Time for a break - my head's about to explode!

Like a large, and I hope growing, percentage of citizens, I daily find myself overwhelmed, dumbfounded and driven ever more fanatical by the incredible "Audacity of Hype" power grab coming from the cesspool that passes for our national capitol these days. I started getting really agitated (I've been merely disgruntled for a looong time) with the panicked TARP bill which GWB caved on. It's been nothing short of a roller coaster ride from Hell since then. Maybe it's time to just pause and take a deep breath, and consider some issues that aren't driven by the Messiah's daily press charades or the latest dive in the Dow.

I'll pose a simple question - if you wanted to start a car company, what model would you use for your business, and where would you look for talent? Would it be Mercedes-Benz, or maybe Yugo? If you were in charge of security for air travel, would you talk to Aero Mexico or El-Al? My point is, our elected officials, most of whom are freakin' lawyers, think they don't need to look to anyone, proven successes or pathetic failures, for guidance and solutions. They'd rather make up policies from thin air and convince themselves (and too often the public) that they're the second coming of Leonardo da Vinci.

I'm not sure what can change this fatal hubris, but if my grandson is to grow to manhood in anything remotely resembling the United States of America, we have to have some major systemic changes in the way we govern. God willing, we'll get the chance to consider some of these before it all goes south. I'll throw out three for starters, and would welcome any other ideas.

Term Limits! Probably the hardest to achieve, but the politicos of both parties will never willingly give up their exalted positions. It will probably take a Constitutional Convention to do it, but at least that option is still there. Dreams are still allowed in this country, at least as of today.

State's Rights More promising, as I think some 32 states have reaffirmed their rights under the 10th Amendment (anybody remember that one??)

Mandatory Rules for Budgets I'd recommend for a start that budgets for all federal agencies must be written and voted separately. No more omnibus/porkulus/throw the damn taxpayers under the bus bills. Mandatory online posting for a minimum of 2 weeks before any final vote can be taken. Moving to a 2 year budget might not be a bad thing either as it might remove the constant revisions and lobbying somewhat.

OK, I fell better now. Back to screaming at the television and working on my sign for Tax Day Tea Party protest. Or better yet, maybe I'll just take the Labrador for a long walk in the woods.