Apparent License to Challenge The United States

It was Vice President Biden who was prescient when he said that during the first six months of the Obama Administration that America’s enemies would challenge the new President because of his lack of foreign policy experience. I am not one of those conservatives who will fault our new president for such a dearth of experience because Bush, Clinton, Carter, and Ronald Reagan also lacked foreign policy experience. Instead, I take issue with the naïveté of President Obama in his dealings with these rogue states. Unlike the Europeans who are taken in by our president speeches, our usual despots are not moved. It seems that since President Obama took office, America’s enemies are having a field day taking license to challenge us in matters of our interests. Even in matters not wholly in the foreign policy realm, for example, the Somali pirate situation, the Obama Administration seemed hesitant, notwithstanding the eventual positive outcome--of more import are The North Koreans, the Iranians, and Hugo Chavez. To be fair, none of the recent administrations seem to know how to deal with the North Koreans-the Clinton and recent Bush Administrations failed miserably to deal with our Napoleonic Complex despot. The only solution is to cut off necessities to the North by asking the Chinese to intercede on our behalf-not that I expect the Chinese to do anything to help without prodding. We have the prod by letting the Chinese know that if they do not reign in their proxy, then we would have to spread the nuclear genie in that area of the world, a scenario the Chinese are adamantly against. This would mean arming South Korea, Japan, and Singapore; I do not know how effective this would be in light of the fact that the Chinese owns most of our debt. As for the Iranians, we have been given an opening with the recent uprising among the Iranian young for Democracy-this will not be an easy task, but overthrowing the Mullahs can be had. As a boy, I read in Time magazine how Pope John Paul and President Reagan, assisted with faxes, helped bring down the Soviet Union by supporting Les Walesa in Poland—we have heard how the advent of similar technologies (Facebook and Twitter) helped the students in Iran. We must foster these advents to support and hopefully get the same outcome like Reagan and the Pope had in Poland and eventually the crumbling of the then Soviet Union. I do not worry much about Hugo Chavez, but perhaps I should. It may be prudent to bribe neighboring friendly countries or call it what you may and place troops in these neighboring countries as a check to Chavez’s aims. Moreover, because of Venezuela’s proximity, it should be rather easy to be privy to Intelligence and being able to place assets which would assist us if there are any dire threats coming from Hugo. In addition, economically we could drill and lessen our dependence on oil imported from Chavez, but with the Democratic Party, on this particular issue, they value animals than the blood spill in wars to secure the black gold. It is a given that good will among the races cannot be legislated nor can peace be had by good intention speeches emanating from the presidential bully pulpit….

-Verily Prime

Obama’s Universal Health-Scare?

It is laudable to want to provide everyone with health care, but some of us are wary thinking that it will turn out like everything else that the Federal Government operates; examples, the Post Office and Amtrak. We must confess that we are ambivalent about the apparent coming changes in our health care system; case in point, notwithstanding what was said earlier about the government’s atrocious record in running things, we are salivating seeing the insurance companies complaining and sweating about having to compete with the Feds to provide services. The genuine sob stories are legion about many a small businesses and individuals who have felt the cold and callous decisions made by risk managers who were operating from the insurance companies’ mandate to maximize profits at all costs. Now, it seems like poetic justice to hear the insurance companies wined about having to compete with the Feds; they are suffering from what happens to monopolies and predatory institutions that meet the king of the business jungle-monopolies run by governmental bureaucracies. Another aspect of President’s Obama plan is the diminution of the status doctors will now hold in our society. If we are about to emulate the health care system in Canada and the United Kingdom where the doctors are paid like lower middle class citizens, then our doctors here must get accustomed to the profession being not as prestigious as it is now. The question is what doctor wants to make the pay his or her counterpart makes in Europe or Canada? And what of the half a million or so it cost to study at a decent medical school-will the expenses be curtailed or will there be incentives available to entice our brightest to enter the medical field? Members of Verily Prime are intimately familiar with the universal medical care offered in England because they have three uncles residing in the United Kingdom and have heard them berate many aspects of the health care system there. Our uncles refrain have always been the “wait” and what is tantamount to “rationing” of the services provided under England’s universal medicine-we are hoping that those aspects are not part of Obama’s version of universal health care, which seem to be imminent.

