Real Characters Episode 23 Congress all talk no doing

                A congressman who will remain anonymous for the purposes of this story is in the Capitol Building.  He is very influential and is looked up to by many other congressmen so he is able to whip up votes if needed.  Due to this, he is often called on meetings to discuss the issues currently facing the nation and determine if laws should be made.   For the purpose of this story, we will call this congressman, “Jeff Smith”

                Jeff attends a financial meeting to discuss the August job numbers.  The chairperson of the meeting declares, “Although the new job creation isn’t what we expected, they are pretty good.  We predicted 160,000 jobs and we got about 134,000.”

                Jeff asks, “How about unemployment?”

                “That remains at 3.7%”

                “Was there an increase in the workforce?”

                “Yes, it is now over 63%, so approximately 500,000 people entered the work force in August that weren’t there before.”

                A freshman congresswoman from New York poses, “Why does that matter?”

                Jeff explains, “The unemployment rate measure the amount of people that don’t have jobs and are looking for work divided by the those people plus the people that have jobs.  Those 500,000 people weren’t included before because they weren’t looking for work.”

                “Oh I see”

                A representative from Minnesota offered, “Yea, but with these unskilled people coming into the work force, wages must have gone down.”

                The Chairman answered, “Actually wages grew by 3.2%.  This was higher in lower income professions but the top wage earners saw wage growth in the 2% so it brought the average down.”

                New York representative blurted out, “Did anything prove how racist the President is?”

                “I’m not sure how to answer that but I will say that Hispanic and Black unemployment remain at all time lows. Black unemployment actually went down in August so it hit a new record.”

                Jeff was pleased to hear that the economy was doing well.  It bothered him that some of his fellow government official weren’t so happy because they wanted a recession so that President Trump would lose the next election.  Jeff wouldn’t call himself a staunch supporter of Donald Trump but he didn’t believe in destroying the country just to spite him.  To Jeff, his loyalty lied with America.  If Trump’s policy was good for the country, Jeff supported it.  If Jeff thought it was bad for the country he didn’t.  It was really that simple. 

                A couple days later, he is on a panel to talk about gun legislation.  He attends with conflicting opinions.  On one hand, he believes in the constitution and believes the 2^nd Amendment unquestionably refers to individual people’s right to have guns.  On the other, these mass shootings are becoming way too frequent so something needs to change.  The ‘what’ was the hard part and that’s what was being discussed today.  Since Jeff was undecided, he knew that he would subject himself more of a listener than a speaker.  Part of being a good representative was knowing when to listen and when to assert yourself.  It was called by a female congressman from South Carolina.  Despite that, it was quickly taken over by two women on opposite sides of the political spectrum.  The one on the right from Texas was Anna May and the one on the left was Marley from Connecticut.  Marley forcefully expressed, “It’s time to have a common sense buy back of all assault rifles like the AR-15 and the AK-47”

                Anna May replied showing boredom in her voice, “That’s been tried before, and it always fails.  What is it with you people and always wanting to try failed programs?”

                “There has never been a buyback”

                “Not here, but they just tried it in New Zealand after the Christ Church shooting.”

                “Yes, how can we let New Zealand make us look bad?”

                “They didn’t.  They made us look smart for not trying it.  90% of people refused to sell their guns back.”

                “Well, we can succeed where they failed?”

                “Famous last words.  This elitism is what gets country leaders into trouble.”

                “It’s just logical”

                “No, logic is on my side darling.  Let’s put aside the question of how many people will allow their guns to be confiscated by the government.”

                “it’s a buy back”

                “It’s a forced sale, which isn’t a transaction at all.  You can’t sell something back to someone that never owned it in the first place.  Right now, we make people go through a background check before selling them a firearm.  Tell me, can these private citizens force a background check of the government employee taking their gun?”

                “That would be ridiculous.  The government does their own checks on their employees”

                “Would you allow the citizen to review the government’s file on that person?”

                “Of course not!”

                “Yea, that’s why it won’t work.  Like I said, let’s ignore the people for a second.  The cops wouldn’t comply either.”

                “What are you talking about?  The cops want guns off the street more than anyone.  They are the ones being targeted.”

                “Your state is very close to New York.  New York passed the SAFE act a few years ago.  It wasn’t as severe as a buyback but it’s one of the strictest gun control legislations in the country.  It forces people to register their assault rifles with the government.  A low estimate is that there are 1,000,000 assault rifles in New York.  Would you like to know how any are registered according to the SAFE act?”

                “New York was the safest big city a couple years ago so the policy worked.”

                “You didn’t answer my question.  How many assault rifles were registered in accordance with the law that New York passed?”

                “I don’t know”

                “4%.  So if 4% of the populace doesn’t even want to register them then why would they volunteer to give them up?”

                “If they don’t, then we’ll force them to.”

                “Yes, presumably using the local police officers”

                “Yes”

                “The same ones that refuse to prosecute people who don’t register their guns.”

