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Don’t Vote

by Dave

You have the right to vote.  Nobody says you have to vote.  Yes, I know both Republicans and Democrats are saying all Americans should vote.  I’m suggesting just the opposite- this country would be a lot better off if some people just sat home and didn’t vote.

If you haven’t bought a read a newspaper in two years-  don’t vote.   If you can’t remember if Obama is a Republican or Democrat – don’t vote.  If you can’t name one of the justices on the Supreme Court – don’t vote.  If you can’t name two branches of government (I mean any 2 of the 3 branches) don’t vote.   Hint: the US Post Office is not a branch.  If you think Syria is next to Kuwait or Malaysia- don’t vote.

If you think of electing a president because you are mad at some decision made by the Supreme Court- forget it.  It isn’t going to happen.  Not the Obamacare, abortion or the right of gays to marry on the liberal side, or ruling unconstitutional gun control and campaign finance on the conservative side.  Not going to be heard again and decided differently.

If you don’t care about politics, you have every right (see: Pursuit of Happiness clause) not to vote.  If you do vote, and the person you voted for wins,  it is partially your fault.  I mean a very small fraction, but do you want this responsibility?

Stay tuned,

Dave Lord

 

 

Commie Sanders

by Dave

Bernie Sanders, commie.   Or commie lover.  Or commie sympathizer.  Ok, this is from Trump, who is still explaining how he’s going to get the Mexican government to pay for a 2,000 mile wall.   More on that later.

Of course,  New York Republicans can be outdone by Texas Republicans any day of the week, even if they are competing in the area of stupidity.  Rep Jason Villalba accused Bernie Sanders of being a Nazi,  pretty nutsy given Sanders is Jewish.

http://www.rawstory.com/2015/10/texas-republicans-idiotic-tweet-jewish-bernie-sanders-is-a-democratic-socialist-just-like-the-nazis/

Well Hitler’s party was the National Socialist Workers Party.  Actually,  the Nazi’s greatest enemy was the Democratic Socialist Party, which he destroyed by brute force.   But who  cares. This is just more dumb zingers –    Sanders is a Commie by day, Nazi by night.   I wish the election could be next week.

But Trumps zingers are just name calling, and are particularly  embarrassing. Of course Jason’s are laughable.      Laissez faire capitalism is a dead concept.   Yes, government has been regulating industry since the early 1940’s.   The child labor laws and  health and safety regulations for workers were all considered government encroaching on the rights of private industry, or communism.   The most contentious laws, the right of workers to unionize and go on strike, was held in the 1950’s as a communist plot.

Undemocratic socialism is what has been practiced in Cuba, Russia and Eastern Europe,  with disastrous results.  If anything Bernie has done, is to promote reforms in campaign finance- thus  increasing the  democratic process.

I guess since the Democrats had their attention grabbing debate and  Trump really feels out of the limelight.   There is a time to speak, and a time to sit down and shut up.

Stay tuned,

Dave Lord

 

 

 

More frightening developments

by Dave

Moderate Democrats and Republicans have found common ground for decades to pass legislation.  For example, the core environmental laws which enhanced governmental powers of the EPA (Clean Air and Clean Water Act) were signed into law by Richard Nixon.

But, the tea party republicans are threatening to really bring ruin to the US by failure to raise the debt ceiling and action is needed within 3 weeks.

Kevin McCarthy pulled out of the race for House Speaker, because he would have to cut a deal with the Freedom Caucus to refuse to pass a clean debt ceiling bill.  Shep Smith of Fox News, got the story first:

http://www.breitbart.com/video/2015/10/08/shep-smith-freedom-caucus-demands-washington-grind-to-halt-wants-disarray/

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

Syria – Part 3 Long term solution

by Dave

Syria is a horrible mess.  It is no longer an asymmetrical war.  It has drawn in Iran, Russia, Iraq and Egypt on one side, and the US, France, Jordan and a host of other countries on the other side.  Not much will be left of Syria after the conflict is over.

All good options, are impractical.  Victory by the opposition and a non-secular democratic government is a fantasy.  We have the military power to  defeat ISIL but we can not occupy and run Syria.  We can not put Americans into a war between Sunnis and Shi’ites in Syria.

The cornerstone of US policy is first Assad has to leave.   We must let go of this.   While the opposition  is committed to a non-secular government,  even if they hold to their promise, it will be an enormous loss of power to the Shi’ites or one can say a major victory to Sunnis.  Assad and his Shi’ite minority will never give up, even if Syria is completely leveled.

