First debate: No overall winner, but Barack stuck in the past on Iraq
I watched the debate last night closely and, though neither candidate soundly trounced each other, McCain clearly had the edge on the issue of Iraq. While Obama seemed overly focused on events leading up to the invasion and fixing blame for the decision to invade in the first place, McCain pointed out how Obama is ignoring the successes of the troop surge and highlighted Obama’s willingness to pull troops out regardless of the long term cost to American security.
Unfortunately, McCain missed a prime opportunity to remind everyone that the real cost of losing in Iraq is not just a defeat for America and a strengthening of Iran, but a very serious destabilzation of the entire middle east and southern Europe. Americans tend to think of the Iraqi situation in terms of simply us and the Iraqis, forgetting that a destabilized Iraq will most certainly result in the formation of an independent Kurdish state.
Kirkuk, the political center of the Iraqi Kurds, is also home to an estimated 45 billion barrel oil reserve. The 15 million Kurds in Turkey have not fared well under Turkish rule, so Kurdish separatist groups like the PKK and KADEK would happily join such an independent state for the economic power it would bring. Such an attempt would most certainly result in a civil war in Turkey and which would likely spread to Iran and Syria, both of whom have substantial Kurdish populations. Such a war would seriously destabilize that entire half of the world.
Barack Obama represents a more youthful America, but also a more naive one who has not learned the lessons of past. Following World War II, America poured $13 Billion (1948 dollars – about $130 Billion today) into Europe to fund rebuilding efforts. Allied forces officially occupied Germany until 1953. All this to undo the effects of the Nazi party, which had only been around since 1933. Meanwhile, three years after the invasion, Iraq had its own government despite forty years of Baath party rule. The internet generation needs to remember that hundreds of years of cultural conflicts cannot be swept aside overnight to form a new democracy and a failure to succeed in Iraq now may cost far more than the 4,136 American lives already lost.
Youthful exuberance and finger pointing is no substitute for seasoned experience. John McCain was the clear winner on the topic of Iraq.
Letterman should get over himself!
David Letterman lashed out against John McCain when, within hours after announcing he had suspended his campaign, he called Letterman personally to cancel an appearance on Late Night. A McCain spokesman explains, “It was not a night for comedy,” and I, for one, agree.
What kind of image would it project for the probable future leader of the free world and current member of the senate to be seen cavorting with a comedian on national television while the nations financial institutions melt down? And where does Letterman get off acting like he has some sort of political standing? Don’t get me wrong – I enjoy a good political joke aimed at either party as much as the next person. I actually laughed myself silly at the latest offering from JibJab, “Time for some campaignin”.
I do, however, really start to get annoyed when vapid Hollywood types try to sound intelligent and use their cult of personality to push their “more money and time than common sense” skewed worldview. It makes no sense whatsoever, with the possible exception of Lewis Black, one of my favorite comics. It’s sorta like listening to fashion advice from Madeline Albright.
McCain demonstrates character by suspending campaign
John McCain suspended his campaign to spend time in Washington to work in congress to solve the financial crisis, while Barack pressed to keep the debate on schedule. Kudos to McCain for placing duty above ambition, at least in my opinion. He’ll get extra points if he votes to confiscate golden parachute money from recently departed executives of the firms being saved with tax dollars.
Meanwhile, the crickets are chirping on the bailout over at Obama HQ…
Biden says he won’t let Barack take his shotguns
In the latest pathetic attempt to appear to be supporters of the 2nd Amendment, the Obama campaign has Joe Biden telling Virginia mine workers, “Barack Obama ain’t taking my shotguns, so don’t buy that malarkey.” (Here is the link to the Fox News article)
Okay, so Joe Biden owns a couple of skeet guns. Whoopee! Does this mean that the Obama campaign has (yet again) flip-flopped and won’t push more gun control? Hardly. Barack continues to speak with forked tongue, specifically, “I support the individual right to keep and bear arms” right in there with, when questioned about Heller vs. DC, “The notion that somehow local jurisdictions can’t initiate gun safety laws to deal with gang bangers and random shootings on the street isn’t born out by our Constitution.”
Meanwhile, Barack and Biden haven’t met a piece of gun control legislation they wouldn’t vote for, with Barack, in 1996, even responding to a questionaire as advocating a complete ban on the manufacture, sale, and possession of handguns, a position he has since (surprise!) disavowed.
So, would Barack Obama be in favor of more gun control? On July 15, 2008 he told a Chicago church crowded with supporters that the government needs to permanently reinstate an “assault weapons ban”, presumably any gun with a carry handle, pistol grip, painted black, with a bayonet lug or flash hider, which is the rough equivalent of banning certain cars based on their door handles, paint color, side view mirror and radio antenna. Besides, when was the last time you heard of a drive-by bayonetting?
The last AWB did nothing to stop crime, and a new one won’t help. Meanwhile, more states passed “shall issue” concealed handgun permit legislation, and crime dropped in those places. I wonder if Barack would support that? [giggle]
Barack’s $50 Billion Throwaway Program
In yet another stroke of foreign policy brilliance, Barack wants to give fifty billion (yes, with a “B”) of our hard earned tax dollars to the United Nations to solve world poverty. For the mathematically challenged, that is about $238 for every taxpaying citizen (persons above age 18) in the U.S.