-Verily Prime

Hot Dog Diplomacy

There have been many forms of diplomacy from Kissinger’s shuttle diplomacy, which resulted in the Camp David peace accord between Israel and Egypt to the pending “Hot Dog” diplomacy planned by the Obama Administration scheduled for this coming Fourth of July. Peace is always a noble goal so I will not comment on the merits of extending an olive branch to the mullahs, especially since it has been a generation since the USA has had normal relations with the Persian state. Moreover President Obama may have legitimate reasons for being circumspect—critics say timid—for his conspicuous tempered support for the opposition’s clarion calls to throw out the results of what they deemed as tainted. It is reported that the previous Bush Administration made a deal with the Iranian Mullahs to keep one of their proxies, Muqtada AL Sadr, from wreaking havoc in neighboring Iraq-apparently many of the roadside bombing which caused much of our casualties in Iraq were carried out by Sadr’s militia. If this is true, I cannot and will not fault President Obama for acting on the behalf of the brave men and women fighting in the Iraqi theatre. If on the other hand this is not so, then it would look rather bad that the Germans and the British were more vocal than the USA in their support for the democratic process, which was the brain child of our heritage. Sometimes image is everything and President Obama does not want the lasting image borne out of his “Hot Dog” diplomacy--think of Neville Chamberlain holding in his hand the peace document he had signed with Hitler--of diplomats representing the blood stained hands of the mullahs taking part in our reverent celebration of the Democracy process on the Fourth of July.

-Verily Prime

Persian Saplings of Democracy

Over two thousand years ago, Alexander The Great sought and succeeded in having his men interbreed with what we know now as the Iranians so that to quell rebellion for his conquering of the Persian Empire. As I write, the seeds of Democracy are sprouting in Iran and the saplings need the support of their big brother to survive--that Oak of a tree known as the United States. We are witnessing an attempt in Iran by mostly students to have a revolution borne out of Democracy; the USA should be proud to see many of the students holding signs beseeching the United States for moral support, while being beaten and even killed. The powers that be in Washington should be wishing for the Iranian students success because, like me, they too should be having Geo-political dreams of grandeur. If the students succeed, we may see the petro funds cut off from Hezbollah, one of the Mullahs most lethal surrogates, who have wrought havoc in the Lebanon, Judea, and Samaria. The Mullahs have even sought to influence affairs in our hemisphere-note the recent visits by Amadinajad to Venezuela’s Chavez. Think of the possibilities of both Iran and Iraq being governed by Democratic principles and not having the internecine blood letting between Sunnis and Shiites, which have cultivated their respective soils. Democratic rule in Iran might keep the nuclear genie bottled up and preclude the nuclear arms race that would surely ensue if Iran were to go Nuclear. Because of the ingrained hatred between Sunnis and Shiites due to the dispute in succession to the Caliphate--their version of the Trinity--there is no trust between them to let one side have Nuclear weapons. If Iran goes Nuclear then Egypt and Saudi Arabia will want Nuclear weapons to balance the power in the region. It is an opened secret that it is the Sunnis--Egypt and Saudi Arabia—that want America and even the Israelis to prevent the Iranians (Shiites) from attaining the Bomb. I have laid out the Geo-political reasons--notwithstanding that we should always give moral support to anyone who are seeking to emulate our form of government--why we must support the saplings of Democracy sprouting in Iran. To paraphrase Winston Churchill, Democracy is not perfect, but it is the best among the many forms of government we have….

