tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-67110372012-02-13T01:13:35.196-07:00Thoughts on foreign policy and other stuffJimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.comBlogger6681100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-15266856477457188242012-02-13T01:09:00.000-07:002012-02-13T01:13:35.280-07:00

The article in today's New York Times and Tom Friedman's column of several days ago make it clear that Syria is yet another religious war between the Sunni and Shiite Muslim sects.  Syrian President Assad's Alawite sect is Shiite, a minority in Syria; most of the protesters are Sunni, who are the (oppressed) majority.  So the Shiite Iranians are going to help Assad, and the neighboring Sunnis are

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-10382302022109668072012-01-31T17:24:00.002-07:002012-01-31T17:24:25.598-07:00

While I've been critical of American Jews who love Israel more than America, there are many who have done great things for America.  First comes to mind the owners of the New York Times, the Sulzbergers, where most of my information comes from.  Then there is the guy, David Rubenstein, who is contributing half of the cost of repairing the Washington Monument.  I thought that I would find that he

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-88140036630019240752012-01-30T12:36:00.002-07:002012-01-30T12:39:56.071-07:00

Yesterday's New York Times article on Sheldon Adelson's campaign contributions to Newt Gingrich illustrated my concerns in the previous post about American Jews whose first love is Israel.  It appears that Adelson's main reason for supporting Gingrich is that Newt is a 100% supporter of Israel.  Earlier articles said that the main bond between Adelson and Gingrich was Newt's anti-union stance,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-65434094484074467992012-01-28T00:42:00.001-07:002012-01-28T00:42:29.800-07:00

I am concerned that many Jews support Israel over America. I hesitate to say this because Jews are so belligerent and "in-your-face" that they will never admit to it. In addition, it is not true about all Jews. There are no doubt many American Jews whose first love is America, rather than Israel, but because the Israel-lovers are so vocal, it is hard to know whether there is a silent majority

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-81401929809514062912012-01-23T02:27:00.001-07:002012-01-23T02:27:21.409-07:00

I am coming to believe that we need a new round of tariffs to protect American workers.  The article on Apple's manufacturing practices in Sunday's New York Times makes it sound like American workers don't have a chance to compete with Chinese workers.  Meanwhile an article in Technology Review points out how damaging to workers are the labor practices used by Apple's Chinese suppliers.  The only

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-76039063768945779322012-01-20T12:10:00.000-07:002012-01-20T12:14:11.310-07:00

The Mitt Romney discussion has made me very unhappy with the US tax code and Congress in general. Why should millionaire Mitt Romney pay a 15% tax rate, while poorer working people pay a significantely higher percentage? Paul O'Neill, former Secretary of Treasury, was just on Bloomberg Surveillance Midday, and said that the tax code is "unworthy" of the US. Why do rich people hate America

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-5607716859037550892012-01-17T11:20:00.001-07:002012-01-17T11:20:24.694-07:00

The Republican candidates, except for Ron Paul, are all hot and bothered about stopping Iran from getting the atomic bomb.  But they never mention Israel's bomb.  And they pretty much ignore Pakistan's bomb, and India's bomb.  And they never mention America's bombs, Russia's bombs, China's bombs, Britain's bombs, etc.  The responsible way to stop Iran would be to have a genuine, functioning

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-76130034395688852592012-01-17T11:04:00.002-07:002012-01-17T11:04:24.294-07:00

Newt Gingrich gave up on America when he shut down the government in 1995.  A great country would not give up and quit.  I'm still mad because it affected me directly.  First, while I was assigned to the American Embassy in Warsaw to run the Maria Sklodowska Curie fund, named in honor Nobel Prize winner Marie Curie, the Republicans stopped funding it after two or three years, although we had

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-43327872513929291622012-01-17T10:49:00.000-07:002012-01-17T10:49:24.838-07:00

Most of the debate about whether Romney created jobs at Bain Capital misses the point.  Of course, businesses succeed and fail.  Some jobs will be created, some eliminated.  The questions is whether Romney cared about jobs, or just about maximizing profits.  For example, if it cost Bain $1,000 to keep a job that paid $25,000 to some long-term employee, would Romney do it?  That question has not

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-48954209696903232582012-01-17T10:35:00.001-07:002012-01-17T10:35:24.826-07:00

Obama's proposal to break up the Commerce Department is just another example of his kowtowing to the Republicans and abandoning Democratic party ideals.  Government needs reorganization, but breaking up a long existing cabinet department is not the way to start.  The Republicans probably want him to eliminate EPA or Education, and he thinks it is smart to hit Commerce instead, but it's still a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-30041018167993106932012-01-08T20:11:00.001-07:002012-01-08T23:08:16.268-07:00

The Republican primaries are basically a reality show.  The candidates are more like the housewives of Orange County than commanders in chief.  That’s why somebody who was just promoting a book, Herman Cain, came to be one of the leading contenders, if only for a few weeks  The debates and campaign speeches have been in general uneducated and banal, except for Ron Paul and Jon Huntsman, who have

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-76457973709379862932012-01-08T16:32:00.000-07:002012-01-08T23:19:42.479-07:00

I’m a big fan of USAA insurance, but I think it’s significant that USAA now needs to advertise, when previously it tried to limit policyholders rather than attracting them.  In the old days USAA insurance was only available to military officers.  Because of patriotism and the draft, a lot of excellent people became military officers.  Many of them did not become career officers, but left after

