One Citizen Speaking

LAW-ABIDING CITIZENS FORCED TO "HIDE IN THE SHADOWS"

Almost every day you hear the immigration activists associated with the progressive socialist democrats decry that illegal aliens are forced to “hide in the shadows” …

But what of the thousands of legal law-abiding American citizens being forced into the shadows by the progressive socialist democrats who are criminalizing lawful and constitutionally-protected behavior with respect to their Second Amendment rights.

There is nothing in the Second Amendment that specifies what type of weapons a citizen may possess or use, although common sense would say that fully automatic weapons, grenades, rockets, flamethrowers, and weapons of mass destruction are beyond the pale.

But since criminals, crazies, and terrorists do not respect nor abide by any laws, it seems not only foolish, but dangerous, to disarm law-abiding citizens who cannot rely on law enforcement to protect themselves, their families, their property, or their neighbors. In fact, the only thing that disarming Americans does is to create a larger victim pool and ensure that mass murders have additional targets for their anger or craziness.

Stickers with the message, “We Will Not Comply” have popped up on vehicles, guitar cases, even rifle bags.  Boulder’s newly enacted “assault weapons” ban is meeting with stiff resistance from its “gun-toting hippies,” staunch liberals who also happen to be devoted firearms owners. Only 342 “assault weapons,” or semiautomatic rifles, were certified by Boulder police before the Dec. 31 deadline, meaning there could be thousands of residents in the scenic university town of 107,000 in violation of the sweeping gun-control ordinance. “I would say the majority of people I’ve talked to just aren’t complying because most people see this as a registry,” said Lesley Hollywood, executive director of the Colorado Second Amendment group Rally for Our Rights. “Boulder actually has a very strong firearms community.” The ordinance, approved by the city council unanimously, banned the possession and sale of “assault weapons,” defined as semiautomatic rifles with a pistol grip, folding stock, or ability to accept a detachable magazine. Semiautomatic pistols and shotguns are also included. Current owners were given until the end of the year to choose one of two options: Get rid of their semiautomatics by moving them out of town, disabling them, or turning them over to police — or apply for a certificate with the Boulder Police Department, a process that includes a firearm inspection, background check, and $20 fee. Judging by the numbers, however, most Boulder firearms owners have chosen to do none of the above, albeit quietly. Read more at Boulder, Colorado 'assault weapons' ban met with mass non-compliance - Washington Times

Bottom line…

As a life member (patron level) of the National Rifle Association, I can understand those who are unfamiliar with guns might want to live in a gun-free society. But, then again, they probably would want unicorns and self-licking lollypops in their imaginary utopia.

Individuals built this nation. Our forefathers believed in individualism and personal responsibility along with fearing government tyranny and abuse of power. Hence they provided the most magnificent solution in all of history, the United States Constitution. It is based on freedom, individual rights, a civil society, and the rule of law. Pretty much why the progressive socialist democrats want to destroy it so they can bring about their totalitarian regime which they believe is the necessary precursor to a perfect society based on equality. Totally ignoring, of course, that such a construct ignores human nature and the competitive spirit of individuals.

The answer is not to demonize guns, but to teach your neighbors how to safely handle and use firearms.

Let us remember that the Second Amendment is not about personal protection, hunting, or sport shooting – those were all a given when the constitution was written – it is about the ultimate redress to governmental tyranny and the abuse of power under the color of authority.

We are so screwed when a community invites criminals, crazies, and terrorists to the party and then shocked when they do what they do.

-- steve

OCASIO-CORTEZ: PROOF THAT SOMETHING IS WRONG IN THE DEMOCRAT PARTY

On the day before the new congressional session, incoming New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez couldn’t wait to take to Twitter to announce her displeasure of reinstated House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s attempt to modify the House Rules to impose a modicum of fiscal discipline on spending.

Speaking out against Pelosi’s proposed “Pay As You Go” (PAYGO) initiative …

This should not surprise anyone because Ocasio-Cortez wants to implement the so-called “Green New Deal,” a progressive socialist democrat initiative designed to use global climate change as the raison d'être to implement an agenda that controls our sovereignty, our economy, and our population.

