One Should Not Call the Kettle Black if One is the Pot

Need I say more? As noted in an earlier post, Bush's former Chief of Staff trashed Obama about his "locker room atmosphere" in the Oval Office because of his lack of a coat. Common sense says that you can't comfortably work in a coat. No one does. Looks like a "locker room" to me. As I have said before, politicians must watch their mouths in this day of high techology.

A Man Who Once Beat John Lewis Apologizes

Please read this article. Some of these badly misguided people are willing to accept responsibility for their actions and have courage enough to admit them and ask for forgiveness. This is a good story and needs no further comment from me.

Tax Evasion Isn't OK

One of the comments on my previous post, although it had nothing to with the post, insinuated that the current administration says its alright to have tax issues. Although the President addressed this in interviews yesterday and made it clear that it isn't alright and that there shouldn't be a different standard for prominent people as opposed to the rest of us, the opposition will seize on it, forgetting, of course that they have the same problems.

I don't think that Daschle and the others should be excused somehow for not paying their taxes. Of course I know plenty of us common folk, who do anything they can to evade the tax system. Yet, we don't, for some reason, expect that from public officials. I have never tried to take a questionable deduction. I usually have to pay taxes each year, because I hate trying to find every little possible deduction. Whatever, my tax software says for me to do, I do. Still, I am always nervous about my tax return. I never know if I have done it right.

I don't see how these folks, who have recently been caught, didn't know that they weren't paying the taxes, or they "forgot" to pay the taxes. Right. Of course they knew what they were doing. They didn't expect it to become an issue. In Dashle's case, he didn't let the vetters know there might be a problem. He knew about the issue. Geitner obviously knew about his problem because he had already taken care of it.

These examples have to make you wonder how many more of these people there are out there. How many Congressmen and women are in the same boat? I would bet good money that there are plenty of them on both sides of the aisle who have a tax issue hidden somewhere. This reminds me of a recent FOX News pundit, who was accusing Geitner and calling him names, when he, himself, had only recently been made to pay millions in back taxes to the IRS.

No one should be excused. I have a problem with Geitner being approved. I know he owed a relatively small amount, yet he should have been responsible enough to pay his taxes. If I had been guilty of not paying, I certainly would have been railroaded by the IRS and, who knows what the outcome would have been.

The Republicans have to be careful not to raise too big a stink, because someone might take the opportunity to check into their taxes. John McCain can get away with criticizing Geitner, as he is doing, because he has recently been scrutinized and received a clean bill of health. However, he should be kind of careful, when he starts criticizing Obama's ethics. Mr. McCain is a little short in that area himself. The media were very easy on him, as they were Obama, during the election.

Changing gears slightly, someone has suggested that Newt Gingrich might be the one to replace Daschle. That might not be a bad idea (I am holding my nose). Gingrich and Hillery Clinton have worked together quite a lot over the last few years on health care. He could be the one to take the ball and run with it and come up with some solutions to the health care crisis that might appeal to both sides.

Swatting, A Teenage "Game"

I learned something new today. I really wish that I hadn't read this article. It seems that some teenagers have found yet another way to abuse today's technology. What a shame that these kids can't use their skills for something constructive! It seems that these irresponsible nerds are playing a game called swatting.

Swatting gets its name from the fact that the object of the "game" is to get a SWAT team to respond to a randomly selected residence, expecting a high risk situation. The residents are of course totally innocent and in grave danger, if they happen to respond in a hostile manner to the rude interruption of their sleep. These little games are, apparently, often played when the "objective" is asleep.

I can't emphasize how dangerous this game is for the victims. As the victim in the article is quoted, "what if I had been holding a gun?" These games are sometimes played with background noises to emulate people in distress. The 911 operator has no way of knowing whether the situation is real or not, especially if the gamer is good at his or her acting. Therefore, a responding SWAT team will treat the call as if it is real. A provoking reaction from an innocent victim could lead to tragedy for both the victim's family and the responding officers.

The most telling part of this article is the teenager, who says that he never thought that anyone could get hurt. The poor parenting skills of so many are so evident in situations such as this. A lack of common sense among teenagers is also so very obvious. What these kids are thinking, I have no idea. I'm not going to say that my generation is innocent, but I think we usually knew when to stop before someone got seriously injured. The exception was when we were behind the wheel of a car, but even then, there were few serious accidents among the kids my age.

Such pranks as swatting are so scary. Anyone, anywhere is in danger from such a random act. Sadly, it doesn't happen at the mall or at work. It happens when you think you are safe at home in bed. It is bad enough, when the police make a mistake on their own, but in this case they, too, are innocent victims. It appears that investigators are starting to make headway in dealing with this stupid activity. Yet, I'm sure the innovative and, apparently, bored kids will find yet another say to abuse the technology that we have become so dependent upon.

Nero-Republicans

John McCain has chastised President Obama for making a comment about Rush Limbaugh during a meeting. Big bad liberal bully Obama has to lay off poor Wittle Wushie, if not, Johnny McCain will beat him up. Johnny must take care of his party's new poster boy. After all, he is just a common little guy who has the right to speak up.

Bush's former chief of staff, Andrew Card, has criticized Obama for his lack of respect for the White House. Obama has a different policy from Bush's requirement that coats and ties must be worn when in the office. Card says it shows a locker room atmosphere. I suppose respect for the White House is more important than respect for the Constitution.

Our economy is in the tank. Republican governors are calling for congressional Republicans to get on with dealing with grave economic problems facing this country. Yet, John McCain, the economic "expert" is more concerned with Rush Limbaugh. Others are worried about whether a coat is worn in the Oval Office. Republicans should quit trying to turn the focus to piddling issues like Limbaugh and suits and get down to work. They appear to continuing to dig themselves a deeper hole from which they may never surface. On second thought. Maybe they should continue to "fiddle while Rome burns." Let someone else work to repair their damages. We won't have to be concerned with them for many years to come.