Here is a perfect reason why I do not vote Democrat anymore

Michael Gerson, who was speechwriter for President George W. Bush, during the time of 9/11, died today of Cancer.

The Story via Washington Post, where he was also a columnist:

Michael Gerson, a speechwriter for President George W. Bush who helped craft messages of grief and resolve after 9/11, then explored conservative politics and faith as a Washington Post columnist writing on issues as diverse as President Donald Trump’s disruptive grip on the GOP and his own struggles with depression, died Nov. 17 at a hospital in Washington. He was 58.

The cause of death was complications of cancer, said Peter Wehner, a longtime friend and former colleague.

You can read the rest at the link above. It is sad news, right? You would think that the Progressive left would at least show a little respect for the family of man who had just died, right? Well, think again. Check out what some idiot, named Eric Loomis at a blog called “Guns, Lawyers and Money” writes:

I was hoping it was autoerotic asphyxiation, but alas, it was cancer.

Now, to be honest, when I was still voting for Democrats, I actually read this blog. Thank God that I figured out what that party was really about and changed my political views. The sick part is that the people of that party, especially the bloggers, have gotten much more nastier than they were, when I was still reading their blogs and had my own blog back in 2006.

But, more to the point, what kind of sick, evil, twisted person would even write something like this, about someone, who has just died of cancer and not have a single shred of decency to possibly be that nasty and not have any regard of his family, especially his wife and kids? This sort of thought comes from a dark heart of pure evil. Sorry to say it. But, this man has serious issues.

Yes, I know, 9/11 was terrible. The Iraq War sucked, and was based upon what we now know to be false intelligence.  But that comment above about this man, goes way beyond just a political disagreement and being opposed to a war. This is a personal comment meant to hurt his family. This comment is just as immoral as the Iraq War was, in my opinion.

Even the Washington Post was at least respectful of the man, even if they did go out of their way to point out some of the doings of the Bush Administration. Heck, even Karen Tumulty was at least respectful of the man and she is a progressive herself.

I know that the Republican Party is not perfect and some conservatives make me cringe. (See Fox News Channel) But, at least they are respectful of others. As a said in the title, this is why I no longer vote Democrat. It is just is not my party anymore.

 

Bruce Ashford is right, Christians should give President Trump a chance

I saw this over at Fox News Channel and I must say, that I do agree with it.

Bruce Ashford writing over at Fox News Opinion says this:

We owe President Trump the benefit of the doubt. For Christians who supported his candidacy, this imperative can be taken for granted. But for others of us who did not support his candidacy, this imperative is a necessary reminder.

During the election cycle, we opposed Mr. Trump’s nomination and candidacy for a variety of reasons, including reservations about his ideological framework, policy stances, temperament, and rhetoric. Yet Mr. Trump was victorious, and after his inauguration, our pride might be tempted to justify our pre-inaugural opposition. It may be easy to interpret his post-inaugural words and works in a worse light than the evidence demands and, in doing so, say “See, I told you so.”

But we owe it to President Trump and to our fellow citizens to hope that he does well, to give him the benefit of the doubt, to affirm him and his Cabinet when they do well for our nation. We owe it to President Trump because he is our President, and one of the Bible’s few political imperatives is to give leaders the respect that is due to their office (Rom 13:1-7). We also owe it to our fellow citizens not to perpetuate the dishonest, disrespectful, and even toxic nature of this year’s political discourse.

He also writes:

We owe President Trump our honest criticism. Christians who opposed his candidacy will probably have no trouble recognizing the merits of this imperative. At the same time, Christians who cheered his candidacy might be tempted to ignore it, to their own detriment and to the detriment of our nation.

Our nation’s political discourse has broken down, in part, because many citizens and commentators have given up on politics. They’ve given up on the idea of politics as a bipartisan attempt to achieve the common good. In the place of it, they’ve embraced a winner-takes-all mentality that demonizes the opposition and lionizes one’s own party or candidate. Pro-Trumpers could be be lured into embracing everything Trump does, and agree with everything he says.

Just as the kings of Egypt and Persia needed Joseph and Daniel to speak hard truths to them (Gen 41; Dan 2), so President Trump needs us to speak our minds with honest criticism. The Proverbs remind us that we should speak the truth, even when the truth hurts, and that our truth-telling will bring healing (Prov 12:16-18). Because we are Christians who are committed to truth, and because we are citizens of a democratic republic in which we are encouraged to speak up for the common good, we owe him our honest criticism.

