Libya

Theodore Roosevelt Became President On This Day In 1901: Transformation Of The American Presidency!

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On this day in 1901, the first year of the 20th century, Theodore Roosevelt became President of the United States upon the death of President William McKinley, who died of gunshot wounds suffered eight days earlier in Buffalo, New York, perpetrated by the assassin, Leon Czolgosz!

TR becoming President turned out to be transformational, as he became an advocate of an activist Presidency, and became a model for both Republican Presidents and Democratic Presidents of the future!

TR helped to make America a world power, and would be shocked at the thought of many today who would advocate withdrawing from the world.

TR would be proud of President Barack Obama in his handling of the Middle East crisis that emerged this week with the death of Christopher Stevens, the US Ambassador to Libya, and would be shocked at the reaction of his fellow Republican, Presidential nominee Mitt Romney.

Also, TR would be proud of Barack Obama for accomplishing what he first brought up as an issue a century ago–national health care for all—and would be disappointed that his party has set out to repeal “ObamaCare”!

It is clear that TR, were he alive today, would be a Democrat, not a Republican, as TR’s Progressive beliefs have been repudiated by right wing conservatives, and TR would be furious at social conservatives trying to control the American people’s private lives, and promoting religion in government, rather than the tradition of the Founding Fathers, to have separation of church and state!

And TR, were he here now, would love to punch Glenn Beck and other right wing extremists who have attacked him because he was a Progressive, who believed that government was designed to make life better for the people, not for the corporations and the wealthy!

Yes, TR had his faults, as we all do, but he stands out as one of our greatest Presidents, who might never have ascended to that job, but for the evil deed of one man, who murdered William McKinley.

Just the same, Barack Obama will not let a small band of terrorists and thugs in Libya to upend our foreign policy, and he will show resolve and principle in dealing with the issue, just as TR always did in the Presidency!

Barack Obama is a worthy successor to the heritage of Theodore Roosevelt!

Jon Huntsman: A Rare, Sane Voice Among Today’s Republicans In Foreign Policy!

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Sane Republicans, the small number that seem to exist these days, should mourn that Jon Huntsman, the former Utah Governor and Ambassador to China, who was the only legitimate GOP candidate for President this year, before his withdrawal in January, was one of the few of that party to express the proper thoughts on the Middle East situation that blew up this week, with the death of the US Ambassador to Libya.

Huntsman said this is not the time for someone to be impetuous, to be reacting without all of the facts, or to suggest that foreign aid should be cut, or that we should withdraw from the region of the Middle East altogether!

This was Huntsman’s reaction to Mitt Romney’s impetuosity; to Bill Bennett’s justifying that impetuosity; and to Kentucky Senator Rand Paul’s call for a cut in foreign aid and withdrawal from involvement in the controversial area of the Middle East—all signs of just how nuts much of the Republican Party has become!

There are Republicans who are silently, and quietly, whispering privately how crazy the Romney campaign has become, and all that they hear is that Romney and Paul Ryan are accusing the Barack Obama Administration of sympathizing with terrorists and the thugs that attacked the Libyan Consulate and killed Ambassador Christopher Stevens and three others!

The incompetence and recklessness of both Romney and Ryan is literally terrifying, politicizing a national tragedy! And when the former Secretary of Education under George H. W. Bush (Bill Bennett) can double down on what Romney said after the first reports of the attack, and Rand Paul and other crazies can talk about losing all influence in the Middle East by punishing nations for the actions of a few, and even advocate total withdrawal and isolating ourselves, it makes one quiver at the thought of a Republican in the White House!

And when aides to Romney say that if he was in the White House, what happened this week in the Middle East would not have happened, one has to shake his head in disbelief, as if a President or anyone can control what goes on in other nations and prevent mobs or hoodlums from taking action, simply by the image of his presence! How egotistical and arrogant can someone get in the pursuit of becoming President, that his aides have the gall to state such an imbecilic assertion!

This is not the sanity of George H. W. Bush and his foreign policy advisers, or even the statesmanship of Condoleezza Rice or Colin Powell!

This is the insanity of people who have no respect for foreign countries, no knowledge of the world, and no understanding of what the use of language can do in relations among nations!

How far the Republican Party has fallen, from an image of being expert in foreign policy, to one of total irresponsibility and looniness, and in so doing, giving the Democratic Party and Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton the distinction of being the grown ups in the room!

Mitt Romney has dug a hole for himself that he will be unable to dig himself out of at the last Presidential debate on October 22, devoted solely to foreign policy. We will see the final disintegration of his candidacy on that evening, just 15 days before the election!

The Dangers Of Islamophobia On American Life And The Future

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Islamophobia has multiplied due to irresponsible right wing talk shows hosts, politicians, and websites that are exploiting the murder of Ambassador Christopher Stevens in Libya.

Sadly, Mitt Romney is adding to this hysteria by refusing to make it clear that America cannot declare war on the Islamic world, with its more than one billion population. He needs to calm the hysteria, but instead is contributing to it!

