John Boehner's Resignation Illustrates the Curse of the Speaker

The Speaker of the House, be it in Congress or the State House, is one of the most powerful individuals in government. Congress’ Speaker of the House is third in line for the Presidency. And yet Speaker Boehner is resigning to great consternation and bewilderment amongst the pundits. John Boehner is resigning from office. So did Newt Gingrich and Jim Wright while Tom Foley was defeated for reelection. Jim Wright had an ethics problem. Newt Gingrich like John Boehner was facing a revolt from his caucus. Dennis Hastert and Nancy Pelosi ceded their speakerships because their parties lost a majority in the House. Uneasy lies the head that wears the crown. Tip O’Neill in 1987 was the last Speaker to leave on his terms. The situation is no different at the state level. Four state speakers lost their jobs in 2014 and 2015 because of criminal indictments or guilty pleas to criminal prosecutions. They are Mike Hubbard of Alabama (indicted October 2014), Sheldon Silver of New York (arrested in January 2015), Gordon Fox of Rode Island (pled guilty), and Bobby Harrell of South Carolina (indicted September 2014) In addition John Diehl of Missouri resigned in May 2015 because he was caught exchanging “sexually suggestive texts” with a 19 year old legislative intern. Let us not forget that three successive Massachusetts of the House were indicted for corruption (Charles Flaherty, Tom Finneran, and Salvatore Di Masi) over a 5 year period while two former Pennsylvania speakers received early release from prison in fraud cases in early 2014. It was a bipartisan showing by the Republican John Perzel and the Democrat Bill DeWeese. Speaker Boehner lost the confidence of his caucus and the Republican base. Americans, especially Republicans, are angry with Washington. That includes the Congressional leadership, which seems impotent to stop President Obama in his Crusade to transform America. They do not understand why Congress will not use the power of the purse. Speaker Boehner and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have done a risk benefit calculus. They know that the media will blame the Republicans for a government “shutdown,” while they will gain little from it. Yet, they even convey defeat in their appearance. They had the solution in their hands. They could have passed individual spending bills, saving the most contentious items, such as Planned Parenthood, for a few bills at the end, daring President Obama to veto otherwise popular bills. They could have used budget reconciliation to force the President to veto bills, but they caved. And because they failed, three outsiders, Donald Trump, Carly Fiorina, and Dr. Ben Carson, are currently leading in the polls with Senator Ted Cruz, an out-of-control firebrand, is right behind. None could govern if they won, shades of Arnold Schwarzenegger. John Boehner resigned because he failed to learn from Eric Cantor’s reelection defeat in 2014. He resigned because he failed. So did all the others.

Open memo to Pope Francis, President Obama, and Senator Sanders: Capitalism Does Not Cause Poverty or Inequality

