the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist
program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without
knowing how it happened."
Six-times a candiate for President of the United States on the Socialist Party ticket, Norman Thomas was quite a character. Some might say he was a visionary, and point to the current state of our government as an example of his comments-coming-true.
I hope not. I hope that our political leaders, present and future, will wake up, and take a look around. That's not what we need.
What I believe is...and, many have heard me say this time and again...is that we need a fresh start. Mathematically-speaking, it is simple. Every member of the U.S. House of Representavies is up for election in November. One-third of the U.S. Senators' terms are up. Ideally, we could replace every congressman and one third of the Senate this year. In 2012, we could replace another third of the Senate AND the President (as well as any newly elected congressman who have not stepped up to the plate); and, by 2014, the finaly one third of the senators, and any remaining congressmen not doing what we pay them to do, could get the boot.
Why take such drastic action? In any war, there is collateral damage. There "may" be some of our elected reps who "may" be doing a good job. But, they're not getting the job done. There is a distinction. If they are in office, they are either part of the problem, OR they have not done enough to solve the problem. Either way, we must wake them up. And, those who are trying but not succeeding have to step aside (or be pushed aside) to allow someone else, hopefully with a better process on fixin' our woes, a chnace to get the job done.
This same process should be applied at all levels of government. Up to a point.
Elected, SALARIED, servants should be judged on the job they've done. The clerk of court, and the sheriff, for instance, should be judged as individuals. They, and they alone, run their departments (except for financing). You might say, then, that the President fits this category. Not exactly. While he is on a salary (along with a ton of benefits), he is nothing more than the party's chosen one, and is serving as the "party".
What is included are school boards, city and town councils, and county commission boards. Unless an individual has proven to be a strong dissident on those boards, he/she must go. By "dissident", I do not mean someone who's an irrational radical when dealing with common sense issues. But, what we do not need to continue with are deal-makers. "Hey, Bubba, if you'll support my stupid idea, I'll support one of yours down the road". Those are the folks who must get the boot.
What a week it was. Starting last Sunday, we picked up just a tad of rain. When it was all over, the official rainfall totaled 19.19 inches at the official reporting station in Jacksonville. Some areas, of course, got "locally heavier amounts" (that's one of those CYA phrases that TV meteorologists love to use...a "qualifier", if you will).
Some issues with the big tank in Jacksonville (NC) that was designd to take care of heavy rains...the sensors failed. Automatic stuff is good, but when unusual events are predicted, it might be a good idea to have human intervention standing by. Kinda like the automatic bilge pumps on my boat. They work great. Most of the time. For normal events. But, if the wind blows and debris gets into the bilge, the "automation" may malfunction and my boat's gonna fill up with water. That's when human intervention needs to take place.
I haven't seen the "Tideline Deer" since the rains started. The water overflowed the banks of the New River along the area where the deer like to hang out. Hopefully, they sought higher ground. Stay tuned...when I see them again, I'll let you know.
Fishing
The U.S. Open King Mackerel Tournament, in the southern part of NC, was postponed for two weeks. Heavy seas were associated with the strom.
The Swansboro King Mackerel Tournament, sponsored by the Swansboro Rotary Club, is scheduled for this weekend. Hopefully, the weather will provide calm seas.
With the abundance of fresh water in the New River, it's predicted that all those saltwater species...flounder and speckled trout, especially...will move a little further downriver for a while. I'll relay any information I pick up.
Cooking
Took a few pieces of leftover chicken I had from an earlier-in-the-week dinner, pulled the meat off the bones, added it to a pot of water, dumped in chunks of onions, added some chopped celery, seasoned the mess with salt, pepper, Double R spices (a concoction that my wife, Robie, and I make...11 spices blended together...I'll share the recipe one day)...I think that was all. It boiled vigoroulsy for about 15 minutes, then I reduced the heat to a slow simmer, and added a half box of wild rice. Another 20 minutes, and we had some pretty good chicken-N-stuff soup. We really, really try to never throw out leftovers. We just make something else with them.
Picture This
I haven't too much this week, other than "water pcitures" (see earlier blogs for those pics). I have been shooting some products for the new Ship's Wheel that is going to be headquarted at Tideline Marine. The gift shop is getting a makeover, and there's going to be an online element. More coming on that.
I like pirate stuff. Our boat (one of them) is named
Pirate Attack. And, no, it has nothing to do with East Carolina.
Here's hoping for a great week.
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