If Ever There Was An Empty Word It Would Be "Sanctions"

We continue talking about more sanctions while people are still dying.  What's wrong with this picture?  Janet Yellen even stated we'd apply sanctions on China should they invade Taiwan!

Well, we all know how well that works! And now we're sanctioning Putin's daughters and the wife of his foreign minister.  What does that mean?  They can't run off to Paris to do their shopping? Please!

Financially, the Ruble is almost as strong as it was prior to the beginning of the sanctions.  Why? Because the world is still buying Russian oil.  Why?  Because we can't supply it because we're so obsessed with going green we won't lift the sanctions on our own production to make up the slack. Please!

Okay, I understand the politics of it - to an extent.  Biden is afraid of the far left and they are the green weenies. Therefore he won't lift the sanctions on domestic production. He's apparently also afraid of Putin.  I've asked before, why?  Putin's military is severely weakened and he really doesn't want a nuclear confrontation any more than anyone else because he, too, will be destroyed.  I've harped on this before, I know.

Yesterday I watched with a mix of sadness and horror at a lost old man wandering around a reception room at the White House after remarks by himself and former President Obama. He was totally ignored while the attendees swarmed around Obama.  Even he ignored Biden. This old man, lost and alone, is our President. Talk about sadness and horror. 

It just irritates me that all these suits, his minions, sit around talking while people are dying. From my perspective, and it's a pessimistic one to be sure, there will be no World War 3 because the suits will just roll over. They wouldn't want to make Putin mad.  Putin is one man! How can the whole world be so afraid of him that no one will stand up to him? 

Let's face it.  What wins wars? Superior weaponry or at least an even playing field and the will to win. And maybe, just maybe, being on the right side of the fight.  In the case of Ukraine, which side are we on?

Obama ~ One Last Rant

I have never known of a more sore loser than Obama.  He never was a class act from the very beginning.  One hoped he would grow as he got into the job but he never did.

I don't quite understand how his favorables remain so high.  Maybe it's the man rather than the President but how can you really separate the two?  His behavior, as his time in office grows to a close, is not only a thumb in the eye of the President-elect but also the people who put Trump in office,

I don't think most of us who hover closest to centercenter would have chosen Trump but voters obviously didn't have any faith that the other candidates could or would change things. Trump will try, of that I'm sure.  If his manner will breed success I'm doubtful but that being said, people repudiated Obama's policies by electing Trump.

Forget Russia.  Russia did not get Trump elected.  Strategy in the right places along with a weak opponent did.

For Obama to be throwing his weight around now by issuing thousands of new regulations designed to derail the Trump administration before it even gets started is the height of turning a blind eye to the good of the country and the height of ego run amok.

The voters don't like nor want his policies continued.  Yet he hasn't the good grace to retire from office with even a modicum of  dignity.

It has always been about him first and foremost and I fear it always will be.  I, though, will never be able to look at him as a man or former President with anything but disdain for what he has done to this country.

Never Miss An Opportunity To Miss An Opportunity

It never ceases to amaze me that the Republicans continue to earn the title of this post.  Judge Scalia hadn't even gotten cold before they were informing the President no replacement would be considered until we have a new president.

It shows me several things about those nit wits.  The most serious is that no matter how hard we try to show them we're not happy even with a new House Speaker, they just don't get it.

They have no respect for the dearly departed or else they wouldn't have turned Scalia's demise into a political hot potato.  Disgusting.  This goes for the candidates too.

They are still ensnarled in partisan politics.  Sure, Obama would no doubt nominate a left leaning candidate but it is his right to do so and their obligation to do a non-partisan vetting.  Just bear in mind Scalia had very high praise for Justice Kagan.

Then too, the way they have been behaving, there is no guarantee they will win the White House.  They had best consider who they would rather have put forward a nominee - Obama, Clinton or Sanders.  Of course it would be helpful if Obama would be impartial but we know that won't happen!

I have a couple of long time readers who are diametrically opposed to me when it comes to politics, but in deference to them I will say this.  I understand why Obama has taken the executive order road.
Congress is so tied up with their own partisanship ways nothing ever gets accomplished.

Still wondering why Trump is doing so well considering his faults?  He isn't a part of the political process.  Should he be elected he'll need some political guidance to be sure but it will be a presidency such as we've never before seen.  I think the same scenario applies to Sanders and even though he is a sitting Senator he fits no mold other than his own.