We must reverse course, and fast.   Conceptually, the policy change is to treat ISIL and the other jihadist groups as foreign invaders, who occupy Syria. We can accept Russia’s presence as a fight against terrorism.   Through negotiations, Russia presence can be short.  They really don’t want a long term involvement in Syria.   If there can be peace (or at least some stability) in Syria, even under the tyrant Assad, then  hopefully Russia’s military presence is not longer needed.   The end to bombing by  US, Russia  and Syria (of their own people) should be the new goal.   Thus, instead of making Assad the number 1 enemy of the US, we have to work to keep Syria independent of Iran and the more radical Shi’ite groups like Iran’s revolutionary guard.

I believe non-interference agreements between the US and Russia are the highest priority.  This is tough as the US will have to stop supporting the opposition forces  In turn, Russia will not use its air force to bomb cities held by the opposition forces.   This would be a truce or standstill agreement in the civil war.  It does not require us to acknowledge the legitimacy of Assad.   It does tell the opposition groups, that they better make peace with Assad and fast, because they can no longer count on US support.  Since the common enemy is ISIL, then we support Iraq’s effort to fight ISIL and allow Russia to fight ISIL in Syria. ‘

We have to keep Israel at bay also, as their involvement will be counterproductive to de-escalation efforts, and result in intensifying support for radical Islamic groups.  It is a real juggling act for Obama.

This is a major change in concept and unfortunately, allows Assad to continue to treat his own people, hoping for change, as terrorists. We can not be the policemen nor the nurse maids of the world (Fulbright’s famous quote).   Disengagement is not a mainstream Democrat or Republican idea.   Many of the conservative Republicans see us increasing support to the opposition, as if we are on a holy crusade to spread democracy and wipe out tyrannical (illegitimate)  governments.  Bomb Damascus,  Tehran or Moscow or parachute a million Americans into Syria.   Higher ideals do not translate into workable solutions.

Oh, if  the Tunisian officials had  given  Mohamed Bouazizi back his scale (see my prior post).  There is no rewind button on history.

The long term solution of disengagement requires a huge swallowing of pride and compromise of our ideal.  Syrians who gave their lives for a better future without Assad will feel betrayed.   Mutual disengagement (US and Russia) is the trade off needed for a hope for stability.  Otherwise, we end up with a colossal proxy war  of our own making.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

Syrian Crisis – Part 1 (Jihadists, ISIL, the good guys, Mohamed Bouazizi and others)

by Dave

I thought instead of describing how the Syria crisis began, I would only talk about when.  I have been to Damascus in 1999, and I considered it a far safer place than Miami, Florida where I live.  I did not see Syria as a hotbed of Islamic extremism.  I still don’t.

When did the mess in Syria begin?  It began on December 17, 2010.  Could you be more precise, possibly?  Yes,  11:30 am. There are a couple of events prior to this, so we can say 8:00 am when Mohamed Bouazizi began his day to 11:30, when the incident occurred.

There are so many groups, subgroups, super-groups (coalitions), it is difficult to keep track of them.  Wikipedia has done a fantastic job, as usual:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_armed_groups_in_the_Syrian_Civil_War

I believe rebuilding a transmission is easier than solving the Syrian crisis- because there are fewer moving parts!

In the category of Jihadists on Wikipedia, are the Al-Qaeda affiliated groups (Al-Nusra and others), whose origins date back to 1986- 1989,  as Osama bin Laden was fighting against the Russians in Afghanistan with the military assistance of the  CIA (thank you President Reagan).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Al-Qaeda

In the category of the most vile and dangerous group of terrorists, namely ISIL or ISIS,  they are relatively new kids on the block, with their roots dating back to the invasion of Iraq in 2003 (thank you President Bush),  and the repression of the Sunni’s in Iraq.  Former President of Iraq, Maliki, bears responsibility for much of this repression.  The idea that ISIL and Al Qaeda moved in when Obama pulled the US troops out of Iraq is really overly simplistic.  Our presence also encourages terrorist recruitment. I will not attempt to enter in the debate of who contributed  to the growth of ISIL, Bush or Obama,  as I believe neither could fully anticipate what was emerging from the end of the Iraqi conflict.  It is a bit like sailing in turbulent winds, very difficult to steer.

Let’s move on.

