Think About it.



545 PEOPLE
By Charlie Reese

(Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.)


- Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

- Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?

- Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

- You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.

- You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

- You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.

- You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.

- You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

- One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices, 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

- Members of the Federal Reserve Board were excluded because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

- Also excluded are all of the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. It doesn't matter if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how they vote.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you / me that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

- What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

- The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.

- Who is the speaker of the House? They (in this case - She) are the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want.

If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable that a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.

When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

- If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

- If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

- If they do not pay or receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.

There are no insoluble government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame:

- to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish;

- to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject;

- to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like the 'economy,' 'inflation,' or 'politics' that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

- They, and they alone, have the power.

- They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses, provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

- We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

What you do with this article now that you have read it is up to you, though you appear to have several choices.

1. You can send this to everyone in your address book, and hope 'they' do something about it.

2. You can agree to 'vote against' everyone that is currently in office, knowing that the process will take several years.

3. You can decide to 'run for office' yourself and agree to do the job properly.

4. Lastly, you can sit back and do nothing, or re-elect the current bunch.

At least once a year those 545 people should be required to take an unannounced test on the Constitution. If they don't pass-----back to the car wash.

“I don’t tell jokes. I just watch the government and report what they are doing.” Will Rogers

545 good reasons to vote for anybody who is neither Democrat OR Republican this November.

I know I won't be wasting my vote on either party, regardless of the office. Considering the dubious recent history of both parties, a vote for either is a wasted vote, IMO.

I'm going to the polls this November, and I'll vote knowing that regardless of the outcome, I won't be held responsible for the blowhards that will represent us in D.C. -- unless, of course, the independent candidate I select is elected.

Wonder where Red Sox, SlvrHwk, ref (especially when he is old enough to know better) and the rest of the liberals are on this one?

So, what's worse...

The 'Tax & spend' Democrats

-or-

The spend money like it's going out of style, then say "Oh crap! We have to raise taxes to pay the bills!" Republicans

Six of one, half dozen of the other...

"None of the above!" - Montgomery Brewster (Brewster's Millions)

Old enough to know better? Never!

1,945 days since the current occupant declared "mission accomplished!"; and now we are going to get a third term by electing Senator McSame.

I will say this, I have never missed an election, whether national or a small local election. I may come across as a liberal (shoot first and ask questions later is not my style), but I never vote a straight party line. I do my homework, and make my decisions based on who I think will be best for me and the country. In all the presidential elections I have voted in, I have voted Republican more times than Democrat. The people who blindly vote straight party lines probably are the same people who watch the Simpsons.

quote:

Originally posted by ref:
Old enough to know better? Never!

1,945 days since the current occupant declared "mission accomplished!"; and now we are going to get a third term by electing Senator McSame.

I will say this, I have never missed an election, whether national or a small local election. I may come across as a liberal (shoot first and ask questions later is not my style), but I never vote a straight party line. I do my homework, and make my decisions based on who I think will be best for me and the country. In all the presidential elections I have voted in, I have voted Republican more times than Democrat. The people who blindly vote straight party lines probably are the same people who watch the Simpsons.

Sorry, but most of the politically slanted posts I've seen from you lean more toward liberal points of view than conservative. That meaning personal responsibility versus somebody owes me something.


It isn't about Republicans and Democrats. They have morphed into essentially one and the same. It's about the principles we as individuals stand for and what we believe in.

If more people would vote for what is right instead of voting the "lesser of 2 evils" we would be far better off.


JMHO


Oh, and the boy backing up the dad in 5-4-3-2-1

Voting Republican or Democrat IS voting the lesser of two evils...and you're wrong either way.

Just calling it the way I see it...

So having watched the Simpsons and aspiring to be Homer Simpson has caused me to vote Republican every election?! Both parties may be the lesser of two evils, but it beats having a one party system, aka Putin, Saddam, etc. Having the ability to believe in whatever principals that we desire or discuss change with what we view as needing changed is a part of what the political process represents. Can't say that I am personally pleased with the choices available but proud to belong to a country that at least gives me a choice.

So you vote a straight party ticket every time without considering pros or cons, just do it. Democracy is not based on being able to think and reason, but being able to blindly follow.

Maybe using the Simpsons was not correct, I'm old enough (according to WWCIM) I should have said the "Beverly Hill Billies"; but probably more correct would be to call anyone who votes without thinking (or doesn't vote at all) as a 'dittohead'

1,946 days

Big D -- you misunderstand...I'm not saying we need ONE party...I'm saying we need more than the two shams that are being paraded as our only choices.

I'm convinced more with each passing day that if you REALLY want change, voting for ANY member of the Democrat OR Republican party is a wasted vote. I see no evidence that would change my belief in that fact at this point.

quote:

Originally posted by ref:
So you vote a straight party ticket every time without considering pros or cons, just do it. Democracy is not based on being able to think and reason, but being able to blindly follow.

Maybe using the Simpsons was not correct, I'm old enough (according to WWCIM) I should have said the "Beverly Hill Billies"; but probably more correct would be to call anyone who votes without thinking (or doesn't vote at all) as a 'dittohead'

1,946 days

But not old enough to know that our government is not a Democracy but a Constitutional Republic.

