A Couple Of Reasons Why Americans Hate Politics AND Politicians

As if you did not realize it, the American political class really sucks these days.
There are numerous reasons why.
One is that the very people we elect to office at the multiple levels are becoming far removed from the people that they are supposed to serve.
There are two cases here of the political class suckage that is, at a level, just draining the ability of the average American voter to even care what happens in their cities, counties, states and the federal government.
Case number one is this special kind of stupid in the person of New York state assemblyman William Boyland, Jr.
Mr. Boyland was convicted last week of openly soliciting bribes for political favors. There were 21 counts and he was found guilty on all of them. Why he is so stupid, the judge would not even wait to sentence him. Federal judge Sandra Townes remanded him immediately as he was texting witnesses and lying about his whereabouts.
Nice.
The jurors on this case heard some of the most immortal words spoken by a politician regarding his $79,500 annual salary. Here they are:

“How the hell are you gonna live off of that?”

Good Lord in heaven!
How can he say that with a straight face?
Maybe he should not have made his comment in a well-known Manhattan steakhouse. Keen's Steakhouse to be exact. Now I link the menu because you should take a peek at the prices. Maybe he could live on $79,500 if he wasn't eating at such a place on the taxpayer's dime. I'm not saying he should be dining at McDonald's, but for crying out loud, is there nothing in between? And he does represent a Brooklyn district. Maybe, just maybe he could find decent dinning in his actual district.
But, Mr. Boyland explains that his paltry salary barely pays for his son's tuition and gas. Again, in the fateful words of our special kind of stupid:

“What the hell. That’s maybe my son’s tuition and maybe I pay for some gas, you know?

So, again, how can he eat even lunch at Keen's Steakhouse?
Tsk, tsk, tsk.
Let's see, according to Empire Center, a New York state assembly member makes that $79,500 annual salary and a $171 per day per diem when the assembly is in session and $61 for a half day. And New York state is a full-time legislature. Most states have part-time legislatures. But not New York.
I will concede that the cost of living is higher in the Metro New York City area. But really, Mr. Boyland can't live on that?
Hmm, let's see if one breaks down Mr. Boyland's salary to an hourly rate, he would be making $41.41c an hour in an eight-hour day.
Maybe if Mr. Boyland did a little something called financial planning, he could afford his son's tuition. The article does not indicate if the son is in college or secondary school.
Needless to say, Mr. Boyland is a Democrat. When it comes to these kind of corruption cases, it usually involves a Democrat. For some reason, big-city Dems have the market on corruption. Not to say that the long arm of corruption does not extend to Republicans. It sure does. One of the most infamous cases involves former congressman Randy "Duke" Cunningham (R-Cal.). To me, he was the GOP version of this Boyland dude. Creepy from the get-go. And Mr. Boyland is not a rookie to all of this. His father and uncle served in the state assembly and a sister is on the New York City city council.
The disease known as greed is why some people get involved in politics in the first place. With all the anti-corruption laws in place throughout the United States, somehow there are a boat load of pols that seek ways to get around them and become a William Boyland, Jr.
The second case of annoying and or corrupt politicians leads to one of my favs, Sen. John "F--- You" McCain and his stirring defense of the GOP trifecta of losing presidential candidates. That trifecta is former Sen. Bob Dole (R-Kan.), Sen. "F--- You" McCain himself and the 2012 loser, former Massachusetts governor, Mitt Romeny.
Last week at the annual Conservative Political Action Committee annual conference, Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tx.) was explaining that he thought three out of the last four Republican presidential candidates did not do such a great job in their runs for the White House. In Sen. Cruz' comments, he said that they were not really conservative enough and seemed too squishy for his taste.
So, Sen. "F--- You" McCain did not like that Sen. Cruz mentioned his friend, former Sen. Dole. Fine, whatever. But here is where Sen. "F--- You" McCain saved his venom, as he often does, for fellow Republicans. Here ya go:

I wonder if he thinks that Bob Dole stood for principle on that hilltop in Italy when he was so gravely wounded and left part of his body there fighting for our country?

Now as Allahpundit over at Hotair.com notes, Sen. Cruz said that all three were good and decent men. And they are. And especially former Sen. Dole.
But the cheap shot from Sen. "F--- You" McCain is to indicate that one cannot criticize anyone who served their nation in war time. Before I continue, here is Sen. Cruz entire speech to CPAC:

I would say to watch for yourself and see if Sen. Cruz is somehow criticizing former Sen. Dole for his service to our nation. He is not. And Allahpundit is spot on about how, especially in the cases of both former Sen. Dole and Sen "F--- You" McCain, they totally ran their campaigns on their biography which included their war service. When it came to articulating the differences they had with their respected Democrat opponents, they did have a hard time. No question that their handlers, as well as Mr. Romney's, were going to not get into the weeds about the differences in ideology. That is a fact.
And what Sen. Cruz was saying is without a contrast, voters were going to vote for the incumbent or the other guy. Again a fact.
I think that Sen. Cruz needs to really turn his attention from fellow Republicans to Democrats especially with the mid-term elections coming in November.
But this is standard fare for Sen. "F--- You" McCain.
Wonder why he is known here as Sen. "F--- You" McCain?
I have explained before, but new readers probably do not know.
During the heat of the 2007 debate over so-called "comprehensive" immigration reform, Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tx) objected to Sen. McCain trying to ram the bill through. The dialogue went like this:

"Wait a second here. I've been sitting in here for all of these negotiations and you just parachute in here on the last day. You're out of line," to which McCain replied, "Fuck you! I know more about this than anyone else in the room."

