I kind of left you hanging there didn’t I? There was travel and now a sinusy mucousy thing going on and making me want to remove my ears, nose and throat. No doctor necessary. I’ll just do it myself. Anyway, where were we? Oh yes, the President decides to take the debt debacle to us, the American people and then I realized that this shit was getting way too long and could be like a novel as opposed to a blog post and here we are! Part II!
I become uncomfortable yet deeply enthralled while watching people argue. It’s a flaw of mine. I’m that person who doesn’t mind a train-wreck. So while it was entertaining to watch two grown men duke it out on national television there was still a fair amount of wincing. You guys? We got to see the President of the United States and the Speaker of the House fight over who has the biggest YOU KNOW WHAT (another reason to have more women in office. Just saying). And yes, I realize that I am speaking about two of the most powerful men in the country and probably the world but their behavior during Debt Debacle 2011 left much to be desired. You should be less alarmed by my referencing their ‘swimsuit spots’ and more by the fact that they brought there dirty politically driven laundry and aired it in public. They both stood up in front of billions to point fingers. “It’s HIS fault” could be the slogan of a five year old or 50 year old.
As a person with a soft spot for congress (probably because my fontanel never closed properly) I was embarrassed and while I get on my high horse and tell people that they need to pay attention because what is going on in Washington is important, this? The bickering, the evils of party politics, this is not what I meant. In fact the entire month of July did nothing but give the American People – whose approval was so sought after – a reason to dislike Washington even more. The President and Speaker Boehner both took their cases to the American people in an evening of special reports and speculation via talking heads. At the end, Speaker Boehner asked that God bless America then promptly walked out of his ceremonial chambers to say that he did not sign up for this; to go mano-a-mano with the President of the United States. In hindsight it fairly reminiscent of fights with my younger brother where we raced to tell our mother our side of the story. We were too busy devising talking points and finding fault instead of seeing the error of our ways. In short; Washington became the world’s largest daycare center.
What happened next is what is now par for the course in DC: After weeks of deliberating up until the last second – White House meetings were held, backroom deals are made and suddenly there wass a ‘compromise’ of sorts. ‘Compromise’ is a word best used loosely because it was anything but give and take. More push, pull and a possible threat of doom should default actually arrive or the threat of the 14th amendment. An even darker cloud loomed over Washington; not over the vote mind you because with those backroom deals also come an assurance that leadership will be able to deliver the votes needed to get a bill to pass. The dark cloud that was over the nation’s capital was the knowledge that despite bringing This to the American People, it did nothing but make the American people more apathetic than they already were. There was no good will and pats on the back for those who represent but instead a shadow of resentment within capitol and a public wholly disengaged and scratching their heads wondering if all of that really just happened.
It was the above that caused the credit downgrade. One would think that a last ditch effort slide into home base would have kept us from this cruel fate, alas not. As we watched Washington at its most childish so did the rest of the world and credit agencies. What the S&P saw was a representative democracy not able to keep their shit together enough to do something for the people who got them to where they are today. Constituents were quickly forgotten about as was the money. It was a me game, plain in simple. Two men vying to prove just how powerful they could be and in the end one was forced to surrender.
Now what? Is the question that remains. Congress returns after Labor Day, a Super Committee has been formed to find an additional $1.4 trillion in cuts and if they do not, if there once again is no compromise and blatant ignoring of the American people, then a trigger is in effect to cut Defense, Medicare and Medicaid. It’s waiting for a return and votes and meetings and partisan bickering. It’s watching a vicious cycle continue while congress remains at an all time low. That’s what.
I’m having technical difficulties but here was the greatest moment ever in congress especially after two months of hardcore bickering. It makes you think of what’s truly important when it comes to representing us – the people. And watching two grown ass men fight isn’t that: Gabby Giffords on the floor of the House
SOPA, PIPA, Reading and Thinking
I recalled this experience during yesterday’s mass protest and inevitable hysteria over the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Protect IP Act (PIPA). I say ‘mass hysteria’ not because I agree with either bill in their entirety or because I think that people should not be honestly it isn’t the bill language (and yes, I have read both bills) it is about the process leading up to their introductions and the after. My twitter stream was full of folks blacking out their sites and putting giant black ‘CENSORED’ bars over their avatars to protest. But the more retweets and bandwagon hopping I saw the more I thought to myself: Do you know what you’re protesting? Or are you doing it because you heard about something that someone else heard about via Wikipedia and because your friend’s friend is against SOPA, you are too? I’m not trying to be an asshole (famous last words) but it’s a question that needs to be asked before being all “RAWR! STOP SOPA!” then calling your congressperson about an issue that you know little to nothing about.
Of those up in arms how many actually know the name of their member of congress? And of those members of the House and Senate who signed on to SOPA and PIPA as cosponsors really knew the intricacies of piracy and copyrighted content and whether the bill they were attaching their names to could present unintended consequences. Has anyone noticed that the head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) one of the key backers of SOPA is currently being headed by former Senator and Presidential candidate, Chris Dodd? Oh and the other chief backer was none other than Rupert ‘I don’t know nothing ’bout no phone hacking’ Murdoch. The former who could easily get former Senate friends to jump on board onto what they thought was a harmless piece of legislation and the latter is a gagillionaire.
But more importantly: Did anyone actually read either bill? The cosponsors? The bandwagon jumpers? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller?
I didn’t say any of these things to be an asshole but to point out that sometimes congress doesn’t make the best decisions ever. This could be because it’s a topic that is so new that they know very little about it (SOPA and PIPA fall into that category as intellectual property when it comes to online content is still so new) or it could be because someone with the right ties and deep pockets wanted a law written and found a sponsor who said ‘Sure! Why not?’ again without really going into the repercussions of such. This is all just speculation of course as I have no clue who or what got the ball rolling but I do know and geared witness to people who aren’t knowledgeable on a subject area playing expert. And that is bad.
I’ll leave you with this thought and a bit of a personal note: It has taken me years – my entire adult life – to learn to be an independent thinker and to not have a ‘bridge jumping’ mentality (If everyone jumped off a bridge would you do it). I mentioned this in my previous post but I want to know every side of the story so that I’m not only well-versed in the facts for my own arguments but so I can also play ‘Devil’s advocate’. I started this site not just because I like to talk about electoral politics and current events but because I noticed that more often than not people were quick to be opponents or proponents without knowing the background. I wanted to be able to start a discussion and to not play a political pundit but to say here is the issue and here are some great resources. Go forth and get schooled. In a time of turmoil and where everyone can play an expert in any field, I hope to foster critical thinking. Reading a bill before denouncing it is the best place to start. And with this entire SOPA/PIPA/I don’t really know but I heard situation I am realizing that there is a need for sites like mine to get people talking and hopefully know what they’re talking about.
As an aside: For all those up in arms yesterday I hope that just because the day of action is over and the topic has been tabled in the House and will be filibustered in the Senate that doesn’t mean that you won’t continue to learn, explore and engage. The work of congress doesn’t end just because no one is paying attention. It is made more effective when people do pay attention. I wish that those who got SOPA excited will get just as excited about education, the state of the economy, jobs, Social Security and this election.
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Stop Online Piracy Act
Protect IP Act
How SOPA would affect you: FAQ
Ten Things You Need to Know About SOPA and PIPA
What is SOPA? Anti-piracy bill explained
Congress, SOPA and a fight over the web