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-449537562030215712012-01-04T22:34:00.003-07:002012-01-04T22:34:49.302-07:00

There was nothing interesting about the Iowa caucuses.  Mitt Romney got more or less his expected 25%.  Rick Santorum was the not-Romney candidate of the moment, and got about the same vote.  Ron Paul got the votes he was expected to get, high for a non-mainstream candidate, but not enough to make him mainstream.  If the vote had been held 10 days earlier, the not-Romney vote would have gone to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-43061641859855901992012-01-04T01:00:00.000-07:002012-01-04T01:00:05.121-07:00

Based on the results I have heard, a tie between Romney and Santorum, the Iowa caucuses appear to be an enormous waste of time.  If they contribute anything to the Presidential election, it just shows how broken our electoral system is.  Part of the problem is due to the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, basically making it legal for rich people to buy an election.  And part of the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-60516157910907766322011-12-30T03:32:00.001-07:002011-12-30T03:32:59.039-07:00

After failing to nominate Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer protection agency, Obama proposed Cordry. See this Vanity Fair article on Warrren. However, when the Senate blocked Cordry with some filibuster trick, Obama just accepted it. He has obviously been bought by the big banks and other financial interests. Obama should at least have made a stink. He's been quiet as a mouse, hoping

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-53517991081376894532011-12-02T11:32:00.001-07:002011-12-02T11:39:13.862-07:00

In Boomerang, Michael Lewis points out the absence of Jews in the German financial community.  We all know why this is so.  But the problem now is that the American financial community is largely led by Jews, and it turns out to be corrupt, while the gentile German banking community turns out to be largely honest, if gullible.  Not all Jews are dishonest, but events like this tend to reinforce

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-38199862561553497732011-12-02T11:16:00.001-07:002011-12-02T11:42:03.482-07:00

At this moment in the financial crisis, the only people I trust are women: Elizabeth Warren, Christine Legarde, and Angela Merkel. When Barney Frank was discussing his legacy on PBS yesterday, one the things he emphasized was the consumer protection provisions of the Dodd-Frank law.  Elizabeth Warren was largely responsible for that, and then when push came to shove, Obama abandoned her, clearly

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-72445424587535007012011-12-02T11:05:00.001-07:002011-12-02T11:15:19.058-07:00

I just finished reading Michael Lewis' chapter in Boomerang about Germany.  His theme for Germany is "clean on the outside, dirty on the inside."  But much of what turns out to be dirty on the inside is America's subprime mortgage debt, which was sold by unscrupulous American bankers to honest, trusting German bankers.  In many ways it is the most damning portrait of the American banking system

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-60568069999934108562011-11-09T15:28:00.002-07:002011-11-09T20:33:34.619-07:00

The Denver Post has had an excellent series on tax breaks for corporations.  These breaks were supposed to encourage businesses to move into poor areas called enterprise zones, but eventually enterprise zones covered most of the state and just constituted another tax break for almost any corporation doing business in Colorado, in some cases giving tax breaks to corporations that eliminated jobs,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-91199112007632520352011-11-02T11:35:00.000-06:002011-11-02T11:36:03.723-06:00

This op-ed by David Brooks says that the largest proportion of the richest 1% of Americans are doctors.  He says 16% of the wealthiest are doctors, compared with 8% being lawyers, for example.  That's why health care costs are going through the roof, why Medicare is out of control, etc.  He doesn't break down the doctors' incomes, but it's pretty well known that the richest doctors are the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-65844849801920492542011-10-13T13:27:00.000-06:002011-10-13T13:39:43.340-06:00

I hope that you saw "Morning Joe" this morning on MSNBC. In case you did not, here is a link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036789/#44886865 They discussed Warren Buffett's release of his income tax. It shows he is correct that rich people who make most of their money from investments pay a lower percentage of their income in taxes than much poorer working people do. This country clearly

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-21524065086823376512011-10-11T03:44:00.002-06:002011-10-11T10:05:41.703-06:00

The US should only kill an American citizen when he poses an immediate threat of deadly harm and there is no other way to stop him.  I am not sure that these conditions were met in the recent assassinations of American citizens Anwar al-Awlaki and Samir Khan. According to the press, Awlaki encouraged other Americans to kill their fellow citizens and to oppose the US government, but it's not

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-61938376243386397082011-10-10T15:09:00.002-06:002011-10-10T15:09:14.981-06:00

Recent articles in the NYT and WP paint a pretty discouraging picture of the State Department's future role in Iraq.  A serving Foreign Service officer has written a book about what a failure State's past activities have been, "We Meant Well: How I Helped Lose the Battle for the Hearts and Minds of the Iraqi People."  He also published an op-ed in the NYT, which says, "Iraq is still plagued by

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-84169774262189125052011-09-26T12:06:00.001-06:002011-09-26T12:33:55.612-06:00

North Korean Nuclear Proliferation Issues.  One of my responsibilities in Rome was maintaining a dialogue with Italy and the EU on North Korean nuclear issues, in particular the Korean Peninsula Energy Development Organization (KEDO).  During the six months more or less that I was in Rome, Italy held the presidency of the European Union, so that our dialogue was on sort of a double basis, one

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-68565728847503742922011-09-20T01:22:00.000-06:002011-09-20T16:32:24.565-06:00

