What people are talking about in politics
By Chris Ingram
Jim Greer Arrested!
The Associated Press is reporting former Republican Party of Florida Chairman Jim Greer has been arrested. According to the A.P. the Florida Department of Law Enforcement is expected to announce the basis of the arrest which has not yet been reported. Stay tuned…
Israeli Pirates
Objectively you’ve got to look at the Israeli attack on the Turkish cruise ship carrying relief supplies to Palestine and wonder “what the heck were they thinking?” I can’t say as though I initially felt sorry for the Israeli soldiers who were attacked after boarding this ship which was carrying civilians, transporting humanitarian aid, flying the flag of a sovereign nation (Turkey), and in international waters at the time of the unprovoked attack.
That said, the more you know about the situation the more you’ve got to reconsider the view that Israel was not doing something they had a good reason (if not a right) to do. The “aid” purported to be humanitarian was just that – purported to be – the Israeli’s wanted to check and make sure the items were not banned items to be used to cause harm to Israel.
The whole Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a giant mess. Quite frankly this problem is likely to never be solved until everyone gets their emotions in check and both sides quit teaching their children to hate for the sake of hating.
And American politicians need to stop shamelessly catering and cow-towing to Israel. This is of course done primarily because the Jewish lobby in the U.S. is so strong. Money talks in America. We better keep our eye on this practice though because with immigration and birth rates among Muslims growing at a record pace in America, one day the lobby among that demographic group may dwarf that of Jews in America and the next thing you know the U.S. Congress is sending money and military equipment to Hamas.
One thing is for sure about Israel, they know how to protect their borders. Now that’s something the geniuses we send to Washington could learn from. Maybe in exchange for all the aid we send to Israel the Israeli’s could protect our borders for us.
They know how to get the job done — public opinion aside.
Obama’s Sludge
I’m not one to defend George W. Bush whom I think was one of the most incompetent presidents of the last 100 years, but Barack Obama is on his way to challenge him in this department with his handling of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico.
Obama and the politicos in his administration have to be secretly hoping that BP’s next attempt to cut off the oil flow (a method in which BP wanted to try first) is a failure. Under pressure from Obama Inc., BP tried the other failed efforts first because the one they wanted to try initially was the most risky – as if it fails, more oil will flow than it currently does.
So now if that more risky effort actually works, there will be lots of deserved blame on Obama for the resulting weeks of continued gushing of oil in the Gulf.
Regardless of your politics, don’t you think BP has more to lose than anyone every day the leaks continue? I would have let BP make that call but apparently (surprise!) that “less government interference” attitude is not the Obama way.
How much oil did you consume today?
The Deep Horizon spill is an environmental disaster like no other for sure. The long term damages and the immediate suffering of wildlife, ecosystems, and coastal economies is heart wrenching. But our gut reaction to suggest “no drilling” is preposterous.
As a nation, we are addicted to oil. To suggest that we shouldn’t have to live with the consequences of that addiction is not only hypocritical, but it puts us at risk economically and militarily.
The “not in my backyard” attitude many Americans have about oil, nuclear power, and yes, even wind will contribute to our energy dependence on people who are not our friends. People like the Saudi’s, the Iranians, and Venezuela. By saying “no” to drilling in our backyard, but “yes” elsewhere is the typical shameless American way.
How about this for a solution: all of you people who don’t want drilling off U.S. coasts, quit driving your cars, don’t fly in an airplane, don’t buy anything at the store that is an oil derivative, don’t use anything that had to be shipped by plane, ship, train, bus, truck, or car, and start living your lives without the hypocrisy that makes your opinion meritless.
Charlie Crist update
I still think Charlie Crist wins the Florida U.S. Senate race.
It’s the The National Debt Stupid!
While the media only superficially pays attention to the problem facing the United States and its staggering federal debt, if you look deep enough, you will find this is the greatest threat to our soveriegnty. The Wall Street Journal, the Economist, the BBC, and yes once in a while the New York Times have stories on this subject that ought to cause all of us to be scared enough to go form a Tea Party. But mainstream media (national news broadcasts, your local mullet wrapper, etc) bury these stories. Shame on them. And shame on us for electing the people who refuse to address the debt and merely pass the buck on to the next generation. Our children’s lives will suffer because of our selfishness…
Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of www.IrreverentView.com. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, Front Page Florida, and National Review online. E-mail him at: Chris@IrreverentView.com.
This article appears in May 27 – Jun 2, 2010.