Month: March 2011

The Politics Of The Libyan Civil War Intervention

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With the US involvement in the Libyan Civil War, along with that of France, Great Britain, Spain, Italy, Canada, Denmark, and Norway, and with the backing of the Arab League, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the United Nations, and lack of use of their Security Council veto by Russia and China, we are seeing a political split developing in our nation.

We have learned that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, after earlier doubts, was finally convinced by UN Ambassador Susan Rice.

We have also learned that Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and Joint Chiefs of Staff Mike Mullen had great doubts on the intervention, but of course were loyal team members once the decision was made for involvement.

Also, Senator John McCain of Arizona and Senator John Kerry of Massachusetts, of different political persuasions and the last two losing Presidential candidates in 2008 and 2004 both felt that intervention was essential.

Independent Senator Joe Lieberman and Republican Senator Lindsey Graham also have strongly backed the military action, but Republican Senator Richard Lugar, the ranking member ofr the Kerry led Foreign Relations Committee, has expressed great upset at the intervention, and Speaker of the House John Boehner has made it clear that the President needed to consult Congress before taking action, which he basically failed to do, leading to a controversy over the War Powers Act of 1973, which mandates an explanation by the President within 48 hours, and the ability of Congress in theory to demand withdrawal after the military action, IF they can gain a majority vote in both houses of Congress, which has never happened, and is unlikely ever to happen!

The lack of consultation so far has angered Ohio Congressman Dennis Kucinich so much that he has brought up the concept of impeachment of the President, which certainly is not going to happen, but shows the turmoil developing because of the US now being committed to THREE wars at once, all in Muslim nations!

The danger is that Obama might, by what he has decided to do, to intervene to stop mass murder in Libya, could end up in a protracted war that could cost the nation many billions of dollars at a time when we are in economic crisis and cutting domestic budgets in states and nationally.

Additionally, it could cause Obama to have a Democratic opponent in the Presidential primaries of 2012, who assuredly he could defeat, but the attacks that would occur against him would weaken him, and make him more subjected to the likelihood of defeat in the Presidential Election of 2012 by the Republican nominee for that office!

This has happened three times in the past 35 years, in 1976 to Gerald Ford, in 1980 to Jimmy Carter, and in 1992 to George H W Bush.

It is clear that the Libyan Civil War intervention complicates the economic and political scene in America, and creates potentially new defense, foreign policy, and national security issues for the short run and the long run!

Eighth Anniversary Of The Iraq War’s Beginning, And Now Libya!

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It is quite ironic that on the 8th anniversary of America’s involvement in the Iraq War, which killed over 4,000 and wounded over 30,000, many very seriously, that suddenly we are engaged in war against Libya and its leader, Moammar Gaddafi!

The first missile strikes against Libya were by the French, but soon were joined by the United States and Great Britain, with the war effort being endorsed by the Arab League.

President Obama has said there will be no combat troops on the ground, that the purpose of the conflict is to prevent mass murder in Benghazi and other locations in eastern Libya, and to allow the rebels against the central government forces of Gaddafi to have a chance to succeed in defending themselves and to overthrow the 42 years long Libyan dictatorship, which has been condemned by UN Resolution 1973.

So we are now engaged in THREE wars at the same time, although Iraq is not considered to be hostile territory anymore, and American forces are scheduled to leave at the end of 2011. Meanwhile, Afghanistan is a war we are now engaged in for the 10th year.

The question is whether we can be certain that our involvement will be just missiles and air attacks, or whether it will deteriorate and lead to combat forces, no matter what Obama is saying now.

The thought of three wars at once, and the economic costs involved is enough to make one sick, and will probably mean further cuts down the road in domestic spending!

And there is concern that the Arab world and Muslim nations, while no friends of Gaddafi, might yet someday turn against the West, led by the US, France and Great Britain, and accuse them of a holy war against Islam.

There is also concern that Obama has not involved the Congress in the war planning, although that fits Presidential actions under Truman, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and the two Bushes, and other Presidents have intervened in a non war situation without Congressional approval. The War Powers Act of 1973 is again proved a “paper tiger”, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich is leading the attack on Obama asserting too much authority without approval of Congress.

So this Libyan intervention has just begun, and is bound to be longer lasting and creating more headaches, both domestic and foreign, than one wants to imagine today!

