Pride

Pride is considered one of the seven deadly sins and rightly so but it is not just personal pride that can cause trouble, it also happens with entire countries. A prime example is Germany after WW 1 and the result of the unfair treatment imposed by the Versailles Treaty. Such severe restrictions cause the German economy to contract and opened the door for Hitler. He restored the people’s pride in their country by retaking territories like The Rhineland and Sudetenland and each time the people cheered. The Russian people felt a loss of pride when the Soviet Union collapsed and now Putin is restoring their pride as he takes back territory. The Arab countries dislike for Israel is more than just religious differences. It is the humiliation suffered in the loss of 4 major wars since 1947. Healthy pride, the kind that comes from helping others through personal achievement, is quite different from the toxic pride that arises from envy and hurt feelings.

Iraq invasion

Yesterday once again President Obama said the situation with ISIS in Iraq is the fault of the Bush invasion. Some people have forgotten what most thought about Iraq and weapons of mass destruction. The congress voted 77 to 23 in the senate and 296 to 133 in the house to invade Iraq. Other leaders also believed that Iraq possessed WMD. President Bill Clinton, December 1998: "Other countries possess weapons of mass destruction and ballistic missiles. With Saddam, there is one big difference: He has used them, not once, but repeatedly – Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., December 1998: "Saddam Hussein has been engaged in the development of weapons of mass destruction technology, which is a threat to countries in the region, and he has made a mockery of the weapons inspection process." French President Jacques Chirac, February 2003: "There is a problem -- the probable possession of weapons of mass destruction by an uncontrollable country, Iraq. The international community is right . . . in having decided Iraq should be disarmed." .Even former governor Howard Dean believed…. In March of 2003 Dean said “Iraq is automatically an imminent threat to the countries that surround it because of the possession of these weapons. I see the invasion as a mistake now but when I thought that Saddam had WMD I thought it was the thing to do. The question I have for those who were against the invasion is would they allow Iraq to have WMD and will these same people allow Iran to have a nuke?

Lies

For those who may have forgotten Bush 41 had approval ratings in the high 80’s just after the first Gulf War and a year later lost his bid for re-election. When he ran for president he made a pledge not to increase taxes. His famous quote, “read my lips, no new taxes” came back to haunt him and his ratings dropped to under 50%. He made an agreement with the democratic congress to raise taxes and they agreed to lower spending. He raised taxes but congress failed to cut spending. Bill Clinton used this phrase many times stating that Bush could not be trusted because he lied about taxes. Then Clinton lied about the blue dress and his approval ratings are high. Years later President Obama was given the liar of the year award by the Washington Post regarding his oft repeated statement that you could keep your doctor but he suffered only slightly in the polls. As time passes having a president who lies seems to be less offensive.

Power of the president

Over the past 30 plus years starting with the Reagan administration a new threat to our form of government has evolved. It has its basis in bi-partisanship and encourages elected officials to place party ahead of country. It is reinforced with the growth of gerrymandering which is largely responsible for the almost guaranteed reelection of incumbents. Presidents have learned to use this divide in the electorate to increase their power and it is now approaching the danger zone. Presidents have come to realize that as long as there is division in the legislative branch they can get away with just about anything. Any president can take an action to which congress disagrees and there is not much that they can do to stop him. They have three courses of action and all three have lost their effectiveness. First they can sue and go through the courts but that takes years and people will lose interest. Second they can withhold funds but that threatens a government shut down and the political price is too high. Finally they can impeach but with a divided country getting a 2/3rds vote in the senate is almost impossible. This allows the president total power. If congress passes something he doesn’t like he can veto and to override a veto takes 2/3rds vote. If the president wants to create a new way of operating the government he can do so and congress cannot stop him as illustrated above. He merely instructs his departments to begin implementing new procedures.

Kasich/Rubio

In Presidential elections the personality of the candidate carries a lot of weight. Democrats were thrilled with Clinton and Obama as they were both charismatic. They lost with less sparkling people like Dukakis, Gore and Kerry. On the Republican side Reagan and Bush seemed like stars compared with Dole and McCain. This coming election Hilary ranks with those less attractive and on the other side the candidacy is up for grabs. Hopefully this coming election will be based less on personality and more on issues. If that is the case the results will depend on turnout since it will be a battle of political philosophies. Will the voters want to continue the process of redistribution or look more for growth? If all of those people who are currently dependent on the government vote, then Hilary will win but if they stay home she will lose. It takes a little over 60 million votes to win and about one in six Americans are receiving government help and of that group about 40 million are eligible to vote. Many blacks were motivated to vote by Obama but since they are suffering double the rate of unemployment of whites they may not make the effort to vote this time and that will hurt Hilary. She is targeting young females but their unemployment rate is also high. If it is strictly an issues election then a Kasich/Rubio team (which means Ohio and Florida) will have the best chance to win.

Iran and nukes

The US negotiations with Iran in regards to nuclear weapons, has now changed to not if Iran gets a nuke but when. Most of the Sunni Muslim countries in the area are fearful of Iran which is Shia Muslim getting the bomb and then trying to take over Saudi Arabia where the major shrines of Islam are located. Saudi Arabia has order nukes from the Sunni government in Pakistan and will accept delivery when Iran gets its first nuke. The age old battle between Sunni and Shia Muslims may go nuclear and if this happens Israel will respond to protect itself and the entire Middle East will be ablaze. When this happens will the west look back and wish they had kept Iran from getting a nuke? Is now the time to take action or is it best to just sit back and allow these ancient animosities to fester and finally blow up?

Iran Israel

Israel is the US closest ally in the Middle East and is in peril. Israel’s nemesis Iran has threatened on numerous occasions to “wipe Israel off the map”. Iran is the leading promoter of terrorism around the globe and has zeroed in on Israel. Israel is about the size of New Jersey the 5th smallest state in the United States and it is surrounded by enemies mostly financed by Iran. There are enemies in Lebanon which is east and in the Golan Heights which is southeast and Saini on the west while Gaza and the Sea lies to the north. They only safe border is Jorden to the south. Recently an Iranian leader said that if Iran got the bomb and nuclear war broke out between Iran and Israel the result would be the death of all 6 million Jews in Israel and 500 million Muslims around the Middles East but in the end there would still be one billion Muslims and no Jews and that is an acceptable trade off. Iran is a country where women are treated as second class citizens, where the press is controlled by the government and where people are imprisoned because of political differences. Israel is a country much like America in regards to laws, society and culture. When 6 million Jews were eliminated during WW ll, the world said never again but unless proper steps are taken, history repeats itself.