— Good guys

The so-called “good guys” or the opposition groups (moderate, non-sectarian, groups)  seeking the ouster of Bashir Assad did not exist until 2011 after the tragic death of Mohamed Bouazizi of Tunisia.    It used to be called the Free Syrian Army (FSA),  but with merger of other groups, now it is the Syrian Revolutionary Command Council (SRCC) of which incudes FSA.  We can just call them good guys. But our good guys are at conflict with Jihadists, ISIL and the  Syrian military and associated supporting groups.

But our enemies, ISIL and Jihadists are also at war with the Syrian government.  So the enemy of our enemy is also our enemy.  ISIL holds a large portion of central Syria, which is sparsely populated, so it isn’t as bad as it looks.    Our friends, the Iraq government supports the Assad.  The  friend of our enemy is our friend.   I mean Americans have died, and billions of dollars spent for our friend, Iraq,  Thank you very much.

Of course, Syria and associated allies, see things completely opposite.  The SRCC or good guys are called “terrorists” by the Syrian government.   Hezbollah, which we consider as a dangerous group with a long history of threatening the security of Israel, is allied with Syria. So,  they are the “good guys” to the Syrians.   It can be argued that the establishment of  Hezbollah was a response to the Israel’s invasion of South Lebanon.

This makes the conflict in Syria unbelievably complicated. It is why Netanyahu visited Putin very recently.  Israel is very worried about Russia weapons going to Hezbollah for attacks on Israel.   Israel can certainly retaliate against Hezbollah if the attacks are launched from southern Lebanon.  But they are worried if Hezbollah launches missiles from Syria, would that draw Russia into a Syria-Israel conflict?   Putin has no interest in widening the Syria conflict- only doing what is needed to keep Assad in power.    But diversion of military equipment is always possible.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hezbollah

— Mohamed Bouazizi

Let’s get back to WHEN the sh*t hit the fan.  Dec 17, 2010 11:30 am and the very sad protest and death of Mohamad Bouazizi.

Mohamed who?

On December 17, 2010 all was calm throughout Syria.

In the small country of Tunisia,  the simple protest of a  street vendor was about to ignite the Arab Spring.  It is an incredible story.  Mohamed sold fruit and vegetables in the plaza from a cart. He was harassed by the police who confiscated his scale.  He unsuccessfully tried to get his scale back from authorities. Following this, he lit himself on fire and died on Jan 4, 2011.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohamed_Bouazizi

The origins of the SRCC or “good guys”  occurred in April 2011, after civil wars had begun in Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt.

—  Long wars in small countries

Wars are a bit like forest fires, sooner or later they should run out of fuel.  But,  ISIL has been very resourceful in finding funding through the capturing of oilfields, and demanding ransom for captured civilians.  Plus, they recruit others on the basis this is a fight for the survival of Sunni Muslims around the world.  The other groups involved, such as the SRCC have backers, namely the US and European allies.

It is a horrible, horrible situation.  Fareed Zacharia got it right, that Russia has a much more straight forward strategy than ours:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/in-syria-whose-side-is-the-united-states-on/2015/10/01/27163ec4-6875-11e5-9ef3-fde182507eac_story.html

It is one colossal proxy war,  5 countries supplying weapons to Syria,  and 8 countries conducting air strikes against ISIL, mixed in with terrorist organizations (ISIL and Nusra against Assad, Hezbollah for Assad).

All of a sudden,  Bashir Assad is not looking that bad.  Of course, in extreme relative terms.  In the US, he would qualify as a mass murderer.  But so would about a dozen leaders around the globe.

This is just part 1, and I’ve got a lot to add.  But, this has gotten pretty long so far.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

Debt ceiling again – and the white knight republicans

by Dave

Yes, the government spends too much, it borrows too much, it spends money on stupid things.  But just stop right there. PLEASE.

Nov 5, 2015 is when the debt ceiling has to be raised.  At least, it is now the best estimate of Sec’y Lew.

Debt ceiling has nothing to do with how much the government can spend or borrow.  It is not like your credit card limit. It is called a debt ceiling, but it should be called “Permission to pay what the US Government has already spent.” It is like permission to pay your credit card bill when it arrives.  But it’s worse, because if the US Government fails to pay, they have now defaulted on their obligations.

The US has never, ever defaulted.  Companies who fail to pay their obligations find their credit ratings cut very quickly, and soon they are facing bankruptcy.

A temporary debt ceiling “patch”  was passed in 2014, which temporarily suspended the debt ceiling  to March 15, 2015.

So,  the alarms at the Treasury have been sounding since March 6, 2015 that Congress has to take action.   Eight times, Lew sent letters to Congress.  Obama has stated the same thing countless times.  This is the economic nuclear bomb.

