ON THE U.S. HOUSE SELECT COMMITTEE: WHICH HAIR STYLE WILL THE CHAIRMAN CHOOSE TO PROVE THE BENGHAZI "COVERUP"

Representative Trey Gowdy (R-SC), who represents South Carolina's 4th Congressional District, has been named by Speaker of the House John Boehner to head the House Select Committee investigating the September 11, 2012, attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. According to FOX News, Congressman Gowdy is said to be "honored" to serve the Committee as Chairman.

The Left Lean

The most important question being discussed around the Washington Beltway by those who know and work with the Congressman, however, is which Trey Gowdy will show up to lead the committee? Family, friends and the Washington media appear to be in complete disagreement.

"I think he will go with the left lean look," says his former high school math teacher, Mrs. Wanderlust. It shows he is not the hard-nosed former prosecutor those left-leaning Democrats will be expecting. "He was always a teddy bear in my classes," said the bespectacled former school marm.

The Right Lean

The Washington Times has predicted his right-lean look for the Conservative Republican. Reporter Millie Sung Yung Moon has written that Congressman Gowdy is a real Southern boy who would never even think of leaning left, much less wearing his hair that way for such an important matter. "He even wears his underwear to the right," Ms. Moon claimed.

The Swept Back

Mr. Gowdy's second-cousin Wilbur, a sixth-generation South Carolina hog farmer, had this to say about his cousin, "I think he will go for the straight-back down the middle look to show how non-partisan he is." Speaking to the Spartanburg Barbecue and Tobacco Daily News, Mr. Wilbur added, "My cousin is straight up the smartest person in our family so he'll know what to do."

The Summer Buzz

However, when the reporter for the Spartanburg Daily News asked Mr. Gowdy's first-cousin Wilbur for a prediction, he stated flatly, "Every Summer when we was catching polywogs at the pond Trey would have a buzz cut. I don't think he'll change that for those smartypants up in Washington."

Patty Nicholson, University of South Carolina Junior and President of the Young Republicans of South Carolina, thinks Trey Gowdy should wear a more youthful look.

The Down In Front & Unshaven

"He's so cute," she told the Gamecock Weekly News, "Why would he want to look old while all those really old Democrats, like Hillary Clinton and John Kerry, show they're geezers and liars?" she continued. "Wear it down in front and don't shave," said the 20-year old Gamecock's cheerleader. "Too bad he doesn't have a cool 'tat' on his neck to add to his coolness," said Ms. Nicholson.

A 4th District staff member, who asked not to be named because she was not authorized to speak for the Congressman, told a fellow staff member that she heard no decision has been made on which look the Congressman will bring to the Committee.

The Pompadour & Glasses

In her estimation, however, he should go with the, "cool youthful pompadour, but he should add glasses so he looks twice as smart as he really is, and three times as smart as his cousin Wilbur." When asked which Cousin Wilbur she was talking about, she exclaimed," Both of them!"

Reached at his home in Spartanburg, Mr. Gowdy had this to say about his appearance as Chairman of the Select Committee. 

The Mohawk & Glasses

"As I told FOX News recently I will hold a full and fair hearing on this cover up and apparent attempt to dupe the American people. I will look under every stone that proves President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton lied to the American people about Benghazi, Obamacare, his birth certificate, the Postal Service, Monica Lewinsky, the VA, the IRS, and anything else they touched since that Kenyan was elected President of our nation."

As for the hairstyle he will wear as Chairman of the Select Committee, the Congressman was non-committal.

Since Mr. Gowdy joined Congress as a Freshman in 2011 I have been able to discern at least 12 different hairstyles worn by the Representative. Obviously, he believes his hair is at least as important as the work he does for his constituents.

ON MAYA ANGELOU: A BEAUTIFUL WOMAN GONE

APRIL 4, 1928-MAY 28, 2014

"IF YOU DON'T LIKE SOMETHING, CHANGE IT. IF YOU CAN'T, CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE."   Maya Angelou 

ON THE DEATH PENALTY: STATES FIGHT TO RETURN OLD-STYLE EXECUTION METHODS

Recently we learned several states within the U.S. cannot procure the drugs they need to execute prisoners as efficiently as they would like by intravenous injection.

Some, for example Texas, Oklahoma, and Ohio, have resorted to creating their own lethal injection protocols or having drugs compounded in secret laboratories.

