I love to watch the news. Maybe it's kinda geeky, but I think newspapers are cool.
I grew up watching Dan Rather and Ken Siemek on CBS with my dad while he stretched after running. Now my kids watch cartoons while I make supper during this same time frame.
But I still like to keep up with what's going on in the world.
So I've been watching the people we've elected attempt to come to some kind of deal over the budget issue.
And I have to say I'm puzzled.
These are supposedly the best qualified people in the country to lead us. Men and women of wisdom and purpose and integrity - I would hope.
And they're sitting around Washington squabbling and pointing fingers like a bunch of preschoolers. It seems no one actually wants a solution to the problem. They simply want a giant disaster to occur and to be able to point the finger of blame at their rivals. The Republicans want Obama to be remembered as the President who defaulted on America's debt. And the Democrats want to blame the inflexibility of the Republicans for the fiscal mess we'll be in (no doubt) during the 2012 elections.
It reminds me of my kids "playing" in the basement yesterday. They wanted to play together. But Ethan and Kylie were being too rough. So Julia was screaming - alot. Which those of you who know Julia will know happens quite often. So no one pays much attention anymore when Julia screams. Anyway, none of them were nearly as interested in playing nicely together downstairs as they were in running upstairs and blaming all the screaming on everyone else. It was never their fault - and they wanted me to know it. So I got a running newsreel of the blame game.
"Ethan pulled my hair!"
"Kylie sat on my arm!"
"Julia kicked my knee!"
All in overdone whiny, nasly voices.
Sound familiar?
Now I expect my kids to play together nicely and enjoy spending time together. But I also expect some level of bickering from them. They're kids. They haven't learned how to be unselfish and kind. That's what I'm for - to teach them.
But it seems rather ridiculous that our elected representatives (well-educated, wealthy adults) can't do anything because they've paralyzed themselves with partisan bickering and just plain stubborness.
It seems to this stay-at-home mom who obviously has no clout in Washington that a few things should be perfectly clear to them.
You can't keep make $2.6 trillion a year and spend $3.8 trillion (Pretty sure those are the numbers I heard...)
Just like I can't buy a $3 million home on the beach in California. It doesn't work to shove the mortgage onto a credit card and only pay interest forever.
Duh.
Doesn't take a Phd or 3 million votes to figure that out.
"But I love the beach!"
"It's my favorite place in the world!"
"Other people have beach homes!"
"I want one too!"
(Hear the whining??)
Too bad. Not in the budget.
Sooner or later something has to be cut somewhere. Maybe that cut will be painful to you and me. But we can't keep spending imaginary money.
The other thing I think Republicans and Democrats should realize is that all of them are quickly losing the trust and respect of people worldwide. No one's coming out looking good here.
So grow up people! Act like men and women of integrity and wisdom and make some tough decisions that might not be popular in the short run but have the best interests of the country in mind. Just do something - besides all the constant arguing!
I grew up watching Dan Rather and Ken Siemek on CBS with my dad while he stretched after running. Now my kids watch cartoons while I make supper during this same time frame.
But I still like to keep up with what's going on in the world.
So I've been watching the people we've elected attempt to come to some kind of deal over the budget issue.
And I have to say I'm puzzled.
These are supposedly the best qualified people in the country to lead us. Men and women of wisdom and purpose and integrity - I would hope.
And they're sitting around Washington squabbling and pointing fingers like a bunch of preschoolers. It seems no one actually wants a solution to the problem. They simply want a giant disaster to occur and to be able to point the finger of blame at their rivals. The Republicans want Obama to be remembered as the President who defaulted on America's debt. And the Democrats want to blame the inflexibility of the Republicans for the fiscal mess we'll be in (no doubt) during the 2012 elections.
It reminds me of my kids "playing" in the basement yesterday. They wanted to play together. But Ethan and Kylie were being too rough. So Julia was screaming - alot. Which those of you who know Julia will know happens quite often. So no one pays much attention anymore when Julia screams. Anyway, none of them were nearly as interested in playing nicely together downstairs as they were in running upstairs and blaming all the screaming on everyone else. It was never their fault - and they wanted me to know it. So I got a running newsreel of the blame game.
"Ethan pulled my hair!"
"Kylie sat on my arm!"
"Julia kicked my knee!"
All in overdone whiny, nasly voices.
Sound familiar?
Now I expect my kids to play together nicely and enjoy spending time together. But I also expect some level of bickering from them. They're kids. They haven't learned how to be unselfish and kind. That's what I'm for - to teach them.
But it seems rather ridiculous that our elected representatives (well-educated, wealthy adults) can't do anything because they've paralyzed themselves with partisan bickering and just plain stubborness.
It seems to this stay-at-home mom who obviously has no clout in Washington that a few things should be perfectly clear to them.
You can't keep make $2.6 trillion a year and spend $3.8 trillion (Pretty sure those are the numbers I heard...)
Just like I can't buy a $3 million home on the beach in California. It doesn't work to shove the mortgage onto a credit card and only pay interest forever.
Duh.
Doesn't take a Phd or 3 million votes to figure that out.
"But I love the beach!"
"It's my favorite place in the world!"
"Other people have beach homes!"
"I want one too!"
(Hear the whining??)
Too bad. Not in the budget.
Sooner or later something has to be cut somewhere. Maybe that cut will be painful to you and me. But we can't keep spending imaginary money.
The other thing I think Republicans and Democrats should realize is that all of them are quickly losing the trust and respect of people worldwide. No one's coming out looking good here.
So grow up people! Act like men and women of integrity and wisdom and make some tough decisions that might not be popular in the short run but have the best interests of the country in mind. Just do something - besides all the constant arguing!
