[Rhodes22-list] 04 Politics from the Past

[ed kroposki]

There are still a few on the list who might remember this old sailor and his
flames on politics:

From: brad haslett [mailto:flybrad at yahoo.com] 
 
This is still my e-mail address.  I'm in China right
now and am leaving for the good ole' USA tomorrow. 
We've been here three weeks, bought another apartment
in Beijing. and did some sightseeing. But, I'm more
than ready to go home and take the S2 out for a sail. 
Fall is the best sailing season for Tennessee.

OK, let me guess.  War in Iraq, Jobs, blah, blah,
blah.
I'd love to get in on the discussion but I'm not sure
the list really wants me.  Facts are stubborn things. 
The current unemployment rate is 5.6 percent.  When
Clinton was re-elected in 1996 it was 5.4 per cent. 
Not bad for W considering he had to guide the economy
through the dot-com bubble bursting followed by 9/11. 
Fighting overseas outsourcing is like fighting
gravity.  Pass all the laws you want but it won't
change reality any more than legislating against
Newton's laws of gravity will.  The Kerry-Edwards
ticket has yet to outline how they will increase jobs.
 One of the reasons countries like China and others
are kicking our ass economically is that they have few
people like John Edwards suing the shit out of
everyone for dubious reasons and running up the cost
of goods and services, plus, raising barriers to
starting a new business.  I suppose Kerry's advice
could be to just marry into big money instead of
making it the honest way as he's done twice.  The
Democratic ticket this year is the same as always,
promote class warfare, make people feel like victims,
fund the same programs that have already proven not to
work and start some more to make people feel the
government is responsible for their well being instead
of themselves.  It seems really odd to me that a
country like China, which still claims to be
communist, is shedding social programs as fast as
practical and some people in the US want to start more
social programs and then bitch about our economic
performance.  

Iraq.  A hundred years from now when they publish
history textbooks, the "Bush Doctrine" will be touted
as a turning point in American history and Bush will
be applauded for his forsight.  The Middle East has
been a cesspool of violence for at least six thousand
years, but in the last fifty it has taken on a more
dangerous role because of the discovery of oil there
and the wealth it brought.  They have over two thirds
of the worlds oil supply and can only increase in
power. After the run-up in oil prices in the late
70's, most of the Arab states, especially Saudi
Arabia, started massive state welfare programs, free
education, healthcare, unemployment, etc.  When the
price of oil fell in the 80's they could no longer
afford these programs.  When millions of Muslim males
are told that their "entitlements" are going away and
it may interrupt their drinking coffee all afternoon
while bitching about the evil West, all hell breaks
loose.  Mix in a fringe element of a religion that is
not exactly progressive anyway and the next thing you
know, idiots are flying airplanes into buildings
looking for their 69 virgins or whatever.  Maybe if
they had gotten laid more while here on earth they
wouldn't have been so eager to die, but then that
would  entail treating women with a little more
respect, something they are loathe to do.  Anyway, I
digress.  Read Tommy Franks book "American Soldier". 
Saddam needed to go for a host of reasons and Bush had
the courage to do it. Alone.  The French, Germans, and
Russians all were too economically intertwined with
Iraq to risk their own assets and having them in an
alliance would have made it impossible.  Remember the
first Gulf War?  We didn't take out Saddam then
because of an alliance.  The US is the worlds
superpower and we have a responsibility to use it
while we still have it.  Israel sometimes behaves like
a spoiled child but they are our friend and wouldn't
exist surrounded by enimies but for us.  I mention
this because it is amazing how one small country in
the same region, WITHOUT OIL, is so productive
compared to their neighbors.  Amazing what democracy
and capitalism can do!  If, and this is a big if, Iraq
can use its wealth to rebuild itself along more
democratic lines, it could be the turning point for
the whole region.  The other options?  There are no
other options.  Even if we could magically eliminate
our need for oil and leave the Middle East to its sand
and religion, we'd still have Islamic fruitcakes
blaming us for their problems.  We won the Cold War
against communism but it took fifty years.  Was it
worth it?  Let me ask the Chinese workmen here today
hanging pictures.  The war against terror will
probably take just as long.  We sat through the 90's
while our buildings, embassies, and ships we're
attacked and did nothing.  This war will take a long
time to settle and Iraq was a good place to start. 
Before I leave this subject, I met a guy on the train
from Quingdou to Beijing last night from Libya.  He
spoke very good English and I was thankfull for the
conversation.  He said he had never been to the United
States because he couldn't get a visa but hoped to
soon.  We stayed away from politics mostly but he was
obviously happy to see his country rejoin the modern
world.  I seriously doubt Libya would have changed its
course without the Iraq war. As a father of a 19 and
22 year old son, I grieve every time one of our
soldiers is killed or injured.  My youngest is talking
about leaving college for the Marines. Nothing would
make me happier than to find a peacefull solution to
the terror issue.  Unfortunately, wishfull thinking
and "sensitive talk" won't hack it.  Enough for now, I
could go on for days.

That ought to be enough to piss off Stan and the gang
for awhile.  Did I guess right on the current issues?

Brad
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