Back on November 28th I wrote to my representives regarding Executive Orders and Presidential Pardons. Senator Barbara Mikulski (Democrat Maryland) responded yesterday and I will share her response.
It appears I'm not the only one questioning the president's powers.
Maybe it really is - Common Sense!!
Dear Mr. Wolfe:
Thank you for getting in touch with me to express your support for H. RES. 1531. It's good to hear from you.
I agree with you. It would be outrageous for President Bush to pardon members of his administration who have committed crimes, or who may be prosecuted in the future.
That is why Representative Jerrold Nadler introduced legislation that would prevent the President of the United States from issuing pardons to senior members of his administration during the final days of his term of office. This legislation is currently pending in the House of Representatives. Knowing of your views will be helpful to me should this legislation be brought up in the Senate.
I appreciate that you took the time to contact me. Please let me know if I can be of assistance to you in the future.
Sincerely,
Barbara A. MikulskiUnited States Senator
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Obama's Inauguration
In a little more than a month a new president will be sworn in. Obama has been putting his team together. There are a lot of impressive names in the group, it will be interesting to see how all of the egos get along. Obama is making plans, all of them unfortunately are going to cost big money. Where the money is going to come from is any one's guess, but I have a bad feeling taxes increasing in one form or another are going to be involved.
I read that Obama's staff has stated that contributions of no more than $50,000.00 will be accepted towards paying off the Inauguration celebration. Wouldn't you love to be one of the people who had fifty thousand lying around to give to a politician so you could go to a couple of parties in DC and say you were part of history?
Maybe I'm a cynic, but wouldn't the money be better spent on helping the thousands who are recently unemployed, rather than paying for champagne in ballrooms?
Another disturbing thing about this Inauguration are the amount of tickets being sold. I thought the tickets were free, you just contact one of your representatives and take what's available. Now it seems people are getting their free tickets and are then trying to sell them. I know this is a unique moment in the history of the USA,. Its sad to see that there are those more concerned with greed than history.
Of course, I'll be working so it won't matter. If I was off, I would watch it on television in the warmth of my house. I have been in DC crowds before, before Homeland Security and terrorists, and it was bad then. There is no telling just how bad it will be this time due to security. Keep your money and watch it on TV.
I think Obama should try and keep spending in check for this inauguration due to the economic condition of the country. He should lead by example and a proper tone.
Obama was elected to lead the country out of war and into economic security. From the moment he is sworn in as president, he needs to start living up to his promises.
Its Common Sense!
I read that Obama's staff has stated that contributions of no more than $50,000.00 will be accepted towards paying off the Inauguration celebration. Wouldn't you love to be one of the people who had fifty thousand lying around to give to a politician so you could go to a couple of parties in DC and say you were part of history?
Maybe I'm a cynic, but wouldn't the money be better spent on helping the thousands who are recently unemployed, rather than paying for champagne in ballrooms?
Another disturbing thing about this Inauguration are the amount of tickets being sold. I thought the tickets were free, you just contact one of your representatives and take what's available. Now it seems people are getting their free tickets and are then trying to sell them. I know this is a unique moment in the history of the USA,. Its sad to see that there are those more concerned with greed than history.
Of course, I'll be working so it won't matter. If I was off, I would watch it on television in the warmth of my house. I have been in DC crowds before, before Homeland Security and terrorists, and it was bad then. There is no telling just how bad it will be this time due to security. Keep your money and watch it on TV.
I think Obama should try and keep spending in check for this inauguration due to the economic condition of the country. He should lead by example and a proper tone.
Obama was elected to lead the country out of war and into economic security. From the moment he is sworn in as president, he needs to start living up to his promises.
Its Common Sense!
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Bush's Farewell to Iraq
One of the big news items today is that George Bush in in Baghdad, showing his appreciation to the Iraq government for working with the United States for bringing peace and stability to their country. (Whether that is true or not is a whole other story.) More importantly, I believe that Bush is there to thanks the troops for all of the sacrifices they have made in what is turning out to be another unending war.
As Bush's time comes to end (thank God) I think some reflection on what he has done, positive and negative is important. I do not believe that George Bush is a bad person, in truth I believe him to be a good hearted man, a patriot and unfortunately a man who listened to a lot of bad advice and allowed himself to be be guided by a group of short sighted, ambitious men and women who had their own interests first rather than the the interests of their country.
I agreed with Bush when he wanted to send troops into Afghanistan after 9/11. I thought he should have sent a lot more and that he should have tried right from the start to get a strong coalition of European and Arab States to join us.
