It is curious: Though I have for decades worked in journalism, mostly in Washington, I know almost nothing of Congress. I mean this literally. I do not know who Mitch McConnell is, his function, or his politics, though I have the impression that he is a Republican. Who was, or is, Paul (I think it is) Ryan? Is he in the House or the Senate? I don’t know. I have no idea who heads any committee.

You might ask, “What sort of fraud is this Reed guy? Why doesn’t he know stuff that everybody knows?”

Easy. Because Congress doesn’t matter. It really doesn’t. It is a bauble that fascinates the strange ingrown world of DC, but the marionettes are less important than those who pull their strings.

It may seem odd, but the national legislature has nothing to do with anything of importance. Consider the most crucial issues affecting America:

The endless wars. These kill millions who have done nothing to deserve killing, threaten America’s position in the world, and cost trillions. Congress does nothing.

The military budget, euphemistically called the “defense” budget. It drains money desperately needed for other things, encourages massive corruption, and distorts the national economy. Congress rubber stamps it.

The Empire. Washington’s attempts to dominate the world through hundreds of military bases, sanctions, and tariffs that have made enemies of Russia and China and increasingly unite the world against America. Congress does nothing.

Israel. Jewish, and therefore Israeli, control of Congress and the media engenders disastrous policies in the Mid-East. In particular it drives Iran into the growing Sino-Russian project of Eurasian integration. Congress does nothing.

The national debt, a form of counterfeiting. Its headlong growth encourages de-dollarization of the international economy with likely catastrophic results for America’s financial position. Congress rubber stamps it.

The opening of American borders. The influx causes fury that offers to tear the country apart and causes all manner of problems that urgently need attention. Congress does nothing.

Racial disaster, especially, the dysfunction of the country’s Negros, their inability to function in a modern society. It has lead to tens of thousands of abandoned buildings, to rotting urban no-go zones infested by rats, to savage racial attacks on whites, and the annual loosing from the schools of millions of semi-literates who will never be employable. It is probably irremediable. It could be ameliorated, however, if Congress had the virility. It doesn’t, instead doing…nothing.

The end of constitutionality. The Constitution is being–has been–eaten away. Congress has abdicated its authority to declare war or not to declare it. If it had not done so, we would have few or no wars. Surveillance increases, censorship rushes onward. Religious freedom dies. Police power grows. Privacy no longer exists. Unelected college dropouts at Facebook, Google, and Twitter determine what we are allowed to know. Congress does nothing.

ORDER IT NOW

The rise of lawlessness. Groups like Black Lives Matter and Antifa attack anyone they don’t like, besiege government (in Portland, for example), beat reporters, and prevent access of speakers to their audiences. Mobs of blacks loot stores, kick whites into brain damage. America’s murder rates astonish the world. Congress does nothing.

Corruption. In America it takes many forms, often legal. Regulatory agencies are controlled by the industries they are mandated to regulate. Medical care is worse and more expensive than in other developed countries. Wall Street operates cons like the subprime scam, and nobody goes to jail. The pharmaceutical companies rape the government and the public. Congress does nothing.

Deindustrialization. This gutted American manufacturing and created the Rust Belt. Jobs still move to Mexico and China. The result has been profits for shareholders but catastrophe for the American working class. Ditto the importing of cheap labor from Mexico. Congress did nothing, does nothing.

Infrastructure. The problem goes beyond creaking subways and shaky dams. The country seems paralyzed. To anyone who has enjoyed China’s high-speed rail, or its payment system, or watched its domination of 5G, America looks like a country of the past. Fast trains are not just a clever gimmick. They are a major improvement in efficiency. For trips of at least 300 miles, and probably much more, China’s trains at 180 mph are comfortable, and go from downtown to downtown. Their maglev trains in development will cruise at 360 mph.

But in America the automotive and airline lobbies oppose fast rail. They have lots of money. Fairly obviously, this is why…Congress does nothing.

So why pay attention to Congress? Of what use is it?

It works on the principle of the Coca-Cola machine: You choose your law, put in your money, pull the handle, and– voila!–out comes a tax break. You want an overpriced contract for something unnecessary? Repeat the process.

Aside from selling the country to the highest bidders, Congress works chiefly to avoid responsibility and to get reelected. So…what reason is there for knowing who Mitch McConnell is?

In high school we are told that the federal government consists of three parts, the executive, the Supreme Court, and Congress. It does not. Rather it consists of five departments, the Presidency, the corporations, AIPAC, Wall Street, and the media. Do you see Congress in that list?

True, there is amusement value in the more prominent congressistas--AOC, Maxine Waters. These make the legislature seem an overpriced playpen for retarded marsupials. So why Congress? Wouldn’t it be cheaper to watch reruns of Jerry Springer instead?

Really Screwy Stuff

The thundering onrush of weirdness: Hail in Zapotitlán el Rey a few days back. In midsummer. An inelegant pose, but you can’t have everything. The weather has gone mad, and needs counseling. We probably need a federal program.