The Summer of Our Discontent - Dealing w/. High Anxiety

Confidence is an essential ingredient to successful endeavors, both for an individual and the body politic. Obviously, the converse is equally true - fear and doubt are lethal contagions, a virus sapping the strength of the Nation, poisoning our collective will to overcome small and big challenges. Accordingly, my responsibility, as your Humble Blogger, is to damp down the fever of national insecurity in order to restore informed optimism and the unshakable conviction that tomorrow will be better than today.

To myself, after all, it is Morning in America, even though I do know that the Gipper is still dead. Let me explain why I still very much believe in American Exceptionalism - Look closely at the rest of the world: Europe is financially, morally and politically bankrupt (more than five months of futile war against one insane despot in Libya, and the french are talking armistice, if not surrender); Russia is an organized crime syndicate, not a country. As the world's economic woes multiply, the silver lining is that the life blood of the mobsters in Moscow - oil exports -do not garner the levels of hard currency needed to adequately feed the Russian Bear. China needs, at a minimum, 7.5% annual growth in its economy to ward off potentially devastating civil unrest - it is reliably estimated that the migration of rural unemployed workers from the farms to the cities totals millions of downtrodden annually, most looking for construction jobs in the coastal urban centers. Should China stop building buildings no one will occupy for decades, its society will crumble like the house of cards it is.

Now look at America - our nation is a stable Republic, our institutions of government are stronger than ever, elections do have real consequences and the voice of the people demanding a return to fiscal sanity has been heard in the halls of power in Washington. Sure, we face grave challenges, particularly in growing the private sector economy in the face of massive over regulation imposed by Obamacare and Frank/Dodd financial controls. Nonetheless, we have always risen to such challenges. A Nation that survived millions killed in the Civil War, many more killed in two world wars and the great depression of the 1930s, can roll back excessive intrusions into business decision making by unelected federal bureaucrats. Thus, I say, let's roll up our sleeves my fellow Americans, kick some Euro/Asian butt, knowing full well that we are without doubt the last best hope of all mankind. "We can do anything" - more later on this boast.

Why Humam Khalil al-Balawi still Matters

Or, subtitle - "Is Leon Panetta the greatest Mass 'Murderer' in U.S. History?" Obviously, my question is hyperbole (hence the quotation marks w/n. a quotation). It is intended to spark thoughtful reflection on the lawfulness of America's tactics in winning the war against radical Islamic jihadists, and not intended to spark interest in this humble blogger by the Nation's eavesdroppers, watchers and Spy Agencies.

In researching this Blog topic, I confirmed that the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has the sole and exclusive authority within the federal government to authorize "a hit", termination w/. extreme prejudice, a targeted assassination even, of an identified enemy combatant by Agency drone missile attack. My research has not, of course, uncovered the total number of individuals put to death by the verbal order of Mr. Panetta, and even were it to be revealed to me, such classified national security information would never be published here. Let's just say that Director Panetta left Ted Bundy in his rear view mirror early on in his tenure as CIA Boss of Bosses. No wonder Mr. Panetta was given his wish to be transferred by President Obama to the more serene post of Secretary of Defense; some irony there.

By now, U may be asking - "So, why does Mr. al-Balawi still matter, and how does his mattering fit in with the nation's running of death squads from the sky?" (As an aside, any perceived to be pejorative language here should not be deemed opposition to targeted killings in wartime. Instead, it is intended as a Clarion Call for public debate on the lawful application of this absolute power to unilaterally impose and carry out a death sentence w/o. charges filed, w/o. a trial or other due process safeguards against the killing of innocent persons. ) (See previous Posts re Government's Power to Execute "Enemies of the State").

Now, its Dr. al-Balawi, he's not a mister. On December 30, 2009, this young, healthy Jordanian doctor of medicine, father of two bright daughters, and husband to a beautiful Turkish wife stepped out of the Agency car which had transported him to the very door steps of the CIA's Hq. for the Afghan/Pakistan border region and detonated the secreted bomb strapped to his chest, killing eight Agency operatives. In response (or not, depending on your sources), that same CIA Director who had just lost the most subordinates in a single day in Agency history, ramped up significantly the number of targeted drone attacks in Pakistan.

