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News/Politics 9-3-13

What’s interesting in the news today?

We have tons to choose from today.

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First up, a disturbing couple of stories. Many of us have warned of the “Slippery Slope.” We were assured it was all in our heads, and that it didn’t really exist. And yet we continue to slide down, and to a new and disturbing low. And a new low for the Post too. It will get worse too, if this is the type of opinion writing the new liberal owner is going to allow.

CONTENT WARNING!!!!

From TheWashingtonPost  “There is a painfully uncomfortable episode of “Louie” in which the comedian Louis C.K. muses that maybe child molesters wouldn’t kill their victims if the penalty weren’t so severe. Everyone I know who watches the show vividly recalls that scene from 2010 because it conjures such a witches’ cauldron of taboo, disgust and moral outrage, all wrapped around a disturbing kernel of truth. I have similar ambivalence about the case involving former Montana high school teacher Stacey Dean Rambold. Louie concluded his riff with a comment to the effect of “I don’t know what to do with that information.” That may be the case for many of us, but with our legal and moral codes failing us, our society needs to have an uncensored dialogue about the reality of sex in schools.

As protesters decry the leniency of Rambold’s sentence — he will spend 30 days in prison after pleading guilty to raping 14-year-old Cherice Morales, who committed suicide at age 16 — I find myself troubled for the opposite reason. I don’t believe that all sexual conduct between underage students and teachers should necessarily be classified as rape, and I believe that absent extenuating circumstances, consensual sexual activity between teachers and students should not be criminalized. While I am not defending Judge G. Todd Baugh’s comments about Morales being “as much in control of the situation” — for which he has appropriately apologized — tarring and feathering him for attempting to articulate the context that informed his sentence will not advance this much-needed dialogue.”

“The point is that there is a vast and extremely nuanced continuum of sexual interactions involving teachers and students, ranging from flirtation to mutual lust to harassment to predatory behavior. Painting all of these behaviors with the same brush sends a damaging message to students and sets the stage for hypocrisy and distortion of the truth. Many teenagers are, biologically speaking, sexually mature. Pretending that this kind of thing won’t happen if we simply punish it severely enough is delusional. If anything, to return to Louis C.K., the indiscriminate criminalization of such situations may deter students struggling with sexual issues from seeking advice from a parent or counselor.”

More here with links to other stories by media outlets attempting to normalize pedophilia, from NationalReview  “The Guardian and the Atlantic have published columns aimed at normalizing pedophilia. Scientific American and the BBC have publishing articles normalizing polyamory. Now the Washington Post publishes an opinion piece that advocates decriminalizing student-teacher sex.”

“How is society “damaged” by protecting children from predatory teachers? Karasik doesn’t actually say, other than to imply that Morales might not have committed suicide had the criminal case not been pending. Despicable. Oh, and maybe students would be more likely to discuss sexual issues with school counselors. 

I repeat, this was published in the Washington Post. How low can we go? I am afraid we are going to find out.”

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This one doesn’t surprise me. Snowden has struck again.

From YNetNews  “Individuals with connections to al-Qaeda and other terrorist organizations repeatedly tried to obtain jobs in US intelligence community; ‘One of five CIA applicants has connections to hostile groups’.”

“The CIA found that among a subset of job seekers whose backgrounds raised questions, roughly one out of every five had “significant terrorist and/or hostile intelligence connections,” according to the document, which was provided to the Washington Post by former National Security Agency contractor.”

So how many made it thru?

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Next up, oh the Horror! 🙄

From NationalReview  “Fantastic news for angsty progressive-ish 15-year-olds everywhere: Finally — finally! — after a wait that must have seemed interminable, this readership has gotten its very own Ayn Rand, thanks to Frederic C. Rich and his debut novel, Christian Nation, a story with all the subtlety of a Slipknot video and artfulness of a Chick tract.”

