Month: February 2014

Run Hillary Run?

All of us political junkies know that there is an election in 2014, what some call the mid-terms and then the bigger will be just 2 years away….the 2016 presidential election.  We still do not have a clear picture of who will be running from each of the two parties…we have our faves like Cruz, Paul, Bush, Biden, Warren and of course the ever present Clinton……

If you are a liberal you know what is being said about Hillary and of course her hubby, Big Bubba……if you are a conserv you have your ideas and beliefs about her and her hubby…….and the wild accusations will fly rampant if she decides to run…….but there is ammo for the GOP and its spin doctors……

Now that the journals of Hillary Clinton’s late best friend, Diane Blair, have come to light, is there anything about the former secretary of state we don’t know? That’s the question on Frank Bruni’s mind. He’s not saying the Washington Free Beacon shouldn’t have printed the information it found in the journals. But, he writes in the New York Times, he wonders: “How many decent, gifted people who contemplate public office look at what someone like Hillary endures and step away? And the people who aren’t scared off: How cold and hard are they, or how cold and hard do they become?” Bruni likens Clinton to “a carcass” that “with a tireless zest, we pick … clean.” But in the Washington Examiner, Byron York says all of this is fair game. If Clinton runs for president in 2016, some voters will be people who weren’t even born when Bill Clinton took his first oath of office. They need to be educated about Hillary Clinton’s past, just as voters learned about Mitt Romney’s 1980s business deals, John Kerry’s Vietnam war record, or George W. Bush’s military service controversy from the 1960s. Clinton’s actions from the 1970s onward reveal “something about who Clinton was and still is,” and examining those actions “will help define Mrs. Clinton for millions of voters who weren’t around or weren’t paying attention in the 1990s.” His full column here, Bruni’s here.

I can imagine that this will give ammo to her opponents and that they will begin using it as soon as possible….even though there is NO clear indication that she will run……..

Come on people…..let the opinions fly….I am Listening……

Is It Growing Or Dying?

For many years we hear, reading and see all kinds of reports on the government….some say it is growing exponentially and others write that it is slowly withering away to a mere shell of its former self…..reports have been done for both sides of the argument….white papers are flying off the presses….and news anchors (depending on the ideology of the media) is trumpeting both sides of this issue….here is something to consider…..the government is indeed growing but , believe it or not, dying…all this at the same time….

As the American people age, a pernicious paradox has taken hold of the federal budget: “We are slowly dismantling the federal government, even as its spending is growing larger,” observes Robert Samuelson at the Washington Post. With every budget, lawmakers are slashing into discretionary spending, but with Social Security and various health entitlement costs rising, government spending is growing anyway. The result: “Governmental competence is being systematically degraded. … We are spending more and getting less.” By 2024, current projections show that all spending on non-entitlements will be just 7.4% of GDP—the lowest share since 1940. Cuts are hitting everything from the military (sort of) to medical research to the federal courts. Yet political debates never focus on this dynamic, in part because polls show the public isn’t concerned. “Both liberals and conservatives are complicit in this charade,” but ironically it’s liberals who most refuse to discuss entitlements. Hence another paradox: “The pro-government party in rhetoric has become an anti-government party in practice.” Click for Samuelson’s full column.

I recognize that I will change NO one’s mind or thinking on this matter……just wanted to throw this out there for a little debate……

Your turn……..

Ukraine: Fires Of Revolution?

You know there is more happening in the world than the Sochi games, right?  Well you would not know it by the press…..yes, weed is now legal and yes there is another “stand your ground” trial to analyze until the cows come home and yes, Christie is still Christie….but beyond all that what is happening in the world?

Syria is still burning.  Iran is still flapping its jaw.  Israel is still building settlements.  And of course the Tea Party and its subordinate, the GOP, are blaming everything on Obama….like I said…..BORING!

I spend many hours reading foreign news and one thing that has caught my attention is the trouble in the Ukraine…..where?  I thought that was part of Russia.

Damn!  Ukraine is bigger than you thought, right?

Anyway back in November of 2013 the Ukrainian government pretty much pulled back in favor of deals with its neighbor, Russia.  And the people went batshit crazy…….apparently the people want to keep close ties with the EU and the West and are not so keen on anything Russian…….

