Nancy Pelosi Scares Me.

She does. I don't know why, or when it began. But I actually feel fear when I see her on TV.

Maybe she reminds me of someone. An angry teacher or something. Not sure. I am not really sure why I find her scary.

The first thing I read about Nancy was that she is one of the richest members of Congress. Worth about 12 million, plus real estate holdings valued at several million as well. Impressive. But not scary. Maybe makes her a bit out of touch with us ordinary folk. But definatley nothing to fear there.

She hails from a political family, her father having been a U.S. Congressman from Maryland. She is from a large family and has a large family. Nothing very scary there either.

So, what is it about her?

Then it dawned on me.

She she is mean. She reminds me of every nasty 7th grade girl I ever encountered. She is mean and a bully. And always wants her way and is angry when someone dares to have an opposite opinion.

This is not what I want to see in our elected officials. Nancy Pelosi has also never, ever admitted to any mistakes. Yet she voted for the war in Iraq, stating that Saddam did indeed have weapons of mass destruction. "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology which is a threat to countries in the region and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process."

But when it was proven wrong, did she take any blame or perhaps mention that she made a mistake voting for the war? No. She instead said, "The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history."

After she was briefed on "interrogation techniques, she then denied she knew that they were water-boarding detainees. She seems to have a faulty memory as well.

And on healthcare reform, she is the scariest of all. “We have to get it done,” the speaker said. “What the process is does’t matter.

The process doesn't matter? What does that mean?

I am sorry. She is not the right person for this position. She is not open minded and she is not approachable. It is her way or the highway.

And that is scary stuff.

Reaching the Summit of Healthcare Reform.

Oh, the healthcare summit. I will admit, I did not watch it. I am sure that the most interesting points will be regurgitated on every news channel, plus Comedy Central and maybe even Inside Edition for many nights to come, so I feel like I did not have to stay home for 6 hrs and 20 minutes and watch C-Span. Plus, it was much more fun to play tennis today. But I digress.

Already the spin machine is at work. Journalists and "experts" are lining up to join Larry King Live and a host of other gab-fest shows to talk about their take on the matter. I am most especially looking forward to Jon Stewart's lampoon of it, as that is always informative, but, at the same time, entertaining. Not so true of many of the other talking heads.

Anyway, I have already read a lot about it. Seems like it was a waste of time. They should have done this months and months ago when it may have served some purpose. The main goal here, it would appear, is that the Democrats are trying to show that they are reaching across the aisle and that the Republicans are obstructionists. What the Dems don't realize is that we don't want this petty nonsense. Just do something basic to help us get by, like not allowing the insurance companies to gouge us, deny us care and to allow for some type of safety net, such as a public option, like an early Medicare buy-in. But that was not really discussed.

It does not appear to me that they could ever have a decent meeting. Too many egos. I know that a summit is a fancy name for a meeting, but I looked at it differently. I looked at it like a group trying to reach the summit of a tall mountain, like Everest, but they were failing miserably.

To reach the summit, the first thing you need is a good plan. And a good team. You need to identify a clear leader with the skills necessary to lead the team. You also need a great guide who knows the terrain, the hazards, the pitfalls.

Another important thing, actually the most important thing for survival, is the ability to recognize the dangers and know when to turn back. And you must look out for your other team members. You need each other to survive.

And this is why they will never have any real success at reaching the summit in Washington. First off, there is no clear leader. Secondly, there is no clear plan. And thirdly, and most importantly, there is no team. Every one is scrambling to get to the top first. Egos are too big, agendas are not spelled out and everyone is simply looking out for themselves, not the people that they serve.

So, here they are, still stuck at base camp, arguing about the best way to reach the top. The funny thing is, they really don't need to reach the top at all. And that is the point they are all missing.

And they are not noticing the most fatal, underestimated danger of all; the avalanch. People generally think that they will be able to recognize the hazards and survive being caught. The truth is a somewhat different story.

Turning back takes a lot of extra time and effort, supreme leadership, and most importantly, there is rarely an avalanche that proves the right decision was made. Making the decision to turn around is especially hard if others are crossing the slope, but any next person could become the trigger.

So, Democrats, Republicans and even President Obama; heed the warning. You are crossing very dangerous snow conditions. And it could bury you at anytime.

I hear the weather may be particularly fierce in November this year.

Waiting, waiting. Seems we are always waiting.

I am tired of waiting. Aren't you? We elect these new faces, and sometimes old faces, every two or four years expecting change. And all we seem to get is more of the same.

I am getting antsy. Restless. Angry. It all seems to be a joke at times. And the joke is on us.

I mean, lets start with healthcare. We have known that it stinks for a very long time. We know that managed care is really only about managed profits. In this great country of ours, with world-renowned hospitals, many do not have access. Or if they do, they have to pay out of pocket and many are forced to have fund-raisers to raise enough money to have special surgery or a bone marrow transplant for their child. If I see one more collection can at a store, I think I will go mad. It is truly maddening.

So, what is next? Oh, yes, the much anticipated televised debate about healthcare. This is bogus. It is all about the Republicans and the Democrats trying to show off their stuff. What have we become? This is like American Idol, except we cannot phone in our vote. I wish it were more like the Gong Show (remember that?) as I would love to hit a big gong with a huge mallet and say, "See ya".

I just don't get it. With millions uninsured, plus millions more who are paying ridiculously priced premiums and having many claims denied, how much longer can we possibly wait for some modicum of common sense to appear? Has profit really gotten in the way of what is right? And why is healthcare for profit anyway? Has anyone ever really answered that question? Do we as Americans really want this anymore? Do we have a choice? It seems that these questions often remain unanswered.

So, what can we do but wait. Wait and see. In the meantime, premiums are going up, hospitals are decreasing staff, nurse to patient ratios are climbing, co-pays are increasing and medical mistakes are on the rise. I see insurance benefits changing suddenly and without proper notification, hospital stays shortened and more patients in ERs because MDs direct you there.

I know what President Obama's answer would be; "We tried to have a healthcare bill, but the Republicans killed it". Well, no offense, but your healthcare bill stunk. Not very impressive for a whole year's worth of work.

Make some simple changes now that can help. Small, simple changes that have a huge impact.

First, allow Medicare to be purchased at a reduced rate early. No pre-existing conditions. Allow all children to be covered by Medicaid if they have no insurance.

