Colin Powell

Right Wing Heads About To Explode: Good News On Colin Powell And Pope Francis!

Ronald 4 Comments

The right wing talking heads and the hate mongers who are always negative about any kind of progress or reform, are symbolically having their heads explode with the news that:

General Colin Powell supports a single payer health care system as the ultimate answer to the problem of health coverage.

Pope Francis has been named as the PERSON OF THE YEAR by Time Magazine, a richly deserved honor, and a hope for reform of the Catholic Church from its backward, regressive nature!

These are two pieces of news that brighten the day, and both men are great figures in world affairs.

But it will cause Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and the other right wing extremists, along with most of the Republican Party in Congress and in state governments, to be furious beyond belief, raising their blood pressure!

Anytime the right wing suffers a defeat or a loss, is a moment to celebrate, and it reminds us of the poison they spew against our courageous, principled President, who takes the attacks with equanimity, and goes about his business of doing what must be done to advance the nation for all of us, not just the elite wealthy!

This is a day to celebrate! Hallelujah!

Town Hall Meetings, Senator Tom Coburn Et Al, And Pandering To The Mob Mentality!

Ronald 4 Comments

Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, who this author has very little respect for, including regarding him as one of the worst Senators in American history, actually was starting to make me think that maybe I had misjudged him. He had begun to sound rational and reasonable on issues that he discussed on MORNING JOE on MSNBC, and I have always thought that his fellow Senator James Inhofe, who denies climate change, was far worse.

But lo and behold, Coburn has gone off the deep end, lost all credibility he had gained in my eyes, as a result of pandering to a mob mentality at a Town Hall meeting in Oklahoma, and this is not the only Republican to have done so this month!

Coburn is now claiming that Barack Obama, who has been very nice to him, and had meetings with him, is “perilously close” to meeting the standards for impeachment! And other Republicans are saying that they think they have the votes to impeach Obama, and one wishes that he could author the bill to impeach Obama, as if this is a laughing matter, a light matter, an action that if taken is no big deal, when it is INDEED a big deal!

The problem is that there is ABSOLUTELY NO BASIS for impeachment, as Republican strategist Nicole Wallace, who worked for John McCain in his 2008 Presidential campaign, has clearly stated, and any rational Republican, with the number diminishing, KNOWS this to be a fact!

These town halls are becoming an example of democracy gone amuck, where racists, nutcakes, whackos, lunatics, show up and demonstrate the worst elements of ignorant people thinking they know what should be done in government. And disturbingly, it is often women who spew forth hatred and venom and poison unbecoming a decent lady, let alone gentlemen!

Where is this going to stop? When are we going to have Republicans recognize that appealing to the ignorant mob rule is dangerous, and that responsible political leaders must take a stand against such craziness, even if, by so doing, they lose their coveted seats, which should not matter more than doing what is right and moral?

And if Colin Powell, the esteemed former General in the Persian Gulf War, and Secretary of State, can, rightfully, condemn the North Carolina Voter ID law as counterproductive and outrageous, and right in front of North Carolina Governor Pat McCrory, who signed the despicable legislation, just one of the many discriminatory Republican laws on voting rights, it is time for decent Republican voters who are dismayed by what has happened to their party, to make clear that they are abandoning any Republican such as Tom Coburn who speaks and talks in a reckless, irresponsible manner about our President and our government!

Do the Republicans look to promote anarchy and chaos, and follow the lead of demagogues Rush Limbaugh, Sean Hannity, Bill O’Reilly, and their ilk?

If so, they should be denounced and repudiated by all sane Americans!

The “Evil” Dick Cheney Influence To Divide Wyoming Republicans: Civil War To Be Waged For Daughter Liz!

Ronald 4 Comments

Dick Cheney, arguably the most powerful Vice President in American history, and also in so many ways the most evil, due to his lying, deception, manipulations, and promotion of war in Iraq on false pretenses, has refused to be quiet as a former Vice President.

The man who once had a decent reputation, as Chief of Staff to President Gerald Ford; Wyoming Congressman and Congressional leader, and Secretary of Defense under President George W. Bush, is seen by many as having gone berserk after September 11, and used his dominating personality to manipulate George W. Bush, and in unison with Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, undermined the influence of Secretary of State Colin Powell and National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, convincing Bush to start a war in Iraq that had no justification, and was based on lies. Cheney also endorsed torture against terrorism suspects, and has been totally on the war path against President Barack Obama, and is loved by the far right of his party, including the Tea Party activists.