“Mayhem” in Ukraine, declares the New York Times, amid reports that anti-government protests have boiled over in Kiev’s bloodiest day since President Viktor Yanukovich turned down an EU deal in November. Nineteen were killed in street clashes, including six policemen, reports the BBC, and details are a bit chaotic. Reuters reports the two felled officers were killed by gunfire. However, it’s unclear whether police are using live ammunition or rubber bullets; protesters were spotted with guns, but not witnessed using them. Riot police then attempted to blaze a path through the stone barriers cordoning off Independence Square using two armored personnel carriers, as protesters lobbed rocks, fireworks, and petrol bombs; those vehicles got stuck and erupted in flames with police still inside. Unrest is also spreading to Western Ukraine, where protesters have attacked police and government offices in several regions, CNN reports.

Yanukovich is meeting with the opposition in Kiev as Ukraine’s former foreign minister urges the US and EU to support the opposition, and leaders in the Ukrainian republic of Crimea are telling the president to crack down with “emergency measures,” the BBC reports. The Times reports that, against that chaotic backdrop, protesters were heard singing the national anthem in the square. The AP reports that a significant portion of their protest camp is now on fire, and says police are moving in using water cannons and stun grenades. The government has brought the subway to a halt to prevent reinforcements from bolstering the number of protesters, who, apparently disheartened by their lack of progress, earlier today left the barricaded area surrounding Independence Square and marched toward the Parliament building to demand that Yanukovich give up his “dictatorial” powers. But Reuters reports they were cut off from the building by a line of trucks, and clashes began. See more photos at the BBC.

The situation is becoming more and more volatile….in the last couple of days the situation has become what appears to the beginning of yet another revolution…….

At least 25 people have been killed and 241 injured in the worst violence in Ukraine’s post-Soviet history, according to the country’s health ministry, which says the dead include nine police officers and a journalist. The mayhem began as anti-government protesters clashed with security forces yesterday, and it continued overnight, with riot police making a fresh attempt to clear a central Kiev square in the early hours, reports the BBC, which witnessed police gain control of a corner of the square for the first time since December. As of 6am, a BBC correspondent reported “no sign these clashes will die down,” calling the Independence Square area a “battle zone.” The latest developments:

  • As thousands of police attacked the square, opposition leader Vitali Klitschko urged civilians to defend the protest camp; at least 10,000 heeded his call amid fires and exploding stun grenades, the AP reports. CNN reports that protesters fashioned a makeshift compressed-air cannon and stockpiled weapons last night, transporting stones from hand to hand, building Molotov cocktails, and fueling fiery barricades composed of wood and tires.
  • The EU and Germany are among those calling for calm, while the governments of France and Poland got more specific: They’re calling for “quick and targeted sanctions against those responsible for these acts.” Reuters reports that Francois Hollande wants to see them imposed as soon as tomorrow, at an EU meeting of foreign ministers. Meanwhile, Russia called the chaos the “direct result of connivance by Western politicians,” Reuters finds.
  • After late-night talks between President Viktor Yanukovich and opposition leaders failed to yield any compromise, the president issued a statement calling for opposition leaders to draw a “boundary between themselves and radical forces which are provoking bloodshed.” The opposition leaders said that Yanukovich’s only proposal was for the demonstrators to go home.

It is being reported that the protesters seized 1500 weapons to be used at a later date……a good beginning for a revolution……

With all this violence the Russian media has latched on to a tried and true explanation for all the violence……….It’s all Obama’s fault!  Well in reality they said that it was the US fault that all this violence is happening……and if you extend that out….it is Obama’s FAULT!

This situation is no where near at its conclusion……and I will be watching….after all….that is…..WHY I AM HERE!

China Is As China Does

Inkwell Institute

CHINA…..now there is a subject that should get most people talking…..we blame a lot of the ills in our society on China….and the debate on how much of our so-called ‘debt’ that they own and how that could be used against us in time of hostilities……we all have an opinion on this massive country to our West……

From the China-United States Exchange Foundation……

How do we answer the age-old question of what happens when a rising power meets an established power? For centuries, this questions has hung over great power politics and posed a continual challenge to policymakers and international relations theorists alike.

