Pelosi To The Rescue!

The current debt ceiling/deficit debate going on is important to be sure.  I've been doing a lot of ranting and raving about it for days now.  I must thank the former speaker, however, for adding some much needed levity with the comment,

"What we’re trying to do is save the world from the Republican budget . . . We’re trying to save life on this planet as we know it today."

Oh, don't I wish!  I wonder if she has a clue how idiotic that sounds.  It's right up there with her comment when health care passed; she said we could then all read it and find out what was in it!  To think this woman is one of the most powerful in the country.

Oh well, a good belly laugh now and then is good for the soul.  Forget the flaws in the Republican plan - and the Democratic plan.  Or that neither side trusts the other to keep their word. The problem is where both parties have taken us with their unlimited spending spree.

Somehow I just don't see Nancy saving us from what she herself and others like her have done to the country.  Life as it is today isn't so great when you consider the unemployment rate, the housing crunch,  the cost of gas and food and the humility thrust upon us by the TSA to mention a few.

Do us a favor Ms. Pelosi.  Don't bother.  As for the rest of the world?  Do it a favor and leave it alone.  They've managed to muck things up for themselves just as well, if not better, than we have, but the last thing they need is our help.  It would be like someone with a face full of Botox being asked to furrow their brow!

She Actually Said It!

Nancy Pelosi gave a speech this morning. In it she touted all the wonderful things the administration is doing including the health care bill. After outlining all it's wonders, she actually said this, “But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of the controversy." Does that say it all or what?

We already know that at the moment there are two bills, one passed by the House and one passed by the Senate. The house has a lot of problems with the Senate bill but are being taken into the woodshed and told they'll either vote for it or else. What are they being promised this time? As I've said before, what a way to govern.

Whatever passes, or doesn't, is good for one thing - the President's legacy. It's any one's guess what that will be just as the Iraq war and it's end result will determine Bush's legacy. Will we ever have a President who is more interested in nation building, ours, than legacy building?

I have no idea where the Republican party stands on much of anything. The front people are a failed candidate - Mitt Romney and a stand up comedienne, Sarah Palin. I don't see a bright future there but at least they are as one with their current dysfunction.

The Democrats are something else again! They seem to be imploding and are spending more time on damage control than doing the country's business. That may be a blessing.

Every once in awhile there is a blip of brightness. A few weeks ago it was the election of Scott Brown who was elected because he still hears the people. Today the "Thatagirl" award goes to Congresswoman Ann Kirkpatrick, D-AZ, who has introduced a bill that calls for a 5% Congressional pay cut. The last time such a drastic step was taken was 77 years ago during the Great Depression. Well, we've got one on our hands now and her feeling it is at least symbolic for those who no longer have pay to cut!

At the moment she is the least popular member of Congress. Not with the people, mind you, but her own! That gets a huge thumbs up from me. Even more so because she already writes a check to the government giving back that 5%.

That's a bill one doesn't have to pass to know what's in it.

One thing I wish I knew that could really give me hope is how she plans to vote on health care! Congresswoman?

Does She Have The Right?

"A bill can be bipartisan without bipartisan votes." So stated Nancy Pelosi on State of the Union Sunday morning.

One thing I have to say for the woman, she appears to truly believe we should have a socialistic medical system under the thumb of the government. When I said in a recent post we should be looking for candidates who have convictions and the courage to stick with them, Nancy Pelosi is certainly one such. My question is, because she has the top leadership position in the House, does she have the right to force her personal conviction, with coercion and bribes, on other members of the body in order to secure their votes? To my way of thinking, that's an abuse of power.

She went on to say, "Republicans have left their imprint." Yes, they have, or at least they've tried. From my perspective their views, as put forth at the summit, were met with disdain, contradiction and condescension. For Pelosi to continually harp on how the Republicans have been misrepresenting the contents of the bill because "that's what they do" is beginning to ring hollow. The other guy is always the bad guy even if they're correct.

The reality is that people have begun to pay attention to what the government is doing and they're not happy.