                “The law is the law.  Police officers don’t get to pick and choose which laws to enforce and which ones not to.”

                “Oh well, that’s just naïve.  Cops do that all the time.  What do you call sanctuary cities?  When mayors and police chiefs decide they won’t help ICE round up and deport illegal aliens, do you stay consistent that the law is the law and they don’t get to pick and choose which laws to enforce and which to ignore?  Are you saying, you’re in favor of local law enforcement helping iCE round up illegal aliens and send them back to their country of origin?”

                “No, they shouldn’t enforce racist laws.”

                “Well now there you go.  Deciding which laws are worthy and which are not but forcing our fine policeman nationwide to adopt your opinion on the matter instead of their own.  My oh my, the hypocrisy is clear as day.”

                Marley crossed her arms and glared at Anna May.  An Illinois representative, seeing that this debate was over, voiced, “The NRA gives too much money to the GOP.  They lobbying affects governing.”

                Jeff was more of a financial person so he took this one.  He rejoined, “Lobbyist and companies give money to both parties all the time.  There are laws against some ways of giving but the NRA hasn’t violated any to my knowledge.  If you want to talk about sheer number, Planned Parenthood gives just as much to campaigns as the NRA.  If you include all their funds that pretend to be going to the company but are really donating to Democrat causes, it’s more.”

                “That’s different”

                “Of course it is because Planned Parenthood actually receives money from the government so the possibility of corruption is greater since they could want more money from the government.  Basically, some of it gets refunded to them.  Whereas the NRA doesn’t get government funding so no cash refund”

                “They got beneficial policies”

                “Yes, and that is the hope of every lobbyist.  Although some people are swayed by the money, I think a majority of the time the lobbying firm knows the candidate is on their side so gives them money so they have power.  They don’t generally give money to people that campaign against their causes.”

                “Well, yea, that makes sense but I’m more talking about dark money”

                “So am I.  Dark money is mostly on the left.  Public policy charities run by leftists bags $ 7.4 Billion in foundation money.  Compare this to conservative public-policy charities of $ 2.2 Billion.  The liberal dark money even dwarfs direct campaign contributions, which is about $ 4.8 billion and Independent donations, which is about half a billion.”

                The chairperson of the panel announced, “We are getting off topic.  We are here to talk about gun legislation.  The president has been toying with the idea of Red Flag laws.  This is when a parent can go to a court and register their child as someone that should be unable to obtain a firearm.   It doesn’t have to be a parent; it can be a close relative or a variety of other people.  Who it includes differs depending on who’s presenting.”

                Anna May stated, “That is a violation of due process”

                Donna, the chairwoman, poses, “How do you mean?”

                Jeff answered this one, “The people filing for the Red Flag law can do it unilaterally.  The person doesn’t get a chance to defend themselves.”

                Anna May continued, “The potential for abuse is way too easy.  You assume that all parents know their children or have their best interests in mind.  Unfortunately, that’s not always the case.  You said it yourself; they already want to extend the amount of people that can do this.  Like Jeff said, the person can’t even defend themselves.  Just because we’re in a time of crisis, doesn’t mean we should trample our Civil Liberties and what the founders intended for us”

                Donna rejoined, “I’m not sure what your concern for abuse is stemming from.”

                Jeff opined, “Let’s say for example that someone decides that all domestic terrorist organization and their members should be banned from having a gun.”

                “That’s reasonable” admitted Donna

                “On paper yet, but San Francisco just declared the NRA a domestic terrorist organization.  So, if that law was enacted, everyone in the NRA could now have a Red Flag law used against them and have their guns confiscated.  This would cause much unease and anger.  All this because of one city that shows its obvious bias.”

                Anna May scoffs, “You mean to tell me that the same city that has maps on areas to avoid because of the massive amounts of people defecating on the street is criticizing the NRA?”

                “Not just criticizing but classifying them as the worst thing that you can be classified.”

                “Yea, so let me get this straight.  They believe felons are ‘justice involved people’ but don’t see any problem with calling the NRA a domestic terrorist organization.  According to San Francisco, felons’ feelings are of supreme importance but not the feelings of the people who work for the NRA.”

                Marny burst out, “People like the Odessa shooter should never be allowed to carry guns.”

                “Honey, the Odessa shooter bought his gun illegally from a seller who manufactured it illegally.  The incident proves my point.  If you have a gun buyback, you’re only going to make the black market larger.  That man tried to obtain a gun legally but failed the background check so he decided to get it illegally.”

                Jeff pronounced, “Anna May, you’re critiques are very good but you haven’t offered any alternatives”

                Anna May hesitated for a moment before commenting, “Well, I think everyone should be encouraged to defend themselves.  The need to carry a gun is higher than ever to defend against these whackos.  We’ve had guns since the inception of our republic so it doesn’t make sense that guns are to blame.  The problem is father absence in America.  We need to start promoting two parent families and do away with this exaltation of single mothers.  Getting divorce shouldn’t be rewarded but shamed.  I think you should get less money from welfare if you’re a single parent.  Also, the amount you get shouldn’t be based on how many kids you have.  Fix the families.  Let people know that the government is not their parent and parents need to be the parents. Then this crisis will take care of itself.”

