Teachers v Parents

For John, BLUF:  The role of the Voter should not be overlooked.  Virginia Gubenatorial Candidate Terry McAuliffe did, and lost.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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A Tweet About Teachers

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Here is the Tweet thread extract:

Missus Bennet
@poornerves
I've been 50/50 about sending my kid back to school because I know he misses the social aspect of it, but then I see psychotic tweets from teachers like this.

Quote Tweet

Iowa teacher with a “sinister agenda”
@against_kim
· Jan 24
If it wasn’t for teachers, more kids would turn out like their parents. twitter.com/DeAngelisCorey…
12:17 PM · Jan 24, 2022·Twitter Web App

I think we can see a divide growing between parents and teachers.

Considering that the Parents, and their friends, pay the taxes and vote in the School Committee elections, they are not to be toyed with.  When my family left Wenonah, NJ, after I had completed 7th Grade. My academic performance increased quite a bit over the next year and my Father communicated that back to Mr John McQuade.  Mr McQuade, in turn, decided the school need a shaking up and ran a new slate of candidates, and they took over the School Board.  At least that is the way I remember it.  The teachers may think they are in the catbird seat.  However, the Voters have the final say, if they care.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Unseal The Records

For John, BLUF:  We need to hold Government Officials, especially ones drawing a pension, to a higher standard.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The IRS Scandal, Day 1657: Lois Lerner Fears Retaliation If Her Tea Party Targeting Deposition Is Made Public

This from The Tax Prof Blog, and Dean Paul L Caron, 21 November 2017.

Here is the lede plus two:

In his courtroom apologia in the film “A Few Good Men,” Jack Nicholson’s Col. Nathan Jessup made the words famous.  Now, in her bid to keep her testimony in a recently settled tea-party lawsuit against the IRS secret, Lois Lerner has picked up the Jessup argument:  “You can’t handle the truth!”

They used different words but the meaning is the same. Here’s how lawyers for Ms. Lerner and her former IRS deputy, Holly Paz, put it in a filing aimed at persuading a judge to keep their testimony from becoming public:  “Public dissemination of their deposition testimony would expose them and their families to harassment and a credible risk of violence and physical harm.”  They’re not just thinking of themselves, they add.  Young children, family members, might be hurt too.

That’s quite an argument. So enraged would the American public become upon learning what Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz said that they and those around them would be in physical peril.  Which probably makes most people wonder what the heck must the two have said that would get everyone so agitated? ...

Yes, this is outrageous.  Government officials, acting under the color of their office, do bad things, and then get to hide the details from The People.♠  It isn't, aside from President Obama and a few around him,♥  that we don't know what happened.  It is just that the seamy details need to be kept quiet, perhaps so people won't look for other such actions and draw conclusions.

Now I do very much want to know what terrible things Ms. Lerner and Ms. Paz did that they fear the People will pick up their pitchforks and visit their homes.

Then there is this aspect.

[W]hat a crippling precedent it would be if government officials from powerful agencies such as the IRS were permitted to keep their abuses secret on grounds they fear that the people whom they are supposed to serve might be upset if they found out.

And, finally, there is the fact that from time to time records sealed for a good reason (private divorce) are improperly unsealed.  Just ask Mr Jack Ryan.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That would be "the little people", folks like you and me.
♥  The InstaPundit commented:  "NONSENSE, PRESIDENT OBAMA ASSURED ME THERE WAS NOT EVEN A SMIDGEN OF WRONGDOING".

Qualified Immunity Fail

For John, BLUF:  Accountability is important.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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"Qualified Immunity"

It is about the qualified immunity issue, and some impolite police.

Here is the first paragraph of the Wikipedia entry on qualified immunity:

Qualified immunity is a doctrine in United States federal law that arises in cases brought against state officials under 42 U.S.C Section 1983 and against federal officials under Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents, 403 U.S. 388 (1971).  Qualified immunity, when applicable, shields government officials from liability, unless their actions are found to violate an individual's federal constitutional rights.  This grant of immunity is available to state or federal employees performing discretionary functions where their actions, even if later found to be unlawful, did not violate "clearly established law".

Here is the Instapundit blog post in full:

ENDORSED: Every Cop Involved in the Arrest of This Utah Nurse for Refusing to (Illegally) Draw a Patient’s Blood Needs to Be Fired.  “In fact, the claim that this blood draw was part of an ‘investigation’ at all adds another layer of revulsion to Payne’s behavior.  The unconscious man Payne wanted blood from was not suspected of any crime and had done nothing wrong.  He was, in fact, a victim of a crime.”

