New Vocabulary Terms

I heard on the radio the other day that English (that is American English) now has over 1 million words. Our language is now the most extensive in the world. It is no wonder we have difficulty understanding one another.

The other day an acquaintance sent me the link to a video. After watching (I will admit in amazement) the video I was sent on a quest to learn the definition of the phrase that was often repeated in the video: "Long-legged Mack Daddy." I will refrain from repeating the information found in the on-line "Urban Dictionary," but you can look it up for yourself.

For those of you whom may have missed the on-line video, you can search the Internet for James Manning, who expresses his thoughts about our President (the "long-legged ...") and the potential impact some of the current programs coming out of Washington could have. Personally, I laughed during the video. However, given time to reflect on what was said, I am concerned.

It is no wonder that some of the recent town hall meetings have gone they way they have. People are very frustrated these days. Increases in government spending during this difficult economic time has people frightened about repayment of the mounting debt. I am concerned that our federal government (read that as Congress) is like a group of fraternity brothers at an all night kegger. They apparently don't know when to quit.

The Midwest is well know for conservative politics (while our Illinois politicians apparently were imported to the state, based on their demonstrated voting records). I believe that most people here are more than willing to help others and give a hand up to those in need. But at some time the person being helped needs to take personal responsibility and no longer require the outside assistance. The people around here see no end in the government assistance. That is the message that needs to be conveyed to Washington.

I will not take space today to discuss the current Health Care Reform fiasco. I will point out that the President cannot be held responsible for the current four (if you count the House bill) versions of the tentative legislation. He should, however, insist that Congress consider a short version with goals for specific government agencies and let the agencies develop the details for implementation of the legislated plan. Congress, however, has forgotten that their mission is not to develop the details, but rather to give advice and guidance.

Enough said (for now) on that topic. The American voters will speak again during the mid-term elections. I intend once again to vote in the minority, vote against all incumbents, and consider the alternatives to those who have held political power in the country for way too long.

(PS - I see once again that the "blogger" will not properly format and leave appropriate spacing between paragraphs. I will tell you that the spacing is correct on this side of the published document.)

"Politics is the art of preventing people from taking part in affairs which properly concern them." - Paul Valery (1871 - 1945)