What does it take to wake these people up?

Elder Abuse Of A Sort?

The last time I had a doctor's appointment, just a week or so ago, I was asked to come in early to do some paper work.  I figured it was the routine they do every year about making sure you address is the same as before, insurance, phone number - all that stuff.

But no.  It was four pages from medicare they were obliged to ask me to fill  out.  I raised a skeptical eyebrow as I read some of the questions like am I depressed, do I feel like taking my own life, and some that got really intrusive. Besides it was about the moment, short term, and I'm told it may happen every time I go in.  Why?

The gal at the desk was watching me.  "You can decline," she said. "Just write declined on each page."  I did just that.

Then when talking with the nurse who I know well enough and have a good relationship with asked me some really personal questions that I would have discussed with my doctor if I was so afflicted with symptoms or a condition.  Again I was told Medicare had directed them to ask.

It was government interference to the nth degree and I wasn't about to leave a signed paper trail for which who knows who would have access.  Big brotherism gone amok.

Now I see where in Obama's rush to inflict more gun restrictions, the people on Social Security may be prevented from buying a gun if incapable of handling their own finances.

I'm trying to connect the dots here.  First, at my age or minus ten years, if I'm going to have a gun I most likely already do. As far as finances are concerned I've had a lot of acquaintances far younger who "Could be in the club but couldn't be treasurer" because of their mathematical ineptitude. So nix that as a measure.

 Other boiler plate includes, subnormal intelligence or mental illness. Are we Social Security recipients the only ones with these maladies?  I haven't seen a senior citizen as a mass murderer of late, have you?

Incompetency, an unspecified condition or disease rounds out the qualifiers.  As determined by who?  The kids who want to rush us to an early grave?  Maybe the doctor who hasn't the heart to tell us he doesn't want us as a patient any more because Medicare doesn't reimburse enough to make us worthwhile?

Beware, its in the "mental health"  part of his latest executive over reach.

It's bad enough getting old and losing abilities like a slow dripping faucet.  I don't need the government sticking it's nose in my business, especially between me and my doctor, looking for information for what purpose?  So they, who one day will be in the same boat but aren't yet, can impose what they think is best for us?  Of course all those government types are well taken care of on our dollar so why should I expect understanding whats more common sense.

It isn't just about who can and who cannot buy a gun or who or who doesn't have to fill out mindless forms that will end up in the cloud waiting to be hacked.  It's about government sticking it's nose into every aspect of our lives whether or not we want it or need it but had best toe the mark or suffer the consequences.

It's going to be a very long year.

Of Course I'm Afraid!

 Don't mock me, Mr. President, because you're the one who planted my fear under the guise of keeping us safe.  Now you want me to believe we have nothing to fear from refugees who can't even be proven to be Syrian, whether Muslim or otherwise? People from an area who are at war with themselves and it would seem everyone else who doesn't believe as they do?

You can't have it both ways.  When I can go to a Federal office building and enter without going through a metal detector and being patted down, then maybe I'll relax.  If at my age, sex and race I can go to an airport and board a plane without being molested by TSA personnel, maybe I'll relax.

When TSA personnel quit stealing from my luggage and can catch contraband being smuggled as a test, maybe then I'll relax.

When ISIS closes it's schools that teach kids and women how to be suicide bombers maybe I'll relax.
Maybe too when enough Imams say enough is enough and put some clout behind it maybe I'll relax.

Maybe too, when the cops are once again the good guys, professors actually teach rather than pander and students apply themselves to learning rather than self aggrandizement based on their "world views" I'll relax.

Until then Mr. President, keep your snarky criticisms to yourself.  If you were more interested in the well being of the American people more than your own legacy I'd feel a whole lot better.

If you'd show that the bloody slaughter of hundreds of innocent people by people who wish us all dead is of more concern to us than your view of climate change than I might have some respect for you.

As it is, I do not. So yes.  I'm afraid.  For myself, for my community and most of all for my country and I have you and your ilk to thank for it.  In all fairness it isn't just you, the individual, but also of previous administrations who couldn't be bothered and a Congress who's greatest talent is burying its  head in the sand and a military/intelligence community willing to lie about statistics to protect your agenda.

You, sir, are however the voice of it all and yes, I am afraid of you, of what you've done and what you may yet do.

Are We Finally Waking Up?

