30 Democrats Pull A Monday All-nighter for Hot Air

The Senate Democrats finally acted Monday Night. They filibustered themselves when there was nothing to filibuster. The majority filibustered the majority for nothing. The Harry Reid Senate Democrats could not, would not, pass a budget in four years, but they bloviated against climate change, otherwise know as global warming, They spewed out carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, with every breath they exhaled. The world’s greatest deliberative society became a generator of hot air. The Harry Reid Do-Nothing Senate proved yet again they could do nothing. America has seen classic filibusters. This one was a snoozer. It escaped much of the media. No great rhetoric; no quotable oratory; no memorable statements, no uplifting exhortations; no spellbinding, silver tongue orator; no Demosthenes; not many YouTube moments; just a snoozer. It took 30 Democrats to mount a 15 hour filibuster. Only one Republican, Ted Cruz, was needed to filibuster 24 hours, proving again that the Democrats are the party of excess. 30 Democratic Senators proved they had nothing better to do on a Monday night than generate hot air. 15 hours to say absolutely nothing. The Reid Democrats proved once again that talk is cheaper then action. All the Senate Majority Leader has to do is to bring a climate change bill to the floor of the Senate. He won’t because many Democrats oppose carbon restrictions. 13 Democrats joined 45 Republicans last year in rejecting a fee on carbon emissions. The Senate Climate Action Task Force, also known as The Climate Caucus, had a goal of raising public awareness of the urgency of climate change. Had they left the cocoon of the Senate in recent months, they would have noticed that Washington was freezing, as was Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York, Boston, the Midwest, and much of the South. We used to call it global warning, but traditional, cold winters returned. Thus the rubric became climate change. The New York Times editorial on Tuesday, March 11 “The Democrats Stand Up to the Kochs.” Actually the Democrats kowtowed to Tom Steyer, a San Francisco hedge fund billionaire, who promised $100 million in campaign contributions to Democrats fighting for global warming legislation. Talk is cheap with a $100 million payout. Democratic Senators in difficult reelection campaigns boycotted the filibuster. The War Against Coal, part of the Obama Administration War Against Fossil Fuels, is an albatross around the campaigns of Southern and energy state Democrats. The earth’s climate has always been changing, ranging from ice age to burning inferno, from burning inferno to ice age. Politicians remain the same.

The National Spelling Bee Competition Between President Obama and Vice President Quayle

Who would win the spelling bee? President Obama who can’t spell “Respect” or Vice President Quayle who supposedly misspelt “potato?” President Obama introduced Aretha Franklin with the Women of Soul at the White House three days ago. He said “when Aretha Franklin first told us what R S P E C T meant to her.” The media treated it as a “laughable moment.” We don’t know if the President audibled, misread TOTUS, or TOTUS had it wrong. The President made a mistake. Vice President Quayle was on a 1992 photo op, conducting a spelling bee in a sixth grade class at Munoz Rivera Elementary School in Trenton, New Jersey. The Vice President was handed a flash card prepared by a teacher. It spelt potato with an “e”, “potatoe.” William Figueroa, the student, spelt potato without the “e.” The Vice President glanced at the flash card and corrected William’s spelling. The media treated it as a defining moment, echoing for months what the young Mr. Figueroa said: “It shows the rumors about the Vice President are true – that’s he an idiot.” The mainstream media slimed the Vice President as a dunce, eventhough potatoe is an accepted spelling of the word. Indeed, the New York Times is reported to have used potatoe as recently as 1988. Mr. Figueroa delivered the Pledge of Allegiance at the 1992 Democratic National Convention. The media followed up in 2000 with depicting Governor Sarah Palin as a dolt. If only they treated the current Vice President, Joe Biden, with the same elitist disdain. The number of Biden quaffs is seemingly infinite, but for our purposes all we need to know is that he said J O B S is a three letter word. We all make mistakes. Spelling can be a challenge. Mispronunciations are common. Such as President Obama’s “corpesmen.” Misstatements occur in the heat of a long campaign. My blogs are replete with typos and misspelts because of limited tying ability. President Obama would win the National Spelling Bee before it began, whether his opponent were Vice President Quayle, either President Bush, or either Clinton because the mainstream media would have anointed him the winner in advance. Therein lies the national disgrace – the blatant double standard by the media. If Dan Quayle said he had been in all 57 states with one or two left, or praise the Ohio State Buckeyes while campaigning in Michigan, the media would have crucified him. My prediction is that the former Vice President would handily defeat the President in a real spelling bee in only a few rounds.

