A fortnight ago those American’s so inclined went to the polls to take their shot at government reform. An increasing number opted for voting early, or in absentee so technically they made their choices even earlier. What was the outcome of that exercise in democracy? Well, on the surface we all shifted the balance of power in the Congress from left to right, kind of. There was much gnashing of teeth, beating of breasts, and claims of doom or salvation, take your pick.
I see in the news today the Democrats have elected as their leaders in the House and Senate the same visionary team they had for the last Congress. Ditto for the Republicans. Boy they have done such a bang up job working together for the last two years we can clearly look forward to great and wonderful harmony, cooperation, and focus on the Nation’s problems.
Ah well, life goes on.
On a related note, Mr. Olbermann has survived his indefinite suspension with all the good grace we’ve come to expect from this whimsical, mirth-filled, commentator. From the extracts of his show it appears that his singular agenda for the foreseeable future will be to explain why he and MSNBC are pure as the driven snow, and no-where near as bad as the clearly far-right ultra-conservative rabble rousers at Fox. I am sure along the way he will bow to the will of the people and reinstate the “worst person in the world” segment we all now recognize as the humorous, light hearted jab at those who may not be as enlightened as he and his core audience.
It appears Glen Beck and Bill O’Reilly are holding up under the pressure and between them raking in a tidy sum. Clearly this is why they must favor tax cuts for the rich. Although I would be guessing, I bet Keith Olbermann is making more than a buck two ninety-eight himself, I have to assume he is donating everything above the minimum TV Commentator scale to help pay for the social programs he supports.
I had a chance to go through the new heightened security screening at Reagan-Washington National Airport this morning. Three observations: TSA agents have a hard job, they don’t set policy but are stuck carrying it out (I am not sure if you need a HS diploma or not to be a TSA agent, but I am betting some of them have GEDs). The pat down would be a lot more fun if the TSA agents that were doing them didn’t weigh 300 lbs or look like they were 90 years old. Finally, why can’t we get copies of the full body scan to hang up at home? It reminds me of Hans Solo after he pissed off Jabba the Hut in StarWars. Clearly these could be like the brass rubbings we did on tombs in England.
Anyway, back to the question at hand -- what will I be doing for the next two years? I will be wondering if there is a way to get Congress to work.
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