Things were simpler "long ago”. I pretty much had everything figured out, the world turned my way in a predictable, orderly direction. There were definite things you could rely on as truth:

There WAS a Santa Claus. Leprechauns would share their pot of gold. I would like my job and it would always be there for me. The check really was in the mail. Of course the Great leaders in far off Washington DC were wise and would always do what was best for me and our country

But my idealistic world received blow after blow. The Leprechauns conned me. There is no Santa! Superman died! I found I sometimes needed to go directly to the source and grab the guy by the collar to get that check. At 18 Washington wanted to send me to far off lands, meet exotic people and kill them before they killed me. Then I swore I heard George Bush the 1st say "no new taxes", when he really said “no nude Texans.”

Out of all of these life disappointments came some wisdom..... I learned some valuable lessons about the politics of our country and the politicians who inhabit our halls of leadership.

The main important lesson was to judge a politician by what he did, not what he promised in a flowery speech.

I'm hearing lots of flowery speeches lately about how they're going to balance the budget. Most of these speeches are tailored at whatever group the politician is standing in front of at the time. The slickest of them can change from an east coast accent to a southern drawl in a heartbeat. The best can daub a tear from their eye on command. Occasionally you'll get one who can make members in the crowd faint.

The ageless adage of "Figures lie and liars figure" comes to mind, when elections start to loom over the horizon and the pols jockey for position. We will get the opportunity to compare the rhetoric of what was promised to what was actually delivered. There is a track record now and a history of those that are in elected office. Lets look at actions rather than listen to the words before we vote for change and hope....Or not.