I was amazed when I learned of all of the funding Bush made available in Africa to help fight AIDS and hopefully give thousands of people a chance at some kind of better life. I do not understand why Bush's PR people are not doing more to push that image of the President, rather than letting the public continue to see his failures.
Now, I want to state that I do not believe the economic crisis in the United States is George Bush's fault. Unfortunately, after years of build up the collapse unfortunately came on his watch. I find it embarrassing that today his staff are still trying to find a way to bail out the Big 3. Let them and the UAW work a solution out among themselves. They can save themselves and their jobs if they put their heads together and make some sacrifices. It is not the president's place to try and come up with the solution for them.
Of course the biggest error of the Bush Administration and the one we the people will be paying for during the years to come is the war in Iraq. We never should have gone. Of course hindsight is a beautiful thing but I never understood the rush to go in the beginning and I never understood why Congress never requested more in depth proof of the supposed violations committed by Saddam.
It is interesting that both Bush presidents had wars fought in Iraq during their administrations. If George Senior had allowed his army to march into Baghdad and dethrone Saddam at that time, the current war would never have happened. Of course we have no idea of knowing what the removal of Saddam at that time would have had on the stability of Iraq.
Lots of questions to ponder, lots of theories to offer.
The reality is that George Bush will be leaving office as one of the least admired presidents in the history of the United States. We can only hope that his successor will be able to leave a more impressive legacy.
What do you feel were the positive accomplishments of the Bush Administration over the past eight years? Do you feel that there were any positive accomplishments?
Voice your opinion so others can hear.
Its Common Sense!
As Bush's time comes to end (thank God) I think some reflection on what he has done, positive and negative is important. I do not believe that George Bush is a bad person, in truth I believe him to be a good hearted man, a patriot and unfortunately a man who listened to a lot of bad advice and allowed himself to be be guided by a group of short sighted, ambitious men and women who had their own interests first rather than the the interests of their country.
I agreed with Bush when he wanted to send troops into Afghanistan after 9/11. I thought he should have sent a lot more and that he should have tried right from the start to get a strong coalition of European and Arab States to join us.
I was amazed when I learned of all of the funding Bush made available in Africa to help fight AIDS and hopefully give thousands of people a chance at some kind of better life. I do not understand why Bush's PR people are not doing more to push that image of the President, rather than letting the public continue to see his failures.
Now, I want to state that I do not believe the economic crisis in the United States is George Bush's fault. Unfortunately, after years of build up the collapse unfortunately came on his watch. I find it embarrassing that today his staff are still trying to find a way to bail out the Big 3. Let them and the UAW work a solution out among themselves. They can save themselves and their jobs if they put their heads together and make some sacrifices. It is not the president's place to try and come up with the solution for them.
Of course the biggest error of the Bush Administration and the one we the people will be paying for during the years to come is the war in Iraq. We never should have gone. Of course hindsight is a beautiful thing but I never understood the rush to go in the beginning and I never understood why Congress never requested more in depth proof of the supposed violations committed by Saddam.
It is interesting that both Bush presidents had wars fought in Iraq during their administrations. If George Senior had allowed his army to march into Baghdad and dethrone Saddam at that time, the current war would never have happened. Of course we have no idea of knowing what the removal of Saddam at that time would have had on the stability of Iraq.
Lots of questions to ponder, lots of theories to offer.
The reality is that George Bush will be leaving office as one of the least admired presidents in the history of the United States. We can only hope that his successor will be able to leave a more impressive legacy.
What do you feel were the positive accomplishments of the Bush Administration over the past eight years? Do you feel that there were any positive accomplishments?
Voice your opinion so others can hear.
Its Common Sense!
Friday, December 12, 2008
Chaos in Illinois
This has been an exciting week for the folks in the state of Illinois. Their governor is accused of all kinds of shenanigans, has been arrested and is out on bail still running the state. His chief of staff, also accused, resigned today and is trying to disappear. The state's attorney general has gone to the state Supreme Court with a request that they remove the governor and allow the lieutenant governor to assume control.
This morning the governor had a prayer breakfast with a variety of clergymen before heading off to the office. Evidently he is of the opinion that God will see him through.
All very interesting. All creating talk once again of the corruption of politics in Illinois. Its sad that rather than enjoy the spotlight of choosing Obama's successor and placing someone interested in helping the state into the spot in DC, the governor was more interested in making a profit on the deal, which appears to be how he has run the government during his time in office.
More and more things keep coming up. Evidently there is a group demanding that Obama's vacancy be filled by another black man, I don't know if there is a group demanding that a white man replace Joe Biden and a white woman replace Hillary but if they aren't out there yet they probably will be.
At a time when the country should be celebrating, especially as we watch the economy crumble around us, we instead have to suffer through more greed of stupid, selfish politicians who think they are above the law. It didn't work in New York or Alaska, why did this idiot think it would work in Illinois.?