This is just the latest example of why qualified immunity for law enforcement — an idea with no constitutional foundation, basically made up out of whole cloth by judges — should be abolished.

UPDATE: SLC mayor, police chief apologize for officer who arrested nurse; criminal investigation to follow.

If Black Lives Matter really wanted to do something about issues between police and Blacks it would be mounting a massive campaign to convince Congress to abolish qualified immunity, and not just for police, but also for prosecutors.

I would support Black Lives Matter in such a move.

Hat tip to the InstaPundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Trump Fails Again

For John, BLUF:  In my experience, if it wasn't for bad feedback there would be no feedback.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Feedback on a Post

Yesterday I posted on President Trump's Justice Department handing over to the Court the full CIA Torture Report.  While the Obama Administration had stashed a copy in the Obama Presidential Library, it had been fighting release to the United States District Court for the District of Columbia.

Here is the redacted report, per The Old Gray Lady.

Anyway, I got some friendly feedback:

Part of Trump's plan to inflame the entire Muslim world against us to make us more secure?

As if our American life style isn't sufficient to inflame those in the "Muslim World" who believe we are going against Allah's wishes, as expressed by the Prophet Mohammed.

Regards  —  Cliff

Justice Messed Up

For John, BLUF:  You should never lie to the person doing your Poly (Polygraph), the Priest hearing your confession (he could be another Father John Vianny or a Padre Pio) or Government Officials (but look for them to lie to you).  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Former general pleads guilty in false statements probe

This is from the AP, yesterday, and the Reporters are Messrs Sam Hananel and Eric Tucker.  The lede plus three:

A former vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff pleaded guilty Monday to making false statements during an investigation into a leak of classified information about a covert cyberattack on Iran's nuclear facilities.

Retired Marine Gen. James Cartwright entered the plea at a hearing before U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, convened just a few hours after the Justice Department announced the charges.

The plea ends a Justice Department investigation that began after the 2012 leak to reporters of information about use of a computer virus called Stuxnet that disabled equipment the Iranians were using to enrich uranium.

The offense carries a maximum of five years in prison, but under a plea agreement, the government is recommending a sentence in the range of zero to six months.  Cartwright is scheduled to be sentenced on January 17, and it will be up to Leon to decide the sentence.

First Off:  I think it is wrong that we have a law that says it is a crime to lie to a Federal Official (what is sworn testimony for, after all), but it is perfectly legal for a Federal Official to lie to your average citizen.  Those folks on Capitol Hill need to change this.  And they should have changed it years ago, like when Mr Scooter Libby was jacked up over the disclosure of the CIA status of Ms Valerie Plame, when he was not actually connected to the actual crime.  Shame.

Secondly:  I really don't see General Cartwright as doing something egregious with regard to national security, not like Mrs Hillary Clinton and her unsecured homebrew server.

Regards  —  Cliff

Criminal Activity in High Office

For John, BLUF:  Maybe the Lesson Learned is that Ms Clinton doesn't follow directions.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From the on line publication Truth Revolt we have an interesting item from On-Line Commentator Bill Whittle, "The Criminal Arrogance of Hillary Clinton"

The sub-headline is:

Lawlessness is endemic in this administration. But beyond the lawlessness is, of course, the contempt.

Passing over, for a moment, Ms Clinton's WikiLeaks like treatment of classified information,♠ there is the mandate in Law to protect public records.  There is the assumption that after the passage of some time the records of an Administration will be released so that historians can comb through them and help us to understand what happened way back when.♥

So, here is the US Code to which Mr Whittle was referring (U.S. Code, Title 18, Part I, Chapter 101, § 2071):

(a) Whoever willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, or destroys, or attempts to do so, or, with intent to do so takes and carries away any record, proceeding, map, book, paper, document, or other thing, filed or deposited with any clerk or officer of any court of the United States, or in any public office, or with any judicial or public officer of the United States, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both.

(b) Whoever, having the custody of any such record, proceeding, map, book, document, paper, or other thing, willfully and unlawfully conceals, removes, mutilates, obliterates, falsifies, or destroys the same, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than three years, or both; and shall forfeit his office and be disqualified from holding any office under the United States.  As used in this subsection, the term “office” does not include the office held by any person as a retired officer of the Armed Forces of the United States.

