A new Reuters/Zogby poll is out, and our national pols do not fare very well, as one would expect. President Bush shows an approval rating of 24%, while the Congress comes in at less than half of that: 11%. This only continues what is now a long term trend. The public is fed up with politics as usual...and should be.
This is not going to change until the pols get a clue about the whys of this, and so far it is clear that they have no clue at all.
The President lost a lot of credibility by leading us into a war that most supported, but was based on inaccurate intelligence, and executed with the wrong strategy in place. That part could be forgiven, I suppose, but not the part that came later. Knowing the intel was bad, and knowing the strategy was not working, he stonewalled the country for over three years, never acknowledging the mistakes, nor making any real effort to change the strategy. Only when his party lost control of Congress did he get the point. This occurred too late to salvage his reputation, but hopefully not too late to salvage the war effort.
Then on to Congress.... What can one say? The whole kit and kaboodle of them are making the strongest possible case for Will Rogers' statement that "the only native criminal class in America is Congress."
The Republican Congress was elected in 1994 with a "contract with America" that pledged, among other things, to balance the budget, cut out pork, and reduce the size of the government. Well, the budget did get close to balance during the Clinton Administration (if one can believe the silly and arcane methodology the government uses to measure such things), but upon the ascension of the Republican President, the majority went mad, setting new records for pork with every session, and letting the budget get far out of balance. This greed...and that is what it is.... was compounded when the President failed to veto anything but the Stem Cell Bill. Some are already in prison, and others are under investigation. Let us hope the Justice Department pursues the rest of those that have violated the law.
Of course, the conduct of the Republicans outraged the voters, and that was sufficient in 2006 to unseat enough of them so that the Democrats took control of Congress. Other than the war, the main theme of the Democratic campign was to "change the culture of corruption" in Washington.
So what happened? Well they did change it, but arguably for the worse. "Earmarks" apparently now are being sold for campaign contributions. See, for instance, this site. After a spike in approval ratings for Congress after the election, the public got wise, and ratings fell rapidly, and are now lower that they were in 2006.
It just appears that both parties are so busy slopping at the public trough that they cannot see how disgusted their constituents are getting with the whole process. No wonder voter turnout is so low, and getting lower. The choices are between twiddle dee dee, and twiddle dee dum.
If someone sees Diogenes (or his ghost), tell him not to bother taking his lantern to Washington, D. C. It would be a waste of his time.
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
Ahmadinejad, free speech, and campus culture
In September, most of the right of center blogs were in high dudgeon about the invitation to Iranian President Ahmadinejad to appear at Columbia University. It was a big temptation to weigh in on the issue, but it seemed to be well covered from every perspective. From the right side, perhaps the best coverage came from Scott at Powerline, with his 12 part "Columbia's Disgrace" series. They can be found by scrolling through here.
Of course, it was disgraceful that an institution like Columbia would invite the monstrous head of a monstrous regime to speak in the US, but it was also an affirmation of the freedom that we have in America.
Columbia President Bollinger summed up Columbia's position:
"....I would also like to invoke a major theme in the development of freedom of speech as a central value in our society. It should never be thought that merely to listen toideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas, or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible.
Of course, it was disgraceful that an institution like Columbia would invite the monstrous head of a monstrous regime to speak in the US, but it was also an affirmation of the freedom that we have in America.
Columbia President Bollinger summed up Columbia's position:
"....I would also like to invoke a major theme in the development of freedom of speech as a central value in our society. It should never be thought that merely to listen toideas we deplore in any way implies our endorsement of those ideas, or the weakness of our resolve to resist those ideas, or our naiveté about the very real dangers inherent in such ideas. It is a critical premise of freedom of speech that we do not honor the dishonorable when we open the public forum to their voices. To hold otherwise would make vigorous debate impossible.
"That such a forum could not take place on a university campus in Iran today sharpens the point of what we do here. To commit oneself to a life—and a civil society—prepared to examine critically all ideas arises from a deep faith in the myriad benefits of a long-term process of meeting bad beliefs with better beliefs and hateful words with wiser words. That faith in freedom has always been and remains today our nation's most potent weapon against repressive regimes everywhere in the world. This is America at its best." (via Powerline)
That sounds good, at least until one questions whether a friend of the United States would be accorded such an invitation and be able to appear and speak without interruption. But I digress.
Scott Johnson at Powerline countered with this:
"...Columbia and President Bollinger are a disgrace. They welcome to their campus a man who is a ringleader in the seizure of American hostages, a terrorist, the president of a terrorist regime, and the representative of a regime responsible at present for the deaths of American soldiers on the field of battle. Columbia's prattle about free speech may be a tale told by an idiot, but it signifies something. And President Bollinger is a fool who is not excused from the dishonor he brings to his institution and his fellow citizens by the fact that he doesn't know what he is doing."
So the issue was joined, Ahmadinejad appeared, Bollinger scolded him, and the only result was a propaganda event for Ahmadinejad with the play on it back in Iran. Little harm, no foul?
Peggy Noonan had something good to say about it all:
"....Is it necessary to say when one speaks of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad that you disapprove of him, disagree with him, believe him a wicked fellow and are not amused that he means to have missiles aimed at us and our friends? If it is, I am happy to say it. Who, really, isn't?
But this has been our history: to let all speak and to fear no one. That's a good history to continue. The Council on Foreign Relations was right to invite him to speak last year--that is the council's job, to hear, listen and parse--and Columbia University was well within its rights to let him speak this year. Though, in what is now apparently Columbia tradition, the stage was once again stormed, but this time verbally, and by a university president whose aggression seemed sharpened by fear.
"There were two revealing moments in Ahmadinejad's appearance. The first is that in his litany of complaint against the United States he seemed not to remember the taking and abuse of American diplomatic hostages in 1979. An odd thing to forget since he is said to have been part of that operation. The second was the moment when he seemed to assert that his nation does not have homosexuals. This won derisive laughter, and might have been a learning moment for him; dictators don't face derisive from crowds back home.
"It was like the moment in 1960 when Khrushchev's motorcade stalled on Third Avenue and a commuter walked by and gave him the finger. Actually I don't know there was such a moment, but knowing Americans I'm sure there was. Talking and listening to the wicked is the way we always operated in the long freak show that was 20th-century world leadership. And I'm sure before...."
A quite reasonable approach, I would say. So what we have are varying positions on the invitation and appearance, all of which are right from the perspective of it's author. And how about the subject matter of the issue? Well, he had a perspective, too, from the Islamic Republic News Agency:
".....Referring to his speech at Columbia University, President Ahmadinejad said, "The Zionists wanted to turn the event into a trial of the Isalmic[sic] Republic of Iran, but with help from the Almighty God, the plot turned into a scene in which nations could express their hatred with the rulers in the White House."
"The behavior of the government and media in the US shows that there is dictatorship in that country and people are not allowed to know the facts," said the president.
"The Iranian nation are not afraid of listening to others and believe that the whole world accepts the strong logic of the revolution and the Islamic regime," the president concluded. "
So much for the appearance being an enlightening moment for any involved. About the only thing the appearance accomplished was to give Columbia an opportunity to bask in the light of "academic freedom" and free speech; Ahmadinejad to poke a finger in Uncle Sam's eye; and all the writers and bloggers to opine about their perspectives. Dare one say that there might have been a lot of smoke, but little fire? Sounds about right.
