This is a painting/sculpture/mixed media piece that is tentatively called “Voice of a Nation”. It is a combination of acrylic paint and acrylic ink on newsprint along with a paper mache mask embedded into the paper. It follows along the American flag theme of some other recent works. It is 80% complete but I am stalled and thinking of what direction to take it in order to complete the work.
Here is the link to the AP article discussing the sorry state of the Social Security Administration:
Social Security to Start Cashing Uncle Sam’s IOUs
I’ve seen quite a few of my conservative friends link to this article, hinting that responsibility lays at the hands of the Democrats and President Obama but the following quote from this same articles clearly states otherwise; “For more than two decades, regardless of which political party was in power, Congress has been accused of raiding the Social Security trust funds to pay for other programs, masking the size of the budget deficit.”
I’d like to point out that this is just another example of how our career politicians, in both parties Democrat and Republican, have shown total disregard for the good of the people and the country in general. I have to believe that these fat cat senators and congressmen are quite happy to sit back and let the various grass roots organizations divide the country and attack whatever sitting president happens to be in office. Think about it people, a president is limited to two, four year terms in office but think about all of the old goats in Washington D.C. who have been in office since before Reagan. Congress, the voice of the people. Rather than joining the Coffee Party or Tea Party movements we need to lobby for definitive term limits for all politicians. The way the game is set up now, there is no benefit to doing right by the people of the United States. Congress is merely a collection of individuals that are for sale to the highest bidder.
I am a Democrat and I am not pointing my finger solely at Republican politicians, this problem has infected both parties and it is time for we, the people, to make sure that something is done about it. Not as a liberal or a conservative but as a citizen of the United States of America. And I am not talking about any kind of radical actions here. I am a firm believer in our political system, for the most part it works. Even with the current two party system it is possible to have elected officials who are able to make sound decisions regarding the future of this country. To date, Congress has not shown me that they are responsible enough to do the job they were elected to. So I say, term limits. You can do a search online for the various arguments surrounding term limits, the pros and the cons, so I won’t go into that here but I say there is enough historical data now that shows how poorly an individual congressman or senator performs after his or her third re-election.
Term limits. Say it with me, TERM LIMITS. Capitol Hill is rife with career fat cats and it is time for the American people to stand up and say, no more. Why should you get treated to a nice federal salary, perks, a pension and of course the kickback that comes in from various special interest groups and lobbyists? If they were making my life any better or showing me that my children would have a chance at a prosperous future then maybe I’d be willing to turn a blind eye. But this is a one way street.
Term limits.
Thursday, January 28, 2010 9:59pm PST
Not with a bang, but a whimper.
The Ramblings of a Pot Smoking Radical Socialist
I can’t speak for every American so I will simply speak for myself. I love my Android phone and playing Xbox 360 and having high speed internet. All of these things are brought to me by corporations and I am good with that. I am not against capitalism or the free market. I am not necessarily anti-corporation. I am against unchecked greed and corruption. I am against the fact that politicians in Washington D.C. answer to corporate backers, lobbyists and special interest groups with deep pockets. I am against the lie that the ultra-wealthy are “job creators” because they are not. They are in fact, wealth creators. Namely their own. I am against the lie that U.S. corporations are saddled with high corporate taxes. In truth, the U.S. does in fact have one of the highest corporate tax rates in the world but many in the media conveniently leave out the fact that due to so many tax loopholes, most large corporations get away with paying far less than their fair share. This is something that I am against.
When you post a photo of yourself online and declare that you are one of the 53% I support your right to be ignorant. When you broadcast to the world that you work 70-80 hours a week and hold more than one job and are proud that you never graduated high school what can I say? Maybe that you are an idiot. Do you seriously enjoy having to work that many hours in order to afford college or to buy a house? Should anyone have to work more than one job in order to enjoy the so called “American Dream”? Seriously. When you get right down to the issues, the Occupy Wall Street movement is trying to address the fact that one percent of the people are basically forcing you to work that much harder just to stay afloat, much less prosper. Think about that. When you buy into the hype that those protesters are just dumb kids or pot smoking, socialist radicals then you overlook the fact that a minority faction in this country is quite happy to allow you the pleasure of working long hours for the rest of your life just to chase a fantasy that might not ever become a reality for you. Wake up people. Think about things on your own for once. Look past the drama and see what is going on. If all else fails, Google it.