With the likes of CBS's Jake Tapper and the Sentate's Diane Feinstein challenging what the President has to say about our ISIS strategy and governors are putting their collective foot down and saying no to taking in Syrian refugees I'm given a modicum of hope.

Today in Turkey the President held firm his stance that there will be no change in our strategy.  Well,  that's easy to believe since there isn't one.  Unless you consider doing the least amount possible a strategy.

Slowly but surely the pro President press and Democrats are beginning to hedge their bets.  They are beginning to see that the Presidential rhetoric is false and that the truth of the situation with Islamic terrorists has once again shown itself in Paris.  Before that the Russian air bus, before that in Lebanon.  Should it happen again here they would all be culpable.

Nine eleven was 14 years ago.  If you believe what goes 'round comes 'round it is only a matter of time until the cells in this country put whatever they're planning into action.  And remember there are groups being watched in all 50 states.

The President would have us believe he listens to his generals.  The generals tell us he doesn't read the intelligence reports made available to him.  I believe the generals.

We've put up with Presidential arrogance for quite awhile now and shrug it off because there is little we can do especially since the Congress seems not to have the ability nor the will to intervene.  The time has now come for that arrogance to be called out.  No one man knows better than the rest of the world combined.  When the vast majority of leaders, scholars and the military are in disagreement with the choices the President makes we need beware.

It was Paris on Friday.  Someone will be next sooner rather than later.  Will it be us? You?  Me?  We deserve more from those we've chosen to lead this country and so does the rest of the world which has always looked to America for leadership and now finds no more than betrayal, false promises and desertion.

What have we done?

Mr. President, Don't Even Think It!

While speaking before the African Union President Obama patted himself on the back proclaiming that he's been a pretty good president.  He went on to say if he ran for a third term he expected he could win.

Other than being totally delusional it creates cause for worry.  As he continued with his self congratulations he explained that, alas, he could not run for a third term because the law doesn't allow it. And after all, the law is the law.

Have we heard that before?  Before, when he has changed written law on a whim, when he refuses to  enforce laws on the books, when he takes matters into his own hands whether or not he's in compliance with the Constitution?  Usually always prefaced by saying he couldn't because the law doesn't allow it.

I can't help  but wonder if this isn't one of those moments where he's testing the waters to see if he could possibly bypass law, Constitution and the wishes of the people to gain a third term. I hope not but his past history sure set the red flags a flyin'!

Don't even think it Mr. President.  Don't even think it.

What If?

Boy oh boy.  We've sent an aircraft carrier and accompanying ships to Yemen.  First it was announced that they would prevent Iranian ships from unloading weapons for the Houthi rebels.  No sooner had the ink dried on that one it was announced that no, we were just there to keep the shipping channels open.

Now the Iranians have sent a fleet of their own war ships to the area while announcing that the U.S. is a threat to them.  To say the least things are getting a bit tense.

This is what happens when someone who thinks he is all knowing tries to play all sides against one another. So what will happen if the Americans make a perceived misstep and the Iranians take umbrage to it? Will they fire on the American vessels? Would Obama allow the Americans to fire back?

What a dilemma.  All for the sake of reaching a non-agreement over Iran getting a nuclear bomb. Non-agreement?  Well, since we don't know what's in it or even what's supposed to be in it, how can it be called an agreement? They call it a frame work but it isn't even that.  The last word from Iran was the sanctions had to be lifted immediately.  Obama seems to have no problem with that and is rumored to have promised them a $50 billion bonus if they'll just sign the damn agreement!  Yep.  $50 billion.  The State Department won't deny it.

And it's still not an agreement because we get absolutely nothing in return for allowing Iran to continue enriching uranium and handsomely enhancing their economy to boot!  Does Obama really think this is going to cement his legacy as the great mediator between Iran and the rest of the world?

Personally, since I'm becoming a conspiracy theorist, I think Iran already has all it needs to put together their bomb.  I also suspect that John Kerry is doing this in hopes of getting it signed sealed and delivered so he can run against Hillary claiming he did what she couldn't.  Not that even she would want to.

I can figure no other reason why a man who has been in government as long as Kerry would go along with this debacle of a foreign policy summoned up by a delusional president.  Its a huge gamble on his part for if it fails so will he.  It isn't how he envisions going down in history, I guarantee.

I'm almost afraid to wrap this up to go tune on tonight's news. What will we have given away today? Other than what's left of our sanity.

