DARKness falls

Ah, the shame. Plenty of it in fact, up and down the halls of Congress.

And the worst part of it all? Those responsible, just don't care.

So let's just start with Kansas' lackluster congressional delegation, notably Mr. Pompous himself, Mike Pompeo, a Wichita Republican, who can't wait to batter Obama or Hillary Clinton or anyone who isn't a puffed-up Pompeo clone.

But, he's enough of a buffoon that apparently, no one gave a damn when he tried to get a DARK act passed in congress, taking away the consumers' right to know if the food they're eating contains genetically modified organisms.

So he must have sidled up to our ever-illustrious Washington, D.C., resident, Sen. Pat Roberts, whose only real claim to fame is that he was a staffer for Keith Sebelius.

(For the record, I'm not opposed to GMOs, but as a consumer, I think I have the right to know what I'm eating. I have the right to choose, to avoid or to select certain foods.

Monsanto and multiple other GMO groups must have sidled up as well, along with a bounty of cash. How else can you explain it?

Roberts, however, has never cared about Kansas constituents. He has become more interested in the Washington environment, where I'm sure he'll be retiring. (Hopefully soon.)

I've known Pat for a lot of years, and I used to respect him, much as I did Jerry Moran, the state's other senator. Jerry still visits Kansas, traveling on the public's dime and using a trip or two to justify it. He mutters the magic words, that he's there to "listen," when in fact he promptly forgets when he returns to his Republican stronghold to shutter out the cries of help.

Pat rarely even travels to Kansas. Why should he? He no longer cares.

I'm not sure what changed with Pat or Jerry, but the tea party revolution prompted them both to rally up and hate everything. They're useless, not even respectable figureheads for the state.

Their job is to represent Kansas.

Pat is not working for Monsanto or any of the other GMO groups; he is working for Kansas.

Yet he pushed to keep consumers in the dark about what's in their food. He wanted to halt a patchwork of regulations.

Bullshit.

He wants a payoff. He wants the adoration of other groups, all of whom should be shunned for their treatment of consumers.

The American and Kansas financial bureaus — they like to claim they represent farmers — hailed the move. Wheat grower groups, who salivate at the thought of GMO wheat (which failed miserably when it was first trotted before the pubic).

What few people recognize is this is a farewell to the notion that the customer is always right. It is a promise that the supplier is all that matters.

"Over 1,000 organizations joined me in putting the farmer and rancher first," Roberts said in a press release.

A quick read show no consumer group among the supporters.

That's why I say shame on Pat Roberts. May his legacy be a footnote in an out-of-date history book. Shame on all the other senators and representatives who voted for it,  whether they are in Kansas or not or Republican or Democrat.

What you did was a disservice, and unfortunately, Obama likely will sign it, as bruised and battered as he is over issues near and dear to him.

If the nation's political system worked as it should, Congress would represent the public (not business) and the president would veto it.

So to be clear, the GMO labels are a sham.  It's just a method to cover up what no one really wants.

Sad state of affairs

I don't know how else to say it: What the fuck is going on with our country.

People are crazy. We are slipping into a revolution, a death spiral that's scary.

Yes, black lives matter, blue lives matter. All lives matter.

We have to stop this insanity. People are people. Treat them all with respect.

Political leaders need to get a grip. We don't need their goddamn prayers. We need leadership. Stop fucking around and help fix this problem.