“All I know is what I read in the newspaper” is apparently the favorite quote of President Obama. Who knew?  According to a report on television there are 5 episodes or potential scandals where the president or his spokesman has said, essentially, “I didn’t know about this until I read it in the newspaper.”
Seriously, can you imagine the president of any company or big organization who tells everyone under him, “I don’t want to hear any bad news or controversies. Only tell me the good stuff.”
A friend who used to run a major Ohio insurance company gave me his opinion on the President’s leadership: “If I told my Board of Directors that I learned about a problem in the media, they would have shown me the door. Immediately!” Do you know any CEO who would disagree?
With all the problems in the VA, the House passed a bill to allow the President to fire anybody who lied about appointments denied to sick veterans. Does that surprise you? I mean does it surprise you that the President could not already fire these incompetent staff people? But I guess he can’t. Something in union rules prevents firing ‘em unless Congress okays it. So, next the bill had to pass the Senate before the Memorial Day break. Naturally Harry Reid scheduled a vote… on the Redskins. Yes, the most critical issue in Washington for 50 Senators is the name of a football team.
If they want to make some Indians happy, let ‘em vote on something they have control over: wipe Andrew Jackson off the $20 bill. Jackson is the scoundrel who forced the Cherokees, Seminoles and others off their land in our southeastern states and made ‘em walk to Oklahoma.
Putin outsmarted us again. Just when we thought Europe would reduce imports of Russian gas, and pinch him financially, Putin turns east and sells the gas to China for $400 Billion. And worse, we’ll give China the dollars to pay him. See, our trade deficit with China is way more than what the Russian gas will cost them. So how will this fossil fuel get transported across the border to Beijing  and other Chinese cities? Pipelines. Imagine that.
Ukraine elected a new President, Petro Poroshenko, who says he wants to reunite the country. And he will if he can kick out the Russian troublemakers that Putin sneaked into the eastern region. But never count out Putin; he’s got China with him now. On the other hand, when it comes to world politics, it’s hard to tell who is with us now.

Historic quote by Will Rogers:
“A sure thing about our Memorial days is as fast as the ranks from one war thin out, the ranks from another take their place. Prominent men run out of Decoration Day speeches, but the world never runs out of wars.” DT #888, May 31, 1929