[EmporerEJ]

Well, Danny, I gotta agree on the waste and stupidity.
Having served on the committee to the Pennsylvania General Assembly (PA House of reps,) for the "Digital Excellence Summit," (Decided back in 95-96 the "direction" the commonwealth would take on these "new fangled internet things," I saw massive waste and palm greasing. (Not mine.)

After that, I served as a technical consultant to the general assembly for about 5 years. (Basically took calls from the members and gave them advice how to "fix it" kind of thing. (And then invoiced the commonwealth, of course.)

More recently, I was just re-elected to my seat as Committeeman for Party representative in my town here. (And yes, they know about my "day job.")
I also am a commissioner on the civil service commission, (Interview, and recommend the hiring of all civil service employees, police, that sort of thing.)
And, most recently, appointed to the Comprehensive Planning commission for the city to "redraw" the direction the town will go in the next 15-20 years.

I find very little about politics to be about actually getting things done, and more about individual groups getting paid for doing "consulting work" for one thing or the other.

REALLY tends to annoy me. But the way I see it, you can either stand outside, and throw rocks at the building, or get inside, and fix/change/throw a monkey wrench into, things.

So, that's what I'm doing. I call it "enlightened self interest."

Keep your friends close, but keep your enemies closer.
Most "laws" that affect people on a day to day basis, are not on a national level, they are on a local level.