Brick’s Blog

     I have often thought that serving in Congress should be like being called for jury duty. You’d get the notice and say “oh, sh**, I have to go to Washington.”  One of my favorite YouTube videos is from the Guy from Boston, who profanely but accurately describes what’s wrong with too many of our elected representatives.

     This morning while pursuing some of my right wing ideological conservative whacko nut job news sources, I, for some unknown reason, decided to read about Patrick Kennedy’s decision to not stand for re-election in 2010. Here are some facts you might not know. Kennedy was elected in 1994 at the ripe old age of 27 after serving 6 years in Rhode Island House. Excuse me? Fresh from college with all that real world experience you have accumulated, you decide your 1st job should be a state representative; and the populace elects you? 6 years later, steeled by the grueling life experiences of your early 20’s, you decide to take your considerable talents to Washington … and again, you’re elected. BTW, the district Kennedy serves for Rhode Island abuts the Massachusetts’ district that is represented by Barney Franks, and has many of the same demographics.

     I, for one, am glad to know that at the age of 43, Patrick can now ride off into the sunset with his full congressional pension. And Washington is going after the Wall Street boys for their golden parachutes? With pardons to John Stossel, gimme a break.

      Happy Birthday, Ronald Wilson Reagan. It would be your 99th. We sure could use you now. It would be wonderful to have a President whose every word and action had not been poll tested.

     Here’s a delightful insight into our 40th President. Recently, and I think it was during the State of the Union address, Obama claimed that he reads letters from the American people before retiring for bed. Reagan, too, used to read letters the White House had received from the people. Reagan liked to read these letters when he was at Camp David.  After reading these letters, Reagan would hand sealed handwritten responses to certain letters to his staffers. Drove his staffers nuts, but Reagan always considered his responses to be private and personal communication.

     Happy Birthday, Gipper. It’s your humility, humor and honor that I miss so much.

As much as I would like to have something insightful to add to this, I have nothing to say.  Now, there’s a first!

     As Democrats point fingers as to who is responsible for the loss of the Massachusetts senate seat to Republicans, my hat tip is to David Gergen. The arrogance and obvious bias in Gergen’s question in the last senatorial debate was the launching point for Brown’s surge down the backstretch and his runaway victory. Thanks, David. Here’s the moment if you’ve forgotten it.

Oh yeah, and it looks like my old pal, Webbie, is looking for some cover. Last night on CNN, Webbie said all healthcare debate/votes should be suspended until Brown is seated.

     If you read my blog, my politics should be pretty clear that I am conservative on almost all issues.  Presently, I think this country is headed in the wrong direction so much so that I am advising my children they may want to pursue opportunities outside of the good ole USA.  That would have been heresy for me just a few years ago.

     Today, at Capitol Square, there is Tea Party rally. It’s a 10th Amendment Rally. The 10th Amendment reads “The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.” Nowhere in the Constitution is it stated that Congress can mandate that all citizens must purchase a product/commodity or face a fine or imprisonment. This healthcare bill getting ready to be forced upon us is unconstitutional. Exercise your right of assembly and free speech and join me at Capitol Square this morning. There’s a shuttle service from Parker (Squirrel) Field starting at 8 a.m. The rally starts at 10 a.m. You can be home by lunch.

     Gosh, it’s the 6th of January and I haven’t written our two illustrious Senators yet!?!? Well, let’s not waste any more time. Here’s my first note of the New Year:

“That the Democratic leadership has refused C Span’s request to televise the reconciliation process of the Senate’s and House’s healthcare bills is unconscionable. Where is the transparency promised by the Democratic leadership and this President. I am deeply distressed that you supported the Senate version of the healthcare bill which contained portions that cannot be repealed. This is unconstitutional. I suggest you pay close attention to events at the state Capitol on January 18, 2010. It will provide you with the insight to gauge the mood of your constituents and what your chances of continuing as a representative of the Commonwealth are.”

By the way, there is a rally at the state Capitol on Monday, January 18th. This is MLK Day, so most of you should be off. Call it a Tea Bag event, a 9-12 event, or even a Patriot event, but regardless it is a great way to show your dissatisfaction with all of our representation whether it’s at the state or national level.  I plan on taking GRTC from one of the satellite parking lots. Anyone want to join me?

     Last night after finishing our Christmas Eve dinner, we were still seated at the dining room table playing Table Topics. One of the topics elicited the comment from me that “I thought this country was getting ready to have the greatest swing to the right it has ever seen.” Of course, this is my hope; no, it is my prayer that this great country founded on Judeo Christian values will return to those values so wisely utilized by our Founding Fathers.  This morning, while enjoying the peace of Christmas morning that can only be realized when one has almost grown children, I was reading some of my conservative blogs and found this Christmas address from Ronald Reagan.  Reagan gave this address exactly at the same point in his first term as Obama is now. Let’s see; Obama gives us healthcare reform that all the Democrats say “we’ll love” once we learn more about it despite the American people saying “no”; and then flies off to Hawaii. The Gipper gives us “the hope that is America”. (This Reagan address also covered the plight of the Polish people against the Soviets and America’s determination to support them. Might be a message Obama might give to the Afghans, Iraqis and Iranians. I have edited this just for the Christmas message.)

