Let's Hear It For---

       I'm beginning to really like Rep. Devin Nunes. He's turning out to be the kind of guy you can easily make fun of. I mean, here's a guy who has a very important job as chairman of the House Intelligence committee. He starts out on an investigation into the Russian attempts to influence our presidential election. Hey, you can't get more serious than that.
       But then the fun begins. Nunes goes to the White house and gets to see some highly classified information. In fact its so classified that he cant even see it in the Congressional safe room. Anyway, the next thing he does is hold a media announcement. Then he goes to the President to tell, either him or top aids, about this secret information. Then Nunes publicly states that maybe he shouldn't have said anything. Understand he still hasn't told the rest of the Intel. committee.
       Then we find out that the people who gave him the briefing on the secret material actually work for the President. Oh, and I forgot to mention that he worked for the President's transition team and is now in charge of the committee that is investigating the possible involvement of some in Trump's administration.
       So now its been decided that the ranking Democrat on the committee should see this secret information that pretty much everybody seems to know all about. Then maybe they'll arrange to have the whole committee see it. In the meantime Nunes has canceled all other hearings for the time being. Did I mention he was on Trump's transition team? So basically nothing is being done as far as any investigation is concerned, by the House Intel Committee, which is probably just fine with the President. If we wait long enough you can be sure some other train wreck will take place to nudge the Russia/Trump story out of the news.

Flawed And Downgraded.

       In 1958, 73% of Americans said they "trusted government to do the right thing always or most of the time." In 2015, when the same question was asked, 19% agreed with that statement. According to an article in the BBC this morning America has slipped from a "Full Democracy" to a "Flawed Democracy." The Economist Intelligence Unit which follows 167 governments in the world now lists over 49% of the world's people live in a Flawed Democracy and only 4.5% in a Full Democracy.
       So America offers less democracy and freedom today than it did half a century ago. Andrew Reynolds, a political scientist at the University of North Carolina states that North Carolina should no longer be considered a democracy at all. Freedoms have begun to slip from our grasp and we don't know why.
       So what's causing this loss of democracy? A major cause is the fear of loss of control. Whites have been in the driver's seat since our country's inception but now minorities are beginning to challenge that leadership role. In just a few years its believed that whites will be a minority. At that point they won't be able to control the process. For some, the only answer is to change the rules, the laws, so that many citizens won't be allowed to vote.
       When a country bars some citizens from voting, that country begins to lose its full Democracy status. When rights of any citizens continue to be curtailed, that country falls into a flawed state status. Between our downgraded financial rating and now this downgrade as a democracy, we need to begin to get our act together to get Congress to understand that each member owes a debt to all the citizens of America and has no right to owe that debt to any political party.
       The main reason for our lack of trust in Congress is political partisanship. The parties control government and act in their best interests, not our citizens. And we need to eliminate gerrymandering of congressional seats which confuses the rights of all citizens from being properly and fairly represented and insures the status quo for the parties. To do this, political parties need to be eliminated.

O. T. R.

       Hurray, nobody won and nobody lost. Well actually, some folks won and some folks lost. I'm talking about the Trump/Ryan Health Care bill that went down to defeat. Speaker Ryan said that the Affordable Care Act is "the law of the land." Trump said he would move on and has no intention of bringing up the subject again any time soon.
       So for those who believe they won and for those who believe they lost, now is the time to jump on an opportunity to get it right. Get it right for who? Get it right for the American people. Let's all remember that a healthcare program bill must be in the best interests of the people of this country. The Republicans were never able to agree on what that should be and the Democrats who own the ACA, own an imperfect example of what is best for all of us.
       So isn't it time for both sides to do the job they were elected to do and for which they swore an oath to do? It seems to me that the time is ripe for everyone to be a winner, the President, every House member and the entire Senate to all be winners, to all be able to take credit for doing it right.
       Yes folks, I speak of a Congress that can work together to make the necessary changes and improvements to the Affordable Care Act, the law of the land, so that all Americans can have healthcare at prices they can all afford. And by so doing can eliminate this one huge concern we all have, good health and great care when we don't have such good health.
       Oh, who's kidding whom. There aren't enough stars in the sky to wish upon to make that pipe dream come true. So how about if we just make a few changes to Obamacare and if necessary call it OTR healthcare, for Obama and Trump and Ryan. After all, what does it really matter if everybody takes credit for it. Heck, if everybody takes credit for something, that something will stand the test of time.

What intelligence?

