Dear David Broder,

You sir, are a role model.  You are widely known and well-regarded as both "the dean of political journalists" and as a Pulitzer-prize winning author.  I'm sure you agree this status compels you to follow the highest ethical standards of your profession.  

As a member of The Society of Professional Journalists, you also know you are obligated to follow their Code of Ethics.  It is with dismay I note you apparently violated many of these important ethical principles in your recent column, A Way Back to the High Road?  

After reviewing the attached list of particulars, I hope you will promptly correct these mistakes, thereby avoiding permanent damage to your reputation and credibility.

See You In September, With A Report We Wrote In July

In a story in the LA Times this morning "Top general may propose pullbacks" Julian E. Barnes and Peter Spiegel report that Petraeus may announce pullbacks from some areas in Iraq, including al Anbar province and a turnover of those ares to Iraqi forces.

I'm somewhat mystified by this process as it appears that, at the White House, they seem to know already, in other words, today, what they are going to report in September, in other words, a month from today. In fact it seems that they began writing their "field report" weeks ago... in the White House.

I'm not sure why exactly, but this somehow reminds me of reports I hear from teachers with experience in the "no child left behind" follies, who have described to me the specter of spending weeks and weeks of classroom time devoted to "teaching to the test" in order to maintain mandated academic ratings and the flow of federal funds. Taking the test is mostly a charade, passing the test, a foregone conclusion, an exercise in making things look good on paper.

In other words, as Junior might say every few seconds, in the case of Iraq they are writing a "report" which will contain recommendations that will allow us to draw conclusions, that were decided on in the White House more than a month ago.

The 110th congress has yet to convene but Speaker-to-be Nancy Pelosi has already lowered the hammer, given the opposition their walking papers, and outlined the plan to pound through the Democrats '100 Hour' agenda.

Speaker Pelosi said House Republicans will "be given only one chance to amend or debate a plan to curb oil and gas subsidies and other Democratic priorities." Legislation "cutting subsidies to oil and gas producers is one of Democrats' top six priorities for their first 100 hours in power. Pelosi said Thursday that the oil and gas legislation along with bills cutting student loan interest rates and requiring the government to negotiate prescription drug prices for Medicare would not go through the normal legislative process."

And for those of you who might find outrage in Speaker Pelosi's decision to forego 'normal legislative process' I can only say that Republicans set the precedent for creative use of majority power to castrate the minority opposition. So if you don't like it, too damn bad. Now is not the time to roll over to the deposed dictators and share warm fuzzies.

The Aristotelian Mean, or "moderation in all things," that is found in the Nicomachean Ethics is defined as the middle ground between excess and deficiency.  Granted Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics is viewed by many as an attempt to provide a teological explanation of Nature, that is to say Nature works toward an end goal.  In the modern scientific age we live in, this is known to be erroneous.  Nature is non-moral and completly bereft of "goals."  Thank you for demonstrating that to us, Mr. Darwin.

But the Nicomachean Ethic does contain that golden nugget of an idea "The Golden Mean of Behavior," more completely presented yet loosely restated as moderation in all things, excess in none.  That idea does not mean (yet is frequently misinterpreted and misunderstood to mean) that a person can take all things (particularly in re health) with moderation; therefore reasoning that a moderate amount of a bad thing can be indulged.  Wrong!

Here's how my idea of the Aristotelian Moderate Democrats and the philosphy for which they stand is correctly understood.

I realize that I do not comprehend how our federal government works, it appears to be a good old boy network that rewards longevity and loyalty.

In the early 70's there use to be an Office of Economic Opportunity, it was a Cabinet Level Position it was occupied by Donald Rumsfeld, he had a bright young man working for him, Dick Cheney.

In August 1974, President Nixon abdicated his Presidency to a Congressman from Michigan, Gerald Ford on August 9th 1974. Donald Rumsfeld was named as Chief Of Staff for President Ford, of course he brought to the West Wing his protege, Dick Cheney.

So you want to take the gloves off and give the Republicans a fight, Ms. Pelosi?

Good. About frigging time.

Because I'm not one to bash the Democratic Party even when it's been fashionable to do so, this is hard for me to write.

But you should have taken the gloves off a long time ago and gone in there fighting for us.

And you want my advice? Probably not but it's below the fold anyway.

The bidness-as-usual business model continues in Washington, partly due to ingrained habits, by virtue of elected office, and partly due to the ambitious benchmark set by  Bush, Inc.

After all, if the C-in-C serves at his own personal pleasure and dynastic benefit, rather at the pleasure of the people he represents, why should those in Congress?

A Senate committee yesterday rejected a bipartisan proposal to establish an independent office to oversee the enforcement of congressional ethics and lobbying laws, signaling a reluctance in Congress to beef up the enforcement of its rules on lobbying.

The Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs voted 11 to 5 to defeat a proposal by its chairman, Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), and its ranking Democrat, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman (Conn.), that would have created an office of public integrity to toughen enforcement and combat the loss of reputation Congress has suffered after the guilty plea in January of former lobbyist Jack Abramoff. Democrats joined Republicans in killing the measure.

If you can't trust the Congress, who can you trust.  These are the folks who make our laws, and yet they have such a hard time controlling themselves when the opportunity arises to break those very laws.  They can write laws but not rules and guidelines for themselves.  You do realize that I am refering to the Republicans and their Culture of Corruption.  

I loathe telemarketers. The interruption of my time is irritating. The idea that I would be interested in whatever they have to say is presumptuous.

When I read the recent Gallup Poll regarding "Honesty/Ethics in Professions" it hardly surprised me to see telemarketers at the bottom of the list. The poll asked the question: "Please tell me how you would rate the honest and ethical standards of people in these different fields."
Nurses topped the list as most trustworthy and principled, telemarketers hugged the bottom as the least.

Bush Orders Staff to Attend Ethics Briefings

President Bush has ordered White House staff to attend mandatory briefings beginning next week on ethical behavior and the handling of classified material after the indictment last week of a senior administration official in the CIA leak probe.

Sometimes truth is more absurd than fiction. I can hear the late night comic crowd already.