If a debt ceiling bill is passed with demands that Obamacare or Planned Parenthood are to be defunded (which has nothing to do with the debt ceiling)  you basically destroy the power of the President to execute those laws passed by Congress.  Obamacare is in effect because was passed into law by Congress.  Now Congress can defund Obamacare, they can defund Planned Parenthood, but not as a condition to prevent an economic crisis.

Secretary Jack Lew sent letters on March 6, 13, 16 and 17 warning that he was forced to take emergency step (extraordinary measures) to avoid default.  He then sent letters on 7/29, 7/30, 9/10 and two days ago (Oct 1, 2015) with the Treasury’s best estimate of when the funds used during this period would be exhausted.  Each letter stated the exact date could not be predicted, because it would depend on the money coming in and out of the Treasury every day.

There was a nice way to deal with this.  Congress used to pass budgets,  and when the budget passed, automatically the debt ceiling was raised.  This is why during the Bush administration, nobody was concerned with debt ceilings.  But, this was done away and the rest is an awful mess.

Republicans have the chance to make a major and permanent change in our economy, by pushing our country into default for refusing to pass a simple clean debt ceiling increase.  Ted Cruz, Marco Rubio, and Rand Paul may lead the charge. Why not, they are behind in the polls.

Republicans will try to put the blame on Obama, as crisis hits, and they will get plenty of air time on Fox news, by emphasizing that we are trillions in debt and they are some kind of white knights to save the day.  All they really do, is slay the princess and let the dragon loose.

Is it worth it?

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

Debt Ceiling

by Dave

Sec’y Lew letter, moving up the date to likely default to November 5, just 5 days after Boehner leaves.  What a mess!

Countries usually fall into sovereign default after a number of disastrous economic decisions.  We’re doing if so the Republicans can get more air time on Fox news.  It is scary, and the Republicans are crazy to play a game of Russian roulette with the economy.  The problem with Russian roulette is sometimes the gun does go off.

http://www.treasury.gov/Documents/Treasury%20Letter%20to%20Congress%20100115.pdf

Could be one screaming stupid mess.  I know Marco Rubio voted against raising the debt ceiling last time.  Tom Cruz and Rand Paul likely voted against it too.

Stay tuned,

Dave Lord

 

Those Wonderful Reagan Years – Part I, The Economy

by Dave

I write this with some trepidation.  There are Reagan lovers and haters.  I’m lean toward the side that there was an enormous gap between the Reagan promises and what actually happened.  One thing can not be denied- Reagan clobbered Mondale in 1984, so he was very popular, at least in 1984.

Part I will be the economy.  Reagan came through with his promise to take government off the backs of the American people.  Lower taxes allow more spending, so there’s more prosperity.

Sorry- but it really didn’t work that way at all.   Economists like to look at the debt to GDP numbers.  Remember Reagan was president from 1980 to 1988.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States#/media/File:FederalDebt1940to2012.svg

But you can look at it anyway you want, it still went up:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_debt_of_the_United_States

But, what about taxes, didn’t Reagan cut taxes.  He did, then imposed one of the largest tax increases in history:

Conversely, Congress passed and Reagan signed into law tax increases of some nature in every year from 1981 to 1987 to continue funding such government programs as Tax Equity and Fiscal Responsibility Act of 1982 (TEFRA), Social Security, and the Deficit Reduction Act of 1984 (DEFRA).[139][140] Despite the fact that TEFRA was the “largest peacetime tax increase in American history”,[140][141][142][143] gross domestic product (GDP) growth recovered strongly after the early 1980s recession ended in 1982, and grew during his eight years in office at an annual rate of 7.91% per year, with a high of 12.2% growth in 1981.[144]

While the deficit was increasing and taxes were going up,  so our economy was improving.  Reagan lovers by the way, do not accept this.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Reagan

So, was Reagan a real tax cutter, or tax cutter phony?  The tax hikes took back about 1/2 to 1/3 of the tax cuts.

Reagan was a firm believer in keeping government out of business, except of course when business was collapsing.  The Savings and Loan collapse begins with deregulation laws passed when Carter was president, and more laws passed under Reagan.

The market share of S&Ls for single family mortgage loans went from 53% in 1975 to 30% in 1990.[40] U.S. General Accounting Office estimated cost of the crisis to around $160.1 billion, about $124.6 billion of which was directly paid for by the U.S. government from 1986 to 1996.[2] That figure does not include thrift insurance funds used before 1986 or after 1996. It also does not include state run thrift insurance funds or state bailouts.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savings_and_loan_crisis

Reagan the conservative, was the first with the billion dollar bailouts, followed by  President G.W. Bush.