“The basic gist of the story is thus: John McCain wins the 2008 election and then promptly dies from a brain aneurysm. Then Sarah Palin becomes president (the Sarah Palin character in this book puts Tina Fey to shame, by the way) and, in cahoots with those scary homeschool leaders and Evangelicals, sets America on the track to becoming a brutal theocracy where homosexuality, adultery, masturbation, and a bunch of other things are banned. The book’s protagonist, Greg; his best friend Sanjay (a gay man from India who is the new gold standard for one-dimensional characters); and Mike Bloomberg (now the governor of New York) try to stop them before it’s too late. Suspense!”

“Rich’s book suggests that he’s very, very worried that Westboro Baptist Church or their ilk will win the House, the Senate, and the presidency and then proceed to kill all the gays. In fact, above the book’s title on its cover is written “it could happen here . . . ,” suggesting that the book isn’t so much a novel as a progressive doomsday prophecy. Rich goes out of his way to intimate that conservative Evangelicals are currently doing what the Nazis were doing in the 1930s. “This isn’t the first time the world didn’t listen,” he writes after a quick discussion of dominionism. “In college I read Hitler’s Mein Kampf.” He prefaces one chapter with a quotation from Dr. James Luther Adams, an anti-Nazi dissident, which reads, “Repeatedly I heard anti-Nazis say, ‘If only 1,000 of us in the late twenties had combined in heroic resistance, we could have stopped Hitler.’”

Good grief. 🙄

More here from Townhall  “They said what they would do, and we did not listen. Then they did what they said they would do.”

Sounds frightening, doesn’t it? Who could “they” be? A 1984-like government? A terrorist organization? An alien force? Well, according to the author who wrote those words, the “they” are big bad Christians.”

Be afraid. Be very afraid. 😯

Or not.

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I bet the author above would be OK with this though.

From TheWashingtonExaminer  “With high-ranking Democratic officials listening reverently in the Iowa state capitol, a liberal activist and union official on Wednesday led a prayer for increased funding for abortions, for greater access to abortions, for doctors who perform abortions, and for what she called “the blessing of choice.”

Midge Slater, an organizer for the Iowa Alliance for Retired Americans, part of the Iowa Federation of Labor and the AFL-CIO, spoke to about 80 people who came to the capitol to protest a proposal that the State Board of Medicine end a program that allows doctors to prescribe an abortion pill for a woman after a video chat, rather than an in-person consultation.”

“In her invocation at the rally, which was attended by Jack Hatch and Tyler Olson, two Democratic candidates for governor of Iowa, Slater prayed that elected officials “may always support a woman’s right to make her own medical decisions.” She prayed for “increased financial support for low income women” to have abortions. She prayed that “women in developing nations” have greater access to abortion. She prayed to “give thanks and celebrate that abortion is still safe and legal.” And she prayed that families may know “the blessing of choice.””

Pretty sick if you ask me. But she’s not the only one. Sick seems to be a theme among abortion supporters.

From LifeNews  “The BroChoice campaign — which pushes the notion that supporting abortion is a good thing for men to do because it allows them to get out of the responsibility of becoming a parent by pressuring their partner to have an abortion — is getting worse.

Now, a writer at a popular blog called Return of Kings has written a manual on “How To Convince A Girl To Get An Abortion.” The column is as sick as the headline sounds.”

This one I agree with them on. At least be honest and just admit it. Safe, legal, and rare has always been a lie.

From TheNation  “When did so many feminists get polite on abortion? I cannot take hearing another pundit insist that only a small percentage of Planned Parenthood’s work is providing abortions or that some women need birth control for “medical” reasons. Tiptoeing around the issue is exhausting, and it’s certainly not doing women any favors.

It’s time resuscitate the old rallying cry for “free abortions on demand without apology.” It may not be a popular message but it’s absolutely necessary. After all, the opposition doesn’t have nearly as many caveats. They’re fighting for earlier and earlier bans on abortions, pushing for no exceptions for rape and incest, fighting against birth control coverage—even insisting that they have the right to threaten abortion providers. The all-out strategy is working; since 2010, more than fifty abortion clinics have stopped providing services.

The anti-choice movement isn’t pulling any punches—why should we?”

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After that, I need some good news. And a shower. 😦

From Stripes.com  “Gary Sinise, the actor who played Lt. Dan in the 1993 movie “Forrest Gump,” has been named an Honorary Marine.

