Think About It

Iceland Alleges Torture at Guantanamo

Apparently tiny Iceland’s legislature has bought into the argument that “human rights abuses” are occurring at the U.S. detention camp at Guantanamo Bay.   The Icelandic legislature decided, just before adjourning for the summer, to issue a resolution that "condemns the inhumane treatment of prisoners at the US detention camp" and "urges that the camp be closed," according to an English translation of the text provided to AFP by Iceland's foreign ministry.

We currently have about 275 detainees, all of whom are suspected terrorists, at Guantanamo, Cuba.  Iceland’s objections to Guantanamo were not well received by U.S. Secretary of State  Condoleezza Rice.   In a joint press conference with her counterpart Ingibjoerg Solrun Gisladottir, Rice said, "I strongly object to the notion that there are human rights violations at Guantanamo, as is suggested in the resolution.  Guantanamo is a place that the president himself has said that he would like to close," but the problem is what should be done with the ‘dangerous prisoners,’ Rice went on to say,  "We also have an obligation, that the people who are in Guantanamo because they committed terrorist acts should not be released on unsuspecting populations.”

Rice further stated, "I would strongly recommend that before people make judgments about what is going on at Guantanamo they should perhaps avail themselves of a report that was done by the (European security body) OSCE parliament committee.  It would be an interesting report for your parliament to read, and I will make it available,” said Rice. 

There have seen numerous allegations of abuse and mistreatment of the prisoners at Guantanamo.  Probably the most controversial is that of water boarding.

We will be seeing and hearing a lot more about Guantanamo in the coming months.  The prosecution has asked that the trial of some of the 9/11 terrorists be commenced in mid-September.  The defense is crying foul because it is so near the 9/ll date – and it is before the November elections.

This brings up these questions:

Should water boarding be allowed?

What types of interrogation should be allowed at Guantanamo?

Should they be given the benefit of trials?

If so, what type of trial?

What about the trial scheduled for mid-September, a coincidence?

How might a highly publicized trial affect the elections?

Oil, Gas and the Economy

As we all know, the price of gas is double what it was a year ago.  In addition to hitting us at the pumps, there is the threat of what higher gas prices will mean to our economy.  And the biggest question is, “Will this push us into a recession?”  As consumers, we simply take the hit, hoping the price of fuel won’t get any higher.  Meanwhile, businesses can simply pass their increased costs on to consumers.

Economists are divided over whether the price of oil has risen high enough to push the economy into a recession.  Richard DeKeKaser, chief economist for National City Corporation, is optimistic about the economy:  "There is nothing magical about $130 oil. It's just more of a drag, more intense."  Some economists believe gas prices would have to go to the $7 or $8 range before it would seriously affect our economy.  Motorists in Europe are already paying these prices.

On the other hand, the Chicken Littles are saying the rise in energy prices is coming too fast and that the US economy is now in an "oil shock" downturn.

Economists say for every $10 increase in the price of a barrel of oil, America’s output of goods and services goes down by 0.2%.  Translated, this means rising oil prices has caused a 1.6% loss in our GDP during the past year.  The President’s stimulus package is expected to add about 1% of our GDP (Gross Domestic Production)

So, what are some of the repercussions of increased gas prices?  Ford Motor Co. announced last week that it was cutting production of some of their larger vehicles by about 40% for the second half of 2008.

The manufacturers of plastic products are estimating the price of PVC products will rise 20 to 30 percent. 

Probably one of the biggest problems with rising oil costs is one of fear.  Many businesses are deferring new projects until prices stabilize.

This brings us to several questions:

Is the oil market being manipulated by third parties?

If so, who?

How high will the price of oil go?

How much does the price of oil has to do with commodity speculators?

Trucks carry huge loads, so will $4 gas or diesel substantially affect the price of the goods they carry?

Why Won't Barack Obama go to Iraq?

John McCain has invited Barack Obama to come with him to Iraq, but Obama isn’t biting. `Senator Obama has been to Iraq once, a little over two years ago…and he has never seized the opportunity, except in a hearing, to meet with General Petraeus. This is about leadership and learning,” said McCain.

