While expounding on the merits of certain presidential candidates, and politicians in general, it was brought to my attention that I failed to touch on another iffy subject that’s near and dear to many folks in the good old USA. That would be our failed welfare system.

So, here goes ….

Welfare. My dictionary has a variety of definitions for this simple word which I will now list because I’m not sure many people truly understand what it means.

It’s a noun meaning:

• The good fortune, health, happiness, prosperity, etc., of a person, group, or organization;
• Financial or other assistance to an individual or family from a city, state, or national government;
• Informal. a governmental agency that provides funds and aid to people in need, especially those unable to work.

It might be used in a sentence in this manner – “Yes, I have a job, but I need welfare so I can pay for my new car, my TV, my cigarettes, my medical marijuana, etc.”

The more I think about this, the more I think career politicians and welfare recipients have a lot in common. The politicians must survive the election process and welfare recipients must survive the application process. Once they are in the system, it’s hard to remove them. Both of them live off public money for which there is little, or no accountability

It was suggested that welfare recipients should be required to work at least 20 yours a week in order to receive their welfare check. With the increase in minimum wage that $300 a week might put them beyond the limits of welfare, so those rules will certainly have to change.

I believe we should require the same of our politicians – they should work at least 20 hours a week. Year round. Campaigning doesn’t count.

As for both welfare recipients and politicians, the 20/hr/wk job doesn’t need to be a paying one. It could be some form of community service that produces tangible results that can be measured. The committee that determines if the job is good enough must be comprised of 7 people who are currently receiving Social Security, and never have been a politician or a welfare recipient. That’s it. Simple rules. Race, sexual orientation, gender, religious affiliation, and past career knowledge, are not qualifying factors. This will be a volunteer committee from all walks of life.

Welfare recipients and politicians will be able to receive their payments for the same period of time our president is allowed to serve this nation. That means 4 years normally, 8 years maximum. The committee checking on the quality of work will determine if payment is warranted beyond 4 years, or if the politician’s work is worthy enough to extend beyond 4 years.

In any event, the maximum time allowed for either, is 8 years. Then it’s hit bricks and get a real job. Join the military. Be a preacher. Go to college. Do something productive for a change. Or, hey! Perhaps they could just switch positions at the end of their respective terms. That might be interesting.

I’m sure some of you are wondering what kind of heartless lunatic I am to be down on folks who need a lift up. Well, it’s easy, because I’m not aiming at the majority who actually need the help and who eventually work their way off the system and become productive. I’m talking about the minority of those who make welfare a way of life because it’s so easy to get. And keep. Same with politicians. All they have to be is glib, charismatic, bendable, and without morales to meet current requirements. I’ll grant you that some politicians are stellar folks who actually do have a great deal of interest in our welfare (hmmm), but the majority drown them out and make it impossible to accomplish anything while serving as a part of that hugh machine. I believe their interest in our welfare is due to the fact that our continued well-being (a synonym for welfare) is directly related to the benefits (another synonym) they receive while in office. Seems like the most work they do is campaign to get re-elected.

Perhaps our politicians should work in a system like our American Legion, or Lions International clubs. They have a chain of command with positions filled by members who are elected or who volunteer to serve. Once in a position, there is a protocol they follow up the chain until they are in charge. After their term (1 year), they step down so the person behind them can fill the spot. No elections. No two-party rigamarole, just guys and gals doing their jobs.

OK – I made a left turn back there somewhere and need to pull myself out of this. I get passionate about “stuff” and it’s hard for me to keep up with myself when the words start flying all over the place.

Perhaps there’s a tiny bit of sense in there somewhere, or maybe a seed that someone can plant and grow something meaningful. It may even make more sense if I was inclined to go back and edit things a little, but that’s not me. I leave stuff alone once it’s out there.

That’s about all I’ve got so need to quit. Also, Diane will be home soon and I didn’t ask if I could use the computer while she was gone. She’s at “The World Day Of Prayer” with a large group of ladies at the Christian Church. When she left, I asked her to pray for me. She said she would. So, maybe I’m OK with this. We’ll see.

So, I’ve been thinking. Some who know me may find that a little disconcerting because they are familiar with the odd things that happen when I do something like that. You know, think. Most of the time I don’t do that and, from my point of view, life is way more interesting if I just leave my brain unengaged. Now I’m going to take that huge step into outer space and share some possibly controversial political information that’s been circling the drain in my brain for a couple of months. It concerns all the hoopla surrounding Trump and those who rally against him.

First, I’m not necessarily a Trump advocate, nor am I totally against him. Part of me really likes his disregard for political correctness, the main reason I like him. He’s not a “party line” kinda guy. He doesn’t use a lot of filters when sharing information, or his views on how things should be done. He shoots from the hip. All those things … I like all of that. I have some concerns about how he tentatively plans to accomplish some of his programs, but figure, if he’s elected, he’ll do his best to honor his word.