Socialism and its bastard cousin, communism, brings equality to the masses, the equality of mediocrity. Everyone is equal, except as in George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the privileged few. Chairman Mao and Lenin-Stalin killed about 100 million in the pursuit of equality. They are equal in death. Socialism seduces with its appeal to equality, but deadens the human soul and impoverishes the people. Chairman Mao turned China Communist and Nehru India socialist. The result was economic stagnation and mass poverty. Vice Chairman Deng Xiaoping unleashed capitalism in China in 1978. India followed in 1991. The result is an economic renaissance in those countries with India raising hundreds of millions out of Poverty. Prime Minister Erdogan did the same on a lesser scale in Turkey a decade ago, but President Erdogan is resorting to statism with a resulting decline in the economy. Communism failed in Vietnam and the Soviet Union. Russia sadly is reverting to a statist dictatorship with a decline in living standards. Quasi-socialism in the form of the post-World War II social democracy movements of Western Europe has resulted in economic stagnation in Western Europe. The Pope grew up in the world of Liberation Theology, a natural reaction to the economic bankruptcy of Latin American statism, dictatorships, and corruption. The Latin American countries profess to be capitalistic, but it is faux capitalism. It’s easy to be radicalized in that milieu, especially if one is a liberal Jesuit.. What Pope Francis witnessed was at best a bastardized capitalism, more akin to the national socialism of the Nazis, only with less oppression. He experienced and lived in a universe of state sponsored mediocrity and inequality. He said: “Inequality is the root of social ills …As long as the problem of the poor are not radically resolved by rejecting the absolute autonomy of the markets and financial speculation and by attacking the structural causes of inequality, no solution will be found for the world’s problems or, for that matter, to any problems.” He, as many before him, misdiagnosed the problem. Inequality is not the root of social ills, but the result. President Obama listened to Reverend Jeremiah Wright preach Liberation Theology for two decades and sucked it up. Senator Bernie Sanders is an unabashed socialist. Capitalism is the means by which people offer goods and services to others, who are willing to pay for them at a profit to the supplier. Capitalism allows the individual to seize an opportunity to escape poverty. Pope Francis criticized capitalism in his November 24, 2013 Apostolic Exhortation, “Evangeli Gaudium”, “The Joy of the Gospel.” He wrote: “Some people continue to defend trickle-down theories, which assure their economic growth, encouraged by a free market, will inevitably succeed in bringing about greater justice and inclusiveness in the world. This opinion, which has never been confirmed by the facts ….” He cautioned that “We can no longer trust in the unseen forces and the invisible hand of the market.” Pope Francis complained “The culture of prosperity deadens us; we are thrilled if the market offers us something new to purchase. In the meantime all those lives stunted for lack of opportunity seem a mere spectacle; they fail to move us.” Sounds like capitalistic, bourgeois decadence. If though Pope Francis wishes to view the miracles of capitalism in action, he should visit the Apple Store at Grand Central Station tomorrow when the new IPhone goes on sale. Elsewhere he quoted a 4th Century Bishop to the effect that the unfettered pursuit of money is “the dung of the devil.” Pope John Paul II (1978-2005), the Polish Pope, was a supporter of capitalism. He lived, experienced, and preached through the depravity and corruption of communism. He knew capitalism had its limits, but that it was the hope for humanity.

Secretary Hillary Clinton and the Media Are Throwing Religious Trash at Donald Trump: How Pathetic!

What is President Obama’s religion: Christian or Muslim? Most Americans probably don’t give a damn; they’re just counting the days till he’s out of office. 43% of Republicans and roughly 20% of Americans think he’s a Muslim. It doesn’t matter what Americans think of the President’s religion. It’s a non-issue, except the media suddenly discovered it. Donald Trump had a so-so performance at the CNN debate Wednesday evening. The consensus view, albeit perhaps not the polls, say Carly Fiorina had a second great performance and Governor Christy and Senator Rubio, and perhaps Governor Bush, rose above the rest. The Donald appeared at a town house Thursday night in Rochester, New Hampshire. The first speaker started out by saying “We have a problem in this country. It’s called Muslims.” He continued: “We know our current president is one. You know he’s not even an American.” Trump’s mortal sin apparently is that he did not promptly rebuke the speaker. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton joined the chorus. She is appalled, just appalled that Donald Trump has sanctioned the claim that the President is not a Christian. Oh what damnable hypocrisy on the part of Secretary Clinton. Her campaign started the Obama Birther Movement in a bid to destroy his campaign. Her staff sent a photo to the Politico in 2008. It was Senator Obama dressed as a Somali Elder when he visited a Somali village in 2005. Steve Kroft in an interview with then Senator Clinton asked her if she thought Senator Obama was a Muslim. She responded: “No, there is nothing to base that on, As far as I know.” “As far as I know.” Secretary Clinton proves once again that she will say or do almost anything to win the election. Her problem is that words and actions last forever in the internet. Her deleted emails are already demining her campaign. Senator Obama added fuel on the fire in a September 8, 2008 interview with George Stephanopoulos on This Week. He responded to a question: “Let’s not play games. What I was suggesting – you’re absolutely right that John McCain has not talked about my Muslim faith …” “My Muslim faith.” Was that a Freudian slip or just the occasional misstatement of candidates on the stump? Is this President a Christian? He worshiped in the Reverend Jeremiah Wright’s Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago for 20 years, during which the anti- Semitic Reverend preached anti-American sermons. His first infamous sermon was about 9/11: “America’s chickens have come home to roost.” His second said: “No, no, no, not God Bless America, but God damn America.” Senator Obama initially denied ever hearing during 20 years sitting in the pews during Reverend Wright’s sermons of hearing any of this, but subsequently threw the Reverend under the political bus. No doubt exists about the Clintons’ religious beliefs. An amazing religious sight occurred on Sundays when President Clinton was immersed in one of his many scandals. He was always shown holding onto Hillary in one hand and clutching the Bible in the other. The media and Secretary Clinton are hurling fire and brimstone at Donald Trump for not damning the speaker at his townhouse in an effort to destroy him. The problem for them is that the more they dump on the Donald, the more popular support he receives. Republicans and to a lesser extent Independents and Democrats hold the mainstream media in contempt. What are they thinking? If Donald trump's outrageous statements have not sunk his campaign, then how can failure to speak be damaging? They are reviving a slipping campaign.

