As most kids do, up to a certain age, I supported whatever candidate my parents supported. In the Hall & Oates/Foreigner-laden year of 1980, that meant supporting Jimmy Carter. I recall that in October of that year, Mrs. Woolfort, the 3rd Grade teacher in my small town Michigan grade school called us each up to the board to put a check mark under one of two names she had written on the board. Ronald Reagan and Jimmy Carter. I was one of TWO people who checked under Jimmy Carter. He was the incumbent for Pete's sake! Alas, Reagan beat him soundly in November too and brought forth on this continent a New Conservatism. I went on dividing my time between playing sports and singing Forever in Blue Jeans into my comb while dancing in front of the mirror. Gotta love Neil.
In 1984, dare I say, we were better off then we were four years earlier. I had just moved to sunny, warm Houston from cold, snowy Michigan. The economy was starting to pick up. And I was starting to get my political feet and was supporting ol' Ronny despite the Democratic leanings of my parents. I recall taping his convention speech so I could watch it again and again. For some reason, he really brought forth a strong sense of love for America that I recognized immediately as "Patriotism". And that was a feeling that I enjoyed having.
By the by, Reagan soundly defeated the Democrat's ticket of Walter Mondale and Geraldine Ferraro and I was introduced to the term "landslide". There was much talk that Mondale sealed his defeat the moment he chose a female running mate, the first time a woman was ever on a major ticket. Much talk centered around the country "not being ready" for a female being one heartbeat away from the leadership of the free world. Life went on...
Fast forward 4 years...Reagan is leaving office and his "wimpy" Veep is the favorite for the White House as he wins the Republican nomination. The Democratic field was seemingly the worst case of "lesser of all evils". Gary Hart turned out to be a womanizer (which we hadn't yet found out was not necessarily a bad trait for a President) and Michael Dukakis lacked interpersonal skills and carried the baggage of Willie Horton around for all to see. The third major challenger was a minister by the name of Jesse Jackson. A tireless fighter for civil rights who had marched alongside Dr. King. And, the first "serious" black Presidential candidate. I quote serious because it was serious only to Jackson and a small cadre of supporters. Most of the country saw him as a novelty item and dismissed his candidacy...much talk revolved around the country "not being ready" for a black President. Bush won and life went on...
So, here we are...20 years later. I am sitting in my hotel room watching the results pour in from polling stations around the country on what is being dubbed as everything from Super Tuesday to Super Duper Tuesday to Tsunami Tuesday. Or, if you are John McCain, you state it more matter-of-factly..."the closest this country has ever had to a national primary." And as I am watching the numbers come in, Mike Huckabee gives a speech to his supporters....then John McCain gives his speech....then Mitt Romney. All white males. Business as usual. Then, Hillary Rodham Clinton gives her speech. One of two candidates left on the Democrat side, she is well-positioned on this night to start thinking about winning the nomination to become the first female to represent her party in the race for the White House. Then, the final candidate's speech begins and, for some reason, I am suddenly overcome with emotion. Watching this young man giving a ridiculously eloquent speech about hope....about change...about the endless opportunities that are possible if we work together...about promising to make this country great again. The words are moving. But,as I listen and watch, I take special notice of the elderly African American ladies behind this young presidential candidate...pride seemingly flowing from their very pores....eyes glowing as they watch and listen. I think to myself that they must be floored at what they are experiencing. With all the prejudice they have experienced in life...with hearing all their lives that this country will never treat them as equals...being told that the thought of ever seeing a black president would be akin to martians landing on earth. There they sit, transfixed as they watch Barack Obama speak. A black man. A serious contender for the Democratic nomination. One of the favorites to occupy the White House for the next four years. It occurs to me that maybe...just maybe, in the year 2008, the country just might finally be ready for a female or black President.
And I am suddenly very, VERY proud to be an American. And that, my friends, is a feeling I enjoy having.
Much love to ALL,
jak
Thursday, April 3, 2008
Saturday, January 5, 2008
Endorsement
I have had a very difficult time getting into the Presidential race this time around. Truth be known, I rarely take much interest prior to the conventions in the summer. But this year is different. I guess I have never been as aggravated about a sitting President as I am this time. So, I was really anxious to see who would throw their hat in the ring and who would be in line to replace Bush. I mean, after the Iraq fiasco and the message sent in the mid-term Elections, it was just a matter of what warm body the Democrats sent out. Surely the Republicans had no chance of maintaining control over the Executive Branch. Right?
Well, as my good friend Lee Corso is fond of saying...Not so fast my friend. Over the course of the past year, the Democratic Party has marched out a cast of characters that has caused me a great deal of concern. Some no-name governors...a couple of old-timer Senators that don't really stand a chance of getting out of the primaries...and three relative newcomers to the scene. One, a retread from the Kerry debacle of 2004 and the other two members of demographics for whom the American public has historically failed to support for the highest position in the country. Things were not looking so good. Maybe the Republicans had a chance to win...and we certainly don't want that...do we?
It was at this point that I really started to think about the situation..had I really become the a member of the partisan electorate that I so abhorred...that I blamed for our current political environment? Was I going to become one of the mass of sheep that are led to vote along party lines, eschewing any serious scrutiny of policy or the effects of that policy on the welfare of our country as a whole? I mean, prior to Bush coming into power, I always prided myself on being a "political scientist". I majored in Poli Sci at the University of Texas and whenever anyone asked me my party affiliation, I would tell them "I am neither Republican nor Democrat....I am a political scientist...I thoughfully assess each candidate and cast my vote based on what I feel would most benefit the nation as a whole." Now that I recount this, it is basically a jack ass way to say I am an independent, but will serve to illustrate the way I was and the way I want to be.
