In Search of a Sharp Stick

Alright now! Last night I was a bit ticked off at my cousin - as you are now aware provided of course, you're not a first time ever reader here, that is.

Staying the course, as I seem to be doing, with being ticked off about things, there's more than a few other items that - as my late grandmother would have said "Really get my commies!" I have no clue as to what the word "commie's" may have meant or been referencing back to, but when something really ticked her off she either used that phrase or "That really gets my goat."

At issue today - in my pea brain -is something leaning somewhat to the political but yet, well not quite.

Let me explain. Yeah, you knew I was gonna try to do that anyway but usually I don't give a major warning do I. Usually, I just launch of in my rambling, running at the mouth - or in this case, tapping furiously on the keyboard, manner and let fly.

Two years ago this summer, our legislature, in a fit of infinite wisdom (translate that as being mean sarcastically -VERY!) passed the state budget for the year and in it, they included this lovely little package that gave all of them, the good, the bad and the ugly all alike, a huge pay raise. This set off a major firestorm across most of the state -well, pretty much so with the main exception being the Philly area where they apparently are inured to government at its worst or some such thing. Anyway, the upshot of that was a gentleman from down below Harrisburg formed a group -did this all online with a little website - that took off - a grassroots organization called PACleansweep, which I joined roughly two years ago too. That organization, through its efforts mainly online, managed to create such a stink across the state about the pay raise, etc., that by the elections in November of 2005, we got two state judges booted from the bench and also, got the legislators to repeal the raise. We even managed somehow to convince some of those legislators that their having appropriated that raise for their pocket during that year was illegal and a goodly number of them then paid back the money they'd received in full or began payments. (A side note here though - neither of the legislators for my particular area ever made an effort to pay any money back.)

Now the group, PACleansweep is still in existence albeit not near as active as it was two years ago. But there are several who are still on the warpath about many of the issues that still continue to plague us with our Senate and General Assembly and yes, with our lovely Governor, "Fast Eddie." Hey, they don't call Rendell that just because he likes to ride in fast cars ya know!)

Some individuals who still make posts from time to time on the Cleansweep group message boards have a nasty little habit of being downright rude and insulting. (I,for one, of course, am NEVER that way! Well, I don't go out of my way, normally to be rude and insulting.) Some of them have this thing about our schools here and keep referring to them as "government" schools. One gentleman in particular is frequently quite rude in his comments and a few weeks ago, made a post in which he commented about the low intelligence level of people from this fine state and attributed it all to the fact we -unlike him - were all educated in poor quality government schools where all we learned was to salute the flag, recite the pledge of allegiance and act like Nazis.

Gee, thanks sooooo very much to this guy for his kind words about my iq!

Ok, I am not now, nor have I ever professed to be the sharpest tool in the shed - for sure. But I do know this much, I am certainly not the absolute dumbest either. I'm smart enough to read his words and be highly insulted by them at any rate.

Today the discussions on that group were for the most part debating about implementing term limits on our legislators as a means to stop or at least reduce corruption and power and "pork" etc. Another discussion was about our highway system - the poor condition of the roads, bridges in bad shape - much of this begun due to the tragedy two weeks ago in Minneapolis. A lot of talk about how to correct the situation and would increased taxation help or should the interstate highways all become toll roads now or should the turnpike and interstate 80 in particular become privatized.

Of course, I posted my lovely two cents about mass transit, gas prices - yeah, you got it, I was being my normal self and bitching.

But I added too that since I am NOT an economist, not a financial analyst, certainly not an engineer who knows what is needed to build and/or repair highways and bridges and such - and also, that I recognize the fact "I am a no-nothing come to think of it because after all I got my education from a lousy government school where all I learned was how to salute and recite the Pledge to the flag." therefore, I had no solution to actually offer to the mix.


So far, the little twit who started this firefight has not resurfaced today, not come out of his little closet where he conjures up all these high faluting claims that to my mind are part of the "Napoleonic" complex of delusional thinking under which I happen to think he labors!

Feel better now?

Damned straight I do!