Increase reimbursement to Primary Care MDs. We have less of them so more people are directed to to the extremely expensive ER for care. Start having reimbursement for patients to see a free-standing Nurse Practitioner in lieu of an MD. Currently, they can only be reimbursed if they are affiliated with a physician group. Imagine if we could have offices with just nurses who could triage you and send you to the MD only if needed. You trust our care when you are really sick and in the hospital, why not before then? This is a low cost solution that would be of great, I mean really great, benefit to all. Except of course, the profiteers, which is why it is not a consideration.

Our government has two really good healthcare programs already. And they both cover the sickest populations fairly effectively. Many of the uninsured are people who are young and seemingly healthy, who think they will never get sick. Allow them to buy into some type of catastrophic healthcare plan so they won't be forced to go broke if they do indeed get ill.

But, anyway, I could go on and on and what for? No one really listens anyway.

I think the best we can do is take really, really good care of ourselves and hope that we can stave off any illness. That would start with finally exercising more, getting some good sleep, taking a vitamin daily, drinking more water, eating food that our Grandmother would recognize, and trying to decrease our stress.

The best hands to place ourselves in are our own. It will make us healthier and give us something to do while we wait.

The Republicans Think They Can Save Healthcare? Think Again.

So, after being news-starved for several days while in the White Mountains of New Hampshire, the first thing I read this morning was the New York Times. Not much new in the news though. But then I checked the editorials, and lo and behold, there it was; five republicans all set to save healthcare.

I read with interest. Surely, there must be something new that they are offering. But, as I read, it occurred to me. There wasn't. They are missing it, too. For all the talk about healthcare, and even a surgeon/Senator, nothing.

Oh, I know President Obama is now going to have a televised debate about healthcare. I know he is trying to be open minded to the Republicans --or he would have it appear as though he is, at the very least.(I think he is merely trying to show the voters that they are obstructionists, but I digress) He is clearly missing the boat.

He should have a televised program with real nurses, patients,doctors and perhaps some insurance people to to hash it out. We know the deal. We know what does and does not work. Ask us.

I know that the NY Times, nor Washington, nor you, will ever ask for my opinion. But here it is anyway:


I have been a registered nurse for 30 years now. I have watched health insurance change from indemnity plans to managed care. I have watched Medicare change when DRG's were introduced. I have also seen lives saved that would have never been saved before, babies born before their time who survive and elders who keep going despite chronic illness.

I have witnessed the rising costs to individuals, businesses who choose to cover their employees and to the hospitals and providers of medical services.I have seen reduced benefits to patients with "good insurance", denied claims, patients who cannot afford their co-pays or deductibles so they use the ER when sick.

I have seen the elderly cut their pills in half because they cannot afford to pay each month for a refill and I have seen people lose health insurance after being laid off who cannot afford the bloated sky-high premiums and so remain un-insured. There are worse stories. I could go on and on. However, I think it is clear that we need real reform to our current healthcare system.

The current healthcare reform bill is too long, too complicated, has too many twists and turns and lacks a public option. We don't really know what we are getting. And the backroom deals sealed it's fate.

Real health reform involves regulating what the insurance companies can and cannot do. No adverse selection. No cancelling policies because you need services. No changes in benefits without notification to you. How about adding more competition? If I can find cheaper insurance in Rhode Island and they cover the major hospitals in Boston, why shouldn't I be able to buy that?

How about returning to a public option or at least an early buy-in to Medicare? And it should be a mandate that all children are covered. At a low cost. Period.

This is not rocket science. We should not be going bankrupt or having our children die because of profit. And that is what it boils down to; profit for the healthcare insurance industry. Our Senators know it, our Congressmen know it and President Obama knows it.

It is all just another day of bickering on Capitol Hill for them. They have the luxury of never having to worry about healthcare at all. The solution to this seems so easy. But politics being what they are, it has become too complex and too cumbersome because the Washington games get in the way of any meaningful work.

If a Senator has to be bribed to do what is right for this country, then he or she should not be representing the people. They should be resigning in shame. I want everyone to be able to access the wonderful healthcare system that I have been witness to for the last 30 years. Everyone deserves that right.

And it is a right. Just as it is a right to be educated and to have roads to drive on and to speak out freely. It is what we all need and deserve.

So I beg our lawmakers to do what is right, push aside your pride and work together to accomplish this task. There are thousands of lives at risk right now. And right now, that blood is on your hands. I place it firmly in your hands.

It is time we held you accountable.

Time Out from Blogging for School Break in February.

Washington is broken, things are a mess. Time for a vacation!

A Dear John Letter to Dear John Kerry.

Dear John:
I watched you and your wife Teresa on Larry King last evening. Your stiff performance almost made me fall asleep, but I was curious to hear what you might have to say, so I forced myself awake.

I feel bad about your prostate cancer and your wife's battle with her breast cancer, but I was truly amazed by the top drawer treatment you kept bragging about. You talked so much about all of the choices you had; Teresa talked about how her MD did a mammogram and an ultrasound and a biopsy right away, the same day! That is clearly VIP treatment and you should be ashamed of yourself for sitting there in front of all of America talking about it. Most Americans cannot even get an MD to call back with a simple report. Many cannot even get a mammogram because they lack basic insurance. They have no "choices". But instead of taking this opportunity to talk about the need for real healthcare reform for real people, you instead talked about the energy bill.

Hello, anyone home?

Or maybe I have the wrong home, because you own so many.

You are so far out of the common man's plight, so high above it, that you must get nose bleeds and vertigo from looking down upon the masses. I mean really.

I also enjoyed the dig you made about Sarah Palin being "entertainment". That must have sat well with her followers. It didn't sit well with me and I am hardly a follower of hers. Also interesting that you did not condemn your running mate, John Edwards. You called his plight, "tragic".

Tragic? The man is a pig.

Anyway, I must tell you that you must go. We are done with all of you guys that say they work "for the people". Well, you don't represent the people anymore and I am not quite certain you ever really did.

Time to go and let a real person into the job. One who gets it. Gets us.

It is not like you need the job anymore and you have real medical issues to attend to and wind surfing and what not.

So, I would like to say that it has been nice, but it really hasn't been. You had your chance, now give it up to the next generation. I am, quite frankly, tired of rich, older men screwing up this country.

I know, breaking up is hard to do.

But it's not you, it's me. Honest.

P.S. And leave behind the Kennedy desk. It belongs to the people, not you.

No school, No snow, No news, No Viagra?