Unwelcoming Reception in Rome.  When I agreed to go from Warsaw to Rome, Embassy Rome said that they had an apartment for me.  They said that I could not have my predecessor's apartment, which frankly I found a little odd, but I thought, "Okay, they say they have a nice apartment, and it's Rome."  When we arrived, however, after our contretemps with the government shutdown leaving Warsaw, it

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-12409430397459393002011-09-20T00:22:00.000-06:002011-09-20T00:22:17.485-06:00

Rome: Tethered Satellite. Firing of space agency chief. One of the best parts of my job as Science Officer in various embassies was that I was the representative of NASA, and everyone loved NASA.  In addition to being glamorous, NASA had stuff to give away, like observation time on the space telescope, rides on the Shuttle, etc.  The local space agency always wanted to stay on my good side. 

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-23127808734338107892011-09-17T23:56:00.001-06:002011-09-20T00:31:47.647-06:00

Rome: Fisheries.  Constitutional responsibilities and Ambassador's letter.  When I arrived in Rome, the State Department was in the process of being sued by four environmental organizations because the State Department, and the Embassy Rome Science Office in particular, had failed to enforce the driftnet fishing regulations of the United Nations.  My assistant was deeply involved in this

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-65084883392223456712011-09-15T05:15:00.001-06:002011-09-15T05:30:35.241-06:00

Before I move on to Rome, there were some other disappointing events in Poland. MTCR.  Before the fall of Communism, there had been some security failure at the embassy in Poland, so that even after the fall, there was a lot of concern about security of classified material.  As a result, there were a limited number of paper copies of classified cables, with few distributed to anybody except the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-12432765718456411902011-09-08T13:27:00.001-06:002011-09-08T13:27:54.088-06:00

As I complain about how things are going in the US, I think that I could have stayed in the State Department Foreign Service, but instead I retired almost 15 years ago.  Could I have made a positive difference if I had stayed in?  Or would I have continually been implementing policies that I disagreed with?  I came down on the latter side.  I thought I would write down why I did so, and consider

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-1350372515472589492011-08-26T01:08:00.003-06:002011-08-27T01:26:55.131-06:00

Today on CNBC in an interview with Maria Bartaromo, Nuriel Roubini said that it made no difference what economic proposals Obama made because the Republicans would oppose anything. He said they want the economy to be as bad as possible because that helps their election chances next year. So Roubini thinks the Republicans want America to fail. How terrible! It is not unlike what Paul Krugman

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-18306897810989833152011-07-26T12:28:00.001-06:002011-07-26T12:32:45.730-06:00

The Europeans wanted to get into Libya. To a certain extent, it's their backyard. I thought the Israelis too wanted us in, but now I'm not so sure. The impetus for Bernard-Henri Levy's Libya visit may have been more French than Jewish. Clinton and Rice wanted us in because of Rwanda. But the deciding factor may have been the unexpected votes by the AU and the UN. They called our bluff and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-20053504222947301882011-07-26T12:24:00.002-06:002011-07-26T12:26:57.527-06:00

Republicans want to cut debt so that their children will not be burdened. But then they are against doing anything to counter global warming, which means that their great-grandchildren probably won't survive anyway, at least not in a lifestyle that looks anything like ours today.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22936571466715473362011-07-26T12:17:00.002-06:002011-07-26T12:22:06.463-06:00

People talk about how Afghanistan invaded the US, because bin Laden trained there. But that's like saying some empty building is responsible for a drug killing because the drug gang met there. The gang is the problem, not the building. 9/11 was really a criminal matter, not a military one. But Bush and Cheney were probably right that the American people wanted a big military response,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-38671346062994511672011-07-26T12:16:00.001-06:002011-07-26T12:16:44.055-06:00

Is Veterans' Committee Chairman Miller a military veteran? As a Vietnam veteran I ask, because press reports, including a recent email from the American Legion, indicate that this Congress wants to drastically cut veterans benefits. It sounds like Chairman Miller is from the Pensacola area. When I was growing up, the Pensacola Naval Air Station was one of the most important things around

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-63031874733881959482011-07-20T11:07:00.001-06:002011-07-20T11:10:08.699-06:00

I am very disappointed with President Obama's decision not to nominate Elizabeth Warren as head of the new consumer protection agency. She is one of the few people in Washington that I respect and trust. Obama's decision to pass over her for one of the deputies she hired shows cowardice in the face of Republican opposition. To me, coming simultaneously with the fight over the debt ceiling and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-84434220327946574622011-07-18T22:57:00.002-06:002011-07-18T23:11:13.292-06:00

I am not happy with all the talk by Republicans (and Democrats) about how much they love the troops. As a Vietnam veteran I did not get a particularly heartwarming welcome home. The main welcome I remember is that Continental Airlines offered me a free drink flying from Fort Lewis, Washington, where I separated from the Army, to New Orleans, on my way to Mobile. The most anti-veteran thing I

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-53504005516175478882011-07-13T01:55:00.003-06:002011-07-13T02:07:00.211-06:00

Republicans don't seem to understand the difference between incurring debt and paying it off. The debt ceiling is about paying off existing debt. If we don't pay it, it is like not paying a credit card balance. The credit card company is going to charge you lots of fees and higher interest and will probably refuse to lend you any more money. What Republicans are worried about is continual