Here are a few excerpts from the House Rules changes she supports …

DRAFT TEXT FOR PROPOSED ADDENDUM TO HOUSE RULES FOR 116TH CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES (1) ESTABLISHMENT; COMPOSITION.— (A) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is hereby established a Select Committee For A Green New Deal (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “select committee”). (B) COMPOSITION.—The select committee shall be composed of 15 members appointed by the Speaker, of whom 6 may be appointed on the recommendation of the Minority Leader. The Speaker shall designate one member of the select committee as its chair. A vacancy in the membership of the select committee shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment. (2) JURISDICTION; FUNCTIONS.— (A) LEGISLATIVE JURISDICTION.— (i) The select committee shall have authority to develop a detailed national, industrial, economic mobilization plan (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “Plan for a Green New Deal” or the “Plan”) for the transition of the United States economy to become greenhouse gas emissions neutral and to significantly draw down greenhouse gases from the atmosphere and oceans and to promote economic and environmental justice and equality. In furtherance of the foregoing, the Plan shall: (a) be prepared in consultation with experts and leaders from business, labor, state and local governments, tribal nations, academia and broadly representative civil society groups and communities; (b) be driven by the federal government, in collaboration, co-creation and partnership with business, labor, state and local governments, tribal nations, research institutions and civil society groups and communities; (c) be executed in no longer than 10 years from the start of execution of such Plan; (d) provide opportunities for high income work, entrepreneurship and cooperative and public ownership; and (e) additionally, be responsive to, and in accordance with, the goals and guidelines relating to social, economic, racial, regional and gender-based justice and equality set forth in paragraph (6). [OCS: The progressive socialist democrats are seeking the power to destroy capitalism and implement a socialist system. Think of Cuba or Venezuela on steroids.] (ii) In addition to preparing the Plan as set forth in paragraph (2)(A)(i), the select committee shall prepare draft legislation for the enactment of the Plan (hereinafter in this section referred to as the “draft legislation”), in accordance with this section. Such draft legislation may be prepared concurrently with the development of the Plan, or as the select committee may otherwise deem appropriate, provided that such finalized draft legislation shall be completed in accordance with the timing set forth in paragraph (5)(B)(ii). (iii) The select committee shall not have legislative jurisdiction and shall have no authority to take legislative action on any bill or resolution, provided that the foregoing shall not affect the select committee’s ability to prepare draft legislation in accordance with paragraph (2)(A)(i) and (2)(A)(ii). (B) INVESTIGATIVE JURISDICTION.—In  furtherance of the mandate set forth in paragraph (2)(A), the select committee shall have the authority to investigate, study, make findings, convene experts and leaders from industry, academia, local communities, labor, finance, technology and any other industry or group that the select committee deems to be a relevant resource. The select committee may, at its discretion and as its members may deem appropriate, hold public hearings in connection with any aspect of its investigative functions. [OCS: The progressive socialist democrats will abuse the power of their office to punish their enemies much as it was done in the Clinton and Obama administrations. As for hearings, they are clearly dog-and-pony shows for the media and accomplish little except for making headlines.] (6) SCOPE OF THE PLAN FOR A GREEN NEW DEAL AND THE DRAFT LEGISLATION.— (A) The Plan for a Green New Deal (and the draft legislation) shall be developed with the objective of reaching the following outcomes within the target window of 10 years from the start of execution of the Plan: Dramatically expand existing renewable power sources and deploy new production capacity with the goal of meeting 100% of national power demand through renewable sources; [OCS: This can never be achieved without resorting to nuclear energy which, as we all know, has been demonized by the progressive socialist democrats – mostly at the direction of the communists who feared losing ground to a nuclearized America with the overwhelming capacity to defend itself against hostile forces.] building a national, energy-efficient, “smart” grid; upgrading every residential and industrial building for state-of-the-art energy efficiency, comfort and safety; eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from the manufacturing, agricultural and other industries, including by investing in local-scale agriculture in communities across the country; eliminating greenhouse gas emissions from, repairing and improving transportation and other infrastructure, and upgrading water infrastructure to ensure universal access to clean water; funding massive investment in the drawdown of greenhouse gases; [OCS: There is absolutely no proof that controlling carbon dioxide, methane or any other trace greenhouse gasses will have an effect on the global climate (mostly impacted by China, India, and the Russia) and supersede the natural variability of climate, or be more effective than the greatest greenhouse gas – water vapor.] making “green” technology, industry, expertise, products and services a major export of the United States, with the aim of becoming the undisputed international leader in helping other countries transition to completely greenhouse gas neutral economies and bringing about a global Green New Deal. [OCS: Export technology which is mostly stolen and implemented by our enemies and others?] (B) The Plan for a Green New Deal (and the draft legislation) shall recognize that a national, industrial, economic mobilization of this scope and scale is a historic opportunity to virtually eliminate poverty in the United States and to make prosperity, wealth and economic security available to everyone participating in the transformation. In furtherance of the foregoing, the Plan (and the draft legislation) shall: provide all members of our society, across all regions and all communities, the opportunity, training and education to be a full and equal participant in the transition, including through a job guarantee program to assure a living wage job to every person who wants one; [OCS: One can anticipate massive Soviet-style government make-work programs that decouple productivity, wages, and rewards to produce apathetic workers who eventually grow lazy and game the system.] diversify local and regional economies, with a particular focus on communities where the fossil fuel industry holds significant control over the labor market, to ensure workers have the necessary tools, opportunities, and economic assistance to succeed during the energy transition; [OCS: Ignore that fossil fuels have driven the greatest expansion of industrialization for the common good in the history of mankind and that so-called green sources, with the exception of nuclear and geo-thermal, are not generally reliable, available on demand, and cost-efficient.] require strong enforcement of labor, workplace safety, and wage standards that recognize the rights of workers to organize and unionize free of coercion, intimidation, and harassment, and creation of meaningful, quality, career employment; [OCS: funny that the words coercion, intimidation, and harassment are used when they describe the very union recruitment and enforcement tactics the progressive socialist democrats are trying to promote.] ensure a ‘just transition’ for all workers, low-income communities, communities of color, indigenous communities, rural and urban communities and the front-line communities most affected by climate change, pollution and other environmental harm including by ensuring that local implementation of the transition is led from the community level and by prioritizing solutions that end the harms faced by front-line communities from climate change and environmental pollution; [OCS: What does this mean except massive affirmative action programs to promote those communities who support progressive socialist democrats and their agenda? Everyone is harmed by adverse weather events – so control over the population is complete.] protect and enforce sovereign rights and land rights of tribal nations; mitigate deeply entrenched racial, regional and gender-based inequalities in income and wealth (including, without limitation, ensuring that federal and other investment will be equitably distributed to historically impoverished, low income, deindustrialized or other marginalized communities in such a way that builds wealth and ownership at the community level); [OCS: can you say reparations, wealth-distribution, and control over private property?] include additional measures such as basic income programs, universal health care programs and any others as the select committee may deem appropriate to promote economic security, labor market flexibility and entrepreneurism; and [OCS: there is not enough money in the United States to implement and pay for these programs, especially since much of the government is already financed on credit.] deeply involve national and local labor unions to take a leadership role in the process of job training and worker deployment. [OCS: The unions are socialistic creation and are anti-competitive. They reward seniority over merit, the status quo over innovation, the balkanization of single-employee tasks to make room for more workers, control their members with thuggish tactics – and in general do little other than to serve as a funding mechanism of the progressive socialist democrats and their cronies.] (C) The Plan for a Green New Deal (and the draft legislation) shall recognize that innovative public and other financing structures are a crucial component in achieving and furthering the goals and guidelines relating to social, economic, racial, regional and gender-based justice and equality and cooperative and public ownership set forth in paragraphs (2)(A)(i) and (6) [OCS: Roughly translated – we will decide who to fund based on their cooperation with our progressive socialist agenda.] (B). The Plan (and the draft legislation) shall, accordingly, ensure that the majority of financing of the Plan shall be accomplished by the federal government, using a combination of the Federal Reserve, a new public bank or system of regional and specialized public banks, public venture funds and such other vehicles or structures that the select committee deems appropriate, in order to ensure that interest and other investment returns generated from public investments made in connection with the Plan will be returned to the treasury, reduce taxpayer burden and allow for more investment. [OCS: This is a lie. The money will not be returned to the taxpayer unless it is in the most “theoretical” sense. Any profits from the government chosen winners will be returned to those who regard the Treasury as a piggy-bank to fund their progressive agenda. Of course, the “taxpayers” will suffer the losses from screwed-up crony-driven ventures like Solyndra and others.] <Source>

It appears that Pelosi’s desire to restrict spending would be an anathema to the free-spending socialists and communists who believe their dream revolution leading to a new society is around the corner.

