I have been uncommonly quiet on this blog over the last seven months, but not because I haven’t had somewhat to say. The truth is, I don’t even know where to start.

The government shutdown with 800,000 federal employees indefinitely furloughed, and another 1.3 million reporting to work without paychecks.

The near financial default which again threatened to lower the credit rating of the United States.

The continued refusal to fund the nation’s food assistance program along with a farm-subsidy bill, which (according to Raleigh’s News and Observer) effects “47 million Americans who face low or very low food security, two million farms, and 314 million Americans who eat food.”

The House of Representatives’ refusal to consider immigration reform, leaving literally millions of people in legal limbo, most of whom are contributing to our national and local economies.

The recent insensitivity to the “poor and oppressed” is almost unprecedented.

So it’s oppress the immigrant, take food from the poor, threaten the financial health of the US government — but redistribute the wealth upward!  And by all means, force the low-income citizenry into the country’s emergency rooms when they get sick!

It’s not as if the House of Representatives has not been busy doing nothing!  For truly, they have busied themselves in doing nothing —

Talking Points Memo recorded how “in the first hour of a government shutdown, the House voted to request conference negotiations while re-affirming their previous Obamacare repeal vote” for the 46th time!

But there is even more (or should we say, even less)!

According to The Washington Post, Rep. Steve Southerland (R-FL) led the GOP caucus in singing Amazing Grace, as a prelude to this yet another useless vote targeting the president’s health reform law.”

I cannot help but hear a haunting phrase from a 1960’s protest song: “Hate your next door neighbor but don’t forget to say grace!”

Perhaps before invoking the Almighty, one might inquire if He really wants to come to the party, grand and old though it may be!