Where does all of this leave us? I think back at the college campus(s). Clearly, Columbia, like most universities in the United States, is not friendly to centrist or right of center thinking. There is no true freedom of speech on most campuses. Instead, we have only leftist and anti-American speech. All other is not "politically correct", and therefore not permitted. We have seen that across the board: when those kinds of speakers appear on campus, they are shouted down, and not accorded the atmosphere that Ahmadinejad enjoyed. Free debate only occurs among leftists. Surely, nobody would expect, say, Donald Rumsfeld, to be accorded the same courtesies at Columbia that the monster, Ahmadinejad, was accorded. Or, for that matter, William F. Buckley, or Lawrence Summers, or our own President to name a few others.
Michael Barone has an excellent article on the campus culture that permits this sort of conduct entitled "Ivory Tower Decay." Of the Columbia/Ahmadinejad encounter, he says of the campus culture:
".....This regnant campus culture helps to explain why Columbia University, which bars ROTC from campus on the ground that the military bars open homosexuals from service, welcomed Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, whose government publicly executes homosexuals...."
After mentioning the absurd invitation of Hofstra Law School to Lynn Stewart, convicted and sentenced to prison for aiding terrorists, so she could participate, as a lecturer, in a conference on legal ethics(!), Barone concludes:
"....What it doesn't explain is why the rest of society is willing to support such institutions by paying huge tuitions, providing tax exemptions and making generous gifts. Suppression of campus speech has been admirably documented by the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education. The promotion of bogus scholarship and idea-free propagandizing has been admirably documented by the American Council of Trustees and Alumni. It's too bad the rest of America is not paying more attention."
Barone raises the real question at the heart of this tempest. Why do we continue to support the one sided and exclusive leftist viewpoints to be the only ones heard on our college campuses?
Perhaps it is time to take a look at how leadership on the campuses could be improved so they would once again be places of free and unimpeded discourse. Public universities should be accountable to the public. Maybe the governing boards should be for more than show and money raising, and start taking strong positions on such things as free speech and real academic freedom.
Don't hold your breath until it happens.
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Be Careful What You Wish For
My last post ended with a statement that we could not leave the field to Iran. One must look at the consequences of an American withdrawal from Iraq. This is why it is difficult for me to understand why the anti-war factions take the positions that they do.
An American retreat from Iraq would leave Iran as the only country in the Middle East strong enough to exert it's hegemony over the region, and they certainly have let it be known that is what they intend to do.
So, let's assume that the anti-war Left wins, and we withdraw from Iraq. The Gulf States are then under Iranian guns. Should we worry about that? Apparently not, if one listens to the Left. "What do we care about that region?", they seem to say. Or do they say they won't let that happen? We can negotiate our way out of the mess.
I can go on in that vein, but what is the use? The Left is anti-war, but often blindly so. They are against it, but have no real solutions to avoiding war except for platitudinous resort to negotiation with people who won't negotiate, or to getting help from countries that have no intention of helping. It all sounds good to the unthinking, but it just won't work.
In my reading today, I ran into a piece by one Juan Cole, the Middle Eastern guru favored by the Left. He makes some good points that perhaps the Left should pay attention to
An American retreat from Iraq would leave Iran as the only country in the Middle East strong enough to exert it's hegemony over the region, and they certainly have let it be known that is what they intend to do.
So, let's assume that the anti-war Left wins, and we withdraw from Iraq. The Gulf States are then under Iranian guns. Should we worry about that? Apparently not, if one listens to the Left. "What do we care about that region?", they seem to say. Or do they say they won't let that happen? We can negotiate our way out of the mess.
I can go on in that vein, but what is the use? The Left is anti-war, but often blindly so. They are against it, but have no real solutions to avoiding war except for platitudinous resort to negotiation with people who won't negotiate, or to getting help from countries that have no intention of helping. It all sounds good to the unthinking, but it just won't work.
In my reading today, I ran into a piece by one Juan Cole, the Middle Eastern guru favored by the Left. He makes some good points that perhaps the Left should pay attention to
"....But in all likelihood, when the Democratic president pulls US troops out in summer of 2009, all hell is going to break loose. The consequences may include even higher petroleum prices than we have seenrecently,which at some point could bring back stagflation or very high rates of inflation.
In other words, the Democratic president risks being Fordized when s/he withdraws from Iraq, by the aftermath. A one-term president associated with humiliation abroad and high inflation at home? Maybe I should say, Carterized. The Republican Party could come back strong in 2012 and then dominate politics for decades, if that happened....." (read the whole
thing)
Now wait a minute! Is he saying that they should know withdrawal will be a disaster? Of course they know. This is not about the national interest, this is about winning elections...at least to them.
Funny how he should mention Jimmy Carter, and him having been "Carterized." By this he means unjustly criticized and defeated for re-election. I am reminded that Jimmy Carter is the last leftist to be called upon to lead our country amid troubles with Iran. It should be noted that Mr. Carter abandoned the Shah, which led to the present bunch of crazies being in charge. They turned on him quickly, though, and took over our embassy, holding Americans hostage for months. Negotiate, sure, he negotiated. With himself. To no avail. Then he tried a pathetic rescue attempt by unprepared and poorly equipped troops, which was a total failure. At least he finally tried something.
We all need to remind ourselves that this is the type of individual that is seeking to benefit from our difficulties in Iraq. Mr. Carter was soundly defeated, but only after the damage was done. Will history repeat?
I will close with a warning to the Left: be careful what you wish for. It may come true, then what will you do?
The Mistake Filled War
Having followed the testimony this week of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker, one is tempted to indulge in a lot of thinking about what could have been or what should have been. Retrospect is a perfect perch for doing that, of course, and critcisms now of mistakes made at the beginning is much easier than forseeing what will occur.
Like probably most Americans (and almost all the current opponents of the war) I was in favor from the start. Saddam Hussein needed to be deposed, and an American invasion was needed to do so. Also like most Americans, I assumed that appropriate intelligence and war planning would take place before an invasion. As did many, I fell for the "slam dunk" quote from CIA Chief George Tenet even though I did not particularly trust him. As we have found, that was a mistaken assumption on my (our) part.
Clearly, contingency planning was not in place for an occupation, particularly one with an active and deadly guerrilla insurgency. The invasion was done on the cheap, with bad intelligence and far too few troops. (I am pretty certain that this was the subject matter of the dispute between Colin Powell and Rumsfeld so there was probably another side presented to the President. He picked the wrong side if that is what occurred.)
Even after it became clear that was the case, our leaders stonewalled and spinned the reports in order to maintain a policy that was obviously a failure. This went on for over three years, with lives and time and treasure wasted because the government could not or would not admit error, and make appropriate changes in strategy and tactics.
The three years were critical. During that period, Americans became impatient. The public saw a drumbeat of negative news from the war zone, with hardly any of the positive things that were happening being reported in the media. The negatives (and there were many) were emphasized by the media, Hollywood, and the Left. The anti-war movement got stronger, and the American Left started forcefully opposing the war and agitating for an immediate timeline for withdrawal. Even many that favored the war changed positions, and now are pushing hard for our forces to retreat.
After the 2006 elections, when the Democrats won control of Congress at least partly on an anti-war platform, the Bush Administration finally awakened and made the changes that should have been made years earlier. Rumsfeld was let go and new strategy, tactics and rules of engagement were put in place. Another 30,000 troops were surged into the battle zones, and were finally in place in June of 2007.