Obama countered by charging McCain is stubbornly clinging to “the failed Bush policy” on Iraq.  There has been a slight shift in Obama’s position on withdrawing troops from Iraq.  A few months ago, Obama called for the immediate withdrawal of troops from Iraq.  He has since modified this to “a deliberate, careful strategy to remove our troops…”

Obama let it be known last night that he would consider a visit to Iraq sometime this summer.  This would be his first since becoming a presidential candidate.

Meanwhile McCain said, "To say that we're failing in Iraq and not succeeding does not comport with the facts on the ground, so we've got to show him the facts on the ground."

Questions:

Why is Obama reluctant to go to Iraq?

How will he be greeted by the troops?

If he goes, will he have to admit the surge is working?

Will the contrast between him and McCain be too glaring?

Will he have preconditions to his trip?

If Obama does go, how will he spin it?

Former White House Press Secretary Drops Bomb on President Bush

Politico.com is reporting that former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan has turned on his old boss in his new book, What Happened.  McClellan served as White House press secretary from July 2003 to April 2006.  McClellan says Bush "veered terribly off course" and was not "open and forthright on Iraq.

McClellan’s book is due out next week.   He alleges President Bush relied on "propaganda" to sell the war and he also charges the Washington press corps was too easy on the administration during the run-up to the war.

McClellan also apparently echoes many of the Democratic criticisms, including the administration’s handling of the Katrina crisis.  McClellan claims the White House spent most of the first week in a state of denial.

According to Politico’s website, McClellan also claims Scooter Libey misled him about the White House’s role in the CIA leak case.

This story, as they say, has “legs,” and will be discussed from now until the election.

Questions:

Did McClellan sell out for the quick buck?

Doesn’t anyone have confidentiality agreements anymore?

What motivated him to write the book?

Are Democratic operatives involved with McClellan?

Is any of this true?

The War in Iraq - Is it Worth It?

 This might be a good time to discuss our military losses over the years.
The wars are ranked by total deaths:

Rank  Å´     War  Å´     Years  Å´     Deaths  Å´     Deaths per Day  Å´    
1     Amer Civil War     1861–1865     625,000     599     1.988%
2     World War II         1941–1945     405,399     416     0.307%
3     World War I          1917–1918     116,516     279     0.110%
4     Vietnam War        1964–1973     58,151     26     0.003%
5     Korean War          1950–1953     36,516     45     0.002%
6     Ameri. Rev. War   1775–1783     25,000       11     0.899%
7     War of 1812          1812–1815     20,000     31     0.345%
8     Mexi-Amer War     1846–1848     13,283     29     0.057%
9     Philippine War       1899–1902     4,196     5     0.006%
10     Iraq War              2003–present     4,079     2.34     0.001%

First, let me say that one casualty is one too many to the parents, sisters, brothers, relatives and friends of the soldier who died.  It is for this reason that we must choose carefully those wars that we decide to prosecute.

I’m among those who believe President Bush did the right thing by pursuing the terrorists into their lair.  It seems that many Americans are unable to connect the dots between the numerous attacks on American embassies, barracks, and ships before 9/11, and the 3,000+ lives lost on 9/11.  Many Americans have failed to educate themselves sufficiently about the Middle-East and radical Islam.  We may well pay a terrible price for our ignorance.  The whole country is divided over the Iraq war, and it is quite possible that Barack Obama, the antiwar candidate, will pull our troops out of Iraq and Afghanistan.  I suspect Obama may know better,  but he knows his anti-Bush, antiwar rants play well to a large number of voters, so  he is willing to play it to the end.

We have lost 4,079 of our troops since 2003.  We have lost over 210,000 Americans in automobile accidents during this same time.

These questions are probably moot, because those who want us out of Iraq and Afghanistan believe we will have peace if we leave the radical Islamists alone.

Questions: 
Have the 4,079 soldiers died in vain?

Should we leave Iraq?

When should we leave Iraq?

Should we stay in Afghanistan?

When should we leave Afghanistan?

If we pull out of these countries, will we be attacked in the U.S.?

Government Wiretaps Bring Lawsuits to Telephone Companies

P.C. World is reporting that a class action lawsuit has been filed against AT&T and other telecommunications companies.  The lawsuits allege the phone companies allowed agents of the federal government to wiretap phone lines without a warrant or special certification.

Apparently, many of these taps were on overseas calls made right after 9/11.   Government agents presented letters to the various phone companies asking for the phone companies’ assistance.