Someone in the Department of State, who was responsible for State employees following the law, fell down on the job and failed to point out to Ms Clinton what was as obvious as the nose on her face.♣

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Like revealing the identity of an Afghan intelligence asset for the CIA.  Sure, it isn't like revealing the fact that Ms Valerie Plame was a CIA asset, even though she was safe in the US.  But still, to the Afghan's family it might be an issue.  Let them sue.  It is the American way.
♥  It turns out that news reports really are just the first draft of history.  Why do you think Sandy Berger was at the National Archives.  To remove materials.
♦  I realize Mr George Anthes, from City Life, will tell us that four different lawyers will have four different opinions, but I took it to be something that I had to pay attention to, taking the king's shilling and all that.
♣  Did she learn nothing from Mr Sandy Berger's 2005 conviction?

Accident Investigation

For John, BLUF:  It is still too soon to tell.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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At this blog post I speculated on what might have brought down the Russian Airliner out of Sharm el-Sheikh, in Egypt.  Here is some additional thoughts, from Maram Mazen and Nour Youssef of the Associated Press: "Noise in last second of Russian plane's cockpit recording".

To reprise, a 31 October flight out of the Egyptian resort town of Sharm el-Sheikh came apart at 30,000 feet and provided a debris field stretched over 8 miles.  There were 224 souls on board (SOBs), most of them Russian tourists.  The aircraft was an Airbus A321-200.

Here is an important paragraph out of the article:

"All scenarios are being considered ... it could be lithium batteries in the luggage of one of the passengers, it could be an explosion in the fuel tank, it could be fatigue in the body of the aircraft, it could be the explosion of something," said [Ayman] El-Muqadem, who is Egyptian and leading the investigation committee that includes experts from Russia, France, Germany and Ireland, where the plane was registered.  El-Muqadem appeared alone at the news conference in Cairo.

While we await the findings, TSA is going to be trying to tighten up.  Some action will be effective and some won't.

UPDATE:  A friend who monitors Russian media noted this AM that "One of the early speculations in the Russian media was the plane broke up during evasive maneuver to avoid colliding with a Western fighter jet."

Regards  —  Cliff

Federal Data Breach Massive, Preventable

TRIGGER WARNING:  .
For John, BLUF:  Has the cyber war begun?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From The Hill, Reporters Jordan Fabian and Cory Bennett tells us "Obama has confidence in OPM chief despite hack".  Why, I don't know.

President Obama is standing by Office of Personnel Management (OPM) Director Katherine Archuleta despite a series of massive data breaches that have shaken the federal government, the White House said Wednesday.

“The president does have confidence that she is the right person for the job,” spokesman Josh Earnest told reporters.

Sometimes a statement like this is just a prelude to a firing.♠  And, she needs to be fired.  We need for the Federal Government to restore confidence in the protection of our personal data.  Retaining the current Director, and her team, suggests no major step forward.  Some people get that:

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee Chairman Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah) is leading a growing bipartisan chorus of lawmakers calling for Archuleta’s firing in the wake of the mega breach at her embattled agency, which has exposed the personal data of as many as 14 million government employees.

[Presidential Spokesman Josh] Earnest said updating OPM’s cyber defenses has been one of Archuleta’s top priorities since she assumed her post in late 2013, but that is “obviously an ongoing process.”

He said Archuleta and OPM Chief Information Officer Donna Seymour have cooperated as best as they can with a congressional inquiry into the hacks.

“They understandably faced some tough questions and they have tried to provide as much information as possible to the United States Congress,” he said.  “This is an issue they have been working on for some time.”

Here is the problem.  "Military clearance OPM data breach 'absolute calamity'".  I expect it includes my data.

And, this should not have been a surprise.  Mr Michael Esser, the Agency’s Assistant Inspector General for Audit testified to Congress that the problems had been reported a year ago.  This is not good.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Anyone remember Mr Michael Brown?

Firing Pins Prick Old Grey Lady

For John, BLUF:  You need a diversity of news sources.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Law Professor Glenn Harlan Reynolds, writing in USA Today, says "When newsrooms run with stories too good to be true, they should diversify their ranks."

"So, basically, my butt refuted The New York Times."

