Filibusters be Damned

Just read a news article, supposedly of neutral news organization. Why is subjecting a piece of legislation to majority vote; a process that has been in effect for over 200 years, by-passing the legislature? The requirement for a super majority on all bills is a creation of this Republican party. The Democrats may have used the super majority too much, like 50 times in two years, but the Repubs are using it on everything - there are over 290 bills passed by the House most with substantial GOP votes that are awaiting a vote in the Senate and because they can't get 60 votes because the GOP Senate believes just say no is their path to election, they won't even allow an up or down vote.

Fortune and Despair

I'm so lucky. I have everything I need. I do not have to work another day in my life. I have a lovely house and good friends. I have worked for campaigns and voted in every election. I donate money to causes. I try to live my life and treat others as I would want to be treated. Yet, I despair. I heard on the radio that after 2008, young people are slipping away from the Democrats, which would be understandable, but toward the Republicans which is stunning. I could understand if it were toward Independents but R's, really? A CNN poll says the Republicans are the major cause of the gridlock, but Democrats need to do more to "compromise" to accomplish solutions. How can you compromise with a rock?

Income redistribution is a dirty word today, but for the last 30 years, the US has been redistributing income from the poor and middle class to the wealthy and no one has complained or acted to reverse it. Now any attempt is bought and sold as communism or socialism. The size of our middle class in the 50's an 60's was the envy of the world. How about now. Good jobs have been outsourced, capital has been invested in financial instruments instead of manufacturing and infrastructure. Our cities are crumbling and now our inner suburbs are too. But the only popular movement seems to be the tea partiers who have anger but a mish mash of solutions. Don't spend any more government money because we really want to have a depression rather than government spending.

I tell myself that I should quit thinking about all this and just sit back and live my life. I'm not likely to be hurt badly by any of the policies of either party so I could just quit caring what happens to other people and I would be so much more contented. I've thought about leaving the country. Going somewhere that fits my social conscience a little better and then perhaps quitting caring wouldn't be so hard. But such a drastic act is hard to take in my twilight years. Starting over in a completely unfamiliar place is daunting, especially all alone. So I sit here, thankful for my fortune and despairing of the state of our country and of civilization in general. The more we evolve, the less improvement there appears to be.

Criminal Minds Marathon

What does it say about us as a society that anyone could sit through a marathon of this show. While I have no qualms about the production value of the program, it is the content that amazes and repels me. The thought that people can sit through it weekly was enough to cause this reaction, but the idea that anyone would watch a marathon is beyond belief. The show deals with the absolute worst of criminal behavior. It worries me that someone can even make this stuff up. I hope it isn't "ripped from the headlines" because that would be the only concept that would be worse. The idea that people actually work in this field is also very disturbing for their psyche. But even if this stuff does occasionally happen is bad enough, I fear the idea of it being entertaining to the general public and worthy of a marathon says something terrible about us as a society.