Here is a list of the trending hot topics right now on the Boston Globe website, Boston.com:

Hot Topics: School vacation; Brady baby; Spring training; Valentine's Day; Winter arts guide.

I kid you not.

It would be snow, except we really don't have much here in Boston, unlike the dire predictions and the school closings would have had you believe.

But now that the Super Bowl is over and the Scott Brown win is in the can, there is nothing that is sparking anyone's interest. Or outrage.

At a super bowl party this weekend, conversation also fell flat. No more big debates about candidates, no crisis because Haiti was so last month, no celebrity fall-outs. No, nothing really. Even "palm-gate" was a bore because no one really cares that much about what Sarah Palin wrote on her hand. Seems the troops only get fired up when there are sides to take.

So then I went to the New York Times to see what they were talking about. They were talking about snow, snow and more snow. So I looked to see what people were reading and this is one of the most read articles today:

A Viagra Alternative to Serve by Candlelight

I am not making this up. It is a report about how certain foods act like an aphrodisiac.

Here is a quote from that article:
In one small experiment on sexual response to food scents, vaginal and penile blood flow was measured in 31 men and women who wore masks emitting various food aromas. This was the study that found men susceptible to the scent of doughnuts mingled with licorice. For women, first place for most arousing was a tie between baby powder and the combination of Good & Plenty candy with cucumber

What?

Geesh...could you imagine being the researchers on that study...or the subjects? I wonder how much federal grant money they received.

So, it is a slow news day. That is for sure. I plan to not turn on the local news tonight either because I really do not care to see reporters out on every highway to report that we really didn't get much snow, and that traffic seems to be moving well because everyone left work at noon. I can also do without hearing that Scott Brown is writing a book or that Tom Brady's kid is cute (wait, doesn't he already have another cute kid as well?)

So, I guess I will just curl up next to the fire with a good book and take a nap until either the next election or the next Brangelina expose.

Or I wonder if an increase in doughnut sales will be the next big story. Perhaps there will be doughnut wars. Which doughnut causes the biggest (no pun intended) reaction? It could spark a media blitz! Perhaps they will cover this on the Today Show....Matt Lauer can test Dunkin' Donuts against Krispy Kreme.

Wow, another exciting news day.

Robert L. Gibbs is Not the Boy Wonder He Thinks He is.

I don't like Robert Gibbs much. First off, he looks too old to be only 39. Secondly, he tries to be funny when he is not. And thirdly, he is from Alabama, home to my other non-favorite Washington guy, Senator Richard Shelby.

Now, after my last post about how we should all start trying to be nicer to one another, I guess I should be as well. So I will simply point out some facts.

First thing today, he makes fun of Sarah Palin writing on her hand by writing on his. A grocery list for his son's pancakes, then the words hope and change. (Look for the video on You Tube as I could not embed it for some reason.) I am not sticking up for Sarah Palin, I just think that the White House spokesperson should show more polish and class.

And who is this Bobby guy, the high school marching band, saxophone playing, debate team nerd, trying to be anyway? Is he trying to be funny, like Stephen Colbert? Is he trying to be tough like Rahm Emanuel? It is hard to tell some days. His personality changes a lot. But he should not be making fun of others. And this is why.

Here is a quote from Gibbs after the controversy over the Obama school address came out, "You had to be like, 'Wait a minute" Then he called the moms with concerns about this, "silly". Not exactly Mensa material here. More valley girl.

He likes to use the word "silly" a lot. He said about climate change, "I think scientists are clear on the science. I think many on Capitol Hill are clear on the science. I think that this notion that there is some debate ... on the science is kind of silly." What?

On a flagpole issue,(I don't even know why he would talk about this anyway) "He went on to say that "it's silly to ... think that somebody that's done that can't have a flagpole...."

I could go on and on, but my point is this, those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. He is a smug guy with a cocky attitude that thinks he is so smart, but really he is not. President Obama is treading water right now and the last thing he needs is for the face of the White House to go all Animal House on us. I mean really. First Rahm Emanuel's blow up and now this? Sounds like fraternity boy antics, not serious White House dealings.

So, Robert, please. Grow up. The SNL skits are starting to look like a White House documentary.

So get serious.

Anger (Mis) Management

"The world needs anger. The world often continues to allow evil because it isn't angry enough.” Bede Jarrett

Everywhere I go lately, people are angry. When I turn on any reality based TV, like the news or talk show, which is supposed to be reality but often times isn't, I see anger.

When I read a blog or newspaper on-line, and they have a comment section, people either post something nasty or they attack one another. No interesting counter-points or thoughts, just vitriol and hate.

It is getting rather depressing.

My husband even accused me of being "preachy" on my blog. Said I could make people "angry".

Preachy?

"Well", I said in defense, "It is my blog. And no one really reads it anyway. So, who cares." (okay, I was a little angry)

And then I started thinking about what he said. He said I could "make them angry."

But is that true? Can we really "make" someone angry? Is all this anger out there really caused by a person? Or a thing? Or is it just some unmet expectation deep inside each of us. And is it also a lack of true compassion or understanding for one another.

There is a book that I love, written by a wonderful writer who understood pain. The book is Hearts That We Broke Long Ago written by Merle Shain.

She writes, "Compassion cannot exist with anger or jealousy, with envy or revenge, so those who have those feelings starve themselves. In the hands of the insecure, compassion becomes condescension, competitiveness, pity and a taste for pain. Real compassion comes from strength."

What she says is so right on. We have lost all ability to be compassionate with one another. We are so busy with our own busyness that we forget we are all on this journey together. We are so focused on trying to one-up each other or prove that someone else is wrong that we never just sit back and take a moment to understand one another. We never look for ways to work together to solve our differences. We just yell and scream and say the wrong things (think Rahm Emanuel).

They say that there is a 'revolution' underfoot. A new movement. But I don't think that it is such a new movement as much as it is a return to some sense of normalcy. Some common courtesy. When the Tea Party folks talk about returning to a "God fearing nation" it seems to me that they are looking to return to some common decency. Where polite conversation is considered the norm, not all of this hate and vitriol.

So, anyway, I guess we could all try to be a little nicer to one other. That could help. I don't think that we have the power to make each other angry; I think that we are all just trying to be heard and we are growing louder with our own discontent.

All I know for sure is that we are all so divided. And in that division we really don't even have any common ground among our splintered selves. We are more isolated than ever. Needier. More fearful.

Maybe a better question to ask is not why we are angry, but is the anger really working. And if it is, which is doubtful, where exactly is it leading us to? And why? And is it a place where we really, really want to be.

