Telling friend from foe, and foe from annoyance
Two contrasting quotes from yesterday’s news cycle, then three observations:
“… overall my sense is that what (Hugo) Chavez has done over the last several years has not had a serious national security impact on us. We have to be vigilant. My main concern when it comes to Venezuela is having the Venezuelan people have a voice in their affairs, and that you end up ultimately having fair and free elections, which we don’t always see.”
– President Obama
——————————-
“This is a stunning and shocking comment by the president. It is disturbing to see him downplaying the threat posed to U.S. interests by a regime that openly wishes us ill. Hugo Chavez has provided safe haven to drug kingpins, encouraged regional terrorist organizations that threaten our allies like Colombia, has strengthened military ties with Iran and helped it evade sanctions, and has allowed a Hezbollah presence within his country’s borders.”
– Mitt Romney
——————————-
My conclusions?
1.) It takes disturbingly little to “shock and stun” Mitt Romney. What would he do if something truly serious happened? Keel over in a faint?
2.) We are the United States, with the world’s largest economy — by a lot — and the world’s largest military — by a lot, lot more. Chavez is a cancer-ridden tinpot dictator of a country with an economy the size of Maryland’s and a defense budget that’s 0.45 percent of the Pentagon budget. His entire schtick is to puff himself up by pretending that he poses some threat to the mighty United States, and Romney has given him exactly what he wants.
3.) According to Romney, Russia “is, without question, our number one geopolitical foe,” while “the greatest threat that the world faces is a nuclear Iran.” He says that “unless China changes its ways, on Day One of my presidency I will designate it a currency manipulator and take appropriate counteraction” and he now wants to treat little Venezuela as a serious threat to our national security. He also promises that as president, he “will commit to eliminating North Korea’s nuclear weapons and its nuclear-weapons infrastructure.”
A chapter heading from Mitt Romney's statement of foreign policy, titled "An American Century".
We have serious differences with each of those countries, which pose challenges of varying sorts to American interests. Romney seems intent on handling all of them with the same overwrought approach. In addition, the foreign policy team that he has selected is dominated by those who advised President George W. Bush in his first term, more specifically by members of the Cheney faction that Bush gradually moved aside, if a little too late.
Foreign policy isn’t going to get a lot of attention in this race, but as we’ve learned the hard way, a single unexpected event can suddenly make it the most important item on the national agenda. To my mind, Obama has provided a calm, steady hand in foreign affairs; there is every sign that Romney would provide leadership of a different sort.
– Jay Bookman
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563 comments Add your comment
Kamchak ~ Thug from the Steppes
July 12th, 2012
11:47 am
To think that I was “punked” is not to realize……………………………………….that you have been “counter-punked”.
And I spent last night at the Holiday Inn Express.
With the Dahm triplets.
After my date with Morgan Fairchild.
Yeah, that’s the ticket!
Paul
July 12th, 2012
11:47 am
USinUK
Ah, yes… that was one of the originals.
That makes 8, Goldie!
josef
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
PAUL
Number 5…depending on what day of the week and phase of the moon it is…
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
Uber @ 11:43 — I think it’s a toss-up for me… either #6 or #7!
Be sure to say hey for me if he makes a blog appearance anytime soon!
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4drS57s-7os
Joe Hussein Mama
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
T. Heyward — “Credibility can only be bestowed by credible people.”
And people who credulously post crap from joke websites aren’t credible or able to bestow credibility.
the cat
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
The word ILK is being used a lot on here lately. Which talking head has been using it?
Welcome to the Occupation
July 12th, 2012
11:48 am
Capitalism is on trial.
And it’s failing tests right and left.
http://www.cepr.net/index.php/blogs/cepr-blog/job-loss-recovery
Each recovery from a recession or economic crisis over the past half century has gotten progressively weaker, culminating in the current situation where 8%+ unemployment seems to be more or less accepted as normal.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
Paul
July 12th, 2012
11:43 am
My vote is for 6 and 7…I have it from “one who knows” that his business name is “Dances With Puppies”…
East Lake Ira
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
Romney lies with ease ALL THE TIME:
1. At a campaign stop in Craig, Colorado, this week, Romney argued, “The president, when he got elected, he said, look, ‘I’m going to go out and borrow $787 billion and I’ll keep unemployment below 8 percent.’”
