Some time back I took a short term position with an employer who payed by issuing debit cards and direct depositing the EOW pay.  I was new in the area so I signed up with the bank that handled the employers business and had the direct deposits sent there.

It wasn’t long before I began finding the hidden costs associated with the use of the card.  It also became very clear that the employees at the low end of the pay scale were losing way too much of their earnings to miscellaneous charges.

Read more about the practice of  debit card – bank deals in this MSNBC article.

Most Senators have changed their websites to no longer accept email.  Really?  I wonder why.

Try the following links:  U.S. Senate list & House of Representatives.  As you can see they don’t make it easy.

By Charlie Reese

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?

You and I don’t propose a federal budget.  The president does.

You and I don’t have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of representatives does.

You and I don’t write the tax code, Congress does.

You and I don’t set fiscal policy, Congress does.

You and I don’t control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices  545 human beings out of the 30020million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress.   In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.

I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have no legal authority.  They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing.  I don’t care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator’s responsibility to determine how he votes.

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault.   They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall.   No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.   The president can only propose a budget.   He cannot force the Congress to accept it.

The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes.   Who is the speaker of the House?   Nancy Pelosi.  She is the leader of the majority party.  She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.

It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted — by present facts — of incompetence and irresponsibility.   I can’t think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people.  When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it’s because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it’s because they want it in the red .

If the Army & Marines are in  IRAQ , it’s because they want them in IRAQ

If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it’s because they want it that way.

There are no insolvable government problems.

Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.   Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like “the economy,” “inflation,” or “politics” that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.

Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.

They, and they alone, have the power.

They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.

Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.

We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!

Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.

What you do with this article now that you have read it………. is up to you.

I suggest that the internet is our window and we can shout out by sharing Beale’s sentiment,  “I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take this any more“.

Under that category I offer this:

The Peanut Corporation of America hasn’t had a smooth road in the legume processing business.  According to information in Wikipedia the company has had other problems in the past.   Dan Chapman and Margaret Newkirk at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution wrote about PCA’s CEO  Hugh Parnell and his rise as a goober businessman.

Parnell had been serving on the USDA Peanut Standards Board until he was removed by Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack last Februrary 5th.  That same day the USDA banned PCA from all federal government contracts and subcontracts.

President Stewart Parnell has been summoned to appear in front of the House Energy and Commerce Committee.

Wikipedia also lists several comments from public officials in its article as follows:

• “This company had no conscience in its production practices, sales and distribution. That they would knowingly ship products tainted with salmonella to our nation’s children almost defies belief.” – U.S. Senate Agriculture Committee Chairman Tom Harkin (D-Iowa)^[12]

• “I’d like to see some people go to jail. This was a company that should have shut things down immediately.” – Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.)^[48][49]

• “The actions by the Peanut Corporation of America can only be described as reprehensible and criminal.” – Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.)^[50][51]

• “They tried to hide it so they could sell it. Now they’ve caused a mammoth problem that could destroy their company – and it could destroy the peanut industry.” – Georgia Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin^[51]

• “We’re going to be doing a complete review of FDA operations. At a bare minimum, we should be able to count on our government keeping our kids safe when they eat peanut butter. That’s what Sasha eats for lunch. Probably three times a week. I don’t want to worry about whether she’s going to get sick as a consequence of eating her lunch.” – President Barack Obama^[52][29]

• “This is a clear and unconscionable act by one manufacturer.” – American Peanut Council statement^[33]

I’m Mad As Hell And I’m Not Gonna Take This Anymore

This plague threatens the entire world.

1)  The recent outbreak of peanut based Salmonella infections led me to a Wikipedia page that seems to show an increase in food borne illnesses since 1971.  Some years show only 1 outbreak.  While it’s true that there is a definite shortage of inspectors to enforce standards and practices, that’s not the reason for the problem.

2)  Automotive executives fly private jets to meeting to beg for taxpayer dollars to help them out of a jam.

3)  Bernie Madoff complains about house arrest after being accused of scamming $50B from investors.  I agree, he needs to get outside.  If I were the judge I’d provide him with a foot stand, stool and a sign proclaiming “FREE  SHINE” , and park his butt outside the front door of his Park Avenue prison to enjoy some human interaction.

4)  Companies move operations overseas to enjoy lower costs of goods and labor, keeping corporate tax breaks,  but take resulting profit gains for themselves instead of lowering prices a bit to spur spending.

“Recently, AT&T Wireless told the U.S. Securities & Exchange Commission that it would lay off 1,900 employees this year. Communications Workers of America members obtained an internal memo prepared by Tata Consultancy Services of India that discussed how it would assume those U.S. jobs.”

The Plague we face is GREED.

The cure is HONOR.

Dictionary.com includes the following definitions of honor:  1) to accept and acknowledge personal responsibility for one’s actions;  honesty, fairness, 2) integrity in one’s beliefs and actions

Please Leave a comment or your favorite example of greed.

Shortages at food banks, increasing burdens on average citizens, and jobs moving out of the country are just a few of the problems we face.

Increasing numbers of Americans are feeling disenfranchised concerning their elected representatives and don’t believe the decision- makers are working in the interests of the average citizen. In a November,2005 article Thomas C. Reeves said nearly half of voters are convinced that elected officials are focused on their own agendas and the programs of “special interest” groups. In an October,2007 article by Kenneth T. Walsh we find the distrust is growing.

It has been my feeling for some years that there may be some hope for regaining personal involvement and direct input in the political arena with the increase of internet use among the common folk who are the backbone of this country. Websites like the Sunlight Foundation, and On The Issues are helping us to be more aware of politicians activities and political blogs are affording a voice once again to any of us wishing to be heard.

Let’s use these resources to demand accountability from our elected officials and begin to get involved to return to a government of , by, and for the people. Speak out !

There should be NO hunger in this country.

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Food is about agriculture, about ecology, about man’s relationship with nature, about the climate, about nation-building, cultural struggles, friends and enemies, alliances, wars, religion. It is about memory and tradition and, at times, even about sex.”
Mark Kurlansky, ‘Choice Cuts’ (2002).

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Chef & Child Foundation