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So what?


EDITOR'S UPDATE: Some readers have seen the wrong target here. The intent is not to impugn news reporting, it is of course the first step. The next step is ours. Listen. Learn. Engage.


Now that you have told us what's wrong, what do you want us to do? What will you do?


What is the point of pointing?


A considerable weakness of almost every source of "news" - information we don't already have - is that it merely reports it.


"A terrible thing happened".

"A terrible thing is happening".

"A terrible thing is going to happen".


How does this help? Does anything need to be done? Can anything be done? By whom? How? When? What? Why?


Okay, sorry. I'll stop whining if you will. My point is that even if we all stipulate that everything you believe is true, what's next? The next time you aim your wrath at a terrible thing, please offer a suggestion that can undo it, or stop it, or prevent it. Something that can really be done. Really.


NPR, NYT, BuzzFeed, CNN, Huffington Post, FOX, Facebook, Twitter, actual friends, et. al., tell us terrible things every day but never tell us what would help, or how to go about it. What's next for reporters of all kinds, is the next terrible thing.


How can the citizenship help steer the ship of state without useful information and a shared sense of direction? Are we really only left with the mind-dulling boredom of C-Span?

EDITOR'S NOTE: Apparently, we are not the only ones looking for an answer.


The U.S. House of Representatives has passed a bill - HR1 - that seeks to "expand Americans’ access to the ballot box, reduce the influence of big money in politics, strengthen ethics rules for public servants, and implement other anti-corruption measures for the purpose of fortifying our democracy, and for other purposes."


Who could argue with that? Not us. Them.


The vote of course was almost entirely along party lines. Democrats - who introduced it - in favor, and Republicans - because they didn't - against.


The same applies to the current COVID relief bill. Democrats - who introduced it - in favor, and Republicans - because they didn't - against.


This is how it is, and has been for too long. Both houses of the U.S. Congress have traded a moral compass for a scoreboard, and divided the citizens into fan camps, acting as cheerleaders rather than real leaders


We need to trade them in, which of course will take time and effort, but it is what we must do. Really. Now. Pay attention. Learn. Vote.


Our District 15 Congressman, Scott Franklin, Tweeted that "Roughly 75% of Americans support Congressional term limits. Those opposed are mostly swamp creatures who have served too long. That’s why I cosponsored #HJRes12, an amendment to the constitution for #TermLimits for Congress. Happy #TermLimitsDay!" Do you think he means his term?


If he did, he would simply resign when he thinks he has served long enough. As would any member of Congress who actually believes in forced term limits. Wait for it ...


By the way, he is suggesting an amendment to the Constitution. If you consider that the Equal Rights Amendment has still not been ratified, what makes him think we would fall for this nonsensical pandering?


But of course, it isn't them, it's us. We have, and always have had, the power to limit their terms on our own terms, by voting them out and others in. But we don't, do we? Nope. Time to start.


In his speech on the House floor, Franklin takes the Democrats to task for failing to add more than just one of the 250 amendments offered by the GOP, and cites them for their lack of "unity" in the process.


250 amendments? This is Franklin's version of "unity"? He also whipped out the party line about the unspent trillion dollars from the last relief package as if it were simply stuffed into the mattresses of its Democratic sponsors. It is unspent because, as unemployment benefits and small business support, it's paid out over time. Mr. Franklin is trying to fool us. He thinks he can. Because we have let him.


Mr. Franklin also lists among his Congressional actions on behalf of District 15:

H.Res.156 – Congratulating the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for winning Super Bowl LV


Rah! Rah!


Write to him. All of you. Regardless of your position on any issue, the issue is that needs to know what it is. He cannot hear you shaking your head. Contact, Communication. That is the point.





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