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-47612707261732356152011-06-30T11:15:00.001-06:002011-06-30T11:18:32.740-06:00

The Huffington Post reports that the Republicans will keep both the House and the Senate in session. Basically, Obama asked for this yesterday. The question is whether they will do anything. Huff Post thinks somebody will just appear on the floor every few days and make some meaningless statement to keep the session active. If so, it will be meaningless for the debt crisis. Another result,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-56387611304317218182011-06-20T14:36:00.003-06:002011-06-20T14:41:30.397-06:00

As you discuss tax reform, at the top of your list should be eliminating the capital gains tax. In general, capital gains should be taxed as ordinary income. It is the main reason that many wealthy people pay a lower tax rate than ordinary people. Warren Buffet often cites the example that his secretary pays a higher tax rate than he does. Basically the capital gains tax is welfare for

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-34607682008058109312011-06-15T11:28:00.001-06:002011-06-15T11:32:06.881-06:00

Kissinger's new book "On China" reminds me of the only time I met him. As a young Foreign Service officer on his second assignment, I was working in the State Department INR watch office, which monitored incoming intelligence reports. While he was Secretary of State during the Ford administration, Kissinger was holding Middle East peace talks. One quiet Sunday afternoon while Egypt's Sadat was

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-84470412225676700022011-06-08T10:33:00.003-06:002011-06-08T11:01:56.651-06:00

I am aghast that the US government continues to threaten to quit paying interest on its debt. While it is mostly Republicans, the straight vote last week in the House on whether to increase the debt ceiling was defeated with many Democrats joining the Republicans. I thought this was terrible. The Republicans said it was just a joke for show and that Wall Street was in on the joke. Afterwards,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-33583301078251560402011-05-18T02:54:00.002-06:002011-05-18T03:04:21.408-06:00

Sen. Tom Coburn's withdrawal from the gang of six working on the budget/debt ceiling crisis is a bad sign. I was never convinced that he was committed to the process, but now he certainly is not. He probably came under heavy pressure from his fellow Republicans to drop out. They probably plan to push the debt ceiling issue to the limit. Pundits say it may not destroy the country, but there is

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-64104833949049756862011-04-30T00:42:00.004-06:002011-04-30T01:10:42.475-06:00

I apologize for the disjointed letter posted previously.I was prompted to write it by the movie "Mrs. Miniver," which I watched a while ago. It is about an upper middle class family in England from the period just before World War II until well into the war. The movie was made during the war, and on TCM, the "The End" screen said something like, "America needs your money. Buy bonds." In the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22257177216129934232011-04-30T00:10:00.001-06:002011-04-30T00:12:23.800-06:00

Letter to Congressman and Senators:Right now I feel that there are only two people in Washington who have my best interests at heart, as a middle class citizen -- Elizabeth Warren and Ben Bernanke. The fact that big business is so opposed to Elizabeth Warren indicates to me that she must be doing something right for average citizens. Normally, Ben Bernanke, as the head of the Fed would be the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-20977923014590701202011-04-23T00:26:00.002-06:002011-04-23T00:41:43.771-06:00

The Washington Post reports a new trend of people walking away from houses that they own. It misses the whole point, however. The problem is that these people paid little or no money down. Their mortgage payments were just rent payments, and unlike real rent payments, these were subsidized by the US government in the form of the mortgage interest tax deduction. People didn't do this years ago

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-5295027748476661462011-04-22T12:48:00.002-06:002011-04-22T13:10:41.512-06:00

I look at the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) as sort of my legacy from my days at the State Department. I was one of the main links between the idea to create a missile non-proliferation regime during the Carter presidency, and its actually coming into existence under Reagan. So, I'm happy to see that it still exists and is functioning, as reported by this press release from its 2011

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-35617502303085061872011-04-21T16:46:00.001-06:002011-04-21T16:52:28.676-06:00

The New York Times reported that Bernard-Henri Levy takes credit for persuading French President Sarkozy to enter the Libyan civil war on the side of the rebels. So how did that happen? Part of the answer is what has been discussed in the press: The West -- particularly Hillary Clinton, Susan Rice, and Smantha Power -- felt guilty about how long it took for the US to interview in the genocide

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-19772583006721403542011-04-20T20:23:00.002-06:002011-04-20T20:25:41.070-06:00

Anybody serious about solving the national debt/budget deficit problem has to consider both expenditure cuts and revenue increases. We should cut back some government programs, and we should increase some taxes. Until there is a serious debate about what to cut and what to tax, there is no serious effort to reduce the deficit/debt. S&P is right; the US is on a slippery slope towards bankruptcy

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-85695518168103535832011-04-06T12:26:00.004-06:002011-04-06T13:11:06.294-06:00

This study on "Wealth, Income and Power" by University of Santa Cruz sociology professor William Domhoff contains much of the data that I was looking for regarding how wealth distribution has changed historically in the US. It has a political viewpoint, because in another study Professor Domhoff says UC Santa Cruz is "the most liberal public university in the country." My kind of place! He

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-60768296426288527372011-04-06T11:11:00.003-06:002011-04-06T11:44:31.303-06:00

