#OWS

 Funny how Police have little problem arresting Occupy Wall Street Protesters, when you consider the Protesters are taking action on their behalf, as well as others of course.

   The Protesters seek a fair distribution of wealth, as in, Big Business pay your fair share.  Which can be directly traced to Police pay and benefits.  When Big Business pays its fair share, Police get the pay they deserve. More pay less worry. The less you pay the more the Police and their families suffer.  Freezes in hiring, elimination of overtime, cuts in their benefits and retirement.  The "Thin Blue Line" gets even thinner.  How safe are our streets then?

   When the Police kowtow to Rich people who think they're superior and above the Law it gives the impression of a Puppet Master pulling strings, or a Rich guy with pockets bloated with cash holding a sign that reads, "You don't get your scraps unless you do what WE say"! Looking at it as a matter of self interest, the Police are protecting the wrong people, merely because they hold the purse strings.

   The solution becomes very simple.  The Police are on the wrong side of the picket line.  Which begs the question, How long until they figure this out, or have they already?  If that's the case, I have to ask, will they cross the line and stand with the people and not the Corporations? How long before enough is enough?  What will it take for them to stand with their friends, family, and neighbors?  The family next door, the girl across the hall, their sons and daughters?

   How does one choose the side that won't let you into their neighborhood or building, unless you're wearing you're uniform, over the people you live with?

Bridges Tunnels and Roads, Oh My!

  I have said it before many, many times. And I'm not the only one.   Federal stimulus is needed to repair roads and bridges across this Nation.  I have driven extensively across America and have witnessed first hand the disrepair of our Nations infrastructure.

  I'm not saying I've been everywhere in this Country, or on every road and bridge but I don't have to.
You don't have to go far from home, no matter where you live, to see pot holes in roads and concrete crumbling on bridges and overpasses.  Eight years ago it was suggested to stimulate a sluggish economy.  Four years ago it was pleaded for by many as a means to kick start a recovery from  "The Great Recession".

  It should not take a bridge collapse like the one in Washington state to get Congress and the President talking about it again.  And it doesn't seem that is has!  The only people talking about it are the Press, Media, and working folks like you and me.  Everyone but the the proper authorities.

  It is very simple math, safe roads benefit everyone and come with no disadvantages.  Safe roads keep the American traveler safe, increase interstate commerce, and provide for the "General Welfare of the People."  Which is a term expressed many times by our founding fathers over two hundred years ago.

  So no matter what your political affiliation, you can not argue that the "General Welfare of the People" has, and always should be, at the forefront of everything this Country stands for.

  Federal stimulus for roads, tunnels and bridges has been a tried and tested means of economic stimulus.  And it remains that way even today.
 

Paths

 
The first time I visited my family in Ireland, my cousin took me to a harsh and rugged piece of land that didn't seem capable of supporting human life . It was the home of my Grandfather, or at least the area where he was born and raised, and it was the most beautiful vista I had ever laid eyes on.

   It was both inhospitable and magnificent.  I have been a lot of places and seen a lot of gorgeous vistas, but none compared to that one.  My cousin then ask me, "Billy, did you ever imagine that you would be standing right here where it all started for us"?  He said "this is the land where all McLaughlins came from.  This is where our blood line goes back to a time even before last names were used".  I was so moved that I didn't realize I was speaking, and was surprised when I heard the word "No" come out of my mouth.

    I guess this snapped me out of what ever shock I was in, because I began to tell him I never expected to be anywhere.  I never thought in a million years I would have what I have, a home, a family, anything.  I always thought I would grow up and live on the same street, in the same city I was born in.  I never expected to have a wonderful wife, three amazing children, and a bevy of beautiful grandchildren.

   Our home is no Palace by any means but it is my Castle, and that's enough for me.  But that's what can happen in America. At least the America I grew up in.  A boy with very little education, no connections, and even less money can make a place for himself.  This is probably the main thing that separates us from the rest of the world.  It can not be done without work and for that we need jobs. Good jobs, with good benefits and the chance for advancement.

   This is something we are sorely lacking now a days.  This is why my Grandfather came to America.  When I was in Ireland, I walked along an old path that lead from the sea to the main town.  The English paid my Grandfather to take stones from the pebble beach and spread them out on that path, paving the road all the way to town.  Every day he would shovel stones into a 4 foot by 4 foot donkey cart and shovel it back out onto the path. And when he was done it needed replenishing, and he would start all over.  If he missed a day, he would be replaced, and lose that job.

    I look at Companies in America today and I see the same mentality my Grandfather wished to escape.  My Grandfather grew up in a world where his religion, culture and language were illegal, and work was a privilege, so you'd better be grateful for what you got.

    Congratulations Corporate America, you have guided us directly onto the path that caused the collapse of the British Empire.

The Right to Complain

   I can not believe the level of hatred and bigotry in this country.  While reading the business and economic news from various periodicals, I also look through the comments section per chance to find an intelligent and viable idea on how we as a Nation might proceed, to fix our woes and spur growth to create jobs.  Which are desperately needed.

   I usually find the same old blame game with some bright ideas sprinkled here and there.  But lately it's all been acrid slander spilling onto the page before me as if everybody at the party decided to vomit all at the same time.

   When did we become a Nation of complainers?  I understand the value of complaining.  Everyone needs something to complain about.  It's the natural order of things.  It helps to relieve stress when we're frustrated, angry and sometimes it's even helpful when we are bored.  You know, spices things up a bit.  But this is getting out of  control.  It's all the time.  Everyone is complaining and no one is doing anything about it.
There has to be a balance.  And the tone of complaining is astounding.  Vile, irreverent hatred coming from everywhere.

