I think it's time for a change

Don't want to discuss it
I think it's time for a change
You may get disgusted
Start thinkin' that I'm strange

In that case I'll go underground 
Get some heavy rest
Never have to worry
About what is worst and what is best (get it)

Oh oh Domino (all right)...

___________________________

Van Morrison Week begins


--------------------------------------- Last Friday night when I arrived home, I put on You Tube videos -- I listened to three of them:

Ohio Governor John Kasich on an interview show

Eric Trump on an interview show

U.S. Representative Al Green pitching a bill on the House floor


     I listened to each one of these two or three or four times, to let the points flow over my brain while I did routine home-tasks.  (Back and forth, yadda-yadda, in, up, wash, put-away, make a note, throw out, make another note...)

     You can listen to (and watch if you want to) the Kasich one by typing in,

Gov. Kasich:  "in my lifetime I've never seen this country divided like this"

And maybe after the words "like this" you have to type in "you tube" -- I don't know.  There's one up there that shows it is 0:05 in length -- I don't know what they get discussed in five seconds...the one to watch says 7:55 for length.  (That's seven minutes and fifty-five seconds, not seven hours and fifty-five minutes...  There are those who might accuse me of trying to make them listen to a politician speak for seven hours, but really, I would never do that....)

     One of the things Kasich said was, in reference to last week's State Of The Union address -- "One speech doesn't make a difference.  Unless you're Winston Churchill..."

     When Kasich speaks of Americans being "divided" -- it sppears to me that Congress -- both House and Senate -- is part of the problem.  All they seem to do is try to "slime" each other with something negative.  

When you read Comments online (and by "you" I guess I mean "me") it's obvious that a lot of people think "discussing politics" means "slime the other party" or "slime the other ideology" -- "right -- left -- aaauuugggrrrhhh!"  They're learning that from the politicians who are supposed to be both representatives and leaders, but often in modern times they are neither.


     I'd love to be wrong about this theory, but it looks to me like we have a less competent Congress now, and I think there are various reasons for this and I'm only going to point out two, (as they appear to me) --
          1.  Since "Citizens United" Supreme Court 

decision allowed unlimited money into politics, more congress members are "purchased" right out of the gate; the interests doing the purchasing prefer candidates who are less smart and more compliant.

          2.  Most members of Congress used to move their families to Washington when they got elected; now most of them leave their families in the McMansion in their home-state and the family member who was elected -- dad or mom -- commutes to Washington.  Which has resulted in the work-week shrinking to Tuesday-Thursday.  And I think being commuter-legislators makes them worse at their job in at least these two ways:

--------------  A) Legislating doesn't feel like a "real job" to them.  They aren't truly committed to it, they just run back and forth for it, like a hobby -- their "Real Life" is back in the home state where their children go to school, etc.  On a deep, sincere level, they don't care what they vote for as long as they get money.       And

--------------  B) Since they don't live in Washington and see their fellow members of Congress in social life, school life, community life, church life, "real" life, they have no relationship with them, and they don't have incentive to find common ground and understanding, and to work together.

________________________
____________________________

     I never knew what the Van Morrison song "Domino" was about until I looked it up on the Free encyclopedia -- it is a "personal musical tribute" to Fats Domino.  

     Fair enough.

album:  His Band and the Street Choir
"Domino" released as a single, Spring 1970
genre:  R&B, rock
label:  Warner Bros.
songwriter(s)    Van Morrison
producer(s)    Van Morrison

 > On Google, type in

Van Morrison, Domino

and Play

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