-Verily Prime

A Policy Posture Imitating Art

Everyone who has deigned to read this blog knows that the members of Verily prime have little interest in anything that the Hollywood idiot savants have to offer to the political discourse-however, we are making an exception. In the movie ”The Untouchables,” Sean Connery, in his only Oscar winning role, plays a cop who is working for Kevin Costner who is playing Elliot Ness. In a pivotal scene in the movie, Connery tells Costner who is battling Al Capone played by Robert Dinero, “That if he (Al Capone) send one of yours to the hospital, you (Elliot Ness) must send one of his to the morgue.” We have a pigmy with a Napoleon Complex in North Korea threatening our West Coast and many of our enemies hiding out in caves threatening our way of life. These enemies have threatened us with nuclear annihilation and all pundits from either side of the political spectrum have said it is only a matter of time before we are hit with a nuclear bomb. Because I live in New York I am probably in the cross hairs since a hit on New York would be symbolic of destroying the heart of the capitalist system-some would say that the current administration is doing that already, but I digress. It should be our conspicuous posture that any country or surrogate who hit us with any weapon of mass destruction would feel the wrath of the God of the Old Testament. Like Sean Connery in “The Untouchables,” if you hit New York, we should take out that entire country. I have often thought that this should be Israel’s posture too, which means that if any of her enemies wishing to push her into the sea, that they too should be in Israel’s nuclear cross hairs. These enemies of America are no different from the bullies we faced in school--mine was Collin Manning who would beat me and interrupt my game of Cricket. I was fourteen when a boy named Bevis Hutchinson manned up and beat the crap out of Collin. We must persevere and willing to exact a punishment fitting of Sean Connery’s advice to Kevin Costner. Incidentally, I am told that Collin Manning is now a fire and brimstone preacher in the Bronx.

-Verily Prime

Blasphemy From The Left

It was something you never thought would happen during your life time, if ever; an apt example would be like seeing country and western female performers having black men as lovers in their videos. In recent days, there has been actual criticism of President Obama coming from, of all places, the left of the Democratic Party. From Bill Maher to a prominent member of the liberal San Francisco Chronicle newspaper--both have done the unthinkable and criticized the anointed one (President Obama). Maher critique had to do with President Obama not getting anything substantive done and his penchant for being seen on television. The Chronicle editor opined about how in the tank the general press has been in not objectively critiquing the Obama Administration. The same cult of personality that has over taken us when we deal with celebrities has devolved on our current president. The left of the Democratic Party will tell you it is because President Obama has not lived up to his promises to close “Gitmo” and for not prosecuting the Iraqi war to a full end, and therefore summarily bringing the troops home. The members of Verily Prime are more cynical as to the reasons why the left is engaging in blasphemy against President Obama: We think it has to do with all the talk of increase in taxes. As much as these lefties talk about universal healthcare and the like, they dread paying the taxes that will be needed because they lack the courage of their convictions. Take a look at many celebrities from England; many of these celebrities will confess that they don’t live there because of the burdensome taxes inflicted on them by the country of the Union Jack. Perhaps many of these lefties can move to the West Indies and still maintain their courage of their convictions without resorting to blasphemy against President Obama. Don’t fret Bill Maher, all deities have the power of forgiveness-oops, I almost forgot, Bill Maher is an avowed atheist….

-Verily Prime

GOD Seems To Have A Personal Vendetta Against Al Gore

Yesterday, it snowed in neighboring New Jersey; normally, this would be a non issue, but because of the time of year and the hoopla and unfounded predictions propagated by the environmentalist folks about “climate change,” it merited mention. The inclement weather in Jersey confirmed to me that God has a personal vendetta against Al Gore because it seems that every time Gore comes to Washington to advocate on behalf of Mother Earth, there is a deluge. I will confess that I know little about climate change and it supposedly many man made causes; I will also confess that even if I did know, I would not place much credence into the science surrounding t he current secular religion that is “Global Warming.” When I was a boy, many of the leading scientists of the day predicted that there was a coming ice age. There was actual consensus among many of these leading scientists on the issue of the imminent ice age--many of these scientists are still alive today, but Verily Prime do not know if they are now advising Al Gore. No doubt, Al Gore will still peddle the “Global Warming” dogma while making a killing, but I on the other hand will still be trying to acclimatize my life style for the coming ice age. I know many of the environmentalist loons would brand me as an apostate for not walking in lockstep with Gore’s position about the environment, but a fitting penance would be to force the members of Verily Prime to listen or read Al Gore’s book on the subject matter--I could here the whispers now, “they are such Philistines….”

