We need to send some senators to Guantanamo. They are far more dangerous to our country than any of the people already in residence there.

I’m certain you have at least heard the name of Christopher Bond, Senator from Missouri. You, however, may be forgiven for not recognizing Martha Johnson’s name.

Miss Martha was the President’s nominee to head up the General Services Administration. It’s difficult to think of a political appointment to a less political position. The GSA is primarily the nation’s landlord and maintenance arm. They do the grunt work so that government employees have a roof over their heads.

What connection is there between these two?

Little Chris (Kit) was pissed about something to do with a new Federal building in Kansas City. So, he did what any grammar school kid would do. He took “his” ball and refused to let the others play. He put a hold on her nomination.

Believe it or not, the Democrats finally showed some backbone and forced a vote. What was the outcome of this controversial nomination? She was confirmed: 96-0.

Senators are so impressed with themselves that they refer to the Senate as the world’s most exclusive club. Sometimes they call it the world’s most exclusive debating club. One problem – they no longer debate. They just pose for the cameras and talk past each other.

Given how impressed they are with themselves, they feel they deserve special privileges. So, they give themselves a bunch of special considerations. My problem with that, beyond the attitude that engenders it, is that essentially all of these privileges are anti-democratic. Somehow that doesn’t seem meet in, arguably, the world’s most successful democracy.

The privilege pertinent to the above embarrassment is the rule that permits any Senator to put a hold on any nominee or bill, for any reason, or for no reason. Any single Senator can put the whole country on hold, at his pleasure. It this any way to run an airline?

Now, another Senator has taken the next illogical step. He has put a hold on all nominations. Who is this terrorist? He goes by the American-sounding name of Richard Shelby. Unsurprisingly, he comes out of Alabama, our leading state – at least alphabetically.

Surely there is a serious national danger that calls for such a drastic measure. What could it be?

Old Dick wants a government contract to go to a defense contractor who would do assembly work on a new tanker back home in Alabama. I’m convinced that he merely wants government-funded jobs for his constituents. It has nothing to do with his being on the contractor’s payroll.

Actually, the Dick has another reason, as well. He wants the FBI to build an explosives testing facility in Alabama. We mustn’t locate such a facility too conveniently to the FBI’s primary offices in Virginia. That would only help one part of the government function more efficiently. That would violate one of his “conservative” tenants.

The Dick is famous for how tentative his tenants can be. He once pontificated, “Far too many of the president’s nominees were never afforded an up or down vote because several Democrats chose to block the process for political gain.” That, of course, was when Bush had a majority of Republicans in the Senate.

Another rule has become a “privilege.” That is the rule requiring a super majority. When the Democrats had 60 votes, that meant any Democratic Senator could stand in the way until he/she got what they wanted. That worked out so well we ended up with a joke called a healthcare reform bill. It was more like a ménages à cent.

Now, with the Republicans having 41 votes, one of that group can either stop the majority or broker a deal to get what they want. What about what the people want? Silly question.

How do they justify these privileges? They sometimes resort to calling them a part of the system of checks and balances. Pure BS.

The Constitution provides for several checks and balances. There are what are considered to be the main ones: between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches. We also have another between the two branches of Congress. The primary one was to be between the people, on the one hand, and Congress and the White House on the other. That one has been effectively eliminated by the Senate.

There are several ways to eliminate these anti-democratic privileges. The Vice President could, at the beginning of the next session, declare them eliminated. It seems he is not so inclined. The Senate Majority Leader could also lead. Not much chance of that.

The Constitution begins, “We the People.” Forget the Constitution. The Rules of the Senate take precedence. The people have been beaten into complete submission. Do you really think the people are prepared to take time away from their 50″ flat screens and video games to regain the power promised by the Constitution? Sure, there are the teabaggers but they are a thankfully small group of yoyos that are too easily led by faux populists such as Dick Armey and the corporate interests he represents. They are ready and willing to blindly follow con men to support policies that are against their real self-interests.

It doesn’t make much sense to depend on such as the corporately mislead teabaggers to help rid us of the corporate-owned legislators. What is the solution? Realistically, there seems not to be one. They say knowledge is power. How I wish that were true.

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So, you want to get rich. Surprise, surprise. The question is how do you get there.

How much are you willing to gamble on your retirement? Everything? Half of everything? How lucky do you feel putting your children’s college funds at risk? Come on now. Be honest.

How do you get rich? How do you get to retire in a manner to which you want to become accustomed? How can you afford to send all of your kids to Harvard? The government has the answer. Gamble.

Those on Wall Street and others prefer the word invest. Sometimes you hear someone called a speculator. Let’s call a turd a turd. It’s gambling. The stock market has nothing to do with the real world. When Amazon was about 4 years old its market capitalization (cost of a share times the number of shares) was 7 times that of Sears and Roebuck. At the time Amazon had never had a profit. None of their financial projections showed any expectation of profit in the foreseeable future.

Amazon was viable enough to survive the bursting of the dot.com bubble but presently isn’t flying quite as high. Speaking of Sears, remember that Kmart comes out of bankruptcy and almost immediately purchases Sears. Let me know if any of that makes enough sense to warrant throwing your money at it.

What drives prices up in the stock market? There are a few things. Chief among these factors is speculation, gambling. Another factor is too much money chasing a limited number of shares.

The government wants you to gamble away your savings. That’s why they give gambling tax breaks that actually working for a living doesn’t qualify for. The lobbyists want more money in the market to push the prices ever upward.

What ever they call it, playing the stock market is gambling. Is the possibility of getting rich worth it? Even putting your money into mutual funds may find your money being put into a ponzi scheme. Recent events should be an object lesson: the professionals, the Masters of the Universe only pretend to know what they are doing. Can you make better guesses? Maybe. Maybe not.

Let me offer an alternative. It will not put you in a position to challenge Warren Buffet. It will, however, provide a great deal of security for your old age. Invest in the United States. Buy Treasury bonds. The only safer bet is to die early.

If the government would eliminate the tax breaks for gambling it could make Treasury bonds tax free. Municipal bonds are tax-free. Why not Treasuries? You don’t even need to pay a broker’s fee.

This could reduce, possibly eliminate, the need for the government to go hat in hand to the Saudis and Chinese. The interest payments would stay in the country. That would help a little on our balance of payments. It would reduce the possibility that foreign governments could use our debt to pressure our government.

To be corny, it would be patriotic to invest in our country. It’s certainly more patriotic than Bush’s suggestion of going shopping. It’s even more patriotic than a bumper sticker.

Nothing would keep you out of gambling in the market – except prudence. Put enough in Treasuries to ensure your retirement, your kids’ education, whatever. If you have money left over, money that you can afford to lose, have at it. Bet against the house. Play the market. You might hit the jackpot. You might hit the lottery. The odds aren’t that different.

If you are intent on gambling some or all of your money, wise, careful direct investment in a local business, your own or someone else’s, might prove more prudent. It might also create a job or two. Buying stock from another speculator doesn’t do that much to increase employment. Keep your investment close, where you can keep an eye on it. It does require some effort, some work. Oh, I said it. I said the terrible word that gamblers are so averse to.

The United States became the economic engine of the world way back when work was not a dirty word. Now it is. Look at the front page to see the difference.

It’s nice to dream about being rich but, regardless of your broker’s promises, not everyone can be rich. Live with it.

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