Dear America,

"Giving money and power to government

is like giving whiskey and car keys

to teenage boys."

P.J. O'Rourke

Just a wee bit of the Irish philosophy on the eve before ye old leprechauns do their mischief.

I'm only guessing about the 'wee bit Irish', but with a name like Patrick Jake O'Rourke, I think I'd put money on it.

I love the use of humor with politics -- with a fair amount of luck and most likely alot of work, O'Rourke has made a living out of it.  America is famous for continuing to churn out the Art Buchwalds, Paul Harveys, Will Rogers, Mark Twains, Bob Hopes, just to name a few funny guys reporting on the times.

As Will Rogers once said,

"All I know is just what I read in the papers,

and that's an alibi for my ignorance." 

or how about this,

 "Be thankful we're not getting all the government we're paying for."

or,

"About all I can say for the United States Senate

 is that it opens with a prayer and closes with an investigation." 

From Art Buchwald,

"You can't make anything up anymore. 

The world itself is a satire. 

All your doing is recording it."

And isn't what is going on right now in Washington all of that, and more.

But here's the thing -- and it comes from the wisdom of Abraham Lincoln:

"the philosophy of the school room in one generation

 will be the philosophy of government in the next."

Of course, here he is being totally serious -- and how.

In spite of his lack of early education, he grew to become one of  our most beloved American Presidents, renowned for his use of humor and real life experiences to connect with people and move beyond the usual capabilities of an ordinary man, becoming the iconic symbol of freedom and liberty and justice for all.

I have been really troubled in the last few days, watching the politics as usual succumb to the provocation of money and whisky and power and mayhem.  Lord knows what Lincoln would have say to this sorry lot we have before us and running amok, in the house America built.

The house. 
Our home. 
Your house. 
My home.

I am struck by the overwhelming destruction of the Big House and our Humble Homes, tumbling down more and more each day; I believe this warrants a wee bit of advice from Carl Sandburg, "in these times you have to be an optimist to open your eyes when you awake in the morning."

It all goes together -- government hanging from the capital chandeliers, hootin' and hollerin' the days away -- our children without supervision and left home alone with the whiskey cabinet, or worse -- competing with  the wild and reckless behavior of their own parents.

What the heck are we doing?

It's as if every single one of us needs to go on restriction.

But noooo, we've got parents like Rielle and "Johnny", out there and front and center. (yes, Rielle, like you didn't know you were sitting there half dressed, having pictures taken, in order to have them plastered across the pages of GQ -- come on!)

But noooo, we've got the DIShonorable Rep. Eric Massa returning to what he has left at home -- I suppose with his tail between his legs -- but I'm guessing again, now aren't I?

But noooo, we've got a woman in Jersey, parenting two children while filming her search for the thousandth pound over the wide world web for all the world to see -- send money, cakes, baklava -- feed my obsession and my perversion, while my very own babies are afoot and dependent upon my means to make a quick buck... all the while destroying my own health, my body and anything and everyone in my wake...

Or how about the children that never really had a chance -- like the ten month old sitting in the backseat while his parents were gunned down on the streets of Ciudad Juarez, capping off the weekend's murder rate of at least sixty people in this border town, snuffing out the lives of two vibrant, loving American parents (along with a second child on the way). With gang warfare and drugs out of control, the issue is now hitting home everywhere -- especially in neighboring cities like mine, living along the 2000 mile border of California, Arizona, New Mexico and Texas.

My girl was in Vegas over the weekend for a softball tournament. She returned home without a trophy yesterday, but with wide open arms waiting for her.  We hunkered down last night eating one of our favorite meals, just picking off the meat of a rotisserie chicken with a side of mashed potatoes.

I didn't even want a nip of the Jack Daniels sitting atop the fridge, I was brimming over with happiness just to have her home, to forget the world, and batten down the hatches with my baby girl by my side.  She had no idea why I couldn't take my eyes off her -- it was all a could do to keep from crying.

Beware the Ides of March, yes, as Caesar didn't see it coming, did he; but the good news is, we do!

With a wee bit of luck and a lot of work, perhaps some well timed humor and a leprechaun or two, we may be rounding the corner; paying attention to the right things may very well be, not only in the neighborhood, but under our roof and wrapped around our arms...as it is within our school houses the next generation of government is made.

It may take everything we've got to flip priorities, restrain government shenanigans, the tom foolery and chicanery; but restoring our civil liberties -- all the while reinforcing true discipline and building up the extraordinary, instead of stooping to the lowest common denominator, above all things -- our children may still have half a chance.

Make it a Good Day, G