Two recent executions employing these new techniques, however, went terribly wrong, one each in Ohio and Oklahoma. In the Oklahoma debacle, it took Clayton Lockett more than a half hour to die...and he died of a heart attack, not by lethal injection.

In response to these two episodes some states are getting creative. According to The Guardian, Republican Tennessee Governor Bill Haslam has signed legislation allowing his state to execute prisoners by electric chair if the state finds itself unable to procure drugs needed for lethal injection.

The Governor's spokesman, Jimmie Ray Bigbutt, speaking by telephone to the Tennessee Hillbilly Radio Network, explained why the need for this legislation. 

"The pinkos in Europe, ya'll know them there Frenchies and Eyetalians, are attempting to keep Americans from exercising their God-given right to kill people who have no right to live on God's green earth."

In Wyoming, under the same pressure as its sister state in the South, legislators are preparing a bill to return the firing squad as a means to execute prisoners. The bill is scheduled to be heard during the state's next legislative session, according to The Guardian.

Like previous actions by Arizona regarding abortion laws, however, [See: AZ Governor Wages War on Southern Pride], these moves are not sitting well with the Governors of states located in the Deep South.

Governor Nathan Deal, who recently signed the "Guns Everywhere" Law [See: GA Guns Everywhere Law] in an attempt to keep his state ahead in gun legislation, was red-faced when told about the moves by Tennessee and Wyoming. "This is outrageous behavior," he told a reporter for the Vidalia Onion and Conservative Weekly.

The Governor has mentioned that he might call on state legislators to come up with some alternatives for the Peach State. State Senator Bobby "Reds" Muffinbottom, an ordained minister, told The Peach Pit News and Sentinel that he is considering sponsoring a bill to bring back crucifixion. 

"Hell's fire, if it was good enough for the Lord Jesus Christ our Almighty Savior, it's good enough for the likes of murderers and other low lifes."

Alabama Governor Robert Bentley told the Mobile Backwater Country Fish Wrap Times that he is also concerned with this movement in other states.  He explained,

"As a physician I can tell you that lethal injection is a very good way to kill someone without hurting them. However, in reviewing other humane ways to execute, I asked my friends at the Alabama Medical Society for advice. They think the guillotine is our best alternative option. 

First, the machinery is readily available from Harbor Freight. Second, it kills the prisoner quickly and without pain. And, third, it's clear we'd be able to harvest their organs for use by indigent Alabamans."

Rick Scott of Florida, who is running for re-election this year, refused to comment. The first-term Governor's campaign office did release a brief statement, however. It read:

"Everyone knows it's the fault of Obamacare that we can't get our hands on these important lethal drugs used to weed out the worst in our society. We also know that Governor Scott's opponent, Democrat Charlie Crist, picked the wrong side in this important battle for state's rights. Now let's get to work." 

FOX Sports 1 executive Wayne "Killer" DuPre has hinted that if states continue this trend, he is ready to go live with FOX Sports 2 producing 24-hour coverage of murder trials and executions.

"Unlike ESPN, MSNBC,  and CNN, we have the stomach and  the means to show Americans what they really want to see," the former UFC fighter exclaimed.  "We at FOX think this'll surpass even auto racing as the best spectator sport in the South," DuPre continued.

ON MEMORIAL DAY: HOW AMERICANS REMEMBER THEIR FALLEN HEROES IN 2014

Decoration Day was first commemorated on May 30, 1868, to remember those who died in America's Civil War battles to preserve the Union. 

After a few more wars, and several thousand more dead Americans, the name was changed to Memorial Day in the early 20th Century. It was to be a day to remember all Americans who died serving their nation.

Not all of America, however, commemorated this new holiday. When I lived in the Deep South in the late 1960's, because of it's Union origin, this day was not celebrated by our Southern kin.

In 1971 Memorial Day finally became a National Holiday to be celebrated throughout all of the United States. It is a day now that commemorates the loss of more than 1,000,000 American men and women in battles near and far.

The soldiers and sailors we remember this day fought and died for both righteous and moral causes, as well as political and economic vanity. But, die they did.

So, how do we commemorate such a mournful day in the year 2014, a year when we still have troops in harm's way in Afghanistan and elsewhere? 

For some Americans, it seems they commemorate by uttering the trivial phrase, "Thank you for your service." For me, this is a sentence that needs completion. Could that completed sentence be, "because I feel guilty you served and I did not?" Seems fitting to me.

