I’m a registered Independent, not affiliated with any political party.  I have listened to the news every day since COVID 19 appeared on our radar.  At first, I was only worried about a team member that was visiting family in China. Is she in danger of contracting the disease? Would she be able to come home?  How long will she need to quarantine when she returns? This was back in February.  She returned home to the US and was able to return to work after a self-quarantine of two weeks.  She did, however, choose to voluntarily talk a leave of absence for the rest of the tax season over fears of contracting the virus here in the US. 

I continued to work throughout tax season and to the end of the extended season (July 15).  I only stopped working to take a mandatory two-month furlough required by my employer.  If it were up to me, I would continue to work, not because I need the money, but because I have worked since I was 15 years old and I feel out of sorts when I’m home every day, especially now since I can’t really get out of the house except for essential shopping and doctor appointments and stuff.  I am careful when dealing with others because I would rather not contract COVID 19.  However, I am not scared.  I know that we need to protect our Seniors and others who are immune compromised, but this is nothing new.  There are other diseases such as the ever-evolving flu virus they must be protected from.  Where the rest of us will get ill and recover, chances are, they will not. They could die.

My family has been extremely lucky to not have any loss of jobs or wages during the current “crisis”.  We received the stimulus payment but didn’t need it.  We are fine.  Other families have been hit hard and need help.  The best way we can help them is to let them get back to work.  However, this is not the point of this article.  The point of this article is, whatever political party we are affiliated with, we need to be able to trust our news agencies to tell us the truth.  We need to be able to hear and read all news from the beginning to the end.  We do not need censorship to do the right thing.  We need truth.  We need to be informed, not brainwashed.  We are, for the most part, intelligent human beings and need to be able to make our own decisions and have our own opinions. 

My advice to you, my readers, during this pandemic and this election year, is to get your news from multiple sources. When you feel there is a discrepancy in what you are being told, research, research, research.  If they don’t tell the truth, discover it for yourself.  Do not trust everything you hear from a network television reporter or a cable network reporter, just because you have been listening to that person for years.  Everyone in this political climate seems to have an agenda.  The only agenda you need to listen to is yours.  I’ll say it again.  Research, research, research.  The internet is a wonderful thing.  Search and read everything you can find on a specific subject.  Find out what stories are being censored and read them. What do they not want us to know?  Why do they not want us to know it?  What is the truth?

Once you know the truth, research all of the candidates to determine who shares the most opinions with you.  Who is most likely to do what you think they should do.  Who is most likely to work for the people of this county and not for some political agenda that you may or may not agree with.  Do the right thing. Vote for the person who is most likely to do the right thing.  Of course, the right thing, is just an opinion.  Even if it is your opinion and not my opinion, it is still the right thing.  We all have different goals and challenges in life.  Thankfully, when most of us agree, its typically good for our county.  We are happier and we thrive. 

We are told if we want change, we should vote. I vote. I sometimes wonder how much my vote really matters. Our lawmakers, at every level seem to have their own agenda. They don’t listen to us, their constituents. They do what they want, when they want for their own reasons. Following are my impressions, opinions and advice for some specific office holders at the federal level, starting with our president:

Mr. president, Donald Trump, there are many things about your personality and your behavior I do not like, including your perceived behavior with women. However, I don’t care about all that. What I care about is results. Are you working for the good of the American people? I believe yes. I believe the reason that the Democrats and some others don’t like (hate) you is because you are exposing the corruption in our government. Those who are less than honest and working for themselves rather than us, do not want to be exposed. For this reason, I will continue to respect you, support you, vote for you. Thank you for all you have done and all you are doing.

Former Vice President Joe Biden, please do not let the Democratic Party leaders use you to further their own agendas. Withdraw from the Democratic Party and the race for President. You are obviously suffering from bouts of dementia or something along those lines. You have had a long and successful career in Congress. Do not let them spoil your personal legacy by making you a puppet. Take care of yourself.

Madame Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, Please don’t let the up and coming members of the House of Representatives control your agenda. You are in charge, not them. Your constituents will vote for you only if you work for them. They do not live in New York, they are in California. Do what is best for you and the citizens that put you in office. Also, you can hate our president all you want. If you don’t respect the man, respect the office. Work with him. Do not fight everything he is trying to do. It only makes you look like an idiot. Not him.

Congressperson Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, resign your position or just don’t run again. You need to go back to college and learn about our history, our people, and maybe physics and psychology. You cannot make the country bend to your will by telling them they must or by threatening them. You need to speak with knowledge, compassion, and most important of all, you need to be right! Too many times I have heard clips of you speaking and you just don’t seem to get reality.

Senator Lindsey Graham, our president needs all the support he can get from his fellow Republicans. Stay on his side as much as possible while you stand on your own principles. Your frank opinions, good or bad, on Trumps actions are welcome. We all need to express the truth along with our support.

Senate Majority Leader, Mitch McConnell, it is evident to me that you are a strong leader with strong convictions. Our country needs more people like yourself in office. Keep up the good work, and continue to be a great resource for our President.

Representative Jerrold Nadler, you cannot impeach every president that you don’t like. First of all, it sends an awful message to the the American people. Second, the people vote for the president, congress does not. Respect the will of the people. If the president is abusing his office, by all means, impeach him. The fact that you don’t agree with his policies, is not a crime on his part. It is a sign of your unwillingness to work with a president who is not of your choosing and in effect, the abuse of your office.

Representative Adam Schiff, you were so convinced that you had the proof of impeachable transgressions by our president, that you seem to have soiled a long running reputation for doing the right thing for your constituents. As, I said to Representative Nadler, you cannot impeach a president because you don’t like him. It is not possible, nor is it an honest endeavor. Concentrate on the needs of the citizens in your district and do your job.

Congress as a whole, Senators and Republicans alike, We the people have hired you to legislate for us. You hold your positions because of us. Voting along party lines is not how the process works. When you have a vote coming up, your job is to listen to your constituents and vote the way they want you to vote. As long as you continue to refuse to work together and to keep obstructing each other from getting your work done, you are not doing the job that you were elected to do and do not deserve the money that you are being paid. If you worked for you, you would fire yourself for not doing your job. Stop this. Get to work.

Afterthoughts:

I keep hearing about the elite congresspersons. My take on this class of legislators is that these are the people that use their tenure and influence to get their way. These are the people that need to be replaced. Writing good legislation and voting responsibly with your constituents in mind, yes, what they want, not what you want, is the way this job was meant to be done. Do it right or don’t do it at all!