An Assesessment of the Republican Field Prior to the Second Debate

An Assessment of the Republican Field Prior to the Second Debate Governor Rick Perry of Texas is the smartest of the group of 17. He realized it was a lost cause and cut his losses. His time was four years ago, but he was sick and medicated when he performed poorly in public. He could not overcome that first impression. At this point in time the career politicians should follow Governor Perry’s lead. Polls show three political outsiders, Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina with a combined 54%. The voters are lukewarm, or at least in the Republican base, to Washington insiders this election. That will change. Donald trump's thin skin will catch up with him as his act becomes stale. The question is if tomorrow he will violate President Reagan's 11th Commandment at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library as the candidates attempt the mantle of President Reagan. The early front runners have plummeted in the polls. Governor Chris Christy is still digging out from Bridgegate. Governor Scott Walker is now all in on a union busting plank. Governor Jeb Bush can’t figure out what hit him. He is the cool, calm, collected voice in the race. He saw what happened to his father and brother when they failed to respond to political attacks. Thus, he is stooping into the political sewer with Donald Trump. That is not who he is and detracts from his message. Carly Fiorina has made Hillary Clinton her focus from the onset of her campaign. Senator Rick Santorum and Governor Huckabee may have won previous Iowa caucuses, but this is not their year. They are both competing for the Evangelical vote but that vote is going to Dr. Ben Carson this year. Senator Ted Cruz is, as usual, being a Lone Ranger, continuing to build upon his Senate record of being somewhere out there by himself. Governors Bush and John Kasich are not pandering to the voters by throwing “red meat” at them. Who knows why former Governors Jim Gilmore and George Pataki are running? Senator Lindsay Graham at least can claim to be putting national defense up front. Senator Rand Paul is on the wrong side of the national security debate. He apparently cannot dig himself out of the Foxhole. Governor Jindal has received little traction in the race for the White House. It seems to be “steady as it goes” for most of them, hoping to be among the few survivors standing when the Donald ultimately crashes, and thus pick up the pieces. The odds should favor Senator Marco Rubio in this strategy. One of the sad effects of Donald trump's current reign in the polls is that it crowds out the message of the other candidates. If you watch them, and listen to them, you realize that the Republican field is very strong and that almost everyone of the remaining 16 candidates is better than anyone in the Democratic field.

Haggen Joins the ranks of failed retailers

Congratuation Haggen, You joined the ranks of failed retailers. You are only distinguished because you did it in record times. Don’t worry; others will join you A & P Alexanders B. Altman & Co. Arlan’s Ayres Best & Co. Blockbuster Bonwit Teller Borders Bradlees Brueners Builders Emporium Caldors Child World Circuit City Comp USA Arnold Constable Discount Records Ernst Filene’s Basement Forbes & Wallace Frederick & Nelson’s Fresh & Easy Gimbel’s Good Guys Gottscalks W.T. Grant & Co. Grodins Grossman’s Herman’s World of Sporting Goods Hollywood Video Home Base J & R Jay Jacobs K-B’s King Kinney’s Shoes S. Klein’s on the Square E. J. Korvettes Lamonts Lechmere Levitz Loehmans Mervyns Miller’s Outpost Montgomery Wards G.C. Murphy Ohrbachs Oshman’s Pacific Stereo Pay’n Pak Peck & Peck Radio Shack Record Factory Rinks Bargain City Roos Atkins F.A.O. Schwartz Service Merchandise Sharper Image Steiger’s Steve & Barry’s Tower Records Two Guys Wickes Woolco Wherehouse Woolworth’s Zayres

