The more seasons they survive, the better their chances of becoming senior partners. And, obviously, senior partners can pick and choose those crops that return the most benefits to themselves. Our government operates much like the corporate world. Senior partners and executives are quite proficient at looking out for themselves at the expense of the stock holders (public).

Incumbency is quite dependent upon partisan loyalty, the ability to toot your own horn (send out lots of fliers at taxpayer expense), and guarding your personal life from public exposure. Luckily for us, old codgers (I'm not politically correct, call us what we are) and the rest of you find some of our politicians are no smarter than petty crooks.

They get careless or steal their passions from the wrong place. The voting public is no different than any spurned lovers. The public finally is forced to accept the truth and separate themselves from the philanderer. Sometimes it takes several infractions, apologies, and promises to maintain fidelity before final separation is sought.

Sex scandals don't cover all the philandering. Gerrymandering in redistricting, payoffs from lobbyists, trade offs that insure pork barrel projects, and personal endorsements from secure peers in the business are all part of the game.

Our nation has survived over two hundred years of the above described political dance. And, we can survive another two hundred years, or more, if too many of us don't join the old codgers and leave the dance floor.

There are some things our nation can't survive: We can't survive the Administrative Branch's pursuit of independence to make unilateral decisions that challenge the 'separation of powers'. We can't survive the Judicial Branch's attempt to write legislation instead of judging constitutional protection and legality of legislation that has already passed and been challenged. We can't survive the Legislative Branch's refusal to challenge the other Branches of government, when they usurp the authority of congress. We can't survive the complacency and passivity of the voting public, that declares, "What's the use? They are all crooks and we will lose; or, whoever got elected satisfies my passion (what ever that is) and nothing else matters."

Our survival as a nation is at stake!

Don't give up! We need change! What are those needed changes?

We need to change the course of the river. Don't let race, gender, partisan labels, social labels, or any other single issues be your sole deciding factor in how you vote. Study the candidates' positions on all the things that affect your daily lives. Don't let religious activists, environmentalists, or any other kind of activists convince you that their issues are all you need to consider.

Democracy demands give and take, compromise, and personal responsibility. Sometimes we have to choose between the lessor of evils and sometimes we need to tally up the score and hope we choose the course that offers the most positives. We will never find the candidate or political course that is perfect.

Some of us remember the World War 2 poster that had Uncle Sam pointing his finger and saying, "Uncle Sam Needs You". That poster didn't only mean he needed military people, it meant he needed everyone to join the effort to preserve our nation and our freedom. We responded! We did without nylons, we survived a 35 MPH speed limit, we produced tons of lard, we planted victory gardens, we survived rationing of nearly all the staples, either by doing without or trading stamps with neighbors. We sent brothers and fathers, mostly, but a few women went too, and our sisters and mothers tended the farms, drove the trucks, pounded rivets, and whatever else society needed here at home.

We don't face the threat of Hitler's Nazism or Japan's Imperialism, today, nor do we face the USSR's threat to bury us. Nor do we even face the threat of some two bit dictator in the mideast with little if any real capability to strike us militarily.

Our most threatening things are: complacency, fear, greed, narcissism, lack of spiritual faith of any kind, and attitude (just don't give a damn).