Loyalty

The big to-do in Washington today was about a General and his staff and the President, his Administration, and the chain of command. It appears that the top General in Afghanistan (one of the poorest countries on the face of the earth) publicly criticized the Administration. Of course, he should have been fired immediately. When you work for someone, loyalty is uppermost. If you bite the hand that feeds you, that is not only unwise, it is unjust and disloyal. Leave your post first, then criticize all you want.

Civilization first

From a Yahoo! News story: “GENEVA – The United Nations opens its first global racism conference in eight years on Monday with the U.S. and at least five other countries boycotting the event out of concern that Islamic countries will demand that it denounce Israel and ban criticism of Islam. The administration of President Barack Obama, America's first black head of state, announced Saturday that it would boycott "with regret" the weeklong meeting in Geneva, which already is experiencing much of the bickering and political infighting that marred the 2001 conference in Durban, South Africa. The Netherlands declared its boycott Sunday, while Australia, Canada, Israel and Italy already have said they would not attend. "I would love to be involved in a useful conference that addressed continuing issues of racism and discrimination around the globe," Obama said in Trinidad on Sunday after attending the Summit of the Americas. But he said the language of the U.N.'s draft declaration risked a reprise of Durban, during which "folks expressed antagonism toward Israel in ways that were often times completely hypocritical and counterproductive. We expressed in the run-up to this conference our concerns that if you adopted all of the language from 2001, that's not something we can sign up for," Obama said.” Almost everyone knows by now that there’s nothing more that U.N. diplomats love than a good long conference in a nice civilized city somewhere. The whole exercise is dumb, meaningless, and hypocritical.

John McCain interview

(NOTE: This interview was conducted in February of this year.)

We are happy to report that our shy but intrepid Timid Reporter© located Senator McCain’s entourage in Ohio, where he was able to negotiate a four-minute interview. As always, any similarity to persons actually living or events actually happening is strictly coincidental.

TR: Good afternoon. Are you Senator McCain?
JM: You want me to state my name for the record? Of course I’m Senator McCain. Who did you think I was?
TR: I’m sorry. I was taught to always make sure and verify.
JM: I didn’t mean to snap at you but right now is not a good time to be trying my patience.
TR: I understand. I’m sorry I had to ask that question.
JM: Well, make yourself comfortable in that easy chair by the table and let’s get started – I still have lots to do today.
TR: Yes sir. My first question is about the story in The New York Times….
JM: You know, I had a press conference about that this morning so I’m not going to get into that again. My wife was right there with me, too. Get the real story from my press office. I will say this much: if anything, that dastardly article proves that I’m at least a little bit conservative; otherwise, The New York Times wouldn’t be coming after me.
TR: Yes sir. I noticed from the photos that your wife is taller than you….
JM: No, she’s not – she wears high heels.
TR: I forgot about that. Sorry.
JM: You know, you people from the press always have to find something to pick at. There have been so many profiles done of me since the last campaign and I don’t remember more than two or three that I liked. There’s too much negativity. Let people be who they are and don’t criticize their shoelaces. Look at the real man is what I’m saying.
TR: What about Senator Clinton?
JM: It’s a figure of speech, my friend.
TR: Sorry. If the election were next week, who would you prefer to be running against?
JM: Nobody. No, no, seriously, either one will be fine. Senator Obama is a master of stating the obvious. He can relate the story of the three little pigs and make it sound like grand opera, but the story will be the same – we already know it. As for Senator Clinton, she takes direction from Bill and everybody knows that, too. If Bill were to step out of the picture, she would be a formidable opponent, but that’s between you and me – don’t print it. We certainly don’t want to give them any ideas.
TR: No sir. I won’t print it.
JM: Fine.
TR: Regarding your opinion of the C.I.A. and the torture of detainees…?
JM: I have made it very clear in all my position papers that, in principle, I am against torture. Torture, if it’s to be used at all, should be done as humanely as possible.
TR: I understand that you have personal experience in that regard?
JM: You must have read my book.
TR: Yes sir.
JM: I don’t want to relive painful memories, but that’s a distinction I can draw between myself and my worthy opponents – they were never prisoners of war. They can’t say “been there, done that.” I love America and the American people. I love our Constitution. I love our traditions. We have gotten into a mode of sort of resting on our laurels.
TR: I don’t know what you mean.
JM: Americans have accomplished great things in and for the world. Sometimes we’ve been too nice in our diplomacy - in sharing our know-how, in our foreign aid, etc. We have reason to be proud, yes. However, we need to keep going, and, under my leadership, we will.
TR: You mean, like going to Mars?
JM: I’d rather leave that up to our scientists, but that illustrates my point about sharing. Right around the fifties, we started to develop technologies that changed history forever – nuclear weapons, jets, atomic submarines, stealth bombers, cell phones, computers, the internet, antibiotics, Teflon, hula hoops, you-name-it. What happened to all those inventions? We shared them with other countries and soon, they were manufacturing the same products more cheaply. I’m not saying the global economy is bad, but we need to keep our edge. I have recently heard that the Russians have developed a silent atomic weapon.
TR: A silent bomb? How can that be?
JM: Beats me, but imagine one of those going off next to you. You wouldn’t even know it. It’s like our Stealth bombers – you don’t see them until they’re right on top of you.
TR: You have been criticized for your stand on immigration issues.
JM: I’m glad you brought that up. I think my sponsorship of that legislation cost me dearly and confused a lot of my supporters. That’s what I get for listening to Kennedy.
TR: So, you changed your mind?
JM: No, I did not. I decided to leave that issue alone until after the election.
TR: Oh.
JM: You see, I practice what I would call a humanistic conservatism. I am a Republican first and foremost, absolutely. I believe in limited government and individual initiative and all that. Certainly I do. I also see the needs of other human beings - people in dire straits. We need to strike a balance between our need for security, our commitment to the rule of law, and practical solutions. I don’t want to feel straight-jacketed about this.
TR: I see what you mean…any thoughts on the economy?
JM: I think that’s a moot issue. The economy will right itself by November. In the meantime, my advice to my fellow Americans is to take all their money out of the market and put it in bonds. My wife did.
TR: Thank you sir. You have been very gracious.
JM: Thank you for keeping this short.

Democratic Convention

Well, the convention is in full swing - I'm sure you're keeping up with it. All the speeches sound like they were made in heaven. I played for a fancy dinner of a group of lawyers one time - a string quartet it was. Everyone looked great in their suits and power ties and lavish dresses. The speeches came before we played so we heard them all. We didn't mind, we were getting paid by the hour. All the things said sounded so high minded and idealistic I was mesmerized. Then I remembered they were just words. The distance between words and deeds is great - very great. I wonder if politicians believe anything they say - maybe they just like the limelight. Who really knows?

Not a paid political Ad

I will only infrequently post any politically oriented blogs. Politics was invented so that big people could tell little people what to do. It's nice work if you can get it. Have a nice day.