Monday Mood: Ranting And Calming

I have been working on this post for a few days.  Current political events are truly challenging my mood and mental health. I know I am not alone in this.  

When I was working, I was always urging others to take care of themselves, or they wouldn't be there to take care of others. If I don't take care of myself, I won't be able to help pick up the pieces, when this farce falls apart.  I won't be strong for the next opportunity to fight. I need to focus on what I can control, and trust in the system to do what it is designed to do. 

We, by that I mean sensible people, have been here before. We are still here.  If we take care of ourselves, we will be here two years from now, and four years from now.  If we let it get to us, the @$$holes win.  

Turn off the news.  I tried Visir the news from Iceland that Google easily translates, and stumbled into upsetting news.  Angus in Scotland said that he had to go to page three of the London newspapers to find news from Great Britain - so even going to world news sources will not escape the laughingstock we are a part of.  

I have to be careful with some of my favorite bloggers, I know we are all hurting and sometimes we need to hurl, as Anne Marie did in her day, but I need to limit my exposure.  Even as I spew a little below.  Please think about your mental health and mood, and click away if that is what is best for you. 

 If you are avoiding politics, click away now. 

 

I decided to write this, hoping that getting it out, might make me feel better inside.  Sometimes it helps to put into words, what is eating away at our souls.  

The idiots that Trump is naming for high government jobs are appalling. Elon Musk bought his way into the inner circle for $118,000,000 and a good share of the 40-some-billion dollars that he wasted on Twitter. He and some moron have been named to a fictitious department to examine ways to streamline government.  I guess you can pay to play in this country, or money is political speech.  

The statement from these two "geniuses" that set me off, was that we need to eliminate the unofficial fourth branch of government, the administrative branch. Ummm, I know I have a bit more education than these two and there wannabe boss, but the administrative branch is a part of the Executive Branch of Government.  You know the branch headed by the President of the United States.  

The primary duty of the Executive Branch is to implement the laws passed by Congress and signed into law by the President. Congress passes laws authorizing the executive branch, through the administrative process, to implement laws and create programs.  The law - the statutory law - does not contain the details needed to implement and regulate.  In theory the law could, but then Congress would need to have many more subject matter experts, and take a much longer, much more involved time in drafting laws, and the length of laws would grow by at least 100 to 1. Todays 50 page law, would suddenly need to be a 5000 page law, that few in Congress have the time or expertise to understand. 

The Administrative process creates regulations.  This is done through a public process of listening to input from all who are interested.  You can submit comments on proposed state or federal administrative regulations. 

When mistakes are made, the administrative process can correct them in as little as 30 days if it is urgent, or about 90 days if the need is not urgent.  The same correction in Congress would likely take years.  Let me offer an example.  There were two different regulations on funeral reserves in the Kentucky Medicaid regulations, that conflicted with one another.  I called someone in the state office and asked which rule is correct.  Her response was, "thank you, we missed that, use the rule that allows the slightly larger amount." The next time the administrative register came out there was a notice of proposed correction on that issue, and without objection it was effective 30 days later.  The same correction, in statute would have taken at least six months. 

If Congress wants to limit the authority of an administrative agency, they can change the law authorizing the agency to act. 

I was pleased to hear that a sleazeball had resigned from congress just ahead of the release of an ethics investigation, only to read the next morning that he has been named as a nominee for a cabinet position.  I read that in the news in Iceland, the reporter commented that the confirmation hearing should be interesting.  

Then Mr Brain worm, who left a dead bear in Central Park, and who fails to understand basic science, is being placed in charge of health and human services.  The inmates are taking over the asylum people. 

A fracking executive for Energy Secretary, wait until he finds out he is responsible for more than half of the world's nuclear fuels. 

Remember the OLDman bragging that he only hires the best . . . the best of what I have yet to figure out.