I’ve really been goofing off, haven’t I? Three months since I last wrote. Took some time off. Have been traveling and doing physical therapy for my hip. Traveling was good. Therapy isn’t really helping that much as far as I can tell.
And since it’s 2023 now, I should mention this blog is copyrighted 2023, as well as in every year since I started it back in 2008.
I wonder what George Santos was thinking. He’s the Republican who was elected last November in New York’s third congressional district. Beginning with an article in the NY Times after he was elected, it’s become clear that Santos lied about so many things it’s hard to know if he told the truth about anything. Santos explained, according to the NY Post, “My sins here are embellishing my resume. I’m sorry.” No, George. Those things are called lies. I have no medical background or expertise to make a diagnosis, but the term pathological liar does seem to this layman to describe his behavior.
It’s safe to say the knives are out for Santos. He’s being investigated by the Nassau County DA, the US Attorney’s office, the NY Attorney General. There’s an open fraud case against him in Brazil where he’s alleged to have passed about $700 in bad checks when he was a teenager. There is also reportedly a House ethics complaint against him for trying to use his swearing in as a fund raiser.
The Republicans and Democrats in his district have to bear at least a large part of the blame for Santos getting to where he is. 2022 was his second run for Congress, and apparently neither party nor either opponent did any background checks on him. I worked for a congressman decades ago. He and his campaign did do perfunctory checks of his opponents’ backgrounds. After Santos, both major parties and all candidates will look more closely at who they run for office and who their opponents are.
With all the investigations going on, I think at least one of them will come up with something that requires them to bring charges against Santos. Local Republicans have already announced they won’t support him for reelection in 2024. I will be extremely surprised if Santos serves a complete term in Congress, and a complete term is only two years.