As one pundit noted…

Ocasio-Cortez may not be in Congress yet, but she already has a plan to remake the way Americans drive, commute, live, work, and even use the financial system. Let there be little doubt how she aspires to wield power in Washington.

Bottom line…

The threat to America is not from Russia, China, Iran, or North Korea – it is from those within the government who seek to bring down our nation, militarily and economically, while our enemies sit back, eat popcorn, and applaud.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

LENIN EXPLAINS THE NEO-DEMOCRAT PARTY

I was asked by a reader why I use the descriptive phrases progressive socialist democrat or neo-communists when referring to the Democrat Party. As I wondered how to respond to this question, I decided to use the words of one of communism’s most evil individuals, Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, AKA Lenin, who styled himself as an intellectual, political theorist, a politician, and most importantly, a Russian communist.

Note: Lenin referred to liberals in the classic sense where liberalism was a political ideology that advocates civil liberties under the rule of law with an emphasis on economic freedom, not in the modern sense where liberalism supports opposition to cuts to a societal social safety net and mandates a role for government to reduce inequality, provide universal education (indoctrination), ensure access to healthcare, regulate economic activity, and protect the environment. One of freedom, which Lenin despised, and one of control which he would have embraced.

See if this makes sense…

Lenin	Neo-Democrat Party
“The goal of Socialism is Communism.”	No matter what the evildoers call themselves, particularly the Democratic Socialist Party, they are still evildoers. The current Democrat Party bears no resemblance to the more respected and respectful party known to my parents. Same name – majorly different game.
“The way to crush the bourgeoisie is to grind them between the millstones of taxation and inflation.”	This one is self-explanatory as the evildoers continue their profligate spending, much of it purposed to purchase votes, and to create unstable financial systems run on debt, not asset-backed capital that is destined to collapse the existing system to bring about the conditions necessary for revolution.
“One man with a gun can control 100 without one. ... Make mass searches and hold executions for found arms.”	There is no doubt that the evildoers want to disarm the law-abiding public and negate the Constitution’s Second Amendment which provides a correct revolutionary response to government tyranny.
“Medicine is the keystone of the arch of socialism.”	Evildoers realize that control over medicine is the control over the lives and deaths of individuals. Likewise, the evildoers have decided that control over the climate is the method to exert control over the economies and the sovereignty of nations.
“We are not utopians, we do not “dream” of dispensing at once with all administration, with all subordination. These anarchist dreams, based upon incomprehension of the tasks of the proletarian dictatorship, are totally alien to Marxism, and, as a matter of fact, serve only to postpone the socialist revolution until people are different. No, we want the socialist revolution with people as they are now, with people who cannot dispense with subordination, control, and ‘foremen and accountants.’”	The evildoers are knowingly selling a lie when they speak of their social justice. And, as for those class-hyphenated studies, all start with the premise that something is wrong that must be redressed politically with a revolution. And it must be an amazing coincidence these studies are dominated by evildoers. Interpreted literally, we want slaves who do what we say and welcome our enlightened control.
“All official and liberal science defends wage-slavery, whereas Marxism has declared relentless war on that slavery.”	The evildoers create disparity and dissension with talk of wage inequality, the wage gap, and the living wage as if a worker was the equivalent to a visionary or manager.
“The Capitalists will sell us the rope with which we will hang them.”	Perhaps another way of saying that the evildoers use our good nature and own laws against us.
“The best way to control the opposition is to lead it ourselves.”	The evildoers will say or do anything to achieve power and a leadership position. They will inflict the tyranny of the minority on the majority if necessary to advance their agenda.
“Give me just one generation of youth, and I'll transform the whole world.”	One does not have to be blind to see that the evildoers infiltrated and now control education. The best example is the redefinition of free speech to include the legitimate suppression of vaguely defined hate speech.
“A lie told often enough becomes the truth.”	There is no doubt that the evildoers control the media and are quick to manufacture or manipulate the news of the day to drive their agenda forward. Perhaps another way of saying “fake news.”
“The revolution does not need historians.”	The last thing the evildoers want is for people to know and understand the historical lessons that demonstrate that revolutionary Marxism, socialism, communism, or progressivism is a dead end that leads to an equality of misery, suffering, and death.
“It is necessary sometimes to take one step backward to take two steps forward.”	The evildoers are playing the long game while the opposition appears to be looking to achieve short-term gains. Thus, when they are out of power, the evildoers plan and plot for when they return to power.
“The feminine section of the proletarian army is of particularly great significance... the success of a revolution depends on the extent to which women take part in it.”	The evildoers have co-opted feminism to persuade a large voting block to vote against nature and their own self-interests. One look at the modern marches proves the point that they are tools of the Marxists and lead by political ideologues of a particular political belief.
“Official science tried, by a conspiracy of silence, to kill the works of Marx, who by a theoretical and historical analysis of capitalism had proved that free competition gives rise to the concentration of production, which, in turn, at a certain stage of development, leads to monopoly.”	The evildoers rely on “official science” – as if there really was such a thing – to advance their agenda. I am reminded of the words of Nobel Laureate and physicist Richard Feynman who noted that disciplines with the word science in their names were unlikely to have anything to do with science. The endpoint of capitalism is more capitalism, whereas the end point of Marxism is totalitarian dictatorships and deaths.
“Revolution consists not in the new class commanding, governing with the aid of the old state machine, but in this class smashing this machine and commanding, governing with the aid of a new machine.”	Evildoers want to destroy the existing system which has brought us freedom, health, and prosperity in favor of an unknown system that exists not to expand the sum total of mankind but to restrict and redistribute to achieve power. The problem is they cannot define the “new machine” without alienating the existing population still able to think for themselves.
“You probe with bayonets: if you find mush, you push. If you find steel, you withdraw.”	In the final analysis, we must be strong to fight the evildoers lest they find the U.S. made of mush and kill us with our own weapons.

Bottom line…

Just like a fingerprint or DNA, decide for yourself how many matching points are needed to produce a high-confidence identification of the Democrat Party as neo-communists.

We are screwed.