Objectivity clouded by a need to immediately avenge this wanton terrorist murder of Americans? I sincerely doubt it. Nonetheless, I would much prefer to have the war fighting authority placed exclusively in the DoD, and not in our Nation's intelligence gathering agencies. The Army, Navy and Marines have hundreds of years experience in killing the enemy, after the enemy has been identified by civilian authority. This is another example of the wisdom of separation of powers. Such a safeguard would preclude a single government employee in the CIA from being judge, jury and executioner by him or her self alone.

Now, that would be some real irony - were Congress to enact legislation empowering only the Secretary of Defense to authorize drone attacks, based upon targeting recommendations originating in other branches of the government. While Leon Panetta would definitely feel put upon, I would sleep better with a more bifurcated killing apparatus. Just saying ...

Hey Uncle Sam - Stop the Madness

Ok, ok, Loyal listeners, in response to the ground swell, a chorus of clamoring even from numerous Elite Members, here is my take on the Debt Ceiling Debacle. Nothing very good comes out of crisis negotiations when confronted with a deadline of potentially economy shattering proportions. Attempting to define four trillion dollars in specific federal spending cuts over ten years with but six or eight pols in the room is either a level of arrogance or smoke and mirrors that gives it almost no real chance of being understood and accepted, first by the public and then by their elected representatives in Congress.

So, how did we get to this crisis point? Let's review the bidding to see. In early Spring, President Obama told Congress that, in 18 months having taken the Country from less than 10 trillion in debt to more than 14 trillion dollars in debt, he wanted a "Clean" increase of 2.7 trillion in the Debt Limit, intended to facilitate his spending plans thru the 2012 election cycle. By "clean", the Administration meant, this additional borrowing authority would not be tainted or otherwise coupled with any constraints of this fiscal insanity. Think about the magnitude of federal expenditures in excess of governmental revenues he contemplated, as federal income currently runs about 1.7 trillion dollars per year. No one in human history had ever embarked on largess of this size, or anywhere close to the magnitude of spending exceeding income. Its like Obama thinks he can just print money in the basement. Oh wait, that's the Federal Reserve, and that's a different story for a different Blog.

Only after the Republican House said no to the Administration's demand for a clean increase, did Secretary Geithner come on the Sunday News Shows, as he did today, and say that ANY debt ceiling increase that did not include trillions of dollars in debt reduction would lead to economic ruin for the nation, because world markets know that America's fiscal irresponsibility - never ending larger annual federal deficits - will lead to the collapse of the dollar and spiraling higher interest charges for our borrowing. Truly amazing - Treasury Secretary demand no spending cuts in February and in July says that increase without major cuts is insanity. Wow, his cure from mental illness was almost as fast as Rep Weiner's recovery from his sexting addiction. Time for Change at the top, I sincerely Hope.

Why Mir Aimal Kansi Still Matters

Yes, like Humberto Leal, Mir Kansi is still dead, executed by the State of Virginia in 2002, after his conviction of the premeditated murder of two CIA employees, their stopped vehicles awaited a traffic light change to turn into the Agency Hq. on the morning of January 25, 1993.

Unlike Humberto, however, Mir lives on in the hearts and minds of the radical Islamic jihadists. An honored martyr of the jihadist terror war against western civilization, Kansi now rests peaceably, buried with full governmental honors in his home town, Bolachistan, Pakistan, where a newly built Mosque bears his name and a plaque tells of his heroic and courageous act of shouting unarmed, defenseless commuters sitting in their cars.

Mir Kansi went to his death, proud of his killings of two males, while grievously wounding three other male CIA employees. He also congratulated himself for passing up the opportunity to shoot numerous female vehicle occupants because to have done so would not have been consistent with his religion's teachings.

