Benghazi, IRS, and AP Oh my!

Benghazi, and IRS, and AP Oh my!

 

A Cranky Saturday Opinion

The following are the opinions of a cranky old man.  Opposing opinions are welcome, but please…no name calling…that means you, you big stupid head!

 

Three “Gates” are in the news this week and Cranky has opinions.

Benghazi: It is not the crime, it is the cover up.  This week we had whistle blowers, Senate hearings, and spin, spin, spin.  The Democrats are angry.  “What is done is done, forget it, it’s over, what is the difference what happened?  The Republicans are just trying to use this whole terrible incident for political purposes!”

Yes, the Republicans are using the Benghazi screw-up for political reasons, just as every politician uses every incompetence of their rivals for their own political benefit. 

What do we know about Benghazi?

Well we don’t know for sure, but it is pretty obvious:

1.     The State Department did not adequately protect the Libyan Embassy, even when extra protection was requested.  Incompetence?  Yes.  Politically motivated? Possibly, just about everything in government is flavored by politics.  Mostly, failure to protect the Embassy was miscalculation and incompetence.  There is lots of stuff going on in the State Department, mistakes are made.  It is regrettable, still people need to be held accountable for these mistakes.

2.    The administration was embarrassed by the Embassy attack because The President, in the closing months before the election, had claimed that he had Al Qaida and terrorism on the run.  The administration deliberately sought to characterize the attack as a reaction to a five minute you tube video.  They stuck with that story until it just would not hold water and then marginalized their error with Hilary losing her temper and screaming, “What difference does it make?”

That is it!  Stop the Hearings; stop the inquisition, that is what happened.  Let the American People decide if it makes any difference or not, but stop arguing over what every person who can read and decides to think, knows is the truth.

IRS: For several years the IRS has scrutinized any non-profit organization and their donors that smacked of conservative leanings.  The nature of these organizations is such that they should be randomly challenged, as there is much room for them to cheat the system.  The reason this has been fodder for scandal is that the IRS targeted only those organizations with conservative leanings.  Liberal organizations, of which there are as many as conservative, and who have the same opportunity and incentive to cheat the system were “left” alone.  That is just not “right.” 

AP: The Justice Department secretly has obtained phone records of the Associated Press’ reporters.  The records were not just targeted for a specific situation or case, but all records.  The ability to use these records to go on fishing excersions and intimidate the press is obvious.  It represents a power which the Constitution clearly did not want to grant to any government agency.  Freedom of the press is what keeps government at least a little bit honest.  It is perhaps the most important concept which keeps government abuse in check and guarantees our freedom.

 

Benghazi, IRS, AP…is our country doomed?  Is this administration over the top?  Is President Obama actively trying to bully the country to lead it down the path of Socialism and Dictatorship?  Of course not, but these abuses are the canary in the mine.  They should not be glossed over or buried.  The slippery slope needs to be sanded, and some wrists need to be slapped…hard!

 

The preceding opinions are those of the Cranky Old Man, and not necessarily those of management…Mrs. Cranky.