When Your Lovers Don't Love You

Politicians tend to know they are in trouble when even their friends are telling them they stink.  That is the case for President Obama who this week finds himself with his former friend, Barney Frank, calling him a liar and his polls showing only 40% of his citizens approve of his administration.  Worse, the polls come courtesy of none other than NBC News.  Wowzers!

It will be interesting to see how these numbers change with the President about to take another exorbitant vacation to Martha's Vineyard while the rest of us worry about our children, jobs, and our last hopes of retirement.

Our "cool" President seems to have lost the tune on the dance floor.  He was the cool geek...the know it all who was also cool when he was elected and then re-elected, but from Obamacare to foreign policy to the perfect mix of domestic and foreign policy, his immigration debacle, President Obama has shown he was the right guy to talk about policy.  From afar.  His ability to get things done ranks up there with the guy in his mom's basement cooking up the perfect PC.

Congratulations America.  You chose, but you chose poorly.  You believed a guy who told you everything you wanted to hear.  You get to keep, you will have, and it will cost you nothing.  Well, wants always have costs and the question was will you ask others to pay for it or do you still want something for nothing.  Unfortunately, you now have nothing for something.

When Laws Apply

Once upon a time, the Central Intelligence Agency could not spy on Americans (Executive Order 12333).  It seems like a quaint idea now that your own government would not spy on you.  That was the stuff of the old Soviet Union.

Now, we have a CIA Director who freely admits his employees spied on the Senate Intelligence Committee, the elder house of Congress whose committee's responsibility includes overseeing the CIA.  What?

Something has gone very wrong when the employees of the government can spy on those titulary in charge of the government.  What might be more concerning is the 2008 amendments to Executive Order 12333 indicated that senior authorization had to occur for spying on Americans to occur.  The question that no one seems to be asking is who authorized the spying on the United States Senate, or like the IRS, was this simply "rogue employees."

Finally, how big a leap is it to ask, if the CIA is brazen enough to spy on the United States Senate, why would it worry about a warrant from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to spy on a regular individual?  If you were wondering about your rights eroding, look no farther than your leaders.  If they have their rights being dismantled systematically, you and I have no chance at all.

America...land of the almost free, home of the sheep.

Once Again I Belong To The Stupid Party

Part of me wishes there was an IQ test for Members of Congress.  Once again, the GOP has missed the point and is acting as poorly as the opposition.

Instead of handling an issue head on, the House led GOP has chosen to reduce funding to the IRS instead of the intelligent thing...ending it.  Angered by targeting of conservative and Tea Party groups by the IRS bureaucrats, the House has decided to attempt a 25% reduction in the enforcement division.  The headline: GOP Wants To Make It Easier To Cheat On Taxes.

You can't control the media, but that should have been considered beforehand and it reeks of the same behavior as Republicans want to accuse the administration of...i.e. playing favorites.  The problem with the tax code now is it is entirely impossible for the average citizen to understand and is filled with packages of tax breaks for this favorite person or that.  (99% of Republicans are okay with this because now and then they are a favorite.  That doesn't make it right though.)

The IRS Scandal should have been the perfect reason to say no more and pass a flat tax, but still the number of Republicans who will scream about the scandal, but are happy with the system is entirely too high.  This should have been the time when Republicans said we will have a flat tax and eliminate 95% of the IRS.  Instead, the House GOP is showing once again that I belong to the stupid party.

Nerd Prom 2014

Once again it is that time of year when nerd prom occurs in Washington DC.  Nerd prom is a colloquial term for the White House Correspondents’ Association dinner which has morphed from a roast like event where the President and press can gather together and enjoy each others company in a casual environment to a set of parties pre- and post-dinner parties that seemed more focused on celebrating themselves and their position.

As per expected, the President had a few self-deprecating jokes talking about the rollout of the Affordable Care Act and the difficulties of other government administration, but immediately went on another vicious set of attacks against possible Republican favorites for 2016.  Unlike previous Presidents including President Clinton, both President George Bush and George W Bush, and President Reagan, Obama seems unable to laugh at himself.  This lack of vision of himself in the mirror is disturbing because it continues to show him as an academic out of touch with society.

He seems unable to grasp that the Affordable Care Act has been anything but a success.  In terms of bureaucratic quagmires, it ranks up there with the initial response to Hurricane Katrina.  Additionally, Obama has refused to listen to calls for special prosecutors on the issue of Benghazi and the IRS attacking groups on the basis of ideaology.

It is becoming increasingly clear that President Obama is much more comfortable in a society where he tells us what is best for us.  He clearly does not trust the same people he asked to trust him with their vote for President.

Unfortunately for the rest of us it seems that the nerds are sitting in their circles talking about how brilliant they are without recognizing the capabilities of the others outside their circle.  Working in Washington DC previously myself, I remember a lesson taught by one of my best bosses ever, Becky Norton Dunlop.  She taught me that decisions are best made at the local level and that decisions made in Richmond or Washington, often did not have the clarity of those up close to the problem who dealt with it daily.  The lesson was not lost that bureaucrats liked solving other people’s problems despite the fact that the problems continued on, no matter how much money you through at a problem.

Nerd prom reminds me that when we sit in little groups of yes men (and women), we end up with group think.  Group think doesn’t contribute to finding solutions, but only supports the group.  The return of Nerd Prom 2014 reminds me of the danger of insulated people sitting in their circles making decisions for the rest of us: solutions without problems.  Celebrate yourselves media and Washington insiders.  Nerd prom will return I am sure.