Around 150 BC, Cato, the grumpy Roman senator, ended every speech, no matter what the topic (grain allotments for the plebs, plans for a new aqueduct, whatever), with the injunction –

“Ceterum autem censeo Carthaginem esse delendam”

· translated: “And another thing, I think that Carthage ought to be destroyed.”

That refrain has come down to us as a lapidary which is defined as or characterized by an exactitude and extreme refinement that suggests gem cutting a three-word imperative.

“Carthago delenda est” ~ (“Carthage must be destroyed.”)

I will use the title of this commentary in the same vein; I’ll close my articles with this Latin phrase:

“Paludis exhausisse oportet” ~ (“We must drain the swamp.”)

I queried the omniscient interweb to define governing. It returned a scant 629M responses. No, I did not read all of them, but there is one consistent definition:

Governing: having authority to conduct the policy, actions, and affairs of a state, organization, or people.

Americans believe that we live in a democracy when we are a Constitutional Republic, meaning that the chief executive and representatives are elected. The rules are set down in a written constitution.

This is how it was intended to be and should be in America. Unfortunately, the contrast is what we currently have; an autocratic gerontocracy of misleadership by people more concerned with keeping their jobs than doing them.

Apparently, once someone is installed in a political office, they are rarely removed, except in singular circumstances. Although it appears to be a lifetime, the average tenure in congress is generally 8.9 years.

(Facturd = Ft)

(Ft) The champion is John Dingle (D) in the (HoR) from Michigan with 59 years and 21 days.

More to the point, why are we still dealing with representatives who consistently and persistently put self-interest above America’s welfare?

My elementary assessment is “POWER,” an irresistible, all-consuming aphrodisiac.

The simple solution is ‘term-limits,’ a compound word that sends icy shivers up the backs of the permanently ensconced DC swamp dwellers. I would have used the word spine instead of backs, but so few in congress have spines.

(Ft) I looked at the average age of Congress.

* Senate – 64.3 years old

* House – 58.4 years old

* Congress – 61.4 years old

* Oldest – 87 years old

* President – 79 years old

Age is not an issue in government; tenure is. I would rather have more senior minds than reactionary youth. I’m firmly convinced that 2 or 3 year terms are sufficient to meet your obligation.

We’ve reached the point where we need to reassess who is making decisions and why those decisions are made. Congressional representatives should be 40 and 65 years old; any younger, we risk impetuous reactionaries (like AOC) and older; we have Bungles the Clown (the Joker) as prima facia evidence. Age is NOT the primary or deciding factor. Experience and maturity are more salient criteria. And they should pass an annual Cognitive Abilities Test to be a candidate and remain in ANY office.

In my view, the current congress should replace it. There should be a national referendum to examine and replace these misrepresentatives – all of them. This congressional reset will allow the country to flush the commode that is our government and tidy up the bowl.

The rise of power in the DC Swamp began shortly after WWII. America experienced incredible prosperity and found a renewed national pride. America kicked some major axis ass and returned the world to short-lived quiescence. I strongly recommend reading President Eisenhower’s farewell address. (Link)

(Ft) The WWII expedition cost was far too high, considering the loss of 298,000 American lives and the investment of $4 Trillion. Axis losses exceeded 4.2 million. Japanese losses exceeded 1.972 million.

America’s collapse began when people decided that the government owed them something. Politicians like FR Roosevelt laid the foundation for what became our Welfare System in 1935. Politicians like LB Johnson officially introduced the program in 1964.

What followed was a series of programs de jure to lure, indenture, and entrap non-contributors to the new American order of government subsidies. Please note: most of these were wants, not needs.

Handouts do not equate to a hand-up.

Who paid the bill for these handouts?

Why, the working middle class pays for it, of course.

Politicians call them assistance and entitlements. Americans bought this bridge believing these were temporary measures to aid those in need. They failed to see that once on the dole; very few could or would escape.

The more people wanted (note: wanted – not needed), the more politicians gave them, increasing the stranglehold and cementing the dependencies on government subsidies and programs.

(Ft) Social programs cost Americans $1.2 Trillion annually. Think corporate welfare, bailouts, and social programs we support to ensure control over 19% of Americans – 59 million people receive some form of government assistance. STOWS – Including yours truly. You see, I draw social security. However, I view this differently because I have paid into Social Security all my life. But then, I’ve paid taxes all my life, too.

There is no free lunch. There is always an associated cost. Our founding fathers warned of these traps, but how would modern Americans know? The government modified the education system to circumvent American history and teach a politically adjusted, more expedient version.

So here we are, living the American dream, suckling the government teat, and wondering why everything is so expensive.

I found a couple of quotes that explain this sentiment better than I ever could.

