Over the past several years there has been much debate, speculation and outright disgust over two things American: college football and Washingtonian politics.  If you watch any news channel or at least ESPN, you know a little something about what I am talking about.

Last year’s college football season, LSU was the best football team. Everyone knew they would play for the BCS National Championship.  There was some speculation on who would play against them. As it turned out it was the “Rematch of the Century” and the Alabama Crimson Tide was number 2 in the BCS rankings.  LSU had barely won earlier in the season when the two teams played before.  Personally, I thought that The Mad Hatter (Les Miles) would squeak out a win. But, the crystal football went to Nick Saban and the Tide.

After that epic rematch there was a huge outcry from the fans.  They fans wanted a playoff system.  The BCS people got together and said, “Yes, let’s have a playoff system.”  The catch was that it was going to take a couple of years to do the research on how to do it.

This year the BCS is in a little bit of a controversy again.  There is no question about Notre Dame playing for the trophy, but Alabama, Oregon and Kansas State each had a nice resume this season.  Alabama got the nod and everyone seems okay with that. But, what is up with Northern Illinois University? Why them? Why not Georgia or Florida in that game?  This time around everyone can at least have the knowledge that a playoff system is coming, so there is not the same kind of outrage.  Change is coming.

There are two lessons that I think can be learned from the way the BCS has operated over the last two years.  One is for the people and one is for the government.

By the People, For the People

Let me speak plainly. Far more people in this country know every detail about their favorite sports team than know who the Speaker of the House is.  This is a sad situation because it seems that too many people are apathetic. If you are angry or upset over an issue it is your right and your duty to make your voice heard. Football is just a game that is played for 60 minutes.  The government makes decisions everyday that can impact a generation.  It’s time for people to step up, learn and make their voices heard.  Just imagine what could happen if the same kind of outrage went to Washington as went to the BCS over LSU vs. Alabama last year.

Government By the People

Far too many elected officials ignore their constituents,  I hope, if you are an elected official reading this post, that you will take in what I am about to say to you.  You must open your ears and close your mouth a little bit more.  Really listen to the people who hired you.  If your constituents are taking time out to contact you, please have the courtesy to listen.

If people got so upset over who played in a football game that the BCS decided to change how they do business, can you image what could happen to this country if people spoke out and the government listened?  It couldn’t be worse that the situation now.

A lot of people are worried today about going over the Fiscal Cliff. What this means is that our taxes go up tomorrow.  There are pros and cons to this whole situation. If spending stays the same in Washington but revenue goes up, that is when we will start to fix the deficit.  But, I think that something else entirely is going to happen.

New members of Congress will be sworn in on January 2.  By February 1, a new tax bill will get through Congress that will retroactively lower taxes.  This way, all of Congress can campaign in two years and say “I voted to lower taxes.”  As it stands right now, President Obama wants higher taxes on the richer people in America.  Republicans, if they voted for that bill right now, would have to say that they voted to raise taxes.   There is nothing to worry about folks. Congress and the media is making a fiscal cliff out of a molehill.

Basically, we get too caught up in what to call the season. Who really cares?  We all have holidays we celebrate around the same time. I believe we all have more to worry about that what we call a season.  Let’s just realize that people are wishing us well, not matter how they refer to the season.  Happy Holidays from Political Sigh, I will be back after Christmas.  In the meantime, enjoy the season!

With the holiday season firmly upon us, I wanted to take a moment to remember one of the more interesting (and memorable) Christmas cards that I getting as a kid.

When Mark Warner ran against John Warner for the U.S. Senate seat from Virginia in 1998 he lost the election.  That Christmas, Mark sent Christmas cards to all of his supporters to say thank you and best wishes for the holiday season.

Senator Mark Warner

I still remember that card twelve years later.  Why don’t elected officials do that anymore?  Nowadays people are just considered a vote.  Sometimes, they aren’t even considered that.  I think that our representatives should send us Christmas cards occasionally.  They should reach into their own pockets and send Christmas cards to their constituents.  Voters want to feel loved and just sending a Christmas card would go a long way.

