Time to vote and move forward.

Election day, which means the plethora of campaign ads are finally over.  In the "no more commercials" spirit, today's post is 100% non-partisan.  First, however is an unpaid political announcement.

On this election day, please take a few minutes and vote. With voter turnout well below 70% politicians have no reason to do the people's business; clearly the electorate isn't watching. Until voter participation goes sky high, elected officials will continue to chase corporate money. The power to reform government is in our hands. It's time to take control. Happy election day and now today's post.

I watched the Sanity/Fear rally and really enjoyed it. Both ends of the spectrum were skewered. Pointing out the absurdity of extremes is important in comedy. Good comedy should be non-partisan.  I also enjoyed  Jon Stewart spelling it all out as a conclusion. Stewart made sure no side could claim the rally as a victory. His metaphor about merging lanes on a busy highway was perfect.  Shouldn't government work together in areas on which all (most) agree and compromise when they differ?

A bipartisan committee has called for a full audit of defense spending. This is a great place to start. Find specific cuts in the defense budget, apply 50% to deficit reduction, 25% to tax cuts and 25% to social programs/safety nets. Everybody gets something, no one gets nothing and America gets government that works.

I am not an expert on government budgets. I am sure there are a myriad of reasons why my example is too simplistic. So what, start somewhere. The last two years have been an embarrassing example of government gridlock. Screw blame and move the country forward.

Nightmares and elections.

My daughter came into my room at 4:30 this morning. "Daddy I had a bad dream and I don't want to go back to sleep." "C'mon, honey I'll walk you back, tuck you in and start your music." "Daddy, it was a really bad dream and it keeps coming back." "Sweetie, you know it's just a dream and Mommy and I are just down the hall." "I know Daddy, but it's really scary and I don't want to dream it again."  "I know it must be scary, but think good thoughts and maybe the dream won't come back." "Okay, Daddy I'll try."  As I tucked her in, I thought, "Wow, I'm having the same problem, but we don't let the kids watch campaign coverage."

The mid-term election is just a few days away and has scary implications. Putting aside partisan philosophy, I want to share a thought all sides can agree on.  Government, especially in Washington is unresponsive and rarely does an adequate job of addressing public needs. Our elected officials vote to better themselves and are corrupt because of gobs of money from lobbyists and special interests.  There's little difference between the candidates and I don't trust them.

Why should Governors, Representatives, Senators, etc. act on behalf of the public? Creating good policy is part of the job description but the populace does not monitor government. Election turnout the last 50 years is no higher than 63% for a presidential election and 48% for a midterm election. The best case scenario is over 1/3 of the voters don't care enough to vote. Why shouldn't politicians vote for themselves, we're not watching.

I realize it's not that simple. The entire system of campaign finance needs to be overhauled. The first step is to show politicians that we are watching. A turnout over 70% no matter the results, sends the message we are all watching. That will begin the turnaround and government will again be for the people.

The action plan is straightforward. Vote, tell everyone you are voting and encourage everyone to vote. Should someone suggest voting is a personal decision, explain why they are wrong. When someone doesn't vote they screw up their chance at a better America (they're choice) but they also screw up my chance at a better America. That is unacceptable.  Better government begins with me and then with you.