President Obama Commemorates 9/11 by Rewarding Terrorism

Islamic terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center, crashed into the Pentagon, and crashing in Shanksville, Pennsylvania 14 years ago. 2,779 innocent victims from 90 countries, mostly Americans, died in the terrorist attack. Never Forget! President Obama has. He has also forgotten Munich. Hitler told us his intents in Mein Kamp. The Ayatollah Khamenei keeps telling us Death to America and Death to Israel as Iran is the biggest state sponsor of terrorism in the world.. A nuclear bomb on a ballistic missile aimed at Israel will fulfill his vow. The New York Times wrote that President Obama won yesterday when 42 Democratic Senators invoked cloture, i.e. filibuster, against the projected Congress’ rejection of his non-treaty treaty with Iran. He won. America lost. The World lost. The Mideast lost. Israel lost. What did Iran get from the non-treaty treaty? The lifting of sanctions. What did the United States get from the non-treaty treaty? What did Iran get from the non-treaty treaty? The immediate release of $150 billion in frozen funds – not even a phased release. What did the United States receive from the non-treaty treaty? Nothing. Not even the American victims of Iran sponsored terrorist attacks with outstanding judgments against Iran. What did Iran gain from the non-treaty treaty? $150 billion to fund terrorism, Hezbollah, Hamas, and military aggression. What did the United States receive in exchange? Nothing. Not even the release of 4 Americans wrongly held as prisoners by the Iranian regime. What did Iran get from the non-treaty treaty? The lifting of sanctions and restraints against individual terrorist members of the regime. What did the United States get from the non-treaty treaty? What did Iran get from the non-treaty treaty? The right to continue running its centrifuges, indeed, modern advanced centrifuges. What did the United States receive in return? What did Iran gain from the non-treaty treaty? The right to continue development of its ballistic missiles. What did the United States receive in return? What did Iran gain from the non-treaty treaty? The right to purchase armaments from Russia, including surface to air defense systems. What did the United States receive in return? What did Iran receive from the non-treaty treaty? The right to sell its oil in the open market? What did The United States receive? What did Iran receive in the non-treaty treaty? The ability to self-inspect itself on 24 days notice. What’s did the United States receive? What does Iran gain from the non-treaty treaty? Iran becomes the regional superpower of the Mideast. What does the United States gain in exchange? The fulfillment of President Obama desire that Iran will be the regional power in he Mideast. What is the most repulsive part of the non-treaty treaty package? The United States will stop Israel from attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities in self-defense. What does the United States receive in exchange? The vindication of President Obama’s oft-demonstrated animus of Israel and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Never Forget.

How De-Confederate America Will We Go? What's Next For the Symbols of the Confederacy and the South?

