The news coverage of the Iowa caucus is really starting to sound like this:
I’m going to bed.
All posts in category Politics
Huh?
The White House today re-affirmed its support for Vice-President Agnew’s assertion that the “Viet Cong are not our enemies per se”. Even though most attacks against American forces in the Republic of Vietnam are carried out by the VC, administration spokesmen assert that the United States got involved in South Vietnam because of an attack against American vessels in the Gulf of Tonkin, not to fight the Viet Cong or to protect the Saigon government against them.
Agnew further asserted that the United States is working towards two goals in South Vietnam: First, to root out international communists who can damage American interests in the region, and to help the government in Saigon become strong enough to either negotiate with or defeat the Viet Cong on their own terms.
Newspapers are reporting that the United States is trying to conclude a set of secret negotiations with Viet Cong leadership, with the aim of being able to leave South Vietnam by the target date of 1973. American negotiators are reportedly offering to release VC prisoners for a promise to renounce violence and refrain from Communist agitation, both in Vietnam and in other countries in Southeast Asia.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 20, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/20/huh/
Covert War With Iran
Fox News is speculating that the United States has been conducting a covert war of intelligence, sabotage, and assassination against Iran. They point out Stuxnet, the recent loss of a surveillance drone over Iran, explosions at Iranian military and nuclear facilities, and the killings of Iranian scientific and military personnel connected with missile and nuclear weapons research.
Now, I think it’s pretty clear how I feel about Iran. If we’re in a covert war against them, I see it as an escalation of the war they’ve been fighting against us since 1979. Iran and the United States have been fighting each other through proxies for 30 years, and now it appears that things might be getting more sticky.
One question though: Is this campaign, if indeed we are flying surveillance aircraft into Iranian airspace, attacking their infrastructure, and killing their citizens, no matter how justified it is, legal?
Let’s work from the position that we are indeed attacking Iran through non-traditional means. I’m assuming that President Obama, if not President Bush, gave permission for such missions to occur. Does the President have the power to order the military to commit acts of war without an authorization from Congress? Remember, the power to declare war rests with the legislative branch, not the executive. If the President is indeed prosecuting a shadow war against Iran, then what piece of legislation can he point to in order to cover his butt? Not going to argue that Iran has been committing acts of war against us for decades, because they have. But we hold ourselves to a higher standard than that to which we hold our adversaries. We are a nation of laws, and the law states that before the President can start a war, he must go to Congress for authorization.
We also have to ask, will blowing up a couple of installations and killing some key personnel be enough to slow down Iran’s weapons programs enough for other means to dissuade them from going down that path? I guess the question could be posed this way: Could damaging Oak Ridge and Los Alamos, along with killing Oppenheimer and some of his top scientists and engineers have been enough to prevent the United States from developing the atomic bomb in time for it to be useful against Japan in 1945?
If not, then are we willing to take the next step in order to stop Iran from getting nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them? Are we willing to move away from low-level sabotage and assassination and send in large formations of troops, ships, and aircraft to either occupy Iran or to damage their capability to do this research to the point where they have to start over from square one? Is that even possible?
All of this is conjecture, of course. It’s quite possible that the explosions and deaths in Iran in the past few months have really been accidents that can occur when you do research on high explosives and solid fuel rockets. You just have to look at our own early attempts to put a rocket into orbit to see how catastrophically things can fail. Or it could be another country such as Israel that is conducting covert attacks in Iran, and we’re just providing intelligence and other support.
But if the United States truly is conducting a low-level war against Iran, either independently or in concert with other nations, then the President needs to make sure that the representatives of the people are in on the plan and give their legislative approval for it. He also needs to do a gut check to make sure that if the current strategy, whatever that may be, doesn’t meet the goals set out before committing to violating the sovereignty of another country, then he is willing to either admit defeat and deal with the consequences, or take the attacks to the next level and deal with those consequences.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 10, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/10/covert-war-with-iran/
Who Makes History?
Recently, I wrote about a small church in eastern Kentucky in which a new rule excluding inter-racial couples from joining the church had been instituted. This weekend, the pastor of that church, along with the liturgical organization it belongs to, overturned that vote, expressing a view that the church welcomes “believers into our fellowship regardless of race, creed or color.”