Gen. James F. Amos, the Marine Corps commandant, said Sinise earned the recognition because of his efforts to support military veterans.

“There is little I can say to enhance the rich reputation Gary Sinise has earned,” Amos said during a ceremony at the Marine Corps Barracks in Washington, D.C., on Thursday. “What I can do, what I am privileged and proud to do, is to recognize this humble patriot’s selfless service by making him an Honorary Marine.”

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I liked this one too. 🙂 If you haven’t checked them out, you really should. 🙂

From TheChristianPost  “Silas Merritt Robertson, who’s best known as “Uncle Si” on A&E’s most  watched reality television show “Duck Dynasty” spoke with The Christian Post  about his new book, Si-Cology 1: Tales and Wisdom from Duck Dynasty’s Favorite  Uncle that will be available on Sept. 3.”

“Si’s mastery of storytelling runs throughout his descriptions of the Vietnam War  and how he met his wife, Christine. The always-jovial Uncle Si also speaks  candidly about the difficulties he and Christine have faced, and how God has  blessed and sustained them throughout their 43 years of marriage. He also shares  their unexpected blessing of having two children, Trasa and Scott, and eight  grandchildren.”

“According to Si, marriage is a union between two imperfect people who are  destined to make mistakes. But at the end of the day, their love for each other  and faith in Jesus Christ will bring them through every hardship and enrich the  most joyous times of their lives.”

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And this last one asks a question. Free speech, or treason?

From TheBlaze  “Since the U.S. has started serious discussions about taking military action against Syria, many have publicly spoken out against a possible military strike. And now it appears that some of our uniformed service personnel have come forward to express their disagreement with an attack, any attack on Syria.”

“More than 2,000 people have “liked” this image that was posted on Sunday.”

“There were also photos posted from people wearing the uniforms of the Marines, Navy and Air Force. These have also received Facebook “likes” in the thousands.”

“Is this kind of behavior allowed? Well, there are rules concerning what uniformed military personnel can and cannot do, especially when it comes to making a political statement.”

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40 thoughts on “News/Politics 9-3-13”

  2. As I told you before, I was all prepared to be offended at Duck Dynasty, but when I watched the show I was hooked. It is a good, clean, family show. I love Uncle Si.

    As far as the Syria situation, I haven’t talked to anyone who thinks it is a good idea. I sure hope our leaders listen to the people.

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  3. I have this weird feeling that whatever they do, it will be the worst choice.
    The reason for thinking that is that I suspect that decisions will be made for political reasons and not according to likely outcomes, and long term consequences.

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  6. You newcomers don’t know this, but I ran for president in 2008. I declared, and proved that I was better qualified than Obama. Here someone else has noticed that. 🙂
    Everyone, BTW, is better qualified than Obama. Rush says that Obama is the least qualified man in any room he enters.

    By Matt Patterson (Newsweek Columnist – Opinion Writer)
    Years from now, historians may regard the 2008 election of Barack Obama as an inscrutable and disturbing phenomenon, the result of a baffling breed of mass hysteria akin perhaps to the witch craze of the Middle Ages. How, they will wonder, did a man so devoid of professional accomplishment beguile so many into thinking he could manage the world’s largest economy, direct the world’s most powerful military, execute the world’s most consequential job?
    Imagine a future historian examining Obama’s pre-presidential life: ushered into and through the Ivy League, despite unremarkable grades and test scores along the way; a cushy non-job as a “community organizer;” a brief career as a state legislator devoid of legislative achievement (and in fact nearly devoid of his attention, less often did he vote “present”); and finally an unaccomplished single term in the United States Senate, the entirety of which was devoted to his presidential ambitions.
    ……….

    http://www.tomtayloronline.org/2013/07/08/i-too-have-become-disillusioned-matt-patterson-newsweek/

    It’s a pretty long article, but worth reading.

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  7. I’ll check out that article, Chas.

    And Christians are often demonized if you listen to liberal talk radio (which I don’t do often, but it’s a enlightening exercise from time to time). I’ve heard hosts and call-in guests basically say that conservative Christians in this country must be watched carefully — and kept away from children — because their ultimate goal is to impose a theocracy.

