Sequestration Looms While Congress Whines

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Navy Secretary Ray Maybus/Politico.com

Once again, Congress has brought the nation to the brink of disaster as sequestration draws near.  This blogger echoes the words of Navy Secretary Ray Maybus, who said, in part, "Everybody knows sequestration is just a bad idea and the notion of somehow playing around the edges to make a bad idea a little bit better is not a solution. The solution is to fix this thing and the president has presented a balance, a strategic and comprehensive approach,” when he appeared on Starting Point Tuesday morning.  Perhaps every concerned citizen should call their senators and representatives with the chant, "Fix this thing, now!"

While the effects of inaction remain unclear, government agencies are already taking action in planning for the worst.   Airports have warned that TSA security checks will involve more time and longer lines and some flights will be cancelled, the Department of Defense predicts the nation will face greater security vulnerabilities, and expected budget cuts prompted the Department of Immigration to release some illegal immigrants today.

In his typical hardline approach, John Boehner refuses to accept responsibility for the coming debacle and admonished senators to "get of their ass" and pass a sequester replacement bill.  He is nothing if not an eloquent speaker.  Here's a newsflash, Mr. Boehner.  Everyone need to do something, including you, and I don't mean pouting, scowling and posturing in front of cameras.  Perhaps if you spent more time working and less time on the golf course or on the beach--wherever you maintain your ever-present tan--our country might not have reached the brink of financial disaster once again.

In case members of Congress haven't noticed, the vast majority of Americans are disgusted with the lack of action on a serious problem.  Everyone in Congress deserves a comeuppance, and I have the perfect solution.  Alter their pay to an hourly wage paid at the current minimum of $7.25, because they aren't producing measurable results.  Americans get more service from workers at McDonald's and Target than they do from elected politician. 

I leave you with the following message to our lawmakers.  Listen more, talk less, and work together.  Oh, and read All I Ever Needed to Know I Learned in Kindergarten.  It will remind you about working well together, respecting others and their opinions, and sharing.  No recess until you finish the assignment!

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Congress Has Misplaced Priorites

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Ham on Wry has lost all hope of Congress accomplishing anything worthwhile during its next session, given the continued posturing and Republican stonewalling of President Obama on almost every front.  It seems a majority of congressional members are serving a master not named in the United States Constitution: financial supporters, both individual and well-shrouded groups, that contribute to campaigns.  The Preamble to the United States Constitution contains a clause stating that one of the reasons for establishing the constitution is to " Promote the general welfare."  This blogger can't speak for other citizens, but I don't feel promoting the general welfare has a high priority in the 113th Congress, especially in the House of Representatives.

Readers will recognize the photo above taken from a previous post as John Boehner, Speaker of the House.  Although he claims to understand what it's like being poor, I believe any comprehension he might have had once is long forgotten.  He claims that people make minimum wage because they bring few, if any, skills to the workplace and will have little chance of developing them in minimum wage jobs.   He, therefore, objects to President Obama's proposal to raise the minimum wage to $9/hour, explaining, “When you raise the price of employment, guess what happens? You get less it.  At a time when the American people are still asking the question ‘Where are the jobs?’, why would we want to make it harder for small employers to hire people?”  Notice his enlightened view of the president's attempt to pay workers a living wage.

Mr. Boehner, and many of his colleagues who have served multiple terms in office, have profited mightily from their time in office.  He is a millionaire many times over with no worries about how to feed his children and keep a roof over his family's head.  Companies like Walmart, Target, McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Starbucks are doing quite well, thank you, and can afford to pay their workers a higher wage, but they fear how it would impact earnings.  I suggest that Mr. Boehner, and any other member of Congress who resists raising the minimum wage, live for a month on minimum wage and see how they fare.  I predict some might change their tune. 

Startling but true, the current minimum wage, $7.25, has less value than the $1.60 paid in 1968, which would be worth $10.56 today.  President Obama's request for a $9.00 minimum wage falls below that.  Congress has no problem voting its .own raises, but balks at elevating the earnings of the working poor.  I am sick of hearing all the nonsense and sick at heart for the intransigence of the very people elected to work on behalf of the nation's citizens.  Voting is the sole power citizens have to voice their objections to the status quo, yet states continue to send the same inept people to make our laws and handle our finances.  If these buffoons worked for a business, a vast majority would have been fired long ago.  When will America wake up from its long winter's nap?

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Imagine a World Without Music

Afghan National Institute of Music website photo

How many readers shudder at the thought of no Ipods, no music download, no radio stations, no concerts?  Probably not one can envision a world without music, but people in Afghanistan were forced to live that way under Taliban rule.

Banned by the Taliban when it took control of Afghanistan in 1996, music returned to the country when Dr. Ahmad N. Samast established the Afghan National Institute of Music in 2010, after four years of fundraising and garnering support from the global community.  There, the Afghan Youth Orchestra formed and has a vision of performing around the world.   Many of the students are orphans or street children, some of whom had never seen a musical instrument.  Females comprise one-third of the orchestra, an astounding statistic, given their subjugation under the Taliban.

