Rule lX

Purposely complicated, many people contend Congress is a governing body that hides behind thousands of rules in order to create stumbling blocks to the effective and timely operation of our government. Of course there are those folks who advocate the slower, more complicated route because decisions at this level should never be knee jerk reactions to the worst impulses of an unpredictable citizenry.

Regardless, the complications at the congressional level sets the tone for the rest of government. This creates a need for the bloated bureaucracies who handle the red tape trail that follows every law as it transforms from the ideas of politicians into the final implementations of the laws passed. The process often seems to take forever.

The Senate, with it's more scholary and measured reputation, acts as if rules of decorum are more important than rules of engagement. They are not supposed to lower themselves to the level of street fights that transpire day in, day out in the low rent district we call the House of Representatives. Senators carry themselves above the frays of the simple men and women citizens, only passing judgement after their single wide cousins in the House have ferreted out a rough solution to the latest national problem to come down the pike.The Senate is the branch that polishes the turds the House comes up with.

The built in braking system in most cases seems to be a good thing on the surface. When the engine performs slowly as planned,  time to understand some ramifications down the road before they actually are instituted may result. If the system becomes weaponized in a lopsided favor of one political group's interests over another, everything can go to Hell in a handbasket very quickly. Our current clusterfuck of incompetent governing is the perfect example of a system that is failing due to extreme abuses of one side over the other.

Enter "Rule lX" of the House of Representatives.

This poorly understood rule in the House of Representatives is currently all the rage among the Liberals, Progressives, and other butthurt Left Wingers who sit in the cheap seats passing judgement on the actions of their representatives. Our total frustration at living under an administration who uses the Constitution for toilet paper, some of us will grasp any straw that might help to keep the worst president in US history from turning us into the largest banana republic in the World. Believe me, it is not a leap to conclude that that is where we are headed.

"Rule lX" in the House and the similar set of procedural rules in the Senate, "Senate XlX" both address issues of privilege. That is they seems to be designed to support certain codes of behavior with punitive action when those codes are not followed. They are designed to inhibit any elected official, president included, from overstepping their limits of power. In relation to the President, any representive can ask for an impeachment vote under Rule 9 at any time. 

It is not that simple.They can call for an up or down vote, but it has to meet some requirementsof validity to be moved forward by the Speaker of the House. At this point and in most cases, all that happens is just another of those frustrating roadblocks to smooth legislation. Often condemmed as partisan temper tantrums, using Rule lX is nothing but a waste of time. It should not be used as the knee jerk response that it is. The next time Trump is impeached, the Democrats need to have all their ducks in a row first or focus on other ways to make him pay for his malfeasance.

I think what the Left should be doing at the moment is concentrating on removing the President's power through the vote. All their efforts should be aimed at installing as many Democrats in Congress as they can muster. Win the election and then unleash the dogs and cripple the President with endless bills to overturn the worst of his criminality, and turn off the money spigot with as much retroactive legislation as they can. Trump is already reeling and on his heels now. 

I'm with James Carville, my favorite liberal badass. Take Congress back from the spineless GOP in November, and I feel that may be the end of the orange shit stain as a political force. Of course, who knows what sleaziness will turn up as the country turns out in November? 

We often hear the quote, "May you live in interesting times". It is an expression that has consistently been misunderstood by so many. The wrong application of the real meaning has supplanted the original intent. "May you live in interesting times" is not like "May you live happy ever after". It is a condemnation of sorts, a jinx, a call for your life to be one lived in the middle of chaos and upheaval. So, I never use it any more. I have switched to:

"May you live in uninteresting times."

At the moment the planet could use that kind of relief from the too many interesting times that are currently suffocating us.

Later .....................

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Not all music I like is beautiful, compelling, timely, or classy. A twisted side of my pleasure center loves abnoxious music. I like that the musical arena encompasses tunes about everything under the Sun. I certainly do not like it all: I have lines I won't cross. But those lines are often fuzzy and pretty far away.

I have been looking for this song since it was a hit for a second or two back in 1999. I used to call it "The Discovery Song". Its name is actually "The Bad Touch" by the Blood Hound Gang. A song of no redeeming quality, no musicality of note, and certainly does not pretend to raise anyone's awareness of the issues of the day. It's a song thought up and performed by young men with 8th grade mindsets. I love it. It always makes me smile.

Just to add some interest where none should exist, Peter Dinklage of "Game of Thrones" fame has a cameo in the video.

It is maybe the most obnoxious song from the 1990's....... At least the most obnoxious tune I can think of. The video only heaps on more obnoxiousness.