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  9. Our official reaction involving Syria is an example, I think, of the president’s lack of any real understanding or experience in foreign policy. We’re seeing the amateur hour now in full bloom.

    I suspect this could be the death knell politically to what remains of his presidency. There’s no face-saving way out of the mess that I can see.

    And he’s spent so much time alienating everyone across the aisle over the past 6 years that trying to work with them now is fruitless. He’s burned all his bridges, he never was able to overcome his very visible partisan disdain for anyone who dared disagree with him.

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  10. But doesn’t it strike you that in tossing it back to Congress (where, of course, it belonged to begin with), he’s placing himself in the position of “it’s their fault,” if anything bad happens?

    Feeling a little cynical today.

    But I’m also feeling like, let’s let the folks in the neighborhood take care of this one. Aren’t they the ones with the most to lose? Why does Saudi Arabia have all those fancy weapons if they’re not going to use them?

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  11. Except I think either way — whether we attack or don’t attack — the U.S. already has lost credibility and respect with the back-and-forth confusion, mixed messages and dithering coming out of the executive branch. They’re clearly in over their heads, it would seem.

    This has become an “emperor has no clothes” moment if ever there was one. The damage to the presidency (and the country) has already been done.

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  13. I didn’t like Big Bush because I regarded him as a liberal. However, in hindsight he was far better than all three of his successors when it came to foreign policy. Obama is completely unqualified. However, on foreign policy so were Clinton and Little Bush and they all made glaring errors.
    Reagan had little foreign policy experience, but he had studied and spoken on international issues for years prior to his presidency. Like he said, anyone who could negotiate with Jack Warner could deal with the Soviets.

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  14. You know this will end badly.

    With political enemies like these, who needs political friends?

    Eric Cantor, Speaker Boehner, and Peter King are all on board, and Dems will be, out of nothing but party loyalty. Who cares what the commoners think.

    After all, they have top advisers to decide for them, right Nancy? 🙄

    http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/357462/pelosi-huddles-5-year-old-grandson-syria-andrew-johnson

    “Nancy Pelosi told reporters today she consulted her five-year-old grandson over the weekend about whether or not to support intervention in Syria.

    The minority leader explained that when she was home this past weekend, her five-year-old consigliere pressed her, “Are you ‘yes’ war with Syria, ‘no’ war with Syria?,” and said he opposed intervention. She took issue with his use of “war” to describe what she considers an “action,” but told him she generally agreed, but favored intervention because “they’ve killed hundreds of children there.”

    The youngster then asked her if the children were in the United States. Pelosi explained the victims were children abroad, but praised his “wisdom” in attending to American interests. She explained to reporters, however, that she found her grandson’s reasoning wanting because the use of chemical weapons “affects our interests because, again, it was outside of the circle of civilized behavior.”

    More here,

    http://www.mediaite.com/tv/rep-peter-king-on-cnn-obama-should-strike-syria-even-if-congress-votes-no/

    http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/03/breaking-house-speaker-john-boehner-to-back-obamas-request-for-military-action-in-syria/

    http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/03/house-majority-leader-eric-cantor-says-he-will-support-obamas-plan-to-attack-syria/

    This one appears to be a voice of reason, so he will be ignored by our politicians.

    http://cnsnews.com/news/article/michael-w-chapman/catholic-patriarch-syria-us-attack-syria-would-be-criminal-act

    “Were the Obama administration to launch an attack on Syria, as President Obama has said he intends to do, it would be “a criminal act, which will only reap more victims,” said Gregory III, the leader of the Greek Catholic Church in Syria and Lebanon.”

    ‘“What or who have led Syria to this thin red line, this point of no return?” said Patriarch Gregory in remarks first reported by AsiaNews.it on Aug. 28. “Who created this hell in which our people have been living for months? Every day, Islamic extremists from all over the world are pouring into Syria with the sole intent to kill and not one country has done anything to stop them, even the U.S. has decided to send in more weapons.”

