{"id":354,"date":"2013-02-02T10:02:01","date_gmt":"2013-02-02T15:02:01","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.townehouse.net\/phoenix\/?p=354"},"modified":"2013-02-02T10:02:01","modified_gmt":"2013-02-02T15:02:01","slug":"the-more-things-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=354","title":{"rendered":"The More Things Change. . . . ."},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/politics.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" data-attachment-id=\"355\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?attachment_id=355\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/politics.jpg?fit=400%2C409&amp;ssl=1\" data-orig-size=\"400,409\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"politics\" data-image-description=\"\" data-image-caption=\"\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/politics.jpg?fit=400%2C409&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"alignleft size-thumbnail wp-image-355\" style=\"margin-left: 10px; margin-right: 10px;\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/10\/politics-150x150.jpg?resize=150%2C150\" alt=\"politics\" width=\"150\" height=\"150\" \/><\/a>Recently my wife and I decided to watch a few episodes of an old TV series called The West Wing, via the magic of Netflix. The West Wing was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999 to May 14, 2006. The show chronicled the\u00a0adventures\u00a0of a Democrat president named Jeb Bartlett, and the misadventures of his staff members. We were intrigued by the show and found ourselves watching the entire series, start to finish. It was very entertaining and very informative. It gave me a new perspective on government and how our elected officials govern. And we should be afraid.<\/p>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<p>What struck me most while viewing the series is how much things have not changed in the years from 1996 until now. Some of the topics they wrestled with are exactly the same as what we are concerned with today. This, of course, means that nothing has been accomplished in government in a long time. Do any of these topics look familiar?<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Immigration Reform<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Gun Control<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Education<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: small;\">Social\u00a0<\/span>Security<span style=\"font-size: small;\">\u00a0Reform<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Middle East Crisis<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Iran and North Korea Acquiring Nuclear Weapons<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Tax increases for the top earners<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">Tax cuts for the middle class<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-size: 13px;\">School Vouchers<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>The list could go on and on, but I will stop here. What this tells me is if these were problems in 1999 and they are problems today, our elected officials have made no progress in solving these problems. The main reason for this back then and now was the inability of either party to reach across the aisle and work cooperatively to solve our nations problems. If the TV series was mostly composed of fact it\u00a0demonstrated\u00a0why this is so.<\/p>\n<p>In the series the art of political intrigue was rampant. Backroom deals were constantly being struck to accomplish the goals of one faction or another. A simple bill of a few pages became so weighed down with riders and pork that by the time it was ready for the vote it was unrecognizable. Right hates left, liberal hates conservative, democrat hates republican and none want to\u00a0concede\u00a0anything to the other side. Not because it might be a good idea, simply because it is not politically expedient to concede anything to the other side. And that is just plain stupid.<\/p>\n<p>Those who know me know I lean to the right. But I know exactly what Obama did to get elected. He promised change. And the American public has fallen\u00a0for it. \u00a0. \u00a0.again. We continue to believe, or hope, or wish, that the promises of the politicians will be fulfilled. But as Einstein said, &#8220;insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results&#8221;. Obviously we, the American Public, are collectively insane. When you think about it, government has accomplished very little since the Reagan years. It has got to change (there&#8217;s that word again).<\/p>\n<p>Sorry, I don&#8217;t have the answers. I only know there is a problem. If I had the\u00a0answers\u00a0I would run for office, and not as a republican and not as a democrat. Who can trust them? I don&#8217;t have the answers but I truly hope somebody does. And when they come forth with the answers we listen and believe. Otherwise, I feel we are doomed.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Those are my thoughts, what are yours?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Recently my wife and I decided to watch a few episodes of an old TV series called The West Wing, via the magic of Netflix. The West Wing was originally broadcast on NBC from September [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12911,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_daextrevo_audio_file_creation_date":"","_daextrevo_text_to_speech":"","_daextrevo_document_type":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[22,23],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-354","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-political","category-rants"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/THFI.png?fit=214%2C200&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":926,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=926","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":0},"title":"City Manager Selection","author":"Tom Lind","date":"August 2, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"As you may recall, last December almost immediately after being elected, Mayor John Cranley nominated Park Board Director Willie Carden for the position of City Manager to replace outgoing City Manager Milton Dohoney. Very soon after that, and prior to his confirmation by the council it came to light that\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"Harry_Black","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/08\/Harry_Black1-e1406977662608-125x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":410,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=410","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":1},"title":"Unique Cincinnati","author":"Tom Lind","date":"April 6, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I have been a life long resident of either the City of Cincinnati or the Greater Cincinnati Area. Cincinnati is my home and that will never change. I am proud to call my self a Cincinnatian. Cincinnati has a lot of things that make it unique. Cincinnati style chili, first\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"4-way","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/04\/4-way-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":14475,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=14475","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":2},"title":"Make It So!","author":"Tom Lind","date":"March 17, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"I\u2019ve been a science fiction enthusiast since my teenage years. I believe I\u2019ve read every Robert A. Heinlein and Isaac Asimov science fiction novel available at the public library. To this day, I occasionally reminisce and indulge in reading one or more of my favorites from that genre. And yes,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nostalgia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nostalgia","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/03\/TH031724.jpeg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12832,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=12832","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":3},"title":"Black and White World","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 6, 2019","format":false,"excerpt":"\u00a0 Some years ago my youngest son asked me if the whole world was in black and white when I was a child.\u00a0 I suspect he arrived at this conclusion from looking at old black and white photographs.\u00a0 It was a logical assumption based on the information he had at\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Commentary&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Commentary","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=13"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/12\/images.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":522,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=522","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":4},"title":"Growing up in Mt. Washington","author":"Tom Lind","date":"July 27, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"When I was a young boy my family moved from South Fairmont to Camp Washington to Mt Washington, where I lived from age seven until I enlisted in the Navy 10 Years later. It seemed like much longer. \u00a0Mt Washington in the fifties was a much different place than it\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Nostalgia&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Nostalgia","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=20"},"img":{"alt_text":"Welcome to Mt. Washington","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/Mount-Washington-Welcome-Sign-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":123,"url":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?p=123","url_meta":{"origin":354,"position":5},"title":"The Magical Mysterious Land of Carpet (Part One)","author":"Tom Lind","date":"December 31, 2010","format":false,"excerpt":"Once upon a time, just west of Hamlet, there was a small hamlet know as the Land of Carpet. The Land of Carpet was a quiet, friendly place to live where everyone got a long and worked together for a peaceful, happy community. All was good until one day, about\u2026","rel":"","context":"In &quot;Rants&quot;","block_context":{"text":"Rants","link":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/?cat=23"},"img":{"alt_text":"download","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/townehouse.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/05\/download2-150x150.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p38YRh-5I","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=354"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/354\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12911"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=354"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=354"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/townehouse.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=354"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}