When then Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping first raised the prospect of “a new type of relationship between major countries” in 2012, he called for the United States and China to chart a new course for their bilateral relationship. Since this initial call, American and Chinese officials have worked to build a new model of major power relations, including an informal “shirt-sleeve summit” between President Obama and President Xi last year.

Everybody is looking for a way to deal with the rising power of China, that would be economic power……let’s look at a few things first….in today’s world China is the second largest economy in that world….right?  In 1890 China was the….wait for it……second largest economy in the world.  So in that arena China has not come that far……So should we be worried about China as an economic or global threat?

In my humble opinion….NO!

Why?  They have an every expanding middle class and they will eventually reach for power……the poor in the outlying regions will have enough of the uneven equality that is growing in China….they will eventually rise up…..and then there is the corruption in the ruling class that will eventually bite them in the ass……their economic growth is slowing…….in closing this very simplistic analysis…..China in the next couple of decades will implode….giving Russia the opening it needs to expand its influence worldwide………..

There you have it….In My Opinion…..we are worrying about the wrong region of the world………there is far more danger to the world than China and it’s name is RUSSIA!

I will be watching!

The Sochi Games Are Being Held on the Land of Genocide | The Nation

Is it just me or is the news these days just damn boring?  Christie has gotten a break with the stand your ground trial in Florida…yep that place again and then there is all the hoopla over the legalization of weed………

Then there are the Olympics…..the US is winning medals but not from the people we thought we would win them for us…..the big news is there seems to be less interest in the Sochi games than those in Vancouver in 2010…viewership down 12%.

I was gonna write something clever about the Sochi Olympics but I could not think of anything clever to write and then I found this article while I was reading…..a fascinating piece…….

The Sochi Games Are Being Held on the Land of Genocide | The Nation.

Is German Militarism Making A Comeback?

Inkwell Institute

European Desk

Today we will delve into the wonderful world of international relations…..something that not many people understand or care about….

I am almost positive that most Americans know what happened in WW2……the rise of Germany and that little dude with the funny ‘tashe…I know us old farts know that part of history and I doubt if too many of the youngsters know the whole story….which is kinda sad……maybe I should offer a bit of clarification here……

After their defeat in WW1 Germany was not allowed  navy, air force and only a small army for defense only……but then the little guy won and election and took over the government after the parliament fire and German militarism was on the rise and that culminated in WW2 and the defeat of Germany and the whole process started all over again…….your simplistic tour of WW2……(you are welcome)…….

From the end of WW2 until the present Germany had had a very limited engagement with the different wars of aggression……….but all that is changing…….

The announcement by the new grand coalition government in Germany that the country’s previous policy of military restraint is at an end marks a historic turning point. It heralds a new stage of aggressive imperialist foreign policy.

Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier (Social Democratic Party—SPD) first announced the new policy last week in the Bundestag (parliament). He said Germany was “too big and too important” to confine itself any longer “to commenting on world politics from the sidelines.”

Due to its economic power and geographical location in the centre of Europe, Germany bore a special responsibility in regard to world affairs, Steinmeier declared, adding, “We recognise our responsibility.” Germany would serve as a catalyst for a common European foreign and security policy, he said, and while the use of military force was only a last resort, it could not be ruled out.

This change of course is supported by the entire government. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen (Christian Democratic Union—CDU) said Germany would take on “more responsibility in NATO and other alliances” and announced a significant expansion of foreign missions by the Bundeswehr (armed forces). Von der Leyen added that she had begun to work with Steinmeier and Development Minister Gerd Müller (Christian Social Union—CSU) to develop a “strategy for Africa.”

“from restraint, something like self-privilege arises” and called for a clear commitment to NATO, “even if the United States cannot always afford more.” It should, he said, be natural for Germany to intervene militarily “if human rights violations culminate in genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing or crimes against humanity.”

(From an article written by Ulrich Rippert)

To me all that sounds a bit ominous…….smells like the starting salvo of a return to German militarism….this could be a massive push for the world, if you will, something that was promised to the German people 80 years ago……..will history repeat?

Is An Education Really An Education?

Soon we will be bombarded with all kinds of education stories……soon we will be in the midst of “Education Nation”……we will hear all about the charter school that is making a difference but NOTHING about the ones that are screwing the system or are just flat out failures…..we will listen to how well these programs are working and NOTHING about just how awful the education system really is……we will hear a lot….most of which is pure MANURE!

