ON: HOW THE U.S. CONGRESS INVITED PUTIN TO ATTACK UKRAINE (A REMINDER)

NOTE: Originally posted on March 3, 2014, as ON THE INVASION OF UKRAINE AND THE AMERICAN CONGRESS, I thought this point of view should be re-posted with a clearer title.

Americans, especially members of Congress, love to tout American “exceptionalism” and America’s “super” power status.  However, if you had the opportunity to look at America from abroad these last few years you will have seen glaring signs of American weakness.

What causes me to say such thing? Well, for years Congress has spent its precious legislative calendar making mischief rather than working on the people’s business. Discussion and votes on abortion, religion, gay marriage, and Sharia law…not to mention filibusters to avoid voting on Presidential appointments…took up time better spent on "real" issues. More than 40 different attempts were made to repeal the Affordable Care Act, even when the Republican Congress knew it had no chance of being repealed.

Immigration reform has been tabled, though every citizen thinks it is necessary. Budget issues have been ignored in an attempt to embarrass the President. Financial markets have been forced to sweat until the last minute, wondering if the debt ceiling will be raised so the government does not default on its bills. The government even had to close for weeks to make a point about which side of the aisle had the biggest stick.

In foreign affairs Cuba remains a focus of many politicians a full 15 years after the end of the Cold War. Nothing is done to secure this island as an American ally. Rather than engage Cuba, we let its politics move south through places like Venezuela, Bolivia and more.  Key legislation was tabled for years that would have secured trade pacts with Panama and Colombia. We moan a lot about our neighbors to the south and their politics, but nothing is done to help change the atmosphere unless it is part of our "war on drugs." After all, it is much more important to repeal "Obamacare," then to secure our nation and make new allies.

Since 2001 two wars were approved by Congress. Billions of dollars are still being spent and thousands of lives have been lost.  Fifteen Saudis, led by another Saudi, Osama bin Laden, attacked America from the air and we bombed Iraq and Afghanistan.  To me that makes about as much sense as bombing Venezuela after Japan attacked Pearl Harbor in 1941.

Imagine yourself a former KGB agent with 16 years' Cold War experience. Your citizens are so enamored of you they vote you in as President or Prime Minister for 15 straight years.  

Couple that with the fact you have managed to grab the man who stole millions of pages of your arch enemy’s top secrets. You are now able to access this information trove to fully understand the weaknesses of the U.S.A. and its diplomatic corps. And, just how did such a defector get his hands on so many secrets? Congress thought it a much better idea to let outside contractors provide the vetting of our top security personnel rather than trained, internally controlled and employed agents.  

Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin wants to make Russia great again.  It is obvious he took personally the dissolution of his beloved Soviet Empire.  He is working with Tsar-like zeal to build Russia into a giant again. 

He knows his enemies are weak.  He knows no one will challenge him militarily.  He meddles in the Mideast, much like the Soviets of the 1960’s.  He gives nations arms and access to nuclear capability.  Why?  He knows Syria and Iran irritate the West. He can keep the West occupied there, much like a master magician fools his audience with sleight of hand. With the world’s eyes focused on the Mideast, he is free to take what he really wants.

He sees former Soviet states Georgia and Ukraine looking West. So, he makes excuses to take back former Soviet territory. First, under the guise of saving Russians, he moves on South Ossetia and Abkhazia in Georgia in 2008. Now, under the same premise of saving Russians, he has moved on the Crimean peninsula in Ukraine. He is piece by piece reclaiming his empire.  And, he knows, no one will dare stop him. He does not care what the U.S. thinks and he knows NATO is a toothless giant.

When Obama let Europe lead on Libya a few years ago, NATO forces wound up having to borrow American missiles and bullets to complete the mission. Europeans did not have enough basic weaponry in their arsenals.  If Europe cannot handle a small country like Libya, what can they possibly do to Russia?

Now the Republican Party leaders, with a view of the world similar to that illustrated in the cartoon on the left, are out in droves poking at the President, saying his weakness allowed Ukraine to be invaded…Gates, Rubio, Graham, Boehner, Rogers, and more have blasted the media with their points of view on Ukraine.

