Netherlands

Presidents Who Served As US Ambassadors To Foreign Nations

This author and blogger has so far examined the history of Presidents serving as members of the House of Representatives and the US Senate, as State Governors, and as Cabinet Officers.

Now, let’s examine those 8 Presidents who served as US Ambassadors to foreign nations:

John Adams as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Continental Congress

Thomas Jefferson as Ambassador to France during the Continental Congress

James Monroe as Ambassador to France during the George Washington Presidency, and to Great Britain during the Thomas Jefferson Presidency

John Quincy Adams as Ambassador to the Netherlands during the George Washington and John Adams Presidencies; to Germany during the John Adams Presidency; to Russia and to Great Britain during the James Madison Presidency

Martin Van Buren as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Andrew Jackson Presidency

William Henry Harrison as Ambassador to Colombia during the John Quincy Adams Presidency

James Buchanan as Ambassador to Great Britain during the Franklin Pierce Presidency

George H. W. Bush as Ambassador to the United Nations during the Richard Nixon Presidency and as Chief of the US Liaison Office in China during the Gerald Ford Administration.

The most common Ambassadorship was to Great Britain, where five of the eight Presidents listed above served.

Twenty Nine “Developed” Nations Have Universal Health Care Coverage, But America Refuses To Come Into The 21st Century On Health Care!

Twenty nine “developed” nations in the world have Universal Health Care Coverage, including the following:

In Europe, 21 nations, including:

Great Britain
France
Germany
Italy
Spain
Portugal
Netherlands
Belgium
Luxembourg
Norway
Sweden
Finland
Denmark
Iceland
Switzerland
Austria
Hungary
Poland
Czech Republic
Greece
Slovenia

Also, Turkey and Israel in the Middle East have Universal Health Coverage.

Additionally, in Asia and the Pacific, there are 4 nations which have such coverage.

Japan
South Korea
Australia
New Zealand

Also, Canada in North America and Chile in South America have such coverage.

So why does the United States NOT have it?

The power of the health insurance companies lobby is one factor, and the refusal of the Republican Party and the conservative movement to be willing to accept that health care coverage and the protection of life beyond the pregnancy stage should be a guaranteed part of government policy, through a national health care program that covers all Americans, including even undocumented immigrants, are the reasons.

It is time for America to come into the 21st century, and decide that health care is not a privilege, but a basic human right!

Rick Santorum: Delusional Liar, NOT A Candidate For Vice President!

Rick Santorum is on his last legs as a Presidential candidate, and not too soon!

The former Pennsylvania Senator is about to lose the Maryland and Wisconsin Primaries being held tomorrow, and as he flails about, trying to gain traction in recent weeks, he has been shown to be a delusional liar!

Two examples follow:

About a month ago, he attacked the nation, The Netherlands (also known as Holland, with the people being the Dutch), claiming that they promote mercy killing or euthanasia against old people, against their will, and he connects this to his pro life views.

Why is Santorum even spending time condemning a foreign government that is a friend of the United States, an ally in NATO, who he would have to deal with if he was President of the United States? Is this the way to conduct diplomacy, to make up stories and issue attacks on no evidence at all, since this assertion by Santorum about the Netherlands is TOTALLY untrue!

What does this tell us? It shows us that Rick Santorum is a delusional liar! He does not know what he talking about, and it makes one wonder about his sanity and stability to be President!

The second example just occurred recently, when Santorum, out of the blue, declared that the California state university system does not teach American History courses, even if one wants to take them!

Except for one fact that is clear: This is totally made up, is totally untrue, and one can show this by examining the class schedules and catalogues of all the state university system schools.

Why does Santorum make up such a story, and what is his purpose in saying such ridiculous, untrue accusations?

The answer is that we do not know, and Santorum will not apologize through even a campaign aide, that he might have misspoken.

No, he continues to assert total falsehoods, and shows evidence that he can only be described as a delusional liar!

This man is not only wrong headed in his views, but he is also a dangerous, unstable man who apparently does not realize how ridiculous he sounds, and how totally wrong he is in what he claims!

Thank goodness this man is not going to the White House, and if Mitt Romney has the nerve and craziness to pick Santorum as his Vice Presidential running mate, he should be condemned by everyone as putting, within a heartbeat of the Presidency, a person actually more dangerous than Sarah Palin, who may be dumb and ill informed, but is not perceived as a delusional liar!

Barack Obama And Afghanistan: Wrong Direction! :(

President Obama is going the wrong direction on Afghanistan, and it could affect his re-election opportunities, as well as his historical reputation as President! 🙁

At the NATO summit in Portugal, the US government has made clear that while the summer of 2011 shall see the start of withdrawal of combat troops from Afghanistan, that combat will not end until 2014, and the President left it open that if the situation required it, we might see American combat troops beyond four years from now! 🙁

This is absolutely the WRONG thing to do, and it is interesting how many NATO nations are withdrawing their involvement, with the Netherlands and Canada already in the process of withdrawing, and Italy not far behind, and Great Britain making it clear that no later than 2014, they will withdraw their troops!

Already, American forces are over two thirds of all troops, and the percentage will be growing in the next four years!

The combat deaths are rising rapidly, and the expenses on the American budget are also rapidly adding to the national crisis over the deficit and the national debt!

For anyone to believe that NATO and the United States are somehow going to win in Afghanistan defies common sense and the history of that forsaken land!

Alexander the Great, the British Empire, and the Soviet Union failed to win in Afghanistan!

Do we really want our nation to be affected in the same negative fashion as what was visited on the old Soviet Union, leading to its economic and political collapse? 🙁

And does Barack Obama really want a left wing challenge from a Russ Feingold, a Michael Bloomberg, or someone else that will weaken his candidacy, and lead to a right wing Republican becoming President by default in the 2012 Presidential election? 🙁

It is clear that the American people want our sons and daughters to come home, as this constant warfare in Iraq and Afghanistan over this past decade has done great harm to American society and accomplished almost no progress, while killing and wounding thousands of the younger generation, with no results worth defending!:(