-- steve

MITT ROMNEY: REPUBLICAN ASP

The first day of the new year, and two days before he assumes office as a United States Senator (R-UT), Mitt Romney attacks the character of the leader of his party, Donald Trump, and does his best to increase the derision, disdain, and despair of the nation. Portrayed as the voice of moderation, better known as Mister “go along to get along,” Romney gratuitously attempts to position himself as the “voice of reason,” possibly to replace the ever-present Lindsey Graham as the voice of the Republican Party. There is little or no doubt in my mind that Mitt is the incarnation of that other venomous snake from Utah, former Senator Orrin Hatch. A politician that carried the water for the Hollywood elite and was complicit in so many activities to destroy or restrict our digital freedoms.

Instead of an inspiring and uplifting message to the nation, Romney attacks the leadership of the GOP and trashes the nation on the world stage in the process…

Mitt Romney: The president shapes the public character of the nation. Trump’s character falls short. Mitt Romney – January 2019 The Trump presidency made a deep descent in December. The departures of Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and White House Chief of Staff John F. Kelly, the appointment of senior persons of lesser experience, the abandonment of allies who fight beside us, and the president’s thoughtless claim that America has long been a “sucker” in world affairs all defined his presidency down. [OCS: What is to be gained by loudly proclaiming our nation’s presidency to be inadequate, deficient, and rude? If one were objective, one might see that Trump broke the mold and actually did (or attempted to do) what he promised during the campaign? Unlike his presidential predecessors and senatorial poseurs, Trump attempted healthcare reform, attempted tax reform, attempted foreign policy reform – and did what everyone else said they wanted, but lacked the guts to do, move our embassy to Jerusalem. And yes, America has been the sucker in World affairs as we bought photo-ops and phony cooperation with bribes and bouquets – which very rarely produced substantive cooperation. We are not privy to any abandonment of our allies and do not yet know the nature of any deals struck by the Trump Administration with respect to leaving Syria and Afghanistan. ] It is well known that Donald Trump was not my choice for the Republican presidential nomination. After he became the nominee, I hoped his campaign would refrain from resentment and name-calling. It did not. When he won the election, I hoped he would rise to the occasion. His early appointments of Rex Tillerson, Jeff Sessions, Nikki Haley, Gary Cohn, H.R. McMaster, Kelly and Mattis were encouraging. But, on balance, his conduct over the past two years, particularly his actions this month, is evidence that the president has not risen to the mantle of the office. [OCS: Of course Donald Trump was not your candidate – or any other member of the “go along to get along” boys club. And, in spite of some backroom maneuvering, you were not selected to join the Cabinet as Secretary of State. As for bad behavior, let’s look at what Romney said about Bill Clinton when speaking about Hillary not being judged for her husband’s conduct… "That being said, the times when he was president were, by and large, positive economic times for the country. On the other hand, he embarrassed the nation, he breached his responsibility, I think, as an adult and as a leader in this relationship, and I think that's unfortunate.” <Source>] It is not that all of the president’s policies have been misguided. He was right to align U.S. corporate taxes with those of global competitors, to strip out excessive regulations, to crack down on China’s unfair trade practices, to reform criminal justice and to appoint conservative judges. These are policies mainstream Republicans have promoted for years. But policies and appointments are only a part of a presidency. [OCS: Until President Trump, the mainstream Republicans were mostly talk and very little action. It is wonderful that you now retroactively ratify some of Trump’s work, but it took the Trump Administration to accomplish what were, up to that point, little more than GOP talking points.] To a great degree, a presidency shapes the public character of the nation. A president should unite us and inspire us to follow “our better angels.” A president should demonstrate the essential qualities of honesty and integrity, and elevate the national discourse with comity and mutual respect. As a nation, we have been blessed with presidents who have called on the greatness of the American spirit. With the nation so divided, resentful and angry, presidential leadership in qualities of character is indispensable. And it is in this province where the incumbent’s shortfall has been most glaring. [OCS: Not only does Romney appear ignorant of the constitutionally-required duties of the President, he appears oblivious that honesty and integrity are not found to any substantial degree in politics, be they local, state, or federal. Is Romney a fool – former President Barack Obama did more to divide America and to promote a climate of angry dysfunction that any modern president, yet here is Romney attacking President Trump. Perhaps Romney should forget about inspiring us to follow “our better angels” and inspiring us to follow the United States Constitution. We need a President who is effective, especially against an overwhelmingly negative opposition and a demonstrably negative media acting as the propaganda arm of the progressive socialist democrats. We do not need another lying cheerleader who spackles over the widening cracks in our society until the house becomes structurally unstable. Is Romney so oblivious of the media’s trashing of Romney for an innocent remark about “binders of women” in reference to potential appointees? Or his youthful indiscretions?] The world is also watching. America has long been looked to for leadership. Our economic and military strength was part of that, of course, but our enduring commitment to principled conduct in foreign relations, and to the rights of all people to freedom and equal justice, was even more esteemed. Trump’s words and actions have caused dismay around the world. In a 2016 Pew Research Center poll, 84 percent of people in Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Sweden believed the American president would “do the right thing in world affairs.” One year later, that number had fallen to 16 percent. [OCS: What bullpucky. Most of the world hates the United States and certainly does not need, encourage, or accept America’s leadership in any aspect of their sphere of influence. Yes, they will accept America’s money and forbearance. But they cannot be relied on to do what it in America’s best interests. Romney appears to be pumping out the type of Pollyannaish rhetoric that disguises the true nature of the beast.] This comes at a very unfortunate time. Several allies in Europe are experiencing political upheaval. Several former Soviet satellite states are rethinking their commitment to democracy. Some Asian nations, such as the Philippines, lean increasingly toward China, which advances to rival our economy and our military. The alternative to U.S. world leadership offered by China and Russia is autocratic, corrupt and brutal. [OCS: Perhaps they lean this way because America can’t be trusted. Did Romney note that former President Obama made a pattern and practice of disparaging and disadvantaging our allies while aiding and abetting our enemies? Trump has done nothing to our allies than make them pony up their fair share for mutual defense. We do not yet know the details with the Kurds and as for the Saudi killing of a propagandist (not journalist) in a foreign country – that is not our monkey and not our circus.] The world needs American leadership, and it is in America’s interest to provide it. A world led by authoritarian regimes is a world — and an America — with less prosperity, less freedom, less peace. [OCS: Here Romney is delusional. The idea that Russia, China, Iran, all of the Middle East with the exception of Israel, and elsewhere welcomes American-style freedoms is ludicrous.] To reassume our leadership in world politics, we must repair failings in our politics at home. That project begins, of course, with the highest office once again acting to inspire and unite us. It includes political parties promoting policies that strengthen us rather than promote tribalism by exploiting fear and resentment. Our leaders must defend our vital institutions despite their inevitable failings: a free press, the rule of law, strong churches, and responsible corporations and unions. [OCS: Unbelievable. Does Romney understand, no matter how much he hates Donald Trump or believes him to represent the Cheerleader-in-Chief, that the entire Democrat Party’s entire platform is based on promoting tribalism and exploiting fear and resentment? And, it would have been appropriate to attack the progressive socialist democrats instead of his party’s leadership on this day of celebrating a new beginning? A free press? The press is free to write anything they want, including fake news. This is a straw man and demonstrates Romney’s failure to understand the real dynamic forces at play. Unions are a socialist concept: they produce nothing but chaos and costs. Political decisions are conditioned on pleasing the union’s leadership (not membership). And, as for the rule of law, there does not appear to be a more lawless body of organized criminals than the United States Congress.] We must repair our fiscal foundation, setting a course to a balanced budget. We must attract the best talent to America’s service and the best innovators to America’s economy. [OCS: Romney is full of bullpucky! We do not need a balanced budget – we need to spend less, we need to reduce our budget, not achieve parity with revenue as a balanced budget suggests. As for the best and brightest, this is also bullpucky – because the best and brightest cannot compete in a world where they report to three co-equal branches and are sabotaged by the bureaucracy. Their world of achievement is hindered by politics to the point where failure is built-in to the system. We could have all of the McKinsey, Boston and Company, and Bain bright consultants – and all that would be accomplished is more report writing.] America is strongest when our arms are linked with other nations. We want a unified and strong Europe, not a disintegrating union. We want stable relationships with the nations of Asia that strengthen our mutual security and prosperity. [OCS: If Romney is speaking about Brexit, perhaps he should reconsider our Declaration of Independence. Why Britain should surrender their sovereignty to unnamed and unelected bureaucrats in Brussels who are busy masterminding how everyone should behave in the best “one world order” is questionable.] I look forward to working on these priorities with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and other senators. [OCS: Notice he does not mention dealing with the most powerful boss snake in the Senate, Chuck Schumer, by name. McConnell is an establishment man and lacks the cojones to stand up and fight for America and the American way of life. He is detached and ineffective.] Furthermore, I will act as I would with any president, in or out of my party: I will support policies that I believe are in the best interest of the country and my state, and oppose those that are not. I do not intend to comment on every tweet or fault. But I will speak out against significant statements or actions that are divisive, racist, sexist, anti-immigrant, dishonest or destructive to democratic institutions. [OCS: Romney sounds like a progressive socialist democrat. The so-called democratic institutions have already been infiltrated by progressive socialist democrats and need to be purged or eliminated and rebuilt. Romney is a wealthy, white, advocate of open borders and just can’t help virtue signaling like a progressive democrat.] I remain optimistic about our future. In an innovation age, Americans excel. More importantly, noble instincts live in the hearts of Americans. The people of this great land will eschew the politics of anger and fear if they are summoned to the responsibility by leaders in homes, in churches, in schools, in businesses, in government — who raise our sights and respect the dignity of every child of God — the ideal that is the essence of America. [OCS: This last paragraph should have been Romney’s message – but then again it would have never been printed in the anti-Trump Washington Post.] <Source>