They never mention their handiwork...or lack of it...in getting the world to this point. They are not smart enough to know someone like Putin sees lack of support for the President in his Congress as weakness. But, Congress does not care about projecting strength through the world.  Our Congress prefers to fiddle while the world burns.

Bullies love to pick on weakness. President Putin is a classic bully. By being petty and silly over the last few years our Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have played right into Putin’s hands. Shame!

ON RUSSIA: FROM A NATION OF PUSHKIN AND TOLSTOY TO ONE OF PUTIN AND THUGGERY

Like most, since its beginning I have been following closely the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. After allegedly murdering his own citizens and stealing as much as $100 billion from the treasury, their fiendishly corrupt President, Viktor Yanukovych, fled to Russia in late February. Within a few days hooligans began violently intimidating the people of Crimea, especially the Ukrainian military stationed there.

Always wearing masks and acting like bullies, these "pro-Russian separatists" exhibited military tactics, weapons and unmarked uniforms that looked surprisingly like the Russian military. Pushing, shoving, and threatening their way through the Crimean peninsula, they took over Ukrainian military bases and towns.

Their demeanor gave the word "thug" new life and meaning.  On TV we were watching, without a doubt, men with no other intention than intimidation of the populace.

I began to wonder more about this phenomenon. How does a nation that gave the world Leo Tolstoy, Alexander Pushkin, Alexander Borodin, and Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, produce drunkards and bullies like Boris Yeltsin and Vladimir Putin? Where does Russia find men who will don masks and invade their next-door neighbor? Then, I remembered a series of letters I received in January from a close friend who was visiting Asia.

No ordinary traveler, this is a man who is a retired Professor of French and Modern European History at a New York university, who now calls Paris, France, his home. His words, written to me when he was staying on Kho Lanta Island in Thailand, speak volumes.

"Just a word more on the Russians who have decided to invade the sunny beaches of the Andaman sea...there is some link between the gimme mentality and their behavior. These yoyos were born at the latest under Gorbachev. They don’t know from camps, war, starvation. Most of them have lived their lives under Yeltsin and Putin. They are the NEP [New Economic Policy] men of the late 20^th early 21^st century. And they know no shame, no decency, no gentleness, no politeness.

Two examples. The hotel in Phi Phi and here in Lanta are the only places in all of Thailand that I visited, and that’s more than 13 hotels, that do a room check before letting you check out. Th[ey] have posted how much [it costs] for articles missing—including toilets, toilet seats and sinks! Talk about vandals.

These same hotels cursed by a Russian clientele are the only ones who leave no beverages in the fridge and no bags of nuts and other goodies that the client is expected to fess up to having used before leaving. 

If they could nail down the towels they would. I saw six of these bozos, all [of] 25 [years of age] or so, having paid their vacation to Phi Phi refuse to give the lady running the look out—highest point nice view—20 Bahts. There are 34 [Baht] to $1 [USD]. Talk about shame. Yeah I know all nationalities grouped together as tourists are horrible.... But these Russians are the worst. And it cannot be blamed on the Reds. 

So now that the cold war is over, let us bring back the iron curtain and put these people behind it. Only disgrace can come out of letting them roam."

Other letters from my friend spoke of Russians filling the bars, drinking until they either passed out or were thrown out for unruliness and foul language. His closing recommendation above, regarding a return of the Iron Curtain, just might occur in the near future. 

The thuggish Vladimir Putin, who loves to prance around shirtless like his fellow Russians visiting Thailand, leads this rabble. He supports their beating of women, like Pussy Riot. He is proud of his anti-gay rhetoric and his country's anti-gay propaganda. Though he talks about ending corruption, I think the only corruption he aims to end is the corruption that does not flow directly into his pocket.

Strobe Talbott, former Deputy Secretary of State and now President of the Brookings Institution, in an interview with Katty Kay of the BBC, explained that Putin was forced from the KGB for his lack of an ability to avoid risk. Talbott explained that despite his quick rise to Lieutenant Colonel, the KGB thought Putin too dangerous to promote further.

