My First Blog....

Greetings, People of Earth, but primarily United Statesians,

Doesn't it seem the citizens of the United States should be called something besides Americans? Canadians are Americans, but they don't call themselves Americans. Somehow, "Americans" seems a little presumptuous, like we own the whole continent, which we don't. Well, at least, we don't right now. (Just kidding.)

I started this blog because I am frenetically addicted and involved in what is happening in this world, and especially in the United States. Of course, I have an opinion. By the way, my opinion of my opinion is that I can save the world from itself. Truly. I really believe that.

I'm terribly scared right now, partly because of our Presidential candidates (and no, it's not because Barack Obama is black and John McCain is white, old, and some people say, ill) but mostly it's because we Americans have lost our way. The erosion has been gradual, almost unrecognizable, like sand sliding down a hill, or mulch being worn away from your landscape beds (which irritates me).

I bought a book on the United States Constitution yesterday. I read the whole thing frantically searching for words I wanted to see but they were nowhere to be found. What was I looking for? A way for checks and balances to prevent self-governing of the three branches of our government.

But, what do you mean? We have checks and balances, right? Yes, in a way, but our brilliant forefathers, who could not see into the future, left out one very important piece of the puzzle. Think for a minute of the power our Executive, Judicial, and Legislative branches hold. Have you noticed some issues recently? What comes up constantly in the press?

I can think of a variety of them, but primarily it has to do with earmarks (pork barrel spending) and fundraising and passing bills without voting and our elected officials moving the publics' money into their family's, or their own, pants pockets. It's about our judges not going by the letter of the Constitution. It's about letting terrorism take our freedoms away. That's what I'm talking about. There are a variety of innovative ways our elected officials are taking advantage of us. I'm sure George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and the boys are turning over in their graves.

How could this be? Why is no one preventing this from happening? It's because we have put the power to make these rules and laws, and to police the ethics of our elected officials, into their own hands. And, that is the one crucial point that our forefathers forgot to add. That officials should never be allowed to make laws or rules that directly affect their position. They should never be allowed to rule themselves. It's common sense. This is the fatal flaw.

We are now stuck. How do we change the mess we are in? There's certainly been alot of complaining lately and alot of it is about spending. It's like watching "Girls Gone Wild" only we should call it "Congress Gone Wild." See all those Senators and Congressmen shaking their booties in the halls of The Capitol as they strip us naked! Since 2002, my glorious state Senator Hillary Clinton received 360 earmarks totalling $2.2 billion for our proud state of New York. Some of that money went to defense companies in New York, who turned around and gave her $270,000 for her campaign. This is repeated over and over again throughout the USA. Sounds like legal bribery to me.

So, how do we change this? Well, we go through the normal channels. We submit bills to Congress limiting or preventing earmarks, or changing fundraising laws, which they decide to reject, and we're back to square one. Wouldn't they be supremely stupid to pass a law that restricts earmarks? Or, restricts campaign contributions? YUP! They've got it made! And, that's what I'm talking about. Frustration by the people of the U.S. who have no control over this problem. It just keeps getting worse.

So, I have an idea to get us out of this mess, but it will require expertise and probably money, both of which I don't have enough of right now. But, bear with me. I'm not asking you for money. I'm asking you for solutions to our Catch 22 here. How many people put together the Constitution? How many of us can make it even better? That's what I want from you. In order to form a more perfect union, a union we are proud of, a union that needs to be tweaked ever so slightly in order to correct this weakness which is threatening to destroy our great nation. That's it. So, if you have any other ideas on how us United Stateians can correct this huge boondoggle of a problem, let me know. I'll be writing about my proposal shortly.

Sue