Cheney has also graced us with his daughter, Liz Cheney, an overly aggressive, abrasive, and caustic commentator on Fox News Channel, who is now considering running for the US Senate in Wyoming, against a fellow conservative Republican, Mike Enzi, whose “crime” is that he is low key, and actually had the “temerity” to work across the aisle sometimes with Democratic Senators, although he is a reliable conservative when it comes to his votes.

Cheney, his daughter, and his wife Lynne Cheney, also a very aggressive, caustic individual in her own right in her past public career, are ready to split the GOP in Wyoming, by trying to force Enzi to retire when he wishes to run again, or compete in a contested, divisive primary, due to Liz Cheney’s ambitions and Dick Cheney’s willingness to play “hard ball”, even against a fellow Republican and former friend.

In other words, what the Cheneys want, they intend to get, no matter what the cost! And realize that it is clear to anyone who watches Liz Cheney, that if she were to win the Senate seat, she would become a thorn in the side of Barack Obama and any other Democrat, would refuse to cooperate on anything,and would have long range ambitions to become the first woman Republican Presidential candidate, if not the first woman President.

No one should be under the illusion that Liz Cheney would wait patiently to run for President. Do not be surprised that she might run as a brand new Senator from the smallest state in population in 2016, and could not be ignored as a factor! This woman would be as aggressive, nasty, and confrontational as her infamous parents!

If the Cheneys want, they go to “war” against the opposition, even if a fellow Republican Senator who has done nothing wrong, except to avoid unnecessary confrontation!

The one good thing is the possibility that a Republican “civil war” in a state as “red” as Wyoming could actually give the Democrats the chance to win that seat, if they can come up with a solid opponent. That would be the ultimate slap in the face of the Cheneys and their party, if they caused a loss that would otherwise not happen, were it not for Liz Cheney’s personality and ambitions!

Ten Years Since Onset Of Iraq War: Worst Foreign Policy Disaster In American History

Ronald 6 Comments

It has been ten years since George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Condoleezza Rice, Colin Powell and others took America into a war on false pretenses, a war in Iraq that turned out to be the worst foreign policy disaster in American history.

It was a war of choice, based on faulty intelligence, but backed by many major newspapers and by Democratic political leaders, as well as Republicans.

The Iraq War prevented America from winning the Afghanistan War, as it diverted our attention from the war against Al Qaeda..

It led to about 4,500 dead American soldiers and about 32,500 wounded. And the involvement was the longest war in American history, except for the ongoing war in Afghanistan.

The question is whether the United States has learned anything, and will not allow itself to be fooled and misled about intelligence in the future, as we face possible threats of war with Iran, ironically the more dangerous nation than Iraq, and emboldened by our war there to build up its nuclear potential.

As John Kerry Becomes Secretary Of State, An Assessment Of The Most Influential Secretaries Of State In American History

Ronald 25 Comments

With Hillary Clinton leaving the State Department, and John Kerry becoming the 68th Secretary of State, it is a good time to assess who are the most influential Secretaries of State we have had in American history.

Notice I say “most influential”, rather than “best”, as that is a better way to judge diplomatic leadership in the State Department.

Without ranking them, which is very difficult, we will examine the Secretaries of State who have had the greatest impact, in chronological order:

Thomas Jefferson (1789-1793) under President George Washington—set the standard for the department, and was probably the most brilliant man ever to head the State Department.

John Quincy Adams (1825-1829) under President James Monroe—brought about the Monroe Doctrine, treaties with Canada, and the acquisition of Florida.

William H. Seward (1861-1869) under Presidents Abraham Lincoln and Andrew Johnson—brought about the neutrality of Great Britain and France in the Civil War, and purchased Alaska from Czarist Russia, a fortunate development.

Hamilton Fish (1869-1877) under President Ulysses S. Grant—involved in many diplomatic issues in Latin America, had America become more engaged in Hawaii, and settled differences with Great Britain, and often considered the major bright spot in the tragic Grant Presidency.

James G. Blaine (1881, 1889-1892) under Presidents James A. Garfield and Chester Alan Arthur briefly, and full term under President Benjamin Harrison—helped to bring about eventual takeover of Hawaii, and promoted the concept of a canal in Central America.