Romney says this just about every day. It’s not true.
2. In the same speech, Romney said Obama can’t “blame Congress” for economic problems: “Remember that he had a supermajority in both the House and the Senate in his own party for his first two years.”
Putting aside the fact that the current Congress is more relevant, the truth is Democrats did not have a supermajority for the vast majority of Obama’s first two years.
3. Romney also argued, “That stimulus he put in place, it didn’t help private sector jobs; it helped preserve government jobs.”
That’s the exact opposite of reality.
http://maddowblog.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/06/01/12010806-chronicling-mitts-mendacity-vol-xx?lite
larry
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
HEADLINE: Nine SEC filings submitted by four different business entities after February 1999 describe Romney as Bain boss.
Thats from today’s Boston Globe. So its not gaining traction huh?
http://www.boston.com/news/politics/articles/2012/07/12/government_documents_indicate_mitt_romney_continued_at_bain_after_date_when_he_says_he_left/
Peadawg
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
Hey Jay,
What’s your thoughts on the Penn State findings that came out today? Is it about what you expected? Should Penn State take down JoPa’s statue? Should the football program get the death penalty (this is a lot worse than what SMU imo)?
Moderate Line
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
MiltonMan
July 12th, 2012
8:18 am
Jay when you state “…and the world’s largest military — by a lot, lot more.” That is not entirely true; maybe in terms of $$$ spent but in terms in personnel that is not true. North Korea, South Korea & China among others have a larger military than the US.
Jay
July 12th, 2012
8:23 am
North Korea, South Korea & China among others have a larger military than the US.
Oh please, Milton. Pit all three of them at once against the United States — even our close ally South Korea — and who are you going to bet on? You’re being silly.
+++++
The statement that we have the largest military in the world is entirely false. We actually have the 7th largest. We do have the largest Navy in the world. We have 11 aircraft carriers to China’s 1. However, China has 10 million people obtaining military age annaully while we have 2 million according to the Cia world factbook.
As far betting on someone that is why I typically oppose war because such speculation is absurb. The French invaded Russia an who would have bet on the Russians. The Soviets lost 20 million people in WWII and stll could not be beaten. We couldn’t beat Vietnam.
However, Venezuella is not any of those so I think your original point is valid even though you falsely stated the military strength of the US.
http://realitypod.com/2010/08/10-largest-navies-in-the-world/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_countries_by_number_of_military_and_paramilitary_personnel
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 12th, 2012
11:49 am
Adam (aka history dimwit)
John Lewis was a civil rights leader as well. Ever heard of MLK?
You must’ve received your education from “Under a Rock University”
Jm (LL) -pass TSPLOST silly people
July 12th, 2012
11:51 am
Granted
John Lewis hasn’t done much ever since the civil rights era came to an end, so to speak
PJ
July 12th, 2012
11:51 am
“please keep talking and exposing the essence of liberalism…….please”
And may I add………..please, please, please, please, please, please keep up the good work Jay.
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
July 12th, 2012
11:51 am
USinUK, Josef and Paul,
Bosch was an apostate Pagan until the tree fell on him…then he got “religion” again…
josef
July 12th, 2012
11:51 am
PEADAWG
Ssshhh…that’s Penn State and foo-ball…abusive coaches is a verboten topic…now, abusive priensts? We can do that…
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
11:52 am
Paul and US– oh yes, #8 has gotta be it!
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 12th, 2012
11:53 am
Jay:
“We are the United States, with the world’s largest economy — by a lot — and the world’s largest military — by a lot, lot more.”
Then why can’t we whip little Afghanistan ?
Because you can’t “whip” that kind of insurgency ……….. and one growing on our doorstep is not good.
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
11:53 am
“Bosch was an apostate Pagan until the tree fell on him…”
bwaaa, love it! And we do miss the Bosch, yes?
Paul
July 12th, 2012
11:54 am
Normal
I have it on good authority his house was fixed okay after the tree incident, but the shrinks couldn’t find any change in him….
