Moral Equivalent? I Got Your Moral Equivalent.

Moral Equivalent?  I Got Your Moral Equivalent.  On December 7, 1941, the Japanese attacked the United States on its own soil by bombing Pearl Harbor.  Over 2,400 Americans were killed that day and the USA was pulled into War World II.  With the war winding down to a finale of an Allied invasion of the Japanese homeland and all of the bloodshed such would entail, a difficult decision was made.  An atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945.  It is estimated that this bomb killed around 150,000 people.  When Japan refused to surrender, another atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki, killing around 70,000 people.  On August 15, 1945, Japan surrendered to the Allies.

On July 9, 2014, Israel began an offensive into the Gaza Strip in response to more than 150 rockets that had been fired from there into major Israeli cities. 

In both cases, one side of a dispute played the role of provocateur by launching surprise attacks.  In both cases, the victimized party responded by dealing directly with the attackers in a forceful and effective fashion.  In both cases, that response was undertaken with reluctance because all other avenues of ending the conflict had failed. 

The bombs that fell on Pearl Harbor were blind; they killed with no distinction. The bombs that America dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki were indiscriminate.  The radioactive poisoning made no distinction between babies and soldiers; between civilian adults and political leaders.  The incredible destructive forces of the unleashed explosions made no distinctions between schools, hospitals, homes, and military installations. 

The rockets that Hamas chooses to hurl into Israel also know no discrimination.  They kill children and adults equally.  They destroy without discernment.  The missiles that Israel fires in response towards the Gaza Strip, although being as targeted as possible towards military targets, also kill innocents. 

What are the similarities and what are the differences in this analogy?  Both cases are a matter of surprise military attacks.  Both cases involve a warranted and powerful response by those attacked towards their attackers.  Both responses were an effort to end the conflict, disarm the original attackers, and bring a cessation to the bloodshed.  Japan surrendered and the war ended.  Hamas continues to fire rockets, plant bombs, and kidnap Israelis.  Oh, and by the way, Hamas also continues to call for the death of all Jews and the dismantling of Israel. 

Does any American have the moral foundation to criticize Israel for their actions in this conflict?  If our nation, once again, found itself in Israel’s situation, would we be complaining that our counter attacks were killing civilians?  Would we allow our children, our families, our friends, our homes, our neighborhoods, our businesses to be indiscriminately blown up without responding in a meaningful and absolute fashion?  I think not.

Not only should our president stand before the world and declare our unconditional support for the nation of Israel in its quest for survival; not only should our president be clear that we stand side-by-side with our only DEMOCRATIC ally in the middle east today; not only should our president be completely unambiguous about how this nation supports Israel because we hold the same values and ideals…he should do this not in Washington DC, but in Jerusalem.

Make No Mistake About It; This Ain't Natural.

Make No Mistake About It; This Ain’t Natural.  There is some sentiment out there, especially in the liberal community where they are feeling particularly vulnerable these days, that the global chaos we are witnessing today and the domestic morass that we are devolving into are simply natural progressions of disparate and random forces; it was going to happen regardless of whom was in control.  Now in some cases, this thought is being insinuated with added emphasis; in others, it is being spoken out loud.   However, you can count on one thing; as the mid-term elections approach and we then turn out attention to the 2016 election cycle, it is a theme we will be hearing more and more.  And the plain and simple fact is this: It is bullshit.

After ridding Iraq of their despot and bringing to a halt the genocide of its citizens, America found that country of the verge of collapse.  It was suddenly realized that winning the war was simply the first step (the Mission was not accomplished); somebody had to reorganize and rebuild.  As imperfect presidents (i.e. Clinton) learned to do, W. Bush regrouped, initiated the surge, re-established relative order in the country, and made provisions for an environment that would allow Iraq to find its own way.  Contrast that with Libya, where we lied to our allies, proceeded headlong into the fire without notifying them, took out the ruling order, and skipped merrily back home.  Oh…wait a moment…we did leave some personnel in a diplomatic outpost in Benghazi to serve as figureheads for our “grand experiment in leading from behind”.  The results of that travesty will stain this nation for generations to come.