Let's Face It, We Are a Crib Note Society.

I cannot believe I am publicly admitting that I watched the Sarah Palin speech on Saturday night, but I am. I will say it was by accident, as I was in bed early due to a cold and turned on CNN and there she was. Big hair and all. But like a gawking on-looker at a motor vehicle accident, I just couldn't look away.

I checked other channels. She was on C-SPAN, Fox and even MSNBC. MSNBC?

And then I found myself still watching. Unbelievable. I was interested just to see what she would say next. I am sure that is why she was being covered so heavily as well. Everyone wanted to catch her doing something dumb. She sounds so dumb to me. It is not really what she says, but how she says it. But then she actually said a few things I found myself agreeing with.

What? Agreeing with Sarah Palin?

Her line, "We need a commander in chief, not a professor of law standing at the lecturn," well, that resonated even with me. And I like Obama.

I still don't think she could be President. But I do believe that she could teach the President some lessons.

First, we are a restless nation. When Sarah Palin looked at her hand to find her crib notes, people resonated with that. How many of us have a to-do list always handy? How many of us love crossing things off of that to-do list? How many of us wish that President Obama had a simple to-do list that he could follow? He seems always to be going in too many directions.

Here is what many would like to see on that list, even if he writes it on his hand:

1. Get Americans back to work.
2. Prevent terrorists from getting on our planes.
3. Stop the banks from hurting us anymore.
4. Stop the big insurance companies from playing by their own rules.

I would love to see some of those to-do's crossed off. But I know it is not that simple.

Our society loves a good sound-bite. We actually make many major decisions by just hearing sound bites. As soon as Scott Brown uttered the words. "With all due respect, sir, it's the People's Seat", it was all over. Many made their decision right there and then.

Think about recent past elections. What do you remember? Do you remember any of the policy discussions? No. You remember things like; "It's the economy, stupid.", "Read my lips, no new taxes", and the John Kerry bomb, "I actually did vote for the $87 billion before I voted against it." What?

So Sarah Palin is not so dumb after all. And the Liberals and the media elite better watch it. As they are pummeling Palin calling her stupid and not presidential material because she wrote on her hand, they are dissing everyone that has ever done that. And they are playing right into that small hand of hers. They are proving that Sarah Palin is the antithesis of the elite, a regular gal. And that is their undoing. Why don't they get that?

Anyway, Sarah Palin had three things written on her hand:

Energy.
Lift Americans spirits.
Tax cuts.

Not a bad message, really. Maybe not the classiest thing to do on national TV, but maybe not the worst. It is certainly giving her a lot of buzz.

Anyway, my advice to any candidate thinking of running for anything, get your talking points written now. And say them over and over. Make sure they are not silly. Make sure they resonate with everyone. And make them short and to the point.

We are a restless bunch. We like our messages clear and simple. We will not stay tuned in for a policy discussion. We don't have the time nor the inclination. We want to know what you will do, when you will do it and how we will know when it is done.

Short, sweet and to the point.

Even if it is on your hand.

Chomping at the Bit....A Preview of the Massachusetts Governor's Race from a Mom's Perspective.

I was looking at a beautiful horse yesterday as I waited for my daughter to finish her horseback riding lesson. He was literally chomping at the bit. And then that saying stuck in my head. And it suddenly reminded me of the Governor's race.

We have all heard that saying, "chomping at the bit". But what does it actually mean? According to an on-line search, it means to be very keen to start an activity or to go somewhere. Just like our new Governor-to-be-determined candidates. So, it wasn't the horse's arse that reminded me of politicians, it was actually the head. And that is a good start.

Kind of.

Now, Charlie Baker, Harvard-Pilgrim's turnaround guy, is actually already out of the gate. And he has already made his first big mistake, as reported today in the Boston Globe. He claims some mysterious $5 billion dollar surplus, then corrects himself by saying, and I quote;

“I tried to come up with a term that a Joe Q. Citizen could recognize,’’ he said. “I may have called it a surplus yesterday. I didn’t call it a surplus today.’’

And that was his first big mistake. First of all, it sounds awfully pompous to call us "Joe Q. Citizen". I hate that. Secondly, he is backtracking, and that means he floated something out there that was not the truth. So, his second big mistake already, he lied. And we John Q. Citizen folk, we hate liars.

There are only 3 major candidates that I can really see as contenders. Our current Governor, Democrat Deval Patrick; Republican Charlie Baker, and Independent Tom Cahill. I do not personally know any of them. So I have to rely on what I actually see. And I am closely following all of them because I am, right now, undecided.

So far, I have not seen Tim Cahill at all. He is out there, though. I see his Facebook page and I get a few emails from his campaign. But that is about all. I have read from his tweets that he is running an ad tomorrow during the Super Bowl. Not sure if his opponents are as well, but I know he is. So here is what I think of that.

Not a good move.

Why? No one will notice. You may think they will. But it is doubtful much will come of it. Now, if you had stirred up some controversy first, people may have paid more attention. They may have said, "Hey, that's that __________ (fill in the blank) that said ________________(fill in the blank). That is when bad publicity becomes good publicity. People are talking about you. And he has not stirred up any controversy that I am aware of. Not yet, anyway.

Also, I do not think that anyone who is a fiscal conservative, not necessarily a Republican, but simply cautious with money, will like this much. It appears to be reckless spending. And in a deficit weary Massachusetts, we will notice this. If all three candidates do it, then it becomes a "me,too" fest. Again, not well liked.

And we are all still fatigued from the whole Scott Brown/Martha Coakley ad war. We just don't care right now. We just want to eat nachos and watch football and drink beer. And, of course we will be looking for the now famous Super Bowl Budweiser commercials, as they are always a blast. And maybe that talking baby will make an appearance, too.

As for Deval and Baker, they are in the news all of the time lately. And now Charlie is being taken to task by a Democrat's best friend, the Boston Globe. Although it is hard to take the Globe too seriously lately; they are still showing Senator Brown as a model. (Note to Boston Globe: you are only making him look better and yourself foolish. Stop it.)

Anyway, I am sure we are in for some fun this fall. I am asking a variety of people to tell me their thoughts so that I can view and blog about this race from different perspectives, which is always fun. I have a few staunch Republicans, many bleeding heart liberals and people like myself, caught somewhere in the middle, who are looking for a shred of decency and an open-mindedness to do what is right. We know you are all qualified, but who stands out as a true leader? Who is really listening? And who is not swayed too much by special interest groups. Or party lines.

