The Race To The Bottom

About a month ago I wrote an attempted funny piece about putting up a border wall on our southern border. The southern border of Missouri, in order to keep Arkansans out and protect our culture, our property, OUR JOBS! What I did not really understand was that I was (once again) behind the times. I had not followed the times. I once again had not paid attention. Term limits have come to fruition and now we get to reap what we have sewn. The harvest. What the hell am I talking about? I am talking about consequences and the consequences we are suffering through... is the Missouri Legislature. The scum also rises to the top. I did not see this coming. It make a LOT of sense to let people go to government, and then come home. Citizen legislators are an admirable goal but now we have the worst of all worlds. People with no institutional memory and no legislative experience. They are in need of guidance and they are getting it, brilliantly by the former legislators who were: 1. Term limited out of office 2. Not talented enough or intelligent enough to go on to State wide office; 3. Greedy; 4. Able to gain an understanding of how to game the system.

 They also have to rely on crutches like the American Legislation Exchange Counsel (ALEC) who plants and educates you regarding their prepackaged, highly biased legislation. I want to be fair, these legislators do not have a lot of options. They do not have a system that provides any education and their seniors (who should be mentors are on their final terms and preoccupied with what they are going to do next. These guys are trying to feather their own nests. In this last election cycle that means that there are a huge Republican majority in the legislature and they can absolutely, positively get NOTHING done other than lowering the bar and making asses of themselves and making Missouri... the new Arkansas. I Googled “Missouri State Legislature 2012 Accomplishments” and came up with this link to the Missourian. This just lists their headlines regaring the Missouri Legislature and it is...shameful, meager and embarrassing.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/packages/2012-missouri-legislature/

I am just saying that there is no there, there. Forget about the Emperor having no clothes, we don't have an Emperor. There is nothing getting done. In the Missouri House it is 105 Republicans to 58 Democrats and in the Senate it is 27 Republicans to 7 Democrats. In Jay Nixon they have a Democratic Governor who understands how the wind is blowing and other than making sure he does not sell out his trial lawyer campaign donation base he is open minded to doing the politically expedient thing but our idiots in the house ans senate cannot agree with one another on....anything. The Missouri House is desperate to race us to the bottom. We want to be Arkansas, Alabama and Mississippi. We are REALLY embracing the SEC affiliations of our State football team by doing everything we can to damage unions, schools, higher education and any kind of social safety net. Right to work has worked so well for those States that why wouldn't we want to be there with them. When will States realize that competing with one another for jobs by giving tax breaks and creating labor hating laws just zooms us to the bottom exacerbating the difference between the super rich and everyone else. We do not need to spend money on education, we need to fix education and we can fix it by cutting expenses and firing people. Here are some of the things that they spent their time and your money on. Just some:

HB 68 -- MISUSE OF EMERGENCY TELEPHONE SERVICE This bill prohibits a political subdivision from imposing a fine or penalty on the owner of a pay telephone or on the owner of any property upon which a pay telephone is located for a callan emergency telephone service from the pay telephone. HB 182 -- COLON CANCER AWARENESS DAY This bill designates the first Friday in March of each year as “Dress in Blue for Colon Caawareness of colon cancer. HCS HB 197 -- CORD BLOOD BANKING SS HCS HB 213 -- LATE-TERM ABORTIONS HCS HB 220 -- REAL ESTATE LICENSEE LIABILITY Currently, a real estate licensee is immune from liability for statements made by certain expert professionals unless the expert was selected and engaged by the licensee. This bill specifies that the ordering of a report or an inspection alone will not constitute selecting or engaging a person. SS#2 SCS HCS HB 294, 123, 125, 113, 271 & 215 -- FIREARMS This bill changes the laws regarding firearms, ammunition, and concealed carry endorsements. In its main provisions, the bill: (1) Specifies that the county sheriff’s revolving fund may be used to pay for information and data exchange (Section 50.535, RSMo); (2) Prohibits the sales tax on any firearms or ammunition from being levied at a higher rate than for any sales tax or other excise tax charged on any sporting goods or equipment or any hunting equipment (Section 144.064); (3) Specifies that a nondriver’s license containing a concealed carry endorsement will expire three years from the date the certificate of qualification was issued. The fee for nondriver’s licenses issued for a period exceeding three years will be $6 or $3 for licenses issued for a period of three year(Sections 302.181 and 571.101); (4) Allows a person to possess, manufacture, transport, repair, or sell a machine gun, short barreled rifle or shotgun, or firearm silencer if he or she conforms with federal law. A person will not commit a crime if he or she possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells an explosive weapon; explosive, incendiary, or poisonous substance or material; a gas gun; a switchblade knife; certain explosive bullets; or knuckles if he or she conforms with federal law. A person who possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells an explosive weapon; explosive, incendiary, or poisonous substance or material; a gas gun; or a machine gun, short barreled rifle or shotgun, or firearm silencer in violation of federal law will be guilty of a class C felony. A person who possesses, manufactures, transports, repairs, or sells a switchblade knife, certain explosive bullets, or knuckle571.020); (9) Specifies that current provisions do not preclude a member of the General Assembly, a full-time or legislative employee of the General Assembly, or statewide elected officials and their employees who hold a valid concealed carry endorsement from carrying a concealed f(Section 571.107); Authorized the purchase of: (4) A “DON’T TREAD ON ME” plate to any person who applies. SS SCS HCS HB 470 & 429 -- NONRESIDENT ENTERTAINER AND PROFESSIONAL ATHLETIC TEAM INCOME TAX This bill exempts a not-for-profit entity that receives no benefit from a nonresident entertainer’s appearance other than the entertainer’s performance from the withholding requirement of the nonresident entertainer and professional athletic team income tax. HB 749 -- CHILD ABUSE PREVENTION This bill designates April as “Child Abuse Prevention Month” to be observed with activities that increase awareness of the issue and the prevention methods available to reduce child abuse incidents. The bill also designates the “blue risymbol for child abuse prevention. AND BRIDGE DESIGNATIONS This bill renames the Heroes Way Interstate Interchange Designation Program as the Heroes Way Interchange Designation Program and expands the program to include state-numbered highway interchanges. The bill also designates the following memorial highways and bridges: (1) The portion of State Highway 8 in St. Francois County from the intersection of State Route M east to the intersection of Main Street in the City of Leadwood as the “Ferlin Huskey Highway”; HJR 2 -- RELIGIOUS FREEDOM IN PUBLIC PLACES Upon voter approval, this proposed constitutional amendment guarantees a citizen’s right to pray and worship in all private and public areas including schools as long as the activities are voluntary and subject to the same rules and regulations that apply to all other types of speech. A citizen’s right to choose any religion or no religion at all is reaffirmed by prohibiting the state or any of its political subdivisions from establishing an official state religion and from coercing any person to participate in any prayer or other religious activity. The resolution also reaffirms the right of employees and elected officials of the State of Missouri to pray on government premises and public property and ensures the General Assembly and the governing bodies of political subdivisions the right to have ministers, clergy persons, and other individuals offer prayers or invocations at meetings or sessions of the General Assembly or governing bodies. Students are allowed to express their religious beliefs in assignments free from discrimination and cannot be compelled to participate in assignments or presentations that violate their beliefs. Public schools receiving state funds are required to display the text of the Bill of Rights of the Constitution of the United States in a conspicuous and legible manner. The resolution does not expand the religious rights of prisoners beyond those guaranteed by federal laws.