Bravo for them. As I said in my initial post, salvation is for everyone, no matter where they or their ancestors come from, so long as they reach out for it.
But something stuck with me in the initial news article:
The vote by members last Sunday was 9-6, Harville said. It was taken after the service, which about 35 to 40 people attended. Harville said many people left or declined to vote.
By those numbers, there were 35 to 40 members of the congregation who could have taken part in the initial vote. 20 to 25 of them declined to participate, instead letting those who felt strongly enough one way or another to make the decision for them. Even using the lower number of 35 congregants, less than 1/3 of the congregation voted to put this rule into place, bringing unwanted publicity to the church and necessitating the attention of the pastor when he should have been concentrating on actually teaching his flock.
Think about that. 9 people decided to put that rule in place. 1/3 of that population of adults changed the manner in which that church would welcome people into their community.
The answer to the question I asked in the title is this: The people who show up and participate make history. It’s just that simple. You can have the hearts and minds of 90% of the people on a given issue, but unless you can convince them to put some skin in the game, you will lose if the other side can get that other 10% to show up and vote. We can have Tea Party rallies with people in their hundreds of thousands, but if we don’t get them to the polls, it’s all just talk in the park.
Every time we have an election, there is always a talking head on TV telling us about how less than half of registered voters bother to vote. That’s not half of the adult population that’s qualified to vote. That’s half of the minority of those people who fill out a card and get registered. Even in elections where a politician or a ballot proposal passes with an overwhelming majority of votes, they’re only getting a small fraction of the total adult population to support them.
So how do we make history? First, we show up. Get out and support the causes and candidates you believe in. And for heaven’s sake, register to vote and get out of the house on election day and vote.
Next, we get as many people who have similar ideas and values as us to do the same. There’s history in numbers.
Next, get your kids, when they’re old enough to know what’s going on, involved. Maybe they just go to the polls with you. Maybe they go along with you to a rally, or to deliver yard signs for a cause. But you set the example for them so that when they gain voting age, they already know how important it is that their voice be heard.
Someone once said that for evil to triumph, all it needs is for good people to do nothing. If we want to keep our republic safe, we need to be more than passive observers. We have to be involved, and we have to willing to put a little skin in the game.
The primaries are coming up, and then comes the general election. Please get involved and vote. The country you save could be your own.
Posted by daddybear71 on December 5, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/05/who-makes-history/
Our Trigger Event
On December 1, 1934, a gunman killed Sergei Kyrov. Kyrov was a Soviet revolutionary and was seen as something of a counterweight to the rising power of Joseph Stalin. Stalin used the assassination of Kirov, an act that he is now suspected of ordering, as an excuse to clamp down on internal dissidents and those he considered a threat to his power.
Another example of this kind of behavior would be the Reichstag Fire in 1933. In both instances, an act of domestic terrorism, that was probably a false flag operation, set in motion a reign of terror.
I’m not talking about something like the 9/11 attacks here. That was an attack against the country by a foreign invader. These incidents were blamed on domestic opposition, and were used as a cudgel to get the population to support repression of dissent. In both circumstances, if they were indeed carried out at the orders of the government, the operational security was air tight. My guess is that the governments in question killed off the people who carried out the operation, then the people who killed them, then probably the next crew too. Once you’ve liquidated people who are within a few layers removed from an operation, it’s pretty easy to forget that the operation happened at all.
So what could be the event in our country that can be used as a credible excuse to suspend civil rights and get rid of domestic opposition? Could it be the assassination of a popular, but troublesome politician? Or could it be the destruction of an important national landmark by those who are perceived to be opposing the country? This wouldn’t be a gradual erosion of citizens’ rights and accumulation of power by the government. This would be an almost overnight change from a moderately free republic to something much more restrictive and less representative of the will of the people.
So what do y’all see as a possible incident that would not only allow the government to suspend the Constitution, but would have the citizenry clamouring that they do so?
Posted by daddybear71 on December 1, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/12/01/our-trigger-event/
We need better options
Herman Cain is staying in the race despite another woman coming forward to accuse him of being a hound dog. Apparently this is the straw that breaks the camel’s back for several supporters, including crucial people in Iowa and New Hampshire.
