Tag: Washington

Old time wall signs fascinate me. They are a look back into history. This one was found somewhere in Washington State, I’m just not sure where?

Source:  Deal or No Deal, Washington Debacle Will Linger Into New Year – ABC News.

Washington is now broken beyond the point where bold individual leadership can even fix it. The forces at play are bigger than the ability of the president, House Speaker John Boehner, or any other person or persons to turn them around without the certain promise of a revolt in the party ranks that would leave them out of effective power.

The cliff metaphor suggests a jump into a void, but at least one that has a bottom. Yet as the nation watches this slow-motion wreck, the depths of dysfunction have yet to be fully explored.

I didn’t think it was possible to find someone who has a darker attitude towards those in Washington than I do but Rick Klein who wrote the above article certainly seems to beat me at that game. I have been accused by some of putting all the blame for the current dysfunction on the Republicans but I realize that it takes two to play the idiotic games they play in that city.  But I must insist that much , but certainly not all, of the blame belongs with the GOP and that is because of their adamant fixation on one word, “never”.   The other fundamental part of the problem is the lack of great leaders.

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I recently read an article in the October 2012 Smithsonian magazine about Thomas Jefferson and slavery.  I think most of us remember his infamous words that “All men are created equal”. That seems to give him an emphatic view of slavery but this article showed that has now been found to not be the case. It ends up that after studying the numerous documents left by him that he viewed slavery very much as a profitable situation to be engaged in. In 1792 he wrote Washington the now famous, at least among historians, “4% Letter” in which he talked about just how profitable being a slave owner was. He also recommended to some of this friends and relatives to move away from tobacco farming (he said it destroyed the land) and get into the more profitable area of owning slaves. Read more →

Source:  Mind the Gap | edsteinink.com.

Interesting story yesterday about how wide the economic gulf has become between members of Congress and their constituents.  According to the New York Times, the median net worth of the folks in Congress grew 15 percent from 2004 to 2010, while the public saw its net worth drop 8 percent. Senators and representatives have always been richer than the average American, but the gap has grown precipitously in recent years. The average member of Congress has a net worth almost ten times that of the general public; half of all members are millionaires, and many are much, much wealthier than that. Why does this matter? Do you honestly sense that anyone in Washington genuinely empathizes with the people who are suffering in this economy? Does anyone there really understand what it’s like to lose a job, watch precious savings evaporate, be unable to afford health insurance, apply for job after job with no success, lose a home to foreclosure? You wouldn’t know it by the words and actions–or lack thereof–coming out of the nation’s capital.

I happened across Ed Stein’s website that contained comments about the editorial cartoon I posted last week. It seems that he does a pretty good job of investigating before he draws his cartoons.  I certainly envy him for his talents and artistic abilities. I will be a regular reader of his blog in the future. Click on the source above to go there yourself. Thanks Ed for all your talents.