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  15. And just a reminder on where a lot of these weapons came from in the first place. Iraq. PJMedia covered it well, others have taken note as well now. The myth from the left that there were no WMD’s in Iraq has always been a flat out lie. But Bush and the UN with their deadlines stood by while these WMD’s went to Syria. They even have satellite photos of military truck movements from known chemical facilities to Syrian the days leading up to the US invasion.

    http://weaselzippers.us/2013/09/02/flashback-chemical-weapons-in-syria-include-wmds-shipped-from-iraq/

    “The question isn’t about whether there were WMDs. The question has been how have we been letting the media get away with misstating the facts for all these years when ample evidence was there.

    As the military reported, after we went into Iraq, chemical weapons, facilities and residue were in fact found, and kept being found for years afterward.”

    “Note here that the present DNI James Clapper said in 2007 that much of the WMDs in Iraq had in fact been shipped to Syria.

    This article notes in detail some of the shipments, that were in fact done with the assistance of Russia:”

    The link above has a bunch of links. More here from PJMedia

    http://pjmedia.com/blog/satellite-photos-support-testimony-that-iraqi-wmd-went-to-syria/?singlepage=true

    “Ha’aretz has revived the mystery surrounding the inability to find weapons of mass destruction stockpiles in Iraq, the most commonly cited justification for Operation Iraqi Freedom and one of the most embarrassing episodes for the United States. Satellite photos of a suspicious site in Syria are providing new support for the reporting of a Syrian journalist who briefly rocked the world with his reporting that Iraq’s WMD had been sent to three sites in Syria just before the invasion commenced.

    The newspaper reveals that a 200 square-kilometer area in northwestern Syria has been photographed by satellites at the request of a Western intelligence agency at least 16 times, the most recent being taken in January. The site is near Masyaf, and it has at least five installations and hidden paths leading underneath the mountains. This supports the reporting of Nizar Nayouf, an award-winning Syrian journalist who said in 2004 that his sources confirmed that Saddam Hussein’s WMDs were in Syria.”

    “It seems to be commonly accepted that Iraq did not have WMDs at all. The intelligence was obviously flawed, but the book has not been closed on what actually happened. The media blasted the headline that Charles Duelfer, the head of the Iraq Survey Group tasked with finding out if Saddam had WMDs, concluded that a transfer did not occur. In reality, his report said they were “unable to complete its investigation and is unable to rule out the possibility that WMD was evacuated to Syria before the war” due to the poor security situation.”

    The no WMD lie is one of the biggest frauds ever committed by the media and Dems, second only to the fraud that is our current leader.

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  16. http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2013/09/03/russia-putin-obama-us-foreign-policy-column/2754995/

    ” … Perhaps he’s hoping to lose that (congressional0 vote, as well, so that at least he can blame Congress for whatever happens next. But the real question is how we got in this situation to begin with. And the answer is, through a series of unfortunate decisions ranging from Obama’s 2009 Cairo speech, which ignited the Arab Spring uprisings, through the mishandling of Libya and Benghazi, to his unscripted, and unthought-out, “red line” remarks.

    “Say what you will about George W. Bush’s diplomacy, but he nurtured relationships with our most important allies — like Britain — and managed to put together a huge multinational coalition for his own foray against an Arab dictator suspected of having chemical weapons. Obama’s diplomatic efforts — championed by Hillary Clinton and, now, John Kerry — are looking more and more inept by comparison: So far, our only ally in the proposed Syria venture is France, maybe.

    “But that’s what happens when your diplomacy is a failure. Our friends are avoiding us, our foes aren’t afraid of us, and it’s looking more and more like nobody in charge knows what they’re doing …”

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  17. Donna I agree with that. I believe Obama shot off his mouth and then felt like he had to make good. He doesn’t want to and is now hoping congress will bail him out..

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  19. AJ. The politicians in DC are gonna get us all killed. We have no business in Syria. As much as I feel for the people and especially the children, Syria is not in our National Interest. If Obama is serious about stopping both the Iranian Shia advocacy for a Caliphate and the Wahabbi advocacy for a Caliphate, then let the administration lob just one tactical nuke at some hardened WMD site in Iran. That would send a message load and clear.

