Politics

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Why Is The President Going To Paris When The Military Has A Travel Ban?

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The President’s trip upcoming trip to Paris for the 2015 United Nations Climate Change conference reminds me that we have not learned our lessons from the Benghazi attack. When the British Foreign Office withdrew all consular staff from Benghazi in late June, it was both stupid and arrogant for Ambassador Stevens to go there on September 11th. I was hoping that those four deaths were not in vain.

Today I found out from the Army Times that DoD implements Paris travel ban for all troops, civilian personnel. The article states that:

Personnel on official travel or emergency leave to Paris or elsewhere in France will need approval from a general officer, according to EUCOM.

The DOD travel ban reminds me of the British Foreign Office actions in Benghazi and the President reminds me of the Ambassador. I hope it turns out better but as George Santayana said,

Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.

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Dr. Carson and The West Point Kerfuffle

Robert Frost NYWTSMy father graduated from West Point. When I told him I wanted to go to Purdue and join the Navy ROTC with some high school buddies of mine, he got mad. He said that if you are planning on a military career you need to go to West Point. He was right. The combination of my grades, athletics, and a service nomination made me a natural candidate to one of America’s elite colleges.  That is not saying they would accept me but when I graduated from high school in 1972 they were less picky. The Vietnam War was winding down and America’s affection with the military had been trending downward for a long time. Enrollment at senior military colleges was at historical lows.  Although the Vietnam War was still a major issue for eighteen year-olds, my problem was that I did not see myself as a military man. Unlike my father who went to West Point at the end of World War II, I had the luxury of taking a different path. So I am not surprised that an even better West Point candidate than me, Dr. Carson, would refer to his appointment to  West Point with such certainty and in the next breath decide on a different path. We will never know how good a military man he could have been but I think he turned out pretty well. Robert Frost said it best.

Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
And sorry I could not travel both
And be one traveler, long I stood
And looked down one as far as I could
To where it bent in the undergrowth;Then took the other, as just as fair,
And having perhaps the better claim,
Because it was grassy and wanted wear;
Though as for that the passing there
Had worn them really about the same,

And both that morning equally lay
In leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I kept the first for another day!
Yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubted if I should ever come back.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I—
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.

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Can Both Paul Ryan And The Freedom Caucus Win?

Although the media is particularly focused on demonizing the Freedom Caucus for the demise of Mr. Boehner, I think there are real opportunities for both Paul Ryan and the Freedom Caucus to come out of this mess as winners. Here are Paul Ryan’s requests for #moreReasonableSpeakerConditions.

  1. The Republicans must “move from being an opposition party to a proposition party.”
  2. The Republicans must “update our House rules so that everyone can be a more effective representative [including] fixes that ensure we don’t experience constant leadership challenges and crises.”
  3. The Republicans must “unify now” behind one Speaker.
  4. Mr. Ryan can forego fundraising travel to spend more time with his family.

His requests are not only reasonable but they also encourage the Republican party to evolve into a party that is better equipped to govern and be re-elected. The current political model is not working for either the Democrats or the Republicans. Democrats cringe at defending Ms. Clinton’s unforced errors. Did Ambassador Stevens death in Benghazi an unintended consequence of Democrat party politics run amok or incompetence? For every mother and father who lost a son in Benghazi are we to be consoled with the question, “What difference does it make?” Were there any adults in the room when Ms. Clinton said she wanted to set up a private email server? When you look at the Administration scandals over the last seven years there does not appear to be much in the way of accomplishments or accountability. Even though big government has become synonymous with government corruption Democrats have ceased to make any pretense they want our democratic process to make good decisions. It is no wonder that some people call the Democratic party the evil party.

Republicans on the other hand are not much better. Many Republicans ran advocating bipartisan change through the democratic process. They thought that if they proposed simple bills with bipartisan support such as the Small Business Healthcare Relief Act (S. 1697 and H.R. 2911) and Kate’s Law( S. 1762 and H.R. 3011) then there would be votes. Instead of votes the bills are locked up in Congressional hell. Republicans cringe at the thought they have successfully evolved from the opposition party to the do-nothing party so they should not be surprised that groups like the Freedom Caucus are demanding political changes.  The Republican establishment response to the Tea Party candidates in 2010 was “scorched-earth tactics” and all that did was piss the candidates off.  So instead of reconciling with the newly elected representatives Mr. Boehner went a step further and tried to marginalize them. Who would of thought that marginalized, pissed off representatives would respond by asking for a new Speaker of the House? Sorry Mr. Boehner, you own this problem and the stupid party moniker! If the Republicans truly want to evolve into a “big tent political party” they are going to need some adults in the room to reconcile Tea Party and Freedom Caucus issues. The time for demonizing is over. Avik Roy makes the same argument in the article, If The Freedom Caucus And Paul Ryan Agree, Here’s What The New House Speaker Will Do.