A spurious quote from Thomas Jefferson states, “If your government is big enough to give you everything you want, it is big enough to take away everything you have.”

“The government cannot give anybody anything that the government does not first take from somebody else.” ~ Adrian Rogers

These quotations reinforce my assertion that our wants, not needs, initiated this barter with our government. Dare I suggest that we’ve sold our collective souls to the devil? We bought the bridge.

We wanted prosperity but were not prepared to wait or work for it. Politicians showed us the easy way to have what we want, but we didn’t read the fine print – we didn’t think it through.

Congress signed the document, and $30.7 Trillion later and an inflation rate of 9.1%, the government is about to spend $800 Billion more for the inflation reduction act. $800B that we don’t have to reduce inflation caused by spending money that we don’t have.

Printing money and dumping it on the economy caused this inflation problem. Now we’ll exacerbate this disaster, repeating this ludicrous process with more spending and appropriations discharging hundreds of billions of dollars into a failing economy. Here is the classic definition of insanity – Repeating the same mistake hoping for different results.

It’s like shooting yourself in the foot. You discover that it hurts, then you empty the three more 15-round clips into both feet to ensure you feel the pain but wonder why you have a problem standing up!

WTFO?

Churchill remarked, “… that for a nation to try to tax itself into prosperity is like a man standing in a bucket and trying to lift himself up by the handle.”

The tax, in this case, is what and how Americans will pay to reduce this burgeoning debt.

Remember that nothing is free. How do you suppose our government will service and satisfy this debt? The only resources with money are the citizens of this country. (Ft) In 2022 the gross federal debt amounted to around $91,595 per American. (See the graph).

(Ft) The unfunded national debt – that is, the total debt plus the entitlement promises – exceeds $163 Trillion – roughly 5.4 times the national debt or approximately $494,613 per person living in America.

“The government is like a baby’s alimentary canal, with a happy appetite at one end and no responsibility at the other.” ~ Winston Churchill

America’s budget is the catch-all; I guess you’d call it the financial compost heap where everything lands and eventually decomposes into fertilizer.

We live in a security state. The executive branch weaponized the judicial branch to control the legislative branch. What else can you call it? Bungles the Clown can do and say whatever floats into the deluded tapioca pudding of a brain.

“Clean-up in aisle 5.”

His every action is protected.

His investments are hidden.

Hunter Biden is Intactum Filium (Latin for untouchable son).

Where will this insanity end?

When will this insanity end?

The Republicans promise sweeping investigations after the midterm elections.

I have a Bridge for Sale – just saying…

Finally, if you don’t like the definition, change it. An entire division in this administration is busily rewriting and redefining common words and phrases. Orwell calls it “Newspeak.” It’s the language of the DemoSocs – the Democratic-Socialists of America’s ideological rearrangement of vocabulary to fit the current political needs.

Consider some current changes.

For example:

* Botched withdrawal from Iraquistan was – called an unprecedented success, something never done by any country – even though it abandoned an estimated 15,000 Americans and $85 Billion in high-tech weaponry for the Taliban.

* The US – Mexico border is secure and closed, yet some 3 million illegal aliens entered the US. But, the Center for Immigration Studies estimates that there are 15 million undocumented immigrants in America. Customs and Border Patrol estimates that over 297,416 crossed this month – July 2022.

* Putin’s War caused inflation; not my fault. Nothing is ever a result of this administration’s decisions, policies, or actions. It’s always someone or something else. Knowledgable sources suggest that the actual rate is above 17.8%

* It’s not a recession; it is a transitory readjustment. Our economy is growing, robust, and resilient. We’re growing stronger. The accepted definition for recessions is a period of temporary economic decline during which trade and industrial activity are reduced, generally identified by a fall in GDP in two successive quarters.

* Energy Independence means abandoning the fossil fuel industry to embrace Chinese-made solar panels and wind turbines. It involves banning local oil production in favor of imports from the Biden-family-owned oil companies in foreign countries – begging from our enemies.

* It’s all Trump’s fault.

I could continue, but I think my point is clear if the definition is unfavorable, simply change it to fit your ideological requirements.

The swamp dwellers in DC are changing America into a Third World Country.

We dance to the tunes they call.

We pay the prices they demand.

We do as we’re told for fear of our livelihoods, freedom, and lives.

Everything they say is sacrosanct.

We are serfs in the fields of the overlords of the swamp.

We’ve lost control of America; we gave them power when we bought the bridge.

The Overlords of the Swamp!

Let that sink in.

Why do we continue this insanity?

Why do we keep these miscreants in office?

It’s quid pro quo.

I’ll keep you in office if you give me what I want.

“Paludis exhausisse oportet”

August 12, 2022

~ 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; were 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!

That’s Charlie… a proud, opinionated, and passionate American.