Will The Donald run? And if he does, could he win?
If a pig could fly, would it fly well?
CBS News reported that Trump found something similar to a birth certificate. Trump Logic dictates that this qualifies him to run this nation. (Read it) Time to speculate.
As Palin appears to be losing steam and the solutions to the country's problems are trapped in some pickle jar that nobody can seem to open, now would be the time to cross "Presidential Candidate" off of the ole' bucket list. Speaking of Palin, this could be a good time for her to follow in Nixon's footsteps and sit this one out. Take a break from the spotlight, give the public enough time to forget all the dumb stuff she's said, and save the money for 2016.
Trump could run, but he won't win. He might not even get to the Republican Primary. But if he wanted to take a shot at...Why not? The Republicans don't want to be stuck with the problems Obama has. They don't have any quick fixes. It would be a smarter political play to throw the McCain of 2012 to the wolves. Let the next guy in line take his shot so that the path can be cleared for '16.
It would make Obama (in the short term at least) seem like the guy that destroyed the economy, and is to blame for all the problems at home and abroad (I think it's too soon to say that firmly. The previous administration's 8 years played a BIG role in those things too.)
I guess what I'm saying is this: Let Trump run if he wants to. Birth Certificate or not. At the least it could throw a bit of entertainment into what is looking like a boring election year. At the worst it could mean President Trump and his Vice President The Hair Piece would have 4 years of dealing with some of the worst problems, socially, economically, and politicly, this country has seen since the last time we had these problems. Was it '68? No, it was the late '70s. Wait, the 80's. Early 90's?
Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Sunday, March 27, 2011
How to Handle Civil Wars
Tom Ricks touched on an idea I had been developing for this blog. He was on Meet the Press earlier this morning along with Bob Woodward, Ted Koppel and Samantha Guthrie. They discussed the U.S. role in Libya. Tom Ricks said something like "we've already kicked the door in" so we have an obligation to stay on board. That ties in to an analogy that I have been thinking about for a long time. But first, I want to share my thoughts on the idea of civil war and the roles I think people/governments should take in these types of conflicts.
I don't like war. It's ugly. The cost of war on a human level is often times higher than what the overall outcome is worth. I also understand that there are times that war must be waged. There are wars in the Old Testament, so I suspect that God knows this is a part of the human journey. We all have to fight and struggle at some level during our lives. And sometimes that means picking up a bat or a gun or simply having the courage to say the words that need to be said.
Civil wars almost always have that buzz word around them. "Liberty." That word always sounds pretty on the surface. We seldom ask what someone's idea of liberty is. We just assume it means the same to everyone. If a group of people feel so strongly about their idea of liberty that they feel they need to fight and kill for it then I have no problem with that. Get it done. But, don't start lobbing bullets and realize that you're outgunned and overmatched and need help. If you need help you should have had that in place to begin with. Even then that doesn't always guarantee victory. Look at the Bay of Pigs. All that did was get a bunch of Cubans killed and turn Castro into a lifelong enemy to the U.S.
I believe that for a civil war to birth liberty the elements that fight for that liberty have to walk throught the fire. Let me illustrate it like this. I'm sure that most of us know or knew (or are) the kid that got everything handed to them. When he turned 16 his parents bought him a new Corvette. When she turned 18 her parents paid for her furnished apartment. When I was 17 I worked 50 hours a week and went to school and hardly had enough time or money to do anything. Who do you think treasures the things they have in life the most? For the group that fights for that change in their society, the outcome is sweeter and means more because of the sacrifice made to bring about that change. I'm not saying that they shouldn't have outside support, but they should have to carry most of the weight themselves.
The situation in Libya has it's own set of problems now. This week there has been chatter about what we are doing over there and about stepping back and letting the UK or France take the lead. I've always felt this is more of an operation for the UK to lead anyway. And at this point it's too late to apply the philosophy I've stated above. We failed to have a clear game plan from the start on this thing. It's like we walked of a cliff in the dark, landed in a lake and just now popped our head through the surface.
This brings me to the illustration that I had been thinking about this week and the words that Tom Ricks used today on MtP.
