Reflections

Today, the penultimate day of 2006 is a good one for a short reflection on the events of the past year. The coincidence of the deaths of Gerald Ford and Saddam Hussein cast the year in stark relief. While this column is generally concerned with national and world events there have been a few interesting things in North Carolina to be discussed later so please be patient.

The war in Iraq has been over for about three years, the occupation is still struggling to help some sort of civil society to emerge. This transformation might be a little more plausible with the death of Saddam Hussein. The die hard Sunnis must now recognize that their benefactor, at the expense of the Kurds and Shiites, will never again champion their interests. The Sunnis must now face the reality that to survive they must cooperate with their internal enemies. This will give the country a chance to retain its shape and character.

In the United States and the rest of the world the events in Iraq are seen from a different perspective. The Europeans have seen a cash cow gutted by the US invasion of Iraq, and they are understandably angry at the economic inconvenience they have experienced. There can be no doubt that European motivations are based on their own inability to influence events. Even the Pope has to get in the act.

In the United States the argument has boiled down to the childish. Ancient hippies and young wannabees “protest” and demonstrate their unhappiness with happy abandon. They are not to be taken seriously even when embraced by the hypocritical politicians who put them to use. The real problem with public opinion is that the “adults” who once supported the occupation have now turned away in disgust and sadness. The disgust is about the clear lack of interest on the part of Iraqis to build a country. The sadness is over the deaths of so many willing service personnel who have died in place of Iraqis. While these are generalizations the ideas are fairly accurate.

Global warming continued in 2006 much as it has done for the past 16,000 years. Species have been affected by this continuum in terms of reduced numbers and even extinction. New species have been discovered at a record rate; apparently the earth can take care of itself. The UN has now admitted that global warming is mostly attributable to natural events. There were no hurricanes in the United States this year. Mankind has such a short memory and such a weak collective IQ that only political considerations have a chance of making headway in this issue.

Liberty in the US has shrunk once again. Smokers are no longer given the choice about whether to enter a no smoking restaurant or to seek out one that permits smoking. Smoking in public places is generally prohibited. Food choices are also being restricted on the basis of consensus science rather than proven scientific facts (which might not exist in most cases). The sheep are being lead by unfriendly shepherds.

The terror attacks in the US and really most of the world seemed to be reduced for 2006 even though many politicians think that Israel is the sole cause of all the world’s problems. A former US President, Jimmy Carter, has said as much in speeches and a new book, reinforcing the popular view of him as the worst president ever.

In North Carolina reverse racism at the hands of a white district attorney has made the state’s justice system the laughing stock of the country if not the world. Mike Nifong should be disbarred for the damage he has done to the expectation of fair and impartial outcome for any defendants. For pure political gain Mr. Nifong deliberately mishandled the accusation of kidnapping and rape against members of the Duke Lacrosse team. The black leadership of the US and Durham, NC, missed a golden opportunity to build bridges across community divides as did 88 members of the Duke faculty who signed a statement condemning the accused prior to any trial. Instead these “leaders” chose the rhetoric of racial politics at its most disturbing. When they could have insisted on a clear, prompt, and just investigation; they demanded a legal lynching in retribution for crimes against blacks.

2007 is an unknown entity but some events will continue while new things will happen. I’m looking forward to finding out how it will be.

Promises Schomises

Democrat Party Leaders are now shying away from their early goals. The first of these setbacks comes as no real shock; they are trading the security of the United States for personal power within the Congress. Yesterday Nancy Pelosi announced that the Democrat Party would not be implementing every recommendation of the 9/11 commission as promised during the campaign. Senator Chris Dodd dismissed complaints about this as naiveté on the part of the electorate as such promises are just campaign rhetoric.

The real difficulty that has arisen is that establishing new oversight committees will weaken the other committees already led by Democrat hacks. This is only the first of many changes that can be expected during the first “100 Hours” promised by Pelosi and her cronies. The amusing thing is that the Democrats are fending off Republican criticism of their behavior as out of place since the Republicans behaved the same way. So why elect Democrats?

The American public is extremely gullible; one only has to consider the content of media advertising to reach this conclusion. The US education system is so bad that one can not reasonably expect literate students to emerge from the schools. It appears that the education system is designed to benefit school administrators and provide a safe retirement for teachers. The curriculum is designed to teach testing end points and not to educate the populace. As the old saying goes “Garbage in, garbage out.”

It seems very likely that the electorate will be very frustrated with the Congress by 2008 and that this session will be as lame a duck as the remaining years of the Bush presidency.

Liberal - Iran Nexus

Howard Dean and Ahmadinejad are allies. Dean, speaking French to a Quebec crowd of Canadian liberals, criticized President Bush, crowed over the election results, and took a poke a Fox News; none of which actions is surprising. The liberals despise Fox News for the simple reason that Fox doesn’t give them a pass on the liberal’s inane behavior. To disagree with a liberal is to admit being insane. After all they know what is best for everyone.

Ahmadinejad is a slightly different bird. Of course he feels that with the election of a Democrat Party majority Iran will get a free pass on its nuclear program and anything else it wants. Mr. Ahmadinejad wants the US to write him a letter in response to missives he sends. No doubt Nancy and Harry will do so, perhaps inviting him to address a joint session of congress. Crawling before our enemies is going to be the new strategy for survival. Public opinion means everything in the United States. Of course by the time terrorists attacks shift public opinion back to the Bush Doctrine it might be a little late to take action.

The recent comments by Charlie Rangel and John Kerry illustrate the prevailing view of military service among Democrats and their allies on the wacky left. The allies are groups of Americans who have never grown up and are unwilling to face the harsh realities of life. Many of them are wealthy enough to have sycophants that isolate them from such nerve wracking events. Once we can no longer defend ourselves we will join the Euros in begging to be left alone. This is not a plan the Islamofascists can live with. World domination through Sharia is the only acceptable end.

Howard and Mahmud are looking forward to sharing a hookah in Tehran or perhaps a hooker in New York.

The True Religion

Christianity is the world’s only true religion. This statement is true prima facie based only the behavior towards it. Christianity is persecuted in its home country and feared around the world. Why? An examination of its tenets reveals a religion of true peace and love, though many of its adherents do not subscribe to all its principles.

In the United States for example Christianity is assumed to be the national religion event though such a thing is forbidden by the Constitution. The strictures laid against Christian expression cannot be found with regard to any other religion. In fact the symbols of Judaism and Islam are rarely, if ever, forbidden. This lack of attention indicates that Judaism, Islam, Buddhism, and others are really on a level with Transcendental Meditation in terms of their cultural impact.

Christian leaders have always abused their power, and great it must be, examples are many from the reign of Constantine, the renaissance popes, the inquisition, Henry VIII and his relatives, to modern day Jim Jones and David Koresh, yet the kernel of truth still shines through. One of the most unfortunate aspects of Christianity is its sectarian nature and these sects reliance on the fear found in the Old Testament. Of course Christ claimed that his ideas were fulfilling and replacing the Old Testament; statements that got him killed. The fact that most Christians cannot live simply by the New Testament is troubling, but in terms of human nature quite understandable. The basis for control in Islam is fear, so it is in many Christian sects. Still the power of a simple idea, Love Your Neighbor As You Love Yourself, makes the religion that expounds it inherently true.

Religion arose in the mists of time to answer the questions about death, drought, warring tribes, and so on. The priestly class gained power by developing answers to these questions and maintained power by keeping education a secret process. From there developed more worldly politicians with armies that could check the priests influence through violence. This corruption naturally led to priestly interpretation in favor the local chieftain. As cultures developed religions became more sophisticated instruments of the state holding all in thrall under the guise of righteousness. This is true from China to Peru, from Rome, to Istanbul, from Baghdad to Jerusalem, from Boston to Los Angeles, only one has the spark of human longing: Christianity.

This is not an argument about whether Christ is God or not. It is simply an observation that the strength of the Christian message is in its recognition that most human beings want peaceful and harmonious relationships with one another. Those exceptions rise in political heights in search of the power to dominate their fellow man. By definition the impulse to power is irreligious.

During the Christmas season repression is at its height, but all year long the fear that someday people will indeed Love Each Other As They Love Themselves will happen and thus de facto depose the powerful works its way to eliminate any such possibility. For that reason alone Christianity must be considered the only true religion.

Joe Loves Hugo

Joe Kennedy II, named for his great uncle, is doing a deal with the devil one which his namesake would likely never endorse. The original Joe Kennedy, son not the father, was killed in action during WWII and has been revered as a hero ever since. He died fighting oppression, his great nephew is endorsing a dictator and garnering positive PR in the process. Kennedy and Hugo Chavez have done a deal to provide heating oil, through CITGO, at a 40% discount. This will undoubtedly benefit those who qualify this winter in the colder regions of the US, but what gain will the citizens of Venezuela gain?

Venezuela has sunk in terms of living standards since Hugo took over. He and his mentor, Fidel Castro, are still attempting to spread Marxist style socialism if not communism. The do-good, feel-gooders of the liberal wing love this idea. Utopia always sounds good even if it never pans out. Fidel will soon be , if not already, dead. This will be a great tragedy for the Democrat supporters of this tyrant. They are switching their allegiance to Chavez.

The Kennedy- Chavez nexus is supposedly a non-profit effort but salaries must be paid etc, so profit is in the eye of the profiteer. Chavez hopes to rehabilitate his tarnished image though he is probably going to be disappointed in the long run.

Those conservatives who stayed home or voted Democrat in protest are now getting what they wanted; too bad for the rest of us.

Rangel, Waxman, Dingell, and Durbin are examples of what the future holds; bitter partisan clashes, revenge, and general congressional chaos. This might be good as no legislation is likely to be passed during this period. Rangel's proposal to reinstate the draft is a typically hypocritical view of life. This system was started by Democrats during the First World War and repealed by them immediately after the Vietnam era.


