Durbin staff blows it again

After receiving the inept email from Durbins office, I decided to call his Springfield office and express my disappointment that they responded to my letter without so much as reading it.

I was directed to call Washington, since they are the ones that respond to all legislative questions. Ok, no problem; I look up the number and call Washington.

After explaining the issue in great detail, the staffer (who for now shall remain nameless) had the audacity to actually say this and I quote "Sir, maybe next time you should word your subject line better". Excuse me!?

I responsed with "Excuse me? I should do what?" He repeated it again......I was absolutely in shock.....my response was "So this is my fault? It is my fault that your office failed to even read the message, you just ASSUMED from the subject line that you knew what I was talking about? How about the next time YOU ACTUALLY READ THE LETTER!!!!!"

All I got was they are busy and do not have time to argue about this matter.

Too busy to read my letter and believes I should be more careful in how I word the subject line......I have a suggestion for Mr. Durbin - HIRE SOMEONE WHO ACTUALLY GIVES A DAMN ABOUT THE CONSTITUENCY.....

Durbin Staff member screws up

One of the staffers of Senator Richard Durbin blew it big time with an email they sent to me recently.

Let me set the stage for you. I wrote Durbin's office expressing concern about Senate Bill 2913 Orphan Works Act of 2008. They responsed and here is the meat of their response:

Thank you for contacting me concerning SB 2913. I appreciate hearing from you.

This issue is under the jurisdiction of state and local government. As a federal official, I do not have an official role in this matter and do not have the opportunity to introduce or vote on bills before the Illinois General Assembly. However, I appreciate knowing your concerns.

Now, I have seen some staffers really make some dumb mistakes, but not being aware of pending legislation is absoolutely unforgivable.......I actually was laughing so hard I was crying. Whoever CW is, since that is the initials used in the response, needs to pay more attention to the legislation that is before the Senate and take their time in responding to constituent correspondence.

Between Doctors, Lawyers, and Politicians whose the smartest?

I have been pondering this question for months now. One would have to have been locked in a casket for the past twenty years to have missed the marvelous advances that medicine has seen and the people that have brought them to us. Indeed they are smart.

Lawyers, they have the skills to weave through thousands of pages of evidence and transcripts; disecting this information and presenting it to a panel of twelve ordinary people in a manner that they can understand. They have the ability to cite case after case off the top of their head and not miss a beat. Indeed they are smart.

Politicians - are they as smart? Smarter? Ten years ago I would have laughed at such a question and said that anyone stupid enough to ask that question is a certifiable idiot. I was wrong. We have all heard people like Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Hillary George W. Bush called stupid, idiots, dumb - and anyone that uses such a term is wrong.

These are some of the smartest people alive. I can hear the laughter so I will explain; and I will use George Bush as my example (and not for any particular reason).

So let us examine the record of why people call him stupid.

His speech leaves much to be desired.....true, but does poor speech patterns indicate a level of inferior aptitude ? Winston Churchill had a speech impediment but I seriously doubt that anyone would call him an idiot or stupid. Sir John Hicks, an enconomist also had serious problems with his speech, yet no one would remotely consider him stupid or an idiot. So speech certainly is not the problem.

Some will claim that his policies are the reason he is an idiot. Well, he was able to convince enough members of the U.S. House and Senate to implement them and that is not something that is easily done. Scratch that argument.

The first reason I would call him one of the smartest people alive is simply - HE GOT ELECTED. Now, you may call the American people stupid, and that is your choice, but again you would be wrong. If anybody could do it, we would have had a plumber as President or a stripper as Governor.

Some will say that it was not him that won the election but those in charge of his campaign.....well ok, if I concede that I have to ask the question - WHO HIRED THEM?

You cannot have your cake and eat it too, and if you are going to call him stupid, or Bill Clinton, or any other successful politician you must also call every single person they hired and who voted for them stupid as well and doing that makes you look like the idiot.

So whose the smartest? I will leave that for you to decide, but calling politicians stupid really only shows your own ignorance.

Obama - running on what?

Barack Obama's entire campaign has been about change. Every stop its preached as though it is a sermon. It is included in ever press release. Talking points ensure that "change" is used anytime the name Obama is used.

What we do not hear is what that change is. What exactly is he going to change? What was his record in the Illinois Senate? I do not hear him talking about what he has done since he was elected as U.S. Senator and is that because he has no record to run on?

Barack Obama for all his talk about change, is the least qualified candidat; George Ryan, a convicted criminal that got his just desserts, is far more qualified than Barack will ever be. If I had a choice (and I almost do not) between Barack and Hillary, I would vote for Hillary with no reservation, which is not to say that I am endorsing her, I personally believe that between the two, she poses the least danger to this country.

Then again, I am still a Fred Thompson fan....