Breaking News: Ukraine Update

President Obama is on a vacation with his family in the Florida Keys. Two 18 hole golf courses are at the private resort they are staying at in Key Largo. Vice President Biden is on vacation in the Virgin Islands. National Security Advisor Susan Rice is traveling in the Mideast. Secretary of State John Kerry is traveling elsewhere in the Mideast. Ukraine is in eastern Europe.

What If You Died in Pontiac, Michigan Six Years Ago and Nobody Knew?

What if you died in Pontiac, Michigan and Nobody Knew? What if they gave a war and no one came? What if you died in Pontiac, Michigan six years ago, and nobody knew? What if you died six years ago in Pontiac, Michigan and your neighbors didn’t know? The mummified body of Pia Farrenkopf was found in the back seat of her green 2003 Jeep Liberty in her closed garage. The key was in the ignition, but in the off position with gas in the engine so it probably wasn’t a suicide. She was dressed in a winter jacket and jeans so she probably did not freeze to death. Pia just laid in the Jeep for ever. Not a neighbor asked a question. This is Pontiac, Michigan. Pontiac is not Southern California where you don’t necessarily know your neighbors. Pontiac is not New York City where people don’t want to get involved. Pontiac is not Detroit, where the police cannot respond to every crime. Pontiac is the home of abandoned GM factories, the dying Silverdome, and an emergency manager. Pontiac though has a stable middle class. Pontiac still has pride. Pia came and went, often for weeks and months. Some neighbors thought she might be away. Residents abandoned homes in the Greater Detroit area when the economy collapsed six years ago, as did the real estate market. Some neighbors thought her house might be one of them. Yet the lawn was mowed and mail didn’t pile up. Therein lies a mystery worthy of CSI. A neighbor tended the lawn to maintain the appearance of the neighborhood. The residents have pride. Where was the mail? An employer never asked because Pia was self-employed. She was terminated as a contractor with Chrysler’s Financing Department in September 2008, prior to its termination. Another mystery: The electricity was still on in the house although the walls had black mold. She had over $54,000 in the bank when she died. Her bills, mortgage, utilities, and personal finances, were on autopay until the money ran out in March 2013. The bank commenced foreclosure proceedings. But why did the electricity remain on? An employee for a real estate management firm on behalf of the mortgage company went to the premises a few days ago to fix a hole in the garage roof when he discovered her body. Pia’s auto license expired in 2008. She received a ticker in October 2008 for failure to show proof of insurance. She missed the January 2009 court date. The time of death is estimated therefore to be late 2008. How did her death go unnoticed for over five years? Here’s my problem: How to write about Pia’s demise? I thought of being humorous, but this story is too sad. I thought of castigating the citizens of Pontiac, Michigan, but they have greater problems. I penned a little of each so this blog is disjointed. And now the answer came. Ariel Sanchez kidnapped Michelle Knight, Amanda Berry, and Gina DeJesus between 2002 and 2004 and held them captive in a Cleveland house until they were rescued on May 6, 2013. Pontiac is not to blame. It happens. But where was her family? I tell my students that family and health always come first. Where was Pia Farrenkopf’s family since October 2008? What if you did anywhere at any time and your family doesn't care?

