They're Back. So What?

The CNN Website this morning is running a wonderful article for those of us who need to get over the lingering happiness of a good weekend - Ahead of the Curve: The Next 7 Days is a great recap of the ugly messes that are still rotting on our collective plates as we turn our faces to the last week of March. The Middle East, high levels of deadly radiation at damaged nuclear plants in Japan, and former President Jimmy Carter traveling to Cuba (I guess it's too much to ask that he just stay there) are all bad enough, but overshadowing all those horrors is the big one -

Congress returns from its recess.

I surely do wish I had a job that would allow me to leave town when there are multiple crises I need to deal with.

The good part of Congress being in recess, of course, is that they're not able to do quite as much damage when they're all spread out and hiding in the 50 states as when they're all gathered in a single seething, bickering mass. This isn't how it should be, of course.

We elect our members of Congress to conduct the business of the nation. Instead, we have an overpaid group of already-wealthy pre-schoolers more interested in scoring political points and pushing half-baked economic theories than in actually solving problems. One looming problem of immediate concern to yours truly is that the Federal Government once again faces the threat of a shutdown if Republicans and Democrats can't agree on a budget for the fiscal year that began on October 1st of last year. It's nice being able to keep putting off life, health, and badly-needed home and auto repairs every two or three weeks while a bunch of holier-than-thou ass clowns bloviate about how bad their opponents are ... and yet still never manage to get anything useful done. If you don't remember my Open Letter to Congress, you may want to go back and read it again. My opinion hasn't changed. And neither has the Republican scorched-earth position on actually managing the nation's problems ...

And in the interest of full disclosure, I would add that I don't think the Democrats are much better; it's just that the Republicans are so much better at bald-faced hypocrisy and complete disregard for Real People who aren't already wealthy and healthy.

It makes me sick. Which gets me in the right frame of mind to go back to work.

I'll try to be more positive tomorrow ... but I'm not promising anything.

Have a good day. More thoughts coming.

Bilbo