Cuba

It sure has been interesting the last few days after Obama made his speech regarding normalizing relations with Cuba.  He has taken some grief from both sides of the political spectrum objecting to the United States moving to recognize and normalize our stance with Cuba.

You all know the history.   Fidel Castro overthrew Batista in the '50s and it's been a repressive, dangerous, Communist dictatorship ever since.  When Castro allowed the Soviets to station and aim missiles our way in the early '60s, the world was on the brink of war.  And that would've been nuclear war.  In our hemisphere.  Pretty scary.  And ever since that disaster was averted, we broke diplomatic ties and imposed an economic embargo on the island.  I haven't been there but judging by photos and people who have been, the country is still living in the '60s.  It is repressed economically and the people live a desperately difficult life.  There is no freedom, there are threats from the secret police, the people aren't allowed to leave, currency importation is limited, tourism is restricted, etc, etc, etc.  

So now Obama has declared that enough is enough and he is opening things up.  He wants to open up trade and tourism, he wants to open an Embassy, he wants to bring Cuba into the family of nations.  Of course, economic sanctions are controlled by Congress so there will likely be some severe pushback to his plans.

The thing is, I'm sort of conflicted on this issue.  I mean, we have normalized relations with a lot of pretty bad governments around the world.  We trade with them, we have agreements, we have tourism, we benefit and they benefit.  We've seen instances where the people are given economic freedom to some degree and real levels of freedom can follow.  See Vietnam.  See China to some extent.  But Cuba is sort of a special case.  After 50 years, it's difficult to imagine the status quo of the embargo being lifted.  Plus the Cuban government are pros at repression.  They have kept their heel on their people for 60 years.  But I'd be okay with developing a strategy that would lead to these kinds of reforms.

But I don't think my problem rises from the logic of trying to establish some sort of normalcy with Cuba.  It really arises from my distrust of Obama.  I simply don't think he can be trusted.  To me this whole thing is another example of him arrogantly exerting his executive power and I can't help but think there is an underlying political motive in this.  He is way too naive to understand the international ramifications of this move and the timing makes no sense from a strategic perspective.  Just when the price of oil is falling like a rock which is resulting in the governments of Russia and Venezuela (two of Cuba's main financial supporters) going in the tank, he chooses to provide Cuba with the financial benefits that this move will include.  He says he is doing this to help the Cuban people, but clearly the  government will be the only ones to benefit.  Doing this now removes any leverage we have as the Castro brothers (who are in their 80s) move closer to death.  When they die, we could've tried to reach out to moderate forces in the government and affect change.  But this removes that option.

Another perplexing thing (or maybe it's not) is thumbing his nose at Congress and getting way out in front of them on this.  There was obviously no consultation with key Congressional leaders who would have a big dog in this fight.  He is in effect saying, "f**k you, I do what I want".  So he has made a political calculation that he can gain points from this move.  He also is in his last two years, just got his ass kicked in an election, and probably doesn't care what they think.  I also am surprised he didn't reach out to the Cuban community in the U.S. to gain some support or at least to let them know so they weren't blindsided.  But none of that appears to have happened.  

It's also maddening that he made this move and didn't really get anything in return.  I get the spy trade.  We did a 2 for 3 trade.  I'm okay with that.  I'm sure there is some logic there.  But nothing else.  No assurance that they would take any steps to offer some level of freedom to their people.  No loosening of the repression of homosexuals, no stopping of real torture (not waterboarding) in their prisons, no releasing of political prisoners, no economic reforms, nothing.  Nada.  Zilch.  It is just beyond belief.  

So now he'll go off to his mansion in Hawaii for 17 days and let this boil.  It's another example of an ill-timed, uncoordinated, naive, reactionary foreign policy.  It's another example of his reckless misunderstanding of the way the world works.  It's sadly another example of the deep hole he is digging for us in our relations with the rest of the world.  It is going to take time, expertise, and a big shovel to dig out.
                                                                                                                                                                

Another twist (12/22):  A friend has opined that this could potentially be a slick way to close Gitmo.  Obama could have made a deal with Castro.  Part of our admission of our renouncing of our colonial ways.  I hope that it's not true.  But with this guy...you never know.