Everyone can pray everywhere, except prisoners....and Muslims! You can find all their brilliance from 2011 and that of the Missouri Senate here:

 http://house.mo.gov/pr/tafpsummaries2011.pdf

One thing for sure is 2012 will be shorter and even dumber. So really, what do we do? I would like to blame it on the Republicans but if the Democrats were the super majority they would be cocking it up too. Selling themselves off for votes and campaign dollars and personal riches. Sadly, I now have more confidence in the Federal Government (which is unbelievable) than I do in this particularly contemptible group. The Governor is doing a nice sensible job in a horrible situation but these people... these people have to go. We have a nice State. They have made us into a joke. Not even a funny joke. Just a sick, sad joke as we become norther Arkansas. Here is the latest example. Makes you proud to be from the “Pay Me” State. http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-missouri-legislature-s-revolving-door-begins-its-annual-spin/article_1c1113f3-5833-5cc7-bac4-b18835940a87.html

Supremely Stupid

Soooo... I am a pinko. I voted for our current President. I am happy John Mc Cain is not our President and happy Sarah Palin is not our Vice president. Not thrilled, but happy. I painted a lot of childish hopes on this President and he has not fulfilled those hopes but it was not fair to expect that anyone could transcend the partisan miasma that national politics has become. I have gotten over it. I knew he was left with a mess and that he was just a man. I believed our nation had been pulled to the right through 16 years of Clinton/Bush I thought we could be brought back towards the middle.

Instead he galvanized the far right and every election, every discussion is a suicide mission for them. And he has, despite everything ushered our nation further to the right. Less tolerant. More selfish. Less free. Still I appreciated the thoughtful tone he brought to discussions. the reasoned cadence in mad throng.

That having been said I was sickened by his recent attack or at least questioning of the Supreme Court when they were considering the healthcare issue. Granted, I dislike this dogmatic Court. I believe them to be small minded and fully agendaized with kind of a cheap nod towards “original intent” which is one of the most asinine concepts ever foisted on the American people. No one can agree on what the government’s intent was 10 years ago, much less 200 years ago. Certainly Scalia politicized the conversation making it clear this law sucked and he was going to find a way to tear it down, and not a piece at a time but in one fell swoop. That was wrong. It is wrong for Justices to clearly wear ideology on their sleeve and it takes all questions on independance out of the system. Decisions are pre-ordained and pre-judged before they ever arrive and that is sad.

That having been said Obama sank to their level when he attempted to rile up public opinion against the Court. It was like he was trying to incite a mob. It is totally inappropriate for a President to comment on, question and try and bully the Court while a decision is being argued and considered. I demeans the Court, it demeans our system of checks and balances, demeans the President and demeans our country. We deserve better from the President. But in our current climate, everyone plays to their base conventions, common courtesy, history and statesmanship be damned. I do believe these people we have entrusted our political system to are unworthy of their positions and I fear they will incite the people to tear it down.

These are your happy thoughts for the day.

Romney: The Great Pretender, With Apologies To Jackson Browne

ROMNEY
The Pretender












I'm going to rent myself a house
In the shade of the freeway (Pan onto or flash pictures of one of his 3-4 massive houses)
I'm going to pack my lunch in the morning
And go to work each day (now shots of champaign caviar and lobster...and a lunch box)
And when the evening rolls around
I'll go on home and lay my body down (Bedroom of a Ritz Carlton or Fairmount Hotel)
And when the morning light comes streaming in
I'll get up and do it again (Romney coming out on stage)
Amen
Say it again (Romney among a crowd shaking hands)
Amen

I want to know what became of the changes
We waited for love to bring (Pictures of he and wife and family)
Were they only the fitful dreams
Of some greater awakening (Headlines of Kennedy Beats Romney for Senate)
I've been aware of the time going by
They say in the end it's the wink of an eye (Headline of Romney Winning Governor of Massachussets)
And when the morning light comes streaming in
You'll get up and do it again (Headline “Romney announces run for President 2008)
Amen

Caught between the longing for love (Romney Signs Universal healthcare In Massachusetts)
And the struggle for the legal tender (Picture of Bain Capital Logo)
Where the sirens sing and the church bells ring (Picture of Sara Palin)
And the junk man pounds his fender (Picture of Newt Gingrich)
Where the veterans dream of the fight
Fast asleep at the traffic light (Picture of John Mc Cain)
And the children solemnly wait
For the ice cream vendor (Picture of rabid college kids standing in front of Ron Paule)
Out into the cool of the evening
Strolls the pretender (Romney Again if front of Crowd)
He knows that all his hopes and dreams Flash on state maps of Iowa, Connecticutt and South carolina)
Begin and end there (Florida)

Ah the laughter of the lovers
As they run through the night (Bachman and her husband)
Leaving nothing for the others
But to choose off and fight (Rick Perry)
And tear at the world with all their might
While the ships bearing their dreams
Sail out of sight (Herman Cain)

