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The Boxer
Townhall.com ^ | June 10, 2018 | Gil Gutknecht

Posted on 06/10/2018 5:18:12 AM PDT by Kaslin

“All lies and jests. Still a man hears what he wants to hear and he disregards the rest. Lie, lie, la lie…”

So wrote poet, songwriter Paul Simon. Simon uses the story of an aging boxer to remind us of how the mistakes and choices we’ve made during our lives leave scars. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that he used the word lie repeatedly in the piece. Perhaps not. We are all carry the reminders of every glove that laid us down or cut us. Some of the deepest cuts I’ve received were a direct result from my naïve acceptance on face value of what turned out to be clever lies.

Representaive Trey Gowdy is one of the smartest, most principled members of the U.S. House. So we sat dumbstruck as he told us that our FBI and Justice Department had done exactly what we citizens would have wanted them to do. He had been briefed by Mr. Rosenstein. Chairman Nunes received the same briefing and was mum for more than a week. The combination caused some of us to question our conclusions. Senator Rubio joined the “nothing to see here” chorus. Maybe there was actually something that we had missed. Maybe we were wrong about the lies, leaks and spying by Brennan, Comey, Lynch et al.

Over the weekend, Rep. Nunes broke his silence. He reminded us of several things. First, Rep. Gowdy stressed that they were told that Mr. Trump was not and is not a target of the investigation. That the President had told former FBI Director that if there were bad actors in his tent, he wanted Comey to get to the facts. So, he concluded that the FBI was only carrying out the orders of the newly elected President. Nunes also indirectly reminded us that because of his earlier career as an Assistant U.S. Attorney, Gowdy wants to believe that the kinds of abuse we suspect just could not happen. Chairman Nunes confirmed that they were given a briefing, but no supporting documents. He clearly remains a skeptic and rattled off several questions that the briefing didn’t answer. The biggest of which is of course, why are they withholding 40,000 documents that have been legitimately subpoenaed? Perhaps I missed it, but I don’t believe anyone has asked Trey Gowdy that question yet.

There are still lots of questions that the briefing apparently didn’t answer. Like, how and why McCabe and others were drafting exoneration statements long before key witnesses in the Hillary investigations were completed? Why were members of her inner circle allowed to sit in on questioning sessions and treated as legal counsel instead of potential witnesses or persons of interest? When and why did the FBI open the investigation now known as Operation Crossfire Hurricane? When and why did they retain a human source (spy) in England to imbed and entrap Trump team members? When did they inform FISA court judges that the central tenant for the requests for surveillance approval was a dossier that was both uncorroborated and financed by political opponents of Mr. Trump? If they were simply trying to protect Mr. Trump, why didn’t they warn him of the dangers posed by those rascally Russians? How could they be so certain that it was the Russians who breached the DNC servers if the FBI never examined them? Why didn’t they? Wasn’t it possible that the DNC hack was an inside job? Perhaps by the Pakistani who was employed by the former DNC Chair? Remember, the one who had access to the House servers and probably the DNC servers as well? The one who was allowed to flee to Pakistan, without so much as a by your leave? Finally, if Mr. Trump is not a target, what exactly is the scope and purpose of the Mueller investigation?

Trey Gowdy is a lot smarter than I am. He worked for the Justice Department and with the FBI. He has enormous respect for them and understandably wants to believe that they couldn’t possibly go so far astray. He and I share the desire to hear what we want to hear. I want to hear more answers and to see the documentation to support those answers. I will happily disregard the rest.


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial; Government
KEYWORDS: 115th; fbi; gowdy; gowdydoody

1 posted on 06/10/2018 5:18:12 AM PDT by Kaslin
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To: Kaslin
Representaive Trey Gowdy is one of the smartest, most principled members of the U.S. House.

Had to stop there.

2 posted on 06/10/2018 5:19:53 AM PDT by ClearCase_guy
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To: Kaslin

I used to be a yuge fan.


3 posted on 06/10/2018 5:26:15 AM PDT by gaijin
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To: Kaslin
So wrote poet, songwriter Paul Simon. Simon uses the story of an aging boxer to remind us of how the mistakes and choices we’ve made during our lives leave scars. Perhaps it was just a coincidence that he used the word lie repeatedly in the piece. Perhaps not. We are all carry the reminders of every glove that laid us down or cut us. Some of the deepest cuts I’ve received were a direct result from my naïve acceptance on face value of what turned out to be clever lies.

Completely unrelated to this article ...

I read a fascinating story somewhere about this particular song. Supposedly Simon didn't use the story of an aging boxer to represent the challenges of life in general, but as an allegory for his own career in the music business.

4 posted on 06/10/2018 5:27:11 AM PDT by Alberta's Child ("I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic's.")
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To: Kaslin
The answer to all of those questions is:

All Roads Lead To He Who Must Never Be Scorned Or Indicted Lest The Gates Of Racist Hell Be Unleashed Upon America's Roads, Streets and Back Yards.

