I am e-mailing my Brazilian friend concerning the state of  U. S. politics. She’s lived here for over 25 years and is a U.S. citizen. Her 15-year-old son was born here, but the family has strong ties to Brazil. They visit there annually and sometimes more frequently, and relatives come here often.

Referring to her son, she writes, “Joe is so confused. He thought that bad politicians only lived in Brazil, not here. It is a reality shock for him and he gets depressed about it.  He loves this country so much.”

I am not sure what Joe meant by “bad politicians,” except from a 15-year-old perspective, watching the debates, the accusations and, recently in Florida, the constant TV harangues  and robocalls, it might be really difficult to claw through all that rubble  and arrive at a rational assessment  of each candidate. So here’s how I responded to my friend’s email:

“Tell Joe that this spectacle is what makes America great! The fact that these candidates can get up there and say whatever they want – and then actually be fact-checked, as they are by the media, and also the fact that the general hubbub of excitement exists without violence or muzzling  –  is the genius of our country.

And warn him that the political front will become even more bizarre when a candidate is actually selected, as we observe the rejected ones rallying to support the chosen one. It’s a good show. This is how it works , with many flaws that, hopefully, will  get fixed, eventually.

Remind him that things do get fixed here. Women got the vote. African Americans gained civil rights.  Gays are accepted in the military and, sooner or later, we’ll reform our tax code, as well as the electoral college system, our immigration policy, and the series of entitlements that no longer work for the good of the many. Perhaps, we will reform the way political campaigns are financed. Joe will be witness to all of that, and might even want to become proactive in the implementation of one or more of those reforms to the system.

We work slowly for change here because we have extremes of opinion and philosophy, and we encourage articulation of many viewpoints even as we manage to live peacefully together despite vast differences.

And you might also mention to Joe that the kind of circus we are witnessing during this primary season has brought politics and issues to the national forefront in a way that previous sleepy primaries have not done. Therefore, there is considerably more interest generated among young people and the population in general. Of course, this is a good thing. And give him a hug for me. I’m thrilled to know that he is engaging in the process, as every citizen should be doing.”

By Emily Rosen

Politics, politics, 24 seven

That’s what it looked like in twenty eleven

Auspicious beginning in terms of locution

On the floor of the house – the U.S. Constitution

Two days after that came a kook with a gun

Causing havoc in Tucson with folks on the run

Congressional Gabby was shot in the head

Some even died leaving blood, shock and dread

At the State of the Union, Ds and Rs sat together

But their bonding was not even strong as a feather

Then a sudden eruption —  an Arab decree

In Tunisia, then Egypt,  folks marched to be free

Mubarak stepped down in a possible sting

And momentum was there for the Arab Spring

While the State of Wisconsin struck out against strikes

 As unions and allies “Facebooked” “unlikes”

In Japan, a disaster that rendered it bleak

With an earthquake that triggered a nuclear leak

‘Twas “the budget” and Libya both in the news

 Gaddafi – Paul Ryan – were singing the blues

There was rapture, of course, midst the angst of the world

When Willie and Katie took vows and then twirled

Tornadoes moved Southward, but still NASA launched

As Birthers held doubts that were ever so staunch

And Lo! and Behold! Out of Af-ghan-is-tan

Came the news that we rubbed out Bin Laden,  “The Man”

A love-child from Arnold, and Weiner showed pix

Ruppert Murdoch in scandal – the world needs a fix!

Bibi in congress – Obama feels stalked

But gays can get married, at last, in New York

The Anthony trial was an endless distraction

‘Til they called her “not guilty”  for an O.J. reaction

Terror in Oslo, riots in London

While the S & P here found its credit was undone

Over 600 points as the market got clobbered.

When folks checked their statements, they probably slobbered

Gaddafi got ousted. It just took so long

And, in D.C., an earthquake, though not very strong

Only days before blustering winds brought “Irene”

And destruction that lingered for days at the scene

Finally got rid of Don’t ask, Don’t tell

Banishing fears that we’ll all go to hell

Trump, Christie, Palin all out of the race

While a whole crowd of others took up in that space

Like the “Lock Box” of yore for which none of us pine

Instead, we were subject to “nine, nine and nine”

Never immune from crass degradation

Came Penn State and Syracuse sex allegations

Occupy Wall Street folks spread out their cause

As dollars for Bankers flowed in without pause

The Super Committee broke up with folks pissed

With blame on the pledge made to Grover Norquist

Cain down in flames as more women “alleged”

And when Trump made an offer, most candidates hedged

Corzine is clueless how billions got lost

Dr. Conrad “killed” Michael – in jail he was tossed

The e-world and iWorld invaded by mobs

Despite that, we’ve suffered the loss of Steve Jobs

The iphone, the ipad, much more is predicted

To tweeting and texting we’re getting addicted

As I write this – there’s 20 days more I must shelve

‘til we greet the unknowable year 2012

Which surely by all we can fathom from here

Will be a real blockbuster type of a year.

HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!

By Emily Rosen

ERosen424@aol.com

He’s standing against the wall, arms hanging, hands clasped, as if protecting his genitals. I advance toward the checkout desk with my library books. His eye spots me, and he leaps to attention in a quick sudden move. “Have you ever used the self check, mam?”

“Mmm. Yes,” I say hesitantly. There’s no one in line. The librarians are at the ready to help me. “We’re trying to train our customers to use the self check,” he said in a low conspiratorial voice.

And with meticulous attention, he helps me adjust the bar codes under the electronic light until all have been recorded and my receipt appears.

“We’re training the people to eliminate our jobs,” he said without rancor, just in case I hadn’t caught on to the implication of his original explanation.

And so it goes in this wonderful world of automation. I can self check-out at Target, Costco and some Publixes. I can check in at airport kiosks and, for about 30 years, I have been pumping my own gas.

As fast as any government or privately-sponsored program can create jobs, automation is eliminating jobs. And, as government shrinks, we will surely find an overabundance of unemployed government workers.  It seems like a widespread game of musical chairs.  It’s no news that we are living in the most agonizingly long transition period as traditional jobs shrink.

So, in an attempt to be supportive, I thought I’d rustle up  some  information that might be helpful for future career planning. Of course, if your career has already spanned a lifetime, perhaps you might share some of these gems with your progeny. (We all know how much “progeny” likes advice, but you might just try!)

Job title:

E-Scrubber – works to undo or minimize the indiscretions that people accumulate on the web.

Deceptionist – Provides tech-enabled deception services for those wishing to disguise their activities.

Geoscraper – Makes corporate and private properties look attractive in Google-earth style aerial views.

Unplugger – Mental health professional who helps wean people from excessive use of technology.

If your expertise doesn’t qualify you for any of the above, to continue the automation trend, here are some things I found on a Google list that have yet to be totally automated. Some clever inventor or entrepreneur might figure out how to close the gap here,  thus eliminating all housekeeping jobs: making the bed;  ironing clothes; cleaning; dusting; vacuuming  with the flip of a switch or the clap of two hands (yes yes, I know about the automatic vacuum – but what about dusting?); helping the kids with homework? No! It was on the list, but let’s never eliminate THAT, although, admittedly, it’s getting to be more and more of a challenge.

Jobs, jobs, jobs. We lose them. We create them. We mix and match them. Where will my library friend go when all of us folks approach the automatic machines and check out by ourselves?