The Devil Is In The Details

So.  The framework for a nuclear deal with Iran is now a reality.  We'll have to wait until June 30 for all the bells and whistles which have been agreed to are spelled out if our President cares to share them.

I'd feel better if John Kerry hadn't been so loose with the sanctions.  No matter what he says, they cannot be "snapped" back in place should Iran renege on the agreement.  Sanctions were our ace in the hole, not war as the administration would like us to believe.

I wished I trusted Obama and Kerry but I do not.  If, however, Iran's feet can be effectively held to the fire it will be good but only to a certain extent.  I'm sure when the announcement about the completion of the framework phase hit the airwaves every Arab country in the region put Pakistan on speed dial if they weren't already there.

Not only is the United States not trusted, those in the region are smart enough not to trust Iran either. Therefore there will undoubtedly by an arms race with Pakistan and North Korea obliging. It's difficult to believe but if the war escalates it's likely to be bloodier and more devastating than the current war.  It will be Shia against Sunni and neither are particularly interested in any niceties of civilized warfare.  Such as they are.

I cannot help but wonder why Iran's aggressive behavior hasn't been made part of the deal.  As is they have carte blanche to continue with their march to take over the middle east and to ultimately destroy both Israel and the U.S.  

Unfortunately the original premise of preventing Iran from ever developing a bomb has been negated.  It's one more example of red lines being erased by this administration.

I hope I'm wrong in all of my summations.  I really do.  It's just that the personal ambitions of both Kerry and Obama overshadow what most people who know the region and the disposition of the involved countries warn against. I can't help but believe the many are more knowing than the two.

Time will tell.  An uneasy time at that.

On The Brink

We're seeing in real time what happens when the United States relinquishes its position of power in the world.  Forget this leading from behind rubbish.  It's an oxymoron, emphasize the moron.

Another more convoluted one would be negotiating a nuclear agreement with a terror state while the terror state continues to cheat on a current agreement. It is also spreading its tentacles into a multitude of countries in a scheme which will ultimately bring it face to face with ISIL, both wanting the same end.

The Arab States are coming forward.  The U.S. is nowhere to be seen in a leadership role anywhere. A civil war is brewing between Shites and Sunnis and it won't be pretty.  It isn't pretty now.

What's also puzzleing is why are we having these negotiations in the first place if Iran isn't looking to make a bomb, as they insist?  That seems to have gotten lost in the rush for a deal.  They're contridicting themselves by their actions.

This is a lead up to a concern I have about the next Presidential election and the Democrats in particular.  We currently have a President who thinks and behaves as though he is above the law.  He isn't but there is no recourse.  I don't think the founding fathers ever imangined such a person would ever assume the Presidency meaning the people would be to smart to elect such.  Wrong.  We elected him twice for all the wrong reasons.  The first time we misunderstood what he openly told us about his goals.

The second time, why? We didn't think Romney 'understood' the little guy?  We didn't trust his religion?  We knew Obama was on shaky ground with his Benghazi story although the bulk of it didn't come out until after the election.  The suspicions were there never-the-less.

We knew of the escalating flaws in Obamacare.  We knew trouble was brewing at the IRS, along with several other issues. Yet we re-elected him. Like a TV show, were we curious to see how it would play out? Well, we're seeing it.

Now we face 2016 and Hillary.  She expects no challengers yet she has a sack overflowing with ethics questions, misdirections and a paper trail destroyed by her own hands.  We'll soon be free of one who has treated the office of President as his own personal dictatorial pedestal.  Why on earth would we want another to occupy it?  For that is exactly what Hillary wants. We should topple it, never to allow it to rise again.

Come on Democrats.  Harry Reid is retiring.  Hillary will have to groom her own personal savant willing to blindly do her bidding.  I'm sure she will have that in Chuck Schumer if he assumes the leadership.  Promise him face time before a camera and he'll be putty in her hands.

Isn't there anyone wearing the Democrat brand who sees this for what it is and will challenge her for the sake of the country?  Please?

Personal Animosity And The Nuclear Arms Race

It is no secret that President Obama has little time for Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.  He has been less than politic about his feelings while Netanyahu has bitten his tongue and remained civil.

A large part of the issue is what the U.S. demands as part of the two state solution for the Palestinians and what the Israelis are willing to do.  Netanyahu declared during his recent re-election campaign that there would be no Palestinian state as long as he was Prime Minister. He backed off the statement by saying he wasn't altogether against it but now isn't the time.