       Let's see if I understand this situation correctly. We have the FBI investigating the White House to see if any of the President's campaign people colluded with Russia. Then we have the head of the House of Representatives intelligence committee, who runs to the White House to tell the campaign people what the FBI is doing and, who knows, maybe what information the FBI has on any individuals.
       Then Mr. Nunes, the head of the Intelligence Committee, apologizes and said maybe he shouldn't have done what he did. Hold on a minute. He's the head of the "intelligence" committee. Shouldn't that position require at least a modicum of intelligence? That committee isn't a department of the Trump administration. Mr. Nunes was not elected to advise Mr. Trump on secret investigations of the FBI simply because he was privy to conversations with the FBI.
       And still the House Representatives can't see any reason why it should be necessary to appoint an independent commission or a special investigation. I'm sorry, but the Intelligence Committee of the House of Representatives does not have the intelligence to keep things to themselves. Ya don't go running to someone outside the House to tattle on the FBI. You shouldn't tattle even to other members of the House or Senate, or anybody else. How dumb are they?
       Rep. Nunes is a surrogate of the Trump administration. Shouldn't he have recused himself from the investigation into the Trump campaign people and Russia? If I ever have to go to court, I hope I can have a close friend or relative on the jury. Everybody would be happy for themselves if we all could. But it doesn't set a very good example, now does it?

This Keeps Me Up Night.

       Much has been said, over the last eight years, of how expensive it was to protect the Obama's during his presidency. His vacations and travel have been reported and misreported ad infinitum. Still the costs to the Secret Service are not all that spectacular when compared to his predecessor, were it not for the fact that Mr. bush had a ranch in Texas where he spent all his free time, his costs would likely have been much higher. The Obama's didn't have such a luxury.
       Never the less, Mr. Obama's expenses pale in comparison to Mr. Trump's. Already, according to a report in the Huffington Post today, The Secret Service was forced to request an additional $60 million for 2018 plus an additional $33 million for additional travel expenses. The $60 million was turned down by the Office of Management and Budget according to the Washington Post.
       Do you realize the President hasn't even been office for two months yet. We should never, ever hear any complaints about Obama's expensive travels and vacations again. In fact, its beginning to look like Trump will set records that will never be topped.
       Don't misunderstand me, I think its wonderful that our President can afford to own a resort in Florida where he goes almost every weekend, a skyscraper in mid town Manhattan for his wife and youngest son, both locations of which are fully protected by our Secret Service. However, if he decides to buy a ski resort in Aspen Colorado, we'd better take out another loan with Russia to cover the cost of covering it. Remind me again why America owns and continues to operate the Presidential retreat at Camp David?
       Just protecting his family, their separate residences, and their individual travels could well increase the national debt by $billions. And all that, is just for the first quarter. My big worry is the question of; should something untoward happen to our president, which one of his family will be crowned head of state?

The Case For And Against.

       It would appear that Senator Chuck Schumer has hit on what must be considered an important precedent in the confirmation hearings of Judge Neil Gorsuch for the Supreme Court seat of Justice Scalia. Senator Schumer has suggested that further hearings of Judge Gorsuch be held up until the investigation into President Trump's dealings with Russia are concluded.
       The precedent was set by none other than Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell when he held up President Obama's nominee to the same seat on the Supreme Court, Merrick Garland, until after a new president was elected. Well, until the investigations are completed and decisions are made we won't know what we need to do. We may well find it necessary to replace Donald Trump, the current president.
       If that were to happen it would be unfair to the new President, V.P. Mike Pence, to deprive him of choosing a nominee of his own preference. If this is not a precedent in this case, then there is no such thing as precedent.
       I'm certain that Senate Majority Leader McConnell, being the ultra fair man that he is, will realize the need to place this nomination on hold in order to show that he's a man of true stature in the mold of our Founding fathers. And I hold my breath in anticipation of his announcement to hold up said nominating hearings. Mitch, don't let me run out of breath.

A Lesson In Fiscal Conservativism.

       'Mommy, what's a fiscal conservative?" "Well Johnny, in our president's mind it's someone who is willing to cut funding for almost anything except defense, social security, Medicare, the Great Wall against Mexico, a gigantic infrastructure program and enormous tax cuts for the 1%."
       "Oh, I thought it was someone who wanted to reduce our debt, Mommy." "No son, a fiscal conservative, nowadays, agrees more with Dick Cheney's idea that "Deficits don't matter." Back in older times those fiscal conservatives thought that cutting taxes were less important that keeping the national debt in line or even raising taxes when necessary."
       "Huh, Mommy, I thought that fiscal conservatives are in favor of keeping the debt low."
       "Well Johnny, they used to be interested in that sort of thing, but now they've always more interested in cutting the 15% of the budget that helps the most needy of our citizens so they can cut taxes for the wealthiest of our citizens.
       "But Mommy, don't they know that the poorest citizens can't afford to pay for all those tax cuts and the Great Wall, and the largest build-up of our military in history, and all the infrastructure improvements needed to make our country more productive again, don't they know, Mommy?
       Well of course they know, Johnny, that's why they plan to increase the federal debt by more than $10 trillion. If I had a stick in my hand I'd swat them on their bottom. They just don't seem to understand they're planning on hurting the very people who elected them.
       "Wow Mommy, it sounds like you won't vote for them ever again, huh Mommy?"
       "And how, Johnny."