Hello and welcome to today's fireside chat. Not really. I don't have a fire. But just like President Roosevelt, his was on radio, and you couldn't see him either. The idea was a visit inside your home. Well, in some ways that's what I am up to. A visit to wherever you happen to be as you access today's edition. It is
Thursday, December 11, 2014, and I believe Tuesday turned out to be a big day in Washington, D.C. It was the day where the house committee held a hearing to grill the high profile Harvard professor, a senior adviser to the Administration on the healthcare law, who, after the smoke cleared, essentially repeatedly told audiences that the American people were tricked, lied to, and hoodwinked by the selling of Obamacare. That was a big bombshell of a hearing. What could the Administration do to try and dull the impact of this process? How about releasing a report on CIA enhanced interrogation procedures that were employed after the 9-11 attacks? It was years in the making, pursued in a very partisan manner by only the Democrats on the Senate panel that oversees national security matters. Not one Republican participated. Years in the making but Tuesday had to be the day it came out. That is what dominated the news cycle, not the Obamacare hearing. Do they think we really are that dumb? The healthcare adviser/professor said as much numerous times and we know for sure this is what the Administration thinks. I report you decide. Class assignment: Can you spot a weapon of mass distraction when you see one? I'll leave it at that.
How effective was this approach? Once that 525 page report on the CIA came out, all forms of news was concentrated on it to the exclusion of everything else. I know this because I checked. By Wednesday morning the house hearing was no longer on the list of news items worthy of reporting on. This CIA report was done despite the clear risks these revelations have on existing security operatives working in dangerous assignments all over the world. The Administration said it is important for the American people to know the truth. These are the same people who have withheld information pertaining to IRS abuse and a half dozen other investigations into potential wrongdoing.
Withheld. Their claim that they are the most transparent White House in history is not only laughable but it borders on sheer mockery. Let me be clear. If our security folks overstepped their authority and if they committed wrongdoing, they should be held accountable. I would note, however, that even those involved in putting together this report have been challenged by those in charge of security during the time these actions supposedly took place. This report is not agreed to by the very people who ran our security apparatus back then, and it is disputed by the folks who currently protect our nation. My belief is that we have to be extremely careful in how we expose our men and women who are engaged in security gathering, but, it is also my opinion that this concern comes second when you have folks who are still wanting to make themselves look good by trying to make their predecessors look bad. You know, it's still blame, blame, blame. That is their game. It started that way, it has stayed that way, and it will probably conclude that way. Okay. I got myself a little wound up there, but, I wanted you to know that I'm still paying attention.
I'll leave that one and move on. I am a sucker for idyllic scenes. There's probably not any other time of the year when those are more prevalent than during the Christmas season. They provide an escape and mostly they are in the mind of the beholder. I consider myself to be a cold weather person which is easy to say since I've always lived in the deep south. I've been told many times by folks from places like Minnesota and Montana that I really don't know cold like they do. You look at that scene above. It's wonderful to me. Nice and cozy, warm and welcoming. They see it and it reminds them of the time they were forced to stay inside for more than a week because of the ice storm. They prefer to do their own dreaming when looking at images of beaches and palm trees. I get it. We all have our personal fascinations based on those memory images and experiences stored up there in that gray cell mental filing cabinet. I'll stick with warm and cozy and let you have the beach scene. Enjoy. Now it's time to get on with the rest of what I have on my plate today. (Best I can tell, it's pretty full.) You too? I thought so. May God bless each one.
Amen. ....More later.
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