Hannity's Histrionics

For a person who doesn't have much faith in the intellect of pundits, I wonder why I watch them so often.  I wonder even more why the cable outlets and networks that employ them don't take more care in who they hire.

Many of them get on crusades that bear no resemblance to reality.  Sean Hannity is one of the most prominent. The night before last  he was on his Bowe Bergdahl kick demanding to know why he was returned to active duty and incensed that none of Bergdahl's platoon members had yet been interviewed regarding his walking away from his post.

Do you suppose it's because the general in charge of the investigation hasn't gotten to that point? He ranted to the mother of a soldier who died while searching for Bergdahl wondering if she was incensed as he.

Both the platoon member he interviewed and the mother of the dead soldier hedged their answers.  Sometimes I wonder how they allow themselves to be sucked into interviews with those like Hannity.

According to retired general Robert Scales everything that has been done with Bergdahl has been according to the book.  The investigation is a totally different activity.

So why shouldn't Bergdahl be returned to duty?  He is still an active member of the military and as of now no charges have been filed.

Yes, there have been many accusations, differing opinions on what charges might be as well as appropriate punishment.  As far as I know even soldiers are considered innocent until proven guilty.

Alarmists like Hannity would do well to keep their mouths shut until the facts are known.  Speculation is a disservice to everyone, especially those who listen to such and take it as gospel. Trying to influence opinion out of ignorance is worse.

FOX moved his time slot once.  They might consider doing it again.  Like maybe off the air!

Do Actions Speak Louder Than Words?

If the President could run away from the border mess any faster I'm sure he would. It's being said it's because being seen in the setting of kids crammed into confined spaces with their scabies and lice would reflect badly on him.  It could even be his Katrina.  Well, maybe.  But who's fault is that?

It goes to show his handlers aren't as smart as they think they are.  For one, drinking beer and shooting pool in Colorado, a state where pot is legal by state law even though it's not according to Federal law, is bad optics while his people (we citizens) are up in arms over the invasion of carpet crawlers just a few hundred miles away.

So is it when he turns up where there are natural disasters like super storm Sandy or the massive land slides in Washington.  Another state where pot is now legal by state law by the way.  All he does is hold up search and rescue efforts for the sake of a photo op. His handlers must think it shows him as caring and compassionate.  No.  It's just a photo opt.  He'd much rather be downing a few brews or shooting hoops or playing golf.  

Maybe he won't go to the border to see first hand the plight of the communities as well as the children because he's heard one should never do scenes with dogs or kids.  They'll upstage you every time. We couldn't have that.

Or it could be he really doesn't care all that much other than that it has become a political inconvenience.  There's only so much one can do to put it out of sight and mind.  I guess having  a few brews while shooting pool is as good a way as any.

The Kids Always Went Home

Watching the immigration mess going full bore brought to mind a lot of things that have involved children from other nations.  The first thing that comes to mind is the Disney song It's a Small World After All that speaks to all we have in common. Hopes, dreams, all the warm fuzzy stuff.

We've had exchange student programs where a student from another country lives with a local family to learn not only academics but what life in American and Americans themselves are all about.  We've had situations where children from war torn countries have come for a summer as a respite or have come for medical help they can't get in their own country. But always, the youngsters have returned home.

Now we're being inundated with children from and crime ridden countries who are told they'll not have to return.  But it's a horrible picture, really.  Not full of hope and dreams but survival. Survival of a journey conducted by criminals wrought with criminal activity including rape.  I'd like to see documentation of the conditions endured during the journey from central America through Mexico where their entry is supposedly criminal from the get go.

Then we're told they'll be dispersed to live with relatives already here.  Really?  Why aren't they required to prove their identity and pick up their relatives in person?  Could it be they are also in this country illegally? If at all.  Remember we're talking about tens of thousands of children here!

It makes me think there may be some legitimacy to the idea our President is systematically trying to destroy our country. He's doing a pretty good job of it.  No one holds us in esteem any more.  Our economy is still shaky at best.  He won't secure our defined borders.  He pits segments of the population against one another.  You read the headlines and they're filled with hate.  Really.  Hate.