That's what I heard in the press room at this weekend's NRA convention in Nashville, from gun-blogger SayUncle (real name:  Chance Ballew).

The Times had editorialized that the NRA was a bunch of hypocrites because although attendees with gun permits were allowed to carry guns on the convention floor, those guns were actually neutered by having the firing pins removed:  "Seventy-thousand people are expected to attend the National Rifle Association's convention opening (last Friday) in Tennessee, and not one of them will be allowed to come armed with guns that can actually shoot.  After all the NRA propaganda about how 'good guys with guns' are needed to be on guard across American life, from elementary schools to workplaces, the weekend's gathering of disarmed conventioneers seems the ultimate in hypocrisy."

A damning assertion of hypocrisy — except that it wasn't even close to true.  The only guns with firing pins removed were the display guns on the convention floor. In fact, several gun bloggers tweeted a photo of themselves carrying fully functional firearms from the press room, forcing The Times into an embarrassing — though still incomplete — correction.  It was especially embarrassing because a simple check of the NRA website or The Tennessean would have revealed the truth.  But The Times' editors saw a chance to score a cheap shot and got carried away in their excitement.  (MSNBC got burned, too.)

Then Professor Reynolds moves on to Rolling Stone and then Bloomberg.

And then he wraps it up:

Even so, I don't think that big news outlets such as The Times, Bloomberg or Rolling Stone will start hiring people with different backgrounds and political views.  Instead, I think they'll simply lose audiences, and trust, to people who do.  In the marketplace of ideas, you can only go so far when you're one-sided.  Though these humiliations should be a wake-up call, I expect them to keep snoozing.

I can't really take seriously critical comments about Fox News with this kind of thing going on.

Hat tip to the Instapundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

PS:  I don't actually get the "butt refuted" thing.

Making Deliveries

For John, BLUF:  Apparently incentives work.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds.

Yes, that is the creed of the US Postal Service, and old as the Postal Service is, going back to Ben Franklin and 1775, the saying is older, going back to Herodotus, about 500 BC.

Today I came to wonder if the mantle has not fallen to United Parcel Service.  I ordered a pair of mittens from L L Bean and the promised delivery was this coming Wednesday.  Instead, they arrived yesterday, Monday afternoon.

The US Mail?  Not so much.

Kudos to "Brown".

Regards  —  Cliff

What Will They Be Doing on Wednesday

For John, BLUF:  We do need to clean up the spending for Fiscal Year 2015, which began a month ago.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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From Roll Call is an article on folks on Capitol Hill looking to the Lame Duck session to pass an Omnibus spending bill.

Away from the din of the campaign, House and Senate appropriations staffers are quietly laying the groundwork for an ambitious wrap-up spending package in the lame duck.

Hat tip to the Instapundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

School Bus Analogy

For John, BLUF:  John, good analogy with the School Buses.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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John McDonough, on the local access program City Life, in describing the US House of Representatives and its members, uses the school bus analogy.  He sees the 435 (plus a couple of delegates♠) sitting on ten yellow school buses.  The main point of this analogy is that the vast majority of Representatives don't get to sit in the first bus or even the front of their own bus.  They don't have much influence on the direction of their bus, let alone all the buses.  If you are a Freshman Representative you are the low person on the totem pole.

So, going with John's analogy, let us assume our buses hold 48 adults, plus the driver (who is a civil servant).  Because some member of the MSM was colorblind and clueless, a while back Blue was assigned as the color for the Democrats, thus obscuring the socialist past of the Party.  I guess the Republicans could have demanded Green, but the MSM knew that color belonged to environmentalists and no one was going to admit that there were any environmentalists amongst the Republicans.  Black was also taken and Orange seemed a little garish,♥ so it was down to Red.

There are 199 Democrats in the US House of Representatives, so, the Democrats get five buses, one of which is only about one seventh full.  The Senior Bus Mother for this crowd is Nancy Pelosi.  The buses are painted blue.

With 234 members, in this scenario, the Republicans also get five buses, but their fifth is almost full, with only a dozen seats left over.  The Senior Bus Mother is Eric Cantor.♦  The buses are red.

It does look like we need one Republican bus reserved for the Tea Party Caucus, which has 48 members, at last count.  Their bus is Red, with a Tea Pot painted on both sides.

