What is a Labrador to do on a beautiful Saturday morning? I mean he woke Jo up at 7:30 this morning demanding a early morning jaunt out to the park. He had his breakfast which included scrambled eggs. I was watching soccer and not giving him the proper attention he felt he deserved and his mid day walk is still some time away. So a good snooze on the patio sofa seems like the best option when you think about it. The photo of the flowers were just thrown in on this post because I thought they looked nice.

Dysfunctional System

Do we really have a two party system of democracy when one party throws a tantrum and refuses to contribute when the other party passes legislation the other doesn't like? The two party system in the United States represents two differing philosophical, social, and economic perspectives. Both parties represent the members and constituents that choose to align themselves with one party or the other. In other words, both parties represent American citizens with these differences of opinions and perspectives.

Personally, since I have been able to vote and have been paying attention to politics, I have never been able to fully align myself with either party. I find them both equally repulsive at times which is why I consider myself an independent. I have and will continue to vote for individual candidates from either party. However, recently I find the actions of the Republicans more like that of a two year old whose favorite toy has been taken away from them.

Uneducated Masses

I know some very intelligent people who consider themselves Republicans as well as Democrats. And during the recent health care reform debates I've heard some very good arguments against the recent bill. I've heard some very intelligent discussions and it makes me wonder, why haven't we heard these discussions in the news? Actually you can hear them on PBS's News Hour. It does tend to be rather dry and boring at times which is why you will never see those discussions on any of the major network news or cable news shows.

Instead I hear people screaming about socialism, when there is really nothing socialist about the bill that was passed as far as I can tell. I hear people screaming baby killer, you lie, Marxism, Hitler, etc. That's the problem. The people that are usually screaming don't know what is in the bill and don't know what Socialism or Marxism is. Also, these aren't even the people who are in a position to be able to solve these problems. Unfortunately, I hear people who are in a position to solve these problems screaming at each other, and not talking, discussing, or even debating about how to solve these very complex and difficult problems.

Let's face it you, I, or the guy next door will not solve the problems with health care. No matter how strongly we feel one way or the other, we as individuals are blatantly ignorant of the facts and the full scope of the problems. We elected senators and congressmen to take on issues like these. Most citizens are not properly education nor have the necessary information to fully grasp the complexity of this issue. We delegate these responsibilities to our elected officials so that they may become educated on these issues, work with other elected officials, and draft plans to solve these problems. Our elected officials should also be educating us as citizens on what the major issues are, what are the differing view points, what are the possible solutions, and the pros and cons of each of these plans. Unfortunately I haven't heard this type of explanation from anyone in office.

This is Not Reality TV

I personally believe another problem with this whole debate is the America Idol or Survivor mentality. Just because you can vote someone off a show or off an island doesn’t make it democracy. Any f'ing monkey can be taught to push a god-damned button to vote for their favorite snack. That doesn't mean the monkey made an educated decision and weighed the pros and cons of his or her vote. Just because you don't like Obama or this health care bill doesn't mean you get to call for impeachment and kick him out of the White House. You're on the wrong f'ing channel again. You got reality mixed up with your reality TV. Fox is two channels down.

There can be philosophical differences with this issue. There can be differences of opinions on what is an effective plan. There can be debates about costs. However, there is absolutely no place for emotional appeals, one way or the other. I don't want to hear a f'ing sob story about how someone had a loved one who suffered and couldn’t receive proper care because of the current system. I don’t want to hear complete bullshit stories about death panels and how the government doctors are going to pull grandma’s plug. Keep your f'ing melodramatic pleas for the daytime soap auditions.

Stupidity Abounds

Yes, I admit that I am ignorant of the facts and that I have not read the bill. I don't know what's in it. I really don't give a shit at this point. I voted for officials that I thought would make educated decisions on my behalf so I wouldn’t have to read every piece of legislation they vote for. I am going to let them do their jobs. I am not going to stand up and scream like an ignorant buffoon, one way or another about a bill of which I have no idea about what it says or what the implications are. I am fairly certain about 99.999% of my fellow US citizens are in the same position, and probably some congressmen and senators as well. So quit your bitching! No one is forcing you to change you health care provider, no one is giving free health care to the lazy jobless masses at your expense, well, ... actually they already are but that’s all part of the problem.

Yes that is the face of a Labrador who knows how to ham it up for the camera. Well, there isn't much new lately at the chiti-graf household. I'm still running and blogging in my spare time. I haven't played soccer since November but I think my ankle may be about ready to test in a pickup game soon. Jo is still playing and practicing the violin. I think she improves every week. She hasn't been running since aggravating her IT band, so she's been going to yoga with friends from work. I think she likes it.

The rainy season is coming to an end here in Northern California and spring time here is just ridiculously beautiful. I included some photos below.