War of Wits

The leadership of our country is politicizing the Iraq war in general and the lives of US soldiers in particular. Every last one of them; from the President, to the Congress, to the Senate.

When the Iraq war started, there was hope that perhaps a knockout blow could be delivered even before we engaged the enemy. But the road the Bush Administration chose to get from that audacious beginning to where we are today has been fraught with more miscalculations than IEDs buried in the streets of al Anbar province.

In a series of politicized speeches, Bush hinted that there may be a change of tactics in the works. His next move was to have Tony Snow articulate that they would cease using the term “stay the course” to describe the current strategy of waiting until Iraq stands up before America stands down. This decision was based on the ability of Democrats to score political points by highlighting the painfully obvious; that staying the course isn’t working.

After a few more days of the Bush Administration attempting to find a plausible way to explain to Americans how we’re winning in Iraq, it became clear that Bush’s intention was to hunker down and do absolutely nothing; at least until after the election. His decision to politicize the war is staining the desert sands with more American blood every day. Bush floated then retracted the idea of timetables and “milestones” this week. There was no actual timetable set; only admonitions that our patience was not infinite. At the same time, in order to appease critics at home as well as abroad, Bush made it clear that we won’t just leave.

Therefore, we’re not going to leave, but there is no change in tactics. There are no timetables. Nothing but increasing losses while we do what is now the Iraqi military’s dirty work; quelling an open-ended civil war while hoping that Iraqi divisions will be battle ready some day. There have been no troop increases. There has been no shift from a reactive to a proactive posture in Baghdad or the Sunni triangle. There is no hard evidence of success whatsoever; Only rhetoric. American, British and Iraqi deaths are on the rise but there is nothing from your President except semantics. Words like “milestones” and “benchmarks” are being replaced by words such as goals, lest we infuriate the Iraqi P.M. with any concrete demands.

The Bush Administration has been articulating for years that as time goes on more and more Iraqi divisions would be combat ready and taking control from coalition forces. Obviously that isn’t true. Did Bush intentionally lie? Was he misled by one of his advisors or is he just ignorant of the situation on the ground?

In addition to a stubborn, myopic administration fighting an equally myopic war, we now have numerous polls showing that Iraqi youth overwhelmingly want us to leave. We have on our hands an Iraqi Prime Minister who rejected the notion that American political opinion would have anything to do with when our troops left Iraq. We’re losing patriotic, brave Americans every day; yet no one from the President to the junior congressional representative can be bothered until after they face the voters. I keep wondering when people will wake up and stop sending these spinmeisters; these incumbent do-nothings to Washington.

As a veteran myself, I get no pleasure from taking the position that our government is bungling this war. I know it’s not what our fighting men and women want to hear. I’m sure it’s not what Republicans or many fellow conservatives will ever admit. The truth is, we were promised shock and awe. After untold billions of dollars spent and thousands of American lives lost, all we got was smoke and mirrors.

In the previous 9 days, the names of 35 more combat dead have been released by DOD. These men died because your Congress and your President are too busy trying to cement their hold on power to do anything to stop it.

