To Russia, with ignorance

In the space of little more than one week, President Obama has made two incredible mistakes in attempting to manage the foreign policy of the United States. The first was his unilateral decision to forgo the installation of a missile defense system in Poland and the Czech Republic. The second was his offer, made at the United Nations, to enter a new disarmament agreement with Russia in which he offered to cut the size of America’s nuclear arsenal.

Mr Obama has handed the Russians two incredible diplomatic victories and he has done so at no cost to the Russians. Even if he was committed to the idea of a defenseless Eastern Europe and reducing the American nuclear arsenal, an effective Chief Executive, who was acting in the best interests of the nation he has sworn to defend, would have extracted huge concessions out of the Russians before handing them everything they desire on a silver platter.

He might have demanded Russian support for a united effort to limit the Iranian nuclear weapon program. He might have sought Russian assistance in dealing with the rogue dictatorship in North Korea. He might have demanded that the Russians desist in their efforts to cozy up with South American dictators. He might even have suggested, dare I mention, that the Russians also reduce their own nuclear arsenal.

The fact is that the Russians need these deals with the United States desperately. They need U.S. cooperation to maintain nuclear parity, or face an expensive arms race they cannot afford, and cannot win. They would have been willing to go a long way to get the deal that Mr. Obama has given them, for free. Vladimir Putin must be chuckling to himself at Mr Obama’s incredible stupidity, even as the President said in his speech before the United Nations, ” I am not naïve.”

Saying so doesn’t make it so, Mr President. This is just another example from the Neville Chamberlin school of international diplomacy; these are acts of an inept and inexperienced bumbler who is rapidly becoming a laughing stock in the international community.

President Barack Obama has gone to great lengths to improve the “image” of the United States in the world. He is concerned that our image is less than it might be. To that end he has traveled extensively making apologies for the bad behavior of his (Republican) predecessors.

So how is the campaign to improve our image working out? That depends upon whose opinion we examine. In the United Kingdom, our oldest and staunchest friend and ally, one pundit has referred to our president in terms less than endearing:
“Obama’s problem is that he does not know who the enemy is. To him, the enemy does not squat in caves in Waziristan, clutching automatic weapons and reciting the more militant verses from the Koran: instead, it sits around at tea parties in Kentucky quoting from the US Constitution. Obama is not at war with terrorists, but with his Republican fellow citizens. He has never abandoned the campaign trail.
President Pantywaist’s recent world tour, cosying up to all the bad guys, excited the ambitions of America’s enemies. Here, they realised, is a sucker they can really take to the cleaners. His only enemies are fellow Americans.”

(http://blogs.telegraph.co.uk/news/geraldwarner/9614177/Barack_Obama_and_the_CIA_why_does_President_Pantywaist_hate_America_so_badly/)

On another front, Mr Obama has cancelled plans to construct a missile defense shield in Eastern Europe, consisting of a radar complex in the Czech Republic and a battery of anti-missile missiles based in Poland. This decision has evoked mixed reviews. The Russian government loves it. The Czech and Polish governments have been stiffed yet again by a Western government intent on currying favor with the Russians.

As reported in the Times of London, Russia's Foreign Ministry welcomed reports of the US decision. A spokesman said: "Such a development would be in line with the interests of our relations with the United States."

While the Russians loved the Obama move, the Czech government had a different take on the cancellation of the program.

“This is not good news for the Czech state, for Czech freedom and independence," said Mirek Topolanek, the former Czech Prime Minister. "It puts us in a position where we are not firmly anchored in terms of partnership, security and alliance, and that’s a certain threat."

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article6838058.ece


It is pretty clear from recent events just whose opinion President Obama’s campaign of image improvement is designed for. He is concerned with improving our image with our enemies, and the devil take the hindmost of our allies.

If Eastern Europe is left wide open to the intimidation and threats of the Russian giant and its Iranian proxy, I guess they will get over it, as they have before. Can anyone say Warsaw Pact?

This would be funny if it was not so deadly serious. The Obama Administration is conducting foreign policy like other democrat administrations have in the past. They are trying to make nice with our enemies on the theory that our enemies will reciprocate with sweetness and all will live happily ever after.

Such naiveté may be understandable if not for the wealth of historical examples of how powerful nations deal with weakness in other governments.

Unions Be Damned

A recent story in the Charleston Post and Courier revealed an interesting development on the labor relations front. Union workers at a Boeing Company aircraft fabrication plant in North Charleston, SC voted in overwhelming numbers to de-certify their union, the International Association of Machinists, and return their plant to non-union status.

The Boeing Workers voted by a 3-1 margin to discontinue their affiliation with the union, apparently hoping to persuade the Boeing Company to name their plant one of the Boeing 787 assembly plants. Currently, the plant fabricates the rear fuselage sections of the B-787.

In the middle of a deep recession, and with major support from the White House and Congress for making union certification easier, workers are rejecting unions and hoping to protect their jobs with their own productivity and initiative rather than by collective bargaining.

Individual initiative and productivity? Wonder if that will work?

http://www.postandcourier.com/news/2009/sep/14/boeing-co-employees-vote-to-disband-union/

Health care, for all my friends....

Why would the Obama Administration be so adamant in its insistence to force Government Health Care down the throats of American, despite the overwhelming evidence that the people do not support this radical approach?

It’s really quite simple. The imposition of Government Health Care would spell the death of political opposition to the Democrat Party’s radical socialist agenda for all time. How, you might ask?

While everyone seems to be worrying about the so-called “death panels” that will exercise life or death authority over older Americans, the real danger of granting the government authority to make health care decisions lies in the fact that those decisions will be made by government bureaucrats (think of the blue-shirted TSA all-stars at every airport). What is the chance that these bureaucrats will be politically motivated? Close to 100%.

When you present yourself before the “Health care panel” for a decision on your needed medical care, will that panel have access to the voter registration data from the city or county in which you reside. Imagine the following exchange:

Citizen: Good morning, I need you to approve my back surgery. I’m so excited. I can go back to work. I can provide for my family. I can get back to normal living, finally!

Health Care Bureaucrat: That’s great news, citizen, let’s just have a look at your records here (calling up the local voter registration records, and noticing that the citizen in question is a registered Republican). Oh, I’m sorry citizen, I’m afraid that your treatment is going to have to wait. You should be able to get it within the next six months to a year, however. Come back and try again then.

Citizen: But why can’t I start it now? If I wait six months, my back is going to get worse. I may need a wheelchair to get around. I won’t be able to work. You just approved the same treatment for the last person in line. Why can’t I have my surgery?

Health Care Bureaucrat: (Chuckling to himself, and knowing that the last person in line was wearing an Obama button) Sorry about that. The last person needed the surgery a little more than you do. She needs you get back to work as well. We can’t give everyone everything they want, you know. We’ll see you in six months. I’m sure you’ll be fine.


How long will it take the average American to learn that the way to get health care will be to support the democrat party? How long will it take for membership in the republican party to drop to zero? It’s one thing when political support for a party meant little presents from Washington, like roads and bridges, and fat government contracts. When the preservation of life itself is dependent on these people, that’s a whole different matter.