Real Thought

Well, Iraq is now on its fifth day of fratricide with no end in sight. It appears that the country may slide into civil war with the United States caught in the middle. Many are going to blame the current administration for this state of affairs but I believe this is wrong. The roots of this current outbreak of violent behavior go much deeper, back to the fundamental split between the Sunni and Shiite sects of Islam. Now bear with me, the Sunnis are the majority sect in Islam. The Shi’a are in the minority except in Iraq and Iran. What is the difference you say? Well, the Shi’a believe that Ali ibn Abi Talib, Mohammed’s nephew and cousin was the rightful sucessor to Mohammed while Sunnis believe that Abu Bakr was the rightful successor. Got that? Worldwide Shiites make up about 10 to 15 pecent of the Muslim population and in most Muslim countries they are a reviled and oppressed minority.

Now for years the Sunni minority in Iraq held power under Saddam Hussein and brutally repressed the Shi’a majority, a situation not unlike aparteid in South Africa or religious discrimination in Nothern Ireland. After Saddam was removed from power, the Shi’a majority began to take power and the Sunnis responded by resorting to acts of terrorism like blowing up the Golden Mosque in Samarra, one of Shi’a Islam’s most holy sites. Very respectful of their Muslim brothers, wouldn’t you say? Now the Shiites in Iraq want bloody revenge. I can’t say I blame them. I mean how would Catholics feel if a radical Protestant bomber destroyed St. Peter’s Basilica? Of course, Catholics and Protestants haven’t waged war against each other, with the exeption of Northern Ireland, since the 1700’s.

What should the US do? I say we should get out of Iraq. We should allow these people to kill each other until they find a solution. We don’t need to be in the middle of a civil war. We should also extend the Monroe Doctrine to the Middle East. We should let the world know that any outside interference in an Iraqi civil war will be met by US military force. Call it supporting “self-determination”. The only exception should be that we should invite the Turks to intercede and re-establish the Ottoman Empire. That should return stability to the Middle East and given that Ankara is a staunch ally of the United States, this may work out best for all concerned.

At least we now know that Islam is not a “religion of peace”. I think if I hear that line one more time I will puke.

Many people in New Orleans are rebuilding their houses at the same elevation after the floods caused by Hurricane Katrina.  According to this report, on MSNBC many New Orleans residents are rebuilding their homes at the same elevation, even though many of them were filled with as much as nine feet of water and putting their trust in a rebuilt levee system to save their homes.  Most of those deciding to do this are claiming that they can’t afford the cost of raising their homes a safe distance above sea level.  FEMA is offering up to $30,000 to each resident to help offset the cost of the work, but most claim that is only a fraction of the cost.  Most estimates run from $20,000 to $100,000.

Now don’t get me wrong, I have several friends who are residents of New Orleans and suffered through Katrina and I feel for these people, after all I live in earthquake country, but this is just silly.  No amount of money is worth your life.  To not raise your house above flood level seems to me to be the height of folly.  If you can’t afford it, move.  Get out.  Leave.  To trust that rebuilt levees will somehow keep you safe is a gamble with your life and the lives of your family.  I can’t imagine why these people would want to rebuild only to put themselves in the same danger.  Levees break, low lying areas flood, on that you can rely.

Yep, this time in Florida where 17 people were arrested after a Neo-Nazi rally staged in a predominently African-American Orlando neighborhood. According to the AP report 30 members of something called the “National Socialist Movement” marched and were followed by about “500 spectators and counter demonstrators”.

Thirty? Followed by 500 people?  That is a nearly 17 to 1 advantage for the spectators and “counter demonstrators”.  It seems to me that Fascism and Racism are on the rise in Florida!  I think more people attended my annual Christmas party than attended this “rally” and it didn’t make the AP wire.  Of course, I didn’t have 500 dupes following me around with nothing better to do.  I guess I’ll have to try harder next time.

Rob Reiner temporarily stepped down as the chairman of the “First 5 California Children and Families Commission” amid an audit and review to see if the commission illegally used public funds for a political campaign.

For those of you who don’t know, the commission is supposed to promote early childhood education and pre-school programs.  Most of its funding comes from tobacco taxes.  Mr. Reiner helped create the commission.  The current controversy concerns whether or not the commission used some of its funds to support Proposition 82, an initiative that would make pre-school for 4 year olds a state constitutional right.

There are several problems here, first how did Mr. Reiner become chairman?  I realize that he is a talented director and funny actor but when did he become an expert on early childhood education?  More importantly, why does California need a commission to promote pre-school and early childhood education?  Why is this funded by tobacco taxes?  I thought tobacco taxes were supposed to be used for smoking cessation programs and anti-tobacco ad campaigns.  Finally, why on earth do we have to make pre-school a constitutional right?  Shouldn’t a parent have the right to choose to send his or her child to pre-school?  Isn’t that what personal liberty is all about?  It sounds to me like this commission and the chairmanship of it is simply a political plum for a friend of Governor Schwarzenegger.  Currently, the “Governator” is losing points with his party and conservatives across the state.  I have a suggestion for him, how about taking Rob Reiner’s leave of absence as a chance to abolish a useless and unnecessary state commission?  Given that California is still billions of dollars in the red, that would be the right thing to do. 

Please go visit my new renter.  He is an Air Force officer who will be a political science instructor at the Air Force Academy beginning in May.  He has a background in history and security studies.  His commentary is pithy and often quite witty. 

