ANOTHER EDITION OF "AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 OPINIONS.

• Pakistan.  Reduce our foreign aid...and improve our connection with India...until they get the message.
• Afghanistan.  Only our self-interest, if any, should guide our continued effective presence there.  Our current status there is a disgrace, based upon available information.
• Iran.  You know that they will get the Bomb, one way or the other, given their supporters.  Do you prefer them as a rogue nation with the Bomb or as a member of the "community of nations" with the Bomb?  That's the real choice...for Israel and for the world.
• Syria.  Help the rebels overthrow this ruthless government.  Then sit back and wait for the brick-bats to fly our way - as usual - until the Muslim World finds its soul.   
• Islam vs. fundamentalist Islam pretenders.  Only moderate Muslims can solve that problem, for themselves and for the world.  Meanwhile, I hope that someone is preparing contingency plans for the alternative. 
• Europe.  Still trying to have their cake and eat it too.  With this mind-set, they have not hit bottom yet.  Remember the Weimar Repubic?  And the sequel?
• Russia.  No change there.  A nation in transition, but which doesn't know it.  Still dangerous. 
• China. Inscrutable.  but she can be dealt with, at arms' length of course. 

REGARDING THE COMING ELECTION.

I have already noted that the country is so divided at this time that we need to have a clear winner in the Presidential race to avoid subsequent discord. 

Now comes another threat: the integrity of the electoral process. Voting has already begun in some States; and an estimated 30%+ of votes will have been cast before Election Day.  That is Insanity; and it amplifies the ignorance of so many voters in the recent generations.  Also worrisome is the resistance to voter identification - or should I say manipulation of the process of fair elections.  If the result of this Presidential election is cast in doubt, this Ship of State will be "in irons" for four years - and we will not be able to restore American greatness thereafter. 

People hear what you say, but remember what you do.

Maxine's best one!! No joke!

Minorities

I'm not talking about illegal Mexicans

~

I'm talking about our troops!

"LET THEM EAT CAKE".

Thus sayeth the Editorial Page Editor of The Day, also of French extraction, to the unruly peasants of New London, CT.  See "'Don't Care' Wins NL Budget Referendum", by Paul Choiniere in The Day Sunday, Sept. 23, 2012.  How dare they??  In this opinion, he is reportedly totally in agreement with King Daryl Finizio. 

So, that settles that!

This offering, and many others from the Editorial Staff of this otherwise very good newspaper, is in accord with the recent observations of Dorothy Rabinowitz (member of the WSJ editorial staff).  See "The Fourth Estate, Still Thrilling to The Spirit Of '08."  (WSJ Tuesday, Sept. 18, 2012, Opinion, pA17.

 George Sprecace, M.D., J.D., Sept. 25, 2012

What ESPN failed to show you Monday night

Important Question - Who were the advertisers?

Those who attended the game said it was extremely emotional to see the entire bowl of the stadium turn red, white and blue.  It took 90 workers two weeks to get all of the colored pages mounted under each seat.  Each piece of card board had eye slits in them so the fans could hold up the colored sheet and watch the game through the eye slits.

 Lambeau Field
This is what ESPN failed to show you Monday night, 
Apparently, they thought their commercials were more important than showing this scene for about 5 seconds.

SEE IF YOU CAN FIND ANY GOOD NEWS HERE.  IF YOU CAN'T...

WE NEED A CHANGE IN NOVEMBER.

• Once again, Teachers' Unions have shown their true colors.  Spare us the hypocracy about being "all about the kids".  It's all about job security at all costs, always guaranteeing seniority and mediocrity.  And that's where all unions and their politician toadies have gone astray.  The National Labor Relations Act guarantees the right to bargain for salary and conditions of employment.  It provides neither legal right nor guarantee regarding job security...which is and should be a management prerogative.  The Teachers' Unions remain the greatest impediment to reform of our failed Public Education "system". 
• I have already addressed the Middle East cauldron and this Administration's surrender there...and actually a rout in Afghanistan.  Please see the recent article on the subject by Charles Krauthammer. 

