The State of The Zzzzzzz.........

Zzzzzzzzz

passion n 1. Any powerful emotion or appetite such as love, joy, hatred, anger, or greed 2. Ardent adoring love 3. Boundless enthusiasm.

Quick Quiz: Americans have a passion for which the following:

a) listening to an hour-long reading of what sounds like an old term-paper by a distinguished graduate of a fine university.

b) hearing an hour-long speech in which there is not a single memorable sentence or compelling new idea.

c) Expecting to receive a direct message from their elected leader, sitting in their homes, only to witness an address really meant for a roomful of people who have a well-deserved reputation for hearing one thing, saying another, and then doing whatever lame thing they like just because they can.

d) Listening to a leader who can throw away the script, dispense with the semi-canned applause, look into citizens hearts, minds, and souls across the networks and the net and energize, motivate and captivate them, because that is what they sorely need.

Well, we finally understand one thing: we know why the Kardashians and Snooki & Co are so popular. They actually demonstrate some passion and fight, even if they do not have many brilliant things to say and aren't going to being writing any term-papers anytime soon.

Let's try a 10 Minutes or Less Speech:

Trillions

1. Wars: We asked our military to fight and win two wars and they did that pretty quickly; then, we really messed up. We backed the wrong or just plain crooked "good" guys. We forgot our original mission. We actually have no idea how much money we've spent and may never know. We've sent billions to one ally-country, and they still hate us and won't help us. We promise never to do these things again.

2. "Recession:" Let's get this straight once and for all. All of us created this mess together. It was a willful act of financial terrorism that we did to ourselves. Citizen borrowers, bank lenders and traders, regulatory and ratings agencies, and federal authorities created this mess. Now, let's shut-up and move on already!

3. Wealth/Work: The Dow Jones has risen, corporate profits are up, corporations are sitting on a couple of $trillion in cash, because they are, by their very nature, not risk-takers. Unemployment remains very high, especially for minorities and for Boomers who can no longer retire. That's the good news. The bad news is that we had actually been over-employed by 2008 and those corporate jobs are not coming back, ever. Get over it, start a business, go back to school, quit whining at tea parties and get working at something, anything. Build something. Bake a pie, make a cake.

4. Health:We're going to put two moms, a dad, a nurse, two doctors, a dentist, one accountant, one child, and one "senior" in a room with people from Apple and Google. They are going to create a new way to provide and pay for healthcare. We will do what they say, and we will never speak of this again. Ever.

Renewable Resource?

5. Education: Knowledge is our most precious natural renewable resource. We take better care of plastic bottles and old newspapers than young minds. But, young minds are not the only renewable resource; we should be committed to lifelong learning. The emerging global economy demands that we be able to learn throughout our lives, to adapt, so that we can earn and continue to be prosperous. Before we can create well-intentioned "programs," before we can rate schools, teachers, students and parents, we need to define what it means to be "educated." What do we need to know, when do we need to know it, who is going to teach it, where are we going to teach it? Education is not just about school; it's about survival, security, prosperity. Math, Science, Reading, yes. What are we teaching that is a waste of time and money? Get rid of it. And, to colleges we say, enough of the full-time pay and part-time classes. Do it in 2-3 years, not 4, and stop wasting space with thousands of semi-pro athletes who will never graduate.

Well, there's a beginning, anyway.

You're welcome, and, by the way, we even like the guy. Oy, enough with the brain, speak with the heart, as the ladies in the Knish Knosh used to say.