"Kean himself has reportedly indicated through limited public communication that doctors expect a full recovery and that he hopes to return to Congress within weeks...At the same time, there is also very little public visibility into the condition of a sitting member of Congress who has disappeared from the visible duties of representation for months...They are effectively asked to trust that representation still meaningfully exists even when the person they elected is no longer visibly carrying out the core functions of the office."
Not at all! When children are absent from school, a doctor's note is required to explain the absence. We should have every basis to expect the people we elect, and generously pay, to represent us. I'm not interested in Kean's version of what his doctor thinks and anticipates. I want to hear from the doctor. (I'm not in NJ, but if I were...) And if some legislator has become demented, and landed up in a nursing home, Congress needs to demand to know that, on the day of admission. (Someone who gets admitted to a nursing home because of dementia isn't going to get all better, and return to work at the US Congress.)
Of course “no one” meaning those in Congress wants to “solve this”. Why would they, get paid for physically not showing up, hardly listening to what your constituents want and doing “what is best for the state”, which means doing stuff for your largest donors, using back door ways to set up profit for a friend or their business and then getting a kick back as “gifts” or money under the table, seeking favor with your “party” line whether you agree to it or not so they don’t ruin you or run you out, paid time off, long times off, great medical… so what do these guys and gals do?… They suck off the ordinary taxpayers dollars while enriching themselves and their friends. Top it all off with a bit of insider trading. Most, not all, of these jerks are in on the game. It’s a corrupt “old boy” system, and probably not what our founding fathers envisioned. It is blatantly unAmerican, for it represents the politics of the self and not the politics of the people. Perhaps many, many things need to be changed to drastically increase serving the actual needs of the people instead of just serving yourself!
I'm a senior and I'm all for age caps for politicians. It's no more disrespectful of age than having and age requirement to even run for office. People start dying in their 70s and 80s. Because our government is so full of old people, them dying and leaving a lack of representation is becoming an issue. Not to mention the dementia we now have in this country, probably at least partially due to no regulations on how our food is raised and treated and introducing toxic substances into our diets and the crap they pump into our air and water.
Tom Kean should have been more forthcoming about his absence. He could have made a FaceTime call to his office or Congress so his constituents could know what is happening with his health. Was he sick? Did he have major surgery, or have a serious accident? People are going to wonder, and speculate.
We know nothing about it, and Congress has not established this requirement. You're right that what you describe should happen, but there's no law that says it must. It's a little long now for substance abuse rehab, but who knows.
Yes, substance abuse rehab is a possibility. I don’t know enough about the.congressman to know if this could be possible, but then so many people have gotten hooked because the doctor prescribed prescription strength opioid pain relievers, and the patient couldn’t stop. We need to see if it possible to predict who is likely to become addicted to them, so we can-avoid the addiction for them.
I said I was inclined to doubt substance abuse rehab, because programs are commonly 28 days. It's at least two months now.
And as for a possible substance, there's a range of them. Doctor-prescribed opiates is perhaps less likely, since members of Congress are more likely to get a higher (excuse the pun) level of treatment. But whether it's that, alcohol, or anything else, if Kean was to accept persuasion to stabilize himself with a 12-step group, he might have to find one in which he would be less conspicuous. And that can go on indefinitely, but not consume so much of his time that he couldn't participate in Congress.
You have a point about substance abuse. If Kean had a drinking problem, there would have been embarrassing situations, much like the Kash Patel has had, and his constituents would have been up in arms, and calling for his resignation. I’ll bet there are quite a few AA meetings in Washington and quite a few people from the government who attend them.
Patel doesn't contain or control himself. The manifestations of his drinking problem are that he acts like an ass, and he makes a fool of himself. If Kean has/had a drinking problem, it's possible he could have developed liver disease, stomach erosion, or something else.
You are no doubt very right that there are several or many AA meetings in DC, and that he could choose one in which he would not stick out like a sore thumb. Unless he doesn't want even his colleagues to know.
But still, you and I are just imagining. We have no idea why he disappeared from view for over two months.
Patel has probably had his drinking problem well before he went into politics. The worst part is that he doesn’t think it is a problem, but almost everyone else does.
Reforms are needed but readers should appreciate that it is not unusual for many companies in private industry to offer three to six months of paid leave for serious illness. As to the age of Representatives - that's a known factor when they are elected. Whether they should be elected is an entirely different issue but up to the voters to decide.
You're right, but those companies require a lot of hoop jumping before they'll grant it. A worker can't just send their boss an email and say, "I'll be back in a few months," with no explanation and a lot of paperwork with explanations and proof.
Spectacular, as always.
