Nancy’s Press Conference and Human Frailty

It seems to be one of the unpleasant aspects of the character of some people to attack those who assume responsibility and take action in a crisis. When the crisis is over, people of mean dispositions and small minds ignore the previous circumstances and begin throwing bombs – sometimes even at the level of nit-picking. Perhaps this makes them feel better about their own inadequacies.

This was my reaction way back in the 1950’s to most of the charges from the right, led by Senator McCarthy and Roy Cohn, after many perceptive people saw in the Great Depression, with millions of Americans out of work and destitute, the failure and collapse of our free-market, capitalist system. Lots of people saw in communism and socialism an answer to our nation’s problems, and worked to bring such a system to power in the USA. They were wrong, but they were not criminals.

Another example of this phenomenon occurred in New Orleans after Katrina, when a doctor, Dr. Anna Pou, and two nurses were arrested and charged with murder after they attempted to ease the suffering of elderly, bedridden patients by putting them to sleep before they were drowned by Katrina flood waters. Fortunately, sober minds prevailed when the Grand Jury refused to indict them.

I see the same thing happening today, as the efforts of the Bush Administration seem to have been successful in warding off the efforts of the Islamists to kill Americans. Small-minded people with meanness in their character now want to punish those who took responsibility and acted. This is what is behind the efforts of those on the left to hurl cries of ‘torture’ and “lies” at the CIA and military personnel who protected us – and at the attorneys who decided that existing laws permitted a certain level of ‘rough questioning’.

I ran into that same mindset myself as I stepped into the breach when Hurricane Charley not only destroyed my condo, but overwhelmed the physical, emotional and mental health of some of the other Directors on the Board. None of the other owners knew what to do or was willing to step up, but after the crisis was over and the rebuilding was complete, the boo-birds started.

I was able to ignore them, but people with their lives and careers at stake can not. Let’s help them out by getting rid of their most despicable critic, Speaker of the House (and third in line of succession) Nancy Pelosi. Let’s not let Congress forget that bizarre press conference and her attempts to libel the CIA. Let’s urge Congress to end the recent silence on this matter and rise up to their responsibilities.