Friday Funnies

Given the news this week, this seems appropriate...

Bubba...Again!!

Motivation Monday

Nice View

Race

The Emancipation Proclamation was signed in 1863.  Jackie Robinson signed with the Brooklyn Dodgers and played his first game in 1947.  The U.S. military was officially integrated in 1948.  The Civil Rights Act was signed in 1964.  We elected a black man as President of the United States in 2008.  If you're counting we've had 151 years as a country, as a society, as a people to get our shit together on race.  So why do we find ourselves still fighting the battles of race?  It defies logic that we are still, as a people, not able to come together and figure out how to live together.

Unless you've been living under a rock you've seen the high profile cases that have sparked the recent outrage.  We've had marches in many major cities, "die-ins", shutting of bridges, and disruption of transportation in an effort to shine a light on what is called "police brutality".  First there was the Michael Brown shooting.  You know, the guy who did a strong arm robbery, challenged and beat up a police officer, and wound up attacking him and getting killed.  At least that is the official narrative that the grand jury got.  The story was that there was so much contradicting testimony that they couldn't produce an indictment.  But the evidence sort of points to a bully who thought he could get away with more than he could...and wound up getting himself killed.

And then there was the Eric Garner fiasco in New York.  This guy is selling loose cigarettes and the police challenge him.  The difference here is that the whole thing was caught on video.  It seems to me that this guy was in the wrong, but the police way overreacted.  By any measure he didn't deserve to die.  And the grand jury didn't return an indictment.

Then there is the case of 12-year old Tamir Rice who was fatally shot by a cop responding to a 911 call.  The kid was waving a very real looking pellet gun around and the cop killed him.  The thing is that the cop took the shot 2 seconds after arriving on the scene.  And we heard later that the policeman had a very suspect past.  This was a tragedy that didn't need to occur.

All of these incidents have produced outrage, especially in the black community.  Now, I get that black people have suffered under what can be termed egregious police harassment in many instances. I have black friends who have suffered.  They have recounted for me the harassment of themselves and their friends over the years.  There is sometimes too much suspicion, too much profiling, too many stops for nothing, too much blaming a person because of the color of his skin.  And it is irrefutable that there are way too many black men in our prisons, sometimes for crimes that are suspect.  And once you get in that system, it's tough to get out.

I get why people are out marching.  It certainly was effective when I was in a kid in the '60s.  Getting attention and shining a light on a  problem is very American.  It's our right.  And I'm happy that so many of the marches have been peaceful (except for a few knuckleheads up in Berkley.  But that's Berkley!).  So I have no problem with the marchers.  But here's what I do have a problem with.  Listening to and following the likes of the hustlers and hucksters Sharpton, Jackson, et. al., giving credence to looters who are clearly out to get something for themselves, and characterizing all police as harassers is just wrong.  I think the comments by Mayor DeBlasio were particularly egregious.  His generalities and disdain for the police is unwarranted.  I really do worry that New York is going to slide backwards into the crime riddled city that it was in the 80s.  This kind of behavior just hurts their cause.  Many, many people are hurting and want change and their voices need to be heard.  But it's difficult to hear them through Sharpton and the looters.

But...and it's a big but, it seems to me that there is way too much stereotyping going on.  Not all cops are bad.  Not all blacks are criminals.  We've got to get to the point where we can treat each other with respect and treat every incident as an individual occurrence.  I know that's easy for me to say.  I'm an old white guy who has never really had any interaction, much less negative interaction, with law enforcement.  So maybe I can't relate.   And maybe the problem is more widespread than I think. Not sure.

