Weekly Comments Archive
Archived Issue
Monday, February 12, 2018
ISSUE #926
Budgets, Dueling Memos, and a Parade for the Military

Another government shutdown was avoided when Congress passed a huge budget bill. The massive increase in spending was worked out by the new Majority Leader of the Senate, Chuck Schumer.

The Republicans and Democrats have dueling memos about Russian influence in the 2016 election. The Republicans wrote a 4-page memo and got it released even though it included some embarrassing details about the FBI. It was not a blockbuster like they had claimed, but it was enough to get the Democrats riled up. So Democrat Congressman Adam Schiff wrote 10 pages about the same subject but reached opposite conclusions. In those extra 6 pages he slipped in a bunch of top secret classified information. The FBI and President Trump refused to allow classified details to stay in, so they sent the memo back to Mr. Schiff for revision. Mr. Schiff doesn’t like that move, and neither does Senator Schumer.

Here’s a modest proposal on how Trump should handle it. Give Congressman Schiff one print copy of the Memo with all “classified” words and phrases underlined (but not blacked out). He will READ ALOUD the Memo at a televised news conference. He can include or skip over the classified underlined words or phrases.  It is his choice. Whoa! How much classified information do you think he would expose?

After Congressman Schiff finishes reading his copy, copies of the Memo with all “classified” words/phrases REDACTED will be given to the press.

President Trump suggested he would like to have a big military parade in Washington, but he caught a lot of flak. Even military officers are not thrilled.

Here’s a different military parade idea, from Will Rogers: “If we really wanted to honor our Boys, why didn’t we let them sit on the reviewing stands and make the people march those 15 miles?” (He wrote that in 1923 about our WWI soldiers.)

Well, let’s reverse President Trump’s idea. Encourage current military personnel and veterans to go to Washington and sit in the stands or stand along the streets, and let all Congressional Representatives and Senators and their staffs, including lobbyists, plus most of the Executive Branch, parade in front of ’em. Walk from Capitol Hill down Constitution Avenue on one side of the National Mall to Lincoln Memorial then return on the other side of the Mall to the Capitol Bldg. Memorial Day weekend would be an ideal time.

If the President still wants to show off our latest technology, have a couple of stealth bombers fly over. Maybe the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds could put on a short performance.

This parade idea won’t cost anything hardly and might even save a few million because it will keep the President in town, and prevent the 535 in Congress from flying off somewhere around the world.

Historic quotes by Will Rogers:

“The budget is a mythical beanbag. Congress votes mythical beans into it and then tries to reach in and pull real beans out.” DT #2047, Feb., 24, 1933

“They sent what they call the Budget to Congress… There’s things on there that you had no idea existed.”  WA #312, Dec. 16, 1928

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