Comfort Of Sorts

We've been away again, avoiding all the political news as best we could.  TVs in breakfast rooms and USA Today headlines always seem to catch your eye however.

I really tuned out after hearing about Trump's rampage about Ben Carson.  No, Mr. Trump.  The people of Iowa aren't stupid and neither am I.  I'm sick and tired of you calling everyone who disagrees with you or thinks you have a temperament problem stupid.

This morning I read Trump's poll numbers have surged to 42%.  Unfortunately I understand why.  It's why he's been leading all along.  He says what he thinks no matter how outrageous and somehow his exuberance is infectious.

So it will be in his outrage over what has happened in Paris and what he would do about it.  You get the feeling he actually will carry out what ever his threats may be no matter if they are prudent or not.  Does it matter?  Pussy footing around these terrorists because someone may be offended has got to stop.  Our leaders seem inclined to expect everyone else to make it happen.  Everyone else expects the U.S. to grab the monster by the horns and lead the way.

Which of the candidates is most convincing in righteous outrage? Why of course, it's Trump.  Perception in this case outweighs prudence.  Maybe it's what is needed.

We Have Our Own Brand Of Terrorism

Call me racist if you will, but I'm sick and tired of having members of the black community take advantage of an unfortunate situation to loot and burn and steal all under the guise of protest.  It's criminal and should be treated as such.

Oh, these poor misunderstood protesters.  Bull!  They should be arrested, charged accordingly and jailed.  Then they should be tried and if found guilty be sent off to jail once again.  If local jails are over crowded open up Gitmo.

If there are more blacks in jail than whites because of this well guess what, they're the ones committing the crimes!

What is happening in Baltimore has prompted more of the same back in Ferguson.  Those poor folks were just beginning to get it together again. This is nonsense and has to stop.

Remember that both Freddie Gray and Michael Brown were no saints.  Freddie had a record and we watched Michael stealing from the convenience store and roughing up the owner on surveillance tape in real time. Nice guys these two.

It isn't clear yet why Freddie had an injured spine that ultimately led to his death,  It was a horribly tragic death but does it justify the ruination of a city the size of Baltimore?  Or even Ferguson for that matter.

What ever happened to leadership?  When did it become acceptable to coddle the protesters causing hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of damage not to mention multiple injuries and maybe even another death?  

The fault lies with wishy washy leaders who are afraid of the very people they're supposed to be leading! It's disgraceful, disgusting and it has to change.

If it doesn't, we will have lost not only the respect of the world but have lowered ourselves to the lowest common denominator of civil behavior.  We will have no voice when others do the same and worse.

Under this administration I have watched this country come under attack from within.  Never mind ISIL.  Never mind they may actually have infiltrated our borders.  Our biggest fear stems from the behavior from our own citizens that continues to escalate.  Which town or city will be next? Which police department will be demonized next?

Yes.  Police officers make mistakes and the media is only too willing to jump on them.  When was the last time you heard some stories about the good police do?  Thugs are thugs, no matter their race and should be treated as such.

Getting our priorities straight when it comes to this type of behavior is long overdue.

The Hypocrisy Of It

It's time, I think, to reassess our friends and allies.  While we had no high level member of the administration attending the rally in Paris against Islamic terrorism, we continue to play footsie with the likes of the Saudis.

Why is that?  In their own way they are every bit as brutal as ISIS yet we continue to do business with them.  The latest story is about a blogger.  A blogger.  Not unlike myself.

He is a human rights activist.  That's a dangerous undertaking in Saudi.  When you upset the powers that be it could cost you your life as it may well this mans.  He has been sentenced to 15 years and 50 lashes once a week for 20 weeks.  One must have an extremely strong constitution to withstand such brutality.

What did he do?  He dared to critique the way Saudi clerics interpret Islam.  He was arrested in 2012 and was first sentenced to seven years and 600 lashes. He appealed and was rewarded with an even harsher sentence.  What kind of justice is this?  All for wanting to create a dialogue on how to modernize Saudi Islam.  Not so very different from how multitudes of bloggers in this country have a dialogue on how to improve our government.  Fortunately we can do so with no worse than sneers from those who don't agree.

At one time we maintained these mid-east relationships because of our dependency on their oil.  Technology has made it no longer necessary if our government will see the light and act accordingly.

It seems an ideal time to reassess these relationships.  They are brutal, hateful people.  Some don't bother to hide the fact.  Others couch it as best they can for obvious reasons.  In this case they too are afraid of ISIS and need the west's help in fighting them.  Let's face it, they don't want their form of brutality taken over by others - especially since it's more finite than their own and might even touch them in their inner sanctums.

How we can turn our backs on western allies who gathered together to protest Islamic terrorism on one hand and cater to those who support it, even practice it, on the other escapes me. And not just Saudi.  There are many other countries who have equally repugnant practices.

It's time.  Congress holds the power of the purse.  Here's one more item where the purse strings should be pulled closed, never again to be opened.  The administration wants more revenue?  Here is a source for a pile of it.

If Not Us, Who?

There is a great column in today's NY Times  by Roger Cohen titled The Great Unraveling .  It is an unnerving summation of the world circumstance as it stands today.

It seems the world has ceased to know how to function in unity no matter  how dire the straits we face. The Russians have become aggressive,  Israel is in an uneasy cease fire with terrorists, Syria continues its civil war while the country implodes, the British are facing a major reshaping of their empire and our government is dithering about how much aid should be given to a region in dire need because one part of it hasn't formed a government of which it approves.

What has happened to us?  What difference what these people call themselves.  Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, The Islamic State, what ever!  They are all cut from the same piece of cloth.  Radical Islam. Their creed is all the same and eventually they will band together under one banner, that which is the most successful at achieving the goal they all share.

It isn't which group is more of a threat to us that should be the consideration.  It's the movement as a whole.  It must be destroyed and dithering doesn't get it done.  The way everyone is acting you'd think time is of no essence.  Heaven forbid we don't solve all the potential political ramifications before actually making a decision!

To Hell with politics.  Why can't we just do what's right.  The military has been quite vocal about what is needed.  The Powell Doctrine.  Hit hard, win and leave.  Win is the key word here.  No more pussy footing around, no more toying with populations.

The regional problems are going to remain.  They've been going on for centuries.  But we must let all those concerned within and outside of the region there is a limit as to what the civilized world will tolerate.

We will not tolerate madmen annihilating others merely because they believe differently when it comes to politics or religion.  We will not tolerate the capture, rape and selling of women. Nor the lashing of them nor stoning them to death. We will not tolerate the slaughter of innocent children because of their own or their parent's religion. We will not tolerate the inhuman executions of their captives, no matter nationality nor religion.

If they want to live in their tribal enclaves so be it.  We will not force democracy on them.  We will demand, however, that they emerge from their caves into the daylight of human decency and civilized behavior.

Should they continue to choose not to, we will eliminate them.  Pure and simple.  Expediently and timely.  You say war is uncivilized?  No.  What's uncivilized is the unwillingness to have the courage of our convictions.  Drastic actions call for drastic means.  Some one has to take charge.  It should be us leading the way.  Unfortunately it is not.  Courage is no longer in the vocabulary of politics.

And the enemy knows it.