« Where to go from Wikileaks? The Peace Movement RespondsThe Burning Bush »

Tell Alan Simpson To Just Shut Up

December 3rd, 2010

by Mary Pitt

When Alan Simpson left the Senate in 1997 to retire to his ranch on a cushy Federal pension, many Americans breathed a sigh of relief that we would no longer be exposed to his thoughtless rants of disregard for "we, the people". Alas, we are again blasted with his sneering references to the poor and the old as sucking at the "cow" with 310 million "teats", ( a word to which he gives the archaic pronunciaton.) He hides behind the excuse that he is a "country boy" who is accustomed to "straight talk." Well, I'm an old country girl who is quite familiar with that same straight talk and ready to give the world the "straight skinny."

This old fool would have the American public believe that he, due to his years of Senate seniority, has more wisdom than we. This is not true! A look at his biography will demonstrate that, rather than having pulled himself up by his bootstraps, he has always been a child of privilege and that privilege has come from that same old "cow" whose "milk" he does not want to share. His father was a United States Senator before him and every opportunity that he has enjoyed in his life has resulted from his daddy's position.

Senator Simpson, the younger, was graduated from college with a law degree and admitted to the bar in 1958 with his military obligation already satisfied, due to having spent a year in the Army in service in Germany, a chore which involved no combat. Rather than working hard to establish himself as a practicing attorney, he went straight to "public service" as, first, a lowly Assistant Attorney General of Wyoming, advancing rapidly until he found his way to the U.S. Senate in 1978.

So, for virtually every day of his life, he was supported by Federal funds which enabled him to attend college at a time when others were having to earn their living the hard way. At every step of his career, he benefitted from his father's influence as a United States Senator in political appointments that were not available to the underprivileged hoi polloi for whom he has such disdain.

Now, I not only understand his reference to the "cow", I also recall the old country adage about dogs. When a new litter of puppies was born, they instinctively claim a position in the nursing order and this order was watched by the owner to see which puppy chose the teat that was most rearward on the mother. This puppy was believed to be the smartest, most healthy, and most desireable pup of the litter because he was the one who "sucked the hind teat." Obviously, Senator Simpson has been "sucking the hind teat" all his life and it is time he moved over and demonstrated a bit of concern for the rest of the litter, a trait common in the dogs who began in this position.

Those of us with intact memories will recall that Senator Simpson has, from the beginning, been at the forefront of the Republican campaign to repeal every one of the humanitarian measures that have been passed over the years to fight poverty by the maintenance of the poor. From Roosevelt through Johnson, every president has fought to take care of the disabled and the elderly and have done so despite the opposition from the Republicans in Congress. To ask this man now to head a committee charged with the task of returning the national budget to a liquid state should be recognized as an open door to the continuation of his lifelong ambition. His proposals are sufficient evidence of his selfish determination to destroy any opportunity for the non-rich to live their sunset years in peace with a measure of financial security that is still far less then he has attained from his privileged existence.

Along with many other Americans, I have not been able to understand why he was the one whom President Obama called to chair the "deficit committee" but I do believe that Obama is regretting his choice and will not turn to the same pattern the next time he has a problem. I'm sure that Senator Simpson is enjoying his return to the public spotlight but the old codger should be gently replaced in his rocking chair and his Federal pension reduced to the levels of the Social Security upon which his fellow Americans must depend.

-###-

This writer is eighty years old and has spent a half century working with handicapped and deprived people and advocating on their behalf while caring for her own working-class family. She spends her "Sunset Years" in writing and struggling with The System.

No feedback yet

Voices

Voices

  • by Tracy Turner The preceding nuclear pollution article, "Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster: 2024 Aftermath, Risks, and Insights, " examined the millennial-spanning consequences of nuclear disasters like Chornobyl and Fukushima, atomic testing, and…
  • By David Swanson, World BEYOND War I do see a problem with justifying the U.S. Civil War while recognizing the damage done by of regrettable dreams of vengeance... I wasn’t going to read The Message by Ta-Nehisi Coates because I’m doing what I can to…
  • By Kathy Kelly, World BEYOND War The Biblical Book of Job chronicles a string of catastrophes relentlessly plaguing the main character, Job, who loses his prosperity, his home, his health, and his children. Eventually, an agonized Job curses his own…
  • LifeSiteNews The president-elect praised the former Democratic congresswomen and said she'll bring a 'fearless spirit' to the intelligence community as a member of his cabinet. President-elect Donald Trump announced Wednesday that he would nominate…
  • Paul Craig Roberts There’s many a slip between cup and lip I have been speaking with MAGA Americans and, as I suspected, there is little comprehension of the vast impediments to renewal. The swamp that Trump is to drain is entrenched and…
  • PDF's for Einstein, Dr. Rosaly M. C. Lopes, Darwin, Lorenzo Langstroth, Marie Curie, Shakespeare & Many More! by Tracy Turner Shakespeare, Curie, Orwell, Hemingway, Dostoevsky, Lopes, Einstein Dr. Rosaly Lopes Director of the Planetary Science…
  • RT.com Speaking just one day after the Republican candidate's US election victory, the Russian president explained Moscow's position on a range of global issues Russian President Vladimir Putin addressed pressing global issues at Sochi's annual Valdai…
  • The Pretender's Magic is their diversity in musical range. Mystifying the sultry blues of "Blue Sun" to the punk-infused anthems like "Brass in Pocket," the band slips into these heterogeneous grooves with greased skids. Chrissie's wide-ranging influences pair with The Pretenders, evolving while retaining core elements of its personality. The eclectic portfolio will consistently deliver a "new" live surprise. Sorry, but there is no raucous Lynyrd Skynyrd "Play Free Bird" here. Everybody has a favorite, many favorites. The diversity of the songs makes every new and old fan curious to learn more about one aspect or another of the band's expression.
  • By Joe Granville When the formula is calculated, it yields a very small probability—around 1.45 × 10⁻¹⁴, or 0.00014%. This result suggests that, mathematically, Trump's victory is extremely unlikely under these assumptions. A centrist in the Tea Party,…
  • by Ellen Brown Buncombe County North Carolina – damage after Hurricane Helene floods. NCDOTcommunications, CC BY 2.0 https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0, via Wikimedia Commons Asheville, North Carolina, is known for its historic architecture,…
November 2024
Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat
 << <   > >>
          1 2
3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

  XML Feeds

powered by b2evolution free blog software
FAIR USE NOTICE: This site contains copyrighted articles and information about environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. This news and information is displayed without profit for educational purposes, in accordance with, Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107 of the US Copyright Law. Thepeoplesvoice.org is a non-advocacy internet web site, edited by non-affiliated U.S. citizens. editor
ozlu Sozler GereksizGercek Hava Durumu Firma Rehberi Hava Durumu Firma Rehberi E-okul Veli Firma Rehberi