TEAPOTS AND CRACKPOTS

I listened to the news on CNN for an hour last night, wondering what was going on in the world. Unfortunately, the world seemed to have faded away into one incident. A Congresswoman from Georgia, whose name is McKinney, evidently clobbered a Capitol policeman in a He Says - She Says incident that didn't seem all that important to me, but had such importance to those folks at CNN that the entire hour was filled with it.

The Congresswoman came to tell at least a part of her side of it, claiming racial profiling and injustice, along with other accusations, and the Capitol Police Chief, evidently soon to be retired, came on to tell the other side of the story. For a while, the topic was the Congresswoman's hairdo, which has been recently changed from a slicked-back style to a fuzzy halo of curls, and which commanded my attention for a minute or two. I decided that the slicked back style was probably better for a Congresswoman, more dignified, but the curly style looked a bit more flattering for night's out on the town!

I spend a lot of time with earth-shattering problems like this and like to call myself a decision-maker. And, when I watch CNN, I am always mesmerized by Wolf Blitzer's voice, which has a whining, humming quality, like a hive of bees busy making honey.

I don't know why CNN thought this would command a full hour of my attention, when all I wanted to hear was the National News and News from Iraq. It seems strange that, during a war, one can't find more than a second or two of TV time about what is going on. Perhaps it is because the reporters seem to be cowering in hotel rooms instead of walking the streets of Baghdad....not that I blame them, you couldn't pay me enough money to walk those streets without full body armor, a bevy of tanks, and an entire regiment of soldiers for protection. I would cover that war from under the bed in my hotel room, cringing at every noise.

But I finally became so entranced with the McKinney deal that, when the camera went from there to the Congressional farewell for Tom Delay, it startled me. It seems the Congressmen and women lined up in a room as Tom Delay walked down the aisle, all smiles, waving nonchalantly at friends, like a departing warrior being hailed for his brave accomplishments. The legislators clapped and cheered as this reprobate made his exit, embroiled as he is in scandal, indictments, and corruption. His self-styled nickname is "The Hammer", because of his tenacity and toughness, as well as his ability to enjoy a luxurious lifestyle provided by huge corporations through their lobbyist clients. But the legislators gave him a hero's farewell, instead of slamming the door on his generous backside as he left!

After watching this charade, it was a relief to go back to McKinney, who had brought her lawyers to argue her case. She claimed the Capitol policeman had grabbed her and touched her "inappropriately" , but wouldn't say much about the actual incident itself, claiming she could not discuss the particulars. I don't know why, since it was said there is a tape of the incident and I'm sure it will take up an hour of our TV time very soon.

It is a puzzle to me as to why TV stations will take up so much time with this unimportant incident or others equally silly, and fail to report very much about issues that ARE important, like news from Iraq, or what is going on in those Congressional Chambers.

While I was watching the story of Congresswoman McKinney, mulling over whether or not it was a racial incident, our Congress was chatting about cutting policemen from our police forces, the Pig Report was released, and they were arguing about adding 12 million illegal fencejumpers and border crossers to the ranks of citizenry, or at least Guest Worker status.

Because I do not favor giving away jobs to our Guests who will repay our generosity of spirit by working at our jobs for a third of the pay, I have been called racist and "spoiled". I am not racist, but I may be spoiled. I have gotten used to eating and having a roof over my head and want my fellow Americans to enjoy the same. I do not want to see our workers degenerate into Third World citizens where a goat and a windowless shack is considered a good home. I do not approve of seeing these poor people exploited, paid in peanuts, while American workers lose their jobs, homes and future security. I'm funny that way.

The Pig Report explains some of the problems in our country. There are more than 9,000 entries, among them a huge amount of funding for a Teapot Museum, a study of Berries in Alaska, and a large sum for planting flowers and shrubbery on the Capitol lawn, among other equally ridiculous items.

Of course, we all realize studying berries is more important than keeping policemen on our law enforcement staffs, and the study of Teapots is something all children should learn about. Think of the educational advantages of a Teapot Museum! Since I don't even drink tea, I would have little interest in this, and I doubt if they will ever have a Diet Pepsi Museum, but I'm not sure!

Perks like this are tacked to other legislation and passed and, according to the report, take up more than a billion of our hard-earned tax bucks. Which leads me to believe we are in the hands of either scoundrels or maniacs, or possibly both!

We live in an amazing world, and the most amazing thing is that we elect these scoundrels and maniacs. As I have stated before, other than a rather sensible fellow from Wisconsin, named Feingold, there seems to be a dearth of common sense in our legislators. If you watch the news, you soon realize the strange mixtures and peculiar behavior of our leaders. Today, it was teapots and crackpots. Who knows what tomorrow will bring?