Needless to say, the phone companies are saying, “Wait a minute, we were acting in good faith.”  The federal government is sympathetic, so they are moving to enact legislation that would give the phone companies retroactive immunity.

Those who are critical of the Patriot Act are siding with the plaintiffs, who claim their civil rights have been violated.  The House bill would grant retroactive immunity to the phone companies, providing they had acted in good faith and had been presented with letters prior to the taps.

Questions:

How do we balance civil liberties against the governments need to know?

Should the plaintiffs’ suit be summarily dismissed?

Should taps on overseas calls be easier or harder to get?

Should the same standards apply to e-mails?

Phoenix Space Probe to Explore for Life on Mars

If all goes according to plan, a $420 million Phoenix spacecraft will land around 7:53 p.m. (EDT) Sunday near the northern region of the Mars icecap.  The landing is a very tricky proposition; after traveling for nine months through space, the spacecraft will enter the Martian atmosphere at 13,000 miles per hour.  In the next seven minutes, it will have to slow its descent by using a combination of parachutes and thrusters to make a soft landing near the northern polar region.  Once the nearly half ton Phoenix makes its landing, it will send a safe arrival signal back to earth.  Two hours later, the first pictures will arrive at JPL headquarters in Pasadena, California.

The Phoenix is scheduled to work for three to four months in temperatures that will range between -27 and -99 degrees Fahrenheit.  Among its duties, the Phoenix will dig up samples of the permafrost and analyze them for signs of life.  "The Phoenix mission not only studies the northern permafrost region, but takes the next step in Mars exploration by determining whether this region, which may encompass as much as 25 percent of the Martian surface, is habitable," said Peter Smith, Phoenix principal investigator at the University of Arizona.  Smith continued, "The climate change for our planet is written into the ices in the Arctic region on the Earth...the Arctic regions are where the history of life, microbes, molecules and cells are preserved in their purest form."

The Mars landing is a risky one, because only about 50% of our previous probes, which began in 1970, have proved successful.
This is likely to renew the debate about funding future NASA projects.

Questions:

In light of the failure rate, should we be spending the $420 billion for this project?

Should our entire space program be put on hold until we are on better financial footing?

Are we spending too much on our space program?  Too little?

Should we concentrate solely on unmanned probes or should we go for more manned missions?

Will the Phoenix find signs of life?

Obama's Plan for a Sit-Down in Cuba

Barack Obama turned his attention to Cuba yesterday when he met with members of Miami’s Cuban American community. "The road to freedom for all Cubans must begin with justice for Cuba's political prisoners, the right of free speech, a free press, freedom of assembly, and it must lead to elections that are free and fair…That is my commitment," said Obama.

Obama’s speech, for a brief moment, sounded hawkish when he said, "I won't stand for this injustice; you will not stand for this injustice, and together we will stand up for freedom in Cuba. That will be my commitment as president of the United States of America," said Obama.

But, his message wasn’t new, Obama once again rolled out his fix-all remedy for America’s problems:  A sit-down with the enemy.  It’s doubtful that this will resonate much with the Cuban American old guard, but a trickle of the second and third generations of Cuban refugees are defecting from the GOP.  Meanwhile, the Cuban American vote is an important voting bloc; 70% of them voted in the last election.

Obama also gave us a preview of his future policies toward Latin America when he said he would be guided by "the simple principle that what's good for the people of the Americas, is good for the United States."

McCain offered a reply: "These steps would send the worst possible signal to Cuba's dictators…there is no need to undertake fundamental reforms, they can simply wait for a unilateral change in U.S. policy.”

Questions:

Should we have a sit-down with Castro? 

Should we normalize relations with Cuba?

What would we gain from such a normalization?

If we normalize relations with Cuba, what message will this send to the rest of Latin America?

Hollywood's War on our Children

There are many contributing causes to our current moral dilemma.  The family unit was pretty much intact prior to W.W.II, but after 1941 many housewives went to work in factories.  The majority of these wives continued working after the war was over, so thus was born the concept of the two income family.  It was now “normal” for both parents to work outside the home.  Americans began to trade family and child rearing time for consumer goods.  Thus began the erosion of the family unit.  It took only a couple of decades for this to become the American way of life.