On the merits, reasonable decentralizing reforms could actually make the House function more smoothly. Backbenchers who now lodge protest votes out of frustration could have a stake in a legislative process that works, because their own bills could get passed. In The Federalist, Sen. Mike Lee (R., Utah) made this very case, that an “open-source” Congress might produce better legislation than the one we have now.

Both Mr. Ryan and the Freedom Caucus can win if they keep their eyes focused on making the House function more smoothly and bring some of the law making back to the House. The Freedom Caucus requests are simple and Mr. Ryan will look presidential if he handles their issues like an adult. If they are successful they may be surprised to find that the Republican Party has become attractive to Black and Hispanic candidates who want to make a difference for their communities. That is what I call a Win-Win-Win!

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Can Ms. Clinton Be Convicted Of Manslaughter?

l_201_300_thumb.pngWhen I looks at the facts that the Clinton email server contains about 5% confidential information, some of the emails would be very helpful to someone planning an attack on the consulate, and there was very little email security, you have to wonder whether a Secretary of State can be convicted of manslaughter. The Wikipedia definition says:

Criminally negligent manslaughter occurs where there is an omission to act when there is a duty to do so, or a failure to perform a duty owed, which leads to a death.

When Ms. Clinton set up her private email server there was a duty for her to use a secure server because 5% of her emails would eventually be classified as confidential. Even if we concede that she was allowed to set up a private email server, her failure to secure the server to the same standards as State Department email servers is an omission to act. She was not exempt from the State Department email security standards and ignorance of the standards is not an excuse. When I connect the dots I see a combination of one of the worst national security mistakes in my lifetime coupled with gross incompetence that led to the deaths of four men. Maybe we cannot convict her of manslaughter but like the late Senator Kennedy she definitely does not have the right stuff to be President.

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John Kasich Renews Push For Strict “Green Energy” Mandates

As an Ohio resident I am upset that my electrical rate has gone up at a 5.1% annual rate since 2011. It is not like we have a shortage of electrical power generation or any of its fuels. I did my fair share of improving my carbon footprint but rate increases overwhelmed all of my cost savings from improved insulation and LED light bulbs. The renewable lobby has over promised the cost savings and new jobs for years and the middle class has been stuck with the bill. Last year the Ohio legislature finally said we need to pause the renewable energy mandates and take a close look at why this program has consistently under-performed. Hurray! A group of legislators who actually did their job!

For middle class people whose salaries have been stagnant, the “Green Energy” mandates reminds us of the Affordable Care Act since the only thing worse than my electrical rate increases has been the 11.7% annual increase in my health insurance premiums. For those middle class people who balance their budget on a regular basis we are getting slapped in the face by our “friends” in government trying to help us. If this is helping the middle class, I want less help. Both of these programs share the same management style that encourages government incompetence and cronyism at the expense of the middle class.

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Boehner’s Departure Is A Reminder That The Administrative State Is Not Working


What The Middle Class Is Upset AboutI was listening to Hillsdale’s “Progressivism” lecture again and noticed the irony that the more our politicians have embraced the administrative state as a better governing model, the harder it has been for them to convince their constituents that they are doing a good job. The grand bargain for our legislators was that if they gave up their Constitutional responsibilities to the administrative state there would be less chance of corruption, better decisions, and they could safely take credit for the successes without putting much work in. A good example of this short sighted thinking is Ms. Pelosi’s famous remarks, “We Have to Pass the Bill So That You Can Find Out What Is In It“. The problem for our Representatives is that it is hard to get good approval ratings when you are seen as not doing anything. To fully grasp the breakdown in the administrative state you need no further proof than to look at the Administration apologies for the mistakes with the Affordable Care Act, the EPA scandal, the IRS scandal, the VA scandal, the Fast and Furious scandal, or a multitude of foreign policy mishaps like Benghazi, Ukraine, and ISIS. In every case the Administration strenuously denied the decisions were political in nature while at the same time admitted that their decisions were stupid. At some point the voters stopped caring whether the Administration was partisan or just plain stupid since the results were the same. Corruption, cronyism, and incompetence are natural results of an administrative state gone wild. To think that Congress may have to resort to impeaching Mr. Koskinen or Ms. McCarthy in order to rein in the administrative state and re-establish some resemblance of a government of the people and for the people. Considering the popularity of party outsiders in the presidential election polls and Eric Cantor’s embarrassing primary loss, I think that Mr. Boehner decided that it was a good time for him to get out. He was a politician for a different era. Now if we can just find someone to fix the broken administrative state. Federalism is dead! Long live a smarter, less corrupt federalism!