That said, Bush pushed me way left, but now is the time to come back to the middle. To put aside any partisan thoughts re. the ways of the Republicans and to look at things with a discerning eye. This is way too important an election to look at things any other way.
So, who best represents what our country needs now? Well, let us first take a look at the state of our country. First and foremost, we have to address Iraq. Though many say the "surge" is working, this type of analysis is based only on the fact that fewer people are dying on a monthly basis. If that is our new benchmark for success, we are in grave trouble and should re-evaluate what is going on there. There has been little movement toward any political progress within the region, little progress in structuring a government that can effectively lead the country and almost no progress toward determining how Iraq would move forward without U.S. military intervention. This all seems to me to validate what my brother has mentioned to me in the past...that while it may be true that if we leave today, Iraq will be in grave danger of descending into chaos, it will also be true 10 years from now. We need to cut our losses today and we need a leader that is focused on that being the number one priority from day one.
Secondly, we need to refocus our efforts on the War on Terror. As I have said so many times, the War on Terror is akin to the War on Drugs in that it is not winnable and it is basically bullshit. We need to start spending more money not on going after them, but in developing better security here at home. I've used the analogy before and I believe it to be apt. When your house has been unlawfully entered, you have one of two options. You go out and hunt down those that might possibly be the thieves or you install a top notch alarm system. We have spent tens of billions on hunting and relatively little on the alarm system. That priority needs to change. Now let me add another analogy to that. Because this is not a simple case of breaking and entering. This burglar had, what he thought, was a good reason for breaking in. He thinks that you came into his 'hood and disrespected him. He thinks that the things you do are bad for your city in general and he thinks you should suffer for your transgressions. Now, knowing this, do you tell him to fuck off...that you are not going to change your ways, he needs to change? Or, do you say, the safety of my family is important enough that I am going to sit down with this guy and see if there is some common ground for our peaceful coexistence. I strongly believe that the second option is the only logical one. So, in summary, we need to refocus our War on Terror budget from war making to security and diplomacy.
Third, we need to focus some energy on improving the lives of our citizens. The old saying goes that if you are not getting better, you are getting worse. And while our medical system, our education system and our welfare system (NOTE: when I refer to welfare, I refer to the suite of programs offered by the government to redistribute income from taxpayers to those citizens that are in need) have served us well over the years, are the result of the revolutionary thinking and hard work of our nations leaders throughout history, and have served as the siren call to so many to immigrate here, they are no longer the best. Many other nations have surpassed us in every category and others are catching up. Remaining stagnant because it is the politicallly judicious thing to do is not going to work anymore. We have to elect some revolutionary thinkers to revamp these systems. We, as a populous, have to understand that there may be some short-term pain involved in this, but long-term, the gain will make any sacrifice more than worthwhile.
As you can tell, this will not be easy. Some would argue that it is downright impossible. I think it is possible. But it is going to take someone with a strong conviction. A great deal of bravery. An ability to bring people together and strike down partisanship. A good ear and a quick mind.
Do any of the current candidates strike you as up to the challenge? No? Well, let's look at this from another angle. What role does the President really play in this? While Mr. Bush grabbed as much power as he could and appointed the right people in the right places to protect this power, the role of the President is meant to be much more limited. There are three branches for a reason...yes, the President does have to lead. He needs to put forth a vision, he has to have strong conviction and he has to bring people together. But, more importantly, we have to have a Congress that is brave...has good internal leadership and is willing to bring forth brave, intelligent bills.
Do any of the current candidates strike you as being able to put forth a strong vision, to bridge the partisan gap, to lead bravely? If you said no this time, I will ask you to do me a favor. Take another look at Barack Obama. He is the person for the job. Though lacking in experience, he more than makes up for it in his vision, his conviction and his leadership skills. He is the one that will lead us out of the mess of the past eight years. He is the one that will bring this country back together and get us moving forward. He is the one that will put America back on top. He, in short, is the one. Do yourself a favor and read up on him. I will do my best to summarize his platform on this blog in the coming weeks, but do some reading yourself so you can challenge me and challenge your own current beliefs.
It took a while, but I am now excited about the coming Presidential Race. I can feel it. Good things are coming.
Well, as my good friend Lee Corso is fond of saying...Not so fast my friend. Over the course of the past year, the Democratic Party has marched out a cast of characters that has caused me a great deal of concern. Some no-name governors...a couple of old-timer Senators that don't really stand a chance of getting out of the primaries...and three relative newcomers to the scene. One, a retread from the Kerry debacle of 2004 and the other two members of demographics for whom the American public has historically failed to support for the highest position in the country. Things were not looking so good. Maybe the Republicans had a chance to win...and we certainly don't want that...do we?
It was at this point that I really started to think about the situation..had I really become the a member of the partisan electorate that I so abhorred...that I blamed for our current political environment? Was I going to become one of the mass of sheep that are led to vote along party lines, eschewing any serious scrutiny of policy or the effects of that policy on the welfare of our country as a whole? I mean, prior to Bush coming into power, I always prided myself on being a "political scientist". I majored in Poli Sci at the University of Texas and whenever anyone asked me my party affiliation, I would tell them "I am neither Republican nor Democrat....I am a political scientist...I thoughfully assess each candidate and cast my vote based on what I feel would most benefit the nation as a whole." Now that I recount this, it is basically a jack ass way to say I am an independent, but will serve to illustrate the way I was and the way I want to be.
That said, Bush pushed me way left, but now is the time to come back to the middle. To put aside any partisan thoughts re. the ways of the Republicans and to look at things with a discerning eye. This is way too important an election to look at things any other way.