I'm going to find myself a girl
Who can show me what laughter means (Anne Coulter)
And we'll fill in the missing colors (picture of a pink slip)
In each other's paint-by-number dreams (Big Fox Logo)
And then we'll put out dark glasses on (Romney in Sunglasses)
And we'll make love until our strength is gone (Pictures of $$$$ signs)
And when the morning light comes streaming in
We'll get up and do it again ($$$$$$$$$$)
Get it up again (Bain Capital Logo)

I'm going to be a happy idiot (Corporations Are People)
And struggle for the legal tender (Bain Logo)
Where the ads take aim and lay their claim (SUPER PAC)
To the heart and the soul of the spender (Karl Rove)
And believe in whatever may lie
In those things that money can buy (President of the US LOGO)
Thought true love could have been a contender (Olympics Rings)
Are you there?
Say a prayer? (Santorum)
For The Pretender (Romney)
Who started out so young and strong (Young Romney)
Only To Surrender (Fade to black)

A Boston Surprise

“I have come to know the wish list of my father.
I have come to see the shipwrecks where he wished.
I have come to wish out loud, from the overdressed crowd,
Come to witness now the sinking of the ship...”

-Joe Pug

So. Boston. October 10th. My borthday. Time to take stock or perhaps after a little more vodka to stake tock. It has been an awesome birthday and perhaps I will recount the trip later. I am still in Boston as I peck away but there seems a gravity that needs to be addressed. Of course I know it does not or at least it does not by me but... here goes.

Boston is awesome. We have never been here before and we are renting the second floor of a brownstone in the South end of the Back Bay. Evidently it is a historically gay area and history has stayed true and it is charming. We have done a lof fun stuff but yeaterday Sandy and I visited the Kennedy Museum out at U-Mass. I was vaguely interested and Sandy was really interested so we took the T out and took another shuttle and there we were.

It sits on the bay. A big glass and concrete facade with a giant (6 story) flag hanging inside of it. We had to wait about 20 minutes between tours and then were ushered to a little theater where they basically told us about the world leading up to his election and gave us a little Kennedy family history. The world is in turmoil, the Russians are about to blow us up, the 3rd world is heaving with early growing pains and everyone hates America as the leader of the former western colonial governments.

In walks the good looking, bornwell, Havahd boy who has a congressional seat and then a Senate seat purchased for him. He walks into office with a beautiful, horsey-set, monied wife and presides over this short, nightmarish Presidency. At every step he faces unbelievable challenges of a bad economy, and Russian pressure and plays hard with everyone he fights with. His speech from his inaugural was a tour de force of everything a leader should bring complete with the call for action, the rallying cry for a country which has been lost. Everyone recalls this fabulous, brilliant line which lunched a thousand programs for the assitance of others:
“And so, my fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you - ask what you can do for your country.”

But equally impressive was this line or observation:
“If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. “

Is anyone listening those words of wisdom now? Are any Christians paying attention?

These were not the blatherings of a guy out huckstering and posturing for votes. These were the words of an American, who had fought for his country and had a vision of us being a greater country than anyone, even he had imagined. A leader by example. And by words. Although in our 24 hour news cycle and lack of civility his personal life would have brought him down hard.

The most striking thing about the entire tour, the entire exhibit to me was the headline from a Des Miones newspaper saying “Republicans and Democrats Applaud Presidents Speech”. In what world could that happen in 2011? Obama gave some really good speeches but he was not brave enough to call on us a Kennedy did. That was a bridge too far for him and he, and we will suffer for his weakness and his fear. He had an opportunity to grab us and call us out to be a greater country, to redefine the discussion, to redefine greatness as not being a half million dollar house, a Mercedes and children who want for nothing, but to be a country that leads by example, focused on its religious heritage (not to preach to others, but) to lead and serve as Christ had served and through our example save our country, ourselves and the world.

Instead we labor in acountry where the rich keep getting richer on an accelerated basis. People who do nothing but make bets make tens of millions, hundreds of millions of dollars a year while job creators and the working people scramble for the rest. Which is fine. The rest is fine and we are lucky to have it, but what about those below us? How can they live with the people at the top insisting that they must make more? If they don’t make more they will leave. If they are taxed more, they won’t want to work anymore! I have never met a millionaire who would not keep working because he was taxed. I am not saying taxes are the answer, they are not! Not even close, but when we do not tax, when we stop regulating because it kills jobs, we lose site of the fact that human nature is selfish and those at the top, the very top, will take the want and change the rules through their money and power to keep what they want.

I am so frustrated right now by the same people who declare “American Exceptionalism” and extol our entrepenurial spirit, who run our largest countries but are telling us that “situations are too uncertain to invest their huge piles of cash”. There is nothing exceptional about fear. There is nothing exceptional about hoarding. Lets invest in ourselves and our values again so that there will be no doubt who leads the world. We are a city on a hill and that will not go away unless we allow our leaders, in politics and business to lead us through fear to make selfish, short sited choices.

We need another leader to call on us to be better. All of us. Together. One Country. One Nation. One People. I am ready for that man or woman to step forward. In the meantime we had best work with what we got.

Later this week I am going to explain why we need to consider rounding up and shooting all of our State Senators and State House Members. Should be a hoot.

I Am BACK!

Soooooo... it has been a while. I have had a lot to say but the bottom line is in regard to writing there has been no time...no energy. Lethargy and rushing around for work and figuring how to get out of town and then recovering at work and catching up from being out of town have made blogging a luxury that time will not afford. As you can see from this pic, I have not been wasting my time in Michigan with Polka-Fest and what not. So lets do a potpourri .

The Economy: Everything I see is bad but it is bad not from a perspective of things getting worse worse (other than housing prices which will have to continue to drop) but from the perspective of bouncing along the bottom, perhaps for a long time. Republicans are “restoring fiscal sanity” but there will be a huge 2-3 year price for this in the form of unemployed Federal workers and construction people in the private sector who will NOT be working on infrastructure jobs. This is a fact. Obama looks like a one termer but joining in on budget cutting and his own lackluster performance warrant it. The economy will still suck for the 2012 elections. He is toast. He cannot even start a war to jolt the economy because that card has been overplayed. Poor bastard.

