EUROPE, the EURO and the DOLLAR

Posted on February 14, 2011 | Leave a comment

The European Union is an experiment in transnational socialism. The wealth of Germany, Europe’s most productive nation, is being “spread around” among nations that produce less and spend beyond their means. Good behavior is being punished and bad behavior rewarded. Violent riots are breaking out across Western Europe. But the people aren’t rioting for a solution; they are demanding continuation of what caused the problem.

Only private industry creates the wealth of a nation. Government consumes a portion of that wealth to pay for the services and benefits it provides its citizens. In socialistic Democracies like those of Western Europe the government portion grows slowly like a painless cancer until it threatens vital organs. Then it turns from painless to painful and that’s when riots erupt. The people deny the sickness while demanding a cure. That is where Europe is now.

It is difficult to create a common currency among sovereign nations whose cultures are as diverse as those of Greece, Germany and England, just to name three. The British recognized this and chose to keep their own currency. America is a nation of diverse people sharing one national pride. Whether you are from Maine, Iowa or Arizona, you consider yourself American first and a Mainer or Iowan second. Not so in Europe. A Frenchman considers himself French, period. A European citizen feels no pride in being a member of the European Union in the way an Iowan farmer is proud to be an American.

The Euro was vying to replace the Dollar as the standard currency for international trade only months ago. Now it is apparent the chances for that to occur are dim. It would take a profound change in the diverse national cultures within the Euro zone to build the base required to make the Euro as solid as the dollar. It didn’t happen over the last thousand years. It won’t happen over the next thousand either.

America’s race to embrace socialism has been thwarted. Now it needs to be reversed lest we end up in the tank with Europe. We have time. We can do it.

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COLUMBO ROASTS FRANK SINATRA

Posted on February 13, 2011 | 1 comment

Here’s a chance to see some old favorite faces. Victor Borgnine, Jimmy Stewart, Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra of course and even a surprise politician are all caught on camera.

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EGYPT, WE KNOW WHO LOST; BUT WHO WON?

Posted on February 12, 2011 | Leave a comment

The Egyptian people are joyful, enthusiastic and excited seemingly without exception. After so many years of autocratic rule they are shedding tears of relief in anticipation of having a voice in their own government. When you listen to interviews it is heartwarming to see them excited in anticipation of democracy and self rule.

Unfortunately, there is some cause for some concern. They rose up against someone, but not for anyone. Like the Tea Party, they have no supreme leader. Who will they choose? Mubarak’s departure has left a vacuum, a crisis of sorts. The Chinese character for crisis is a combination of the characters for danger and opportunity. That perfectly describes the situation in Egypt at the moment.

Contenders for assumption of power are the military, the Muslim Brotherhood, and an assortment of other groups most of us in the West know nothing about. Military rule may be benign, but it won’t be democratic. The Islamic faction that dominates the Muslim Brotherhood would impose the strict Islamic law known as sharia. It seems clear that Islamic rule is not what the majority want.

Mubarak’s Egypt was a stabilizing force in the region. That is one reason why the United States was so supportive financially. Egypt has by far the largest military force in the Arab world. It is unlikely Israel could successfully defend themselves now, in they way they did when Egypt attacked in 1948.

The Shah of Iran was also an autocratic ruler. He was also deposed by a populace seeking the freedom of being out from under his thumb. The laws under the Shah were the most liberal of any in the Mid-East Muslim world. Instead of more freedom, the people of Iran got less. Not only that, the rest of the world is facing a problem that it never would have seen under the Shah. Let us hope such a fate does not befall Egypt and the rest of us.

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ON A PERSONAL NOTE

Posted on February 11, 2011 | 1 comment

This morning I christened the coffee shop at the wee hour of 5 AM and claimed my reserved seat by the side window. Imagine that! A reserved seat …in a coffee shop …at 5 am and not another customer in sight. The shop was coming to life as the crew, always a happy bunch here, were busy silently setting out croissants and newspapers for the usual hordes that were sure to come, but at this hour were just beginning to roll out of bed.

Usually this is when I write. But this morning I just sat and thought. With coffee in one hand and a donut in the other (conservatives are not given to eating croissants) I stared right through the walls and all the way to tomorrow. In this trance it occurred to me, I haven’t really become a political animal. I simply have risen spontaneously and temporarily to the defense of my country in time of crisis.

Like a bee who responds when there’s a threat to the hive, then goes back to flitting among the flowers when the crisis is past, so I will return to exploring the land and enjoying the pleasures of the way of life I have risen to defend. I hope it’s soon for my remaining years are short.

Bob B

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Posted in Political philosophy

JUSTAPHOTO

Posted on February 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

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AN INTERVIEW WITH STANLEY KURTZ

Posted on February 10, 2011 | Leave a comment

Stanley Kurtz is the author of Radical-In-Chief, Barack Obama and the Untold Story of American Socialism. The book is timely now that Obama has stepped away from his far left stance. The question of the hour is whether the change is genuine or only apparent. After all, 2012 electioneering is less than a year away. After reading Kurtz book, there will be no question left in your mind.

Peter Robinson interviewed the author on his program called Uncommon Knowledge. Thanks to a special arrangement between the people at the Power Line blog and Uncommon Knowledge the video of the interview video has been made available for anyone to see for a short period of time. Click here to watch it.

We are in the process of writing a review of the book. It will be quite extensive and may turn out to be more of a digest than a review. Stay tuned.

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IRANIUM THE MOVIE

Posted on February 8, 2011 | 5 comments

IRANIUM is a 60 minute film documenting the history of Iran and its current intentions and goals. Such experts on the region as Bernard Lewis and Michael Ledeen are interviewed in the film along with others including Walid Phares, John Bolton and both Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Here is how Clarion, the producers, describe this important documentary.