Richard Goldstone has reversed himself on whether Israel committed war crimes. In an op-ed in the Washington Post, he says that investigations by the Israeli military "indicate that civilians were not intentionally targeted as a matter of policy." He blames his now-recanted criticisms of Israel on Israel's failure to cooperate with his investigation.He seems to say that since Israel would not

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-10719264870526328862011-04-06T10:09:00.002-06:002011-04-06T10:26:53.946-06:00

I am very unhappy with the threat of a government shutdown. The last shutdown is one of the main reasons that I retired and left the Foreign Service. It is irresponsible for the government to abandon people it has sent to foreign countries and tell them that they now have to fend for themselves when they wouldn't be there unless the government had sent them there. As part of the then Republican

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-66129220073142886082011-04-04T01:20:00.002-06:002011-04-04T01:30:11.110-06:00

Thousands of years ago, Jeremiah prophesied the following regarding Israel (Jeremiah chapter 2):Thus saith the Lord, What iniquity have your fathers found in me, that they are gone far from me, and have walked after vanity, and are become vain? Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit. Thine own wickedness shall

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-11592041534774775652011-03-31T22:54:00.002-06:002011-03-31T23:06:12.530-06:00

The BBC reported that Sir Gerald Kaufman, a Jew, had to apologize for a "Jews" remark in Parliament. The remark came while Parliament was debating its war crimes law. A Jewish MP, Louise Ellman, was trying to water down the law so that it would be harder to accuse Israelis of war crimes, prompting Sir Gerald to say, "Here we are, the Jews again." We should be grateful that Jews are not a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22899411166168485442011-03-30T00:41:00.002-06:002011-03-30T01:21:13.651-06:00

UN Chief Ban Ki-moon criticized Israel's occupation of Palestinian land as morally and politically unsustainable. For me the key word is "morally." The Israelis, as the expounders of the Ten Commandments and as the victims of the Holocaust, should be moral in their dealings with others, including the Palestinians. Instead they spit on the Bible or Torah, or whatever they call their holy

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22643090216593127782011-03-21T16:02:00.003-06:002011-03-21T16:19:45.235-06:00

Fox News has become the dominant cable news channel. Its main rival is Public Broadcasting. The major networks -- ABC, CBS and NBC -- have basically given up on news. They have almost no overseas bureaus. Richard Engel seems to be covering three wars single-handedly now. Their half-hour national news program focus disproportionately on "happy" news, even when something terrible like the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-68442169145139352442011-03-09T14:54:00.002-07:002011-03-09T15:36:20.567-07:00

It's great that Yogi Berra interrupted his baseball career to serve in World War II, including participating in the D-Day invasion. It was pretty common then; Ted Williams, who served as a pilot in both World War II and Korea, is another example. It's unlikely to happen today. The only example that comes to mind is Pat Tillman, the Arizona Cardinals football player who died in a friendly fire

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-31343841190894022602011-03-09T14:32:00.003-07:002011-03-09T14:52:14.139-07:00

Listening to the political news, the use of three words bothers me: gentleman, democratic, and progressive. My complaint about "gentleman" is not so much political, but general usage. Gentleman used to mean a man who was polite, educated, well-dressed, and generally a decent sort of chap. Today it seems to be used like the word "alleged" to give the benefit of the doubt to criminals, and to

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-81225982780415454462011-03-09T11:52:00.002-07:002011-03-09T12:16:23.716-07:00

One of government's main functions is to provide security for its citizens in the form of police, courts, military defense, etc. It has failed to do this in the banking crisis. Government did ameliorate the crisis by preventing a depression era scenario where many major banks fail. The banks not only did not fail, they recovered quickly and their chieftains are making millions. On the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-48870099961674058102011-03-08T01:38:00.002-07:002011-03-08T01:49:56.719-07:00

American fiscal policy is in total disarray. Taxes are too low; spending is too high. Spending should be more stimulative and less for old people. Social Security and Medicare need to be reformed, in particular to be more to incomes, both on the taxing and paying ends. Rich people pay a much smaller amount of their earnings into Social Security and end up getting too much when they retire.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-28311593571272369052011-03-02T10:50:00.001-07:002011-03-02T10:52:04.622-07:00

On Bloomberg, David Malpass says the Fed is failing because the Fed in giving money to US business by keeping interest rates low, but US business is investing in Asia. So, the Fed is just giving American money to Asia. Although there is truth in this, I would say the problem is American business that doesn't support America. CEOs and other senior executives of “American” companies outsource

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-3007749573159934552011-03-01T00:29:00.002-07:002011-03-02T00:02:28.171-07:00

Political discourse has become so bitter, it's hard to see how anyone can remain civil. Last night I was shocked at how impolite Sen. Orrin Hatch was to Judy Woodruff on PBS' Newshour. He insulted HHS Secretary Sebelius, saying, "She just doesn't know what she's talking about." He was sarcastic, responding to one of Judy Woodruff's questions with, "Oh, isn't that wonderful?" And, "That's

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-36077792066707768282011-02-18T12:49:00.002-07:002011-02-18T12:56:59.250-07:00

The NYT reports that talk on Capitol Hill is increasing the odds of a government shutdown. This brings back some bad memories of my experience in Poland, when the Republicans shut down the government on the day I was being transferred to Italy, leaving me stranded with no place to live and no income. I wonder what the reaction will be to a government shutdown. Perhaps people will welcome it.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-41739622869439023532011-02-17T12:08:00.002-07:002011-02-17T12:12:20.876-07:00