Now, I am an avowed supporter of the death penalty, believing it to be a just and necessary exercise of the government's police powers. It deters potential killers contemplating a violent crime generally, while deterring absolutely the convicted murderer, who is thereby no longer a danger to kill other prison employees or his/her fellow prison inmates. In wartime, however, the punishment does not fit the "non-crime." Mr.Mir Kansi ended his short, brutish and nasty tenure on earth with a serene smile on his face, secure in the belief that his sexist carnage in Langley, Virginia guaranteed him a large bevy of beauties, untainted by prior carnal knowledge, for eternity. Indisputably, giving Mir his deeply desired martyr status is not a deterrent to others of his deranged ilk - 70 virgins forever in heaven is just too damn appealing to many men of the devastating unpleasant lands of the Middle East. In war, the primary responsibility of the government is definitely not to punish enemy combatants, legal or illegal, having committed war crimes or not. Our government's pre-eminent obligation is to defeat the enemy, thereby winning the war - to save the nation from death and destruction.

The means of winning this war against Islamist jihadists is two-fold. First, we need to stop terrorists attacks before more innocents, men and women, are murdered, while seeking innovative ways to destroy the will of potential new Islamic recruits from joining the fray. In implementing such a war winning strategy, the U.S. government should have put Kansi, as a lawful prisoner of war, being lawfully detained for the duration of the armed conflict, in a women's prison where his daily duty entailed bathroom cleaning, clothes washing and other submissive functions that would make him absolutely subservient to the whims and caprice of the other inmates for the next fifty or sixty years. As we all know, war is hell. So, Mir should have had to clean female unmentionables for his miserable life, instead of getting a Mosque and hero funeral. After 911, Americans were told to think "outside the box" in defending the country from Islamic terrorists. Yet, in 2002,we dealt with Kansi as if he were a street criminal. Not a winning strategy for preventing future Mir's, so that why he still matters.

Federalism is not Dead ... yet

Why U ask is the Republic safe for another day? Well, for starters, because Mexican national Humberto Leal is dead. Say what? Ok, Humberto, on his own merit, is not a figure of historic significance. Let's just say, he was no John Birch, who as a Christian missionary in Red China in 1948, willing gave his life in the battle against the godless communist hordes of Mao. John Birch got a Xenophobic Society named after him. Mr. Leal got only a Presidential "Pardon", which less than 48 hours later, was declared unconstitutional by the United States Supreme Court, holding that State Rights trumped federal foreign policy prerogatives.

Now, who among U is not intrigued by this axis of fate that caused a murdering rapist (who was convicted in a Texas State Court after a fair trial with competent counsel followed by more than a decade of state and federal appeals) having a President saying that international law requires that his conviction and sentence must be overturned. Oh, and by the way, prior to getting his temporary free pass from the President, Mr. Leal openly acknowledged his guilt in torturing, raping and crushing the skull of a 16 year old child, thereby ending her ordeal of excruciating pain and suffering. Citing a violation of a valid US treaty obligation to allow every foreign national arrested for the commission of a felony access to his/her consular representatives, the President filed an appeal Thursday before the Supreme Court to enjoin Texas from carrying out this duly authorized execution. The Court took so little time in dismissing the DOJ petition that Leal met his just fate without even a thirty minute delay in Texas administering its lethal injection. In its Opinion, the Court ruled that the federal government's preference for currying foreign approval and seeking to ensure full consular access for Americans arrested abroad was irrelevant to the petitioner's legal obligation to demonstrate that the defendant was being treated unlawfully in either his conviction or the imposition of a just sentence of execution.

Humberto Leal, while born in Mexico, had lived in the United States since age two, some 39 consecutive years. Heck, from the "progressive" elitetist point of view, Leal had long ago become an American citizen by the mere long duration of his domestic life of crime. Only those federal bureaucrats, so privileged to reside on such a high moral plain (blessed with a "broad vision" of world government), would champion the cause of a monster, a confessed child torturer, when the rule of American law and justice had been upheld by a sovereign state acting in furtherance of a governmental realm expressly reserved to it by the Eleventh Amendment to the Constitution - exercise of its police powers to enforce state criminal law. Long live the Republic, at least 'till tomorrow.