10/26/2006 US Army 1st Sgt. Ricky L. McGinnis, 42 - Hamilton, OH (IED)
10/25/2006 USMC PFC Donald S. Brown, 19 - Succasunna, NJ (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC Sgt. Thomas M. Gilbert, 24 - Downer’s Grove, IL (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC PFC Daniel B. Chaires, 20 - Tallahassee, FL (KIA)
10/25/2006 USMC Lcpl. Johnathan B. Thornberry, 22 - McDowell, KY (KIA)
10/25/2006 USN PO2 Charles V. Komppa, 35 - Belgrade, MT (KIA)
10/23/2006 US Army 1st LT Amos C. R. Bock, 24 - New Madrid, MO (IED)
10/23/2006 US Army Spc. Carl A. Eason, 29 - Lovelady, TX (IED)
10/23/2006 USMC Lcpl. Richard A. Buerstetta, 20 - Franklin, TN (KIA)
10/23/2006 USMC Lcpl. Tyler R. Overstreet, 22 - Gallatin, TN (KIA)
10/23/2006 USN HNSN Charles O. Sare, 23 - Hemet, CA (KIA)
10/22/2006 US Army Spc. Nicholas K. Rogers, 26 - Deltona, FL (KIA)
10/22/2006 US Army Sgt. Willsun M. Mock, 23 - Harper, KS (IED)
10/22/2006 US Army Maj. David G. Taylor, 37 - ??, NC (IED)
10/22/2006 US Army Spc. Nathaniel A. Aguirre, 21 - Carrollton, TX (KIA)
10/22/2005 US Army Spc. Matthew W. Creed, 23 - Covina, CA (KIA)
10/21/2006 US Army SFC Tony L. Knier, 31 - Sabinsville, PA (IED)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Eric W. Herzberg, 20 - Severna Park, MD (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Clifford R. Collinsworth, 20 - Chelsea, MI (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Nathan R. Elrod, 20 - Salisbury, NC (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Lcpl. Nicholas J. Manoukian, 22 - Lathrup Village, MI (KIA)
10/21/2006 USMC Cpl. Joshua C.Watkins, 25 Jacksonville, FL
10/20/2006 US Army Ssgt. Kevin M. White, 27 - Beardsley, MN (IED)
10/19/2006 USMC Pvt. Edwardo J. Lopez, 21 - Aurora, IL (KIA)
10/18/2006 US Army Ssgt. Patrick O. Barlow, 42 - Greensboro, NC (NCR)*
10/18/2006 US Army Ssgt. Jesus M. Montalvo, 46 - Rio Piedras, Puerto Rico (KIA)
10/18/2006 US Army 2nd Lt. Christopher E. Loudon, 23 - Brockport, PA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Cpl. David M. Unger, 21 - Leavenworth, KS (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Cpl. Russel G. Culbertson III, 22- Amity, PA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army Spc. Joseph C. Dumas Jr., 25 - New Orleans, LA (IED)
10/18/2006 US Army S1C Daniel A. Brozovich, 42 - Greenville, PA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Ssgt. Ronald L. Paulsen, 53 - Vancouver, WA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Ssgt. Ryan E. Haupt, 24- Phoenix, AZ(IED)
10/17/2006 US Army Sgt. Norman R. Taylor III, 21 - Blythe, CA (IED)
10/17/2006 US Army PFC Nathan J. Frigo, 23 - Kokomo, IN (IED)

* NCR - Non-combat related

Money is the root of all evil. But don’t take my word for it, simply consider the following: The only reference to Jesus getting ticked-off in the Bible was when He drove the moneychangers from the temple. To Him, having money change hands for anything in His Father’s house -much less trivial, earthly possessions- was a grave transgression; serious enough for Him to get truly angry.

When the desire for money is too strong, it causes some to sell their bodies, some to sell their souls. With others, it completely devours the soul; much like it is already consuming the very soul of this nation.

Obscene sums of money is the lifeblood that courses through the veins of the two-party political system. Without the evil influence of money, we would have an even playing field for all political candidates; something the two-party system just can’t allow. The Democrat/Republican machine shuts the other candidates out of debates claiming they wouldn’t mount a serious challenge. How can a third-party candidate convince the public of their viability if they aren’t allowed to debate the issues?

For politicians, money is the drug of choice. It is absolute power. They can use it to smear their opponent by hiring a private investigator to dig up 30 year-old, long dead skeletons in their closets.

They can use it to silence someone who is about to reveal their own ethical and moral lapses.

They can use it to perpetuate their reign by throwing it around to their constituents in the form of pork.

During an election year, for enough money, I could buy a lobster dinner and at the same time lobby John Kerry, Carl Levin, Charles Schumer and other members of the Cult Of Personality on the issue of my choice; or play a round of golf with Republican Saxby Chambliss while enjoying the same unfettered, private access.