The United States State Department welcomed the Afghan Youth Orchestra February 4, and were treated to a special concert,  Newly-appointed Secretary of State John Kerry surprised the visitors and confessed he had played in a rock band in his yourth.  The AYO is led by violin teacher William Harvey and clarinet teacher Ustad Farid Shefta and comprises a combination of Afghan and Western instruments in its repertoire.

news.yahoo.com

On Thursday, the orchestra performed at the Kennedy Center in Washington, DC and will entertain  at Carnegie Hall February 12.  Funded by the US State Department, the World Bank, and other global supporters, the tour will last two weeks.  Dr. Samast, the founder, hopes that the AYO concerts will change the perception of Afghanistan and offer an example of how the culture has changed with boys and girls performing side-by-side.

Ham on Wry delights in this news because music is the message of the soul and transcends language barriers.  This blogger wishes AYO success on all fronts.

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Alabama Boy Rescued After FBI Kills Captor

abcnews

Ethan, the smiling 5-year-old pictured above, escaped harm when and FBI Swat team stormed the bunker where he had been held for six days.  The FBI had been monitoring the situation since he was captured and grew concerned when negotiations with Jimmy Lee Dykes, the man who abducted Ethan from his school bus, deteriorated.  They killed Dykes and took the rescued boy to a hospital where he was reunited with his family and his favorite dinosaur.

FBI Special Agent in Charge, Steve Richardson reported that Ethan was doing fine.  "He is laughing, joking, playing, eating."  He later added. "He's a very brave little boy. He's very lucky. "The Dothan, Alabama hospital placed the boy in a private area guarded by heavy security.  Ethan suffers from Asperger's Syndrome and ADHD, which requires regular doses of medicine as part of his care, but he was not physically compromised during his ordeal.

Associated Press

After killing the bus driver who tired to protect Ethan, Dykes took his hostage to an underground bunker, 6 feet by 8 feet, and allowed the FBI to provide coloring books and medicine for the boy.  They had been observing the bunker from a camera buried under four feet of soil, and decided to act swiftly to rescue Ethan when they noticed Dykes with a gun.

Neighbors reported relief that the ordeal had ended and were not surprised at the outcome.  Dykes served in Viet Nam and was an anti-social loner who was prone to violence.  One neighbor reported that he had killed his dog with a lead pipe.  No motive for the hostage taking has yet been revealed.

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The Annoying Proliferation of TV Ads

 

adglitz.com

Ham on Wry has conducted an unofficial study of just how much time is actually devoted to TV programming.  The results will probably not surprise anyone who finds the bombardment of ads between program segments intolerable.  With respect to national evening news, time devoted to what now passes as news ranged from 21-22 minutes per half-hour.  The same findings apply to 30-minute TV shows.  Programs slotted for an hour's viewing time averaged 42-44 minutes.  No wonder many people choose to record their favorite programs. When convenient, they can fast forward over the commercials and enjoy the show.

As for morning programs, since they are based on 30-minute segments, they approximate the same results as any half-hour show, but with a major difference.  The on-air personalities spend a great deal of time in banter and idle chats, so much so, that when an interview occurs, it is frequently cut off for ads to run. Further, they tell the viewers what will follow at the beginning of each half hour. What a total waste of time!

I have noticed that average run-time for ads has decreased, but that doesn't mean less time is devoted overall.  It has actually increased over the past 10 years.  The most annoying part of the change occurs when the same ad runs twice, with the second airing coming immediately after the ad that runs between the two.  Advertisers must think that the audience comprises idiots with no capacity to retain information.  If I am watching a program live, I handle the situation by reading a newspaper, doing household chores, working on a Sudoku puzzle, or some other diversion.

Television viewing has morphed into a mind-numbing experience over the course of my life.  News programs no longer devote the entire program to hard news.  Instead, they opt for pieces about social media, or famous people with no talent like the Kardashians.  60 Minutes is one of the few programs that still deals with hard news and traditional journalistic pieces.  Anyone who wants in-depth reporting must subscribe to a newspaper or read articles online.

tvisnotdead.com

Most of us recognize the symbolic characters pictured above, although some are no longer in use.  I'm old enough to remember when few ads ran during a program, so that during most of the scheduled time, the viewer was seeing the show.  I don't recall that companies had any difficulty selling their products then.  We still had to eat, drink, and be merry.  Perhaps advertisers should consider how many people actually watch their ads and are convinced to buy the product.  I have joined the record-now-and-watch-later bunch.  It saves time and aggravation. 

