Thursday, January 29, 2015

Christopher "Kit" Carson, R.I.P.

No, this tribute is not to the famous mountain man,
trapper, army scout, and explorer of the Old West,
but rather the man who was one of national radio
legend Rush Limbaugh's original team members,
with him since he launched his show 27 years ago
and became Rush's right-hand man over the years.
Christopher "Kit" Carson, Limbaugh's Chief
of Staff, as Rush liked to refer to him, died
on the morning of January 26 after a four-year
battle with brain cancer. He was 56.

Carson, a Milwaukee native and a graduate of
Whitefish Bay High School, joined Rush and his
show at its outset in 1988. He did anything that needed
doing in those early days of Rush's nationally broad-
cast talk show, demonstrating his mettle and his dependa-
bility. Over time he rose to be Rush's executive officer
of sorts and confidant, screening people who wanted to
do business with Rush, such as having their products/
services' commercials aired on his show or getting Rush
to do some PR for their organizations. Never heard on
the air but heard of, and often, through constant mention by
Rush, Carson loved his work and relished working for
Rush, being a most loyal and devoted member of his team.
Rush began his show on the day of Carson's passing with
mentioning his sad departure, at one point pressing the
"cough button", which is used in case of the host failing
to suppress a cough, this time for Rush blowing his nose
and choking back tears. Rush gave the first 45 minutes
of his show to Carson as a fond tribute, and your humble
Peasant is giving this entry as a tribute as well to an
indispensable aide and a friend to a friend of conservatives
across our great country; he had helped make Rush
Limbaugh's show the great radio forum for conservatives
that it is. Christopher Carson will be sorely missed.
R.I.P.


MEM

Thursday, January 22, 2015

The IRS Digs In Its Heels Further

Several months after President Obama placed
John Koskinen into the position of IRS
Commissioner, allegedly to investigate the
agency's political targeting scandal. All he
has done since his appointment, however,
has been to pick up where now former IRS
official Lois Lerner left off, being recalcitrant,
obstreperous, obnoxious, and arrogant in
his refusal to cooperate with the congressional
investigation into the IRS' bullying of groups
and individual citizens daring to hold a
different political point of view than that of
the regime.

Earlier this month Koskinen put in an appearance
in Congress in which he dodged questions from
House investigators, threw verbal darts back at
them, and defended the illegal actions of the
least trusted and most feared governmental agency
in the United States. The former Fannie Mae
executive has not only placed himself in the
crosshairs of Capitol Hill Republicans, but has
drawn the ire of some Democrats there as well.
He refuses to even acknowledge that the agency
which he heads did anything wrong, let alone illegal.
He even denied that the IRS was targeting conser-
vative organizations such as various Tea Party groups!
The lying and the arrogance fueling it steals one's
breath! Under his leadership, this motley outfit
ignored congressional demands for documents and
witnesses, all the while claiming that the IRS
"lost" Lois Lerner's e-mail (Remember that dodge?
That one ranks up there with the child's excuse
for not having his completed homework assignment
for his teacher: "My dog ate it"!). He further stated
in testimony that there were no backup tapes for
the e-mails, but it was discovered that there are
at least 760 server drives that may contain copies
of same. And Koskinen nearly hit the ceiling when
congressional investigators asked why Lerner's
BlackBerry was wiped after(!) the investigation
was initiated. Would that Koskinen had shown
such indignation at Lois Lerner and the other IRS
employees who so disregarded and disrespected
the law and the rights of the people that they targeted!

It seems very likely that President Obama had chosen
John Koskinen to take charge at the IRS because he
would stonewall uncomfortable questions in a
congressional hearing. Remember, this is an admini-
stration which does not consider dissent to be patriotic;
better that dissent be shown to Republican admini-
strations, not to almighty, pedestal-occupying
Democrat ones! Don't you peasants DARE doubt or
question the great and all-knowing Democrats if
you know what's good for you is their attitude.
Why, that would be like a lowly mortal in ancient
Greece questioning the wisdom of the gods on Mount
Olympus! In the meantime, what has transpired here
so far is looking more and more like a cover-up by
Team Obama. The Justice Department announced that
it would conduct its own investigation, but then named
Barbara Bosserman, an Obama donor, to be its head.
Clever, but it gets better: Justice announced to Congress
that its Public Integrity Unit (no, really, the Justice Depart-
ment really does HAHAHAHA! have HEEHEEHEE! such
a HOHO! unit HAW!) would also be active in the investiga-
tion. The appointed head of that team, Jack Smith, worked
with Lerner in 2010 to look at possibly building cases
against 501(c)(4) nonprofits, conservative ones of course!
Smith's subordinate, Richard Pilger, worked with her to
obtain a huge database on those very organizations.
Nothing to see here, Justice inferred; move along now.