Now, three months after the surge battle operations actually started, the new men in charge have been home for a progress report. The report, of course, has been mixed. The military portion of the new strategy is showing some success, but is not over. On the political side, there is less (or no) progress, but Ambassador Crocker maintains that with time, that will improve.
How much time? That is hard to tell. Even steadfast Republicans are beginning to get very nervous at the anti-war sentiment in the country, but it appears that there will be a slight consensus for following the recommendations of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. This means that we will probably have over 100,000 troops in Iraq at the end of Bush's term. Then it will be up to whomever succeeds Bush to deal with the situation. That is when it will get interesting.
Where do I stand? I think we should give the new strategy a chance to succeed, but also plan for what must be done if it does not. We cannot leave the field to Iran under any circumstances.
Like probably most Americans (and almost all the current opponents of the war) I was in favor from the start. Saddam Hussein needed to be deposed, and an American invasion was needed to do so. Also like most Americans, I assumed that appropriate intelligence and war planning would take place before an invasion. As did many, I fell for the "slam dunk" quote from CIA Chief George Tenet even though I did not particularly trust him. As we have found, that was a mistaken assumption on my (our) part.
Clearly, contingency planning was not in place for an occupation, particularly one with an active and deadly guerrilla insurgency. The invasion was done on the cheap, with bad intelligence and far too few troops. (I am pretty certain that this was the subject matter of the dispute between Colin Powell and Rumsfeld so there was probably another side presented to the President. He picked the wrong side if that is what occurred.)
Even after it became clear that was the case, our leaders stonewalled and spinned the reports in order to maintain a policy that was obviously a failure. This went on for over three years, with lives and time and treasure wasted because the government could not or would not admit error, and make appropriate changes in strategy and tactics.
The three years were critical. During that period, Americans became impatient. The public saw a drumbeat of negative news from the war zone, with hardly any of the positive things that were happening being reported in the media. The negatives (and there were many) were emphasized by the media, Hollywood, and the Left. The anti-war movement got stronger, and the American Left started forcefully opposing the war and agitating for an immediate timeline for withdrawal. Even many that favored the war changed positions, and now are pushing hard for our forces to retreat.
After the 2006 elections, when the Democrats won control of Congress at least partly on an anti-war platform, the Bush Administration finally awakened and made the changes that should have been made years earlier. Rumsfeld was let go and new strategy, tactics and rules of engagement were put in place. Another 30,000 troops were surged into the battle zones, and were finally in place in June of 2007.
Now, three months after the surge battle operations actually started, the new men in charge have been home for a progress report. The report, of course, has been mixed. The military portion of the new strategy is showing some success, but is not over. On the political side, there is less (or no) progress, but Ambassador Crocker maintains that with time, that will improve.
How much time? That is hard to tell. Even steadfast Republicans are beginning to get very nervous at the anti-war sentiment in the country, but it appears that there will be a slight consensus for following the recommendations of General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker. This means that we will probably have over 100,000 troops in Iraq at the end of Bush's term. Then it will be up to whomever succeeds Bush to deal with the situation. That is when it will get interesting.
Where do I stand? I think we should give the new strategy a chance to succeed, but also plan for what must be done if it does not. We cannot leave the field to Iran under any circumstances.
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
A touch of Fall in the air?
The last few nights, as I have been sitting out on the patio under the arbor with my puppy dog and an adult beverage, I have had the feeling that there was a slight touch of Fall in the air, with still almost a month to go before official Autumn. There has just been something about the breeze that left that impression. A few Canada geese flying over emphasized the feeling.
Today, when I took my bride out to the farmer's market to get some peas and pickling cucumbers, one of the ladies there took a deep breath and said, "There's a touch of Fall in the air." Ah, so somebody else, a farm girl no less, has the same feeling as I.
It's early, of course. The heat is still here, though not as bad as in most years, thanks, I guess, to global warming. But there is a freshness in the breeze that just makes one know that Fall is on the way.
Fall is a big time of the year here on the plains. The Comanche Moons will be along soon. The Comanche Indians used to launch raids from this area far into Mexico during this time of the year using the times of the bright moon as an aid. Indian summer. It was a time to be extra cautious if one lived in frontier Texas over a Century ago.
These days, Comanches have little to do with why Fall is special out here, unless your football team is Comanche, or their mascots are Indians. Football is what is special. High Schools and Colleges, but also Middle Schools and other leagues. And it's not just the teams, but the bands and the cheerleaders, and all the parents involved with their kids. Whole communities, too, in rural Texas.
It is a fabulous time and it starts this weekend. Such a happy time! My favorite.
Today, when I took my bride out to the farmer's market to get some peas and pickling cucumbers, one of the ladies there took a deep breath and said, "There's a touch of Fall in the air." Ah, so somebody else, a farm girl no less, has the same feeling as I.
It's early, of course. The heat is still here, though not as bad as in most years, thanks, I guess, to global warming. But there is a freshness in the breeze that just makes one know that Fall is on the way.
Fall is a big time of the year here on the plains. The Comanche Moons will be along soon. The Comanche Indians used to launch raids from this area far into Mexico during this time of the year using the times of the bright moon as an aid. Indian summer. It was a time to be extra cautious if one lived in frontier Texas over a Century ago.
These days, Comanches have little to do with why Fall is special out here, unless your football team is Comanche, or their mascots are Indians. Football is what is special. High Schools and Colleges, but also Middle Schools and other leagues. And it's not just the teams, but the bands and the cheerleaders, and all the parents involved with their kids. Whole communities, too, in rural Texas.
It is a fabulous time and it starts this weekend. Such a happy time! My favorite.
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
On wedges and politics
With the resignation this month of Karl Rove, we see another big change in the political scene. Rove was given credit for being the "architect" of George W. Bush's elections, and actually also served in a policy position for a while. As a political genius, of sorts, he certainly directed effective tactics leading to Bush's elections, but he may well have been not suited for helping to make policy. History will tell.
I have seen him accused of taking so-called "wedge" issues and dividing the American people with them. That is nonsense. He was not nearly the first to identify such issues and fashion a campaign around them, nor will he be the last. He just did it very effectively, much as Bill Clinton did in his elections. One can see early signs of such issues in the ongoing 2008 Presidential campaign, as well. It is what everyone tries to do....separate themselves from the opposition, on the side of a majority of voters.
It is still too early to know exactly what the wedge issues will be next year, but one can get a good idea now of what some of the candidates think they will be.
Hillary Clinton, for instance, believes that national security and related matters are going to be one. Mark the positions she has taken on the Iraq war and defense issues. She is way nearer the center than any of her current opponents, but one can see Obama trying to get over there, too. It is creating some confusion about just exactly where they stand, but clearly they are both moving to the center more than the so-called "Democratic base."
On the Republican side one can see that they clearly think that immigration is going to be a wedge issue, and I suspect they are right. Giulani, Thompson and Romney are all staking out tough stands on immigration. McCain has been left behind partly because of his support for the flawed bill that failed in June.
We see both sides mentioning the problem with corruption in the government and the distrust of all areas of government, but not as really a big issue. What we see mostly so far is a little lip service, but nobody want to offend the powerful interests that are behind it. There is too much money at stake.
