"Crushed Wildflower"

Existential Insanity 

Voiceless crushed red
Wildflowers

On white gray hues
Of dirty snow

Heat of passion
Smashed in slushy

Half frozen ice
Fused illusions

© Alice Vedral Rivera – digital art and poem 2012

A Cry in the Wilderness - Stand up and take a stand!

This is a comment posted on The Lookout by ‘Bobby’ on Friday, April 15, 2011 (originally written by Charly Reese, a retired syndicated columnist many years ago) and I believe it needs to be heard again:

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and 

then campaign against them.

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

Have you ever wondered, 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 equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are 
directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the 
domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board 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.

I excluded all 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. I don't 
care 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 he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you 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? 
John Boehner. He is the leader of the majority party. He 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 to me 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 the Army & Marines are in Iraq and Afghanistan it's because they 
want them in Iraq and Afghanistan ....

If they do not 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.

Stand up and take a stand!

A Cry in the Wilderness – Enough of your games!

By being complacent, we are complicit!

We are tired of the political games being played by our elected officials.  We are tired of our elected officials putting their political parties before our best interests.  We have had enough of our elected officials selling out our interests in favor of big business in exchange for big $$$$$$ for their individual and collective coffers!

I say: ‘Off with their political heads’!!!   They should not only not be paid if they can’t represent us properly, but I vote that they should refund their salaries for the past few years for not doing their jobs! 

I am not alone in feeling this way.  Quit voting for them (on both sides of the aisle).  Vote for people without ties to the political machines and to big businesses.  Get rid of all lobbyists!  Raise a stink when the prevalent political machines use every dirty trick they can come up with to get a person voted on by us (the people) to withdraw so they can insert one of their own into the slot, re: Illinois.  Do some research and boycott the businesses that support these people.  They only understand 1 thing - $$$$.  Hit them where it hurts. 

Why do we keep voting for the same people and expecting a different result?????

We need to make our voices heard.  There are more of ‘us’ than there are of ‘them’.  Make a note of those officials that are blocking the newly voted in (without ties to political machines and big business) who are trying to do that which we voted them in to do. 

I say: ‘Shower them with love♥, but do not vote for them or their cronies in 2012 and do not buy products made or marketed by the companies that support them.’ 

Stand up and take a stand!  ♥

This is my 10¢ worth.  Feel free to add yours.

An example of the insanity gripping our nation:

http://biggovernment.com/dbroes/2010/10/22/union-fires-stage-hand-for-wearing-bush-hat-and-shirt/

I found this extremely entertaining as well as food for thought.

Andrew Klavan on the Culture

Upcoming Elections in Illinois:

Let’s stop the insanity!

My votes go to Judy Barr Topinka for comptroller

and Dan Rutherford for treasurer.

Judy has a proven record of fiscal responsibility. This is one candidate that has always put the welfare of the people of Illinois first.   

 (In her race for governor, the ‘political machine – good old boys network’ supported her because she won the primary vote but did not support her campaign against Blagojavich financially with the big bucks because they knew it would no longer be ‘same old same old’ if she became our governor – look where that got us.)

 Also endorsed by:

 Chicago Tribune - http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/editorials/ct-edit-statewide-20101011,0,6658378.story

 Chicago Sun-times - http://www.suntimes.com/news/elections/endorsements/2787528,CST-EDT-edit10a.article

Being just, fair, doing the right thing and ethical treatment of our fellow man all get thrown out the window because of greed.

The people at the top of corporations increase their own salaries and benefits while raising prices and laying-off workers – greed.

Corporations model their businesses based on greed especially public corporations that have stockholders.  Before you get all riled up at the greedy corporations, research what your pension and 401k plans invest in and you may find that ‘they’ are in fact ‘you’.

Unions, originally formed to protect the worker against greedy business owners fell prey to greed a long time ago and have been a cash cow for union leaders and representatives – again greed.

Our government officials – people who we have elected to represent our interests and who we pay with our tax dollars – raise their own salaries and cut essential services – greed.

Everyone points the finger at the other guy. 

Insurance companies have been complaining for years that the reason premiums are so high is because of lawyers.  They have to defend themselves from all these law suits and it is expensive.  But what do they do if you don’t have a lawyer represent you; do they offer a fair settlement?  No.  They want to pay out the least amount of money they can.  They encourage their employees to use tactics that will confuse, delay, distract, etc. and then they screw you.  Most of us are not lawyers or insurance agents or claim reps and we don’t know how the system works and without someone who does, we are sitting ducks.

Greed.

Our country is in the mess it is in because of greed.

The world is in the mess it is in because of greed. 

In the face of all this, I refuse to be greedy but I will fight for what I feel is right and fair. 

I know I am not alone.