Hackett Storm Shows Problem with Congress

Regardless of whether or not Paul Hackett, of southern Ohio, should be elected to the U.S. Senate is not the issue of this article. What I do think is that new people, sometimes regardless of political party, need to be elected to government. I am all for any effort which would reduce our dependence on the seniority system which is the root of most evils in Washington. Neither is that the issue of this article, well not a major issue anyway.

My problem is with the way in which candidates are funded, who they get their money from, and ultimately who they owe their allegiance to once they are elected. I’m talking about campaign finance reform, and its killing this country!

If you read today’s CNN story about Hackett you will read that it was New York Sen. Charles Schumer who was able to turn off the spigot which funded Hackett’s campaign. How does a senator get that much control over who gets to join the Senate? I’ll let you read the page from the Senate’s website that explains all about Campaign Committees.

It outrages me that this system of allowing senators of all people make such important decisions about campaign finance… how do we fix this problem? Term Limits, and citizens who are just as mad about this as I am getting elected to government.


CNN

FEMA Mismanagement or Applicant Dishonesty?

The Inspector General’s office of the Homeland Security Department and the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have released reports of millions of dollars of wasted money in aiding Katrina victims.

While thousands upon thousands of victims are currently still displaced from this storm which is promising to have far reaching effects into our nation’s future FEMA has once again come under the scrutinous eye of the public microscope.

It is easy to blame the agency for its gross incompetence and almost boldfaced corruption, but what may be the case now is widespread corruption of applicants for emergency aid. The $2,000 debit cards are apparently a hot item. What is intended to help families buy food and other necessary items such as clothing are being applied for by persons with fake SSNs and identification cards.

I don’t blame FEMA for giving out these cards in the heat of the moment when their aim is to help people, fraud on the part of applicants is going to happen, and FEMA is taking the correct response by prosecuting freeloaders.

The agency isn’t completely without blame though. Being a Floridian, I am familiar with the corruption of FEMA. When Wilma ripped through Palm Beach and Broward counties, it was the people of Miami who benefited the most from emergency relief. While my neighbors and classmates in northern Broward and southern Palm Beach were tarping their roofs, people in Miami were getting millions to replace their cars and remodel their homes. Its time for FEMA to shape up or ship out.