-Verily Prime

In Support of Wal-Mart

I was watching one of the financial channels reporting that Wal-Mart will be employing over 22,000 people in the near future; it further reported that the stigma, unbeknownst to me, of shopping at Wal-Mart was no longer prevalent due to the current recession. I supposed those of us who were not born on the equivalent of base ball’s “home base” or who’ve yet to remove the corrosion from the spoon we were born with, are mostly ignorant of such a stigma. The point I want to address is that I will never understand the animus generated towards Wal-Mart; it is an American company employing many and bringing affordable supplies to the masses. Wal-Mart’s critics say that its behemoth structures adversely affect the surrounding environment, stifle competition, and prevent union shops. There is an elitist, paternalistic streak that is evident when these critics address those who are employed at Wal-Mart. As for the environment, perhaps, we need to see the same amount of “green jobs” provided to match Wal-Mart’s. The critics of Wal-Mart always seem to speak in theory, offering no empirical evidence to support the findings of these theories--If you are going to bash Wal-Mart, you in turn must replace it with whatever it is that is so enticing and attractive to shop at Wal-Mart. I do not subscribe all the way to the Darwinist take on economic survival, but the difference in prices for food and especially medication is palpable for the typical consumer who shops at Wal-Mart. I have empathy for the “mom and pop” outlets which are competing with Wal-Mart, but it is hard to ignore what Wal-Mart adds to a given city: jobs, cheap food, clothing, and the attendant taxes from employment, payroll, and otherwise. For Wal-Mart’s critics, give us alternatives, augmented by empirical evidence, to support your findings of the supposedly negative influences Wal-Mart have on a given area. As for now, I will continue to laud the jobs, the consumer staples that are cost effective, and the cheap medication Wal-Mart provide for the poor and elderly….

-Verily Prime

The Imperial Presidency

To our shame many of us were quiet when the employees of AIG were asked to give back the monies negotiated in legitimate contracts; moreover, when their wives and children were being threatened. What was their crime? They had the gall to sign contracts which allowed them to be paid generous salaries and perks. No contractual conditional language was involved in the contracts for these AIG employees to give back the fruits of the contract, but many politicians and members of the public wanted the employees to give them back. We are now repeating that same moral indolence when we sit quietly by while bond holders of GM are relegated to second class citizens, while the union members are given primacy. In the same vein, we now have a pay Czar who will tell private companies via presidential fiat, what they can pay their CEOs. This is happening under a president who claims to respect the rule of law--it is even more grating because Obama was a Constitutional Law professor. There are members in his administration and many in his party, if they had their way, would have Cheney incarcerated, not for any malfeasance vis-à-vis his stewardship of Halliburton, but for sanctioning water boarding of stone cold killers. These same champions of the rule of law have nothing to say while President Obama cast aside codified contractual law principles that have been part of our way of government for over 230 years. Perhaps it is the Christian in me, but President Obama should place himself in others shoes. Our president recently signed a $5,000,000 contract to write a book; I supposed he will put pen to paper sometime in 2012 or 2016 to write his memoirs. Let us supposed that his popularity ratings are not as high as they are now, should the publisher take back some of the millions, if the contract is lacking this “conditional” language? Our president’s wife had a position at hospital in Chicago hospital that paid her $300,000, should the hospital board be able to come back and arbitrarily ask for money back-again, without the contractual language support? I have searched to find a similar time in history to compare what it is we are now facing, but I only could come with one similar epoch. In ancient Rome, when the Republic was threatened, the Patricians (wealthy class) and the Plebeians (common folks) would agree to allow a dictator to take charge and combat the outside threat and then return the Republic to the Senate when the danger was gone--I supposed the recession is our outside threat threatening Rome (USA) . Does anyone believe that the pay Czar, who was a lawyer, wanted someone to determine his generous pay at the prestigious white shoe law firm where he came from? Do we think President Obama via his pay Czar, will tell Lebron James, Derik Jeter, Alex Rodriguez, Tiger Woods, Tom Cruise, Will Smith, Bruce Springsteen, how much they should earn for their respective vocations? Perhaps, we will get a better clue when and if Obama’s pay Czar determines what the Green Bay packers should pay its quarterback, after all, it is the only football team that is owned by the public….

