Hello WestChase:

I am a 67 year old American citizen, father, grandfather, XNavy medic,  who is fed up with what is happening in his own country. Greed fuels our economy.  I sympathize with those disgruntled 99%ers, having myself been downsized, had a daughter's car repossessed and lost the home my children grew up in. I have survived a heart attack, prostate cancer, a melanoma  scare and now an incurable form of leukemia; I am mad and not going to take it anymore! I will "go not gentle into that dark night..."I am tired of being an irrelevant part of the silent majority.

We live in  one of the richest nations in the world yet children and familes go hungry and homeless.  In one of his speeches, our President assured us that our economy had "turned the corner." What rose-colored glasses was he looking through? Most of the corners I see used to hold signs saying "will work for food" until our fair minded city fathers made it illegal for them to be there when they became an inconvenient reminder of the reality of our times unless they are selling newspapers.

I remember when God was not dead but an integral part of family life. We saluted our flag and burned it only when it was tattered beyond repair. We raised the quality of our education and thrived on challenge. Lowering our test requirements in the face of failure was not even an option. Our pants stayed up and our underpants stayed under. Now there's a concept for you! 

I just read an interesting article about how to catch  wild pigs. It's simple, really. Find out where the pigs live and put some food out. After a little while, bring one side of a fence, secure it in place and put food on one side of it. The next time, bring another section of fence, secure it and place the food between the two fences. Add the third side and continue to feed the pigs. Finally, while the pigs are feeding, add the final side, enclosing them in the pen. Be sure to do this gradually; the pigs will squeal for a while but as long as they are fed regularly, even those protests will stop. The moral of this story is simple, stop feeding at the government trough! If you ever need a helping hand, there is a great one at the end of your arm! Use it.

If you don't like a government of representatives of special interests, not responsive to the needs of its electorate, you have a very powerful weapon, the ballot box. Use it to express your dissatisfaction with the "status quo." November is just around the corner. It is time for a change again but not just change for changes sake. Elect those who are aligned with your own interests and here's a thought. Let's pass a law that says that Congress cannot be exempt from any of the provisions of the laws that it passes. No more golden parachutes! Let them live on Social Security and "Obamacare" when they retire, like the rest of us.

Well, that's enough to chew on for a while but then again, that's just one man's opinion. What do you think?

Phoenix