Why not now?  Because he is surrounded on two sides; by Hezbollah on one and Hamas on the other.  Both are terrorist groups who have declared their intent to drive Israel from the face of the earth. I'd see no reason to negotiate either with that as the prevailing attitude.

For some reason, however, our President is determined to punish Netanyahu for not acquiescing to him.  Obama wants him to embrace the nuclear negotiations with Iran. He's also determined to punish us by threatening to go around Congress with the secret details and go straight to the U.N.

To add insult to injury we have declassified what had been a secret agreement with Israel not to make public the extent of their nuclear program.  That they have one is no secret, but to break our word and make the details available to anyone who cares to look does no more than insure there will be an arms race in the middle east.

I don't believe the Israelis would use them unless hopelessly cornered and I believe the only country that would try to corner them is Iran if they had the same capabilities.  We're making it possible for them.  Add to that the Sunni/Shite strife among the other countries you can bet everyone who can will get either a ready made bomb or the technology to make their own.

I'm sure negotiations have long been underway between the Saudis and Pakistan or North Korea.  To me, Obama has now, with this latest action, set the match to the fuel that needed the smallest of parks to ignite the region.

Who knows how this will play out but it seems to be an awfully big risk just to justify his Nobel Peace Prize and pave the way for John Kerry to get his.

The Letter

I'm not going to get into whether or not is was prudent for 49 Senators to sign a letter and send it to the Mullahs in Iran or not.  I do understand, however, why they did it.

This administration works in secrecy and have been found at times to be less than truthful.  Thus there is a great deal of mistrust.  This is compounded by keeping the aspects of the negotiations secret except for leaks.

This has led to the frustration being shown by the writing of the letter.  They don't trust Obama, via Kerry, to make a good deal.  What has leaked out seems to have confirmed those fears. Here we have a commander-in-chief who is solely responsible for foreign policy who has yet to keep his word on any of the conflicts hammering the Ukraine and much of the middle east.  Why, they ask, should they trust him on this?

As Iran shows off it's new missiles and takes shots at a mock up U.S. carrier during war games, why would we think their nuclear ambitions should be given any leeway?  They are openly hostile to the United States.  They are basically annexing Iraq by leading their troops in the war against ISIS and if the suspected ethnic cleansing is really happening around Tikrit that opens a new front of the war.

Sunni ISIS against Shite Iranians and Iraqis. As the Shites plow through Sunni territory they must refrain from killing those left behind as ISIS retreats or the conflict will evolve into a full fledged civil war.  One that has been smoldering long before we were even a country is now on the brink of exploding.

A nuclear Iran could make short order of their Sunni problem, ISIS would no longer be competing for the 'califate' and they'd be free to go after the rest of we infidels in the most deadly of ways.

This is what some in Congress wonder if the President grasps.  If his ambition is to have an agreement that allows a time frame for Iran to go nuclear with no further restrictions, in time they will carry out their own ambitions. Does the President care? Does the supposed glory of an agreement mean more than a relatively safe world?

The Senators who signed the letter know well by now how the President's mind works.  They rightly worry about it. They are letting the world know that the President does not speak for all of us. No advice was sought, no 'go ahead' given by anyone who knows the territory, the history of Iran, the dangers being invited and the mind set of the President.

They are worried.  Israel and Egypt and Jordan are worried.  We too should be.

Obama The Contrarian

I can't help but wonder if Obama is enjoying his loneliness at the top.  He surely doesn't seem like a happy man.  His negativity is depressing.

I have never heard a President mock his opposition party with such regularity or disdain.  It is certainly no way to encourage cooperation but then I don't think he wants cooperation.

If he did he would have signed the Keystone Pipeline bill.  Anyone who has been following the story knows it has been studied to death so his argument that review has yet to be completed is just plain false.  He doesn't want it because the Republicans do. It doesn't matter that some Democrats do also.

So what happens now?  Oil will still move.  By rail.  And with it more accidents like the recent ones in Canada and West Virginia will happen putting lives, homes and his beloved environment in far more danger than would the pipeline.

According to The Wall Street Journal,  Oregon, one of the greenest of states, has approved 6.9 billion in subsidies to expand rail capacity to move oil from the Bakken to barges on the Columbia.  Kansas City Southern is building a rail terminal in Texas to accommodate two 120 car trains, a mile long each, a day.  Ten oil trains a day travel through Philadelphia every day.  And so it goes.  The oil will still move, putting everything in it's path at greater risk than need be.