This last could be the wedge issue of all wedge issues, but neither party has much credibility here. The individual candidates will have make their own cases for being trustworthy, a job that will be more difficult for those that have been part of the problem. The bright candidate will get on this bandwagon. I see a lot of disgust in the general public about politics as usual in Washington, as well as even on the local level.
What about next year? This old campaigner believes it is far too early to pick the ultimate winner, but as the campaign moves along one can get a glimmer of what might unfold. Mind you, I am not endorsing one side or the other, but here goes:
Hillary has to be the front runner and practically a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination. She clearly has the momentum, and her opposition appears to be fading. Barack Obama has added some interest to the race, and has all the Hollywood crowd backing him, but the more he talks, the more obvious it is that he is not ready for prime time.
John Edwards, the "pretty boy" of the campaign has faded, and is so far out of tune on the national security issue, that he can't be nominated. Besides, he is shallower than the dry creek beds we have here in West Texas. I just don't think he has a chance.
Bill Richardson is running for veep, and he can't bring enough electoral votes to matter. As for the rest, not a chance barring something big and unexpected happening.
Who will the veep nominee be? Up for grabs, but my view is that it will be none of the current Presidential candidates. If I were Hillary, I would pick a Southern or Midwestern governor. But that's just my thought.
The Republican race is more interesting. It is going to be interesting to see the effect of Fred Thompson joining the race officially. Right now, Rudy is in the driver's seat, even though his record on social issues is not what the Republican base likes. This has to do with the importance placed on national security primarily, but I also think that the Republicans respect him for being honest about his views and not trying to edge away from his record like Romney has. Again, the trust matter gives Rudy the edge here. We will see how that plays as the campaign progresses.
Fred Thompson is due to announce officially in a week or so. Thompson has a lot going for him....he is acceptable to the base because his record on social issues is solid from the base's viewpoint. He has been good on the national security issues as well. He has a reputation, earned or not, of not being a hard worker. And, having been in the senate, may get hit as being part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. We will have to see how he does when he gets in the arena.
My view is that Romney just can't quite make it. His switches on social issues hurt. He has money and organizational skills, but there is just something there that I can't put my finger on. I think that when Thompson gets in Romney and McCain will fade. We will see.
I have mentioned McCain a couple of times. He is a good man, and is right on the national security issue as far as Republicans are concerned. His problem is that he has taken two positions that have alienated the Republican base: immigration and the McCain-Feingold law. He is perceived as a maverick who cannot be trusted by many Republicans, and this has already doomed his candidacy.
Of the other Republicans, Huckabee has some support, but not enough to win it. He may well be a good veep candidate if Rudy should win the nomination, but I don't see him being a player for very much longer. The others are even further out of it.
I see it coming down to Thompson and Giulani. Who will win it? I have no idea at this time. There are things that would favor each of them. As the campaign progresses, perhaps I will get a better idea.
Who will win the general election in 2008? I predict that it will be another squeaker, barring anything unforeseen. Positions taken by the candidates on both sides during the nominating campaigns have to be well thought out, or they will come back to haunt them in the general. It's going to be interesting.
I have seen him accused of taking so-called "wedge" issues and dividing the American people with them. That is nonsense. He was not nearly the first to identify such issues and fashion a campaign around them, nor will he be the last. He just did it very effectively, much as Bill Clinton did in his elections. One can see early signs of such issues in the ongoing 2008 Presidential campaign, as well. It is what everyone tries to do....separate themselves from the opposition, on the side of a majority of voters.
It is still too early to know exactly what the wedge issues will be next year, but one can get a good idea now of what some of the candidates think they will be.
Hillary Clinton, for instance, believes that national security and related matters are going to be one. Mark the positions she has taken on the Iraq war and defense issues. She is way nearer the center than any of her current opponents, but one can see Obama trying to get over there, too. It is creating some confusion about just exactly where they stand, but clearly they are both moving to the center more than the so-called "Democratic base."
On the Republican side one can see that they clearly think that immigration is going to be a wedge issue, and I suspect they are right. Giulani, Thompson and Romney are all staking out tough stands on immigration. McCain has been left behind partly because of his support for the flawed bill that failed in June.
We see both sides mentioning the problem with corruption in the government and the distrust of all areas of government, but not as really a big issue. What we see mostly so far is a little lip service, but nobody want to offend the powerful interests that are behind it. There is too much money at stake.
This last could be the wedge issue of all wedge issues, but neither party has much credibility here. The individual candidates will have make their own cases for being trustworthy, a job that will be more difficult for those that have been part of the problem. The bright candidate will get on this bandwagon. I see a lot of disgust in the general public about politics as usual in Washington, as well as even on the local level.
What about next year? This old campaigner believes it is far too early to pick the ultimate winner, but as the campaign moves along one can get a glimmer of what might unfold. Mind you, I am not endorsing one side or the other, but here goes:
Hillary has to be the front runner and practically a shoe-in for the Democratic nomination. She clearly has the momentum, and her opposition appears to be fading. Barack Obama has added some interest to the race, and has all the Hollywood crowd backing him, but the more he talks, the more obvious it is that he is not ready for prime time.
John Edwards, the "pretty boy" of the campaign has faded, and is so far out of tune on the national security issue, that he can't be nominated. Besides, he is shallower than the dry creek beds we have here in West Texas. I just don't think he has a chance.
Bill Richardson is running for veep, and he can't bring enough electoral votes to matter. As for the rest, not a chance barring something big and unexpected happening.
Who will the veep nominee be? Up for grabs, but my view is that it will be none of the current Presidential candidates. If I were Hillary, I would pick a Southern or Midwestern governor. But that's just my thought.
The Republican race is more interesting. It is going to be interesting to see the effect of Fred Thompson joining the race officially. Right now, Rudy is in the driver's seat, even though his record on social issues is not what the Republican base likes. This has to do with the importance placed on national security primarily, but I also think that the Republicans respect him for being honest about his views and not trying to edge away from his record like Romney has. Again, the trust matter gives Rudy the edge here. We will see how that plays as the campaign progresses.
Fred Thompson is due to announce officially in a week or so. Thompson has a lot going for him....he is acceptable to the base because his record on social issues is solid from the base's viewpoint. He has been good on the national security issues as well. He has a reputation, earned or not, of not being a hard worker. And, having been in the senate, may get hit as being part of the problem, rather than part of the solution. We will have to see how he does when he gets in the arena.
My view is that Romney just can't quite make it. His switches on social issues hurt. He has money and organizational skills, but there is just something there that I can't put my finger on. I think that when Thompson gets in Romney and McCain will fade. We will see.
I have mentioned McCain a couple of times. He is a good man, and is right on the national security issue as far as Republicans are concerned. His problem is that he has taken two positions that have alienated the Republican base: immigration and the McCain-Feingold law. He is perceived as a maverick who cannot be trusted by many Republicans, and this has already doomed his candidacy.
Of the other Republicans, Huckabee has some support, but not enough to win it. He may well be a good veep candidate if Rudy should win the nomination, but I don't see him being a player for very much longer. The others are even further out of it.
I see it coming down to Thompson and Giulani. Who will win it? I have no idea at this time. There are things that would favor each of them. As the campaign progresses, perhaps I will get a better idea.
