EL SEGUNDO HERALD June 29, 2017 Page 9 Pizza, Pasta & More VALENTINO S “A Taste of Brooklyn” Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Garden Salad, Garlic Bread, Plus Tax Ingredients Same great location OPEN 4TH OF JULY 1 block from Rec Park FREE REGULAR SUB with Purchase of Sub of Equal or Greater Value & Regular Drink 1 coupon per visit per customer • 1 teaspoon cayenne chili pepper • 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder • 4 teaspoons olive oil Politically Speaking One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion Unqualified For The Job, Spicer’s Antics No Longer Laughable By Cristian Vasquez White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer has brought to the position a different kind of spotlight. From his first press briefing back in January, it was clear that Spicer was going to come out and twist facts in order to make the President happy. To be fair, that has been the job of every press secretary. He’s responsible for delivering good PR on everything coming out of the White House. Spicer hasn’t been the first, nor will he be the last, to have the daunting task of justifying whatever information comes from his boss’ office, regardless of how absurd, outlandish, controversial or nonsensical. For that, Spicer has become the subject of mockery and ridicule by comedians and criticism by media outlets already unfriendly to the administration. Still, none of this is unwarranted. The truth is Spicer has brought a lot of this on to himself and he, or his boss, are only making the situation worse. During the week of June 19, the powers that be decided that Spicer would conduct his press briefings in the absence of cameras. At this point it is easier to ignore the man’s gaffes while at the podium given that he has proven to not be the most qualified for the position. When a difficult question is presented, or when his answers are challenged with pesky facts, Spicer falls apart. He trips all over his words and looks petrified. For the many gaffes committed by Spicer, it’s easy to have sympathy for the man--but to deny cameras access to his briefings is truly pathetic. The job has become too stressful for Spicer, or the administration is growing impatient with his poor performance. Either way, it’s not the cameras that need to go but rather the messenger. The truth is that press briefings are not mandated by law. Rather they are in place based more on a tradition, or practice, that allows access to the President. It is part of our nation’s belief in a free press. For the past 25 years, secretaries from both parties have conducted on-camera press briefings on a regular basis. Is this something that should really change? Despite all of Spicer’s shortcomings, his press briefings are highly rated. When he takes the stage, it is standing room only and everyone listens. Yes, many are just waiting for the man to crash and burn, but it’s surprising to see that Spicer hasn’t demonstrated a significant improvement in his job performance. It has been five months. So, how much does banning recording devices really help the White House? It certainly doesn’t help Spicer, who has already proven a grotesque lack of ability to be in that position. The President could shut down these press briefings and just rely on his comical, fact-deprived tweets at odd hours of the night to inform the nation. However, that’s not transparency and that isn’t access to the person elected to run the nation. Most importantly, it’s not journalism. Either Spicer gets better at his job, or Deputy Press Secretary Sarah Huckabee-Sanders needs to get promoted.• Watergate Redux? Trump and the Phonied-Up Russian Collusion Non-Story By Duane Plank I do appreciate you putting down, momentarily, your iPhone 12--or whatever level they are at--and perusing the paper. That is, unless you are reading this column on your phone. Then, as the great fictional character Emily Litella, played by the brilliant Gilda Radner, used to say on Saturday Night Live way, way before condescending Trump caricatures by Alec Baldwin somewhat returned the left-leaning show to water cooler prominence, “Never mind.” As Dick Nixon famously stated after he was forced out of the office of POTUS for his misreading of what was a two-bit burglary at the Watergate Hotel back in 1972: “It wasn’t about the burglary, it was about the cover-up.” Brilliant! And, if you follow certain media sites, we are amid another epic cover-up. As the elected left-winger politicians, CNN shills and other media elites continue to go full throttle, pushing the Russian collusion theory, some elected officials have recklessly broached the “I’ word. I bet Ms. Maxine Watters has mentioned that option more than a few times today as she continues leading the resistance? Put up, or pipe down, collusionists. Flip a little (any) evidence out there, or move on. Maybe craft a coherent message that can energize your base, other than resist Trump? We are almost a year into the investigation of collusion with the Roo-skies by members of the Trump campaign, with his minions allegedly clandestinely meeting with Russian operatives to derail the Clinton campaign express. With zero substantial evidence on the table. Who amongst you thought that Trump had a snowball’s chance in Hades of trouncing Clinton? Not I. Clinton was boat-raced into back-page oblivion. Don’t posit the fact that Clinton won the popular vote. Newsflash to those of you who may not remember what they learned back in high school civics class. You win the presidency by winning what the founding fathers constitutionalized: the electoral college. She didn’t lose because of the Russians! The score was Trump 304, Clinton 227. Bam! An electoral college landslide. The Dems haven’t rebounded too well with this year’s special elections, have they? I believe they have a clean sheet on the books, proudly going 0-4, even after throwing a reported $24-plus-million Benjamins into the recent congressional election in Georgia. A lot of that money was funneled into the congressional race from California liberal interests, attempting to influence an election thousands of miles away. Maybe if some of the money that was sent out of state was applied to problems that we have locally, it might have been better spent? Dems were so apoplectic after the Jon Ossoff loss (a candidate, by the way, who did not even live in the district he was running in) that they are considering jettisoning the venerable Nancy Pelosi, Minority Speaker of the House. Enough time and money has been wasted considering this absurd conspiracy theory. There is no smoking gun, no Deep Throat. It is time to move forward and work on solving America’s issues in 2017--not look into the past and try to topple another presidency. • Ample Seating Now Open Sundays! and a drink $1199 No substitutions and coupon must be presented. Please mention coupon when ordering. One per customer. Expires 7/13/17. EL SEGUNDO 150 S Sepulveda Blvd. 310-426-9494 MANHATTAN BEACH 976 Aviation Blvd. 310-318-5959 • DELIVERY IN LIMITED AREA AT BOTH LOCATIONS • Savory Paprika and Chili Rub • 1 teaspoon ground paprika • 1 teaspoon chili powder • 2 teaspoons ground cumin seed • 1 teaspoon onion powder Preparation co-partners with 130 E. Grand Ave., El Segundo 310-640-6149 Mix all ingredients together and rub into meats, poultry or vegetables (or shake onto soft veggies, tofu or tempeh) Then, refrigerate for one hour before grilling.
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