Before I start out today, I spotted an article on “Slate” this morning that says why the war in Iraq is guaranteed to fail. Reference back to my post yesterday (Jan 5).
Also, thanks to my friend Lance, who emailed me the text referred to from Richard A. Clarke, describing the failures of the current administration.
Let me say once again in opening that I am most assuredly, not anti-semitic. As a Christian, I am deeply reverential to Judaism. Jesus was a Jew, let us not forget. In the church that I attend, it is a regular part of the liturgy that we review that which was written in the Old Testament. After all, how can one be on a spiritual journey if one does not have his (or her) bearings from the past?
History is replete with examples of how the Jews have been subjected to scorn, derision and outright hatred through the ages. Yet, for all their suffering, the Jewish people steadfastly proclaim their love for, and belief in our Creator. Indeed, it was the Jews who were the first to author monotheism, the belief in one and only one God. If not for the Hebrews in ancient Egypt, we might still be worshipping a Sun God, a Rain God, etc. etc.
Now, some things about the modern state of Israel. Did you know:
The cell phone was developed in Israel by Israelis working in the Israeli branch of Motorola, which has its largest development center in Israel.
Both the Pentium-4 microprocessor and the Centrino processor were entirely designed, developed and produced in Israel.
Israel produces more scientific papers per capita than any other nation by a large margin-109 per 10,000 people -- as well as one of the highest per capita rates of patents filed.
With more than 3,000 high-tech companies and startups, Israel has the highest concentration of hi-tech companies in the world -- apart from the Silicon Valley, U.S.
Outside the United States and Canada, Israel has the largest number of NASDAQ listed companies.
Relative to its population, Israel is the largest immigrant-absorbing nation on earth. Immigrants come in search of democracy, religious freedom, and economic opportunity. (Hundreds of thousands from the former Soviet Union)
Israel was the first nation in the world to adopt the Kimberly process, an international standard that certifies diamonds as "conflict free."
An Israeli company developed a computerized system for ensuring proper administration of medications, thus removing human error from medical treatment. Every year in U. S. hospitals 7,000 patients die from treatment mistakes.
A new acne treatment developed in Israel, the Clear Light device, produces a high-intensity, ultraviolet-light-free, narrow-band blue light that causes acne bacteria to self-destruct -- all without damaging surrounding skin or tissue.
Now, my question, guaranteed to raise blood pressure:
With all of these technological firsts, with the largest Air Force and Military in the Middle East, why can’t Israel come to grips with the fact that ‘Peace’ cannot be imposed. To date, Israel has only ratified peace treaties with Egypt and Jordan.
To be sure, the government of Israel is not the people of Israel. Looking back over the years, it’s been fairly evident to me that people can get along quite well. Once they group together, however, and form governments, troubles are inevitable. So why, when the government of Israel says it wants Peace, does it turn around and build another settlement in the occupied territories? In describing Yasser Arafat and the Palestinians, one foreign minister made the observation that, “.. (the Palestinians) never miss an opportunity to miss an opportunity.” In recent weeks, the government of Israel announced that it was easing restrictions to make it possible for Palestinians to enter Israel to work. Some border checkpoints have been ‘opened up’ as a ‘sign’ of normalization of relations. Almost in the next sentence, Israel announced that another settlement will go forward in the occupied territory. And so it goes, with one step forward and two steps back. How long will it take before the people of Israel wake up to understand that the settelements are the reason for the state of virtual war between Israel and the Palestinian people?
As stated at the outset, there is no non-Jewish person out there with as great a love for the Jewish people as myself. It grieves me so deeply to see the people I love victimized by suicide bombers. Yet, at the same time I can see how people who see no future for themselves but to live as second-class citizens in Israel will sacrifice themselves to inflict a like amount of suffering on the Jewish people.
In 1995, there was a short time when it looked like there could finally be an agreement to cease hostilities when Yasser Arafat and Yitzak Rabin announced that they had settled on terms for a peaceful resolution of the decades-long struggle between their people. In less than a month Yitzak Rabin was assassinated at a peace rally, not by a Palestinian, but a Jewish youth, a member of a fundamentalist faction. We came so close…
So close..
Let the hate mail begin.