I, personally, am also looking for something else. A good person.

No lying, no mean-spiritedness, no nonsense. The one who can stay honest, stay focused, who stays on message and who can stay out of the mud will probably get my vote. It is not a party thing, it is a people thing.

Buddha once famously said, "Believe nothing, no matter where you read it, or who said it, no matter if I have said it, unless it agrees with your own reason and your own common sense."

Best. Advice. Ever.

Stay tuned.


P.S. I know that some will say that I wrote nothing about our current Governor, Deval Patrick. Well, his actions for the past few years speak louder than any words that I could possibly write.

Why I must continue to rant about Senator Shelby

Senator Shelby's newest threat? A blanket hold. A blanket hold is a new concept to me. I did not know that it existed; quite frankly, I never wanted to have to know why it existed. But because of Senator Shelby, I needed to find out, so here is a quick explanation: (from Erza Klein at the Washington Post)

The first thing to understand is that there's no such procedural move as a "hold." It's not something senators have in their special senatorial utility belts. Instead, a "hold" is shorthand for a promise to obstruct all further consideration of a particular piece of Senate business.

The best explanation of how this works came from David Waldman, and I encourage you to read it in full. But here's the short version: The Senate generally uses unanimous consent agreements to set the rules for a bill or a nomination. A hold, in its simplest form, is a promise to object to unanimous consent.

Okay, then what?

Then, everything is stopped. Everything. Not just the nominations that no one cares about. Everything stops. Yikes.

This makes no sense. Did the Republican party think just because Massachusetts voted in Scott Brown, that that has given them some type of super-human power? That is simply nonsense.

Republicans are in short supply in Massachusetts. The Independent vote swept in Scott Brown, not the Republican vote. So, this election did not mean to give a grand nod to the Republican party. It was also not meant to send all of the Democrats into a cave, cowering in fear, either. As Charlie Brown would say, "Good grief".

All I know is that Richard Shelby is why I hate Washington. And not because he is a Republican. Just because he is a jerk. This is an example of why I think that Congress, both the House and Senate, acts like a dysfunctional family at Thanksgiving. You know the drill; the craziest relative is always given what he wants first, to avoid ruining the day for everyone else.

And that is what Senator Shelby is acting like. A crazy person.

It's a $40,045,000,000 ransom demand to the United States government.

It is beyond comprehension to me that we allow this to happen. I am simply stunned.


Also, see Gail Collin's opinion in the NYTimes today.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/06/opinion/06collins.html?emc=eta1

Please check this out...from Elizabeth Warren

Elizabeth Warren thinks the economic crisis started with lenders tricking families. Woeful misunderstanding or willing deception?

You will have to copy and paste onto your browser. I could not get the link to work. Sorry. You can highlight it and then press ctrl and c, then to paste press ctrl and v.
http://www.momsrising.org/blog/elizabeth-warrens-letter-to-you-it%E2%80%99s-time-for-moms-to-take-on-wall-street/

How can ONE MAN stop something the country so badly needs, and why is Senator Dodd allowing this?

Okay, I know. I have been furiously writing about Senator Richard Shelby from Alabama, the NO guy on finance reform. Or at least, true financial reform. I am angry that he does not want an independent consumer protection agency overseeing the banks. He instead would like it to be under some other federal agency, not an independent agency. In other words, he wants to pass milk-toast reform. Just so that he can say that he passed financial reform. What he doesn't say is WHY.

I think he is clearly on the bank's side. In a Washington Post article from December, a few things were revealed about this man to make me think that way:

1. Shelby is a legendary fundraiser. He currently has more than $15.3 million in his campaign account and personal political action committee, more of it from the employees and political action committees of the financial industry than from any other source. Shelby has declared his intention to run for reelection next year but says he won't spend all his money, and politicians in Alabama say he doesn't have to. "He'll be a U.S. senator as long as he wants to be," Fine said.

2. "He can raise enough money to sink a battleship!" said Joe L. Reed of the Alabama Education Association, a leading black political operative in Alabama. "Every time he sneezes, he raises some money."
Washington lobbyists recount stories of Shelby's relentless fundraising with grudging admiration. "I think it's the way he keeps score," said one regular recipient of the senator's blunt pleas for money.

3. Shelby keeps score in another way that helps him politically, by bringing home a huge quantity of bacon. Alabama gets about $1.50 back from Washington for every $1 it sends to the U.S. Treasury, much of it in earmarks written and promoted by Richard Shelby.

4. Nor have the Shelbys neglected the accumulation of personal wealth. They are multimillionaires whose two personal homes, one in Georgetown and another in Tuscaloosa, are each valued at more than $1 million. The steelworker's son born across the tracks moved uptown long ago.

5. For months the staffs working for Dodd and Shelby have been sharing proposals, asking questions, discussing the issues of regulatory reform. Then in October, Shelby surprised Dodd by telling him that he could proceed with discussions only if Dodd agreed to drop a proposal for a consumer financial products agency. Dodd had announced months earlier that he considered this -- a sort of consumer product safety commission for financial products, from home mortgages to credit cards -- as a centerpiece of reform. President Obama does, too. The House approved it last week.

6. Shelby trashed Dodd's draft. It was an uncharacteristic performance, harsh and sarcastic. "This committee has not done the necessary work to even begin discussing changes of this magnitude," he said, reading from a prepared text. Shelby slammed one provision after another in the Dodd draft, and announced, "I will be opposing this legislation."


Need I say more. We know that Shelby does not want any teeth in this bill. The question is WHY? Is he simply protecting his number one campaign funding source?

If you look at any banking industry blogs, you will see why. They don't want a real independent person, such as Elizabeth Warren, to watch over them. Period. They don't want it. So Shelby doesn't want it.

And we don't want another lame federal bureaucracy to fail miserably at protecting us.

That is why I don't like Senator Shelby. It is not personal. I am sure he is a fine man. I just don't like this.

And neither should you.

The 23 people that are making a decision that will effect the other 308,623, 617 of us.

These 23 people are making a decision on Finance Reform that will effect the other 308,623,617 people that live in the USA. The people that do not want Finance Reform are the BANKS.

