The One Billion Dollar Man

To no ones surprise, today President Obama announced he is running for re-election.  The dollar amount his campaign wants to raise is what astounds me.  One billion dollars.  How many of us can comprehend that amount?  Especially those without jobs nor with any prospects expected in the foreseeable future. Those who's homes are being foreclosed on.  Those who can't afford to buy a tank of gas to get to work if lucky enough to have a job.  Those who can't put a nourishing meal on the table because the cost of nourishing food is through the roof.

It seems campaign spending has gotten as ludicrous as campaign promises - like hope and change.  Here is a man who at best deserves a gentleman's "C" for his performance.  I don't see that changing over the next couple of years.  One, he doesn't have the House with him so it will slow down his domestic agenda and two, his foreign policy is murky at best.  We're still at war.  Guantanamo is still open.  Gays can not yet serve openly in the military.  Health care reform is all over the map.  Drilling has yet to be resumed in the Gulf.  These are just popping into my head as I write.  I know I'm down on this President, but still, nothing is coming to mind as a great success.

One billion dollars.  That money could be spent so much better than being put into the pockets of strategists and ad campaigns distorting the records of those in opposition!  One billion dollars.  I just can't get my head around it.

If he were a wildly popular President, no where near that much would be necessary.  It makes me wonder if his insiders think he's even worse than I do in thinking that kind of money will be needed.  Heck he doesn't even have a credible opponent yet!

Let's face it, who are we looking at?  Palin and Bachmann.  I don't think so.  Pawlenty.  Who's he?  The stout guy from Mississippi.  The Morman.  Trump?  You've got to be kidding.  Giuliani?  That's digging deep.  He'd have to show up before Florida.  And last, but not least, I heard today Jesse Ventura would consider running with Ron Paul!

What a choice.  One billion dollars?  I'd think maybe $1.95 plus tax might cover it.

Terry Jones Is A Very Lucky Man

Back in March when I first heard that Reverend Terry Jones finally got the Koran burned, I knew word would get out and no good would come of it.  I hope he is pleased with himself and can live with the fact that people who are not even Americans died for his action.

I really do not understand how, in this particular case, the people of Afghanistan, think.  They seem to be the ones rioting and slaying over Reverend Jones's action.  Not having any Americans handy they went after the UN who is in their country to do nothing but help.  Some thanks.

As of today, I've not heard of rioting in any other part of the Muslim world.  Of course that could be they are too busy with the myriad of civil wars being fought. More important is that I've not seen nor heard anything from the American Muslims.   They have every right to be offended.  What puzzles me is two fold.  One that they have said nothing about the Reverend Jones and two, they have said nothing about the rioting in Afghanistan.  The silence is deafening.

It goes back to the question about where are the moderate Muslims.  Why are they not speaking out or is the media just not covering it?  It it the fear factor.  The fear of what will happen from the extremist fringe within their own community and/or fear of what non-Muslim reaction would be.

It must be a very frustrating way to live, not knowing which "enemy" is the worst.  That they have not fought fire with fire in this country, where the desecration took place, is to be commended.  One day, however, one of these men of "God", be it Jones or the Westboro Baptist Church crowd or someone of their ilk, is going to push the envelope too far and even the most constrained of us is going to say enough is enough.

If that happens it will be a god awful mess no matter what god is worshipped.

The Tea Party Has A Lot To Learn About Politics

A little bit of power can be a dangerous thing.  Take the Tea Party.  They've had one minor success and they now seem to think everything should be their way or not at all.  Wrong.

What they're doing is the very thing the Democrats did when they held both houses of Congress.  Trying to ram through legislation by threat and intimidation.  Who needs that again?

They claim they were elected on the issue of trimming the budget. It is their mandate. The Republican leadership has worked out a compromise with the Democrats, but that isn't enough for the Tea Partiers.  They want more even if it means shutting down the government and all that goes with it.  It would be a huge mistake and a swell way to get the independents of the country to turn against them. What they don't seem to get is that politics is a game of compromise.  They saw what happened when the Democrats abandoned those rules in 2008.  They lost. Now they are falling prey to it.  Consider their own leadership was urging small steps during the health care debacle.  Now , rather than following that philosophy with the budget, they want to take up the Democrats way.  Force and intimidation.  They are not yet strong enough to be able to include bribery.

Being bull headed will get them no where in the long run.  They have to realize all Republicans  do not nor  ever will ascribe to their far right tendencies guised as Conservatism.  And they cannot win with just those who do.