That brings to mind the other candidates … all those career politicians who fall complacently into the party line, to continue down the established road of political correctness that’s sinking our nation, seemingly ignoring the pledges they made during their run for office. “We need new leadership,” they shout from the roof tops, and that’s what they get with every election, new leadership. Sadly, they new leadership is no different from the old leadership. But, it sounds like a good rallying cry, doesn’t it? Then there’s “We need to turn this country around!” Well, ya, we do. But just saying it, without providing a solution as to how that’s going to happen, is rhetoric. Meaningless. A waste of good air. It’s an old saying, and everyone’s heard it, but it comes to mind every time my favorite TV program gets preempted by politics – it goes something like this …

If you identify, or complain about a problem, but don’t offer a solution, you’re part of the problem

or words to that effect

Pretty simple stuff, and there actually are politicians that provide good solutions to problems. Then, congress gets involved and screws it all up. Why do we bother? Seems like a considerable waste of time to allow an elected group of people who swore to work in our best interest while, at the same time, make sure they are not forced to feed at the same trough they provide for us. How utterly typical.

Another thing that’s caught my attention is Trump’s vow to deport all the illegal aliens. I read an article this morning how it would take x number of school buses, moving 650 a day, for 20 years to get all the illegals removed. It went on to tally up the billions of dollars it would cost to make it all happen, not taking into account the billions of dollars sent out of the country each year by illegals who work here, and money lost because most of them don’t pay taxes.

I have a better idea …

Since the vast majority of illegals really aren’t a problem, why not concentrate on those who are?

• Take all those illegals who are currently incarcerated for any infraction, and send them back with a distinctive tattoo so they can be identified should they try to return. I’m thinking something like, “I WAS DEPORTED FROM THE USA ON DAY, MONTH, YEAR” on the bottom of their left foot. Maybe implant a chip.
• ACLU lawyers who represent illegals, complaining that rights have been violated, should accompany illegals they support to their country of the illegal’s origin. They can be ACLU lawyers there, just as well as here.
• Any illegal who joins the US Military in an enlisted capacity, and serves honorably for at least 4 years, is granted citizenship. Any infraction during the four years results in termination of the agreement.
• Any illegal too old for military service, must have 4 years of clean living before granting citizenship.

To make things fair, allow illegals 3 months to make their presence known by registering with their local police station for possible amnesty. Each registrant would receive an ID card. After three months, require everyone in the US to provide proof of citizenship, registration, or visit visa, upon request, for any reason when asked by law enforcement, retailers, employers, etc. Only those nefarious individuals who wish to remain invisible, and the ACLU, will object to this.

OK, none of that is really very realistic, I know. It’s kind of like listening to a politician talk. But, I did provide some possible solutions even though they are a little radical.

Perhaps, instead of electing a president, we should elect a King. I was going to add Queen, also, but everyone knows that if we elect a King, the Queen will rule anyway. That’s just the way it is. The King, with the Queen’s permission, can rule the country with an iron fist. He will live in the Whitehouse and the National Promenade will be divided up into plots suitable for his serfs to raise crops. …………….

Gotta quit, now. Things are quickly heading south. Thankfully, I’ve opened up enough brain space to allow me peace throughout the next week or so.

Please remember that you should not believe anything I’ve written as I’m a known prevaricator. Ya, I lie. A lot. Maybe I should be a politician.

Every once in a while I have this flash of memory about elections and the quality of movies, but I’m never at my computer when that happens. If you were my bride, you’d say, “Jerrie! Make a reminder note!” That’s actually a great idea but the flaw with such notes is the need to remember to look at it when it’s most useful. That never works with me. Writing a note and placing it by my computer works just about as well – it gets lost in the clutter surrounding my keyboard. The next obvious solution is to have an alarm associated with the reminder but those only go off in church when I forget to turn off the sound on my phone. That makes my first wife cranky. So, I don’t do that.

Now, here I sit, having said all that as a prelude to my totally infallible solution for electing public officials or for determining how great any movie is.

It’s all about money.

All the movie reviews you see any more begin with how much money a newly released movie brings in over its first weekend which is, sadly, equated with popularity, not quality. Makes me want to run right out and see the movies that earn the most money no matter how crappy it might be. Because of this, the obvious solution to awarding Oscars, Emmys, and whatnot, is to determine which movie earned themes money over the course of an entire year, since the last awards show, and award all prizes to the actors, producers, directors, etc., for that movie. Pretty simple, huh?

The same is true for politics. The news is all about how much any given politician has received in donations to his campaign for pretty much any office. You hear it all the time in. Therefore, why not award any office to the one who gets the most instead of wasting all our time casting votes that don’t seem to make much difference?

Or, better yet, how about having a lottery system at a designated point late in a campaign where there are only two balls in play. One ping-pong ball says “Hi”, the other says “Low”. If “Hi” wins, so does the candidate with the most donations. Conversely, if “Low” shows up, the candidate with the least donations wins.

What makes this interesting is that none of the candidates, or their contributors will have any idea what will happen so it’s a crap shoot either way.

If we stick with voting, I suggest we limit qualified votes for President to only those cast in states east of Omaha, Nebraska because by the time anyone west of there votes, the outcome has already been determined. For us on the Left Coast, why bother?

OK. I’m through whining, now.