“Trump Declares Himself King of England! (Claims Charles rigged the succession.)” – Seen on the internet September 8, 2022
It has been an interesting couple of months, leading up to an interesting week and a couple of days. What with Queen Elizabeth II crossing the rainbow bridge (so to speak), leading to the ascent of her son, Charles to the throne – with England and English Parlaiment in economic disarray to the point that the Prime Minister quits after 44 days, it can be confusing to an amateur Anglophile like me to make sense of it all. Add the confusion, much of it deliberate, of the election season ramping up here, and it has become enough for me to stop and wonder if keeping away from television news has been the best thing I could have done for my sanity.
Here in my little corner of the DFW Metromess, we are electing School Board members (2), a County Judge (AKA a County Commissioner in some places), the “Big Three” State officials (Governor, Lietennant Governor, Attorney General), and a Congressman. Since “All politics are local,” I will stick with the local politicians before heading out of state.
I’ve actually had the opportunity to meet some of the local candidates. One of the hopefuls for the School Board is a nice young woman (in relation to me) I met at a community event last week. She was focused, sharp, and her name alliterated. That’s important to me, to have an alliterative name. One of the other hopefuls has an alliterative name, so, I’ll vote for him, too!
The fellow challenging the incumbent for County Judge was at another gathering held a few weeks ago. He appeared to have a good grasp of what the county needed to facilitate growth, something which has eluded the current Judge. This corner of the Metromess appears to be growing much faster than the amenities (things like water and electricity) can handle. Forward thinking and hang the politics if something needs to be done.
One other consideration not mentioned before is a Yes/No vote on a new city charter – a “Home Rule” charter. The city sent a packet explaining the Charter and what would be involved. My first reading of the document was favorable, in that it allowed for the city to be divided into Wards, with representation being a little more accessible. As it stands, Council people are considered to be “At Large,” meaning that there is the possibility of all council members being from the same neighborhood, or all belonging to the same social group (something I suspect is the case now). While it seems like a good idea to go to a “Ward” system, the catch is that the lines won’t be drawn for another 8 years after the approval of the new Charter. The other catch is that the proposed Charter was not properly developed – that members of the Charter Commission were hand-picked instead of being elected. It will be interesting to see how the question will wash out.
Running for Member of Congress are a former Judge and a newbie. I’ve met the newbie. He has the right attitude as far as I am concerned – keeping in mind my experiences with members of congress when I was living in Ohio. The former Judge lucked into his candidacy due to the philandering of the current lame duck revealed the day before the primary election. What really irks me about the guy is that he is running ads on the internet claiming that “Biden’s 10,000 new IRS agents are poised to go after the little guy.” What he neglected to say was that the 10,000 agents would be phased in over a ten year period, with most of them replacing agents who would quit or retire over that time period. A disingenuous tactic to say the least. My vote goes to the newbie.
And then there are the incumbents at the top of the state ticket.
Several hundred people “Crossed the Rainbow Bridge” due to an inadequate power grid a year ago this past February. Mass shootings due to lax gun laws have also caused people to “Cross the Rainbow Bridge.”
The top of the state ticket has had more than enough time and enough resources to take care of a number of problems facing the state – instead, they are spending an inordinate amount of time and resources suing the federal government while ignoring the needs of the people – women in particular. I am irked at the finger-pointing. As I have said on other occasions, I would rather fix a problem instead of fixing the blame.
New blood in the statehouse may not fix everything, but at least it will go a long way to at least getting a running start on fixing what ails us.
Again, I am happier than the proverbial pig in mud that I have fallen out of the habit of watching television news.
On to the bigger picture.
It’s much the same as the local picture. Politicians saying anything to get a leg up on their opponents. Truth gets squashed; lies get spun. Doesn’t matter which side you’re on, the other side is evil.
Period.
No wonder many of us have become jaded in the past, say, twenty years. Maybe forty.
In the bigger view, as in the smaller view, there’s a lot which needs to be fixed – something which ain’t gonna happen until politics becomes more about helping and less about power.
Maybe voters will express their disgust this time around.
But I ain’t holding my breath.
Be Seeing You!
bdharrellauthor 