My Top 10 List Things Washington Has Forgot

Oh no he didn't!.... I finally got so fed up with the way things work in Washington that I have devised my own top 10 list. Read carefully and remember it is my list...If you want one go make your own. I wouldn't mind knowing what yours would look like. If you decide to make one you may comment here or on your blog and link back to me with a comment. It would be interesting to see what others think.

Well, here we go.....

• (10) From the presidents oath of office..."I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."
  No where does it state that those powers extend beyond our borders.



• (9) The President shall be Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, and of the Militia of the several States, when called into the actual Service of the United States; he may require the Opinion, in writing, of the principal Officer in each of the executive Departments, upon any Subject relating to the Duties of their respective Offices, and he shall have Power to grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment...
  He may manage the personnel and their job description. He may get from congress the authority to deploy on RARE occasion.



• (8) The president shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur; and he shall nominate, and by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, shall appoint Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, Judges of the supreme Court, and all other Officers of the United States, whose Appointments are not herein otherwise provided for, and which shall be established by Law: but the Congress may by Law vest the Appointment of such inferior Officers, as they think proper, in the President alone, in the Courts of Law, or in the Heads of Departments.
  He can't take the power and then ask. He must ask first and it must be by their advice not against it. In other words he can't do anything unless the Senate says he can.



• (7) That congress is impotent to do anything unless elected to do so. Such election is by the people they want to represent.
  Unions, Political think tanks, Corporations, TV reporters, Newspapers, Glamour Rags, the United Nations and, Political Action Committees, (though run by people) do not qualify!



• (6) It is not a right to serve. It is a pleasure and it is at OUR pleasure that they do.
  'Nuff said?... alright then.



• (5) Rush Limbaugh believes so little in the values he purports that he rarely takes time to vote.
  Do you really believe he should be the front man for conservative thought?



• (4) Political Parties should be something you attend, at your leisure, not something you attend to, as in "I got your back".
  Try something our forefathers used in designing the constitution.... Free thinking! It'll be less expensive for all of us.



• (3) If it walks like a lobbyist, Talks like a lobbyist, and offers money like a lobbyist....regardless of what they might say, it IS a lobbyist.
  While I want you to work for full employment, it's okay for this job to go away....give us back our country!



• (2) Please rediscover your moral compass.
  Set it on "God-Country-Family" and let it be. Religion guides us to lead moral lives; patriotism gives us a feeling of national unity; and our families are a home base - we can always count on them when in trouble.



• (1) Remember your mission statement! A Government of the people, for the people and by the people.
  All of them, not just your cousin Jake downstate, your "mam maw down in alabamaw" or the Political Action Committee you purchased your seat from. (I wonder if that's where the NFL got the idea for "personal seat licenses"?)

These are, after all, the musings of a mind that wanders.

The Coming Economic 9/11

I found this interesting ...and frightening.

“In 2008, we’re going to see some major, giant
financial firms fall as they get hit by an economic 9/11.”
- Gerald Celente, The Trends Journal

He goes on to say:

"And what do we have to save the Ship of State from sinking? Well, look ahead – that’s what we do as trend forecasters. We have a know-nothing President and a do-nothing Congress and want-to-be people in waiting that lack the intelligence, integrity, the competence, credentials, character and courage to do what a wise leader would do in times when the ship is sinking. So, we’re saying, it is going down! There is nothing to save it."

The truth is:

we, as individuals, are most responsible for the pending crisis. We have allowed big business to convince us we need to be more available, more productive, more upwardly mobile. We need to buy more things so that big business can make bigger profits. We no longer do business with the local meat cutter, grocery store, department store, service station or banker. We, instead, allow people we don't know and probably shouldn't trust convince us that bigger is better. We no longer measure success by how we performed, rather, by how much our performance made for the company. In a heartbeat, we went from a caring community to one that moves you in and out of the door as quickly as possible after spending as much as possible.

We don't even understand what we've lost. Most of us grew up never knowing the level of service and connection that come from small "mom and pop" drug stores or butcher shops. We have sold our future, and with it that of our children's, down the drain for a quick stop at the big box store with products made by "American" companies and Chinese or Mexican workers. It appears the most American made vehicle today is the Honda. These "American" companies threw you out with the bath water not only in terms of economic viability. Your safety and that of your children's were traded away for as little as a penny to companies in countries where things like lead poisoning and chemical additives are just matter of reducing population. They have no regard for you or your heath. They simply want to sell you as much as they can for as much as you'll pay and not have to deal with the real " inconvenient truth". That being....their pockets are more important than your health and welfare. They don't exist to produce anything that adds value to the American way of life. They want only to find ways to convince you that they are necessary and you can't live without them. They have taken our jobs and sent them overseas so they bring back what once was produced here and take your money. They even use our system of providing health care to those who are unable (and in some cases unwilling) to work as a primary piece of their medical package.

Do yourself a favor. Take three months. Find a local barber, butcher, farmer, grocer, service station and banker. All "mom and pops". Give them your business and see what happens. Then think back to the last time you went to a Walmart, Target, Kmart, Sears or any of the big nationals and ask yourself; Whens the last time they greeted you by name and welcomed you and cared enough to know what you usually purchase, asked how the family was and offered some assistance during hard times. That's the American dream. We didn't lose it. We sold it to corporate America for a few pennies and and a little convenience.

These are, after all, the musings of a mind that wanders.

Glass Houses???

I am and always have leaned toward the Democratic party. Partly because I was raised that way. Partly because I didn't feel that republicans were interested in anything but themselves. But mostly because my heart says it is right. Democrat's have always been the party of the people. The party of Jimmy Carter. I know ...I know.. most think Jimmy Carter was the worst President we have ever had. I disagree... No I strenuously disagree.


I liked who we were when Jimmy Carter was President. I liked who we became when Jimmy Carter was President. We were a caring, inspired, kind people. We were good neighbors. We were peacekeepers. We defended the down-trodden and sought to identify values ...American values and implemented them at home. That was democracy and that was the Democratic party I respected. The problem is we have turned away from what made the Democratic party great. We have listened to the likes of Rush Limbaugh who believes he can define the Democratic Party for us.

I am no fan of George Bush. I believe he and Dick Cheney are liars. In my opinion, they have used the Office of the President to promote their own personal agendas tied to oil, personal profit, and revenge. And I don't like the country we have become through their leadership. We are neither caring nor kind. We are stuck in the grip of a party who clearly views the word as their sandbox and manipulates countries like sandbox toys. It is disconcerting that in the eyes of many around the world, we have become that which we have fought against for so long. It is this President, and his cabinet, which brought us to this point. Regarded as foe not friend, and conqueror not liberator, aggressor not defender.

All that being said, it is this which most disgust me:

Moveon.org on General Petraeus

I have come to expect poor behavior and double standards from republican politics. They are the party of the closed mind after all. But I did not expect it from the party to which I most identify. To rail against a report before you've heard it, call names of the people who are honestly trying to change the course of events and bring honesty back to the table, and argue a counterpoint before a point has actually been made is dishonest, unconscionable, reckless, unpresidential and really does "require the willing suspension of disbelief".

This not the democratic party of the people and I am left wondering in whom I can believe. It seems to me someone is living in Glass Houses. I suggest they put down the rock.

This is, after all, the musings of a mind that wanders.