Ruminations on Obfuscations

Kevin,

I look forward to the conclusion of the dancing with wolves, no, no, dancing in Japan story... Good luck my man. You are such a better Dad than I was. My response would have been just a little different to my daughter Debbie.

"No way in hell!!! Let that little SOB (understand, I did not like any of the boys in her high school) find some bambi eyed, slow learning orphan from the USA to dance with. After you graduate from college, you can do what you want."

Now that I think about it, I remember a similar request to a "party school" called Julliard being discussed with Deb. That was my Japan. Hmmmm. Oh well, that's what you get for jumping into the lake outside of town at 18. You just don't want your kids to experience the tribulations of physical pain, emotional pain and "dream drain" of a not so nice world. Was it just Viet Nam? No, there were other things the very young and unprotected may not be ready for. I was not.

Now for Tracy. Is he an unhappy man or just an instigator? I have been involved in politics my adult life due to my profession in a totally regulated industry. I learned within two elections that the difference between the two parties is very slim in actuality but far apart emotionally. They both play the emotional strings of our hearts so our minds do not understand the music. I have watched very bright people in the business world, higher education, medical profession and of course law become, well, idiots when they discuss politics.

While these well educated and well meaning people were "ranting" like Tracy, the elected officials of both parties and duplicate professions just smiled and patted each other on the back for a job well done. There goal is to keep confusion at the forefront and facts behind their oak doors away from us.

The media adds to this horrible situation because they lack experience in any business or profession except their own. Which to be honest is not represented by over 95% of the population. Blue collar, white collar or no collar workers have never related to newspaper reporting or reporters because each of us have a personal experience where a media report was simply not true.

A friend or family member was harmed publicly because some "reporter" failed to gather facts and the editor made a headline to sell advertising. The old adage of those who can do and those that can't teach. I think this also applies to media reporters who simply could not make a living in a profession requiring the ability to deal with detail and facts.

Money is not the driving force for media because they are one of the lowest paid workers in the world. But I suggest to you that it is also one of the lowest stress jobs as well. Writing to sell newspapers, writing to tell stories, not finding the truth, is their calling. People like to read about the unusual things in life as the usual things are boring. They also like to see if someone else is in worse shape than they are.

Politicians know the above paragraph all too well.

I no longer get emotional about any State of the Union speech because it is just a statement of what one political party feels will get the heart strings twanging to a slightly different tune than we heard last year. Both parties like to change the music because that will allow another new bill to be passed so they can add on a "key amendment" so some local district can once again gain federal dollars for some project less than 1% of us can use. These elected officials (state and federal) like to pass each other’s bills so they can add the amendments which are usually allowed through "negotiations" or "compromise" or whatever else you want to call blackmail.

Our forefathers had something else in mind. They would have gone crazy about how we run our government today. Our first century in the USA was one of best times in world history as it relates to the "people governing" a country, state, county or city. Elected officials were not full time in the House or Senate. They went home to work their fields, factory's, newspapers or other professions. They went home to listen to their neighbors. They went home to insure the next session of the legislative process was one of debate on facts of what the people really needed, back home.

Was it perfect? Of course not. It did, however, keep the elected official focused on the people and the people focused on facts. There was little time for emotional lobs via the media because few people could read the printed word but they could read a persons character and life style because they lived among the masses most of the year. Is there any going back to those “simpler times”? No. Will any of this change? Not likely.

So Tracy, go back and listen to Clinton, Bush I, Reagan, Carter, Nixon, Johnson and of course my man Kennedy, and see what they said each year to make our heart strings twang. Look out at the chamber and see each Senator and Representative take a note to insure he or she can add some little bit of a pork barrel amendment to the current leader of the pack. I don't even read the newspaper the day after a State of the Union speech because each side of the aisle will have a supporting statement or negative statement while simply setting the stage for their pet amendment.

Last night [the night of The State of the Union address] was a little more humorous for me as our Governor gave the Democratic rebuttal. How interesting that Governor Locke [of Washington State] criticized the President's economic plan while the state of Washington is going through its most difficult budget time in three decades. Locke has been in office over six years and has been a reluctant politician to address the issues of transportation and tax structure that drove Boeing out of the state. His own party is now critical of his inability to lead. Something about casting the first stone comes to mind.

Oh well, I enjoyed this issue of Kevin's rants. Tell Tracy to calm down just a bit and enjoy life. Tell Emily to not drive in the streets of Tokyo and walk whenever possible. It's safer and may keep her dancing legs in shape.