From Camelot to 'cram-a-lot'

By Ed Swiderski

I was born the same year that John F. Kennedy was elected president, so it is obvious that I did not see his presidency first hand. Just about all I know about it has come from my parents, aunts, uncles and friends of family along with what I have read.

The school where I attended grades 1-6 was named after JFK. From what I had been told, up until the time I was able to learn about some of the events that went on at the time - Bay of Pigs and Cuban Missile Crisis, I was under the impression that the JFK presidency was royalty - "Camelot" - as they called it.

When JFK was assassinated in 1963, the Camelot torch was passed down to Robert Kennedy. After RFK was assassinated in 1968, Camelot was passed to Ted Kennedy. Now, with the passing of Senator Kennedy, we can say that Camelot is over. Apparently, this is not the case. As Senator Kennedy's health was failing, and with the subsequent election of our current president, Barack Obama, it seems that Camelot has not left the building. The fawning media coverage over our current president is reminiscent of what I had heard as a child about JFK from the early 1960's.

Six months into the presidency of Barack Obama, we have gone from Camelot to what I now call "Cram-a lot." With a Democratic-controlled Congress willing to give into his every wish, we are now having policies and bills, such as Stimulus, Bailouts, The "Porkulus" Bill, Cap and Trade, and now a Health Care plan crammed down our throats, whether we like it or not. What we think apparently means nothing, and how dare we oppose what they are doing?

Welcome to "Cram-a-lot. Please put your wallet in the collection bin on your way out the door.