It is right that Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton denounce the anti Muslim video that has caused demonstrations in the Middle East, and led to massive riots. We as a nation are not responsible for the reckless, divisive, hateful actions of right wing nuts and Christian and Jewish zealots who preach undying antagonism toward the entire Islamic world.

The reality is that we MUST coexist in this world, as a modern day Crusade would destroy this planet that seven billion people occupy!

And if we are not careful, we will have massive violence in this nation against our Muslim population, and massive retaliation by people out to defend their faith and their culture. The Muslim population overwhelmingly has denounced what happened in Libya and Egypt, and are trying to go about their lives and be good American citizens.

Just because there are some radicals does not mean that all Muslims should be painted with the same brush. Leave it to the FBI and CIA to handle that problem, as they have done very well so far!

Indeed, we need to keep watch over our own religious extremists who are willing to be outrageous in their behavior in the name of freedom of speech and freedom of religion, and do not care how they divide this nation, and put it under stress and danger, and undermine our national security!

Fox News Channel Poll Shows Obama Ahead Of Romney By Five Points!

Ronald 12 Comments

Imagine this: Fox News Channel, which has been attacking Barack Obama relentlessly for years, has come out with a poll showing Obama five points ahead of Mitt Romney, 48-43!

How is Sean Hannity and Bill O’Reilly going to explain this?

How is Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck and Michael Savage and Mark Levin and Ann Coulter and Laura Ingraham and Michael Reagan and Lou Dobbs and Michelle Malkin going to explain this?

How is the Tea Party Movement and the evangelical Christian Right going to explain this?

How is John Boehner and Mitch McConnell and Eric Cantor going to explain this?

How is Human Events, the Weekly Standard, The National Review, the American Conservative and NewsMax going to explain this?

How is George Will, Bill Kristol, Tony Perkins and Grover Norquist going to explain this?

The answer is that they cannot answer this—and that when one realizes that this five point lead is BEFORE the gaffe of Mitt Romney about Libya is computed, it can only mean a wider lead for Obama in the next poll!

In other words, while no one wants to say it, face the facts!

THE ELECTION IS OVER, AND BARACK OBAMA IS THE WINNER OF A SECOND TERM!

But that does not mean one should not vote, as until the vote is counted, nothing is one hundred percent, BUT it is safe to say that the election is indeed over!

The Sacrifices And Commitment Of Our Foreign Policy Professionals Very Much Underappreciated!

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Most Americans have no clue as to what life is like in other nations around the world, particularly in the Middle East, Africa, Asia, and Latin America.

Many of our politicians promote the concept that America is the only nation that matters, and even ridicule, as former Vice President Dick Cheney said, “old Europe”!

This narrow mindedness and isolationist attitude, with only a thought of using military force overseas to impose our will and our values, is extremely dangerous in the modern world, and it causes most Americans to have no understanding of the sacrifices and commitment of our foreign policy professionals all over the world, who often put themselves in harm’s way to help promote understanding and open mindedness, and promote dialogue in the nations they serve, so as to make for a more cooperative and united world.

These diplomatic personnel are not compensated properly, and are underappreciated by ignorant citizens and politicians who wish to use the outside world as a whipping boy for their own prejudices and bigotry toward people and cultures which are different, whether in their religion, nationality, ethnicity, skin color, or customs.

Today is a day we should all pause and honor the memory of Christopher Stevens, a dedicated public servant who did his best to represent us in a nation in turmoil, Libya, and died, along with three others, doing what was necessary and right to do. May he and the others killed rest in peace, and be thanked by the American people for their selfless commitment to mankind!

Republican Congressional Leaders Back Away From Mitt Romney

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The reaction of Republican Congressional leaders, including John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mitch McConnell, and John McCain is far less incendiary than Mitt Romney’s rhetoric on the Libyan tragedy, the death of the American Ambassador to that nation, in the midst of a planned attack by a minority of violent instigators.

Even Paul Ryan, the Vice Presidential running mate, has been cooler in his reaction to the events in the Middle East.

One can tell by their body language and their actual utterances that they are uncomfortable with Romney’s perceived overreaction to the tragedy.

And Ryan is now spending money to insure that he wins his Congressional seat in the First District of Wisconsin, as an insurance policy that he can keep his job in the House of Representatives, if he and Romney fail to win the election.

All the signs are there that Mitt Romney, by every utterance he makes, or his refusal at other times to give details or information, and instead to remain purposely vague, is quickly lengthening the odds against him becoming President.

No one in their right mind should put betting money on him taking the oath of office as the 45th President on January 20, 2013. At best, he will probably be relaxing at one of his many homes on that day, while Barack Obama takes on the burden of a second term that day at 12 Noon!

Foreign Policy Finally Moves To The Forefront Of The Presidential Campaign! The Test For Mitt Romney!

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Foreign policy has finally moved to the forefront of the Presidential campaign of 2012, and Mitt Romney is going to have to prove his capability in that area, with a grade so far of F!

