Swagger,Gridlock & US Debt Ceiling Talks

The Urban Dictionary defines swagger as,"How one presents him or herself to the world.Swagger is shown from how the person handles a situation.It can also be shown in the person's walk." Go to http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=swagger

Jack Uldrich wrote about Benjamin Franklin's Extraordinary Leadership at
http://www.pfdf.org/knowledgecenter/journal.aspx?ArticleID=83
Uldrich makes his point using several quotes from Benjamin Franklin,one of which was,
" Declarations of a fixed opinion and of determined resolution to never change,neither enlighten nor convince us." Another, was," Compromises may not make
great heroes but they do make democracies."

Ben Franklin's swagger was firmly rooted in his leadership qualities as a businessman,scientist,politician,diplomat and founding father.

As a fictional hoboclown detective,I like to think thatI have a tidbit of swagger.But,I can imagine that if I met Ben Franklin in person he would look at me and then look at himself and say,'Sorry Flash, you can't touch this!'

If Ben Franklin were here today, he would be front and center in the halls of congress debating the Debt Ceiling,Debt Reduction issues.

If you really want to get a taste of the flavor of Ben Franklin's thoughts as a leader and what Franklin might say about the debates , read Jack Ulrich's article at the site listed above.While you do that,this old clown is gonna take a little stroll!

Deja Vu To You Too !

There they were, four juvenile squirrels , eating bread crumbs while awaiting my
Quiz for the week.As I sat on the bench in Fairmount Park,Philadelphia,PA, USA,I read the first question of the quiz, True or False,
President Obama said, "There is no title here called 'Black America Budget Chairman'"..."It's called House Budget Committee Chairman.I happen to be black
and there is no conflict in that...it's been proven over the years that blacks can
provide leadership in Congress."

Next question, True or False,
President Obama said," A balanced budget is good for the country,the affluent and poor alike....I seek (a budget) that doesn't sacrifice programs for the poor and
minorities,one that is fair and equitable...I hope we can tie our ropes together
so we can be one party and show the nation what we stand for as Democrats."

Next,question, True or False,
President Obama, " treated the budget process as a political puzzle,not an economic
problem;...(he) saw the budget for what it is: a political statement rather than a blueprint for fiscal governance."

Last question,True or False,

President Obama," oversaw the first trillion-dollar budget in U.S. history."

The squirrels,looked at each other's answers to the questions.After a lot of erasing,they high- fived each other and yelled,"True for all the questions!"

While the four squirrels were grinning, showing their teeth and waiting for an A
grade on the Quiz,I couldn't help from laughing as I read 'False' for all the questions. All the quotes and statements are credited to former US Congressman William H. Gray III.
If you looked over the squirrel's shoulders and copied their answers, you need to
step over to the following site to get the real facts,
http://baic.house.gov/member-profiles/profile.html?intID
Also, read a 1987 document prepared at the request of William H. Gray,III,Chairman of the House Budget Committee at the following site,
http://www.cbo.gov/ftpdocs/62xx/doc6246/doc14a.pdf

A Matter of Principle

Sometimes my investigations lead to dead ends.There I was,tired,tuckered out and worn.Today, the search for Principles is no joke!
I went to the courthouse,searching for justice and she was on vacation.Today, City Halls,State Capitols, the US Congress and even Wall street are short on banking Principles.Outright thievery from Credit Default Swap escapades yielded guaranteed
swindling of taxpayer lifetime investments in pensions,fair play,education,jobs,hope and health & welfare security. The brilliant and compassionate solutions for greedy behavior
was for well- to- do public officials to further swindle the poor, aged,minority and non-politically connected masses through austerity budget- cutting, that erodes the Principles of democracy.

I did get a fair description of Principles before I went looking for them.At www.thefreedictionary.com site, a Principle is described as,"1. a basic truth, law, or assumption: the principles of democracy.
2.
a. A rule or standard, especially of good behavior: a man of principle.
b. The collectivity of moral or ethical standards or judgments.
I also found a blueprint of a national memorial dedicated to the principles of
justice,peace,hope and love at The Washington,D.C. Martin Luther King,Jr. National Memorial.Several Principles were highlighted from the writings of Martin Luther King,Jr.

For example, Where Do We Go from Here: Chaos or Community?, 1967.
"Being a Negro in America means trying to smile when you want to cry. It means trying to hold on to physical life amid
psychological death. It means the pain of watching your children grow up with clouds of inferiority in their mental skies. It means
having your legs cut off, and then being condemned for being a cripple. It means seeing your mother and father spiritually
murdered by the slings and arrows of daily exploitation, and then being hated for being an orphan."

I also found quotations from , Why We Can't Wait, 1963.


"The curse of poverty has no justification in our age. It is socially as cruel and blind as the practice of cannibalism at the dawn of
civilization, when men ate each other because they had not yet learned to take food from the soil or to consume the abundant
animal life around them. The time has come for us to civilize ourselves by the total, direct and immediate abolition of poverty."

I also found one anecdotal quote,

"Everything that is done in the world is done by hope."
Martin Luther King,Jr.