In an interview with al Jazeera, the Brookings Institution leader said Putin is an advocate of the "big lie." He certainly showed that in Crimea. Before the formal annexation Putin said no Russian troops were in Crimea fomenting riot. Last week he announced that, in fact, they were.

Perhaps the funniest comment by Talbott, who among his other accomplishments is also a Russian expert, was the one he posted on his Twitter account.  It said, "perhaps, just to break the ice, Obama should solemnly promise Putin that he won't have to have sex with a gay guy."

That might work. But, I think NATO troops, maybe a couple of battalions, should be invited by the Ukrainian government to conduct joint exercises in western Ukraine (west of the Dnieper River) to offset the Russian exercise on the eastern Ukraine border.

Rather than wear masks, the NATO troops should go shirtless. Risk-taking bullies only stop when someone stronger shows them how stupid they look and act.

NOTE: CBS News has reported that Vladimir Putin requested eastern Ukraine "pro-Russia" groups not to hold referenda on May 11th. The Guardian is reporting they are ignoring Putin's request. He also said he was pulling his troops from the Ukraine border. NATO and U.S. officials say they have no evidence of any movement of troops by Russia. The essence of this blog is not likely affected by this action. 

ON: WHY AMERICA SHOULD NOT GRANT TEXAS GOVERNOR RICK PERRY A SECOND CHANCE

On NBC's Meet the Press last Sunday, Texas Governor Rick Perry said, "America is a place that believes in second chances."  Too bad Mr. Perry does not practice this wonderful act of charity in his home state.

According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, as of April 27, 2014, the Texas Governor has executed 275 men and women. On the day he was interviewed by David Gregory there were 273 more Texas prisoners awaiting lethal injection.

During his tenure Governor Perry has commuted the sentences of only 31 prisoners, 28 of which he was forced to commute after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that it was illegal to execute anyone who committed their crime as a minor.

Before the landmark Supreme Court decision, however, the Governor executed Napolean Beazley, who was only 17 when he killed the father of a Texas Judge. He was executed on May 28, 2002, one of the last juvenile offenders executed in the United States. Youth could not cause Rick Perry to look into his heart and give Napolean Beazley a second chance.

Though the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles recommended Kelsey Patterson not be executed because of his mental illness, Governor Perry refused to commute the death penalty. Mr Patterson was executed on May 18, 2004. Governor Perry did not think mental illness gave Mr. Patterson a good enough reason to grant him a second chance.

Cameron Todd Willingham was convicted of setting fire to his home, killing his three children. Before his execution a Texas fire-forensics' scientist examined the evidence and found there was no evidence an arson was committed. He sent this information proving Mr. Willingham's innocence, along with Mr. Willingham's request for commutation, to the Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles and the Governor.  The Board and the Governor ignored the information and the request. Willingham was executed by Governor Rick Perry on February 17, 2004.  Proof of innocence by a third party could not convince Rick Perry to give Cameron Willingham a second chance.

Marvin Lee Wilson, with an IQ tested at 61, lost his appeal because justices claimed he based it on only a single IQ test and that the test could have been faulty. Wilson was executed on August 7, 2012. Governor Perry did not believe Mr. Wilson's retarded intellectual ability was reason enough to give him a second chance.

Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr., was a Mexican national who was never told during his arrest and trial that he was entitled to support and counsel from the Mexican Consulate. President Barack Obama, the U.S. State Department, and the Mexican government all requested commutation of his order for execution. He was executed on July 7, 2011. Evidently Rick Perry does not believe that a denial of basic rights under the law, or a plea for clemency from the President of the United States of America, are enough to grant you a second chance at life.

Rick Perry is now hinting he would like to run for President of the United States. He wants Americans to grant him a second chance. If the Texas Governor wants a second chance he needs to prove he lives a life filled with enough compassion to give others a second chance.

Commute the death penalty for the 273 death row inmates you now hold, or step aside Mr. Perry! If you cannot show compassion in Texas, why should the rest of America show you compassion and give you a second chance to be its leader.

ON: LIFE RIDING ON AMERICA'S ECONOMIC ROLLER COASTER

I was thinking the other day about a 1990's weekend road trip with my former wife. We drove to a small town in northwestern Illinois.  Galena is a small tourist destination and, as such, has a number of shops in which to spend money.

