Comments on Random Subjects

Iran spends about $1 billion a year to fund terrorism, making it the number 1 funding source for terrorists.

In October, there were only 3% of Americans who did not have a job and wanted a job.  This is the lowest percentage since this statistic has been determined starting in 1994.

PG&E has cut off power in large areas of California due to high winds and claims that the damage of falling trees and limbs to their power lines and equipment can start fires.  A good part of this problem is because PG&E has put so much money into other tasks dictated by the socialist government of California instead of removing trees from the vicinity of their power lines and updating their essential distribution equipment.

Wind and solar power account for about 17.9% of all electric power generation in California now. Wind generators, which operate in the wind speed range from 6 or 7 mph to about 55 mph.  A wind speed of about 30 mph is usually the optimum power generation wind speed.  The high winds that are driving the California wildfires are also causing shut-downs of wind generators or causing them to operate at higher than optimum power generation speeds.  This may well be causing the wind generator portion of the California electricity supply to be under-performing.  To be sure, under-performing wind generation is a common problem with this intermittent, unreliable power source.

UN Commission on the Status of Women Gives Iran Seat

The UN has just given Iran a seat on the 45-nation Commission on the Status of Women.  This commission's purpose is to promote gender equality and the advancement of women.  Iran is a nation which still stones women for infidelity and lashes them for what they call immodest dress.  A group of Iranian activists opposed Iran being given this seat saying that

women lack the ability to choose their husbands, have no independent right to education after marriage, no right to divorce, no right to child custody, have no protection from violent treatment in public spaces, are restricted by quotas for women's admission at universities, and are arrested, beaten, and imprisoned for peacefully seeking change of such law

 An op-ed published on-line by Foreign Policy Magazine notes that

In the past year, it [Iran] has arrested and jailed mothers of peaceful civil rights protesters.

It has charged women who were seeking equality in the social sphere — as wives, daughters and mothers — with threatening national security, subjecting many to hours of harrowing interrogation. Its prison guards have beaten, tortured, sexually assaulted and raped female and male civil rights protesters.

As you will recall, Hojatoleslam Kazem Sedighi, a cleric much respected by the Iranian government, recently said

Many women who do not dress modestly ... lead young men astray, corrupt their chastity and spread adultery in society, which (consequently) increases earthquakes.

As is the case with the Human Rights Commission of the UN, the Commission on the Status of Women is dominated already by nations which are not very strong on human and women's rights.  The U.S., Japan, and Germany are among those presently on the Commission which support women's rights, but those nations are a minority. The number of seats on the commission is apportioned by region and by the number of countries in a region.  Regions with more small countries get more seats.  Africa has 13 seats, Asia has 11, Latin America and the Caribbean have 9 seats, Western Europe and North America have 8 seats, and Eastern Europe has 4 seats.  Two seats from Asia were open and only Thailand and Iran offered candidates to fill them after backroom deals among the Asian countries decided upon those two nations.

Despite the Iranian activist petition that Iran be denied a seat and the well-known abuses of women in Iran, the U.S. did not openly oppose Iran getting a seat on the commission.  Apparently, Obama and his comrades in the administration and the Democrat Congress are too busy trying to eliminate American exceptionalism and the rule of law in the U.S. in order to make us more like the rest of the world.  They do not have the time to stand up for the equality of women.  After all, that is one of the things that makes us less like most of the rest of the world.

Tracinski on Obama & Netanyahu at U.N.

Robert Tracinski made an excellent observation on the two speeches made at the U.N. last week by Obama and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in his TIA Daily post dated 28 September 2009. Obama, as usual when he speaks to non-Americans, was all apologies for America's past actions and all pledges of good, cooperative behavior in which the United States will follow the lead of the other countries of the world. He seems to believe all countries are created equal and actually are equal and that the only way to make decisions in this world is by a kind of democracy among nations. Netanyahu made a much stronger speech in which he said the U.N. has failed to perform its moral job.

Here is how Tracinski characterized the difference between Obama and Netanyahu:

It is in contrast to Netanyahu that the deadly inversion in Obama's worldview becomes clear. In Netanyahu's outlook, good people come to the UN and hold it up to their own independent moral standards. Putting forward moral challenges they expect the UN to live up to, they judge it by its response. (And the judgment is necessarily harsh.) But Obama reverses that approach. In this outlook, it is the UN that stands in judgment of the United States, which has to crawl to the UN begging for the world's approval.

The issue here is far deeper than the two leaders' views of the UN. The difference is something in their souls. Ayn Rand described the theme of her novel The Fountainhead as "individualism versus collectivism, not in politics, but in man's soul." The story contrasted her hero Howard Roark, the innovator who upholds his own independent standards, against the glad-handing Peter Keating, whose goal is to conform to the standards set by others.

Well, we have just discovered how much our president is a Peter Keating, a man with collectivism in his soul. If the thugs on the UN Human Rights Council don't approve of us, an independent man's immediate reaction is: to hell with them. Obama's instinctive reaction is that we have to do something to appease the thugs.