Israel faces increased and wider threats on a daily basis.  Feeding this slide into peril is the fact that Obama and his ilk have been openly hostile to the only democracy in the Middle East, overly generous in their outreach to radical Muslims in the Middle East, and overwhelmed by the predictable course of events in Gaza.

The   flood of illegal immigrants across our southern border was a totally predictable (if not orchestrated?) event that can best be described in executive terms as “being easier to ask for forgiveness than permission”.  Obama is once again employing his Obamacare strategy: Once it is done, who can undo it?

The fact that less than half our this nation’s workforce now has full-time jobs; the fact that our national debt continues to rise unabated; the fact that our burgeoning support programs have lost all sense of purpose and are simply hemorrhaging money; the fact that  Obama’s QE fed policy is simply making the rich richer and squeezing the middle class, while steadily increasing the pressure on the inflation and interest rate balloons;  the fact that household income has actually regressed over his terms; the fact that the partisan and dysfunctional divide between our branches of government is at an historical high; the fact that Putin laughs openly at our president while other world leaders simply wonder what the hell he is doing; the fact that the integrity and prestige of the Executive Branch is dramatically tarnished by his constant whoring for campaign funds and his political appointees’ lack of ethics;  the fact that, presented with a wonderful opportunity to advance the state of race relations in this nation for the better, he has instead further polarized and deepened our racial issues…all of this, while not specifically predicable, was entirely to be expected.  There is a cause and effect principle that exists in this universe and denial of it doesn't make it go away.

No doubt, had Romney been elected in 2012 (as many apparently now long for), everything would not be peaches and cream.  There is evil in the world and that evil will have its mischief.  There are thorny social domestic issues that will continue to vex our nation.  This nation has a fundamental debt problem that will not be solved by one president nor overnight.  But I will venture to guess that had Romney won the last presidential election and been allowed to implement his carefully prepared plans of action, this country would not find itself in the precarious position it is in today.  Whatever else Romney might or might not be, he was at a minimum an experienced and competent manager.  He had a proven track record of accomplishment and understood that there are three kinds of managers in this world: (1) The ones that watch things happen; (2) The ones that make things happen; and (3) The ones that wonder what the hell is happening.  This country can live with a number 1 president; oftentimes the least government is the best government.  This country desperately needed, and needs today, a number 2 president that is a true leader and is motivated by something other than partisan concerns.  This country is saddled with a number 3 president and where we are today was totally predictable.  If you get in the car with a drunk driver, don’t be surprised if you end up in a ditch.  If you get on a plane with a train conductor in the cockpit, don’t be surprised if you crash.  If you elect a person to Congress who has clearly demonstrated an inability to manage their own personal affairs, don’t expect them to author great legislation.  And if you elect, and re-elect, an inexperienced, shallow, incompetent, narcissistic, unprincipled, lazy president; you can expect the debacle we are witnessing today.

Two Comments On Current Events.

Two Comments On Current Events.  I want to pluck two items out of the current tsunami of global and domestic issues swirling around the Obama administration.  Normally, I would not go near them for fear of my obvious ignorance on the subjects being glaringly obvious.  But these two issues are of such import and relevance that I believe I can make a few general observations from an “everyman’s perspective” and not be too far out of line.  Anyway…here goes.

I just read results from a CNN poll that says 33 percent favor impeaching Obama.  Frankly, I find this shocking.  I followed in detail the Clinton impeachment.  I recall Nixon’s resignation to avoid impeachment.  As much as I detest our current president, I subscribe to the theory that not only must the transgression(s) for impeachment be very high and serious, but that there must also be a clear majority of voters who favor such action; there must be a national political will to do it.  I do not believe there is yet sufficient proof of any Obama administration transgression that rises to the level of impeachment nor is there a clear majority of voters that would support impeachment.  For all the heat that Romney took on his “47 percent" remark, he was nonetheless very close to an obvious truth: This nation is so politically polarized that there is a significant and hardcore group of voters who will support Obama regardless of his performance and/or his actions.  If you cannot convince a significant number of these folks to consider impeachment, you don’t even need to bring the subject up.  But I will say this: As distasteful as I find impeachment, even for this president, if it is proven that he or his approval enabled and/or directed the IRS to target taxpayers based on their political beliefs, then his sorry ass should be impeached.  Of all the scandals that surround this pathetic bunch in the White House, this one stands out to me.  As many accomplished journalists have pointed out, Nixon’s articles of impeachment included one that pointed out his failed effort to use the IRS for political purposes.  If it is determined, conclusively, that Obama was personally involved in any of the pertinent actions that led to the admitted IRS targeting of taxpayers, then he should be impeached; political considerations be damned.   Elections have consequences and we, as a nation, are properly suffering through the consequences of reelecting Obama.  But if he is a crook, he should be removed.