So, who best represents what our country needs now? Well, let us first take a look at the state of our country. First and foremost, we have to address Iraq. Though many say the "surge" is working, this type of analysis is based only on the fact that fewer people are dying on a monthly basis. If that is our new benchmark for success, we are in grave trouble and should re-evaluate what is going on there. There has been little movement toward any political progress within the region, little progress in structuring a government that can effectively lead the country and almost no progress toward determining how Iraq would move forward without U.S. military intervention. This all seems to me to validate what my brother has mentioned to me in the past...that while it may be true that if we leave today, Iraq will be in grave danger of descending into chaos, it will also be true 10 years from now. We need to cut our losses today and we need a leader that is focused on that being the number one priority from day one.
Secondly, we need to refocus our efforts on the War on Terror. As I have said so many times, the War on Terror is akin to the War on Drugs in that it is not winnable and it is basically bullshit. We need to start spending more money not on going after them, but in developing better security here at home. I've used the analogy before and I believe it to be apt. When your house has been unlawfully entered, you have one of two options. You go out and hunt down those that might possibly be the thieves or you install a top notch alarm system. We have spent tens of billions on hunting and relatively little on the alarm system. That priority needs to change. Now let me add another analogy to that. Because this is not a simple case of breaking and entering. This burglar had, what he thought, was a good reason for breaking in. He thinks that you came into his 'hood and disrespected him. He thinks that the things you do are bad for your city in general and he thinks you should suffer for your transgressions. Now, knowing this, do you tell him to fuck off...that you are not going to change your ways, he needs to change? Or, do you say, the safety of my family is important enough that I am going to sit down with this guy and see if there is some common ground for our peaceful coexistence. I strongly believe that the second option is the only logical one. So, in summary, we need to refocus our War on Terror budget from war making to security and diplomacy.
Third, we need to focus some energy on improving the lives of our citizens. The old saying goes that if you are not getting better, you are getting worse. And while our medical system, our education system and our welfare system (NOTE: when I refer to welfare, I refer to the suite of programs offered by the government to redistribute income from taxpayers to those citizens that are in need) have served us well over the years, are the result of the revolutionary thinking and hard work of our nations leaders throughout history, and have served as the siren call to so many to immigrate here, they are no longer the best. Many other nations have surpassed us in every category and others are catching up. Remaining stagnant because it is the politicallly judicious thing to do is not going to work anymore. We have to elect some revolutionary thinkers to revamp these systems. We, as a populous, have to understand that there may be some short-term pain involved in this, but long-term, the gain will make any sacrifice more than worthwhile.
As you can tell, this will not be easy. Some would argue that it is downright impossible. I think it is possible. But it is going to take someone with a strong conviction. A great deal of bravery. An ability to bring people together and strike down partisanship. A good ear and a quick mind.
Do any of the current candidates strike you as up to the challenge? No? Well, let's look at this from another angle. What role does the President really play in this? While Mr. Bush grabbed as much power as he could and appointed the right people in the right places to protect this power, the role of the President is meant to be much more limited. There are three branches for a reason...yes, the President does have to lead. He needs to put forth a vision, he has to have strong conviction and he has to bring people together. But, more importantly, we have to have a Congress that is brave...has good internal leadership and is willing to bring forth brave, intelligent bills.
Do any of the current candidates strike you as being able to put forth a strong vision, to bridge the partisan gap, to lead bravely? If you said no this time, I will ask you to do me a favor. Take another look at Barack Obama. He is the person for the job. Though lacking in experience, he more than makes up for it in his vision, his conviction and his leadership skills. He is the one that will lead us out of the mess of the past eight years. He is the one that will bring this country back together and get us moving forward. He is the one that will put America back on top. He, in short, is the one. Do yourself a favor and read up on him. I will do my best to summarize his platform on this blog in the coming weeks, but do some reading yourself so you can challenge me and challenge your own current beliefs.
It took a while, but I am now excited about the coming Presidential Race. I can feel it. Good things are coming.
Saturday, May 19, 2007
Now What?
So, taking into account my brother's "been there, done that, got the t-shirt" message re my plan to get out of Iraq, I think it is important to talk about what we should be doing domestically as we begin to pull out of the conflict. So, here are some thoughts on that...
As I have stated many times in this and other posts, the basic premise of going into Iraq as a way to protect our country is a faulty one. I like to use the analogy of the house that was burglarized...when the twin towers went down, it was akin to an unwelcome intruder coming into our house and stealing from us. Taking the lives of our citizens...destroying our property and stealing our sense of security. Now, if this was your house that was burglarized, what would you do? How would you react? How would you ensure that this would not happen again or, in the very least, that it would be much less likely to happen again? Well, I suppose there are a number of common responses:
1. Call the police, file a report and then tell yourself it was a one time thing and the chances of it happening again are very slim, so just go on with life.
2. Call the police, file a report, then go out and buy the best security system you could afford to make sure that the next time someone tries to enter your house, they will be deterred.
3. Blame the police for not protecting you better and ask them to reorganize themselves. Buy an off-the-shelf security system and assign a color system to remind yourself to be more or less scared. Spend most of your time and resources arming yourself and hiring a posse to go out into your and surrounding communities looking for the people that might have burglarized your house and killing those that look suspicious..and then, when that was done to your satisfaction, go to another community that most likely wasn't involved in the burglary of your house, and do the same thing with the hunting down and the killing.
Hmm. Well, I guess the first two might be more common than the last. Unfortunately, it was the last option that was chosen as a response to the events of September 11, 2001. Rather than putting our vast resources toward protecting ourselves from a (relatively) small group of extremists, we decided that it would be best to go half way around the world and hunt down those who we believed might possibly be responsible for attacking us.
