Something went wrong with the United States after July 4, 1776.

Our founding fathers had grand ideas for this new nation but they missed the one thing that could wreck this nation, and that thing is career politicians.

It would have been a good idea to limit the scope of power and the number of terms politicians at all levels could serve. It is well known that once in office elected officials have a far greater chance to defeat anyone who runs against them.

For example, have you ever noticed the free mailings one receives during an election from those who are seeking re-election? If you guessed those mailings are paid for by our tax dollars, you are absolutely right. It’s called the franking privilege, and frankly, my fellow voter, it’s a perk whose time has come.

I say it’s time to stop them from sending anything to us unless they pay for it themselves. Most of it is just political garbage on how great they think they are.

It is time to clean out the cesspool called Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. The recent debate and passage of a bill on health care in the U.S. Senate was the most blatant misuse of power I have even seen and how it can be legal boggles my mind.

As far as I am concerned two senators used extortion tactics in order to receive hundreds of millions of dollars for their two states, and the U.S. Senate majority leader paid bribes to those two senators in order to secure the 60 votes necessary for the passage of the health care legislation.

Now, of course, we hear that very same Senate leader is accused of using a derogatory racial slur against President Obama when he was campaigning for office. Well, it’s politics as usual and the Democrats are running around kissing each other but one can only bet that if a Republican had made that comment all Hell would have broken loose.

How about members of Congress giving themselves and federal employees a pay raise while those on Social Security, retired government workers and disabled veterans got nothing because someone in Washington said prices on everything went down? I didn’t get a cost-of-living increase but I now have more taxes taken out of my retired military pay so maybe that’s where the pay raise for Congress comes from. And, oh, by the way, I am seeing plenty of price increases.

Here in Maine, the 124th Legislature is once again in session. I hope that their first order of business is to impeach Governor Baldacci. Remember the famous LD-1 where the state would finance 55 percent of local education and as to date has repeatedly failed? The governor has called for more cuts to local education and I firmly believe he needs to return to work at a certain restaurant in Bangor.

If the Legislature goes along with his cuts for funding local education, they need to be incarcerated in the state prison in Warren in solitary confinement in order that they can’t take even more money from us.

But there is hope on the horizon. It is obvious the town of Windham needs to take a hard look at changing its very outdated charter, which is something that many in town politics fear. The mayor of Westbrook serves under a city charter that Windham needs. A charter that allows the mayor to clean house, and that’s exactly what she did. Yes, the winds of change must start blowing through Windham. Please remember some of the new councilors promised to clean house or have they forgotten already? More later on the tyranny of local control.

Lane Hiltunen lives in Windham.