Globalization, a weak economy, failed IPOs and pressure from shareholders meant that untold thousands of Americans -including some of our best and brightest technical talent- have lost their jobs to Mexico, India, China, South America and elsewhere since the dawn of the millennium. Jobs that are gone forever. Jobs that left with the full knowledge and blessing of our leadership.

Even international politics and diplomacy aren’t immune from the detrimental influence of money.

Chinese, French, and Russian failure to fully support tough measures against Saddam Hussein or even now against Iran and North Korea are a result of economic concerns among others. These countries would rather maintain economic ties with the Communist North than prevent the spread of nuclear weapons.

The two-party political system is no longer about which candidate would best represent the values of their constituents. It isn’t even about which political party has the best vision for the country’s future. These days, it’s only about which machine can churn out the most cash so they can blanket the airwaves with deceptive advertising, mudslinging, fear-mongering and false promises of deliverance. These days, every election is an internal struggle for the average American. They are torn; they try to fulfill their civic duty by voting, but at the same time they are unable to come to grips with the lack of choices they have when selecting a representative government. We’re between a rock and a hard place. We must constantly choose between bad or worse; the lesser of two evils.

Call it what you will, but it’s time for a change.

Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. - John 15:13

October has not been kind to the US military. This month has brought over 70 American dead in Iraq in the first three weeks alone.

When I take a good hard look at the deeds of the brave men who are currently engaging our enemy and then consider the words, deeds and morality of the men who are charged with dispatching them there, it provides a very stark contrast; a juxtaposition of sorts.

On September 29th, 2006 Petty Officer Michael Monsoor - a Navy SeAL and his team were providing protection for Iraqi units when the enemy tossed a grenade at their rooftop position, hitting him in the chest. With only a second to react, he did what some brave American hero always steps up to do. He jumped on the grenade and took one for the team. He died, so that his teammates could live. When I think about the selfless sacrifice of this man and the rest of our soldiers who continue to give their lives, I get goosebumps. It makes me proud to be an American. But when I think about the greed, scandal and deviance; the selfishness, and lust; the dysfunction of our political leadership, I get mad.

Our leadership continues to show contempt and utter disdain for those who sent them to Washington through their failure to reign in Bush’s astronomical spending and his bumbling of Iraq; through their failure to stand up and show their conservative base that they represent conservative values; through the growing list of corruption, influence peddling and abuse of power scandals. They seem to take for granted that we gave them the privilege to represent us. Instead of doing what’s best for the country, they troll for young pages, take bribes, dismantle the border, sell their influence, ignore the will of their constituents and generally abuse the public trust.

Every time I see this juxtaposition of honor next to greed, I am reminded how far we’ve really disintegrated as a society and how corrupt and dishonest our political leadership has become. They have completely turned their back on all of us, including our military men and women.

It matters not how tough-talking Republicans are on the war, or how much anyone says they care about our troops. Continuing to let them get blown to pieces by roadside bombs because they drive around in humvees with inadequate or even no armor says otherwise.

Iraq has now degenerated into all-out civil war. Tit-for-tat reprisal killings are now slaughtering untold thousands and our soldiers are now in the middle. The Bush Administration made far too many fatal assumptions and put its faith in an Iraqi government incapable of bringing order to chaos. With an election looming, Bush is more concerned than ever about throwing his enemies red meat by admitting a course correction is needed. In addition, he now has to contend with the inability or unwillingness of the Iraqi government to act as a government capable of exerting control.

Finally, Maj. General William Caldwell; The same Caldwell that says nary a peep in regards to seven imprisoned Marines, now has something to say about the strategy in Iraq, namely it’s not working.

This is the price of this war, paid in blood since October 1st. They aren’t statistics. They are your fathers, sons and brothers and the list continues to grow. They come from middle America. They come from Florida to the Pacific Northwest; From New York to California. This mess is affecting families and making orphans all across this nation. The most disgusting thing is the number of men killed in their vehicles by IED.

US Army Spc. Joseph R. Perez, 21- Ontario, CA (KIA)
US Army Sgt.Lester D. Baroncini Jr., 33 - Bakersfield, CA
US Army PFC. Stephen D. Bicknell, 19 - Prattville, AL (IED)
US Army Spc. Daniel W. Winegart, 23, - Kountze, TX(Vehicle crash)
US Army Ssgt. Garth D. Sizemore, 31 - Mount Sterling, KY (KIA)
USMC 2nd Lt. Joshua L. Booth, 23 - Fiskdale, MA (KIA)
US Army Cpt. Mark C. Paine, 32 - Rancho Cucamonga, CA (IED)
US Army Spc. Timothy J. Lauer, 25 - Saegertown, PA (IED)
US Army Ssgt. Joseph M.Kane, 35 - Darby, PA (IED)
US Army Sgt. Charles M. King, - Mobile, AL. (IED)
US Army PFC Keith J. Moore, 28 - San Francisco, CA (non-combat related)
US Army Sgt. Johnathan E. Lootens, 25 - Lyons, NY (IED)
1st Lt. Joshua Deese, 25 - North Carolina (no city provided) (IED)
US Army 2nd Lt. Johnny K. Craver, 37 - McKinney, TX (IED)
USMC Sgt. Johnathan J. Simpson, 25 - Rockport, TX (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Joshua M. Hines, 26 - Olney, IL (KIA)
USMC Sgt. Brock A. Babb, 40 - Evansville, IN (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Luis E. Tejeda, 20 - Huntington Park, CA (IED)
USAF A1C Leebernard E. Chavis, 21 - Hampton, VA(KIA)
US Army PFC. Kenny F. Stanton, Jr., 20 - Hemet, CA (IED)
US Army Sgt. Nicholas R. Sowinski, 25 - Tempe, AZ (IED)
US Army Sgt. Gene A. Hawkins, 24 - Orlando, FL (IED)
US Army PFC. Thomas J. Hewitt, 22 - Temple, TX (IED)
USMC Sgt. Justin T. Walsh, 24 - Cuyahoga Falls, OH (KIA)
US Army Cpt. Shane T. Adcock, 27 - Mechanicsville, VA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl Derek W. Jones, 21 - Salem, OR (KIA)
USMC Lcpl Jeremy S. Sandvick Monroe, 20 Chinook, MT (KIA)
USMC Cpt. Robert M. Secher, 33 - Germantown, TN (KIA)
USMC Sgt. Julian M. Archeaga, 23 - Oceanside, NY (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Jon E. Bowman, 21 - Dubach, LA (KIA)
USMC PFC. Shelby Feniello, 25 - Connellsville, PA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. John E. Hale, 20 - Shreveport, LA
USMC Lcpl Stephen F. Johnson, 20 - Marietta, GA (KIA)
USMC Lcpl. Bradford H. Payne, 24 - Montgomery, AL (KIA)
US Army PFC Phillip B. Williams, 21 - Gardnerville, NV
US Army Sgt. Brandon S. Asbury, 21 - Tazewell, VA (KIA)
US Army Spc. Timothy A. Fulkerson, 20 - Utica, KY (IED)
US Army Ssgt. Lawrence L. Parrish, 36 - Lebanon, MO (IED)
US Army Spc. John E.Wood, 37 - Humboldt, KS (IED)
US Army PFC Shane R. Austin, 19 - Edgerton, KS (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Nicholas A. Arvantis, 22 - Salem, NH (KIA)
US Army Cpl. Carl W. Johnson II, 20 - Philadelphia, PA (IED)
US Army PFC. Dean R. Bright, 32 - Roseburg, OR (KIA)
US Army Spc. Timothy R. Burke, 24 - Hollywood, FL (KIA)
US Army Ssgt.Christopher O. Moudry, 21 - Baltimore, MD (KIA)
US Army Spc. George R. Obourn Jr., 20 - Creve Coeur, IL (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. James D. Ellis, 25 - Valdosta, GA (IED)
US Army Spc. Raymond S. Armijo, 22 - Phoenix, AZ (IED)
US Army Spc. Justin R. Jarrett, 21 - Jonesboro, GA (IED)
US Army Spc. Kristofer C. Walker, 20 - Creve Coeur, IL(IED)
USMC Lcpl. Edward M. Garvin, 19 - Malden, MA (KIA)
USMC Cpl. Benjamin S. Rosales, 20 - Houston, TX (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. Daniel Isshak, 25 - Alta Loma, CA (KIA)
US Army Ssgt. Johnathan Rojas, 27 - Hammond, IN (KIA)
US Army Sgt. Joseph W. Perry, 23 - Alpine, CA (KIA)
USMC Cpt. Justin D. Peterson, 32 - Davidsburg, MI (Non-combat related)
US Army Cpl. Michael K. Oremus, 21 - Highland, NY (KIA)
US Army PFC. Satieon V. Greenlee, 24 - Pendleton, SC
US Army Sgt. Mario Nelson, 26 - Brooklyn, NY (RPG)
US Army Ssgt. Joe A. Narvaez, 25 - San Antonio, TX (KIA)
US Army Sgt. Chase A. Haag, 22 - Portland, OR (IED)
USMC Lcpl. Christopher B. Cosgrove III, 23 - Cedar Knolls, NJ (KIA)
USMC Cpl. Aaron L. Seal, 23 - Elkhart, IN(KIA)

* KIA - USMC described all deaths as “during combat operations”, while the army attributed them to small arms fire.

** IED - In most cases the deaths were attributed to actual IEDs, but there were several incidents of soldiers killed when landmines planted in the roadway detonated near vehicles. For simplicity’s sake, they were also classified as IED.

*** compiled from DoD’s website as of 8:00 PM PST 10/19/2006. While the official, reported, overall US military death toll for October is reported as 74 as of today, this list omits several US soldiers KIA in Afghanistan, as well as a couple of military deaths that occurred outside Iraq.

The recent spate of school shootings -like the many that preceded it- is not so much a statement of the mental health of our children, as it is a statement of the moral health of our nation.

There used to be a time when problems were solved differently. If the schoolyard bully stole your lunch; or some jerk wolf-whistled at your wife or stole your parking space, you went out back and the two of you pummeled each other until somebody won. Black eyes were a right of passage. When it was over, the winner said his piece, picked the loser up off the ground and the two went their separate ways. This way of resolving conflict was imprinted on me in my childhood. It is how my brothers and I solved our problems, often times with each other. It is how my father solved his problems, indeed how society solved its problems, once reason and civility failed.

In today’s world, the loser of the fight files assault charges or sues you for all you’re worth; Or he goes home, grabs his gun or steals his father’s and takes care of his problem by putting a bullet in the winner’s head.

In today’s world, people act more enlightened. They look at the use of violence of any sort to solve problems - whether it be a schoolyard brawl or outright war- with upturned noses, as if only subhumans defended themselves. Think zero-tolerance. They reality is, the world doesn’t work that way. You can’t outlaw conflict. The world is replete with conflict. And contrasts. Rich vs. Poor. Strong vs. Weak. Good vs. Evil. Right vs. Wrong.

As human beings, we must constantly seek to achieve some sort of equilibrium; some sense of balance with these contrasts and understand that sometimes it’s necessary to engage in violence in order to achieve peace or to confront evil.

What political correctness does is seek to upset that sense of balance. Its proponents believe that it would create a more polite society, but the reality is the exact opposite. In today’s PC society, if someone would call out that bully or parking space thief to settle the score, they would either be expelled from school, shot, sued or put in jail. Therefore, they swallow their pride like 50 pounds of concrete and try to forget about it.

So what we’re left with is a nation of people with a profound feeling that there is no justice and it makes them angry. They try to ignore these feelings, but they simmer on - much like a pot of water. Left unattended, they boil over. This is what occurs regularly in these school shootings. In the Amish murders -by his own admission- the killer had been holding on to his grudge for 20 years.

But that incident is atypical of the pattern of school shooters. The vast majority of school shootings are carried out by students of the schools themselves, and most shooters admit to being bullied. Unable to escape, they decide to exact justice, taking as many of those they perceive as their tormentors with them.

The three R’s used to mean Readin’, ‘Ritin’, and ‘Rithmetic. Our schools used to be places that were safe from predators and murderers. Now the three R’s mean Rejection, Retaliation, and Revenge.

It’s no coincidence that mass-murder in our nation’s schools became commonplace at the same time political correctness began its insidious infection of our minds, which continues to this day. Men have engaged in battle over insults to their honor for centuries. Medieval knights; duels; wild west gunfights. All had deadly outcomes, but those who participated did so to restore a measure of justice.

It is the height of arrogance for liberals to think they can socially engineer an end to all violence. In the end, it just backfires and has the opposite effect. With no outlet for seeking justice against society’s bullies and ill equipped by their parents for handling conflict in a constructive fashion, these ticking time-bombs will continue to go off in our nation’s schools.

Besides the physical world in which we live, the laws of nature and physics also apply to the realm of politics. To delve completely into this subject would take years, so in the interest of expediency, I present the following crash-course in Political “Science” 101.

According to Isaac Newton’s Third Law Of Motion, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. This theory is exhibited in the present day political climate by 2 examples.

First, as soon as the Foley scandal became public (action), Foley resigned and Republicans distanced themselves from him as fast as they could (reaction).

Second, as soon as allegations surfaced that the House leadership may have known about Foley’s fondness for young pages (action), Dennis Hastert (R-IL) went into overdrive attempting to blunt any investigative effort by calling for an investigation into his own handling of the scandal. At the same time, he proclaimed that Republicans are doing everything they can to fix the problem (reaction). Republicans even went so far as to establish a hotline for pages to report these types of incidents without fear of retaliation (overreaction).

What’s wrong with that, you ask? Everything.

The fact that they even have to establish this sort of hotline in the US House of Representatives speaks volumes as to how far we’ve degenerated as a nation. It also gives us a glimpse of where we’re headed if we don’t do something to stop the moral decay of our society.

Republicans were outraged when they learned the sordid details of the Cad, the cigar, and the stained blue dress. Now when an equally salacious scandal is laid at their own feet; the feet of the party of Family Values, their response is to call it a left-wing conspiracy and engage in moral relativism by claiming the Democrats are just as bad or that they are somehow responsible for the allegations being made public.

This sort of hypocrisy is precisely why I bolted the Republican party 15 years ago, and why I’ll remain an Independent. The sad truth is, both parties conspire to keep alternatives from emerging and have sunk our ship of state in a sea of moral bankruptcy. As long as we have to choose between bad and worse; between hear-no-evil and see-no-evil; between Democrat and Republican, I see no other alternative than to stay clear of party affiliations.

As for part II of this lesson in Political “Science”:

If you split a single hair enough times, eventually you’ll no longer be able to see it with the naked eye. What do you do? You put it under your trusty microscope, so you can not only see it but also observe the fine detail.

This is precisely what is occurring with Dennis Hastert’s claims that he knew of inappropriate emails, but not of anything sexually suggestive. He split this hair in public; therefore, inquisitive people have all pulled out their microscopes to have a look. It’s still unclear at this point what they’re going to see, but as they sharpen the focus, the sordid details are beginning to emerge.

As for the laws of nature that govern politics, we examine Darwin’s Theory of Evolution, specifically the process of Natural Selection.

This process dictates that organisms with favorable traits survive, adapt and evolve; passing those favorable traits on to future generations while those with unfavorable traits are cleansed from the gene pool. This process of weeding out the bad genes in the body politic began with the resignation of Mark Foley and will continue to play out over the next 4 weeks, culminating in the election.

The country will move on and the process will repeat indefinitely every few years in a never-ending battle to rid the nation of this disease.

Is this really what you want from your political process? A choice between the lesser of 2 evils? A choice based on which candidate will do the least damage? As an American, don’t you deserve better?

Class Dismissed.

Terror, Schmerror.

I must say, all of that throat-cutting and suicide car-bomb mayhem was getting a bit boring. Now we have an honest-to-goodness scandal involving a Republican to talk about just ahead of a mid-term election. Once again, the evils of the two-party system are brought to the forefront.

The Democrats are already circling like buzzards over the carcass of Rep. Mark Foley’s reelection effort.

The Republicans have started the spin cycle in their basement laundromat in an attempt to air out their dirty laundry - after hiding it at the bottom of the hamper. They managed to cover up the foul stench of Foley’s fondness for young boys for 3 years. Unfortunately for Republicans, there’s no cleansing the soiled fabric of Foley’s office. The stain has already set. It’s time for voters to toss every bum who knew about this and covered it up for three years.

Rush Limbaugh made an interesting point, albeit one that was completely partisan; he portrayed the backlash from Foley’s self-destructive shenanigans as a democratic effort to win back Congress, instead of the character flaw that it really was. Republicans don’t need Democrats to win back Congress; they’re doing a fine job managing the war, protecting the border, and generally failing the American people. I think the Oxycontin has gone to Limbaugh’s head. Ohh, what a “RUSH!”

My message to Washington: If you’ve got skeletons in your closet, stop throwing me bones. Stop putting your own career aspirations ahead of doing the right thing, and start doing what we sent you to Washington for.

In the Sorriest Excuse of The Year category, House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

When Foley’s misdeeds became public, Hastert let loose a whopper. He said that he was aware of “overly-friendly”, or perhaps “inappropriate” emails, but not the more “sexually suggestive” instant messages. OK, I have to ask: Does he mean overly-friendly, as in “Hey Billy, do you want to come fishing with me and my family for the weekend?”; or overly-friendly, as in “Hey tiger, don’t forget to measure it“.

As Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dennis Hastert is obliged to deal with “inappropriate” behavior by Congressmen or their staff; not look the other way with a wink and a nod until it becomes public and he’s finally pressured to say something 3 years later. It reeks of dishonesty.

Foley –through his attorney– is now trumpeting the abuse excuse. Alcohol abuse, sexual abuse at the hands of an anonymous priest and various other excuses. Funny, I’ve known dozens of people in Alcoholics Anonymous that weren’t pedophiles; I didn’t know there was a causal connection. Oh that’s right, according to his attorney, Foley isn’t a pedophile, and he’s never had sex with a minor.

He may not be a convicted pedophile, but by all accounts he was certainly a pedophile in training, trying to groom his impressionable young victims. Are we to believe that if he wasn’t caught, that it wouldn’t have come to sex with young pages?

Don’t buy the “I was drinking” excuse. The problem with that one is that alcohol lowers inhibitions. This means that it doesn’t make you engage in any more risky behavior than you already would, minus the alcohol. It’s just more likely you’ll do what you’re already predisposed to do. As for the “abuse excuse”, there are also thousands of victims of sexual abuse who never molest people.

If ever there was a case study for a violation of the workplace laws against sexual harassment that Congress themselves helped to enact, this is it. Those in Congress who knew about it and did nothing ought to be facing the same stiff penalties as Foley, should criminal charges result.

The Foley case is no different than if I asked a female coworker what her “measurements” are, commented on her “rack”, or sent her the same emails Foley sent. It wouldn’t be tolerated in the workplace, we ought not tolerate it in Congress.