Czar, Cyber-Security Czar... and new this week, a Pay Czar; officially, "Special Master for Compensation". And... they answer to no one. Except the Czar Czar.
President Obama has fired the head of a private company, hired a tax cheat to head the Treasury Department, hired the supporter of late-term abortion for Health and Human Services, a Governor unable to control her own state's borders as head of Homeland Security... forced banks to take unwanted, unneeded taxpayer money... had to think about whether to "allow" those banks to pay the money back... has spent billions of our $$ to keep car companies from filing inevitable bankruptcy, and now is standing by while GM bond holders get pushed behind the union, changing GM from General Motors to Government-UAW Motors. This president's determined to control private lives, no matter how much money has to be printed, or how much of our country has to be sold off to China.
I guess when you're the Czar Czar you get to do that.