Something Creative » politics

Politics: A Rant

Nil17 — Wed, 25 May 2011 16:47:00 +0000

Today is May 25, 2011… There are 531 days until the November election in 2012. I’m already so sick of hearing about it that I’m tempted to delete anybody from my online life that talks about it.

The Republicans don’t like anybody from the Democrats. The Democrats detest anyone who is conservative. Then there is the in party fighting…

The candidates barely announce their intention to run before they are cannabalized by their own so-called supporters. Frankly it sickens me. I understand the need to be critical of the next leader of our country; whether it be our current president gaining a second term or a new face. We need the best person for the job. I think everybody can agree that there’s a lot wrong in our country and our government as a whole bears the responsibility.

However, I really don’t think that it is productive to look at a potential candidate and poke fun at how “exciting” he may or may not be. (See Exciting Things About Tim Pawlenty ).

Now I’m not endorsing Mr. Pawlenty (or anybody else for that matter). Rather I want the focus to be on what can be done NOW for the many people who have suffered devastating losses due to natural disasters. We have seen cities flattened, counties flooded and people left with nothing. Meanwhile the main focus on the news seems to be the latest Presidential faux pas in Britain & the retirement of Oprah.

I feel frustrated at the disconnect I see between what happens in our everyday lives while our government is concerned with random shit. I don’t care if a candidate is exciting or comes from an exciting state…I care what practical ideas they have to fix what’s wrong: high unemployment, higher fuel prices, communities trying to rebuild…

So excuse me while I skip the crazed early days of 9,000 candidates. I’m looking for a little less excitement & a hell of a lot of substance.

So much for the constituents.

Nil17 — Sat, 21 Feb 2009 01:23:55 +0000

Here is a copy of a the response I received from Congressman Oberstar. I had written an email letting him know how I feel about the stimulus bill. The gist of my email was that rushing in a bill that nobody had a chance to examine in fine detail was a mistake. I asked the Congressman to make sure that this bill wasn’t rushed through & to take a stand for Minnesotans. I have to admit I wasn’t terribly hopeful since Mr. Oberstar is a Democrat & votes like one with the exception of abortion. However, the response I got was very irritating. Since I received the email more jobs have been lost here in my area of Minnesota & there doesn’t seem to be an end in sight. February 18, 2009 Mrs. Minnesota Dear Mrs.: Thank you for sharing with me your opposition to the economic recovery legislation. I appreciate hearing from you. Respectfully, I disagree. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law by President Obama on February 17, will create and save over 3 million jobs and addresses the economic crisis through $789 billion of investments in infrastructure, education, and other important domestic priorities; and will provide tax relief, including a tax cut for 95 percent of working Americans. The legislation includes requirements that spending is targeted at ready-to-go projects, contains no earmarks, and contains unprecedented transparency, oversight, and accountability measures. A detailed list of the spending and tax provisions can be found at the following link: http://www.speaker.gov/newsroom/legislation?id=0273 Additionally, you can track how the money is being spent at http://www.recovery.gov. I understand your concerns but, frankly, we desperately need to put people to work and get our economy moving again. With best wishes. Sincerely, James L. Oberstar, M.C I fully intend to respond to Mr. Oberstar since I don’t believe I read the same bill that he read…I mean didn’t get a chance to read but voted for anyway. This idea of transparency must be something besides the official definition. As for putting people back to work…well, until the local business aren’t shuttering their doors ‘cuz they can’t pay the taxes & my husband can find a job I don’t believe this “stimulus” bill will do anything to help this country!

Leave me alone!!

