Sick of politicians, protocols, policies and payoffs

I've overdosed on catching up on news. Words are uncontrollably jumping out of my fingers as I type …

The headlines out of American government and corporate America are pretty damn depressing nowadays. Millions of folks are suffering from the greed of circles of so-called human beings who must have been born without a conscience. That's the only explanation I can fathom.

Our most innocent citizens are at risk of losing billions of dollars in assistance, help they genuinely need through vast, complicated networks of social and governmental agencies. Millions of American families are truly in crisis, weighted down by circumstances beyond their control. As a nation, we are on the verge of a collapse far more catastrophic than we can imagine, far more deadly and costly than we can begin to calculate.

We're teetering precariously on a cliff, and the branches of our tree of life, to which we cling, are being snapped off one by one in our panicked grasp.

So many of our elected officials and bureaucrats who have immersed themselves so deeply within the tangled web of government don't get it. Sometimes, this being one of those moments, I don't think they want to get it, because it IS scary in the real world. I am so disillusioned with both the donkeys and elephants in charge that I'm leaning toward lumping them all into the jackass category.

While there are many wonderful, ordinary people who work for our government, I'm sick of those politicians, protocols, policies and payoffs that reek of selfishness, contempt for the law, disregard for folks who pay their salaries, and wretched inhumanity. I'm tired of common decency taking a backseat to over-stuffed egos.

I'm tired of nearly everybody blaming everyone else and taking no responsibility for anything, and of white collar criminals who get a slap on the hand, if that much, for unconscionable greed and theft. I feel nauseous when those in control ignore pleas for reform and accountability — after running on that very same platform — and go about parading in front of the media and say they care for us Americans more than the other party. What a pile of crap that grows and stinks more every day.

If we are to survive as a nation, Americans will have to establish the priorities for our country themselves. The bulk of government leaders prove to us every day that they don't understand OUR priorities, OUR wishes, OUR dreams, OUR hopes. We're being told that we, THE people, are ignorant of the financial hardships our governmental bodies are experiencing. Yep, we don't understand the complexities of budgeting, etc.

Well, you know what, WE have to live within our means and budgets, and WE'VE been telling government leaders for decades to do the same. Look at that snowball starting to trample us now.

We have millions of American families that are being destroyed by Alzheimer's, and that number is climbing every day. We have millions of families devastated by brain injuries and strokes. We have millions more of Americans who suffer from depression and mental illness and how those tear even more families apart. And that doesn't even include the countless other health and societal issues we face every day.

If our families continue to disintegrate, no matter the cause or reason, then the very thread of America will start to unravel. Americans are willing to make sacrifices, and are doing so right now, but are the people who are ensconced in and gorge themselves off our government ready to do the same? Duh, I doubt it.

Speak up, folks, demand that wasteful spending end TODAY. Demand that political pressure, gloating, power, perks, threats and lies end TODAY. Demand that government redo its list of national priorities and put everyday ordinary people on the top TODAY. Demand that the compassion and common sense of the masses infiltrates all of our leadership TODAY.

Now, if I offend someone whose livelihood is made off a government program that funds the study of bear dung, tough shit. If I offend someone whose government job it is to determine whether tomatoes are really a fruit or vegetable, bite me. And if I offend someone who's received a government grant to study the social ramifications of "Gone With the Wind," frankly my dear, I don't give a damn.

Okay, my fingers feel better now. I will not OD on news ever again!