It is certainly true, that economic trends take time to be recognized and then  changed, and  a lot depends on the will of Congress.  The collapse of the housing market in 2007-8, dates back to deregulation legislation signed into law by Clinton, just before leaving office.

The stock market crash of 1987  (Black Monday) was pretty bad.  I remember 1986-1987  well, as I was working for an oil company, and decided not to take any vacation, as I was scared I wouldn’t have a job if I took 2 weeks off.  Oil prices crashed in 1986, and it was a terrible time to work for an oil company.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Monday_(1987)

I won’t win any friends from the Reagan lovers, but hopefully,  you won’t label me a Reagan hater.  If you look at  the economy from the day Reagan began to the day he left, the economy by most measures improved, but was this because of his conservative philosophy, or because he took action contrary to this philosophy?

I believe supply side economics is much better left as a theory, rather than a reality.  No one expands there business because they have receive a tax break.  They do it because there is more demand for whatever they are producing.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

Shell Oil’s Exit of the Chukchi Sea in the Arctic Circle

by Dave

DRILL -BABY-DRILL

Wow- what just happened?     Shell Oil made 7 billion dollar investment in the Arctic Circle, drilled one well in 4 months, and poof,  then this week they announced   they didn’t find enough oil to justify further exploratory drilling.

With last week’s announcement,  Greenpeace can claim victory, I guess.   Well, if they want to.  Perhaps they were better off with the war against Shell.  I mean perhaps the average American can’t locate the Chukchi Sea,  but Shell gas stations are another story.

But,  let’s go back to the well and  Chukchi Sea.  It is above the Bering Straits, between Russia and Alaska.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukchi_Sea#/media/File:Chukchi_Sea.png

Shell’s Burger J exploratory well is located 80 miles from the coast of Alaska.   This well was drilled strictly an exploratory well.   After drilling and logging the perspective hydrocarbon zones,  the well would be plugged and abandon.   The well was drilled to a depth of 6800 ft, encountered some hydrocarbon shows, and then plugged with cement.   This would all be done in accordance to the approved well plan.

It is impossible to produce oil except as test lasting a few days, without facilities.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/energy-environment/wp/2015/09/28/royal-dutch-shell-suspends-arctic-drilling-indefinitely/

http://www.shell.com/global/aboutshell/media/news-and-media-releases/2015/shell-updates-on-alaska-exploration.html

So, how much oil is there in Chukchi?   When no well has yet to confirm a commercial discovery,  the reserves (proved oil) of the Chukchi sea are zero. But how much oil might there be- is an entirely different question.    The resources  value could be as much as 30 billion barrels.  See:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chukchi_Sea#Oil_and_gas_resources

And also as low as zero.  Of course, Shell would likely have been happy with one billion barrels in recoverable oil,  if it was a light oil that could be produced at high rates.

Shell was the largest leaseholder, so it will be hard for smaller companies to take similar risks.

The world is full of oil that will never be tapped, and it is a fact of life in the oil industry. There were billions of barrels of “resources” along the Eastern Atlantic coastline until a few exploratory wells  reduced these speculative estimates to zero.

Many  deposits are too small, or too remote, geologically too complex  and with environmental risks too great to be worth  being developed.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

 

 

Winning again

by Dave

“Make America Great”

Trump’s theme.   Listen closely, it is more getting what we want as a country and the hell with everyone else.  You don’t tell a football team, to cut deals with the other team.

But, getting things done, whether passing bills in Congress or negotiating with other countries overseas,  it is a slow process to search for common ground and compromise.   Republicans, if they are going to solve problems,  they’ve got to work out solutions with Democrats.

It’s the big problems that require long term collaboration.    If Obama wants to get get North Korea to stop its aggressive nuclear weapons program,  then he’s got to get help from China and Russia.

Similarly with global warming.  It does exist and will require intense negotiations with hundreds of countries  to reduce carbon emissions.

Trump thought it was crazy that it took 18 months to work out a deal with Iran.   He’s not used to working with 5 other countries, with all the  complexities and the UN involvement.  He’s a one-on-one guy,  with here’s the deal, do you want it or not?   If it’s a hotel or golf course, he can walk away from a deal, with a “come back when you’re ready”  attitude.

Problem is no Republican can get on Fox News, and talk about compromising with Democrats, without looking like traitors to conservatism.  Even worse if they talk about collaborating with China and Russia on issues such as global warming and terrorism.    The big problems will not be solved by Republicans or Democrats, it will be solved by governments working around the world on common objectives.