   It's often said that we have a right to complain.  If no one complained, we never would have had the American Revolution.  But to complain without action is fruitless.  By action I mean positive progressive steps forward.  Not holding our breath, stomping our feet, or even worse, do what ever it takes to get our way no matter who gets hurt.  Because I'm here to tell you,  complaining combined with negative hurtful actions is a cocktail for disaster.  I've seen the results of that for myself.  We all have.

   In the early hours of September 11th 2001 some 3000 people died in an hour and forty five minutes because of such a cocktail of closed minded hatred and selfishness.  Think about that for a minute.  1 hour and 45 minutes.  3000 mothers, fathers, sons  daughters, aunts, uncles, soldiers  firefighters, police, CEO's accountants, and janitors, gone.  For what?

   So we can cry about having to pay higher taxes?  So we can whine about who the real Americans are?  Did hundreds of thousands of families have their lives irrevocably changed so we could blame each other incessantly?

   We should be ashamed of ourselves.  If we as Americans were watching another country go through this we'd be disgusted and appalled at such childish behavior.  We should be honoring those men and women, as well as the military personnel who are fighting for us, and the ones that paid the ultimate price.

   We should be showing them that America is worth saving.  But instead we threaten Revolution and secession.  Running away from a problem never solved anything.  Working together will solve them all.

Accountability

   I have been hearing a lot from groups like the Tea Party and Citizens for a better America on accountability.  Holding elected Politicians accountable for their actions.  Why? So no one ever decides to run for public office again.  So we end up with a Dictator State.  That's what will happen if they get their way.  We will see the biggest void in politics since the world was run by Monarchies.  We are talking about good men and women who decide to step forward to make our communities better places.  Everyone of them with the best of intentions  to serve the publics best interest and preserve our way of life for future generations.  Just because they don't have all the answers or make a bad judgement call, they want to punish them.  Utter stupidity! Do these groups have all the answers?  Have they never made a bad call under the impression they were making things better?  This is a completely idiotic idea!  For starters, we have an accountability measure put in place hundreds of years ago.  It's called not voting for a candidate you disagree with.  These groups are no longer grass root organizations with designs on making their neighborhoods better.  They are fronts for Big Business and Big Money, to make their lives better, not citizens lives better.  The people who join these groups don't realize they are being used as pawns by billionaires with personal agendas.  It's aggravating listening to them rant on about their moronic mission statements!  And it's almost impossible to avoid it, when they come knocking on your door with their questionnaires that are obviously one sided.  When you disagree with them they have the nerve to stand on your front step, on your own property and verbally attack and demean you.  If you don't believe me then go to their websites and read their agendas and mission statements.  At first they seem harmless and then they seem to make some kind of sense, but when you break it down sentence by sentence and think about what they are spouting, you realize they are the biggest bunch of bone heads since the Keystone Cops.  The only up side to that is, the Keystone Cops aren't real.  But I'm not sure these people know that.  The groups in question don't have the ability to make America Great, simply because the are incapable of bring people together.  Their focus is separating people.  Pushing them apart seems to be the real mission statement.  Dividing our Nation and feeding off of its polarizing effects.  What purpose could that serve?  It's like keeping a draw bridge in the up position all the time.  It keeps communities apart while allowing ships, shipments, and money flowing to the ones who are really in charge!

Congress Fiddles while Rome Burns

I will give Democrats credit for trying to move the Nation forward against a Tea Party Hi-Jacked Republican Congress. And I can't fault them for failing in their attempt.  It's difficult to reason with fanatics.  But that does not excuse them for ignoring and in some cases, lashing out against their own constituents. Americans are pleading for help and all we get is "it's not my fault" or "why don't you do something about it" or my personal favorite said to my face from a Candidate seeking my vote, "make yourself relevant".  All though unemployment has recently dropped, there are to many variables involved for it to be taken seriously. Students going back to school, and leaving summer jobs that are being filled by over qualified professionals that have been out of work for years. Add to that temporary seasonal hiring has started for the upcoming Holidays. All of which make for an inaccurate jobs analysis. As thankful as we are to be getting back to work, these are hardly the types of jobs that will put America back on track. And all the while Congress fiddles while Rome burns.  It's baffling that PACs, Super PACs and the Mega Rich are willing to give Millions of Dollars to get a Candidate elected, but not willing to spare one dime on economic growth. I wonder how many jobs could have been created with just the money the Koch Brothers alone have given?

Bill McLaughlin     

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Warning Lights

The American Economy wasn't built on hopes and dreams, and yet over the last ten years we have put so many of our own into it. Maybe it is! Maybe in some small part hopes and dreams are what's keeping it afloat until we can come together to fix it. It's kind of like an old Chevy I used to have. Every warning light on the dash was lit, and I knew in my head that it should have died miles back, but it just seemed to will itself on until I got where I needed to be. That was the Chevy's last trip. So I guess hope will only go so far. The rest is up to us.

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Employment

Despite how much we complain about our jobs or bosses, people really do want to work. We actually enjoy it. In fact we like to work as much as we like to complain about it. For most it's a paycheck, a means to provide food, shelter, and warmth for ourselves or loved ones. A meager attempt to offer a sense normality, and stability to an other wise dangerous and uncertain world. But for all of us, it brings a feeling of pride and self worth, to contribute to something greater than ourselves. To be a part of something bigger than we are, to be a part of the big picture. A chance to be someone.

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