Imagine that there is a married couple that live down the street. Not next door. A few houses down. The neighborhood knows that the man is abusive and suffers from some sort of mental problem. Possibly nuerosyphilis. The wife only stays with the man because this is her home and she has nowhere else to go. Let's say that one day the couple begin fighting. You have a lot of things going on in your life and don't need the extra headache, but you decide to get a couple of buddies and go do something about this guy and his wife. Let's say your buddies are smaller than you and don't own any weapons besides a plastic broom handle. You get your 12 guage Remington 870 loaded with 00 buckshot and the three of you head down the street.
The door takes a couple of kicks but eventually swings wide open. The sight of the shotgun paralyzes the insane wife-beater long enough for the wife to wack him a couple of times with a table lamp. He retreats to the other side of the living room and your two buddies stand between the two to stop any further physical fighting. This is where we are at in Libya. Now what?
Let's say at this point you start to feel like you didn't think this through very well. There are better ways this could have been handled, but you decided to go this route. Let's say you abruptly walk out of the room. As you get back home you hear two muffled pops, a scream and then a third pop. Turns out the abusive husband had a .38 hidden in his waistband and when you took your shotgun and went home he offed your friends and the wife. Then he cooked a t.v. dinner and caught the American Idol results show.
We've already helped open the door in Libya. We have already participated in aggression against a foreign government (even though Gadafi is an evil, insane man he is still the ruler of that country). And to leave now would seal Obama's fate as the first "Jimmy Carter" of the 21st century.
Earlier this week I caught the NBC Nightly News report where journalist Richard Engel was embedded with a group of rebels in Libya (watch the video). I don't know that I would have enough courage to carry a toy gun into battle. If we have to leave, lets try to toss the shotgun to the wife. It may not change the outcome, but it gives her a chance.
I don't like war. It's ugly. The cost of war on a human level is often times higher than what the overall outcome is worth. I also understand that there are times that war must be waged. There are wars in the Old Testament, so I suspect that God knows this is a part of the human journey. We all have to fight and struggle at some level during our lives. And sometimes that means picking up a bat or a gun or simply having the courage to say the words that need to be said.
Civil wars almost always have that buzz word around them. "Liberty." That word always sounds pretty on the surface. We seldom ask what someone's idea of liberty is. We just assume it means the same to everyone. If a group of people feel so strongly about their idea of liberty that they feel they need to fight and kill for it then I have no problem with that. Get it done. But, don't start lobbing bullets and realize that you're outgunned and overmatched and need help. If you need help you should have had that in place to begin with. Even then that doesn't always guarantee victory. Look at the Bay of Pigs. All that did was get a bunch of Cubans killed and turn Castro into a lifelong enemy to the U.S.
I believe that for a civil war to birth liberty the elements that fight for that liberty have to walk throught the fire. Let me illustrate it like this. I'm sure that most of us know or knew (or are) the kid that got everything handed to them. When he turned 16 his parents bought him a new Corvette. When she turned 18 her parents paid for her furnished apartment. When I was 17 I worked 50 hours a week and went to school and hardly had enough time or money to do anything. Who do you think treasures the things they have in life the most? For the group that fights for that change in their society, the outcome is sweeter and means more because of the sacrifice made to bring about that change. I'm not saying that they shouldn't have outside support, but they should have to carry most of the weight themselves.
The situation in Libya has it's own set of problems now. This week there has been chatter about what we are doing over there and about stepping back and letting the UK or France take the lead. I've always felt this is more of an operation for the UK to lead anyway. And at this point it's too late to apply the philosophy I've stated above. We failed to have a clear game plan from the start on this thing. It's like we walked of a cliff in the dark, landed in a lake and just now popped our head through the surface.
This brings me to the illustration that I had been thinking about this week and the words that Tom Ricks used today on MtP.
Imagine that there is a married couple that live down the street. Not next door. A few houses down. The neighborhood knows that the man is abusive and suffers from some sort of mental problem. Possibly nuerosyphilis. The wife only stays with the man because this is her home and she has nowhere else to go. Let's say that one day the couple begin fighting. You have a lot of things going on in your life and don't need the extra headache, but you decide to get a couple of buddies and go do something about this guy and his wife. Let's say your buddies are smaller than you and don't own any weapons besides a plastic broom handle. You get your 12 guage Remington 870 loaded with 00 buckshot and the three of you head down the street.