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Please Mr. Trump, Stop Saying Stupid Stuff About Women! You Are Costing Me Money!

Every time Mr. Trump lets his mouth move faster than his brain it ends up costing me money. When he said “Look at that face” it made me cringe but my wife’s reaction was she wanted to give more money to the Carly for President campaign. I tried ignoring her but Carly’s campaign came up with one of the best campaign ads of the year, Faces. Now my wife wants to give double the amount, $50. I know when I have lost. Geez louise Donald, get a clue! Watch and learn my apprentice. This is how you look presidential and win over the woman vote.

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Is CNN’s Journalistic Integrity At Stake?

It is odd that Ms. Fiorina has not qualified for the main stage at the next Republican debate so I decided to investigate. Here is what CNN said.

“CNN published the criteria for the CNN-Reagan Library debate on May 20,” the spokesperson said. “It will encompass polling data from three weeks prior to the first debate and five weeks following. Federal Election Commission guidelines make it clear that these criteria cannot be changed after they have been published. We believe that our approach is a fair and effective way to deal with the highest number of candidates we have ever encountered.”

Assuming that the polling was occurring at regular intervals then 3/8 of the polls used in the average would be from before the first debate and 5/8 of the polls from after the debate. That sounds like a reasonable way to get a good sample of public sentiment. The problem for CNN as Ms. Flores pointed out in an article on medium.com is that CNN has 11 polls that meet their criteria and 9 are from before the debate and 2 from after the debate. Since CNN made the rules, it is a CNN integrity problem. So if you believe that news organizations like CNN should strive to be reasonable and balanced in presidential debates, CNN owns this problem if they do not get about 15 more polls in the next two weeks. This reminds me of the unforced error CNN’s Candy Crowley made by giving her opinion concerning “acts of terror”. Journalism and CNN took a big hit that night. It is a sign of insanity to keep making the same mistake and expect different results. I guess Fox News is the only fair and balanced news organization out there! 😉

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When Did The NSA Know About Ms. Clinton’s Private Email Server And What Did They Do About It?

When you listen to Christie and Paul go at on the national stage to debate the proper place for the NSA in the fight against terrorists you have to believe that the NSA is actively searching the internet for terrorists and security leaks and either the NSA or the CIA knew about the Clinton email server.  For those folks familiar with the Bourne Ultimatum movie you have to believe that alarms where going off in Langley since top secret information was passed via email in plain-text. As an old IT guy you have to believe that if our favorite spooks can pick “Blackbriar” out of a cell  phone call then they it should be really easy for the NSA or CIA to pick out top secret information from of un-encrypted email text. For foreign security agencies the idea that top secret information being transmitted via plain-text was either a godsend or a trap. If we assume that Ms. Clinton was the patsy then did the NSA or the CIA use her to transmit misinformation? Is this a case of the security agencies making lemonade from a bowl of lemons?

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Trump’s Missed Opportunity

A great leader takes a problem and turns it into an opportunity for success. With Rand Paul’s recent confrontation with Savannah Guthrie still fresh in every one’s mind this was the perfect opportunity for Mr. Trump to show that he is presidential. Megyn Kelly served up the perfect opportunity for Mr. Trump to show graciousness with the question and put his abrasive relationship with women to rest. It was a win-win opportunity for him. If Ms. Kelly continues to attack him he will elicit sympathy and probably improve on his unfavorable ratings. If Ms. Kelly acknowledges his graciousness in her follow up questions then he has probably proven to the media and the voters that he has the right stuff to argue the issues with Ms. Clinton.