John Hay (1898-1905) under Presidents William McKinley and Theodore Roosevelt—-involved in the issues after the Spanish American War, including involvement in the Philippines, Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Guam, and a major influence over TR’s diplomatic initiatives in his first term.

Elihu Root (1905-1909) under President Theodore Roosevelt—-a great influence in TR’s growing involvement in world affairs in his second term in office.

Robert Lansing (1915-1920) under President Woodrow Wilson—a major player in American entrance in World War I and at the Versailles Peace Conference.

Charles Evan Hughes (1921-1925) under Presidents Warren G. Harding and Calvin Coolidge—-had major role in Washington Naval Agreements in 1922.

Henry Stimson (1929-1933) under President Herbert Hoover—-was a major critic of Japanese expansion, as expressed in the Stimson Doctrine of 1932.

Cordell Hull (1933-1944) under President Franklin D. Roosevelt—-was the longest lasting Secretary of State, nearly the whole term of FDR, and very much involved in all of the President’s foreign policy decisions.

Dean Acheson (1949-1953) under President Harry Truman—-involved in the major decisions of the early Cold War, including the Korean War intervention.

John Foster Dulles (1953-1959) under President Dwight D. Eisenhower—had controversial views on Cold War policy with the Soviet Union, including “massive retaliation”.

Dean Rusk (1961-1969) under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson—highly controversial advocate of the Vietnam War escalation, but served under the complete terms of two Presidents, and never backed away from his views on the Cold War.

Henry Kissinger (1973-1977) under Presidents Richard Nixon and Gerald Ford—-easily one of the most influential figures in the shaping of foreign policy in American history, earlier having served as National Security Adviser.

George Shultz, (1982-1989) under President Ronald Reagan—-very close adviser to the President on his major foreign policy initiatives.

James Baker (1989-1992) under President George H. W. Bush—very significant in Persian Gulf War and end of Cold War policies.

Madeleine Albright (1997-2001) under President Bill Clinton—-first woman Secretary of State and played major role in many issues that arose.

Colin Powell (2001-2005) under President George W. Bush—-involved in the justification of the Iraq War based on Weapons of Mass Destruction, which undermined his reputation because of the lack of evidence on WMDs.

Condoleezza Rice (2005-2009) under President George W. Bush—second woman Secretary of State and intimately involved in policy making.

Hillary Clinton (2009-2013) under President Barack Obama—third woman Secretary of State, and hailed by most as a major contributor to Obama’s foreign policy initiatives.

This is a list of 21 out of the 68 Secretaries of State, but also there are 15 other Secretaries of State who were influential historical figures, including:

John Marshall
James Madison
James Monroe
Henry Clay
Martin Van Buren
Daniel Webster
John C. Calhoun
James Buchanan
Lewis Cass
William Jennings Bryan
George Marshall
Cyrus Vance
Edmund Muskie
Alexander Haig
Warren Christopher

So a total of 36 out of 68 Secretaries of State have been major figures in American history, and contributed to the diplomatic development of the United States in world affairs!

The Smearing And Character Assassination Of Bill Clinton And John Kerry Reversed: The Rewriting Of History By The Right Wing

Ronald 12 Comments

Many people have very short memories, and many Republicans and conservative right wing activists have the amazing ability to rewrite history, and make former “demons” suddenly seem acceptable.

So is the case with President Bill Clinton and 2004 Presidential nominee John Kerry, both of whom have suddenly become “acceptable” and “mainstream”, as the smearing and character assassination of Barack Obama continues in earnest!

Bill Clinton was savaged, accused of every scandal imaginable, brutally mistreated by the opposition party for eight years, and put through the torment of an impeachment, which everyone knew would NOT lead to removal from office, but was designed to besmirch his historical accomplishments.

John Kerry was bitterly attacked, his record distorted, his Vietnam War service trivialized because he had the gall to challenge the war as a mistake, in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee 42 years ago, and made out to be an unpatriotic American, while his opponent, George W. Bush, sat out his military service in the National Guard reading magazine, and often not showing up at all, all due to family connections.

Now, suddenly, you cannot hear enough praise about the Bill Clinton Presidency, including Paul Ryan this morning saying how different things would be now if only Clinton was President. This is an amazing statement, but only the most recent of laudatory comments by Republicans and conservatives toward the 42nd President.