Here are the 23 people:

Christopher J. Dodd Chairman (D-CT)
Richard C. Shelby Ranking Member (R-AL)
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
Robert F. Bennett (R-UT)
Jack Reed (D-RI)
Jim Bunning (R-KY)
Charles E. Schumer (D-NY)
Mike Crapo (R-ID)
Evan Bayh (D-IN)
Bob Corker (R-TN)
Robert Menendez (D-NJ)
Jim DeMint (R-SC)
Daniel K. Akaka (D-HI)
David Vitter (R-LA)
Sherrod Brown (D-OH)
Mike Johanns (R-NE)
Jon Tester (D-MT)
Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX)
Herb Kohl (D-WI)
Judd Gregg (R-NH)
Mark Warner (D-VA)
Jeff Merkley (D-OR)
Michael Bennet (D-CO)

Warning to Scott Brown, dangerous water ahead.

The voters of Massachusetts recently elected Senator Scott Brown and he has now been elevated by his supporters to the top of a beautiful, golden pedestal. The "people's pedestal".

Nice for a while, all the attention. Admiring faces smiling at him, clamoring for his autograph. All the media glare. Even an SNL skit. Nothing like an SNL skit to say you have made it and made it big.

And that is where the trouble begins. We are simply restless and fickle. We want change and we want it now. We have become a society that is used to instant this and instant that. And when we don't get it, we can turn ugly.

I remember sitting with a friend who was screaming at her computer because it took almost 30 seconds for it to boot up. Thirty seconds!! "This thing is a piece of crap", she said. This "piece of crap" was the top of the line Apple MacBook that she had been wanting forever. But now she had it and it just wasn't living up to her expectations. So now she hated it. It was, to her, crap.

Have we really become that impossible to please? When is the last time I heard someone say, "Let's just wait and see. Things take time. Give them a chance." I think the last person to say that to me was my own Mom, and she died in 1996.

No, we are an instant society now. We expect things to happen quickly. We are impatient with everything.

And so this brings me back to Scott Brown, our newly elected Senator from Massachusetts. Forty-one. The man who will set Washington straight. The "People's choice".

We have placed him high on that pedestal. But beware. Gloria Steinem once said, "A pedestal is as much a prison as any small, confined space."

He is, in fact, a prisoner to that pedestal as we speak. He is a prisoner to expectations that even he does not know exist. And we are watching him. If he is not careful, he will soon be knocked off of that pedestal. If he does not show us any real change, real soon, we will become restless again. And how do we define change? We don't really know. We just want it. And we want it now.

So, here is some advice to Mr. Brown. Keep driving your truck, no black cars with drivers for you. Keep wearing your barn jacket. Do not vote along with Republicans on everything. Do not ignore a call from a Massachusetts's voter, like your partner, Senator John Kerry does.

Try to step off that pedestal yourself by keeping yourself human and admitting to any mistakes you make. And for goodness sakes, do not use the excuse that you are new or that you need more time. No one will grant you that. No one.

Just be straightforward and tell us the plain truth. That Washington is a maze of madness and that common sense is in short supply. That each and every Senator and Congressman is looking out for his own state, his own district, so that they can be re-elected. That you are honestly shocked by what you see and will stay true to your ideals as long as you can. That you will not become part of the machine.

But be ready for it. The ocean is constantly restless and unpredictable. That same wave of change that placed you on that pedestal is already being reborn to try to knock you off. So, don't try to hold on to it. Just ride the wave, swim with the current and keep your head above water. You cannot bring real change if you are spending all of your time simply trying to stay afloat.

How a Squeaky Wheel becomes a Roar....but first you must be the squeaky wheel.

As you know, I work as a home visit hospice nurse on weekends. I love my job and I love seeing and helping my patients. But we have many, many patients and family caregivers on service. And many times, just a few nurses are available. So I remind them that if we do not hear from them, we are left to assume that everything is going okay. Or at least as well as it can be under the circumstances. That the plan of care that we outlined is working. They do have scheduled visits, but these patients have issues on an ongoing basis. So they should not wait for a scheduled visit if they think things are not going well. They need to be the squeaky wheel. They need to call and tell us. And then we can respond and take care of the issue. We cannot call every patient every day and sometimes things change within hours. They really need to keep us informed. That is what we are there for, to respond to their needs. We want them to call. Some say that they do not want to bother us. I remind them that that is what we are there for and our sole purpose is to take care of them. And we do. When we know.

The same logic should hold true for our elected representatives. Whoever they are. They could be the President, a School Board member, a Senator or the small-town Town Clerk. All of them serve one purpose; to respond to the people that they govern. For their entire term.

However, they seem to only want to reach out and listen to us at election time. They offer many promises; they try to be "just like the everyman". They drive trucks and wear jeans and forgo ties to mirror what they see in us. Regular folk. Most times, they are simply pandering for votes. And it is simply a facade. Because once elected, they many times refuse to listen to the very same people they purported to hold in such high regard. So much for being "one of us". Suddenly, they are way above us. Beyond our reach. It shouldn't happen. And the reason that it does happen? Because we allow it to happen.

It seems that we tend to vote for candidates that are in keeping with some of our core beliefs and we assume, many times wrongly, that they will continue to fight for us and do the job they said they would. But as soon as we turn our backs, and they see that we are no longer looking, they start to do what is best for them. And that isn't always in our best interests. And unless they are caught in the eye of the media, we may never know.

Some say, yes, I know. But I do not have the time to call and complain. I am too busy. And it does so little anyway. So why bother.

True, it does seem that way. But small drops fill buckets. If each of us took the 5 minutes that it actually takes to write an email or to call an office, it would add up. One call, yes, they can ignore that. 25 calls or emails, well, it gets their attention. And so on.

I hear a lot of moms complain about a lot things. Things that local government does or what big government doesn't do. Complaining to each other is fine; but the message dies there. So take just one moment before you go to bed and write that email. Most people have iphones or blackberrys so they can do it while stuck in traffic, or while you are sitting at one of the several activities your children are involved in.

I know that we need to focus on our families and our jobs. And we should. And kids come first and we have to feed them and read to them and snuggle with them. All are top priorities. It is all good. But someday those kids will grow up to be young adults. And they will pay more attention to social issues, like we all did when we were in college. And they will look at you and ask, "what did you do about this?" And wouldn't it be nice to say, yes, I called, I emailed, I paid attention.

I think that actively being involved and paying attention to something that is happening in our community, our towns or our country, even if that is simply sending a 5 minute email to an elected official, is a great civics lesson for our kids. And who better to teach this lesson than their own parents. Us. What a great example we would be setting.

