The present political climate seems to be focusing on who knew what and when. Much effort and money is being spent on finding someone to blame and what the punishment should be.

Events in the past should remain in the past. We should try to learn from the experience by using preventive measures instead of dwelling on who said what to whom.

The incentive for bringing up questionable tactics of well known politicians seems to relate more to personal political power than passing laws to minimize the use of invective and placing of blame.

One case that comes to mind involves President Bush's decision to go to war with Iraq. While not incontrovertible proof, his intelligence information definitely pointed to the fact that Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi government had plans to acquire nuclear weapons and even to use chemical weapons on their enemies. One Kurdish town can assist to that. The fact that weapons of total destruction were not found under the millions of acres of sand in Iraq doesn't mean they haven't existed. The one discovery of a trailer set up for chemical weapon research buried under yards of sand in the desert seems to uphold this opinion. We voted for a president to make difficult decisions for us and to take the full responsibility we citizens are not willing to take. Talk about shifting blame.

Another is the Libby debacle. A secret can remain a secret when only one person knows. It should come as no surprise that for whatever reason, someone will blurt some secret sometime. The millions of dollars spent on attorneys and court time is indicative only of the paranoia of the blame givers. Righteousness and the covering of one's behind seem to be the driving force behind this effort. To think of the good that could be done with this wasted time and money makes one wonder. Who knew - and who cares?

About the Author: A retired portrait and wedding photographer, I enjoy writing how to articles, helpful articles on photography and many other subjects. My hobbies include quartet singing, shop, bicycling and photography. Please visit my web site at http://photoartbyken.com/ [Articles, Digital Art, Poetry, Original sheet music.]