There are 2 Vacancies in the House of Representatives, but no matter which way they break they will not overfill a bus, unless they join the Tea Party Caucus, in which case we will need an 11th bus to handle the Tea Party Caucus members (standing is not recommended by the NHTSA).  And, they expect their own bus or buses.

Then there is the Speaker of the House, Mr John Boehner.  Unlike Westminster, the US Speaker is a partisan position and seen as such.  On the other hand, he is second in line for the Presidency in the event of an untoward event.  Does he get his own bus or does he ride with the majority, in this Congress a Red Bus?

So, if you wish to have influence you need to be on the Tea Party bus, since they represent the swing votes the Republicans need to pass legislation when the Democrats are opposed.  When are the Democrats not opposed?  One in 48 still isn't a powerful position, especially as a junior "one", but the odds are better than 1 in 234, or 186, with the Tea Party removed.

The conclusion is that John is giving us a good analogy, and a reason why one wants one's Representative to have several reelections behind them—so they sit further up in the bus, or maybe move to the bus the Majority or Minority Leader is riding on.  The down side of that is it means they have become entrenched in the DC "system".

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  These six non-voting Delegates represent American Samoa, the District of Columbia, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and US Virgin Islands, all "At Large".
♥  And offensive to the Irish.
♦  Mr Cantor lost his primary race, so he is not the Senior Bus Mother for long.

The MSM Looks, But Does Not See

For John, BLUF:  The NYT view.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The "Public Editor" for The New York Times♠ answers reader comments on The Old Grey Lady and the IRS imbroglio.  Her take:

The Times was somewhat late in beginning to cover the latest development about the lost emails. My office had begun to field several days’ worth of reader protests on the lack of attention when the first story finally went online.  Despite that slow start and the quiet display of the subsequent stories (an analytical piece might have been a good choice for the front page), The Times has given its readers insightful coverage of a situation heavily clouded by partisan politics.

I will give her the "somewhat late".  It is my guess that the powers that be in the paper think this is just a made up scandal and there is nothing to it.  Ms Lois Lerner was just doing her legitimate job and the loss of her EMails and those of six other IRS employees, are just the way an electronic world moves.

What did you expect?  Don't Worry, Be Happy

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  This would be Ms Margaret Sullivan and the position would be a sort of Ombudsman for the readers of America's Newspaper of Record.

DOJ Reasoning in Killing Mr Anwar al-Awlaki Released, After a Fight

For John, BLUF:  When should the Feds target Americans for killing?  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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The New York Times is not a total waste of ink.  Their lawsuit, joined into by the ACLU, to force the release of the Department of Justice memo justifying the drone attack that killed American Anwar al-Awlaki, in Yemen, back in September 2011, has paid off.

A federal appeals court in New York on Monday made public a redacted version of a 2010 Justice Department memo that signed off on the targeted killing of an American citizen, Anwar al-Awlaki, without a trial, following Freedom of Information Act lawsuits.

The memo, signed by David Barron, who was then the acting head of the department’s Office of Legal Counsel and is now a federal appeals court judge in Boston, concluded that it would be lawful to target Mr. Awlaki for killing if his capture was not feasible.  Intelligence analysts had concluded that Mr. Awlaki was an operational terrorist.

We don't have the whole memo, but we have the DOJ legal analysis.  This is important in that as Americans we need to understand when and where our Federal Government is willing to kill us rather than arrest us.  For instance, if drones had been available, would Ruby Ridge have gone differently?  More important, should it have?

Another question is why the Department of Justice prevaricated about the existence of the Memo when first approached?  That doesn't seem very open and transparent.  In fact, given that the sky has not fallen with the release of the legal analysis section, it looks like terrible judgment on the part of DOJ officials.  From Reporter Charlie Savage:

The Obama administration fought the disclosure, initially refusing to confirm or deny the memo’s existence.

This should be added to the list of disappointing things about Attorney General Holder and his Administration of the Department of Justice.

Regards  —  Cliff

First, they came for the ...

For John, BLUF:  It is easy to go from part of the majority to part of some minority.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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In today's Day by Day comic strip the character Jan asks, in the second panel, "Are the Kochs Jewish?" Her husband, Damon, responds, "No-just among the first they came for."♠

I thought that perhaps Mark Basseley Youssef (formerly known as Nakoula Basseley Nakoula) was among the first they came for.

Of course the reference is to Pastor Martin Niemöller.  Here is the short version of Pastor Niemöller's comment, from the US Holocaust Museum, on 14th Street, in Washington, DC.