A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed.

—Second Amendment to the Constitution of the United States

This was not the post that I wanted to come back to Political Sigh with. But after Sandy Hook, I have been doing a lot of thinking about this subject and I wanted to share some thoughts.

I was a teenager just entering high school when Columbine happened.  I am old enough to have kids the age of the youngest victims of Sandy Hook.  In fact, I have family that is in that age group.  To say that this is a tragic situation doesn’t do justice to something like this.  We have become a country that doesn’t value human life very much or anything else for that matter.  We say that the problem is that “God is not in schools” or “it’s the government’s fault/job” and we just pass the buck to someone else.  As Silas House said on his Facebook page recently, our country is sick and we need to change the culture.  One of the first things we need to do is curtail our gun culture.  Sure, there are other things we need to look at as well, but this is the place to start.  Before I get into the two possibilities, let’s take a quick look at U.S. history.

The Right to Bear Arms: A Very, Very Brief History

For those of you who don’t know U.S. history, the U.S. used to be a colony of Great Britain.  In the 1770s, we fought a war for our independence and we won.  In the 1780s, the founding fathers got together and wrote up a Constitution that would be the framework of the new government.  After it was ratified in 1789, ten amendments were quickly added, called the Bill of Rights.  The second amendment is the one gun enthusiasts and the National Rifle Association constantly throws up as being why we all have guns.  Yep, it’s about the right to bear arms.

Why was this amendment necessary?  We had just fought a war and didn’t have much of an army.  We used militia quite a bit.  A militia would be called up and each individual member would supply their own weapons.  It may have been a crude way to operate, but it worked when you didn’t have a full-fledged military.

We also must keep in mind that there were no automatic weapons.  The people of that time period had a gun and they had to be filled and packed with gun powder and the musket ball (a primitive bullet) would be added.  Even for the most skilled marksman, this took some time.

Fast Forward to 2012

There are more and more mass shootings that ever before.  Columbine, Virginia Tech, and Sandy Hook are just a few. What about the temple in Wisconsin or a when congress woman and supporters were gunned down?  When do we say that enough is enough?  We need to significantly change guns laws.  Now, more than ever, we need to have this discussion.

Unfortunately, the U.S. seems to act like the world’s rebellious teenager.  We know everything and we don’t care what anyone says.  We have this deep love of guns and we don’t want to really see change.  When it is easier to get a gun that it is to own a car, we need to take a look at a few things.  When I was originally thinking about this blog post, I was thinking about a way to repeal the second amendment. That will take way too long to do and many people hunt safely every year.  There is no reason to take away all weapons.  The only weapons we need to take away are automatic weapons.  This will significantly change a lot of problems.

Step 1: License and Registration, Please

We all know that if we are talking gun control, the NRA will have something to say and will attempt to prevent Congress from doing anything.  Instead of this going to Congress and say “hey, we need to ban guns” there needs to be a slower approach that everyone can get behind.

The first step would be that if a person has guns, of any type, it needs to be registered, licensed, insured and safety classes need to be taken.  People do the same thing when they buy a car or get licensed to drive a car.

Step 2: Eliminate Automatic Weapons

Why does the average American need a gun with a clip with a hundred rounds?  I don’t really know.  The next step after registering guns will be to eliminate automatic assault weapons. Only military and certain police units need those types of weapons.  The government can have drop off locations in every state to where people who own these weapons can turn them in, at no charge.  After having one year to do so, people will face a penalty of 5 years in federal prison and/or a $250,000 fine.  This is the same penalty that is faced if people illegal copy and distribute DVDs.