-Verily Prime

The Utility of Having Informants in Muslim Mosques

Sammy, the Bull, Gravano brought down the Gotti crime empire in New York; many parishioners have informed the FBI on financial malfeasance on the part of their respective preachers; and many priests were implicated because of the laity coming forward and reporting pedophilia. I conveyed these examples to show that where there is crime, the authorities must investigate and no group should be immune. FBI Mueller has been addressing and defending the utility of placing informants into Mosques because many of the Muslim authorities vehemently disagree. How many plots were started and thwarted because of informants alerting the authorities of the ongoing plots to murder innocents, especially in Europe. What makes the mosques in America so different? Did'nt Jim Bakker, an evangelical and many others were brought to justice for running afoul of the law due to members informing the authorities of wrong doing? W e are conscious of the First Amendment’s mandate which protects privileges to worship and the like, but again, this right is not unqualified. If this logic were to be employed whereby no informants were allowed in mosques in this country, then plots and schemes done under the auspices of a religious institution would be rampant, notwithstanding the caveat that most mosques have worshippers who simply gather to worship their god. On a personal note, on any given Sunday, 10:15 a.m. to be exact, the authorities are invited to the church where members of Verily Prime worship and give formal “shout-outs” to the Christ.…

-Verily Prime

Calling Good, Bad and Bad, Good

The Washington Times reported that he had performed over 60,000 abortions, most of them late term, when he was gunned down in his church-his name was Dr. Tiller. A few hours after Tiller’s death, the White House sent out a press release, underscoring what a loss he was to the country. Two days later, a young man probably awoke, used the bathroom, showered, and shaved; he then probably checked his uniform, probably by using a cigarette lighter to burn off any thread stragglers and gave his Patton leather shoes the once over before donning the uniform. That young man went out to help recruit young men and women to serve in this nation’s armed forces when he was gunned down-his name was Pvt. William Long-some three days later, at the behest of conservative talk radio, the White House issued a press release akin to that of Dr. Tiller’s. No one is asking for equity in reporting the news, but this disparity was even more egregious in the press where Tiller was and is paraded as the hero doctor--but you’ll be hard pressed to hear or rea d the same about Pvt. Long. Concerning Tiller, you’ll also hear that he was murdered by a fanatic, which is true, but the media have done their best to down play that Long’s killer travelled to Yemen, where he was indoctrinated in hatred, came back and murdered Pvt. Long. We are told that Long was murdered because of America’s alleged murders of Muslims around the world. I know many a Muslim enclaves: Brooklyn, New York, Patterson, New Jersey, and Detroit, Michigan, where there is peace like a valley. There is a part of me that feels no sorrow for Dr. Tiller, but there is another part which is the spirit of Christ in me, and alas, that latter part of me takes precedence in how I live my life. I am also reminded that Dr. Tiller had a wife and children and no matter how sickening I thought his medical practice was, I must have respect for his loved ones left behind. I sincerely thank Pvt. Long for his service to his country and my condolences to his family. In the Book of Isaiah, the prophet warned us that the time will come when we will call “good,” bad, and “bad,” good; the time is nigh….

-Verily Prime

Our Constitution is Not Suicidal

All last week, the blogs were buzzing that some elements of the left wing of the Democratic Party were in the nascent stages of preparing a case against President Obama for the continued use of drones to kill members of Al Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Their position is that innocents, including children, are unjustly killed in our efforts to combat terrorism. This is so, but you will seldom find anyone involved in these missions who take any pleasure in knowing that sometimes innocents are lost in carrying out the objective; and it also doesn’t dull the senses because these innocents are deemed collateral damages-Moreover, this is the nature of war. If we were to follow the logic of these elements of the Democratic Party, then we would have to disinter the body of Churchill, who, during World War 11, sanctioned the relentless bombing of Germany’s Dresden; we would have to dig up Harry Truman for the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; and President Ronald Reagan too for killing Kaddafi’s daughter when the USA bombed Libya for the killing of its soldiers in the German discotheque. The often spoken adage that one cannot cry fire in a crowded theatre, notwithstanding that the Constitution’s First Amendment gives one the right to do so, is not a carte blanche unqualified right of free speech. The same goes with the current posture of those who would prevent the President from using one of our most effective weapons against the Jihadists. Many lives were lost for the current rights we now enjoy under our cherish Constitution, but those rights must never be used to make it suicidal. Approximately two years or so, some terrorists were asked what country would they prefer to live in-ironically, a vast majority of them chose the United States. Perhaps these United States were chosen because of the amenities our cherish Constitution afford-of course, we, along with our surveyed terrorists, must be alive to enjoy said amenities….