                There was a lot of criticism about this.  Mostly it stemmed from it being a slow solution at best.  The meeting spiraled into a debate about marriage and how Anna May was insensitive to attack single mothers.  Jeff knew they weren’t going to resolve it that day but wished that they at least stayed on topic.  The problem with government officials, however, is they often don’t stay on topic.  He got up and walked out of the congress frustrated. 

                While at home, Jeff saw bits and pieces of the climate change forum where various Democratic Nominee hopefuls were talking about climate change.  The only thing the candidates could talk about was how they wanted to ban pretty much everything.  The list included combustion engines, airplanes, meat, and light bulbs.  Jeff shook his head.  It never ceased to amaze him how liberal this field of Democrats were.  Predictably, the next day there were meetings and conferences about global warming.  He attended one to see just how many people couldn’t see through this.  Speaking against global warming, or even calling it ‘global warming’ enraged its advocates but Jeff didn’t care.  He still had ideological ideals that free discourse and debate was still possible in America.  When people started reiterating the ban list, Jeff spoke up, “Look, the only reason people want to ban things is because they can’t figure out how to make a worthy alternative.  If they could, they’d work in the private sector and make millions off it.”

                There was silence in the room as Jeff just attacked people who worked for the government when everyone in the room worked for the government.  Jeff had no illusions of what they did though.  The problem was, you needed people in government that understood that they’re providing a public service.  Most people are out for power so good people needed to be in government to check the power hungry ones.  Global Warming was the number one way that power hungry individuals thought to achieve power.  After all, if they can tell you how to run your business, what to eat, and how to build your property, then what power do you really have?  Finally someone spoke up, “I tend to think that we are very creative, that’s why we come up with bills that people in America want.”

                “I don’t think we do that.  Half the time we legislate on things that have constantly been struck down by the voting public.  We basically have the mentality that if we can’t beat something fairly, we ban it.”

                A member of the meeting we will call ‘Captain Planet’ scolded Jeff, “Perhaps you should look at a thermometer.  The Earth is getting hotter.”

                “First of all, there’s record cold temperatures too so what exactly is that thermometer telling me?  Second of all, any time you have an argument where you win unless nothing happens, it proves your theory, is a nonsense point.”

                “Weather is complicated”

                “Precisely, which is why nobody knows what’s really happening or why things happen.  You use that ignorance to assert claims knowing you can’t be definitively disproven.  Al Gore makes speeches about the science being settled but science, by definition, is never settled and none of his experiments have been able to be repeated.  If you recall your high school science, the last part of the scientific method is ‘retest.’”

                “97% scientists agree”

                “That’s a made up number.  The only experiment that had anywhere close to that is when they asked 20 scientists and 19 said that Global Warming is man-made.  That means, your ‘97’ numbers isn’t even 97 people.  And, they can’t do math because 19 out of 20 is 95%.”

                “Do you have any science backing you up?”

                “Yes.  It’s quite possibly just a bad data problem.  90% of the sensors are in violation of national weather service’s setting standards.  It’s not a temperature problem, it’s a land problem.  Take Nassau Country, Long Island.  In 1923, the sensor was put in a potato field.  That works because it’s not within 100 feet of an artificial heating or cooling source.  Now, the potato farm is gone and a strip mall replaced it.  Now, you have the concrete effect.  To make matters worse, it’s right by an exhaust vent for a Chinese Restaurant.”    

                “They make adjustments in the sensors correcting for this.”

                “Why trust the formula to correct it?  Just move the sensor”

                “You said 90% of them are too close to an artificial heat source.  There’s 1221, that’s a lot of sensors to move.”

                “So what?  It can be done.”

                “Well, we run into the same problem.  Climate Change is caused by our planet being overpopulated with humans. T here’s no room to keep them 100 feet from an artificial heat source.”

                “Apparently you’ve never driven through this great country.  First, everyone could live with comfortable spacing between themselves in Texas so we are not even close to being overpopulated.  Secondly, NOAH already did this.  But, people don’t like pointing to their data because it shows the temperatures are pretty much stable in the last century.  If anything, the Earth has gotten slightly colder.”

                “What is NOAH?”

                “National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration.  You’d think as a huge advocate for Earth saving techniques, you’d know about the various organizations.”

                “Not if they deny climate change.  Then they’re just frauds”

                “I gottcha, do you have any evidence that NOAH is a fraud or you’re just judging them because their data says temperatures have remained stable?”

“Obviously, I don’t have specific examples, you just told me about them.”

“I agree, which is why you’ll forgive me if I don’t think you have a point.”

Jeff said his peace and now listened.  Nothing got done as he suspected.  The rest of the congress would be getting back in the next couple of days.  The next year was set to be a very busy time for him.