Nil17 — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 20:46:55 +0000

I don’t write about politics as such on here. This is my creative outlet & a place to take what’s going on in my life to the outside world. Lately though I’ve felt the need to rant & rage at the dying of my freedom. The stimulus bill that POTUS is supposed to be signing sometime in the near future is a disaster. Nobody read it before the vote. There was no way they could. Many things that had been taken out were snuck back in to the horror of thinking people every where. The language used is such as to make a student of English cringe with fright & dismay. Many others have blogged about it in detail so I don’t feel I need to do that here. Just go ahead & Google the topic, you’ll find many articles out there that you can read. Universal health care language made it into the stimulus. I might not have any healthcare now but by goodness I do not want the federal gov’t telling me who, when, where & how I’ll see a doctor. Plus the healthcare thing is supposed to help those of us that can’t afford it right? I guarantee that people who are now paying premiums would suddenly be all, “Well he/she/they don’t pay so why should I? I want my free checkup/meds/boob job too”. What about those of us who had healthcare, lost a job (or the spouse did) and are currently without healthcare but will have it again in the future? We’re so consumed with redistributing things in this country that it’s way beyond the pale. I’m not putting my healthcare costs on anybody else right now. In fact I’m 100% sure I need to have my gallbladder removed but since I can’t afford it I’m just dealing with it every day. I don’t want the gov’t to take care of me. My gracious look at how well they take care of the men & women who have fought for this country. I’m just a simple girl living in the country….I’ve got no chance of having anything decent if our troops are getting the short end of the stick! What I want, nay what I DEMAND is that the gov’t go back into it’s little hidey-hole and be quiet. I want to be able to take advantage of the fact that I live in the greatest country on earth. I want to be able to start a small business in my local community & use sustainable practices to make that company flourish. I want to provide a quality product that has some of my sweat, blood & even tears in it because I know the person purchasing it will appreciate that I made something with my own two hands (or rather that Hubby did so & I was there to support him every step of the way)! So listen up Washington. We the people are sick to death of you treading on us! Sit down, shut up & let me go about my business. When I want more problems, complications or just plain stupidity I’ll be sure to pick up the phone. PS…Read these fine people to get a clear view of where this all started for me today. PinkElephantPundit StephenKruiser —this post is actually a whole other post but he says it so much better than I could. PPS. Please do what our officials in Washington did not. Read the stimulus bill so you are prepared for what is coming. ReadtheStimulus

Anybody Can Grow Up to be President: A Fishy Tale of How Campaigns Are Built

Nil17 — Sun, 11 Jan 2009 20:32:12 +0000

As an obsessive user of Twitter (when left to my own devices…Hubby went camping) I spent many hours following conversations & participating in one which could lead to the election of a very different administration in 2012. Rather than explain the events I shall let you my dear reader witness history in action. (A quick side note: I am not editing these for spelling, grammar or punctuation. It does drive me crazy but what can I do…this is how it REALLY happened.) Morticia626: Since PETA wants fish renamed sea kittens… TerenceSmelser: @Morticia626 ok, I’ll bite, what’s a sea kitten? otter? Morticia626: @TerenceSmelser PETA wants fish to be called sea kittens,so people stop eating them. I’m not kidding TerenceSmelser: @Morticia626 LOL still fish, still food. a shame that people (term used loosely) like PETA cant direct that energy to something that matters. Morticia626: @TerenceSmelser but they’ve given us so much entertainment. TerenceSmelser: @Morticia626 true enough. Hope one never steps between me and a bucket full of crab legs. WTF do these idiots want us to eat? At this point I had to join the conversation. I like animals…I have dogs & they are a part of my family. I don’t believe in torturing animals for any purpose. However, I do believe in eating some of them. I nice big steak, grilled to perfection with a glass of good wine is an exquisite experience. As far as I’m concerned if God didn’t want us to eat the animals he would have given them better defenses & made them less tasty. You don’t hear a lot about the eating of the more vicious animals. Besides renaming an entire genus & species of animals is beyond absurd. Don’t these PETA people realize that cats eat fish?! nil17: @TerenceSmelser unfortunately soy anything and vegetables. Until they start to attribute feelings to those too. Morticia626: @TerenceSmelser beans,sprouts,tofu…who knows. They’re nuts. Morticia626: @nil17 I know I’ve heard green beans scream while I was picking them. *son* it’s hard to think about nil17: @Morticia626 I know and all those eyes on the potatoes looking at me…It makes me uncomfortable. TerenceSmelser: @nil17 @Morticia626 do they? I likes me veggies but a big slab of dead cow now thats a meal Perhaps they should assist those that NEED food Morticia626: @TerenceSmelser mmmmm dead cow! I also enjoy dead sheep and pig. Cooked of course. @nil17 y don’t potatoes have rights? I’m pretty sure they registered and voted this year TerenceSmelser: @Morticia626 some voted twice… well ok, they were as smart as potatos Morticia626: @nil17 @TerenceSmelser maybe next time the sea kittens can vote. Or run for pres as a democrat I’ll skip ahead here a bit as we cast aspersions at various members of the incoming administration and many other people…it’s boring & you can use your imagination to fill the gaps. (here’s a small sample: nil17: @Morticia626 maybe that’s where all the votes for Franken came from) nil17: @Morticia626 @TerenceSmelser it can be a whole ticket : Sea Kitten/Potato 2012 TerenceSmelser: @Morticia626 @nil17 #Sea Kitten/Potato 2012 nil17: @Morticia626 @TerenceSmelser I wonder if they’d run on a cedar plank platform with dipping sauce…mmmm fish & chips. TerenceSmelser: @nil17 Malt vinager for Chief of Staff? nil17: @TerenceSmelser yes and Tall Beer for Sec of State. TerenceSmelser: @nil17 ok, now thats a party i can get behind! nil17: @TerenceSmelser LOL Tater Salad as the Sec of Defense. TerenceSmelser: @nil17 or chief justice So now you can see how it all starts. A small group of people decide to back a candidate & they spread the word (#Sea Kitten/Potato 2012). Soon there are fundraising dinners (obviously we’ll just serve air & water…can’t offend the base constituents by serving meat or veggies), campaign signs and speeches. (“We are here today to move in a new direction. A direction where there are no boundaries, anyone can accomplish anything and equal rights for all inanimate objects…”). Aren’t you anxious to get involved & help with this grassroots effort?

