Sequestration May Be a Castration of Society.

     Wake up this weekend and consider your federal government has yet to act on gun control laws, despite months of debate. But, by not acting Friday on the so-called sequester, Congress may have put hundreds of thousands of children in jeopardy.

     The American public has not put enough pressure on politicians to solve problems in Washington, DC.

     We are to blame for the stalemate that led us down this path. Very soon, we’ll feel the pain of the budget cuts in federal services because of our lack of involvement. We have allowed this dilemma to happen.

      We haven’t gotten involved enough to realize how fast the federal government ship is sinking in the wrong direction. We are hiding in the closet, waiting for Christmas presents that will not arrive. We are suffering a slow death by gridlock. There is very little problem-solving because there is almost no debate for answers in the White House.

     The officials in power talked for just 45 minutes Friday before giving up and simply allowing this “sequestration” to go into effect. The average American worked an eight-hour shift the same day. Millions have been unemployed for at least a year and are still searching for a job.

     The most disturbing news since last December’s Newtown massacre is a half a million Americans have joined the National Rifle Association. The most disturbing news Friday was the sequestration in America that may deny more than 700,000 low-income children the right to the early childhood Head Start program.

     More guns in this country is clearly not the answer to our violence epidemic. Giving children a fair chance of succeeding is a step in the right direction.

     Arming teachers in our schools isn’t a solution, but arming pre-school youngsters with toothbrushes is.

     Allowing guns in houses of worship as recently approved in the state of Arkansas doesn’t deter gun violence, but identifying mental health resources and those who need it just might save lives in our communities.

     So what is really happening in this country?

      A deal was cooked up by both the Democrats and Republicans in 2011 that included a plan for about 85 billion in federal budget cuts March 1^st. They signed it in writing believing the date would never come and everything would be made happy well before Friday. We waited and waited. They barked and pointed fingers. We re-elected politicians and expected different results.

     Here are some facts that should spoil your milk.

     Almost 1,000 human beings have been murdered in Chicago since that 2011 deal was struck. The city of Detroit is in such financial disarray, the state has recently taken over the 14 billion debt tab, due to mismanagement and corruption. According to the FBI, another major city, Miami, is leading the nation in identity theft, mostly by gangs made up of 20-something adults who hack into American lifestyles with sophisticated technology, force, and violence.

     So the federal government’s answer is to do nothing. By not acting, the 2011 deal goes into effect. It is an irresponsible debt reduction plan called a sequestration, which cuts federal programs to save budget issues, such as the United States’ $16 trillion debt.

     The result will be 13 percent cuts in military programs and a broad 9 percent federal programs cut across America. Those cuts are prompted by the inability of Congress to come up with ideas. And that is what we elect politicians for.

     President Barack Obama says, “We will get through this. This is not going to be the apocalypse, as some people have said. It’s just dumb, and it’s going to hurt.”

     Republican House of Representatives speaker John Boehner added, “There are smarter ways to cut spending.”

     I’ll offer a hint you probably figured out by now. These two guys won’t be hurt by the cuts. But everyday Americans who are concerned with national security, domestic programs, and core government functions will feel the lack in services.

     And that brings us back to the Head Start Program for children. These are the most vulnerable humans in our nation. Children who may not find their way to learning how to brush their teeth, or solving eyesight or hearing problems because of the cuts to this vital federal program. The program identifies special needs for youngsters so that they have a fair chance to learn before it is too late. A chance to succeed instead of turning to violence.

Political Corruption Reaches Courtrooms.

      What does Chicago, one of the largest cities in the country, and the tiny, impoverished municipality of Bell, California have in common?

      Corrupt politicians begging for mercy this past week before courtroom judges.

      Both settings provided tragic examples of our political structure crumbling before the American public's eyes. Instead of watching like a hawk, we naively click away to the next controversy for more juice and sensationalism.

      Just what were Chicago's attractive darlings, Jesse Jr. and Sandi Jackson, thinking during their political tenures?

      Perhaps they fantasized about a royal reality show as king and queen of the windy city.

    In real life, the power couple faces prison dates this summer after both pled guilty Wednesday to siphoning roughly $750,000—three-quarters of a million dollars—in campaign funds into personal accounts for their lavish personal and political lifestyles.

      Jesse Jr., veteran U. S. Congressman and son of the famous Reverend Jesse Jackson, and his wife Sandi, a Chicago city alderman, stonewalled the public for nearly a year. But they ran out of excuses Wednesday in separate courtrooms and entered guilty pleas to agreements afforded them by the U. S. Justice Department.

      More specifically, they lied to the IRS and the public they supposedly served.

      Will they receive the maximum sentence or just a pat on the wrist in U. S. District Court?

      The plea agreements with federal authorities are troubling.

      Jesse Jackson Jr. was reeled into the Justice Department investigation of former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, currently serving a 14-year prison sentence on bribery charges. Those charges included the selling of President Barack Obama's Illinois Senate seat when Obama was elected to the Presidency in 2008. Feds had caught Blagojevich on tape offering a trade of campaign money in exchange for the U. S. Senate appointment. Jackson was identified as the candidate offered the dirty deal.

      But Jackson was allowed to stall his own investigation, citing a six-month absence for "health problems" up through the 2012 elections, and he retained his 17-year Congressional seat before resigning after last November's election.

      What legitimate legal system remains here in the United States?

      Friday, the citizens of Bell, California, asked that very question while observing a political corruption trial too unbelievable to sensationalize.

      The two year-old Bell story, broken by a pair of investigative reporters at the Los Angeles Times, is just one more tale of the American political system failing because the public wasn't in tune with public meetings, albeit through ignorance and apathy.

      In the four week-old trial currently in the jury's hands, six Bell city council members Luis Artiga, Victor Bello, George Cole, Oscar Hernandez, Teresa Jacobo, and George Mirabal are charged with financially raping the city and its 40,000 citizens in Los Angeles County of more than $10 million worth of inflated salaries, bogus contracts, and outrageous fees.

      The apparent mastermind behind the whole scheme that had played out over a six-year period is former city administrator Ron Rizzo who, along with his assistant Angela Spaccia, will go on trial separately this summer.
     They forged signatures on contracts. Approved contracts in private closed-door meetings. Gave themselves $100,000 annual salaries without voters’ knowledge or approval, and also wrote up lucrative pensions.
      The Bell fiasco was so secretive and complex, California state judges had to nullify the contracts written and signed by the former office holders before the state could bring them up on trial and prosecute them.
      The real key in American government is the domino effect here. If indeed 9 of 10 United States cities are considered by experts to be "financially stressed", where does this road leave city citizens tomorrow?
      It is just a matter of time before another municipality falls under the bridge, due to corrupt politicians operating behind closed doors. Six like-size California municipalities and their office holders are currently under investigation in southern California. And the cry for public election campaign reforms has fallen on deaf ears in Washington, DC for decades.
      Ask yourself if we can afford the next scandal.