Upon the Gears

I wonder what’s worse? Fox’s tendency to discuss “the media” as if they were somehow above it? Or their sense of humor…

Oh, wouldn’t it be soooo funny if both Osama and Obama were shot?

By the way, this lady is a Fox News employee. I wonder if her little joke constitutes a threat. Probably not, but it might be worth looking into.

I don’t know about you, but after watching Gore being labeled as a flip-flopper in 2000 and Kerry being labeled as a flip-flopper in 2004, I figured that when a real flip-flopper tried to run for office the media would crucify him. But that’s not happening.

So tell me, where’s the media to cover the delusional ramblings of this man? Don’t the people have the right to know the truth?

Today, McCain made a speech in Columbus, Ohio in which he made some predictions for the future. Some of these predictions, including victory in Iraq, the death of Osama bin Laden, and the resurgence of the US economy, have found their way on to the 24 hour news networks and are being repeated endlessly. I don’t know what is more unbelievable, the fact that McCain believes his newfound conservative principles can accomplish any of these goals, or the fact that people actually believe him.

By January 2013, America has welcomed home most of the servicemen and women who have sacrificed terribly so that America might be secure in her freedom. The Iraq War has been won. Iraq is a functioning democracy, although still suffering from the lingering effects of decades of tyranny and centuries of sectarian tension.

Yes folks, over the next four years we will spend money that we don’t have and spend lives that we can’t afford in order “win” the Iraq War. I feel like “winning” has been only vaguely defined…

But that is not all we will do. We will also “win” the War in Afghanistan by somehow finding the troops to do so, and to cap it all off, we will finally capture Osama. According to McCain:

There is no longer any place in the world al Qaeda can consider a safe haven.

…except for wherever they are now. I think Osama feels pretty safe.

At this point I have to laugh at the CNN reporter who pointed out that while McCain calls for an end to the war in four years, the Democrats have made no such pledge. I’m sorry, but this doesn’t mean that McCain will be any better at ending the war. It means he’s living in a fantasy world.

A perfect little fantasy world, by the way, where things like the national debt and inflation must not exist. Only in a world like that could McCain claim that massive war spending + lower taxes = “robust economic growth”.

I’ll talk more about the economy later, but I’ll leave you all with this. Ever hear the old saying, “you get what you pay for?” The GOP clearly hasn’t.

I just heard Wolf Blitzer on CNN talk about Hamas’ “endorsement” of Barack Obama, and it got me curious enough to do a little search. So, here is what Ahmed Yousef, chief adviser to the Hamas Prime Minister actually said:

We don’t mind–actually we like Mr. Obama. We hope he will (win) the election and I do believe he is like John Kennedy, great man with great principle, and he has a vision to change America to make it in a position to lead the world community but not with domination and arrogance.

They like him. They compare him to JFK, and like many of us, they want the US to lead without arrogance. But why, Hamas, why did you have to be a terrorist organization?

All I can tell you Jennifer is that I think it’s very clear who Hamas wants to be the next president of the United States. So apparently has Danny Ortega and several others. I think that people should understand that I will be Hamas’s worst nightmare….If Senator Obama is favored by Hamas I think people can make judgments accordingly.

…Too late. That was John McCain, by the way, speaking with some bloggers.

For the record, Obama has publicly denounced Hamas, and refused to meet with the terrorist organization unless they recognized Israel’s right to exist and renounce terrorism. I don’t know what McCain means by being Hamas’ “worst nightmare”; maybe he wants to bomb them or something. Either way, it sounds like Obama has a more sensible plan.

I suppose there is little sense in complaining about another “soft on terror” attack. Republicans will always be able to label their Democratic opponents as “soft on terror” until more Americans can get over their fear of unseen enemies and put more faith in negotiation.

Just remember that Hamas has no say in our election. Its okay if they like Obama, that’s not important. What matters is how they are dealt with after the President is elected.

