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Planned Parenthood and Religious Freedoms

by Dave

I’m sorry but this kind of gets personal.  My mother loved children.  I never saw her any more happy than when she held a baby in her arms.  She was for 35 years, a dedicated nurse, who really connected with people. She knew medicine, not only because she graduated from Colombia University School of Nursing, but because she kept up with all the latest medical information.   She was promoted to the position of infection control coordinator at her hospital.   She was a volunteer for Planned Parenthood, and counselled many young women.  

She counselled on safe sex practices, and dangers of STDs.   AIDS still is an epidemic. Planned Parenthood provides the needed information in the right way.  Mom’s comment to me is that this is really one organization that is really doing their job.   It treats young women with respect by telling them their options if they are pregnant,   “Only you can decide what is best for you”  is stated on their website.

“Where there is smoke, there is fire”,  but in this case,  “Where there is smoke, there are groups that knows how make it.”

If this is a country which believes in the separation of church and state, then there is no reason to discriminate against Planned Parenthood.   The US Government contribution is small.

http://www.plannedparenthood.org/

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

Iran again

by Dave

Ok.  It’s almost like the Geico commercials.  Perhaps 99% of everyone has heard about enough.

But, the Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khameni  made a speech yesterday,  about Israel not being around in another 25 years.    Lousy timing. “With Allah’s help, there will be no such thing as as a Zionist regime in 25 years,”  is what Khamenei said.   And the US is still the “Great Satan.”

The guy is 76 years old.   For sure, he’s not going to be around in another 25 years.   His hard line rhetoric  is contrasted with the President Rouhani and very importantly Foreign Minister Javad Zarif.  His title as “Supreme Leader” is a farce.  He  is all bark and no bite.  He is the spiritual leader of the past, not the real leader.

Next point- a lot of false statements were made by Republicans  about how Iran sponsored terrorism around the world.   But many of the speeches by House Republicans were ridiculous, because radical Islamic groups have thrived while the assets of Iran have been frozen and their economy is in dire straits.  This is a fact.

Where does most of the money for terrorism come from?   Experts will point first to Saudi Arabia, particularly in their aid to Hamas.  The worse group of terrorists in the world,   ISIL,  has many sources of income, ranging from the sale of artifacts and oil,  goods they acquire from looting of shops,  to selling of kidnapped foreigners, and private contributions.   Iran has supported the government of Syria and Hezbollah,  which are fighting both  ISIL and Al-Nusra (El Qaeda affiliated organization).

Bottom, bottom line- the sanctions were put in place because Iran was not complying with the nuclear non-proliferation agreement.   Lifting the Iranian sanctions  will  not help  ISIL  because Iran’s money is  going to organizations which are fighting  against ISIL.     The US is likely to put more troops in Iraq but has only limited options in Syria, if we don’t want to make things worse.

We can not economically wrestle countries to the floor and make them do what we want.  Sorry Dick Cheney, it doesn’t work.

Yes, the Iran deal will go through.  It is likely to strengthen the  moderates, who now run the country.   Forget the barking dog, please.  Time to move on.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

 

 

Bracing yourself for the debates

by Dave

A lot of accomplishments will come from all candidates.  Nearly all have written books, boasting what they have personally accomplished.  On improving the economy,  all the governors will tell you how they slashed the budget of unnecessary expenses, and employment soared.

They slashed budgets in years 2008 and 2009 because the economy had gone bust.  It didn’t matter if they were true blue Republicans or Democrats.  There was enormous spending, however, at the Federal level, with Bush’s TARP program, followed by Obama’s stimulus programs.

Stimulus programs are emergency room tactics and it is reasonable to get rid of them once the economy is in better shape.

On economics:   Every administration in recent time has increased the deficit.  It doesn’t matter if it is Republican or Democrat.  Debts do not destroy an economy.   A country is in bad shape when nobody wants to buy its debt or trusts its banking system.   This causes increased interest rates.  Our interest rate is extremely low, meaning and our dollar is making all time highs against other currency, indicating the strength of our economy. 

When an economy is in bad shape, the stock market tanks.  Our stock market has large price swings, but the last 6 years, there market averages (Dow Average) has doubled, proving the recovery is occurring.

Finally,  employment will never go to zero.  Employment at the low end is rapidly being replaced by technology.   Those who want to stay employed better upgrade their skills.