FOREIGN POLICY: OBAMA'S "STRONG SUIT"??

This laughable assertion is a clear sign of how much the Rupublican challenge for the Presidency is in disarray.  America is neither liked nor respected nor feared, by "friends" and foes alike...all the direct result of the Obama policy of "Speak Softly and Turn The Other Cheek".  Three most recent examples include the loss of the "Arab Spring", our handling of the Iran threat and the related fight with Israel - with whom we are joined at the hip.  Now comes the continuing insult of Afghanistan, where Obama's policies have resulted in continuing loss of men and materiel - not through battle but through treachery by those to whom we continue to give massive aid.  This is idiocy and recklessness. 

And yet, Mitt Romney and the "Republicans", whoever they are, sit there with their thumb in their mouth.  REMEMBER THIS, FOLKS: I FOR ONE PREFER A CLEAR AND DEFINED OPPONENT - LIKE OBAMA AND COMPANY - TO A VACUOM OF LEADERSHIP, IF THAT IS THE ONLY CHOICE THE "REPUBLICANS" CAN OFFER. 

"JUST THE FACTS, MA'AM.  JUST THE FACTS".       

CRAZIES COME IN ALL SHAPES AND STYLES.

The person or persons, whether fundamentalist Christians or Jews or Muslims, who are partly responsible for the current world-wide attacks on America, display a deep ignorance for the issues involved regarding the Muslim world.  Our only hope to avoid World War 3 / the next Crusade is to embolden and enable moderate Muslims to attack the fundamentalist crazies in their midst.  Those "fundamentalist Muslims" are not at all followers of the tenets of Muhammed or of their other prophets; Jesus and Abraham.  They are rather standard issue despots who wish to enslave true Muslims as well as "non-believers", Americans or otherwise.  This is a critical distinction that must be articulated by Muslims and non-Muslims alike, rather than by hiding behind the paralyzing politically correct approach of failing to talk about this. 

It must begin with official Washington foreign policy - and it must begin now - taking the place of a feckless policy that has resulted in America being neither liked or respected or feared. And such a policy shift would not involve drones or boots on the ground or another sailing of the "Great White Fleet" of the late 1800's.  It could be done by punishing financially all of those many parties, allies, "non-allies" and enemies who continue to receive American financial support regardless of their actions contrary to American self-interest.  They would quickly get the message.  If not, then we would implement our basic right of pre-emptive self-defense by whatever means necessary. 

The Right Politics

This past week, “2016: The Movie” about President Barack Obama opened in the Chicago area, and I chose to get more of an education about Obama by seeing the movie. After the inundation of canned hype for the movie on conservative talk shows across the Chicago radio dial that sounded more like commercials than honest endorsements of the movie, I was skeptical of what I was going to see.

While some talk show hosts sounded like they were genuinely impressed with the documentary and honestly endorsing the film, there were those who were obviously reading a commercial script which was not coming across as sincere to the regular listener – at least not to this often-skeptical listener. Perhaps, in future promotions of the film, it would be wise to have pre-recorded commercials done by the professional commercial-makers rather than having the likes of Mark Levin and Sean Hannity doing script after script to promote the movie. After all, the listeners aren’t stupid and resent any attempt at being conned. After many reads by the talk show hosts, the readings of the commercial script were no more enthusiastic than another Life-Lock commercial read – another commercial that ought to be professionally done.

Yet, I’m glad I saw the hyped-film because it was more informative than I had thought it would be and included less propaganda than I had predicted. If anything, it was nearly too informative as there was an enormous amount of information condensed into the nearly one-hour-and-a-half documentary. Fact after fact is put forth which shows that President Obama definitely has many skeletons in the closet that have not been released prior to the nation’s trust in him with the Oval Office.

