dropping the ball Archives - Where Is The Outrage?

Tuesday Evenings News Roundup

News Roundup

Well, there’s been plenty of news lately.

Benghazi continues to dominate the news. Here’s what we know. A group of terrorists attacked a poorly defended United States Embassy in Benghazi. Four Americans were killed, including Ambassador Stevens. The Sunday following the Benghazi attack, Ambassador Susan Rice went on the Sunday talk shows and recited talking points that were given to her by the intelligence community. The talking points included some erroneous information which suggested that there was a protest or demonstration prior to the attack and that this protest was fueled by an anti-Muslim video. There was no protest. This has been clearly stated. Several eyewitnesses who were interviewed stated that there was no protest prior to the attack on the Benghazi compound. The multiple emails that crafted the talking points have been revealed to the public. Neither President Obama nor Secretary Clinton had anything to do with crafting the talking points. Secondly, and most importantly, was the security at the Benghazi compound. Why was security so bad? That question has been answered. What is clear is that the official report clearly points to the State Department for dropping the ball.

The IRS story which broke on Monday has really gained even more traction today. It’s an outrage! Yet, when you look at the story, I’m not sure what the outrage is all about. Yes, the IRS did target conservative groups but those groups still got their tax-exempt status. Maybe the process was onerous and overly burdensome but they were not denied that status. Should the IRS single out conservative or liberal groups? Of course not. The bottom line, as far as I can tell, is although those groups were singled out, they still got fair treatment. (An inspector general’s report has already been compiled.)

I would like to spend a little bit of time talking about an op-ed that Angelina Jolie wrote in the New York Times. The Academy award-winning actress talked about a bilateral mastectomy that she had because she had a defective gene which makes her more prone to breast cancer and ovarian cancer. Her mother died of cancer. Ms. Jolie does not state what kind of cancer her mother had. She goes into great detail about BRCA1. She is incredibly knowledgeable. All the facts that she presented, as far as I know, are correct. She was at incredibly high risk for developing breast cancer and also at high risk for developing ovarian cancer. What she didn’t reveal, but which is clear from the article, is that she had knowledgeable physicians and surgeons. She was able to discuss her gene mutation and get thoughtful answers from her physicians. She then made a thoughtful, informed decision. I applaud Angelina Jolie for standing up and discussing her healthcare and her healthcare problems. The one thing that is clear is that she was able to afford whatever procedures she wanted to undertake. That’s a luxury than many women cannot afford. In my opinion, her op-ed points to two things that all women need: accurate, reliable information and affordable healthcare. Then all women can make informed decisions.

The national deficit is going to be $200 billion less than previously projected.

Mark Sanford will be sworn in as Congressman to the great state of South Carolina on Wednesday.

Seriously, did Dick Cheney, former vice president, actually have the nerve to say that the Obama administration missed repeated warnings about Benghazi? Really? Should I ask? Did he and President Bush miss repeated warnings about…

Minnesota passes same-sex marriage.

Here’s a nice nugget on Benghazi – For fiscal 2013, the GOP-controlled House proposed spending $1.934 billion for the State Department’s Worldwide Security Protection program — well below the $2.15 billion requested by the Obama administration. House Republicans cut the administration’s request for embassy security funding by $128 million in fiscal 2011 and $331 million in fiscal 2012. (Negotiations with the Democrat-controlled Senate restored about $88 million of the administration’s request.) Last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton warned that Republicans’ proposed cuts to her department would be “detrimental to America’s national security” — a charge Republicans rejected.

By ecthompsonmd|2013-05-15T21:30:52-04:00May 14th, 2013|Foreign Affairs, Obama administration, Party Politics|Comments Off

We need to see a ton of Felix Jones running the ball

This is why you watch the NFL. It is for games like these. Everything on the line. Win and you are in the playoffs and you win the NFC East. Cool.

I just finished watching the Giants lose to the Redskins in their week 15 match-up. The Giants did just about everything that they could to lose that game. They played the run extremely badly. Had Rex Grossman played better, the Redskins could have really killed the Giants. The Redskins controlled the clock, which limited Eli Manning. Also, the wide receivers for the Giants were dropping the ball like they got paid to run great routes and drop the ball.

Beating the Giants (Dallas offense): We need to be able to run the ball. There is some concern about the lost of Montrae Hollard (he tore his biceps and is out for the rest of the season). It appears that veteran Derek Dockery will start at left guard. This should be okay. The Cowboys need to run the football. Felix Jones appears to be in position to take a significant amount of the work. He was out last week with a hamstring injury. Sammy Morris has run the ball well, but the Cowboys are going to need the big-play ability of Felix Jones. We need to be able to control the clock. This will protect our extremely vulnerable defense. In my opinion, we need to run a lot of two and three tight end sets. This gives us a strong run formation and we should be able to pass the ball to Jason Witten, John Phillips and Martellus Bennett (who has been playing a little better lately). It is imperative that the Cowboys run the ball effectively in order to neutralize the pass rush of the New York Giants. Jason Pierre Paul is their new sensation. He was extremely disruptive during the last Dallas Cowboys – New York Giants meeting. He had two sacks (one of the sacks was for safety), a forced fumble and a blocked field goal. The play action pass will be open off of the run. The true weakness of the New York Giants defense is their secondary. The true strength of the New York Giants is their offense. Therefore, we need to keep them on the sidelines. Run the ball. Short passing game. Control the clock. I’m not worried about Romo’s hand. I’m more worried about Romo’s protection. We must take this fight to the Giants and it starts on offense.

Beating the Giants (Dallas defense): I have no idea what Rob Ryan has been focusing on this last week. As defensive coordinator, he should’ve seen a lot of things that turned his stomach while watching the film of New York Giants – Dallas Cowboys football game. The Cowboys got no sacks. If you get no pressure on Eli Manning, expect to lose the game. The front seven of the Dallas Cowboys is as competitive a group as you’ll find in the NFL. The secondary for the Cowboys — how can I put this? They simply suck. Both corners are playing poorly. Abram Elam (safety) is not playing particularly well. Gerald Sensabaugh is making plays all over the field, but he need some help. Orlando Scandrick is playing okay in the slot. That’s it. Dallas had trouble stopping the run and the pass against the Giants a couple weeks ago. DeMarcus Ware appears to be healthy. Jay Ratliff, All-Pro nose tackle, appears to be healthy. They have to be able to play at the top of their game in order for the Dallas defense not to be abused. The key may be Anthony Spencer. If he can play well, the Cowboys have a good chance of winning this game.

These teams are mirror images of each other. Both QBs are good. Both offenses are good. They both have defenses which are not playing well enough for either team to go deep into the playoffs. This game is a toss-up. In a league in which the Packers can lose to the Kansas City Chiefs, anything can happen. In a league in which the St. Louis Rams beat the New Orleans Saints (remember this was a week after DeMarco Murray ran for over 200 yds against the Rams), anything can happen. Let’s sit back and enjoy a great game. I hope you have a wide screen in HD because this is going to be fun.