Zero employment is the ultimate in a tight labor market, resulting in inflation.  So, everyone is working, but the money they make isn’t worth as much.

Stay tune,

David Lord

 

 

Who not to vote for (Republicans)

by Dave

There are 11 front runners in the upcoming CNN debate.  Following rules 1 and 2, this narrows the field down to a manageable 4 candidates:

Bush, Walker, Kasich and Christie.

Each has served or is serving as governor of a state.  If you don’t know who Walker and Kasich are, you can find out on the internet.  If you enter Walker into Google, you will find images of walkers (not people named Walker, but the thing with wheels).   There is also a movie named Walker.   It looked pretty interesting, as were the walkers.   I did also look for images of people named Walker, and Ally Walker, an actress was pretty interesting.

Ok, the guy that’s running, his first name is Scott.  Apparently, he’s dropping in the polls, so he might not be worth following.

Of our reduced list, both Kasich and Christie are at the bottom, so this pretty much leaves Jeb.  Each candidate will say how they did great things for their economy.   After the 2008 real estate crash,  the federal government was taking really massive steps to revive the economy, and most states benefited.

So, the next round of debates, look for Trump duking it out with Bush.

I’m not saying Jeb is the one to vote for- not by a long shot.  All but one has to be eliminated as the Republican Candidate.   Just trying to narrow down the field.  Guess that’s enough for now.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

Mars Exploration and Charles Bolden

by Dave

Space exportation is to gain knowledge, not headlines.   Attempts to land on Mars and send back images  proved to be extremely challenging, but we did it.  The best estimates so far on the time travel is 9 months.

The question should not be whether we explore Mars, but whether we should do it with manned or unmanned spacecraft.

Recently, on CNN GPS, with Fareed Zacharia’s interview with Charlie Bolden,  Fareed started off by saying a manned mission would be costly and challenging.   Charlie Bolden responded, “Because we have to.  We have to send humans somewhere if we want to find difficult answers.”

He goes on to talk about knowing whether  life exists  in our universe.   But unmanned missions can cover a much larger area and provide much more information.  This is why drones are used today.  Land rovers are a lot like drones.

Then he starts talking like Elon Musk, saying how we must evolve into a multi-planet species that will live on in perpetuity, while a single planet species will die out.

Sorry but the Mars settlement  idea is just wacko, because the people we send into space, either on a two-way or one-way trip  are in a cage, and what you see every day is dust.  Basic supplies will run out.   If earth goes, so will the few people on Mars with temperatures that will melt lead. That is the reality.

Being the first citizen of Mars is romantic, but one should spend about a year or two  in jail, to lose all notions of romance.

I fear we could lose an entire crew, on a science mission better done by land rovers.  I fear an enormous waste of money in a time where there is so much good we can do around the world.  The diversion of funds from worthwhile projects is likely to be enormous.

I am really an optimist, because I think there are fantastic opportunities for the US to explore new worlds,  be it in space exploration, bio-technology or the environment.   All the other ideas on CNN GPS were fantastic, particular the 3D printing of the human heart.   This is terrific bio-engineering  that the private sector and universities can participate in.  But it doesn’t grab headlines quite like a rocket shooting off in space.

I would rather the US find out how to fund Medicare for the next 30 years rather than spend billions on the  “New Dawn of Orion.” Lower your objectives  and start looking to get answers with a reasonable budget without a real risk  risk to human lives, Mr.  Bolden.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

Who not to vote for

by Dave

Rule #2:  Don’t vote for ultra-conservatives or libertarians

Rand Paul, Ted Cruz, Mike Huckabee and Marco Rubio.

Marco Rubio is a junior senator from Florida.  Look at the bill he voted for when he was a congressman in the state legislature:

http://dcpols.com/marco-rubio-voted-for-bill-forcing-rape-victims-to-publish-sexual-history/

And his comments on disobeying a Supreme Court ruling:

http://www.nytimes.com/politics/first-draft/2015/09/02/marco-rubio-says-government-should-respect-kim-daviss-beliefs/

The second new story shows how far Rubio will go.   What happens if Rubio becomes president – is he also entitled to ignore a Supreme Court ruling if he feels for religious reasons, he must?

Rubio is trained as a lawyer, so he knows better.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

 

Who not to vote for (Republican candidates only)

by Dave

Rule #1:  Don’t vote for someone who has never held a single elected or appointed position in government.  

