Thursday, May 30, 2013

Republicans Continue to try to tag Obama with a Watergate type scandal - It's not Benghazi or the IRS Scandal, Although It may very well be the Obama Administration's War on Whisleblowers and Writers who write about them


Thursday, May 30th, 2013



My Dear America:

Republicans can't seem to stand the fact that President Obama's approval numbers continue to be high despite the negative hype that they continue to try to introduce and continue to try to keep alive. 

Clearly Americans can see the forest for the trees in the Benghazi issue and the IRS issue. 

With regard to Benghazi we have already investigated and re investigated this tragedy and Republican Senators John McCain, Lindsay Graham and Kelly Ayotte led the charge to disrespect and defeat a great candidate, Susan Rice, in her quest to be Secretary of State. 

In addition, with the likes of Senator Ted Cruz and others, even though she accepted the responsibility for the problems in Benghazi the Republican Senators seem to want to burn former Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton at the stake.

How much political damage to good peoples reputations will it take for Republicans to allow this sad chapter in history to be put behind us. 

Certainly Benghazi was a tragedy of epic proportions and shouldn't have happened but will raking it over the coals over and over again bring back the dead.  No it won't.  It is time to get past this terrible episode and work on improving State Department Security in the future.

With regard to the IRS my feeling is that failing to question new organizations claiming IRS tax exempt status is a non issue that should have been identified as one from the beginning.  

The Supreme Court decision regarding tax exemptions for PAC'S created this mess and the IRS obviously was investigating those new or remodeled PAC's claiming tax exempt status. 

Why Shouldn't They have been invesigating these groups before giving them a Tax Exempt status?

Wouldn't the IRS have been derelict in their duties if they didn't question these highly questionable groups claiming tax exemptions?

In fact, however, one issue that very well could rise to the level of Watergate criminal activity is the issue of what seems to be the Obama Administation's War on Whistleblowers and Writers who write about them.

Clearly something very questionable is going on in the White House and the Justice Department when more Government Whistleblowers and Journalists who tell their stories have been investigated and criminally charged in the Obama Administration than in every other previous Presidential Administration combined.  

In an Administration that has done so much good for America this situation with Whisleblowers and their Storytellers is a blemish that must be removed ASAP.

Many people blame Attorney General, Eric Holder, for this mess.  Surely the Attorney General is partly to blame for the War on Whistleblowers but it does not seem credible that Holder would attack Whistleblowers with the ferocity and the numbers that he has without the approval and guidance of President Obama and/or members of his inner circle.

As President Obama states that he is attempting to wind down the War on Terror, it is also necessary for him to take responsibility for the War on Whistleblowers and to end it before it does to his Administration what Watergate did to Richard Nixon's Administration.

When Nixon's young White House Counsel, John Dean, back in the 70's testified before the Senate Watergate Committee he described telling Nixon that there was a "Cancer on the Presidency" that needed to be removed.  Dean's reward from Nixon for his warning was for him to be fired and for Nixon to designate Dean as the cancer on the Presidency.

Today Barack Obama must recognize that his War on Whistleblowers, including searching through Reporter's E Mails and other offensive behaviors, has the Stink of Watergate about it and it must stop.  We are a Nation of Laws and one of our main laws is a law that protects the Freedom of the Press.  When that tenet of Freedom is challenged by the immense power of the state it is time to recognize that something in America is out of control and that Freedom of the Press has kept us free and will continue to keep us free only as long as we value it and protect it.



Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Losers and Lunatics: A weekend in Houston with the NRA

Tuesday, May 7th, 2013




My Dear America:


Talk about your strange weekends.

This past weekend in Houston, Texas the National Rifle Association (NRA) held it's annual Convention.   This year's Convention was possibly the first time ever, or at least in most commentator's memories, the first time anyone could remember when there were no Democrats speaking at the Convention.

Instead, The National Rifle Asscociation changed it's name for the Weekend to the National Republican Association and the doors of the National Republican Clown College opened and out of the College doors poured forth the Republican Clowns of past, Present and Future to populate the stage of the NRA Convention. 

There were the Teds (Nugent and Cruz) both scary as hell, Nugent because of his blatant threats to kill the President and Cruz because of his blatant attempts to kill the President's legislative agenda in the Senate.

There were also the Ricks (Santorum and Perry).  Santorum was the loser of his Pennsylvania Senate Seat to Democrat, Bob Casey, who then had the gall to run for President and actually ended up a strong contender in some states to Mitt Romney.  Rick Perry was, of course, the Governor of the host state and to show his commitment to guns a video of him firing an automatic weapon on a gun range introduced him to the Houston Convention audience to great cheers.

Sarah Palin was there, finally having some convention somewhere showing her some respect.

So was Glenn Beck back from the media dead squeaking and whining about those awful Liberals who were trying to steal democracy away from the poor Gun Toting Americans by proposing background checks.

Another speaker was Non Relevant Bush Appointee, John Bolton, the UN
Ambassador famous for wanting to kill the UN.  He also had a say on the Houston Stage.


And Louisiana Governor, Bobby Jindal, who is famous for his statement after Mitt Romney's loss that the Republican Party should stop being the "Stupid Party," was in Houston showing that he had not quite given up on the stupidity in his party just yet.

Apparently everyone in Houston was celebrating the fact that they had somehow shut down the possibility of the expansion of background checks, at least for the time being.  It is certainly strange to see the NRA celebrating that since most polls show that actual honest to god NRA members are widely in favor of background checks.  Could it be that the gun industry has been putting their money making agenda in front of their common sense agenda in fighting against background checks through the NRA.

What is truly frightening to me is that some of the members of the 2013 Republican Clown College may very well end up being viable Republican Candidates for President in 2016, Cruz, Perry, Palin and Jindal, for instance.  If that happens liberals may very well look back at the Republican Crop of Oddball Candidates in the 2012 Election as "The Good Old Days."

God forbid that one of these Gun Toting, Venom Spouting mad men or woman
would ever get to the White House.

That is a thought that is very frightening and very real. 

It is time for the average American Voter to start paying attention to what is happening to their liberty.  Slowly but surely we are sinking ever more frighteningly into the swamp of stupidity and arrogance that can one day leave us in the grip of someone like Cruz or Perry, who may very well turn out to be clowns, but extremely dangerous and persuasive clowns, nevertheless.


Sincerely Yours

Jerry Gallagher