Tomorrow: The Naked Truth
Today is January 6th; only 745 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.
Saturday, January 6, 2007
Friday, January 5, 2007
FWIW - A Real Conundrum
Writing in the Washington Post on December 31, Richard A. Clarke, the former National Coordinator for Counterterrorism lists 7 areas that the Bush Administration has totally neglected while focusing on the war in Iraq.
These seven areas each have the potential to undermine U.S. security worldwide as much as Iraq, but are literally being ignored while the Idiot In Chief pursues “victory” in a war that should never have been launched in the first place.
Number One ~ Global warming: When the possibility of invading Iraq surfaced in 2001, senior Bush administration officials hadn't thought much about global warming, except to wonder whether it was caused by human activity or by sunspots. Today, the world's scientists and many national leaders worry that the world has passed the point of no return on global warming. If it has, then human damage to the ecosphere will cause more major cities to flood and make the planet significantly less conducive to human habitation -- all over the lifetime of a child now in kindergarten.
Number Two ~ Russian revanchism: When Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bush leave office in rapid succession in 2008 and 2009, it seems likely that Russia will be less of a democracy and less inclined to cooperate with Washington than it was six years ago, when Bush stared into the eyes and looked into the heart of the Russian leader. Given her extensive background in Soviet studies, Condoleezza Rice would have been a natural to work on key U.S.-Russian issues, first as national security adviser and now as secretary of state. But the focus on Iraq has precluded such efforts.
Number Three ~ Latin America's leftist lurch: In the years before the Iraq war, U.S. presidents were welcomed at summits throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, the attacks of Sept. 11 found then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in South America, visiting one area of the world where U.S. policies had worked. Friendly, democratic governments were in power in every nation in the hemisphere except Cuba.
Today, Castro has been replaced, but not just by another Cuban dictator. The leader of the hemisphere's new anti-Yankee alliance is Hugo Chávez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. Chávez's anti-U.S. campaign is supported by Cuban intelligence and Venezuelan oil money. By 2006, Venezuela and Cuba were not alone in their opposition to Washington; kindred spirits have been elected in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Number Four ~ Africa at war: The genocide spilling from the Darfur region of Sudan into neighboring Chad has captured attention in the United States mainly because of (belated) media coverage and an aggressive advocacy campaign by concerned groups, but the prospects of Washington dealing with the problem seem slim. Darfur, however, is only one of a pox of conflicts that, together with HIV/AIDS, are depopulating parts of Africa and robbing it of potential wealth from mineral, oil and gas deposits. Wars have also raged in Chad, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Were it not for the Iraq war, Washington may have acted to stop what the Bush administration admits is genocide in Darfur, or taken steps to prevent the chaos sweeping Somalia after a group affiliated with al-Qaeda took over the country and left Ethiopia no choice but to invade in hopes of preventing a more disastrous war.
Number Five ~ Arms control freeze: Once atop several administrations' national security agendas, international arms control has received little White House attention since the Bush administration decided early on to walk away from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley has extensive government experience working on arms control and he began to focus on this turf in early 2001, when he was number two at the National Security Council. But after 9/11, Hadley has had little opportunity to advance international efforts to control biological weapons, nuclear testing and proliferation, or the threat of nuclear or radioactive terrorist weapons
Number Six ~ Transnational crime: In a nationally televised address in 1989, President George H.W. Bush held aloft a bag of cocaine that had been sold near the White House and declared a "War on Drugs." That initiative was later enlarged to target the international criminal cartels engaged in human trafficking, gun and contraband smuggling, money laundering and cyber fraud. The momentum from these efforts produced international treaties to combat hidden global crime conglomerates, but the White House leadership necessary to coordinate dozens of U.S. agencies and mobilize other nations has dissipated. Moreover, the world's international crime cartels received a major shot in the arm with the occupation of Afghanistan by NATO forces. From relatively low levels of heroin production in 2001, Afghanistan's economy is now dependent upon the widespread cultivation of heroin that is flooding black markets in Europe and Asia. With most of the U.S. Army either in Iraq, heading to Iraq or returning from Iraq, insufficient U.S. forces were available to prevent the once-liberated Afghanistan from morphing into a narco-state.