The Kennedy-Chavez proposition is just one more example of this kind of opportunistic thinking and behavior.

A Brief View

The crazy part of the year is here. Beginning with Thanksgiving weekend the workplace will slowly grind to a halt; stopping completely during the final two weeks of December. The world of course will continue its celestial journey and on the ground events will continue to unfold. The Democrats are marshalling their complaints against the Bush administration; fundamentally a dead issue as Bush cannot be re-elected and the Democrats control Congress.

The KGB, now known as the FSB, is providing fodder for novelists and screen writers in what appears to be a takeover of Russia. Czar Vladimir Putin I and his cronies are robbing the country blind and murdering anyone who objects or causes scrutiny of the FSB. The lingering death by poison of a former Putin associate is only the latest victim of this purge. There have been at least three other political murders apparently sponsored by the state in the last few years. It is doubtful that any real elections will take place in Russia for the foreseeable future. While this behavior tracks well with Russian psychology the implications for world stability are not so clear. Russia has always been dominated by a strong leader, never has there been a time when democracy of any form has flourished. Such ingrained attitudes make it easier to accept a fait accompli than it is to protest it.

In Iraq the situation is degrading into a “last man standing” scenario in which the political will of the American people is so weak that it is very likely that many Sunnis will be exterminated in the next few years. The Shia will indulge in ethnic cleansing on scale not imagined since the Second World War. The question will then be what is Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, et al to do? A Pan-Arab war would devastate the region but will injure Iran and Iraq more. With Turkey on one side and the rest of the Sunnis on the other a squeeze play would result in nuclear retaliation; the rest can be imagined.

The world economy is chugging along with China and India realizing their financial power by simple virtue of their populations. This growth will be impossible for the existing governments to control and so more turmoil there. China is hoping for a good PR result from the Olympic Games but they are so corrupt that only a morbid curiosity about how China will deal with the influx of foreigners will be of interest.

Election Hijinks

Elections are interesting because of the surprising revelations that often follow. The Democrat Party is just finding out how to take the reins of government and they still have a lot to re-learn. The first woman elected to the House Speaker ship, Nancy Pelosi, has already made a major gaffe that could have been easily avoided. By keeping her promise to Jack Murtha she actually jeopardized her own authority. It’s never a good idea to display weak judgment before one is moved in to the new office.

Sten Hoyer, the new House Majority Leader, is likely to obstruct Pelosi when it suits him and to so without fear. This situation will also encourage the “Blue Dog Democrats” to go their own way without trepidation and to represent their districts as they were elected. The ultra liberal wing of the party will still insist on impeaching George Bush and exacting revenge for the slights and imagined slights dealt to them during the Republican era. This behavior will not serve them well because the US public is not in the mood for sophomoric high jinks.

The Iraq war, which the IslamoFascists are anticipating a quick end, will make American influence that much less important in the world. Of course this suits the ultra left but is not really in the best interests of the United States. The Muslim blogs, websites, and other media are celebrating the advent of the Democrat “Peace Party” as a further demonstration that the US can no longer make its power felt for more than a few days. The craziness on the left coast while not sweeping the nation is an insidious omen for the future.

The United States is a nation of 300 million souls defended by a relatively small military from enemies who are not only determined to destroy it they are commanded by their religion to do so. This is beyond comprehension to the left as they have no such belief system and cannot grasp the significance of the desire to get to Heaven. The result is denial and alibis about the various cause and effect syndromes behind the Muslim behavior. These liberals are completely wrong. This should be clear from the membership in jihad by well educated Muslims as well as the ignorant.

Western Culture is under assault by Islam but more seriously by itself.

Dark Clouds

The party is just starting and already disappointment is in the air. From all indications the US economy is headed for a few bumpy rides in the coming months possibly leaving the Democrats with a recession on their hands. Certainly it appears that inflationary pressures are getting stronger and the Democrats policies generally don’t cope well under those circumstances. Just as economic growth is slowing the Democrats will raise the minimum wage, increase taxes, and disrupt the government to the extent that there is a good chance that 2008 will be a very difficult time.

The rise of socialism, an already failed system, will simply make things worse. Job growth has been very strong over the past three years but the country is running out of workers. The entitlement programs, which the Democrats will tend to grow, will eventually bankrupt the nation. Thanks to abortion on demand the United States is missing approximately 40 million potential workers who would have helped offset the welfare deficits that will result from 77 million baby boomers making their demands on the system.

All this means that the election in 2008 could see a complete reversal of fortune from the latest election last week. Please note that there was no wailing and gnashing of teeth from the Republican side no accusations of cheating, disenfranchisement etc. The juveniles have taken over and might make some pretty silly choices.

The American health care system will slowly stop in the next few years if expectations are not lowered. Yet, Hillary Clinton wants to “insure” everyone imagining that there is a bottomless well of money to pay for the plan. This strategy of vote buying is out of date and very dangerous. Already health care costs for seniors are spiraling out of control and the end is nowhere in sight.

By exiting Iraq precipitously the Islamofascists are getting the wrong signal, or perhaps the correct one, that the US is no longer interested in having much world influence. By dismissing John Bolton the Democrats are confirming the behavior of the UN. Things are not looking very good for the immediate future.

Veteran's Day

I served in the US Air Force from 1966 through 1970. Today is Veteran’s Day formerly known as Armistice Day which is the name I knew it by as a child. Then the day was set aside to honor the end of the First World War which didn’t actually end until 1945. In those days deep red poppies were sold as boutonnières to show respect for the dead of that conflict. Since 1918 there have been so many wars that the memorial day was converted to honor the living and the dead who have served the United States as members of the military.

I was drafted but enlisted before the Army could get its hands on me. I oppose any direct military draft but support some form of national service for all when they turn eighteen. The exact type of national service should be a choice. It could be military service, but it could also be hospital service, national park service, urban clean up, name it and it could be done. These people too would then be Veterans to be honored for serving their country.

Why would this be a good idea? Even though the Air Force is and was an all volunteer organization the draft forced people from all walks of life into service. This was a great leveler and gave those of us who served a sense of purpose, a maturing experience, a love of country, and an appreciation for the diversity of the citizenry of the USA. It was an experience I didn’t want but wouldn’t trade for anything.

The experience afforded me by military service is something I will never get over. Friendships made and lost in short periods. Experiences that heightened one’s awareness of the joy of life were contrasted by periods of boredom and loneliness. Excitement, fear, pride, sadness, joy, all compressed into stretches that could sometimes be measured in nano seconds and other times centuries.

All young people should have the opportunity to experience life in close quarters with friends and enemies with a job to do. Ours is a nation of 300 million souls defended by only 1,600,000 active duty personnel. A sense of purpose and true membership as a citizen is imparted when one gives of oneself for the benefit of others.

What Might Tomorrow Bring

While the new Democrat Congress will have to be careful about its agenda it appears unlikely that they will be able to control their impulses. The attempt to turn the US towards a European model based on failed welfare state socialism will result in an economic turndown. By 2008 it is likely that the US economic growth will have slowed if not stopped; a strong case for deflation as a possible outcome can be made.

The hysterical nature of liberals and ultralibs will force them to seek revenge for the perceived slights of the Bush Administration. The childish behavior they have exhibited over the past few years gives a strong indication of what is to come. The Democrat Party purports to be the party of the worker, whatever that term might mean to them, and as such has a strong Marxist bent. The wackiest, and most dangerous, are interestingly very wealthy and exploit the workers who do the menial tasks in liberal households.

Even considering Alcee Hastings for a Chairmanship proves the point that the Democrat Party has no idea of good behavior. No doubt the scandals will erupt over corruption and worse. The public will have to look to the conservative blogs, Newsmax, Rush Limbaugh, and others to find out what is really happening.

The economic downturn of 2008 will be difficult to pin on George Bush as the Democrats will control the economic levers. Senator Dorgan said yesterday that the middle and working classes are bearing the brunt of federal taxation and the Democrats will alter that situation in terms of fairness. This means higher federal income, FICA, and Social Security tax rates will soon be in effect. In actual fact more than 50% of federal income tax is paid by 5% of the population. Other tax payments come in the form of gasoline tax, excise tax, sales tax, fees, etc. When corporate taxes and penalties for successful investment take effect the result will be lower employment, and investment stagnation.

America voted and voted against its own self-interest in an attempt to rebuke George Bush for Iraq. There is an ill wind coming and it will certainly blow no good. If the Democrat leadership can not control its members and its normal impulses look for recession, more deference to foreign influence (UN), armed intervention in Sudan, high unemployment, lower net income, and a hysterical witch-hunt in the Bush Impeachment proceedings. The next two years have a strong chance of resembling a national suicide attempt for those who enjoy personal freedom, security from terrorism, disposable income, a strong nation, and all the other things that go with a good life.

What Happens Next

Is there a left turn happening in the Western Hemisphere? The Castro- Chavez- Pelosi axis is gaining ground throughout the continents. This situation is a tribute to the inadequate education system in the United States and the lack of real freedom in Mexico, Central America, and South America generally. The mass communication systems available now are actually compressing time so that the weight of history is beginning to flatten any opportunity for humane change. Left wing dictatorships are coming to the fore.

Many South American nations are analogous to certain areas of West Virginia where coal mines have been burning for years. The so-called rebel movements are unchecked and are burning the land and people in various countries like Colombia and Peru. Their ostensible goal is to elevate the people to a Marxist heaven, of course if they don’t agree then they are sent to the Roman Catholic heaven immediately. These heirs of the Incas and Mayas are nothing more than criminals with a college education. There are no altruists in “revolutionary” movements.