AUTHORS NOTE: I guess I should make myself clear here. Going into Afghanistan and flying some sorties and bombing the terrorist training camps is an acceptable response. It is what Clinton did to a certain extent and it is what Bush started out doing. But, as he is wont to do, he took it too far.
To give you an idea of how out of balance we are currently in regards to protecting ourselves, the 2007 budget for the Department of Homeland Security is $35 Billion. Sounds pretty hefty, eh? Now compare it to the cost of the Iraq occupation...$30 Billion. A month. That's right. We are spending nearly $2B/day or $60B/month on the war. Nearly double the annual budget of the DHS. So, going back the analogy, this would be like putting a chain link lock on your door while you spent more than your mortgage payment on the going out and hunting and killing thing.
So, what do we do? Well, as I like nice round numbers, I will present you with a five prong plan and I will patiently await my brother's scathing opinion on (Author's note...though this may come across as sarcastic, I actually do greatly value my brother's commentary as he is the smartest older brother I have).
1. Do what I said we should do (with minor edits based on my bros feedback) in the last post.
2. Start spending real money on all border security. I'm not talking the 2007 version of the Berlin Wall and I'm not talking about sending 12 million people back to Mexico (see next blog), but I am talking about real security at the borders that is effective and funnels immigrants through the appropriate channels.
3. Strenghten the appropriate channels. Whether it be highway, airport, train station or port, we MUST make our scanning capabilities more robust. I'm certain I am not the only one that has noticed that the security at some airports is more stringent than at others. We need to make sure that every airport has the most up to date security measures available. This should NOT fall on the airlines or local municipalities...this is a matter of national security and should be funded by the National Govt.
4. Work with our friends and our soon-to-be friends abroad to help them implement stronger security at their airports...the more we can work to make the screening more stringent on both ends of the journey and, thus, taking the sole imptetus off us, the better.
5. Spend as much as humanly possible on learning the culture of our perceived enemy and educating ourselves, our diplomats and our citizens on what really makes them tick. This might sound kind of crazy, but I would venture a guess that 90% of our people don't truly understand why we are hated. It certainly doesn't help that Bush makes such assinine statements like "they hate us for our freedom". That is bullshit. They hate us because everything about our society is offensive to their religious sensibilities and, if we become imperialistic at all, they would rather be dead than be subjected to our beliefs. I am not suggesting we change our ways for them, but if we better understood, we would be more knowledgeable citizens which would make us more likely to put the people in power who could effect change.
If we can make it through these steps, we are not only making ourselves more safe from terrorism, but we are making ourselves a better nation and less likely to incur any wrath from other foreign entities moving forward.
Go forward with courage.
jak
As I have stated many times in this and other posts, the basic premise of going into Iraq as a way to protect our country is a faulty one. I like to use the analogy of the house that was burglarized...when the twin towers went down, it was akin to an unwelcome intruder coming into our house and stealing from us. Taking the lives of our citizens...destroying our property and stealing our sense of security. Now, if this was your house that was burglarized, what would you do? How would you react? How would you ensure that this would not happen again or, in the very least, that it would be much less likely to happen again? Well, I suppose there are a number of common responses:
1. Call the police, file a report and then tell yourself it was a one time thing and the chances of it happening again are very slim, so just go on with life.
2. Call the police, file a report, then go out and buy the best security system you could afford to make sure that the next time someone tries to enter your house, they will be deterred.
3. Blame the police for not protecting you better and ask them to reorganize themselves. Buy an off-the-shelf security system and assign a color system to remind yourself to be more or less scared. Spend most of your time and resources arming yourself and hiring a posse to go out into your and surrounding communities looking for the people that might have burglarized your house and killing those that look suspicious..and then, when that was done to your satisfaction, go to another community that most likely wasn't involved in the burglary of your house, and do the same thing with the hunting down and the killing.
Hmm. Well, I guess the first two might be more common than the last. Unfortunately, it was the last option that was chosen as a response to the events of September 11, 2001. Rather than putting our vast resources toward protecting ourselves from a (relatively) small group of extremists, we decided that it would be best to go half way around the world and hunt down those who we believed might possibly be responsible for attacking us.
AUTHORS NOTE: I guess I should make myself clear here. Going into Afghanistan and flying some sorties and bombing the terrorist training camps is an acceptable response. It is what Clinton did to a certain extent and it is what Bush started out doing. But, as he is wont to do, he took it too far.
To give you an idea of how out of balance we are currently in regards to protecting ourselves, the 2007 budget for the Department of Homeland Security is $35 Billion. Sounds pretty hefty, eh? Now compare it to the cost of the Iraq occupation...$30 Billion. A month. That's right. We are spending nearly $2B/day or $60B/month on the war. Nearly double the annual budget of the DHS. So, going back the analogy, this would be like putting a chain link lock on your door while you spent more than your mortgage payment on the going out and hunting and killing thing.
So, what do we do? Well, as I like nice round numbers, I will present you with a five prong plan and I will patiently await my brother's scathing opinion on (Author's note...though this may come across as sarcastic, I actually do greatly value my brother's commentary as he is the smartest older brother I have).
1. Do what I said we should do (with minor edits based on my bros feedback) in the last post.
2. Start spending real money on all border security. I'm not talking the 2007 version of the Berlin Wall and I'm not talking about sending 12 million people back to Mexico (see next blog), but I am talking about real security at the borders that is effective and funnels immigrants through the appropriate channels.
