Join the conversation [ADD A COMMENT]

View our commenting policy and standards | Commenting FAQ | Report a problem

1. Scott M. | March 9, 2013 at 12:13 pm

   Reading the newspaper closely is one of my great delights because you learn so much, but only if you read it closely. Take page 3 for example:
   ————————
   First there is the story of a woman who is charged with murdering her baby because she was 8 months pregnant when she attempted to kill herself by eating rat poison. Rat poison, if you’re unaware of how it works, prevent blood clotting so even small cuts or internal bruising leads to blood loss and death. The lady survived but her child died. The defense says the writers of the law clearly intended this to be used to prosecute attackers of pregnant women while the prosecution says there are no provisions in the law making exemptions for suicide attempts.
   –
   We learn 2 things from this. 1) This lady is being charged with murder because of the “pro-life” movement. This law and similar ones were written by those influenced by the “pro-life” movement. By legally classifying an unborn child/fetus as a human being capable of being murdered by an attacker, law-makers were hoping to chip away at the ability of a woman to get an abortion. 2) We have a legal system that has devolved into nit-picky legalisms. A famous example is President Clinton quibbling over the definition of “is”. The Law no longer (if it ever did) seems to care about justice and/or compassion. It’s now all about causing the most pain possible to a defendant. That’s why we put people in jail for shoplifting food under 3-strike laws and now have the highest incarceration rate in the world.
   –
   http://billingsgazette.com/news/state-and-regional/montana/house-endorses-plan-to-criminalize-killing-fetus/article_6fea2706-32ab-5178-8122-abdc17b74a92.html
   –
   And how do we reconcile this with a Catholic hospital denying they were responsible for the death of a fetus 7 months along because they are not fetuses are not persons? I mean, if you can’t trust the Catholics, who can you trust?
   –
   http://www.theblaze.com/stories/2013/01/25/bizarre-catholic-hospital-argues-that-7-month-old-fetuses-arent-persons-in-wrongful-death-legal-battle/
   ————————
   Next we see the story about some federal government workers being delinquent on their taxes. In fact, 3.2% of them are to the tune of $3.5 billion dollars. This works out to about $11,000 per delinquent.
   –
   Wasn’t there legislation introduced by some Tea Party people looking to suspend or fire delinquent federal workers a while ago? Oh, that’s right. There was.
   –
   http://www.accountingtoday.com/news/congress-federal-employees-tax-delinquents-jason-chaffetz-63569-1.html
   –
   So, what do we do when we realize that delinquency rate for federal employees is actually lower than it is for the private sector?
   –
   I was surprised to learn the general public is delinquent at a rate of 8.2% Why was there no legilsation in place to fire those workers??
   –
   You of course know why. It’s an attempt to demonize the federal government and paint it as unhelpful and worse, incompetent so more services can be privatized and make the capitalist money.
   ——————————-
   Lastly, we see a town in Maine will be voting whether to make gun ownership mandatory.
   –
   Think about that for a minute…….. Let it sink in…….

   And then ask yourself, if the government can require a citizen to buy a gun because it’s good for them, what’s next? Will the government be able to mandate you eat broccoli?? Why, it sounds like an individual mandate. Much like the mandate you buy health insurance. Hmmm…..
   –
   http://www.nationalreview.com/the-feed/294567/scotus-watch-can-government-make-you-buy-broccoli
   –
   So, do you think Ted Nugent will come out as being opposed to this as overreaching by the government? I didn’t think so either.
2. John R | March 9, 2013 at 2:14 pm

   When it comes to Iran, Obama is bluffing!

   VP Biden proclaimed on Monday at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee that America’s policy “…is to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon, period.” He added that “President Barack Obama is not bluffing. He is not bluffing.”

   Tehran isn’t taking Obama’s policy seriously and the mullahs think he is bluffing. Iran continues to expand their nuclear program by adding more centrifuges for uranium enrichment and increasing its supply of enriched weapons grade uranium.

   Iran sees the US reducing its naval presence in the Persian Gulf. The Obama administration has offered easing of economic sanctions on Iran and resuming negotiations this Spring in exchange for cooperation.

   Iran is quite pleased with being given more time yet continues to refuse inspections of its nuclear program. Why should Tehran take the US seriously?

   Tuesday when Gen. James Mattis testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee, he was asked, “Are the current diplomatic and economic efforts to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapons capability, are they working?”. “No sir,” he answered, adding Tehran’s “nuclear industry continues.”

   I predict Iran will test a nuclear device before the end of Obama’s 2nd term and the administration will do little more than whine to the UN. This will lead to a nuclear arms race in the middle east with Saudi Arabia and Egypt purchasing a nuclear weapon from either Pakistan or North Korea.

   The US should be increasing its military presence in the Persian Gulf, not decreasing, if the administration is serious about preventing a nuclear Iran. If the US is going to be a superpower, then it should act like one.
3. Jim Lucas | March 9, 2013 at 5:23 pm

   Mr. R…..guess this is as good a time as any to get in these thoughts. Please be aware, with no qualification I share your view of Obama & his IMO (RTEB moderator disclaimer…smiley face) general & particular (he has raised it to new levels) snake-oil-nuevo-progressive Chicago thug-crap.

