Feet of clay on Capitol Hill

"He knows nothing and thinks he knows everything. That points clearly to a political career."

                                                                                                                          George Bernard Shaw

AUBURN, Maine — If you couldn't come up with a definitive answer to Congress's buffoonery this past week, request a brain scan from your family physician to explain why you are oblivious to a shutdown that is paralyzing a nation still suffering from a wobbling economy.

For those of you who live under a rock or are inebriates shaking off a yearlong hangover, thousands of federal employees are not getting paid and have swelled the ranks of the unemployed.

According to NBC.com, the feds are losing $12 million an hour. That adds up to $300 million a day or $1.6 billion a week.

A conservative friend of mine just snickers at the entire debacle and believes the shutdown will lower the deficit. It won't take you long to figure which corner he is in when it comes to politics. It was a smart-ass remark — especially when people are unemployed. The deficit will continue to grow because Congress, for some absurd reason, is still collecting a check.

The answer is clear. The 535 guys and gals who work for you on Capitol Hill have taken a long nap as America slides in into a sea of despair and disrepair.

This Congress is like the whining kid who walks off with his football because he is frustrated with the outcome of a game.

The Tea Party has sabotaged its own party and Boehner is left holding the bag as panicking moderates can't get it together to put an end to a stalemate that should have never occurred.

There are numerous issues that need to be addressed in this nation, but throwing a money wrench into the federal budget is not sound decision making.

I also believe the Obama administration has done a poor job explaining the new health care plan, but that doesn't excuse Congress's efforts to undermine it.

I will make it clear again — it is the law. How hard is that for the GOP to figure that out.

The U.S. government should not be used a ransom note because a group of Republicans are simply unhappy. You have to wonder how many lobbyists are lining members of Congress's pockets with silver and gold in effort to shelve the president's policy.

The Tea Party should go back to drinking coffee. These guys are only good for a good laugh.

What I find outrageous, and I am surprised a majority of our citizens haven't felt the same, is these inept leaders are members of of this government, and they have no problem condemning it as evil and immoral. These so-called leaders have made a career out of finger-pointing and creating fear and animosity, which I think has weakened our nation and has become fodder for late-night comedians who are delivering punch lines at the expense of this nation's leaders.

I know there is a painful price to pay in politics when any leader takes a stand. But if a politician doesn't take stand at some point, then he is just another leader who just goes with the flow, and we seem to be electing a lot this sort lately. 

Americans continue to scrape the bottom of the barrow when they vote, and this is what you get on the floor of Congress.

We should all be appalled and ashamed our leaders. I know I am. Remember this pathetic episode in American politics when you vote!

Offsides

Dear House Speaker John Boehner,

Let me ask you a simple question, and I think you can handle this inquiry without consulting your 10-man staff to come up with a two-sentence answer. I also understand brevity is not part of a politician's lexicon, but try not to disappoint me as you have done in the past.

Why do members of congress take SIDES when deciding the fate of this country's future? Aren't we all Americans seeking common ground when it comes to making decisions for the Greater Good? Aren't we all covered under the umbrella of the American flag - or is it just the rich?

Can you answer these questions, Mr. House Speaker, or is a simple explanation beyond your comprehension?

Let me help you out, sir, because you and the rest of the Keystone Cops obviously require hand-holding when it comes to making a tough decision and doing their job. 

The duty of ALL 435 officials, who could easily double as the Marx Brothers, is to conduct the people's business! That's what you were all hired to do. You were not elected to work for special interest groups or your party. You are living proof that George Washington was ahead of his time when he admonished his countrymen that political parties would impede the progress of this infant nation.

Sir, you have the privilege of working inside that great big marble dome because your constituency believed in you, but I know I don't — especially the way congress has conducted itself for the past month.

America's leadership is becoming an embarrassment to the world and congress has the look and feel of the latest episode of "Jersey Shore." Right now, I would put all my money on "Snooky" to call the ball on the debt ceiling.


Your trademark is your insincere and incessant crying. In just a few days, we will be balling our eyes out when America defaults on its loans. Of course, you will still be getting your paycheck, but seniors and veterans won't be receiving their benefits.

I thought we are all on the same SIDE? Apparently not! Forget this polarization nonsense or America is a divided nation. 

No kidding! 

But that didn't stop the framers of the Constitution from hammering out a document that guaranteed "all men are created equal." Our forefathers had the temerity to work around their differences and create a nation from scratch.

