In July I had the opportunity to take part in a new show at the Kansas City Fringe Festival. The Taming of the Poo was a collection of monologues complied by Brie Henderson. The true stories were submitted,  vetted and then presented by a cast of actors under the direction of Brie and Tony Beasley. The show took third place in the Kansas City Fringe Festival.  While the theme may appear to be a bit off-putting, the audiences appeared to appreciate the often familiar situations and laughed along with us.

And now . . .

Trying to write an interesting blog while dealing with crazy weather, disappearing sun, and especially, disheartening news about the unrest in this country has given me writer’s block.  I want to state my opinion about a couple of things. I don’t expect everyone to agree with me but feel that those with a different viewpoint are certainly free to state it. As long as discussion can take place without violence and name-calling and hatred, I believe it can begin to help us heal and unite.

I was shocked and appalled by the comments made by POTUS immediately following the events in Charlottsville.  I was even more dismayed at his comments at the press conference following the “Infrastructure” announcement in New York City. I applaud the elected officials who were strong enough to condemn the comments and indicate that they were certainly not comments worthy of the office of the President of the United States. I believe that our infrastructure includes a fabric of moral ideals. The Constitution does not read ‘liberty and justice for some’. Threads of racism, bigotry, anti-semitism, and white supremacy are not a part of that fabric and should be condemned. In his Town Hall meeting this week Representative Ryan used the term ‘equivocal’ to explain away Trump’s comments. There was nothing equivocal about it. And, to me it appears that when POTUS went ‘off script’ we experienced a tear in the moral fabric which should envelope our ideals.

I am going to write at least one letter per month to a senator and/or representative to let my feelings about certain issues be known. The last time I dedicated some time and effort to that, I got replies in the mail. Of course, they were form letters (those are easy to spot) and of course they had nothing to do with the issue I wrote about. But, I believe it is worth my time to try again and see what the outcome will be this time.

Meanwhile, the upcoming changes in D.C. lead me to believe I should be more involved in politics. I try to stay informed but find real confusion regarding some of the decisions and statements made by our representatives and senators.  I need some facts to back up my positions on several issues and would hope they do as well. I read about Senate Investigations often. {No wonder the members have little time for actual government business. Their time between recesses and “fact finding missions” is often spent on hearings.}

I thought those concerns could be combined – the hearings/investigations and my interest in issues. I’ve never really gotten the feeling that much is accomplished by these investigations. Many appear to be little more than self-serving ego strokes. But, if they are important enough to engage the members, then I would like to call for a hearing. 

Yes, since those people work for us (so they say), I would like to call a hearing. There are several topics I would like to explore. However, there would be a slight difference in format. I would ask the questions and they would be required to answer – under oath.

Just a few examples:

1)       What makes you believe that tax relief for the top earners will lead to job creation? Do you have examples to illustrate this? Do you know anything about how well this worked in Kansas?

2)      How does gay marriage threaten heterosexual marriage? Specific examples please.

3)      Why do you oppose Health Care for families and single citizens who are poor, unemployed or underemployed while feeling you are deserving of it?

4)      What is your justification for making the process of voting so difficult for large numbers of people? Can you prove widespread voter fraud?

5)      You often seem concerned with “The Gay Agenda”. What does this ‘agenda’ consist of? If you don’t know, why do you “oppose” it? If you do know, where does your knowledge come from?

6)      Why are you interested in people’s bedroom habits and personal choices?  If they are not imposing their beliefs on you what gives you the right to impose yours on them?

7)      When people’s earnings are automatically paid into a government retirement plan (Social Security) and health care (Medicare) and these earners have faithfully contributed for their entire working life, what is your justification for reducing payouts? Since these funds were supposed to be in a ‘trust’ which has been raided repeatedly, why are you not required to replenish the trust?

8)      Are your retirement payouts subject to deductions as are Social Security payouts? Are your retirement funds in a trust? Has it been raided to meet other spending bills you have passed?

9)      Why are you allowed to vote to increase your own salary while voting to deny others the right to earn a living wage?

10)   Do you have an understanding of your role in government or do you need reminders that you are serving at the will of the people? Do you recognize that you are entrusted to make decisions that recognize all your constituents, not only the big money factions that elected you?

So many more questions come to mind but, these might be a practical place to start. I will ask my senators for a hearing when I write – can you join me in this endeavor?

My blogs have been a bit hit and miss this year. I blame that in part on the fact that days go so much faster than they did years ago. But last month I had a better reason. I was often nauseated.  Nothing permanent (I hope) – I expect to be well for at least four years. Might be slightly nauseous about this time in two years. Actually, it comes almost every time there is an election of any kind.

For the first time in my adult life I got bogged (not blogged) down in the campaigns. What a disgusting thing to do. First, I have never been a dedicated political junkie. I always looked into a candidate’s background and platform before voting. In doing so I was attempting to be well-prepared and making what I believed to be intelligent choices. A good model for decision making might be a high school debate – you may have some preconceived notion about the “better” choice from the two sides presented but in order to be sure, you need to hear both.

Then came decision 2016. Long story short – I got hooked – not by one particular candidate or another because I’ve always believed that to make an intelligent choice one had to be open-minded and listen to both sides, not just one publication or television channel, not always to the same writer or pundit. It’s quite apparent that they have at least a leaning if not an outright bias. So, I sat with my printed publications and my TV remote and read and listened to both sides.  Thanks to the age of technology with my remote I can switch between channels effortlessly using the “prev” function.

I was tempted to scream questions out when interviewers missed an obvious follow-up or opening. I wanted to be an instant fact-checker with a way to flash my proof in the face of the interviewee. I wanted to ask about the methods of polling employed, what information was generating the endless screens of percentages. How reliable was the information being used? Why waste so much time re-living the same BREAKING NEWS day after day. I wanted to make a check list of the words and phrases used. The words which indicate that what follows is not necessarily fact, just opinion and rumor: I think, could be, might be, possibly, maybe, what he/she is saying is, what he/she meant was, perhaps, people say, people believe, and on and on and on. These are a few examples of what broadcasters use to protect themselves. Modern CYA.

The good news is – this blog is being put up on election day. Having already cast my ballot I now plan to: 1) go out for coffee, 2) attend a movie with a friend, 3) enjoy a meal without fear of campaign induced nausea, 4) perhaps even read a periodical and enjoy television again.  I refuse to sit today and tonight with a remote in my hand watching the myriads of talking heads opine as they rattle off the ‘updates’ on voting results.

I’ll be back in better health and a better frame of mind next month. Meanwhile, HAPPY THANKSGIVING.