Rant #911: HELP!

Funny how things work out.

I have been doing this blog for a few years now, and we have reached post number 911.

As most of you know--and this is mainly for the blog's out of United States visitors--in the U.S., the sequence 9-1-1 means one thing--

HELP!

You call 911 when you need police action on something that really needs such attention.

Well, funny as it may sound, this Rant comes up specifically at the right time for this country, because right now, this country needs all the help it can get.

It's called Sequestration, and because our Congress and our President couldn't agree on certain things, it pretty much looks like the deadline has passed for a compromise now that March 1 is upon us, and automatic tax hikes and financial cutbacks will be put into place that will greatly impact all Americans.

Our military will be greatly impacted, the money in our paychecks will be affected, our taxes will be affected.

Your job may also be impacted.

We have gone over the so-called "fiscal cliff."

And for all of this, we have our wonderful elected leaders to thank.

These measures were originally put into place so that we would never, ever get there. They are so severe that he common thinking was that no elected legislator would ever want to even come close to approaching these measures.

But save some last-minute deals, we have these same self-centered, egotistical legislators--from the President on down--to thank for this mess we are now in.

Who is to blame here?

Both Congress and the President have blood on their hands related to Sequestration.

Neither could work out any compromise measures to thwart such a thing, so each must be held accountable.

The Congress--the Senate and the House of Representatives--is an extremely combative bunch, putting their own agendas before the needs of those who voted them in.

They would agree on nothing put before them, only agreeing to disagree on everything.

Meanwhile, the President was no better. He professed compromise, but never went half way with very much.

It is the President's job--and it is this President's job too--to get along with Congress for the good of the country.

It is part of his job description.

Well, for all the supposed love this country has for our President, he has let us down, and let us down greatly, by not being able to work with Congress, legislators who were voted into their positions by their constituents. just like he was.

And remember, before he became President, he was actually one of them!

And that, my friends, may be the most disappointing thing about this whole episode.

We have good Presidents and bad ones, but they must be able to work with Congress to get things done whether they are strong or not.

This President has not been able to do that, and since he is our Commander in Chief, he must be held accountable for his actions.

Look, I don't know if a Republican President would have done any better with this bunch, but since a Republican did not get elected to the country's top spot, this is a moot point.

And for those ready, willing and able to give this President a "bye" because he is a groundbreaker, sorry, that doesn't wash here.

Whoever he is, whatever his background is, he is our President, and he ultimately must be held accountable for this mess we are in.

He seems like a fairly nice individual. He has a nice family. I have nothing against him personally.

Heck, he is the guy you want as your next door neighbor, to talk over news, politics, sports, and to have over for a barbecue.

But I think if the history books look at his Presidency accurately, they will say the obvious: in spite of him being a groundbreaker, he has basically had an ineffectual run as our leader.

He is one of the weakest Presidents we have had during the last 75 to 100 years, because during his Presidency, he hasn't done much to ensure that our quality of life--and the country's quality of life--has remained at least unchanged if not better.

Again, a question now must come up that came up during the November election.

It was poo-pooed back then, but it was relevant then, and is even more relevant now.

Is you life better now with him as President?

There is only one answer to that question, and I think you know what that is.

But reverting back to the start of this rant, it is funny how things work out, isn't it?

911 ... 911 ... 911 ...