When you think of the Libertarian Party, you may be forgiven if Ron Paul is the first name that comes to your mind. Paul may have a large following, but he is a Republican seeking the Republican nomination. Today, you should be thinking about Bob Barr, the former US Congressman from Georgia who has just announced his bid to run for President as the Libertarian nominee (he still has yet to officially win the nomination, but says he is confidant that he will do so).

Let me first make one thing clear: Bob Barr will not be President, and no one is watching the Libertarian Party for that. No, there is only one reason why the Libertarians have become less irrelevant than usual, and that is John McCain. Even before he became the Republican nominee, pundits like Ann Coulter and Rush Limbaugh were going on TV and radio to tell Americans that McCain was not a “real conservative”.

To be fair, Coulter and Limbaugh are not technically “real conservatives” either; they are neocons. Their strong beliefs in the War on Terror™ do not sit well with the Libertarian party platform. Barr, interestingly enough, has also criticized McCain for not being a “real conservative”. Its enough to make your head spin.

This confusion among the far-right is at least partly legitimate. Although neocons will probably come to realize that McCain is just like them, there are still many unsatisfied Republicans. Some of them are tired of the war, or of the current Republican administration’s failure to rein in spending. These are exactly the kinds of voters who could be convinced to support someone, anyone, other than McCain, and even a small number could be enough to hand this election to the Democrats.

Barr ‘08? I won’t complain.

I’m sure a lot of you have heard about the horrible tragedy going on in Myanmar this week. The situation has grown desperate as the ruling military junta has been slow to allow aid into the country. Now, they are allowing aid but not allowing the UN aid and relief workers. This is only slightly less useless than not allowing aid in at all. The UN workers are experts at getting the food and shelter required to the people who need it. Without them, this is sure to be a logistical nightmare that could possibly cause thousands of preventable deaths. The leaders of Myanmar are not experts on aid logistics, they are experts on keeping power.

And it is this expertise that causes them to reject all foreigners that ask to come it and help. They remember the heat they took over the suppression of demonstrating monks, and they know that the internationals entering Myanmar are unlikely to be friendly to their regime. A lot of their power is based on the fact that their people have no way of knowing there is an international community out there that lives much better and much freer than they do. Another fact that could be valuable to them is this international community probably would either not intervene or actively help if they were to throw off this government. So what’s a well-meaning (or at least meaning well for themselves) junta to do? Let people starve or jeopardize your power? I don’t think they lost a lot of sleep over the decision.

This brings a major dilemma to the world community. The obvious response to a humanitarian crisis as vast as this one is to flood the area with supplies and the manpower necessary to get those supplies to people that need them. Simple items such as high-energy biscuits and tarp for shelter can save lives if correctly distributed. What do you do, though, when the government of the country does not want help, even when they are obviously not up to the task themselves (think the US after Hurricane Katrina). Then there is a choice to be made: respect lives or respect national sovereignty. This is both a similar situation to other humanitarian crises and a different one.

The beginning of the story of humanitarian intervention begins in 1648 with the Peace of Westphalia. This was basically an agreement among the nations of Europe that no state would interfere with the business of another state. This was the foundation of the nation-state system that is still in place today. The major debate going on now around issues like Darfur is this: do our obligations to all suffering people outweigh our obligation to respect sovereignty wherever possible. And in places like Darfur, the debate is complicated, because it basically turns into a question of how we would go about ending violence and whether we would be able to leave the country better than when we entered it.

In Myanmar, we have a situation that I don’t think has been encountered before: a humanitarian crisis that has nothing to do with the government and an international community willing to help the people while leaving the government alone. They just don’t want our help. So this is probably one of the easiest ways to morally decide whether there is a case for humanitarian intervention. If we were to intervene, it would certainly save lives. But it would violate the government of Myanmar’s sovereignty and could set a dangerous precedent for state intervention. What can be done?

Is the end near?  Probably not.  Hillary is just as determined to fight on as always.  However, her chances of winning have just gotten even smaller.