Polls show people want the Pipeline, the Unions want the pipeline, we know the Canadians want the pipeline yet the President opts to please the Sierra Club. Or the people who make up such organizations hoping they will support his post Presidential quest whatever it may be.

An 8 billion dollar project which would strengthen our energy security, create jobs and increase prosperity is for now in the can. Because the President doesn't want it.  The rest of us be damned.

It is said the President doesn't much like people. Well, more and more people aren't liking him either. No man may be an island but this President has isolated himself from the world and it's all of his own making. I hope he's happy with himself because surely very few others are.  

To The President - Quit Condescending And Listen

According to The Wall Street Journal the summit our President should have sponsored was held in Mecca, Islam's most holy city.  Sheik Ahmed al-Tayeb, a grand Imam from Cairo, gathered some 700 moderate Muslim clerics from several countries to appeal for combating the escalation of extremist violence.

He recognizes, as have other Egyptians including their President Al Sisi, that this interpretation is what is causing strained ties with the rest of the world.  To put it mildly.

It is an internal struggle for the heart and soul of Islam and if it is recognized and so stated by men such as these who our we to disagree?  The problem they must resolve is changing the mind set of their more radical members who look at their own people who don't believe as they do need to be destroyed.

Al-Tayeb even went so far as to say those who burned the Jordanian pilot alive are the ones who deserve the Quranic punishment of death or crucifixion for being enemies of God and the prophet. He even suggested there is a need for a joint Arab military force to combat the extremism.  He has an uphill battle considering the fear that grips the Muslim world.

To say that ISIS has nothing to do with Islam and that by calling them Islamic Extremists insults moderate Muslims is just not true. It does go to show that timidity creates vacuums that are filled by those seeking weakness for an opportunity to further their own agendas.

As as example as stated in another Journal article,  the latest issue of Daibiq, the Islamic State's online English magazine, has an article that explains Islam is not a religion of peace but rather a religion of the sword.  It boiled down to interpretation much as Christians of the world take different interpretations of the Bible yet still consider themselves Christian.

Yes, it is complex.  It is also Islam.   It is time to call it what it is and do what is necessary to help the moderate Islams with the task they face.  That is to arm those who are willing to fight and pick up the slack where it is needed to annihilate the barbarians who at this point are winning the psychological war with physical brutality.

This President is so sure of his superior knowledge of all things mortal I know he will not admit that those who are Islam just may know more about themselves than he does.  I also know he will do nothing to help, he will only appease those who will make matters worse.  The Iranians.  They who are more aligned with the thinking of ISIS than of the West.

 I can only take heart that some clerics and Arab leaders are beginning to find their voice.  I grieve, however, for all those who are yet to die in the most inhumane of manners. This President and those he would call allies, though many of them take issue with that, have no claim to moral clarity.  It is most un-American. 

Public Figures, Will You Please Grow Up?

What to address first?  How about the flap over Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu speaking before Congress and the Democrat promise to boycott it because Speaker Boehner didn't first run it past the President.

OMG, what a breach of protocol!  This from a President whose wife snaked an arm around the Queen on England, had then French President Sarkozy open a Parisian store so Michelle and the girls could shop on a Sunday.  Bowed before Kings.  Snapped selfies at a State Service for Nelson Mandela with obvious delight and chews his nicotine gum non-stop while talking with dignitaries. Don't forget having British Prime Minister Davis Cameron lobby members of our Senate to not pass legislation creating more sanctions against Iran.

Since Cameron did that the entire Congress should  be required to listen to Netanyahu because of anyone who knows the territory, the dangers and the likely consequences it is he. Protocol aside, the boycott is not only foolish but rude.  But then this administration has a major in rude.

Next is the pained lecture at the National Prayer meeting when we were told not to get on our high horses over this ISIS thing.  After all, such savagery has happened before and even Christians partook.  Right, they were even then being slaughtered.

The point he seems to be missing is not only the time line - then versus now, but the fact that civilized people fought such impulses within themselves and their societies and for the most part conquered them.  Without strong worldwide leadership, which the United States used to provide, it has again raised its ugly head.  And without strong worldwide leadership it is growing at an alarming rate.  Then too there is the aggression we see from Russia due to the same reason.

