Jun 20 2013

Congressional Approval: 16%. But you’ll still vote for your incumbent, won’t you?

Only 16% of American approve of the way our Congress is conducting business. Isn’t that just sad?

But, do you know what’s even more sad? More than 16% of them will be re-elected to their office next year. Because, and I’m guilty of this myself, we always think that it’s someone else. Congress is broken. And to fix it, we must clean house.

American perceptions of Congress work like some parents and their behavior towards their children. “Why are kids so bad?” they will ask. But then they always say, “well, not my kid.”

Even though Americans disapprove of Congress in general, they will still vote for their local incumbent Representative. So things essentially stay the same. Only when there is a retirement, death or scandal can a long-serving politician be given the boot. And that’s not the way it should be— there should be term limits.

But there aren’t. So we have to create them ourselves, as an electorate. Let’s start now. In 2014, vote for someone new. Do not re-elect your incumbent. Unless, of course, the only other option is a complete nutjob. Then you have no choice. It is the responsibility of the challenging party to run a respectable candidate. If they can’t do that, then there is no hope.

If we are successful in electing a whole new bunch of people to Congress, change will come. Business will get done. Things will get accomplished. But these new folks can only serve for 10 years. Go ahead— re-elect them 4 times. That will give them 10 years in office. Then, no matter what, elect someone new.

My current representative does a nice job. She brings home the bacon for the district, that’s for sure. But she has been in office since 1983. I was born in 1982. I don’t think the Founding Fathers were dreaming of lifelong politicians when they were drafting the Constitution. If I’m asking others to clean house, I have to do it, as well. That’s only fair.

16% approval rating? It’s our very own fault. We are given the chance to change things every two years. Let’s do it.

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Nov 6 2012

This School Warmed My Heart… and brightened my outlook for the future.

Today, we were able to visit with the students at Corpus Christi Catholic School in Mobile, Alabama.

This school was obviously very high-performing. The student— even the kindergarten group– asked really smart, thought-out questions and were genuinely interested in our presentation and story.

More importantly, I have a real concern for the direction of this country. Regardless of who wins the election this evening, there will still be gridlock in Washington. The only thing that will break this pattern is when we the voters become as non-partisan as what we demand in Washington.

What do I mean by this? We need to start voting by issue and person— not party.

The kids today were learning about America’s Election process and actually holding a mock election between President Obama and Governor Romney. They were downright excited to cast ballots and inquire of us whether or not or how we had voted.

The whole thing was so cool to see… and it strengthened my hope that this future generation can perhaps break the partisan gridlock, if us current adults fail to do so.

Here is a video of today’s visit:

Have a good night… I’ll be glued to the television.

Thanks for visiting this blog! As you see, it is not supported by advertising. If you would like to personally support this blog and its authors, please visit Amazon to purchase our Children’s Book, Pete the Popcorn! If you don’t have a child in your life, donate a copy to your local school or library! Also, we LOVE it when people LIKE us on Facebook. To learn more about our books, please visit www.PeteThePopcorn.com

Nov 6 2012

Happy Election Day!

Ok… as we found out yesterday, I’m a politics nerd.

Later this afternoon and this evening, I’ll be in heaven.

This morning, we are heading off to NBC 15 in Mobile, Alabama for an appearance on their morning news. Later in the day, we are visiting Corpus Christi Catholic School in Mobile. The students are excited… and so are we! Honestly, their staff has been one of the most professional and friendly that we’ve communicated with on this tour.

In the afternoon, we proceed toward New Orleans, Louisiana… for a few days of fun and work. I’m really excited to be in New Orleans– never been there.

Finally, make sure you take an opportunity today to discuss the American Election process with your children. To make this easier for you, we’ve created a mock election using characters from our new Children’s Book, Casey and Callie Cupcake.

Please have a look at www.PeteThePopcorn.com Voting is free and fun!

Talk to you soon… and happy voting— both for Presidents and Cupcakes.