From 2/20/08 post by Squiote

This guy taught College History for Univ. of Houston/Victoria, TX......writes a
pretty good blog!



THE 545 PEOPLE RESPONSIBLE FOR AMERICA 'S WOES
BY CHARLEY REESE

Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then
campaign against them.

Have you ever wondered why, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are
against deficits, we have deficits?

Have you ever wondered why, if all the politicians are against inflation and
high taxes, we have inflation and high taxes? You and I don't propose a federal
budget. The president does. You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to
vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.

You and I don't write the tax code. Congress does. You and I don't set fiscal
policy. Congress does. You and I don't control monetary policy. The Federal
Reserve Bank does.

One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one President and nine Supreme Court
justices - 545 human beings out of the 300 million - are directly, legally,
morally and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this
country.

I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was
created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to
provide a sound currency to a federally chartered but private central bank. I
excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason. They have
no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman or a
president to do one cotton- picking thing. I don't care if they offer a
politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept
or reject it.

No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to
determine how he votes.

A CONFIDENCE CONSPIRACY

Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they
did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.

What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of
gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a SPEAKER of the House, who
stood up and criticized G.W. BUSH for creating deficits.

The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept
it. The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole
responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving
appropriations and taxes.

Who is the speaker of the House? She is the leader of the majority party. She
and fellow Democrats, not the President, can approve any budget they want. If
the president vetoes it , they can pass it over his veto.

REPLACE THE SCOUNDRELS

It seems inconceivable to me th at a nation of 300 million cannot replace 545
people who stand convicted -- by present facts - of incompetence and
irresponsibility.

I can't think of a single domestic problem, from an unfair tax code to defense
overruns, that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully
grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise power of the Federal Government,
then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.

If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.

If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red.

If the Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ . There are no
insoluble government problems. Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to
bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose
gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to
regulate and from whom they can take this power.

Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exist disembodied
mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation" or "politics" that prevent them
from doing what they take an oath to do. Those 545 people, and they alone, are
responsible. They, and they alone, have the power. They, and they alone,
should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses - provided the
voters have the gumption to manage their own employees. We should vote all of
them out of office and clean up their mess.