Jersey John
Lately, I've been receiving a tiresome number of phone calls from "my" (hell, no!) congressman, John Adler (D), NJ Third District. I'm charmed by the fact that he takes the trouble to call me, he's such an affectionate little weasel. Of course, I do slam the phone down immediately, but not before I yell, "F--- you."
Did I vote in the last congressional election? Certainly not. My walking companion and neighbor was shocked to the core when I told her I had no intention of voting. I don't believe in the two-party system and I sure as hell don't believe in John Adler. Here's what the creepy whore master has to say about our continuing slaughter of other human beings:
"John is very proud of our servicemembers who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan. Once our servicemembers have completed their missions, he believes it is time to safely bring our troops home. He appreciates the hard work and sacrifices our men and women in uniform have made to establish a foundation that we can diplomatically and politically build on to work towards peace in these unstable nations...."
Well, what is the mission John so soulfully encourages our "servicemembers" (since when is that one word?) to complete? Can anybody spell it out? What, exactly, does the completion of "the mission" look like? Any takers? Just let me know, because I've never been able to understand it. And note the incredible arrogance of assuming it's up to us to "work toward peace"--hey, maybe for starters, we could quit killing people "in these unstable nations." Gee, how come they're so unstable? Just because they have have an invading army trampling on them for years shouldn't lead to instability.
Here's another gem from John Boy's odious site: "John strongly supports continuing to fight terrorist networks in the Middle East and around the world. In a post-9/11 world, it is important that the United States has the resources and tools necessary to combat terrorism through intelligence and military operations." Omigod! Exceptionalism is alive and well in good ol' New Jersey! John is nothing if not an enthusiastic supporter of "military operations." Of course, "intelligence" and other activities are important, too--including, I'm willing to bet, a little torture there, a little rendition here; I've never noticed that John objects to either.And here's the kicker: To my knowledge, virtually all our elected "representatives" are more like Adler than not.
And you think I should vote? Don't be funny.
Labels: Congressional "Rep"
posted by Mimi @ 4:29 PM
10 comments
10 Comments:
I agree we won’t be able to vote our way out of our problems. When has it worked in the past? And that’s the key I think, having the ability to see what works and what doesn’t work. Also the ability to discard what doesn’t work, proven after infinite repetitions, so that perhaps we might have a slight chance of finding something that does work.
Hi Rob n' Mimi,
from Ian Welsh, "Of course politicians don't listen to ordinary citizens. Why Would they?"
I can't help but vote, though last time out I roundly ignored everything but the pro-taxation measure. It was the only oval I marked as a "yes." Everything else was blank. Maybe that invalidated the ballot. [shrug] But, hey, I already paid to have it sent, so WTH?
Also, I didn't know you were in NJ. That's my origin locale. I feel sort of related now.
-- ms_xeno
I liked the proposition on SMBIVA a bit ago about trying to get as many people as possible to always vote against the incumbent no matter what. If nothing else, it sounds like fun.
Rob, when you find out what works, you'll let me in on it, won't you? Jon, thanks for mentioning Ian Welsh; read the entry you referenced and think he's our kind of people. Ms Zeno, where in Jersey did you originate? Ethan, you're right--it DOES sound like fun! If only we could persuade everybody else to do it...
Mimi,
you think Adler's trolling for "support the troops" themes has to do with Ft Dix and Ft Monmouth being in Joizee?
Charles, what a cynic you are! His ideals have nothing to do with the fact that certain military facilities are in his district. (Actually, Ft. Monmouth isn't--it's in Jersey, but in Pallone's sixth distrct.) Adler also has McGuire Air Base and Lakehurst Naval Station, though, so yeah, they may have a little to do with his war mongering.
Guilty as charged, Mimi! Cynical for life!
From my time in NJ I could only remember Ft Monmouth, I had an inkling that Ft Dix was there so I used The Google to check. But I had a hard time seeing which military installations were in Adler's district. Thanks for that clarification.
How many people are employed at McGuire, Dix and Lakehurst? Enough to make Adler court their wishes as a political stance?
The only specific things I recall about the military bases in NJ: (1) Ft Dix is noted on one of the more southern exits off the NJ Tpk; (2) Ft Monmouth houses Army Prep, which I know because back in the late 80s I played a lacrosse game with Seton Hall's club, against Army Prep.
In more interesting NJ news, I saw that Gov Christie has some pie-in-the-sky idea for a massive, "modern" super-shopping-complex in the Meadowlands... Xanadu, was that the name? Can't recall the specifics, I caught it yesterday in passing.
Maybe Jimmy Hoffa's skeleton will be unearthed when they commence the digging!
Charles, I don't know exact numbers, but there are certainly thousands of civilians employed at Ft. Dix and McGuire. A few years ago, there was talk of closing Dix (I wish!) and a great uproar ensued, as you can imagine. Yes, it's in southern Jersey, but not as far south as I am.
Mimi:
...Ms Xeno, where in Jersey did you originate?...
Monmouth County. I lived in Hudson County for a year or so before heading West, too. Got called for jury duty in HC about a week after departure, which still makes me laugh.
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