Just keep repeating the talking points and eventually somebody will believe them.

NWI -- I will concede your point of the two shams. But I have always voted party line because of the basic principals behind each party. Making change through the party has always been the desired result, though not the actual result. And yes - ref, I have always voted blindly to the party line of less government and more power to the people vs. bigger government and more taxes. Maybe a third candidate under the heading of 'other' should be made available on the ballot? Then if 'other' wins the general election we could have a popular vote with a fill in the blank name!(Jesse Ventura?)

This is mainly for WWICM since he felt the urge to call me out. I am not going to talk politics or defend one side or the other on here. But if you want to be informed about both sides check out the following link

factcheck

This is a website that is neutral, and looks at both the good and bad of both sides. It also dispells rumors that might have surfaced.

BTW WWICM, since you seem to know me so well, drop me an email and we will talk politics, or whatever you want. I am not usually a betting man, but I doubt I will hear from you using email, you rather take personal shots at people who don't always believe in the same ideals you do. So according to the Vegas bookies ,the odds are greater that you respond to me using this thread instead of email! HAVE A GOOD DAY!

Here's where I stand on this, I've been too busy with the third addition to my family as of late....

I don't quite get the point of this post. Yes 545 people make decisions technically based off of what we want as a society. That is our representative democracy. Are these people going to make all of the decisions that we want all the time? Absolutely not. I imagine that a lot of the people on here are in leadership positions either in their family, school, business, etc. When you are in charge, do you always make decisions that everyone likes? Absolutely not. That's why some are leaders and the rest are followers. Does our government do some stupid things, like getting our country more into debt and getting involved in situations that we don't need to be a part of (not just militarily, I might add). Absolutely. The point I am trying to make is that being a politician is tougher than any of us know. You have people pulling at you from all sides and a group of people back home you are supposed to represent. You can't make everyone happy, and there is a hierarchy that does exist in our society. That hierarchy is the people that have money get to make decisions, and the people that don't have money, don't make decisions. How do we stop that? I don't know.

The two candidates that we have for President are talking about "change", that magic phrase that is supposed to make everything better. Think about all of us and when we try to make changes in our lives. Are we successful at that most of the time? The truth is no, we are not successful at making changes. We try to lose weight, are successful for a short time, then it goes back on. We try to stop smoking, we are successful for awhile, and then we try it again. Trying to change is going on the wagon and falling off of it time after time. Very few of us are successful at making a change for a long period of time unless that is your number one priority. Politicians are the same way. All parties talk about change and probably mean it. Its just that change is something that you obtain gradually and it takes effort constantly to do. Are our politicians trying to change? I think a lot of them are, but we as a society just want to see the negative and do not emphasize the positive. Some new laws get passed every year to help society, but evidently not enough. Can't make everyone happy.

There were four ideas on how to use this "545 people" knowledge, and most people will sit back and do nothing. There are a lot of people that are upset with politics in general, but they aren't running for public office, watching debates, thoroughly investigating the candidates, etc. Posts like this one are useless unless we as a society are committed to changing the status quo and making it our number one priority as a nation to get rid of lobbyists and special interest groups, electing politicians that have squeaky clean records and are wholly committed to doing what is best for America.

The thing is that this won't happen. We are too worried about "I" to do something about it.... Not many people in the U.S. are completely committed for real change. That's why I say why even argue about it then?

Voting for either party's candidate will insure that the only change we'll see this November is the face sitting behind the desk at the Oval Ofice. THAT is the only change either candidate can accurately claim they will bring to the position.

That is true. That is the only change that will definitely be brought in this election. The challenge is to have a person that is interested in changing our society as a whole and taking the small steps every single day to do that. Does anyone want to step up to the plate and do that? I don't know.

What a great discussion.

Sooners, speaking of facts, allow me to begin a series of several as we count down to election day. Let's just hope that this time all of the ballots are actually counted and not thrown away, forcing the supreme court to turn it into a selection. In any case, here goes. You can find these tidbits in books (for reading, not burning), and they are historical facts. Feel free to refute.....

As deputy of secretary of defense, Paul Wolfowitz was an architect and ardent supporter of the invasion of Iraq, claiming that Americans would be regarded as liberators and as the founders of the first Arab democarcy. He told Congress the war would pay for itself with oil. Even though this never came close to being a reality, Bush appointed him president of the World Bank in 2005, the same job LBJ gave to Robert McNamara after he served as secretary of defense during the Vietnam War.

Appears the yankee fan shouldn't bet at all.

10 days and no response.

But I suppose there might be an uproar in town if some of the "administration" was found to be "betting".

The only problem I have is that I know there are 60-70 million people going to the polls this November, and the vast majority of them are going to go in with the firm belief that it's the other guy that's the problem and their guy is the solution. The thing is...what they don't realize is that BOTH are part of the problem and NEITHER is the solution to said problem.

This once-great nation is on the fast track to disaster, and I'm not about to support either party's candidates in their efforts to keep us on that track. I just wish I could convince enough people to see this and make the intelligent choice this November, but I've accepted the fact that this is not going to happen and I'm going to, instead, focus my efforts on praying that SOMETHING is done that will turn things around.

Our nation is being run by a bunch of crooks. How much longer are we going to let the foxes guard the henhouse?