For a while, it was believed that the only chance Clinton had at being nominated was by a so-called “superdelegate coup”.  Today, this highly controversial possibility appears unlikely to ever occur.  Two superdelegates, New Jersey Rep. Donald Payne and Oregon Rep. Peter DeFazio have just endorsed Obama, giving him a 267-266 lead in endorsements.

I have become convinced that Hillary will take this to the convention.  But with each new superdelegate who casts his/her endorsement, I become more convinced that Obama will be the nominee no matter what.

(Note: I’m having a tough finals week, and am only posting now out of embarrassment due to Bret working so hard. I’ll be done tomorrow, and I will try to start catching up)

What is sometimes easy to forget and painful to remember is George W. Bush is still our president. It is therefore still a good idea to keep track of how he spends his time. Apparently, among other things, he holds teleconferences with dissidents in Cuba. The president took the opportunity to criticize Cuba’s authoritarian government:

“Cuba’s still ruled by the same group that has oppressed the Cuban people for almost half a century,” he said. “Cuba will not be a land of liberty so long as free expression is punished and free speech can take place only in hushed whispers and silent prayers.

Mr. President, haven’t you held hands with various Saudi royal family members? I have no issues with condemnation of totalitarian regimes, but we cannot have a foreign policy so blatantly hypocritical. And the “but they’re Communist” excuse doesn’t work any more. The Cold War is over, and half the countries in Europe are more socialist than Cuba.

Obama surprised few people yesterday when he won North Carolina by 14% of the vote (with 99% of precincts reporting). His big surprise came in Indiana, where Clinton won, but only by about 2% of the vote (also with 99% reporting). This was a far cry from the double-digit lead that was predicted as polls closed.

Obama was saved from the predicted larger defeat in Indiana by the Lake Country, a Chicago suburb that held several precincts that he won handily. The results from these precincts were not reported until hours after polls closed, making the election very close. This is yet another reason why news outlets should not always be so quick to call elections.

So, with another chunk of delegates out of the way, Obama is that much closer to the nomination. Hillary may still not be ready to drop out, but there are a lot of superdelegates out there who still need to make a decision. After a showing like yesterday’s, I think Obama is about to win some new endorsements.

UPDATE:  So far, Obama has won 1589.5 pledged delegates and 255 endorsements from superdelegates, bringing his total to 1844.5.  In order to win the nomination, he needs 180 more delegates.  Clinton, on the other hand, has won 1427.5 pledged delegates and 269.5 endorsements from superdelegates, bringing her total to 1697.  In order to win, she needs 327.5 delegates.

There have been a lot of questions asked regarding John McCain’s age (71) and his ability to lead the country. I think they are valid questions, but at the same time, we have to realize that there are more factors that should be taken into account.

Maybe it’s because we are afraid of being accused of insulting his war record, but it seems like there is little discussion of McCain’s war injuries. If you recall, when he was shot down over Hanoi in 1967, McCain shattered his knee and broke both of his arms; wounds that were not treated at all during the years he was held captive. Physically, McCain was crippled, and to this day he cannot raise his arms above his shoulders.

However, McCain’s mental health is another matter. Although he has not made anything public, it would be foolish to think that McCain could undergo such an ordeal and not retain some mental scars. In fact, this may be what causes the fiery temper that he has become famous for.

So, if we are going to debate McCain’s fitness for office, we should question whether an old, physically disabled veteran who may or may not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder could handle the presidency.

And speaking of disabilities…

As it turns out, McCain’s injuries were sever enough for the Navy to classify him as 100% disabled, which in turn qualifies him for a tax-free pension of &58,358. According to his 2007 tax information, he accepted this money.

Now I don’t have a problem with wounded veterans receiving disability pay. They deserve it. My question is, does the McCain family (worth millions) really need the money? Wouldn’t it better serve wounded veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan who don’t have huge amounts of money in the bank? Maybe I’m making too big a deal out of this. But McCain is the one who always talks about cutting back on wasteful government spending.

With that in mind, I will rephrase what I said before. We should question whether an old, physically disabled veteran who may or may not suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder and is considered by the Navy to be 100% disabled could handle the presidency.