Send out the clowns

This month’s Ps & Qs was written by my friend Skip Bell, and I think whether you align yourself with Democrats or Republicans, Socialists or Capitalists, or worse yet— Idealists; whether you lean in to the conservative curve or you are a straight-laced liberal, I think we can all agree that the People have lost our representation. That "Our democracy, with faux debates between two corporate parties, is meaningless political theater." – Chris Hedges

Send out the clowns

by Skip Bell

This Congress is making a mockery of our system of government.  Democrat, Republican, Tea Party or Independent, they hold us hostage to their purposes while they continue to receive their overblown salaries, health-care and benefits.  In the midst of our country's recovery from the economic downturn, they decide to shut down the government and throw everything into reverse.  Colorado towns, crippled by floods, can't do business because the attractions that could bring tourists to their areas are closed.  Federal employees can't buy food for their families or pay their bills.  Thousands of people out of work and our Congress can't put aside their political differences and make it work.  The rest of the world laughs at us; and the fools in Washington don't care, because their golden parachutes are in place and when they don't get re-elected, or they resign, they can go to work for big business as a lobbyist.  I want legislators to create laws FOR THE PEOPLE that they represent, not for themselves.  They have placed themselves above us and I don't believe that the Founding Fathers planned it that way.  Our Country was founded in revolution and I think it's time for another one; at the ballot box.  Send them all home.  My only regret is that we will still have to pay them.

I'm sure everyone noticed how quickly our Congress pulled their heads in and did the right thing by funding death benefits for families of our military who were recently killed in action.  The reason was that so many people voiced their outrage.  I believe we need to keep that pressure up on all fronts.  Shutting down the government is nothing short of treason.

Do we need to cut back on government expenditures; yes we do.  Let's start by keeping our President in Washington, where he belongs.  How much money has been wasted, sending him and his family all over the world to vacation at our expense?  We have every form of modern communication in the world.  Make a phone call.  Congressional junkets and fact-finding tours; we have ambassadors everywhere.  Make a phone call.  We spend trillions of dollars arming unfriendly nations only to have those weapons turned against our troops.  YOU CAN'T BUY FRIENDS.  I'm all for humanitarian aid, but gun money would go a long way toward solving our own country's problems.

"Charity begins at home."  Our schools are a disaster.  Teachers are underpaid, students are uninspired and facilities are in disrepair.  Every year it seems, they shorten the school year by another day or two.  Kids can't wait to emulate movie stars and professional athletes with their gold chains and diamond earrings.  Where are we going?  The United States is 18th in world educational rankings.  College and university students buy their way through school.  MBA candidates are taught every sleazy way to do business, from how to beat the tax man to how to choke the most work out of their employees for the least amount of money.

The top 1% owns this country and we keep electing the politicians who do their bidding.  I reread the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution and Lincoln's Gettysburg Address in which Lincoln referred to a government "OF THE PEOPLE, BY THE PEOPLE and FOR THE PEOPLE".  Nowhere did I find the names of the Koch brothers, John Boehner, Mitch McConnell, Harry Reid, Ted Cruz or Barack Obama.  This is OUR Country; those men and women in Congress are OUR employees.  It's time we fired all of them. 

And now they come riding to the rescue at the last minute, reaching an accord that brings OUR country back from the brink of disaster, patting themselves on the backs and congratulating themselves for their selfless act of putting partisanship aside for the good of the country; and it's probably going to happen again in a few months.  Who's going to be responsible for the billions and billions of dollars that their ridiculous actions have cost so many citizens and OUR country? 

I read an article in the paper that stated how Senator Scott Tipton put aside his Tea Party beliefs to vote in favor of making a deal to save the economy; REALLY.  Such a hero.  My message here is that we need to register every eligible voter and send them to the polls.  Cast a ballot for our country, not for the best looking, smoothest talker.