Iran’s nuclear program presents a threat to international stability. Yet successive American administrations—Republican and Democratic alike—have misread the intentions and actions of the Iranian regime.

How dangerous is a nuclear Iran, even if it never detonates a weapon? What are the guiding principles of the Iranian leadership? To what lengths would the regime go to carry out its agenda? How far have Iran’s leaders already gone to fund the world’s most powerful terrorist organizations? And why have American leaders failed to gain the upper hand in relations with Iran during the past 30 years?

In approximately 60 minutes, Iranium powerfully reports on the many aspects of the threat America and the world now face using rarely-before seen footage of Iranian leaders, and interviews with 25 leading politicians, Iranian dissidents, and experts on: Middle East policy, terrorism, and nuclear proliferation.

■Iranium documents the development of Iran’s nuclear threat, beginning with the Islamic Revolution of 1979 and the ideology installed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini.
■Iranium tracks Iran’s use of terror as a tool of policy, beginning with the 444 day seizure of the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, through Iran’s insurgent actions in Iraq and Afghanistan.
■Iranium details the brutal nature of the Iranian regime to its own citizens, and the Iranian people’s desire to rejoin the international community.
■Iranium outlines the various scenarios the greater Middle East and the Western world may face should Iran cross the nuclear threshold.

The production premieres in theatres, we believe, on Tuesday Feb 8. The Heritage Foundation is one of five supporters the IRANIUM. The full length film is available for a limited time by going to this link. You will be asked for your email address, nothing more.

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BARACK OBAMA AS CENTRIST

Posted on February 8, 2011 | Leave a comment

The most recent step in Obama’s makeover as a centrist was his olive branch visit to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He prefaced his speech by remarking that the White House and the Chamber might have gotten off to a better start if someone had brought over a fruitcake. There wasn’t much laughter.

Commerce is the engine of prosperity for the nation. His audience was a gathering of drivers of that engine. Obama stood before the group and told them they must take money that rightfully belongs to the owners of companies and give it to the workers. Here are the words he used to say it.

“If we’re fighting to reform the tax code and increase exports, the benefits cannot just translate into greater profits and bonuses for those at the top. They have to be shared by American workers, who need to know that opening markets will lift their standard of living as well as your bottom line,”

The two tenets most essential to an efficient free market society are the Right to Private Property and the Rule of Law. With just two sentences Obama undermined both of them. If that’s considered to be centrist it must be because it is somewhere in the middle between Marx and Engels.

At the end of the speech one listener is said to have turned to his neighbor and said of the speech, “If that’s his olive branch, I would rather have the fruit cake.”

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I FEEL SMALL

Posted on February 6, 2011 | Leave a comment

I feel small, valiant but very small. I have been reading the tributes to President Ronald Reagan. I watched a video of his speech at the Brandenburg Gate. I stand with him in his beliefs and the things he said. I look up to him. He was a giant. That’s why I feel so small.

The spirit he imbued in us, still lies within us. It is the American spirit. The merit of this great nation in which he so deeply believed, was sorely in need of restoration when Reagan took office. Vietnam, Nixon and nearly 50 years of Democratic congressional control had taken their toll. Our spirit needed renewal and renewed it was. Reagan would be the last to take credit for it. It was the American people who made it happen. He was but the spark, we were the fire.

This time it was more like spontaneous combustion. No matter, it’s the fire that counts, not how it started. Stand proud and speak loud. We must keep the fire that energizes the great light that Reagan saw so clearly shining high up on a hill.

Before you go, take a moment to visit “Tear Down This Wall” at the PowerLine blog. There you will find an interesting true story behind that famous line in the Brandenburg speech.

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FROM THE PILOTS SEAT

Posted on February 6, 2011 | 2 comments

Seventy-five years ago, back when I was a teen, we would go for a family drive on a Sunday afternoon. Just for the ride, and to see a bit of the world around us. Following a brief discussion of where to go and what to see, we all would pile into the car to go to see it. At least I thought it was to see it, perhaps the leaves in October or the clean white snow covered hills if it was February.

I noticed something about the riders in the back. I won’t say which gender, but these ladies would just chat away, never looking out the windows. Their bodies traveled through a little piece of the world that day, but their beings never experienced it.

For many people life is like that on a larger scale. The world is a magnificent place. You do not need to go to its far corners to witness the awesomeness of it either. It will just happen. But only if you let it.

Have you ever noticed who it is that greets every new day with excitement, ready to go and anxious to explore anything and everything? It’s 2 year old children and family dogs. We humans come into this world open to the wonders of it all. Then slowly we build a cocoon around ourselves. To some extent that’s good. But there are those that weave it into a coffin long before one is needed.

And dogs, what can one say about dogs! A good family dog just loves everybody. Dogs don’t have the capacity to hate, but they surely do have the curiosity to explore. Those are two good reasons a family dog is always such a happy creature.

I have been blessed with the opportunity to fly missions transporting  ambulatory patients needing medical treatments only available at places distant from where they live, or where time is critical because an organ has become available for a transplant. It is the plane you see on the Random Thots banner.

I fly for pleasure as well. It’s Sunday afternoon, so come. Take a ride. Sit in the front and experience the world from 2000 feet up. It happens to be over Los Angeles, Santa Monica and Watts. I noticed something a little different about  Watts. View the Comments to see if you noticed what I did.

No, we don’t really taxi that fast to the ramp, not even for a transplant patient. Although we may come close to it in the occasional case of a bladder control problem.

I hope you enjoyed the ride.

UPDATE
I see the video has been removed by the user. This happens ocassionally. We are never notified and have no reason why. These removals are not blog specific. They are removed from access by anyone. You Tube title pages are just links. If someone has downloaded a video to their own server it can still be seen, but only if you know the link to the private location. Sorry about that.

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