I believe this to be very much true; this blog exists for that purpose. I do not intend this blog to be a Trump defense site at all. I have blogged since 2006. I began as a left of center blogger; and ended up where I am now. I started blogging, because I was very unhappy at the way President Bush was managing with Iraq War back then. I was not then, nor am I now, a partisan blogger. I do not allow my political opinions to be swayed by emotion or by popular trends. I am man of principles. Some might disagree with those principles; but I do intend to stick to them, whether I have many hits on this blog or none. I will be compromise my principles for the sake of being popular.

Let me also add that we can criticize the President, without being personal about it and without the gutter sniping. I did criticize President Obama and Bush. But, I never said a WORD about their wives or their Children. There are bloggers who do this; and it is immoral. Just as well, if I have something to write about Trump, when I disagree with his actions; I will keep that criticism about policy, never about the man.

Most importantly ALL Christians of all stripes should be doing this:

For those of us who are interested in our nation’s politics, it’s easy to forget the importance of prayer. Ask yourself: when is the last time you prayed for President Obama, or for members of Congress? When is the last time you prayed for Mr. Trump or his incoming Cabinet? For many of us the answer is, “not very often” or “never.”

But the Bible is clear that Christians should seek God’s guidance for those in authority. The apostle Paul wrote to his protégé, Timothy, “Therefore I exhort first of all that all supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence” (1 Tim 2:1-2). That’s a direct command, one of the few clear imperatives the Bible gives us concerning government and politics.

We should be careful not to get so caught up in discussion and debate that we forget to appeal to the King who rules over the world’s rulers. “A king’s heart is like streams of water in the Lord’s hand: he directs it wherever He chooses” (Prov 22:1). Rather than trusting in a new President or in an opposing political party, we should be trusting the One in whose hands they govern.

I think sometimes it is easy to forget that God puts leaders in their place for a reason. It is the duty of the Christian believer to keep those leaders in our prayers, at all times; whether we agree with them or not.

A decent defense of Donald Trump’s comments about Bush and 9/11

I have had issues with this woman in the past and I don’t wish to rehash them. But, when she is right — she is right.

Check out Debbie Schlussel’s take down of the right and Bush: Donald Trump, George W. Bush & 9/11: Why Trump is Right But Doesn’t Know What He’s Talking About

It is a very interesting read. 😯

Updated to Add: Yes, I know, there are people on the right, who loathe this woman. My question is, Why? Because she actually tells the truth about the Republican Party and other such stuff? Maybe is her ethnic heritage? Either way, when she is right, she is right and she gets kudos from me. End of story. 🙂

George W. Bush does his civic duty

This is awesome.

The Video:

Being summoned for jury duty at the George L Allen Sr Courts Building in downtown Dallas was anything but dull for Sheri Coleman.In fact, Coleman and other jurors were in for quite the surprise Wednesday morning when former President George W. Bush also showed up for jury duty at Judge Eric Moye’s court on the 14th civil district.“They made it seem like it was an anonymous juror that never showed up and then they brought him in,” she said.Coleman, of Dallas, said Bush spent time talking to the other jurors and took photos and spoke with everyone. She said the president’s visit was “awesome” and “surprising.”“He was very personable, very friendly, just ‘hey I’m here to serve,’ he asked questions and was very nice,” she said. “I loved it.”Bush’s spokesman Freddy Ford confirmed the president was summoned for jury duty and said Bush was at the courthouse in the 600 block of Commerce Street from about 8:50 a.m. until just before noon.

Source: George W. Bush causes a stir at George Allen courthouse when called for jury duty | | Dallas Morning News

I have honestly wonder, would President Barack Obama serve jury duty? I highly doubt it.

I was his greatest critic back in 2006. I still disagree with some of his stances, especially on foreign policy. However, it is refreshing to see a President act like a human being and not some high and mighty ruler.

The best words that John Mccain has ever spoken

These are the words of Senator John McCain from the Senate floor. Via his website:

“Mr. President, I rise in support of the release – the long-delayed release – of the Senate Intelligence Committee’s summarized, unclassified review of the so-called ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ that were employed by the previous administration to extract information from captured terrorists. It is a thorough and thoughtful study of practices that I believe not only failed their purpose – to secure actionable intelligence to prevent further attacks on the U.S. and our allies – but actually damaged our security interests, as well as our reputation as a force for good in the world.