So, rule #1 means forget Ben Carson, Carly Fiorina and Donald Trump.

Ok.  I’m in favor of fresh blood, but not that fresh.  Donald Trump can sell.  He’s been selling his whole life.  If you put up a luxury condominium, you have to sell it for top price- and this is what Trump has doing for the last about 30 years.   These days,  he pushes Trump  brand.

All I hear from Trump is marketing.  Great marketing and maybe it’s enough for domestic consumption.  He isn’t capable of building international cooperative agreements.  He’s thinks way  too much in terms of power relationships as dividing the world into friends and enemies.   This was the great Bush/Cheney failure.

Carly Fiorina was CEO from 1999 to 2005.  The board fired her when  HP stock plummeted after  the takeover of Compaq.  Arianna Packard wrote:

“I know a little bit about Carly Fiorina, having watched her almost destroy the company my grandfather founded,” she wrote.

http://www.cbsnews.com/news/five-things-to-know-about-carly-fiorina/

http://www.bloomberg.com/politics/articles/2015-08-07/fiorina-s-debate-performance-invites-new-scrutiny-of-hp-tenure

Dr. Carson is admired as a superb physician.  He became a Republican in 2014 and has no experience in any elected or appointed position.

He would make a terrific professor of medicine or preacher, but not the necessary experience for US President.

So cross off Trump, Fiorina and Carson,  right now, as unqualified.

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

 

 

Trump vs. Chiller- Tough Choice

by Dave

I watched Trump for a bit last night.  Pretty frightening stuff.  My wife turned the channel to Chiller, which showed make believe blood.  Probably a better choice.

Trump was attacking Caroline Kennedy, Ambassador to Japan, who according to many in the country, has been an excellent ambassador.    Why?  Because she keeps to the mission of an embassy, as the personal representative of the US Government and its policies, in the maintenance of good diplomatic and business relations.

Trump thinks ruthless take-over specialists, like Carl Icahn, would be best for these positions.   Get in your face type negotiations might work in Trump’s work, of spreading the Trump brand around the world.  But if a diplomat tries this,  they get expelled from the country.

As I clicked through the channels,  there was Marco Rubio, praising Trump (his normal feigned praise)  for capturing the frustration and anger of Americans.  What Trump was really doing, was playing on the stupidity of Americans, and Marco wanted some of his ratings.  Little dog following big dog syndrome.

Then, Fox News chimed in, saying Trump was speaking for the silent majority.   This was too much.  If I want something scary,  there’s always chiller.

The real silent group are thousands of diplomats within the State Department and other agencies, working along side diplomats of other countries, to promote better relations.  It’s called quiet diplomacy and given a chance, it works pretty well.

In Latin America, Quiet Diplomacy Bears Fruit

Stay tuned,

David Lord

 

 

Iran Deal- Sen. Schumer vs Fareed Zakaria

by Dave

The following will happen in September:  (1) A bill will pass both the House and Senate, making certain President Obama can not lift sanctions against Iran and (2) President Obama will veto this bill.    Then, all eyes will be on the over-ride of the veto. I am hoping this vote fails and  the Democrats in the Senate stand by the deal.

Defector #1 is Senator Schumer.  He will vote against the deal.  If he pulls enough Democrats along with him, the deal fails.

Sen Schumer’s position

Fareed Zakaria,  host of CNN’s GPS program, and Washington Post Opinion writer, provides a good point by point rebuttal:

Fareed Zakaria’s Position

I am sure few people have read and understood the deal better than either Senator Schumer or Fareed Zakaria.    A lot of people think we give Iran billions of dollars, just so we can have inspections of their facilities.  As Zakaria points out,  this is just not true.  The first step is a massive de-activation by Iran at two sites:  Fordow nuclear facility and the Akar  reactor.

If this is true, wouldn’t Israel be overjoyed, at seeing these initial steps?  Part of Netanyahu’s lobbying efforts with Republicans  is strictly political.  Anything that appears to reduce the threat of Iran to Israel, is a threat to military aid to Israel.   See the most recent news story:

Is Iran a threat to Israel? New signs military is at odds with Netanyahu. 

The Democrats need 34 votes to block the over-ride, and it looks like they are now up to only 20 committed votes right now.   All eyes are on Harry Reid.

Stay tuned.

David Lord