I know there are so many issues out there and I know it seems so overwhelming that we all just turn off the TV because we just don't want to see it. We cannot help everyone. But if you notice that something that you have heard is really bothering you, and it is important to you, you should call or write. Many of us make the mistake that someone else will do it. And they usually don't. I often say this to myself, one of my favorite quotes, "If not now, when, if not me, who".

I know that we also witness a lot of crazy, ranting people. I do not advocate that. A simple, polite inquiry is all you need to send. It sends the message that I am out here. I am seeing this. I am paying attention. I don't like this.

They hate that. Trust me.

Right now, I am angry that one man, one man, can hold up important legislation. So I am going out on a limb and calling him out. That would be Senator Richard Shelby from Alabama and the Consumer Protection Bill. But I digress.

Anyway, remember that we women would not even have the right to vote if some other brave women did not go out and make a fuss about it.

They were a squeaky wheel that eventually became a roar that no one could ignore.

And now that we have the right to vote and we should go beyond that and demand the right to be heard.

This is the one man that stands in the way of protecting all consumers---ONE MAN! He is protecting the BANKS instead

This is him. The man that is trying and succeeding to unravel all of the work on the Consumer Protection Bill that Elizabeth Warren, one of THE smartest women around, describes in her letter in my last post.

This man, a Senator from Alabama, who wrote this really important Bill:

4. S.RES.389 : A resolution commending The University of Alabama Crimson Tide for being unanimously declared the 2009 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision National Champions.
Sponsor: Sen Shelby, Richard C. [AL] (introduced 1/20/2010) Cosponsors (1)
Committees: Senate Judiciary
Latest Major Action: 1/20/2010 Referred to Senate committee. Status: Referred to the Committee on the Judiciary.
Is now standing in the way of the most important piece of legislation in recent history.

Please, please, please pay attention to this. Do not let him, this ONE MAN, get away with this.

I may be just a simple minivan mom, and I have one lonely voice, but this is so important for all of us!

Contact Senator Dodd, tell him to not back down to him.

A Letter From Elizabeth Warren

Friends,

The story of the financial crisis has a thousand twists and turns, but the basic narrative is easy to follow. The financial industry wrote rules that allowed it to act recklessly. The industry captured agencies that were supposed to regulate it, taking cops off the beat and funneling enormous resources into the political process to make sure there wouldn't be any new cops.

Then, with no laws to hold them back, the banks made hundreds of billions of dollars on the sales of deceptive products.

That went on for years, and the industry's tricks-and-traps pricing got more and more out of control. Eventually, the sale and re-sale of deceptive mortgages and other dangerous products made trillions of dollars for Wall Street while bringing down the American economy. When the industry's recklessness brought the biggest banks to the brink of collapse, Wall Street turned to the taxpayers for bailouts and guarantees, which put it right back into big profits and big bonuses. The industry got whatever it wanted.

Now we are coming to the final chapter of this story.

The final chapter will show whether we are going to let the industry continue to write the rules -- to keep the cops off the beat -- or whether the financial crisis actually changed something.

The fate of the Consumer Financial Protection Agency will be the best way to follow the story moving forward because consumer products were the most abusive and because the CFPA has real muscle to stop those abuses. The CFPA would hire new cops and change the way big banks do business.

We have all worked hard to make the CFPA into a reality, and the next few weeks will determine whether our hard work will make a difference for families or whether families will lose once again. The next few weeks will determine whether families will have to play by rules written by the banks and for the banks -- rules that let the industry get away with anything. In my view, we cannot let families lose again.

Like you, I read last week that the consumer agency is dead. I also read the same thing last spring, last summer, last fall, and last month. And I've been warned about the power of the banks since I first developed this idea in 2007. We always knew this was a David v. Goliath fight, but I don't believe that Washington can or will let Wall Street act like nothing has changed.

I am writing to ask you to make an extra effort these next few weeks to organize calls and emails into the Senate Banking Committee about CFPA, to organize op-ed and letter to the editor campaigns across the country, and to create visible, public support for CFPA. If everyone on this list called key Senators on the Senate Banking Committee, that would send a loud message -- and if your members will do the same, the message will get louder.

This is not the last important moment in the fight for the CFPA, but it is a critical one. You can count on me to do my part. Please help.

Elizabeth

When Outrage goes Nowhere

All politics is local. We have heard that quote time and time again. But what does it really mean?

In his 1987 autobiography, Man of the House, Tip O'Neill told us that this is what his dad told him after his only election loss--a run for the Cambridge City Council.

"This was the only race I ever lost in my life, but in the process, I learned two extremely valuable lessons. During the campaign, my father had left me to my own devices, but when it was over, he pointed out that I had taken my own neighborhood for granted. He was right: I had received a tremendous vote in the other sections of the city, but I hadn't worked hard enough in my own backyard. 'Let me tell you something I learned years ago,' he said. 'All politics is local.'"

So, what does this have to do with my outrage today?

I won't go into a lot of boring detail, but there is some growing controversy in a town north of Boston called Lawrence. One problem is with the new Mayor, who also happens to be the State Rep as well. Two salaries, two pensions, two offices. I would think that would be illegal. But that is not bad enough. On top of that, our Governor is looking to give them $35 million dollars. $35 million is a lot of money for a Commonwealth that appears to be on the brink of disaster. I am not saying that Lawrence doesn't need it, but what are they going to do with it? Seems like a straightforward question. We want some transparency to see where that money is going. That's all. But here is the kicker, no one will tell us.

I went to the Commonwealth's website to look up the bill myself. Here is what I found. I have copied it from the website in its entirety:

"House, No. 4421
Presented by: Governor
Message from His Excellency the Governor (under Section 8 of Article LXXXIX of the Amendments to the Constitution) recommending legislation relative to providing for the financial stability of the city of Lawrence"

Huh? So, I called the Speaker of the House, Robert A. DeLeo. I wanted to know what this was all about.

Now comes the outrage part.

They placed me on hold at least 4 times, transferred my call to 3 other areas and clicked me off once. I kept calling back. I finally reached a person who actually talked to me. I had to actually beg her to listen.

Her name was Sandy. She was very nice.

She finally let me ask my questions without sending my call to the Hinterlands. She took my number but said that it was unlikely that I would ever get a call back. Nice.