Goldie!
You been doing okay?
Normal Free...Pro Human Rights Thug...And liking it!
July 12th, 2012
11:55 am
“And we do miss the Bosch, yes?”
Goes without saying. He is Cool!
barking frog
July 12th, 2012
11:55 am
Adam always needs a site
http://johnlewis.house.gov/
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 12th, 2012
11:55 am
Moderate Line:
“We couldn’t beat Vietnam.”
Have to disagree with you here. We soundly “thrashed” North Vietnam (and the V.C. during Tet).
We pulled out our last troops in 1972 and left. The South Vietnamese held it for three years and then in conjunction with the U.S. Congress lost it.
Recon 0311 2533
July 12th, 2012
11:56 am
Bosch was indeed a tool.
josef
July 12th, 2012
11:56 am
NORMAL
Falling timbers have that effect!
independent thinker
July 12th, 2012
11:56 am
On September 11, 2001 our President and so called National Security Adviser was ignoring all warnings on Al Quaida because her neocon buds convinced her our number one concerns were China and Iraq. See 9-11 Report.
Ready to give the neocons another go at it?
Brosephus™ (B) - Follower of SfBA
July 12th, 2012
11:57 am
True Foe to every Brosephus/Bookman State worshipper.
Quit playing dude, I processed your order for your Brosephus poster last week. That was the one that got you the free one after 10 purchases.
Peadawg
July 12th, 2012
11:58 am
“And we do miss the Bosch, yes?”
Nope. Whatever happened to him, he was as much of a jackars as Kamchak.
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
11:58 am
thanks Paul — doing OK this year, and looking forward to a robust blogging experience going into November… I’ve already stocked up on the popcorn and Chardonnay for the 2 conventions coming up soon!
East Lake Ira
July 12th, 2012
11:59 am
Adam – ironic you didn’t recognize the name John Lewis especially when it was paired with the Tea Party… Remember when those mouth breathers were holding protests while the ACA was being debated and they spit on some black Congressmen? THAT, whas John Lewis.
Now he is my Rep for now so maybe I’m biased but that was pretty big news.
As an aside – if you live in the GA-5th, please vote for Michael Johnson NOT John Lewis in the upcoming primary.
barking frog
July 12th, 2012
11:59 am
Jr, Kamchak
A wedding invitation to
Gen. Petraeus could have
avoided all that.
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 12th, 2012
12:01 pm
Penn State Nittany Perverts
Headline: “Report by former FBI director finds Penn State concealed child sex abuse”
Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/12/report-by-former-fbi-director-finds-that-penn-state-disregarded-children/#ixzz20QOHJbWG
http://www.foxnews.com/us/2012/07/12/report-by-former-fbi-director-finds-that-penn-state-disregarded-children/
Paul
July 12th, 2012
12:01 pm
Goldie
I think we should have the fainting couches recovered. They’ve been getting an awful lot of use.
josef
July 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
PEADAWG
@ 11:58
Nope. Nice guy with a lot to say and a good sense of humor to go with it.
BROSEPHUS
You’re just full of ‘em today!
.
Paul
July 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
Sheets -
sam
July 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
gotta keep the flock ’shocked and outraged’, thats what they live off. personally i am shocked that obama would choose to wear a dark suit on a day as hot as today. i mean does he have no respect for the american people?
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
12:02 pm
“Nope.”
oh boo, Peadawg — are you another Con who’s been Trickled-On for the past few decades?
josef
July 12th, 2012
12:03 pm
IRA
Live there. Not sure about how to vote, but I will say it’s time for Lewis to go…
OKAY
Gone upstairs…
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
12:04 pm
sounds good Paul — there may be a LOT of fainting by the time November arrives, LOL!
Brosephus™ (B) - Follower of SfBA
July 12th, 2012
12:04 pm
Remember when those mouth breathers were holding protests while the ACA was being debated and they spit on some black Congressmen? THAT, whas John Lewis.
Lewis was with that group, but it wasn’t him that made that claim. That was Rep. Emanuel Cleaver from Missouri. Looking at the video, I think it was a case of him being sprayed by somebody yellling like an idiot.