First they came for the Socialists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Socialist.

Then they came for the Trade Unionists, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Trade Unionist.

Then they came for the Jews, and I did not speak out-- Because I was not a Jew.

Then they came for me--and there was no one left to speak for me.

Pastor Niemöller was imprisoned in Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1937 to 1945.♥

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  That is Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the first panel.
♥  A very small distinction, these were concentration camps in Germany, as opposed to the extermination (or death) camps further east, where killing on an industrial scale took place.

Is the MLA a Fascist Organization?

For John, BLUF:  People with agendas that preclude examination can't grow, but can disrupt.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

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It appears The Daily Caller thinks so.

Here is an article from the web news presence about being excluded from this year's Convention of the Modern Language Association (MLA).  Mr Eric Owens, The DC Education Editor, is bitter about this exclusion.

My only comment is that their MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers is no Plain Words.

Hat tip to the Instapundit.

Regards  —  Cliff

Do You Write Your Elected Officials?

I've been doing some thinking about the moral implications about being a citizen. Sure, you can express you opinion when you vote, but if there is an issue of "fierce moral urgency"™ about which you are concerned, do you have a moral obligation to let your representatives know your feelings? What if you know they disagree and are unlikely to ever change their mind?

The conclusion I've reached is that since morality is a question of my conduct, I have an obligation to act. To that end, I sent the President a letter last month—an honest to goodness pen on paper letter. I will not bore you with the details except to say that it expressed my views on abortion and sought to bring him around in just a small way. I figure I need to be sending letters about once a month just so I can cover all the people and all the issues on a regular basis. This also means I'm behind already.

—the Other Cliff

Should We Have To Know On Which Side Our Bread is Buttered?

For John, BLUF:  The question is, does the IRS operate like Chicago.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

Over at The InstaPundit is a fairly expanded post about "The Chicago Way".  It is from an article by Columnist John Kass♠ in The Chicago Tribune, which appears to be behind a paywall.  Professor Reynolds headlined his post:

JOHN KASS:  IRS scandal a reminder of how I learned about The Chicago Way.

Here is the thing.  If the American People come to believe the IRS is being subsumed under "The Chicago Way" it will result in a major loss of faith in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act,♥ something that is already being questions due to size, complexity, rigidity and affordability.  The outcome of a collapse of faith would not be good and might even echo over into congressional elections.

Answer to the question in the title is "Not for getting government services".

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  Mr Kass is about 14 years younger than I am, but we both spent some time in Oak Lawn, Illinois.  I spent a couple of months and graduated from 8th grade there.
♥  "Obama Care".

Unhelpful Comparisons

For John, BLUF:  Keep calm and carry on.

Still with us, one of the two iconic Washington Post Reporters from the days of the Nixon meltdown in office, Mr Bob Woodward, is comparing Benghazi to Watergate.

I believe we should go slow here.  I don't think anyone should be hoping for an early exit by President Obama.  For one thing, the Vice President is Joe Biden.♠  For another, to have our first self-identified Black President go out under disgrace would harden lines for well into the future and that would be bad for all of us.  With an alert Congress we can endure just about anything.  The time of President Andrew Johnson shows us that.

We need investigations and hearings and the like, but there should be no talk of anything except correcting and improving the system.  And I doubt piling on more laws will help.  Likely they will harm.  Sunlight as disinfectant is the best solution.

Regards  —  Cliff

♠  And, for our Democratic Party friends, the Republican Speaker of the House, if Mr Biden succeeds President Obama, is only a heartbeat away until a new VP is sworn in.

Gov't Too Big—David Axelrod

For John, BLUF:  If the Federal is too big for the Prez to manage it is too big.  Nothing to see here; just move along.

The government is simply too big for President Obama to keep track of all the wrongdoing taking place on his watch, his former senior adviser, David Axelrod, told MSNBC.  “Part of being president is there’s so much beneath you that you can’t know because the government is so vast,” he explained.

This from Mr Andrew Johnson, writer for National Review's "The Corner".  Video from the Joe Scarborough Show embedded.  The title is "Axelrod:  Government 'So Vast,' Obama Can't Know About Wrongdoing".

So, the Tea Parties seem to have some useful insight about the size of Government.

Hat tip to Rush and Drudge.

Regards  —  Cliff