Today, thanks to poor leadership, greed and stupidity, the nation is looking like a ghost town as businesses vanish and the growing poor line the streets.

What would Jefferson, Washington, and Franklin think about all this shenanigans?

I do know that you have gone out of your way, along with the rest of your party, to sideline a nation with party politics, back-biting, arrogance and insolence. I know the other side has done the same.

Do you understand what is at stake here? All of you are making decisions that will affect the quality of heath of Americans and their future for generations to come. You are messing with the world's wealth. Schools are crumbling, and local budgets and good paying jobs are drying up while of you babble on —about nothing. We are back to the year 1933, and all we are missing is the Great Depression, Hitler, Mussolini and a global conflict.

You are a sad lot with axes of grind instead of helping America stand on its own two feet again. We are involved in three conflicts in the Middle East, poverty flourishes, education suffers and we are all indentured servants to foreign governments while congress prolongs our agony with its adolescent behavior. Good men are dying on battlefields and citizens are losing their homes as our leaders engage in daily finger pointing.

Do you really understand what is going on around you. You are supposed to be making decisions for the Greater Good. You work for us — not the GOP or the DNC.

How can any of you be taken seriously!

Thanks to both parties, I have become an independent who is hoping someone with a sound mind and the ability to lead will suddenly materialize in the nick of time to resurrect a floundering nation.

But I do have you and the GOP to thank for helping me make the switch to independent. I just hope those of you who vote won't forget these leaders with feet of clay when the next election rolls around.

I know my memory will serve me well when I cast my vote. 

Around the horn

FROZEN FALLS: Snow covers the rocks around the Androscoggin Falls.

AUBURN, Maine - If Congress decides to pull the plug on the federal government this Friday, I was hoping all senators and representatives would also go without a paycheck and give their constituents a respite from long-winded speeches and empty promises.

But I found out that the Keystone Cops (Congress) are deemed essential personnel and will still be cut a check each week.

The only good news about keeping our foolish and fearless leaders on the payroll is that it will prevent triggering sobbing episodes from Speaker of the House John Boehner, who could also shed tears during hilarious episodes of the "Three Stooges."

After four years of unemployment, an economy that continues to run on empty, and conflicts galore, which we can't keep our dirty paws off of, Congress will still get paid even though these guys have done will little to right this sinking ship.

If Boehner wants throw open the spigots, he should take a look at all the foreclosed homes, boarded-up businesses and the rising gas and food prices as the American middle class evaporates right in front of his water-filled eyes.

Now that is something cry about.

Here at home

Over the last two days, central Maine took another whooping from Mother Nature. Auburn received 12 inches of snow and the cold winds continue to howl and frustrate even the most hardy Mainers, who want to see Old Man Winter go away.

SNOWBOUND: Anthony lurks behind this mountain of snow.

For snowmobiliers and skiers, another blanket of snow is just what winter lovers ordered after nearly two weeks of sun and frigid temperatures.

For my son, it was an opportunity to job shadow members of the Lost Valley ski patrol team on Saturday after Old Man Winter laid down a fresh blanket of snow. Should he decide to pursue becoming a member of the ski team next season, he will have to take an EMT (Emergency Medical Training) this summer.

So far he is sold on the idea.

Happy trails to you

For the past two weeks, all was quiet in western Maine. That lull coaxed us into believing the walkways around the Androscoggin River were free of ice.

SNOWY OUTLOOK: Anthony checks out the winter scene.

But one look around and we discovered the a few days of warm weather and a stronger sun could not melt away the ice that covered the walkways.

The Androscoggin River walkway is about a mile around and then there is the falls, which is sort of like a mini Niagara Falls. The falls during the spring is something to behold. When the snow melts and April showers move in, the falls roar and can be quite impressive.

Before heading on the pedestrian trail, take a small hike up near the falls and stand on the platform and hear the roar of the falls and feel its fine mist

The walk will take you past Festival and Bonney parks where you will cross the river over a trestle bridge, which gives an eye-opening view of the river. After crossing, you can head over to Railroad Park and head back to the bridge that separates Lewiston and Auburn.

All we could do is admire the slow-running falls and we eventually walked back to the car and head to the gym.

And after the last snowstorm and an ice storm on deck for Monday, we will have to wait until the end of march to take a spin around the Androscoggin.