SPEAKER BOEHNER GETS A NOD

At last, someone who used to work with Bohner and feels he owes him nothing, doesn't fear him, is willing to share his impressions with the media.  Catalina Camia has written an article for USA Today about Ney's aook  Sideswipe in which Bob Ney accuses Boehner as full of false claims. 

She writes  "There was a time when House Speaker John Boehner and Bob Ney were friends. Those days are long gone. Boehner pushed back hard Thursday on allegations made by the former Ohio congressman in his new book. Among other things, Ney wrote that Boehner "was a chain-smoking, relentless wine drinker who was more interested in the high life — golf, women, cigarettes, fun and alcohol."

Ney, a Republican like Boehner, resigned from Congress in 2006 after pleading guilty to charges in the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Ney spent 11 months in prison for his role in the scandal, considered one of the most far-reaching in Washington. Twenty people were convicted, but Ney was the only lawmaker in the group.

"This is a disgraced congressman who went to jail who has made a lot of
 baseless and false accusations to sell a book," Boehner said about his former Ohio colleague. "It's sad." "

Politico has also published an article in which they state that the book, says Ney, is nopt about revenge as Boehner claims. Click here to read more.   Ney told Politico: "I view it as my way to really give the picture of the intricacies of what happened. Nobody’s going to die over this. Nobody’s going to melt down. I have nothing to lose at this time in my life, so I can tell my version, which I feel has accuracy to it. I’m not out at this point in my life to convince somebody.”

Given that 80% of those leaving Elected office in Washington become lobbyists, maybe jail is not a bad alternative, most of the fallen seem to be able to rise like the Phoenix.

A READER'S COMMENTS WORTH SHARING

A couple of days ago I wrote on why I thought Chris Christie should stay as a governor, maybe even become a Senator some day, but not president.  I had commented on the poor job journalists do today and asked why they no longer follow the rule of never writing 'news' without three reliable sources for the information, aiming for truth and facts. A reader sent comments which are most enlightening and an article written be Peter G. Klein.  To know more about Professor Klein, click here.

"When it comes to an issue such as sequestration, you correctly point out  
that one should learn the facts before speaking. If only more journalists  
followed this rule: the news coverage on sequestration has generally been  
sensationalistic and highly misleading. For all the hysteria over drastics  
cuts, sequestration does not even reduce federal spending, it just  
decreases the rate of increase. See

http://organizationsandmarkets.com/2013/03/04/sequestration-and-the-death-of-mainstream-journalism

President Obama has engaged in this fear-mongering, much to his discredit.  
At the end of every war America has fought, the nation has been able to  
substantially reduce military spending. We are ending two wars, and yet  
Obama wants us to believe that unless defense spending is increased, we  
will be forced to ground fighters and dock battle ships, leaving America  
defenseless. Frankly, that is not credible.

The simple fact is that the current level of federal spending is not  
sustainable. As noted economist Herb Stein observed, "That which cannot go  
on forever, won't". At some point, we will have to make real spending cuts,  
and the longer delay doing so, the more painful it will be. Obama rejects  
this modest attempt at moderating the rate of growth of spending. Is this  
leadership?"

WHAT IS HAPPENING TO OUR 'LACK OF TRUTH AND NEWS' MEDIA?

      It is painful to talk with people who only listen to Fox News.  They are so ill informed and brainwashed.   Many times I have talked about the old media rules that nothing would be stated as fact unless there were three credible sources.  Does anyone know if this rule is no longer being taught in journalism man schools?

     It only lends credibility to conspiracy theories.  Why does the media give so much time to Donald Trump and his birther mantra?  The only a history being self - serving and there is nothing to believe he knows anything about governing this country.  Have TV new' channels prostituted themselves so far that gaining viewers means more than the task for which they were given a media outlet license?

       Maddow spoke on MSNBC about her refusal to talk about the election in 2016.  I share her sentiments because I consider it a waste of my time to listen to people who know as little as I, getting paid to guess with some tone of authority.  Rand Paul, believed to want publicity to further his plan to a a speculation run for the Presidency in 2016, got plenty of the publicity but, I doubt it is the kind of publicity for which he is looking,

        Most people have frown up believing they can trust what they read or hear on radio or see on the TV News.  We must make it clear that they no longer can trust those sources.  How sad.  We can't look up to the church, the police departments, lawyers, corporations, and so many other places.  We now have a President who has worked hard in his life, accomplished much, married well, is a good father, and a wonderful for black and white men and boys.  We have too many people, mostly Republican, who are trying to discredit him.  aHow can we respect any of those people since they threaten too much of our democracy?  Now we need to fear the militias which are very well armed with AKs 

      

CHRIS CHRISTIE DEMONSTRATES WHY HE SHOULD EVER BECOME PRESIDENT OF THE US

Chris Christie is a good governor for his people but to be elected would be to follow the 'Peter Principle'.  The Peter Principle is a belief that, in an organization where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, that organization's members will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. The principle is commonly phrased, "Employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence." For more explanation, click here.

