Come On Sense

By Theresa Vargas
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 31, 2010

GRAND ISLE, LA. — If the rig had never blown, if the oil had never spewed, if the roads of Grand Isle had never given way to an endless stream of military vehicles, Mary Jackson would have spent Memorial Day weekend fishing with her 3-year-old grandson, a boy who wakes up in the morning talking about the water. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dan Eggen
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, May 31, 2010

For more than a decade, Brian L. Wolff was the quintessential Washington insider, serving as one of Rep. Nancy Pelosi’s closest aides as she rose through the House and helping to raise millions as head of the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Read the rest of this entry »

This ever so slightly tongue in cheek memo to Wall Street CEOs should be taken ever so seriously. In his book The Big Short, Lewis makes the point that Wall Street executives did not really understand the complexities of the financial instruments they were packaging and offering for sale. After reading Michael’s Oped piece, you may come to believe that the same could be said about Congress and the Administration when it comes to financial reform. Read the rest of this entry »

It is important to realize how disconnected people have become from the real world. today everything is either a PR issue or some sort of video game. Nowhere is this more true than with business and government. Read the rest of this entry »

In a complex world, it is the second order effects of actions that often have the greatest impact and come to define the real meaning of a policy. We are living through a time when that seems more true than ever. It is impossible for a politician to take an action with out triggering second and third order effects which directly contradict their intentions. Read the rest of this entry »

Check your blood pressure before watching. Michael Lewis lays it out for all to hear and understand. If you still believe that the government is of, by and for the people, prepare to loose your faith.

Watch CBS News Videos Online

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The founding fathers worried that any government they organized would sacrifice fundamental rights and responsibilities to political expediency. One of their most potent protections against just such a tendency was the division of powers among three co-equal branches of government. A second line of defense was the ability of the voters to elect reformers – presidents, senators and congressmen who would re-establish the rule of law and restore fundamental rights. Read the rest of this entry »

Cheney’s recent speech reminded me of a famous one by Barry Goldwater – “I would remind you that extremism in the defense of liberty is no vice. And let me remind you also that moderation in the pursuit of justice is no virtue.” Americans rejected it soundly then and my hope is that they will reject it again. If we give up the principles that have defined us as a society based on the rule of law and justice for all, then we are little better than the terrorists who would attack us. If we accept Nixon’s formulation that “if the president does it it is not against the law” we will have abandoned the rule of law for that of expediency and will quickly become subjects of the government. The government of, by and for the people will indeed perish from the earth. If we live in fear of fear itself we will become easy prey for the despots who chafe under that rule of law and resort to fear mongering. The blood of patriots was not shed so that future generations could give away the essence of the Republic in exchange for a handful of hollow words about keeping us safe. We owe it to them to live up to the principles that they fought to protect.
— Chief

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Chief@ComeOnSense.com
www.ComeOnSense.com

For a person who had come of age during the sixties, these are frightening times indeed. I came of age during the period between the Viet Nam War and Watergate. My first awareness of censorship came on February 10, 1960 when Jack Parr’s Tonight Show was abruptly cut off the air because of a reference he made to the ‘water closet’. The resulting uproar started a great debate that highlighted freedom of speech and artistic freedom from censorship. Read the rest of this entry »

By Dr. Earl R. Smith II
Chief@ComeOnSense.com
www.ComeOnSense.com

There are Republicans and Democrats who will tolerate and even pass on lies – no matter how egregious, obviously false and slanderous – so long as they are targeted against the other side. There are those on both sides who consider it not only their privilege but obligation to create and promulgate distortions against the ‘opposing candidate’. In the bad old days of Watergate, the activities of the ‘plumbers’ scarred the reputations of good men and women for political gain. But their ability to magnify the effects of their lies and distortions was limited by the technology of their time and a significantly less co-opted media. This brave new world of the internet, blogging domesticated media has made such a-moral undertakings much more effective – and incredibly more insidious. Read the rest of this entry »