Number Seven ~ The Pakistani-Afghan border: Afghanistan increasingly receives the attention of senior U.S. policymakers, not because of the narcotics problem, but mainly because the once-defeated Taliban again threaten Afghan and coalition forces. However, if there is a solution, it lies on the other side of the Khyber Pass where a sanctuary has emerged, a Taliban-like state within a state in western Pakistan. Dealing with that problem is more than Washington has been willing or able to handle, for it involves the complex issue of who governs nuclear-armed Pakistan and how.
Thus far, Washington has accepted Gen. Pervez Musharraf's half-hearted measures for dealing with the nuclear proliferation network of A.Q. Khan, addressing the terrorist involvement of Pakistani intelligence and controlling the Taliban/al-Qaeda bases in Waziristan. Getting Pakistan to do more would require a major sustained effort by senior U.S. officials, including addressing the longstanding tensions with India. Because of Iraq, Washington's national security gurus do not have the hours in their days to manage that -- nor the troops needed to secure Afghanistan.
As the president contemplates sending even more U.S. forces into the Iraqi sinkhole, he should consider not only the thousands of fatalities, the tens of thousands of casualties and the hundreds of billions of dollars already lost. He must also weigh the opportunity cost of taking his national security barons off all the other critical problems they should be addressing -- problems whose windows of opportunity are slamming shut, unheard over the wail of Baghdad sirens.
And so, these crises simmer in the background waiting for “The Decider”, as he calls himself, to decide if he wants to tackle them, or, more likely, leave them for the next President to deal with.
And what are we, the American people to do? We could really get angry enough over this dereliction of duty to push for Impeachment. And, there would be adequate grounds: the President lied when he said, “We KNOW (emphasis added) that Iraq under Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.” That was a deliberate lie to back up his reasoning for going to war against Iraq. Look up “..to know” in the dictionary. To “know” is to “have probative information…(or data)”. President Bush had no such information. The White House spin then became, “…we certainly believed, as did other countries…” blah blah blah. The President played the fear card while 9/11 was still strong in our collective memory in order to promote a war of choice against a country that had no desire to strike at the United States.
So, yes, we could impeach Mr. Bush. It would be the most rancorous Impeachment trial since Richard Nixon. Given his already low public opinion ratings, the impeachment would likely be successful and he, like Richard Nixon would have to step down in disgrace.
That leaves the question of successor; Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney. And therein lies the conundrum.
Today is January 5th; only 746 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: Honestly, I am not anti-semitic!
Richard A. Clarke is chairman of Good Harbor Consulting and author of “Against All Enemies” (Free Press) and “Breakpoint” (Putnam)
These seven areas each have the potential to undermine U.S. security worldwide as much as Iraq, but are literally being ignored while the Idiot In Chief pursues “victory” in a war that should never have been launched in the first place.
Number One ~ Global warming: When the possibility of invading Iraq surfaced in 2001, senior Bush administration officials hadn't thought much about global warming, except to wonder whether it was caused by human activity or by sunspots. Today, the world's scientists and many national leaders worry that the world has passed the point of no return on global warming. If it has, then human damage to the ecosphere will cause more major cities to flood and make the planet significantly less conducive to human habitation -- all over the lifetime of a child now in kindergarten.
Number Two ~ Russian revanchism: When Russian President Vladimir Putin and Bush leave office in rapid succession in 2008 and 2009, it seems likely that Russia will be less of a democracy and less inclined to cooperate with Washington than it was six years ago, when Bush stared into the eyes and looked into the heart of the Russian leader. Given her extensive background in Soviet studies, Condoleezza Rice would have been a natural to work on key U.S.-Russian issues, first as national security adviser and now as secretary of state. But the focus on Iraq has precluded such efforts.
Number Three ~ Latin America's leftist lurch: In the years before the Iraq war, U.S. presidents were welcomed at summits throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. Indeed, the attacks of Sept. 11 found then-Secretary of State Colin L. Powell in South America, visiting one area of the world where U.S. policies had worked. Friendly, democratic governments were in power in every nation in the hemisphere except Cuba.
