When I first heard about the reports released by WikiLeaks, I was shocked as many others were. I figured these reports would tell us things that many of us did not know. However, after reading summaries and a few bits and pieces of it, I have drown this simple conclusion:
There is nothing new here.
If any of you have been following the war for any amount of time, the tings that are revealed here are either common sense or common knowledge. Here are some issues that are revealed which we already know.
1. The Pakistan intelligence agency ISI assisting the insurgency
2. Corruption
3. Bombing strikes turning residents against NATO
4. Increased drone usage.
These are all things that have been discussed ad nauseum for the longest time. The media has been reporting these things. Pundits have argued about them. The Bush and Obama administrations have all brought these to our attention several times.
We know the war has not been going as planned. There are things that need to be fixed. I hear it everyday on national and international news. These reports have demonstrated nothing new. They have just provided stories that flesh out what we already know.
Yesterday, General McChrystal resigned from his position as Commander of ISAF and US Forces in Afghanistan. This decision has left many people scratching their head, since many believed that McChrystal was untouchable. To me however, it was an easy decision. (Here is the article.)
1. The immaturity of the comments If one read the article, the comments were very immature and puerile. It seemed as if the a group of wasted fraternity guys got together and attempted to analyze the Afghan War. Not only was there criticism of policy, there seemed to be personal attacks on people. And that is the source of the problem. It is ok to disagree about policy; but once you devolve into name-calling and personal attacks, you have stepped over the line. McChrystal allowed himself and the people around him to take the low road. That is what got him in trouble.
2. Loyalty Matters No matter how you may feel about the mission, the military requires that you fulfill it to the best of your abilities without complaint. You may disagree with your commander, but you do not throw him under the bus. Imagine if you disagreed with a decision your boss made. Instead of keeping that disagreement between the two of you, you blast him/her on Facebook, Twitter. It gets on the cover of newspapers and magazines.
Of course your boss will fire you. You have showed no loyalty to your boss by throwing them under the bus. McChrystal did the same to Obama and Obama had to remove him for his disloyalty. You cannot keep disloyal and disrespectful employees
3. International Outlook How weak would Obama look if he allowed someone who disrespected him and his administration to keep their job? He would look incredibly weak allowing men under his command to disrespect him.
Secondly, McChrystal and his aides also talked badly about our allies with us in Afghanistan They called the French "gay" and McChrystal said that he would rather be beaten by a room full of people than attend events held by the French. This obviously is not going to over well with any of our allies. Thus, Obama had to get rid of him.
McChrystal really messed up. He reallyneeded to think before he speaks. He should have joined #teamsaynothing
Recently there have been a slew of prediction, guestimations, and prophesies about what is going to happen during the mid-term elections. Some are predicting the Tea Party candidates to run the table. Other pundits are predicting that the Congress will fall to the Republicans. Many pundits are saying that all incumbents are out the door. So many predictions, so few tell the complete stories.
So yes, the Tea Party candidates have won handily in some states (KY, UT, NJ, NV). In other states, incumbents have fallen (PA). In some states, establishment candidates have held on (CA, VA, AK). Even though all of this seems to show no pattern, there really is one. Of all the candidates that one, they won because the ran a good campaign. They had a clear, concise message that resonated with the population. Majority of the winning candidates had well-funded campaigns, whether personally financed or through party apparatus.
So what we have seen is that we should all relax on the predictions. Whether Democrat or Republican, establishment or newcomer, it really all boils down to one thing:
Everyone has jumped onto the bandwagon of calling Rand Paul a racist. The majority of people I have talked to watched or Paul Rand's interviews on the Rachel Maddow show and on NPR. They heard that he would repeal the sections of the Civil Rights Act that concerned businesses and minorities. If people really listened and understand what libertarianism is, they would see and understand the thought process behind his comments.
Libertarianism is "a political theory that advocates the maximization of individual liberty in thought and action "(Wikipedia.org). Libertarians want as little government involvement as possible in the lives of people. This includes a very laissez-faire market philosophy. Libertarians believe that "the market, while not perfect, is self-correcting (Jim Cox, The Concise Guide to Economics)".
Now with this philosophy in mind, the portion of the Civil Rights Act that Rand Paul was discussing would be an issue with any libertarian. What it means is that the government is setting the standards for how the "market" should behave instead of individuals. Following the libertarian thought process, if businesses were discriminating against African-Americans and the prevailing thought was that this was wrong, moves in the market would happen where these discriminating businesses would go out. By people choosing to not patronize these businesses, discriminatory businesses would die out and leave only the non-discriminatory businesses. Thus, no need for the government to interfere.
