CON-gress – The Opposite of Progress

During his life, from 1879 to 1935, William Penn Adair Rogers, ‘Will Rogers,’ made some insightful observations about our republic, especially regarding branches of our government.

He asked this leading question: “If pro is the opposite of con, what is the opposite of Congress?“

The subtitle answers the question, “Congress is the opposite of progress.”

Will Rogers wanted to express his opinion about their uncanny ability to stall, contest, and obliterate programs that don’t further their partisan agendas.

I can’t think of a more appropriate and fitting way to begin this commentary than with Will Roger’s satire. The events of the past several decades, especially those of the past few years, prove that the attempted gains made for the republic are negated during congressional sessions and biased by partisan politics.

Why have control if you can’t abuse it for your partisan political purposes? But, like most things done in government, it doesn’t address what’s best for the country. I know these partisan political parties believe their way is best for the republic, but did they ask, or just decide, convincing themselves that they have all the answers the republic needs?

So, I append “congress” with “the opposite of progress.” It’s not just one party but a matter of political competition. Rather than enriching or advancing the republic and its citizens, politicians prefer to battle for control. There is only one winner in any contest; the other participants are losers. So, in every congressional contest, one party wins, and anyone not aligned with that party loses by extension.

Gallup’s recent poll shows that people identify as follows: 28% are Republicans, 28% are Democrats, and 43% identify as Independents. These numbers show that purely partisan political proposals will likely disappoint 71% of the voters and satisfy only 28%. I admit that several independent voters might find them acceptable, but my point is that they, Congress, the opposite of progress, play to a minority base yet make impactful choices for the entire republic.

Whom do they serve?

I find it amazing that the two parties, representing a minority of the population, claim to know what’s best for everyone in the republic but never ask and rarely consider collaborating in the republic’s best interest. This dubious and biased information flows from the ‘donor class,’ their financial supporters, lending credence to the idea that money buys favor.

BTW – The word Congress connotes ‘meeting, conferring, or coming together.’ The absent component is, unfortunately, the ‘promotion of some matter of common interest’ implying the good of the republic, yet their motives flagrantly demonstrate their pursuit of partisan political party purposes.

Another synonym for congress is. ‘intercourse.’ Its true meaning is communication between individuals, groups, or countries, but the secondary denotation is, in fact, most fitting: We get screwed every time they meet.

The US Congress first met on March 4th, 1789, and was found necessary because, according to the US Constitution, it was the only part of the government that could make or change laws.

AI tells me that Congress represents the people and organizes the other government branches, implicitly overseeing the executive branch’s implementation of the law.’ It enacts laws that influence the daily lives of all Americans and is intended to serve as the citizens’ voice.

In its 119 biennial terms, Congress has enacted between 200 and 600 statutes per session, 30,000 in all, since 1789. Here’s the list if you’re interested.

And. they’re still at it, unchecked, unchallenged, and unhampered, and only held in check by a frangible political majority. But with the political climate of late and the ‘cult-like’ allegiance, it’s ambitious to pass anything akin to something truly beneficial for the republic. The vitriolic push-back and the media shit-storm preclude advancements of any true value.

It only took them two years to add the first ten amendments to the US Constitution, the Bill of Rights. By then, it was apparent that the simplicity of the US Constitution was beyond the legal imagination and comprehension of these elected administrators, so they needed to amend it forthwith.

Do you know how many amendments there are, why they were needed, and how they modified the document’s original intent?

I ask myself this question every time I read them: Why was this necessary?

Wasn’t that implied or covered somewhere else in the Constitution? Or were these amendments necessary to limit the fair and impartial interpretation of the Constitution and guide us to someone else’s interpretations and conclusions?

The document seems all-inclusive unless you begin looking for loopholes and ways to circumvent the intent.

Isn’t it typically American – to dissect things to find opportunities for personal gain? Isn’t this the primary purpose of Congress, the opposite of progress: to find things that need their particular attention, require their unique interpretations, and demand their distinctive guidance? Isn’t this their forte’.

Here’s an example of their stellar and scholarly jurisprudence:

– The right-to-sit law (1879) was a significant milestone in the women’s rights movement. It allowed women to sit when standing was not necessary. It became a women’s labor movement pillar, symbolizing the fight for equal rights and fair working conditions.

* Were women really forbidden to sit at work before 1879?

– My favorite is Roe vs Wade. A few in Congress, the opposite of progress, still think this was a decision facing General Washington before he crossed the Delaware River, but it actually made abortion a constitutional right. SCOTUS’s Dobbs decision returned this to the states where I believe it belongs.

– The final act of the 118th congressional meeting was to approve the commercial redevelopment of RFK Memorial Stadium, transferring it from Federal to District of Columbia control, a $245 million gift to DC. This decision, seemingly benefiting only a few, raises questions about our Congress’s true intentions and priorities.

