Is Bipartisanship Already Over?

Let's see, it's January 6, 2015.  It looks like it's going to be a long year.

The President has finally made clear what he has been hinting at for years.  He will veto the Keystone Pipeline.  He will veto the medical device tax.  He will veto a return to the 40 hour work week.  And so forth and so on.

I've never seen anyone like this President in all my 70+ years.  I cannot begin to understand his thought process.  All I know is he keeps telling us his way is the 21st century way.  I guess he thinks he can single handedly bring the rest of the world up to his standard no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.

The question now is will the Congress revert to maybe the 20th century way when both sides of the aisle would work together to come up with viable compromise.  Where both sides of the aisle would work together to over turn a veto when they knew in their heart of hearts the veto was wrong.

We have a lot of new blood in this Congress. I'm wondering what type it may be. Hopefully there is plenty of type A.  A for America.  The country, it seems, no longer has much tolerance for O.

Why Can't Cops Protest?

Am I in the minority?  I do not think the police turning their backs on Mayor DeBlasio was in poor taste nor was it an insult to their fallen comrades. If nothing more it was a show of support for the two officers who died because vehemence toward police had gotten out of hand. How else were they going to let it be known they aren't happy with their treatment.

If the Sharpton/DeBlasio race baiters have the right to protest then I think the police should too.  Actually I think they've done it with class considering what they could do.  After all, they are the ones armed to the hilt.

All they did, however, was turn their backs on the person they have a grievance with in the only venue where they could be sure he got the message.  Or at least couldn't deny getting it.  They didn't turn over and burn cars, they didn't break windows, beat civilians nor rob businesses. They didn't rain debris on unsuspecting pedestrians. They merely turned their backs. On the one person with whom they had a grievance.

Is our discomfort because of the brotherhood they share?  They have each others backs in a way no other profession other than active duty combat soldiers do.  Daily they face the worst of us more than the best.  Sure, not all of them are good guys and sometimes we lose patience because it takes so long to weed out the bad ones.  We don't like their 'attitude'.  But what would we do without them?

We want their respect.  Is it too much for them to ask the same from not only those they protect but from those to whom they must answer?  I think not.

I'm willing to wager if we should ever have another, God forbid, incident like 9/11 who do you think would be leading the first responders?  I think I can safely say it wouldn't be the likes of Bill DeBlasio.  Most likely it would be a cop.  We need to remember that. 

Bullies

SONY has been hacked.  A lot of what had been assumed as private information was suddenly public.  Who was to blame?  The FBI tells us it was North Korea.  I have my doubts.

Maybe they had a hand in it but somehow I doubt they evey knew  the movie spoof about doing in their "Young One" was being made.  No, I think some insiders had a hand in it.  But no.  The FBI says it was North Korea.  After all they have information the rest of us don't.  Like where the perps of Benghazai hang out.

The President assured us he would retaliate appropriately.  We've placed some more sanctions on them.  They don't have anything anyway so I don't see that they'll have any impact. But such is the way our government does business these days.

Now, if you really want to let someone know we can't be bullied by some two bit caricature, why don't we start with Al Sharpton?  The same Al Sharpton who sits with the Mayor of New York and the President of the United States on one hand and on the other  extorts large cash contributions from corporations to keep him and his National Action Network from accusing them of racism. Companies like Macy's, Honda and AT&T.

Also those organizations who demand politicians sign a pledge to favor their cause or a candidate will be run against them. Or the office holders who are in positions of power who won't allow legislation to come to a vote because it's not what the man wants.

They are all bullies.  Their behavior is despicable.  If anyone takes a pledge to do anything, let it be to give the likes of these no sway.  I wonder if we even recognize that we're being held hostage to these people and their special interests.  It's part of what's wrong with government because it starts at the local level and embeds itself forever after. That's what lobbiests do.  That's what political action groups do.  Those who cater to them get ahead, those who don't don't.

Perhaps it's time we get behind those who have the guts "to just say no". When you look at the players you see it isn't at all racist.  Sure, Sharpton, the President and Holder are black but Kim Jong Un isn't. The House and Senate leadership is lily white.  So are the Christian Conservatives who demand their pound of flesh.

It goes to show that unsavory behavior has nothing to do with race.  It has to do with character. Just because a person is a caricature doesn't mean he has character.  At least not a good one.

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly

As the year draws to a close I look to toward the future hoping for signs that the world situation will improve.  Unfortunately the evidence is lacking while we still negotiate with the rogue state of Iran bringing them ever closer to nuclear capability and have even been told not to discount the possibility of reopening our long closed embassy.

This of course comes from a petulant President who insists on doing things his own way regardless of what the consequences may be.  That is what brought about his "normalizing" relations with Cuba without getting anything in return, releasing known jihadists and piling more regulations on our own energy industries.

The good mixes with the bad with the announcement that Michael Grimm, a now convicted felon, is resigning from Congress.  For those Republicans among us it is bad news because he'll probably be replaced by a Democrat.  It's okay if the Democrat cares about the country first but if another ideologue it will only add to the contentiousness already in Congress.

Then there is the news that Hillary's camp is already trying to dig up dirt on Jim Webb, a potential candidate who is merely exploring the possibility of challenging her.  Why must dirt always be sought rather than burnishing one's own capabilities? Perhaps it's because he is the far more capable of the two.  Do the Clinton's know how to play anything except dirty?

And the ugly.  Al Sharpton.  No one among the power players who have welcomed him into their inner circles have denounced him for what he is.  A racist agitator who doesn't deserve the time of day. Especially from the likes of the President of the United States, the Attorney General and the Mayor of New York City.

Too bad slates are no longer wiped clean at years end but they aren't.  Tomorrow is New Years Eve. New Years Day many will be nursing hangovers or watching football.  When you think about it, neither is the best way to start a new year but I'll take football over the hang over.  Then comes January 2 and everything will be much the same as December 31. Life goes on.  It doesn't miss a beat. There will no doubt be some good, too much bad and way too much ugly.