Who will win the general election in 2008? I predict that it will be another squeaker, barring anything unforeseen. Positions taken by the candidates on both sides during the nominating campaigns have to be well thought out, or they will come back to haunt them in the general. It's going to be interesting.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
About dogs
Yesterday, as I made my appointed rounds,I drove by a nursing home and I spied an old geezer riding his motorized wheelchair along a sidewalk, with his dog on a leash running ahead of him. Now I am sure you have all heard about the studies that show people with pets live longer, happier lives, but I want to put in a word for dogs as being very special.
Dogs were apparently bred from wolves way back in time. From that time, they have been mankind's special friends, guarding the camps, helping on the hunt,and just being a companion. Some tribes even used them for food, occasionally. Let's not go there.
There are all kinds sizes and shapes of dogs. There are great huge dogs like an Irish Wolfhound or Great Dane all the way down to Chihuahuas and Yorkies. A dog is there for any taste or personality.
My dog is an English (Llewellyn) Setter, and she is just perfect...for me. She is a constant companion, following me everywhere I go when I am at home.
She is a hunter. She spends the evening hours when I am sitting on the back patio hunting constantly all around the yard. For anything: birds, bees, butterflies, anything that moves. She will go into a point when birds arrive on the fence or the bird bath. If they are close to the ground and stay put very long, she will stalk them. It's fun to watch, except sometimes she will actually catch a bird, whereupon she will proudly bring it in to show us. It's just a natural thing to do for her. I had to take down the bird feeder permanently because of that.
She is also a guard dog, barking loudly and viciously at anyone who dares walk by our house. Particularly at first light in the morning, when the neighbors are taking a walk. Of course, she would not bite anybody, but her bark sure doesn't give any such indication. Can't say that about a Yorkie, that's for sure.
She is a very sweet affectionate dog, and my bride and I cannot imagine what we would do to change her to make her better. That is just the effect that a good dog has on you. Everyone that can should have at least one.
Last, but not least, there is one thing one can say about his or her dog, that cannot be said about any other creature:
Your dog will love you, without reservation, no matter what you do.
Try that on a cat.
Dogs were apparently bred from wolves way back in time. From that time, they have been mankind's special friends, guarding the camps, helping on the hunt,and just being a companion. Some tribes even used them for food, occasionally. Let's not go there.
There are all kinds sizes and shapes of dogs. There are great huge dogs like an Irish Wolfhound or Great Dane all the way down to Chihuahuas and Yorkies. A dog is there for any taste or personality.
My dog is an English (Llewellyn) Setter, and she is just perfect...for me. She is a constant companion, following me everywhere I go when I am at home.
She is a hunter. She spends the evening hours when I am sitting on the back patio hunting constantly all around the yard. For anything: birds, bees, butterflies, anything that moves. She will go into a point when birds arrive on the fence or the bird bath. If they are close to the ground and stay put very long, she will stalk them. It's fun to watch, except sometimes she will actually catch a bird, whereupon she will proudly bring it in to show us. It's just a natural thing to do for her. I had to take down the bird feeder permanently because of that.
She is also a guard dog, barking loudly and viciously at anyone who dares walk by our house. Particularly at first light in the morning, when the neighbors are taking a walk. Of course, she would not bite anybody, but her bark sure doesn't give any such indication. Can't say that about a Yorkie, that's for sure.
She is a very sweet affectionate dog, and my bride and I cannot imagine what we would do to change her to make her better. That is just the effect that a good dog has on you. Everyone that can should have at least one.
Last, but not least, there is one thing one can say about his or her dog, that cannot be said about any other creature:
Your dog will love you, without reservation, no matter what you do.
Try that on a cat.
Thursday, August 9, 2007
Resting and retirement
A few days ago my old pal George over at Blog of Ages wrote a piece entitled Give it a rest. There is a lot to be said about that. Most of us think we have to stay busy all the time, and miss out on one of the great benefits of the "Golden Years." AKA: Geezerhood. Following is my version of "giving it a rest."
Here on the South Plains, we don't usually have much rain, but this year has been an exception. It is finally getting hot here, two months late. Even so, that's not so bad. We can't sit back in a rocking chair and enjoy the rain for now, but the plains has a special thing about it. As the sun begins to get low in the sky, and shade creeps over our back yard, the temperature drops pretty rapidly, and a breeze usually comes along with the shade.
That is when I like to get out under our arbor on the back patio, and give it a rest. It's as quiet as it can get inside town. The only noise is the dog barking occasionally, and the sound of the birds: whitewing and mourning doves, cardinals, mocking birds, robins, and the ubiquitous sparrows. Rarely, a hummingbird will come by to inspect the hummingbird feeder.
An adult beverage and some soft music - not enough to drown out the other sounds - complete the scene. Ahhhhh. Very nice and peaceful. Paradise. As you can see from the above picture.
One can quite peacefully sit and reminisce in such a setting, and I do so every evening that I can, all the while being entertained by that little Llewellyn Setter you see in the photograph. It's a geezer phenomenum, I guess. I can sit there for a couple of hours and do nothing, except piddle in the flower beds, or cook a steak on the grill, and think of all my old pals and true loves.
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
Gone
Been there. Gone, that is. Two weeks ago my computer crashed. Then crashed again, and again....ad nauseum. Finally discovered it was my old friend AOL that was causing it.
Now, I have been using AOL as an ISP since they started. That's a long time. The last few years, it has gotten to be something of a drag, but I stayed with it because I was used to it and I had a lot of stuff saved there.
I have been on cable a couple of years, but kept AOL for the above reasons. When it started crashing, I removed the AOL program from my computer. Voila'. It worked. Faster, better, and no crashes. So I reloaded AOL to try to recover the files I had saved. Crash!
Goodbye AOL, and goodbye all those old files I had scrupulously saved over long years. Sigh.
I have no idea why AOL was causing the crashes, but do know that removing the program from my computer makes it run far better. Time to move on.
I recognize that for a blog to get readers, one must post with some regularity. I have a few ideas, and will be posting more frequently now that I am used to my new setup.
I am done for a while on immigration. It will be back, but later. I will have some ideas about relaxing, and dogs, and crime. Among other things. There are lots of interesting subjects out there that need to be addressed. I will try to do that....in my own time, of course. I am retired, after all.
Now, I have been using AOL as an ISP since they started. That's a long time. The last few years, it has gotten to be something of a drag, but I stayed with it because I was used to it and I had a lot of stuff saved there.
I have been on cable a couple of years, but kept AOL for the above reasons. When it started crashing, I removed the AOL program from my computer. Voila'. It worked. Faster, better, and no crashes. So I reloaded AOL to try to recover the files I had saved. Crash!
Goodbye AOL, and goodbye all those old files I had scrupulously saved over long years. Sigh.
I have no idea why AOL was causing the crashes, but do know that removing the program from my computer makes it run far better. Time to move on.
I recognize that for a blog to get readers, one must post with some regularity. I have a few ideas, and will be posting more frequently now that I am used to my new setup.
I am done for a while on immigration. It will be back, but later. I will have some ideas about relaxing, and dogs, and crime. Among other things. There are lots of interesting subjects out there that need to be addressed. I will try to do that....in my own time, of course. I am retired, after all.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Iraq: What we don't hear
One thing I have noticed since we invaded Iraq was that There are two stories out there: one, the bad news as reported by the Mainstream Media; and two: the good news, which one can only find in small media, and on the Internet. There is a lot of very good reporting going on by independents who are embedded with our troops, and who are getting the news from observation, rather than using "stringers" of dubious loyalty like the MSM does.