The evidence that liberalism promotes sameness and inhibits individuality is clear from the attitude that a society must be risk averse. Anything done to excess is certainly going to be harmful, but the choices to indulge in excess even to the extent of personal detriment should be inalienable. Under Democrat rule choice is only allowed for abortions every other behavior is or should be codified. Wear seat belts, no smoking, no trans-fat, no fat at all, food with no taste, no drinking, etc, this is the vision of the future pushed by liberals in the US. Religious freedom for all except Christians because Christianity forms the basis of present day American Democracy; one may of course not even think of insulting a Muslim, Hindu, Jews may be insulted, as these behaviors defeat the aim of everyone feeling good about themselves.

The scene is darker down south of the border. Hugo Chavez and Fidel Castro (while he was alive) are intent on imposing a Stalinist philosophy on the peoples of the Southern America continent. The resultant sameness will be obvious as will continued poverty alleviated only by imprisonment and execution for the crime of wanting a better life. The only bright spot is that history never stops and these things won’t last forever; but it seem like it for those suffering.

The United States thinks too much of itself as will be shown by the Democrat takeover of the Congress. It is likely that the recent events will be short lived because liberals can not help themselves in imposing behavior on others. After all in their minds they know best because the rest of the population is beneath them. A liberal’s love for his fellow man is warmed by the heart of a prison warden.

Dems Hire Republicans

Interesting days are ahead in the United States. The Democrat Party recruited Republican look a likes to take power in the name of the party but will they be able to control them? James Webb, though not officially elected at this time, was a long time Republican so much so that he served as Ronald Reagan’s Secretary of the Navy. Many of the newly elected Democrats are in fact old school conservative Democrats. They are being called moderate in an effort to keep the ultra left and Hollywood happy.

There is joy in the caves of Pakistan, the streets of Kandahar, in the Sunni triangle, and in Teheran. The word is out: the United States has no will to protect itself and is merely hoping for mercy. Of course mercy is not extended to infidels so that is that. Osama Bin Laden is regaling his confreres on how he judged the situation accurately and probably re-ran the movie Black Hawk Down, his favorite allegory.

Freedom of telecommunications is now de facto one may go back to the satellite phone without fear of detection. This is especially true if Algee Hastings is appointed to the chair of the House Intelligence committee. Speaking of allegories, Algee is an impeached Federal Judge disbarred, for taking bribes, by a Democrat controlled Congress and is now the poster boy for the Party. This is only one example of the Pelosi judgment at work.

There may not be IslamoFacist truck bombs in New York or Los Angeles but it won’t be a surprise when such explosions find there way to cable news. The American public has spoken and with very little complaint so far. The few problems that have arisen appear to be Democrat sabotage of a few voting machines. Small potatoes compared to the election of John F Kennedy by Cook County, Illinois.

Baseless

The United States electorate can still be moved by the old line media. This was proved in many races yesterday in particular Florida where the Republican candidate to replace Mark Foley was defeated. This was a revenge vote in a predominately Republican district. Florida, home to 30,000 sex offenders and countless other vices, decided to put on the prude face as a way to save it. The Foley situation goes back ten years and was known in the media and by both parties for all that time.

Around the nation the Republican base gave up and stayed home. The rest of the voters swallowed the Democrat lie completely. There will be some surprises no doubt, Joe Lieberman being the most savory, but on the whole a culturally weak liberal agenda will be promulgated. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid will ultimately disgrace themselves because they will not be able to resist the impulse for revenge; Pelosi in particular.

One good example of the weakness of American voters is the Talent-McCaskill race. In this contest the liberals simply lied their way to success. McCaskill actually accused George Bush of “leaving people to die on rooftops in New Orleans simply because they were black.” the voters of Missouri apparently are too stupid to see through such demagoguery. Through deception cloning is now legal in Missouri, as the famous Michael J. Fox ads pretended that the bill was for fetal stem cell research which it was not. Stem cell research is legal in every state, but not the use of Federal funds. That will now change.

Private medical research is ignoring fetal stem cell research in favor of adult stem cell because the latter offers more hope for success. The moral implication of fetal stem cells research is bleak and indicates a society in severe decline.

The Republican Party brought this defeat upon itself by abandoning the principles that got them elected in the first place. They became Democrats. The Republicans are going back to the wilderness and may not return for a long time.

Have a Banana

Today all will be revealed. Not only election results but the real plans, hopes, and dreams of the political classes will come to the fore. Already the Democrat Party has signed up thousands of lawyers for stand by duty for action in elections that don’t go their way. The US, the shining example of democracy, has been declining towards banana republic status since the 1970’s. It is now fully ready to take over for Mexico and Venezuela. The turning point was the 2000 presidential election when the voters did the unthinkable and rejected the Democrat Party.

This of course upset the natural order of things and so could not possibly be the correct outcome. A nationally painful process began which is still reverberating through society. Then came the real disaster: the Democrats were rejected two more times. Well as the Democrats know the general electorate is too stupid to actually see through liberal policies and so could have no reason to reject them; there must be some unseen hand at work.

Karl Rove, the bane of democracy, he even spells his name Horror Movie style. There were hints of incompetence on the Democrat’s part but that can not even be considered not can the ideas that will save America be reviewed for reasonableness. No, it must be something else. The stalwarts of the party including Tim Robbins, The Dixie Chicks, Bruce Springsteen, and Barbara Streisand had their leadership questioned. This outrageous behavior on the part of the general public has been deemed unacceptable.

The very idea that voter or consumers have the right to reject entertainers based on their political views is regarded as absurd. The stresses in society are now greater than anytime since the 1850’s and no one wants to take responsibility for the situation.

The reason, to oversimplify, is that American politicians have been completely seduced by the perquisites of power. The process of erosion has been gradual since World War II as the world position of the United States has grown in influence. The proof of this assertion is made clear by the absence of John Kerry, Harry Reid, and Nancy Pelosi during the last few days of the campaign. Their unwillingness to come out on their own terms as candidates and leaders means that they assume victory and are waiting to implement their destructive policies further reducing the United States to the level of Gambia if possible.

Saddam To Hang

What does it mean this death sentence for Saddam Hussein? The conventional wisdom has been that Saddam’s death would tone down the Sunni opposition, but will that be true? This morning after the sentence was known there was jubilation from the Shiites and Kurds and defiance by the Sunnis. The most likely outcome will be simply a passing mention in history books twenty years from now. The immediate impact will contradict conventional wisdom.

Of course the Iranians will be happy but they are making a strong effort to make Iraq a puppet state similar to the relationship of Lebanon to Syria. This of course is the unintended consequence of “bringing democracy to the Middle East.” The situation in the world both in terms of peace and economic development will be adversely effected by this result. The United States occupation will end probably within two years or less. Civil War will decimate the Sunni population and stir resentment among believers of the same ilk. There might be further ramifications such as a general Muslim war among the various sects. Given the number and quality of weapons a war like that would reduce the populations very quickly.

The real result of this death sentence is that it reveals the colonial paternalism that still resides in the West. Amnesty International has condemned the existence of the death sentence for Saddam even though this is an Iraqi law, such interference is typical. The venerable Ramsey Clark was dismissed for asserting his superiority over the court and making clear his arrogant thinking.

The wonder of the situation is that all the evangelical sects in the United States have been predicting Armageddon for years. Is it possible that they are correct at last or correct because it’s true? It is very possible that a war between Muslim nations could erupt will the West have enough sense to stay out of the conflict?

All non-Muslims must remember that jihad is something that has been going on since Mohammed founded Islam in 620 AD. The conversion by violence is not only condoned it is a valid tactic during conquest and has frequently been used as an excuse to kill all who do not convert. The same is coming today.

Nancy Come Out Wherever You Are

Where is Nancy? According to the Wall Street Journal’s profile of the up and coming Democrat candidates there appears to be a move back towards the center by those who are expected to win their races. The obvious problem within the Party must wait for solution for the moment it is essential that the Party regain its power in the Congress. To that end the ultraliberal nut jobs who actually lead the party are missing in action at the moment.

This situation is reminiscent of the Republican debacle of 1992 when Pat Buchanan’s Culture War speech scared off center to center left base voters. The result was the presidency of Bill Clinton; for better or worse. The Democrats have finally learned a few lessons and this might serve them well. First they now know that they were not anointed by God to lead the US indefinitely; this even though they don’t believe in the existence of God. Second they also know to shut up around election time about their true beliefs and plans. To figure out what the Democrat Party’s true positions are one must obtain a fund raising letter and read it carefully. In these letters the party’s true ambitions, goals, hatreds, and fears are revealed. This is not the case with Republican fund raisers as they merely reflect what George Bush is saying all the time.

A Democrat success in November would historically expected, though perhaps not a landslide. Since the outcome will be typical of off year elections where the party out of power picks up seats to the discomfort of the leading party, a change is needed; more circumspect behavior will be needed on the part of the victors. To seize the ultimate prize, both houses of congress and the presidency, the Democrats must appear to be more centrist than their financial backers desire. If they reveal themselves fully they will lose badly in 2008. The United States citizenry is aging and that in itself is a problem for liberals. Excluding lawyers and college professors the aging left is dwindling and shifting its focus to the right of the political spectrum.

November 7 may end up as the ultimate anti-climax given the hype that is floating about these days.

The Return of Harry Truman

Will 2006 be a Harry Truman year? Many of you might remember that Thomas Dewey was not predicted to defeat Harry Truman in the 1948 election; some newspapers actually printed the result that “Dewey Defeats Truman.” Of course that was incorrect but is it possible that once again the pundits and pollsters are wrong and that the Republicans can pull out an off year victory?