Today, Castro has been replaced, but not just by another Cuban dictator. The leader of the hemisphere's new anti-Yankee alliance is Hugo Chávez, the democratically elected president of Venezuela. Chávez's anti-U.S. campaign is supported by Cuban intelligence and Venezuelan oil money. By 2006, Venezuela and Cuba were not alone in their opposition to Washington; kindred spirits have been elected in Bolivia, Ecuador and Nicaragua.
Number Four ~ Africa at war: The genocide spilling from the Darfur region of Sudan into neighboring Chad has captured attention in the United States mainly because of (belated) media coverage and an aggressive advocacy campaign by concerned groups, but the prospects of Washington dealing with the problem seem slim. Darfur, however, is only one of a pox of conflicts that, together with HIV/AIDS, are depopulating parts of Africa and robbing it of potential wealth from mineral, oil and gas deposits. Wars have also raged in Chad, Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone and Somalia. Were it not for the Iraq war, Washington may have acted to stop what the Bush administration admits is genocide in Darfur, or taken steps to prevent the chaos sweeping Somalia after a group affiliated with al-Qaeda took over the country and left Ethiopia no choice but to invade in hopes of preventing a more disastrous war.
Number Five ~ Arms control freeze: Once atop several administrations' national security agendas, international arms control has received little White House attention since the Bush administration decided early on to walk away from the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty. National security adviser Stephen J. Hadley has extensive government experience working on arms control and he began to focus on this turf in early 2001, when he was number two at the National Security Council. But after 9/11, Hadley has had little opportunity to advance international efforts to control biological weapons, nuclear testing and proliferation, or the threat of nuclear or radioactive terrorist weapons
Number Six ~ Transnational crime: In a nationally televised address in 1989, President George H.W. Bush held aloft a bag of cocaine that had been sold near the White House and declared a "War on Drugs." That initiative was later enlarged to target the international criminal cartels engaged in human trafficking, gun and contraband smuggling, money laundering and cyber fraud. The momentum from these efforts produced international treaties to combat hidden global crime conglomerates, but the White House leadership necessary to coordinate dozens of U.S. agencies and mobilize other nations has dissipated. Moreover, the world's international crime cartels received a major shot in the arm with the occupation of Afghanistan by NATO forces. From relatively low levels of heroin production in 2001, Afghanistan's economy is now dependent upon the widespread cultivation of heroin that is flooding black markets in Europe and Asia. With most of the U.S. Army either in Iraq, heading to Iraq or returning from Iraq, insufficient U.S. forces were available to prevent the once-liberated Afghanistan from morphing into a narco-state.
Number Seven ~ The Pakistani-Afghan border: Afghanistan increasingly receives the attention of senior U.S. policymakers, not because of the narcotics problem, but mainly because the once-defeated Taliban again threaten Afghan and coalition forces. However, if there is a solution, it lies on the other side of the Khyber Pass where a sanctuary has emerged, a Taliban-like state within a state in western Pakistan. Dealing with that problem is more than Washington has been willing or able to handle, for it involves the complex issue of who governs nuclear-armed Pakistan and how.
Thus far, Washington has accepted Gen. Pervez Musharraf's half-hearted measures for dealing with the nuclear proliferation network of A.Q. Khan, addressing the terrorist involvement of Pakistani intelligence and controlling the Taliban/al-Qaeda bases in Waziristan. Getting Pakistan to do more would require a major sustained effort by senior U.S. officials, including addressing the longstanding tensions with India. Because of Iraq, Washington's national security gurus do not have the hours in their days to manage that -- nor the troops needed to secure Afghanistan.
As the president contemplates sending even more U.S. forces into the Iraqi sinkhole, he should consider not only the thousands of fatalities, the tens of thousands of casualties and the hundreds of billions of dollars already lost. He must also weigh the opportunity cost of taking his national security barons off all the other critical problems they should be addressing -- problems whose windows of opportunity are slamming shut, unheard over the wail of Baghdad sirens.
And so, these crises simmer in the background waiting for “The Decider”, as he calls himself, to decide if he wants to tackle them, or, more likely, leave them for the next President to deal with.
