Friday, June 26, 2009

The Dance Move We'll Never See

Well, Michael Jackson is gone. We don't know yet exactly what caused his death just a short time prior to his 51st birthday. Michael was planning a tour which promised a dance move that would amaze us all. Unless there is some film of rehersals that is a dance move the world will never see. I hope that Michael was truly innocent of the charges that were dismissed against him and that he has found eternal peace.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Outraged at Last!

Finally, finally the President is outraged over what is going on in Iran. First stealing an election that was not open or fair to begin with (the unelected Mullahs got to pick the candidates). Second, they announced the results immediately when it should have taken days to count all the ballots. Next, the results themselves were highly suspect. All pre-election polls predicted a loss for Ahmadinejad or at least a very close election but the results announced were a landslide for the incumbent. Then we began to hear that there were more votes than voters in some providence's but that is nothing new for a politician from Chicago.

When Iranian citizens began to protest in the streets they were tear gassed, beaten, and some were killed. President Obama's spokesman called this a "debate". Worse still, the President himself said there was "very little difference between the two candidates". That is not what people risking their lives to achieve democracy want to hear from the President of the United States. However, it is what we can expect from our current President who has no true core principles.

Now, finally our President is using words like outraged but as the mullahs close their iron fist on the citizens of Iran it is too little too late.

Monday, June 22, 2009

Time for Democrats to Change their Name Again?

In the not too distant past the Democrat Party began calling itself the Democratic Party. This was not announced as a name change they just pretended that the party name was "Democratic" all along. In the more distant past it was the Democrats who supported spreading democracy and so called "Nation Building". Back then Republicans were the isolationists who thought that we should "mind our business". There has been a complete reversal of roles.

During the 18 month debate about Iraq (dubbed the "rush to war" by lefties) one of the arguments put forward by Democrats was essentially "Democracy, it's not for everyone". It was said that the people of Iraq were not ready or able to create and maintain a democracy. President Bush and I disagreed. Bush put his presidency on the line to provide democratic governments to the people of Afghanistan and Iraq. If both these fledgling democracies survive President Bush will have freed more people than Abraham Lincoln.

Meanwhile, his successor will not choose a side between the people of Iran and the Mullahs who first stole an election and are now attempting to force their citizens into accepting those results. The Mullah's first tried to shut down all media coverage of the election results and the ensuing protests. When texts and tweeters kept communication possible the Mullah's got serious about dealing with descent in their nation. Protesters have been beaten, tear gassed and even killed in the streets. Many of the protesters carry signs written in English, clearly a cry for help from the west.

If only President Obama were more like President Kennedy who in his inaugural said..."Let every nation know whether it wishes us well or ill that we shall pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe to to insure the survival and the success of liberty." The difference between the two men could not be more clear. One had principals and the other has panache.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

THE PRESIDENT SAID WHAT, Part 2

..and where does the President get off commenting that America, like Islamic countries does not offer full equality to women. First of all there is a big difference between not allowing women to attend school, drive or leave their homes without a male family member and not yet electing a woman president. By the way who prevented Hillary Clinton from being President? Obama!

Monday, June 08, 2009

THE PRESIDENT SAID WHAT!?

President Obama’s recently gave a historic (apparently everything the guy does is historic) speech in Cairo. Like President Bush in similar speeches, Obama went out of his way to praise Muslims, but to the best of my knowledge Bush didn’t just make stuff up. President Obama described himself as a “student of history” and went on to tell some real whoppers.

According to Mr. Obama we can thank the Muslims for arches, spires, poetry, music, algebra, calligraphy the compass, printing, our understanding of how disease spreads and can be healed and most remarkably their religious tolerance and racial equality. Where does he get this stuff? Remember that there were no Muslims until the 7th century and the Romans had arches and spires before the birth of Christ. Poetry, I’ll give them that one if Kahill Gabran was a Muslim but on music I’m doubtful since some Muslim communities forbid musical instruments. I’ll throw in calligraphy, who really cares after all what the impact a lack of Islam would have had on the world’s wedding invitations. Algebra and the magnetic compass are a little more useful and I assure you neither were a gift to the world from Islam. The magnetic compass was a Chinese invention a version of which might also have been discovered by Central Americans. The first people known to use Algebra were the ancient Babylonians and the Egyptians, the Greeks, the Chinese and the Indians all had their versions of this mathematical process before Islam existed. If Islam ever had any innovations in disease control or printing they didn’t make a big splash in the world with their insights.

Finally, religious tolerance and racial equality, give me a break! I have often heard from smart people I trust that Islam is a religion that has often been spread by the sword. I know that there are countries on our planet today where the punishment for converting from Islam to any other religion is death. That seems to suppoprt the "spread by the sword" claim.

Hey Mr, President, how about saying something positive about the country that elected you just for a welcome change of pace.