The second issue that I will venture an opinion on is the recent court ruling that was adverse to Obamacare; the Halbig decision.  First off, it is incredible to me that intelligent people in the media are making the argument that it is the proper role of the courts to divine the intent of Congress based on accomplished legislation.  I raised two children and have been married to the same woman for over 40 years and I still cannot divine their intent on a regular basis.  Does anyone really think that federal judges (oftentimes political water carriers with agendas) can honestly and objectively determine the intent of an institution as dysfunctional and disparate as Congress?  Now if the language is ambiguous or arbitrary, or even conflicting from section to another, and there is a pressing need to clear up the matter, then I can see where it can rightly fall to the courts to decide the matter.  But when the language is plain as it is in this case; when the legislation was passed in such an extraordinary fashion to begin with; when it is abundantly clear to any reasonable human being that this is no typo or drafting error; there is only one acceptable remedy to this dispute: Congress must readdress their mistake by subsequent action.  As we all know, that is not possible in this case because there is not majority support in Congress, maybe not even in the Senate, for even the original legislation; much less to revise the original legislation.  Any person who supports Obamacare knows that if it was ever reintroduced in the Senate, there is the possibility that it will be dismantled entirely (why all the executive actions on Obamacare?).  And because of this very real fear, Obamacare supporters have come up with  increasingly bizarre theories about why accomplished law should not mean what it literally says.  If our courts (or for that matter, our Executive Branch) can interpret accomplished law to mean whatever they think, what is the point of having a Legislative Branch in the first place?  Obamacare was an illegitimate product of our legislative process; it was a political creature borne out of a political firestorm.  It is only right and proper that if it is to be changed, it should have to go through the legislative process to effect that change.  If it cannot stand or survive that process, so be it.  Just because you get by with something questionable once does not mean that you should expect a second or third pass on the same shenanigan down the road.   

A Good Starting Point: STICK WITH WHAT WORKS!

A Good Starting Point: STICK WITH WHAT WORKS!  Even though we have a wonderful model of government here in America, one of its inherent weaknesses is its political turnover due to election cycles.  Every two or four years, we get a new bunch of geniuses up on Capitol Hill and/or in the White House that believe (A) everything that has occurred prior to their arrival is irrelevant and (B) they have the solution to every damn problem that currently exists in this nation.   Every new President wants to create the United States in their image and look fondly on Mt. Rushmore for a vacancy and a chisel.   In Congress, we rotate committee and sub-committee chairpersons in a ridiculous game of musical chairs to assuage egos and punish losers.  Time after time, we see new legislation being largely authored by committee members who come armed only with ideology and very little experience.  Presidential and patronage appointees at all levels of government begin their quests of management knowing that they have a limited time to work their magic and they certainly don’t intend to waste their time looking backward. 

As a retired civil servant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, I saw firsthand how Congress simply loves to reinvent the wheel.  The use of acronyms in government agencies reaches comedic levels on occasion and one of the most hilarious actors in the cast was the USDA.  There were times when over the span of an 8-to-10 year period, we would see a program introduced, implemented, dismantled, and then reintroduced with very little substantive change…but…with a new name, new forms, and a familiar new promise of being the salvation of all that troubles those who till the soil..  Anyone who has lived through a few administrations and paid any attention whatsoever clearly understands that this same mentality rules the chief executive of our country, whoever that might be.   If you doubt how wasteful, expansive, duplicative, and downright chaotic this type of management is, simply consider the fact that America recently received a record level of tax revenue while at the same time continuing to balloon the federal deficit to near record levels.  The quest for the ultimate nanny state will undoubtedly bankrupt our nation if it is not rolled back and the day of reckoning is not far off.