Bottom line…

Politicians like Mitt Romney are part and parcel of what is wrong with American politics today. Yes, he is smart, wealthy, telegenic, well-educated, and well-spoken – but he is far from a constitutional conservative and will stand up for the establishment before he will stand up for the United States Constitution or our country.

-- steve

NEW MEDICAL TEST FOR AGING

Effectiveness and Efficacy.

Randomized controlled trials (RCTs), the gold standard in evaluating efficacy and effectiveness, suggest clinically meaningful results that are 80% accurate after age 60, 85 % accurate after age 65, 90% accurate after age 68, and 95% accurate after age 70.

 

-- steve

ONE CITIZEN SPEAKING WISHES YOU AND YOURS A HAPPY NEW YEAR (2019)

While we may live in perilous times, facing dangers both foreign and domestic, let us be aware of those who do not wish us a wonderful New Year. Let us push back against those who want to control our lives, liberty, and our ability to pursue happiness unmolested by the government and special interests. And those who attempt to deny us our unalienable rights which have been given to all humans by their creator. Let us hope that this new year will bring us justice where all of those in the government are held accountable for their actions as a reminder to those who should be representing our nation and “We the People” rather than their self-interests or that of the special interests. Never, in the history of the United States, have we seen one political party come this close to representing the Communists and our enemies. Or a media that has become a propaganda arm of this political party as they fail to fully inform our people. Nor have we seen an education system that indoctrinates rather than educates – shouting down those with opposing views in the name of “free speech.”

But, while we have problems, let us remember people are fighting and dying to enter this country. Some to escape government oppression, illiteracy, poverty, disease, and crime. Others to re-create the hell-hole they just left in a safer environment on our shores. Beware of those who demand citizenship but fly the flag of a foreign power. Like those Northeastern liberals who brought their liberalism to the great state of Florida and turned it upside down, we are facing a hoard of locusts capable of devouring everything in its path. Perhaps the symbol of a modern plague.

No matter how they try to divide the nation, remember the poorest among us have health, living conditions, opportunities and material goods not available to most of the world.

Enjoy 2019 and do your part to preserve and protect our Constitution, our nation, and our uniquely American way of life.

If the video does not appear in the email version, it can be found here.

 

Let us remember that there is no more powerful enemy than the one that resides in our nation and seeks to destroy us from within.

We have seen our government and institutions infiltrated by those who do not wish us well, including some at the very top including prominent executives, Judges, Representatives, Senators, and even a President or two.

And, let us not forget those who are serving and those who are not here to celebrate with us.

For those who disparage law enforcement and the military, who is it that is keeping you safe while our politicians and our enemies from within try to disarm law-abiding citizens and nullify the Constitution’s Second Amendment?

Be well and have a safe and prosperous New Year.