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  20. http://www.politico.com/story/2013/09/how-not-to-run-a-foreign-policy-96147.html?ml=po_r

    ” … Surely this episode will be studied in schools of government for decades, as an example of how foreign policy should never be conducted: without apparent guiding principle, unpredictably, by fits and starts, and via statements and speeches that are misleading if they are not incoherent…. ”

    The author of the piece, Elliot Abrams, a former Bush staffer, favors a strike but makes the point that no one really knows now what the president actually “wants” — Does he now just want Congress to get him off the hook?

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  21. Wow — Obama’s damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t. People demand he ask for Congressional approval and when he does, they question his motives.

    Strange the criticism Obama receives from some on the right (eg Cal Thomas) as his foreign policy is pretty much a continuation of Bush. Actually US foreign policy is fairly consistent since Truman with the possible exception of the Carter years. Obama’s guiding principle is the same as all others — the interests of the US. Only Carter was brave (or foolish depending on your p.o.v.) to attempt an idealistic policy focus on the interests of all people.

    Also strange the USA Today cited by Donna which credits Obama’s speech for the Arab spring. The Arab spring which grew out of demographic pressure, rising food prices and mass discontent was sparked in Tunisia by an act of self – immolation.

    The columnist criticizes for Obama for not having an international coalition yet his Libyan adventure which the author also complains about was a joint NATO program. Obama managed to get NATO on board something Bush couldn’t do in the case of Iraq. The only significant American ally in the Iraq adventure was the UK with some assistance from Australia and Poland. UKs current position is the result of domestic politics and not Obama. Strange how his critics think he’s responsible for everything yet also complain he can’t do anything, Now there’s alot to criticize Obama for but lets not make things up — his continuation of standard US foreign policy is enough for me.

    The reemergence of the Syrian-Iraq connection meme is interesting. Although its been a conspiracy talking point for years no one in the Republican party elite has ever taken it seriously. And thats because its in all likelihood not true. If Bush had a smoking gun to prove the transfer of WMD from Iraq to Syria, he would’ve used it to justify entering Syria at that time. The simple fact is that Iraq suspended any WMD program after the Gulf War. The evidence for any other narrative is as flimsy as the evidence Powell presented to the Security Council. And in post war Iraq, the overwhelming evidence points to the non existence of WMD.

    Now suppose for a minute, the right wing conspiracy is correct and the WMD was shipped to Syria. We are then left with the somewhat ironical situation in which Obama is attempting to stop the use of WMD originally sold and delivered to the middle east by Donald Rumsfeld during the Reagan administration to be used by Iraq on Iran. Now Iran’s only Arab ally has them and is using them. First the US arms them and then they bomb them for using the arms.

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  22. HRW, Little Bush, like Carter, had an idealistic foreign policy. It was as dumb as Carter’s. It was clearly not in the best interest of the US to bring democracy to Iraq.

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  23. I’m not a big fan of rigorous application of statutory rape laws when it involves a 16 year old and a 15 year old but I am a big fan of ensuring proper boundaries in relationships of authority. The lenient sentence has been roundly condemned by the leftist side of the internet so the article cited by AJ is an anomaly. In fact, its been cited as a result of the Republican “war on women” by some on the left and not knowing the political persuasion of the judge I can’t comment.

    It actually reminds me of a conservative female columnist who wrote a similar column in response a similar situation in Canada. In both columns, the authors failed to realize the issue is more than a teenage girls crush on an older man but rather the abuse of power and failure of responsibility that was committed when the idealistic crush is manipulated into sexual contact. As the child is a minor consent to an older adult in a position of authority is simply not possible and the responsibility belongs to the adult.

    The book, Christian Nation, probably doesn’t deserve the light of day and any mention of it on right wing blogs is only going to increase sales.

    I’ve seen a few of those pictures of service men and women holding anti-war signs in front of their face. 10 years ago, the automatic response of many on the right was to point out that service personnel lost their political right of protest when they volunteered. I imagine the response will be the same???? And its true, when you volunteer for the armed services you are volunteering to serve at the whim of the commander in chief who was elected by the people even if you disagree with the choice or if the choice was made after you volunteered. And if those protesting, think they can run to Canada, we have a conservative PM who’s pretty gung ho on bombing Syria — no official sympathy will be expressed. However I do have a certain amount of sympathy for the service personnel most of whom join not out of a desire to travel the world bombing and killing people at the whim of the elites in Washington but rather from economic necessity.