Christie has declared that the situation of the Sequester is due to President Obama's 'lack of leadership'. His speaking without knowing facts will be his downfall.  It is good to have a politician who speaks his mind honestly but it should be only with fore-thoughts as to its appropriateness, tact, and accuracy.  While he seems fairly bright, he does not seem to be a negotiator or systems thinker.  This might protect him from being the puppet G W Bush was, but it will not be good for the country as he will alienate people who don't play by his rules.

Cal Thomas, a contributor to Fox News has written an excellent article describing why he would not be backed by the Republican Orthodoxy.   To read this, click here   If he would not get the backing of the Republicans and he would certainly not be a choice for Democrats who have many better candidates to run, I would suggest that his political future lies with a second term as governor followed, possibly, by a run for the Senate./

WHY MRS. ROMNEY SHOULD AVOID INTERVIEWS

The more I see of the Romneys, which fortuitously has not been too often lately, I think what a terrible first lady we would have gotten.  The interview with Chris Wallace last Sunday (Fox News) may have showed a fair and balanced view of the Romneys.  Both of them whined that the country would be better off if he was now president.  They have obviously gained no insight into why the country didn't want them.

Mrs. Romney seems to have no specific warmth, talent, charisma, or objectivity.  She chastises the media and seems to put blame everywhere but where it is deserved, on her husband for having run a terrible campaign.  He flip-flopped constantly, made fun of people who are suffering for no fault of their own, refused to share his taxes with the country (allowing all to believe it was so no one would see the taxes he was cheating from our  and its people...though 'legal'...even if it was showing it was not in the best interest of the country but only of his own pocket).

How much money does a person have to amass before his greediness rather than his integrity is blatant?

We are seeing clearly what would have happened if we currently had a Republican president.  All we have to do is watch the Republicans, especially the congressional 'leaders'.  It is clear that the Romneys still believe he lost for errors in his campaigning and miss that the Republican party has no platform that a majority choose.  Statistics shown today indicated that only 22% of the voters consider themselves Republican.  Oddly, that number goes down as the number of Atheists goes up.  For the source of the poll and additional numbers, click here.

DOES NO ONE RESPECT THAT THE PUBLIC CANNOT KNOW EVERYTHING (FOR SECURITY) THAT THE GOVERNMENT OR PRESIDENT DOES?

When we were children we were not allowed to ask our parents' about their sex life or expect to be told how often they were intimate.  Good parents shared much with their children but were careful not to burden their children with information they could not comprehend and would only leave them with anxiety.  They tried to give them enough information as they grew to prepare then for adulthood but not make them responsible for family decisions before they had enough maturity to grasp the full scope of problems they were trying to handle and the consequences of any actions they might take.

Today, it seems people criticize the President for not answering everything they wish to see through the keyhole of government.  They seem not to understand that to publicly state all their actions leaves their enemies fully aware of all plans and strategy.  Is this not rather naive?  Of course we should have an overall view of what is being done, where the country is at fiscally, what the major political goals are at a given time. We have a right to be concerned about our security, security and survival.  We do not need to open ourselves up to open information for all strategies in our own country and around the world.  We were not elected to that job, the President was.

Our media has to learn the role of journalists.  Too many seem to have forgotten, if they ever knew.  It is to report news and information, truthfully, not  pontificate on what they feel the government should be doing since they are not running or criticize what they are not equipped to understand.  We, as citizens, should not be calling the President a liar unless we have absolute proof that we are fully and  properly;y informed of the facts before making such a public statement.  There are too many false accusations, negative propaganda, conspiracy theories, and attempts to besmirch the credibility of the President. The man is not perfect but he is one of the best Presidents I have seen in my many decades of life.  It was refreshing to watch and listen at the last press conference when a woman journalist criticized him, demanding that he should do or have done something which was impossible.  She did what so many are doing today.  She backed off when he asked how she would get what she wanted achieved.  She couldn't answer that, of course, and he did a rather polite and kind response as to why she was being ridiculous (though perhaps I was the only one who would label her as such).

CANDIDATES FOR CONGRESS SHOULD BE GIVING A TEST BEFORE ALLOWED TO RUN FOR THE OFFICE

There is nowhere else where jobs are handed out without careful scrutiny  as to training and ability to do the job.  Yet, we do it constantly with elected officials.  Just as the Bible has been outdated as many rules for morality and integrity do not fit this century, so have the duties of the Legislators demanded specific qualifications that are not being met.  When men are put on a science committee who do not believe scientists or research results, it should not surprise anyone that these practices have shaken the foundation of our democracy. 

We cannot claim that we currently follow the rules of democracy yet we have the gall to try to teach other countries to follow us.  Can we not see they only want our taxpayer's money and not our way of life?  We have a broken government yet we have the hubris to pretend to the world that we know we are better than they.  Our own people are barely surviving (unless you are in the top 2%) yet we plan to give away millions to assist Syrian rebels.  Who appoited us to save the world single-handedly.

American militias have planned revolution for decades now.  I'm content for them never to act on that urge.  It makes me wonder if they are confused about that for which they should be fighting or against whom.

Meanwhile, as thousands lose their jobs and the Republicans allow the slow gains in the economy we have achieved under President Obama's leadership, to get undone, our progress is halted.  We must obey the self-serving elected who care more about pleasing those behind their campaign funding than the lives of their fellow citizens.,