3. Strenghten the appropriate channels. Whether it be highway, airport, train station or port, we MUST make our scanning capabilities more robust. I'm certain I am not the only one that has noticed that the security at some airports is more stringent than at others. We need to make sure that every airport has the most up to date security measures available. This should NOT fall on the airlines or local municipalities...this is a matter of national security and should be funded by the National Govt.
4. Work with our friends and our soon-to-be friends abroad to help them implement stronger security at their airports...the more we can work to make the screening more stringent on both ends of the journey and, thus, taking the sole imptetus off us, the better.
5. Spend as much as humanly possible on learning the culture of our perceived enemy and educating ourselves, our diplomats and our citizens on what really makes them tick. This might sound kind of crazy, but I would venture a guess that 90% of our people don't truly understand why we are hated. It certainly doesn't help that Bush makes such assinine statements like "they hate us for our freedom". That is bullshit. They hate us because everything about our society is offensive to their religious sensibilities and, if we become imperialistic at all, they would rather be dead than be subjected to our beliefs. I am not suggesting we change our ways for them, but if we better understood, we would be more knowledgeable citizens which would make us more likely to put the people in power who could effect change.
If we can make it through these steps, we are not only making ourselves more safe from terrorism, but we are making ourselves a better nation and less likely to incur any wrath from other foreign entities moving forward.
Go forward with courage.
jak
Friday, April 27, 2007
What's the Matter Here?
Imagine that you have grown sick of your current career. Imagine that you feel that your boss lacks significant vision and management skills and you think you could do it better. You have access to resources, so you know that if you do go out on your own, you would probably be well taken care of until you get your feet on the ground and your new venture starts hitting on all cylinders. So, what do you do? Do you quit and hang up your own shingle? Or do you wait until someone else notices that you do not like your job? Do you wait until that other person accuses your boss of not being very nice? And do you then allow that person to set up this new venture for you based on what they think is right? Or do you do all of the above yourself?
If you follow the first path...where someone comes in and does all the work for you, chances are, you are not going to end up much happier than you were initially. As a matter of fact, there is a decent chance that things could end up even worse. If you follow the second path, you will feel empowered. You will feel that you made things happen and that everything you ever wanted could be yours because you are in charge of your own destiny. That would seem to be the most desirable path.
I think you know where I am headed here....you see, throughout history, this same absolute truth has applied to governments. If a large enough group of citizens is not happy with their current boss, they do what is necessary to make the change. And, yes, they often times get foreign assistance, but the fight and the change is on their shoulders. Think of the French Revolution...the American Revolution...The Red Army...Mao Tse Tung. Not all revolutions that the citizens of this country were ecstatic about, but they all succeeded. And the key to their success was that they had ownership of it. The revolutionaries took it upon themselves to make the necessary sacrificies for change. The revolutionaries had a vision of how they wanted to run their country and they followed that.
And then, you have the situation in Iraq. Did the people rise up against their oppressor? Did the people have a leader who brought the country together with a common purpose and vision for what they wanted and how they wanted to be governed? A Thomas Jefferson or a Vladimir Lenin? Did the people even have a passing interest in getting rid of Saddam Hussein? I can answer the first two questions very easily....short answer, NO...long answer, Hell no. The third answer is more difficult, but I would guess that the answers to numbers one and two would lead you to believe that the answer to number 3 is the same. NO.
So, what the hell are we doing over there? To hear the current excuses, it is to establish a free and democratic society so that the people of Iraq can live a better life. Hmmm. Let's, for the moment, forget the fact that the initial reason we went over there was because the Iraqis posed an "imminent threat". Though many would argue that Bush and his minions never used these exact words, the message was loud and clear...if we don't do something now, Hussein could not be trusted to not do something crazy. Anyway, the current excuse (remember the "getting rid of Hussein made it all worth it" argument?) is that we wanted to establish a free and democratic society for the people of Iraq.
Well, here is the answer to the title of this post...What's the Matter Here? What's the matter is we went over there trying to cook up a revolution, but we had all the wrong ingredients. Hell, we even had the wrong recipe. As I stated earlier, the ingredients are pretty simple. The citizens of a country have to initiate the process. The citizens of the country have to lead the fight. The citizens of the country have to possess the vision. None of this existed or exists in Iraq. That is a big problem. The recipe is just as easy...take all of the above and stir it up. So, regardless of whether we knew the recipe or not, we decided that we would substitute ingredients and hope that would suffice. I mean, WE had the means to initiate the process. WE had convinced OUR citizens early on that the fight was worth it (had to lie, but all is fair in love and war, right?) and OUR government had a perfect vision for what the country should look like moving forward. That should work, right? What is the worst that could happen?
Well, we are witnessing the worst that could happen. A country in chaos. An occupying US force in a country that greatly resents occupying forces (especially non-Muslim ones). A situation that has no end in sight that looks the least bit attractive. A real mess.
So, now what do we do? Stay the course? Bring the troops home? Set benchmarks? Believe it or not, I have the answer. Here are the 5 steps for getting out of Iraq in the most graceful manner possible.
1. Realign the way we interact with the Iraqi Security Forces. Rather than US Forces running all the operations with the ISF sitting in the background, we need to have fewer forces and they need to have more and we need to be nothing more than advisors and trainers. This needs to happen immediately.
2. Start to slowly withdrawal troops, starting with those assigned to run operations with the ISF. They won't be needed once Step 1 is implemented.
3. Break up the country. Prior to the British playing empire builder with the Middle East after World War I, Iraq was three distinct regions. From the looks and sounds of it, they would like to be that way again. The only stumbling block seems to be the question of oil revenue and that can be managed through diplomacy and agreements.