America - Happy 235th

Well, inasmuch as my 62nd was celebrated far and wide, I would be remiss were I not to be vocal about America's birthday, as well. So, here goes: with regards to holidays, I previously vented on the unpleasantness of too much noise (e.g. New Year's Eve); that said, combine the big bangs with sky rockets, bright exploding colors and a symphony orchestra belting out patriotic songs, and viola, the Fourth of July tops the Charts.

Taking a short detour from my Paul Revere Calling, I turn to Sports for insight into the human condition in having attended the ATT National PGA Golf Tourney yesterday, with my bud, Kevin of Sowter. Kevin of Sowter even consumed a bud or three there.

Regrettably, PGA tour has become like federal government - bloated beyond all reasonable needs for mission accomplishment. Saw at least 24 PGA Staff Mercedes SUVs and Mini-Vans parked in disparate Course locations, yet most of the actual work at this tourney was performed by unpaid volunteers, so happy to be inside the ropes, up close to the rich, spoiled celebs. Can't knock the marketing genius who sold these folks on this "pro bono public service" to gazillionaires. Oh well, at least the PGA hordes there - paid to look and act important - did their jobs well. Two examples: Some dozen or so Marshals gathered around the landing spot of Anthony Romero's (Tucuman, Argentina) errant seventh fairway tee shot, sitting in the deep rough adjacent to a picnic area filled with families. One particular table of five caught my eye, as it was populated with two adults and three very small children, just 35 feet in front of Tony's line of play to the green. As fate would have it, the kids were seated on the bench side facing Mr Romero's difficult upcoming shot. While I awaited the Marshals moving the family out of danger, Tony, being a Pro after all, lined up his nine iron and crushed the ball right over the table, as the kids shielded their eyes with their little hands. Fault lies with the "adult" parental units, PGA officials, or me for not intervening? U decide.

Immediately then, I vowed not to stay silent in the face of needless child abuse any longer. Shortly thereafter, I observed dozens of boys (and one girl) appearing to be no older than nine or ten carrying heavy wood signs that displayed the current score of the two Pros that these youngsters walked with in the blazing summer heat for 18 holes - more than two very hilly miles. So, I mentioned to a bored Marshal that I practiced labor law, particularly focused on helping exploited below minimum age workers. He proudly informed me that my concerns were unwarranted because - "Hey, the placard carriers are not being paid."

Of course, I was aware of that "exculpatory" stance, but still, his sincerity in defending this mindless exploitation left me only slightly amused (about his seeing only goodness in this repugnant PGA practice), while I continued to look for a real adult to put in charge of both the useless Marshals and these very useful young Serfs.

Graveyard of Empires, Part Throis

Well, there u have it. We're in it for now, then, to leave as specified in a series of troop withdrawals, announced to the Taliban by President Obama in his White House speech.

As a youth, my civil studies teacher patiently explained that in war, a person publishing (as the means to send to the enemy) the scheduled sailing dates for our troop transport ships had committed treason. Making public such war fighting plans empowered the enemy to alter its own war making plans in order to counter our now known military intentions.

Now, slow down U-all, in no way, explicit or implicit, am I accusing the President of any kind of war crime. Nonetheless, I am seeking greater insight into what national security interest is advanced by telling the Taliban how long they need to hide out in Pakistan before its safe to return to again terrorize Afghanistan.

Also, be assured that were I to be the President, we would have left Afghanistan in 2002, after having accomplished the only vital national security objective permissible in the use of lethal military power - terminating with extreme prejudice the al-Qaeda terrorists responsible for the 911 attacks and their territorial protectors. Now, a decade later, a half a trillion dollars of national treasure spent and the loss of thousands of young American military service personnel, all in the name of the nation building chimera, we are left with but two questions: (1) - what is the name of the last Afghan villager who will cooperate with the remaining (short term visiting only) American troops before being the first murdered by the Taliban as our guys wave from their departing helicopter, and (2) - what is the name of the American military person, now in high school or in basic training, who will be the last combat casualty in this debacle, now scheduled publicly to grind on until 2014/15. Both the Afghanistan populace and our American military heroes deserve better than this bitter pill of the false promise of nation building where only warring tribes have existed for ten thousand years.