"Kean himself has reportedly indicated through limited public communication that doctors expect a full recovery and that he hopes to return to Congress within weeks...At the same time, there is also very little public visibility into the condition of a sitting member of Congress who has disappeared from the visible duties of representation for months...They are effectively asked to trust that representation still meaningfully exists even when the person they elected is no longer visibly carrying out the core functions of the office."
Not at all! When children are absent from school, a doctor's note is required to explain the absence. We should have every basis to expect the people we elect, and generously pay, to represent us. I'm not interested in Kean's version of what his doctor thinks and anticipates. I want to hear from the doctor. (I'm not in NJ, but if I were...) And if some legislator has become demented, and landed up in a nursing home, Congress needs to demand to know that, on the day of admission. (Someone who gets admitted to a nursing home because of dementia isn't going to get all better, and return to work at the US Congress.)
Of course “no one” meaning those in Congress wants to “solve this”. Why would they, get paid for physically not showing up, hardly listening to what your constituents want and doing “what is best for the state”, which means doing stuff for your largest donors, using back door ways to set up profit for a friend or their business and then getting a kick back as “gifts” or money under the table, seeking favor with your “party” line whether you agree to it or not so they don’t ruin you or run you out, paid time off, long times off, great medical… so what do these guys and gals do?… They suck off the ordinary taxpayers dollars while enriching themselves and their friends. Top it all off with a bit of insider trading. Most, not all, of these jerks are in on the game. It’s a corrupt “old boy” system, and probably not what our founding fathers envisioned. It is blatantly unAmerican, for it represents the politics of the self and not the politics of the people. Perhaps many, many things need to be changed to drastically increase serving the actual needs of the people instead of just serving yourself!
I'm a senior and I'm all for age caps for politicians. It's no more disrespectful of age than having and age requirement to even run for office. People start dying in their 70s and 80s. Because our government is so full of old people, them dying and leaving a lack of representation is becoming an issue. Not to mention the dementia we now have in this country, probably at least partially due to no regulations on how our food is raised and treated and introducing toxic substances into our diets and the crap they pump into our air and water.
Tom Kean should have been more forthcoming about his absence. He could have made a FaceTime call to his office or Congress so his constituents could know what is happening with his health. Was he sick? Did he have major surgery, or have a serious accident? People are going to wonder, and speculate.
We know nothing about it, and Congress has not established this requirement. You're right that what you describe should happen, but there's no law that says it must. It's a little long now for substance abuse rehab, but who knows.
Yes, substance abuse rehab is a possibility. I don’t know enough about the.congressman to know if this could be possible, but then so many people have gotten hooked because the doctor prescribed prescription strength opioid pain relievers, and the patient couldn’t stop. We need to see if it possible to predict who is likely to become addicted to them, so we can-avoid the addiction for them.
I said I was inclined to doubt substance abuse rehab, because programs are commonly 28 days. It's at least two months now.
And as for a possible substance, there's a range of them. Doctor-prescribed opiates is perhaps less likely, since members of Congress are more likely to get a higher (excuse the pun) level of treatment. But whether it's that, alcohol, or anything else, if Kean was to accept persuasion to stabilize himself with a 12-step group, he might have to find one in which he would be less conspicuous. And that can go on indefinitely, but not consume so much of his time that he couldn't participate in Congress.
You have a point about substance abuse. If Kean had a drinking problem, there would have been embarrassing situations, much like the Kash Patel has had, and his constituents would have been up in arms, and calling for his resignation. I’ll bet there are quite a few AA meetings in Washington and quite a few people from the government who attend them.
Patel doesn't contain or control himself. The manifestations of his drinking problem are that he acts like an ass, and he makes a fool of himself. If Kean has/had a drinking problem, it's possible he could have developed liver disease, stomach erosion, or something else.
You are no doubt very right that there are several or many AA meetings in DC, and that he could choose one in which he would not stick out like a sore thumb. Unless he doesn't want even his colleagues to know.
But still, you and I are just imagining. We have no idea why he disappeared from view for over two months.
Patel has probably had his drinking problem well before he went into politics. The worst part is that he doesn’t think it is a problem, but almost everyone else does.
Reforms are needed but readers should appreciate that it is not unusual for many companies in private industry to offer three to six months of paid leave for serious illness. As to the age of Representatives - that's a known factor when they are elected. Whether they should be elected is an entirely different issue but up to the voters to decide.
You're right, but those companies require a lot of hoop jumping before they'll grant it. A worker can't just send their boss an email and say, "I'll be back in a few months," with no explanation and a lot of paperwork with explanations and proof.
We the People need to be able to recall elected officials, too!