Enter the age of television, which at first was beneficial in that it provided clean and wholesome programing.  We must remember that the current generation knows nothing of a television age where there were no curse words, the good guy always won, the government and the president were respected, and dramas and sitcoms had moral content.  Television began to change in the 1960s, when irreverence became revered. The Hollywood schlock meisters quickly discovered they could increase their ratings by making their programs more edgy, more titillating. Thus began the race to see who could air the raciest sitcoms.  Movies, also competing for the entertainment dollars, instituted their famous rating system for motion pictures.  The new rating system allowed them to ramp up the sex and violence, all under the guise of making Hollywood appear more responsible.

This was also the Vietnam War era, in which the prior rules of journalism were considered no longer valid.  Rancor, disrespect, and openly biased reporting became the norm.   Anything goes was now the rule.  The nightly news became “entertained.”  With the Vietnam War came the Hippies, who were the first generation of post war children born of parents who had traded their time with the  children for a bigger house and another car.  The Hippie generation didn’t have the quality upbringing that their fathers and mothers had.  They had more in terms of material goods (quantity), but not the quality upbringing that can only be given by spending time together.  Many of the latch key kids of that time spent hours in front of the television, hours spent soaking up what ever the Hollywood schlock meisters wanted to indoctrinate them with.

This irreverence, taught to them by Hollywood through movies and TV, quickly transferred to irreverence and a lack of respect for their teachers and public institutions.  Why not?  Not a day would go by, without television drumming this into their heads. 

The Hollywood schlock meisters did their most foul deed in the mid 1960s when they began to glorify drug usage in films and on television.  Their message was clear:  Drugs are OK.  Show those in authority how cool you are by using drugs.  Up yours, establishment!

Also growing out of the Hippie generation was that generation’s desire to have the greatest impact on our society.  They were smart enough to know that they could accomplish the most by taking over two professions:  1) Teaching and 2) journalism.  They knew if you control the minds of the young by indoctrinating them with one-world Marxism, these same kids would follow the party line when they become adults.  They also knew if they controlled the news media, they could control what adults think.  These young Hippies who entered teaching or journalism at the lowest levels in the ‘70s are the executives who run these professions, today.

Meanwhile, church attendance began to drop as mothers and fathers became too busy and too self-absorbed to attend.  This was fortified by something new in television, the questioning of the relevance of religion.
The scandals in the Catholic church and among the television evangelists didn’t help matters.

So, we have now arrived at where we are: High School dropouts are  at an all time high; teen pregnancy is at an all time high; drug use is at an all time high; violent crime would be at an all time high, but thanks to the three strikes laws, the hard core criminals are in the slammer.  Where do we start?

Questions:

Is it too late to turn this around?

Can Hollywood be influenced to produce wholesome movies?

Some of the top grossing movies are family movies; why aren’t there more?

Can TV networks be convinced to produce wholesome entertainment during prime time?

Can the FCC restrict programing content during prime time?

Where can pressure be applied to bring about a change in programing?

Should consumer boycotts of sponsor’s products be a part of this?

U.S. Congress Votes to Sue OPEC

The price of oil hit $133 today, but not to worry, our Congress is speeding to the rescue.  Their solution?  Sue OPEC.  The House of Representatives approved legislation by a wide bi-partisan margin that would allow the Justice Department to sue members of OPEC for conspiring to set the price of crude oil and for limiting oil supplies.  The bill would also create an energy task force within the Department of Justice to investigate energy manipulation.

The White House is opposed to the bill as it was with a previous version of the bill.  The Bush Administration says targeting OPEC investment in the U.S. would likely spur retaliatory action against American interests in those countries and lead to a reduction of oil available to U.S. refiners.  The OPEC investment is in U.S. oil refineries, but this investment has been in steady decline for several years.

The White House pointed out that less oil going to the refineries would limit available gasoline supplies, resulting in higher fuel prices.

It appears that Congress is seeking a quick fix to quell the anger of American voters, but they haven’t thought through the long-term consequences.  We are taking a BB gun to hunt Kodiak bear.  This bill, like the BB, will only enrage the bear, and that is bad news for the person with the BB gun.

Questions:

What can the U.S. gain by passing this bill?

How will the OPEC nations retaliate?

How will this affect our relations with Saudi Arabia and Kuwait?

Will an energy task force within the Justice Department be able to make any cases of price manipulation, if so against whom?

Will the OPEC nations be able to cut our supply of oil in that oil is a world commodity?

If OPEC retaliates, how will this affect the November elections?