– Here’s a list of Congress’ Worst Laws. You can’t make this shit up. [list]

Have you followed the discoveries and the continuing saga of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) on Fraud, Waste, and Abuse (FWA)? This department, established to ensure responsible use of taxpayer money, has uncovered huge questionable financial expenditures.

The Democrats’ spectacular resistance theater is staged and produced by the Chuckleheaded vestiges of the Biden-Harris regime in the 119th Congress-the opposite of progress. [Shit-List]

One startling figure popped up this morning: The US Treasury cannot account for $4.7 trillion in treasury payments because they’re missing the Treasury Account Tracking Symbol (TAS) code, critical for tracking these expenditures through the system, making them almost impossible to trace since. According to DOGE, this TAS was ‘optional’ at the time but is now required. It seems a day late and $4.7 trillion short.

There are no coincidences!

I’ll subtitle this previous section with YGBSM.

The fact that we need such an effort as DOGE reveals that our republic faces a severe fiscal crisis. I’ve shared my opinion several times, so I’ll be brief. You cannot survive if you spend more than you make, both physically and financially.

We’ve reached a decision point: either we sink, or we swim. There are no other alternatives. Yet, DOGE’s opposition seems confident that sinking is preferable to surviving.

They would destroy the entire republic so that they wouldn’t look bad.

They’ll sink the republic to save their reputations.

Talk about egos!

Congress accepted this tremendous burden of managing the republic. Most importantly, they represent us; however, their focus is not on us but on themselves and their partisan political party alignments. This detour from the founder’s intent and Congress’s present path supports my assertion. All they do is kvetch!

“Scarcely a day passes without some striking evidence of the delays and perplexities springing merely from the want of precedent.” ~ James Madison May 31st, 1789

Madison’s statement was made 236 years ago during the formative years of our republic. He and his fellow framers of America foresaw and shared their concerns for this fledgling country at the hands of politicians. Their observations could, if heeded, save our republic precious time and resources, yet the ‘old guard’ clings to their favorite and desperate maxim: “It’s a Constitutional Crisis,” as an accusing finger searches desperately to place blame.

If following our Constitution creates a crisis, why would it, the Constitution, even exist?

OR. is the problem a convenient reinterpretation or misinterpretation of the words, phrases, or intent to support an individual or expedient point of view? If you look hard enough, you can always find exactly what you want, especially if you are prepared to ignore the statement’s context.

Such statements expose their fundamental misunderstanding of this document and willingness to disregard our laws to augment their autocratic aspirations. “The Ends Justify the means.” Don’t they???

In 1518, there was a Dancing Plague. Hundreds of people danced for two months. The exact cause is unknown, but theories include ergot poisoning, mass hysteria, and demonic possession.

– I find the demonic possession idea entertaining. but ergot is the probable culprit. [Shit-List]

Toward the end of the twentieth century and the beginning of the twenty-first century, a similar affliction affects 45.1 million citizens, 47% of the voting population. It’s been titled Trump Derangement Syndrome (TDS), but it’s not specific or directed toward an individual; it emerges when anything or anyone challenges the Nationalist American Socialist Party’s (NASP) hold on power or threatens to expose their collective hypocrisy and unconstitutional attempt to preserve their autocratic influence at any cost.

Oh, the Republic rats had Biden-Harris Aversion Syndrome – a political-mutant variant of TDS that coined new words and phrases like – Word Salad, Permanent Presidential Vacation, Basement Campaign, and that caused the Corporate Media Complex to work overtime to correct – edit every gaff and stumble in Biden-Harris appearance. That’s a tremendous amount of work to ensure your ‘seat at the table of power.’

Affiliation with either Partisan Political Party causes unbridled hatred and uncontrolled lying to cover up their wrongdoing. They call themselves Democrats or Republicans, deriving the name from their preferred system of government. They clearly do not understand or appreciate the notion of collaboration and the power of cooperation that democracy espouses, especially the principles of governance by the people. How is this not a prosecutable offense?

Democrats for democracy and Republicans for the republic – both are laughable when you investigate their political positions and their unconstitutional actions and denials of due process. It all seems counter-intuitive in light of the ideologies they espouse.

Their tactics are based on an old sales tactic: coercing people into agreement using Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD); Fear being the most powerful and incendiary of the three; the other two are supporting players. When you separate yourself from the rhetoric, you can appreciate the attempts to create anxiety with their partisan comments. Every statement is an accusation or innuendo to coerce you to fear the opposing partisan party or their proposals.

The NASP is now the ‘resistance and duress’ party. It considers everything that threatens its hold on power an existential threat and fights anything that challenges its partisan political philosophy.

