11/03/2006

Just a Few Silly Things

The other day a friend of mine asked me where I got my recumbent. I told him that a beautiful lady rode up to me and tore off her clothes. She shouted, "take what you want". He said good choice, the clothes probably wouldn't have fit. It really didn't happen that way but hey, I thought this was a funny story. Putt-Putt built my bike and I couldn't be more thankful.

I will be so glad when the elections are over. The phone here rings regularly with a message from some party or the other. The sad thing is that while this is a very important election, less than 70% (60%?) of the voters will get out and vote. That means that about 36% of the people will determine who will lead our Nation. Barbara and I really don't discuss politics much. We are pretty opposed to the way the other's party want to accomplish good things for our country. The really good thing is we agree that the Goals for our Government are pretty much the same no matter who is in the majority. Don't get either one of us started on what the spending should be used for on, for what priority.

Government's response to these goals has varied over the years as has the world and the economy. In the past, the Republican party has attracted more conservative people with a lot of the moderates thrown in(at least in the heartland, forget the South, they are still fighting the Civil War) The Democratic response has attracted the other half of the moderates and a larger number of Liberals. For some reason the current Republican Congress has been spending money and cutting taxes like a bunch of Soldiers on leave after payday. Spend it all and borrow more just doesn't set well with most of us. I know that a lot of the spending is going to support the war but that is even a bigger problem that we don't discuss. Barbara has managed to drag me financially into a pretty solid place so I can't really argue against her "save a lot and spend a little" ideals. This leads me to the Ryan/Boyda conundrum.

Jim Ryan is a six term Representative from Kansas that is a Republican that voted for the party platforms 94% of the time. He survived the early years because no one with a record of anything ran against him. I know Jim and he is a Kansan that is fairly moral and upright. He is not the brightest bulb in the pack, and I am sure that we could do better. Nancy Boyda is a fairly newcomer to Kansas and a Democrat that thinks it is time for a change. She really doesn't have a record to attack. She is a nice person that I feel sure will represent us well. She could easily be the tripwire that upsets the Republican Majority in the House. If I vote for Nancy, I will be electing a brand new congressman that will have no voice in her party, just her vote. She won't have any good seats on committees, but it will be a new start. If I vote for Jim Ryan I will be saying more of the same and I'm not sure that is what I want either. That is the problem with being a conservative. Sometimes no change smells so bad that you just have to change the diaper or move.

So, I will make up my mind the day I walk into the election booth as I hope you do. (Vote that is) It is probably a lot like wetting your pants while wearing a dark suit. It gives you a warm feeling but no one will notice. Do the right thing and get out there and vote.

MUD

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