And, suddenly, as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry is nominated to be Secretary of State, the praise and compliments from his former Republican enemies is overwhelming, and he faces little opposition for confirmation. Nothing is said about his supposed “anti American” statements on the war in Vietnam before the committee he now heads, and how he will now be leading our foreign policy, an idea which would have shocked his critics just eight years ago.

The right wing is rewriting history, hoping that the memory and ignorance of most people about past events is forgotten.

Instead, the attention is given to making Barack Obama a demon, a threat to the nation, to make him out as a man unwilling to negotiate, when it is the opposition which has been intransigent for the past four years, and is still engaged in smearing and character assassination greater than either Bill Clinton or John Kerry experienced!

One would have thought any greater assault was not conceivable, but here it is in full throttle!!

And since Obama will not be coming back for a third term, one can already see the revival of the attacks on Hillary Clinton, as the Benghazi, Libya tragedy is politicized for all it is worth. And since she is a woman, of course she must be trashed, destroyed, eviscerated as the likely future enemy, as the right wing assault machine goes into full gear to elect someone they want, to reverse things back to the “good old days” of Ronald Reagan!

But of course, Chris Christie, by working with Barack Obama, is also, already, being smeared and trashed, because he actually has some “moderate” elements in him, and some views on some issues that does not fit the mold of the far right. Chris Christie, if he runs for President in 2016, will discover just how venal and vicious the attack will be on him for being a “traitor” to the cause, just as much as Colin Powell has been experiencing recently, because of his view that the Republican Party must change its tune, its views, its image, its principles, or face extinction.

It is often said that the media are tilted to the left, when in reality, the right wing media is very much in a time of prosperity and growth, with Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and Joe Biden helping to energize their conspiracy theories, the image that the Republic is in danger of destruction all because we have a person of color, a woman, and a man of principle and convictions, playing major roles in the development of our domestic and foreign policy!

The Alleged “RINOS”: Colin Powell, Jon Huntsman, Chuck Hagel. Richard Lugar And Others

Ronald 1 Comment

Those who call themselves “Republicans”, but promote the Tea Party agenda domestically; the Neoconservative agenda in foreign policy; the social policies of the fundamentalist Christian right, the Radio Talk Show hosts and Fox News Channel; the fanatical gun rights advocates of the National Rifle Association; and other right wing extremists, represent the downfall of the Republican Party of Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and George H. W. Bush.

And it is precisely these groups within the GOP who condemn Colin Powell, Jon Huntsman, Chuck Hagel, Richard Lugar and others as being “RINOS”–Republicans In Name Only!

But it is precisely people such as Powell, Huntsman, Hagel and Lugar who represent the moderate conservative approach to government, a mainstream viewpoint which includes understanding that negotiation and compromise is essential to the workings of American democracy.

These people above are thoughtful, rational, accomplished leaders in the party, but they are being swept aside—Powell ignored and pilloried by many; Huntsman quickly being repudiated in the Presidential primaries; Hagel now facing a massive battle to overcome opposition within his own party to be confirmed as Secretary of Defense; and Lugar defeated in a Senate primary by an extremist who then lost the Senate seat that Lugar had held for 36 years.

As Powell said yesterday on a television interview, it concerns him that his party is ignoring the demographic reality of the growth of minorities in the voting population, and they have a problem with skin color and ethnicity. Hard to believe that is is the party that ended slavery and promoted civil rights in the mid 19th century!

The Battle Between Bush I Loyalists And Bush II Loyalists Begins Over Chuck Hagel Nomination For Defense Secretary

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Hard to conceive, but the battle between loyalists to President George H. W. Bush and loyalists to President George W. Bush has begun over the nomination of former Republican Senator Chuck Hagel to be Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense in his second term in the Presidency.

The “old guard” Establishment Conservatives around the first President Bush, including Brent Scowcroft, James Baker, Colin Powell, Condoleezza Rice, and the former President himself, have no major problems with Hagel.

On the other hand, the neoconservatives, including Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and conservative ideologues like Bill Kristol of the Weekly Standard, Paul Wolfowitz, Richard Perle, Elliot Abrams, Frank Gaffney, John Bolton, and Charles Krauthammer all will find Hagel wanting in his foreign and defense policy views. It is not clear where President George W. Bush will come down, but in theory, he would agree with his key advisers and consultants mentioned above. Note that Powell and Rice are more linked to father Bush, and both were certainly involved in major battles with Cheney, Rumsfeld, and others during the second Bush Administration.