So let's turn the tables here, Mr. President.  How 'bout getting off your high horse? And the Democrats, and even Mr. Netanyahu.  Quit building settlements in disputed territory!  You too can help the situation!

Then on to those who report all this to us, the media.  Mr. Williams, your braggadocio behavior may fade from the news cycle, but I for one will never put any trust in your reporting nor your network ever again unless there is a total turnover of management, perhaps even ownership.

All these actions are reflective of self serving immaturity. If we don't do better in selecting leaders we'll find ourselves changing part of the pledge of allegiance to "one nation, under Benjamin Button...".

Have We Ever Looked Worse?

This man is the President of the United States of America.  The leader of the free world.  Until he abdicated that position in the wake of the blood bath which occurred in Paris a few days ago.

I am ashamed for my country.

World leaders gathered with French President Hollande in a show of solidarity against Islamic terrorism.  One was missing.  Obama.
Why?

Consider those who put aside differences to attend the massive rally in Paris.  Israel's Netanyahu.  Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.  Two who have little love for one another.  Ukrainian President Poroshenko  and Russian Foreign Minister Lavrov.  David Cameron was there.  So was Angela Merkel.  The King and Queen of Jordan.  More than 40 in all.  Except the United States. No President.  No Vice President.  No Secretary of State.

I wonder if France will stand with us the next time we need a coalition as they have in the past.  Or any of the others for that matter.  Well, it's not a problem concerning this continent you might say. Except for Canada just a few short weeks ago.  Oh, yes, the Oklahoma beheading was in there too recently.  And going back a ways to the "work place violence" at Fort Hood.

Yes.  It is a problem on this continent and in this country with it's porous borders and political correctness run so amok authorities cannot monitor what goes on in Mosques.

When 9/11 happened the world let it be known they were all American.  Why aren't we saying today we are all Charlie?  We are, you know, and ignoring it doesn't make it any less true.

Why wasn't our President there?  Is it because it wasn't at all about him? Leader of the free world?  Not today.

Is Bipartisanship Already Over?

Let's see, it's January 6, 2015.  It looks like it's going to be a long year.

The President has finally made clear what he has been hinting at for years.  He will veto the Keystone Pipeline.  He will veto the medical device tax.  He will veto a return to the 40 hour work week.  And so forth and so on.

I've never seen anyone like this President in all my 70+ years.  I cannot begin to understand his thought process.  All I know is he keeps telling us his way is the 21st century way.  I guess he thinks he can single handedly bring the rest of the world up to his standard no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary.

The question now is will the Congress revert to maybe the 20th century way when both sides of the aisle would work together to come up with viable compromise.  Where both sides of the aisle would work together to over turn a veto when they knew in their heart of hearts the veto was wrong.

We have a lot of new blood in this Congress. I'm wondering what type it may be. Hopefully there is plenty of type A.  A for America.  The country, it seems, no longer has much tolerance for O.

With Friends Like Us...

Some times the news is so incredible I have to pause to make sure I'm not reading some fictional thriller.  Such was my reaction when I read that the Obama administration has had meetings to consider sanctions against Israel.  Israel!  The only friend we have in the Middle East which doesn't have Muslim underpinnings.

They've been as staunch an ally to us as we've been to them before this administration. What could they have done to make us think sanctions could be justified?

Bombing innocents in Gaza?  No. Building houses in East Jerusalem.  It was captured in the seven year war.  However, it has been designated to be the capital of Palenstine when and if it becomes a state. Some would say by having declared themselves one is enough.  But the Israelis continue to build, not helping the situation at all but then since the Hamas driven Palestinians are determined to drive Israel into the sea I can understand why they continue to poke them. Halting the building would give them the high ground.

Why don't they take it?  I don't know. And that's the point. It would help if it were explained.   I do know, however, how we would react if our former allies would move to place sanctions on the United States for our handling of racial discord.  We'd scream and shout it's none of their business.  Butt out!

I don't understand middle eastern mind sets.  There is so much hatred and violence it seems to me to be hell on earth.  But isn't it an issue to be settled and perhaps even negotiated among themselves without U.S. threats if they don't do things our way?

It's cockeyed to be looking at sanctions against Israel for building settlements while looking to lessen or even eliminate them against Iran who is building toward a nuclear bomb!

