Worst. Congress. Ever. - By Norman Ornstein | Foreign Policy
They're acting like it.
"...Three years after publishing the second edition we could write a third, entitled The Far More Broken Branch. Yes, the 111th Congress, during the first two years of the Obama presidency, produced an impressive spate of major legislative accomplishments, from a stimulus package to a sweeping health-care reform bill to major financial regulatory reform. But all were passed after contentious, drawn-out, partisan battles that left most Americans less than happy with the outcomes.
>>>>>And look what we have now: a long-term debt disaster with viable bipartisan solutions on the table but ignored or cast aside in Congress; an impasse over the usually perfunctory matter of raising the statutory debt limit placing the United States in jeopardy of its first-ever default; sniping and guerrilla warfare over two major policy steps enacted in the last Congress, health-care reform and financial regulation; no serious action or movement on climate change, jobs, or the continuing mortgage crisis; and major trade deals stalled yet again despite bipartisan and presidential support....<<<<<<<<<"
A collection of ideas, letters, opinions, and inspiration. On freedom, on Generation X, modern society, the ethereal dance of the unconquered mind (ok, that's the name of a photo exhibit in San Jose, but it's nifty sounding), the Democratic Party, how much rock and roll and the web will fuel activism, things worth chronicling, things we can improve, and the future.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Sunset, Venice 12/20/2012
I've been thinking some about the Winter Solstice, the Mayan end of the 30,000-year-cycle on 12/21/12.
What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.
Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?
Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.
Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)
Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.
But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)
Still we are finite on this ride.
It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.
For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.
What if in fact the world did end? Even though this probably will not happen, to live consciously it is honest for us to take a bit of an inventory.
Am I happy with how I've lived my life? (Yesterday, I thought mostly yes, with some areas for improvement, as below.) Are there changes I would make?
Would I have tried to forgive those that were hostile or disappointing to me?
Would I spend more time with those I loved the most, telling them that, feeling that more?
Would I be happier, grateful for what I have, what I've experienced, the joy, the beauty in this world?
Maybe the answer is yes to all of the above.
So this time can serve as a point of rebirth for all of us. If we think about it.
Because somewhere along the line I realized I think maybe mankind deserves it. !
The way we are killing each other, killing the planet.
How selfish we are, and snotty to those around us. Petty, competitive. Why is this? Do we have to behave this way? (I say no, it greatly detracts and misdirects energy from the full-time celebration in which we could engage, the great multi-cultural, multi-rhythmic dance we can sustain here.)
Maybe God or the Great Universe is fed up, and will pull the rug out from under us.
Don't think I can say we could blame Him/Her/It.
But it probably won't happen. (Probably not! This time.)
Still we are finite on this ride.
It is a time to think, am I happy with how I've lived my life?
Hopefully most of us can say yes.
For the part of us that have a little worry, a little sadness....
This is the time to be present.
This is the time to be the person you want to be, that can die at peace, that can hope to every day be able to look yourself and the Universe in the eye and say, how beautiful, smiling, and thank you. Let's do that.
No comments:
Post a Comment