A Hollywood Republican

This blog is for an open discussion on politics. My views will be to the right as will be most of the posters. But, we are willing to post alternative viewpoints as lons as they are well thought out. I started this in response to the Obama election and will continue it as long as it feeds a need.

Jul 20, 2009

Congressman Won't Read What They Pass By Chris Holmes

Ocassionally from this point forward, I may have guest commentators write material for this blog. Today, a Motion Picture Editor who is a close friend of mine would like to put his two cents in on the fact that our Congressmen are passing bills that they seem not to be reading. Chris has been editing since the 1960's and has edited films ranging from "Five Easy Pieces" to "Rocky 2." His most recent job was at Sony running their DVD Editor's Cut Series.

So, Chris, take it away.


I live on the West Coast.... okay, glamorous Hollywood. I'm beyond retirement age and have now been unemployed for 18 months. A confluence of industry strikes, a pock marked financial landscape, and an Indy film market that's all but lost has left me unemployed for what is probably the longest time in my career. Beside deciding whether it's really advisable to relocate to Michigan (the new promised land for jobs), I've now got to find a proper way to scold my Senators and Congressman for not reading - maybe at all - the bills they seem compelled to vote on even before they are in print. Such bills are usually well over 1,000 pages.

Can somebody offer a little help here? I'm just another Worker Ant looking for the proper Ant Hill to network with, and I don't have time to be watching over these so called Washington Representatives some 2,500 miles to the East, up the Potomac. How do we put a little fear into our elected Congressmen and Senators so that they will, at least, do what we had expected of them: To totally read and digest each and every bill they vote on regardless of how many pages the legislation may be. What percentage of these folks do you imagine have studied law, passed the bar, and established themselves in their chosen field before deciding to represent the public? I'm thinking more than 90%.

Can't we, at the point of origin, the local voting booths, include some employee standard that they agree to read each and every page personally, initialing it, before they actually cast a vote (in block-step, or not). Hey, most of us would do it in our mostly mundane jobs, why not them?

This shouldn't need to be done at the national level. These people walk door to door shaking our hands in our cities, towns, communities while campaigning. If we make them commit during their campaigns, they would be happy to. Maybe, it's time!

Let me ask you, if not not now, when?
© 2009 Chris Holmes and Frank T. DeMartini. Permission to copy will be freely given upon request.

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1 Comments:

Blogger Craig Covello said...

Chris:
Well spoken. I totally agree. If I spent my day at work ignoring e-mails and important documents, and then made decisions out of ignorance, I would be fired. But for some reason, politicians seem to get a free pass. Perhaps it's because our cynicism has created a safe political environment of low expectations. I say it's time we raise the bar on expected work ethic and competency in Washington.
Craig Covello
Folsom, CA

July 21, 2009 at 3:41 PM  

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