It will be an interesting battle, and it is likely that many Republican Senators will refuse to back Hagel, including Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, newly sworn in Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, and Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who has particularly gone on the attack already against Hagel.

A key person to watch will be Senator John McCain of Arizona, who still harbors resentment that Hagel backed Obama over him in the 2008 Presidential campaign, and vehemently disagrees with Hagel on issues involving Afghanistan and Iraq and Iran. McCain has been attacking Obama on every front lately, but will he concede that Obama has a right to the Defense Secretary he wants?

Stay tuned for the fireworks, particularly to wonder where Senator Marco Rubio of Florida and Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky will take their stand–with the old line establishment figures, which include also many military and naval leaders; or with the neoconservatives who brought us into long, drawn out wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with very little success!

The Susan Rice Controversy: Much Ado Over Nothing, And Making John McCain, Lindsey Graham And Kelly Ayotte Look Ridiculous!

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The continuing controversy over UN Ambassador Susan Rice and her statements on Sunday talk shows about the events in Benghazi, Libya, which led to the death of Ambassador Chris Stevens and three others on September 11, has been blown so out of proportion that it borders on the ridiculous at this point!

A Fox News Channel and Mitt Romney inspired incident, it has led Senator John McCain to look like a total fool; Senator Lindsey Graham to look as if he is seeking for an issue to hold off Tea Party opposition to his reelection in South Carolina in 2014; and Senator Kelly Ayotte to come across as a freshman woman Senator who is hitching on the issue to make herself noticed, but in an embarrassing way that will trivialize her hope to become a national figure, after she was passed over by Mitt Romney to be his running mate for Vice President. Meanwhile, Senator Joe Lieberman, usually part of the “gang of three”, but now retiring, has decided NOT to join this cry for Rice’s head, showing some real intelligence as he leaves the Senate, but with Ayotte replacing him, to her degradation!

For anyone to be held so accountable for what he or she says on Sunday talk shows as Susan Rice is being held, is totally off the wall, and by that standard, Dick Cheney would have been impeached and removed from the Vice Presidency; Condoleezza Rice and Colin Powell would have been drummed out of office, or in the case of Rice, denied the chance to be Secretary of State; and McCain and Graham themselves would be forced out of the Senate for past incorrect, inaccurate, or stupid comments!

Susan Rice is perfectly qualified to be Secretary of State, and instead has been pilloried in a manner unbecoming her distinction, her education and academic accomplishments, and her distinguished public career. Her education and brilliance, when compared to the measly such accomplishments of McCain, Graham, and Ayotte, makes them all look more like the jealous competitors for academic excellence who decide to downgrade their successful competitor by spreading innuendo, rumors, character assassination, and ridicule, because they have nothing else to offer.

All three Senators should apologize profusely to Susan Rice, stop their bull “feathers”, and get down to serious business serving their constituents, and stop seeking the limelight. And if Kelly Ayotte, the only one with serious long term potential, wishes to be seen seriously, she had better abandon these two Senators past their prime, and stake out her own identity, or become totally irrelevant, and a “joke” in Senate circles!

Rumors Of Replacements For State Department And Defense Department: John Kerry Or Susan Rice, And Chuck Hagel?

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As the second Obama Administration is being organized, there are many rumors about members of the Cabinet leaving.

Among them are Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta, and the suggestions being discussed are very intriguing.

It is thought that Massachusetts Senator John Kerry, the 2004 Democratic Presidential nominee, might be angling for the State Department, with his years of experience as Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman as his major credential. Also, United Nations Ambassador Susan Rice is a second thought.

If Kerry left the Senate, it would open up his seat, and Republican Senator Scott Brown, who just lost his seat to Elizabeth Warren, would certainly campaign for it, against an unknown Democrat.

And if Rice received the position, she would be the fourth woman to be in that position, and the second black woman, and the third black person—following Colin Powell and Condoleezza Rice, as well as Madeleine Albright and Hillary Clinton.

For the Defense Department, if and when Panetta leaves, the rumor is that former Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel, a Republican, and very reputable, would take the position, and that would mark the second Republican Secretary of Defense for Obama, after Robert Gates.

Having both Kerry and Hagel as important cabinet members would be fantastic, and if Rice was selected, she would also be the second black woman in that position with the name of Rice!