One such place was a woman's discount shoe shop.  My former spouse, who grew up in a frugal Australian family, found four pairs of shoes she liked. She came to me and asked me which pair I preferred.  I told her all four were wonderful.

She then pushed me, "but which pair should I buy?"  I asked her, "Why do you have to choose?"

She looked me straight in the eye and exclaimed, "You can only buy one pair of shoes at a time!"  I said, "No, we can afford to buy as many as we like. And, since you like all four and the price for each is so good, buy all four."

I took them to the counter. Paid for them.  And, for the two-hour ride home I learned she had never bought more than one pair of shoes at a single outing in her entire life. Not only that, but she feared this was somehow going to interrupt world order.  In more than 40 years on earth her motto had always been, "One pair at a time."

I tell this story because over the past couple of weekends I stayed in her lovely downtown apartment while she was in Sydney, Australia, with her family. We are divorced now, since 2006. But, we have remained friends.

Downtown Saint Petersburg is bustling these days. Wonderful high-end restaurants and bars, as well as entertainment venues, Saturday markets, art and music festivals, Grand Prix racing, and more occur every weekend. It has now become a place for those who can afford to buy four pairs of shoes at a time.

At the height of my career I earned a couple of hundred thousand dollars per year. I lived in large, beautiful homes, traveled when it pleased me, and ate in the finest of restaurants.

Unlike my family and my wife's family, I did not defer all to the future. I had an urge to see the four corners of the world to witness its treasures, to taste its best wines and foods, and to experience life to its fullest. I never spent more than I had, but I did spend what I earned. I paid my taxes, saved a little through payroll deductions, and never complained.

As I progressed into my 50's the world changed.  Tech stocks became the place to put your savings to earn high returns.  They also became a place to lose your savings quickly, and I did.

Housing prices zoomed high and, quite literally, my bank called me at least once a week to offer me a high five-figure, low interest loan to spend on anything I deemed proper. Those same banks drove our economy into the ground by 2007, and proved my home was worth $150,000 less than what my bank told me it was worth in 2006.

BP, the company that bragged on TV how safely it drilled for oil, spilled millions of barrels of it into the Gulf of Mexico and onto its beaches. My small business, which suffered heavily after the 2007 recession, was just starting to turn around in 2010. However, since it relied heavily on coastal-based business sales, we lost 60% in gross sales within 2 months after the spill.

I tried to hold on, but was forced to close and file Chapter 7 bankruptcy in 2011. Because I had taken money from both my IRA and personal savings in an attempt to keep my business afloat, I had less saved for my future than I used to earn in a single month. Social Security and a small VA disability pension became my monthly income.

Today, I am forced to give up the home I spoke of earlier through a short sale. It sells today for less than its original purchase price in 2001.

I do not write about this with regrets.  I enjoyed my life and continue to do so. But, when I visit the mall, I am on a sightseeing trip.  I am not a buyer.  When I visit a restaurant, it is usually with a Groupon in hand. I cook and eat at home.  When I shop for food at Publix, I bring coupons, buy meat on sale, and look for BOGO products.

Life has changed for me. I cannot say it is better, I can only say it is different.  I know I am far better off than many Americans who are younger than me.

It hurts me a little to see something I would have readily purchased in my heyday and have to pass it by. Maybe I did buy too many pairs of shoes at a time!

Who knew my government would so completely sell out both the poor and the middle class in favor of the ultra rich. And, no banker goes to jail for their obvious theft and fraud.

There is always light at the end of dark tunnels! My new lifestyle has forced me to find some very nice tasting, yet inexpensive, Pinot Noir's and Chardonnay's to help wash down the beans and rice. After all, one must remain civilized.

ON: HYPOCRISY, THE EIGHTH DEADLY SIN

Tia Mitchell, in a report published by the Tampa Bay Times on Thursday, April 24, 2014, quotes John Tupps, a spokesman for Florida Governor Rick Scott.

"Gov. Scott is pro-life and believes that the lives of unborn children must be protected." 

The article was in response to passage of the "Unborn Victims of Violence Act," which makes it a separate crime if a fetus is harmed in the commission of a criminal act. The bill sets no boundaries on whether the fetus is viable or not.