It is of course possible but what would a “victory” entail. Based on current thinking and poll results simply breaking even might constitute a win. Certainly retention of control of either houses of Congress would disappoint every one on the left and in the media. How likely is this to happen?

Considering the recent gaffe by John Kerry and its potential to get out the conservative base and the possibility of Michael Steele’s victory in Maryland there are certainly indications of life in the Grand Old Party. America does not want another Vietnam-style defeat on its record and even a pull out can not really be considered as such. Nonetheless the war is undoubtedly the single factor that could tip the balance to the Democrats. All the points raised by the Democrats are merely the same so called issues they raise every day in hopes that like a broken clock they will be correct at least twice a day.

The stock market is up and many shareholders are now worker bees with 401(k) plans whose value depends on the stock market. Auto sales have begun trending up with the decline in petrol prices. The real estate and housing market are in decline but as this is a lagging indicator the problem is probably not as great as it seems. The cable news outlets have made the hysterical broadcast of everything seem more important than it really is. No one has a chance to take a breath and evaluate their situation with relation to events as they might see them.

Should the electorate actually stop and take stock of the situation prior to the election then the Republicans will pull off quite a surprise. However should the voters decide that the fear mongers are correct it is likely that election predictions of a Democrat victory will come true.

Some think this is a good thing; hoping the Democrats will do something stupid and lose the 2008 ballot. This is naive and quite dangerous thinking.

Kerry Stumbles Again

John Kerry summed it up perfectly; anyone who votes Republican is stupid and needs the Democrat Party to run their lives. This kindness has been stated in less direct terms by Hillary Clinton and the rest but this stern reminder of Democrat intellectual superiority is remarkable.

Why anyone would trust them with the safety of the general population is beyond reckoning. The fact is that as a group the military population is generally better educated, better informed, more disciplined than almost any other similar class in the US. Of course Mr. Kerry is attempting to pass his comments off as a failed joke; the idea being that George Bush is too stupid to succeed as President let alone in such an adventure as Iraq.

It was revealed last election season that both Kerry and Bush had graduated from Yale and that Bush actually made better grades and had a stronger transcript than Kerry. Kerry’s behavior is confirming that. When the shoe is on the other foot liberals howl in pain about the unfairness of confronting their behavior. Never will they face their own problems in a responsible sense. The so called public interest media, e.g. Chris Matthews, hew strictly to the Democrat Party line and then wonder why the general public doesn’t tune in. Why put up with advertisements simply to watch propaganda.

The reason Fox News Channel is so despised by liberals is that Fox attempts to present and unbiased point of view; not always successfully. The other media members don’t even give fairness lip service. It will be interesting if John Kerry has single handedly energized the Republican base but don’t count on it.

Iraq the Bush Legacy

Iraq is a failure, a failure of planning and now of will. Many opportunities were lost as we all know, but the greatest failure was not taking the chance to capture and imprison al-Sadar. The Prime Minister of Iraq, al-Maliki is a complete loss for the United States. At this point there is little to wait for. Once the United States pulls out of Iraq tremendous violence against Sunnis will begin. This violence will be heavily supported by Iran and Syria.

The situation could fairly easily devolve into a Pan Arab or Pan Muslim war that will engulf the entire Middle East with consequences unknown. The war against terrorism is something that must be fought and will be whether liberals like it or not. The case for the war in Iraq was never clear or simple, and is now a flop.

The actual war has been over for three years; it is the occupation that is a failure. This failure must be laid squarely at the feet of George Bush and the people he relied on to succeed in Iraq. These are not impeachable offenses but undoubtedly the Democratistas will attempt such a legal coup d’etat. The success of such an action while not impossible is certainly dubious. Its benefits to the nation are non-existent.

Today the US military obeyed an order from al-Maliki and abandoned the checkpoints around Baghdad. This action clearly gives al-Sadar the upper hand and bodes ill for a secular democracy in Iraq. The Iranian model is the most likely outcome. Unfortunately the US withdrawal, if precipitous, will only encourage further attacks on the US homeland. These attacks will be facilitated by the Democrat Party, the ACLU, and Democrat hack judges. The general population will pay the price.

These will be the consequences of the invasion of Iraq, and that will be the legacy of George W. Bush.

President Pelosi

There will be at least one impeachment proceeding if the Democrat Party takes control of Congress. There is a master plan behind their thinking that is quite simple and frightening. The goal is to make Nancy Pelosi President of the United States of America. How can this be? Quite simply, once George Bush is de frocked then step two will begin: the impeachment of Dick Cheney. If that move is successful, which it could be given the Democrat Party goals, the next in line is the Speaker of the House.

Oh the brilliance of the plan is breathtaking. That is why Nancy is lying low at the moment, hoping that the electorate will not catch on. This idea might be considered a bit of stretch by some, in particular Hillary Clinton whose aims would also be defeated, but such a plan is not impossible. Most people would not dream this big let alone plan so scrupulously and be willing to exploit the craziness of the far left.

It is possible that a Bush impeachment would not succeed; it would be dependent simply on the margin of electoral victory. Suppose it did succeed would it be a surprise if the 2008 election was postponed? Would it be a terrible shock to have the postponement extended indefinitely say pending the end of the war on terror? What laws might be passed to ensure Democrat Party control along the lines of Castro and Chavez?

Crazy it might sound, impossible it is not. Democrats always project their behavior on those they criticize. Therefore by accusing Bush of stealing an election they are showing the world that not only have they previously thought about taking such an action, they are also ready to do so.

Rush Limbaugh An Honest Agent

The recent uproar over Rush Limbaugh’s comments about stem cell political ads has been amusing and a bit depressing. Limbaugh’s comments have been criticized quite unfairly and inaccurately. Anyone who listened to the program on Tuesday and then monitored the media coverage must have wondered where the commentators got their ideas. USA TODAY, for example, had a half page article with a front page teaser about the situation.

The article contained very little that could pass for truth and quite a lot of exaggeration and distortion. Even that would not have been a problem if it had addressed even a bit of what Limbaugh said about the stem cell portion of the story.  The advertisements themselves are dishonest and distortions of the truth. Yet not one main stream media outlet took note of this fact.

There is no problem with media members having political opinions but when printing them a disclaimer should be added. When a news story is news let it stand on its own and report both sides of the story. There are people who think that stem cell research is illegal in the US, this from a report on NBC News that inferred that conclusion. It is cloning that is illegal. This is the impression created by false or faulty reporting. This type of activity must be deliberate because while some in the media might be stupid certainly not all are. Some might be honest but most are not. These are two conclusions that may be safely drawn.

Further Michael J. Fox rebutted Limbaugh by saying his ads are not political in nature and that with regard to Parkinson’s he is apolitical. These statements are patently untrue and yet went unchallenged by Katie Couric during the interview. Such behavior shows disrespect to the audience and demonstrates the hypocrisy of the media. This might seem to be a fruitless exercise of expression but when confronted by the “Big Lie” one must keep pushing back.

Children of The Corn

The election must be over as Nancy Pelosi has announced that there will be no impeachment proceedings. Of course that is not true, even if the Democrats do win a majority in Congress. John Conyers has his heart set on destroying Bush and in the process severely damaging the United States.

The Children of The Corn are about to take over legislative power in the United States. Anyone who enjoys roller coasters and horror movies is going to love the next two years of American political life. The shrieking ultra left wackos are coming to Washington, DC and they want to eliminate anyone who disagrees with them. Of course they will be disappointed and even a slight disappointment sends them into paroxysms of nutty behavior.

Nancy Pelosi has a good chance of being rejected by her colleagues if she continues on this line. If she fails to allow her party to drag the country into a morass of party petulance she too will go by the wayside. The ultra left, Michael Moore, George Soros, et al, have a Stalinist bent which should appeal to the North Koreans. Central control over the economy is one of their goals. This childish outlook reveals the shallow nature of their views. All these ideas have been tried, failed, and rejected; even in the People’s Republic of China.

Wiser heads in the media are going to be surprised at what they have wrought with their dishonest reporting and slanted stories of recent events. It will be too late. Two years of insanity must be endured if the Democrats win power. The 2008 election will most likely see the end of the Democrat Party as it is now configured. The citizens of the US will undoubtedly turn them out and send them back to grow up.

Hope

The chilly blast of northerly winds fast upon Halloween is giving us a hint of the winter days ahead. This year’s crop of acorns is heavy and the sound of them dropping is reminiscent of distant rifle fire. Fall is a time for reseeding of lawns, bulb planting, and leaf raking.

Many years ago autumn had a special aroma that of burning leaves. Nowadays leaf burning is forbidden in the interest of clean air; it’s a loss that is not worth the gain. Fire danger to the neighborhood might be a more serious consideration, but the problem was not framed that way. The immense piles of leaves were havens for children playing outside, running, jumping, and sinking to the bottom were pleasures youngsters can’t even imagine let alone experience. Pedophiles and child killers appear to be lurking everywhere now, taking some of the fun of growing up away.

Even the simple act of walking, unescorted, to and from school is an activity that has disappeared. Putting on one’s stocking hat, a warm jacket, lunch bag or box in hand then setting out on the adventure of walking through the neighborhood to school is not going to happen very often.

Each fall and winter we think of things past and look forward with hope to spring and summer, it’s a cycle that can’t be broken.

The Times They Are Confusing

Hysteria is mounting as the final run-up to the US elections continues. Such is the immediacy of today’s communication systems that the impression is given that every event has two outcomes: dire and worse. Taking time to think things through, at least among the general population, is not something that people enjoy.

George Will recently noted this trend and described it as an entitlement syndrome. He seemed to be saying that the current crop of US citizens is so used to instant gratification that almost nothing can really satisfy them. He posits that this is the reason for discomfort in times of great prosperity; essentially the attention span of three year olds. This is a good way of looking at the situation.