And what are we, the American people to do? We could really get angry enough over this dereliction of duty to push for Impeachment. And, there would be adequate grounds: the President lied when he said, “We KNOW (emphasis added) that Iraq under Saddam Hussein has weapons of mass destruction.” That was a deliberate lie to back up his reasoning for going to war against Iraq. Look up “..to know” in the dictionary. To “know” is to “have probative information…(or data)”. President Bush had no such information. The White House spin then became, “…we certainly believed, as did other countries…” blah blah blah. The President played the fear card while 9/11 was still strong in our collective memory in order to promote a war of choice against a country that had no desire to strike at the United States.
So, yes, we could impeach Mr. Bush. It would be the most rancorous Impeachment trial since Richard Nixon. Given his already low public opinion ratings, the impeachment would likely be successful and he, like Richard Nixon would have to step down in disgrace.
That leaves the question of successor; Richard ‘Dick’ Cheney. And therein lies the conundrum.
Today is January 5th; only 746 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: Honestly, I am not anti-semitic!
Richard A. Clarke is chairman of Good Harbor Consulting and author of “Against All Enemies” (Free Press) and “Breakpoint” (Putnam)
Thursday, January 4, 2007
FWIW – Bits and Pieces; Odd tidbits from here and there
It appears that Texas, formerly known for being the largest state in the Union is now on track for making it possible for the legally blind to enjoy that all-American sport of….hunting. I mean, why shouldn’t those who can’t see be deprived of the pleasure of feeling the recoil of a 30-ought six Marlin? Or, that heady aroma of Kordite? Why, indeed? Considering that they couldn’t do any worse than our own Vice-President in the marksmanship category, it’s really academic, don’t you think? To be fair, there is supposed to be a provision that such persons be accompanied by a sighted person. Standing political correctness on its head, however, we wouldn’t hold our breath waiting for that little caveat to actually find its way into the final legislation.
Wesley Autrey didn’t consider himself a hero. Serving in the Armed Forces, he never thought that his training would result in saving a human life. By now we’re certain that you’ve heard of his valor, jumping onto the tracks in a New York subway to save the life of a young man who had fallen onto the tracks as a train approached. How he had held the man down in the narrow trough and kept the young man’s arms down as he felt the train brush his cap as it passed over the two of them. Interviewed after the incident, Autrey allowed as how it must have been his military training that kicked in when he saw another human in peril. How many of us can, in all honesty, say that they would have done likewise? The next time you see someone in military uniform, no matter what branch, you might want to think to yourself, “We have the finest, the bravest men and women in our country’s service!”
Some time ago, I emailed a few close friends that I foresaw the assassination of Pakistani President Musharraf. Although I still believe that the act will occur, apparently I was mistaken about the time frame. The context was in the day after announcement that the United States and India had signed a historic nuclear accord which will vastly increase India’s access to nuclear technology. As I interpreted the event, those jihadist forces in Pakistan would be enraged that Pervez Musharraf would allow such to take place without raising the slightest objection. Also, there have been two attempts (that we know about, that is) on Musharraf’s life in the past, we thought that the third time might be the ‘charmed’. Musharraf may still be alive, but we stand by our belief that he is living on borrowed time.
The Democrats have assumed control of the House and the Senate today. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have their work cut out for them. They will, predictably start out with the low-hanging fruit (the easiest legislation to pass), increasing the minimum wage nationally. Funny, many states are already on board, having raised their own minimums. What is even more remarkable is that they have not experienced any financial ill effects. Maybe that’s because those in the lower financial brackets who are given more money tend to spend it almost immediately, therefore putting more money in circulation in local economies. One might be tempted to think that such increased circulation would feed inflation at the local level. But, they would be wrong, given that good old capitalistic competitive forces are holding that number down, just like they were designed. What a concept!
We invite all of you who read our blog to bookmark it (or designate it as one of your ‘favorites’ (for Internet Explorer users). We also appreciate it when you forward our humble little bit of personal journalism to your friends.
As always, we also appreciate it when we receive feedback (both positive and negative) from our readers. The marketplace of free ideas and the exchange of ideas is part of the great cornerstone to our cherished First Amendment to the Constitution.
Today is January 4th, 2007; only 747 days until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: A real conundrum.