Whatever the stripes, gender, political leanings, or dreams of our next presidential team turns out to be, I would hope that they would bring with them a simple philosophy: First; let’s find out what is working.  If each department, each agency, each field office could somehow begin with a simple, thorough, and objective review of the programs that are in place…BEFORE THEY CONTINUE PILING ON NEW ONES…we would all be amazed to discover that our government is doing some wonderful things and doing them in a fairly efficient and effective fashion.  Once we determine what is the wheat and what is the chaff, we can begin to eliminate that which is not working.  We can begin the process of having a serious discussion of what the proper role of government is in today’s world and start to prioritize the precious resource of tax revenue that our citizens yield through their blood, sweat, and tears. 

And just a point for all our royal newcomers to Congress and Pennsylvania Avenue: YOU are not the first, you will not be last, and there is very little new under the sun that hasn’t been tried before.  Respect your predecessors; respect the mistakes they made and try not to repeat them; give them credit for the good things they did and keep those wheels turning; pay attention to your hat size and if you see it increasing at an astronomical rate, consume some humble pie; and most important of all…never forget that you work for the people and serve at their pleasure…not the other way around.

Truly, Hope Springs Eternal

Truly, Hope Springs Eternal.  It has been quite a while since my last post.  To be honest about it, I was a bit embarrassed to continue my constant haranguing of Obama.  There is something to the old rule to say nothing if you can’t say something positive.  Believe it or not, I get absolutely no satisfaction out of ripping on our president; but it is what it is.  He is likely the worst president in my lifetime and I continue to be perplexed at how ignorant the public was in re-electing him, the press is in giving him so many passes, and the Democrats are in tolerating and supporting his cockeyed policies.  So, I have been waiting on an opportunity to write something positive for a change and I think I will take a poke at it this morning.

The catalyst for this post comes from an article I just read stating that the USA has now surpassed Saudi Arabia to become the world’s leading oil producer.  I thought about that for a moment and then allowed the thought to expand a bit.  What I find amazing, and what this article helped me to remember, is how truly remarkable this nation is.  Even with the roadblocks, impediments, and idiotic regulations that the Obama administration has strewn across our economy, our nation continues to plod along.  In spite of the tilt against it, our country continues to innovate (fracking), build new manufacturing capacity (Walmart), maintain some semblance of optimism for the future (Wall Street), and although it is clearly not widespread enough, build a good standard of living for our citizens. 

Who would have dreamed of the USA being the No. 1 oil producing country 15 years ago?  When you couple that fact with our huge natural gas deposits and our marvelous agricultural capacity, it bodes well for our future in this new global society.  Politics aside, we could very well find ourselves in a powerful position to dictate fair and reasonable international trading policies.  Walmart’s new push to buy and sell American-made products will result in not only increased manufacturing jobs, but also a new sense of pride in taking care of our own.  Liberals need to shut their mouths, get in their Volvos, and truck on down to their local Walmart; they are pretty cool stores and have sure done a lot to increase the quality of life in rural America.  Every week seems to bring a new high on Wall Street and honestly, this is a bit frightening.  When I look around the part of the country where I live, it is a mystery to me where this “sustained” economic growth is occurring.  I continue to fear that the pump-priming and cheap money policies of the Fed will result in another fiscal bubble burst but…the market continues to climb.  The one thing that appears to be certain is that there is a huge reservoir of cash being stashed away by corporations and individuals  and when this economy of ours does finally turn the corner and create some momentum, there is going to be a tremendous amount of capital available to fuel a real recovery that should create many opportunities for many people.

Without delving too deeply into geopolitical politics and warfare, I will say this:  The foreign policy of any President is a unique product of the environment in which he serves.  So it was with Lincoln; so it was with Truman; so it was with Johnson; so it was with W.; and so it is with Obama.  It is a dangerous game to compare one with the other because no two stood at the same place at the same time.  The world is a dynamic and dangerous stage; it is evolving at breakneck speed and there seems to be as many forces of evil as there are for good.  For better or worse, we as a government and a people are approaching a position of pulling back, taking care of our own, and coming to grips with the reality that we cannot be all things to all people and solve all of the world’s problems.  Part of that learning curve was trying to be the universal force for good and trying was a noble exercise; but there is an old saying that still bears fruit today…YOU CANNOT HELP PEOPLE WHO REFUSE TO HELP THEMSELVES. 

