WHAT THIS NATION NEEDS IS...

It is your Commander’s suspicion that many of my readers can complete the above statement with “What this nation needs is a good 5 cent cigar.” If you can do that, it is probably a fact that you come from Indiana, because the statement is attributable to Vice-President Thomas R. Marshall (1854-1925) who was born in North Manchester, Indiana. His two-term Vice-Presidency under President Woodrow Wilson was clouded with concerns of inadequacy, but he is best remembered for that famous, humorous statement.

Early this morning I was thinking about all the problems facing our great country, and frankly they are just too numerous to even list unless I totally ignore the interest of brevity. Somehow this old mind drifted back to my childhood when I was growing up in Chicago.

My late Irish Mother was a Registered Nurse who practiced her beloved profession into her mid-70’s. My Dad was scared for his entire life by the impact of the Great Depression, and he, too, worked into his 70’s, and was the family spokesman for all matters political. He was conservative to the core with a strong work ethic due to the influence of the Depression upon his entire family.

Whenever my Dad or I experienced a health issue, however minor, my nurse Mother dragged out a bar of Ivory Soap and her enema bag, which sent my Dad and me running for cover. A soap-suds enema was Mom’s remedy for any health problems, and I reluctantly admit it often was a completely effective solution.

With all of the above in mind, it is your Commander’s suggestion that my Mom may just have had the solution to our nation’s current economic and social problems. WHAT THIS NATION NEEDS IS A GOOD SOAP-SUDS ENEMA. I can just imagine Mom stepping forward pronouncing the need for a soap-suds enema to President Barack Obama and every single member of Congress, if not the entire Washington D.C. bureaucracy.

It seems that a good flushing of the Administration and Congress is just what the nurse ordered. The country’s needs and the results could prove to be the solution to all of our current domestic and international problems. Sometimes the old wives tales are still appropriate, and worthy of consideration.

Currently we get a lot of talk, a lot of posturing, a lot of spending, the continuation of three wars (Iraq, Afghanistan and Libya), devastating economic problems, massive unemployment, a private sector unwilling to create new jobs due to unknown Obamacare health costs, blatant lies, little or no resolution to our many mounting problems, and let's not forget our minute by minute escalating national debt.

Your Commander suggests our government needs a good flushing so the United States of America can get back to its good health. Looking back, it is hard to argue with Mom’s remedy for good health and a happy life. It surely is worth a try, because what we are doing now simply is not working and we all need quick relief. November 2012 is not all that far away…WE have the power to change things.

COMMANDER GRANGER