Unemployment: I believe that our current unemployment rate and lack of growth are systemic. The Republicans will un-regulate us enough that perhaps we can find another bubble like the tech and housing bubbles that caused us all to learn to like unsustainable life styles but the bubbles will be shorter and shorter lived. We do not mass produce anything here anymore on a cost effective basis. We cannot do it because we believe people who work all day would make a living wage. At least we used to. In a global economy where grunt jobs can be done for dollars a day only an idiot would make anything here. The tech jobs that will be created simply do not need that many people. That is one of the hallmarks of tech. 9-10% unemployment is here till the next bubble. Some politician should be brave enough to say it out loud.

Obama: He has been a disappointment to me. Not because he has not gotten us out of the current economy. I believe and still believe our country needs to be pulled to the left. free market capitalism (unregulated) is a recipe for the top 1% to pack it in even more. It is never enough. Obama had the chance originally to ask us make sacrifices and redefine the conversation. Instead he played politics as usual and even worse, played it badly. In dealing with the Tea Party and their elected minions and every other republican scared by a possible primary challenge if he does not tow the line he negotiated with terrorists. They only understand one thing and that is force. They are willing to shoot the hostages. he should have let the house of representatives not lift the debt ceiling. But it was a total lack of leadership and judgment that he did not get this done during the last budget negotiations. Unforgivable really, embarrassing and it certainly added to our debt downgrade.

The Debt Downgrade: Who gives a shit? Our currency and treasury Bonds are still the benchmark and they will continue to be if slash programs and raise taxes. Be clear though that both these things are a no growth plan for the near future. The debt grading companies will be gone soon because S&P overplayed their hand. As I tweeted the day it happened, “The S&P downgraded Bob Dylans record catalogue for 5 stars to 4 ½ stars.... Asian markets are reeling.

Our Politics: Somehow we have elected and empowered the deck chair reorganizers to run our country. This is not a recent thing but has happened in my life time. The don’t think. They only want to get re-elected. If they do think it is with a zealotry that ill befits a democracy. I remember my 8th grade teacher asking the question about whether you want your elected official to do as the population wants him to do or to do what he believes to be the right thing based on the situation? Everyone said that a politician should do what his constituents (we did not use that word) told him to do (the majority). He said we were idiots. He was right. Ultimately, God have mercy on our souls, we have gotten the government we deserve.

The Republican Candidates: The only way barrack gets elected again is because there is a good chance the Republicans cannot find a credible candidate.

Romney: Paper tiger. leading candidate only because he has been running for 8 years now. If Iowa straw poll does not kill him now, South Carolina Primary will. When he comes to town I hear a prison guard yelling “dead man walking”. he even looks scared. He said “corporations are people” which is enough of a film clip to cost him any election against Obama. Also, and I know this is an awful thing to say in a post racial, politically correct, open minded America (hah, hah and OMG HAH!) I don’t think when push comes to shove we elect a Mormon President. Too much baggage, too new of a religion and I could scare people off him in a paragraph. If you are the Christian right how do you do it? When people start reading The Book of Mormon... this will go poorly for him.

Huntsman: I thought he would be good and run hard. He has been non existent. He is also a Mormon, albeit a good looking one. See above.

Michelle Bachman? Really? I mean REALLY? I know a lot of people think she is “just what this country needs” but she is a fallen Lutheran and she fell the wrong way. She has crazy eyes, is a zealot and when she says hate filled things and gets applauded it reinforces her desire to talk more. She is telegenic but every time says stupid things and not because she is being asked “gotcha” questions. She also loses because we have seen how our most recent short term legislator turned President worked out. Too easy to beat on too many levels.

Gingrich? Already shot himself. Not in the foot but in the head.

Pawlenty” Looks good on paper. Dies early. He brings nothing to the show.

Herman Cain? Herman Cain? I can get angry without watching him explode every time he is in front of the camera. Does anyone really want to give this guy a nuclear football? he lloks like a Commerce Secretary or something to me.

Ron Paul: I love him. he has the courage of his convictions and takes the heat for them. he is consistent to a fault. Small government means SMALL government. Small military, slash entitlements and let people do what they want as long as they do not hurt anyone else. He is unelectable in every sense of the word and he has one crazy, amoral son.

Rick Perry: Pre-annointed, he announced today. he has said a lot of crazy things. he wins elections by narrow margins and in a divided country he gets the nod. He seems to have the nod from the Taliban in the party and they vote 100% in the primaries. It will make an interesting race as we get more into his crony government supported buddies in Texas. If Texas continues to dry up it will hard for him to campaign because there will be more and more suffering in his state. Stupid on immigration. Runs hard to his faith which creates a lot of opportunities to paint as a demagogue. Will do or say anything to get elected. He looks like the candidate.

I am sure I have forgotten a couple of their candidates. I hope it is none of them. Ihope they can raise up a leader which can unite us in the middle. Someone who can claim the majority rather than a coalition carved from a base on the fringe. America needs better than it is being offered but as I said earlier... we are indeed getting what we deserve.

GET ANGRY

Sooooo.... I am ANGRY! And you should be ANGRY too. Then we can be ANGRY together! There is so much to be angry about. Mexicans taking our jobs! BIG Government! High Taxes! Limited business opportunities! Unemployment! Under employment! The government take over of healthcare (OBAMACARE!)! The United Nations! RICH LIBERALS! The conspiracy to trample on the Constitution! PROGRESSIVES.....FOR GODS SAKE PROGRESSIVES! MAIN STREAM MEDIA! Blame Stream Media! Lame Stream Media! The attempt to muzzle FOX News!! Creeping Socialism! The decline of American Values! People who question “American Exceptionalism”! There is just so much to be angry about and seeming so few exclamation marks. But EVERYTHING needs to be in bold type and end with an exclamation point because we are ANGRY!

Why would we not be angry? We live in the strongest, freest country on earth. A country so embarrassingly blessed with natural resources, clean water, tillable land, coal, oil, gas, timber and a temperate climate that it is as close to paradise as any geographical place on earth. But lets forget about that! Everything is bad! And it has to be changed and it can only be changed if we get ANGRY! If we forget that besides being blessed to be Americans, alive at this great time in history, that we also are blessed by a just and loving God who sent his only son as salvation from our sends. LETS FORGET THAT AND BE ANGRY!

And lets feed our anger by listening to angry people who think as we think, or perhaps are even more angry then we are so that we can feel like we are really not THAT angry. And lets blame people. Lets blame the past administration. Lets blame the current administration. lets blame, politicians, liberals, conservatives, Tea Party people, Progressives, Jews, Christians, Muslims, the damned Sufi Muslims, blacks, whites, yellow, brown, tan and magenta. Lets blame them because OUR COUNTRY IS BEING DESTROYED! And it is all their fault!