But at least, we will not be able to say that we ignored a potential mass holocaust, as Jimmy Carter did in Cambodia, and Bill Clinton did in Rwanda!

The Death Of Warren Christopher: Memories Of The 2000 Presidential Election!

Ronald 1 Comment

The death of former Secretary of State Warren Christopher at the age of 85 brings back many memories.

A key adviser to President Jimmy Carter and the first Secretary of State in the Bill Clinton Administration, Christopher always came across as a thoughtful, dedicated public servant who served his Presidents with distinction.

But what the author remembers even more is the legal battle waged by Christopher for former Vice President Al Gore in the contested Presidential Election of 2000, when the battle over the electoral votes of Florida dragged out the election controversy for 36 long days, but with James Baker, who was Secretary of State under George H. W. Bush, and the leader of the legal team for George W. Bush, ultimately being victorious when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Bush over Gore, despite Gore having a popular vote margin of over half a million citizens!

So Christopher’s passing brings back wistful memories of what might have been, had Al Gore been President in the first decade of the 21st century, rather than George W. Bush!

How different would the history of the United States be, both domestic and foreign, if Al Gore had been in charge? That is all speculation, and excellent for a potential political novel, a “What If?” book, similar to Jeff Greenfield’s new book, THEN EVERYTHING CHANGED: STUNNING ALTERNATE HISTORIES OF AMERICAN POLITICS: JFK, RFK, CARTER, FORD, REAGAN.

Florida And Its Teachers And College Professors: Total Destruction Of Education In The Name Of Governor Rick Scott And The Republican State Legislature!

Ronald 1 Comment

The state of Florida has always had problems with providing its children and college students with a decent, world class education.

Always unwilling to have a state income tax and desirous of avoiding any tax they can avoid, the state legislature and its Republican Governors since 1999 have bled the public school system dry and refused to recognize that its students, as a result, score terribly on competitive exams in all fields of knowledge, as compared to many states in the rest of the country.

Students too often come to college without any general knowledge base, and are ill prepared to do college work, and the economy offers mostly low wage employment, and promotes an anti labor bias, priding itself on being a “right to work” state, meaning exploitation of workers!

With Florida near the bottom in most statistics educationally, Governor Rick Scott now wishes to bleed over $3 billion out of the state education budget, while providing further tax cuts to the wealthy and the corporate and business world, and therefore, is doing everything possible to punish educators, along with other public servants, including police officers, fire fighters, nurses, social workers, librarians, sanitation workers, prison guards and others.

Regarding education, Scott and his party are working to end tenure, and to use testing that will cost money, that does not exist in the education system, to eliminate experienced teachers whose students do not perform well on state mandated tests, failing to understand that how a student performs is much more based on his or her work habits and parental influences than being in a classroom for a few hours per day!

Also, all state workers will have to take a pay cut, after years of low wages and inadequate pay increases, to pay for their Florida Retirement System pension, plus greater costs for their medical benefits. Sick Leave not used will be forfeited, instead of being paid out at retirement.

And the worst thing of all, particularly involving education, is that after July 1, 2011, when a teacher or professor retires, he or she will NEVER be able to be employed part time at any educational institution covered by the Florida Retirement System, instead of the earlier one month and then one year limitation!

This draconian cut off of talented educators from any ability to teach part time is not only denying talented retirees the opportunity to contribute their skills to the younger generation, and locking them into an inability to pursue their profession and improve their economic status by being able to earn part time income!

It will also create a major educational crisis within a short period, as there will be a rapid depletion of available adjunct professors and teachers, who are particularly the lifeblood of any educational institution at the college and university level!

With growing enrollments expected to continue, how will college administrators and public school administrators be able to staff classrooms and provide education if the pool of available talent is so limited by forced retirement from any involvement with the educational system, simply because one wishes to retire from full time?

This is stupid, asinine policy, which will contribute to the further deterioration of Florida educationally, and will have a tragic economic effect on the future of the Sunshine State, and this all to benefit a small elite of wealthy and business people who could not give a damn about the future of anything other than their own greedy, selfish aggrandizement!

The Turnover Coming: The Future Without Hillary Clinton And Robert Gates

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As we see the beginning of the re-election campaign of President Barack Obama, the President faces the daunting task of replacing his top two cabinet members in the crucial fields of foreign policy and defense.

