I am so out of sorts today. Head hurts and I have a bunch of aches in disturbing places. What I mean by disturbing is they are in mobility areas like my arm and ankle. I looked up the information on-line which is so frustrating because all the information I read as to what is causing the issues gives the same answer; go see a doctor. Yeah, who do you think I am, Jesse Jackson Jr?

Speaking of Jesse Jackson Jr, and public figures in general, why do they pretend the public is naïve? He has been on 'medical leave' from Congress for a few weeks now. Yesterday a statement was sent out that he was being treated for a 'mood disorder.' That's like the old joke about when is someone crazy and when are they eccentric? Poor people are crazy, rich people are eccentric. Well, rich and perceived important people have mood disorders, regular people are alcoholics or substance abusers, poor people are drunks and addicts. We all know how the story will end up. A week or two he will be released from the 'treatment center.' He will ask for privacy but the rumors will persist. Just as the press, because the public outside of his congressional district barely know him and won't care about his personal issues, loose interest in him he will either come out with a book, article or interview which will describe the pain and suffering he endured during the past few years. The break in the interest of his story will fall along party lines; liberals and Democrats will call him courageous, conservatives and Republicans will call him a hypocrite. Oh, in that interview/article/book that is done, his father will be interviewed where he will express support for his son.

In Star Trek: The Next Generation, it was amazing how many times people could get a leave of absence from duty. Worf was like the worse offender. Anytime some Klingon holiday came up we was getting leave, allowing him to explore his Klingon roots. I bet Worf got fed up of serving with Geordie and the gang sometimes and made up something to get away to be Klingon for a while. Being in Congress seems to have the same leave of absence policy as the Enterprise. They get huge amounts of vacation time, something a lot of us would envy. Actually, I think if we had as much vacation as Congress does many of us would go crazy with the down time. Sure they are supposed to be meeting with residents of their district or state, but mostly they are fundraising. Think of the life that would be. Every few days you would have to give a speech at some dinner. Sure it's a 'rubber chicken' affair but it's free food, plus at the end of the night you get paid big bucks. You can get to conferences and 'fact finding' missions all over the world. OK, so sometimes you might have to go to Afghanistan or some other not so pleasant place. The sacrifice, if you could call it that, would be you get to fly to the area, more likely on a private jet, you're going to stay in a relatively safe hotel (as opposed to the troops or people in the region) and the fun kicker, you get paid your salary and you will get some 'donations' along the way. Even if you are a congressperson from a small district in Montana or Vermont, locally the press are going to ask you questions and if you can rise in the ranks you can get national exposure. It's like being a comic book artist; most of the year no one recognizes you but go to Comic-Con and people treat you like royalty.

When your time is up, you've socked away over a million dollars and you have the option of returning back to your home state or staying in Washington as a lobbyist. In either case you have health care for life, a pension for life and any money you make after Congress is gravy.

I know I couldn't get away with leaving work for a month claiming 'mood disorder.' I wouldn't have a guarantee of my job back. I'm not Worf and can take leave for months at a time to find some long lost Klingon tribe in the Romulan zone or head off to some planet to get knocked around with pain sticks (Klingons call that a vacation).

Ah, just before I go, Twitter just sent another news blast about Jesse Jackson Jr and his 'mood disorder.' He's being treated at a facility in Arizona, which screams substance abuse or alcoholism.