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.

Maybe We Should Eliminate Polls

I got to thinking a lot about polls yesterday and found myself wondering if we should add to the ranks of the unemployed and get rid of political polls and pollsters when it comes to choosing our candidates. We could rid ourselves of consultants and strategists too.  Those pesky folks who come up with the never-to-be-varied talking points.

I see a couple of advantages.  Without polls to tell candidates what they must say in order to garner votes, they would have to campaign on what they believe.  No help from the peanut gallery.

It would help voters too.  They would actually have to listen to those candidates to find out what they really stand for.  No help from the peanut gallery.

Think of it.  No more staffs of hundreds plucking and preening appearance nor message.  The candidate looks like they look and speaks what they believe.  That would eliminate a lot of opportunists who don't believe anything.

It would force voters to figure out for themselves what's important rather than being informed by the polls.  They'd hear what the candidates think is important without benefit of polls and could decide for themselves if said candidate is on their wave length rather than blindly hoping.

How ingenious!  Everyone thinking without being beholden to any one or any idea other than their own and themselves.  Could we cope?  I doubt it, but I'd sure like to see it tried!

Hillary. Please Explain!

I have two questions.  Why does Hillary Clinton reap such high poll ratings?  And why do Democrats seem to be in lockstep behind her?

All the past Clinton shenanigans are coming to light once again with the emergence of her most recent faux pas.  Isn't that enough to give voters pause?  Especially Democrats.

Or does this allegiance tell us something about Democrats we'd rather not believe.  That a person with the character of a Hillary Clinton is their leader of choice?

I don't understand my country any more.  I do understand more every day what being a dinosaur is like and I'm continually looking for the tar pit lest I get swallowed up by it.  Even after the mid-terms when the voting public let it be know they were tired of smarmy politics it continues.  On both sides I might add considering the comment Lindsey Graham made about Nancy Pelosi's many surgeries.  But why?

What ever happened to good manners? Open mindedness? Compromise? They're already in that tar pit!

Frustration?  That's no excuse.  That's when self discipline is most important! But it all stems back to mind set.  I worry that the Democrats are so enthralled with Hillary.  A candidate who needs advisers to tell her what she is to think does not strike me as leadership material.  This is a time when we sorely need it and we have a disturbing visual what the world is like it without.

I don't know if a Martin Oralle or Jim Webb can wrest the nomination away from Hillary or if there is someone yet to appear, but I hope someone does.

What appears to be a game of wits, and I mean game, against all opposition with the Clintons is deadly serious business to the rest of the country.  Or at least it should be.

I don't know in whose camp I will land at this point but I do know it won't be Hillary's.  I hope that's true for a majority of Democrats too.

Republican Retards

The voters put the Republicans back in the drivers seat but it seems they've forgotten how to drive!  What does it take to make these politicians come to their senses?

I do not for the life of me understand their unwillingness to look at a situation and do what's right.  Like fund the Department of Homeland Security and save the President's fiat over reach for another day.

The Dems have been making the point all along.  With all the terror threats circulating around the world, would we not want Homeland Security up to snuff?  It makes no sense. Not only is it a dangerous gamble but for political purposes alone the optics are terrible.

You'd think they would recognize that part of what put them in the majority was the bad optics of the Democrats.  It goes to show that even though we voted Republicans back to leadership we didn't vote for the right ones.  Ones who understand when to grand stand and when to stop.  Now is the time to stop and get their act together and I mean together.

The argument that they're voting the way their constituents want them to doesn't wash.  It's insulting.  There are other ways of standing up to the President than putting the country at risk.  Don't for a minute think because those DHS employees are considered essential and have to show up for work with no more than a promise of delayed pay that they will do so with their hearts in their jobs.  That in of itself is dangerous.

What the party leaders need to do is sit down and come up with a strategy. On all issues. Why this wasn't done before they took over the reins is beyond me.  There was plenty of time.  Or as like the President, couldn't Mr. Boehner get off the golf course long enough to gather his leadership team and set some priorities?

Thus far I am extremely disappointed in how they are conducting the people's business. They seem to have heard nothing from the electorate other than what they falsely imagine in order to  advance their own personal agendas.  Otherwise business as usual.

As I watch the jockeying for position among the candidates I see some potential for solid leadership.  Should the Republicans be able to prevail over Hillary in the Presidential sweepstakes, what good will it be if the Democrats take back Congress?

Whose hands is it in?  The Republicans.  Mostly in the House. A good share in the Senate.  For the love of country, people, get your blasted act together!

Patriotism Isn't Dead Yet

It's Friday.  Time for something uplifting to take through the weekend.  A friend sent me this and my eyes were blurry with tears by the time it finished. It is both poignant and uplifting.

It gives me hope to know that at least some parents are instilling their kids with what it is to be an American.  This young boy gets it.  It's worth a few minutes viewing.