I would make a small amendment to this assessment. Obama is largely Peter Keating, but he is also a bit of Toohey Elsworth. Obama is somewhat more manipulative, somewhat more driven by a passion for the socialist ideology, and somewhat more evil than Peter Keating. He is not as much so, probably, in any of these things as Ellsworth Toohey and he certainly is not as intelligent as Ellsworth Toohey, but he is more of a threat than Peter Keating.

Tracinski goes on to note that he does not think Obama's strategy to get the U.N. to line up more to help the U.S. in its quest to control Iran's nuclear weapon ambitions will work. He points out that French President Nicolas Sarkozy gave a speech in which he indicated he had no expectation that Iran would change its course despite further talks.

It has long been clear that nothing short of internal revolution will deter Iran from developing nuclear weapons. Iran intends to intimidate their Muslim neighbors into following their lead for the purpose of destroying Israel and establishing an Islamic Caliphate.

Obama - American Rights and Interests Submissive

During the Obama presidential campaign, I pointed out that Obama wanted to make American individual rights and the interests of the United States submissive to the dominant role to be played by the United Nations and by international bodies. The Obama presidency has confirmed my understanding with a good number of dastardly deeds. Among these are:

• Patting rogue terrorist-sponsoring nations Iran, Syria, and North Korea on the head while telling them we should be more understanding of their needs, thus encouraging these bully nations to continue acting badly. Only the believed threat of strong forceful retaliation works to stop bullies.
• Stopping the programs to add components to our missile shield in Poland and the Czech Republic because the Russians are not pleased by our idea of defending ourselves from their Iranian client and from them.
• Agreeing with the G-20 nations to close down tax havens, increase the regulations of financial markets and institutions, and give more foreign aid. The tired, socialist nations of Europe and the Obama-planned similar condition of the United States need to keep the wealthy from moving themselves or their money to zones where they might have fairer treatment. The American financial system will be controlled by 20 nations and their perceived needs, not by the free market or even the free market as modified by American governments elected by the American people.
• Obama has agreed to enter into new nuclear disarmament talks with Russia, now that he and Medvedev are Comrades locked in Socialist Solidarity. Russia must reduce its warheads since it cannot afford to modernize or maintain them in any case. Meanwhile, Russia, China, Iran, Syria, North Korea, Cuba, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Bolivia have formed an alliance aimed at the United States.
  
• He maintains the United States breaks International Law if it does not get permission from the United Nations to defend itself against the use of force by any other nation. This means, that the U.S. cannot defend itself if China, or Russia, or any of several socialist Western European countries does not desire that we should defend ourselves.
• He is more friendly to enemies of freedom and of the United States than he is to our longer term allies and to countries which more nearly share our ideas of personal liberty. See how he has shunned Great Britain, Israel, India, and the government leadership in Iraq and Afghanistan.
  
• Obama says the U.S. caused the global recession and financial crisis. Actually, banks all over the world had too many high-risk loans. This was not at all just a U.S. problem. Iceland, Great Britain, Germany, Japan, and China have all been hard hit due to their financial over-extensions, along with many other countries.
  
• Obama declares the U.S. arrogant. Taken together with the item above, this would mean the U.S. owes a great deal of service to the rest of the world. Obama loves to serve. No, actually, he loves to tell you and me that we must serve others.

The United States was long blessed with a belief in the principle that the Federal government existed to serve only as the protector of the American individual's life, his liberty, and his pursuit of happiness. The individual was sovereign and the government existed only to serve the sovereign American individuals. It was understood that the only scale of government compatible with the rights of the individual was a minimal, limited government. Our Constitution carefully described the limited powers of the Federal government and further required that the limited actions it was allowed must be carried out in a manner consistent with the general welfare. It was made clear that the general welfare could only be served by a minimalist government so that individuals would be free to manage their own lives. A more empowered government would quickly become tyrannical.

Obama hates this idea. No, it does not make him a bit uneasy. With every fiber and cell of his body and mind, he hates the idea that the government exists only to serve the self-interest of self-managing individuals. He is determined to crush this principle and anyone who stands up for it. In domestic matters, he ignores the Constitution and he gets others to go along with ignoring it by offering them bribes of power, income, and publicity. In all matters with an international component, he enlists the aid of as many other socialist and/or Muslim and/or other dictatorial regimes as he can in order to accomplish this purpose. At all times, he is completely focused on forcing every individual American to become the servant of the government, which is to be controlled by committed socialist elitists such as himself. Only people such as himself are capable of wisely choosing your values for you and only they are intelligent enough to inform you on how you will achieve the values they have chosen for you.

If you do not achieve any values that mean anything to you, that is just too damn bad. After all, they do not choose to recognize your self-chosen values. You are selfish, while they exist to serve. This makes you unworthy and it makes them gods.