His rhetoric on Iran; his calling Russia the major threat to the United States; his insulting Great Britain about its preparation for the Olympics and talking about their security apparatus openly while in London; his willingness to exploit his personal friendship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a way to undermine the Obama Administration policy on the Middle East; and his rush to judgment without facts about the tragic attack in Libya, as well as Egypt, which caused the death of our ambassador to Libya, and three other diplomatic personnel, has so far made him seem dangerous, too easily “shooting from the hip”, and too willing to consider the use of military force before exhausting diplomacy and sanctions, as against Iran, for example.

From now on, and for the next eight weeks, Mitt Romney will be micro analyzed on everything he says or proposes in foreign affairs, and he will have to battle to get up to a C grade, if that!

And on October 22, at Lynn University in Boca Raton, Florida, he will be confronted with a full scale debate just on foreign policy, opposite President Barack Obama, who is judged as very strong in that area of policy making, in the last of the three Presidential debates.

The eyes of the world, not just those of Americans, will be on the former Massachusetts Governor, as to whether he is up to the job. He had better start studying at a ferocious pace, and control his mouth, or he will end up looking like an utter fool after that last debate, with his Presidential campaign in flames, much like the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya is this sad morning!

Religious Tolerance Or Unending War: The Reality Of Modern Times

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The horrible events in both Libya and Egypt, provoked by a internet video ridiculing and besmirching the prophet Mohammed, are a sign of what the future is, if religious tolerance is not promoted, and it can bring unending war and internal turmoil in nations around the world, including the United States.

While nothing can be done in America, because of the right to freedom of speech, to stop such internet videos, or such crazy people as Pastor Terry Jones in Gainesville, Florida, who encouraged the production and dissemination of this video, and already has been controversial for burning copies of the Koran in 2010, our nation’s leaders must promote the concept that we all have to live in a multi religious world, do not have to agree with other religions and their beliefs, but must do everything we can as a government and as individuals, to promote religious tolerance, so as to avoid provocations that lead to bloodshed, violence, and death.

Those who hate one religion or another must understand that religion is, to a great extent, emotionally based, and there is no way that anyone is going to make any religious belief disappear from the public domain, so the answer is to accept, to work to understand, and learn to co-exist, or else our world will face violence and war that will make the Cold War period between the US and the Soviet Union look like minor events!

The Ignorance And Arrogance Of Mitt Romney In So Many Areas Of Significance!

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Mitt Romney is politicizing the tragic death of the US Ambassador to Libya in a disgraceful manner, which totally disqualifies him for the office of President of the United States!

Mitt Romney has not only now proved his ignorance and arrogance on this matter, but also on other areas of foreign policy. If somehow he was elected, the neoconservatives would take over, and we would be engaged in warfare against the Islamic world—Iran, Pakistan, Syria, Egypt—and continuation of the war in Afghanistan, and maybe going back into Iraq—as if we have the manpower, the capability financially, and the national commitment to continuous war! And the Russian Government has also indicated its distrust of America growing if Romney is elected President, so get ready for a new Cold War with that nation!

But this situation only proves further that Mitt Romney is not only ignorant and arrogant about foreign policy.

He has also demonstrated his willingness to be manipulated by the far right wing of the Republican Party, when it comes to the fields of science, economics, mathematics and history. Facts and reality do not matter to the ideological extreme, and falsehoods and lies are the menu instead!

It is clear that Mitt Romney would be a total disaster for America, and would make George W. Bush, Ronald Reagan, and Richard Nixon look good by comparison!

Shocking Murder Of US Ambassador To Libya Due To Reckless Anti Muslim Video Produced By Israeli Extremist Who Should Have Used Better Judgment!

Ronald 6 Comments

The tragedy of the death of the US Ambassador to Libya, in a harsh reaction by extremist Muslims in that nation to an extremist, hateful video produced by an Israeli extremist who should have used better judgment, is a warning of the need for religious tolerance if we are to avoid massive bloodshed worldwide.

Promotion of anti Islamic ridicule and hatred is self defeating, as the Islamic world is not going to disappear, and their sensitivities cannot be ignored, unless we wish to send our young men and women in harm’s way endlessly, bleeding our youth and bankrupting our nation, already in tremendous debt due to two failed wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

For a person of Jewish heritage, who certainly knows what anti Semitism has meant to the Jewish people historically, to be so reckless as to incite the Islamic world when Israel must live in that neighborhood for the rest of time, requires the condemnation of the civilized world!

There are those who say the Jewish people are a false religion and people, and here we have an Israeli who says the same thing about Muslims, but with what purpose except to cause trouble and loss of life?

Freedom of religion does not mean we have to attack the beliefs of others in such a hateful way. We may not agree with what others believe, but no religious group should be subject to disrespect.

And for Mitt Romney to politicize this tragedy only shows further than before that he is ill equipped and ill qualified to be President of the United States, unless we are prepared to have unending war, lack of tact and diplomacy, and keep on undermining the strength and stability of our nation!