Morons of the Month - November 2012

Well, gang, you didn't think I was going to get through the whole month of November 2012 in Blogland without mentioning the recent Presidential election.  Indeed, I wanted to remove myself from it time-wise so I could put my thoughts into perspective.  And, as a result, I can now announce my selection for "Morons of the Month."

It's all of us, really.

Duped again by the politicians of this former great nation.  One that is spiraling toward a sad conclusion.  I give America as we know it about one half-century.  And then it will be likely gone forever.  At least as it was known and devised by our founding fathers.

And each one of us let it happen.

Regardless of who you pulled the lever for on November 6, your vote, luckily still cast in a somewhat democratic existence, really amounts to nothing.  We buy into the talking points and rhetoric more than ever.  No longer do we consider serious issues or the real dilemmas that this country faces.  Nope, nowadays, we let our mindsets be controlled by Reader's Digest-like encapsulations of what we are told to be important.  By the likes of such complete fools as Bill Maher, Stephen Colbert, Jon Liebowitz Stewart, David Letterman, and even a complete felon like Al Sharpton.

And we don't bother to keep an open mind anymore.  Nope, our minds and thought processes are rigid and totally categorized.  Single women vote one way.  White males vote another.  Hispanics vote this line.  Blacks vote that line.

We no longer vote as a nation.  We cast ballots in blocs that have walls and moats around them, thereby preventing any remotely different concept from penetrating their mental fortresses.  I've often joked that liberal voters in the states of New York and California could rationalize a way to vote for Adolf Hitler if his name was on the Democratic line in a voting booth.  I can hear the mea culpas now.

"Can you blame somebody for becoming such a horrible leader after such a troubled childhood?"

"Art school can be really difficult if you've got the wrong teacher."

"Heck, I'm one for population control so..."

End that last line yourselves, please.  You think the notion is silly?  There's a mirror in the bathroom if you want to look at yourself.

Indeed, I heard many times since Election Day that the demographic of America is changing.  That one I cannot argue.  In a bizarre way, nothing has changed.  This was a nation built on the merits of immigration.  But, about fifty years ago, that changed.  We are still taking in your tired and your poor.  But, now that group has been infiltrated with one more trait.

Your ungrateful.

So, yes, what built America will now kill it.  Because no one bothers to recognize that the open door policy can no longer be sustained in the 21st Century.

In today's big blog revelation, I will tell you that I reluctantly and begrudgingly voted for the losing Presidential candidate in 2012.  Not that I thought he was a great solution to the woes that have piled onto our worlds since 1965.  But, I thought that, at the very most, he would have at least slowed the certain decline.  Moving us just briefly from the express train to the local track for impending doom.

In retrospect, it probably made no difference.

Meanwhile, on Election night, I was astounded and saddened by the reaction and frenzy some Facebook friends were experiencing by the results.

One kept rooting on the swing states.

"Come on, Ohio.  You can do it!!"

Okay, this is our nation's future, not a fucking football game at Notre Dame.

Meanwhile, one gay couple posted a photo of their champagne toast when it was clear that Barack Obama would be re-elected.

Really?

Just what do you think he will do for you?  Here's a guy who was solidly against gay marriage and, then overnight, changed his mind when he realized this was a voting bloc he needed.  Did they really think that, in the middle of night, Obama awoke with a start, went down to Michelle's room (you really don't think they still sleep together, do you?), and said, "Wow, I've been wrong on this gay marriage thing all along!"

Oh, and what about those Facebookers actively supporting Obama and then, several weeks later, wailing about the state of Israel?  Hello?  Are you even paying attention to how your beloved homeland has been treated by this most recent White House administration?  Or didn't you hear this during your nightly imports of the truth from the likes of Rachel Madcow.

More folks played for complete fools by an American politician.  So what the hell else is new?

Over and over and over on Facebook, I watched people who thought they had made a difference.  And, in reality, did not.  This is a fact that can't be ignored regardless of which schmuck you voted for.

Do they even know what's coming?

Are they aware of all the new tax regulations that will cost all of us, rich and poor, much more in 2012?   I am.  I spoke to my accountant.  He told me.
Are they cognizant of the myriad changes and hidden laws from the new healthcare laws?  I am.  I have spoken to several doctors.  It will be hell for all of us.  Indeed, hospitals will be nothing but extensions of the Department of Motor Vehicles.  Make an appointment and remember to stand on the correct line for the next several hours.

Have they looked around at their own hometown shopping centers?  Small mom-and-pop stores that have shuttered in the past five to ten years because, well, Mom and Pop went broke.  I saw this first-hand in the Westwood Village shopping district on the day after Thanksgiving.  Most small boutiques were empty.  At least, they were still open.  The biggest moneymaker there is the guy printing all the "For Lease" signs.

Sadly, with all of us having less money to play with in the next few years, you know who will suffer most?

Our favorite charities.  There will be less for worthy places like St. Jude's for Children and the American Cancer Society. 

Does anybody notice?  Does anybody care?  

Elections in this land now remind me of the old gag where you hand somebody a piece of paper that says "flip this over."  And, when they do, it says "flip this over" on the other side.  

For fifty years, we keep "flipping this over."  And "flipping it over" again.

Over the next fifty years, we can keep playing the game.  Except, eventually, the piece of paper will be frayed and torn.  

Beyond repair.

Here ends this somber day at Len Speaks.  Come back tomorrow for some guaranteed laughs.  We should do need them.

Dinner last night:  Leftover chili.