I am disappointed that President Obama and the Democrats have apparently decided to take small steps towards balancing the budget by crushing the middle class, transferring the middle class' money to the super rich. We see middle and lower class programs proposed for cuts, while taxes are reduced on the super rich. A recent report by ABC News on hedge fund manager John Paulson's multi-billion

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-82429340590740064412011-02-11T16:23:00.000-07:002011-02-11T16:24:47.867-07:00

The revolution in Egypt makes me think about revolutions in the US. It seems to me that it came surprisingly easily and quickly. Maybe that is a sign of just how corrupt and weak Mubarak's regime had become. The first American revolution, of course, was the revolution against Britain, led by George Washington and other elites, but supported my most of the common men, although there were some

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-52710390023935924062011-02-07T20:22:00.003-07:002011-02-07T20:37:28.743-07:00

The current political situation is bringing back some bad memories from my days in the Foreign Service. The last time the Republicans took over Congress, with Newt Gingrich in the mid-1990’s, they cut off funding for one of the main scientific cooperation projects I was working on in Warsaw, Poland, although the US had signed an agreement to fund it for five years just before I got there a

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-42841834896326327322010-11-10T02:27:00.002-07:002010-11-10T02:40:51.566-07:00

Glenn Beck talks about Jimmy Stewart & Bedford Falls, and elites, saying that George Soros represents the elites.  But in fact Fox is the spokesman for the elites, which are big corporations and banks.  George Soros is part of it, but the rich Republican establishment, represented today particularly by the Chamber of Commerce, is an even larger part of it.  Beck doesn't mention them, the Koch

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-82251767278436324512010-11-06T23:56:00.002-06:002010-11-07T00:19:17.254-06:00

The Economist magazine has some good points about the Republican landslide, the best being:Only four years after the voters sent them packing, handing both chambers of Congress to the Democrats at the 2006 mid-terms, the Republicans are back. Voters then (and again in 2008) decided that Republican policies had blown up the deficit with unaffordable tax cuts, let the banks run wild, dragged

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-27779620327662352462010-11-05T11:24:00.002-06:002010-11-05T11:35:30.655-06:00

The other morning, Erin Burnett of CNBC said on "Morning Joe" that Bernanke and the Fed had generated about 20% of additional cash, but the economy had grown only about 2%. The implication is that the quantitative easing is not working. So where did the money go? Businessweek last week said: Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke has tried everything to feed the U.S. economy the liquidity it

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-79985986052976961632010-11-05T00:04:00.002-06:002010-11-05T00:33:46.707-06:00

This 1994 Republican Congress redux is hard for me to take. In 1994 or 1995 I was at the American Embassy in Warsaw, Poland, supposedly running a science cooperation program between Polish and American scientists. The Republicans cut off the funding although the United States had signed an agreement promising to participate for two or three more years. I was accused of being dishonest by the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-35639499057364958342010-11-03T00:43:00.005-06:002010-11-03T01:01:41.158-06:00

As a Vietnam veteran, the most unpatriotic group I know of is the group that sponsored the Swift boat ads against John Kerry. Whether Kerry was a hero or not, he went to Vietnam, and he should not have been attacked for serving his country. The people who funded the Swift boat ads are scurrilous cowards who represent the very worst of America. While they had front men who actually served in

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-12925836124369070902010-10-29T13:06:00.002-06:002010-10-29T13:22:28.182-06:00

This column from the Washington Post pretty much sums up the commentary about Pres. Obama's appearance on the "Daily Show." It was Stewart versus Obama, and Stewart won. He made the President look like an ignorant fool, although the Republicans and unhappy Democrats will say that Obama made himself look like a fool. But the problem is that Obama is not a fool. He is an intelligent guy trying

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-91107215073144933222010-10-23T01:54:00.002-06:002010-10-23T02:03:40.049-06:00

NPR has no doubt gotten a deluge of negative comments about firing Juan Williams, but I'm guessing from the tone discussed in this Washington Post article that much of it was ginned up by Fox News and other conservative media outlets. Those outraged people were not likely to be donors to NPR in any case, and probably don't even listen to it. They get their marching orders from Fox, Rush and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-57253216284853698252010-10-21T11:19:00.002-06:002010-10-21T11:38:54.689-06:00

As if to show that political correctness can be evenhanded, Juan Williams was fired by NPR for comments about Muslims after Rick Sanchez was fired by CNN for comments about Jews. To me, everybody is to blame. First there's too much "talk" on cable TV and talk radio. People say outrageous things to fill up time, or they say things that they haven't thought through because they have to keep

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-34485264719947427072010-10-14T12:27:00.011-06:002010-10-14T14:33:44.738-06:00

I’m unhappy about the flap over CNN anchor Rick Sanchez. In case you missed it, he was fired for saying during a radio interview that Jews control the media, or something like that. I was particularly upset with the hatred dumped on him by Howard Kurtz, who was the media critic for the Washington Post, and who has a show, "Reliable Sources," about the media on CNN. He is Jewish, and he

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22708935675758277072010-09-22T16:22:00.003-06:002010-09-22T23:55:14.664-06:00

