Get off my lawn!

The title of this post probably conjures up an image of a crotchety old man in a tshirt, work pants with a gardening implement of some sort in his hand, fist held high and shaking, yelling at a group of hooligans who dared breach his property line and tread on his finely coiffed yard. Gather two or three of these geezers in one location and the disdain they hold for these trespassing ruffians becomes palpable. After two or three rounds at the bar the act of short cutting across ones property becomes a sign of the impending crash of modern civilization when control of the economy, government and education systems is turned over to the next generation.

During the recent presidential election, a fair amount of commentary was centered on the generational differences between The ONE and John McCain. McCain was the old school hard property line protecting curmudgeon who supposedly couldn't even send an email and a fan of fences and Obama was a BlackBerry wielding, Hip Hop filled MP3 player carrying baby boomer full of new ideas and energy who couldn't wait to walk across the White House lawn.

I don't think any generation, as they see their control slipping away, feels there progeny worthy of carrying on in a way that befits their standards for running the world. I know I look at the current class of graduates and know my tax dollars have been misused by the government run schools. These bozos know less than James "Handyman" Taylor about history, biology or any of a number of subjects. They are first rate at Internet surfing, sexting and being Green but common sense isn't so common among their ranks.

I was at McDonald's glaring at a group of pants half off their ass and underwear showing nimrods trying use basic math skills to see if their combined change was enough for a Big Mac and fries when a realization hit me. My parents generation had the same lack of faith in my peers as I do in these brain dead adolescents. And it is my generation now taking over. The newly elected first ever African American President is my age.

I look at the work ethic of the new administration, and the lack of ethics displayed by recent nominees, and think perhaps my parents were right to doubt us. So far the best they can come up with is "I won". Think that is a harsh opinion? It has been but a few weeks that The ONE has been at the helm and newspapers, television and the net are all running stories about the "stir crazy" or antsy President and how he and Michelle had to "escape" from the White House bubble. The spendalooza package was passed by the Senate tonight. This, as stated by the President at a "we can have a five star retreat on the public's dime but the banks better not" Democratic meeting yesterday, has to be passed or it will be a catastrophe. Obama wasn't around to comment even though he claimed to be involved in this mess. It is Friday and that is date night for him and Michelle. I am all for putting family first but...come on.

Kool-aid drinkers will say these are not examples of a poor work ethic. True. They are symptomatic of a lack of professionalism and outright arrogance in my opinion. This man, with his months of Senate experience before he started campaigning, is now at the helm of a pretty large economic machine that is having engine problems and he thinks he is a mechanic. His stubborness at keeping his BlackBerry, showing up late to everything and continued breaking of campaign promises may not be signs of a lack of work ethic. They are signs of immaturity and arrogance and, if the press ever decides to do its job and take an impartial look at him, the bloom will soon be off the Rose.

Thankfully there are Republicans (and 11 Democrats in the House) who are acting like adults. Uncle Mitt chimed in too with old man sage advice regarding the spendalooza. The newer, younger members of our elected glitteri seem to have forgotten the philosophies and principles of the Founding Fathers and are ignorant of any struggle older than the Pepsi Generation.

And with all those damn kids cutting through the White House Rose Garden, it could be a while until our economic grass is greener. I have to stop now, my head is like an Alaskan volcano and about to erupt.

S2