The American Mind: Charles Kesler Interviewing Francis Fukuyama: The Final Form of Human Government

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Rik Schneider

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At risk of sounding insulting, wasn’t Frank Fukuyama a Neoconservative 10-15 years ago and one of the big backers of the Iraq War? I liked his first line about “democracy will only survive if the people want democracy.” I just wish he believed and wrote about that during and before the Iraq War. And now I’ll get off that because we’ve all taken positions before that we now disagree with and even regret. And saw new evidence and perhaps old evidence that we didn’t see before and saw that we were wrong and changed course appropriately.

If the Communists can have their own vision of government and governmental system and call it communism, than so can Liberals especially Liberal Democrats and we can call our vision of government and governmental system liberalism. Because that is what this is about which is liberal democracy and not just the right to vote and the majority generally rules. And generally rules is key because unlike social democracy the majority in liberal democracies don’t always get their way. Just ask U.S. Senate Leader Mitch McConnell when it comes to appropriations bills that Congress has to pass.

Liberal democracy is yes of course the right to vote and majority tends to win, but where there’s also minority rights. So strong majorities can’t vote away our individual rights and protections. Like the right to vote to use as an example, Freedom of Speech and Assembly, Right to Privacy, Right to Self-Defense, all our personal and economic freedoms that most Americans love having. Liberal democracy is not simply about the right to vote. It is really about the right to be free with a responsible limited government tasked to doing the basic services that we all need. And to protect our rights and freedoms.

Frank Fukuyama wasn’t talking about voting. He was talking about liberal democracy in general where yes of course we have the right to vote. But where we have broad set of individual rights with a responsive, but responsible government that is limited to doing the things that we need it to do. But not run our lives for us, but protect our ability to run our own lives under Rule of Law. Which is are things that Neoconservatives and Social Democrats simply don’t understand. That both put order and equality over individual freedom for people to manage their own lives.

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Cannabis Culture: Blog: Grant Smith: Meet The New Drug Czar, Not The Same as The Old Drug Czar

Posted on February 25, 2015 by Erik Schneider

Michael Botticelli
Cannabis Culture: Blog: Grant Smith: Meet the New Drug Czar, Not the Same as the Old Drug Czar

I guess at least in my perfect world and perhaps in the perfect world of now at least a one half of all Americans we would have not just marijuana legalization at the federal level, but harder narcotics that are currently illegal like heroin and cocaine would be decriminalized. Not legalized which is different, but someone busted for cocaine possession lets say would not be facing prison time. Unless they were arrested for attempting to sell their drugs. But upon conviction they would be looking at a fine and community service based on how much in illegal narcotics they were caught with.

Now that is my policy for dealing with illegal narcotics, as well as sending drug addicts to drug rehab instead of jail or prison at their expense. But that is not the policy of the Obama Administration. Even they are probably closer to my policy than any administration at least since the Carter Administration in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Under Attorney General Eric Holder they have loosened marijuana enforcement at least in President Obama’s second term when he didn’t have to worry about reelection. They are more open to drug rehab than jail and prison. Which is good for everyone including taxpayers who get stuck with the living costs of people in jail in prison who don’t represent a threat to society.

I saw a Congressional hearing last year in the U.S. House about marijuana legalization and the broader War on Drugs. And it was a good hearing that the Republican Chairman that I believe Representative John Mica who does seem to be more open to a softer stance on the so-called War on Drugs, but not in favor of marijuana legalization at least yet. Michael Botticelli who was then I believe the White House’s Deputy Director of Drug Policy was one of their witness’s. And several members of the committee, I think all Democrats including Representative Steve Cohen asked Mr. Botticelli does he believe marijuana is as dangerous as cocaine or heroin. Short answer is that Botticelli didn’t answer the question and just spoke to the current law.

Look I’m not a fan of Director Botticelli at least from what I’ve heard about him and how he talks about marijuana especially. But he has run drug rehab clinics in the past and seems to be more on the side of rehab instead of incarceration when it comes to users and addicts. I hope he at least publicly supports the Obama Administration in their decision not to enforce the federal anti-marijuana law in states and territories and even cities like Washington that has legalized marijuana that the Republican Congress and President Obama won’t block. And if he stays on this path with both rehab and the Obama Administration policy on marijuana enforcement, I think he could be a good appointment.

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Celebrity Universe: Politically Incorrect With Bill Maher- Christopher Hitchens, Whoopi Goldberg & Communism

Posted on February 24, 2015 by kireschneider
Whoopie & Chis

Source:Celebrity Universe– Politically Incorrect with Whoopie and Chris.

“Christopher Hitchens On Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher discussing Vietnam and Communism.”