On the very same day, in the Metro Report of the Tampa Bay Times, it was reported that Robert Hendrix was executed the day before at the Florida State Prison in Starke. The report provided details.

"The 47-year-old Hendrix was the fourth inmate executed by Florida this year and the 16th since Gov. Rick Scott took office in 2011."

On June 14, 2013, according to the Naples News, Governor Scott signed the Timely Justice Act of 2013, which speeds the process to execute death-row inmates. It seems that for Scott, who must sign each execution order, the process to carry out an execution was not fast enough.

Merriam-Webster defines hypocrisy as, "Behavior that does not agree with what someone claims to believe or feel." It comes from the Greek hypokrisis, the act of playing a part on the stage.

No one may harm a fetus in Florida, but the state is sanctioned to kill adult human beings. The unborn, who have yet to breathe a scintilla of fresh air, are protected in the womb by statute.

Those who breathe in the Florida-sunshine-dappled air and commit a grievous crime are fair game for extinction. If this is not the height of hypocrisy, I do not know what qualifies.

I choose Governor Scott as my example here, but he is only one of thousands of hypocrites in government. For example, John Boehner talks of the love of family then helps draft and votes for legislation cutting food stamps for America's poor.

President Obama talks about changing the dialogue in the Middle East, yet continues to kill Middle Easterners via drone warfare.

Churches are no less guilty.  The Roman Catholic Church yesterday elevated John Paul II to sainthood.

The first from Poland, this Pope did absolutely nothing to stop the rampant sexual abuse of children within the church during his reign. Instead he supported moving pedophiles around the world, as if moving chess pieces.

He also defended the serial pedophile, rapist, and thief, Marcial Maciel Degollado. This Mexican priest is perhaps the church's worst criminal in the last thousand years. John Paul II makes Clement VI look like a saint.

Ordinary people are no different.  A man goes to church professing Christian faith, then slips out Thursday night for a tryst with his extramarital lover. A woman claims to be a devout Muslim, then blows up innocent civilians in Kabul. 

None of us are perfect, especially me. But, then, most of us are not telling the rest of the world how to live. Most of us are barely able to care for ourselves and our immediate family.

I can write this without equivocation when it comes to heads of state, however: 

YOU CANNOT CLAIM TO BE PRO-LIFE WHILE YOU EXECUTE PEOPLE.

The Catholic Church is at least consistent on that point...no abortion, no birth control, and no capital punishment. If I were Pope I would add hypocrisy as the eighth deadly sin. It is at least as terrible as wrath, greed, sloth, pride, lust, envy, and gluttony. And, potentially more harmful to others.

ON: SUPREME COURT DECISION DOOMS WHITE AMERICANS TO BLEAK FUTURE AS MINORITIES

White people were dealt yet another blow by the latest race-based case decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The 6-2 decision in Schuette vs. Coalition to Defend Affirmative Action, No. 12-682, let stand a Michigan voter referendum that disallowed racial preferences in admissions to the state's universities. Recently the Supreme Court has also overturned racial preferences in voting and redistricting.

As reported by the Associated Press, Justices Sonia Sotomayor and Ruth Bader Ginzburg dissented, trying in vain to save the white men on the court from themselves. Justice Clarence Thomas, as usual, voted with his white male counterparts. The Washington Post reported that no reason was given for Justice Elena Kagan's recusal.

The Brookings Institution, in a report last year based on U.S. Census data, estimates that by the year 2043 white people will be in the minority in the United States.

Kenneth Johnson of the Carsey Institute told USA Today that 80% of deaths in the USA now are among whites as more and more baby boomers pass away. It is estimated that at this rate, it will not be too many years before white people will be begging for racial parity in jobs, college admissions, and housing.

When asked to comment on this turn of events, Wayne LaPierre, Executive Vice President of the National Rifle Association, told the Arlington Times & Ammo Weekly, "Why do you think we keep paying white politicians to ease up on gun restrictions while telling our members to load up on guns and ammo?"