They say we have no foreign policy, whoever "they" are.  In some ways they are wrong.  We do.  It's to micromanage everything according to the will of Obama regardless if it makes sense or not.  We promise military aid and send meals ready to eat.  We draw red lines and kick sand over them.  We negotiate with an enemy regime while they build their bomb. We take 4 days to mount a rescue attempt by which time the captive has been moved.

And we wonder why we have no credibility among our enemies nor our one time friends in the world. We have a bunch of rank amateurs running the show and bolstering one another while the professionals stew, quit or are fired should they dare speak out.

Is there anything worse than having no friends?  I think so.  I think it's having no convictions.

Immigration - More Questions than Answers

Well, Obama did one thing last night.  He created the expected fire storm. What struck me about his dictates is how oblivious they are to what will be both expected and unexpected consequences.

Just a few things that struck me in particular.  How everything is slanted toward Hispanics.  They are not the only illegals we have to contend with. what about our northern borders and coasts?

How are they going to verify just how long someone has been here illegally?  Take their word for it?  Do they really expect these people are going to come out from the shadows to fess up and pay a fine?  Especially if their "legalization" is for such a limited amount of time? And knowing that the next President can rescind the order?

Forgetting that the Congress couldn't get their act together over whether a comprehensive or piece meal bills should be passed, we have Harry Reid to thank that some piece meal legislation was ignored by the Senate.  No debate.  No compromise. Stamp your foot.  Dictate.

Also ignored is a pot full of needs that businesses wanted to have addressed. While this may sound nice to the Hispanics and those beating their breasts for anything that would pass, it is choke full of ambiguities, undeliverable promises and problems that if handled as it should have been would have been avoided.

We should all know that massive comprehensive legislation is doomed to failure.  All we have to do is look at Obamacare.  Even more of concern, however, are those in power who think they know best and act with self given impunity.

Obama has done nothing to mend the rift in the country nor the government.  What he has done is lessen his standing even further with  those of us worried about our democracy not to mention world leaders. Except for those who applaud his dictatorial  methods.  Those would be the ones who act in the same manner.  We call them enemies.  I don't know what he calls them.

What Manner Of Men

The world has always had its share of the criminally insane.  Many have escaped unscathed because they were rulers or part of the inner circles of such leaders.

Some, as with IS, couch their brutality in the shadow of their so called religion.  I haven't read the Koran so I cannot interpret it, but even those who have seem to be in disagreement as to exactly what it champions.

I have trouble believing the interpretation IS gives it could possibly be true.  If it is, theirs is the only Deity I know of that preaches hatred and cruelty over love and kindness. Actually, it doesn't really matter what it says in reality, but rather their interpretation that has become no more than a license to kill.

In my world those who are insane surface and commit horrendous crimes against their fellow man.  In my world they are usually lone wolves who have imagined grievances that compel them to strike out.  Most often they are captured and dealt with.  What I didn't realize is that in my world there reside scores of those looking for an opportunity but savvy enough to want to surround themselves with the like minded for protection and in some warped way, acceptance.

They watch well produced propaganda on social media and flock to the middle east to join their brothers.  It scares me that so many can be so horrifically cruel and celebrate it for the world to see.  Who knew they existed in such numbers?  If we knew we refused to see it because of it's horrific nature until their band grew in numbers where it had to be taken seriously.

Now they are running rampant throughout Iraq and Syria adding ground to their "caliphate" on a daily basis by executing anyone who stands in their way. I can't help but wonder if a great number of those men could care less about the religious aspect of their organization but have played the game in order to satisfy their blood lust by killing.  Just for the sake of killing.

There is also another manner of men I wonder about.  It's those who are in positions of leadership who could band together to annihilate this movement. Do they not think that the more successful IS is the more in danger of falling victim they become? Especially those who are neighbors in the vicinity.

Then there are those in the west who as of now have only been affected from a distance, not on their home ground, at least not to the scale we see playing out.  But again, the more ground IS gains the more their capabilities improve.

With that, why do we merely tinker around the edges?  Containing them, which we aren't yet doing well, will not stop them.  They must be eliminated in order to send the message that such behavior will not be tolerated in a civilized world.  It doesn't matter where they are.  It matters what they are. It doesn't matter, either, who stops them as long as they are stopped.  If it falls to us that let's do it.

For those with the ability to stop them who choose not to do so by trying to shift the responsibility are not facing reality.  I have to ask about them too, what manner of men are they? In many ways, no better.  Maybe even worse because they appear cowardly. Cowardly leadership does not win wars. They merely hide or quit.