Source:Celebrity Universe 

The Vietnam War was an obvious mistake at least looking back it lets say 40-45 years later, but the U.S. Government knew it was an obvious mistake by 1967-68. They knew the war was lost by then and continued to fight it anyway because Lyndon Johnson and Richard Nixon wanted to look tough and not be the first American president to lose a war.

You don’t fight other people’s wars in places you are not prepared to fight in that your own people aren’t prepared to fight in. Especially when the people there that you’re supposed to be fighting for won’t fight for themselves. A huge lesson from the Vietnam War.

As far as communism, if communism is as Whoopi Goldberg described it about people acting together for the betterment of the country under the direction of their government and not an authoritarian ideology similar to Islamism, then how is communism different from socialism. Because that is what socialism is about that if you have a lot of individualism and individual freedom some people will do very well and others won’t for whatever the reasons. But if you put a lot of the resources all into one big collectivist pot managed by the central government, then everyone will thrive. Because no one will have too much or not enough.

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Atheist Ute: ‘Christopher Hitchens On The Left’s Double Standards’

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Derik Schneider

Attachment-1-344

Source:Atheist Ute– Atheist/Socialist writer Christopher Hitchens.

“This is against his debate with Dr. Playthell Benjamin about the War in Iraq / War on Terror.”

Source:Atheist Ute

I actually agree with every point that Chris Hitchens made in this short video except for one point. And that is probably the closest that I’ve ever come to completely agreeing with Chris Hitchens on anything.

Hitchens was a Socialist on economic policy and social policy and in his last ten-years or so he became a Neoconservative on foreign policy and national security. But the one point that I disagree with him on and then I’ll tell you where I agree with him is his point about left liberalism. There is nothing center-left about people on the Left, (Far-Left, really) and their critiques about people who legitimately criticize Islamists. That is pure fascist, political correctness, at its worst and illiberal because it goes against free speech.

Now here where I agree with Hitchens: The Far-Left has this attitude that if you criticize people from either a government or a private organization of lets say of a non-European background and you don’t go after bad things that the United States has done in the same critique that somehow that is racist or you’re a bigot in someway.

Actually if you go after non-Europeans government or otherwise at all you could be branded as a racist even if you have the facts on your side. If you don’t believe me just look at Bill Maher and what he went through with the Far-Left back in September and October about his critique os Islam. You talk about ISIS and the evil acts that they’ve done, they’ll say what about the KKK in America or the Nazis in Germany. The simple answer being: “what about the KKK or Nazis”

The Far-Left in America at least is not adequate to debate and talk about ISIS or any other national security challenge that America faces for the simple reason that they have a politically correct strategy and attitude in response to those threats. Instead of just calling birds, birds and sheep, sheep. Meaning describing things and people as they are, even if that offends some people.

To take on a challenge and threat, you first have to know what that threat is and what they are about and capable of and what they have done. Even if those facts may tend to offend some people who perhaps are over-sensitive to begin with. Liberals and Conservatives and to a certain extent Libertarians in the conservative sense like Rand Paul understand this. The Far-Left hasn’t figured that out yet.

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Roll Call: Tamar Hallerman & Niels Lesniewski: Senate Democrats Show Limits of GOP Control

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Ederik Schneider

“When Republican leaders seized control of the Senate, they quickly targeted must-pass appropriations bills — not shutdown showdowns — as their best tool for reining in the Obama White House.

Two months into the 114th Congress, they have run smack into the limits of that strategy.

The immigration fight that has stalemated the fiscal 2015 Homeland Security spending bill, leaving the department days away from a possible shutdown, makes clear the high hurdles that remain for getting bills to President Barack Obama’s desk.

Even worse for Republicans, Senate Democrats found a strategy that has left the GOP feuding with itself over who needs to make the next move.

This wasn’t how it was supposed to go.”

Source:Roll Call

For all of you non-political junkies, first of all I’m wondering why you’re reading this at all, but secondly this piece is for the average political junkie who probably does at least look at C-SPAN everyday. So you might be better off watching Fashion Police, Project Runway or Access Hollywood or something to find out which latest hot celebrity is in trouble or whatever. Because this piece is about the U.S. Congress which is by far other than the presidency itself the most interesting part and important part of government anywhere else in the world.

First of all I think the Senate Democratic Leadership made a policy mistake by using the cloture rule to block any consideration of the House Republican passed Homeland Security funding bill that defunds President Obama’s immigration order. What the House Republicans did was stupid and is why we are we are with Homeland Security employees wondering if they are going to get paid next week. But at least allow that bill come to the floor to be debated and try to amend the bill and strict that portion of the bill out with the amendment process. That Leader McConnell has put back in. If that amendment passes now you have what you wanted in the first place which was clean funding bill. If the amendment fails then you can still block the bill from final passage.