But, also in America, a land filled with unhindered capitalism and a people who can turn any serious event into nonsense, businesses place advertising to honor the day. Here are some of those ads from one newspaper published today.*

Drive to Clearwater, Florida, for the Walker is Ford "Memorial Day All-Star Event" with a $750 Military Bonus Cash offer for those who served. Evidently there is no $750 Military Bonus Cash for the surviving parents and loved ones of those who actually died in war, the very people we are supposed to be remembering this day. I think a free Ford is the least the company could do today for these survivors.

Not to be outdone, for all who lived through one or more of America's wars and speak Spanish, Tom Castriota, from Hudson, Florida, says, "Castriota saluda a nuestros militares." A photograph of Mr. Castriota is prominent in the ad, along with a claim that he is retired from the U.S. Marine Corps.  If you lived to see this Memorial Day, you can purchase a Chevrolet Malibu LS for only $99 per month. Again, no one memorialized whatsoever and no deals for any dead veterans' families.

A "Memorial Day Triple Zero Sales Event" is being held at Sun Toyota of New Port Richey where you can get $0 down payment, $0 payments for 90 days, and 0% factory financing on your new Toyota. Ferman Nissan is "Remembering our Memorial Days Past & Present..." Ford of Port Richey has a "Memorial Mega Sale" going on for 5 days with $5 down and a 5-day guarantee.

Whatever these three car dealers are trying to peddle, you evidently do not have to even be a veteran to participate. It is just their patriotic way of saying, "None of us need serve."

The list goes on. Kane's Furniture offers two pages of "Memorial Day Sale" with up to 50% off or 50 months no interest. LaZboy offers a "Memorial Day Sale" and 25% off on purchases of $3,000 or more. All Dillard's department stores are having a "Memorial Day Weekend Clearance" sale of 65% off. Consignment Furniture Stores, both locations, are having a "Huge Memorial Day Sale" on pre-owned furniture. And, again, you need not have served to participate in these bargains.

If you are an American, read your newspaper and watch your television advertising today. Think about what this day is about and see if the two relate.

If what you see and hear resembles those ads I noted above, write to your newspaper and tell them you are outraged. Boycott vendors who trivialize those lives sacrificed on the altar of freedom.

Remember to thank a veteran; then, tell them why you did not serve. It is okay.

Veterans feel guilty also...we survived while our friends and comrades did not.

*Tampa Bay Times, Monday, May 26, 2014

ON NOT BEING SHOT AT THE MOVIES: FADING GIGOLO

For the first time since Curtis Reeves shot and killed Chad Oulson at a local movie theatre, I went to see a movie at a Florida public theatre last Saturday. I wanted to see John Turturro's new film, Fading Gigolo, so much I was willing to risk life and limb in downtown St. Petersburg. I even had popcorn!

Featuring Woody Allen, Sharon Stone, Liev Schreiber, Sofia Vergara, and Vanessa Paradis, I laughed out loud until I cried. Turturro wrote, directed and starred in this wonderful New York-based film. Even his diner breakfast order was a symphony of New York.

The best part, no one pulled out a gun and shot me.  Thank goodness for little miracles here in my adopted state.  Who knows?  Maybe I will try it again soon.

ON HOW I LEARNED TO BE ALONE WITHOUT FEELING LONELY: IT'S BEGINNING

Recently, a close friend, who is in the middle of a break up with her beau, as well as recovering from the death of her father, asked me how I deal with loneliness.  I flippantly exclaimed, "I masturbate."

It was a school boy's toss-away  line to garner a laugh, while also giving me time to think about the truth.  I wrote to my friend the next day and explained not only how I deal with loneliness, but how I came to be alone.

I have discussed previously the daily physical abuse experienced in my twelve years' of Roman Catholic education. [CLICK HERE] What I have not described as yet is the physical and emotional abuse prevalent in my Irish Catholic home, abuse that was also a daily event.

My mother was a violent alcoholic who was once described by a psychoanalyst friend of mine as a "malignant personality."

Since then I have come to understand that she was perhaps the poster child for malignant narcissistic personality, or narcissistic personality disorder (for those following in their DSM-IV-TR Classification listing, you will find it under Diagnosis 301.81). Or, more to the point, she was a piece of work.

Even from my days as an infant and toddler I can still remember violent screaming in the house between my mother and father.  Both parents often came home drunk.  One night I found my father passed out in the hallway, the bedroom door locked in front of him.

I also remember numerous occasions when the Baltimore police came to our home in the wee hours, always taking the side of my mother as she manipulated them with tears and sobs.  I was too young and too scared to toddle down the stairs and point and scream, "You've got the wrong man, officers, cuff her!" 