     Anyway, here’s my Christmas wishes courtesy of the The Great Communicator, Ronald Wilson Reagan.

Reagan’s Christmas Address:

     Here’s a laugher. This was a press release from January 18, 2006:

          Democrats from across the country today unveiled their Honest Leadership and Open Government Act. In the Great Hall of the Library of Congress, Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, were joined by Senator Barack Obama and Congresswoman Louise Slaughter and their Senate and House colleagues to shine a spotlight on the Republican “pay for play” politics that put special interests first at the expense of the priorities of the American people and signed a pledge to restore honest leadership and open government.

     Hey, but that was almost 4 years ago. That’s ancient history. Besides Obama wasn’t even President then; I know, so you’ll love this one. And I’ve even got a “talkie” for you. Here’s the back story:

On January 21, 2009, his first full day in office, the President issued a Memorandum on Transparency and Open Government and called for recommendations for making the Federal government more transparent, participatory, and collaborative.

On May 21, 2009, the Administration kicked off an unprecedented process for public engagement in policymaking on the White House website. As Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the President said, we are proud to announce an important next step in this historic call to action one that will help us achieve a new foundation for our government a foundation built on the values of transparency, accountability and responsibility.

And now for the talkie:

Valerie Jarrett on Open Government

     Gosh, I thought I had been making my opinions known. And by the polls, it looks like the American public has been making their opinion known on healthcare “reform”. I guess I didn’t get the memo on the Era of Open Government being over.

     As Washington gets more tone deaf to the country, I find myself e-mailing our 2 Senators several times a week. I’ve commented before on how easy I find their contact pages, since the contact program “autofills” your personal information from prior contacts. Of course, my wife, has jokingly remarked that it makes it easier for the “authorities” to come find me when they need to.  Please don’t think I am opposed to healthcare reform. There was a time when my premiums were over $2,500 @ month with a $10,000 deductible.  Chew on those numbers for awhile for someone self-employed. Reform is drastically needed, but what is advancing through the Senate and already passed by the House of Representatives isn’t the answer. Below is an example of this morning’s love note to my Senators.

If I can believe the accounts in the media, a vote on the Senate’s version of healthcare “reform” is slated for within the week. Yet, you have no legislative text for what you may be voting on. You have no cost analysis of what you may be voting one. Let’s see; it’s okay for President Obama to take almost 11 months to make a decision on Afghanistan, because that was a measured, studied, and informed course of action. Now the Senate is ready to vote on a measure, which accounts for almost 20 % of our economy not knowing what the legislation calls for or costs. This is not the Christmas present the country wants. Country, before party.  

     My old buddy, Webbie, sure is getting the hang of being a senator who is responsive to his constituents. Whenever I contact our senators, I send them identical e-mails. Ah, the efficiency of cut and paste. Once again Webb’s response was received before any from Warner, which is a pleasant development from earlier this year. Check it out here.  

     Webbie’s recent reply was to my e-mail sent Sunday morning after the House passed their so-called healthcare reform bill. Once again Jim proved he’s the hardest working man in the U.S. Senate, since the time stamp on his e-mail carried 9:50 p.m. last evening. Jim, please go be with your family. Oh, wait a minute, you guys only work 3 days (Tuesday – Thursday); maybe it’s good if you really did burn some midnight oil.  

     Clown Boy’s response ran almost 500 words. I didn’t read it all at first because initially I didn’t get passed the 2^nd paragraph which reads as follows:

“For this reason, I joined seven of my Senate colleagues in urging that legislative text and cost estimates from the Congressional Budget Office be posted for public viewing at least 72 hours before the measure is debated or voted on in the full Senate.  This will allow our constituents to evaluate the proposal in detail and make their views known.  It is important for us to be very deliberate on an issue of such importance to the lives of so many Americans.”

      Let me just go through these 3 sentences to explain why it took some Coleridgian “suspension of disbelief” to read the rest of Webb’s response.

 1.)    Wow, Jim, 8 of our 100 senators want the legislative text and COB’s estimates posted for public viewing 72 hours before debate or vote on the legislation. Way to put together a huge 12 % coalition of your colleagues. What about the other 92 clowns?

2.)    Where did this 72 hour viewing period come from? 3 days to voice an opinion? What if I lived in California and wanted to “write” a letter to Senator Boxer or Feinstein. Can you guarantee the U.S. Postal Service could deliver a 1^st class letter in that 3 day period?

3.)    It really is nice that your constituents are being “allowed” to “evaluate” this proposal in detail. If I remember correctly, the Baucus senate version of the healthcare bill runs some 1,500 pages. Thanks, Jim, for getting 3 whole days for the common man to wade through 1,500 pages of legalese.

4.)    “It is important for us to be very deliberate on an issue of such importance…” No kidding, Clown Boy, but 3 days is deliberate? Hey, if you haven’t noticed, Obama is approaching 11 weeks in his deliberation on troop levels in Afghanistan. You and your imperial colleagues might consider holding some Town Halls with your constituents.

      Oh, I could rant on, but I’ve vented; so I feel better. Thanks for reading.