Now politically what Senate Democrats are doing is working very well for them. Congressional Republicans are still getting blamed for the new-made up crisis by House Republicans and with Senate Republicans unable or unwilling to bring up a clean funding bill for Homeland Security. But the good guys (meaning Senate Democrats) still have an opportunity to save the day at the end of the day. By telling Speaker Boehner and Leader McConnell that if they give Senate Democrats a clean funding bill and bring it up for final passage and it passes, Senate Democrats wouldn’t block consideration of a repeal of President Obama’s immigration order, but as part of separate legislation. Pass Homeland Security and then debate and work on a bill to repeal the immigration order and pass immigration reform after Homeland Security is funded.

I know this as a Democrat that when Democrats took control of Congress in 2007 after being in the minority in the House for twelve years and the Senate for four years, that just because you control both chambers of Congress, doesn’t mean you get your way all the time. The House can pass anything they want to on their own with just the majority party if they are united. The Senate is a place where minority rights is real and where the Minority Leader is almost as powerful as the Majority Leader. They almost have to work together to get anything done. Congressional Republicans need to learn that quickly, because 2015 will be the only year they’ll have in this Congress to pass major legislation. And find ways to work with Congressional Democrats especially in the Senate to pass the legislation that they have to. Like appropriations and later on hopefully a budget.

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Commentary Magazine: Ben Cohen: Venezuela on The Brink

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Rik Schneider

Source:Commentary Magazine

I guess Venezuela at its best would be like Scandinavia where you would have a mid-size country or so of twenty-five million people who is not only energy independent, but a net-exporter of oil, gas, food and other resources that we all use. Social democracy is not my preferred system as a Liberal, but that type of government and economy could work very well in a country like Venezuela. Because of its natural resources and that with an educated society they would be able to afford a large welfare state for the country. Now I guess that would be Venezuela’s utopia as a developed country.

But the Venezuela of today is Hugo Chavez’s Neo-Communist Cuba inside of Venezuela. But not as bad, because Venezuela still has multi-party elections both for their National Assembly and presidency. And this is not 1959 Cuba where the central government nationalizes all sorts of different industries in the country. They’ve nationalized a few, but there is still a good deal of private enterprise in Venezuela. Which was essentially gone in Cuba by the early 1960s or so as the Marxists took over there. What you have in Venezuela is a country that is trying to develop socialist system through the welfare state financed by their energy sector, as well as private enterprise. But where political and personal freedom is very limited.

A country like that with that type of system that is heavily dependent on their energy sector and then treats its political opposition as the enemy even though they are peaceful and not armed rebels, doesn’t tend to succeed. Because the economy will only do well when the energy sector is doing well. When oil and gas prices are high and there’s a big need for that energy especially in other countries. And then add in economic sanctions coming from developed countries because of your bad human rights records just makes your economic problems even worst. What Venezuela should be doing is developing their entire country and not be so dependent on one sector. Regardless of type of political system and human rights record that they have.

Again I guess the dream for Venezuela would be Scandinavia. A social democracy with a social democratic economic system and political system. Where they use the energy sector not to power the entire economy, but resources from it to develop the rest of the country economically. Infrastructure, education, health care, the business sector, technology, things that all developed countries have. Not to try to just finance the current regime and eliminate the opposition so you can stay in power indefinitely even if the rest of the country suffers as a result.

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Foreign Affairs: Carlos W. Fernandez & Eric Lorber: Opening Cuba to Telecommunications Investment

Posted on February 24, 2015 by Erik Schneider

Source:Foreign Affairs

I agree that opening up the Cuban telecommunications industry and allowing for others to be involved there outside of the Castro Regime is a way to not only open up Cuba and open up a better relationship between America and Cuba, but the two government’s, is not only a good way to open up Cuba, but also a good way to open up the Cuban economy. The Castro Regime decided in the late 2000s or so that Marxism was failing in Cuba and that their state-owned economic system simply wasn’t working. Which is when they started opening up their economy to private investment and allowing for Cubans to start their own business’s. And sell off some of their state-owned business’s to the Cuban people.

But what has also failed is the American-Cuban Trade Embargo. A unilateral decision by the Eisenhower Administration in the late 1950s to end relations with the Cuban Government and stop trading with them. After the Castro Communists came to power in Cuba and started nationalizing a lot of the Cuban economy. While Europe, Asia and South America, Canada and Mexico continued to trade and relate with Cuba, America was on the sidelines. And stayed on the sidelines until the last few months believing that not trading and isolating Cuba would end the Castro Regime or at the very least get them to respect the human rights of their own people and act responsibly. That has obviously failed as the Castro Regime has been in power for fifty-five years now.