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  24. Ricky — I will give you that. Bush jr did make up some idealistic nonsense about democracy and Iraq as a beacon of light etc,etc. In fact some Bush supporters claim this nonsense inspired the Arab Spring (back when Bush supporters thought the Arab spring was a good thing). I never took it seriously and thought it as a thin veneer to cover a much more practical policy of American energy needs and American hegemony in world affairs.

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  25. HRW, It was Little Bush and the Neo-Cons that pushed for Arab democracies. It wasn’t until Hezbollah won in Lebanon and Hamas won in the Occupied Territories that they began to rethink their views. By then, a democratic Iraq was already headed into an alliance with Iran. Idealistic presidents like Carter and Little Bush are a boon to our enemies and dangerous to our allies.

    Now we are just floundering. Our military is in freefall. Many countries regard us as a menace: a stupid, clumsy giant thrashing about causing damage.

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  28. Many countries regard us as a menace: a stupid, clumsy giant thrashing about causing damage.

    I think that happened long before Bush Jr or Obama

    And when it comes to foreign policy that benefits the elite, they seldom listen to the great unwashed or they lie to them or they simply don’t tell you.

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  29. Eisenhower’s America was respected. Reagan’s America was seen as a bulwark against communism and gave hope to those behind the Iron Curtain. That is why there are statues of Reagan in Eastern Europe.

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  32. I think the politico link hones in on the difference between W and Obama when it comes to foreign policy.

    And, yeah, Obama’s basically got problems either way at this point. I’m on the fence on this one, I can see both sides though I lean toward against intervention. While public support matters, we shouldn’t always conduct foreign policy on the basis of public opinion.

    The new “alliances” the issue has produced in American politics, meanwhile, is mind-spining. Tea Party members joining with liberals, an anti-war activist like Kerry now in the spotlight promoting a military strike?

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  33. Eisenhower had the respect of the world. JFK had respect and people’s admiration probably because he wasn’t around long enough to lose it. But from Vietnam on, America resembled a clumsy giant. As for Reagan, Eastern Europe is about the only place you will find a statue of him and even then its through private donations — in many areas, outside Poland, Reagan is a controversial figure. Poland’s a strange place; the two largest parties are right wing — the ruling party, Civic Platform, is EU oriented, free marketed oriented ie classic Adam Smith liberalism and the opposition party, Law and Justice, is right wing populist which advocates social conservatism, anti-communism, but is anti-EU and favors a nationalistic approach to economics. Even more interesting Civic Platform is popular in the north and west (former pre-WWI German Empire) while Law and Justice is popular in the south and east — rural traditional Poland.

    Donna — The left-peace wing is being consistent and the libertarian right/isolationist right has finally had enough.

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  36. And I find it interesting that I’m agreeing with Rand Paul who said tonight on Fox that while Congress should be consulted on whether to approve a military intervention, it should be left to the president how to execute that action once we do.

    In this case, the Congress would be saying, “we’ll OK a ‘ittlle’ war, but no more.”

    Either we’re in or we’re out.

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  37. Stewart and Colbert are always quick to pounce on any political and media contradictions, follies and absurdities.

    donna — which points to the statement I’ve made quite often — the two parties really aren’t that much different.

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  38. I just came home from the airport. My little girl (ok she’s 15) just came home from Europe where she was visiting her mom and her family. Thus I’m up late even though I’ve got school again tomorrow.

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  40. HRW, You were right. To a Dad, a 15 year old still counts as a “little girl”.

    Thanks for the analysis of Poland’s politics. I had read some about the Western part of the country that formerly was Prussia when some of my people went over to put a Confederate headstone on the grave of Heros Von Borcke.

    I agree with your analysis of the world’s reaction to Eisenhower and Kennedy. I also agree that Reagan was controversial because of his conservative views. Here is his statue in London:

    http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2011077/10ft-Ronald-Reagan-statue-unveiled-London.html

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