Friday, October 14, 2011

Temporary Custody


“Temporary Custody” is a term that has many applications. If a family is experiencing a tragedy, it may be necessary for the children to be temporarily placed with grandparents or other family members. Sometimes the state children’s services or judiciary place the children in someone’s care for a period of time. As people grow older and less able to manage their own affairs, they sometimes transfer the “power of attorney” to an individual whom they trust as a form of temporary custody. The sum value of temporary custody is that an individual or an institution assumes responsibility for the well-being of an individual or group of persons for a short period of time. It might be fitting, therefore, to designate elected officials as the temporary custodians of our nation, the Constitution and our liberties.

Temporary custodians….if you think about each of those words, you must conclude that our elected “servants” have been miserable failures. They have consistently failed to perform at an acceptable level. If their custody had been awarded by the court rather than the voters, they surely would be found guilty of contempt and removed from their respective positions of trust. What would the response of the courts, the community and the families be if an entity that had been awarded temporary custody absconded with all the funds and used the assets of the ward to borrow more money for profligate spending? The answer is outrage followed by arrest, prosecution and conviction.

Historically, we have ignored the “temporary” aspect of political custodianship by electing and re-electing venal old fossils who somehow manage to enrich themselves while collecting a paltry public servant’s salary. Though citizens often speak of the necessity for term limits (federally speaking), it has been proven time and again that voters lack the knowledge or the will to turn out long-time officeholders. Term limits would simply create the merry-go-round of office switching that we witness in several states. The only true remedy for dealing with an irresponsible custodian is to soundly defeat her or him at the ballot box. The humiliation of a resounding spanking should make the career politician pause and ponder before initiating another run for office on the public teat.

Defeating an entrenched blood-sucking veteran is a difficult task. I’m aware of that, but a defeated senior member of the Congress should transmit ripples of awareness throughout the political class. One of the more difficult calculations in determining whom to target for retirement is deciding what level of proper voting is acceptable. That is not the only criterion that should be examined, however, because voting from cover (see “Diving for Cover” 8/8/2011 at www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com) and other sneaky legislative devices skew the numbers. In addition, the officeholder’s attentiveness to district concerns, his or her leadership for critical local and national issues, the contributor list for the incumbent’s re-election campaign, the number of terms in office and finally the appreciation of the officeholder’s net worth while “serving” the people. When taken as a whole, the above list of decisive factors can be helpful when determining which incumbent to challenge.

A legitimate custodian is legally and honor bound to fulfill the custodial responsibilities faithfully and fully. A failure to exert the greatest effort possible for the performance of the duty smacks of misfeasance. Legislative voting and promotion of unconstitutional policies, legislative measures that harm the nation or active or passive allowance for government infringement on our liberties should be labeled as malfeasance. Misfeasance can result in censure or defeat, but malfeasance should lead to either defeat or prosecution. Knowingly violating one’s sworn oath should lead to charges of perjury. Congresspersons get really steamed when someone perjures him-or-herself after swearing an oath prior to testifying before a committee. Ask Roger Clemens. The oath of office that is sworn by Congresspersons….in the company of other Congressmen and women….should be considered as weighty as a normal citizen’s oath before Congress. Perjury is a crime. Willfully violating one’s oath of office should be a criminal act. Our forefathers didn’t take oaths lightly, and we should not allow our present-day career politicians any greater leeway than our early legislative leaders were given.

“Temporary custody” is a serious matter whenever someone has responsibility for another person or for a nation and a district. If the essence of the custody component is violated, the politician should be quickly relegated to temporary status. Just as a child, an ill person or a senior citizen in the final stage of life are to be protected, so should our nation, our Constitution and our liberties be defended and preserved. If an elected official is reading this and believes that these recommendations are too strict, then Madame or Sir, you must resign because your oath is meaningless to you. The citizens….most of them…cherish our nation, its constitutional foundation and our freedom.

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