Reflections
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I’m glad to say that Hillary is out of the hospital and back at work and that part of our fiscal problems have been bandaged and we have two months of banter and battle before we are out of the woods. A lot has been said about President Obama’s not getting everything progressives wanted, and to a degree this is true. May I remind you of compromise, and is it just my opinion that the President asked for $250 thousand as the ceiling to define wealth to give himself a good starting point knowing that whatever he asked for would be challenged? Let’s face it; $250 thousand isn’t what it used to be. Laurence McDonnell praised him on MSNBC and that is good enough for me. He admitted that he and President Clinton could not get this close though they tried and thought their game plan quite good. They wanted the $250 thousand ceiling which in today’s economy and rate of inflation would be about $473 thousand, so what President Obama agreed to was not far off the mark.
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Vice President Joe Biden played an important part in getting the two sides together including his own progressive Democrats who were not entirely pleased by any compromise. Politics is all compromise and a good thing too. We may not like it but we have to compromise with our enemies and we surely have to compromise with one another. I am a fan of the man who some feel is a fool. He is anything but that He’s a wise, talented and a thoroughly experienced individual who knows who the players are, and he has a heart of gold.Google Images
The president tickled the toes of the conservatives and those who wanted to cut Social Security and Medicare and now we must wait to see what the final package will be. The Congress of 2013 was sworn in with many more women and we got a glimpse of their elite bipartisan club. They disdain the testosterone that forces their male counterparts to maintain positions that are passé. House Speaker Boehner tripped himself up by never calling a vote for Hurricane Sandy relief thus incurring the wrath of Governor Christy whose politics I am not attracted to but who seems to stand up for his state. The vote for House Speaker, the winner inevitable, had its protest voters who nominated others, including Colin Powell and Allan West.
Congressional freshmen, a diverse group, have a major job ahead of them – winning back the respect of the American people who are judging them harshly, and well they should. Let’s help them by contacting our representatives and reminding them why they were elected. They are still building backbones, poor babies.
The 112th U.S. Congtess - Google Images
Happy New Year Everyone!
Laura J. Barnes is a writer and garden designer in Seattle
Honestly, I’m disgusted with the whole lot of them and voting themselves a raise (well, a cessation of their salary freeze) pretty much sent me over the edge. Damn, I want a job where I can sit on my butt, NOT take care of business, block any progress this country possibly can make, and get more money for it. I’ve never been as discouraged with the whole political process as i am, now, or more pessimistic about our future.
Come on Lois, please don’t be shy and hold back how you really feel.
I understand your frustration and it is matched by most of the country. I suppose that we will just have to wait and see what happens. I hardly think that much will change any time soon though I am hopeful that Biden may actually get some where with his meetings for gun regulation. He certainly had invited the whole cast of characters. I know a couple of the new members of congress and expect them to contribute a lot even though they are junior. I am trying not to get my own personal problems confused with those of our country even though they seem to meld at times.
If we can withdraw our mind sets from politics consider that there are a wonderful group of new writers, artists and movie makers and a world of distraction to transport us to another level of conscience. I plan to take advantage of it.
I love this exchange and understand and share much of your frustration. Someone sent me a Cicero quote complaining about the same kinds of problems we have now. It was so dead-on that I wondered if it was a joke – the quote, that is.