Where Are We Going?

Lee Wilbur

I had in mind to serve you a quite different piece this month, a fictional scribble called “Drizzle Fishing”. However, you’ll have to tune in again next month, if I’ve still got a position with FV, to read it. With the wreckage of our political scene in Washington, I’ve felt called upon to perhaps make matters a bit worse by unsheathing a few more arrows to send into the mayhem.

A few days ago, while cleaning and repainting a rental apartment the previous tenants (typically) had left a mess, I was listening to a dissertation on why our country has achieved the dysfunction we find ourselves in today. The basis of the theory is the great gulf which has been created between those who have and those who have not, created by the ever present greed factor in society. When ninety percent of a country’s wealth is owned or controlled by five percent of it's population, something is wrong. When there are forty thousand groups, church, federal, and municipal governments involved in soup kitchens/food banks and shelters for the homeless something is wrong. It was wrong at the fall of the Roman Empire and it was wrong in 1929 and it’s even more wrong today. We have a bought and paid for group of politicians in Washington who have allowed our government, and not just the Congress and Presidency to be taken over by corporate America. This takeover has now surfaced in that most holy of bodies, The Supreme Court. A recent study has found that of the last fifty cases, all have been decided in favor of Corporate America. The most dangerous in my opinion being a corporate entity can now spend any amount it wishes in the political arena to elect a Senator, Representative, or President favorable to their wishes. We’re outgunned before the game begins. This is wrong.

This spring, the senate spent hours in debate, “working” through the weekend until late on a Sunday night wrangling over family planning and whether it should be federally sponsored, while issues such as the Debt Limit and Jobs and budgets were conveniently ignored until the eleventh hour and the country was not only held hostage, but taken to the brink of possible disaster with the debt limit debate. And by doing so, what have these politicians accomplished by their dysfunctionality. Our credit rating has still been been lowered. Do these same individuals, as well as the President, give up their vacations as we would if our livelihood were at risk to remain at work to find remedies to the situation. Of course we know the answer is “NO”.

Ever wonder why one out of every hundred people in this country are incarcerated in jails, or why over 60% of the gross income in the State of Maine comes from the Federal Government, or why with the tremendous resources available 800,000 people die in this country every year through malnutrition, or why with our outstanding medical facilities we rank in the mid twenties in health care and “only” around “18th” for infant mortality. Have you, one of your family, or a friend tried to get an appointment with a specialist lately? Or, why the coal mining companies had some 67,000 violations against them in a year’s time and none has gone to jail, yet 18 year old Joe Smith is sent up for ten years for selling 6 ozs. of marijuana. Did you realize that we the people subsidize the oil, gas, and coal (carbon industries) to the tune of 1.3 trillion dollars every year as they continue to pollute our water and air every day. Ever wonder why not one of the greedbound financiers who precipitated this latest “recession” who have stolen our homes, our jobs, our money, our retirement savings, have not been prosecuted and sent to jail, or why there hasn’t been a jobs bill come out of congress....Yet? And for those of you who were fortunate enough to hear our President’s sugar coated reply to Standard and Poor’s lowering of OUR credit rating, how warm and cozy did that make you feel?

My humble take. I was heartened to an extent by the survey that 60% of the American people are ready to “clean house”. However, in the meantime, we’re stuck with what we’ve got. We must get off our dead …..es, bombard elected officials with calls, e-mails, letters, etc, and make our voices heard.

Secondly, it’s time for a structural change in our governmental system. There needs to be a citizen’s initiative where our voices can be heard in a more forceful and positive way. Federal Government would not function under majority rule; however, I do believe we the populace know right from wrong. We are living in an electronic age and as a nation have not begun, unlike a few countries in the middle east, to understand it’s possibilities and it’s inherent power to work for us... “We The People”... to continue to form “A More Perfect Union.”

Last. Term limits. It’s worked in Maine as far as I can tell. We surely need the concept in Washington.

Thanks for listening, come back next month and we’ll go Drizzle Fishing. In the meantime this is my own take on a recipe that’s probably been done in other ways by my Southern relatives.

R E C I P E

 

Pork Medallions in a Bourbon Cream Sauce

 

2 lb. piece of good pork roast

1 pt. Cream

Healthy glug of bourbon

1 clove garlic cut up

1 Tbls. butter

1 Tbls. olive oil

1 Tbls. Chopped chives

Cut the pork in thin irregular pieces leaving the centers thicker than the edges, cutting off all the fat. Sauté the garlic pieces in the oil and butter along with a few small pieces of the pork fat on low heat (around 5). When the fat and garlic are light brown, remove from pan and saute the pieces of pork. When you see the pork is cooked on the edges, flip the pieces over. Idea is to get the pork crisp on one side, just cooked on the other to retain moisture. Drain and set aside in a warm place. Pour into the frying pan the healthy glug of Bourbon and let it cook off. Then add the cream and chives and reduce by one half. Return the pork to the pan and gently bring to temperature. Great served with brown rice and a fresh green vegetable.

Good roads and fair winds