Thursday, July 1, 2010

Hemmer vs Schakowsky


The eyes of Jan
(by R.P.Edwards)

Oh, to have the eyes of Jan
To see the beauty of the plan
To grasp the wonder of the dream
To hear the song above the scream
And look beyond the sinking prow
As great and small
To death must bow
As icy knives remove their spark
The eyes of Jan see light, not dark
And climbing to the lifeboat’s seat
She whispers, “This, is not defeat.
The ship will rise, and steam anew!”
As bodies bunch
In silence, blue
And true believers, trust betrayed
Go down to tombs
Below the waves
And seeing, she, to those at hand
Repeats the beauty…of the plan

The General stood at the podium and cleared his throat as he prepared to address a question from the press corps concerning the apparent dismal state of the war effort.  “Gentlemen, and lady (a gentle nod and acknowledgment to the lone female occupying a back seat), well, while I am concerned about that, the real issue…is real-estate.  You see, of late we’ve taken more land --albeit small in acreage--than was accomplished in the eight years of the prior administration.”  There was a palpable “something” (akin to a punch in the gut) as literally all in attendance tried to wrap their brains around a statement that, on it’s face, seemed utterly absurd.  “General,” interrupted the original asker, “are you saying that, because our armed forces have taken more land than the previous administration that we are now in a better state?” “Exactly.” “But general (the reporter stood and motioned towards the grossly altered map of the U.S.) eight years ago the continental United States stretched from Sea to Shining Sea.  It’s during the current administration’s reign that the enemy has invaded and occupied all the way up to the Mississippi and yet, because our valiant warriors have regained the St Louis waterfront; you say we’ve made more progress!? That’s insane!”

Being afforded the morning view (working midnights) I turned to “America’s Newsroom” on Fox and heard co-host, Bill Hemmer, ask Illinois Representative, Jan Schakowsky, to comment on the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) report that said, in essence, that at the end of the 2010 fiscal year the federal debt will be 62%, up from 40% in 2008.  This new number is roughly equivalent to the nation’s burden at the end of World War II!  Bill asked, “Does this blow you away when you hear these numbers?” To which, Ms. Schakowsky (who happens to be a member of President Obama’s Commission for Fiscal Responsibility) responded, “Well, while I am concerned about that…” and then she went on to talk about the importance of job creation and how “This administration, and this congress…is set to create more jobs in eight months than eight years of Bush.” Bill seemed a bit taken aback and asked, “You said we’re doing better?”

It was truly laughable, if not for being so sad.  For, as the ridiculous beginning anecdote alludes, it appears the good congresswoman considers more jobs “created” as a greater good than millions more…actually working!  Granted, the interview was not exhaustive, but the good lady’s view seemed plain enough.  And, as the clock constrained, Bill, after citing more statistics concluded by saying, “The numbers don’t lie…this is grim news for Americans.  I don’t know how you can stand there and make the argument that it’s not.”  And I say,  Hear hear! Bill Hemmer. Hear hear!

Comments welcome

2 comments:

Wesley Sargent said...

I fear we are in real trouble, unless we can hold the line until November...

The Layoff Letters said...

Yes, I agree. But the trick will be to remind people that there actually "is" a line...to hold. A lot can happen before November.