I’m not a big fan of national politics, convinced it’s hopelessly mired in power plays, special interests and the constant drive to re-election.
It’s hard to disappoint someone with such low expectations.
Yet, against all odds, that is exactly what has happened.
I am beyond disappointed; well past disillusioned and deep into disgust.
I’m not alone.
Americans have grown weary of the constant politicking, positioning and strategizing. The focus on winning the next election has warped whatever intelligence our elected reps had when we first sent them to Washington and removed any semblance of the quaint notion of serving their constituents.
Sure, they have aides to fix Grandma’s Social Security snafu or your neighbor’s veteran’s benefits. Important stuff, but mere window dressing compared to what should be the bread and butter of Congressional work—taking care of the business of keeping this country running.
And at that, they have failed.
Somehow, someway the whole lot of them-Democrat, Republican, Independent- have managed to stand by while we go right down to the wire of national default.
State lawmakers are making a road trip around the state this summer. Ostensibly it is to listen to their constituents on the topic of redistricting. In reality it is part of a stalling strategy on the whole subject of redistricting.
There is not much love in Tallahassee for redistricting, especially since voters tied their hands with Amendments 5 and 6 last fall.
To refresh your memory, those amendments called for district lines to be drawn along city, county and geographical boundaries, if possible. Districts should not be drawn to favor or disfavor any incumbent or political party, or to deny racial/language minorities the opportunity to participate in the political process.
The Florida Legislature so hated the idea of losing the power to gerrymander districts that they voted to put Amendment 7 on the November ballot, whose sole purpose seemed to be to muddy the waters. The Florida Supreme Court agreed and pulled Amendment 7 off the ballot.
The voters of Florida spoke loudly last November when they passed both Amendment 5 & 6 with over 62% approval.
I've been thinking about kids lately. Little kids, big kids, happy kids, my kids everybody's kids.
Summer is all about kids. And July, smack dab between June and August, is the heart of summer.
Our July started off with the 4th of July. You may think it's a national holiday devoted to independence, fireworks and hot dogs. But if you were in the parade on Fort Myers Beach, you know it's all about the kids along the parade route.
They were all set with parents and grandparents and bags to hold their loot. Many of them had their own little chairs set up, but most were way too excited to stay in them. They danced and hopped and twirled, too keyed up to be still. The older kids jostled for position, competing to catch the beads before anyone else did. Only rarely did I see an older kid step in front of a little one to snatch beads away from the younger kids. And there was an adult there to explain parade bead etiquette. "Thou shalt not steal beads from little kids.” There was plenty for everyone.
Then there were the grown up kids in the parade, having a ball dressed up in costumes, enjoying the day and camaraderie of their friends and the Island. Fun is infectious-you can pick it up from people around you and the parade was literally brimming with it.
It’s once again time to recognize some of those who make our Island a better place. Kudos are in order…
To
the FMB Community Foundation, Keep Lee County Beautiful, FMB Parks
Department and every volunteer who helped to clean our beach the morning
of July 5th after the 4th of July fireworks. And to the Town team who
cleaned up after the parade! You folks are the best!
To Patrick Glynn, Island visitor, who has been sculpting entertaining sand figures for 27 years during his annual visits.
To CERT Team members who have been training and participating in drills so they are ready in the event of a disaster.
To
Fest volunteers-the celebrations that we all enjoy take a lot of
planning. Here’s to the volunteers who labor year round to put them
together. Pirate Fest, Film Festival and Sand Sculpting event committees
are already meeting and their events are months away.
To
Islanders who took the time to attend the "Vision Our Town” workshop in
June to share their ideas on the future of Fort Myers Beach with town
staff as they prepare an Evaluation and Appraisal Review. There’s
another workshop set for July 20, so bring your ideas and participate in
what our town looks like in 20-30 years.