Russians Threaten to Take Military Action Against Poland

The Russians today threatened to take military action against Poland if the United States proceeded to install the anti-missile defense system there intended to intercept a few missiles from an attack by a small power such as Iran. Poland agreed to the installation of the system within days after Russia invaded Georgia.

Poland is a NATO treaty member and is protected as such from invasion by all NATO countries. This requires the United States of America to defend Poland from a Russian invasion, which the Russians must understand. It is not believed that the Russians will invade Poland, but they are likely to make a response in Belorus or in Kaliningrad Oblast, both of which border Poland. Belorus is closely allied with Russia and Kaliningrad Oblast is a small area retained by Russia on the Baltic Sea which is surrounded by Poland and Lithuania.

We must not make a weak response to Russia. We must be stout in our determination to move forward with the missile defense system in Poland. We should expect NATO to be equally stout in not allowing Russia to intimidate us or Poland.

Update on the War in Iraq

Michael Yon, who is an independent war correspondent and blogger embedded with U.S. troops in Iraq for a very long time, seems to understand that war better than any other reporter. He has declared the war won and backs that claim up with a very interesting PowerPoint presentation. In addition to the decreased number of deaths due to fighting, the decreased number of attacks against infrastructure is very important. The lifeblood of Iraq is oil and many of the infrastructure attacks have been against oil facilities. This has resulted in a very high unemployment rate in Iraq, which is commonly a cause of great mischief when many have nothing constructive to do with their time and little hope that they are building a better future. Increased oil and gas production is a key to peace within Iraq and will allow the Iraqis to concentrate on rebuilding a country which has gone downhill for decades under Saddam Hussein and suffered so much at the hands of terrorists since he was overthrown. Of course, increased oil and gas production will benefit the rest of the world greatly as well and will help to bring down the very high fuel prices we have seen lately.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff has determined that the time has come to start pulling troops out of Iraq and building our strength in Afghanistan. The surge has done its job and with some care not to withdraw too rapidly from Iraq and to continue supporting the Iraqi government, unlike what the Democrat Congress did with respect to the South Vietnamese government when we pulled troops out of South Vietnam, Iraq should be able to create a nation in the heart of the Middle East which is significantly more civilized than most there.

In evaluating this important victory in Iraq, we should be careful to note who opposed the surge and who approved and recommended it. The problem of Afghanistan must be addressed with renewed vigor and we should be careful in assessing who has the judgment and strength of determination to see that project through. There are also major problems to be addressed with respect to Pakistan and Iran. Who has the experience, backbone, and judgment to deal with those problems?

Iran at War with U.S., Pelosi Spokesperson for Iran

For many months, it has been clear that Iran has been waging war upon the United States. They have provided training, supplies, money, medical support, and safe havens for forces fighting American troops in Iraq. Weapons supplied by Iran have been used, with their knowledge and their intent, to kill American soldiers. Iran has been the chief supporter of the Shiite Mahdi militia, which long controlled the very important port of Basra and cut-off much of the flow of oil out of that port. The Mahdi militia also played the major role in creating friction and fighting with the Sunnis, thereby bringing Iraq to the brink of all-out civil war. The recent crack-down of the Iraqi government to oust the Mahdi militia from control of Basra and its surroundings did much to improve Sunni cooperation with the government and to recently increase the flow of oil. This flow of oil is extremely important as a means to put Iraqis back to work and to give them a means to concentrate on re-building the country Saddam Hussein destroyed in decades of looting, neglect, and legal instability.

But, for all of its nefarious activities, the Speaker of the House of Representatives is acting like a spokesperson for the theocratic tyrannical government of Iran. Here is her perspective of the situation in Iraq and the role of Iran:

"Well, the purpose of the surge was to provide a secure space, a time for the political change to occur to accomplish the reconciliation. That didn’t happen. Whatever the military success, and progress that may have been made, the surge didn’t accomplish its goal. And some of the success of the surge is that the goodwill of the Iranians-they decided in Basra when the fighting would end, they negotiated that cessation of hostilities-the Iranians."

How wrongheaded. Yes, Iran did seek to have hostilities cease when their proxy forces were too hard-pressed by the Iraqi government and the American troops. But, there is no indication whatsoever that they did this as a matter of goodwill. Our Speaker is clearly disassociated from this world. How can one so readily describe a country at war with us throughout most of the surge as being responsible for its success because of their goodwill as evidenced by a partial surrender. This is as ridiculous as describing Japan as being responsible for our success in the Pacific campaign of WWII because hostilities ceased due to Japan's goodwill!

The leadership of the Democrat Party is utterly astounding. Yes, the leadership of the Republican Party is often incompetent, but mostly there is evidence that they live in this world. Nancy Pelosi seems rarely able to observe reality without coming up with some incredibly wrongheaded assessment of it. Is she a holographic projection created by beings from a far off anti-matter galaxy for the purpose of subjugating the United States and then the Earth? What can explain such distortions of reality? I really want to know. Is there anybody out there who can explain this to me? I really am completely befuddled by it.