Are You Living Up To Your Responsibility?

I think one of the best tests of how well our system is working becomes very evident during this period before election day. We are being flooded with the usual political rhetoric and this year more  nasty accusations than I can remember. In fact we need to stock up on towels, soap, and make sure our water bills are paid because of all the showers we will need over the next couple of weeks.
Up till now, it seems to me, most of us have been simply tuning all of this out just as we have for previous elections. I can think of no other reason for the election of most of the people who purport to represent us in government. We couldn't have been paying attention for this to happen. Remember this our country and no one deserves our vote, they should have to earn it! It would seem to me, most of the people in office would be hard-pressed to make the kind of living afforded them in government in the private sector. If you were really to take a hard look at the people representing you, would you say they had earned your vote! If so, you should certainly vote for them again. If not, they need to be replaced regardless if they are a member of a specific political party or labor union.
If you listen to any of the news or talk shows you will hear that this is a democratic or republican district. This area leans liberal or conservative. This is a red state or a blue state. You will NEVER hear this is the people's seat even though this is exactly what the Founders intended!
How do we decide who we should honor with our vote? First of all we have to pay attention to what is being said as painful as that may be. We have to sift through all of the rhetoric, political speak, and what the people want. Statements like "I will work to create more jobs"; "I will fight for you"; "we need to invest in education, clean energy, and the environment"; and "mainstream America" have been a part of numerous election campaigns and they are still being used in this year's speeches yet nothing is done. Could it be that doing anything, including "fixing Social Security", would simply remove a talking point for the next election?
When the pollsters and the pundits tell the handlers of our erstwhile politician his or her bloviating is not working the nastiness really comes forward. Nothing brings out the knives better than the fear of losing one's place at the trough! Most of these exposes` shouldn't believed, especially those from "unnamed sources".
We have to sort through all the smokescreens put up by political parties, unions, special interest groups, or especially those all knowing talking heads. The person you elect should represent you and only you. None of those entities have your interests at heart, only their own. We have to listen for the person with ideas and solutions, not talking points provided by handlers or political parties.
You may hear your choice may not be able to win. So be it, the Founding Fathers expected you to select the person best able to represent you not the Republican or Democratic parties! They knew this was the only way this system would work. If enough of us keep selecting the candidate who brings actual ideas and offers specific solutions to our problems some will  win and we we will begin to take back our Country. We didn't lose it overnight and we won't get it back in only one election.
If your yard or garden is overrun by weeds it will take more than one treatment to fix. Your vote is the treatment, use it wisely as it is the responsibility you must accept for the priviledge of living in this Country.

Which Pocket

It's election time again and we are subjected to the all-to-familiar debate about who should pay the bills for all those services we demand-Local, State, or Federal Government.
We have let politicians, who are only interested in their own re-election, convince us that federal money is different from state money is different than local money. In truth, the only difference is which of our pockets they pick. Government, at any level, does not generate a dime on their own! Yet these politicians constantly refer to the money they "invest" on our behalf as if it were their own and they were spending it on us out of "the goodness of their hearts".
The incumbents continually tell us about the money they bring back to their districts each year. If someone in the press would only report the truth, we would find we, in fact, usually pay in far more than we get back!
They tell us that seniority means power and power means more benefits for you the constituent. What someone should be saying is power means a better chance to get re-elected and we all know that means more traffic from our pockets to their pockets. Do a Google search and find out how much the net worth of your representative has grown since he or she went to the capitol to "represent" you.
How many times have you heard one of these "blowhards" say "I have dedicated my life to public service"? I think the Founding Fathers would have defined public service as a term or two in service to their community and then a return to that community which would be represented by some one else. Instead their vision has become a money trough and a path to wealth and perks beyond belief.
If the Founders "crystal ball" had been working they would have surely added term limits to the Constitution!