I’m disappointed. I was beginning to like Cain. He’s a real person, not a career politician. He’s held jobs and led companies. If anyone could look at the balance sheet in Washington and take to it with an Exacto knife, it was him.
But even if I can look past personal foibles and vote for him, I may not get the chance, or it might not matter. Cain has probably been mortally wounded, either by his own inability to keep his zipper up, or by personal attacks from his opponents, or both.
So who’s left?
First we have Rick Perry, who I’m more and more convinced is an empty suit. No, it’s not because he vapor locked and couldn’t remember all of the government agencies he would cut. I have the memory of a frog, so I’ll forgive someone else for the same malady. He just reminds me of the executive that reads the first few pages of a report then moves on. He can recognize the subject, but doesn’t have a lot of depth of knowledge.
Michelle Bachmann? Yeah, not gonna happen. I like her Tea Party leanings, but she has begun using the crisis of the day as a campaign topic. Her raving about Gardasyl causing retardation, even after being told the facts, just put me off.
Romney? I think I’ve made my opinion of him quite clear, so I won’t bore you with a repetition.
Gingrich? Sorry, but I lived through the 1990’s and I remember just how screwed up the government was when he was 3rd in line for the presidency. Love his books, would love to take a history class he’s teaching, but not convinced he ought to be president.
I have to admit that I like Ron Paul, if for no other reason than that he knows what he believes, is honest about it, and doesn’t change because of the political winds. Problem is, even if I agree with a lot of what he says, what I don’t agree with is too far out of my comfort zone.
I heard an interview with John Huntsman the other day, and to be honest, I was impressed. He’s a conservative, he seems honest, and he’s consistent from one week to the next. The problem is that most people don’t know he’s running. If he’s going to have a shot at the candidacy, he needs to get out and start getting people to notice him.
As for the rest, I don’t really give them much thought, which I guess speaks for itself.
Here are the traits I’m looking for. A candidate doesn’t have to have all of them, but they ought to be have most of them.
- Fiscal conservative, to the point of being willing to hold a budget bloodbath to bring spending down.
- Veteran. If the president is going to be dealing with a war, I’d prefer that he or she at least have some personal experience to draw from.
- Not a lifelong politician. I don’t think your first elected position should be the presidency, but if you’ve spent most of your adult life running for office, you’re going to have a hard time knowing what your decisions do to the rest of us who work and pay your salary.
- Squeaky clean personal life, or the ability to be open and honest about your failings. Hey, I’m as human as the next guy, and everyone’s got a skeleton or two in their closet. But if you’re a serial adulterer, or you have a problem with alcohol, you need to be honest about it. Having a problem isn’t necessarily a problem, but lying about it is a game stopper.
- Be consistent in your core beliefs, and actually have something we can look at to figure out what they are. If you change your mind as often as you do your socks, move along. And I’m not going to support a blank slate like we got in 2008. Obama got elected because no-one knew what he stood for. He got that way because he told everyone what they wanted to hear, and everyone projected their own values on him. I’m not going down that road again.
That’s it. Honestly, it doesn’t sound like too much. If someone can satisfy 4 out of 5, he or she will probably get my vote. Be able to know what your decisions are doing to those that are impacted by them, be careful with my money and the money my children and grandchildren will earn, don’t lie to me about scandalous behavior, and don’t change your mind because you think it’ll help you get elected.
If anyone knows of such a person, please speak up. We desperately need this person to run, because the current slate isn’t impressing me.
Posted by daddybear71 on November 30, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/30/we-need-better-options/
Is that cheering I hear
coming from the VolksRepublik?
Longtime Massachusetts Congressman Barney Franks has announced that he will not be seeking reelection next year. Franks has been in Congress since 1980. For reference, I was in the 4th grade when he was elected for the first time. So much for the ideal of a productive member of society going to Washington for a couple of terms of service to the nation and then returning to society to be productive again. I honestly wonder if we can use Congressman Franks as an example of “He went into Congress worth X dollars, and he’s leaving Congress worth X dollars”.
I look forward to another open election in a heretofore locked up office next year. Those are always good for viewing, preferable with popcorn.
Posted by daddybear71 on November 28, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/28/is-that-cheering-i-hear/
Surprise, Surprise, Surprise!