5 posted on 06/10/2018 5:40:12 AM PDT by 4Runner
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To: gaijin

He’s a talker, Gowdy. He knows how to push the buttons of conservatives. I watched him back in the 2000s and early 2010s and thought “there’s a rising star for ya”.

But then I noticed there was nothing material to follow up all the ‘talk’. There was no ‘there’ there.

He’s a talker and not much else.

So I quit being a fan of Gowdy’s about 4 years ago.


6 posted on 06/10/2018 5:42:26 AM PDT by Hostage (Article V)
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To: Kaslin

Trey Gowdy is not stupid and not naive. He used an interesting phrase: “from what I was shown, the FBI acted appropriately”. “From what I was shown”??? Is that some kind of code, is he a “swamper”... or is there another “shoe” to drop in this ongoing saga of Trump v. Swamp? One wonders???


7 posted on 06/10/2018 5:43:19 AM PDT by FiddlePig (The biggest threat to your sacred liberty is to not value it!)
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To: gaijin

I think in Texas people like Gowdy are described as “All hat and no cattle”.


8 posted on 06/10/2018 5:44:44 AM PDT by Hostage (Article V)
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To: Kaslin

All of the people named in the above are career bureaucrats.

As such, they inevitably follow the first law of being a bureaucrat: You do not take a leak unless your boss knows, approves, and you can prove he knows.

This is about Obama (and Jarrett), or it’s about nothing at all.


9 posted on 06/10/2018 5:45:48 AM PDT by Jim Noble (The more you tighten your grip, the more star systems will slip through your fingers)
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To: Kaslin

Off Topic: Gowdy does not look healthy, and has has a drained, dessicated appearance for some time. Moreso since the Benghazi Imbroglio. We may one day discover that he really did have personal reasons for walking away from his present position of influence. I could be fully wrong.

Regardless, of any health status, Gowdy is clearly a GOP swampdweller, primarily devoted to all RINO loyalties.
Gowdy stands with Paul Ryan, Lindsey Graham and Marco Rubio.


10 posted on 06/10/2018 5:51:50 AM PDT by lee martell
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To: Kaslin

Arguably the best version of “The Boxer” (1080 HD) - Paul Simon 2007 tribute. Lyrically, certainly one of Paul Simon’s best songs he ever wrote.

Alison Krauss & Shawn Colvin with Jerry Douglas on dobro and Steve Gadd on drums

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oy9B43ERrbw


11 posted on 06/10/2018 5:52:05 AM PDT by newfreep ("INSIDE EVERY PROGRESSIVE IS A TOTALITARIAN SCREAMING TO GET OUT" @HOROWITZ39, DAVID HOROWITZ)
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To: newfreep
This is a nice version as well. Fingerstyle.
12 posted on 06/10/2018 6:01:05 AM PDT by deadrock
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To: Kaslin

I think there’s pics of Trey with a goat...or an Asian Ladyboy...


13 posted on 06/10/2018 6:29:12 AM PDT by MuttTheHoople (Yes, Liberals, I question your patriotism)
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To: deadrock

WOW! Fantastic! THANK YOU for sharing......I am a finger-picking guitarist, but no where near this calibre - and my fav music is finger-style guitar - and classical.

Love just hearing the music, sin voice. And this guy is incredible....


14 posted on 06/10/2018 6:41:02 AM PDT by Arlis
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To: Arlis
You are welcome.

His arrangements are second to none.

15 posted on 06/10/2018 6:51:42 AM PDT by deadrock
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To: Hostage
He doesn't look right to me. He looks like he aged 40 years since the Benghazi hearings. Gowdy shouldn't be allowed next to a courtroom. The last thing we need is a prosecutor like Robert the mule Mueller.
16 posted on 06/10/2018 6:55:27 AM PDT by Peeps47 (Democrats are as corrupt as they are incompetent)
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To: Kaslin
The biggest of which is of course, why are they withholding 40,000 documents that have been legitimately subpoenaed?

Because there is no penalty for taking decades to deliver them to Congress.

That will stop the day a Whip or Speaker says, "Seargent at Arms! Please detain this person until such a time as he or his organization provides the data Congress has subpoenaed, and is therefore no longer in Contempt of Congress."

17 posted on 06/10/2018 7:08:03 AM PDT by null and void (Have the courage to shine the light of reason in a dark world)
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To: Kaslin

To my understanding, Trump wanted the dossier investigated, not his own campaign. The author says that Nunes said that Trump asked for “bad actors” in his campaign to be investigated.


18 posted on 06/10/2018 7:14:56 AM PDT by MortMan (The white board is a remarkable invention.)
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To: Kaslin

...Trump was not and is not a target of the investigation.


19 posted on 06/10/2018 2:31:48 PM PDT by Elsie (Heck is where people, who don't believe in Gosh, think they are not going...)
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