Peadawg
July 12th, 2012
12:05 pm
“are you another Con who’s been Trickled-On for the past few decades?”
Used to be.
sam
July 12th, 2012
12:05 pm
Cleaver, Lewis….they all look the same.
Goldie
July 12th, 2012
12:05 pm
Bosch be Da Man!
Dekalb comments
July 12th, 2012
12:13 pm
nelsonh @ 8:03
I realize I am late but “Romney, a self-made man”?
Gimme a break. He inherited his starting wealth from his father. He wasn’t some kid that worked his way through college, got a job, worked hard and made something of himself.
Further, there are very few circumstances today in which someone is “self-made”. Most people, not all, get their education in public schools that are funded not by themselves or their parents exclusively, but the entire community. Even if education is private, he/she is not self-made in that respect, they are “parent-made”.
If they start a business they benefit from the legal protections afforded businesses, the opportunity to compete in our market economy, infrastructure, roads, the education of their workforce, etc.
No one today is “self-made” unless you live on an island by yourself and you build an empire. Everyone benefits to a lesser or greater extent on things and persons beyond themselves.
godless heathen
July 12th, 2012
12:14 pm
Well it’s true; Republicans did stop it from closing.
Weak. Weak ruler.
Stevie Ray
July 12th, 2012
12:15 pm
Has anyone done the math on just how many Romney Bain deals resulted in outsourcing of jobs? I don’t think it’s relevant since in some instances, this was the difference in keeping the particular entity in business…baby or bathwater sheepish liberals?
How many jobs did the failed stimulus to Mexico, Korea and Europe???
This argument, unlike most, should be quantitatively evaluated and settled…
Keep Up the Good Fight!
July 12th, 2012
12:21 pm
Heywoody claiming “counter punk” — Now that is FUNNY!
Dekalb comments
July 12th, 2012
12:36 pm
Stevie Ray @ 12:15
I don’t have the statistics but none other than the Washington Post say RMoney and Bain were pioneers in outsourcing.
They shifted American jobs offshore simply to save money. Yes it may have saved “the company” but what did that company look like after the offshoring? All the while RMoney and Bain pocketed MILLIONS of dollars while taking the same from workers, suppliers, investors, etc. Venture capitalism is quite a racket.
I realize it was all the rage at the time. We know now that some companies are realizing that offshoring doesn’t save them money in the long-run, there are quality issues, safety issues, etc. But the fact the Washington Post’s own research suggests RMoney and Bain were “pioneers” in shipping American jobs overseas should say something.
sam
July 12th, 2012
12:47 pm
i think the whole outsourcing jobs thing is overblown. every company in america outsources jobs (both onshore and offshore), fact of life. the issue should be that Romney has no backbone or core beliefs.
TiredOfIt
July 12th, 2012
12:48 pm
With all of the outsourcing workers we also outsourced our knowledge and technology.
JamVet
July 12th, 2012
12:53 pm
Joe Hussein Mama @11:42,
Awkward phrasing on my part.
WMR said he would not turn heaven and earth to get OBL.
But to his great credit, at least he made crystal clear that he did sincerely congratulate Obama and that team on that mission, unlike so many of the faketriots in the GOP First, America Second gang here…
Dekalb comments
July 12th, 2012
12:55 pm
As a licensed attorney but not serving in that capacity with my primary employer, I remind them that sending all their programming jobs overseas to save money places their IP (and core competencies) at the behest of their foreign partner(s).
These companies may, and in some cases do, exploit your technology with other customers. IP laws are less stringent and difficult to enforce. Further as companies abandon their core competencies such as delivering high-quality software to a 3rd party, they become “shell companies”. They have less inherent value and are in instead more of a middle-man.
Americans are not shy of doing hard work. Americans are willing to make sacrifices. Americans are willing to be part of winning teams in the face of adversity. But Americans are no longer willing to be pawns in the chess game of multi-national corporations and the wealthy where they are told they can’t have a raise or health insurance because the owners need their share. Those are immoral propositions that even the greediest of the greedy should understand.
