Ahhhh... Politics...of Waterloos At Home And Abroad

There is a portion, a small and deeply troubled portion, of the massive readership of The Diner Review (estimated circulation 3.6 MILLION readers and that is only because they block me in China) that encourages my noxious, one sided, commie political ramblings soooooo.... here goes.

Health care. Dead before it gets passed. They will pass something. It just will not accomplish anything worthwhile and will polarize us as a people even further. Obama mistakenly believes he has to pass something. Mistake. Health care as an issue is a mistake for any party or President. That is why nothing has been done. It is easy to say that doing nothing is what has gotten us here and that no Republican has ever tried to reform health care other then to push stronger tort reform and damage caps and to provide more and more safety and profit for the insurance companies with zero...ZERO regulation of how they do their job. Let me be clear. They will pass something. let me also be clear, we will still have costs spiraling out of control, drastically in excess of inflation and that for a lot of people, their care will suffer as we adjust to the new rules. I would prefer they pass nothing to this and unfortunately it is not "getting it right". I still admire the courage it took to try and do something. It has been and will be (as the republicans predicted) his Waterloo. It could not have been anything else. Rahm Emanuel should have told him. The Democrats do want "European style health care". It will lead to a diminution of care for many and maybe even most of it.

My father in law is a very thoughtful man who just had a a quadruple bypass. Before he surgery we were riding to the Race Track and discussing Healthcare (4 months ago) and he said, the Bottom line is that we all expect the best possible healthcare and that every measure and technology be used to take care of us in the best possible way... and that there is no way to afford that. He is right. Once again we have built up expectations for top notch health care as a "right" and entitlement. We are spoiled children. And demanding and unforgiving ones.

PREMISE: BUDGET DEFICITS ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND WE MUST STOP THIS PROFLIGATE SPENDING IMMEDIATELY! UNLESS IT IS FOR HEALTH CARE.

One commentator suggested that this European Health Care will demand a European style military (not much) suggesting that you cannot do both. Perhaps that is right. Which brings us to:

Afghanistan: "Never Fight A Land War In Asia". Although attributed in our most excellent culture to the movie "The Princess Bride" this was actually an admonition of General Doulas Mac Arthur regarding the Vietnam War. How much does it say about our culture that "The Princess Bride". Is what we remember. My guess would be that the quote well predates Mac as well and goes back to...the Japanese...the British...The French and Napoleon...Alexander...(you get the idea). Whether it is because of the hugeness of the land mass or the hostility of certain areas we (the Republicans and the Obama administration) have forgotten this general Chestnut though my guess is that it was taught to our generals at West Point.

Along with it you can the idea that history has taught over.... well a few thousand years at least and that is that an occupying army always eventually loses. Why? Because the natives live there and never have to "go home". Ultimately they out last you and the will of the people who sent you.

Along with it add that America does not have the time or the patience to engage in any over seas adventure for more then two terms (8 years). There are no exceptions.

Finally in regard to Afghanistan add "Where Empires Go To Die".

PREMISE: BUDGET DEFICITS ARE DESTROYING OUR COUNTRY AND WE MUST STOP THIS PROFLIGATE SPENDING IMMEDIATELY! UNLESS IT IS FOR THE WAR ON TERROR.

Wake up Barrack! In your campaign and in order to win you changed the focus from from Iraq to Afghanistan. Prudence would have dictated abandoning that premise (and promise) and gotten us the hell out of there and spending that money further working up our intelligence and our border security. There is no national security interest in keeping a massive force there. The country cannot (and does not have the will, the history or the government) to be tamed and "civilized".

So far we have 5300 casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, not counting any of our coalition (soft laugh) partners or any of the indigenous people killed who we clearly do not care about enough even to bother to count. The estimate regarding Iraq and Afghani casualties is about 10,000 in Iraq and 3,000 in Afghanistan. Most of these deaths were caused not by our troops but as collateral damage from insurgent bombings. Not counting dead in Pakistan (no estimates) that is about 20,000 lives expended.

Dead at World Trade Center: 2976.

Deaths in the first Gulf War (where we waded in and destroyed their military and their country) 294. Hmmm....

The U.S. needs a new policy on terror saying that we will do what we initially did in Afghanistan. When attacked we will identify who the attacker is to the best of our ability. We will go after them wherever they hide and exact a huge price on whoever was and is harboring them. We got that done in Afghanistan 7 years ago. Yes, Bush might might have blown getting Osama, but we totally kicked the shit out of that country. Then for reasons that become more and more unclear we took out eye off them and went to Iraq. Oops.

For these two miscalculations...Obama is a one termer. The 24 hour cable news culture does not allow mistakes. Look at that poor Huckabee guy. Career...over. Why, a pardon he made based on his best and humanly (humanely?) fallible judgment. No mistakes guys. We might never have more then a one term legitimately elected President ever again. You heard it here first. I will miss Obama. So will Glenn Beck.