The door takes a couple of kicks but eventually swings wide open. The sight of the shotgun paralyzes the insane wife-beater long enough for the wife to wack him a couple of times with a table lamp. He retreats to the other side of the living room and your two buddies stand between the two to stop any further physical fighting. This is where we are at in Libya. Now what?
Let's say at this point you start to feel like you didn't think this through very well. There are better ways this could have been handled, but you decided to go this route. Let's say you abruptly walk out of the room. As you get back home you hear two muffled pops, a scream and then a third pop. Turns out the abusive husband had a .38 hidden in his waistband and when you took your shotgun and went home he offed your friends and the wife. Then he cooked a t.v. dinner and caught the American Idol results show.
We've already helped open the door in Libya. We have already participated in aggression against a foreign government (even though Gadafi is an evil, insane man he is still the ruler of that country). And to leave now would seal Obama's fate as the first "Jimmy Carter" of the 21st century.
Earlier this week I caught the NBC Nightly News report where journalist Richard Engel was embedded with a group of rebels in Libya (watch the video). I don't know that I would have enough courage to carry a toy gun into battle. If we have to leave, lets try to toss the shotgun to the wife. It may not change the outcome, but it gives her a chance.
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
What Iran might do (and probably will) in Libya...
Iran is making moves to consolidate power amidst the turmoil in the Arab world. Iran has been doing this before the uprisings, but it is easier for them to do this now that the world's focus is aimed at a more narrow field. This is one of those times when Iran and the US could have worked together for a common goal if Former President Bush hadn't ripped the phone line to Tehran out of the wall by including them in his "Axis of Evil" speech.
Iran doesn't like Gaddafi. When I say "Iran" here I am talking about the government more than the average citizen, so that statement may not be universally true. It's like saying "Americans like Sarah Palin." In an article posted today, Ayatollah Khamenei said "We condemn 100 percent how Gaddafi was and is dealing with the people ... the killing of civilians." Iran has other motivations for disliking Gaddafi.
Iran has blamed Gaddafi for the disappearance of Shia cleric Moussa al-Sadr way back in 1978 (read more). Iran doesn't forget things easily and it's no surprise that Khamenei jumped at the chance to denounce Gaddafi.
Since Bush's remarks at the UN, Iran has written off any idea of negotiating with Washington. They decided that their best chance of fending off any attacks from Europe and Washington is by consolidating their power and building a list of allies.
Iran has been moving weapons around Africa for sometime. Google "Iran Arms Shipment" and the most recent articles contain references from Senegal to Nigeria.
At this point Obama is facing too many problems at home and abroad to handle supporting a rebellion trying to overthrow a dictator. Since the UN voted for what I call the "No-Fly Zone Plus" Gaddafi's forces have taken a major hit and whether we say it or not, we are actively supporting the Libyan opposition force. This is where the US and Iran could have benefited from a relationship where we were at least on speaking terms. This is where a covert relationship with Iran could have been beneficial. Think "Charlie Wilson's War" in Libya.
Khamenei said of the US concerning the rebels, "They could have armed them, given them anti-aircraft batteries, instead they witnessed the massacre of the people for one month."
Iran right now is far more focused on Bahrain than on Libya, but they are watching what happens there along with the rest of the world. Iran has shown in the past that although they are Persian and not Arab, they still have the ability to work with Arabs to achieve their common goals. Iran has the ability to reach out to the rebels in Libya. They could support them through Hizbollah with training, weapons, supplies, money and battle hardened soldiers. At this point, the coalition raining cruise missiles and patrolling the skies over Libya have taken a side in the Libyan Civil War. The relevance of that remains to be seen, but if we don't give the rebels the aid that they need to win, we can be sure that someone else will.
Iran doesn't like Gaddafi. When I say "Iran" here I am talking about the government more than the average citizen, so that statement may not be universally true. It's like saying "Americans like Sarah Palin." In an article posted today, Ayatollah Khamenei said "We condemn 100 percent how Gaddafi was and is dealing with the people ... the killing of civilians." Iran has other motivations for disliking Gaddafi.
Iran has blamed Gaddafi for the disappearance of Shia cleric Moussa al-Sadr way back in 1978 (read more). Iran doesn't forget things easily and it's no surprise that Khamenei jumped at the chance to denounce Gaddafi.