None of it is my fault! I am angry at all these people who have made everything so bad. by being angry i am going to get something done about it. By getting together with other people who are angry we will elect people who are different. People who are accountable. People who will not do whatever they need to do to make sure they stay in power and perpetuate their own families well being. People who are going to be “different”. People who are... not people. Until we elect someone who is not a person, we will not be happy.

We will continue to be angry about the tax code. We will realize that there ca be no free market with this bastardized amalgam of social engineering that seeks to reward behavior government wants to encourage. And we will do NOTHING about it in our anger because we still want the breaks which are good for us! We just want the other guys tax breaks taken away. They make us angry! We must scream about the sanctity of capitalism while insisting that the government subsidize ever Wal-Mart with a TIF and every wind farm with subsidies and price fixing.

It never ends, the things to be angry about. The things that divide us. The things that diminish us as a people. The things that make us smaller. Pettier. Hateful. Bitter. Alone, even in a mob. So we live in the greatest, most blessed Democracy the world has ever known with a higher standard of living than our much applauded founding fathers could have ever dreamed of and we scream about watering the tree of freedom with human blood. Because we are ANGRY!

And as Christians we can draw a lot of examples of this righteous anger from Christ. JUST READ YOUR BIBLE! Jesus was always walking around being angry about the government. Being angry at those damn, scummy Samaritan immigrants who were taking good Jewish Jobs. Angry with Ceasar for taxing the hell out of them. Angry with the politicians of the time for executing him. Angry with people who were exposing “social justice” and leaving a corner of their fields for the poor to get some grain! COMMUNISTS Christ would scream and berate them! At least he never got angry at the rich and powerful. They were blessed and they are guaranteed a spot at his right hand in heaven. That is what the Bible says. Right?

So be angry. Be a Christian and be angry. Follow Christs example and be angry and be a victim and complain. Complain from the left. Complain from he right. Stand up, sit down, fight, fight fight.

BEWARE OF THE ANCHOR BABIES!

I had the pleasure this week to watch Jeff Sessions pontificate on the intent of the founding fathers when they passed the 14th Amendment and was shamed again by our leadership. Obviously this was a gaffe. Certainly the man has to know that the 14th Amendment was adopted by vote of the country in 1868. It was enacted in response to the some misguided southern States denying emancipated slaves citizenship. The portion relevant to the current discussion states:

"Section 1. All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside. No State shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws."

I assume that Sessions knows that this was about 100 years after the hallowed "founding fathers" did their handiwork. Yet he has joined other angry politicians decrying "Anchor Babies". Now I know we have had a hot, hot end of the summer. I know heat wave's make people act crazy but does crazy have to encompass mean and stupid. Anchor Babies? Who comes up with this type of evil bullshit? We don't want them having anchor babies? Would we be happier with Mexican mothers crossing the border and burdening our health care system with their abortions? What we mean is WE DON"T WANT THESE PEOPLE HERE! They are taking all of the good fruit picking jobs and jobs at chicken processing plants and we must SECURE OUR BORDERS!

I am told that a great country has secure borders. I guess that means, sadly that these people believe we have never been a great country. I am a really strong, pro-immigration American. My ancestors were immigrants. I assume they were legal but I don't know and if your honest you do not have any idea either. My ancestors could have snuck in, forged papers and identities and have established a total lie for our family in America. I do not know. I know we have the greatest country in the world because we are a nation of immigrants. I know that even if we seal off the border, right now we are likely to become a primarily Catholic, nation of primarily hispanic decent. This is not a bad thing. I know the best way to moderate that is to welcome people and figure out how to raise everyone's life style because as incomes and education go up (everywhere, every time through out all history) birthrates go down.

So seriously, we have the Missouri Sheriffs lining up with the citizens of Arizona once again proving that the further you are from the problem, the more you will take other people's problems to make them work for your own perceived, angry, political agenda.
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2010/08/11/update-missouri-sheriffs-back-states-immigration-efforts/
Brilliant stuff. This despite the efforts that the law enforcement that actually has to deal with has serious questions about how it will effect their efforts at enforcement.
http://www.reuters.com/article/idUSTRE63T5G220100430
Now we are supposed to feel sorry for the people on the border because there is so much lawlessness and mass kidnappings and violence on the U.S. side of the border. All the madness in mexico is bleeding over and we need these new laws to keep the people on the border safe. Arizona's Governor in support of her political efforts whips people into a frenzy with lies according to her own law enforcement:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/07/09/AR2010070902342.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/06/03/us-mexico-border-safety-a_n_598825.html

The point is that we panic about anchor babies because of fear. Fear is the result of stupidity based on our crappy economy and so we line up behind Nazi phrases like "Anchor Baby" to whip people into fear and loathing.

Facts:

1. Immigration is not a problem in our State (Missouri).
2. Arizona's new law violates the constitution. if they tried to do this during the Bush administration everyone would have said they were psychos.
3. We need to a better job keeping people from coming in illegally. It has been this way for at least 40 years.
4. St Ronald Reagan understood that there is no way to enforce our laws and send illegals back when there were millions already here.
5. Reagan did NOTHING to further secure the border because our business interests needed the labor then.

Tell me any of those things are wrong. If we cannot send them back we need to secure the border AND we need to deal with the folks that are here. We literally do not have the resources to track them down, hold them and send them back. In the mean time we have tens of millions of legal American citizens of hispanic descent being treated like criminals because they look different. We should be ashamed and we should wake up and take control of our borders, our futures and our souls by acting like the greatest country on earth and cherishing our founding father's values and for some of us, our Christian heritage.

God that is preachy but this "anchor Baby" hate speak makes me sick.