Wesley Autrey didn’t consider himself a hero. Serving in the Armed Forces, he never thought that his training would result in saving a human life. By now we’re certain that you’ve heard of his valor, jumping onto the tracks in a New York subway to save the life of a young man who had fallen onto the tracks as a train approached. How he had held the man down in the narrow trough and kept the young man’s arms down as he felt the train brush his cap as it passed over the two of them. Interviewed after the incident, Autrey allowed as how it must have been his military training that kicked in when he saw another human in peril. How many of us can, in all honesty, say that they would have done likewise? The next time you see someone in military uniform, no matter what branch, you might want to think to yourself, “We have the finest, the bravest men and women in our country’s service!”
Some time ago, I emailed a few close friends that I foresaw the assassination of Pakistani President Musharraf. Although I still believe that the act will occur, apparently I was mistaken about the time frame. The context was in the day after announcement that the United States and India had signed a historic nuclear accord which will vastly increase India’s access to nuclear technology. As I interpreted the event, those jihadist forces in Pakistan would be enraged that Pervez Musharraf would allow such to take place without raising the slightest objection. Also, there have been two attempts (that we know about, that is) on Musharraf’s life in the past, we thought that the third time might be the ‘charmed’. Musharraf may still be alive, but we stand by our belief that he is living on borrowed time.
The Democrats have assumed control of the House and the Senate today. Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid have their work cut out for them. They will, predictably start out with the low-hanging fruit (the easiest legislation to pass), increasing the minimum wage nationally. Funny, many states are already on board, having raised their own minimums. What is even more remarkable is that they have not experienced any financial ill effects. Maybe that’s because those in the lower financial brackets who are given more money tend to spend it almost immediately, therefore putting more money in circulation in local economies. One might be tempted to think that such increased circulation would feed inflation at the local level. But, they would be wrong, given that good old capitalistic competitive forces are holding that number down, just like they were designed. What a concept!
We invite all of you who read our blog to bookmark it (or designate it as one of your ‘favorites’ (for Internet Explorer users). We also appreciate it when you forward our humble little bit of personal journalism to your friends.
As always, we also appreciate it when we receive feedback (both positive and negative) from our readers. The marketplace of free ideas and the exchange of ideas is part of the great cornerstone to our cherished First Amendment to the Constitution.
Today is January 4th, 2007; only 747 days until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: A real conundrum.
Wednesday, January 3, 2007
FWIW – That Was The Year That Was
And the last week kind of summed up the year. A year of stark contrasts. Two people left their mark on our society. One performer who gave us fifty years. Another helped us heal after a painful decade in which our belief in our own values was sorely tested. The third and final was a beast that we helped build through our own stupidity and the people he terrorized worked their own system of justice to dispatch him.
Alan Freed hosted his dj show on WINS – AM 1010 in the 50’s. You’ll recall that he coined the phrase rock ‘n roll playing James Brown, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard, Billie Ward and the Dominoes; you get the idea. Freed would open up the studio microphone while he beat on a phone book in cadence to James Brown and The Famous Flames. This was the halcyon age. In the fifty years since, no performer has ever come close to claiming the title of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business”. James Brown, an American Original – we are richer for the talent he possessed and poorer without him.
Gerald Rudolph Ford didn’t have presidential aspirations. After a college career where he excelled at football (his jersey #42 has now been retired; a fitting tribute from his favorite Wolverines), he honorably served this country in our Navy, then moved into public service.
When you’re re-elected to the same congressional seat 13 times, each time with a 60% approval rating, it’s a pretty good indicator that you’re serving the folks back home, not your political ambitions. Quiet decency is what his constituents in Grand Rapids rewarded by electing him each of those 13 times.
Of course no good deed goes unpunished. True to form, Chistopher Hitchens, writing in the online journal “Slate” attempts a real hatchet job on the 38th President, but I wonder if Hitchens remembers just what the national mood was like back in 1974. The Watergate scandal exposed the pettiness and meanness of the President and his cohorts; the venal measures they employed to virtually subvert the Constitution. After August 9th, Gerald Ford assumed the office and shortly thereafter proclaimed that “…the national nightmare is now over”. Of course, with his pardon of Richard Nixon a scant month later, many Americans (myself included) wondered if it really was. Looking back thirty-some years, we’ve come to realize that he really did have it right. President Ford knew the importance of moving on even then. History is a fairer judge of the man known as ‘the accidental president’ than we were, or that Chris Hitchens could ever be. Dignity. Honor. Decency. Just the qualities that we should seek in those who aspire to the highest level of public service.