One way or the other, we are approaching the end to a grand experiment regarding the wisdom of the nanny state.  As with many grand experiments, this one has been plagued by hyperbole on both sides and excesses in policy.  Fiscal reality will ultimately dictate that we pull back from the extremes in social policy that Obama has created, but our compassion as decent people will dictate that certain elements of the honest compassion buried within liberal domestic policy will remain.  And at the end of the day, we will find that we have receded from being too far left, but have not quite gone back as far rightward as we were originally.  Isn’t that the way it’s supposed to work?

About the only thing I am certain about these days is  how very little I have actually learned in my 61 years of living; the hard knocks school is very humbling.  But I am pretty sure that the brief period in the 90’s when we had a Democrat in the White House and Republicans in Congress who actually negotiated, compromised, and implemented some commonsense fiscal policies that yielded a balanced federal budget were some of the best times ever for this country.  Nobody saw that coming and unfortunately, it did not last long.  However, it did demonstrate that you cannot underestimate the incredible capacity of our national economy to create opportunity when the government can find the wisdom and will to GET THE HELL OUT ITS WAY.  Here’s hoping that for a second time in my life, I will see before I die another episode of bipartisan government like we had with Clinton and Gingrich.  The curse of Obama will soon be lifted and we will move on past this bizarre chapter in our political history.  Perhaps there is a Democrat or Republican out there somewhere who can get elected and have a clear vision on how to unburden this great nation and allow it to once again pursue the greatness that still remains buried deep in its current turmoil. As stupid and sophomoric as it was to read about the President getting blowjobs under the desk, that is preferable to the downright lunacy and dysfunction that is going down in WDC these days.  If the worst we have to worry about are frat pranks in the White House, how bad can it be?

The Arrogance Of Global Warming.



The Arrogance Of Global Warming.  Perception is everything in today’s shallow, politic-centric world.  Many, many times, the line between reality and absurdity is blurred and we move freely between the two; in the process, losing the ability to distinguish between them.  I have just read Charles C. W. Cooke about how there is the “ideal” Hillary Clinton and how there is the “real” Hillary Clinton; this is a good example of what I am referring to.

Having spent my working career in agriculture, I have always been struck by the ignorance of those who label farmers as the most terrible of polluters.  In reality, farmers are the most wonderful of conservationists; their very life and existence rests on preserving the productivity of the land they manage.  Can any person have a greater incentive to preserve that upon which he relies for a living?  The reality is that is more fertilizer and chemical pollution from urban overflow than there is from agricultural production. 

A similar situation exists between outdoor sportsmen and environmentalists.  As a whole, outdoor sportsmen are acutely aware from whence their fruits come and they work diligently to preserve that ecosystem.  They appreciate the fact that there is an overarching plan to this planet and its life, one that operates based on a wisdom that far exceeds the grasp of mankind.  Rather than trying to regulate, mandate, and control nature, they practice an appreciation of it that is based on good stewardship and respect.

Thus it is with global warming, such as it may or may not be.  Color me a very bright global warming skeptic, but color me a very convinced climate change believer.  The climate has been changing since the dawn of time and it will continue to do so.  The arrogance of those who believe that we can somehow alter, control, or manipulate this climate change have been spending far too much time reading comic book superhero sagas or else are far too impressed with their own opinions.  Common sense tells us that we, as a people, are blessed to exist on a planet that provides all that we need.  It also tells us that it is in our best interest to respect that world, treat it responsibly, and basically clean up our messes when we make them.  The planet has an amazing ability to heal itself, but humans have demonstrated an uncanny ability to test that recuperative capacity to the max.  But the arrogance that some show in passing laws (i.e. carbon emissions) that they claim will be transformative rather than common sense maintenance is breathtaking.  We, as people, are no more than visitors on this planet, residing for only a moment in time while thinking of ourselves as eternal.  

Of course, we need to live a life that truly reflects an appreciation for that which sustains us and our progeny; but at the same time, we should never lose sight of the fact that this world is a complex and wonderful creation by a power far superior to anything we can even imagine.  An acceptance of that reality is the first step in finding a way to balance the joys and fruits of this world with a proper understanding of our place upon it.

