Fair warning: I'm going to attempt to wade (ha!) into the discussion of politics.

There's been a few news items in the past few days which captured my attention.

Among naked senators poking each other in the gym, I noticed mention of a “tax” on things such as pizza and soda.

“Experts” say an 18 PERCENT (Yes, I meant to use all caps) tax on pizza and soda would cut down on “consumption” (No kiddin'), and help Americans lose up to five pounds a year.

(BTW-Ever been in a newsroom? It's all computers, the constant crackling of a police scanner, odd smells, pizza and soda.)

OK, well, trying to get people to be healthier is all well and good and such, but I think this is certainly an indication our government is totally out-of-control to even consider such a thing.

Not possible, you say?

California (Who would'a guessed?) and Philadelphia have already introduced “consumption” legislation.

In other words, IT COULD HAPPEN.

The first thing that crossed my mind (OK, the first thing that really crossed my mind was, “I like pizza!”) when I heard about this was how UNamerican this is.

Wasn't our country founded on the basis of “taxation without representation”?

It seems ridiculous our government can control what we eat or drink.

The whole concept of “personal choice” seems to be rapidly flying out the window.

I mean, really, is it not obvious the majority or people in American do NOT want health care reform?

How many ways and how many times must we say it?

But no, they keep trying.

I used to think I was a fairly well-studied person, but I never heard of such things as “reconciliation” until the debate over health care reform.

Do you ever get the feeling they're making things up as they go along?

Most of us feel helpless to the fact they are going to get reform passed someway, somehow.

One just can't help but wonder why they insist on it-especially since it's a form of “political suicide.”

But there again, so what if a congressman (Yes, I meant to NOT capitalize “congressman”) loses his seat?

There'll be no more perks (like getting poked by a naked colleague in the congressional gym), but a generous, severance package which pretty much assures you'll never have to work again.

If you wonder about the mindset of our “leaders” is,  how about what Democrat Harry Reid said on the Senate Floor last week.

"Today is a big day in America,” he said. “Only 36,000 people lost their jobs today, which is really good.”

Let that sink in for a minute...

I can only venture to guess this bozo (Consider it a compliment) was trying to say things aren't as bad as they seem, but for those of us living in the “real world,” they are.

If nothing else, it shows how detached and insensitive our government officials are.

Not convinced yet?

How's that $2.75 a gallon gas working for you?

(You can bet it will hit $3 a gallon before long.)

Yes, yes, some of you will say, “The government has nothing to do with gas prices.”

Well, they could take off some the gas TAX couldn't they?

Taxes are a major portion of the price of a gallon of gas.

But oh, no, if they took off some of the gas tax, there would be no money to fund all of those “pork” projects.

See, that's about the ONLY sure type of income is gasoline tax, because it's paid right there when you purchase it.

Income taxes aren't bringing as much in because (Wait for it...) less and less people are working!It's that's roughly 10 percent national unemployment rate, you know.

Hey, here's a idea...

How about if the government works to CREATE some jobs?

Yes? No? Maybe?

Anybody thought of that yet?

For you see, it's really simple.

If the government wants us to rely and depend on them, then they have to DO SOMETHING for us to rely on and depend on them for!

It's not unpatriotic to be realistic.

Something is amiss.

At one time, there could be two, dominant, political parties which co-existed.

But now, things are partisan to the point of patheticism.

There's an old saying, “If it ain't broke, don't fix it.”

It's broke. It needs fixin'.