Tomorrow marks something besides election day. It marks the 29th anniversary of the fall of the American embassy in Iran and the beginning of 444 days of captivity for 52 of the original 60+ hostages. It's important that we remember that time, and the events and leadership -- or perhaps I should say lack of leadership -- that led up to it.
I was in college on Nov. 4, 1979. When I entered the commons for the grad school I was attending, I was met by a number of current and retired members of the military. They were gathered around tables, heads bent together, talking softly but urgently. There was a palpable anger and frustration to the room, one I understood. The consensus among these brave men and women was that we wouldn't be in this position if we had a president who was a force to be reckoned with. Instead of a man of action, we had a man of words and ineffectual words at that. Our enemies didn't respect him, nor did they fear him. And, as proof of that point, these Iranian "students" had stormed our embassy and taken hostages, unconcerned by what might happen.
Because, my friends, they knew we wouldn't do anything they need fear.
The saying goes that if we don't learn from history, we are bound to repeat it. What happens tomorrow when we go to the polls very well may put us on a path where we will repeat the problems that led to the fall of the embassy in Tehran. That scares me because our enemies are more brazen, more willing to commit suicide in their attempts to kill as many Americans as possible. We saw that on 9/11. We've seen it on the streets of Israel where suicide bombers walk into crowded shopping areas before blowing themselves -- and everyone around them -- to smithereens. We can't allow that to continue.
Which it will under an Obama Administration. He hasn't shown wisdom nor commitment to the principles that are the very foundation of this country in his personal associations (remaining associated with Rev. Wright, Bill Ayers, etc.). He speaks of sitting down and talking with enemies of our country without preconditions for talks. If you listen to him, his rhetoric is more representative of the former USSR under Lenin than the USA. He talks of "redistribution of wealth", the creation of a "civilian police force" to protect national interests instead of the military, mandatory public service, and he has bragged how, under his administration, he would bankrupt any new coal power plant.
What that means is that the only stick he will carry will be the one used to force Americans into the mold he wants. It won't be applied against the enemies of this country. Where they are concerned, he will speak softly and carry an even softer stick. Can we survived that as a nation? Possibly. But dare we risk it?
No, we dare not. So, if you haven't voted, do come Tuesday. As you go into the voting booth, consider what happened 29 years ago when we had another president who spoke softly and carried no stick, a president who thought words alone were enough to survive in a world where there are individuals and countries who would like nothing more than to destroy us and our way of life. The next time, it won't be the storming of an embassy or the hijacking of a few planes to fly into buildings. It will be a dirty bomb in the middle of a major population center or worse.
Vote. Vote your conscience and vote for what is best for this country.
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Obama. Show all posts
Monday, November 3, 2008
Friday, October 31, 2008
Random Thoughts on the Election
As today is Halloween, perhaps it comes as no surprise when I admit the possible outcome of the upcoming election scares me. I'm old enough to remember the unrest of the 60's, the feeding frenzy surrounding Watergate, Gerald Ford being laughed at by the media because he wasn't the most graceful of men. I remember my concern when Jimmy Carter ran for president because I wasn't convinced he had the experience or the mettle needed to run this country. I remember the fall of our embassy in Iran and all those nights we listened to Nightline, hoping against hope to hear that our hostages had been released. Ronald Reagan proved to be a strong president. Bill Clinton proved you can get away with a lot if you look good and are a persuasive speaker.
I might not have liked all those presidents, or the ones I haven't named. I'll be honest, I disliked a number of them. But none of them scared me the way the possibility of an Obama presidency does.
I've already blogged about some of my concerns, specifically the loss of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. So I won't spend much more time on those topics. However, I feel I must point out that Obama's use, or misuse, of the media reared its ugly head again earlier when his campaign informed reporters from three major newspapers that they would not be allowed to continue traveling with the candidate on his jet as of Sunday. It seems there is just too much demand for seats as the campaign comes to a close. Surprisingly, these reporters work for the Dallas Morning News, Washington Times and the New York Post, all major papers. Not so surprisingly, those same papers had editorial boards that endorsed John McCain. So sorry, you don't toe the line, you get punished, no matter how impartial your reporting might be.
My two biggest concerns about an Obama presidency center on the lack of specifics re: Obama's economic policy and foreign policy (which I'll address in another entry later). It's all well and good to say you're going to cut taxes for 95% of Americans and lower spending. It's great to say you're going to go through the budget line by line and throw out whatever doesn't work or doesn't fit your plan. The problem is the actual feasibility of it all.
There is no question that the military will take a huge budget cut if Obama is elected. That scares me, given the state of the world we live in right now. But he doesn't seem to care. However, any funds taken from the military won't be much more than a drop in the bucket when it comes to the rest of the budget. Also, considering he has talked about having a "national police force" -- and I won't begin to tell you how I feel about that. I'll leave it for another blog -- that will have to be budgeted for. Where will that money come from?