“I believe the American people have a right – indeed, a responsibility – to know what was done in their name; how these practices did or did not serve our interests; and how they comported with our most important values.

“I commend Chairman Feinstein and her staff for their diligence in seeking a truthful accounting of policies I hope we will never resort to again. I thank them for persevering against persistent opposition from many members of the intelligence community, from officials in two administrations, and from some of our colleagues.

“The truth is sometimes a hard pill to swallow. It sometimes causes us difficulties at home and abroad. It is sometimes used by our enemies in attempts to hurt us. But the American people are entitled to it, nonetheless.

“They must know when the values that define our nation are intentionally disregarded by our security policies, even those policies that are conducted in secret. They must be able to make informed judgments about whether those policies and the personnel who supported them were justified in compromising our values; whether they served a greater good; or whether, as I believe, they stained our national honor, did much harm and little practical good.

“What were the policies? What was their purpose? Did they achieve it? Did they make us safer? Less safe? Or did they make no difference? What did they gain us? What did they cost us? The American people need the answers to these questions. Yes, some things must be kept from public disclosure to protect clandestine operations, sources and methods, but not the answers to these questions.

“By providing them, the Committee has empowered the American people to come to their own decisions about whether we should have employed such practices in the past and whether we should consider permitting them in the future. This report strengthens self-government and, ultimately, I believe, America’s security and stature in the world. I thank the Committee for that valuable public service.

“I have long believed some of these practices amounted to torture, as a reasonable person would define it, especially, but not only the practice of waterboarding, which is a mock execution and an exquisite form of torture. Its use was shameful and unnecessary; and, contrary to assertions made by some of its defenders and as the Committee’s report makes clear, it produced little useful intelligence to help us track down the perpetrators of 9/11 or prevent new attacks and atrocities.

“I know from personal experience that the abuse of prisoners will produce more bad than good intelligence. I know that victims of torture will offer intentionally misleading information if they think their captors will believe it. I know they will say whatever they think their torturers want them to say if they believe it will stop their suffering. Most of all, I know the use of torture compromises that which most distinguishes us from our enemies, our belief that all people, even captured enemies, possess basic human rights, which are protected by international conventions the U.S. not only joined, but for the most part authored.

“I know, too, that bad things happen in war. I know in war good people can feel obliged for good reasons to do things they would normally object to and recoil from.

“I understand the reasons that governed the decision to resort to these interrogation methods, and I know that those who approved them and those who used them were dedicated to securing justice for the victims of terrorist attacks and to protecting Americans from further harm. I know their responsibilities were grave and urgent, and the strain of their duty was onerous.

“I respect their dedication and appreciate their dilemma. But I dispute wholeheartedly that it was right for them to use these methods, which this report makes clear were neither in the best interests of justice nor our security nor the ideals we have sacrificed so much blood and treasure to defend.

“The knowledge of torture’s dubious efficacy and my moral objections to the abuse of prisoners motivated my sponsorship of the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005, which prohibits ‘cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment’ of captured combatants, whether they wear a nation’s uniform or not, and which passed the Senate by a vote of 90-9.

“Subsequently, I successfully offered amendments to the Military Commissions Act of 2006, which, among other things, prevented the attempt to weaken Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, and broadened definitions in the War Crimes Act to make the future use of waterboarding and other ‘enhanced interrogation techniques’ punishable as war crimes.

“There was considerable misinformation disseminated then about what was and wasn’t achieved using these methods in an effort to discourage support for the legislation. There was a good amount of misinformation used in 2011 to credit the use of these methods with the death of Osama bin Laden. And there is, I fear, misinformation being used today to prevent the release of this report, disputing its findings and warning about the security consequences of their public disclosure.

“Will the report’s release cause outrage that leads to violence in some parts of the Muslim world? Yes, I suppose that’s possible, perhaps likely. Sadly, violence needs little incentive in some quarters of the world today. But that doesn’t mean we will be telling the world something it will be shocked to learn. The entire world already knows that we water-boarded prisoners. It knows we subjected prisoners to various other types of degrading treatment. It knows we used black sites, secret prisons. Those practices haven’t been a secret for a decade.

“Terrorists might use the report’s re-identification of the practices as an excuse to attack Americans, but they hardly need an excuse for that. That has been their life’s calling for a while now.

