All Aboard - By Jimmy Petrol

I am, at last, proud of America; President Obama! I know, I know...he's President elect Obama right now, and I am sure the current "occupant" of the White House has the door barred and the dogs out. Never mind that; he's our President! Odd, to have a man of actual intelligence be elected. The specter of a Palin white house, following on the heels of the Howdy-Doody administration, was too much. The entire world is weary of American arrogance; we are ridiculed because our leaders have been ridiculous.

So here we are, with an emperor all decked out in a new suit that everybody can see, Howdy-Doody holed up signing last minute executive orders and all the rest of us looking for work or glad we aren't yet. Obama is already at work, of course, lining up his agenda, allies and plans. If there was ever a president that had a lot to do, it's Obama. The mess is a big mess...I imagine sometimes the republicans threw the election (Palin was too unbelievable) of a purpose; give Obama four years to slog through the swamp and then take the White House back by being critical of his lackluster success. I know, I know....they aren't that crafty; Sarah Palin wasn't a stupid pick to them because they are stupid.

Even so, it is impossible to imagine that Obama will be able to put this Humpty-Dumpty nation back together again in four short years, even with the help of all the kings men (assuming the Congress can ramp up their intelligence enough to follow along). What Obama is going to need is us. What to do? We need to do what we already do, but do it better. Stronger. With feeling and a two part harmony. There is always talk of how we have to make sacrifices; not so. What we have to do is just try harder, think a little clearer and do it all a little better. And we need to shine the light into all the little dark corners and get honest about what our society is really like. The worst thing in the world isn't that the government isn't honest and effective; it's that we all have come to expect it.

When we accept and expect our government to be as silly as Sarah Palin, when we look at the fact that Bush has somehow been spared the Clinton-style special prosecutor, it is easy to see that it is our society that has allowed our county to decline. If you don't see a declining America, you must be one of the elect that works at the local missile factory; business is good there. Might have gotten a lot better if McCain had won, what?

Here's my deal; I am off national politics. Obama won. We got rid of the clowns who, with the wit-less aid of a fat and lazy Congress, were taking the nation for a ride. Now it's time to do for ourselves what we helped do for America; get rid of the rats. Let's look at our little community, our Pueblo (as those that like to add a dash of Southwest call it). There is lots of what we had in Washington right here. There are plenty of humans who prey on other humans. Let's out it. Like Obama, I need your help. I know where to look for some of it... you know where more of it is; shine your light on it so I can see it and we will out it. Let's get after Tucson, now that we are done with Washington for a while. Why stop? We're on a roll. And Obama needs us to clear away some of the deadwood, the obstructionists, the predatory. If we let any of the poison that has crept into our society stay on, we loose what we have gained. Let us examine our society from the bottom up and see what we can see.

National politics are out. Society is in. Tell me what you live.

(You can reach Jimmy Petrol at; Jpetroulisx@yahoo.com.)