"Every time I think I'm out... they pull me back in.."

The best line from Godfather 3 belongs, fittingly, to Michael Corleone: "Every time I think that I'm out, they pull me back in!" Well, I am not comparing myself to the fabled son of Vito Corleone, it's just that these damned politicians just can't seem to act like reasonable men and women. Rather, they think that they are above those kinds of emotions, and think that they serve a higher purpose. Well, I have news for them, there is no higher purpose in the business of the congress of the United States than serving the people that live here. In fact, the force that put you here is not celestial, it is, in fact, the will of the people. You swore an oath to protect and defend, and you are doing neither. Not far from where your crying speaker sheds his crocodile tears, just up I 95 and I 80 from the halls of Congress, where  better men than you debated and compromised on issues affecting this great nation, we have American citizens living in the worst conditions imaginable. It has been over 66 days since Sandy devastated the coastline from Maryland up to Long Island. The worst hit? New Jersey and New York. People's lives have been changed forever, while these pols play politics with the lives of those who's stories lay strewn along the beaches of New Jersey and New York.  These people have been left to fend for themselves, when the job of the federal government is to give aid and comfort in the time of crisis. I've heard some hard hearted folks on the right say "Well, it's not our fault that these people were not prepared. Why should we have to pay to help them?" Really? It's easy for you to ask such callous questions when the problem does not affect you. But your day will come, too. One day, and I hope for your sake, that it will not be too soon, you will need assistance from the Federal Government, read, your fellow Americans; and then, your tune, as well as your perspective, will change. It's easy to turn your back when it's not your behind that is being left uncovered. This callousness on the part of the partisan Republican congress has even members of their own party calling them out for their partisanship and seeming indifference to the desperate needs of the American People. No less a Republican than Governor Chris Christie has called them out for their lack of humanity and putting party over the needs of the country. This is no Rockefeller Republican, this is Chris Christie who made his bones facing down the unions in New Jersey and championing conservative causes. This is a tough man, who has now seen first hand how damaging partisan politics can be when taken to the extreme. This is a man who I admire, because he is honest and forthright and caring, and I am an independent. I may not agree with his politics at times, but I genuinely admire the man because of his aforementioned qualities. 

 Which brings me back to congress, and the Majority Leader Eric Cantor and Speaker Boehner cannot even get together to agree on issues. They hold the whole country hostage because they refuse to budge on taxing the more affluent Americans a bit more to help ease the blooming deficit. Remember, this deficit was caused by having to fight two wars, and the tax cuts that were suppose to,  but failed to, drive the economy. I am not pointing my finger at the previous administration, because there is enough blame for the short sightedness to go around for both parties. Enough said. They are both to blame. But standing around and pointing fingers now does no one any good. Making the American people suffer for the mistakes of the politicians only hurts the people. We need cooler heads to prevail in congress. People who will make sure that those on the edge, do not fall off; that those who enjoy all that a free society offers, realize that it is not really free and that there are fees that must be paid. We must make sure that our seniors who are just scraping by are not penalized to the point that they are choosing between medications and food. We must stop draining the school budgets to the point where music and athletic programs are being shut down. Music is so essential to the development of young minds, and physical fitness is a must. 
  So, I have been pulled back in to the fray. Not that what I have to say changes anyone's mind, but it is another voice crying at the halls of congress. I will continue to speak my mind until I can not longer think. We all need to discuss, discuss, discuss, and compromise. It's not a dirty word. It's the word that helped create this great Republic. We can make things work again. We are Americans.