Adam
July 12th, 2012
1:39 pm
Now I get why the conservatives pretend to know everything. They expect to be treated the way they treat others who admit they do not know something.
Here’s a hint guys: No one knows everything. And it is not a sign of lack of intelligence to not know everything. It’s a sign of intelligence when someone admits not knowing something and educates themselves, and a sign of lack of intelligence when new information is willfully ignored, especially if that new information is ignored so that person can continue to believe what they believed before the new information was presented.
I know who John Lewis is now. And no, I wasn’t given the names of all of the civil rights leaders when I grew up learning civil rights from a southern public school. Instead I was taught a quick overview so we could skip tot he next chapter.
Proud to be me
July 12th, 2012
2:42 pm
Hide your heads in the sand all you nay sayers!!! When this country is beaten up on my Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela just to name a few . . . you will blame who???
Proud to be me
July 12th, 2012
2:43 pm
Correction: Hide your heads in the sand all you nay sayers!!! When this country is beaten up on by Russia, China, Iran and Venezuela just to name a few . . . you will blame who???
Jay
July 12th, 2012
3:47 pm
And Barking, I take it that you think the Catholic Church should be banned worldwide and the Vatican boarded up, with all its treasures put up for auction?
Germany should have been parceled out in pieces to all of its neighbors after WWII?
The global banking industry should be disbanded in light of the LIBOR scandal?
Emotions are getting the better of some folks. It’s understandable, given the topic, but….
Jay
July 12th, 2012
3:53 pm
They deserve the support, Skipper.
Moderate Line
July 12th, 2012
6:57 pm
0311/8541/5811/1811/1801
July 12th, 2012
11:55 am
Moderate Line:
“We couldn’t beat Vietnam.”
Have to disagree with you here. We soundly “thrashed” North Vietnam (and the V.C. during Tet).
We pulled out our last troops in 1972 and left. The South Vietnamese held it for three years and then in conjunction with the U.S. Congress lost it.
+++
I believe congress is part of we so we lost.
ld
July 12th, 2012
10:22 pm
It’s not only Romney’s links w/the military industrial congressional complex about which Ike tried to forewarn us all that disturbs me, it’s his ties to the Bush neocons that did not have sense enough to either win two wars or get a surrender from their leaders before shoveling money at the profiteers for nationbuilding. If the USA must go to war again, we need a more competent management than the neocons can provide. We also need a much better reason than either revenge against some dictator that tried and failed to have someone’s daddy killed and/or for the purpose of opening some nation’s oil fields for US corporate profit potential.
Ivan Cohen
July 13th, 2012
7:50 am
Some news reporter should ask Mitt Romney what is his definition of “American interests”. The term tends to get thrown around like confetti. Facts are that Mitt Romney is no “Horatio Alger”. His is not a from rags to riches story. He already had the riches. He was born with a silver spoon in his mouth and a silver foot to go along with it. Now he is applying the latter to his presidential campaign.
Atlas Shrugging
July 13th, 2012
11:43 am
What do the American Ireland Fund, the Rev. Al Sharpton and the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network have in common?
All have received some of the more than $330 million that America’s two largest teachers unions spent in the past five years on outside causes, political campaigns, lobbying and issue education.
The contributions—totaling more than $200 million from the National Education Association and more than $130 million from the American Federation of Teachers—were disclosed in annual reports that unions file with the Labor Department detailing their spending on political activities and advocacy work, as well as separate political-action-committee filings.
Some of the spending that the two teachers unions identified to the Labor Department as “political and lobbying” activities from fiscal 2007 through fiscal 2011 went to election consultants, voter mobilization and advertising. Additional millions went to PACs that donate almost entirely to Democratic candidates and committees. Dozens of other organizations that promote a range of issues—women’s rights groups, organizations backing African-American, Hispanic and Asian-American civil rights, and think tanks producing pro-union economic studies—also received money, according to a review of the documents by The Wall Street Journal.
Some of the contributions provide indirect political benefit to the unions, by fostering allies among progressive groups. This has helped give teachers widespread political clout on Capitol Hill and in statehouses, and has made them nearly indispensable to the Democratic Party.