Three Points On Bergdahl.



Three Points On Bergdahl.  I have tried to listen to as many opinions as possible on this issue and to keep an open mind.  It is a complex issue and has many, many subtexts.  Making it even more difficult to understand is the fact that nobody really knows how much of the story is available and how much is still hidden.  To me, there are three important issues: (1) Was it a good idea to trade the Five for the One, (2) How do we process the issues surrounding Bergdahl and his possible desertion /collaboration, and (3) How did the Administration actually execute this swap; specifically, what was their rationale and their reasoning for not notifying Congress.

It is difficult to understand how trading the One for the Five makes sense in a strategic sense; it certainly seems like the enemy gets far more back than we do.  However, there is more here to consider than just strategy and prisoner swaps are not without precedent in our past and in the world today.  What makes this point more difficult to bring into focus is the fact that the war on terror, which is in fact what the Afghanistan conflict was part of, is not over.  It is ongoing with no end in sight.  It is equally true that the Taliban is not a foreign government representing a specific country.  It is not even clear that Bergdahl was considered a POW and, if not, exactly what his status was, or is.  As bad as it looks on the surface and as much as it appears to be a bad precedent, I feel one should table judgment on this issue until all the facts are in and several of the collateral issues are settled.

The elephant in the living room that many journalists don’t want to address is whether or not a possible deserter/collaborator’s life is of equal value to a captured soldier in good standing.  This is awkward to discuss and should be considered very carefully before establishing a policy.  It is also clear that the issues surrounding Bergdahl’s disappearance are not yet fully disclosed and those circumstances reflect mightily on this issue.  Another serious consideration on this point is the fact that Bergdahl was in captivity for five years.  Five years is an eternity in civilian life.  In captivity, it could be lifetimes.  Not one of us will ever know what Bergdahl experienced in captivity and the coercion he absorbed.  Wisdom dictates that we also reserve judgment in this area and let those best suited, the military, make the final determinations.

Finally, one needs to consider exactly how this swap was engineered by the Administration.  Once again, there are facts that are yet to be revealed that will no doubt bear upon any final verdict in this area.  However,  it also equally clear that this Administration has been less than forthcoming with these facts and they have certainly not earned a high degree of trust in their handling of  the issue.  If, in fact, the swap was executed for the noble cause of bringing home an American prisoner held by the enemy, then it should be no problem for the president to immediately stand before the White House press corps, make an explanatory statement about the situation, and accept all questions in an open and honest fashion.  The fact that a White House rose garden ceremony was held in lieu of a press conference tells us that the release was more likely an attempt at some good political press rather than any noble principle.  The fact that the Administration has come up with no fewer than four distinct reasons (one after the other, not simultaneous, and still counting) for the swap reveals that there is no basic truth to tell; there is no underlying principle that drove the decision.  It was simply a political attempt at gain and the evolving explanation for it clearly demonstrates that the story will remain entrenched in politics.  Had this been done based on conviction, the American public would have accepted a transparent explanation from the president of how it went down.  Yes, some would still have disagreed with the actions taken, but the president is in place to make hard decisions and t his was certainly one of those.  To me, the Administration’s handling of this issue following the release is that of a weasel and the weasel ways are continuing in the explanation of it.  Finally, should Congress have been notified and what do we make of the signing statement that accompanied the notification legislation?  Where the line lies between the Executive and the Legislative branches is best determined by the Judiciary.  Bush used signing statements and was crucified for it.  Obama is receiving the same treatment.  However, it not clear to me that the President should not have the authority to make this type of decision independent of Congress.  I give Obama a pass on this point and defer to the Judicial branch.  There can be no doubt, however, that given this president’s grandiose use of the executive action, his arrogance when dealing with Congress, and the partisan divide that grips this government, it clearly would have been wise to have consulted, conferred with, and advised selected members of both House of Congress prior to executing this action. 

Points one and two are outstanding and good people may disagree on their merits.  Point three indicts the president for bad judgment, arrogant behavior, and behaving like a politician rather than a leader.  Unfortunately, in this episode, his behavior in these areas has trumped the debate occurring in the first two.