While Pelosi has proven effective at "muscling out votes", it seems to me she is lacking in true leadership skills. Had she been willing to include the Republicans in planning sessions at the beginning of the process, been willing to incorporate their ideas along with the Democrats, we may have been able to avoid this cat fight and already have legislation passed. As it is now, if it passes she will have sacrificed the more moderate members of her own party and thoroughly alienated a large segment of the voting public.

She may win one for Obama and herself but at what price? Back to my point on choosing good candidates regardless of party, those already elected have a responsibility in choosing their own leadership. Those who wear blinders to all but their own ideology should not be placed in leadership positions any more than Charlie Rangel should be given a pass on his tax dodging when he chairs the Ways and Means Committee that is responsible for taxation issues! "It was a staff error," is so lame he should have been embarrassed to utter it. But then these people are beyond being embarrassed over anything. They are also beyonf taking responsibility for their own actions and will always find someone else to blame. It's a disgusting state of affairs!

Oh, yes. All the above critique also applies to Harry Reid. Along with every Republican who may aspire to these heights when their turn comes.

The War Within

If you have doubts as to who's running the country you need look no further than Nancy Pelosi. As third in line, she's sure showing she's got the toughness it takes.

The The Wall Street Journal headlines the fact the Pelosi is seeing reluctance in Congress to send additional troops to Afghanistan.

It interests me to watch this woman. In some instances she seems little more then an obstructionist. I guess it depends whether or not your on her side of the battle. She's as tough as nails and as cold as steel.

General McChrystal, the relatively new commander in Kabul was instructed by Secretary of Defense Gates to not ask for increased troops in his recent assessment of conditions. It was not timely. McChrystal acquiesced. It's coming now. Bear in mind this is the administration's hand picked commander. The President contends this is a "war of necessity" and it is escalating faster than a blink of the eye. A fair chunk of Congress does not agree, including a strong coalition of Democrats.

The problem might be that Congress was burned with the "War of Choice", as Obama portrays it, in Iraq, and are reluctant to get burned again by supporting the escalation of this one. Maybe they recognize we can't afford it. Maybe they recognize the dollar cost isn't worth the end game. Maybe they realize a strategy is a must. We can't afford another open ended conflict.

Many Americans are against it. The Russians failed and the British before them. We're short of resources; how can we possibly do better? We're still fighting an enemy who is besting us with far less than we have. Why is that? Is it because we're fighting in a conventional manner while the enemy is not?

We're seeing another battle of wills between the White House and Congress. This time, rather than butting heads with the Republican minority over health care, plus a few maverick Democrats that are giving them fits, they're facing strong opposition from within their own party! That does not bode well for the administration.

I think the country is just plain war weary. Whether it's domestic "war" against unpopular policies or fighting war in lands we know little about. We're weary of an economy that shows too few signs of improvement. We're weary of looking for jobs comparable to the ones we once held. We're weary of looking for jobs period. There's likely not to be any employers left to participate in Obama's grandiose health care schemes at the rate we're going. We're just plain weary of worrying.

We're most weary, however, of sending our young men and women off to war torn areas of our own making and having them not return. Ms. Pelosi may win this battle. The "war" however, is far from over.

You'd Think They'd Learn!

These two are enough to give women in politics a bad name! I had hoped for better when Pelosi became Speaker of the House and had no hope what-so-ever when Palin became the Republican Vice Presidential nominee.

It seems not thinking before speaking knows no bounds when it comes to gender. Frankly, I'm tired of all the name calling and inflammatory language that has been coming from both sides of the political spectrum. It is not helping the dialog. These political heavy weights are the ones who should be calming people down, not rousing their ire! I thought we had enough of being accused of being less than American when the Bush Administration accused any and everybody questioning the war, among other things, as being unpatriotic.

Now Ms. Pelosi, in an op ed piece in USA Today, accuses those of us who dare to question bad legislation as being un-American!

These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views — but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades.

I'm having trouble believing she really said this. Would President Obama suggest she acted stupidly?

As for Ms. Palin, the current queen of Facebook and Twitter, hasn't helped the cause. I wouldn't go so far as to call her un-American, but I would suggest she too acted stupidly. She commented on Facebook that the health care plan is "downright evil".

