Up and Coming Weekly is a weekly publication in Fayetteville, NC and Fort Bragg, NC area offering local news, views, arts, entertainment and community event and business information.
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6 NOVEMBER 5-11, 2014 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Wasn't that fun? Didn't you enjoy the midterm elections? Politicians losing their moral compasses? Politicians forgetting whether they applied for Medicaid for their child when they were earning $100 grand a year? Thom Tillis doing his best John Kerry imitation by being against Medicaid expansion before he was for it? I already miss their mud-slinging ads. Black and white fuzzy pictures of our opponent with his mouth open. Crisp color pictures of our candidate looking heroically towards the future. You gotta love it. You don't have to believe it, but you gotta love it. This column is written a week before the election so it remains a mystery to me who won on Tuesday. We really don't need to wait for the votes to be miscounted to decide who the winners are, do we? We already know who won. Let us count the winners. The Citizens United case has made the world safe for poor downtrodden voiceless billionaires. Previously unable to influence elections or even to express their opinions, they can buy as many elections as they choose. Money talks and everybody else walks. The Gold Medal for the 2014 Mid Term Election goes to the Koch Brothers, George Soros and their billionaire buddies. The Silver Medal goes to the folks who run the political ads, the newspapers, the radio, the TV, the sign printers, the robo callers, the double secret, semi- secret and upfront PACs. Each year the electoral campaigns eat up a bazillion more dollars than the year before. Each year the talking heads profess shock, shock, that money controls who runs the government. Each year each party proclaims that the current election is the most important election in the history of the Republic. Each year the electorate yawns as public cynicism grows exponentially due to boredom with the same old partisan refrains. As Willie Yeats once wrote: "The best lack all conviction, while the worst/Are full of passionate intensity." One set of electoral partisans will be jumping up and down on the corpses of their political opponents, declaring that the results of this election signal a turning point that will set the course of the ship of state forever. Don't believe it. The ship of state has some Ebola patients on board and its ultimate destination is uncertain. It seems likely the Repubs have swept into control of the Senate; thereby swapping one cranky old white man, Harry Reid, for another cranky old white man, Mitch McConnell. Each party puts great store into which cranky old white man gets to hold the gavel of the Senate Majority Leader. Recall Nikita Krushchev's quote: "Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge even where there is no river." As the Who once sang, "Meet the new boss/Same as the old boss." Regardless of who wins, we are still going to be run by JP Morgan, Goldman Sachs and the guys with the biggest check books. But wait. What's that out on the horizon, a cloud no bigger than a woman's hand? Yep, it's already Presidential campaign time. Let the good times and the cranky commercials roll. If you liked the negative ads of the midterm campaigns, you are going to love the 2016 Presidential election. If the polls are correct, the Repubs will have taken over the Senate when this column becomes fish wrap. Let a hundred investigations begin. If the Repubs take both houses of Congress, some people may expect them to actually do something instead of being against everything. Silly voters. Do not hold your breath. In the Republicans' DNA the N stands for No. We shall see if Congress can live by No alone. If you like investigations instead of legislation, you are going to love the 114th session of Congress. The Republicans' victory parade may not be as much fun as they think. Hillary is out there. She is looming over their celebrations like a cloud. She's tanned, rested and ready to rumble. Buckle your seat belts, it's gonna be a bumpy flight. Let the Presidential Games Begin BY PITT DICKEY PITT DICKEY, Contributing Writer. COMMENTS? Editor@upandcomin- gweekly.com. ( 9 1 0 ) 8 2 9 - 9 1 7 1 www.fascinate-u.com 1 1 6 Green Street NOVEMBER EVENTS Sat., Nov. 8. 1 1: 1 1 - 1 "Make It, Take It" * Fall Mosaic Tree Wed. Nov. 1 2: 1 0 Story Time: Some Parts Are Not For Sharing Free admission to Story Time by Child Advocacy Center Sat., Nov. 1 5: 1 1 - 1 "Super Science" *Understanding Sound Sat., Nov. 22: 1 1 - 1 "Silly Saturday" Kids Karaoke Fri., Nov. 28: 1 - 5:30 "Dickens Holiday" Victorian Ornaments (Special $ 1 admission for everyone!) *Free with museum admission or membership. Sat., Nov. 1 & 1 5: 1 2-4 "Come see the Trains" Cape Fear Model Railroad Club (Free admission to the 3rd floor.) General Admission: $4/child and $3/adult. Wednesday from 1-7 Free with donations accepted. TON Y Do not miss this Spaghetti Tradition! Stock up on home-made Greek Pastry for holiday guests.