I don't think they even realize they lost the Senate for the Republicans by turning out good party members because they weren't conservative enough.  They are threatening to go after more in 2012.  What they're likely to do is lose the house again too.

Scott Brown of Massachusetts is one they are highlighting, as well as Speaker Boehner.  Boehner understands well how the game is played.  Brown too understands politics.  Turn them out at your own peril.

It's easy to stand on the outside and criticise.  Like arm chair quarterbacking.  I've heard everyone from Newt to Sarah to Michelle Bachmann rant about what they are against and what they are for.  What I've yet to hear is how they are going to accomplish it. I'm listening.

 It isn't going to be by mimicking the Democrats of the last Congress and demanding all things be their way.  That will make their tea dark and bitter and many will throw it out rather than drink it.  

Too Little, Too Late

Exactly what I feared is beginning to happen.  As we still dither about how much aid to afford the Libyan rebels because we "aren't sure who they are", other despots are becoming emboldened.

Of course had we acted when it was a humanitarian undertaking, as the French and British wanted, we knew who they were.  Now it's a confused mess because the people who were demonstrating against tyranny have now become warriors fighting a civil war for their very survival.

Egypt's Mubarak must be wondering why he didn't hang on. He no doubt thought a western coalition would remove him from office if he didn't do it himself.  How wrong he was!

Others, as I had anticipated, have been watching and waiting.  Syria in particular.  What had been expected to be a speech outlining major reform turned out to be anything but. President Assad has dug in his heels and has deemed protesters in his country traitors.  This does not bode well for them.

While the fear mongers in the media would have us believe radical Muslims are behind all these actions, that is not the case.  It has been students and the population tired of unemployment, lack of opportunity, totalitarian government and a sub-par standard of living.  Now, however, the time is ripe for extremists to move into the vacuum the west has left.  Will the rebels accept their help?

I think if I were them I would.  Mainly because if the governments win, the rebels can kiss their lives good bye.  It's already happening as the Libyan government forces are regaining what had been lost.  Any hope may well be better than no hope.  They can be dealt with at a later time.  For that too happen, however, there has to be a faction that survives.

I  am sorry for the people of various countries in the region who have not yet had their protests resolved.  I am sorry that they were naive enough to protest without being prepared to step into governance before they began.  I am sorry that they have been forced into wars they are not prepared to fight.  I am sorry they don't even know how to fire the weapons that have fallen into their hands.

I am concerned that this whole middle eastern exercise is going to set the cause of freedom for the people back decades.  The dictators are going to be more wary and brutal.  The people are going to be wary of overtures from the west having been burned once already.  The extremists will pick up speed in their efforts to organize.  What will the west do?

It may not matter.  Our leader looks weak.  Other nations will realize that we are not what we once were and it will take those same decades to earn back their respect, if we even try.

If the people of those countries try again, collectively, like this time, they will undoubtedly not look to the west.  What help they will find is any one's guess.  I'm willing to bet, however, that the student warriors we claim not to know today are a whole lot better than what may lay ahead.

Gadaffi Must Go!

Everyone says so.  Our President says so.  Diplomats from 40 nations have said so.  The questions is just how are they going to do that?

A German diplomat says the illusion that business will get back to normal if he manages to hang on must be destroyed.  Somehow, I don't think Mr. Gadaffi is suffering from that illusion.  I suspect he figures if he manages to hang on there will be a blood bath the likes of which we've seldom seen.

On the other hand, for all the pontificating, talk about arming the rebels to do the job did not come up in recent talks.  So how are they going to do it?  Well, maybe if the air strikes fail to protect the civilians, it will be considered, says another.  The rebels are the civilians.  Some of Gadaffi's supporters are civilians.  Oops.  Sounds like a bona fide civil war to me!  No one wants to get involved in that.

When all else fails, there are always sanctions.  Oops again.  Assets are already being frozen.  Yet, just like guns to the drug cartels in Mexico, the bad guys always seem to find a way. The fighting continues.

It was of interest to hear nothing about the depth of U.S. involvement, ultimate leadership or  the end game in Obama's address last night.  So where does that leave things?  It leaves everyone talking about what no one wants to do.  The international community will talk it to death.  The mid-east will crumble around them because the next country is waiting in the wings.

It will, however, do exactly what Obama has said he's wanted.  The international community to act in concert.  No plan. No decisions.  No leadership.  But in concert.

If the mid-eastern people want their freedoms, they'll have to figure out how to do it with out international intervention.  They can be dead sure about that.  Dead sure.