Shouting into the wind

I've written my congressional delegation, I've written the Speaker of the House, I've written the President—for some, more than once. At best, I received boilerplate replies that don't even acknowledge my specific issues. At worst, they have understood me to say exactly the opposite of what I have written.

Back in the day, when I had so-called "disposable" income, I made some campaign contributions, albeit very modest. And then I received specific replies. I even had a state representative call me at home to have me expand on my comments.

Don't tell me that it's not all about the money.

Of even greater certainty is that this blog accomplishes little other than for me to let off steam. Well, for right now, I'm taking my gripes down the road.

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Forest grump

Why is it, in this marvelous new age of electronic fund transfers, with the long-prophesied obsolescence of personal checks and paper money now upon us, that we are left instead with a new and infinitely messier paper chase? The collection of multi-sized, variously formatted, endlessly-lengthed and vaguely-printed glossy paper receipts is much worse than the old necessity of like-sized greenback bills and neatly folded checkbooks.

Why cannot the consumer have access to the same electronic receipts that the merchants use? They store our data. Shouldn't we have access?

If for no other purpose, people, for the sake of the trees!

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Photo credit: www.merchantservices.com

"Trust me."

Did you ever wonder why FOX News has to keep reminding us that they are "fair and balanced?" Over and over again? Maybe because, if they say it often enough, many people will believe it, even with proof to the contrary right before their very eyes?

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Graphic credit bartcop.com

Knee-slapper

So, I was discussing knee surgery with my sister, who is now rehabbing following such a procedure. I was explaining why (this was in e-mails) I have deferred such surgery myself.

I told her that my priority list was still top-heavy with wanderlust, and spending money on painful mutilation, recovery and rehab took a back seat to filling my tank with gas and hitting the road for . . . well, anywhere.

Then, bemoaning the prohibitive price of said gasoline, I took a look at it philosophically:

Still, when you get right down to it, life has a tendency to suck, and bite when it's not sucking. That's why I like to stay focused on the big picture, life through a wide-angle lens, keeping my attention centered on things that really don't matter all that much. That way, when it all goes to hell, I can sit there and just utter a profound "whatever."

Whatever.

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Behind the curtain

I’ve been neglectful of this blog the last several months; my entries have been few and far between.

There are two reasons for this. The first is that I have been trying to follow my new policy, do only what you have to do (i.e., I’m a lazy sod). Second, I’ve just been too pissed off about too many things.

I would like to try to encapsulate that second reason.

Since the Great Bust of 2008, I have been astonished by the exhibition of corporate greed in the face of social turmoil. However, I have come to realize that my incredulity is hardly appropriate.

What I finally figured out is that things are exactly as they ought to be—in a capitalist society.

Capitalism is about profit, and American Big Business has been in a profit-taking heyday for nearly 40 years. In that time, we have morphed from citizens into consumers and from wage-earners into borrowers while at the same time “spreading democracy,” with the blood of America’s young adults, into heretofore unavailable markets.

As a result, the American market has been sucked nearly dry while other markets around the world, particularly in Asia and the Indian sub-continent, have become the focus of American manufacturing, marketing and capitalist profit-taking.

That the U.S. government is wholly supportive of these conditions is likewise not remarkable. It is, after all, bought and paid for by corporate campaign contributions.

Vote Republican. Or Democrat—it really doesn’t matter. That’s the benefit of a system designed for only two political parties. Any choice you make is the right one.

So, relax. Everything is at it should be.

What, too sarcastic?

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