But as an old white guy and a citizen of the country, I do have a few thoughts.  First, I respect the police tremendously.  They are the first responders.  They put their lives on the line every day to protect us and maintain a lawful society.  In so many situations, they are heroic.  But they aren't perfect.  And maybe this is regional, I don't know. But it seems to me that there needs to be some increased training and oversight on race relations within law enforcement as a whole.  Are they getting enough training?  Not sure.  Is it ongoing?  Don't know.  Maybe it is in many places, but clearly more needs to be done.  Of the three incidents I described, I think there was a problem with the police in two of them.  That's not a good track record.

Second, personal responsibility needs to be more strongly emphasized in the black community.  It's no secret that there are not enough black men taking personal responsibility to be role models.  It's verifiable that there are too many single mothers in the black community.  Black on black crime is a terrible problem that society hasn't addressed.  We need to get this subject on the table and solve it.  It is not going away.  A partial solution is economics.  More opportunities have to be available for the black community.  But you don't get more opportunity by wishing for it.  You have to work for it.  And don't tell me it's too hard or the deck is stacked.  I know it is.  But there are many, many success stories out there.  We've got to help the black community achieve the American dream.  Not a hand out...but a hand up.  That the number of people (a large number of whom are black) on welfare and getting food stamps has at least doubled under Obama is something he ought to be ashamed of.  I give Clinton all credit in creating Welfare to Workfare.  Giving people a handout achieves nothing.  We need programs targeted at getting this community to work!

Which brings me to number three.  The black community has to get to the point where education is valued and of paramount importance.  I think that is the key to everything.  We've seen that attitude in immigrant cultures for generations and it's been a huge determinant of success.  We see pockets of it so we know it can be done.  We see charter schools experiencing great successes.  But for every successful charter school, there are many public schools which are a disaster.  The black community, local governments, and the teachers unions have to step up to the plate and work harder to create successes in schools.  That will mean a shift in culture and a shift in priorities.

As I said in the beginning, we've got to get our shit together on race.  It's been too long.  We've had many successes but it's still a huge problem.  I was in the military of 25 years, which is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) meritocracies in our system.  So I've seen it work.  Give a person respect, train them to do a job and hold them accountable, and expect success.  And above all...remember that greatest line in the greatest document of all time..."We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal...".

BTW, I've been using the term "black community".  That's a pejorative term and I hope someday we will not have to use it.  I hope someday we can just say people.  But we're obviously not there yet.  Not even close.  And you'll notice I don't say "African-American".  I personally thinks that's BS.  I don't get and I don't use the "dash American" terminology.  We're all Americans.

Cool Pic

Especially for a rainy day...

Evolution!

Cool Pic

Clever

Cool Pic

Yikes!

It's raining in SoCal which, although needed, puts a damper on things.  But it ain't this...

Dogs Are Cool!

Spies

After the release of the CIA report yesterday I was tempted to write a long missive reflecting just how pissed off I was about it.  But as I gain in age I also like to think I'm able to temper my thoughts a bit.  That is especially true if I give it a bit of time.  So now that a day has passed, I'll try to provide some thoughts without getting too worked up.  But it'll be tough.

First, remember this...

And this...

On September 11, 2001 we were attacked.  Over 3000 innocent people lost their lives.  Families were shattered.  The country was reeling.  For those of you with amnesia, the number one thing that the government had to think about was preventing another attack.  It was obviously a very chaotic time.  After the dust settled, after the horrific mess was cleaned up, after the bodies (that could be found) were buried, the military and the CIA went to work.  Remember that they had not encountered anything remotely similar in the past.  If you've been watching the news and if you watched the CIA Director today, you know that they did some tough things.  But I say again, it was a time of national emergency.  And all the things they did were given approval by both the National Command Authority and the Justice Department.  The Director said today that it was unknowable if the information gained by the enhanced interrogation techniques would have been gained in other ways.  I think that's BS.  For some of these lunatics, they have to be broken.  And to break them EITs were needed. 