I feel sorry for the state of Illinois because whoever is finally selected to go to the Senate, they will be under a shadow the entire time they are there.
I find it fascinating that the Illinois governor can't simply be put in jail, with no bond and let the lieutenant governor take over. I'm amazed that the citizens haven't gone to the state house and run him out of town on a rail. That's how things got done in the good old days.
Oh well, we'll just have to keep watching and see what else develops between now and the inauguration.
Remember, don't take politicians too seriously, they have a tendency to lie a lot more than tell the truth. We might vote for them but they never become the servants we hope for.
Maybe if we run a couple out on the rail the others will get the message.
Its Common Sense.
This morning the governor had a prayer breakfast with a variety of clergymen before heading off to the office. Evidently he is of the opinion that God will see him through.
All very interesting. All creating talk once again of the corruption of politics in Illinois. Its sad that rather than enjoy the spotlight of choosing Obama's successor and placing someone interested in helping the state into the spot in DC, the governor was more interested in making a profit on the deal, which appears to be how he has run the government during his time in office.
More and more things keep coming up. Evidently there is a group demanding that Obama's vacancy be filled by another black man, I don't know if there is a group demanding that a white man replace Joe Biden and a white woman replace Hillary but if they aren't out there yet they probably will be.
At a time when the country should be celebrating, especially as we watch the economy crumble around us, we instead have to suffer through more greed of stupid, selfish politicians who think they are above the law. It didn't work in New York or Alaska, why did this idiot think it would work in Illinois.?
I feel sorry for the state of Illinois because whoever is finally selected to go to the Senate, they will be under a shadow the entire time they are there.
I find it fascinating that the Illinois governor can't simply be put in jail, with no bond and let the lieutenant governor take over. I'm amazed that the citizens haven't gone to the state house and run him out of town on a rail. That's how things got done in the good old days.
Oh well, we'll just have to keep watching and see what else develops between now and the inauguration.
Remember, don't take politicians too seriously, they have a tendency to lie a lot more than tell the truth. We might vote for them but they never become the servants we hope for.
Maybe if we run a couple out on the rail the others will get the message.
Its Common Sense.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Airline Baggage Policy
This past Friday my daughter flew from Denver to Baltimore to spend her winter break with her mother and father. She brought her cat with her and decided to fly United Airlines because they allow you to bring a small pet in the cabin. She had two pieces of checked baggage and paid $25.00 for the first and $15.00 for the second. Her flight arrived on schedule and all was well until we got to the baggage carousel and discovered one of the bags was missing.
In this age of computerization the missing bag attendant was able to verify that the bag was still in Denver. For some unknown reason it had missed the flight. However, she assured us the bag would be on the flight due in that evening and there was nothing to worry about.
The evening flight arrived at 7pm and when no one called by 9pm we contacted United's missing bag website, which offered no news. We then called the service number and spoke with a person who could only tell us the bag was still in Denver, but we would get it on Saturday.
To make a long story short, after five more calls, we got the bag Sunday evening.
Back in the days when your baggage was included in the price of your ticket, you wearily accepted the fact that these things happened. However, now that we have to pay to have checked baggage, I think the airlines need to have a written policy on their responsibility if they fail to produce the bag you paid to have shipped with you.
I believe the policy should state clearly that they will refund double what you paid to ship the bag. After all, you paid for a service and they failed to deliver. Plus, if they made that commitment in writing, I bet there would be a lot less missing bags.
Share your horror stories about airline trips in recent times.
We, the customer have a right to the service we paid for.
Its Common Sense!
In this age of computerization the missing bag attendant was able to verify that the bag was still in Denver. For some unknown reason it had missed the flight. However, she assured us the bag would be on the flight due in that evening and there was nothing to worry about.
The evening flight arrived at 7pm and when no one called by 9pm we contacted United's missing bag website, which offered no news. We then called the service number and spoke with a person who could only tell us the bag was still in Denver, but we would get it on Saturday.
To make a long story short, after five more calls, we got the bag Sunday evening.
Back in the days when your baggage was included in the price of your ticket, you wearily accepted the fact that these things happened. However, now that we have to pay to have checked baggage, I think the airlines need to have a written policy on their responsibility if they fail to produce the bag you paid to have shipped with you.
I believe the policy should state clearly that they will refund double what you paid to ship the bag. After all, you paid for a service and they failed to deliver. Plus, if they made that commitment in writing, I bet there would be a lot less missing bags.
Share your horror stories about airline trips in recent times.
We, the customer have a right to the service we paid for.
Its Common Sense!
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