She smoked too much, she drank too much, she cursed too much, and she cared no more for her four children than she gave a damn about the man in the moon.  And, she liked to use her hands.  She beat the hell out of both my father and, later, my stepfather.  Nails always at the ready and kicking feet not far behind.

Like Muhammad Ali I learned to float like a butterfly to avoid her long reach. I remember many moments where this instinct kept me away from her flailing hands and long fingernails.

Early one morning I was awakened by my 10-year-old sister running up the stairs screaming, "Eddie's on fire." My older brother and I jumped from bed and ran downstairs.

Standing on the sofa was my little brother. He was naked and screaming; tears were flowing freely down his cheeks. I will never forget his yellow, black, and brown body.  From his neck to his groin, the skin was dark and peeling. It was the very last time I saw him.

At just shy of four years of age my brother, playing with matches my mother left carelessly within reach of all her children, set himself on fire.

His clothing burned into his skin in the early morning as he ran from the far end of our yard to his home in search of mommy's help. Because she did not want to be disturbed, our mother had locked the basement door. Despite his frantic screams, he could not reach the safety of his family.

Fortunately, our neighbor was outside and he jumped the fence and tore my brother's clothes off his body to remove the flames.  He brought my brother to the house.  My mother called my father to come home from his job. Eddie had arisen early that morning in order to have breakfast with daddy.

Though he was my best friend, I was not allowed to visit him in the two hospitals that tried to save him, St. Agnes and, later, Kernan (the latter a children's orthopedic hospital).

I remember being taken to the hospital for one of my mother's visits. She forced me to sit in a large wooden chair all alone in the lobby of St. Agnes Hospital. My feet dangling above the floor, under the stare of a statue of Jesus, my mother told me to wait. "I won't be long," she said, "stay right in this chair."

She told me I was not old enough to see my best friend. The smells and the atmosphere of the hospital were frightening. The hour or so in that chair screamed loudly to me, "You are all alone!"

Edward Michael Daugherty passed from life one day. No one from my family took me aside and talked with me about this awful family tragedy. I was not dressed up to attend a funeral.

I learned he passed the moment my sister handed me a brown-paper grocery-store bag full of toys. She offered no explanation to me other than, "These were given to Eddie. He can't use them. They're for you." Ironically, and I am sure without a single thought, the bag was emblazoned with the name of our local Baltimore grocer, Eddie's.

The toys were expensive. They never would have been purchased for me. These were gifts given from guilt. Because they were now mine, I knew Eddie was not returning home. And, I rarely played with them. The name on the bag told me the real owner's name.

I internalized the fact that my family had made a decision to shun me, to treat me as not worthy of consideration of support or involvement in the family's pain. It told me to trust no one to come to my rescue.

I was almost six years old and very afraid. I knew my childhood was finished. From now on I would sleep with one eye open.

The die was now cast for me. In my mind being alone and alive was far better than trusting people to protect me who would not.

ON THE USA: NOW A NATION RULED BY A LOUD AND WEALTHY MINORITY

I was born in, grew up in, and defended in war what I thought was a democracy. You know, a place where we debate ideas and values then vote to decide who we want to represent us for the next two, four, or six years?

Well, ladies and gentlemen, that ideal no longer exists in the United States of America. Today a rich and loud minority rules our nation.

As an example, let me start with Congress. In the Senate, where Democrats are in the majority, the Republican minority is able to stop legislation that more than half the members wish to approve. It is called "filibuster," from an old Dutch word meaning privateer or pirate.

Do not confuse this type of filibuster with the one portrayed by Jimmy Stewart in Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. No Republican Senator is required to stand talking for hours and hours. This filibuster is procedural only.

Just the other day a bi-partisan energy savings bill was voted down by a vote of 55-36 in the Senate. Yes, you read that right. It was voted down with 55 ayes and only 36 nays. The only way a bill passes now in the Senate is if it can garner at least 60 votes in favor, thus invoking cloture and ending the filibuster. The why of it befuddles me, but it means the majority no longer rules in the United States Senate.

Not to be outdone, the House of Representatives, where the Republicans have the majority, also has a minority that skews the voting. Republicans in the lower house not only have Democrats to contend with, they also have a wing of their party known as the Tea Party.

The Tea Party wing does not care about making our Federal government work efficiently. These so-called Conservatives think the Federal government is an irritant that needs to be shut down.