I am not advocating taking away rifles and other such weapons.  I’m just saying we should take away weapons that people don’t need.  People can still hunt and still protect their families and property.  I would love to have a discussion in which people are ready to grow up and look at some problems facing our country.  If you have any thoughts, or ideas, please post them here in the comments.  It is time to start have a respectful discussion about gun control. We shouldn’t have to go through Sandy Hook again.

The galaxy is in chaos.  Political turmoil abounds.  Donkey and elephants continue their vicious fighting.  The only thing that can bring sanity to an insane world is…

No, this isn’t the opening credits to Star Wars Episode VII.  It is the introduction announcing that Political Sigh has returned.

Over the past several months we have seen an election, learned new phrases like “fiscal cliff”, and Republicans have dug their heels in to fight Democrats to the death.  Not much has changed, huh?

Political Sigh is back and better than ever.  We will be discussing some of these issues.  Together, let’s sift through the chatter to get to the point.  Let’s bring some sanity back to the political world, and perhaps poke some fun at it a little bit along the way.

“There are no losers in politics, son.  You may not always win, but you never lose.”

You Win

This is one quote that I have never forgotten.  Shortly after this loss, a story broke in the news about the representative from Stumbo’s home district not seeking re-election.  A few days later, Stumbo announced that he would be running for that seat. He was elected in 2008 and when he assumed office he was also elected as Kentucky Speaker of the House of Representatives.  It must be noted that Stumbo had served in that in the House from 1980-2003 and was the Majority Leader from 1985-2003 before becoming Attorney General.

The Point

You may be thinking that this is a neat story, but what’s the point.  The point is that there is a lot of good-old-boy networking in play in politics, especially on the state level.  Stumbo had a lot of caché that he could bank on, assuming his bid for lieutenant governor fell through.  In his case, he knew a lot of people and it helped him out.  Stumbo has in turn helped out Kentuckians and people of his home district as much as possible.  Stumbo knows how to play the political game, but he also knows how to bring home the bacon (so to speak) to keep his constituents happy.  Unfortunately, there are too many politicians in our country that use this good-old-boy network as an act of despotism.  In the end, it’s the politician and their friends that seem to reap all the rewards while the average person gets screwed over.  As long as there are people, like Stumbo, who use their network to do good things for their constituents, I’m usually okay with that.  But when people use it to do bad things, I don’t like it too much. What voters need to do is evaluate their elected officials. Are they doing well by the voters?  If so, then they are probably alright and doing the best they can.  If that isn’t the case, then it may be time to look elsewhere for your elected officials.

Outhouses are part of a cultural history of the United States.  These little buildings used as a toilet were around a long time before indoor plumbing.  Today, they may seem backward and dirty because indoor bathrooms are more sanitary and therefore safer than outhouses.  So, why does this picture explain politicians’ relationship to their constituents?  There is a notion out there that politics are dirty.  The other one is that voters feel like their elected officials scorn them. Why do voters feel this way?

We’ve Been Dumped On!

There is a major divide in this country between the ruling class and the electorate.  This is the same for both Democrats and Republicans because both parties are out of touch with the needs of the American people.   Compared to the average American, the Democrats are too far to the left and Republicans too far to the right. That is one of the problems that most Americans are having with elected officials.[1]

If Voting Changed Anything They Would Make It Illegal

It seems that voting is pretty much useless at this point in time.  Politics in Washington has become partisan in such a way that has not been seen for a few generations at least.  When anything comes before Congress right now, like a jobs bill or a new welfare bill, they are tabling the legislation until after the presidential election this year.  But, some legislators in Congress are hell-bent on getting President Obama out of the White House or keeping Obama in the White House and keeping their job.  They have no consideration for the average American citizen.  Then, where there are a few representatives or senators that try to get something done, their ideas are smothered.  It is like building a fire: if the fire doesn’t get enough oxygen, it dies out.  So, for some of these representatives and senators, they are either not getting enough oxygen or they are trying to smother the flame.  I applaud those elected officials that are willing to actually do something and I feel sorry that their ideas are not getting through due to some bull-headed, stubborn people that are their coworkers.

