Today's Politicos vs The Words and Deeds of The Founders

Just in case you haven’t heard, the rollout of the Affordable Care Act, aka Obamacare, has set new standards for government ineptitude. A website that works about as often (and as well) as my brother-in-law, insurance companies forced to drop customers faster than the Food Network dumped Paula Deen, and presidential guaranties as worthless as, well, presidential guaranties. All of this adds up to President Obama’s approval ratings nose diving to an all-time low of 37%. Further, only 7% of Americans believe the Affordable Care Act is working well and requires no changes. For perspective, that is less than the 9% of Americans who believe Milli Vanilli should be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

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Daughan tells the story of American Navy Captain David Porter in a way that takes the reader from admiration to, if not disdain, disappointment in the foibles of a man obsessed with reputation. Porter’s story is sad in some ways. He had many virtues and talents, but these were ultimately cast in the shadow of overwhelming ego, ambition, and a convoluted sense of entitlement. But for all that, Porter was an American hero who left a legacy that included his adopted son David Farragut, Civil War admiral David Dixon Porter and commodore William D. Porter.

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Last week Health and Human Services secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, testified before Congress concerning the botched rollout of the Obamacare website. In keeping with the tradition of the most transparent administration in history, Ms. Sebelius was less than forthcoming. (Honest! Barack Obama told us so and he wouldn’t lie…wait, never mind.) As a public service, we will provide some of her answers to congressional questioning and then explain what she really meant.

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And now for something completely different.

On a whim, a few months back, I bought some tickets to see Vince Gill.  I’ve always liked Gill, but was never a fan in the way I am a fan of Suzy Bogguss …

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Some things are worth fighting for ... aren't they?

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Some thoughts on what is rational and what is self-delusion. Reason is no more than a tool that can be used for good or ill. Its use. President John Adams wrote that reason depends upon the strength of the self-love of the one who employs it. Self -love empowers self-deceit to cloud the world as it is and replace it with a more agreeable reality. ... Well agreeable to the person engaging in the deception anyway.

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The book jacket describes the contents as “A World War II story of Survival, Resilience and Redemption.” It is all of that and more. The protagonist is Louis Zamperini who, at the hands of his Japanese captors, survived torture, starvation and sadism that plumb the depths of human evil. It is also the story of the men who endured those horrific conditions with him.

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Many in this country are wondering these days if there isn’t a way to have a do-over of the 2012 election. Some might even be thinking the 2008 election ought to be re-done too. What brought this on, you ask? Well, quite possibly the results of the 2008 and 2012 elections. Elections, as Democrats are fond of telling anyone who’ll listen (and even those who aren’t listening), have consequences. And these two elections have left us with some doozies.

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Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius refuses to testify before a planned hearing of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. She claims she has scheduling conflicts. She's just too busy. According to the WSJ, Henry Chao, the technology guru for the Affordable Health Care Act is also invisible’ ditto other officials who might be asked to explain the insurance exchange foul up.

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Mr. President is Unger’s best book to date. Unger doesn’t make a single faulty step in his project to show how Washington framed the office of the president. His research shows through in his writing and he supports his contentions with footnotes as well as logic. Unger credits Dr. John P. Kaminsky at the onset, for his help on the project. Kaminsky is a scholar of some considerable renown that this reviewer had the honor of interviewing a few years ago. In any case, this, like each of the last several of Unger’s books has been better than the last.

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