What else can explain the childish behavior of ultra liberals and ultra conservatives? For example, the Baptist Church in Topeka, Kansas is certainly not representative yet they are convinced that all but they are going to Hell (and the sooner the better). The leftists have the same attitude without the religious overtones. This view of “my way or the highway” limits discourse in a way that Bill Clinton gave lip service the other day at Yale.

It is commonplace that everything is about the “Gotcha” and very little is about the substance of debate. This is partly due to the very poor US public education system, and partly due to the self-indulgence made possible by the incredible prosperity of the last 40 years. Bigger houses, cars, vacations, wardrobes, and sexual excesses have society spinning, looking for stability which is rejected when found. One solution for the future, as the present is lost, may be home schooling which is a growing phenomenon. Should this trend continue the Education Lobby, and Teacher’s Union will strive for legislation outlawing learning at home.

The outlandish always gets attention if only for prurient interest making watching news broadcast an intellectual challenge. The ability to cipher what is actually important is a skill that today’s children must develop if they are to have any hope of critically analyzing their circumstances.

It is paradoxical that demagoguery is actually easier in times of prosperity and good communications systems.

Clinton Still Phony

Bill Clinton is a very funny man. During a speech at Yale Billy complained about the lack of real intellectual political arguments during the current election season. According to Clinton the Republican Party is hostage to extreme religious fanatics and by extension so is the US government for the time being. The hypocritical Republican Party is self-righteously moralistic while at the same time is “developing new weapons and cutting taxes.” This example of Clintonian logic is supposed to prove the innate incapacity of Republicans to operate in the best interests of the American public.

Of course this is Orwellian double speak and Clinton knows it. However it is more revealing than perhaps he would have liked. The single obligation of the Federal Government is to ensure the safety of the nation; all else pales in comparison. Clinton’s remarks make it clear that the Democrat Party will appease our enemies to the point that disaster strikes and will damage the economy by raising taxes. The ideology of the left, which Clinton wants the public to think doesn’t exist, will create more problems than it will solve; if it will solve any. Clinton bemoans the “politics of personal destruction” while encouraging his fellows to indulge in just that. Ms. Macaskill, the Democrat candidate for the Senate from Missouri claimed that “George Bush let people die on New Orleans rooftops simply because they were black.” Where is the intellectual portion of that discussion?

Democrat bloggers assert that George Bush and Condi Rice are sex partners and that is the only reason she got the job as Secretary of State. How does that thinking work in the best interests of the citizenry? Bill Clinton and the rest of his followers have no respect for anyone who disagrees with them and consider the mass of Americans too stupid to take care of themselves. How in the world did the nation survive without them?

It will be an interesting, if dreadful, time should the Democrat Party regain power in Washington DC. First there will be the crowing about the victory, then the promise of revenge for the years they were out of power, and finally two years of disruption and inaction while they attempt to impeach George Bush. Contrast that prediction with the actual behavior of the Bush administration upon taking the presidency. When the Democrats take over juvenile delinquents will be in charge of the most powerful nation on earth. Good Luck!

Carnival Freak Declares War on UN

Reality Where Is It

The immediacy of communications is causing life to be more stressful. 24-hour cable news, no wonder Ted Turner is a drunk, makes one wonder “Where did all these weird criminals come from?” Twenty years ago there were horrible crimes no doubt but are there more today in absolute terms? There are 30,000 sex offenders living in Florida, it’s amazing that they can be counted, but why are there so many? It makes one think of a pile of cockroaches scattering when the kitchen light is turned on.

A family is murdered and left on the side of the road no more than 50 feet from the traffic whizzing by at 80 miles per hour. They turn out to be Hispanic and no one knows where they came from or who killed them. Are such crimes the product of massive illegal immigration from a country where the culture of death and corruption makes such acts commonplace? The best thing for a person desiring a calmer life is to take the news in small doses, but that is very difficult.

Almost every public place has the cable news or weather channel blaring. Their omnipresence is simply accepted as is the landscaping around the shopping center. What is the news anyway? Is it the empty presidential podium which occupies the screen as the breathless announcer informs the public that the President will soon be there? Or is it another mundane police chase winding its interminable way through Los Angeles, Dallas, Atlanta, or Detroit?

Americans have become television junkies. What is it about American culture that encourages such compulsive behavior? Cocaine, heroin, pot, amphetamines, and cable news are bad habits that are apparently unbreakable. Alcoholism is a universal problem, every country and society has felt its impact, but these other, modern phenomena’s are very different. Their insidious impact has created a society that is inured to crime, war, carnage, incidents whose shock value has been degraded.

To make themselves feel alive, people turn to reality television shows including the bloody Ultimate Fighter series. The medium of television can not live up to its potential until its users live up to theirs. One can subscribe to cable or satellite and have 500 channels of mostly nothing. The purveyors of such drivel are seeking an audience and will continue to experiment with the most sensational lurid programming possible in hopes of selling more ginzu knives.

Conservative v Liberal

The word liberal was initially used to define a British political trend during the 19th century the hope was that the term was demonstrate a positive vision for the future opposed to conservatives who wished to preserve that status quo. Since those halcyon days liberalism has become a culture of death and denial. This trend is so obvious that now the adherents of this ideology have taken to a new term: Progressive. Unfortunately the behavior remains the same.

Recently, at Columbia University in New York City, a mob of Progressives stormed the stage where a guest speaker was attempting to start a dialogue about illegal immigration. The disgraceful behavior of Progressives is nothing new and it seems that no matter the chronological age of these people their maturity level never increases. Of course they are big ACLU fans; another Progressive organization getting fat off the tax dollars of the US, protection of free speech is a supposed goal of that group. Apparently freedom only flows one way.

The United States is missing approximately 40 million citizens; the number of abortions since 1973, and for that reason the Progressive agenda of Social Security and Medicare are going by the boards. There are not and will not be enough workers to pay the bills.

The upcoming elections will be interesting as neither conservative nor progressive has a clear majority and with good reason. Conservative thinking in the US has been abandoned for a weak mix of strong military and pathetic leadership. The United States is a very prosperous place and it is a spiritual wasteland. The gradual corruption of Western ideals has substituted false guilt as a philosophical basis for life.

The fear of American Balkanization may be ignored because it has already happened. Without the external threat of radical Islam, North Korea, etc. it is likely that domestic terrorists would be at work. Cynicism rules the corridors of power regardless of party affiliation. The major difference between the parties seems to be Progressive childishness and Conservative fear to make them grow up.

Kofi and the Libs

Kofi Anan’s suggestion that the United States begin, immediately, bi-lateral talks with North Korea is not only ridiculous it is also a clear indicator about liberal thinking in a crisis. The Europeans have been talking to Iran for a few years now, how has that worked out? Anan’s advice is to give in to nuclear extortion from a criminal regime. How can the UN be taken seriously when considering such behavior?

Genocide is permitted to go forward in Darfur, as it was in Rwanda, Iran and North Korea snub the UN and basically threaten to blow up the school yard if their bullying tactics are not endorsed. Democrat Party spokespeople seem to agree with Anan and would cave in to these dangerous countries. The best tactic is to cut them off completely, in which case Europe would suffer some short term economic pain, thus forestalling any long term nuclear pain.

Military force in the form of a direct attack is not necessary as the restrictions placed on the ruled will be so tight that rebellion will be in the air. Such rebellions must be supported spiritually and financially by the Westerners whose safety and interests are currently at risk. Russia is no friend to the West so sanctions against them must also be considered. China is another problem altogether as it is now one of the most successful capitalist economies in the world. Of course their government is a blend of communism and fascism it would create a great deal of economic hardship in the US if sanctions were applied to China. The United States should be willing to share such hardships if the Euros are being asked to do so.

When the alternative of nuclear destruction is consideration perhaps a recession might be a good thing.

Wanted Perspective

Some countries, like some people, lack a sense of perspective. Of course whether Iran, North Korea, or any other country lead by nut cases develops nuclear weapons is not as important as getting rid of your surplus population in a humane way. That is what is driving Mexico to the UN Security Council requesting action against a proposed fence on the US – Mexico Border.

Of course this could be just another Karl Rove ploy to damage the Democrat Party’s chance in November, similar to his persuading Kim Jung IL to test a nuclear weapon. Perhaps it is a real effort on the part of the Mexican Government to keep its Aztec descendants moving north. There is a definite class distinction, common in most if not all Hispanic countries, between those of direct Spanish descent and those of mixed or pure Indian blood. Guess which class is economically better off. Should the Democrat Party win in November to the extent that they recover both Houses of Congress what are the chances of such a fence being built? Probably no chance at all, especially if the UN and France in particular weigh in against it.

The Democrats are out for revenge, not against terrorists but against George Bush. It is amazing what staying power their hatred has, Bush will be gone in 2008 and there is a good chance the Democrats will be tossed out too. Believe it or not there are some problems in the world that are more important than Bush bashing. Nancy Pelosi has crowed that “…they said we couldn’t beat something with nothing but were doing it.,” when referring to the pending Democrat victory in November. Only in America could such a thing be true and it looks like it might be.

How can the problems of Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, North Korea, et al be addressed with nothing? A little perspective would go a long way in the case of power regained. Unfortunately the Democrat Party is so childish in its make-up and attitude that when the clowns take the stage it will be time for crying not laughing.

What Time Is It

The pundits, right and left, know exactly what to do it’s only politicians who are dithering about North Korea. This is actually the first shot in the struggle for world influence between China and the United States. The problem for the US is that its political class is only interested in preserving its privileges and wholly opposed to leading the nation towards any positive goal.