A prescient Sarah Palin told the Nome Herald Grizzly Monthly that she, "knew this was going to happen."  The former Alaska Governor adding, "Why do you think Todd and I live in Alaska?"

Former South Carolina Senator Jim DeMint, now President of the Heritage Foundation, says the South will come out on top in this scenario. "We have always had a good relationship with our colored folks, which should help us in the future down here." he told FOX News.

The Tea Party Republican then went on to respond to a question regarding Hispanic-Americans, "Why do you think so many of them Mexican fellas move to the South? We treat'em real good while they's a pickin' our strawberries and peaches.  I ain't worried one bit Southern whites'll lose a place at the big table in the future."

"It will be interesting to see how crackers, I mean Caucasian-Americans, respond to this change," said Minister Reginald Muhammad of the Black Muslim Society of America, "I just hope they like fried chicken and bean pies, because they will be eating a lot of that."  Mr. Muhammad added that, "Inshallah they don't get caught up washing them down with that evil malt liquor brew." according to his interview in Muhammad Speaks.

Dallas, Texas-based Big & Juicy Steakhouse chairman, Glen Campbell, told the Texas Cowboy Roping Star Daily that they are already working on revised menus for the future, to include stir-fried rice, chicken mole, and chitterlings and greens dishes. "Our 20-year-old company cannot survive on the few rich white Americans that will be left," Campbell added.

Bank of America is not waiting according to a story in The Wall Street Journal. Redlines are already being drawn around white neighborhoods in states where the big bank has a presence.

"When they are left behind without promotions and college opportunities, white people will be unable to pay their housing and other loans," according to an unnamed Bank of America Vice President. "We need to figure out now how much extra to charge for these loans in order to be able to roll them out day one in 2043," she added.

At the Justice Department, Eric Holder has slowed the investigation into voting rights violations around the country. "After last Tuesday's decision, I think in the end this will work out fine for us," he noted for the Baltimore Afro-American.

ON: NRA WANTS LOADED GUNS EVERYWHERE IN USA, EXCEPT WHERE THEY AND THEIR FRIENDS GATHER

If you have never been to a gun store, then you probably are unaware that, typically, each shop has a large sign located somewhere near the entry. Usually, the sign is there to advise customers: 

No Loaded Weapons Allowed in Store

Every visitor to the U.S. Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., not only sees signs posted stating that no weapons are allowed, but each entrant is forced to pass through a metal detector. Our Congress wants nothing to do with loaded or unloaded weapons in their building.

Visit any state Legislature, and I will bet you find the same as in Congress, signs and metal detectors banning weapons.

When the National Rifle Association head, Wayne LaPierre, held a press conference only one week after 20 babies were murdered inside Sandy Hook Elementary School, there were signs outside the room that declared that no guns were allowed inside where LaPierre spoke.

Ultra-conservative groups, like Americans For Prosperity, post large signs banning weapons at their conferences, no matter in which of the 50 states they are conducting that meeting.

This confuses a slow-witted fool like me. If people who really love and cherish guns, and who believe in their absolute Constitutional right to bear arms, why are no loaded weapons allowed anywhere near them when they gather?

Many of our states allow some form of concealed carry permit, but you cannot carry that legally-concealed weapon into a gun store if it is loaded. That valid carry permit is rendered invalid when it reaches the doors of any State Legislature or national Congress. Why?

If guns are so needed for our protection that the NRA advises arming our nation's school teachers, why do these gun advocates and retailers keep them out of their own offices and stores? 

Mr. LaPierre proclaimed at his December 2012 press conference on Sandy Hook, "The only thing that beats a bad guy with a gun is a good guy with a gun."

If he truly believes that, why is no one allowed to carry a loaded weapon into his office? Does that mean the NRA's top mouthpiece is walking around without a loaded gun in his pocket when he is at work?

The rest of us poor suckers are forced to live in fear for our lives, wondering which of our crazy neighbors will crack out the weaponry and open fire on us and our children in a theatre or school, while NRA cronies are too smart to allow these gun-toting idiots anywhere near them with a loaded weapon.

I think Congress and Legislators should follow their own lead. Ban weapons anywhere in the United States except where "our" militia...otherwise known as our law enforcement and military...gather!