The Senate

I have come to the conclusion that the US Senate is a body of elitist blow hards cursed with mob megolomania. Further evidence, perhaps: I have been trying to email for days my concerns about this bailout bill. But the Senate website is shut down.

So I wrote to our newspapers and Sen Jim Demint of SC, who maintains a personal website, and to our Representative, yes the House website functions as always. Here is the body of my letter:

I have been trying to email our Senators for a couple of days to express my view about the bailout they are debating.  The senate website seems to be non-functional.  I am asking you to please carry a message to them.  First, this coincidental closure of the email website looks very bad, and I refuse to dwell on its meaning, beyond thinking there is a desire by the senate to work in a vacuum. Second, this bill is very, very troubling.  It is no secret, nor any disagreement that the protectionist reaction to the stock market crash of '29 led to the extremes of the worldwide depression.  I see all kinds of spurious parallels drawn between now and then, but that one is a real concern.  This bill must not be allowed to start a trade war.  That would be catastrophic beyond the problems we now face.  This bill is too big, and the urge for government to self propagate must be resisted for the good of the country.  The unintended consequences of this legislation, as big as it is, are staggering.  Yet the pressure to rush it through is breathtaking.  Congress is not an extension of the Executive, and should deliberate this bill carefully, not work to be seen aligned with any president.  It seems our future is not in our hands, but in the hands of the legislature in Washington DC.  Our representatives should have more faith in our ability as a society to overcome adversity.  In fact, there is a growing body of evidence that the economy has reached bottom.  Where are the voices of confidence and inspiration now?  I only hear doom, fear and lack of belief in Americans to find ways to adapt and overcome.  Please, take this to heart, share it and make this congress one that works for America, not on America.