There has long been a hue and cry about how we should not be the world's policemen.  Those who feel that way have gotten their wish and look at the results.  Now we're becoming the world's baby sitter.  Sure it's starting in a regionalized manner, but that's easily changed.  People from other countries can simply come through Central America.  It's thought, if not verified, that it is already happening.

In a perverse way of thinking, if this continues we'll slowly slide into a true third world country.  The president wants billions to fix a problem that is becoming a drain on the very economy that is to finance it.

We're not opening our doors to the best and the brightest.  We're opening it to the defenseless, sick and uneducated and are expected to care for them.

The Statue of Liberty welcomes immigrants to our shores with this ~ “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.” It was for people who dreamed of a better life willing to come legally, willing to work for that life.  It wasn't meant for thugs to dump kids who know no better into a strange land and life without any survival skills what-so-ever.

What is the government thinking with their pussy footing around the issue?  What possibly good end can come from the current situation? It's a travesty of monumental proportions!

The Militia Is Coming, The Militia Is Coming!

That's all we need! News has it a call has gone out for militia, both unarmed and armed, to gather along the border to help private land owners protect their property in something called Operation Save Our Borders.  Terrific!

Remember how well it went when militia turned out to help to  help Cliven Bundy in his fight over Federal grazing rights in Nevada?  It came within a hair's breadth of turning violent.

I really feel for the border towns who are the first line of defense in this skirmish against illegals.  They're literally out manned by sheer numbers not to mention problems involving crime and disease. It has gotten to the point where the government has sent buses to pick them up as they cross because Border Patrol vehicles can no longer manage the overload.

Interior towns where the government is trying to board them are also feeling the onslaught.  Now understand, no one wants any more harm to befall the kids than what they've already been through, but when it gets to the point of affecting our towns, their budgets and their citizens it's time to take swift and decisive action.

I have two suggestions.  Congress is dragging its feet on immigration reform.  The one thing they would appear to agree on is we must have a secure border.  Pass legislation so stating, send it to the Senate and let Harry Reid sit on it if he will, but pass it. Make it simple and doable within a specified time frame.  It won't solve the immediate problem but at least no one can then accuse the Republican House of doing nothing.

Suggestion number two is another Dogwalk solution.  It's so simple, it's legal and imminently doable.  Since the buses are already at the border, load them up by country of origin, bus them to Washington D.C. and let them out on the Embassy grounds of their respective countries.  Let them figure out how to clothe them, feed them, cure their ills ~ and send them home.

Will Cheney Help Or Hurt The Republicans In The Mid-Terms?

Will the re-emergence of Dick Cheney help or hurt the Republicans in the mid-terms?  There is so much going on about which voters are rightfully incensed my guess he will have little impact.

I think it depends, however, on what happens in the middle east over the next couple of months. Those who believe it wouldn't be in the mess it is if it weren't for the Bush/Cheney policies and rush to war will be reminded of just that - the Bush/Cheney rush to war.

On the other hand, there is nothing this country did or could have done to quell the unrest between the Shiia and Sunnie and the minority religions that try to exist in the region.  It has been festering for centuries.

One argument is that had Saddam remained in power he would have kept his iron fist on the unrest.  By toppling him and putting in place a "democracy" was the regions undoing.  It has proven true across the region, not just Iraq.  Imposing what we think is the best way to govern on those who have never experienced it nor have a clue how to accomplish it is doomed to fail.

We can hardly lead by example today where we have a president seemingly intent to rule on his own without regard for the democratically elected representatives of the people.  This administration seems to mimic those in the mid-east rather than the other way around.  Who's learning from whom?

I admire Mr. Cheney's realistic grasp of what makes that part of the world tick.  But not unlike our current president, he also sees no gray in the way he feels others should think. His only advantage is clarity in his understanding, not necessarily the solution he championed at the time. That time has passed and all the backward looking will not change it. This President lacks the initial and all important understanding. Why?  Naivete.  Lack of interest. Inexperience. Plus the firm belief that he knows better than all the experts combined.  Not a combination of traits to encourage trust.

The accusations of war on women, minorities, the environment, etc. are all politically motivated means of distraction.  The real war is the one that threatens not only our security but that of the entire world is the one Mr. Cheney discusses. Right or wrong for having been part of our getting into it, he has a lot to say about where we are and where we should consider going.  We'd be foolish to let the past and political rhetoric dissuade us from listening.