“What might come as a surprise, not just to our enemies, but to many Americans, is how little these practices did to aid our efforts to bring 9/11 culprits to justice and to find and prevent terrorist attacks today and tomorrow. That could be a real surprise, since it contradicts the many assurances provided by intelligence officials on the record and in private that enhanced interrogation techniques were indispensable in the war against terrorism. And I suspect the objection of those same officials to the release of this report is really focused on that disclosure – torture’s ineffectiveness – because we gave up much in the expectation that torture would make us safer. Too much.

“Obviously, we need intelligence to defeat our enemies, but we need reliable intelligence. Torture produces more misleading information than actionable intelligence. And what the advocates of harsh and cruel interrogation methods have never established is that we couldn’t have gathered as good or more reliable intelligence from using humane methods.

“The most important lead we got in the search for bin Laden came from using conventional interrogation methods. I think it is an insult to the many intelligence officers who have acquired good intelligence without hurting or degrading prisoners to assert we can’t win this war without such methods. Yes, we can and we will.

“But in the end, torture’s failure to serve its intended purpose isn’t the main reason to oppose its use. I have often said, and will always maintain, that this question isn’t about our enemies; it’s about us. It’s about who we were, who we are and who we aspire to be. It’s about how we represent ourselves to the world.

“We have made our way in this often dangerous and cruel world, not by just strictly pursuing our geopolitical interests, but by exemplifying our political values, and influencing other nations to embrace them. When we fight to defend our security we fight also for an idea, not for a tribe or a twisted interpretation of an ancient religion or for a king, but for an idea that all men are endowed by the Creator with inalienable rights. How much safer the world would be if all nations believed the same. How much more dangerous it can become when we forget it ourselves even momentarily.

“Our enemies act without conscience. We must not. This executive summary of the Committee’s report makes clear that acting without conscience isn’t necessary, it isn’t even helpful, in winning this strange and long war we’re fighting. We should be grateful to have that truth affirmed.

“Now, let us reassert the contrary proposition: that is it essential to our success in this war that we ask those who fight it for us to remember at all times that they are defending a sacred ideal of how nations should be governed and conduct their relations with others – even our enemies.

“Those of us who give them this duty are obliged by history, by our nation’s highest ideals and the many terrible sacrifices made to protect them, by our respect for human dignity to make clear we need not risk our national honor to prevail in this or any war. We need only remember in the worst of times, through the chaos and terror of war, when facing cruelty, suffering and loss, that we are always Americans, and different, stronger, and better than those who would destroy us.

“Thank you.”

God Bless Him for standing up for what is right.

(via Memeoradum)

Liberals, Neocons and 9/11

I am writing this because of something I saw on another blog, namely the neoconservative leaning HotAir.com. Now, I understand “AllahPundit”‘s humor. I also understand the silliness of Rosie O’Donnell.

However, there is one thing that I will never change on; and that is my mistrust of the United States Government. I did not trust it when I was blogging as a “historic populist” and I still do not trust it. I felt that the United States Government was out of control, when Bush sent us into Iraq; just like I did when Bill Clinton signed off on Janet Reno’s sending in the tanks into the Branch Davidian compound, that caused David Koresh to kill his own people. Furthermore, I felt that the executive branch was out of control, when Bush pressed congress for the invasion of Iraq; just as I do with Obama and his “end running” around Congress.

Sure, Rosie’s verbalizing what many, like myself, feel about 9/11 and related events; was, at best sloppy. However, I believe that we will never know, what really happened on 9/11 and who all was involved; at least not until all the principles are long dead. Some people are content to accept the Government’s narrative and are content to believe that what the Government says is one hundred percent true; just because President Bush was in office —- I, on the other hand, do not have such issues.

Please, do not misunderstand me here; I am not, nor have I ever been a “9/11 truther.” Because most of the people that promote that sort of a thing, have some sort of an agenda, whether it be political or financial. I have no such agenda. I am saying that the Government pulled off the attack? No. What I am saying is, that there is a good deal of information that has not been released to the American people, either because of political reasons or because of pending cases. I also happen to believe that there are more facts related to the Trade Center Towers collapsing that never have been brought to light. Again, due to pending cases or because of political reasons. Now, for the record, I do not happen to agree with Rosie O’Donnell’s statement; what I do believe that anyone who calls someone like myself, who wants ALL of the truth out there, a truther or toofer or worse; a Marxist liberal, is playing straight out of the Al-Qaeda handbook.