Micheal Totten is one who has just embedded with the 82nd Airborne in Baghdad, and he has posted about his first patrol with them. They are in an area that has already seen the results of the surge. In the Wake of the Surge describes the patrol.
You won't hear anything like this from the MSM, to whom only "blood and guts" and bad news is really "news."
It is still not peaceful yet. Terror does still come to the residents of Baghdad. Sadr City has still not been cleared and that is a real cesspool. Residents are still afraid.
Micheal Totten is one who has just embedded with the 82nd Airborne in Baghdad, and he has posted about his first patrol with them. They are in an area that has already seen the results of the surge. In the Wake of the Surge describes the patrol.
"...Everyone was friendly. No one shot at us or even looked at us funny.
Infrastructure problems, not security, were the biggest concerns at the moment.
I felt like I was in Iraqi Kurdistan – where the war is already over – not in
Baghdad.
It was an edgy “Kurdistan,” though. Every now and then someone drove down
the street in a vehicle. If any military-aged males (MAMs as the Army guys call
them) were in the car, the soldiers stopped it and made everybody get out. The
vehicle and the men were then searched.
Everyone who was searched took it in stride. Some of the Iraqi men smirked
slightly, as if the whole thing were a minor joke and a non-threatening routine
annoyance that they had been through before. The procedure looked and felt more
like airport security in the United States than, say, the more severe Israeli
checkpoints in the West Bank and Gaza....."
You won't hear anything like this from the MSM, to whom only "blood and guts" and bad news is really "news."
It is still not peaceful yet. Terror does still come to the residents of Baghdad. Sadr City has still not been cleared and that is a real cesspool. Residents are still afraid.
"....There are terrible stories around here about the masked men of the death
squads. Sometimes they break into people’s houses and asking the children who
they’re afraid of. If they name the enemies of the death squad, they are spared.
If they name the death squad itself, they and their families are killed. It’s a
wicked interrogation because it cannot be beaten – the children don’t know which
death squad has broken into the house...."
What will happen to these people if the US precipitously abandons them as some wish us to do? One should not have to ask.
Read the whole post. It has great pictures as well.
Hit the tip bucket as well, if you can. He relies on his readers to support his work.
Monday, July 23, 2007
Why blog?
That's a question I have been asking myself for some time. Frankly, I don't know why I started this blog. I certainly did not, and do not, expect anyone to really care what I think about things. The traffic on this site is a testimony to that! LOL
I can tell some interesting stories, but have to be careful since I still sit occasionally. I plan to start doing that sort of thing shortly.
First, I want to get used to writing again. One can easily tell that I am out of practice...have not written a brief in over 30 years. Perhaps even then nobody will be interested. That's OK. It can just be fun for me and one or two of my friends.
Over the years, I have become convinced that blogs are important. Clearly, big money has forced the individual out of our politics at every level. Blogs can be the great leveller. Of course, blogs don't have editors, except for the blogoshere itself. My observation is that if someone with readerships blogs something, it is immediately fact checked by other bloggers. The same goes for the mainstream media. There are hundreds or thousands of bloggers out there that parse everything and comment upon it.
The vast number and diversity of bloggers does mean one has to be very careful at accepting what they say at face value. Care must be taken, because some will lie, misstate or misrepresent matters. The same is true of the mainstream media, unfortunately
It doesn't take too long to figure out who is honest, and who is not. If a blogger is to be read by many people, he or she must be honest and ethical. Whether one is on the Left, or the Right, or in the Center (what's that?) care should be taken to be honest and ethical or your blog will not be taken seriously except by those who do not want to be honest or ethical. There are some of those out there, of course.
The question remains: why blog? I don't know....but I will continue. For a while.
I can tell some interesting stories, but have to be careful since I still sit occasionally. I plan to start doing that sort of thing shortly.
First, I want to get used to writing again. One can easily tell that I am out of practice...have not written a brief in over 30 years. Perhaps even then nobody will be interested. That's OK. It can just be fun for me and one or two of my friends.
Over the years, I have become convinced that blogs are important. Clearly, big money has forced the individual out of our politics at every level. Blogs can be the great leveller. Of course, blogs don't have editors, except for the blogoshere itself. My observation is that if someone with readerships blogs something, it is immediately fact checked by other bloggers. The same goes for the mainstream media. There are hundreds or thousands of bloggers out there that parse everything and comment upon it.
The vast number and diversity of bloggers does mean one has to be very careful at accepting what they say at face value. Care must be taken, because some will lie, misstate or misrepresent matters. The same is true of the mainstream media, unfortunately
It doesn't take too long to figure out who is honest, and who is not. If a blogger is to be read by many people, he or she must be honest and ethical. Whether one is on the Left, or the Right, or in the Center (what's that?) care should be taken to be honest and ethical or your blog will not be taken seriously except by those who do not want to be honest or ethical. There are some of those out there, of course.
The question remains: why blog? I don't know....but I will continue. For a while.
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Immigration, Part II: Why we must secure the border
Now that the "comprehensive" immigration bill appears to be dead, the aftermath seems to show that our government still doesn't get it. It was not about racism, as some would have it. It was always about trust. The American people, seeing an obviously flawed bill, did not trust Congress or the Executive to do the proper enforcement. They did not for the last twenty years, so why would they be expected to do so now? It was clear that the resources to implement the law as written did not even exist, and were not going to be deployed. It was going to be another amnesty without security.
A couple of news reports the last couple of days have caught my eye, and they dovetail nicely into why we still need action on border security
First, there was the release of the National Intelligence Estimate. One of the assessments according to the AP story was:
A couple of news reports the last couple of days have caught my eye, and they dovetail nicely into why we still need action on border security
First, there was the release of the National Intelligence Estimate. One of the assessments according to the AP story was:
"Of note," the analysts said, "we assess that al-Qaida will probably seek to leverage the contacts and capabilities of al-Qaida in Iraq (AQI), its most visible and capable affiliate and the only one known to have expressed a desire to attack the homeland."
So now al Qaeda is seeking to infiltrate Iraqi al Qaeda into the US for attacks on our citizens.
The other story from ABC leads as follows:
"The FBI is investigating an alleged human smuggling operation based in Chaparral, N.M., that agents say is bringing "Iraqis and other Middle Eastern" individuals across the Rio Grande from Mexico.................."
This fits with another ABC report from July 10, 2007:
"Senior U.S. intelligence officials tell ABC News new intelligence suggests a small al Qaeda cell is on its way to the United States, or may already be here..........."
In other words, we know that Iraqis and other Middle Easterners are being smuggled into this coutry from Mexico.
We have the knowledge that they want to attack us and that our border is porous enough that they can do so.
The next question has to be: "Why does not the Congress and the Executive put more interest on border security?" A full implementation of existing law would be very helpful, but the effort drags.
A strong border security bill with proper appropriations could still be passed by this Congress, but there appears to be no interest on the part of the leadership of either party to attempt to do so. Can we ever trust them to do right? Don't answer that question!
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Immigration, Part I
I suppose that I started this blog to muse about various aspects of policy here in our country. Clearly, immigration is one of the most serious and divisive issues that we face as a country at this time. It is a very complex, multi-faceted problem, and does not lend itself to easy solutions. Our politicians are failing us again, for they are trying to pass "comprehensive" immigration law without really explaining it to the people. I guess they think we are too dumb.