Let me digress a minute on EITs.  Some are calling them torture.  Once again, BS.  I've been waterboarded in survival school.  Some say that's not the same thing.  Well, I'd venture that those morons have never been there.  Trust me that after several days of enduring all the things that are thrown at you in SERE School, your mind starts to play tricks on you.  You start to question reality.  And waterboarding isn't the worst of it.  But it's not torture.  These techniques are designed to break people.  And everyone breaks.  Everyone.  And when you're trying to make it stop, you're not about to tell lies.  I'm supremely confident that any info obtained from these terrorist assholes was usable and real.  

So tough things were done.  They were done to prevent another attack and find those responsible for 9/11.  They were done with the full agreement and knowledge of National Command Authorities and key Congressional leaders and the authorization of the Justice Department.  And they worked.  No more attacks.  Bin Ladin is dead.  If we would have stayed the course in Iraq and Afghanistan, we'd be seeing very different outcomes than we see today.  But we got out.  Some would say cut and run.  Whatever, the CINC said leave so we did.  We are now reaping what we sowed.

So now Senator Feinstein is going to be in the minority in a few weeks so she decides to release a report on the CIA that is damning.  Now it's only damning if you believe EITs are torture, but there are so many ignorant people in our media, that they can't possibly tell a fair story.  I think many believe what they see in James Bond movies.  So the average person believes this BS.  She did this for purely and solely partisan political purposes.  I have to say I'm really appalled and ashamed that she is my Senator.  What a spineless weasel.  Sorry, there I go again.

I really thought the lowest that our government could go was Benghazi.  I thought the deliberate abandonment of an Ambassador and our guys in that despicable situation was the ultimate betrayal.  And to cover it up with some BS story about a film was both insulting and unforgivable.  But no one was ever held accountable and no one ever admitted to wrongdoing.   Hell, that moron Susan Rice was even promoted to National Security Director.  Now that is something I'm still trying to wrap my mind around!  But throwing the entire CIA under the bus.  Well...that's just breathtaking in it's betrayal.

We also know that this report was prepared solely by Democratic staffers.  We also know that they conducted no interviews with people on the ground or involved in ops in the CIA.  So they have no context.   Without context, it is very difficult to determine anything but what's written.  No historical perspective, no sense of urgency, no understanding of the circumstances.  Without context Lincoln's suspension of habeous corpus was unforgivable.  Without context, Roosevelt's rounding up of Japanese in WWII was unconscionable.  Without context, Truman using the atomic bomb was unthinkable.  Without context, Jefferson the slaveowner was a lowlife.  It is really beyond belief that anyone would give this piece of trash credit.  But by now everyone knows our media are like a pack of circling sharks.  If they sense blood in the water...and especially Bush blood...they'll go in for the kill.

And why is it that Obama is being so non-committal.  Perhaps it's because he's worried that at some point in the future, there will be an examination of his preferred method of waging war.  Because you see, it's all about killing people anonymously with drones.  Find the bad guys, verify the bad guys, kill the bad guys.  Do all this from a Predator equipped with a Hellfire missile directed from a room in Nevada.  The President's sycophants will say the attacks are surgical.  Oh yeah?  Then how come they always kill a bunch of innocents?   I can't fathom how this is a good way to accomplish our goals.  The war on terror is over (because Obama says so).  But how is that we justify launching random attacks around the world?  We are not at war and we are launching missiles around the world.  Think about that for a minute.  And think about what the people in the affected regions and countries must think of us.  And how long it will take to repair the damage.  Not the physical damage, the damage to stability and relationships.  It's just mind-boggling.  And it confirms for me that the people running our National Security strategy are amateurs at best, and incompetent cynics at worst.  But to return to the beginning of the this thought, someday (probably soon) our actions will be judged.  And we will have to pay a big bill.

Now all the useful idiots are coming out the woodwork to demand justice.  The ACLU wants indictments as does the UN.  Many of the most repressive regimes around the world are decrying the U.S. using "torture".  What a joke.  I suppose this will blow over as the media moves on to the next sensational story.  But for a US Senator to facilitate the demeaning of the patriots in the CIA is unforgivable.  What they did was lawful.  It was done to prevent another attack and to find the perpetrators of 9/11.  It was justified.  And it was not torture.  And it was patriotic.  They deserve our ultimate thanks.  Instead they get this.  Shameful.