The Arsenal of Impossibility

Nil17 — Thu, 16 Oct 2008 20:29:32 +0000

I’ve decided that I should become an evil genius with designs on world domination. Of course I’m not looking to walk in the footsteps of the “Axis of Evil” by any means. I’ve decided that this bid for ultimate power will be hallmarked by unusual, impossible WMD’s. My brother TJ gave me the idea when we discussed the proliferation of people with miniaturized natural wonders lingering in their backyards. He said that the next logical step would be to make miniature natural disasters. This discussion gave birth to the idea of a pocket-quake. A small, pocket-sized earthquake that could be placed anywhere you might want to cause small scale devastation. For example, the neighbors dog keeps coming over into your yard to do its business. Place a small pocket-quake in the dog’s favorite spot & set it off at the right time. I guarantee the dog doesn’t come back. My second weapon came about after a run-in with current women’s fashion. In shopping for dress pants I discovered that the current trend of wide leg pants allows for way more room that I really need for my ankles. I believe that I could hide a ninja midget or twelve up each pant leg. Having a group of highly trained group of fighters & assassins is very important. Of course since I want to appear as harmless as possible what better place to keep a crack team of ninjas than up a pants leg. Plus there’s the benefit of a workout since carrying a group of ninja midgets would have to be great exercise. I also decided that adding a Frisbee size sinkhole to my “arsenal of impossibility” would be advantageous. Imagine if you will the ways this could come in handy. Need to clear some land for redevelopment. Toss out a few sinkholes & let nature do the rest. Then just pick up the sinkhole a la Bugs Bunny & things are all cleaned up. Have an enemy you are stalking but have been unable to catch? Toss a sinkhole in front of them on the street & just like that they are your captive. Pick up the sinkhole & stroll back to your secret hideout. Of course with the ability to wreck small scale destruction an evil genius also needs the ability to hide the destruction. What better way to manage this than with the microscopic black holes created with the Large Hadron supercollider at CERN. It’s the perfect solution for both parties. CERN wouldn’t have to worry about what to do with the black holes they are creating in the Large Hadron supercollider & I would have a way to clean up my crimes. Done with torturing a spy? Flick a black hole at the spy & poof mess cleaned up. Need to clean your lair but too busy planning your next evil deed? Flick some microscopic black holes at the worst of the mess & it’s gone. Now I know that some of my readers are going to think I’ve finally gone completely around the bend. That’s okay. As an evil genius insanity is a requirement. Besides, I have a weapon with your name on it….