To watch this movie and realize – or simply be reminded of – all that is unknown about President Obama is of concern. Much of the information has been ignored by the American media totally. When appropriately reminded as to what is still unknown about Obama to date, one has to ask: How can any logical-thinking person give a damn about Romney’s taxes while not asking any questions regarding our current President’s past? The man influences the entire globe, but liberal Americans want to know how much Mitt Romney paid in taxes in the past rather than learn about the man who they have entrusted with the country. Unbelievable.

The movie undeniably links Obama to persons of suspicious-interest due to their past actions and statements, such as former radical activist and Chicago educator Bill Ayers. While the media and blinded-liberals cast such facts aside, the movie does not. No, this portion of the movie is not propaganda – it is the display of factual information about relationships between people that cannot be denied. Yet, the “left” does deny the facts that are right in front of them.

Quite disturbing is the talk of the United States economy in the film. The current national debt which has increased two-fold during Obama’s presidency and the horrendous economy is suggested to be part of the plan to strip the nation of democracy – reasonable cause to make citizens totally dependent on the government. The “left” is aghast at this suggestion of the current economy. They actually believe that Obama is unintelligent enough to let this economy just happen. Ironically, it’s many of the people on the “right” who know Obama’s not stupid, and much of what has happened to the United States in the past four years is part of Obama’s plan.

How could one so-highly educated and intelligent as Obama not know what he was doing when he incurred such debt? I left the movie thinking more strongly than I had in the past that the current debt and this economy was part of Obama’s plan all along. Increasingly making Americans dependent on the government is the plan. What’s more, he knew his blind followers would believe it was not the plan and, of course, was all Bush’s fault.

He must be laughing at his blind followers all the way to the “new America” they’re allowing him to create. My belief is that Obama continues to prey on his die-hard followers’ stupidity to accomplish his personal goals for America.

The most disturbing part of the film to me was the interview with President Obama’s half-brother George Obama from Nairobi, Kenya. How can Obama claim to want to help people when he has done absolutely nothing for his own family? It makes me wonder if he really cares about anybody if he can’t find it in his heart to help his own family.

As the closing credits started to role upward across the screen, the audience applauded. Me, I just walked out – reasonably upset.

ACTION AND REACTION...

As I have already observed in this section recently, this election season has focused all media outlets on important stories, rather than on providing the usual tripe for the entertainment...rather than the enlightenment...of their public.  That's doubly good news, since it provides easy opportunities for cross-reading, vital to getting a clear picture of what's going on. 

Whatever you read on  a regular basis, my advice is that daily review of the Wall Street Journal is a critical antidote to the routinely slanted output of the very liberal main media.  The following articles, found in just one edition of the WSJ (Friday, Sept. 7, 2012)  provide just one example of the scope, depth and insight offered on many subjects far afield from Finances.  To these, I will add my opinion. 

1. "Stirring Up The Melting Pot", pA3.  Without mentioning New London, Ct., this describes what is going on in many of our smaller cities: an exploding diversity of residents...a healthy although often challenging development. 
2. "The Shale Revolution: What Could Go Wrong?" (pB1).  Evidentally, a great deal. 
3. "France Is Still Waiting For Hollande" (pA15).  Talk about "putting lipstick on a pig".  The Socialist disaster called France is starting to have "buyer's remorse" over its recently purchased socialist President.  There is a clear lesson here for Americans as we approach our own moment of decision over the nation's direction. 
4. "Transformers 2" (pA14).  A valuable executive summary on Barack Obama.  "Obama was honest when he said he wanted to remake America".  This should be read in context with the latest offering of that great favorite of mine, Charles Krauthammer: "Empathy Gap Keeps Obama's Hope Alive", in The Day (www.theday.com) Saturday, Sept. 8, 2012, pA6.
5. "Record Thaw In The Arctic, Greenland" (pA2).  Talk about "the canary in the mine".