We live in a country where the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer and the middle class is squeezed like a grapefruit.

We live in a country where 23% of my yearly earnings go to the government.

We live in a country where every day people sneak in and live among us, not paying taxes and not participating in the process, but merely garnering wages and sending them back home to Mama.

We live in a country where the drug companies, the doctors and the insurance companies have created a scam that costs us thousands of dollars in health insurance premiums and results in us having to take needless prescription medications for the rest of our lives. 

We live in a country that by the year 2020 will have a major problem trying to take care of its' seniors because all the money was spent on other stuff.

We live in a country where the President, to settle a score, sent our young men and women into a hostile part of the world that has been feuding with themselves for thousands of years, trying to bring stability to a region that is better off solving their own problems.  Now, we can't get out.

We live in a country where some people don't like us, trust us or want to help us.

We live in a country where balancing the budget by reducing unnecessary government spending is a concept unclear to the members of congress, especially those on the left side of the aisle.

We live in a country where I have to prove I am an American to get a home loan.  And the odds of that home loan be foreclosed on within two years is pretty good.

We live in a country where it is now legal to tap people's phones, hack their computers or infringe upon their personal liberty just because they might be dangerous or because we don't like them.  We call this the "Patriot Act."

We live in a country where several good U.S. Attorneys can terminated for no reason other than they weren't on message with the white house and nothing is done about it even though there is proof that the executive wing was involved.

We live in a country where people of faith have way too much say in how we govern. 

We live in a country that couldn't answer the bell when Katrina washed out New Orleans.

We live in a country where personal choice is being replaced by group think.  The liberals think we're not smart enough to choose and the conservatives think we're not moral enough to choose.

We live in a country that is run by lobbyists and special interests, which is why we will never have things like torte reform or stricter campaign laws.  And, term limits?  Are you kidding me?

We live in a country where going through an airport is akin to going through a prison.

We live in a country where self-appointed spokespeople can make enough noise to get people fired.  Where I come from, we call this slander.  Where they come from, they call it "activism."

Yet, with all of these problems facing our society, our duly appointed representatives in Washington waste their time and our money trying to get a football game on TV.  And questioning baseball players.  And threatening commissioners of sports leagues.

Is it just me, or is something really, really wrong here?