Last Wednesday as I was pursuing my favorite sport of channel surfing, I thought I had come across a re-run of the Kavanaugh hearing. I found myself looking at this snide Senator Blumenthal, “Spartacus Booker, his lap dog Senator Harris, the vituperative female Senator from Hawaii and even Senator Coons, who managed to extend the Kavanaugh fiasco. But as the camera switched to the man on the hot seat I quickly realized I was watching A.G. Bill Barr being roasted.
The Democrats on the panel were questioning Barr about the manner in which he had released the Mueller report.
For his part Barr endured the grilling in unflappable style. He tried to explain to his inquisitors the chain of command at DOJ which had Mueller reporting to Rosenstein and Rosenstein reporting to him “Barr”. He said that once the report had reached his desk “it was my baby”. Since the report itself was 400 pages he felt it was incumbent upon him to issue a brief summary of the major points in the investigation. They would be to determine if there was collusion between Trump and the Russians and whether Trump had engaged in obstruction. On the item of collusion Mueller had said there was none but on the matter of obstruction he was unable to make a decision one way or the other. Mueller’s decision on the later item reminds on of FBI Comey’s strange exoneration of Hillary Clinton when all her actions pointed to obstruction of justice.
It became obvious from the point of Senator Feinstein’s opening statement that the Dems were intent on pursuing the obstruction phase of the report.
Senator Harris tried to show her prosecutorial chops as she went on a viral rant against Barr. Her main point was to question him about the fact whether or not he had studied the underlying evidence. Since the underlying evidence was probably fulminous and had been gathered over a 2 year period we probably would still be waiting for Barr’s final report.
As a matter of fact Mueller’s report was only slightly redacted, not subject to Presidential editing and released to the public and Congress at the same time. Also, an un-redacted copy of the report was in a safe room where certain members of the oversight committee could go and read it in its entirety. To this date only a few Republicans and no Democrats have managed to do so.
Following the hearing every Democrat that was interviewed on TV stated the fact that Barr had lost all creditability and some even called for his resignation.
The story behind the Dems feigned outrage is probably because in a town that leaks like a sieve, rumors must be circulating that Barr is on a mission to find out the genesis of the Mueller investigation. If the left can destroy Barr’s reputation they will have a platform on which to criticize his eventual findings.***
FYI ANDY Apparently in your April 24th column in this newspaper you said that I mentioned only sports as proof that descendants of slaves could compete against anyone else. You must not have read my entire remarks because I don’t think that George Washington Carver ever scored a touchdown or sank a 3-pointer. Also you did not recall my remarks on the entertainment industry in which possible descendants like Sydney Poitier, Morgan Freeman, Denzel Washington, James Earl Jones and Sammy Davis Jr. have reached the highest point in entertainment. Let me add Tiger Woods and LeBron James plus Arthur Ashe to the list of sports figures. Progeny politicians such as Cory Booker, Al Sharpton, Ben Carson, Jessie Jackson and the famous Martin Luther King are just a few that come to mind. For your further edification Andy, I did have 4 years of Latin and 2 years of Spanish in high school, also in my 8 years as altar boy I had to learn many liturgical Latin phrases. Et tu Andy***
In the entertainment category of all the famous names that I have witnessed or worked with over the years I regard Sammy Davis Jr. as the most all around–talented performer I ever met. In addition to his first rate dancing, joke-telling, singing and mimicry he had a marvelous since of humor when he engaged with you in person. One of the most amazing talents was his lightning quick coordination which was illustrated when he became the fastest draw at the old Sundown Town shooting booth.
During his many appearances at the Mapes Skyroom, following his midnight show, we would adjourn to the Indian room to view fresh prints of yet to be released motion pictures that Sammy had sent up from Hollywood for his enjoyment. He would invite members of the orchestra along with a few friends to the screenings.
When I took him to the 1960 Olympics at Squaw I sent him and his entourage a short distance away while I attended to business. When he asked how would I find him among the thousands of fans in attendance at the games, I replied it would be no problem. Upon hearing this he places his hand over a nearby snow bank he said “Oh Yeah”.
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