And then we have the flip side of the coin. Saddam Hussein. Right up there with the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Pinochet, Shah Reza Palavi. How ironic the image of Donald Rumsfeld paying tribute to Gerald Ford, juxtaposed to the image on CNN just a few days earlier with Rumsfeld buddying up with Hussein right after we sold billions of dollars of military hardware to Iraq. Is that a cruel irony or what? “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, or so goes the saying in that region of the world. And, since we loathed Iran for taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, we thought it clever to have Saddam Hussein inflict death and destruction on Iran in our stead.
As stated at the outset, we had a great part in building that beast, and the blood of those thousands of Kurds and Shia that stained his hands in part was made possible by our own complicity. Good riddance, Saddam. We ourselves will still see our own face in the mirror while your ghostly countenance will haunt our nightmares for years to come.
Today is January 3rd; 748 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: Bits and pieces from everywhere.
Alan Freed hosted his dj show on WINS – AM 1010 in the 50’s. You’ll recall that he coined the phrase rock ‘n roll playing James Brown, Fats Domino, The Platters, Little Richard, Billie Ward and the Dominoes; you get the idea. Freed would open up the studio microphone while he beat on a phone book in cadence to James Brown and The Famous Flames. This was the halcyon age. In the fifty years since, no performer has ever come close to claiming the title of “The Hardest Working Man in Show Business”. James Brown, an American Original – we are richer for the talent he possessed and poorer without him.
Gerald Rudolph Ford didn’t have presidential aspirations. After a college career where he excelled at football (his jersey #42 has now been retired; a fitting tribute from his favorite Wolverines), he honorably served this country in our Navy, then moved into public service.
When you’re re-elected to the same congressional seat 13 times, each time with a 60% approval rating, it’s a pretty good indicator that you’re serving the folks back home, not your political ambitions. Quiet decency is what his constituents in Grand Rapids rewarded by electing him each of those 13 times.
Of course no good deed goes unpunished. True to form, Chistopher Hitchens, writing in the online journal “Slate” attempts a real hatchet job on the 38th President, but I wonder if Hitchens remembers just what the national mood was like back in 1974. The Watergate scandal exposed the pettiness and meanness of the President and his cohorts; the venal measures they employed to virtually subvert the Constitution. After August 9th, Gerald Ford assumed the office and shortly thereafter proclaimed that “…the national nightmare is now over”. Of course, with his pardon of Richard Nixon a scant month later, many Americans (myself included) wondered if it really was. Looking back thirty-some years, we’ve come to realize that he really did have it right. President Ford knew the importance of moving on even then. History is a fairer judge of the man known as ‘the accidental president’ than we were, or that Chris Hitchens could ever be. Dignity. Honor. Decency. Just the qualities that we should seek in those who aspire to the highest level of public service.
And then we have the flip side of the coin. Saddam Hussein. Right up there with the likes of Hitler, Stalin, Mussolini, Pol Pot, Idi Amin, Pinochet, Shah Reza Palavi. How ironic the image of Donald Rumsfeld paying tribute to Gerald Ford, juxtaposed to the image on CNN just a few days earlier with Rumsfeld buddying up with Hussein right after we sold billions of dollars of military hardware to Iraq. Is that a cruel irony or what? “The enemy of my enemy is my friend”, or so goes the saying in that region of the world. And, since we loathed Iran for taking 52 Americans hostage for 444 days, we thought it clever to have Saddam Hussein inflict death and destruction on Iran in our stead.
As stated at the outset, we had a great part in building that beast, and the blood of those thousands of Kurds and Shia that stained his hands in part was made possible by our own complicity. Good riddance, Saddam. We ourselves will still see our own face in the mirror while your ghostly countenance will haunt our nightmares for years to come.
Today is January 3rd; 748 days left until the end of the Bush Administration.
Tomorrow: Bits and pieces from everywhere.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
