Here we go again, our country is broke, there's no money to be seen or found, except when it's time for congressional pay raises. They need more money for that third or fourth summer home they're building, their Jaguars and Mercedes' are all approaching 20,000 miles, time for a new one.

I thought pay raises were awarded for good job performance; silly me. I know, I know, same old song and dance from the Vandever dude. Like the rest of the regular writers to this forum, I can't help it. I'm fed up with both parties.

Time to do away with the two-party system, do away with political self-service and introduce actual public service. Let's have actual accountability. Time to wipe the slate clean and go back to the drawing board. We need more citizen oversight and input in this broken system.

The Founding Fathers obviously saw this coming; they wrote about redoing the Constitution when it no longer serves the people it was written for.

Speaking of the Founding Fathers, I wonder what Washington, Jefferson, Adams and Franklin would think of the corrupt political cesspool at all levels of government.

I don't want any government handouts, just a shred of common sense and ethics from our leaders. I'll keep dreaming. Power to the people.

Steve Vandever

Cahokia