Congress Out Of Touch With The Serious Real World Problems

Sometimes days remind me of the song by The Temptations, BALL OF CONFUSION, written in the turbulent year of 1970. Congress seems obsessed with indency fines against TV networks, banning Gay marriage or another flaky constitutional amendment because in 1984 some far out radical burned the American flag(probably made in China like most U.S. flags are) outside of the Reagan renomination convention. Based on their screwy obsessions, you'd hardly know that North Korea is risking world peace by getting a new missile ready that could hit parts of the U.S., or that Al Qaeda likely abducted two U.S. soldiers, and could release an execution video shortly, much like they did with captured Soviet troops during the Afghanistan war.

After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, the Mujahedeen, which included fighters trained by Osama Bin Laden proved themselves to be perfect students of some of the worst CIA methods of psychological warfare. And capturing Soviet troops and executing them on video, helped to shorten the Soviet invasion as young Russians either deserted or avoided service. Many of the Iraqi foreign fighters including the late terrorist, Zarqawi were Afghanistan veterans, and proved themselves real masters in the art of psychological terror.

8,000 American and Iraqi troops are attempting to find the two likely abducted U.S. soldiers, which includes one from my home state of Oregon. Today 7 U.S. soldiers lost their lives in this search effort. If these two soldiers were abducted as I fear, then the horrors of Iraq may be taking a new disgusting turn.

In domestic affairs, loan scams are a real growth industry. Almost everyone with a telephone or computer is bombarded with loan scam offers that seek to swindle persons out of their homes by balloon payment scams, or other dirty tricks. The $250,000 foreclosure mess that former child actor, Dustin "Screech" Diamond is involved in is typical of these scams. Anyone with bad credit buys a home through these white collar crooks, but can't make the balloon payment despite meeting the monthly payments and ends up as a homeless person, and their home foreclosed and sold as a trap to the next home loan victim. And the Republican Party faithful treated a ripoff artist who runs a string of payday and car title loan scam businesses, who donated more than $1 million to the Republican Party and candidates like a member of royalty during the last Republican National Convention. In Oregon, during a special session, Republicans pretended to support a "get tough" measure on car title, payday and other loan schemes, but built in a clause allowing the bill not to take effect until January 2007, allowing the new legislature to effectively gut the bill and allow their white collar crook friends a free ride.

Oh Congress can't be bothered with getting tough on white collar crimes like home finance scams, because these crooked legislators accept way too much in campaign donations from these white collar fiends. And both parties often have an out of touch foreign policy while fifth rate nations like North Korea seem to be able to play the U.S. for financial support. North Korea witnessed the money that the West is offering Iran not to develop nukes, and decided this shakedown seem like a pretty good idea right now.

Just like all the problems The Temptations seemed to conjure up in BALL OF CONFUSION, it seems the blue earth has progressed very little. Terrible nations like Iran or North Korea could easily take the smiles off our faces unless we continue to pay them extortion funds. Al Qaeda will continue to prove that cheap violence will continue to take U.S. lives or other lives. And white collar crooks are the best friend some legislators have.

Sometimes it seems like the only way to wake up with a smile is to go to bed with a coat hanger in your mouth.