Fox News reminds me of the old Soviet Communist newspaper Pravda. Back in the bad, old Cold War days, people said the US would become more like the Soviet Union. Well, I think it has happened Like Pravda, Fox present the news as it would like it to be, not as it is, despite the "fair and balanced" claim. As the names of the main Communist newspaper and the main Soviet newspaper, Pravda and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-44547018486979849532010-09-22T15:37:00.002-06:002010-09-22T16:01:07.776-06:00

While the Republicans railed against it, the Obama bailout of GM and Chrysler has been worth it, and it may not end up costing as much as many people feared. Steve Rattner's book seems to support that thesis, in spite of its lukewarm review by the NYT. American manufacturing is disappearing fast enough without have most of the automotive industry go down in one fell swoop. Unemployment would

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-56237706609779265752010-09-22T15:35:00.000-06:002010-09-22T15:36:51.469-06:00

The fact that corporation today are flush with cash may illustrate my hypothesis that employers today do no care about their employees. This may not have been the case fifty years ago, although with important exceptions. I think that World War II service brought the employer and employee classes closer together. Of course there was a lot of pushing from unions and lawmakers to bring it about,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-37046949229707716842010-09-22T01:48:00.002-06:002010-09-22T01:53:30.126-06:00

This worries me. In "The Atlantic" Jeffrey Goldberg says:There's been some controversy here in Washington about a short sermon Michael Oren, Israel's ambassador to the United States, delivered at my synagogue, Adas Israel, and two other synagogues over the course of Yom Kippur. I took the sermon as a warning from the Netanyahu government: There may be tough times ahead, in the peace process, and

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-20241198583354786512010-09-21T16:22:00.002-06:002010-09-21T16:32:26.452-06:00

I have been watching Charlie Rose interview Justice Stephen Breyer while Glenn Beck is recording on the DVR, after I watched Glenn for a while. Listening to Breyer talk about the United States, the Constitution, and how government works, there is no comparison. To me only Breyer is the real patriot. Beck is just ranting and calling people names. It's encouraging that our court still inspires

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-76053328037565274532010-09-17T15:08:00.002-06:002010-09-17T16:01:19.983-06:00

There is so much negative commentary about President Obama these days, that I'm just saying that I still support him. I think that he, more than most in Congress, is doing what he thinks is best for America, rather than what is best for his party, for him personally, or for his fat cat donors. That's one reason the commentariat is so full of talk about Democratic candidates who are mad at him.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-76333170449828235612010-09-11T00:57:00.003-06:002010-09-17T16:04:13.550-06:00

Emily Dickinson had the right attitude toward the 15 minutes of fame problem we face daily thanks to the Internet and cable TVI'm nobody! Who are you?Are you nobody, too?Then there's a pair of us -- don't tell!They'd banish us. you know.How dreary to be somebody!How public, like a frogTo tell your name the livelong dayTo an admiring bog!Take that Paris Hilton, Madonna, Newt Gingrich, and all the

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-64257578982163083882010-09-01T15:30:00.003-06:002010-09-01T15:41:17.682-06:00

As the Iraq war ends, I'm still bitter about my cohorts who should have served in Vietnam, but didn't, many of them prominent Republicans. At the top of the list are George W. Bush and Dick Cheney, as well as Bill Clinton. Al Gore is the only one to have served in the military in Vietnam. But also Mitch McConnell and John Boehner both avoided service, although Boehner may be young enough that

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-50314983321759725832010-07-31T16:07:00.003-06:002010-08-03T11:25:12.100-06:00

Three articles in Saturday's papers highlight the decline of the middle class in America. The largest and most pertinent one is in the Financial Times where Edward Luce writes about "The Crisis of Middle Class America." He says:The annual incomes of the bottom 90 per cent of US families have been essentially flat since 1973 – having risen by only 10 per cent in real terms over the past 37 years

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-29065967861923289952010-07-30T00:30:00.002-06:002010-07-30T00:47:20.214-06:00

Brazil has resumed test launching relatively small rockets at its Alcantara launch site, preparing for the launch of larger rockets later. Eventually it will resume testing of large rockets that could launch a satellite into orbit (an SLV in English, a VLS in Portuguese). Brazil suffered a serious setback about a year ago when a large rocket for the SLV program exploded on the launch pad

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-79516907394514944422010-07-28T00:11:00.004-06:002010-07-28T00:21:28.642-06:00

-- We should let the Bush tax cuts expire,-- In the short term, stimulus spending is more important than cutting the debt, -- The intelligence community needs to be downsized, as revealed by the recent "Washington Post" series,-- Obama should appoint Elizabeth Warren to head the consumer protection agency, -- We should continue to fund the Afghan war. At least two billionaires have died in 2010

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-51720943018784279412010-07-25T16:11:00.002-06:002010-07-25T20:35:59.467-06:00

When I was working on missile proliferation at State under the George H. W. Bush administration, around 1990 the US began cooperating with Israel on the Arrow anti-missile missile. At that time the US was still a party to the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, which prevented the US from working on strategic ABMs. In theory the Arrow was exempted because it was intended for defense against smaller,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-53357937102444692882010-07-23T11:55:00.003-06:002010-07-23T12:16:09.904-06:00

The Financial Times is publishing an important series on the austerity debate: Do we currently need more stimulus, or do we need to start paying off national debts? I believe we need more stimulus for the moment. The debt is bad, but we need to get out of the hole before we start filling it in. Somebody had an interesting point this morning: Europe doesn't need to provide stimulus, because it

