Despite the distractions, I did not miss much on the political front. It's too fascinating not to watch, and sitting around a hospital room for several hours each of the past few days has been a good opportunity.
I caught the series of attempts at explanation of election theft and corruption from the GOP / RNC all weekend. "It's da rules!" And, this morning on CNN, there was a question by a talking head that made me snort in derision and get very annoyed with the respondent. There's also the Juan Williams nonsense that just about dislocated my jaw when it dropped.
Regarding the GOP / RNC - the party is still shrugging its collective shoulders and saying, "So? We're corrupt. We know it and now you know it, so what are you going to do about it? Now give us your money, we need it so we can fund this system we've got going."
I'm surprised, given the frequency of those shrugs, that they don't have bigger pains in their collective neck than they do.
What's striking is that this is the only time in my life I can think of when open bribery is perfectly okay. You can't bribe a cop, you'll go to jail. You can't bribe a judge, you'll go to prison. But you can bribe a politician - or at least a political operative. That's perfectly okay. It's all out in the open and no one, except the electorate who are having their voices stripped from the process, seems to care.
What I haven't yet heard, aside from "but they're the rules", is why the GOP / RNC holds that it's perfectly okay to buy votes. Wink, wink, nudge, nudge - here's a bag full of expensive goodies - you'll vote for me now, right? They haven't even given a glance toward what's honorable and that just serves to make my disgust with them that much deeper.
My snort of derision and deep feeling of annoyance came from the fact that one of Trump's representatives missed a golden opportunity. Now, to be fair, I don't actually know whether he is 'official' or not, but he was asked a question I would have leapt all over. It had to do with the buying of delegates:
"Why doesn't Trump play by the same (corrupt / dishonorable / semi-criminal) set of rules Cruz is playing by?"
What he didn't say but should have is: "Because Mr. Trump has ethics and character. He hasn't gotten where he is by cheating and bribery, and he's not going to start now. If Mr. Cruz chooses to buy votes and politicians, that's his prerogative, but it's underhanded and dishonors our democratic election process."
It is very annoying that that was not the answer given. Instead it was pure blather that really offered nothing substantive. Frankly, a fresh dog dropping would have more substance than the half-answer given. In fact, that half answer was so unmemorable I don't remember it. I just remember annoyance that this talker didn't have the brains to forcefully and unequivocally state that if Ted Cruz chooses to be a sleaze, let him, but we are not going to lower ourselves into that cesspit.
This has been all over the place this weekend, ever since Trump started pointing out how corrupt and undemocratic this election system is. Reince Priebus (for whom I actually feel a little tiny bit sorry since he's the one holding the crap-filled bag) has been out there shrugging madly. "These are the rules." As if rules aren't there to be broken and as if rules that are bad cannot be changed.
What Priebus totally ignored, and what I'm sure he doesn't want us to see because this might be a wave of the party future, is this (excerpted from the Denver Post article of August 25, 2015, bold typeface added for emphasis):
Colorado will not vote for a Republican candidate for president at its 2016 caucus after party leaders approved a little-noticed shift that may diminish the state's clout in the most open nomination contest in the modern era.
The GOP executive committee has voted to cancel the traditional presidential preference poll after the national party changed its rules to require a state's delegates to support the candidate who wins the caucus vote.
State Republican Party Chairman Steve House said the party's 24-member executive committee made the unanimous decision Friday — six members were absent — to skip the preference poll.
http://www.denverpost.com/news/ci_28700919/colorado-republicans-cancel-2016-presidential-caucus-vote
So there it is: 18 people in the state of Colorado decided the primary election for all of the nearly 1,000,000 registered Republican voters. Yeah - there's democracy in action for you - not rigged, not unethical or dishonorable.
Whatever. What's come clear to me is that the GOP / RNC doesn't want people to actually participate in the election process - it's too bothersome. They just want our money - thus the fundraising letters and so on.
Well, they're not getting mine. Whether you choose to pony up for a corrupt process is up to you, but I value the representation of my labor too much to throw it into a pit toilet.
Regarding Juan Williams - he's an idiot. I knew he was long ago, but now he's proved it. He's got a new book out and yesterday he was asked, "If the Founders came back today, what would they think?"
He responded, "They'd be thrilled!"
Uh... No. They'd be doubled over heaving up their guts at what's gone on.
Central Banking - There's an excellent article on the "Constitutionality" of the Central Bank (aka Federal Reserve), here:
http://www.harvard-jlpp.com/33-2/465.pdf
Bottom line, though, is that while Alexander Hamilton supported the idea of a central bank, many of the Founders did not.
Enumerated Powers - There were three distinct types of power given to the Federal Government. Not three hundred or three thousand, just three. And the Founders were explicit in how the division was to fall: "The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." So if it was not given to the United States by the Constitution it was a State's Right, or a People's Right.
Alexander Hamilton wrote in Federalist 32 (of the Federalist Papers):
This exclusive delegation, or rather this alienation, of State sovereignty, would only exist in three cases: [i] where the Constitution in express terms granted an exclusive authority to the Union; [ii] where it granted in one instance an authority to the Union, and in another prohibited the States from exercising the like authority; and [iii] where it granted an authority to the Union, to which a similar authority in the States would be absolutely and totally contradictory and repugnant.So, no. I don't believe that if the Founders came back today they would be at all thrilled with how things are.
Government has shoved down our collective throats Obamacare.
Government has instituted a tax system not called out in the Constitution.
Government has created a fourth and separate branch of government in the form of the Central Bank / Federal Reserve that is not subject to the will of the People. This is a "bank" not subject to government control, audit, disclosure or intervention - it stands apart from and superior to the Legislative and Judicial branches.
Government funds abortion - and doesn't bat an eye over the fact that the organization on the front line of that effort harvests baby parts.
We have a socialist running for president who wants to take my wealth (non-existent though it is) and pass it off to someone else in pure Marxist fashion - from each according to their ability to each according to their need. It's still not defined who has ability, aside from being able to get your butt out the door and hold a job, versus who has need.
Since I have a house that's falling apart, and car that's twelve years old and can just barely make ends meet, I'd say I have need, but the fact that I have an income is red meat to those who don't.
So no. I do not believe for one instant that the Founders coming back today would be thrilled. Horrified, yes. Disgusted, yes. Dismayed, yes. Not thrilled. And then there's all that's going on in this so-called electoral process where the People's voice doesn't count for squat.
Now - we're all caught up. I hope you had a wonderful weekend and a better week coming up.
Best~
Philippa
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