CAN YOU SMELL A RAT?

I’m sure many people have referred to that saying over the course of one’s life, but did you know how the saying was derived? It seems it goes back to the time when dogs were used to find out where rats were located in a building, a house, or whatever or wherever a rat might be hiding. The dog would be able to “smell a rat” when he found one or a nest of them, thereby raising a “red flag” to someone who wanted to know in order to get rid of those pests.

The same expression could be used by anyone of us when we see something that just doesn’t seem right or “kosher”, we might just “smell a rat”.

Take, for instance, the budget proposal just offered by our “Spender in Chief”, Barack Hussein Obama. He is proposing to have our government spend 3.8 trillion dollars in fiscal year 2011 and to increase our deficit by another 1.4 trillion dollars, and then claim that he was being frugal and trying to balance the budget. I “smell a rat”!

Next, we have our illustrious Attorney General, Eric Holder, who has made some really whacky decisions lately. The first stupid decision was in deciding to have Khalid Sheik Mohammed and his fellow 9/11 conspirators tried in our civilian criminal justice system instead of military tribunals, which is the proper place to try illegal enemy combatants. In addition, he decided, an hour after the Christmas plane bomber was arrested, to give him his Miranda rights, which immediately caused him to shut up like a clam. He seems to have a history of being on the wrong side of most everything he touches. In the Clinton Administration, he was Assistant Attorney General under Janet Reno. He was the one responsible for the disgraceful pardon of swindler Marc Rich, the pardon of the imprisoned Puerto Rican terrorists, and the pardon of disgraced former Congressman Mel Reynolds, a convicted child molester. Just recently, his law firm has been involved with defending some of the terrorist prisoners at Gitmo. Would that have any effect on his decision to try the terrorists in our civilian court system? Judging from his past record, it might very well be the case. I think I “smell a rat”!

It seems that we have new “royalty” in our country in the person of Nancy Pelosi, the “Botox Queen”, who is Speaker of the House.

Can you imagine that during dire economic times, like we are facing today, she commands the use of a 757 jumbo jet to fly back and forth to California and to make trips all around the world, on the country’s dime, sometimes with many of her Democratic colleagues? It is estimated that it costs over $5 million per year just to cater to her travel needs and tastes in food and drink (reports claim that the well stocked bar on the plane costs us taxpayers $100,000 per year). Does she really need or deserve this type of pampering when she and her husband are multi-millionaires who could well afford to hire their own jet plane to use for her extra-curricular duties? This perk doesn’t meet the smell test. I strongly “smell a rat”, don’t you?

What we need to do is fumigate Washington D.C. and get rid of all the “rats” that are screwing up our economy and our way of life. Maybe then we will not be able to “smell a rat”, like we do now! We must start this “rat” cleanup this coming November.

Written by Chuck Lehmann