The film covered Lincolns' final four months of his life. The compelling depiction of our 16th president, made clear the monumental hurdles he endured. Beginning with members of his own Republican party, he fought using every method under the law to further the kind of government the fathers envisioned.
If that was not enough of a burden, the Lincolns' lost their second son, Edward at age 4, their third son, William, at age 12 and their fourth son, Tad at age 18. The president reluctantly allowed his first son, Robert to enlist near the end of the war and was assigned to General Grants' staff. At home, Lincoln dealt with a spouse who was depressed or close to it most of the time.
All of this turmoil surrounding the president and through it all, Lincoln had the responsibility and the capacity to end the war, retain the union and abolish slavery, while maintaining his integrity. A list of tasks of monumental porportion.
The film did a number of things for me. It reaffirmed my pride in this country. It reestablished the importance of every citizens right to vote under the constitution. I take that right seriously every four years. And it reminded me of the sacrifices this country has made through history to remain a free and democratic society.
The country has endured yet another election. We watch the news as candidates assault each other with negative ads, distorted facts, and at times, flat out lies. Come on man.
Mudslinging has taken on a new dimension. Both parties engage in it. In the end, what has it proven? Did one candidate hit the others juggler harder?
The issues of negative ads and slinging mud pale in comparison to the grossly out of control campaign contribution issue. Our society is all too normal when it comes to some of the embarrassing things it accepts, i.e. millions of homeless citizens, disenfranchised native Americans, and children living in poverty.
Consider the GOP and Democratic parties raised a combined 2.21 billion dollars, in the race for the White House this year. I said billion with a "B." What is really sick about that number is the GOP out raised the Dems. and lost the race. It's not only embarrassing, it's wrong.
Where did it all go? Well, considering the top five buckets of spending, when the numbers of both parties are combined, it breaks down like this.
- Advertising $ 814.4 million
- Mailing $ 209.4 million
- Payroll $ 143.1 million
- Fundraising $ 172.0 million
- Administration $ 66.6 million
Next, there is what is known as "Outside Spending." Monies from corporations and unions. These are huge entities giving huge sums of money in support of or against a particular candidate. This unending trough of dirty money flows legally. It stems from a Supreme Court case in 2010, which removed curbs on independent spending by corporations and unions. What's worse, they don't have to disclose their donors till after the election. That's a crock too.
Regarding the negative ads mentioned earlier...there was $255.7 million spent against the Obama campaign. Another $69.4 million was spent against the Romney campaign.
Another bucket of money we don't hear about is "Shadow Money." A large chunk of money is raised by what is known as a super PAC. An independent political action committee, filed with the FEC, that can accept unlimited funds from corporations and unions and individuals.
Then the nonprofit groups organized under sec. 501 (c)(4) of the tax code. These groups are allowed to raise and spend big bucks on political campaigns too.
Do you start to get the feeling that maybe something is awry in Kansas? Mind blowing, for sure.
So how could these dollars be better spent to address big problems in this country?
According to the homeless statistics website, there are an estimated 2.5 million people and 1.3 million children homeless in the U.S.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Household Income Statistics website, there are 5.4 million households in this country with an income of less than $10,000/year. Can your family live on $10,000 a year?
Another stat. taken from the U.S. debt clock.org website is the number of people on food stamps. As of 10:00 a.m., November 26th, there were 47,698,150 people on food stamps, and the clock was ticking. Very fast, I might add.
Add to that the number of 22,578,712 people unemployed, and we can conclude that something is rotten in this country. Come on man!
So where are we in terms of redistributing the (political) wealth in this country? Oh, we forgot about the cash on hand both parties have after the election. The Dems. reportedly have $93 million and the GOP about $52 million.
Is the picture getting any clearer yet? It seems to me our priorities are out of whack and our politics are grossly out of control. Really. Come on man!
Lets be clear here. I love this country. I am privileged to live in a free democratic society and I am proud to have served thirteen years in the military. But come on man, campaign finance reform on a major scale is needed before we do this again in 2016.
We witnessed the most expensive federal election in our history. An estimated $6 billion was spent on the political circus. There needs to be full transparency. Plus there needs to be enforcement of current disclosure laws.
The six member Federal Elections Commission (FEC) is charged with enforcing the laws regarding elections. Unfortunately these guys could not care less about doing their job. They are not only out to lunch they are out of touch. Come on men!
So the questions are...Will gridlock in Washington be broken? Will our representatives do what they were sent there to do, find common ground and solve problems? Not announce to the world that their only purpose is to oust the other party from the White House. Finally, will our government survive as we know it?
History will provide the answer.
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