The America I know and love is not one in which my parents or my baby with Down Syndrome will have to stand in front of Obama's "death panel" so his bureaucrats can decide, based on a subjective judgement of their "level" of productivity in "society" whether they are worthy of health care.

You'd think someone who could put together a sentence like that might at least check the accuracy of it!

They sound like a couple of screeching cats. Can they sink any lower? Probably. There is always mud wrestling. Here all this time I've thought public service was a higher calling. Well. It seems to have no where else to go than up!

The Mighty CAN Fall But Rarely Do! Why Is That?

John Bohner, House Minority Leader, has said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi should either come up with evidence that the CIA misled her regarding the use of "enhanced" interrogation techniques or apologize to the CIA. That got me to wondering if there is a difference between being misled and being lied to. Boehner, apparently, does not think there is.

Oh what a tangled web we weave when first we practice to deceive. Sir Walter Scott

The question is who is being deceived and who is doing the deceiving!

Boehner went on to emphasize the fact that "lying to the Congress of the United States is a crime". Now there's a novel solution as to how to clean house. Literally. Actually prosecute every member of both houses and the administration who lies to the U.S. Congress. I'm not sure anyone would be left!

If it is a crime there must be a punishment, though in the tight knit club that is our government, it's rarely, if ever, doled out! I went searching and found the applicable code on the Cornell University Law School web site.

ITITLE 18 > PART I > CHAPTER 47 > § 1001

§ 1001. Statements or entries generally

(a) Except as otherwise provided in this section, whoever, in any matter within the jurisdiction of the executive, legislative, or judicial branch of the Government of the United States, knowingly and willfully—

(1) falsifies, conceals, or covers up by any trick, scheme, or device a material fact;

(2) makes any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or representation; or

(3) makes or uses any false writing or document knowing the same to contain any materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent statement or entry;

shall be fined under this title, imprisoned not more than 5 years or, if the offense involves international or domestic terrorism (as defined in section 2331), imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

Boehner, in suggesting that she turn said evidence over to the justice department so that any intelligence officials at fault could be prosecuted, in essence has given Ms. Pelosi a pass. If she is the one lying is she exempt from the law? For crying out loud, look what happened to Martha Stewart for "misleading" the FBI!

What about all the lies that were forth coming from the preceding Republican administration? Mr. Boehner's party! While there has been the usual posturing, no one seems to have the stomach to pursue such matters. Maybe laying five years on some of these folks would give them pause. Nothing else seems to get their attention.

Someone is lying. We'll never know who. The ranks have been closed and Ms. Pelosi will be protected. She may be diminished, but she will be protected. Do you wonder why I'm cynical?

The Pork Queen - Nancy Pelosi

All across America small towns have their celebrations complete with Queen and court. It would seem we have one on the national level too.

Politico reports that House Speaker Nancy
Pelosi is open to a second stimulus package. She criticized the media for being too critical about the first for expecting too much too soon. Was there not enough pork in the first? Was there not enough allocated to save her little marsh mouse or find out why pigs smell the way they do?

This from the woman, who if she were up for a cabinet position, would probably have some tax problems of her own. While the new members of Congress fly commercial with the rest of we peons, she is known for demanding high end military aircraft to shuttle her entourage, including family, around and letting her upset be known should they not be readily available. Does she reimburse the military for their use? Does she pay tax on those jaunts as additional income? I rather doubt it. If Sarah Palin has to reimburse Alaska for family sojourns, then too should Ms. Pelosi reimburse the military. Not just for a first class ticket, either, but the full freight for operating expenses.

I do have to find fault with the President for allowing as much pork to pass in the first stimulus bill as was done, but is it me or does Ms. Pelosi just not get it? Actually, I think she gets it just fine. It's just that no one has had the will to reign her in. I find that worrisome.

The good news of the day is the market is up and Citi actually showed a profit. The bad news is the Democrats hold the house with the Pork Queen as speaker. The reason people are getting impatient is because they don't see the stimulus. Where is the job creation?

Military personnel cleaning up the planes after a Pelosi flight certainly isn't a job saved or created. If that is the thinking, then I can assuredly explain why pigs stink. They are, after all, pork.