4. Ask for help. The biggest mistake that was made in this whole debacle (outside killing tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens), was the diplomatic errors the Bush administration made that resulted in our standing in the world taking a complete nose dive. Now is the time to go back and mend those fences and build new relationships. Our relationships with our oldest allies who lost respect for us need to be mended. We need to reach out to those nations around Iraq and engage them in the peace process. Only then, will we truly be able to succeed.
5. Continue to provide the "Right" level of support for the Iraqi government. That does NOT mean fighting their battles. It DOES mean providing guidance, financial and military support. Think Israel.
Once we get to this point, we can say, with conviction, "Mission Accomplished". Let's hope it happens sooner rather than later.
If you follow the first path...where someone comes in and does all the work for you, chances are, you are not going to end up much happier than you were initially. As a matter of fact, there is a decent chance that things could end up even worse. If you follow the second path, you will feel empowered. You will feel that you made things happen and that everything you ever wanted could be yours because you are in charge of your own destiny. That would seem to be the most desirable path.
I think you know where I am headed here....you see, throughout history, this same absolute truth has applied to governments. If a large enough group of citizens is not happy with their current boss, they do what is necessary to make the change. And, yes, they often times get foreign assistance, but the fight and the change is on their shoulders. Think of the French Revolution...the American Revolution...The Red Army...Mao Tse Tung. Not all revolutions that the citizens of this country were ecstatic about, but they all succeeded. And the key to their success was that they had ownership of it. The revolutionaries took it upon themselves to make the necessary sacrificies for change. The revolutionaries had a vision of how they wanted to run their country and they followed that.
And then, you have the situation in Iraq. Did the people rise up against their oppressor? Did the people have a leader who brought the country together with a common purpose and vision for what they wanted and how they wanted to be governed? A Thomas Jefferson or a Vladimir Lenin? Did the people even have a passing interest in getting rid of Saddam Hussein? I can answer the first two questions very easily....short answer, NO...long answer, Hell no. The third answer is more difficult, but I would guess that the answers to numbers one and two would lead you to believe that the answer to number 3 is the same. NO.
So, what the hell are we doing over there? To hear the current excuses, it is to establish a free and democratic society so that the people of Iraq can live a better life. Hmmm. Let's, for the moment, forget the fact that the initial reason we went over there was because the Iraqis posed an "imminent threat". Though many would argue that Bush and his minions never used these exact words, the message was loud and clear...if we don't do something now, Hussein could not be trusted to not do something crazy. Anyway, the current excuse (remember the "getting rid of Hussein made it all worth it" argument?) is that we wanted to establish a free and democratic society for the people of Iraq.
Well, here is the answer to the title of this post...What's the Matter Here? What's the matter is we went over there trying to cook up a revolution, but we had all the wrong ingredients. Hell, we even had the wrong recipe. As I stated earlier, the ingredients are pretty simple. The citizens of a country have to initiate the process. The citizens of the country have to lead the fight. The citizens of the country have to possess the vision. None of this existed or exists in Iraq. That is a big problem. The recipe is just as easy...take all of the above and stir it up. So, regardless of whether we knew the recipe or not, we decided that we would substitute ingredients and hope that would suffice. I mean, WE had the means to initiate the process. WE had convinced OUR citizens early on that the fight was worth it (had to lie, but all is fair in love and war, right?) and OUR government had a perfect vision for what the country should look like moving forward. That should work, right? What is the worst that could happen?
Well, we are witnessing the worst that could happen. A country in chaos. An occupying US force in a country that greatly resents occupying forces (especially non-Muslim ones). A situation that has no end in sight that looks the least bit attractive. A real mess.
So, now what do we do? Stay the course? Bring the troops home? Set benchmarks? Believe it or not, I have the answer. Here are the 5 steps for getting out of Iraq in the most graceful manner possible.
1. Realign the way we interact with the Iraqi Security Forces. Rather than US Forces running all the operations with the ISF sitting in the background, we need to have fewer forces and they need to have more and we need to be nothing more than advisors and trainers. This needs to happen immediately.
2. Start to slowly withdrawal troops, starting with those assigned to run operations with the ISF. They won't be needed once Step 1 is implemented.
3. Break up the country. Prior to the British playing empire builder with the Middle East after World War I, Iraq was three distinct regions. From the looks and sounds of it, they would like to be that way again. The only stumbling block seems to be the question of oil revenue and that can be managed through diplomacy and agreements.
4. Ask for help. The biggest mistake that was made in this whole debacle (outside killing tens of thousands of innocent Iraqi citizens), was the diplomatic errors the Bush administration made that resulted in our standing in the world taking a complete nose dive. Now is the time to go back and mend those fences and build new relationships. Our relationships with our oldest allies who lost respect for us need to be mended. We need to reach out to those nations around Iraq and engage them in the peace process. Only then, will we truly be able to succeed.
5. Continue to provide the "Right" level of support for the Iraqi government. That does NOT mean fighting their battles. It DOES mean providing guidance, financial and military support. Think Israel.
Once we get to this point, we can say, with conviction, "Mission Accomplished". Let's hope it happens sooner rather than later.
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Redefining Patriotism
Since two planes were crashed into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center and another crashed into the Pentagon on September 11, 2001, the term "Patriot" has made a grand return into the political lexicon as well as that of everyday life. Patriot is defined by Webster as "one who loves his or her country and supports its authority and interests." Sounds reasonable. It described those who fought for our original liberty from the authority of Britain. It certainly described those who fought in every war since then. Including the current one. But, let me tell you what it does NOT describe...anyone who dares speak out against the current administration or the current war.
Too often these days, the current administration along with the Republicans in Congress are quick to label anyone who speaks out against the war or the president as "un-American" or "unpatriotic". This is a disgusting misuse of the word and, in all reality, is in itself an un-American thing to say.
