Why does Washington submit bills containing portions of law and spending that are irrelevant to the purpose of the bill? How does this happen? I would love to get control of our politicians' credit cards and use them in this fashion! I'm going to purchase office equipment, but in the fine print I'll be getting myself a new Porsche. I wonder if they'd like being stuck with that bill for "office equipment"?
Why does it seem that by and large We The People do not factor into Washington's decisions and actions? When the two sides of the aisle take a break from slinging mud at each other, the only legislation that seems to get through seems irrelevant to the masses and only beneficial to special interests/corporations/the politicians themselves...
Obviously becoming a politician at the National level is not only a popularity contest, but has come down to who can pay the most for the position (which requires backing from special interests, corporations; who are now entities yikes, and other even more nefarious sources). Unfortunately, it is starting to trickle down to the State level also.
Here are my two creativde ideas for solving this problem:
1. Let's see if the average Joe can make the political system work. Instead of electing our officials (which now takes millions of dollars to become), we should create a system similar to Jury Duty. Every legal U.S. Citizen who meets a certain predefined minimum qualifications would be placed in a pool. Every 2-4 years a drawing is done to determine our representatives. I bet my neighbor Joe would be more likely to pass meaningful legislation that benefits We The People than the current polishes slick-tongued, corporate-sponsored (aka special interest) politicians.
2. Let's just go all in on Infotainment! Let's make being a politician a reality TV show. We could have cameras follow each representative around 24/7 documenting every conversation, meeting, deal, vote, indiscretion, etc. This could be a live stream so we can collectively "police" our politicians for a small fee. Then there would be a weekly show highlighting the best (worst) clips. Let's see what REALLY goes on behind closed doors! While we are at it, we could throw in some capital punishment for certain offenses (like doing the bidding of special interests). Can you imagine what the advertisers would pay for a spot? Oh yeah, we could use the proceeds to pay down our National Debt!!
Do you have a better idea? I'd love to hear it.
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
For The Cure
The Susan G. Komen Foundation ("Komen") thinks it owns the phrase "for the cure." It is spending millions to stop everyone else from using it.
Excuse me, they did not coin that phrase! I believe that phrase existed and was widely used before Komen! Just because they started using it and their cause got big doesn't mean they should OWN those words and prevent others from using them.
Although breast cancer is a terrible disease that we should all help fight, it is not the only disease out there that sponsors events "For The Cure". They should only be allowed to own that phrase when used in conjunction with the foundation name.
It's a really sad state of affairs when a large, well-known non-profit starts behaving like a greedy irresponsible corporation. Oh, they'll say it's to prevent confusion on the part of donors. Really? Are your donors that stupid that just because they saw "For The Cure" in a name they assumed it was Komen? Give me a friggin' break! Watch out....they're coming after the color pink next!
Good thing corporations can't trademark our names. Can you imagine having to pay a royalty every time you say your child's name? I bet corporations would leave corpses in their wake getting to the patent office to patent the term "oh God" if they could. They'd be richer than "God" off the royalties just from sex alone.
Pretty soon I'll need to run a copyright search on every word in every blog! I guess "Free" Speech will go away one way or another!
Excuse me, they did not coin that phrase! I believe that phrase existed and was widely used before Komen! Just because they started using it and their cause got big doesn't mean they should OWN those words and prevent others from using them.
Although breast cancer is a terrible disease that we should all help fight, it is not the only disease out there that sponsors events "For The Cure". They should only be allowed to own that phrase when used in conjunction with the foundation name.
It's a really sad state of affairs when a large, well-known non-profit starts behaving like a greedy irresponsible corporation. Oh, they'll say it's to prevent confusion on the part of donors. Really? Are your donors that stupid that just because they saw "For The Cure" in a name they assumed it was Komen? Give me a friggin' break! Watch out....they're coming after the color pink next!
Good thing corporations can't trademark our names. Can you imagine having to pay a royalty every time you say your child's name? I bet corporations would leave corpses in their wake getting to the patent office to patent the term "oh God" if they could. They'd be richer than "God" off the royalties just from sex alone.
Pretty soon I'll need to run a copyright search on every word in every blog! I guess "Free" Speech will go away one way or another!
Sunday, January 23, 2011
When Did It Really Go Wrong?
I woke up this morning in a haze (after completing a 580 mile road trip at 2 this morning) and flipped on my television. There was some local Sunday morning political talk show on. I don't recall the channel or program or even the name of the host or guest (remember I was in a haze). I do recall the representative was a Republican from Colorado.
He kept stating that the people (I assume he meant you and me) have become angry over the last two years. Every chance he got, he mentioned the last two years as when "we the people" became angry. I have noticed the Republican party as a whole seems to be doing this. I guess we are just supposed to forget about the 8+ years previous to that since everything up until two years ago was peachy keen.
I'm a little concerned that our leaders (not just the Republicans) play it pretty fast and loose with the finger-pointing, blaming and facts. Anything that goes wrong is quickly propagandized by spin doctors and thrown at the other party like a grenade.
When and how did this type of behavior not only become acceptable but the de facto method of "debate" by our leaders? Our Leaders? Aren't Leaders supposed to set the example? Should we be teaching our children this method of dispute resolution?
Either politicians took their cue from the playground, or the playground has taken its' cue from politics. Because apparently whomever is the meanest, nastiest liar on the "playground" wins. In Grade school we just called them BULLIES!
Why has Washington turned into a pack of bullies? Why do we let them keep getting away with it?
He kept stating that the people (I assume he meant you and me) have become angry over the last two years. Every chance he got, he mentioned the last two years as when "we the people" became angry. I have noticed the Republican party as a whole seems to be doing this. I guess we are just supposed to forget about the 8+ years previous to that since everything up until two years ago was peachy keen.
I'm a little concerned that our leaders (not just the Republicans) play it pretty fast and loose with the finger-pointing, blaming and facts. Anything that goes wrong is quickly propagandized by spin doctors and thrown at the other party like a grenade.
When and how did this type of behavior not only become acceptable but the de facto method of "debate" by our leaders? Our Leaders? Aren't Leaders supposed to set the example? Should we be teaching our children this method of dispute resolution?
Either politicians took their cue from the playground, or the playground has taken its' cue from politics. Because apparently whomever is the meanest, nastiest liar on the "playground" wins. In Grade school we just called them BULLIES!
Why has Washington turned into a pack of bullies? Why do we let them keep getting away with it?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