-Verily Prime.

Geo Politics Borne Out of The Stockholm Syndrome

President Obama is about to embark on a Middle East tour and we are told that he will give an important speech, supposedly about our mutual interest with the Arab world. All I ask of our president is not to apologize to the Arabs for what America has done and continues to do in the world, and moreover, not to genuflect to the Saudi Princes. Our president in the past has apologized to Europe and those ungrateful bastards ate it up. Every Hegemon from the Roman Empire to the Ottoman was envied for its influence and engendered unwarranted criticism. It is the nature of being the “top dog” and the same was true then as it is now—America have nothing to apologize to the Arab world for. There have been literally trillion s of “petro dollars” that were poured into the coffers of many of these countries, and still the people have nothing to show for it. Take a look at the Nobel laureates or inventors of the last century, and you will seldom find that any of these men or women were from that part of the world--no allocations from all that oil revenues seem to find its way into education endeavors, but the constant refrain is always the “Great Satan’s” fault for all their ills. A little research starting from the Carter Administration to the present will show the hundred of millions that have been given as aid to the Arab world, yet the hatred for the United States is still unrelenting. Some of us have taken on the Stockholm syndrome and blaming America--and specifically the last eight years of the Republican Administration--for the recent spate of terroristic acts against us. Lest we forget, The U.S.S Cole, The Kobar Towers, The Embassies in East Africa, the Bali night club bombings, and the first World Trade Center explosions-all happened under Bill Clinton’s presidency. These people do not care who is in office, and even a president who shares a partial heritage with them will not engender any love. I recalled that Arafat died leaving $900 millions in various accounts, much of that money was given to him by us for his people; yet, when 911 happened, the Palestinians authorities gave out candies to the children, who then went out to the streets of the West Bank shouting, “Ali Akbar.” A few years later in America, some innocent looking Arab school girls in Patterson, New Jersey, went on the program “Sixty Minutes,” essentially justifying the 911 attacks. I have a friend who reads this blog and lives in the New Jersey area; he told me that the fear of God was put into the Arabs in the Patterson area, so much so, that these girls came back a few programs later on Sixty Minutes and apologized. In addition, it has always bothered me that during 911, many of the so called moderate Arabs were loudly quiet—to me such a taciturn posture is tantamount to tacit approval for what took place during 911. In Europe, the Marshall Plan saved them from starvation; in Japan, General McArthur implemented something similar; In Iraq, we are doing the same; and recently, there was an earthquake in the Iranian city of Qom, and we provided ample aid. This is what America does and our good deeds far outweigh the ills we cause. I hope that President Obama will resist the “Stockholm syndrome” in his speech to the Arab world, and instead, use prose which will reflect mutual respect, recognizing that countries (including the USA) like people are not perfect.

-Verily Prime

“Vanity Gone Bad”

There is a disturbing psychosis running rampant among many of our citizens which involved many of them engaging in anything for Andy Warhol’s fifteen minutes of fame. Among these fame seekers, there is none more despicable than those parents who allowed their children to enter into these children’s beauty pageants. These pageants should be memorialized on the pages of dictionaries as the paradigms for child exploitation and abuse. The makeup and costumes, which these children are forced to wear, amount to nothing but the sexualizing children, some of whom are only five years old. In addition, these pageants are fodder for any pedophiles that happen to see them. All involved in putting together these children’s pageants are all culpable, but none more so than the parents. Where are these fathers and the social agencies? There was even one parent who had her little boy dressed up Ala a cross dresser and had him entered the girl’s pageant; mom’s excuse was that she always wanted a girl. What is particularly heart wrenching is the sight of seeing some of these children crying, not wanting to take part in the pageant, but having their parents coaxing them to enter. For those children who placed in the competition, one could see that it were the parents who were enjoying the win because most of the children were uninterested about the placement of winners or first runner ups…. I wonder if there are psychological studies on how these pageants affect these children in their teenage or adult years? If I had it my way, I would have the states ban all such pageants, which I think is tantamount to abuse and force these parents to enter treatment for what must be some sort of psychosis of vanity gone bad.

-Verily Prime