Make America great by understanding the need for: compromise,  collaboration and diplomacy.   It is not just America will benefit because Iran is blocked from gaining nuclear weapons.  It will be the world that is great.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

George H.W. Bush and John Kerry

by Dave

George H.W.  Bush jumped from a plane at 11:15 am, 2014 in Kennebunkport, ME  and parachuted down to the ground. It was his 90th birthday. WOW.  He did it because he can do it.   And it is an inspiration to everyone.

John Kerry is 73 years old.  He is an avid cyclist.  On May 31, 2015,  he had a bicycling accident in France. He bicycles because he can do it.

These are two outstanding examples of people with incredible energy-  not ready for the arm chair by any means.

Trump is way off base to call John Kerry stupid for bicycling in France.   Kerry is an athlete, but I honestly think Bush is even more spectacular. These are definitely two high energy,  tough guys.

I think both would agree that an occasional athletic activity or workout, relieves daily stress and improves mental health.   At advance age, it’s all about keeping the blood moving.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

Debt ceiling and self inflicted wounds

by Dave

Congress must pass a clean debt ceiling hike.  This is the real big one.

Don’t worry about October, and the spending bill.  Failure to pass the spending bill means essential government services are shut down.  There will be a lot of press coverage, and blaming who’s at fault.   Holding up the bill because of Planned Parenthood non-scandal, is silly.

Failure to raise the debt ceiling is catastrophic.  It might happen.  It means the US refuses to pay for spending already authorized by Congress.  Many economists have said debt ceiling authorization shouldn’t exist and doesn’t exist in almost all countries.

The failure to raise the debt ceiling will result in the lowering of US credit, a disaster for business and crashing stock market.

The change out of the Speaker of the House on Oct 30 has been worried.

If it does happen,  it is the fault of the Republicans.  And it is supremely dumb.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

Republicans remaining

by Dave

In quick review, I eliminated 7 candidates because they didn’t have government experience or they were way too conservative.

The 7 candidates you should not vote far are Trump, Carson, Fiorina, Rubio, Cruz, Huckabee and Paul.  Graham, Jindal and Santorium are too far behind in the polls.  Might be the story for Christie and Kasich.  So, that leaves Bush which Trump is trashing at every opportunity.    And Bush never gets more than about 8% of the poll numbers.

At this point, only half of the top four republican candidates have any government service.  Shouldn’t this count?

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

Radical Muslims and Americans

by Dave

The Republicans pride themselves in using a word that Obama has avoided “Radical Muslim Ideology.”   The terrorists, such as Al-Qaeda and ISIL say this is their  ideology. Good descriptors for these groups are gangs,  terrorists or murderers.  ISIL took terrorism to a new level, with kidnappings and other crimes for profit.

At the core of our country,  is the separation of church and state.   But, it is fine for a political candidate to say, as Obama and others have done, that basic values are founded in their religious faith.   Dr. Carson went too far, in saying he would never vote for a Muslim.  Somehow his faith is better than others.  How can a man so smart be making statements like this?

My extended family is Buddhist,  Jewish, Catholic  and Protestant.   What every religion teaches is non-violence and respect for others.   There are no bad religions, just bad people.  

Most recently, extremely violent and hateful people calling themselves Radical Muslims and their aim is the creation of a new Islamic State.  They don’t deserve this title, as they are just criminals and murders. If America finds itself at war against Muslims, then it’s us against 1.6 billion people.  If America finds itself at war  against ISIL and Al-Qaeda, then there are less than 20,000 criminals to fight.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

Debt ceiling increases

by Dave

Congress is likely to shut down government by the end of October.  A lot of waste and confusion.  But in the end, a deal will be cut between Republicans and Democrats.  We shall survive a shutdown.

Much more ominous is raising the debt ceiling limit.  This is  coming due early November.  There is no second chance on this one. I am scared by the complacency.  Failure to raise the debt ceiling will have massive repercussions, as the US will be in sovereign default, not because we can’t pay our bills, but because Congress refuses to pass a clean bill to raise the debt ceiling.

Raising the debt ceiling is not like raising the limit on your credit card, so you can go crazy during the holiday sales at Brandsmart.  It is simply authorizing the executive branch to pay the bills and interest on the debt,  based on spending that was approved by Congress.

Sovereign default is not joke.  It is scary and the blame goes to the neoconservative  Republicans on this issue.

Stay tuned,

David Lord