Hillary Clinton has now made it clear that she does not wish to be Secretary of State in a second Obama term, and Robert Gates was making such a declaration long ago, and intends to leave late this year.

Both have been excellent and talented members of the Obama cabinet, and they will both be sorely missed, and their planned leaving presents major headaches for President Obama, at a time when the war in Afghanistan is not going well, and the nation is faced by massive overseas problems, including the unsettled situation in Libya with the civil war there raging, and the possibility of a no fly zone being declared by the United Nations and NATO, which would entail US participation; and also the shocking earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear power plant crisis in Japan, the third leading economy in the world, which will have ripple effects on the American and world economy.

This President has had to deal with multiple problems beyond any that earlier Presidents have had to face, and now the quest for the best, most competent successors to Clinton and Gates must begin in earnest, and this on top of the massive number of other domestic issues and problems, and a full scale battle for the Presidency not far off!

Republicans And Health Insurance Challenge By Democrats On Capitol Hill!

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The Republican Party is doing everything it can to destroy implementation of the Obama Health Care plan, making major efforts to defund it.

Meanwhile, in a smart move, the Democrats are proposing that all Republicans in Congress make clear publicly whether or not they are taking government funded health care from taxpayers, while moving to deny it to millions of taxpayers at the same time!

In other words, why should Republicans accept federally funded health care if they wish to deny it to the citizens of the country who do not have it?

This is utter hypocrisy, and the Democrats wish to embarrass the vast majority of Republicans who are taking advantage of the federal health care coverage they are entitled to.

As it is, about a dozen of the 87 freshman Republicans in the House have declined to accept their health care benefits, but that means over 85 percent of the freshmen ARE accepting the benefits while fighting to prevent it for millions of Americans!

The proposal of the Democrats will not pass, but at least it brings attention to the issue of the arrogance of the Republicans on the issue of health care!

Rick Santorum Joins Michele Bachmann And Sarah Palin: Ignorant And Stupid On The Constitution And American History!

Ronald 2 Comments

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum has joined the school of ignorant and stupid Presidential possibilities for the Republican Party!

Santorum criticized President John F. Kennedy for his speech in Houston during the 1960 Presidential campaign, where Kennedy declared his belief in the total separation of church and state, in order to allay fears of having a Catholic President. He made it clear that he might be a Catholic, but he would not allow the Catholic Church to dictate what he said or did in office. Indeed, he followed through on that completely!

But Santorum, himself Catholic, said Kennedy was wrong in so stating that belief, and that Kennedy was radical in promoting that view.

Santorum finished by declaring that Thomas Jefferson is “spinning in his grave” over this idea of separation of church and state.

And in so stating this, Santorum comes across as totally ignorant and stupid, and lacking in knowledge of the Founding Fathers, who definitely promoted separation of church and state, particularly Jefferson, who rejected traditional Christianity and became a Deist, which did not believe in organized religion!

More than ever, the GOP has troubles with candidates who have no clue as to our Constitution or history of the nation! This is, to say the least, a major embarrassment! First Sarah Palin, then Michele Bachmann, now Rick Santorum!

Michele Bachmann’s Ignorance Of American History And The Constitution!

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Minnesota Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, a potential Presidential candidate for 2012, has made a total fool of herself recently, displaying her total ignorance of American history and the Constitution.

It makes one wonder what kind of staff she has in her House of Representatives offices, that they did not stop her from making the tremendous blunders she committed, which make her look ridiculous and ignorant, dangerous for a potential Presidential candidate.

We would have thought that Sarah Palin was the only ignorant Republican considering a run for the White House. But Michele Bachmann, at least on paper, is more educated, including a law degree from Oral Roberts University! However, it has not helped to make her an informed person!

But that may be the problem. Having a degree from an evangelical religiously based law school would seem to many to be suspect, that they make up their own history and concepts of what the law and the Constitution is!

Bachmann has claimed that the Founding Fathers ended slavery, even though the Constitution includes two slavery compromises, and the Civil War was waged under Abraham Lincoln on the issue of slavery and its expansion.

She most recently went to New Hampshire, the site of the first primary in March 2012, and congratulated them on being the site of the first shots of the American Revolution at Lexington and Concord, failing to recognize that these sites are located in Massachusetts!