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-69486179610806070922010-07-19T23:59:00.002-06:002010-07-20T00:21:14.116-06:00

The Washington Post story on the intelligence community shows that the community is a mess. But this is what the Republicans wanted. After 9/11, Bush and Cheney wanted somebody to blame, and they wanted intelligence to support their desire to go to war with Iraq, although Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. The CIA, which was the leading intelligence agency, with good reason, was vulnerable on

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-73332969645660292182010-07-17T23:05:00.001-06:002010-07-17T23:06:50.274-06:00

This is sort of a "space cadet" article about the Israeli nuclear program, but it's interesting.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-81876794920720948712010-07-05T00:06:00.002-06:002010-07-05T01:01:52.003-06:00

Actually there's nothing about Lula and me, but I did have a run-in with his Foreign Minister, Celso Amorim. While I was the science officer at the US embassy in Brasilia, the US proposed a high level science exchange. At that time, Celso Amorim was the foreign policy advisor assigned to the Science Ministry. The Science Minister and I actually had a good working relationship. Things were

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-83364445962473099162010-06-30T23:03:00.002-06:002010-06-30T23:15:48.908-06:00

Today on "Morning Joe" both Joe Scarborough and John Meacham said they thought it might be worthwhile bringing back the draft because the people in power have no concern about sending people about whom they know nothing to Afghanistan. Hooray! The other side of it is that the military needs some people who would not otherwise serve in it. The military likes the current volunteer military,

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-50851807771107178612010-06-30T22:55:00.002-06:002010-06-30T23:02:54.530-06:00

The Supreme Court decision striking down Chicago's restrictions on handguns shows that it lacks confidence in the rule of law. It believes that the legal system of police and courts cannot protect citizens from bodily harm. Thus, each person needs to have a gun. It's sad when a court doesn't believe that the law functions.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-22545328842587907332010-06-26T23:06:00.004-06:002010-06-26T23:25:06.724-06:00

As usual, a Financial Times columnist has one of the best insights into the news. Christopher Caldwell correctly says that the McChrystal episode is more like Gen. Patton's press problems than McArthur's. McChrystal was not insubordinate or disloyal. He was too much soldier and not enough politician. I'm unhappy with McChrystal for his role in the Pat Tillman friendly fire cover-up. But I

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-70379038526526035492010-06-26T15:43:00.002-06:002010-06-26T15:47:16.869-06:00

I am encouraged by this NYT story on American Jews who reject Zionism. They see themselves as Americans first, and don't support all the horrible things that Israel is doing.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-50969125923753571872010-06-09T14:32:00.002-06:002010-06-09T14:55:10.847-06:00

Richard Cohen's op-ed criticism of Helen Thomas is incorrect about the creation of Israel. I presume that he, as a Jew, knows better and has lied about its creation to attack Thomas. He says, It was the plight of Jews consigned to Displaced Persons camps in Europe that both moved and outraged President Harry Truman, who supported Jewish immigration to Palestine and, when the time came, the new

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-52452301512080106102010-06-07T11:00:00.003-06:002010-06-07T12:43:39.035-06:00

Jews demonstrated the depth of their hatred and their power by forcing Helen Thomas to retire as a White House correspondent for her remarks on the Israeli-Palestinian situation. I don't mind Jews talking about and responding to her comments, but their successful effort to destroy her career was evil. Jews think they are God's chosen people, but they have turned their back on God and cursed him.

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-2007179669259055792010-05-31T21:05:00.005-06:002010-05-31T21:36:25.694-06:00

With all the talk about Memorial Day, I just thought I would remember the two members of my unit, the 2/94th Artillery, who were killed during my tour in Vietnam:* Paul Jon Kosanke from Iowa, and* Willie Austin, Jr., from Alabama. They were killed at Firebase Barbara in I Corps, west of Quang Tri on April 29, 1970. You can find their names on the Vietnam Memorial by searching http://

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-30996872262453773042010-05-28T23:27:00.003-06:002010-05-28T23:33:04.836-06:00

I wrote the following to my Congressman and Senators:"As a Vietnam veteran, I oppose ending 'Don't ask, don't tell.' I am sorry that Congress is celebrating Memorial Day by imposing a new hardship on our military."I realize that the military pioneered racial integration by allowing blacks to serve. But gays are allowed to serve; they just aren't allowed to talk about their sex lives while serving

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-89074942483870126832010-05-28T23:13:00.002-06:002010-05-28T23:25:48.032-06:00

There's all this furor over Richard Blumenthal's claims about Vietnam service. As I said, I don't really care. Blumenthal supports veterans and looks favorably on Vietnam service. In that respect he is a welcome change from the majority of Americans who still despise Vietnam service. The thing that gets me is the Swift boat movement that attacked John Kerry for his service on Swift boats in

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6711037.post-17819459240257460672010-05-20T15:37:00.003-06:002010-05-20T16:34:07.788-06:00

As a Vietnam veteran, I'm not too upset by Richard Blumenthal's statements about being one, too. First, I'm more upset that Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, and Dick Cheney were draft dodgers, just like Blumemthal was. Blumenthal's and Bush's career were similar, except that Bush apparently did almost nothing for the Air Force reserve or National Guard unit that he was in, while Blumenthall at

Jimhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12937960078174675364noreply@blogger.com0