I finally said to her, as politely as I could, that we have all pretty much had it with this type of government representation, the kind where it appears that we do not seem to matter unless it is election time. I further mentioned that I work hard for my money and that I should have some type of say as to where my tax dollars go or at least some understanding as to how it is being used. That I at least should receive an honest answer to a direct question. Didn't I deserve that? It is like I am a shareholder in a company that will not let me know where my investment stands. They demand the money. I have penalties imposed upon me if I do not pay the money, yet, I have no say. No say at all. I am told, essentially, to pay up and shut up. And there also does not seem to be any accountability for anything that happens up on Beacon Hill. I did, after all, elect these guys to represent my best interests. And now they just want me to go away?

We all talk a lot about wanting a lot more transparency in government. But the fact is, we really don't want to have to watch what our government is doing. We feel, however, that we must.

We are all so busy doing our jobs, taking care of our families, busy with the everyday flow of life. We really don't have time to babysit our elected officials and most times, we don't. We just just hope and pray that they are doing the right things. Sadly, they are not. And outrage is building. And so we feel we must use some of our very precious time and pay attention. And we are outraged that we must do so.

So to all of the guys and gals in my backyard, my elected representatives, the ones that took an oath and swore they would do the right thing; you better start paying attention. Because we sure are. And we don't like what we are seeing. And what we are seeing, is you. And our outrage is not going nowhere anymore. It is headed your way.

Take cover.

The President, Scott Brown and Marketing 101

A few years back, I had left clinical nursing to take on a new role as the Marketing Director for a small hospital. It was a referral based hospital and we were selling our services in hopes of getting new admissions. It was an intangible product; you could not taste, feel, touch or really see our product. You wouldn't know if you liked the product, our services, until you experienced them. It is a tough sell because you promise all sorts of things but those promises could be broken by one person who did not do their job or by expectations of care that could not possibly be met.

I was thinking back to marketing last night while I was thinking about this whole uproar over Scott Brown's win and the Obama camp's reaction to it. They sold us a product and we have not been happy with it. In President Obama's case, his product did not meet our expectations in a variety of ways. As for Scott Brown, we have bought his product for now, so we will see.

What do I mean by product? When an intangible service is sold to us, we know that we cannot see what we have actually purchased. We have to trust it, trust it to perform as it said it would. So when we hear, from say, an insurance company that, "you are in good hands", we think, that sounds good. We have no idea if that is true or not, but we respond to the message.

President Obama's message to us was change. Real change. We liked that. Yes, it resonated with us. We hated the war, we hated Bush/Cheney, we hated the path that America was on. We were ripe for change. And that is what we voted for.

A year later, we are still mired in war. People still are not working. He handed a few some money, but it was not enough. Where was the change we so desperately wanted? We see new faces in the White House, but it seems like business as usual. He broke his promise and we became increasingly restless. And mad.

Then came a new hope. Scott Brown. He is not running for President, but he was running for something equally as sacred, Ted Kennedy's seat in the senate. Love him or hate him, Ted Kennedy was a legend. And here we have this no name state senator seeking to replace him. Quite a task. Not to mention that Scott Brown was a republican, and that seat had been held by democrats for decades.

But something amazing happened. People rallied around him. And why? Because he changed the game. It was no longer Ted's seat. It was "The People's Seat." Yes, our seat. People loved that slogan. We wanted to be represented. We didn't like what was happening in Washington, so we wanted to be heard. And so Scott Brown won. Or rather, we won, the people. And the world took note.

So now we will see. Is it really the people's seat? Did we really get what was promised?

Are we in good hands? Did we get a piece of the rock? Are we under a blanket of protection? Will the metaphor that we purchased really meet our expectations?

Perhaps President Obama could learn a lesson here. You can promise all that you want, just make sure you are managing the relationship with the people that bought your product. We have heard you say a lot of things, mostly that you inherited the problem that we face. We know that already. That is why we hired you. To fix it. Not complain about it and offer excuses. So tell us all about that change you promised. Go on TV and list the changes, the benefits that we have received by virtue of those changes. We are waiting.

And perhaps now would be a good time to change your message. Change got you elected, but it will also be your downfall. So I suggest that you ask us to trust you, to trust that you really are going to make things better over time. Trust can be your new slogan. We feel it is too late to hope anymore.

And in the meantime, here is the people's slogan, "What have you done for me lately?" So, far, we do not see much. You still have time to show us. Please don't let us down.

Spin is dead; start telling us the truth. Plus, I have laundry to do, so make it brief. Please.

Every morning, I start my day sitting on the sofa with a very good pot of tea, watching the Today Show with my 11 year old daughter. Sometimes the news is grim, sometimes entertaining. But when politics are on, it can be mind-numbing. The democrats and republicans, or their surrogates, come on and try to spin whatever the topic is, typically to their favor, sometimes against the perceived foe. If there has been some type of uproar over an issue, they try to spin that as well. And we are left to try to figure out who is telling us the truth. Typically, we all just tune out.

We are busy. We juggle jobs and kids and household chores and bills and we try to find some time to have some fun and to sleep, too. Oh, and we also try to eat, although we usually do that simultaneously with the other things mentioned previously. Anyway, my point is this, our time is limited. And that has been to your advantage. Because if we do catch the news, we catch a sound bite that you have spun perfectly and we have little time to really dissect it much. Or react. And you like that. We know.

One of the more refreshing statements that our newly elected Senator Brown has said is that the people are not stupid. And that is very much true. We can see through lies and we know that lobbyists and personal agendas and even vendettas drive a lot of decisions made by our government. It is a shame and a pity that it happens, but it does. We know that. And we sometimes get outraged, but, with so little time to spare, that outrage sometimes goes nowhere. I think that the government counts on that. A little too much.

But things are beginning to change. New social media sites like Twitter and Facebook and You Tube make it virtually impossible for truth to be somehow buried by lies anymore. We can find the truth if we dig enough. And we don't have to dig very deep. Many times a simple google search can answer a question that a politician is reluctant to tell us.

So, here is some advice to politicians and their spin doctors. Just stop it. Stop it right now. Just cut to the chase and tell us the truth. We can take it. We will actually like you better and we may even let you keep your job if you just level with us.

Look, we are not expecting miracles like common sense to take over government, but starting with the facts would be great. Your bold faced lies will only sink you deeper. Can't you see that already?

William E. Simon once said, "Bad politicians are sent to Washington by good people who don't vote." Well, I think we showed, at least in Massachusetts this past month, that we do vote.

So, tell us the truth. You may not like it much and we may not like what we hear, but at least you will have won our respect.