-- steve

POLITICS: 90-DEGREE TURN

As we close out 2018, the GOP under the leadership of President Donald Trump, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, and the retiring Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, is chaotic and in disarray. The progressives and their mainstream media propaganda machine have sowed chaos and confusion among the people.

It appears that the traditional political spectrum is morphing from a broad range of subjects along traditional lines …

to a 90-degree shift to a single economic issue of have and have-nots. Where votes will be purchased on the strength of entitlements and give-always and the traditional GOP line about “fiscal prudence” has been proven to be an outright lie under Presidents Bush 41 and 43, and now Donald Trump. Even with a measure of tax reform and the slashing of regulations, spending has increased and promises to go even higher.

The new model is a 90-degree narrow-band based on economic interests…

Bottom line…

It is increasingly hard to go along with a GOP who shuns broad-based individual support in favor of billionaire mega-donors and big-money bundlers.

It is increasingly hard to go along with a party that preaches fiscal restraint but seems to vote with the progressive socialist democrats in expanding the spending and to continue funding non-essentials in a time of fiscal crisis.

It is increasingly hard to go along with a party that shuns constitutional conservatives but embraces those who want to impose religion-based restrictions via the law.

It is increasingly hard to go along with a party that claims to support law and order but is clearly afraid to investigate and prosecute those who have clearly broken the law and engaged in unconstitutional and criminal activities.

It is increasingly hard to go along with a party that refuses to use all of the legislative and executive tools at their command to fight against the progressive socialist democrats. And, for those who claim President Trump is a fighter, a counter-puncher, and someone who is not afraid of the media – look again. All of his fights are with and in the media. As he has said in the past, he welcomes negative stories because anything that provides him with the media attention and the ability for more recognition is fine by him.

For 2019, it is apparent that the party must define a platform, get out of the abortion business, uphold our national sovereignty, and exert party discipline on those who refuse to support the platform. As yourself how someone like Maxine Waters or Adam Schiff can rise to positions of power. Both are bat-shit crazy and hyper-political, yet they won their offices fair and square.

We are in deep trouble when an aisle-hopping RINO (Republican In Name Only) like Lindsey Graham is the public face of the party and the apparent voice of reason.

We are still on the precipice of losing our country, and Donald Trump is not the answer. He may be a delaying tactic, but he has proven he is ignorant on most issues, refuses to study the briefing books, and mostly wings it on his gut feelings. One can easily imagine our foreign policy being destroyed on the day he awakes with constipation. For those who do not believe this, remember it took only one telephone call to Erdoğan, the Turkish President, for Trump to tweet out a new military order without consulting his Secretary of Defense (who resigned) or the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff who is scheduled to leave office in September 30, 2019.

We are screwed unless something changes. And, I do not see a GOP leader on the horizon that isn’t an establishment hack or a RINO. The idea of continuing under President Trump, Vice President Pence, John Kasich, or any of the 2016 retreads is appalling. Fun speculation: James Mattis and Nikki Haley.

-- steve

A REMINDER OF LIFE'S FRAGILITY IN AN UNCERTAIN WORLD

It is with much sadness that I announce the passing of an OCS friend, the beautiful and talented writer/pundit Bre Payton, 26, from the complications of the H1N1 Flu and Meningitis. Bre was a staff writer at The Federalist, the conservative publication founded by Ben Domenech and was a frequent guest commentator on various news shows. She was 26 years old. There is no doubt in my mind that she will be missed, but firmly embedded in the hearts of everyone who knew her.

 

This is a reminder of the fragility of life and that bad things can happen to anyone at any time. Rest in Peace Bre. Our prayers are with her family, friends, and especially her boyfriend Ryan.

-- steve

IS CVS PLANNING TO RATION THEIR CUSTOMER'S HEALTHCARE AND DRUG AVAILABILITY?

It is one thing to have a national debate over the progressive’s intentions to institute government limitations of healthcare, but it quite another thing to have a private organization unilaterally implement such progressive healthcare restrictions on the large customer base.

Unfortunately, you cannot even rely on senior-friendly organizations like AARP due to their progressive agenda and willingness to sell out their membership to implement Obamacare. Let us not forget the AARP earns a substantial portion of its revenue, not from its membership but from licensing its name to the very insurance company that helped write the Obamacare statute; and whose IT subsidiary developed the unsecure healthcare.gov.

Is this the canary in the coal mine?

