The Obam-"duh" Doctrine, Ctd...

All the way back in December of 2009, President Obama received the Nobel Peace prize and I noted that conservatives were stunned that the President would advocate for the use of force in defense of this country and in limited times when the humanitarian call for action was too great. And I said way back then, that this was unveiling of the Obama doctrine. And I was right.

President Obama proved last night that he's a man of his word. He does not oppose the use of military force but he understands that military force alone cannot, and we as a country cannot, force political change. We can create conditions where mass violence is minimized, but we cannot through our military might form a brand new government for a country out of whole cloth. And for god sakes, we don't need to save the whole world by ourselves! It's OK to ask friends for some help. One of my favorite quotes during the 2004 Presidential campaign, John Kerry mused regarding Iraq, "Mr. President, it's not leadership if no one is following."

Some conservatives and liberals argue that by imposing the "no-fly zone" implicitly calls for regime change. I disagree. We are not taking part in a civil war. We are merely making it a fair fight. We have removed Gaddaffi's ability to attack from the air (which is imprecise and kills more civilians) and limited his ability to use mass artillery.  The Obama Doctrine is essentially limited strategic force with a cooperative massive effort on the diplomatic end to ensure foreign policy goals. Last night, the President essentially said "Gaddaffi must go, but we don't have to kill him for that to happen." After the sobering lesson of Iraq, we've learned that the U.S. Armed Forces are really good at blowing stuff up. They are not good at making a government for a foreign country.

Meanwhile, France and the U.K. are taking the reins, because this is in their backyard and the conflict is a more vital interest to them. We are also supplying our high tech know-how with radar jamming and other advanced rescue capability.

I think it's a pretty sensible policy. We will stop mass murder where and when we can. We are in the business of stopping things from happening not making things happening. The military is responsible for destructive capability and constructive capability will be the purview of our state department and diplomatic efforts in the region, which by definition, includes partners willing to help and help pay for those shared goals.

The era of the superpower died in 1990 and really died on September 11, 2001. With actual threats that are so defuse and varied, no one nation will be able to fight it all by itself. The new era requires cooperation with friends and allies, which happens to be the best for security and fiscally. And if working with our friends is called weakness by some conservatives, than so be it. I'd rather have a stronger America that looks weak than a weak America that pretends to be strong.

It's only a war if we stay...

Although I'm a bit apprehensive about the No-Fly Zone in Libya (which I think is ultimately the right decision), I think as long as we leave the job to our NATO allies Britain and France I'm fine with it.

That's the benefit of having a strong Europe. It means that the U.S. doesn't need to police the whole world anymore. They bitched and moaned about what arrogant bullies we were in Iraq - and they were right - but now they get to take care of a mess and be responsible for cleaning it up. This new world order will allow "The Great Satan" to save some Arab and African lives (a two-fer!) and then sit on the couch for the hard part.

Just think of the economic benefit of having the U.S. Armed Forces single-handedly underwriting your entire regional security. Sorry Europe, we have our own country to rebuild.

Go U Northwestern! Break right through that line...

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Ah, Dr. Michael Bailey's Human Sexuality class, which this li'l Ernie got an A in. Celebrating crossing the line as always.

By the way, this fight song has "you might see a sex demonstration after class" written ALL over it. Come on people, we're the WILDcats not the LAMEcats. Cue the music!

The Republican Jobs Congress

1st order of business, set up the rules. 2nd order of business, repeal healthcare bill. 3rd order of business, redefine rape?

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Every time Republicans run for Congress, they promise to focus on jobs, jobs, jobs. But what they always really do is focus on culture war, culture war, culture war. Remember everyone, the REAL problem facing this country is not systemically high unemployment, it's that women who are date-raped shouldn't be able to use their pre-tax federal flexible spending account (FSA) for their abortion.

The Next President of the United States

...2016 style coming back to TV for a 2nd Season. You heard it here first. Mayor Cory Booker of Newark (the next President), just kicking butt and taking names. Bam!



For a little background, Cory Booker pretty much worked his butt off to drop the crime rate in Newark and under his leadership the city had its first month without a murder in 44 years.

What he said...

Every now and again (only rarely ;) I find someone who's punditry work is better than my own. Need to Know co-anchor Jon Meacham easily meets that bar in this video column. Amen brother. What he said...

Watch the full episode. See more Need To Know.

On the Right's worship and eroticization of guns in America

"My countdown: No one read this! Jizz stain" - Jared Loughner

This is the last thing Jared Loughner wrote on his MySpace page before the shooting. It was the caption for the image of the ammunition clip extension he had purchased online which would enable him to shoot 30 bullets instead of the cartridge's initial capacity of 15.



I wanted my first post of 2011 to be on a happy or funny note. But unfortunately, due to the combination of my procrastination and the events that happened in Tucson, Arizona last weekend, it has to begin on a serious one. Before I start my post which attempts to think some things through, I want to start out with some ground rules for discussion.

1. The attempted assassination of Representative Giffords (D-AZ) was ultimately NOT politically motivated. Jared Loughner is a psychopath.

2. The tea party, Sarah Palin, the Republican party, and the NRA are in no way responsible for the deaths and injuries of the victims. The responsibility alone falls upon Mr. Loughner.

3. The tea party, Sarah Palin, and the Republican party ARE responsible for heated and violent political rhetoric that portrays moderate policies like Romneycare and some sort of immigration compromise as leading towards the apocalyptic collapse of this nation and its democracy. (As a leader, Sarah Palin should apologize for her irresponsible "gun sights" congressional PAC advertisement and Joe Manchin (D-WV) should apologize for this ad shooting the cap and trade bill as well).

4. The Democratic Party is also responsible for heated rhetoric and the demonization of those across the aisle. In many ways, the Democratic Party invented the practice at the Supreme Court nomination hearings of Robert Bork, and our nation and its political dialogue is worse off because of it.

5. This is NOT an isolated event. Just as the rough framework of religious ideology provided the environs for the deranged mind for the Fort Hood shooter, Nadal Hassan, political ideology provided the cultural ether for Loughner's mind to operate in.

I would argue that our main problem is the ether of the Right's worship and eroticization of guns and gun culture.  When I talk about the Right, I'm not talking about a political party or political ideology but the elements in generic American cultural Right that sees the 2nd Amendment as the Amendment that defends all the others and the sole reason our Republic survives.  (Liberals tend to view the 1st Amendment as the primary right that defends all others) 

I've used guns.  For me, it's fun to shoot at targets and I understand families who hunt for tradition.  I know people who own guns and 99% of the people that own guns use them properly and with respect.  However, the Right's worship and eroticization of guns combined with the paranoia that Government is not only negligent toward its citizenry but actively out to get them and take away their freedom is a dangerous mix.  Remember, for some on the Right, the TRUE definition of the 2nd Amendment is to protect U.S. citizens not from a simple break-in, or even from a foreign invasion, but from their own tyrannical United States government as Tom Tancredo (R-CO) said, "Mr. Obama is a more serious threat to America than Al Q'aida."

What this country needs is for both political parties to tone down their own heated rhetoric and stand up forcefully against rhetoric that goes too far, or is too explicit in its imagery a la Sharron Angle's "Second Amendment remedies" comment.

We also need to enact common sense gun laws that allow our citizenry full access to their constitutional right to own a firearm while enforcing reasonable restrictions against assault rifles and advanced weaponry as well as new regulatory mechanisms to weed out potentially mentally ill customers of guns and ammunition.

Your thoughts are not only appreciated but encouraged.

And allow yourself to enjoy the Little Britain clip...it is funny.  There'd be fewer Jared Loughner's if we all laughed at ourselves a bit more.