Ground Zero Mosque And Our Love Of Being Angry Victims

Soooo.... THE GROUND ZERO MOSQUE HAS PUBLISHED IT'S PLANS FOR LOWER MANHATTAN! It looks like the thing will take up about 20 square blocks with minarets extending up to the exact height of the downed World Trade Center. Residents will be forced to listen to the call for prayer 5 times a day and all women in lower Manhattan will be required to wear burqas. Liberal Democratic Progressive Mayor Michael Bloomberg is considering making the area a Moslem Principality and installing Sharia as "the law of the land". Hand less small children (shoplifters) are expected to over run the unaffected portions of Manhattan and the other 5 boroughs and between beheading and stoning of adulterers in the area the local health care systems and morgues are projected to be totally overwhelmed. The HUGE facility will be used for the training and encouragement of terrorists and the planning of the killings of Americans. it is projected that there will be large diamond vision screens showing the towers falling repeatedly, mocking the 2000 American dead under a constant barrage of millions of united, angry voices screaming ALLUAH AKBAR!

"The Ground Zero Mosque" is not at ground zero, nor is it what must of us infidels would think of as a Mosque. According to Hendrik Herzbergh of The New Yorker (Main Stream media) the building will be on Park Place, about two blocks from the site of the tragedy. It will not be visible from the site of the World trade center. The development, known as Park-51 will include a large prayer room (I guess that qualifies as a mosque), classrooms, a swimming pool and an auditorium as well as (misguidedly in my mind) a 9-11 Memorial. It sounds kind of like a Y.M.C.A. and evidently Jews and Christians will be welcome. The developers are a husband and wife from Kuwait who have lived in our country for 30 years.

Evidently the further you are from this development (and logically less likely to deal with it, be confronted by it or have repercussions from the "sort of people" it might attract) the more you object to it. The local counsel for lower Manhattan voted for it 29-1. The New Yorker alleges that Manhattan is for the project, Staten Island against it but what is important is that we all listen to the opinions of Newt Gingrich and Sarah Palin who oppose it vigorously. Our President felt obligated to weigh in on behalf of the Mosque saying all kinds of self righteous proclamations at a White House Feast celebrating the end of Ramadan. I was kind of shocked by that personally but I am told there is some past history of this. Still, Barack dropped the ball here by allowing this battle rise to a Presidential forum. Lets let the New Yorker's and their elected leaders take care of New York's hallowed ground. This is not a national referendum. this is people playing politics with the tragic, tragic memories of that national trauma known as 9-11.

I have an opinion on this, only because it has been elevated to a national conversation. At this point the building should not be built there because of the uninformed public outcry that has been whipped up. It has become another divisive issue so, if I were the developer I would use it as a platform to say, "I respect that some people view this building as an offense. I respectfully disagree and think you should consider whether these are the values of a great and free country". Then I might also ask, how far is far enough? 3 blocks? A Mile? Do we really want to bar mosques being built anywhere? Those are more interesting questions but please, think about this a little before you get righteous indignation up on wither side of the discussion (argument).

I live in the midwest. I believe it is the best part of the country with some of the best people in the world. BUT, the anger and stupidity of these arguments is a hateful comment on our ability to personalize every decision as one that effects AND offends us. When did it become so dishonorable to act with honor and courtesy towards others, and their ideas, and play nice. Didn't we learn that in kindergarten? If not why not...oh I know, we did not learn it because lazy, liberal teachers and their unions promote mediocrity and DUMB DOWN OUR KIDS! Ooops... did it again.

***

The REAL Tea Party

Last night I went to a place called "Lil' Mickey's" for Bar B Q. We didn't have any other place to go and thought it might be an adventure. The place was talked about a while ago in the Post when they were rating the areas best Bar b Q and it was suggested that this was the best Memphis style Bar B Q in town. It was out in St. Peters on mexico Road. That is a long way from Webster (37 Minutes according to Google Maps) and we headed out there when it was already dark. I am always amazed when I head out to St. Charles. Evidently quite a few people live out there. I had no idea. When we got there we found that Lil' Mickeys only is a carry out place. They have two small tables with stools but that is it. Thinking quickly we decided... to order carryout. We took it home and the Bar B Q was excellent. It might have been worth the drive but the bottom line was I ate a lot of Bar B Q.

To quote the great Reverend William Yonker "I told you that, so I can tell you THIS!"

It gave me nightmares. Bad nightmares. First of all they came in the form of a vicious squirrel attacking me... and then I was locked in a bank and there were some very violent people breaking in and the police would not come...but finally... the scariest dream of all came. I wish I had Daniel with me as I sit here to inturpret the dreams http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Book_of_Daniel But the third one was the scary one. Those spicy ribs took me to Louis Carroll's "Alice In Wonderland" where I was at the tea party. I always found that tea party upsetting. The March Hare was such a compelling character... he was being played by Sean Hannity, Alice was played by Ann Coulter and the he was....Rush Limbaugh as The Mad Hatter. They were all sitting around and not drinking tea but dumping it into a lake, a river, a pond, a puddle or ANY water that was available to meet their metaphor analogizing themselves to early patriots risking their lives battling tyranny. Of course none of these people or even their fantasy characters had never risked a finger, a limb or a dollar for their cherished Democracy and although trumpeting the viirtues of free speech felt compelled to shout down all competing voices. I was cast in the position of the Dormouse and like anyone who disagrees was not allowed to speak. Alice appeared to be drunk and kept saying "dittos Rush". I spoke out of turn to opine that the original tea party participants were of course ruled by a despotic, unelected Monarch across an ocean while we had the virtue of election of politicians who were doing pretty much just what they said, and everyone new they would do. Couler kicked me in the nuts and called me a faggy little mouse.

All three of them were carrying guns. Limbaugh had a Glock, Hannity a vintage Colt 44 and Coulter of course had an AK-47... slung low. It went with her heels. Hannity was nattering on about the blood of the tree of Liberty needing to be watered by the blood of "Patriots". There was that word again. What of course they are implying with their guns at public meetings is that if called upon they will incite their minions to water the tree with the blood of anyone who dares to disagree.

I heard some screeching when a maniacal Glen Beck came running shouting OFF WITH THEIR HEADS! Fortunately at that point some of the pork had worked it's way through my colon and created an emergent need to wake up and take a rather large dump. It was a huge relief to realize it was only a dream but it did seem a little to weird and a little too true. The craziness according to these folks is in the White House. I cannot always argue but the fact that anyone is seriously listening to these folks is troubling indeed.

We need some sanity. We are not finding it on cable news. Maybe we can start finding it in the entrails of birds or from scattering chicken bones but we are not going to see anything of meaning from these folks other then screeds of hate.

"Off with their heads!" Indeed. No more Lil' Mickey's for me. But if you want to get some of their carry outs...
http://www.lilmickeysbbq.com/index2.html

First Amendment

Sooooo, I am a lawyer... sort of. I went to law school anyway. I am no genius but I did get on of my infrequent "A" s in constitutional law. Nothing too big but i liked it and studying the Constitution and how it was inrupreted was kind of cool. The textbooks at the time and most case law seemed to have the same theme that the framers of the document were brilliant and that they had created a strong, flexible form of government that was one of the wonders of the free world. I remember at that time I was solicited to join the Federalist Society which was just starting up. I was a conservative Republican, suspicious of the central government and believing strongly in individual rights and being less concerned but still defensive of State rights. But I did not join. The people seemed very idealogical and rigid.

Accodring to the geniuses at Wikipedia, “The Society asserts that it "is founded on the principles that the state exists to preserve freedom, that the separation of governmental powers is central to our Constitution, and that it is emphatically the province and duty of the judiciary to say what the law is, not what it should be." Well that sounded pretty good. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Federalist_Society Unfortunately what it has become is the place which screams that THEY are literal inturpreters of the Constitution and that our liberal judiciary, staffed out of liberal law schools have been reading all kinds of things into the Constitution and that the document (almost creepily like the Bible) is the inherrent word and cannot be deviated from. These people now have the 5 vote majority on the Supreme Court. More importantanly people like Scalia would tell you that any idiot could tell you what everything in it literally means. So long as they agree with him. This majority is scary because they are brilliant intellectuals and great writers (Clearance Thomas being the exception in both cases).

They have a new kid on the court but she replaced another non Federalist judge. Sotomeyer got to hear her first oral arguments from the guys who made the Hillary Clinton bashing movie and refused to disclose who was paying for it. Their argument is that requiring them to tell violates their right to free speech. They are challenging campaign laws which violate their right to free speech. This right allegedly arises from the First Amendment which states:

“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

This right to free speech is fundamental. It has been read by liberals and conservatives as a freedom of expression. But that is not what it says. I call upon the Federalists to explain to me where it says it. I believe it.... but I believe it because it is a changable, flexible document which gets read and applied based on our realities as the American people. The majority on the Supreme Court does not. It is black letter and then if it is unclear you try and discern intent (hah!) I have two questions.
1. Where does the Constitution say that money is speech?
2. Where does the Constitution say that Corporations (who are creations of the individual States and not a creature of the Federal government) are to be allowed all the rights of a U.S. Citizen?

First point 1. The Constitution does not say that money is speech. Here are our common definitions of speech:
address: the act of delivering a formal spoken communication to an audience; "he listened to an address on minor Roman poets"
(language) communication by word of mouth; "his speech was garbled"; "he uttered harsh language"; "he recorded the spoken language of the streets"
something spoken; "he could hear them uttering merry speeches"
the exchange of spoken words; "they were perfectly comfortable together without speech"
manner of speaking: your characteristic style or manner of expressing yourself orally; "his manner of speaking was quite abrupt"; "her speech was barren of southernisms"; "I detected a slight accent in his speech"
lecture: a lengthy rebuke; "a good lecture was my father's idea of discipline"; "the teacher gave him a talking to"
actor's line: words making up the dialogue of a play; "the actor forgot his speech"
language: the mental faculty or power of vocal communication; "language sets homo sapiens apart from all other animals"


No where in these generally accepted definitions of speech dowe define money or any THING as speech. But our courts have said that. The infer this from the "freedom of expression" which is also nit in the Constitution but is certainly implied by the document although I think the framers of the document would have abhorred this idea. Freedom of speech being important then to Democracy and freedom of expression (men wearing women's clothes in public, toting a John 3:16 sign at football games etc...) probably not having the same gravity. But in light of changing thoughts on these things I am all for reading freedom expression into the Constitution... but that ain't what the document says. So certainly if those other things are freedom of expression, then where we spend and donate out money is freedom of expression (it is not speech) and falls under this logical extension and evolution of our Constitution.

Question 2 is why should corporations have all the same rights as free men(and women thanks to the 14th Amendment)? Seriously, why? Corporations are not mentioned in this document. The idea of not for profits, special interest groups and PACs would have been laughable at the time. Certain a free, white, propertied MALE should be able to put his money and capital anywhere he wants. They fought for these rights. They were deeply suspicious of gvernment and corporate power and that was one of the influences they reviled and fled. The Dutch East India Corporation, the first mega corp was deeply reviled by these framers of our democracy. An excellent Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dutch_East_India_Company. Later our states allowed the corporations to file (there are no Federal Corporate Charters) and we started to call these corporations "persons" but that fiction is selectively applied and the right to free speech is yet another case. I am willing to give corporations the right to Speak and extend this to all of these entities that are not people. People and organizations should be able to speak and protest but the Freedom of Expression? Why shouln't the government be able to regulate how these state bastardized "people" get to effect elections? Especially our national elections? If your going to lend your money for a cause disclose it, in the cases of companies regulate it. They are not People. Companies to do not have a bill of rights... unless we want to allow groups of like minded people to bear arms in private armies... but perhaps that is where this is going.

American people seem to agree with an overwhelming voice that we need to take money out of politics. At least that is what everyone I talk to... even the dreaded @clamstorm from Twitter agree that is a problem. Everyone might have a different idea as to why but in America money and power (stealing from Forest Gump) go together like peas and carrots. Where money is raised there are deals. The NRA and Acorn do not raise and donate money based on a politicians over all quality but on how he votes on their issues. With corporations and for profit companies the connection is even darker. Mc Cain/Feingold a bipartisan law signed by President Bush tried to limit this. It has failed so it is in front of the Supreme Court on the silly Hillary Clinton movie and the FCC banning it because the producers would not disclose their funding. Having the FCC determine speech is unacceptable without guidance from Congress and it might be unacceptable no matter what but Congress needs to deal with this but rather then dealing with limiting campaign contributions how about ONLY limiting corporate donations and how about a Federal statement that these corporations, which are creations of each of the individual States, do not have all the rights that you and I have.