They are a decidedly anarchistic part of the Republican Party, claiming Conservative ideals are more important than national governance. They are the same portion of the Republican Party that closed the government down last year led by members like Representatives Louie Gohmert (R-TX) and Michelle Bachmann (R-MN), along with Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX).

But, this minority tyranny does not end with Congress. On other issues, the vociferous minority rules. Let me explain.

According to Gallup surveys, 59% of Americans have no gun in their home and only 13% of citizens believe gun regulations should be less restrictive. Yet, states like Georgia, Florida and others keep passing laws that loosen restrictions on gun owners.

The fact that the National Rifle Association has only about 3 million members within a nation of more than 300 million people proves the NRA is a considerable minority, unworthy of the power it yields.

But, with huge sums of money given them by the gun and ammo manufacturers, they hold sway in Congress. The NRA provides direct campaign financing and PAC money to members in vast quantities. Their strong-arm tactics, where they publicly grade politicians as to how they voted on what the NRA wants passed, is legendary. Our weak-willed Congress members dare not stand up for constituent desire and need.

Americans want immigration reform, as does the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and most large businesses, but we do not get it.  The Tea Party believes that all persons who live in the United States without proper paperwork should leave the country...all estimated 11 million of them.  And, if they do not, there will be no immigration reform. A small portion of one party holds sway over all Americans.

Who do these Tea Party Americans listen to? They listen to the voices of people looking for ratings on their media shows. Rush Limbaugh screams outrage. Glenn Beck bubbles over with bizarre conjecture. FOX News concocts the same tag lines for all its "newscasters." These are not people elected by voters to govern. These are self-absorbed dilettantes who use controversy to boost ratings and put money into their own pockets.

Now, thanks to the Supreme Court allowing a free flow of corporate dollars into our election process, people like the Koch brothers and Sheldon Adelson, another group of self-interested billionaires, can throw money into campaigns like it is confetti. These wealthy men do not care about politics, they care about controlling politicians who will allow their respective businesses to grow without taxation or regulation.

Last February I wrote about our atrocious voting record, especially in non-Presidential candidate years like 2014. [Click Here for Full Blog] In the last four off-year Congressional voting cycles we have just barely averaged 37% of voters going to the polls.  37%!!

So, barely one-third of our citizens elect the characters that only 13.6% of us approve. Do you get the picture? Like idiots, Americans stay away from the polls and expect wonderful things to happen. No wonder nothing gets done!

Until a majority of Americans get off their collective arses and vote none of this will change. Congress will remain a pit of self-absorbed and graft-taking hacks that includes anarchists.

The upper 1% of the wealthy will control what trickles down to each of us at our jobs. People will continue to use semi-automatic, military-style weaponry to kill large numbers of us at the mall, the movie theatre, and at the job site. Screaming idiots will go on spewing hate from our TV and our radio to increase their advertising revenue.

And, most importantly, we will continue to disintegrate into a nation of third-rate schools, deteriorating bridges and roads, and racially-profiled and incarcerated citizens.

Nothing will change in America unless first Americans change.

ON THE VA CONTROVERSY: THE TRUTH BEGINS TO BE SET FREE

I have never before followed up a blog so quickly. Tonight, CBS News produced a followup report on the VA waiting list controversy I wrote about yesterday.  Two revelations by CBS stood out. [Click Here for Full Blog}

First, the Inspector General has found that there is no evidence the 40 men who died in Phoenix did so as a result of being on the waiting list that set off this furor. No evidence whatsoever.

Second, the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee met today with the leader of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Guess who asked General Shineski why he has not resigned?

*Senator Dean Heller (R-NV), whose official Senate biography lists not one second of service in the defense of his country, asked the question. Really, Senator?

We have a story that is not true.  We have another investigation about nothing, save rumor. And, we have another member of Congress who thinks calling for the resignation of a decorated veteran is his prerogative even when the questioner knows nothing of war and its affect.

What a waste of time and what BS!

*NOTE: In a previous publication of this blog I incorrectly listed Richard Burr (R-NC) as the Senator asking General Shineski to resign. I thank the Tampa Bay Times for correctly naming Senator Heller regarding this question. My apologies to Senator Burr.

ON THE U.S. CONGRESS: SHUT UP AND FINISH WHAT YOU STARTED

Sending men and women off to war is easy.  You pick a place to attack, make up a reason for doing so, and then have the Commander in Chief scratch his name on a piece of paper. Voila! You have a war.

