Ok, the government really pisses me off.

So, I just read an article from (of all places) Rolling Stone about what it's like to be in congress. Holy crap did that piss me off. And everyone shrugs a collective shrug. Why? If you say "the government isn't full of corruption and pandering" everyone shrugs and says "haha... yeah." And no one does anything. I've done nothing too. I'm tired of it. I want to do something. I'm still formulating ideas. But goddamnit, I want to do something.

Here is the article.

And Here are some choice parts and my thoughts on them...
	To most everyone outside those nine majority members, what transpires in the [Rules] committee the night before a floor vote is a mystery [...] . Even the Democrats who sit on the committee have only a vague awareness of what goes on. "They can completely rewrite bills," says McGovern [D, MA]. "Then they take it to the floor an hour later. Nobody knows what's in those bills." [...] The Rules Committee is supposed to wait out a three-day period before sending the bill to the House, ostensibly in order to give the members a chance to read the bill. The three-day period is only supposed to be waived in case of emergency. However, the Rules Committee of DeLay [R, TX] and Dreier [R, CA] waives the three-day period as a matter of routine. This forces members of Congress to essentially cast blind yes-or-no votes to bills whose contents are likely to be an absolute mystery to them.
This needs to be changed. Abuses of power can't be tolerated, because they lead to ever more egregious abuses. The more we let slide, to use the presidents language, the more we embolden our corrupt government.
	All of Washington seems to be in on the lobbyist leprechaun game. [...] Corporations had managed to convince the local sports teams, the Wizards and the Capitals, to create special courtside and/or rinkside tickets. The tickets would not be available to the general public but would have an official list price of $49.50 and could be purchased by corporate customers. Why the low list price? Because congressional rules prohibit gifts to congressmen with a cost above fifty dollars.
This is one of the most pathetic attempts at covering up a bribe I have ever heard of. It's like the fucking eruv of political bribery. Hmmm... no gifts of value. I know! We'll pretend that these courtside tickets are only worth $50, even though the rows behind them sell for upwards of $200! Frankly, what pisses me off about this is that they didn't even put any effort into it. It's an out and out bribe.
	After a month of watching him and other members, I get the strong impression that even the idealists in Congress have learned to accept the body on its own terms. Congress isn't the steady assembly line of consensus policy ideas it's sold as, but a kind of permanent emergency in which a majority of members work day and night to burgle the national treasure and burn the Constitution. A largely castrated minority tries, Alamo-style, to slow them down -- but in the end spends most of its time beating calculated retreats and making loose plans to fight another day.
It doesn't have to be this way. The government exists to serve us, not the other way around. I for one am tired of shrugging my shoulders and bowing my head in disgust.