Just as well, I do NOT happen to believe that the Jews did 9/11, nor do I believe that the Bush Administration did it either. Neither are smart enough to do it; nor are they smart enough to keep it a secret. I do however, believe that there were more terrorists in this Country; than the ones who died in those planes on 9/11 and I believe that some of them might have gained access to the WTC buildings — and could very well have detonated those towers and other buildings from remote control or with a timed device.

In closing: One of the biggest mistakes that I made, when I came to the blogging scene was assuming that, just because I happened to disagree with Bush that I had to be a Democrat or at least vote for them; which I did for a very long time — that is until 2007, when I decided that party was just not for me any longer. One of the biggest lies is that the Democratic Party happens to stand for the working class in this Country, of which I happen to be. The truth is that the Democratic Party does not happen to give a remote flip about the working class, the middle class or even small business owners any longer.

Because of this ignorance, I allowed myself to get sucked into the propaganda that the left spews out on a daily basis; which has become more deluded since the election of President Obama. There are divisions that are forming; the Obama loyalists versus the rest of the party and grassroots. Still though, both sides do have a common causes and basically that is “social justice” or basically a marxist Government.

Thank God that the Democratic Party finally took off the mask; and stopped playing that center-left charade and I was able to see them for what they truly really were. As for 9/11: I happen to agree with the notion that neoconservatives are evil people; especially some of those who served in the Bush Administration. However, I will be quite honest; the neo-left is much, much more evil. I would rather suffer under a neoconservative, than live in fear under a neo-leftist President. Truthfully though, I doubt highly another neoconservative will be elected; too many Americans are still bitter over Bush’s mishandling of the Iraq War. I do, however, believe that if the Republican Party plays its cards right, we could very well win in 2016. However, knowing politics like I do; they might just make the same mistakes again.

 

Obama’s alarming similarities to Bush

This is a very interesting article and it is written fairly, I believe:

Claiming a mandate he never had, the newly reelected president foisted a bold agenda upon Congress and the public, then watched it collapse within months—a victim of scandal, cynical opponents, and his own hubris. One despairing adviser declared, “This is the end of the presidency.”

That was George W. Bush in 2005. Or was it Barack Obama this past year? Reading Peter Baker’s extraordinary account of the Bush-Cheney era, Days of Fire, I found a striking number of parallels between Bush’s fifth year in office and the atrocious first 12 months of President Obama’s second term.

My takeaway: Obama needs to shatter the cycle of dysfunction (his and history’s) or risk leaving office like Bush, unpopular and relatively unaccomplished.

via ‘This Is the End of the Presidency’ – NationalJournal.com.

I suggest you go give that one a read. It is very interesting; and almost eerie to read.

Now the partisans on both sides will object to the piece and that is to be expected. But those of us, who do not suffer from such illness, will read it and agree.

What astounds me is that the American people actually allowed themselves to be fooled by the President who promised a change of business with his new Presidency. Only to find out that it was the same old Washington business as usual. For that, America is a less great Country. Sad how our Nation has become a people of useful idiots.

 

Good Point

Seen over at Lew Rockwell’s Blog:

This “Conservative Action Alert” says: “Tell Congress: Bring Impeachment Charges Against the President for Unconstitutional Military Actions!” Okay, fine. But where were you conservatives when Bush launched undeclared wars against Iraq and Afghanistan? The United States hasn’t declared war according to the Constitution since WWII. This means that not only Democrats Truman, Kennedy, LBJ, and Clinton should have been impeached for unconstitutional military actions, but also Republicans Nixon, Reagan, and Bush I. See my “U.S. Presidents and Those Who Kill for Them” for more details.

And like I have said many times, every bad policy of Obama can be traced back to Bush. Glad to see more and more conservatives waking up. Too bad they were asleep for 8 years when Bush was president.

However, I will say this about Lew Rockwell. He doesn’t allow comments on his site. This is because Lew Rockwell and his hardcore libertarian friends, do not like dissent. So, they would rather run a bully pulpit; than actually have a conversation. Which, in essence, makes them fascist, just like the neocons. I say this, because of the entries made, like this and this; which are just plain wrong.   

