Bread and Circuses

After watching the election unfold, and watching the coverage of the recent Petraeus scandal I am forced to conclude that the American public must be struck by the worst case of ADD in history.  We're learning details about the affair we shouldn't know, where and when he had his dalliances, the people involved and the convoluted nature seems to be getting worse and worse, and really it ought not.  But people keep tugging at the thread wanting to see if there's more to the story. 

Almost forgotten is the fact that defense contractors are set to lay off tens of thousands of workers.  lost is the fact that the "fiscal cliff" is very real and we are plunging headlong over it.  Lost is the fact that the Administration screwed up horribly in Benghazi.  Lost is that the Iranian Air Force fired on an unmanned drone.  Lost is the fact that the Euro is in serious trouble, and the dollar is not far behind.  Lost is the fact that Hurricane Sandy recovery is if anything worse than the Katrina efforts.  Lost is the fact that Obamacare when enacted is literally going to kill jobs and stall the recovery which has been anemic at best.

While I get that this whole story is just plain bizarre, and it gets even more so the more we find out,have we really forgotten the fact that there are a lot of very real issues that the election totally failed to deal with?  The Lame Duck congress will do absolutely nothing, of note, and chances are the Republican controlled House will do little if anything, because at least one of the new Senators elected was left of Lenin.  We are left with a real problem.  Literally nothing has changed.  Personally I would have opted for a complete victory for either Liberals or Conservatives, because either way we could have clarity on where we were going as a nation.  Being split almost exactly right down the middle is worse than anything else.

I try to remain positive, but when I try, to engage the odd passerby in a serious discussion about really anything but what was on TV last night, or the tabloid like bullshit coming out of the news, I am left with the sad conclusion that politicians don't talk about the issues, or ya know actually do anything about them, because the people they represent don't deal with any of those issues. 

We are being slowly sold down the river, and all the while having a grand old time watching all these pointless spectacles that distract us from how bad things are getting.  Ladies and Gentlemen, this is your country, and you are at the helm just as much as anyone else.  Food for thought as we plunge headlong over yet another waterfall.