The problem with President Bush is that he is not a functioning member of the political class; he is under the impression that a president is presumed to be a leader. Mr. Bush is trying to lead but without able lieutenants leading is very difficult. Bill Frist is actually weaker than Trent Lott something many will find hard to swallow. Denny Hastert is a man without a brain; no wonder he was a school teacher and a wrestling coach. Which subjects did he teach? American history and biology used to be the province of athletic coaches in the recent past.

The Democrats are going to get what they wish, long, and lust for: power. Then they will have to lead. But can they? Are Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi leaders or just Sorogates for all the Bush haters?  While they are impeaching George Bush the world stage will continue its performances. Once the impeachment effort fails, narrowly, they will be caught out by some terror attack or other, perhaps one that is a joint effort of Iran, N. Korea, and Venezuela.

By the time the Democrat term is over severe damage will have been done in the name of ultra liberalism. The only good thing about it is that such thinking will be completely discredited to the extent that The New York Times might go out of business.

Nukes Up North

So it’s Nukes up north on the Korean peninsula now. The world doesn’t want to believe rogue regimes when they make it clear what their intentions are. It won’t be long until Iran will join the club, with the help of the new Soviet Union under politburo leader Vlad Putin. The Islamofascists are giving Western Civilization fair warning and they mean it. The destruction of everything not associated with the Wahabbi sect of Sunni Islam is their goal; ignore it and the results will be devastating.

The feel good logic is that all the world’s problems would go away if only the United States would vanish. That the leaders of destructive nations, e.g. Pakistan, Iran, N. Korea, Venezuela, are brash enough to telegraph their next moves speaks to the disdain in which they hold world opinion. They know that their adversaries live in fear and wish the neighborhood bullies would leave them alone. It’s not going to happen.

The tide of terror is based on hatred and is not caused by poverty, lack of education, no jobs, but on a simple fact: faith that paradise awaits any martyr or killer of an infidel.

North Korea is a terrorist state that now has nuclear weapons with no idea of how to behave responsibly. Pakistan helped the Koreans to get started and is still helping them today. The Russians and Chinese are helping both Korea and Iran with results too dire to contemplate. Liberal democracies with their secular tendencies and situational ethics find it difficult if not impossible to comprehend the belief system of their enemies. That is why liberal thought dismisses the idea that the threat of destruction is real, rather the terrorists are simply misunderstood and oppressed. Nothing could be further from the truth.

There’s a better than even chance that the Doomsday Clock will strike midnight sometime this century. When that happens the result will prove that truth is stranger than science fiction.

Democrat Perfidy

Once again the Democrats have seized on a non-issue and the American public is expected to accept their line completely. The Mark Foley “issue” is being used by the media to distract the public’s attention from the real problems being faced. The Iraq war, a distinct part of the war on terror, illegal immigration, social security and Medicare reform is just a few of the things that the politicians should be addressing if they were providing leadership.

The Democrats simply want to get back in the leadership positions in the Congress so they can bully the Republicans. The constant blather that comes from Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and others is very wearing. Now they are engaged in gay bashing, a bit reckless since they claim to be the party of tolerance. There has been no comment from Barney Franks himself once accused of acts similar to those of Mark Foley. Let the investigation proceed apace, and let every legislator provide the logs of their emails to congressional pages all the way back to 1994, then let the results speak for themselves.

The Democrat and liberal panic has resulted in several phony issues including their cause celeb the Valerie Plame affair. It now appears that $34 million of public money spent during that investigation was a complete waste. It is now known for certain that Joe Wilson and his supporters were duping the public. They all knew that Richard Armitage was the leak. The prosecutor, Patrick Kennedy, should be indicted for malfeasance and if convicted sent to prison.

Reid and Pelosi have declined to testify during the Mark Foley investigation; why? These people are purely opportunists who care little or nothing about the people they are supposedly serving. Even this little blog has been attacked by virus laden comments.

Anyone who votes for the Democrats at this stage of their development deserves what they get, but why ruin a good thing for the rest of us?

A State of Denial

Is Bob Woodward exhibiting the effects of old age or is he simply a Democrat Party hack? Last night on the NBC Nightly News Mr. Woodward was asked about why he didn’t publish his most recent book “A State of Denial”, sooner if its contents are so important. His reply was astonishing. He coolly stated that Simon & Schuster and the leadership of the Washington Post wanted him to wait until just before the November election this year. Are liberals finally shedding their skins?

The very title of the new book is contradictory to the so-called media coverage of the Iraq war with most of the stories discussing failure and gloom. How can Woodward and company say that the public is not aware of the difficulty there? Further he goes on to say that the failure is planned in the sense that Rumsfeld thinks the Iraqi’s should take over security themselves. Everyone agrees with that one. To think that one is so powerful an influence in society and over the electorate to think that a single book can change the course of an election is arrogance personified.

This behavior is no surprise in a larger sense, but it is amazing in the casual way it has been admitted. Yesterday President Bush accused Nancy Pelosi of being a cut and run politician not willing to defend the United States. She of course was outraged and responded by saying such comments were beneath the dignity of the President. Was that some kind of joke? There is no doubt that Ms. Pelosi and her comrades might defend the country if they really believed there was a threat, but they don’t believe there is one.

This war on terror has been brewing since the British and French diplomats divided up the Ottoman Empire in the 1920’s. It has had decades to develop and will take decades to defeat. If anyone is in “A State of Denial” it is the Democrat Party and their fellow travelers.

Again

Once again the electorate is being treated to the sight of an imperfect public servant, Mark Foley this time. The hypocrisy is rife of course on must expect that. Further it appears that Mr. Foley might not be a good candidate for dogcatcher. For all you pedophiles reading this it means your perverse behavior is not to be tolerated. This lack of tolerance extends to those members of the Man-Boy Love Association, a hateful use of the language.

Of course Bill Clinton’s behavior demanded forgiveness, understanding, and the destruction of the women who accused him of various sexual outrages. They weren’t minors and were therefore fair game for the Democrat personal destruction committee; among whose members were James Carville and Lanny Davis. It’s an all too familiar scene.

Louisiana Representative William Jefferson, a Democrat of course, had Nancy Pelosi apologizing for his mysterious acquisition of $90,000 stored in his freezer. Ms. Pelosi opined that Jefferson had grown up poor and black and could be forgiven for not being able to resist temptation. Jefferson still has his congressional seat; Foley does not and should not. Another star in the Democrat firmament, Algie Hastings, is a former Federal judge unseated for taking bribes regarding the outcomes of various trials. He is in line for a House Committee chairmanship if the Democrats are successful in November.

Voters are best served by disregarding electioneering histrionics and judging for themselves who might meet the needs of the district in which they vote. Want to win in Iraq, frustrate terrorists, keep the economy going, and then the best option seems to be the Republican Party. Have an interest in raising taxes, being defeated and hounded by terrorists, converting to Islam, speaking Spanish; then probably the Democrats are the logical choice.

Whatever a voter chooses there is a least a choice. Many people in many countries don’t have a choice or even a chance to choose. The electorate must simply act in its own self interest and the outcome will fall one way or the other and the most likely outcome will be the best one.

It might be true that the United States of America is going the way of old Europe and fading from the world stage, certainly China wants to step forth to center. For the moment the only place where rags to riches and riches to rags is truly a democratic principle is here.

Flame Wars

I’ve been having an interesting and rather fun flame war in a newsgroup. It is interesting because the “liberal” correspondents seem to love comparing Nazi Germany of the 1930’s and 40’s with the United States of today. Some will even go to such lengths as to list the 14 indicators of fascism in society. These are laughable as they employ the same logic as do UFO hunters at Roswell, New Mexico.

The Ultra left are very easy to needle, they must live in a perpetual Skinner Box, one little touch, and off they go! I wonder if there are more psychiatrists, either absolutely or per capita, on the East and West coasts of the US as compared to the rest of the nation. There was an interesting article about this on television yesterday. Apparently someone has researched the dreams of various people, separating them into liberal and conservative classes. According to the story liberals have a difficult time sleeping and have many nightmares, while the conservatives sleep soundly and have rather prosaic dreams. The significance of this research is unknown but one can draw one’s own conclusions and probably be just as correct as the researchers.

One problem with flame wars is that the combatants, being anonymous, reveal their lack of vocabulary and self control by the plethora of expletives used to express their feelings. They have no ideas. It turns out that George Bush is a dictator, fraudulently elected, beholding to wacko Christians, foreign and domestic oil companies, Dick Cheney (Halliburton), and is the world’s terror leader.

Some other interesting research that offers hope to the world is a study which purports that liberals in the US are being affected by Darwinian logic. They are not having children and when they do find themselves pregnant they tend to abort the fetus. On the other hand those families who call themselves conservative and opposed to abortion are flourishing. No wonder the Democrats are clamoring for voting rights for illegal immigrants, without the fertility of Hispanics wacko liberalism will be extinct in 40 or so years.

Such an outcome would diminish our society. Much of the humor would be gone; silly bumper stickers would be no more, the airwaves would be absent of male bashing, children would be abundant (that’s a good thing), illegal immigration would stop, smoking, drinking, obesity, would all be choices again. Freedom and liberty would reign with responsibility binding a civil society together.

Now It's Darfur

Darfur is a disaster of proportions that won’t be known for many years. Messrs. Clooney and Cheadle have a solution, or at least a plan and that demonstrates the confusion of liberals. Sudan’s president, an Islamofascist, has made it clear that no UN force will be allowed in the Darfur region of Sudan, in fact they will be attacked by Sudanese forces to prevent their entry.

In the United States television ads are being run, paid for by Clooney and Cheadle, urging citizens to lobby President Bush to insist on a strong UN force to save the people of Darfur from complete destruction. There seems to be a disconnect here. It’s not that the Darfur project isn’t worthy of the attempt, but the contradiction of Clooney’s position on the Afghanistan and Iraq combats involving the United States and others. As demonstrated in his movie Syriana Clooney clearly believes that such actions were driven by the need to preserve President Bush and his oil buddies. Mr. Clooney disregards that the same people and mentality at work in Darfur is also at work in Iraq.