Obviously, we have a problem, and it is a large one. There are millions of illegal immigrants already in our country, and more waves of them are coming in every day through porous borders. We don't even know how many of them are already here. Twelve million? Twenty million? Who knows?
That question presents the first problem to solve. How do we identify the illegals? We know kind of where they are: in the American Southwest, for the most part; but also in almost every other state. Is there a way to identify them without establishing a police state? Probably not, unless we can get them to come forward on their own. It just will not be practical to do it any other way.
How can we get them to do that? Well, of course we have to offer them something that they will accept. Deportation, jail or permanent exclusion from the United States are certainly not going to get them to come forward. Anybody have another idea? Please post it in the comments.
Assuming we can identify the illegals, what do we do with them? Deport them? Jail them, then deport them? What happens if we do those things?
We are talking about deporting 12 to 20 million people. What will this cost interms of additional manpower and jail space? What does this do to our economy? Most of these folks came to this country to follow the American Dream. Most work, and many even pay taxes and vote. Almost all are pretty good people. What kind of hole will this create if they are suddenly gone? What jobs will go undone in an economy with virtually full employment?
I don't hear any of our politicians talking about these questions. We do see a provision in the proposed law that would give these people a pathway to seek to become legal immigrants. All of the discussion seems to be over the code word of "amnesty." Of course, that is what it is. Why do not the proponents to this law defend it rather than deny that it is amnesty? My thought is that it is defensible under the circumstances, but only if a credible program to establish effective border security is accomplished first.
There is no real hurry to deal with those already here, other than potential terrorists. But there is a real necessity to establish security on our borders now.
My thought is that Peggy Noonan had a pretty good approach a week or two ago:
"...A little love would go a long way right now. We should stop putting newcomers in constant jeopardy by blithely importing ever-newer immigrants who'll work for ever lower wages. The ones here will never get a sure foot on the next rung that way.
We should close the border, pause, absorb what we have, and set ourselves to "patriating" the newcomers who are here. The young of AmeriCorps might help teach them English. Those reaching retirement age, who happen to be the last people in America who were taught and know American history, could help them learn the story of our country. We could, as a nation, set our minds to this...."
Close the borders now. Don't let anyone else into our house without our invitation. Then deal with those already here. Good idea.
Why do a comprehensive law now? Why not keep the promises made with the last comprehensive law in 1986...the last time we granted amnesty?
Secure the borders, then deal with the other issues.
UPDATE:
Mark Steyn weigh in this morning with another column that deals with immigration. "Immigration Bill is a Fraud" gives us a blunt view about the bill from an immigrant, and, as usual, does not mind getting right to the point (emphasis mine ):
"....Back in the real world far from those senators living in the non-shadows of their boundless self-admiration, the truth is that America's immigration bureaucracy cannot cope with its existing caseload, and thus will certainly be unable to cope with millions of additional teeming hordes tossed into its waiting room. Currently, the time in which an immigration adjudicator is expected to approve or reject an application is six minutes. That's not enough time to read the basic form, never mind any supporting documentation. It's certainly not enough time for any meaningful background check. Under political pressure to ''bring the 12 million undocumented Americans out of the shadows,'' the immigration bureaucracy will rubberstamp gazillions of applications for open-ended probationary legal status within 24 hours and with no more supporting documentation than a utility bill or an affidavit from a friend. There's never been a better time for Mullah Omar to apply for U.S. residency.
America has an illegal immigration problem in part because it has a legal immigration problem. Anyone who enters the system exposes himself to an arbitrary, capricious, whimsical bureaucracy: For example, one of the little-known features of this bill is that in order to ''bring the 12 million undocumented Americans out of the shadows,'' millions of legal applicants are being hurled back into outer darkness. Law-abiding foreign nationals who filed their paperwork in the last two years would be required to go back to their home countries and start all over again. Not only does this bill reward law-breaking, it punishes law-abiding......."
This is absolutely true, and is why Americans do not support the current bill. The politicians have never kept the promises made in the years before. How can we expect them to keep them now? They cannot or will not even enforce current law. They should do this, secure our borders, and then talk about a comprehensive bill.
UPDATE 2: June 18, 2007
US News says we are making progress. It sounds good, if true. Read the whole thing.
Obviously, we have a problem, and it is a large one. There are millions of illegal immigrants already in our country, and more waves of them are coming in every day through porous borders. We don't even know how many of them are already here. Twelve million? Twenty million? Who knows?
That question presents the first problem to solve. How do we identify the illegals? We know kind of where they are: in the American Southwest, for the most part; but also in almost every other state. Is there a way to identify them without establishing a police state? Probably not, unless we can get them to come forward on their own. It just will not be practical to do it any other way.
How can we get them to do that? Well, of course we have to offer them something that they will accept. Deportation, jail or permanent exclusion from the United States are certainly not going to get them to come forward. Anybody have another idea? Please post it in the comments.
Assuming we can identify the illegals, what do we do with them? Deport them? Jail them, then deport them? What happens if we do those things?
We are talking about deporting 12 to 20 million people. What will this cost interms of additional manpower and jail space? What does this do to our economy? Most of these folks came to this country to follow the American Dream. Most work, and many even pay taxes and vote. Almost all are pretty good people. What kind of hole will this create if they are suddenly gone? What jobs will go undone in an economy with virtually full employment?
I don't hear any of our politicians talking about these questions. We do see a provision in the proposed law that would give these people a pathway to seek to become legal immigrants. All of the discussion seems to be over the code word of "amnesty." Of course, that is what it is. Why do not the proponents to this law defend it rather than deny that it is amnesty? My thought is that it is defensible under the circumstances, but only if a credible program to establish effective border security is accomplished first.
There is no real hurry to deal with those already here, other than potential terrorists. But there is a real necessity to establish security on our borders now.
My thought is that Peggy Noonan had a pretty good approach a week or two ago:
"...A little love would go a long way right now. We should stop putting newcomers in constant jeopardy by blithely importing ever-newer immigrants who'll work for ever lower wages. The ones here will never get a sure foot on the next rung that way.
We should close the border, pause, absorb what we have, and set ourselves to "patriating" the newcomers who are here. The young of AmeriCorps might help teach them English. Those reaching retirement age, who happen to be the last people in America who were taught and know American history, could help them learn the story of our country. We could, as a nation, set our minds to this...."
Close the borders now. Don't let anyone else into our house without our invitation. Then deal with those already here. Good idea.
Why do a comprehensive law now? Why not keep the promises made with the last comprehensive law in 1986...the last time we granted amnesty?
Secure the borders, then deal with the other issues.
UPDATE:
Mark Steyn weigh in this morning with another column that deals with immigration. "Immigration Bill is a Fraud" gives us a blunt view about the bill from an immigrant, and, as usual, does not mind getting right to the point (emphasis mine ):
"....Back in the real world far from those senators living in the non-shadows of their boundless self-admiration, the truth is that America's immigration bureaucracy cannot cope with its existing caseload, and thus will certainly be unable to cope with millions of additional teeming hordes tossed into its waiting room. Currently, the time in which an immigration adjudicator is expected to approve or reject an application is six minutes. That's not enough time to read the basic form, never mind any supporting documentation. It's certainly not enough time for any meaningful background check. Under political pressure to ''bring the 12 million undocumented Americans out of the shadows,'' the immigration bureaucracy will rubberstamp gazillions of applications for open-ended probationary legal status within 24 hours and with no more supporting documentation than a utility bill or an affidavit from a friend. There's never been a better time for Mullah Omar to apply for U.S. residency.