Well, it seemed like it was a pretty busy day for terrorists.  MSNBC leads off with this headline, “Iraq attacks surge despite curfew”.  Reuters leads off with, “Al Qaeda says it carried out Saudi oil plant attack”.  Yahoo leads off with another Reuters story, “Iraq officials warn of endless civil war”.  CNN leads off with, “Iraq curfew falls to stop fresh wave of bloodshed.”  The BBC leads off with the somewhat more pithy, “Curfew fails to halt Iraq killing.”  AP leads off with, “Iraq rocked by more sectarian violence”.  ABC leads off with the previous AP story.  CBS News leads off with, “Iraq Curfew Fails to End Violence”.  NPR leads off with, “Iraq Boils Despite Curfew”.  Fox News leads off with, “Iraqi Clerics Reach Peace Agreement”. UPI leads off with, “UAE terminal takeover extends to 21 ports.”  Finally, Radio Switzerland leads off with, “Four man bob team wins bronze”.

OK, with the exception of Reuters, Fox, UPI and Radio Switzerland I am beginning to detect a pattern here.  All three major networks; NBC, CBS and ABC lead off with the same story as does BBC, CNN, NPR and AP.  All of these sources lead by telling us how horrible it is in Iraq.  Clearly this is no sign of anti-war bias.  Only Fox leads with any positive story about Iraq today and Radio Switzerland ignores Iraq in its lead.  Now I ask you, is the American public getting the whole truth or are they being spoon fed a version of the truth by the media?  I believe it is the latter.  We are supposed to have a free press in the United States in order to foster public awareness and debate.  Instead, we have seven major news outlets, supposedly in competition, all leading with virtually identical stories about the same event.  This is not freedom of the press, gentle readers, this is monopoly and distortion of the truth.  How are a free people supposed to remain free if they are not given the entire story?  How are we supposed to make up our minds if the major media outlets in this country engage in de facto censorship because of their own political agenda?  I would argue that we cannot remain free.  Instead, we will fall into a benevolent dictatorship with the trappings of a republic and go the way of the Roman Republic before us and slide into an imperial morass.  Some say that this has already occurred.  In some ways, I agree.  Getting elected to Congress has become a lifetime sinecure and petty unelected officials make decisions which effect people’s lives and national security without reference to the electorate which they supposedly serve.

Can this slide toward imperialist policies be stopped?  Yes, it can.  We need to make sure that we elect servants who understand the founding documents of this country.  They need to be strict constructionists and refuse to immorally and unconstitutionally assume more power than they have been granted.  We need public servants who will begin to dismantle the imperial bureaucracy which has become entrenched at the state and Federal levels and return liberty and responsibility to the people, where it rightfully belongs.

So, now the Congress is in an uproar about a Dubai based company takeing over management of six US ports. It appears that P&O is being purchased by Dubai Ports World Incorporated, a company wholly owned by the government of the UAE. No one rased a wimper of protest when the management of the ports was given over to a British based company. DP World has a good security and safety record and the UAE is one of the few real allies we have in the Middle East, so what is the problem?

As I see it, the problem is twofold. First, this decision was made without public scrutiny. It smacks of a smoke fulled rooms and back door deals. Second, many Americans have a great deal of trepidation about handing the management of US port facilities to an Arab company, even one which has a good safety and security record. Given the state of our relations with most of the Arab world, this is not an unfounded fear. DP World already manages the terminal facilites at Jebel in the UAE, Adelaide in Australia, Yantian, Shanghai, Yantai, Tianjin and Hong Kong in the PRC, Constanta in Rumania, Gemerschiem in Germany, Puerto Caucedo in the Dominican Republic, Puerto Cabello in Venezuela, Cochin in India, Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, Visakhapatnam in India and the port of Djibouti. It is planning new facilities at Pusan in the ROK, Cochin in India and Yarimca in Turkey.

Now, do I believe that the deal should go through? Personally, I’d like to see a US company manage US ports, but given that only Halliburton or KBR may be able to do that on such a massive scale, perhaps Dubai Ports World is the best candidate. I just wish this deal had been done in the open and not behind closed doors.

A comment about women’s bobsledding on NBC, “A lot of women are having trouble in this spot. They aren’t going down like you would like them to go down.”

Ahh, yes, another amagamated holiday. We take the birthdays of the Father of Our Country and The Great Emancipator and smoosh them together into another meaningless three day weekend for most Americans. Not all, however, it is another excuse for retailers to offer us a sale on clothes, appliances, toiletries and automobiles. I propose we use this day to examine the legacy of the American presidents. My choice this year is this man:

 

 

William Henry Harrison of Virginia, famed indian fighter. Harrison defeated the Indian Confederacy led by Tecumseh at the Battle of Tippecanoe and the Battle of the Thames securing what would become most of the mid-west for the United States. He served as the governor of the Indiana Territory for twelve years. His legacy as president?  He had Daniel Webster edit his inaugural speech and then he died in office from pneunoma less than a month after his inauguration becoming the first president to die in office. This great president has been ignored for too long. So on this President’s Day, I believe that we should honor William Henry Harrison for his great contributions to the legacy of the White House. 

Not the People’s Republic of China but the People’s Republic of California.  Today, Jenn and I went shopping at a local grocery store.  This store happens to be running a terrific sale on various snack foods.  Now Jenn and I don’t buy a lot of snack food, we try to eat healthy but this time we couldn’t resist.  We bought 10 bags of Chex Mix for 10 bucks.  As we are checking out the clerk starts telling us how bad this stuff is for us, babbling on about “hydrogenated soy-bean oil” and such.

Ok, Mr. Macrobiotic five dollar an hour man, I passed Biology 101 in college.  I know how bad saturated fats can be for you.  I was an AAU ranked swimmer in high school, back in the days when “carb loading” was a good thing.  I am now in my mid 40’s, weigh about 180 pounds (81.8 kg or 13 stone) and I can choose my snack foods without your help.  Just ring and bag the groceries, thanks!