CVS Makes Plans To Ration Customers’ Health Care A health rationing organization’s opinion about so-called quality of life value will soon determine whether CVS customers can receive new prescription drugs and treatments. CVS Caremark customers throughout America recently received bad news as the retail pharmaceutical chain officially closed on its $69 billion acquisition of Aetna. This is bad news because CVS is now working with a nonprofit “health” advisor that may ration customers’ health care choices. [OCS: Caveat: There is no indication that this so-called nonprofit health advisor will play a significant part in the operation of the CVS pharmacy chain. However, it does appear that CVS has previously [08/03/2016] crowed about making billions of dollars by implementing restrictive policies. “On the company’s earnings conference call, CVS Health CEO Larry J. Merlo credited the company’s pharmacy benefits manager, or PBM with the “gross wins” from its drug rationing efforts. Perhaps the biggest news from the company this week: its plan — for the first time — to block cancer patients’ access to brand-name cancer drugs. CVS Health spokeswoman Carolyn Castel admitted that “it’s the first time that brand-name cancer drugs have been taken off CVS’s standard formulary.” CVS Health will no longer cover treatments for leukemia and prostate cancer in 2017 — part of a 36 percent increase in the number of life-saving treatments not covered by the company. In 2017, CVS Health will ban three dozen more treatments, bringing the total number of excluded drugs to 131. This is wrong. However, profit-seeking companies have every right not to carry these medications as they see fit and you, the consumer, have every right to take your business elsewhere. And if you are stuck with CVS Caremark because of your insurance plan and you need any of these medications — you have every right to change your insurance.”] In August, CVS announced a partnership with the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), a nonprofit group that bills itself as a medical review board. But its leadership team and the far-left billionaires footing its bill paint a troubling picture. Under ICER’s direction, CVS has set a “threshold of $100,000 per QALY, or quality-of-life years, a benchmark that measures both the quantity and quality of life generated by providing a treatment or some other health care intervention.” In practice, that means ICER’s opinion about the so-called quality of life value will determine whether CVS customers can receive new prescription drugs and treatments. [OCS: How many people remember Obamacare’s guru, Ezekiel “EZ-Kill” Emanuel who led the team to quantify the quality of life in order to reduce the costs incurred when treatments did not have favorable impacts on the quality of life? In essence, avoiding expensive experimental drugs because extending one’s life for a few month’s just wasn’t worth it to the “collective” community. Since the most expensive healthcare comes as seniors age or face end-of-life medical issues, this is tantamount to handing out the not-so-mythical suicide pill.] This means that even if a doctor prescribes a drug for a patient, that individual may find that CVS doesn’t carry that medication if it doesn’t fit ICER’s parameters. Think of it as socialized health care without the socialistic government regime. [OCS: Once again the progressive masterminds believe they know what is scientifically best and that your physician needs to be constrained for the good of the system. The one question few seem to ask is: Under a single-payer healthcare system, are doctors considered simple servants who much work for wages determined by the system? This is a dangerous scheme.] Recall that the debate over health-care rationing was a primary reason so many folks objected to ObamaCare’s Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB). IPAB was to be a 15-person panel deciding which treatments should be allowed under what circumstances for government-run programs. The idea of a panel deciding who gets what kind of care and when seemed Orwellian from the start, and Americans by and large opposed the entire concept. In February, Congress did away with IPAB. [OCS: With fewer restrictions on private organizations, corporations rather than the government are large enough to implement progressive policies without significant public input. This is a scary trend that appears to be developing, especially with large companies controlling the majority of information flow on the social media platforms.] CVS is now instituting its own form of IPAB with ICER. Rationing, by any other name, is just as insidious. So who is funding this far-left push? The Laura and John Arnold Foundation has donated more than $19 million to ICER since 2015. These big-money liberals appear to have goals of moving beyond ObamaCare to a full-blown single-payer system. [OCS: Perhaps it is time to check CVS’s efforts by taking your business elsewhere and demanding more competition in pharmaceutical pricing.] In addition to funding ICER, the Arnolds have teamed up with George Soros to bankroll Patients for Affordable Drugs (P4AD), an advocacy group claiming to be bipartisan yet comprised largely of former Obama and Clinton staffers. P4AD’s political actions during this past election cycle put the truth to the lie of bipartisanship. During the Obama administration, CVS teamed up with the White House to promote the Affordable Care Act in its stores. Now it is working with far-left actors to revive a version of ObamaCare’s rationing board. CVS customers and investors deserve better. Read more at CVS Makes Plans To Ration Customers’ Health Care

There is little or no doubt in my mind that the progressive socialist democrats want to collapse our healthcare system to bring about a single-payer system that forces everyone but the wealthy and those “waivered” out of the system to depend on the government for their life or death. Using a panel of central planners to determine whether or not something is reimbursable by the government payment system and literally whether you will live or die.

The political agenda is to collapse our system in such a manner as to move from capitalism to socialism as individuals who have been severely impacted by the present system “demand” a government solution – even if it means sacrificing the constitution and our capitalist system.

A dangerous plan for rationing essential prescription drugs This past summer, Rhode Island-based CVS Caremark, the biggest pharmacy benefit manager (the intermediary between drug manufacturers and insurers), announced that it would allow its insurer clients to exclude from their plans any drugs priced greater than $100,000 per QALY. The CVS decision allows insurers to forbid access to prescription drugs that cost more than $100,000 per extra year lived in perfect health or per extra few years lived in mediocre health. [OCS: Perhaps it is time to demand a law like Glass-Steagall which separated investment and commercial banking activities. In this case, pharmacies and insurance companies would be prohibited from owning, controlling, or having an interest in pharmacy benefit managers. Better yet, disintermediate pharmacy benefit managers and let the pharmacies and institutions buy directly from the drug manufacturer or a simple distributorship that cannot mark-up prices and issue kickbacks in the form of rebates.] The problem with QALY is that it is a crude instrument that attempts to measure the impossible: the value of an extra year of life. Putting an objective monetary value on life — especially lived at different qualities — is a fool’s errand. Patients with chronic diseases, for instance, may agree that their quality of life would be improved if they were healthy, but they wouldn’t agree with the QALY proclamation that their lives therefore have less inherent value. Adherence to cost/QALY tests disregards the doctor-patient perspective, replacing personal and individual health care decisions with an Excel spreadsheet that doesn’t reflect the fact that different drugs work differently on different patients and populations. This move by CVS, and similar ones by other private and government payers, threatens vulnerable patients — especially those with chronic or rare diseases — the most, because they depend on their prescription drugs for their lives and livelihoods. It may save money but it’s unethical. A recent report found that about three-quarters of Medicare Part B patients treated for rheumatoid arthritis, multiple sclerosis, lung cancer or multiple myeloma would face barriers to access if the government program used such cost-benefit frameworks to set coverage. It would also reduce cutting-edge research into breakthrough therapies and potential cures because investors couldn’t be sure they’d be able to recoup their investments. Congress passed a law forbidding using QALY as a benchmark for access for Medicare. Lawmakers should follow suit and put it off limits to other private and government payers as well. Then we can get back to evaluating the many other quality proposals to lower prescription drug prices. <Source>

Of course, the progressives who are pushing this ideology are exempt from its consequences, much like being able to have private security to ensure their protection when they advocate releasing criminals back into the community. For those who want hard proof of the dangers of so-called government-managed healthcare, one need look no farther than England or Canada – or locally at the Veteran’s Administration or the American Indian Healthcare Service.

This is the payment and healthcare availability scheme under the progressive socialist democrats and progressive private companies…

If you fall outside the socialist’s ideas about “norms,” your life and healthcare are a crapshoot that is dependent on your wealth, your connection to politics, or your membership in an exempt group like a progressive union. The idea that healthcare can be quantified in this manner is ludicrous given the vagaries of human physiology and the number of simultaneous medical issues.

Bottom line…

Perhaps it is now time to rework the regulations that prevent pharmacies and institutions from buying pharmaceuticals directly from the manufacturer and doing away with the so-called middlemen known as pharmacy benefit managers who exist solely to inflate prices and create artificial scarcities. Are we going to sit idly by as the progressives co-opt the leadership of billion-dollar private organizations to implement socialist-like rules and regulations from which there can be little or no appeal? How many people have died waiting for the courts to rule on the necessity of care issue and whether specific care is covered?

Insurance is supposed to cover catastrophic illness and disease – not kill you off as a non-productive member of society. In the real world, our values greatly influence our choices. However, in the socialist world, they limit our choices in order to dictate our values.