Generals will follow the orders of their Commander down to the letter. They are trained not to ask why. They perform their duty only, as Lord Tennyson wrote so eloquently, "...to do and die."

But, as each year passes and new wars come, medicine, especially combat medicine, advances. The number who "do and die" reduces. Those who return home injured by war grows exponentially.  

Explosions from well-placed bombs rock the brain violently within its thin, bony shell. Legs, arms, feet, brains, eyeballs, and genitals fly off into sticky sprays of blood, tissue, uniform, and dust. Visions of war, death, fear, and panic eat into the once healthy brain of each soldier, like an unseen cancer that can never be cured, even when neither bullet nor shrapnel cuts the flesh.

Experts are often working within seconds, minutes, and hours to bind the visible wounds, staunch the flow of precious blood, and help these men and women survive death. The triage system for physical wounds is truly miraculous in nature. The invisible wounds of the psyche are left to fester in the hope they somehow heal themselves.

When stories appear, like the recent article in Army Times entitled, "VA probes reports of secret waiting list at Phoenix facility," the self-serving politicians pour forth in front of cameras like hyenas to dead carcass.

As CBS News reported, some local VA officials held back the names of veterans who requested an appointment for care until they could slot that name into an appointment that fell within a 14-day time frame. The goal was to make the officials' appointment response look more timely.

Senators John Cornyn (R-TX) and Jerry Moran (R-KS) have demanded the resignation of the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired General Eric Shineski. They make this demand without either Senator ever having served in the military. Laughably, Senator Cornyn states on his official website that his father served in World War II, as if that gives the Senator credentials of service to his country.

John McCain (R-AZ), the Senator who was a former Vietnam POW, is meeting with officials in his home state to determine what to do. Reportedly, 40 veterans died while waiting for care at the VA center in Phoenix.

The American Legion, an organization with a checkered history fighting the "red menace" in the United States, also seeks the resignation of General Shineski.

As a veteran I certainly understand, if true, that there should be outrage over VA personnel keeping two appointment lists.

On the other hand, I also keep in mind the fact that about 90,000 people or more die each year in private U.S. hospitals due to medical mistakes. This does not excuse what the VA is accused of doing to pad their numbers. However, veterans are humans, and humans die...whether they are on a clinic waiting list or in a queue for a city bus.

According to the Department of Veterans Affairs own statistics, outpatient visits have almost doubled between 2002 and 2012. The total number of patients seen has grown 50% during a period when WWII, Korean, and Vietnam veterans are dying off rapidly.

Veterans with service-connected disabilities have more than tripled, from about 1 million to more than 3 million. The Tampa Bay Times estimates the VA last year treated 6.5 million veterans in more than 1,300 medical facilities, while keeping 85 million appointments.

The number of dollars to treat this influx of patients, adjusted for inflation, has only doubled. Again, according to the VA, while the number of disabled has risen by 20% a year, the dollars to care for them has risen only 10% each year.

From experience I know the care for amputees and brain-damaged veterans is much more expensive than the average non-veteran population. Veteran's hospitals and clinics may be able to do a lot to cut the cost of healthcare, but they still have to pay the same exorbitant prices for drugs, devices, and equipment as private hospitals pay.

In 1975, according to CNN, 70% of Congress had served in the Armed Forces of the United States.  In 2011, that number was down to 20%...25 Senators and 90 Congressman.

Like most Americans, these non-serving members seem to always know how to say the right things. "Thank you for your service." "Let us not forget these brave men and women." "Let us bow our heads as we honor those who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom." Blah, blah, blah.

You want to thank me for your service? Here is how. Quit sending kids to war. Or, send your own kids. Even better, go yourself!

What I would rather hear is that Congress, rather than voting to close down the government or rescind Obamacare again or hold their umpteenth hearing on Benghazi, would do the nation's business.  Quit talking and do more walking.

I served.  I served in war. I have a service-related disability.  I use the VA exclusively for my healthcare.* And, I see the damage done by more than a decade of war on every visit. If people are cooking the books, fire them. If veterans need to be seen more quickly, put the money in place to treat them.

Congress! You do not need an investigation. Put up or shut up, especially if you are one of the 80% who never served your country and know nothing about the toll of war.

*Bay Pines VA Medical Center, near St. Petersburg, Florida.  In my 25+ years' experience managing hospitals and clinics, I rate the the care and service at this facility the best I have received in my life.