Charming.
The problem that Sen. Cruz does not want to have hanging on him is that he saves his venom for fellow Republicans. That is what has happened over the years with Sen. "F--- You" McCain.
Why do I loathe Sen. "F--- You" McCain, even though I voted for the 2008 GOP presidential candidate?
Because he has been a congressman and senator since 1986. He will have spent 30 years in Washington by the time his current senate term ends in 2016. He is a creature of Washington. He speaks Washingtonese.He himself almost became embroiled in the Keating Five scandal of the late 1980s.  He was lucky that he came out of it relatively unscathed. He talks about the earmarks that almost all congressmen do as if most Americans understand what that means. It is something that is barely a full one percent of the federal budget. It makes him seem to be a hawk on government spending. He talks about all the pals he has in the senate. And his intransigent stand on foreign military endeavors and so-called "comprehensive" immigration reform do remove him from those that elected him time and time again.
That is what Sen. Cruz was articulating. That one should stick to what they believe and not get caught up in the Washington Beltway nonsense. Clearly over the years, former Sen. Dole and Sen. "F--- You" McCain became Washington.
What do these two things have to do with each other?
One pol thinks that he should find illegal ways for additional income because he can't live like, well probably most of his constituents.
The other gets caught up in the years he has spent in government and forgets why he claimed to run in the first place.
Both feel a certain sense of entitlement because they are politicians. They have made a career of politics.
The Founding Father's intent was that people would run for office and serve in a part-time capacity. That they would go back when they weren't legislating to their careers and be part of the people that they serve.
But now, politics has become a career. It is truly bipartisan. Does not matter if one is a Republican or a Democrat. They see themselves as an entitled class and the voters as saps to vote for them in the first place.
These are but two reasons why a lot of the American people hate politics and politicians.

When Classists And Environwhackos Allign

I find myself utterly amazed that people really want to ban an activity that is a natural rite of passage to the So Cal lifestyle but leave it to enviornwhackos, state officials, a cowed city council and classists to try to take the beach bonfire away from some So Cal beaches.
Yet here it is.
The South Coast Air Quality Management District, a state bureaucracy that is supposed to monitor bad air quality is pursing eliminating open burning year round at Los Angeles and Orange county beaches.
Most of these beaches have large firepits with the sole purpose of. . .having a bonfire at the beach.
The reason is because, and I would never have guessed this, health concern of beach goers. Because after all, burning firewood at a beach bonfire smoke is kind of unhealthy. You know?
Well here, let this dude, Sam Atwood, of the SCAQMD, explain it:

"It doesn't take a rocket scientist to know that smoke is unhealthy and contains many harmful pollutants — some of which can cause cancer. And it doesn't take a costly scientific study to tell you that dozens of these fires in close proximity create very unhealthy levels of smoke for anyone near them, and for residents downwind."

OK Sammy, do you think that these firepits are literally inches apart? At most beaches that have them, they are quite far apart. And they are not all used at the same time if at all.
But Sammy, he just can't control himself and really thinks that eliminating a huge reason so many take in a beach in So Cal will not make a difference to most. Here he is again:
"This is not going to be the end of California's storied beach culture and history. This is to create a healthier experience for those who go to the beach."

Really, dude?! You really think that this does not got to the heart of a part of that beach culture and history?
This Sammy guy must be an East Coaster. Seriously.
You know what else can ruin a day at the beach, Sammy?
Hey, how about when a surfer has a wipe out and say tha board hits him on the head? What about a body boarder? How about someone just in the water and gets caught in rip current and can't swim with it? I mean, to take Sammy's first pearl of wisdom, smoke has harmful pollutants. Water can be dangerous even for the most experienced body boarder, surfer and swimmer.
This is why this "logic" is rather silly.
But really, you have to go further into the story to see what this is really about.
Newport Beach is a pretty upper-crust beach community. The type that you have north of million dollar homes practically on the beach. a public beach, that barely can fit a family of four. This community wants to remove all firepits from their precious beaches. Because some of the neighbors just can't hack the smoke from these bonfires.
Now understand, Ol' Sammy says it ain't cool for the Newport Beach city council to use them as a cover to remove the firepits. And the California Coastal Commission, which is usually overly draconian it it's pronouncements, is correct is this. That it would deny people a form of entertainment on public land.
In which these beachfront homeowners seem not to understand. The firepits were there before many of the homes were built.
The real issue is classism.
The beach people, they really don't want anyone on "their" beach. No, they do not want even the locals if they can help it. They want the bodyboarders, the surfers, pretty much anyone that they do not like to stay away. But most of all us people from the dreaded valleys, the San Fernando valley and the San Gabriel valley to stay the hell away. Take a look at the photo below.

 

Now look at that. What it looks like is a family of Black people enjoying a bonfire. In fact, it is. But it can be any race doing exactly the same thing. But while this photo is of a family at a Los Angeles county beach, it could very well be any beach anywhere in So Cal. The reason that I use the word classism and not racism is because it is what it is. Many of the beachfront homeowners are non-White. And quite a few are celebrities.

In California, there is always a battle between people that live on the beach and their property rights. However, the reality is that most of their homes are on public beaches. Thus there is always a battle of accommodation. And as I note, most of the time the Coastal Commission is way to far the other way.

But this seems to be a no brainer.

The firepits are on public beach land. And for all of us not just the few fortunate to be lucky to be in a beachfront home. The people looking for a way to get rid of them are beyond disingenuous. You can't want people to come into your town, spend their hard-earned cash and leave. Yet that is what they really want.

Hopefully the proponents of this will not prevail and a rite of passage in So Cal, the beach bonfire, will be saved.

But this is what happens when classists and environwhackos allign.