It is obvious she had a poor legal education, has a poor historical knowledge base, less than immigrants who have to pass a test to become citizens, and an inferior staff that lacks the knowledge and ability to protect their boss by being able to inform her of the truth and the facts before she speaks anywhere, and proceeds to make a total fool of herself!

It is not just her extreme right wing views that are a problem for Michele Bachmann; it is also her stupidity and ignorance!

John McCain And Affirmative Action In Selection Of VP Candidate In 2008

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A new revelation has been made by one of Senator John McCain’s campaign managers, indicating that former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin was added to the Vice Presidential list in 2008 because McCain felt there was a need for a woman on his final list of Vice Presidential possibilities.

But McCain, by doing so, endangered the whole nation with a choice of a running mate, who while a female, was totally unqualified to be a heartbeat away from the Presidency, let alone be on the list as a potential Presidential candidate in 2012!

Sarah Palin is not Hillary Clinton; she is also not Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas, or former Hawaii Governor Linda Lingle, or other qualified women of the GOP in the House of Representatives!

Palin has been a burden on the nation, and the only benefit of her candidacy in 2008 was to enrich her by millions of dollars as she became a celebrity, although with very thin, almost unnoticeable qualifications other than her appearance.

When one looks at the the rest of the list McCain was considering for the Vice Presidency, one can only weep!

On that list were Mitt Romney, Tim Pawlenty, Joe Lieberman, Charlie Crist, and Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York City.

ANY and ALL of them would have been far better qualified, and might have given McCain a real shot at winning, even in the midst of the economic collapse of September and October 2008. In any case, we could all have rested easier with the thought of a President Romney, a President Pawlenty, a President Lieberman, a President Crist, or a President Bloomberg than a President Palin!

This shows how the first decision a Presidential nominee makes, who shall be his Vice President and a heartbeat away from the White House, is a crucial test as to his suitability for the White House!

And when he makes the wrong decision, as Richard Nixon did in selecting Spiro Agnew, and George HW Bush did in picking Dan Quayle, it creates nightmares and the need for prayers, as it would have had John McCain won the White House in 2008!

Affirmative Action is fine, as long as the candidate involved is QUALIFIED, which Sarah Palin was not, and is not, to be President of the United States!

Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels: The “Phantom” Republican Candidate For President

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Indiana Governor Mitch Daniels has been gaining a lot of newsprint lately, hailed by George Will and David Brooks as the “best” candidate that the Republican Party could run for President.

Daniels has been coy about such a candidacy, saying that his family is not thrilled about his running, and that he has an important job facing him, as he continues as Governor of the Hoosier State.

But let’s look at Daniels and see what his positives are, to an outside observer.

Daniels has correctly brought attention to what he calls the new “Red Menace”, the term used in the struggle against Communism in the past. The new “red” is red ink, he declared, at the Conservative Political Action Conference, in what was called the best speech given by anyone at that gathering.

Daniels also suggested that the Republicans stop pursuing their social agenda on gay marriage and abortion, and focus on the economic crisis the nation faces, an idea which turned off social conservatives.

Daniels came across at that conference, and has otherwise, as rational and reasonable, and has avoided controversial statements and actions, unlike many of the other potential GOP candidates for President. He is, obviously, an intelligent, thoughtful man, which is a definite plus.

However, he has negatives as well as positives, including:

1. He lacks charisma, is not photogenic, and is only 5 feet 7 inches tall, none of it really important, but can be perceived as negatives for a Presidential candidate.

2. As Indiana Governor, as far back as 2005, he ended collective bargaining in the state by executive order, an action which is now seen as a negative in the middle of the controversy going on in several Midwestern states, most notably Wisconsin, but which has created new problems in Indiana, with demonstrations and demands for change on that issue.

3. As Budget Director under George W. Bush, the budget went through the ceiling because of war in Iraq and Afghanistan, plus an unfunded Medicare prescription plan, so his credentials on budgetary matters is compromised, when he speaks out on that issue now.

This whole discussion may be just an academic exercise, if Daniels decided not to run. In any case, were he to enter the race, it would, at the least, raise the level of intellectual discussion in the Republican Party, which right now has a list of potential candidates who seem more interested in controversy and confrontation than serious discussion of the important issue facing the nation, with the exception of Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman!