Temporary Custody

“Temporary Custody” is a term that has many applications. If a family is experiencing a tragedy, it may be necessary for the children to be temporarily placed with grandparents or other family members. Sometimes the state children’s services or judiciary place the children in someone’s care for a period of time. As people grow older and less able to manage their own affairs, they sometimes transfer the “power of attorney” to an individual whom they trust as a form of temporary custody. The sum value of temporary custody is that an individual or an institution assumes responsibility for the well-being of an individual or group of persons for a short period of time. It might be fitting, therefore, to designate elected officials as the temporary custodians of our nation, the Constitution and our liberties.

Temporary custodians….if you think about each of those words, you must conclude that our elected “servants” have been miserable failures. They have consistently failed to perform at an acceptable level. If their custody had been awarded by the court rather than the voters, they surely would be found guilty of contempt and removed from their respective positions of trust. What would the response of the courts, the community and the families be if an entity that had been awarded temporary custody absconded with all the funds and used the assets of the ward to borrow more money for profligate spending? The answer is outrage followed by arrest, prosecution and conviction.

Historically, we have ignored the “temporary” aspect of political custodianship by electing and re-electing venal old fossils who somehow manage to enrich themselves while collecting a paltry public servant’s salary. Though citizens often speak of the necessity for term limits (federally speaking), it has been proven time and again that voters lack the knowledge or the will to turn out long-time officeholders. Term limits would simply create the merry-go-round of office switching that we witness in several states. The only true remedy for dealing with an irresponsible custodian is to soundly defeat her or him at the ballot box. The humiliation of a resounding spanking should make the career politician pause and ponder before initiating another run for office on the public teat.

Defeating an entrenched blood-sucking veteran is a difficult task. I’m aware of that, but a defeated senior member of the Congress should transmit ripples of awareness throughout the political class. One of the more difficult calculations in determining whom to target for retirement is deciding what level of proper voting is acceptable. That is not the only criterion that should be examined, however, because voting from cover (see “Diving for Cover” 8/8/2011 at www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com) and other sneaky legislative devices skew the numbers. In addition, the officeholder’s attentiveness to district concerns, his or her leadership for critical local and national issues, the contributor list for the incumbent’s re-election campaign, the number of terms in office and finally the appreciation of the officeholder’s net worth while “serving” the people. When taken as a whole, the above list of decisive factors can be helpful when determining which incumbent to challenge.

A legitimate custodian is legally and honor bound to fulfill the custodial responsibilities faithfully and fully. A failure to exert the greatest effort possible for the performance of the duty smacks of misfeasance. Legislative voting and promotion of unconstitutional policies, legislative measures that harm the nation or active or passive allowance for government infringement on our liberties should be labeled as malfeasance. Misfeasance can result in censure or defeat, but malfeasance should lead to either defeat or prosecution. Knowingly violating one’s sworn oath should lead to charges of perjury. Congresspersons get really steamed when someone perjures him-or-herself after swearing an oath prior to testifying before a committee. Ask Roger Clemens. The oath of office that is sworn by Congresspersons….in the company of other Congressmen and women….should be considered as weighty as a normal citizen’s oath before Congress. Perjury is a crime. Willfully violating one’s oath of office should be a criminal act. Our forefathers didn’t take oaths lightly, and we should not allow our present-day career politicians any greater leeway than our early legislative leaders were given.

“Temporary custody” is a serious matter whenever someone has responsibility for another person or for a nation and a district. If the essence of the custody component is violated, the politician should be quickly relegated to temporary status. Just as a child, an ill person or a senior citizen in the final stage of life are to be protected, so should our nation, our Constitution and our liberties be defended and preserved. If an elected official is reading this and believes that these recommendations are too strict, then Madame or Sir, you must resign because your oath is meaningless to you. The citizens….most of them…cherish our nation, its constitutional foundation and our freedom.

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Do Something

The main stream media talking heads have consciously and deliberately ignored Congressman Ron Paul’s lofty finish in the Ames, Iowa, Straw Poll. When they do stoop to mention him, it is done derisively based primarily on his response to a Thursday night debate question. He was chided, and then asked about his position regarding the acquisition of nuclear weapons by the Iranian government. Dr. Paul, in essence, responded that we (the United States) should do nothing. He went on to state that starting another endless war with a nation that has no meaningful air force or capable missile delivery system would be folly. Media eyebrows were lifted, heads were shaking the negative, and Congressman Paul’s platform opponents chuckled. “There’s that crazy old guy suggesting that we not intervene. What’s wrong with him?”

Historically, Americans are “doers.” When we have confronted a problem or a barrier, we have leapt to action and corrected it. Sadly, today, when we face a perplexing issue, we spring into action and demand that the government “do something.” This attitude resembles the night-time cries of a two-year old asking Mommy and Daddy to get the monster from under the crib. Neither cry for a solution is based on reality. There is no monster under the bed, and government is notoriously incompetent and costly. So we come to Iran….controlled by the mullahs and fronted by that little wacko…they are building a nuke. On at least two separate occasions their developmental progress has been drastically damaged…by computer hacking and by the untimely deaths of key project engineers. Nevertheless, the politicians, the media and some of the people plaintively cry, “Do something.” When Iraq was supposedly amassing and improving weapons of mass destruction, President Bush did something. We’re still there, and our people are still dying because of roadside bombs, booby traps and lethal insurgents.  

Many people, public and private, have expressed dismay or revulsion with Dr. Paul’s stance toward Iran. They animatedly remark that the Iranians (their leaders) want to destroy the U.S. of A. so we cannot, we must not allow them to possess a nuclear device. They appear to have forgotten that the Soviet Union threatened to “bury” us, and they had a massive nuke arsenal (many components of which are floating on the world-wide black market). China has nuclear weapons. North Korea (no friendly chums there) is armed with the bomb. We ourselves presented the Islamic-based government of Pakistan with nukes to offset Indian development, and many of the Pakistani leaders are bloodthirsty fundamentalists. So given the myriad of potential threats from around the entire globe, doesn’t it seem more reasonable to perfect the defensive shield that President Reagan started and subsequent presidents have allowed to wither? Given that the threats are so numerous and varied, a comprehensive defensive posture with massive retaliatory capabilities is much more sensible than attacking a country without an air force and negatively disrupting the region more than we have done so far.

Although Congressman Paul’s critics are dismissive of his position, none of them have countered with a comprehensive plan for dealing with Iran other than the one that has been a failure for thirty to sixty years. Yes, that’s true political and media leadership. Government must “do something” even if it is the same failed wasteful policy of the past several decades. They appear to suggest that another 20 or 30 year war with significant loss of life, multiple guard and reserve deployments, and trillions of taxpayer and BORROWED dollars is the right way to go. You see, they’ll be “doing something.” Yes, they will be doing everything other than their constitutional duty. They will waste so many of our resources—human, financial—while allowing our defensive system to degrade further. As Einstein so pithily observed, “insanity is doing the same thing over again and expecting a different result.”  We have danced this dance since the end of World War II….and here we are queuing up for another round on the floor. 

Knowing that a hornets’ nest is hanging in a backyard tree is one thing. Poking it with a stick is something else. Dr. Paul’s views about adherence to the Constitution and his dismay with the Federal Reserve’s mismanagement of our monetary system are widely known and are becoming more popular. People are beginning to understand that our fiscal and financial houses are in disarray. They are beginning to recognize too that there must be some limits on government, or it would become too large and too oppressive. Those were the reasons for devising the Constitution in its final form---preserve individual liberty by curtailing government intervention in our lives. It is from his constitutional principles that Dr. Paul rejects imperialist behavior by our elected officials. Give Congress or the Administration the authority and power to conduct “police actions” or warfare at will and the people’s ability to restrain an out-of-control government is dangerously eroded. Despotic regimes have used war and perceived threats as rallying points to unite the people around the government and to thwart opposition within the nation. Why should our professional career politicians be any different? “Wag the Dog” was a fictional film with a realistic scenario.

Bottom line for me as I review the GOP Presidential Primary field is that ONLY ONE candidate has taken his oath to the Constitution seriously enough to stay true to it. Only one candidate has been willing to stand firm on principle while being ostracized and ridiculed…even when time has proven that he was correct regarding the monetary system and constitutional abuses. Only one candidate does not reflect the “American Idol” version of slick career politicians that have led our nation to the brink of collapse. Voters can find multiple reasons for supporting or rejecting a particular candidate. I pray and hope they think it through….I have. It’s time to “do something” to stop the madness. Doing the same old things in the same old ways will not get the job done.

Comment:    cearlwriting@hotmail.com       or       www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

"Howdy" Duty

They look good, and may smell good. Their responses are measured and clearly rehearsed. If they encounter a question or a situation that may reflect poorly on their airs of competence, they ignore it and provide an unrelated answer to an unasked question. They are experts when “working the room.” Saying “hello” and “howdy” to every person in attendance as the young aide whispers names and political standings into their ears, they move about with freshly-starched shirts, glimmering cufflinks, nattily-knotted silk tie and a high-quality suit. And the smile…always the smile…except for those theatrical moments that demand a pensive or thoughtful demeanor. Even when they curse, it is done deliberately for dramatic effect. Their words seem full of insider’s knowledge, and their definitive pronouncements spring from the well of certitude. They are the career politicians…the class of Americans who have lusted for position and power since they watched their first presidential news event.

In their finely-manicured hands they hold our lives and our futures. Their eager young twenty-something staffers fill them with talking points and highlights about major legislative initiatives. Their overworked office bees cannot follow every piece of legislative action, however, and they frequently must vote on issues about which they know little. They turn to their colleagues for guidance as they cast their votes that affect millions in the nation and hundreds of thousands in their home districts. They do it all with confidence and the self-assured knowledge that they are more capable and wise than are the common folk who are their constituents. They are our nation’s elite leaders….the career politicians.

Rarely have they toiled in the lowly world of commerce or served in the ranks of the common laborer. Few of them have driven cabs, cultivated fields or cooked breakfast for a hundred patrons. Many are attorneys who have diligently studied to find the flaws in the typical contracts and agreements that others try to implement. Their arduous schooling fails them when examining the legislative monstrosities that their peers promote. The massive bills slide through the process…flawed and unworkable…left for the bureaucracy to interpret and enforce as it sees fit. Even if they are the best and brightest our country has to offer, they cannot do it all. There will be gaffes, mistakes, errors, foul-ups, but they are the chosen ones…the career politicians….born to lead, bred to rule, expected to be re-elected time and again until they choose to draw their generous taxpayer-financed retirement.

They spread their promises like soft butter as their practiced facial expressions of sincerity underscore the solemnity of their pledges. Their commitments to be champions of prosperity for all and fairness for the aggrieved ring loudly. Speaking of justice and government concern, they announce that they will assault the marbled halls until their constituents can reap “their fair share.” They resemble every super-hero in the battle for rights and plunder, and they tell us that they (and we) will prevail. “Send me back, and I’ll bring it back to you,” they so earnestly vow. They are career politicians, and for them some vows have no meaning.

Some vows are meant for speaking. Few are meant for keeping.

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter: So help me God.”

                                                                                       or

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

These are meant for keeping, but few do so. It’s time that “we the people” insist that these vows be kept…even by the career politicians. It must be duty first and foremost… now and forever.

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