The ‘Super Committee’ is reporting that they won’t be able to agree on which Chinese buffet to hit for lunch, much less how to cut $1.2 billion out of the budget over the next decade, and now Congress is scrambling to find a way to not enact the across the board cuts that were the stick meant to get the Committee to actually do something other than posture.
Please excuse me if I don’t rend my clothes and rage at the gods in disbelief on this one.
When the Republicans blinked this summer and kept the government running so that this collection of thieves could get together for a few months to fiddle while Rome burns, I knew we were boned. The truth is this: Our spending, including the military and entitlement programs, is going to be cut. We can either cut it voluntarily and in a way that softens the blow, or we can let the bond market dry up and then fight over the scraps. Either way is going to suck, but the path of inaction chosen by Congress pretty much amounts to people on the side of a volcano going out to watch the fireworks as the lava flows inexorably closer.
So what do I expect to happen?
For one, the stock and bond markets are going to start swinging wildly, but with a general downward curve for the near term. The prices of real things, like gold, are going to restart their steady climb upwards. Look for our national credit rating to take another hit. In order to get suckers, I mean buyers, to purchase government bonds to continue to pay for the bread and circuses, the government is going to have to offer higher and higher interest rates, which will drive up the cost of credit for everyone.
In the long run, I see a general slump in the economy as raising prices drive most of us out of the non-essential markets, meaning nothing other than food, clothing, energy, and housing. Hardest hit will be what’s left of our manufacturing industries. It’s cheaper to repair an old car than it is to buy a new one when you’re worried about whether or not you’ll be able to afford groceries this week. I see unemployment going nowhere fast, and a lot of people will drop off of the unemployment tracking as they just give up.
Doom and gloom? Yep. Accurate? I hope not, but then again, hope isn’t a plan.
It’s past time we accepted that we can’t cash all the checks we’ve written in this country since 1934. We have to cut back, way back. $1.2 billion over a decade wasn’t going to adequate, but at least would have been a good start. Now we get to make popcorn and watch the thriving economy our grandparents created grind itself into the dust.
Posted by daddybear71 on November 21, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/21/surprise-surprise-surprise/
Community Organizer
Sung to the tune of “Sweet Transvestite” from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show“, with apologies to Richard O’Brien.
How do you do? I
See you’ve met my
Lapdog media men
They’re just a little overwhelmed
Because covering my butt
Is becoming too much for their acumen
Don’t get too mad
About the way I govern
Don’t judge a man by his actions
I’m not much of a leader
By the light of day
But by night
I lead one heck of a faction!
I’m just a community organizer!
From socialist
Chicago, Illinois!
Let me lead you around
Your property we could impound
You look like you’ve already got enough
Or if you want to argue about it
Or call my VP a twit
I can have the IRS start to play rough
I’m glad we caught you at home
You elitist drone
You’re usually out on vacation
I’m glad that you finally made par
Now we’ll go live in our car
And try to find a new vocation
Well, the economy’s flat!
Well, how ’bout that?
Well voters, don’t get cranky.
I’ll sleep on it tonight
And if the unions say it’s all right
I’ll get you money from Ben Bernanke!
I’m just a community organizer!
From socialist
Chicago, Illinois!
So why don’t you come over from the right?
I don’t want to fight
I would rather take your favorite possessions
I’ve been forming a compromise
With obfuscation and quite a few lies
And that’s good for the next election
I’m just a community organizer!
From socialist
Chicago, Illinois!
So, come up to the Hill
And choke down a bitter pill
I see you quiver with exasperation
But maybe your pain
Is just for my gain
So I’ll do it all for the cause
But not the citizens!
Posted by daddybear71 on November 21, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/21/community-organizer/
Great Minds Think Alike
A commission sponsored by Freedom Works has come out with a government austerity plan that would slash over 9 trillion dollars from the federal budget over the next decade. They axe entire cabinet departments, get rid of Obamacare, and cut the pay for Congress if the budget is not balanced.
Sounds familiar. I’ll await a call from the commission.
Posted by daddybear71 on November 18, 2011
https://daddybearsden.com/2011/11/18/great-minds-think-alike/
DaddyBear
DaddyBear’s Den 