Never mind--you're not doing what I wanted.

Years ago, when I was in CPS, a woman called into the office and talked to a secretary.

She said, "You can tell that investigator you assigned not to bother any more. She's not doing what I wanted her to."

And we all laughed. Fact of the matter is, people make reports all the time about neglect or abuse of children. Concern for the child is only one of the many reasons they call.

I think we, as voters, have our agendas, too. A lot of us think our representatives aren't doing what we want. Or if they are, then their challengers are going to try to make them look like they aren't. That's politics. I think, however, voters increasingly feel they aren't getting what they asked for, and they can't find any alternatives. color us frustrated.

It adds up to a whole lot of whoppers on the airwaves this fall. Texas doesnt even have contested races in half the positions, but where we do--I don't think I've ever heard such a pack of amazing lies in my life. Not to mention inaccuracies I suspect are grounded in dumb ignorance rather than lies at times. Only a few weeks to go.

I'm gonna be listening to a lot of music for the next couple of weeks. I love it that I can go in early, at my leisure, to vote. And I can root for the Texas Rangers. That's fun to think about.

As I say, I will vote. Always have. Always will. When I was a state employee, I was expected to behave honorably with the families I worked with, to find the services they needed to make a better family for their kids. Some of them made amazing changes in their lives.

Seems to me the people we elect keep saying that's what they want to do, too, to work for their constituents. Then they get in office and it's all about party solidarity and what they can scarf up for themselves....yeah, that's been going on forever. I am just tired, perhaps.

Freedom is still good. I'm still glad to be an American, and I actually know and like several of the county candidates this time around. And the first Tuesday comes extra early this November. Lots of positives.

I can, after all, just go out and sit on the porch. Not so hot now. Lots of sunshine, and tons of butterflies. Can't do anything about all that, either, but it sure is nice to contemplate.

Take Me To Your Leader! Uhh, Who's That?

I got out of my car at the elementary school the other day and idly glanced at the car in front of me. The car had a nice, shiny, bright bumper sticker stuck inside the back window. The bumper sticker read "Dump Bush." I did a double-take.

Uh, folks? Is there something you should know?

Maybe it's been there since '04, but then I would expect some wear and tear, some fading. What in the world?

I assume they know Bush is the president. That's good. Heard on the news today that fewer Americans than ever before know the name of the American president, vice president, or the governor of their own state. I'll test my fifth-grader on these tomorrow. She and her classmates are so busy training to the TAKS tests she has to pass to get to sixth grade (despite her straight A and B classroom average) that I hear teachers no longer have much, if any, time to teach current events.

I may need to get back on my Prozac. I have looked forward with satisfaction to the waning months of Bush's term as president, but as I look at the teeming hordes of politicians on both sides jockeying for position as viable candidates in '08, I am overcome with gloom. The field does not shine with promise. With more citizens unaware of who the president is, or apparently, when his term ends, outcome seems a little grim.

Surely things will get better. Surely.