I truly believe that one of the main issues that the majority (based on the last elections) of Americans have regarding the current administration and its partners in crime in Congress is that they have lost their way. In their zeal to recreate the country as a military superpower, they have truly lost sight of what America has been, is and will (hopefully) always be about....Freedom. Our Constitution, which is held up around the world as the most amazing political document ever conceived, is all about Freedom. Let's have a little refresher course on the Bill of Rights:
1. Freedom of Religion, Speech and Assembly
2. Right to Arm Bears...I mean, Bear Arms
3. No soldier will crash your pad during wartimes
4. No unreasonable searches and seizures
5. Right to due process in the law
6. Right to speedy and public trial
7. Right to trial by jury
8. No cruel and unusual punishment
9. Your rights are not better than anyone else's rights
10. Any rights not given to feds, given to states
So, what is with this civics lesson? What exactly does this have to do with Patriotism? And when am I going to start bashing the republicans again? Patience young Skywalkers.
So, the Republicans strike out at those of us who stand up and raise questions about the current war and how it is being waged. They call us unpatriotic and unAmerican for saying that the President has overstepped his powers. We are told that the "Patriot Act" is for our own good and we should be expected to give up some rights in the name of our fight against the evil doers. We are told that if you are not with us, you are against us. And I think many of us hear this and wonder, well, that is so freakin' asinine I am not even sure how to reply. Well, I have decided to help you with that answer.
I cannot count the number of times I have heard "Hey Jak, I have this friend who is ultra conservative...I would love to get the two of you together and watch you duke it out." My response lately has been "I would prefer not to as I find myself unable to be civil anymore. It could get ugly because I would probably end up getting personal." To that end, I have decided to help you out. So, the next time anyone calls you un Patriotic, ask the following:
"What do the following things have in common: Republican convention, The Patriot Act/unwarranted phone taps, Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib?"
"Give up?"
"They are the specific ways in which the current administration has trampled on numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of the Bill of Rights. Does that sound very patriotic to you?"
This, of course, will begin an argument of excuses that the Republicans have become so good at. "Sometimes extreme times call for extreme measures." "We are in a state of War..that means that we must all give up a little something for the preservation of the country." Junk and more Junk (otherwise known as Bullshit). What it is is a matter of not learning from past mistakes. Internment camps during the Second World War. That is something we all look back on with fondness, eh? Think we might look back in 20 years and be a bit embarassed about Gitmo? Anyone remember a certain Senator named Joseph McCarthy? A little communist witch hunt? Sound like a less formalized version of The Patriot Act, but with hard working Arab-Americans as the prey of the Federal Gov't? We have gone down this whole wartime/extreme measures thing before. It never quite turns out the way we like it to. In fact, it turns out quite badly. But, while we are on the subject, the war IS very expensive. Do you think that we should all suck it up and give our part to the war and accept a tax hike or, at the very least, not lower taxes during a time of war? Sound good? That is something we have done with great success in the past as so many "Patriotic" Americans were more than willing to give a little bit more to support those troops out there risking their lives. Not these days. So, ask your conservative friend if he is letting his pocketbook drive any of his Patriotism over the past 5 years. In fact, what, besides longer lines at the airport, discomforts has he/she experienced in the name of Patriotism? That is what I thought.
Now, I understand that Patriotism is not the only thing being discussed today, but it is brought up quite often. Over the next few weeks, we will cover other more specific topics like the Iraq War, Immigration, Taxes, Iran, China, etc. I figure I will post once a week unless something really crazy comes up. Too many blogs, too little time, ya know.
I hope you are enjoying the new blog..thanks for the great comments!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, commited citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
Too often these days, the current administration along with the Republicans in Congress are quick to label anyone who speaks out against the war or the president as "un-American" or "unpatriotic". This is a disgusting misuse of the word and, in all reality, is in itself an un-American thing to say.
I truly believe that one of the main issues that the majority (based on the last elections) of Americans have regarding the current administration and its partners in crime in Congress is that they have lost their way. In their zeal to recreate the country as a military superpower, they have truly lost sight of what America has been, is and will (hopefully) always be about....Freedom. Our Constitution, which is held up around the world as the most amazing political document ever conceived, is all about Freedom. Let's have a little refresher course on the Bill of Rights:
1. Freedom of Religion, Speech and Assembly
2. Right to Arm Bears...I mean, Bear Arms
3. No soldier will crash your pad during wartimes
4. No unreasonable searches and seizures
5. Right to due process in the law
6. Right to speedy and public trial
7. Right to trial by jury
8. No cruel and unusual punishment
9. Your rights are not better than anyone else's rights
10. Any rights not given to feds, given to states
So, what is with this civics lesson? What exactly does this have to do with Patriotism? And when am I going to start bashing the republicans again? Patience young Skywalkers.
So, the Republicans strike out at those of us who stand up and raise questions about the current war and how it is being waged. They call us unpatriotic and unAmerican for saying that the President has overstepped his powers. We are told that the "Patriot Act" is for our own good and we should be expected to give up some rights in the name of our fight against the evil doers. We are told that if you are not with us, you are against us. And I think many of us hear this and wonder, well, that is so freakin' asinine I am not even sure how to reply. Well, I have decided to help you with that answer.
I cannot count the number of times I have heard "Hey Jak, I have this friend who is ultra conservative...I would love to get the two of you together and watch you duke it out." My response lately has been "I would prefer not to as I find myself unable to be civil anymore. It could get ugly because I would probably end up getting personal." To that end, I have decided to help you out. So, the next time anyone calls you un Patriotic, ask the following:
"What do the following things have in common: Republican convention, The Patriot Act/unwarranted phone taps, Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo Bay, Guantanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib?"