The liberal thought that Iraqi democracy is not the business of the United States, Michael Moore for example, is contradicted by the idea of the US armed forces attacking Darfur under the cover of the UN. How far from being a US interest is the Darfur problem? Is it just another example of the “feel good” foreign policy that will be in effect once a deluded public bring the Democrat Party to power?

The UN should intervene in Darfur, even if it irritates Chavez and Ahmadinejad, on the basis of its humanitarian role in the world. The same diplomats who childishly applauded Chavez’ juvenile antics are representatives of regimes that murder their own citizens. Kofi Annan’s leadership or lack thereof has provided the springboard for such behavior. A United Nations effort is needed to attack and destroy the thugs who murder under the guise of Islam, but it won’t happen. Such an effort was not mounted in Rwanda, despite Bill Clinton’s “best efforts” he did feel their pain, and it won’t happen now.

Feel good liberalism is merely a cover for not taking responsibility. The latest example is last night’s passage of the Detainee Treatment Law. This is the most ridiculous action ever in the course of protecting oneself from attack. Yet, Harry Reid and cronies, the Democrats have said that the law will be declared unconstitutional because it deprives prisoners of war or their constitutional protections. The media reports and supports these statements with a straight face. A prisoner of war has no rights beyond those of the Geneva Convention. A prisoner of war may be detained until war’s end without any conversation about anything. Torture is always wrong; it’s inhumane and often ineffective, misleading, and self-defeating. Interrogation is not torture.

In the two examples discussed above a conclusion may be drawn about a Democrat defense of the United States. With people like Dennis Kucinich, Nancy Pelosi, Charles Rangel, Harry Reid and the rest the citizens of the United States can expect two things: severe attacks on US personnel during the next 40 days, and homeland attacks by emboldened Islamofascists encouraged by the Democrat withdrawal from Iraq.

World Weariness

I’m not sure about the rest of the world but in America the nut jobs are out in force. From Vernon Robinson, a candidate for the House of Representatives and a good old fashioned demagogue, to the latest UFO proponent shifting to a mega conspiracy theory about the world trade center, the argument could be made for reinstating publicly sponsored mental health facilities. Mr. Robinson has a good chance of unseating the incumbent, Brad Miller, and maybe he will make a good representative. His platform of anti-illegal aliens will garner many votes as should be the case. His ads are inflammatory in the great tradition of American politics.

Controlled implosion is the latest theory on the UFO left. Of course these wackos forget how difficult it is to rig the most rudimentary buildings for implosion and how dangerous it is to the workers doing the rigging. Yet they would have us believe that mysterious government agents went to the World Trade Center, during the work week I guess, and rigged explosives without being noticed and without incident. Let’s consider this view. The process of implosion has been shown and discussed on television innumerable times and will no doubt continue to be demonstrated. These old structures are inevitably gutted, no wiring, no furniture, the ground cleared for hundreds of feet around the implosion site. The explosive rigging takes about a month and is done carefully. Given these conditions how was the rigging of the World Trade Center done?  

In out town a large office building was imploded recently, and it was quite a sight to see. One person among the crowds watching was injured by flying glass. Apart from that the demolition went off without a hitch, and it looked nothing like the World Trade Center collapse. There was a series of loud bangs, the detonations of the explosive, and then a rapid collapse inward of the structure; it did not fall straight down.

The resiliency of the citizens of the United States is remarkable considering what we have been through the last five years. The Democrat Party is struggling, as a friend of mine predicted, the occupation of Iraq is dragging on interminably, Cindy Sheehan is moving in next door to George in Texas, pedophiles and child murderers are given slaps on the wrists, abortions among liberals are making them an endangered species and damaging social security, Afghanistan is heating up, and Richard Branson has yielded to peer pressure and donated three billion dollars for Global Warming research. Apparently he wants to keep up with the Buffets and the Gates’. When asked about his reasons he stated that while he had been skeptical he was now 99% convinced of the danger of Global Warming. When asked about the non-starter of a hurricane season he responded that the lack of hurricanes this year was due to the cooling effects on the Atlantic this year of the wind.

My friends it’s your turn; take it!

O'Conner Strikes Back

Sandra Day O’Conner proved her lack of reasonableness and inability to remember decisions made by the court during her tenure. In an editorial in today’s Wall Street Journal O’Conner tries to argue that the judiciary in the United States in unfairly criticized as activist legislating from the bench. Her argument is weak, though somewhat interesting in what it reveals.

O’Conner states that the Courts role is to interpret the law without political influence or bias; has this ever been the case? She goes on to mention that another function of the court is to protect certain classes of the public from the depredations of legislators and that it is generally successful in this effort. While on the court, and over her objections, the Justices interpreted the public good of imminent domain to mean that the interests of real estate developers who might pay higher taxes supersede the interest of poverty level landowners. This does not seem to square with part of her case.

She goes on to decry the security threats to judges and laws making it possible to prosecute judges for various misdemeanors. It is of course deplorable that anyone should be subjected to threats to their person and feels forced to install security systems and personnel. Unfortunately this is the state of the world with extremists on both sides going way over the top in their reactions.

O’Conner would have served the reading public better had she been honest about her views. She, and no doubt every public official, has an exaggerated idea of her worth in society as juxtaposed to “everyday” citizens. The beauty of the United States is that no such status is permitted simply because one has accepted the call of the citizenry to service. This is a civic obligation and a privilege that most are not called to. For her to imply that judges are not influenced by their own feelings is ludicrous. They, as we all do, have the need to impress their friends, frustrate their enemies, and feel good about themselves; a task that might be impossible in a truly impartial judge.

The most egregious statement is the bemoaning of the proposed legislation to prevent judges from using foreign law in interpreting the US Constitution. This is an amazing proposition as United States citizens have no desire to be ruled by the EU, the UN or any other alphabet judicial system.

Please read her comments when you can and see what you think.

Confused People

Harry Belafonte, Danny Glover, and Cindy Sheehan are now the most vocal advocates boosting Cesar Chavez. What’s going on here? The Belafonte and Glover connection are the most confusing, no doubt both men suffered racial discrimination during their youth. At that time most of the United States was either de jure or de facto an apartheid state. Blacks were invisible except for lynching or being accused of crimes. If the crime was black on black it was not much of a concern for society. The opportunities for social acceptance and integration were rare. Yet succeed they did and even became figures recognized around the world.

Belafonte had an even more difficult row to hoe than did Glover, so his bitterness may understood a bit better. Glover faced racial prejudice too, but not as gratuitous as Belafonte. Today these men spit on the very country that provided the opportunities for them, despite having to wrestle them forth. These men are symbols of what’s possible in the United States. They would not have accomplished their success under the regimes of Hussein, Chavez, Castro, or any other dictator. Yet they call George Bush a dictator and call for his assassination; if not blatantly certainly by implication.

They bemoan the ultimate demise of affirmative action which of the two only Glover could have been a beneficiary. Thirty years later affirmative action has come to be a tool to affirm the inferiority of blacks by admitting that they can not succeed any other way; they are not capable. Since this is patently untrue why do Glover and Belafonte (and others) insist upon its retention? Is it simply payback, if so when is enough paid back?

As for Cindy Sheehan she is a pathetic tool of the ultra liberals and the Democrat left. She revealed herself clearly during a recent C-Span interview. She simply spews forth the Michael Moore, George Clooney, Martin Sheen, party lines. None of the aforementioned is too bright either for that matter.

Time will tell but recent events are waking the US electorate to the real nature of ultra liberalism which will be represented in Congress by the Democrat Party; as disaster in the making for the American people.

Clintonmania Revealed

I guess Billy did again. In his interview last week that was finally televised in full on Sunday, Clinton revealed his essentially weak character. This weakness manifested itself in his womanizing which all his supporters, male and female, pointedly ignored. In fact his staff and flunkies slandered and attempted to intimidate women who made accusations against Clinton. The clearest example of this is Jennifer Flowers who had a twelve year affair with Clinton which he and Hillary vehemently denied and coined the term “the Bimbo effect.” Later all the tapes and letters came out.

Clinton’s behavior during the interview shows an unstable man seriously concerned about his historical image’ something that will be firmly established many years after his death. Why? One excuse might be obsessive/compulsive disorder, quite the fashion among liberal circles, or some other excuse. A hallmark of a dedicated liberal is a negative one: the absence of personal responsibility. Political and social leaders are called by that name in expectation of providing an example to the rest of society. For many years the wrong message has been sent.

A recent Harvard study demonstrated the high school, or just plain school, drop-outs achieve less in society. Was that supposed to be a big surprise? The conclusion was that these people are “victims of a system that has failed them.” This is a rather strange conclusion though not unusual. The liberal elite is still trying to build a system in which everyone is successful, in some form or other, that requires no effort on the part of the beneficiary. What would happen if the expectations were reversed and the system was considered a neutral component while the participants were the active components?

The liberals are now saying that Bill bravely stood up to the Republican in house propaganda machine known as the Fox News Channel. This is indeed a weak response, it’s some one else’s fault that Bill made himself out to be a silly desperate man. His performance was astounding from another statement he made. Clinton claimed that he ordered the assassination of Bin Laden, even contracted for it. This, I hope, is a lie; otherwise he is admitting to an attempted felony as an act of that kind is prohibited by US law.

Take your pick, Chris Wallace or Bill Clinton.