Friday Funnies

Police Brutality

Police brutality (especially against black men) is all the rage in the news these days.  You've had to have been living under a rock not to have seen all the stories about the Ferguson and New York incidents.  I've posted about it and I thought the comments I linked to were pretty good.  I'm especially confident that all that are protesting the Michael Brown shooting in Ferguson are ignorant opportunists.  Too much contradicting evidence.  Too many liars.  Too much outrage from the likes of Sharpton.  Too much logic that challenging a police officer by trying to grab his gun, hitting him, and then charging him will result in mortal wounds.  In New York, it seems different.  The video evidence really points to some sort of overreach by the police.  I'm not an expert so I'm not sure how it would be defined, but it seems to me the cops really overreacted.  That a death resulted in tragic.  And someone needs to be held accountable.  That the Grand Jury didn't bring any charges seems sort of lame.  I hope that the DA or the Feds do something.

But as is typical, the media didn't tell the story very well.  They like demonstrations.  They like drama.  They do all they can to instigate the protests.  So they have some news to report about.  And of course Obama is no help.  The divider in chief is consistent in trying to divide Americans against each other.  So not very much is told about the other side.  What the police have to put up with.  If you think they have a cush job, you're wrong.  They put their life on the line everyday to keep the piece.  Are they all perfect?  No.  Are mistakes never made?  Of course not.  But my experience is they are doing the best they can in a very dangerous situation.  This video is pretty good at laying out what they are up against.  This issue will evolve and there will be a lot more discussion.  I just wish (hope?) that both sides could be equally heard.

Great Read

For some time now and like many people n the country I've been watching America's foreign policy strategy unravel.  There are so many issues that we are floundering on and so many difficulties that we are retreating from, I have found it difficult to even know where to start when thinking of what the future might hold.  But I've just read a new book that I highly recommend to anyone who has an interest in these subjects.  It's by Bret Stephens, the Wall Street Journal's Foreign Affairs columnist and is titled America in Retreat: The New Isolationism and the Coming World Disorder.  Check it out on Amazon here.  The book is short, straight-forward and provides a sobering look at our position in the world.  Or if you don't want to read the whole thing at least check out an interview with Mr. Stephens in the Weekly Standard.  He provides a good overview of the book and some intriguing insights into what are our major difficulties in overcoming the hole that Obama has put us in.  It's fascinating and scary.

Motivation Monday

We've come a long way, baby!

Friday Funnies

Ouch!

How Is This Better?

The Keystone pipeline has been in the news for the last several years.  You've probably heard all the arguments.  It essentially comes down to the fear over damage done to the environment due to an oil pipeline that traverses the country versus the economic and strategic benefits (jobs, access to reasonably priced oil, collaboration with an important ally, reduce dependence on oil from the Middle East, etc).  Of course, Obama has been no help.  He's the ultimate bureaucrat and has waffled, delayed, and let the whole thing languish with the expectation that he can avoid making a decision.  With the recent election in which the Republicans trounced the Democrats, it is generally thought that the Keystone pipeline may actually have a chance of succeeding.   This would be a great step!

But one interesting unintended consequence of not allowing the pipeline is emerging.  One thing is for certain is that oil will continue to be produced.  And that oil has to go somewhere.  Companies are not in the business of charity.  So they are moving the oil.  There is a great article on the front page of today's Wall Street Journal called "Shale Oil's Secret Routes to Market".  I would provide a link but the article is locked on the WSJ website.  But I encourage you to pick up a paper and read the article. The bottom line is that the oil, and I mean a lot of oil, is being moved by a virtual pipeline.  And that would be by rail.  There are now trains over a mile long all over the country moving massive amounts of oil.  These trains are extremely vulnerable to mishap or, worse yet, attack.  And since there is little federal regulation, there are not remotely the procedures and responses in place that there would be for a pipeline.  So there you have it.  Unintended consequences.  And...how is this better?