The Shell Game

Remember those street folks who ran the shell game? They show you a ball under a shell, tell you to follow it, if you guessed correctly you won.  The bigger the crowd the more you won. That is of course until you lost.  It was all a game - and you had no chance of winning. Like shooting hoops at the fair - the rim is smaller than the ball. Yet we plop down our money because that is the human spirit. We believe in ourselves, we believe we are smarter than others, or that we can outwit others. What it comes down to, at least I think, is those who have and those who have not. I am not speaking of money, though I am accepting donations. I feel the government is running a shell game on us.  They have been since we elected Obama. I am not against Obama. Hearing him speak is invigorating! His orating skills are outstanding. Problem is they showed us the ball, and we followed the shells, turns out we picked the wrong shell. We heard for the first two years how Bush ruined the government for eight years and it would take time to right the ship. OK, that excuse became old. In 2010, we put all our dollars on the democrats - here President Obama, a democratic house and senate, now go make it all happen! Didn't happen. Finger pointing at...who. The Dems asked us to give them the power to make change, the American voter obliged - we were duped. Now, Obama is in reelection mode. He needs to pick a new running mate. Though watching Biden nap during Obama's speech was funny. Republicans have control. They have vowed they will not pass a budget if it includes Obama's health care reform or funding for planned parent hood. So here we go. The merry go round, the slight of hand, the shell game begins again. In '08 I believed Clinton was the better choice only because she knew how to navigate the muddy political waters. It is backrooms, and dark rooms, and stuff we don't even know about. Clinton has been in that cave, she could see there - I wish Obama had selected the vice president slot and waited his turn. I wish he had learned under the tutelage from two of the greatest Washington Mapquest folks around, the Clinton's. Then we could have had 12 years of a democratic president - Now, Obama is going to be in a fight like he did not face in'08. You could not say anything bad about him because he had so little experience there was nothing to bash. In the past six years he has given the politicos plenty to bash him about. If the republicans had a strong candidate he would really be in big trouble. When the Dems had the power and control they chose not to. A budget should have been passed last year. It is not like we don't know when budgets are up for renewal. Gas is close to $4.50. Who is going to have any fun this summer? Who will enjoy travelling? A loaf of bread is $3.99. You can't live on peanut butter and jelly sandwiches - too expensive.  A box of mac and cheese cost $1.50. Prices of everything are going up because transporation costs are going up - more people will lose jobs, especially during the tourism season that won't happen - So we get involved in Libya; history clearly shows to end a recession get involved in a war. Are we not already involved in wars with two other countries? How is that working out? I feel cheated. I put my money on the table, picked the shell on the left, I was wrong. Duped again! Kids can't anticipate they will go to college; in CA, the cuts to the university system are so deep 10,000 less students will have the opportunity to enroll as freshman in September 2011. The land of opportunity, not anymore. Just as we have no control over the selecting the correct shell from the hustler on the street, e have no control over who is elected president and our opinions clearly do not matter to the reps we elected to speak for us. What matters anymore? Surviving...that is it. We are in survival mode. It scares me - I am lucky, I won't be homeless or hungry - A special ed credential keeps opportunities open for me - when and if I can ever get back on my feet - ironic, the social circumstances guarantee the need for special education teachers - children are the most impacted by the actions of adults. We can write letters and make phone calls, get involved in local politics, look for an honest politician --- is that an oxymoron? Look, if Donald Trump runs for president on the republican ticket, or Sarah Palin, or the two of them together - cash in your retirement, take your money out of the bank, find a place to hide, learn to survive on nature, get out of Dodge - wherever your Dodge is - we are in trouble now, where will we be if cartoon characters control our fate?