An education was designed primarily to instruct the student on his/her society, government and to prepare them to move on to college with instruction in science, math, language and other necessary courses so that they can make informed decisions in their future.  But now all that is changing and not for the better…..

Let me back up a bit….I know there are some things in our history that are not to attractive….like when Jefferson tucked tail and ran from the British when he was governor or the ugliness of the civil rights era or that Washington started the French & Indian War by ambushing and killing a diplomatic mission …..well you pick one or so.  But those are things we need to know so that we do not let them ever happen again and it has made us a stronger people.  But it seems that states are not too thrilled with true history and want to re-write it to their liking and then to force feed it to our children…..

The board goes on to remove the word “slavery” from the standards, replacing it with the more benign-seeming “Atlantic triangular trade.” They insist on calling the United States a “constitutional republic” rather than a “democracy” – largely because they want students to think of their country as Republican, not Democratic. So convinced are they of the timeless superiority of American/Republican values that one of them introduces a standard asking students to “explain three pro-free-market factors contributing to European technological progress during the rise and decline of the medieval system.”

Historical figures of suspect religious views (like Jefferson, Thomas Paine, Benjamin Franklin) or political tendency (like union organizer Dolores Huerta) are ruthlessly demoted or purged altogether from the study program. Meanwhile, the board majority makes room for an eclectic array of ancillary figures from the revolutionary period, such as Charles Carroll and Jonathan Trumbull. What these marginal figures have in common, other than being dusted off from high shelves and promoted by the board, is the fact that they were loud defenders of orthodox Christianity.

Several changes include sidelining Thomas Jefferson, who favoured separation of church and state, while introducing a new focus on the “significant contributions” of pro-slavery Confederate leaders during the civil war.

The new curriculum asserts that “the right to keep and bear arms” is an important element of a democratic society. Study of Sir Isaac Newton is dropped in favour of examining scientific advances through military technology.

As a political historian I find it disgusting to write history to your liking……and then there are people that think like this…….

“We are fighting for our children’s education and our nation’s future,” Dunbar said. “In Texas we have certain statutory obligations to promote patriotism and to promote the free enterprise system. There seems to have been a move away from a patriotic ideology. There seems to be a denial that this was a nation founded under God. We had to go back and make some corrections.”

NO!  You have an obligation to teach the TRUTH……no matter how it smells.  STOP using children as a political prop……ever noticed that children like vets are only important as a prop to get one’s way?

I know no one wants to hear this…..but what they are doing is….INDOCTRINATION!  This from my previous post, Propaganda 2.0………

Rewriting History. This is another way of saying that propagandists make the facts fit their worldview. The Downing Street Memos on the Iraq war were a classic example of this on a massive scale, but it happens daily and over smaller issues as well. A recent case in point is Palin’s mangling of the Paul Revere ride, which Fox reporters have bent over backward to validate. Why lie about the historical facts, even when they can be demonstrated to be false? Well, because dogmatic minds actually find it easier to reject reality than to update their viewpoints. They will literally rewrite history if it serves their interests. And they’ll often speak with such authority that the casual viewer will be tempted to question what they knew as fact.

This is what is happening……my grandfather always said, ‘the truth is open to debate, but the facts speak for themselves’………..

Most Americans agree that education is one of the most important issues of our time…….but do they mean it?

It is primary and secondary schools  that students learn their core values and attitudes that will determine their behavior once their schooling is finished.  And some of these efforts are directly aimed at the ideology that some want to see…not what is best.

Education will continue to decline until there is found a system that is more equitable to all…and when students are taught to think …not memorize and that cannot happen as long as profit is the big motivator.

Follow the money to understand education reform | Talking Union

Keeping with the topic of the day…..I am in opposition to an educational system that is motivated by profits…….educational reform is just that……all presidents have tried and failed to get a descent system in place……but it seems to always come down to privatization as the only answer…..and our kids suffer……a job well done (sarcasm)……

It is time to lay the blame for the poor education in the US…it is NOT the teachers….it is NOT the unions…..it is the….GOVERNMENT with all their “reforms” that has done nothing to improve the education of children……

Follow the money to understand education reform | Talking Union.