Armchair Ponderings Habemus a Budget; Almost

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To those who have read Dan Brown’s “The Da Vinci Code” ( I believe it was in that book) you may remember a point where the College of Cardinals elected a new Pope and the announcement was made from the central balcony of St. Peter’s Basilica “Habemus papam;” we have a pope. We now have a state budget; well almost!

This long and hard series of give and take has gone on since April and could have been resolved during the regular session had it not been for a battle of egos. There is still a certain amount of touch up to be done but overall the Governor got his way. Last night there was talk on the house floor to take back the ability to legislate from the Governor but that really did not happen.

I attempted to listen to the entire House Bill #71 the reading of which was per the request of Representative George Flaggs, D-Vicksburg. It seem that he was disappointed that his amendment failed in the house and it appeared that this was his way to punish the miscreants, but I gave up after one hour of monotone. There was a bit of drama as representative Flaggs chastised the Governor by stating that he couldn’t hear the reading due to too much noise in the corner as the Governor was consulting with representatives in the corner of the House chamber. I would venture a guess that it will be quite awhile before Representative Flaggs’ district receives any help from the Governor. Who knows?

Let’s go back to a topic of even greater importance to the country, taking a few words from my last year’s Armchair Ponderings.

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another ….” Remember the Declaration of Independence? It might be worth reading again, it had been awhile for me! Saturday our country celebrates 233 years of independence.

Tuesday of next week the newly elected officials of Magnolia will be sworn in as our city’s leaders for the next four years. Both events are significant but let’s put them in the proper perspective.

Independence, as I understand it without going to Webster, means to be self sustaining. That was the hallmark of Americans for decades; but something happened after the Korean conflict that began to change that true desire for independence. Now, investors are so hungry for obscene profits that we are trading independence for instant gratification, whether material or financial. We are outsourcing an inordinate amount of manufacturing to keep from paying American workers the wages that they would normally make. We are hocking some off our national landmarks to foreign investors. The Empire State Building went to a Japanese billionaire in 1991, he brought Donald Trump in later to mitigate the purchase, and fortunately a group is attempting to bring the ownership back to the US. The Sears Tower has been refinanced by a Swiss Bank, UBS A.G. and of all things a Belgian brewer bought Anheuser-Busch. There are dozens more! All for operating cash! It all started when we gave away the Panama Canal. I know it’s a stretch! Now Ford is the only one of the big three automotive manufacturer that can hold its head high still with imminent fear of joining its competitors in bankruptcy proceedings. The Italian Fiat has bought Chrysler, and General Motors is now in limbo as only a fraction of its once great empire.

What is next, to be hocked? The Statue of Liberty, perhaps Mt. Rushmore, how about the Golden Gate Bridge? While selling our souls we have become dependent on countries that are philosophically opposed to our values and beliefs in order to satisfy an insatiable need for bigger, fancier material “things.” How many television sets does one need? How many cars? Does the guy with the most toys at the end really win?

We were given this Earth and even more closely this continent and country, not to destroy, but to nurture for future generations, we have to be good stewards! Can we pass that test? Sure I want fuel as much as the next truck owner, but for the long term we have to look at a multi-pronged but balanced advance on energy sources, oil, clean coal, nuclear power, water, wind and sun.

The 4th of July is a time for fun, but it is also a time for reflection. Where would we be without the thousands of GI’s who fought and gave their lives for us to enjoy this weekend Bar-B-Q?

This week the cities of Iraq are attempting do be self-sustaining in their defense after the scheduled pull out of American troops. We will have to see what happens over the next few weeks.

This potpourri of thoughts might confuse you, as it has me, but all appear to be important in their own context.

Please celebrate the Fourth of July safely and thank your friends who have sons and daughters away from home keeping the peace somewhere.