Beachcombing – Part 1

Jay Beeler

If you haven’t done so already, check out the email we received from Alan Lowenthal’s communications director in our letters to the editor section. He takes 235 words to state that Alan never had a conversion as described in my Beachcombing column of Jan. 3, reprinted here:

“I do remember one Christmas party conversation wherein the gentleman said he had a discussion with Congressman Alan Lowenthal about a specific problem that could be resolved through federal legislation. But that, he claimed, could only be resolved after a campaign contribution was made.”

My recollection of the party conversation was absolutely true. It served as an introduction to my opinion that “horse trading” or “quid pro quo” exists at all levels of businesses, governments and even on the family level.”

This boils down to a “he said, she said” kind of discussion wherein someone is not telling the truth. I did not then and do not now have a reason to call the gentleman at the Christmas party a liar. I do have reason to believe that Lowenthal does not always tell the truth.

For example, while initially running for his elected position, Alan repeatedly claimed that he was “bipartisan,” defined as “the agreement or cooperation of two political parties that usually oppose each other’s policies.” Unfortunately for Alan, a video camera was running at a campaign appearance wherein he repeatedly lied ... by damning the Republicans and his opponent, Gary DeLong. You can see the two-minute video on the Beachcomber’s Facebook page under “Videos” at https://www.facebook.com/longbeachcomber.

So, my response to the ill-advised demand is that I respectfully decline to provide a retraction of my opinion, as protected under the 1st Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. Also, no apology will be forthcoming for being a promoter of honesty and integrity.

Per the Beachcomber’s policy, the congressman’s denial of the disputed “quid pro quo” conversation is printed in our letters section, which sometimes contain “lies and innuendo” by letter writers.

Maybe the FBI should be looking into this brouhaha, followed by impeachment hearings, so that the House of Representative clowns can waste another four years trying to undo the 2016 election.

And I want to thank the honorable congressman for helping to clarify why the symbol for his political party is a donkey.

 

Which brings me to a few items of wit and wisdom regarding politics and politicians:

  • Question: How can you tell if a politician is lying? Answer: His lips are moving!
  • Mark Twain is often credited for saying, “If you tell the truth you don’t have to remember anything,” meaning if you tell a lie you have to remember what lie you told to who.
  • Both George Washington and Abraham Lincoln were attributed with “You know I cannot tell a lie! I did cut it [the cherry tree] with my little hatchet.” Which president was telling a fib?
  • From Jeff Foxworthy: “If a Republican doesn’t like a talk show host, he switches channels. A Democrat demands that those they don’t like be shut down.”
  • A European idiom: “Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” Meaning: People should not criticize others for faults that they have themselves.
  • According to the Republican Views website: “In 1828, when Andrew Jackson was running for president, his opponents were fond of referring to him as a jackass. The first representation of this occurred in a cartoon showing Jackson as a rowdy jackass trampling a clutch of chicks while a fox – representing Jackson’s running mate, Martin Van Buren – stalked the hen. Rather than shy away from the cartoon and its implications, Jackson decided to embrace it and face it head-on. He went so far as to use the donkey as a symbol of his campaign, branding it as steadfast, determined and willful rather than slow, stubborn and obstinate. The analogy stuck. Throughout his presidency, the symbol remained associated with Jackson and, although to a lesser extent, the Democratic party as a whole.”
     

NOTE: Due to the popularity of this Lowenthal discussion, Beachcombing – Part 2 appears online now at www.beachcomber.news and will be printed in our Jan. 31 edition.

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NEW WEBSITE POLL: How would you rate Alan Lowenthal as your congressman? Vote on the front page at www.beachcomber.news. Email comments to letters@beachcomber.news.

 

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