   Yet….with what is now 70 year old (initial, where Iran essentially is) technology, technology that North Korea has figured out, technology that how many, at least 15-20 nations have developed…..how long will we keep this contained?

   Forgive me…but I also wonder if/when Iran might develop, relatively “entry level” capability, might they then be more controllable? Members of the club?

   The wild card is Israel. Not them. In my opinion we must/should support to the max…..but the genuine threat of Iran, with a nuke, toward Israel.

   Think this might be but so much huffing. Would I “hope” (but back to this president) would be their last act.

   By “huffing”….see aforementioned N. Korea. Yes….suicide bombers, etc.

   But in all honesty, can we stop it? And, very much to John R.’s point, would/will Obama? What could be worse than an empty bluff?
4. Jim Lucas | March 9, 2013 at 5:27 pm

   Shhh….and promise will keep up my part of the sky.
5. Jim Lucas | March 9, 2013 at 5:39 pm

   Not meaning to queer anything….but regardless of asleep at the helm or experiment….or something not known in my philosophy…

   ….wish to posit, but with the very much admitted caveat/ignorance of exactly when Simon’s head atopped the pole…

   …in that while, perhaps momentary civility as we view each other directly rather than by seeking the maximum awarded flesh.
6. Gary | March 9, 2013 at 6:15 pm

   Oh my gosh! Were we wrong in wasting precious lives and resources in Iraq, whereas, the real threat to our country was not Iraq, but Iran and maybe North Korea? The Iraq war put us in the red (as in a debt hole, which we have struggled to get out.) Howard Dean had a good point in saying attacking Iraq for 911 would have been like attacking Mexico for Pearl Harbor.

   Also, John R Mattis followed with his “No sir” as you can see below,

   “Mattis at one point was asked point blank whether he thought diplomatic efforts and sanctions were working to stop Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon.

   “No sir,” he said.

   Later, when pressed, Mattis said he fully supported economic sanctions and diplomatic isolation.>
7. Name Withheld | March 9, 2013 at 8:40 pm

   the easy dolution to north korea is to tell kim jong un that he has six months to give it all up or we will look the other way while their territory is annexed by the chinese. our role will be to guard the dmz.
8. John R | March 10, 2013 at 12:26 pm

   Iran does not seem to fear the US and we have been in a defacto war with Iran since the Cater administration. Iran seeks to control the middle east.

   Iran and North Korea recently agreed to share nuclear information and N. Korea does have missiles capable of reaching parts of the US.

   I don’t believe the mullahs think in a rational fashion. The old Soviet Union did realize that if they started a nuclear attack, there would be retaliation. The USSR understood the concept of “mutual assured destruction”. I am not so sure about the mullahs.

   Suppose Iran got the bomb and a missile to carry it. Can the US and Israel take the chance that when Iran says they want to destroy the Zionists that they really don’t mean it?

   Israel is a very small country and one A-bomb would be the end of her. Iran is a very large country by comparison and the mullahs may think they could survive a nuclear attack. Suppose Iran was willing to take that chance if it would mean the end of Israel?

   Negotiations and sanctions don’t seem to be getting the job done. The problem is that Iran does not fear Obama. I believe they think he has no stomach for military intervention. If intel shows Iran has a functioning nuclear weapon, then a total blockade should be the very least as well as a surgical air strike. That would get a wink and a nod from the more moderate Arab countries such as Saudi Arabia.

   Surely no one believes the UN could defuse such a crisis.
9. John R | March 10, 2013 at 12:40 pm

   #6 Gary, so the general said “yes sir”, saluted smartly, and charged up the hill! He’s not going to get too far off the Obama reservation, of course he will go along with administration policy. Sanctions have not slowed Iran’s efforts toward developing a bomb even as they have destroyed her economy.

   #7 Name, N. Korea does not make a move without Chicom approval. The Chicoms supply 40% of N. Korea’s energy, 70% of her food, and 90% of her consumer goods. The Chicoms want N. Korea to be a thorn in the side of the US, S. Korea, and Japan.
10. Gary | March 10, 2013 at 7:23 pm

    @John R #9 I’m sure you would have no trouble telling the 4 Star General to his face what you seem to think of him. You’re sorta confusing because your #2 appears to be stressing that diplomatic and economic efforts against Iran are not working based upon the comments from General Mattis. But, who knows maybe you just cherry picked that part of his comments and are not overly familiar with this Marine 4 Star General.

    Also, your #9 seems contrary to a paragraph I found in the January 19 San Diego Union Tribune, “To Marines, Mattis is Chaos, his call sign and nom de guerre. According to interviews with more than a half-dozen officers who know him well, Mattis is an iconoclast and innovator who strove to outmaneuver the enemy on the battlefield, paralysis in Washington and the “yes, sir!” culture of the military.”