Comments for Politi-size

Comment on Saving the World: One Less Hurricane at a Time by btg5885

btg5885 — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:13:15 +0000

Goodpost. I think we need to be very matter of fact with politicians and not debate what is obvious. When people raise flags like Christie is disingeniously doing, we should say that train has left the station a while back. It is here, it is worse than the models predicted, and we need to act now while we can. Remember, Gingrich went on TV in 2006 with Pelosi and said I was wrong about climate change and then changed his mind back when running for President in 2012 trying to erase the commercial from people’s memory. That was seven years ago.

Comment on Republicans and the False Premise of Rights by btg5885

btg5885 — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:02:55 +0000

Good post. I have said often the Republican platform is very weak and in some cases based on faulty presumptions. Global warming is occurring and is man influenced the data overwhelmingly shows. We are not taxed enough already as we are one of the least taxed civilized countries per the OECD and so on. The Libertarian party has some good premises, but falls short as well. There is a role for government for several reasons, but one of the key roles is to keep things fair. Otherwise, unfettered capitalism will lead to the haves taking advantage of the have nots – they always have and always will. The other key is our country, per Thomas Friedman and Michael Mandelbaurm’s book “That Used to Be Us: How America Fell Behind in the World it Created and How it Can Come Back”, has always been one of private/ public investment. Per their book, we have lost sight of that. Innovation is portable, so we need the combined investment to keep more jobs here. The best political solution is to be “none of the above” and be an Independent as you are not beholden to party platitudes and can make more data informed decisions. I view myself as fiscally conservative and socially progressive, so I find more people like me are Independents. Thanks for letting me get on a soapbox. BTG

Comment on A Red Light on Red Lines by btg5885

btg5885 — Sun, 19 May 2013 11:31:35 +0000

Excellent post. Syria is the ultimate Catch 22 decision. The best answer would be for Russia, China, Turkey and US to help broker a transfer of power to another ruling body and cause Assad to step down. Russia, whose leader is not trustworthy, needs to step up to the plate with a conscious.

Comment on Benghazi: Death of the Republican Party by btg5885

btg5885 — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:33:56 +0000

Pending the testmony of Ambassador Pickering and Admiral Mullens who conducted the review and did the report, from what I heard them say on NPR the other day, their report led them to conclude no fingers should be pointed at the President and Sec of State. Pickering had offered to testify earlier, but was the terms could not be worked. Just recently, he declined to be interviewed by just the GOP off camera. He said he would be delighted to testify, but it needed to be on the record. My take away was the GOP Congressmen wanted to see what he said before he said it in an open forum.

I think many have believed there was more political zeal in the pursuit of this story than a story itself. Rand Paul, like his father, tends to shoot first and aim later. This is not an admirable trait and serves neither very well.

Comment on Life or Death with Dignity by btg5885

btg5885 — Thu, 16 May 2013 13:39:48 +0000

Check out the movie “You Don’t Know Jack” starring Al Pacino to see why death with dignity is preferable by some. Where he overstepped his bounds and went to prison for is “doing the action” and not just counseling and making it available to the person who wanted to take the action. Yet, when you see this you know why having such a law is this is important as some people are ready to stop the suffering.

Comment on Inadequate Aid to Somalia and Lessons on Foreign Aid by btg5885

btg5885 — Tue, 14 May 2013 14:03:01 +0000

We seem to be more eager to fund military needs than humanitarian needs. So, when this becomes a military need, it gets our attention. If we had helped rebuild Afghanistan’s infrastructure after Charlie Wilson’s war against the Russians, we may never let the country get in such a disarray fostering terrorist activities.

Comment on Israeli Defense and the Path to Resolving Middle Eastern Tensions by btg5885

btg5885 — Tue, 07 May 2013 13:36:26 +0000

The US doesn’t know the best path forward. We may be facing a deadly Catch 22 either way. I hope they figure out some path, as Israel is less patient and obviously will act.

Comment on Anti-Congress and Pro-Military: The Doom of Younger Voters by gruundehn

gruundehn — Sun, 05 May 2013 16:25:12 +0000

Your comment that military leaders are war hungry is the sort of comment that is common among those who have no experience with the military. Military leaders are NOT war hungry; knowing what war is like first-hand, military leaders do not want it and if the Congress or the President gets them involved they want it over with as fast as possible. It is the political side of government that tends to drag out wars and get us involved in wars that are not in our interests.
We got into WW II because we were attacked. Every other war during the 20th century was the result of political actions by, primarily, the sitting President. Military leaders have had no say in getting us involved in any wars. Military leaders do not lust after war.

Comment on Guantanamo Bay Closure: 2013 Could Be Obama’s Year by Fatuma Ukwaju

Fatuma Ukwaju — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:12:11 +0000

Reblogged this on second star to the right.

Comment on Anti-Congress and Pro-Military: The Doom of Younger Voters by btg5885

btg5885 — Sat, 04 May 2013 16:06:21 +0000

Congress deserves its low rating, especially with the more strident, less collabortive points of view that are now entrenched. This is why so many of the better legislators are leaving as they are fed up with the strident views. Plus, with such strident views, we have some of the most inane voices in Congress saying inane things. As an independent voter, it is hard to take my former party seriously when they don’t tell these inane voices that their opinion is not worthy of due consideration. We are not debating the real issues in our country and that is what is annoying to most people – jobs, infrastructure, eco-energy planning, true deficit/ debt conversation which includes revenue and spending cuts, along with growth oriented investments such as infrastructure that will create jobs and improve an asset.