"Give up?"
"They are the specific ways in which the current administration has trampled on numbers 1, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8 of the Bill of Rights. Does that sound very patriotic to you?"
This, of course, will begin an argument of excuses that the Republicans have become so good at. "Sometimes extreme times call for extreme measures." "We are in a state of War..that means that we must all give up a little something for the preservation of the country." Junk and more Junk (otherwise known as Bullshit). What it is is a matter of not learning from past mistakes. Internment camps during the Second World War. That is something we all look back on with fondness, eh? Think we might look back in 20 years and be a bit embarassed about Gitmo? Anyone remember a certain Senator named Joseph McCarthy? A little communist witch hunt? Sound like a less formalized version of The Patriot Act, but with hard working Arab-Americans as the prey of the Federal Gov't? We have gone down this whole wartime/extreme measures thing before. It never quite turns out the way we like it to. In fact, it turns out quite badly. But, while we are on the subject, the war IS very expensive. Do you think that we should all suck it up and give our part to the war and accept a tax hike or, at the very least, not lower taxes during a time of war? Sound good? That is something we have done with great success in the past as so many "Patriotic" Americans were more than willing to give a little bit more to support those troops out there risking their lives. Not these days. So, ask your conservative friend if he is letting his pocketbook drive any of his Patriotism over the past 5 years. In fact, what, besides longer lines at the airport, discomforts has he/she experienced in the name of Patriotism? That is what I thought.
Now, I understand that Patriotism is not the only thing being discussed today, but it is brought up quite often. Over the next few weeks, we will cover other more specific topics like the Iraq War, Immigration, Taxes, Iran, China, etc. I figure I will post once a week unless something really crazy comes up. Too many blogs, too little time, ya know.
I hope you are enjoying the new blog..thanks for the great comments!
"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, commited citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has." - Margaret Mead
Friday, April 6, 2007
Why do I hate President Bush?
I was sitting in the airport the other day and listening to some loud mouth next to me talk about how people talk so much about not liking Bush, but not talking enough about how others would do any better. I think, to a certain extent, he is right. Much talk (even from me) has been more about what Bush is doing wrong and how bad he is without giving much of an alternative solution. Well, I guess my response to that is this...most people I talk to have issues with Bush as a person and his moral fabric as much as they do with his policies. And this should be something that Republicans are comfortable talking about...I mean, they have a history of moving talk away from issues and focusing on "moral character"....it is interesting that now that they have a leader with questionable moral character, they are tending to want to talk about issues...well, that is not true either...they don't have a great record on issues, so they don't want to talk about that either. So, what they do is just run around calling anyone who doesn't side with them "unpatriotic". Sounds like a great way to run the country, eh?
Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but this is my first post so give me a break, eh? So, back to my original thought about why people don't like Bush. I should probably say "don't like" or "disagree with" rather than hate because "hate" is such a distasteful word. So, here are the top 5 reasons I believe people would prefer to see someone other than Bush in the White House:
5. His complete inability to speak like an educated man
4. His disregard for public debate and love for secrecy
3. His apparent inability to hear any dissenting opinions
2. His loyalty to his inner circle peeps regardless of what the evidence shows
1. His unmatched, unconstitutional power grab for the executive branch
So, it is not just issue-driven. But, I am certain that some of the issues-related problems are a direct result of the things listed above. Now, to the issues:
1. Iraq War -- as I have mentioned in one of my other world famous blogs, I truly believe that Bush screwed the pooch on this one. For a multitude of reasons
Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent, but this is my first post so give me a break, eh? So, back to my original thought about why people don't like Bush. I should probably say "don't like" or "disagree with" rather than hate because "hate" is such a distasteful word. So, here are the top 5 reasons I believe people would prefer to see someone other than Bush in the White House:
5. His complete inability to speak like an educated man
4. His disregard for public debate and love for secrecy
3. His apparent inability to hear any dissenting opinions
2. His loyalty to his inner circle peeps regardless of what the evidence shows
1. His unmatched, unconstitutional power grab for the executive branch
So, it is not just issue-driven. But, I am certain that some of the issues-related problems are a direct result of the things listed above. Now, to the issues:
1. Iraq War -- as I have mentioned in one of my other world famous blogs, I truly believe that Bush screwed the pooch on this one. For a multitude of reasons
- Iraq had nothing to do with the incidents of 9/11 and were unrelated to the War on Terror.
- The information leading to the attack on Iraq, the presence of WMDs and the "imminent" threat posed to the US (read, Israel) was false and, as far as we know, Bush knew it was spurious at best.
- Even if Iraq did have something to do with the War on Terror, the best way to protect US citizens is to protect them. Spend the billions of dollars on better airport security..post National Guardsman at Airports, not in Fallujah. Like I have said, if you think someone is going to break into your house and do damage, it is best to install a top of the line alarm system...not go out into the night trying to kill everyone who might possibly try to break into your house. It is assinine.
2. Unconstitutional Actions
- It is ironic to me that Bush and his cronys will go around calling people unpatriotic as they trample all over the constitution, and, in effect, make America less of a beacon of light to the rest of the world...For example...
- Illegal Phone taps -- direct result of the power grab. Truly, who thinks that monitoring all domestic phone calls is the best way to fight terrorism? Are you kidding me?
- Gitmo - holding people you THINK might be terrorist or have helped terrorist without cause and without due process? Does that not go completely against what this country stands for?
OK...Liska has been pulling me from this post to see her castle and other lego projects so I have lost my train of thought...to be continued. :-)
Let Freedom Ring!
jak
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