Since Bush's remarks at the UN, Iran has written off any idea of negotiating with Washington. They decided that their best chance of fending off any attacks from Europe and Washington is by consolidating their power and building a list of allies.
Iran has been moving weapons around Africa for sometime. Google "Iran Arms Shipment" and the most recent articles contain references from Senegal to Nigeria.
At this point Obama is facing too many problems at home and abroad to handle supporting a rebellion trying to overthrow a dictator. Since the UN voted for what I call the "No-Fly Zone Plus" Gaddafi's forces have taken a major hit and whether we say it or not, we are actively supporting the Libyan opposition force. This is where the US and Iran could have benefited from a relationship where we were at least on speaking terms. This is where a covert relationship with Iran could have been beneficial. Think "Charlie Wilson's War" in Libya.
Khamenei said of the US concerning the rebels, "They could have armed them, given them anti-aircraft batteries, instead they witnessed the massacre of the people for one month."
Iran right now is far more focused on Bahrain than on Libya, but they are watching what happens there along with the rest of the world. Iran has shown in the past that although they are Persian and not Arab, they still have the ability to work with Arabs to achieve their common goals. Iran has the ability to reach out to the rebels in Libya. They could support them through Hizbollah with training, weapons, supplies, money and battle hardened soldiers. At this point, the coalition raining cruise missiles and patrolling the skies over Libya have taken a side in the Libyan Civil War. The relevance of that remains to be seen, but if we don't give the rebels the aid that they need to win, we can be sure that someone else will.
Monday, March 21, 2011
This is how the world ends...
This is my first blog. I plan on using it as a place to voice my opinions and comments. I also hope to see other people's thoughts and viewpoints on the topics I talk about here. Sometimes Facebook threads are too small to contain it all and go as in depth as I would like.
The developments in North Africa and the crisis in Japan have sparked some good conversations lately, but I also like to talk about things going on locally.
I would like to start out by saying that I am not a Democrat or a Republican. Nor am I "liberal" or "conservative". I love guns and really don't care if gays can get married or not. I don't look at things from a political view, but as an observer. There are some issues I feel strongly about and that creates the problem of having some people try to plant a label on me.
I always thought that Afghanistan/Pakistan is a war the US needed to be in and we should have left Iraq alone.
I think Libya will now become a ground war involving the US in some measure as well as our European allies.
My March Madness bracket got demolished last night as Notre Dame played basketball as well as a pile of dead slugs.
I think Mary Fallin isn't going to do anything impressive in her term as governor of Oklahoma.
I think Obama had a good message during his campaign, but the more he tries to be like Bill Clinton, the more he turns into Jimmy Carter.
These are just a few things I think someone reading this blog should know about my point of view. I don't claim to be "fair and balanced" because no one is. Every one has some experience in their life that shapes their views.
Besides that I will probably also talk about sports, books, movies, the entertainment world and just about anything else here.
So, that's about it for now.
Also, if anyone reading this wants to share a news article or viewpoint, feel free to email me at: sly.alley83@gmail.com
Thanks for reading
The developments in North Africa and the crisis in Japan have sparked some good conversations lately, but I also like to talk about things going on locally.
I would like to start out by saying that I am not a Democrat or a Republican. Nor am I "liberal" or "conservative". I love guns and really don't care if gays can get married or not. I don't look at things from a political view, but as an observer. There are some issues I feel strongly about and that creates the problem of having some people try to plant a label on me.
I always thought that Afghanistan/Pakistan is a war the US needed to be in and we should have left Iraq alone.
I think Libya will now become a ground war involving the US in some measure as well as our European allies.
My March Madness bracket got demolished last night as Notre Dame played basketball as well as a pile of dead slugs.
I think Mary Fallin isn't going to do anything impressive in her term as governor of Oklahoma.
I think Obama had a good message during his campaign, but the more he tries to be like Bill Clinton, the more he turns into Jimmy Carter.
These are just a few things I think someone reading this blog should know about my point of view. I don't claim to be "fair and balanced" because no one is. Every one has some experience in their life that shapes their views.
Besides that I will probably also talk about sports, books, movies, the entertainment world and just about anything else here.
So, that's about it for now.
Also, if anyone reading this wants to share a news article or viewpoint, feel free to email me at: sly.alley83@gmail.com
Thanks for reading
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