Opinions making news

On Wolf Blitzer's "Late Edition," two presidential candidates ventured into the silly season with their comments on Iraq (Mike Huckabee) and illegal immigration (Bill Richardson). I'm quite sure that Richardson will get plenty of blogs regarding his stance on illegal immigration. People from foreign countries (Mexico in particular) who break the law to work here, live here, etc. aren't getting "amnesty" according to Richardson. Well, I'll agree with Lou Dobbs that they are, if the Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act had actually gone through in the Senate. However, Mike Huckabee will get mine; when he spoke of failure and the consequences of failure in Iraq.

What Huckabee and others of his thinking, among the presidential candidates, in the Congress, and among the current administration refuse to consider: We have already failed when 1. We impose western rules on an eastern culture. 2. In our hurry to remove competent people from much needed jobs in the process of reconstructing an invaded country because of their party affiliation, we encourage civil war. 3. We seek no means to include the newly disenfranchised (Sunnis) into power sharing in government or in nation building, or for that matter, sharing the wealth of national resources. 4. We do not wax apoplectic when the current government is top loaded in (Shi'ites) with a large percentage being radical--and deeply influenced by radical clerics. At least and until we find the government unworkable. 5. We cave instead of hammering out the sort of peace accords between warring factions that would finally bring the civil war to a halt. 6. We provide more evidence of an occupation through a much belated and unquestionably useless "troop surge." Rather than providing the necessary political and diplomatic skills to make (Iraq) a nation with a future. 7. We tout successes in the (Anbar province) while elsewhere in the country (Baghdad, etc.) is going to hell. Latest proof, truck bomb collapses a bridge span, U.S. Troops pulled out of rubble. Headlines in the Spokesman-Review, today. 8. We have lost over 3,500 soldiers, marines, etc. since the invasion and occupation began. Books can be written on how many times and in how many ways we have failed in Iraq. Indeed, those books have been written. But Huckabee diminished catastrophic failures in Iraq into "problems" as though "problems" were something this nation can solve. Where Iraq stands now, it is not a "problem" given the Bush administration's catastrophic failures in foreign policy that this nation can solve. That is a silly enough response from Huckabee to Blitzer that requires a blog. So, what is the consequence of "failure" in Iraq? We've already seen them. What is the consequence of continuing to pour all of our resources into Iraq? We remain vulnerable to future terrorist attacks.

*************************************************************************************

David S. Broder joins the new left in whining about "Scooter" Libby's indictment and ultimately conviction of lying and obstruction of justice before a federal grand jury investigating the criminal outing of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson. Mr. Broder joins Susan Estrich, etc. in claiming there was no underlying evidence that a crime was committed... However, there does happen to be a federal law upon which Patrick Fitzgerald special prosecutor could indeed base his grand jury investigation that ultimately saw Libby getting indicted and convicted! So, it seems to me that there was sufficient evidence of criminal conduct. Whether Rove finally must do the time for committing the crime, or Cheney , or even Richard Armitage (actually, it did not come out "immediately" that Armitage was a source of the leaking of Plame's name to the news media, since it was more than a year after Plame was outed that Fitzgerald's investigation truly began to gather steam, regardless of what Broder tries to spin in his Washington Post column.) We did not hear about Armitage or Rove's involvement until long after the facts of Ms. Wilson's CIA career long being at an end. Broder attacking Ambassador Joe Wilson as pushing some kind of publicity stunt because of his wife's being outed; fails to recognize the serious blow to national security that was a consequence of that outing. What Broder lamely admits, is the federal judge, Walton, who doesn't care who he throws the book at since he is making an "example" of them. Well, the only example I would like to see here is that justice is possible, even for the Wilsons.

What makes the news in Broder's spin for an opinion column? The new left who don't like the idea that any of their own can be caught up in scandal, unethical behavior, criminal conduct. They conveyed the same opinion in the 80s when Oliver North and John Poindexter were principle architects in Iran-Contra and who got tossed into the maw of the criminal justice system much to the dismay of the new left. To escape relatively unscathed (pardons, etc.) the consequences of their misdeeds. What happened in North and Poindexter's case, the new left would like to see in Libby's case. The hypocrisy is that these are the same people who'd like the book thrown at low lifes' in low places. Those of the opposition party, no matter how minor their misdeeds are, should be seen as an object lesson for the rest of the nation when it comes to meting out the "rule of law." The impeachment of Bill Clinton for lying about Monica Lewinsky comes to mind. But, when it comes to serious misdeeds committed by the new left themselves, what they attacked as "soft on crime" if pushed by the old left (Democrats and their special interests) is one they immediately embrace if it will protect their own from the consequences of their misconduct. Thus, Libby now has supporting web sites and fund raising efforts to keep him from serving time for the crime. Would that such generosity were given to other criminals in this nation. Especially when it comes to the right to vote.

*************************************************************************************
And now for a word from Leonard Pitts, jr. He provides a column disclosing the fact that a white teacher founded "YouthBuild" that began teaching the homeless, the troubled, the troublemakers, etc. skills in construction work that ultimately repairs homes that are suitable for occupancy. (Both he and Broder's column was republished in the Spokesman-Review.) What makes this opinion news is a recent statement made by a Democrat who helped shoot down the recent Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act in the Senate. Basically a statement in that businesses don't feel that Americans would desire low skilled and low paying jobs and would rather deliver those jobs to illegal immigrants instead. According to "YouthBuild" as portrayed in Pitts' column and operating for 30 years, actually they would. Not only that, but "YouthBuild" gave these young people a sense of purpose because society showed it was actually prepared to invest in their future. Seems society would where "YouthBuild" operates. But, the business interests wanting that comprehensive immigration reform, do not! This Senator also went on to say that businesses fielding high skill jobs would rather export those jobs because Americans aren't "smart enough." "YouthBuild" proves Americans are very teachable. Even those Americans that would otherwise fall through the cracks. The real argument is, that the business interests are not only greedy, but they need the props from government to ensure the massive padding of their bottom line. Comprehensive Immigration Reform would have been another prop to assure "business survival." But as a tool for the "free market?" Hardly. As the Senator said, "what jobs are left for Americans?" What paychecks are left to buy those goods made by foreign hands? So how far can greed go before those touting it collapse under the dead weight of it?