I have no brief for the Confederacy or the Confederate Battle Flag. It does not reflect my ancestry, heritage, culture, or values, but I believe that in a pluralistic society we need to respect the culture of other citizens. The Confederacy lost the Civil War, the War Between the States, That Recent Unpleasantness, the Lost Cause, the War Between the States. Call it what you want, the South lost and slavery ended in the United States. The slaves were free. The South lost, but its spirit lived on. The Confederate Battle Flag of the Army of Virginia became the symbol of official defiance during the emerging Civil Rights Movement. It came to fly over the statehouses of the South, becoming a national symbol of the South. The flag was increasingly furled in recent years, but it survived in states like South Carolina. The South was divided. Whites wanted to keep the flag unfurled, while Blacks wanted it to disappear. Dylann Roof, a crazed racist, settled the dispute on June 17, 2015. He joined a Bible study session at the Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Charleston, South Carolina for an hour, whereupon he pulled out a Glock 45 and started shooting. He killed nine African Americans, including senior pastor and state senator Clementa C. Pinckney, and wounded one. His expressed goal was to start a race war, as he hurled racial epithets. The result was the opposite. He brought both races together on the issue of the Confederate Flag. His website had pictures of him with the Confederate Battle Flag. South Carolina’s course is clear. It will try, convict and execute Dylann Roof, unless Supreme Court Justice Kennedy rules the death penalty unconstitutional. Governor Nikki Haley, who opposed removal of the Flag from the State Capitol last year, held a press conference on June 22 in which she requested the South Carolina Legislature approve by the required 2/3 margin the removal of the Flag. She said: The “Flag was an integral part of our past, but it does not represent the future.” The Legislature concurred two weeks later. The Flag was furled on July 10. Walmart announced it would stop selling products with the Confederate Flag, followed by a host of other retailers, including Sears, Kmart, Target, Amazon and EBay. Warner Brothers announced the General Lee, the Dukes of Hazzard Dodge Charger, was persona non gratis. The new paroxysm of political correctness did not end there. It extends to “historical correctness.” Let us therefore remove all symbols of the past that we currently find unacceptable. Thus the next cry was to remove the names of prominent Confederate leaders from streets, schools, and buildings. Robert E. Lee would be removed from many schools around the nation. Jefferson Davis’ name would have to be removed from the Virginia highway across the Potomac from Washington, D.C. Yale announced a discussion about the future of John C. Calhoun’s name on a dorm. The Congressman, Senator and Vice President from South Carolina was an ardent supporter of Nullification and slavery, and a proponent of secession He graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Yale in 1804, and thus was one of its most famous grads from early years. Yale’s dilemma is compounded because it is named for an early benefactor, Elihu Yale, who made his fortune in India with the East India Company, He supervised the Slave Trade. Brown University has a greater naming problem, being named for Nicholas Brown Jr., whose family fortune was built on the Slave Trade. Much of the early wealth of New England came from maritime trades, especially slavery and whaling. Washington and Lee University announced it was removing the Confederate flags at the Lee chapel on the campus. Why stop with half measures? Shouldn’t it logically also remove “Lee” from its name? Robert E. Lee was the most significant Confederate general. Yet, he was also a voice of reconciliation after the war. If Lee must go, then so do should Washington. George Washington is the Father of this country, but he was also a slaveholder. Hence, it will now be the District of Columbia, but that too is suspect because many accuse Christopher Columbus of unleashing the European genocide on the Native Populations of North and South America. Washington State can become the State of Evergreen. The University of Washington, Washington State, George Washington University, and Washington University will also need a new name. Washington State can now officially go as WaZoo. Thomas Jefferson, one of our great Founding fathers, as a slaveholder may also have been the father of the slave Sally Hemings’ six children. He and Andrew Jackson were the founders of the modern Democratic Party. General Jackson won the battle of New Orleans, but as President, the slave owning President, initiated the Trail of Tears. Hence, Connecticut and Iowa just dropped “The Jefferson-Jackson Dinner” from the annual Democratic celebration and fundraiser. States will have to rename the counties of Washington, Jefferson, Madison, Jackson, and Monroe, who also gave us in some minds the imperialistic Monroe Doctrine. The Washington Monument and Jefferson Memorial must have a new name. All the Confederate War generals and soldiers immortalized on town square statues should be replaced, perhaps with statues of carpetbaggers and scallywags, or even General Grant, who only owned one slave for a short time. I’ve long believed that if we are to be consistent in this form of abject political, correctness then we should remove Chief Justice Earl Warren’s name from the University of California Berkeley Law School. He was one of the two drivers of one of our most reprehensible acts of the 20th Century, the internment of Japanese Americans in concentration camps during World War II. The University of Texas is moving Jefferson Davis from his pedestal near the library to an archive of the Civil War. The penultimate act of penance will be Georgia destroying Stone Mountain, thereby joining the ranks of ISIS and the Taliban. Some liberals are even demanding that President Obama replace President Reagan’s name on National Airport. We are using today’s standards to judge conduct of centuries ago, whose values, mores, and culture were very different reflecting a different era. We are looking foolish in doing so.