Blogs without comment sections are basically websites; or bully pulpits. It’s the whole, “It’s MY opinion and You WILL listen and not talk back!” mentality. Something that runs against the whole idea of what blogging was truly about. Talk about a God complex, they should look into that one. I can understand moderation concerns, this is why I run a pretty tight ship here. But, not having the ability at all, sends the message of, “We’re not interested in what YOU think, you commoner!”

Just my two cents.

Good: U.N. Calls For Release of Report on Bush-Era Torture

Admittedly, I am not a huge fan of the United Nations. However, I believe this to be a noble thing to do.

The video:

The transcript: via Via Democracy Now! (H/T to Crooks and Liars)

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, finally, you’ve called on Britain and the U.S. to release confidential reports into the countries’ involvement in the kidnapping and torture of terrorism suspects, accusing them of years of official denials. Can you expand on that?

BEN EMMERSON: Yes, I presented in my last report to the Human Rights Council a series of principles on accountability for what are described in international law as gross or systemic human rights violations. And I think that there’s no doubt that the conspiracy that involved the commission of acts of secret detention, torture and rendition under the Bush administration constitute gross and systematic human rights violations. And international law is clear on this. There is no superior orders defense. There is no principle that would justify—just as at the Nuremberg trials there was no principle that would allow someone to say, “Well, this is what was ordered by my officials.” There must be—international law requires that there be—a system for achieving accountability.

And we know that the Feinstein Senate committee report into the activities of the CIA is said to be a very thorough and comprehensive analysis and to identify who made the decisions, who committed the acts alleged, and where and how and why. And a crucial part of the duty of accountability under international law is the so-called right to truth. And that’s a right that’s not just belonging to the victims, but to society at large. And, therefore, I mean, the time has come, unequivocally, for the release of the Feinstein report. I mean, if there have to be particular redactions in order to protect the identity of operatives from reprisals, so be it. But the key findings of the Feinstein report and of a parallel report commissioned and prepared and provided to the British prime minister in relation to the United Kingdom’s involvement in these activities must now be made public. And we will not stop calling for the publication of this material until at least a sufficient amount of it has been put into the public domain.

AMY GOODMAN: Ben Emmerson, I want to thank you for being with us, U.N. special rapporteur on human rights and counterterrorism, has issued an interim report on his investigation into U.S. drone strikes and targeted killings. His findings, along with a report by the U.N. special rapporteur on extrajudicial executions, will be debated today at the U.N. General Assembly. This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report.

Again, while U.N. isn’t really something I am too fond off, as a Conservative. I have come to accept it; and think that doing things like the above, is a very good idea. Like it or not; the Bush Administration made some seriously bad mistake during the war, and in the attempt to get information for more terrorist attacks after 9/11, crossed some constitutional lines. Here is hoping that the parties involved are held accountable.

By rights, they SHOULD be held accountable by the United States Government; but we all know that will never happen. The US Democrats do not have the guts to pursue justice. This my friends, is a great American tragedy.

 

Hmmmmm: NSA Director Alexander Admits He Lied about Phone Surveillance Stopping 54 Terror Plots

Looks like the Obama administration is continuing with the same stuff that the Bush administration did.

Quote:

The head of the National Security Agency (NSA) admitted before a congressional committee this week that he lied back in June when he claimed the agency’s phone surveillance program had thwarted 54 terrorist “plots or events.”

NSA Director Keith Alexander gave out the erroneous number while the Obama administration was defending its domestic spying operations exposed by whistleblower Edward Snowden. He said surveillance data collected that led to 53 of those 54 plots had provided the initial tips to “unravel the threat stream.”

But Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said on Wednesday during a hearing on the continued oversight of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act that the administration was pushing incomplete or inaccurate statements about the bulk collection of phone records from communications providers.

“For example, we’ve heard over and over again that 54 terrorist plots have been thwarted by the use of (this program),” Leahy said. “That’s plainly wrong,” adding: “These weren’t all plots and they weren’t all thwarted.”

Alexander admitted that only 13 of the 54 cases were connected to the United States. He also told the committee that only one or two suspected plots were identified as a result of bulk phone record collection.

via Controversies – NSA Director Alexander Admits He Lied about Phone Surveillance Stopping 54 Terror Plots – AllGov – News.

New lies for old. There is no difference anymore. Hence why I am not voting Republican come 2016, unless something changes drastically on that side of the fence; and I know darned well I am not voting for a Democrat, ever again. 😡