Professor Steve Hanke, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute asserts, “It’s basically a system to redistribute income from middle class people in the United States to rich people in poor countries. It never reaches those people who are living on a dollar a day.” In fact, if the trillions of dollars we’ve poured into poor nations reached their populations, each of them would be stinking rich by now.
Barack has been pushing the Global Poverty Act, which would require the U.S. President to develop and implement a comprehensive strategy to reduce global poverty and eliminate extreme global poverty. Once this bill is passed by the Senate and signed by the President (as emphasized by “Bread for the World“), it will have the force of law. That means that other nations could sue the President and the U.S. in order to force compliance. I may also open up the U.S. to be brought before the International Court for investigation, charges or sanctions.
So Barack is the “pour money down a rathole” and “make our president a criminal for not fixing global poverty” candidate! Good to know, that.
Laughing myself silly at Joe Biden!
According to Joe Biden, “We want to take money and put it back in the pocket of middle-class people,” Biden said. Of those who would pay more, he said: “It’s time to be patriotic … time to jump in, time to be part of the deal, time to help get America out of the rut.”
I cannot believe he said that! Folks in that income bracket already pay a larger percentage of their income as taxes than most others, so Barack’s plan is to tax them even more! Nevermind that these are the folks most likely to start small businesses, so taking more of their money will certainly help stimulate the economy (smirk)!
Too much excitement
(originally posted 7/17/08 @ conservativelesbian.blogspot.com)
An old friend from high school emailed me today with pics of her first skydiving experience. It reminded my of my skydiving days from 1981 when I was stationed on Oahu. I made 4 jumps, all from a 1950s vintage twin engine Beechcraft. The plane had a small side door from which we would jump. The plan was to crouch in the doorway and wait for the signal from the jumpmaster, whereupon the jumper would spring out spread eagle style and (supposedly) float gracefully while the parachute opened from the static line.
On the my last jump were were at 3000 feet and lining up for the DZ. The jumpmaster had me crouch in the door and, because it was a tight fit, he said he’d hold my harness. The plan was that as he said, “Go!” he’d let go and I would spring out. I was scooching around trying to get in position and I leaned too far out, lost my balance and fell. Out of the airplane. At 3000 feet.
Because in those days we didn’t jump tandem, I was on my own. Having lost my balance, I tumbled and my lines became twisted as the chute opened. I looked up and had a good canopy but discovered I couldn’t steer at all. It wouldn’t have been so much of a problem in the midwest with open fields and all, but as it happens I was jumping from a small airport on the north shore of Oahu, and I was headed out to sea. I would surely land in the water and drown. I was coming down at a good pace and had two choices: Splash in the drink, hope to tread water in jump boots surrounded by lots of canvas and cordage, or quickly cut away the main chute and hope the reserve works and is steerable.In a moment of extreme clarity (or insanity, I vaccillate between the two as I look back), I popped open the capewells and pulled the rings that released the main parachute. As it let go I began to fall over backwards. In slow motion I watched a little piece of cord, the Johnson Cord to be exact, that was tied from the main canopy riser to the reserve parachute rip code handle grow taut. Then the reserve went *poof* up through my legs (I am completely upside down and falling headfirst at a high rate of speed at this point) and started to open. As it did, two things went through my mind: 1) Hooray! The reserve is going to work! and 2) the straps from the reserve chute to my harness. Literally, the straps went up between my legs and, because I was upside down, they snapped me upright with a force I will never forget.
I looked around and figured I’d just lost about 1200 feet of altitude, having jumped at 3000 feet. I began fumbling with the pin releases and I became aware of someone screaming at me. At this point I’m kind of wondering if I’m hearing things. Maybe I’ve crashed and died. Maybe it’s a dream…. Nope, someone is definitely screaming at me! I realize that there was a radio strapped to by harness and someone on the ground crew is wondering what the !@#$% I had just done. Given that it was not a two-way radio, I couldn’t really reply (this struck me as funny somehow) so after another moment or two of “What the F*** did you do that for???” the voice finally calmed down and walked me through the reserve canopy steering procedure.
I executed a turn and got myself pointed back toward land, but was quite some distance from the drop zone, since I had departed the aircraft somewhat prematurely. I continued to descend and it became obvious I was going to land, not at the DZ, not on the airfield, but in a cane field. Hawaii is famous for its sugar cane (probably the second largest crop after pineapples) and cane grew in great fields of bamboo-like stalks growing 10 to 12 feet high. And so I landed somewhere in the field. I had tried to maintain my bearings as I landed, but between me, the cane, the parachute, and the harness, by the time I got disengaged from it all I really had no idea where I was or which way to go.
Given that I was alive and on the ground, being lost didn’t seem like such a big deal at all. Nonetheless, I did need to find my way back to civilization, so I jumped up and down, turning circles as I did, hoping to see the mountaintops. Once I did, I was okay, for all I needed to do was head away from the mountains, which was towards the shoreline. I knew I had landed west of the DZ, so when I got to the shoreline road I needed to turn right and walk down to the DZ.
After about an hour I arrived, dusty and dirty but none the worse for wear, back at the DZ to a severe chewing out and lots of “why didn’t you…” questions. One woman finally said to me, “Look, if you are comfortable with what you did, then forget about everyone else. You were there, you had to decide, and you lived to tell about it.”
I never jumped again. That had been just a little too much excitement, if you know what I mean.
The Conservative Lesbian