When asked for specifics, we get generalizations. Worse, of late we're hearing phrases coming from him about the redistribution of wealth. When did it become the duty of this country, a country built on the premise that any man or woman could work hard and become successful, to say, "sorry, you make too much money and have too easy a life. So we're going to take what you've worked hard for and give it to someone else." Nothing more. That isn't something that builds confidence, at least not in my mind. I'm not talking taxes. I don't like them but they are necessary. But when a man wanting to be president talks about the "redistribution of wealth", all my alarm bells start ringing.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Obama doesn't mean to take money from those who have and give it to those who don't. The problem is, I don't know. He hasn't explained. Instead, he's made jokes about John McCain calling him socialist because he shared his sandwich as a child. Again, no details, no explanation, just plenty of attempts to deflect the questions with a smile and a laugh.
We need a President who will tell us his goals and how he plans to achieve them. We need a President who understands there will be hard questions to ask and answer, and who won't punish those who are brave enough to ask those same questions. We need a President who values the Constitution of the United States, especially the Bill of Rights, and who will fight to preserve it. John McCain has proven he will defend this country. He has served with honor and bears the scars. He has stood against his political party when he felt it was wrong. He has shown the character and determination necessary to lead us in this time of national and international crises. Barack Obama has yet to show that to me, not when he has a voting record resplendent in its number of non-votes, refusal to take the hard stand against the majority and, most especially, when he has yet to truly outline what he stands for and how he plans to implement it.
Tuesday is election day. If you haven't voted yet, please, do so then. Vote your conscience. Vot for what will be best for this country. Vote.lol
I might not have liked all those presidents, or the ones I haven't named. I'll be honest, I disliked a number of them. But none of them scared me the way the possibility of an Obama presidency does.
I've already blogged about some of my concerns, specifically the loss of freedom of speech and freedom of the press. So I won't spend much more time on those topics. However, I feel I must point out that Obama's use, or misuse, of the media reared its ugly head again earlier when his campaign informed reporters from three major newspapers that they would not be allowed to continue traveling with the candidate on his jet as of Sunday. It seems there is just too much demand for seats as the campaign comes to a close. Surprisingly, these reporters work for the Dallas Morning News, Washington Times and the New York Post, all major papers. Not so surprisingly, those same papers had editorial boards that endorsed John McCain. So sorry, you don't toe the line, you get punished, no matter how impartial your reporting might be.
My two biggest concerns about an Obama presidency center on the lack of specifics re: Obama's economic policy and foreign policy (which I'll address in another entry later). It's all well and good to say you're going to cut taxes for 95% of Americans and lower spending. It's great to say you're going to go through the budget line by line and throw out whatever doesn't work or doesn't fit your plan. The problem is the actual feasibility of it all.
There is no question that the military will take a huge budget cut if Obama is elected. That scares me, given the state of the world we live in right now. But he doesn't seem to care. However, any funds taken from the military won't be much more than a drop in the bucket when it comes to the rest of the budget. Also, considering he has talked about having a "national police force" -- and I won't begin to tell you how I feel about that. I'll leave it for another blog -- that will have to be budgeted for. Where will that money come from?
When asked for specifics, we get generalizations. Worse, of late we're hearing phrases coming from him about the redistribution of wealth. When did it become the duty of this country, a country built on the premise that any man or woman could work hard and become successful, to say, "sorry, you make too much money and have too easy a life. So we're going to take what you've worked hard for and give it to someone else." Nothing more. That isn't something that builds confidence, at least not in my mind. I'm not talking taxes. I don't like them but they are necessary. But when a man wanting to be president talks about the "redistribution of wealth", all my alarm bells start ringing.
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe Obama doesn't mean to take money from those who have and give it to those who don't. The problem is, I don't know. He hasn't explained. Instead, he's made jokes about John McCain calling him socialist because he shared his sandwich as a child. Again, no details, no explanation, just plenty of attempts to deflect the questions with a smile and a laugh.
We need a President who will tell us his goals and how he plans to achieve them. We need a President who understands there will be hard questions to ask and answer, and who won't punish those who are brave enough to ask those same questions. We need a President who values the Constitution of the United States, especially the Bill of Rights, and who will fight to preserve it. John McCain has proven he will defend this country. He has served with honor and bears the scars. He has stood against his political party when he felt it was wrong. He has shown the character and determination necessary to lead us in this time of national and international crises. Barack Obama has yet to show that to me, not when he has a voting record resplendent in its number of non-votes, refusal to take the hard stand against the majority and, most especially, when he has yet to truly outline what he stands for and how he plans to implement it.
Tuesday is election day. If you haven't voted yet, please, do so then. Vote your conscience. Vot for what will be best for this country. Vote.lol
Sunday, September 28, 2008
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