We are so screwed.

-- steve

WHY IS McCLATCHY RESURRECTING AND RECYCLING FAKE NEWS?

Why am I skeptical …

One, I have no faith in McClatchy as a reliable, non-partisan source of information.

Two, we are speaking of electronic signals that can be spoofed with relative ease using commercially available equipment.

Three, foreign intelligence services were involved.

Four, the deep state, including the CIA, NSA, DNI, DOJ, FBI all have vested interests in creating and maintaining “official” fictions that absolve them of criminal activity, wrongdoing, malfeasance, and would like to see any investigation that invites closer scrutiny to vanish. Especially with the cooperation of progressive socialist democrats who also have a vested interest in thwarting the Trump Administration and damaging President Trump.

Five, this will not be the first time authorities screwed up on a very common name.

Six, Michael Cohen has said in published reports that during the time the report places him in Prague, he was actually with his son visiting USC and meeting with the baseball coach. A USC baseball source confirmed Tuesday night that Cohen and his son had visited USC on August 29th. [OCS: If there is any fault here, it is Michael Cohen visiting the University of Second Choice instead of UCLA. ]

Seven, the two reporters who wrote the original McClatchy story are behind this latest effort to recycle “old news” in which they have a vested interest in proving their reporting to be correct.

Recycling the story?

Michael Cohen’s cell phone detected near Prague in 2016 | McClatchy Washington Bureau Cell signal puts Cohen outside Prague around time of purported Russian meeting A mobile phone traced to President Donald Trump’s former lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen briefly sent signals ricocheting off cell towers in the Prague area in late summer 2016, at the height of the presidential campaign, leaving an electronic record to support claims that Cohen met secretly there with Russian officials, four people with knowledge of the matter say. [OCS: If Michael Cohen had the ability and resources to enter a European country without detection, why would he take his trackable mobile phone and power it up briefly? Where is the metadata showing date, time, tower information, device information, call origin, destination number, call duration, and location? What is the chain of custody of this information? And why is there a lack of specificity in the date?] During the same period of late August or early September, electronic eavesdropping by an Eastern European intelligence agency picked up a conversation among Russians, one of whom remarked that Cohen was in Prague, two people familiar with the incident said. [OCS: Can you trust any foreign intelligence service that may owe favors to various U.S. agencies? Who are these Russians and why were they being surveilled? And, why the vague date?]] The phone and surveillance data, which have not previously been disclosed, lend new credence to a key part of a former British spy’s dossier of Kremlin intelligence describing purported coordination between Trump’s campaign and Russia’s election meddling operation. [OCS: Like the dossier, this could be manufactured and stage-managed fiction by foreign intelligence sources.] The dossier, which Trump has dismissed as “a pile of garbage,” said Cohen and one or more Kremlin officials huddled in or around the Czech capital to plot ways to limit discovery of the close “liaison” between the Trump campaign and Russia. The new information regarding the recovery of Cohen’s cell phone location doesn’t explain why he was apparently there or who he was meeting with, if anyone. But it adds to evidence that Cohen was in or near Prague around the time of the supposed meeting. [OCS: Unless it can be examined, vetted, and challenged in a court of competent jurisdiction, it is not evidence of anything, and it does not lend credibility to any fiction created by the Russians, or for that matter, by Team Clinton.] Both of the newly surfaced foreign electronic intelligence intercepts were shared with Special Counsel Robert Mueller, people familiar with the matter said. Mueller is investigating Russia’s 2016 election interference and whether Trump’s campaign colluded in the scheme. Mueller also is examining whether Trump has obstructed the sweeping inquiry. [OCS: Anonymous sources – themselves being under suspicion for leaking classified information to the media on behalf of third parties yet unknown.] McClatchy reported in April 2018 that Mueller had obtained evidence Cohen traveled to Prague from Germany in late August or early September of 2016, but it could not be learned how that information was gleaned. [OCS: One, you can’t trust McClatchy; and two, characterizing something as “evidence” does not mean it is evidence or is even valid.] Cohen has been cooperating with Mueller’s investigation since he pleaded guilty on Aug. 21 to charges of bank fraud, tax fraud and campaign finance law violations. He later pleaded guilty to one count of lying to Congress, and was sentenced in early December to three years in prison. [OCS: Nothing Cohen may say should be given any weight because it was coerced testimony by Mueller and his team. Like any other compromised confidential informant who wants to save his butt from a lengthy jail term, Cohen appears to have even confessed to a non-crime, that of violating campaign finance laws.] If the foreign intelligence intercepts are accurate, the big questions now are whether Cohen has acknowledged to investigators that a meeting in Prague occurred, informed them what transpired and revealed what, if anything, he told Trump about it. [The BIG “If” and plausible deniability.] Four people spoke with McClatchy on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of information shared by their foreign intelligence connections. Each obtained their information independently from foreign intelligence connections. [OCS: Right – just like Bob telling the investigator to call John, and John telling the investigator to call Rob, and Rob telling the investigator to call Bruce – all having links to a single bad actor who is stage-managing the disclosures. Sort of like Fusion GPS planting information in two places and using them to confirm each other’s information.] Read more at https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/investigations/article219016820.html

Allegations are not evidence, even when anonymously reported and attributed to an “official’ source…

Now there are reports that Trump’s personal lawyer and fix-it man, Michael Cohen, may have met in Prague during the 2016 election campaign to confer with a Russian official.  Such a meeting was one of the items in the “dossier” that former British intelligence officer Christopher Steele compiled from sources in Russia.  This month the McClatchy newspaper chain reports that the Justice Department’s special counsel has information confirming that Cohen did travel secretly to Prague in late summer 2016.  Let us do what Cheney failed to do, which is to stay carefully within the limits of available reporting.  All that we, the public, have so far are the Steele dossier and the McClatchy report.  At this point a meeting between Cohen and a Russian in the Czech capital should be considered only an allegation. <Source>

Cohen reaffirms his denial…

Bottom line…

This is not news, it is a hit job by two journalists recycling old allegations based on anonymous sources – many of whom have been proven to be wrong when the official documents are released, Why media sources do not release the names of the information sources after they have been burned – and keep using the same people – is little more than yellow journalism.

We are so screwed when much of our media lacks basic journalistic ethics and is highly partisan.

-- steve