Oh, but wait. Congress – the opposite of progress – advises that they can ignore a judicial order to provide documentation. OR if they don’t want to abide by the orders of the President of the United States – the country’s Chief Executive – they are not required to, because they don’t want to. because their partisan political policies disagree. So, if your political view opposes any law, you no longer need to obey that law or the Constitution.

You are above the law by virtue of your partisan political position.

Elected Officials are above the law unless, of course, they decide differently based solely on partisan political party partnership. Mob rule comes to mind, but then so does organized crime.

Just listen to what these elected officials scream, holler, yell, threaten, and write in their social media posts – and now they sing.

Where’s the line for the ‘Get Out of Jail FREE‘ card? Or do I need to be elected to Congress and fight against progress? Yet, Congress has some arbitrary legal applications. Gold Bar Bob Menendez is a great non sequitur.

His preeminent problem is that he was caught with a tangible bribe.

The professional partisans hide theirs in numbered off-shore bank accounts. But, if you’re elected President like Biden, you don’t need to worry. there are no rules. You have the power to pardon anyone and everyone – including Biden’s Cosa Nostra.

Multi-year Inclusive Preemptive Pardons?

This uncovers the absurdity of this country’s staggering number of laws and regulations.

I’m not a legal scholar; I’m a practical person, but even I can imagine contradictory statutes creating serious ambiguities and confusion inherent in this sheer volume of 300,000 US regulations, 30,000 congressional mandates, and the US Constitution. These laws and rules all attempt to redefine the tenets of our Constitution, often reinterpreting them with a partisan bent. We’re nowhere as bright as we should be – that’s intentional, and we’re inexcusably trusting of what the corporate media sell us.

If our constitution sets the tone for the judicial system, it either applies to everyone or no one. That’s the law! There is no selectivity, ambiguity, or click this box to ignore. Since it’s the law, you don’t have a choice. The states ratified it in 1787 and 1788, and it became the official framework of the US government in 1789.

The Victim Mentality tells us that we’re all subjects of a master, feudal serfs in the Merkan Kingdom, and everyone and everything is against us, mainly the intentions of the other partisan political party. They are a threat to democracy, an existential threat, racists, bigots, misogynists, homophobic, anti-trans, anti-gay, anti-LGBTQ1+, and generally not friendly people.

They hate you and want to control every facet of your life.

When you accept this idea, become a victim; they own you.

Think slavery.

Living in a free country would be fantastic if it were true, but we’re so bound by the laws that manage our freedom that there is no latitude to explore it – only guidelines to keep us on the right path; apparently, we’re children incapable of making the right decision, and Congress, the opposite of progress is our custodian.

But who oversees Congress, the opposite of progress?

Why, it’s us, her children.

This creates an interesting dilemma. If we’re incapable of independence, then we’re incapable of managing anything without adult supervision. And being incapable of managing the government as the US Constitution intends, those in charge of the republic should take total and complete control. Right?

RIGHT?

This is where we are right now, citizens.

The people we hired to manage this republic tell us that we’re incapable of making decisions without their expert counsel because they, not us, know what’s best. If we deviate from their plans, we create a Constitutional Crisis or an Existential Threat to our Democracy.

This takes us back to the Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) paragraph.

Who’s leading whom?

I DO NOT endorse anarchy; I support an honest interpretation of the US Constitution, removing the impediments that diverted us from the republic’s intended path and replacing the partisan political parasites with patriots interested in the preservation of this republic and what’s best for everyone, not just the cronies of elite political class.

DOGE’s audits and investigations represent an astonishing opportunity to reclaim our control of this republic – if we’re sharp enough to seize the opportunity. There are those in the elite management class who will use every trick known to man to derail this effort to expose their corruption.

Are we ready to regain control, or will FUD, a constitutional crisis, and existential threats to democracy derail this opportunity like the Wuhan Virus did?

Know that nothing is more dangerous than a wounded and cornered animal or a corrupt politician.

Unabashedly,

February 20, 2025

~ The Author ~
Charles R. Dickens was born in 1951, is a veteran of the Vietnam war, for which he volunteered, and the great-great grandson of the noted author, whose name he shares.

He is a fiercely proud American, who still believes this is the greatest country on the planet, with which we’ve lost control and certainly our direction. He grew up in moderate financial surrounding; we’re not rich by any stretch, but didn’t go hungry – his incredibly hard working father saw to that. As most from that era, he learned about life from his father, whose story would take too long to tell, other than to say that, he is also a fiercely proud American; a WWII and Korean war, veteran Marine.

Charlie was educated in the parochial system which, demanded that you actually learn something, and have capability to retain it before you advance. He attended several universities in pursuit of a bachelor’s degree, and chased the goose further to a master’s, and has retained some very definite ideas about education in this country.

In addition, Charlie is a retired blues guitar and vocalist – a musician. This was his therapy career. Nothing brings him as much joy as playing music, and he wishes that he could make a living at it… but alas… life goes on!