Even though this is not a racist or prejudicial thought process, I am still worried. I have two concerns with this line of thinking. One is which is whose right is held in higher esteem; the right of a consumer to participate in the market without restraint, or the right of the market to pick and choose who participates? I feel that the right of the consumer to participate in the market without restraint is in higher esteem.
My second concern is that protection of civil rights should not be left to the market. Plain and simple. If our government is suppose to protect the rights of all, this should not be left the markets. The role of markets is to make money, not ensure rights. There is nothing wrong with the government ensuring that everyone has the same rights. History has shown that markets can very discriminatory and at times impinged upon rights; thus there has to be laws that ensure everyone is treated equal.
On a simple, human level, no one should be mistreated because of religion, sexuality, ethnicity, economic status, etc. As human beings, there is a basic and general respect and equality that should be afforded to all. Damn markets and economics. People are people and should be afforded basic rights. That can only be ensured by having fair and effective laws in place.
Watching this exchange on CNN while eating breakfast and getting ready for work brought about an important point that many in Washington need to realize.
We must have immigration reform now.
The reason is simple. There are too many families in limbo. Too many and something must be done. Sitting and waiting for the problem to fade to black is not good enough. So here is what I think must be done.
Step 1: Secure the border
This is the beginning. First and foremost, the US must secure the border. Pretty simple. The reason for securing the border is not keeping good people out. It is for keeping the narcos out. They are smuggling guns through the border and massacring people in Mexico. The incredible violence due to drugs is good reason for people to leave Mexico come hell or high water. So securing the border is a must.
Step 2: Reform the path to citizenship
The reason many people avoid the citizenship process is because it is arduous. I know someone who moved from Canada and became a citizen. It took her several years and tons of money and she had help from friends in the Canadian government. Now imagine if you do not have meaningful connections, very little money, and no understanding of how to even begin the process. There is no incentive to do the right thing with an arduous process like that. There has to be a way to make it more efficient and streamline so people who are not high risk can easily obtain citizenship.
Step 3: Do something for undocumented people already here
This is a big issue I have with many conservatives. None of them have a suggestion on what to do with people who are currently here illegally. They say deport them all but we know that is not feasible. The cost is too high to do that. Therefore, something has to be done about the people here. Quit avoiding the issue. Conservatives, work with the other side in order to resolve the issue.
Step 4: Hit the businesses that support illegal immigration
People would stop coming illegally if we punish the businesses that offer jobs under the table. Businesses that offer jobs to illegals are one of the main catalysts for immigration. People would not come illegally if there were not opportunities. And the punishments must be harsh. No slaps on the hand or loopholes. This will discourage businesses from seeking illegal workers, and also provide more incentive for people to come legally.
Hello! Welcome to The Liberal Lion. This is my first political blog. I feel that most of you who read this either know me and do not know my political leanings or have no clue about me. So here we go Enjoy!
My name is Gary W and I am from Baltimore. I am currently in an AmeriCorps program called Public Allies. Public Allies Maryland delivers innovative forms of public service throughout Maryland by providing leadership experiences and training to a diverse group of young future leaders. They place these young leaders in community based organizations and public agencies to build the organization’s capacity to serve their communities better. They also work to mentor those organizations to become stable and sustainable.
My political beliefs fall solidly under the idea of social liberalism. As a liberal, I hold ideas such as free and fair elections, human rights, fair trade, and secularism dear. I also believe that the government should work in order to expand civil rights to all people.
I hold that human life is sacred and valuable. What this means is that I value the individual and the potential they hold within themselves. Thus, things like racism and xenophobia I am against. However, I am pro-choice with abortion. I feel that I cannot allow the government to have that much control over the decision someone makes with their body. I do not know if I was in that situation that I would make the same decision, but I know I cannot make that decision for someone else.
With immigration, I want the border protected but realize that our citizenship path is so burdensome as to make being here illegal very appealing. Also, if we want to stop illegal immigration, we must hit the businesses whom hire illegals. That is the biggest stimulus for people coming illegally. People would not come if there are no available jobs. I cannot blame people for coming if they need to feed their families.
I am for gun control and I want the assault rifle ban put back in place. No one hunts deer with an assault rifle and a hand gun provides more than enough protection.
Gay rights = civil rights. I feel that when government restricts the rights of anyone, that sets a dangerous precedent.
I do not believe that the government should allow the markets to roam free. We have all seen what happens when markets roam free without smart regulation. I believe there should be smart, efficient regulation that does not stifle growth and innovation. Government has to find a way to provide to do that.
I hope to provide my opinion on various current events and political musings. And I hope you as the reader provide great questions/comments. Feel free to poke, prod, and question what I say. Debate is never bad. Lets just be respectful! Let the journey begin!