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Gun Rights Advocates Shout at Newtown Victim's Father

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Jessica Hill/AP

Once again, Ham on Wry posts on gun control because the nuttiness continues.  Barbara Mattson, a firearm training units detective with the Connecticut State Police displays a Bushmaster AR-15 rifle like the one Adam Lanza used in his massacre of 26 people at Sandy Hook Elementary.  Parents of children killed in that tragedy testified at a legislative hearing Monday, calling for improved enforcement of existing gun laws and stricter penalties for violators.

Jessica Hill/AP

Neil Heslin, who lost his son Jesse in the shooting, showed his emotion when he told the audience how difficult it was for him to see Jesse lying in a casket.  He then asked why any civilian would need to own an assault-style weapon, at which point a handful of gun advocates heckled him shouting about their Second Amendment rights.  Clearly, these people have no regard for civil discourse or respect for those who have lost loved ones when such weapons were used, and I suspect all belong to the NRA.

Wake up, crazed gun advocates!  No one is asking you to give up your constitutional rights to own a gun.   Reasonable, clear-thinking people want a common sense approach to gun ownership, and that doesn't describe the current situation.  Statistics show that our nation has the highest rate of gun deaths in any of the world's developed countries.  Adam Lanza could not have killed so many children and adults so horribly and quickly, if his mother hadn't had a stash of guns, including the Bushmaster AR-15.  Assault weapons belong in the hands of the military and law enforcement agencies, not citizens.  No one yet has provided a sound reason for anyone who uses guns for legal purposes to own assault rifles, bulletproof vests, or multi-round ammunition clips designed for maximum damage.  That includes NRA spokesperson Wayne LaPierre, who claims that assault weapons have use in sports.  What sport is that, Mr. LaPierre--kill those who disagree with you?

Gun proponents need to read the Second Amendment and remember the framers' purpose in writing it.  At that time in American history, no standing army existed, so they wanted to give citizens the right to protect themselves in times of war.  The men who drafted the United States Constitution and the amendments that followed had roots in countries ruled by monarchies and despots who could take anything they wanted at will.  They could not possibly have envisioned a time when weapons would exist to massacre large numbers of people, and they certainly wouldn't have thought about the kinds of slayings that occur with modern weapons.

In case some gun advocates still believe that the Second Amendment gives them the right to any and all weapons, I say get a grip!  That kind of thinking provides the very foundation for the Adam Lanza's of the world to wreak havoc on innocent victims.  Your right to gun ownership doesn't trump the inalienable right of American citizens to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.  You take away that right when you promote ownership of weapons designed purely to kill large numbers of people.  For once, approach this issue with reason and compromise.

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Reflections on Lincoln's Presidency and Its Current Relevance

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Abraham Lincoln's courage against what his party, the Republican Party, believed were insurmountable odds of passing the thirteenth amendment by January 31st, 1865, formed the backdrop for the movie Lincoln.  This blogger finally saw the film Sunday and found it moving and insightful.  It set the stage for today's post by revealing the stark contrasts between that president and congress and our current president and congress.

The Civil War had raged for four years when Lincoln was re-elected, and he wanted passage of the thirteenth amendment to ensure that slaves whom he freed with the Emancipation Proclamation would return to slavery when the war ended, if they didn't have constitutional legality to remain free.  Since I learned history as a plethora of names, events and dates rather than an exploration of the times, the undercurrents that affected the politicians and citizens of the day, and a macro view of the details that spurred change, I had not previously studied that period with the depth that the movie did.  I saw determination, chicanery, machinations, steadfastness, bribery, and heated debate as President Lincoln worked to get enough votes to pass the amendment. 

The greatest surprise that awaited me as I watched the plot unfold was the Republican Party.  Its members had the progressive view that all men were created equal and supported freedom for Negroes, as they were identified in those times.  The Democrats offered strong opposition to the thirteenth amendment, but, eventually, enough voted "Aye" that it became law.  What a contrast that event offers to today's political landscape.

Congress today is ruled by thoughts of re-election and staying in the good graces of major supporters, such as the NRA, which creates roadblocks to doing the work the public expects.  While the House of Representative of 1865 heatedly debated the thirteenth amendment (the Senate had already passed it), today's House of Representatives has a deplorable record of absenteeism during the discussion of bills that have been brought before it.  Thus, many members don't hear the discussions of pros and cons offered before a bill becomes law.  In fact, some of the bills have onerously long contents that representatives don't take time to read, so they rely on others for their opinions.  Much is lost in this process, which defies the framers intention for the congress to answer solely to the people and not special interests.

Many citizens have lost confidence in our governing bodies and express disappointment that President Obama did not deliver on his promise to substantively change business as usual and bring compromise back to congress.  Clearly, a certain irony exists that a black man takes the oath of office for the second time in a period of great turmoil, albeit a different kind than existed in Lincoln's day.  Obama has a second chance to effect the kind of change that he promised the first time around.  Perhaps the memory of Lincoln 's relentless pursuit of what he believed crucial to America's continuation will inspire a deeper commitment in President Obama to dedicate himself to doing the right thing.

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