Why Do They Disrespect Us So Much?

The question really becomes how and why did this divide happen.  Campaign finance is the answer.  Follow my reasoning here for a bit. Campaigns are becoming more and more expensive to wage.  From traveling to printing costs the prices keep going higher.  Now with current campaign finance laws, major corporations are able to create PACs (Political Action Committee) which can raise money and they can spend that money however they want.  Let’s say that a certain PAC wants a certain candidate in office.  They can literally spend a fortune to get their candidate elected.  This has left the old days of dropping money into a hat at a political rally or sending a check to a candidate obsolete.  Now, elected officials serve for their PAC donors and not the American people.  Until this divide is closed between electorate and elected officials this rupture will only increase.  This discord between the ruling class and the governed needs to stop and scars need to heal.  The American government is by and for the people, not by and for the PAC with the most money.  Let’s start putting these outhouses side by side instead of having politicians dumping on top of the citizens.

“It’s precisely this kind of thinking that has bled our treasury of money that we need to pay for the demands that this country has. I also think it’s a moral issue,” Sessions said. “Is our national goal to place as many people on welfare, food stamp support, as we can possibly put on that program? Is that our goal? Is that a moral vision for the United States of America, just to see how many people we can place in a situation where they’re dependent on the federal government for their food? I just ask that. I think we should wrestle with that question” (1).

You got to be kidding me, right?

Sen. Sessions is from the Republican Party and many people believe that is the party that is the most religious and follows the Bible.  Then, why don’t they follow what Jesus said about taking care of the poor and feeding the hungry?  It seems some of our elected officials forget that they may be “wicked” because they forget the teachings of the man they worship. How can they claim to be Christians and also say it is immoral to help the poor?  How can Sen. Sessions claim on his Senate website that he has “a belief in God” and thinking helping the poor.

In Matthew 25, Jesus gives a parable on the Last Judgment.  He says that the first question to be asked on Judgment Day is “did you feed the hungry and give a drink to the thirsty?”  I just don’t get how some people can claim to believe in a god that teaches these things and not adhere to what he says.

A Little Background

There were some people that hated Jesus.  They were the ones responsible for his death.  Those people were Pharisees.  They were the rich religious leaders who knew everything about everything and thought that Jesus was this crazy dude offering free healthcare, free help to the poor and he loved and accepted you no matter what you have done. The Pharisees believed he was a threat to their power and influence.

Let’s fast forward 2,000 years.  We have modern day Pharisees in Congress.  They seem to dislike anything that helps the poor or the sick.  They call it a “moral issue” when it comes to the SNAP (formerly food stamps), or universal healthcare or any help to lower student loan debt.

These leaders are out of touch.  I’m not saying that every person in Congress is this way but I am saying there are a few.  Let’s look at this number.  Senator Sessions makes around $174,000 a year.  Members of Congress also receive a cost-of-living-adjustment (COLA) every year unless Congress votes it down (2).  The last time that the COLA raise was instituted was 2009 and the raise went from $169,300 to the current rate (3).  Let’s not forget that they also get the best free health insurance and retirement benefits available.

I really doubt that Sessions was in a financial bind before becoming a Senator.  I wonder how a man who makes this much money a year can honestly say that it is a moral issue to help the poor.  We have a moral obligation to help the poor.  Don’t go throwing the Bible in my face if you are not going to do what it says.

Reference List

1)      Jeff Sessions Argues Food Stamps Increase Not Moral, Mocks Kirsten Gillibrand. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/06/13/jeff-sessions-food-stamps-kirsten-gillibrand_n_1595006.html

2)      Salaries and Benefits of US Congress Members. http://usgovinfo.about.com/od/uscongress/a/congresspay.htm

3)      Try Automatic COLA, the anti-incumbency drink. http://meridianstar.com/columns/x935814775/Try-Automatic-COLA-the-anti-incumbency-drink