America has an illegal immigration problem in part because it has a legal immigration problem. Anyone who enters the system exposes himself to an arbitrary, capricious, whimsical bureaucracy: For example, one of the little-known features of this bill is that in order to ''bring the 12 million undocumented Americans out of the shadows,'' millions of legal applicants are being hurled back into outer darkness. Law-abiding foreign nationals who filed their paperwork in the last two years would be required to go back to their home countries and start all over again. Not only does this bill reward law-breaking, it punishes law-abiding......."
This is absolutely true, and is why Americans do not support the current bill. The politicians have never kept the promises made in the years before. How can we expect them to keep them now? They cannot or will not even enforce current law. They should do this, secure our borders, and then talk about a comprehensive bill.
UPDATE 2: June 18, 2007
US News says we are making progress. It sounds good, if true. Read the whole thing.
Looking for honesty and integrity
Michael Barone has an article in Friday's National Journal entitled Open Field Politics that pretty well describes what is going on in American politics today.
".....Now we seem to be entering a new period, a period of open-field politics. It seems to be a time when there are no permanent alliances, when new leaders arise with new strategies and tactics, when the voters, instead of forming themselves into two coherent and cohesive armies, wander about the field, attaching themselves to one band and then another, with no clear lines of battle and no landmarks to rally beside....."
It is an excellent article and I commend it to everyone.
I think it is clear that what we are seeing is that the voters are pretty sick of the "business as usual" in Washington, and are casting about for a solution. Neither party so far has come up with the right performance. Both Republican and Democratic promises to change are ignored after the elections, and the same corrupt practices in the Congress and the Executive continue, whomever is elected. I think we will continue to see this until one party or the other, or hopefully both, clean up the mess, and start doing the nation's business honestly and with integrity.
With so much money being collected to fund the various elections, it is going to be very difficult. The old saw that politicians try to sell the public that the money doesn't buy anything is disproved by the "earmark" process, if by nothing else. Until something is done to get absolute transparency in the process, the corrupt practices will continue.
".....Now we seem to be entering a new period, a period of open-field politics. It seems to be a time when there are no permanent alliances, when new leaders arise with new strategies and tactics, when the voters, instead of forming themselves into two coherent and cohesive armies, wander about the field, attaching themselves to one band and then another, with no clear lines of battle and no landmarks to rally beside....."
It is an excellent article and I commend it to everyone.
I think it is clear that what we are seeing is that the voters are pretty sick of the "business as usual" in Washington, and are casting about for a solution. Neither party so far has come up with the right performance. Both Republican and Democratic promises to change are ignored after the elections, and the same corrupt practices in the Congress and the Executive continue, whomever is elected. I think we will continue to see this until one party or the other, or hopefully both, clean up the mess, and start doing the nation's business honestly and with integrity.
With so much money being collected to fund the various elections, it is going to be very difficult. The old saw that politicians try to sell the public that the money doesn't buy anything is disproved by the "earmark" process, if by nothing else. Until something is done to get absolute transparency in the process, the corrupt practices will continue.
Tuesday, June 12, 2007
Old folks and elderly care
Sorry about my absence, but I have been otherwise occupied, of which more later. (Editor: why are you apologizing? Nobody reads your blog.--I know, I know, but maybe someone eventually will.)
My old friend George has written a piece about the lack of geriatric physicians over at Blog of Ages today. He says there are too few young doctors going into geriatrics, which should be an up and coming specialty since there are so many Boomers reaching retirement age. He is right, of course, but one must consider that with Medicare setting the prices, it is more financially rewarding for the youngsters to specialize in things like anesthesia or heart surgery. He raises an excellent point, but he also got me thinking about another aspect of the problem.
Many of us, I am sure, have been faced with the duty of caring for elderly parents. My sweet wife and I cared for our elderly parents, stricken with everything from Alzheimer's and dementia to stroke, diabetes, and loss of limbs, for nine years. But that is not the end of the story. After having done that, we are now faced with caring for one another during our "Golden Years." This is a future that all of George's Geezers (all of us!) will face. Without enough geriatric physicians.
Many may not be prepared for a sudden end to a spouse's mobility, for whatever reasons, and it is something that every one should contemplate. Are you prepared to deal with it? One had best get ready.
This was brought home to my wife less than four years ago, when I had a quadruple coronary artery bypass and then an aortic dissection, all at the same time. My dear wife, though she had other interests, was my caretaker for several months, and did a fabulous job. People do not realize the stress put upon caretakers in that situation, particularly family. A special halo is due to my bride, and others like her, that give of their time and energy to help others in that condition.
Nearly two weeks ago, my bride got even with me. She fell and fractured a vertebra in her lumbar region. So now I get to repay her, and am doing so. And gladly. No halo expected. I have to get her well so I can get my knees replaced. LOL
So, all you geezers out there be prepared, because it is coming, whether you like it or not.
Having been so somber in this post, I will try to lighten up in subsequent ones. There are lots of good times to be had out there for us retirees, and I recommend that everyone take advantage of them.
More later.
My old friend George has written a piece about the lack of geriatric physicians over at Blog of Ages today. He says there are too few young doctors going into geriatrics, which should be an up and coming specialty since there are so many Boomers reaching retirement age. He is right, of course, but one must consider that with Medicare setting the prices, it is more financially rewarding for the youngsters to specialize in things like anesthesia or heart surgery. He raises an excellent point, but he also got me thinking about another aspect of the problem.
Many of us, I am sure, have been faced with the duty of caring for elderly parents. My sweet wife and I cared for our elderly parents, stricken with everything from Alzheimer's and dementia to stroke, diabetes, and loss of limbs, for nine years. But that is not the end of the story. After having done that, we are now faced with caring for one another during our "Golden Years." This is a future that all of George's Geezers (all of us!) will face. Without enough geriatric physicians.
Many may not be prepared for a sudden end to a spouse's mobility, for whatever reasons, and it is something that every one should contemplate. Are you prepared to deal with it? One had best get ready.
This was brought home to my wife less than four years ago, when I had a quadruple coronary artery bypass and then an aortic dissection, all at the same time. My dear wife, though she had other interests, was my caretaker for several months, and did a fabulous job. People do not realize the stress put upon caretakers in that situation, particularly family. A special halo is due to my bride, and others like her, that give of their time and energy to help others in that condition.
Nearly two weeks ago, my bride got even with me. She fell and fractured a vertebra in her lumbar region. So now I get to repay her, and am doing so. And gladly. No halo expected. I have to get her well so I can get my knees replaced. LOL
So, all you geezers out there be prepared, because it is coming, whether you like it or not.
Having been so somber in this post, I will try to lighten up in subsequent ones. There are lots of good times to be had out there for us retirees, and I recommend that everyone take advantage of them.
More later.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
My first blog
Well, I have done it. After having read blogs for years, I have decided to try it myself. We will see how it works. This is still an experiment, so everything here is still bare bones, but hopefully there will be more to come soon.
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