ON: HOW THE U.S. CONGRESS INVITED PUTIN TO ATTACK UKRAINE (A REMINDER)

NOTE: Originally posted on March 3, 2014, as ON THE INVASION OF UKRAINE AND THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, I thought this point of view should be re-posted with a clearer title.

Americans, especially members of Congress, love to tout American “exceptionalism” and America’s “super” power status.  However, if you had the opportunity to look at America from abroad these last few years you will have seen glaring signs of American weakness.

What causes me to say such thing? Well, for years Congress has spent its precious legislative calendar making mischief rather than working on the people’s business. Discussion and votes on abortion, religion, gay marriage, and Sharia law…not to mention filibusters to avoid voting on Presidential appointments…took up time better spent on "real" issues. More than 40 different attempts were made to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even when the Republican Congress knew it had no chance of being repealed.

Immigration reform has been tabled, though every citizen thinks it is necessary. Budget issues have been ignored in an attempt to embarrass the President. Financial markets have been forced to sweat until the last minute, wondering if the debt ceiling will be raised so the government does not default on its bills. The government even had to close for weeks to make a point about which side of the aisle had the biggest stick.

In foreign affairs Cuba remains a focus of many politicians a full 15 years after the end of the Cold War. Nothing is done to secure this island as an American ally. Rather than engage Cuba, we let its politics move south through places like Venezuela, Bolivia and more.  Key legislation was tabled for years that would have secured trade pacts with Panama and Colombia. We moan a lot about our neighbors to the south and their politics, but nothing is done to help change the atmosphere unless it is part of our "war on drugs." After all, it is much more important to repeal "Obamacare," then to secure our nation and make new allies.

Since 2001 two wars were approved by Congress. Billions of dollars are still being spent and thousands of lives have been lost.  Fifteen Saudis, led by another Saudi, Osama bin Laden, attacked America from the air and we bombed Iraq and Afghanistan.  To me that makes about as much sense as bombing Venezuela after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Imagine yourself a former KGB agent with 16 years' Cold War experience. Your citizens are so enamored of you they vote you in as President or Prime Minister for 15 straight years.  

Couple that with the fact you have managed to grab the man who stole millions of pages of your arch enemy’s top secrets. You are now able to access this information trove to fully understand the weaknesses of the U.S.A. and its diplomatic corps. And, just how did such a defector get his hands on so many secrets? Congress thought it a much better idea to let outside contractors provide the vetting of our top security personnel rather than trained, internally controlled and employed agents.  

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wants to make Russia great again.  It is obvious he took personally the dissolution of his beloved Soviet Empire.  He is working with Tsar-like zeal to build Russia into a giant again. 

He knows his enemies are weak.  He knows no one will challenge him militarily.  He meddles in the Mideast, much like the Soviets of the 1960’s.  He gives nations arms and access to nuclear capability.  Why?  He knows Syria and Iran irritate the West. He can keep the West occupied there, much like a master magician fools his audience with sleight of hand. With the world’s eyes focused on the Mideast, he is free to take what he really wants.

He sees former Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine looking West. So, he makes excuses to take back former Soviet territory. First, under the guise of saving Russians, he moves on South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008. Now, under the same premise of saving Russians, he has moved on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. He is piece by piece reclaiming his empire.  And, he knows, no one will dare stop him. He does not care what the U.S. thinks and he knows NATO is a toothless giant.

When Obama let Europe lead on Libya a few years ago, NATO forces wound up having to borrow American missiles and bullets to complete the mission. Europeans did not have enough basic weaponry in their arsenals.  If Europe cannot handle a small country like Libya, what can they possibly do to Russia?

Now the Republican Party leaders, with a view of the world similar to that illustrated in the cartoon on the left, are out in droves poking at the President, saying his weakness allowed Ukraine to be invaded…Gates, Rubio, Graham, Boehner, Rogers, and more have blasted the media with their points of view on Ukraine.

They never mention their handiwork...or lack of it...in getting the world to this point. They are not smart enough to know someone like Putin sees lack of support for the President in his Congress as weakness. But, Congress does not care about projecting strength through the world.  Our Congress prefers to fiddle while the world burns.

Bullies love to pick on weakness. President Putin is a classic bully. By being petty and silly over the last few years our Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have played right into Putin’s hands. Shame!

ON RUSSIA: FROM A NATION OF PUSHKIN AND TOLSTOY TO ONE OF PUTIN AND THUGGERY

Like most, since its beginning I have been following closely the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. After allegedly murdering his own citizens and stealing as much as $100 billion from the treasury, their fiendishly corrupt President, Viktor Yanukovych, fled to Russia in late February. Within a few days hooligans began violently intimidating the people of Crimea, especially the Ukrainian military stationed there.