If Congress does not do it the Supreme Court is going to over rule Mc Cain/Feingold in the worst way possible, in bits and pieces and towards the Federalist Society ideology. Watch what goes on this session in the Supreme Court with interest. Congress will maintain the status quo. The Court might help them. In the mean time... ask questions. The Constitution is pretty brilliant but it is not divine. Lets not treat it as infallible...lets treat it as brilliant and evolving.

Endless End Of Summer: Black Magic

Sooooo I guess I am sidelined by this “end of summer” jag. Since we cannot go to the beach with Annette Funicello I guess we are just going stay here and see if August, and now September finally turns into the hot, humid, nightmarish St. louis summer that makes it what we call HOME! There are two things on my mind today. They seem like the end of something and the beginning of something. Some good magic and some black magic but magic never the less.

Jeff Smith and Steve Brown did the perp walk this last month. I do not know Smith other then he was the “rising star” youngster in the state Democratic ranks. That was last week. This week he is a felon waiting to be sentenced. Steve Brown is in the same boat. It is a bad boat. Brown is a long time acquaintance. He used to be a U-Club member with me and had a nice squash game. He is a life long public servant. He was a State Senator. Smith was a State Representative. They have both resigned. Somehow they were involved with distributing a flyer smearing Carnahan who was running against Smith for Congress. They didn’t own up to it and then.... wait for it... wait for it... covered it up. Lied about their involvement to the investigators and then The FBI.

I like Steve Brown. I think of him as a good person and when he was working for the State AG’s office he helped me out once or twice with clients demystifying the process for me. Picturing this nice, helpful public servant, putting himself in a position where he was forced to wear a wire to get his friends... makes me sweat. He and Smith and their story, hammer home one of my least favorite life lessons which is regarding mistakes and perhaps (gasp) prove me wrong. I have come to believe that I am only two mistakes away from having to move into my parents basement. They might not have a basement much longer. I also believe I am three (bad or stupid) mistakes away from jail. It appears (once again) that my math is wrong. It only takes two bad mistakes to go to jail. These guys illustrate that. Not bad guys, just a little bad judgment, a little not owning up to it and a lot of bad luck to go with it.

Unfortunately the same rules seem to apply to all aspects of life. Marriage, job, parenting,friendships. When you lose focus (and we all do) you screw up. We look at people like Jeff and Steve and say to ourselves that they were bad people or hopeless screw ups but the fact is that they were just people... like us. As much as it pains me the same is true for Mark Sanford and all the rest.

There but for the grace of God.... Go I. And it could happen to me tomorrow. And maybe you too. So do not be too smug about our latest felons. Say a prayer for these guys, light a candle for them and show the grace you hope people will show you and yours when the screw up. But don’t expect a lot from them. That is the Black magic that haunts me at end of summer.

OBAMA Where Art Thou?

Sooooo...it is March and we are about to begin March Madness and two months into Barack Obama’s America. If I listen to the news (which i have stopped doing) I know I would hear that Barack has not fixed the banking system and has not restored confidence. If I listen to Fox he is running us down the road to socialism, running up a huge bill we cannot pay and that Rush Limbaugh wishes he would fail (like that was even worth talking about?). If I listen to the liberal talking heads we are doing just what we need to and Republicans need to stop being so obstructionist.

That is all one load of bullshit. I am beginning a disappointment with our new president but only beginning and he has plenty of time to bring me back home. Am I disappointed for any of the reasons cited by the Republican opposition? Yes, two of them. One is that he has not curtailed pork and earmarks at all in this new budget and two, he has not curtailed lobbying as the way to get things done in Washington.

It is depressing for me. I feel right now like I am looking at the other side of the Bush coin, and it is the same coin. There is nothing transformative about what is happening is Washington other then we are having the other side of an ideological, we are right, they wrong, mentality which I had incorrectly ascribed to the nasty, hateful Bushies. Now I am seeing the same thing but from the opposite side. It is making me sick. Not because the policies are so wrong. I have no idea whether the policies are wrong or not. It is the attitude of exclusion. It is the business as usual. It makes me sick.

Obama still has a chance to be transformative. He can call us out to a higher standard, a higher purpose. Our Judeo-Christian (and perhaps even Muslim but I do not know enough about the faith to even comment) heritage has an awesome history of higher values. Somehow in my life, we lost our way. We confuse success with money and things. Our grandparents and to some extent our parents main goal was to improve the life of the children so they could have a “better” life. We have become concerned (like a publicly traded company sacrificing the future and making high stakes bets) with immediate gratification and having more and better then everyone else. he can call on us all as individuals to be brave, show compassion, pick up our brothers and do more for others rather then our recent culture of getting everything I want...NOW!

The Republicans cannot lead us there. They are bankrupt of ideas and take no responsibility for our current predicament being the natural result of Gordon Gecko “greed is good” capitalism. Capitalism is awesome. It has a tremendous power to transform economies and people in a good way. But when we glorify nothing but dollars at the expense of long range sustainability and the value of the people we employ, capitalism becomes the snake that eats itself. The current Beatification of Ronald Reagan is the best example of the parties myopic view of the past and it’s very limited “get me and my friends more money now” view of the future. The greed heads with continue to partner with the pro life groups so that there can be no middle ground on anything.

I do not know what our President is waiting for. He needs to make a formal request to the Republicans that their leadership step down. He needs to use his authority to force the Pelosi/Reed/Barney Frank contingent to also step down. They are to agenda-ized and politicized to be part of any serious change. These people on the left are just as guilty, now that they in power as the Republicans used to be. There is no compromise for the group. They must have everything that is abhorrent to the right and damn the consequences and they are wrong, wrong, wrong.

America is the greatest country on the earth. If we are lead by admirable people we will continue for the next generation in that role. If we are divided, hateful, small minded and unwilling to every acknowledge that there might be good people with good idea on the other side of the aisle we are well and truly screwed.. So stand up Mr. President. Call your own party to account first. Hack the pork. Save your social agenda for 2011. Get rid of your own small minded leaders and then call the Republicans to account on the other side. Then and only then can you come to the people, come to me and lead us on to a greatness that might embarrass Tom Brokaw’s “Greatest Generation”.

We are tired of government making us afraid and expecting nothing from us but the worst. We are tired of government being corrupt, bought and sold and rife with special interests (business and social interests) which most of us in the middle are sick of hearing about. We are ready. Get off your ass and lead us. It was not the far left that you rode into office.