Given all this, it is as clear as Waterford crystal that
the regime is trying to stymie the progress of the IRS
probe conducted by Congress through 2016, when Obama
and Company will pack its bags and, so they hope,
hand over the keys to the White House to another Democrat.
These horrible people make President Nixon and his crew
look like choir boys in comparison. Watergate was disgrace-
ful, but for the IRS to serve as the hatchet men and women
for Obama and his cabal, going after anyone who doesn't
share their hope to change America into a putrid socialist
pit dwarfs having a few "plumbers" break into the opposition
party's campaign headquarters and erasing 18 1/2 minutes
of chatter about related matters from a White House tape.
Your concerned Peasant hopes that we can change the
course of our nation's government, and with it that of our
nation, in 2016.


MEM




Thursday, January 15, 2015

Philip Crane, R.I.P.

My apologies for not having posted anything
in the first week of 2015; due to the extreme
cold weather that has gripped Milwaukee (as
well as much of the country), I did not venture
out to my local library to post, or to do anything
else. I still have on my acquisition list a computer
so I won't have to head out to post on this blog,
take care of my e-mail or anything else online.
It's tough to attempt to go out in dangerously
cold winter weather, which is what much of the
country has been saddled with just after the start
of the new year, and that is why I have been
unable to get together with you, my great and
wonderful readers. So, without further delay,
here is my first posting of 2015.

It's a sad posting, however; your mournful Peasant
is reporting the passing of one of the heroes of the
New Right from the 1980s, longtime U.S. Repre-
sentative Philip Crane from Illinois, leaving this
world on November 8 of the old year. He was
84 years of age.

Rep. Crane served in the House of Representatives
from 1969 until 2005. Crane succeeded Donald
Rumsfeld in a special election to fill the seat when
Rumsfeld accepted a position in the Nixon Adminis-
tration.

A staunch conservative, Crane challenged Ronald
Reagan for the Republican presidential nomination
in 1980, attempting to run to the former California
governor Reagan's right in order to brand himself as
the best conservative presidential hope for the GOP
to defeat incumbent Democrat Jimmy Carter.
Although he fell far short in his effort, Crane would
go on to be a dependable ally and friend of President
Reagan while Reagan served two terms in the White
House, assisting with guiding conservative legislation
through the Democrat-controlled House.

While in congress, Crane also founded the Republican
Study committee, a respected caucus still active today
in the House of representatives, was instrumental in
establishing the Heritage Foundation and served as
Chairman of the American Conservative Union.

Prior to serving in Congress, Crane was a professor
of History at Bradley University and was headmaster
of Chicago's Westminster Academy, as well as the
author of the book "The Democrat's Dilemma".
He established himself a a champion of reduced taxes,
and free trade, and advocated many other conservative
causes in his political career. He was able to work with,
get along with, and even be friends with staunch liberals
in the House, including archliberal Rep. Charlie Rangel
of New York.

Crane was also a man of great humor; he was famous on
Capitol Hill for his impressions of President Reagan, even
going so far as to speak to people on the phone in this
persona, his colleagues joyfully recall.

Another talent he had was, believe it or not, songwriting.
Crane wrote the song "Little Sandy Sleighfoot" a Christmas
season song recorded by Jimmy Dean in the late 1950s.

For years despairing of the Republicans ever being able to
win control of the House from the Democrats, the latter
having held that chamber since 1955, Crane was ecstatic
when the GOP won the elusive prize in the 1994 mid-term
elections. Crane was at last able to not just advocate for his
ideas, but to add them to the new majority's agenda and
get many of them into bills that would pass in both chambers,
as the GOP also took the Senate. Ten years later, Crane would
finally lose the House seat he held for over thirty years to
a Democrat, Melissa Bean.

Crane is survived by seven children, many more grandchildren,
his sister Judy and brothers David and Daniel. The latter brother
also served in Congress, representing an Indiana district. And
he is remembered fondly by those who worked with and for him,
and by many grateful constituents, as well as by his fellow
advocates of limited government and maximized liberty.
A job well done, and a life well lived. Rest in Peace.


MEM