Concerning our Congress which I mentioned in my last blog entry, I'm convinced as I'm sure many of you are too, that the members of those two august bodies consider their positions to be a result of their extreme diligence to detail. As it turns out, that's a true statement. Each member of both houses is extremely diligent in covering all the little details that go along with their positions.
Take for instance the years in which they are faced with elections. The people of America have no truer friends than their local and state representatives. Why, no baby goes unkissed, no promise unmade in the battle to receive your vote. Then consider the years in which there is no election, no campaigning. Oops, my mistake, the campaigning goes on year round every year. But, outside the election year, they have a habit of becoming that long lost relative you can never get in touch with.
Now that's not quite true either. Actually you can reach a member of his or her staff who will pass on any message you wish to leave. Your message will be answered by someone purporting to be your representative in a letter which doesn't quite fit the question you asked. You could travel to Washington, provided you have the local office of your Representative make arrangements for you to have seven minutes of the Congressman's time on the way to his next meeting.
Actually, you'll have better luck in speaking with him or her than does any member of the other party. Nowhere in America is there greater separation than Washington. And it's not "separate but equal" either. Whoever has the most members gets the best seats and will not agree with the minority, even if they did ten minutes ago. Does this clear things up for you?
Tuesday, January 23, 2018
Sunday, January 21, 2018
Shutdowns.
What does the term "government shutdown" mean to you? It could mean the Federal government is being run by a bunch of incompetents, or it could mean the Pennsylvania Legislature is at it again. Either one would be correct. Ya see, neither group seems able to draft a budget that will actually pass its own two chambers.
In Washington, the party in power is unwilling to actually consider the wishes of the party that used to be in power and will most assuredly be again. Not to be outdone the Pennsylvania legislative leaders will not negotiate with the other party which will never become the majority party so long as gerrymandering exists.
The good thing about this arrangement is that people will suffer, but not the legislators. They will continue to receive their monthly allotment of cash on time while many other less important humans get laid off , and the country and state wind up loosing money faster than they can count it.
But the good thing is that taxpayers will be expected to pay for the costs of shutting down the government. So ya see, all's well that ends well, as the saying goes. In the meantime, that law you hoped to be passed won't happen and the regular business of the Congress and state legislature won't get done, but both groups will explain the holdup is because of the minority party. Does this explain the situation adequately?
In Washington, the party in power is unwilling to actually consider the wishes of the party that used to be in power and will most assuredly be again. Not to be outdone the Pennsylvania legislative leaders will not negotiate with the other party which will never become the majority party so long as gerrymandering exists.
The good thing about this arrangement is that people will suffer, but not the legislators. They will continue to receive their monthly allotment of cash on time while many other less important humans get laid off , and the country and state wind up loosing money faster than they can count it.
But the good thing is that taxpayers will be expected to pay for the costs of shutting down the government. So ya see, all's well that ends well, as the saying goes. In the meantime, that law you hoped to be passed won't happen and the regular business of the Congress and state legislature won't get done, but both groups will explain the holdup is because of the minority party. Does this explain the situation adequately?
Thursday, January 18, 2018
What Is An Autocrat?
Among his worst qualities is that President Trump has autocratic tendencies. I looked it up to be sure of the exact meaning. Pres. Trump seems to believe in absolute power for himself. That's 180 degrees away from what the founding fathers wanted. They wanted a true democracy. Fortunately they put in place safeguards to protect us from someone who might want to steal our democracy.
The Congress fills that role. And it's done a pretty darn good job of it. But of late, our Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, have been somewhat lax in filling that role. Somewhat? Actually our Congress has failed miserably in doing its job of stopping Pres. Trump from overstepping his authority.
See, its not just what he does, its what he says that hurts all of us. Fake News? No, our media is honest, truthful, reporting of what is said and done by our President, as they should. They should not report what the president wants, but what is the truth, and for the most part that's what they do. But there has been a creation of a group that spends its time approving of what he says and makes it sound right.
Back to Congress. We need to demand that Congress do its job of safeguarding us from a grab for absolute power. Yes Congressman, yes Senator, this means you need to do your job. If you're a stumbling block to our protection, you need to go. Some folks think its funny, this president. And some folks have profited by this president. But his true goals are not our goals.
Not only has he attacked our news sources, but he has attacked our electoral process, claiming he was cheated out of a majority of the popular vote. He's claimed that millions of illegal aliens voted illegally. Nonsense! No such thing is true, but he's created questions on the part of his "base". Again, Congress has refused to act decisively. In fact, it hasn't acted at all. The President of the USA attacks his own intelligence community. The FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security. Where is the Congress? When will our Congress stand up to this autocratic grab for power?
The Congress fills that role. And it's done a pretty darn good job of it. But of late, our Congress, both the House of Representatives and the Senate, have been somewhat lax in filling that role. Somewhat? Actually our Congress has failed miserably in doing its job of stopping Pres. Trump from overstepping his authority.
See, its not just what he does, its what he says that hurts all of us. Fake News? No, our media is honest, truthful, reporting of what is said and done by our President, as they should. They should not report what the president wants, but what is the truth, and for the most part that's what they do. But there has been a creation of a group that spends its time approving of what he says and makes it sound right.
Back to Congress. We need to demand that Congress do its job of safeguarding us from a grab for absolute power. Yes Congressman, yes Senator, this means you need to do your job. If you're a stumbling block to our protection, you need to go. Some folks think its funny, this president. And some folks have profited by this president. But his true goals are not our goals.
Not only has he attacked our news sources, but he has attacked our electoral process, claiming he was cheated out of a majority of the popular vote. He's claimed that millions of illegal aliens voted illegally. Nonsense! No such thing is true, but he's created questions on the part of his "base". Again, Congress has refused to act decisively. In fact, it hasn't acted at all. The President of the USA attacks his own intelligence community. The FBI, the CIA, Homeland Security. Where is the Congress? When will our Congress stand up to this autocratic grab for power?
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