Ryder Cup Blues

Well, as predicted here a few weeks ago Europe has retained the Ryder Cup. I had expressed reservations about Tom Lehman as Captain and contrary to European opinion said that Ian Woosnam would be a formidable Euro Captain. It’s never pleasant to be correct when you don’t want to be. Still the American team looked defeated before they started.

Frankly, as professional athletes, they are an embarrassment to the game. American pros can’t play as a team, as proved in the singles they can’t play on their own either. While the play is not over as this is being written it seems likely that this will be the worst defeat of either side in the history of the competition. The American team let the Euro press jibes wear them down. Like children they let one miscue ruin their attitudes toward victory. Essentially they quit.

Tiger Woods played miserably, even in winning his singles match, the other two members of the world top three didn’t even show up. It’s possible that Phil Mickelson’s career is just about finished; he apparently became depressed about throwing away the US Open and is still in a funk. The behavior of the two teams couldn’t have been more different: the Euros encouraged each other while the Americans barely spoke to each other.  

Tom Lehman was an utter failure as the Team Captain sticking with losing combinations well past anything reasonable. All the motivational speakers, movies, rants, and tirades will never work in a sport where self motivation is the only way to win.

How Crazy Can You Get

I was watching a news talk show yesterday, fair and balanced, and two of the usual kinds of guests were yammering away at each other; one left and one right. Although their views and opinions were quite predictable there were one or two points of interest. The leftist commentator was an American who is employed by the BBC to bash George Bush. When asked about Hugo Chavez he lit up and jumped in. Here are a few of the highlights.

Hugo Chavez is a master politician who overshadows George Bush in ability, and to top it off Chavez was legally elected while George Bush was not. Of course there was no mention of Chavez imprisoning anyone who criticizes him. Further Hugo is a humanitarian sending relief to Katrina victims while George Bush played golf. I wish he would have followed up on the relief effort but as it simply grandstanding I guess he couldn’t. Chavez is a man of peace while Bush is a man of war, notwithstanding the fact that Islamofascists attacked the USA and not Venezuela. Ahmadinejad is a scholarly leader unlike the stupid George Bush. Chavez provided heating oil to Massachusetts and New York’s Harlem; why didn’t George Bush do that? Of course when you nationalize an industry it is easy to send is its assets anywhere you want to. George Bush doesn’t control the distribution of oil or anything else.

The right wing commentator attempted to rebut these ideas and then realized his opponent was making his case for him. So he simply said “ These are the views of the Democrat Party, please keep going” Of course the BBC speaker attempted to deny that idea , to no avail.

I have said this many times watch out for those who will make you dependent on them. You will dance to their tune. In the paradises of Venezuela and Iran more people are poverty stricken with no opportunity to change their situation than in the United States. Why is this so in a society of equality?

The Democrat leadership is trying to back away from Chavez, including Jesse Jackson, because they realize he gave away too much in his speech. When you witness Danny Glover, a white man hater if there ever was one, embrace Hugo you know what’s up. Danny knows what the United States was like, he is old enough and so am I. No doubt he suffered psychically  , if not physically during the 1950’s and 1960,s but look at him now. He did overcome, he should be proud instead of hateful. He, Belafonte, and others could not have risen to the heights they have reached in any other country; certainly not Europe.

I say let them all have their say and let’s decide in November how we want our society to continue.

What They Don't Know Could Hurt Them

What Ahmadinejad and Chavez do not understand explains their behavior. These two “leaders” are unfamiliar with how representative democracy works. Under their regimes they can stay in power as long as the Mullahs, in the case of Iran, or the army, in the case of Venezuela, agree that they are functioning as expected. Dissent in Iran and Venezuela is greeted not with courtesy and consideration of the ideas but with a prison sentence absent a trial. Media outlets are closed unless they hew to the strict party line.

Is this what the left wants for the United States? Are they so frustrated that a coup of some kind is possible? Well, there won’t be a coup because citizens of the USA are too independent to stomach such a thing, but it is a fantasy cultivated by the left. They consider themselves so smart and sophisticated that only they are fit to rule. Somehow this smacks of pseudo-monarchism.  The glitterati of Hollywood think that money and notoriety must be equated with personal value; of which they would have little otherwise.

Ahmadinejad and Chavez lament the reign of President Bush but don’t seem to realize he will be gone in two years by rule of law. They will be around through many US presidents unless something untoward happens. Their speeches revealed what should have been obvious: they are completely without scruple and will use whatever trappings are necessary to manipulate the public to their ends.

What are the real goals of these two presidents for their nations? They speak of freedom and economic justice, but do they exist in Iran and Venezuela? The tired old saw of the Jews are responsible for everything is lame but is trotted out to cover the failings of an elite that is out for itself.  This is true in Hollywood where Jews are very prominent Jew bashing is a favorite sport. The Jews in Hollywood are a microcosm of the ultra left: they are afraid to rock the boat, are fearful, and therefore don’t really like themselves very much. This self-hatred is reflected in their silence. Oh they went after Mel Gibson but this was really about their anger towards him over the Passion of the Christ in which he earned hundreds of millions of dollars and they did not.

What are the real goals of the United States? Believe or not Americans prefer not to be involved in foreign adventures and only do so in the belief that it is always better to fight somewhere else. Once attacked the United States is a fearsome enemy even though at the moment it appears to be a bit of a paper tiger. The full wrath of the US has not and hopefully will not be unleashed.

The thing the liberals are hoping for, another terror attack might backfire on them. The national rage might be such that all stops will be pulled out and their will be no quitting until absolute victory is achieved. That will be difficult, painful, and costly.

The Devil and Hugo Chavez

The Devil spoke at the UN yesterday which must have come as a surprise to the American Left. A surprise because most, if not all, of the political left don’t believe in the Devil or God; this has been made abundantly clear by one of their main spokespersons Bill Maher. What a shock it must have been when the spiritual leader of the American Left, Hugo Chavez, used his experience to detect the Devil’s presence.

Perhaps we don’t know all we could about Hugo, maybe he apprenticed at Ghost Busters; he was able to detect the smell of sulfur at the UN something apparently the smoke detectors failed to find. Hugo, that defender of Venezuelan democracy and human rights went on a Mussolini-like rant denouncing the United States. This is a good thing for conservatism in the USA and the left will rejoice in their naiveté thinking that because UN delegates responded with a standing ovation so will the American citizenry.

When Hugo called for the destruction of the United States by the end of this century he was displaying the hallmarks of statesmanship for which he is best known. Cindy must have been having another nocturnal event when she heard it. Michael is now planning his next documentary “Barbara’s Baby” loosely based on a 1960’s film with a similar name.

The uber left is now preparing for the occupation of the former United States by Venezuela, Cuba, and Iran. They just can’t wait. Finally they will be able to follow the humane example of these nations: close media outlets that criticize them, imprison writers they don’t like, impose behavioral patterns on the unwilling, mandatory gymnasium memberships, national body mass standards which are violated at one’s peril.

Oh Happy Day!! Michael Moore as Minister of Culture (he might have some body mass adjustment to perform); Cindy Sheehan as Minister of the Peace Department; Teddy Kennedy as Attorney General; with others yet unnamed. Of course the top spots will be reserved for the God fearing Muslims who did not have to be convinced by the sword. There might be some friction with Hugo and Ahmineajad, the one being a “Christian” and the other a Muslim, but perhaps the Pope can bring them together.

The United States government should exercise the power of eminent domain to condemn the UN building in New York, buy it for fair market value, raze it, and build some kind of housing area for the poor. At the very least the United States should reduce its annual contribution of UN funding by half to start, further reductions as time goes on. It is a certainty that UN delegates would much prefer to be in the land of God than in the land of the Devil. Teheran, Damascus, Beirut, Caracas, Havana all come to mind as Gardens of Eden where diplomacy can be conducted in a leisurely manner. All bribery and theft can pass unnoticed in such places; of course good restaurants and alcohol might be in short supply. Those are small enough inconveniences to bear when doing the world’s work.

Isolationism Forced on US

More than an ocean separates us. The us is the USA and our European roots. Citizens of the United States are viewed by many of their European cousins as losers. It is a common attitude among Europeans that Americans of European descent are the descendants of those who could not succeed or survive in the societies which they left. It’s not so much the escape from religious and political persecution but more the fact that economically they were failures.

This world view complicates the current situation with Iran and the Iranian leadership (rulers) is skillfully exploiting European fears. The socialistic nature of European economies makes them vulnerable to any suggestion of hard choices which might have negative consequences. With unemployment rates at 10% or higher there is little incentive for these nations to make it worse by endorsing economic sanctions against Iran for the mere reason of preventing another nuclear nation.

Centuries of war, famine, rapacious monarchies, and finally two world wars have exhausted the European spirit. As a whole they feel that it is better to be “Red than Dead.” Of course that old saw refers to Soviet domination but its essence still works.

The Bush Administration has a problem if they think sanctions are going to be put in place anytime soon. First there is the credibility problem with regard to Iraq. This despite the fact that every major intelligence agency in every nation was convinced that WMD existed in Iraq; they are probably in Syria and perhaps Iran at the moment. Second the level of trade between Europe and Iran dwarfs any such activity with between the US and Iran. The Europeans have too much to lose. Couple this with their growing Muslim population and the resulting de facto isolation of the United States. This will complicate US domestic politics in the future.

The Democrat Party will feel the pinch when they return to control of the government. They will seek a rapprochement with Europe and Islam by acquiescing to most demands and will then lose the power they have lusted after for the last few years. Accommodation is impossible as long Islam promises only paradise in the future. The desire of the liberal –ultra liberal types to be integrated into the “sophisticated Euro society” will never happen as acceptance has always been an illusion.

Being rescued twice by the United States has made European feel a bit inadequate and angry. They strike back through false superiority and getting a perverse pleasure from thwarting US aims even when the danger to themselves is obvious.