Ukraine and Twentieth Century Artificial Political Boundaries

World War I started a century ago. It ended in 1918 with the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian, German, Ottoman, and Russian empires. The Hapsburgs (Austria-Hungary), Hohenzollerns (Germany), Ottomans (Turkey), and Romanovs (Russia) were sent packing or executed. New countries were created and boundaries shifted out of their collapse. The newly created countries often had ethnicities and religions thrown together, which could not co-exist in the long run. Germany, Austria, and Hungary lost lands, such as Transylvania being transferred to Romania from Hungary. France regained Alsace-Lorraine from Germany. Some of the Russian and Ottoman spinoffs, Ukraine, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Armenia, would not be independent for long, being reabsorbed into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Yugoslavia, a merger of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, Christians and Muslims was destined to explode. Czechoslovakia peacefully separated. Finland, Poland and the Baltic states of Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania escaped the Russian Bear. Countries spun out of the Ottoman Empire include Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen. A critical mistake in the Arab boundaries was not recognizing an independent Kurdish State. The Kurds were spread though Iran, Iraq, Syria and Turkey with tragic consequences continuing today. Iraq was a new amalgam of Sunnis, Shia, and Kurds in a highly combustible mixture. The Ottoman Empire, Balkan nations, and the Black Sea countries, such as Ukraine, pose a special ethnicity problem. The Sultans were tolerant of the myriad of ethnicities and religions in their vast empire. Thus the emerging nations were often a melting pot, albeit to a lesser extent than the United States, and high;y combustible. Sometimes the divisions were resolved tragically, such as by the Greek and Turkish immigrations after World War I and the Armenian Genocide. Another example is the Bloody Partition in India during independence from Great Britain. Countries may not have split during World War II, but peoples in countries such as Yugoslavia committed mass atrocities against their fellow citizens. The memories exist to this day. Ethnic and religious cleansing continues through this day in parts of the Mideast. A second problem is that fixed political boundaries are an anomaly in the history of western Europe, eastern Europe, and the Mideast. Boundaries continued to be adjusted after World War II. For example, Germany and Russia in their 1938 Nonaggression Pact split Poland in half. Russia won and Germany lost the War. Eastern Poland was deeded to the USSR, with much of East Prussia going to Poland. The one country with well-defined borders and independence over the past nine decades is Turkey. The victorious allies in World War I attempted to dismember Turkey. The British, French, Italians, and especially the Greeks eyed large segments of the country. Ataturk’s goals in the Turkish War of Independence were not only preserving Turkey’s independence, but also regaining the traditional boundaries of the Turkish people, including Thrace, Istanbul, and the heartland of Anatolia. He succeeded, but also proclaimed that the new Republic of Turkey no longer had a desire to conquer neighboring lands. Two millennia of Roman, Byzantine, and Ottoman empire building and almost constant warfare were over. Thus, Turkey was one of the few European and Asian countries to stay out of World War II. Its boundaries were not changed by the War. Ukraine’s history is the opposite. It has been fought over by Greeks, Romans, Byzantines, Ottomans, Russians, Poles, Mongols, Vikings, Cossacks, Tatars, Huns, and Goths, as well as other migratory tribes. The Crimean Peninsula was annexed by Russia in 1783. The Ukraine came under Russian control in 1653. The Russian Federation just regained control of the Crimea.

President Obama's National Security Council Met Saturday on Ukraine: Oh?

President Obama’s National Security met Saturday on the Russian invasion of Ukraine. We know that because President Obama told us so and the Administration released a photo of the NSC. We have no idea what decisions or recommendations they reached, if any, but let’s look at the NSC membership. First, we have Susan Rice, the President’s National Security Advisor. She still can’t figure out Benghazi. The Deputy National Security Advisor, Ben Rhodes, was a political speechwriter for the President. He penned President Obama’s 2009 Cairo Speech, “A New Beginning.” How did that work out? He advised President Obama to withdraw the United States support of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak. How did that work out? The Secretary of State is Senator John Kerry is outraged: “It is not appropriate to invade a country, and at the end of a barrel of a gun, dictate what you are trying to achieve.” He emphasized “That is not 21st-Century, G-8 major nation behavior.” The Secretary of State is right. It’s real world. The President said President Putin “is on the wrong side of history.” Only history will tell. The President asserted President Putin violated international law. So? The Director of National Security is Senator James Clapper, who couldn’t get his story straight on the NSA before Congress. He would seemingly have little to add to the conversation since apparently the CIA, DIA, and the NSA all missed calling the Russian invasion of the Crimea. The Secretary of Defense is Senator Chuck Hagel, whose fellow Republicans opposed his confirmation. They viewed him as a dim bulb. The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is General James Dempsey, who has aptly proven himself to be a political general. Let us not forget Vice President Joe Biden, whose advice is usually wrong. The Director of Homeland Security is Jeh Charles Johnson, who between stints in private practice, served as General Counsel to the Air Force and General Counsel to the Department of Defense. The Director of the Central Intelligence Agency is James O. Brennan, who served 25 years in the CIA and is a terrorism expert. With a few exceptions, this is an unexceptional National Security Council with little expertise. So far, out national response is to cancel the delegation to the Paralympic Games in Sochi this Friday, but the 80 athletes will still compete. President Obama “wishes them great success.” The NSC met on Saturday. President Obama is not in the photo. Saturday’s meeting was so insignificant that President Obama missed it, AWOL so far as we know. Susan Rice provided updates to the President. Oh? President Putin is hardly shaking in his boots.