Always wearing masks and acting like bullies, these "pro-Russian separatists" exhibited military tactics, weapons and unmarked uniforms that looked surprisingly like the Russian military. Pushing, shoving, and threatening their way through the Crimean peninsula, they took over Ukrainian military bases and towns.

Their demeanor gave the word "thug" new life and meaning.  On TV we were watching, without a doubt, men with no other intention than intimidation of the populace.

I began to wonder more about this phenomenon. How does a nation that gave the world Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Borodin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, produce drunkards and bullies like Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin? Where does Russia find men who will don masks and invade their next-door neighbor? Then, I remembered a series of letters I received in January from a close friend who was visiting Asia.

No ordinary traveler, this is a man who is a retired Professor of French and Modern European History at a New York university, who now calls Paris, France, his home. His words, written to me when he was staying on Kho Lanta Island in Thailand, speak volumes.

"Just a word more on the Russians who have decided to invade the sunny beaches of the Andaman sea...there is some link between the gimme mentality and their behavior. These yoyos were born at the latest under Gorbachev. They don’t know from camps, war, starvation. Most of them have lived their lives under Yeltsin and Putin. They are the NEP [New Economic Policy] men of the late 20^th early 21^st century. And they know no shame, no decency, no gentleness, no politeness.

Two examples. The hotel in Phi Phi and here in Lanta are the only places in all of Thailand that I visited, and that’s more than 13 hotels, that do a room check before letting you check out. Th[ey] have posted how much [it costs] for articles missing—including toilets, toilet seats and sinks! Talk about vandals.

These same hotels cursed by a Russian clientele are the only ones who leave no beverages in the fridge and no bags of nuts and other goodies that the client is expected to fess up to having used before leaving. 

If they could nail down the towels they would. I saw six of these bozos, all [of] 25 [years of age] or so, having paid their vacation to Phi Phi refuse to give the lady running the look out—highest point nice view—20 Bahts. There are 34 [Baht] to $1 [USD]. Talk about shame. Yeah I know all nationalities grouped together as tourists are horrible.... But these Russians are the worst. And it cannot be blamed on the Reds. 

So now that the cold war is over, let us bring back the iron curtain and put these people behind it. Only disgrace can come out of letting them roam."

Other letters from my friend spoke of Russians filling the bars, drinking until they either passed out or were thrown out for unruliness and foul language. His closing recommendation above, regarding a return of the Iron Curtain, just might occur in the near future. 

The thuggish Vladimir Putin, who loves to prance around shirtless like his fellow Russians visiting Thailand, leads this rabble. He supports their beating of women, like Pussy Riot. He is proud of his anti-gay rhetoric and his country's anti-gay propaganda. Though he talks about ending corruption, I think the only corruption he aims to end is the corruption that does not flow directly into his pocket.

Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State and now President of the Brookings Institution, in an interview with Katty Kay of the BBC, explained that Putin was forced from the KGB for his lack of an ability to avoid risk. Talbott explained that despite his quick rise to Lieutenant Colonel, the KGB thought Putin too dangerous to promote further.

In an interview with al Jazeera, the Brookings Institution leader said Putin is an advocate of the "big lie." He certainly showed that in Crimea. Before the formal annexation Putin said no Russian troops were in Crimea fomenting riot. Last week he announced that, in fact, they were.

Perhaps the funniest comment by Talbott, who among his other accomplishments is also a Russian expert, was the one he posted on his Twitter account.  It said, "perhaps, just to break the ice, Obama should solemnly promise Putin that he won't have to have sex with a gay guy."

That might work. But, I think NATO troops, maybe a couple of battalions, should be invited by the Ukrainian government to conduct joint exercises in western Ukraine (west of the Dnieper River) to offset the Russian exercise on the eastern Ukraine border.

Rather than wear masks, the NATO troops should go shirtless. Risk-taking bullies only stop when someone stronger shows them how stupid they look and act.

NOTE: CBS News has reported that Vladimir Putin requested eastern Ukraine "pro-Russia" groups not to hold referenda on May 11th. The Guardian is reporting they are ignoring Putin's request. He also said he was pulling his troops from the Ukraine border. NATO and U.S. officials say they have no evidence of any movement of troops by Russia. The essence of this blog is not likely affected by this action.