Dear President Obama: How's That Russian Reset Doing?

Dear Mr. President: “How’s That Russian Reset Doing?” You know, you reset our relations with Russia because it was just President George Bush’s obstinacy and Cold War mentality that was cooling relations with Russia. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember Air Force General Philip Breedlove? You should, you nominated General Breedlove last year to be NATO’s Supreme Allied Commander for Europe. He said to the Wall Street Journal and Reuters last Thursday that neither NATO nor the United States had drawn up contingency plans if Russia intervened in the Crimea, thereby giving President Vladimir Putin the green light to seize the Crimea. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember the red line in the sand you drew with Syria. You recall, of course, that President Putin talked you out of taking military action when Syria’s President Assad crossed the line. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember Benghazi and the four dead Americans? Of course not, it was politically inconvenient. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember proposing substantial cuts in the United States military just before Russia seized the Crimea? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember Governor Sarah Palin’s warnings six years ago on Russia and the Ukraine? You do remember Governor Palin. She’s the one your acolytes trashed as poorly educated and stupid. She said after Russia invaded Georgia: “After the Russian Army invaded the nation of Georgia, Senator Obama’s reaction was one of indecision and moral equivalency, the kind of response that would only encourage Russia’s Putin to invade Ukraine next.” How could the University of Idaho graduate see it coming, but not the President of the Harvard Law Review? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember President Reagan's famous "Bear in the Woods" ad of 1964? "There is a bear in the woods. For some people, the bear is easy to see. Others don't see it at all. Some people say the bear is tame. Others say it is vicious and dangerous. Since no one can really be sure who's right, isn't it smart to be as strong as the bear? If there is a bear." Dear Mr. President, Do you remember canceling the missile defense agreements in 2009 with the Czech Republic and Poland in 2009 as a sign of goodwill to Putin? How has that worked out, and what did we get in return? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember the December 5, 1994 Budapest Memorandum on Security Assurance? The United States, United Kingdom, and Russia guaranteed the territorial integrity of Ukraine in exchange for the Ukraine giving up and destroying its nuclear arms. How has that worked out? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember your 2012 statement to Russian Premier Medvedev: “This is my last election. After my reelection, I have more flexibility.” Dear Mr. President, Do you remember in your 2 1/2 hours of telephone calls with President Putin the fundamental premise of Russian negotiations? What's mine is mine; what's yours we negotiate. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember Edward Snowden? Did the Russians ever give him or his stolen information back? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember Neda and the Iranian people, who you failed to support after the stolen 2009 election? Do you remember why you want the Mullahs to obtain the Bomb? Dear Mr. President, Do you remember the Arab Spring? How has that worked out? Dear Mr. President, do you remember the Churchill Bust? One of your first acts as President of the United States was to send it back to the British Embassy, signifying the end to the special relationship between Great Britain the United States. Of course you don’t remember. Your staff said it never happened. Dear Mr. President: Do you remember your Nobel Peace Prize? Peace should never be confused with appeasement or weakness. Dear Mr. President, Do you remember President Theodore Roosevelt's sage advice: "Speak softly, but carry a big stick?" Dear Mr. President, Do you understand that predators sense weakness? Dear President Obama, Do you remember Israel?