You open up countries by talking to them and incentivizing them to act responsibly. And you especially allow for the people’s of both countries to interact and for business’s of both countries to be able to trade with each other. Which is what we did during the Cold War either every country that was aligned with the Soviet Union including the People’s Republic of China. Shutting the door on a country when the rest of the country has their doors open to that country simply doesn’t work. Sanctions can only work when other countries apply the same sanctions as well. Which is why the sanctions on Russia and Iran have worked because both America and Europe have the same sanctions. And trading and communicating with Cuba will not only improve the relations of that country and the lives of the Cuban people.

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RAND: Christopher S. Chivvis: Libya, The Somalia on The Mediterranean?

Posted on February 23, 2015 by kireschneider
Libya

Source: Rand Corporation

Source:RAND Corporation

Unlike the War in Iraq, America and Europe went into the Libya and knocked out the Gadaffi Regime and let the Libyan rebels take over to try to build their own government and society for the people. Iraq of course is much different where America by itself went in and knocked out the Hussein Regime and tried to establish a new state itself and then brought in the Iraqi people. The thing about Libya is that new government wasn’t prepared to govern and defend their own country. Plus the new government had Islamists authoritarian ties that moderate Libyans didn’t want to be part of and as a result a new civil war has broken out.

Libya as a failed state is not in the best interest of the United States, United Kingdom and European Union. Especially in that part of the world where ISIS is already in Libya. That country with only six-million people, but with a lot of land the size of Algeria and Saudi Arabia, a large country would be disaster for the Democratic West if it were allowed to become a terrorist state. Which means America, Europe and the Arab League should step up and try to reestablish order in that country and allow for the Libyan people to go in and try to establish a new state that will represent the Libyan people as a whole. Not just the Islamists or the Democrats, but the whole country.

Which is why I would be in favor of an international force involving the United States with NATO, the European Union and Arab League to go into that country with a peacekeeping force while Libyans with democratic and responsible intentions go in and either work with current Libyan Government in Tripoli and build a new Libyan state that can govern and defend the entire country, or replace the current regime with a more democratic oriented that will work to bring peace to the country. Instead of trying to eliminate the opposition. And you could send in people from the United Nations, European Union, Arab League and even U.S. Foreign Service to help Libya develop a government and state that represents and governs the whole country.
RT: Looming Disaster- Libya on Brink of Civil War

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Center For Public Integrity: Wendell Potter: Britain’s Healthcare System is Better

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Derik Schneider

Center For Public Integrity

Just case there isn’t enough evidence that America won’t have a British based government-run health care system both health insurance and health care anytime soon perhaps not even in my lifetime and I’ll forty this year, is look at the Veterans Administration and the reforms they went though last year. Because of bipartisan legislation passed out of the last Congress that even Democratic Socialist Senator Bernie Sanders voted for and was actually one of the authors of the bill. That gives our military veterans actual choice which is a four-letter word for Socialists for the most part, in how they receive their health care. They now have an option of private or public health care.

Not even politicians and political activists as far to the Left as Senator Bernie Sanders, Ralph Nader and former U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich are calling for a complete nationalization of the United States health care system. They want Medicare For All single payer to go along with the private health care system. Meaning the providers, meaning hospitals and clinics. Senator Sanders is open to having a Medicare public option as a compromise to single payer. If the British health care system is so great, then why are they only of 3-4 developed countries in the world that have a complete government-run health care system. Britain, Sweden and maybe one or two others. Sweden a country of nine-million people by the way. That has a lot of land and is not only energy independent, but a net exporter of energy.

Seriously if anyone thinks that U.K. NHS is the health care model for America, first take a look at the VA pre-2014 and to see if that is what you want to impose on the entire country. And if you still believe that then propose the plan for complete nationalization of the American health care system. Which means not only outlawing private health insurers, but nationalizing private hospitals and clinics, making all doctors in the country now federal employees and nationalizing local community own and run hospitals and clinics. Even Britain has started moving away form their own state-owned health care system and has allowed for some private hospitals and clinics and small health insurers.

I like the Medicare public option idea and was a supporter of it back in 2009-10 and not for the reasons that Social Democrats in America wanted it. They saw it as the last step before single payer. I supported it for the opposite reasons because it would bring in that word that Social Democrats hate and see as a four-letter word, which is competition. You have Medicare available for everyone and get it out of the hands of Congress and the Administration and let it run a non-profit under the same regulations as private non-profits and it would force private health insurers including for-profits to deliver better services or risk losing a lot of business. That is how you improve health care in America and make it more affordable. Competition instead of creating a gigantic monopoly.

Posted in New Left, Originals | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Week: William Falk- Vladimir Putin Raises The Stakes

Posted on February 23, 2015 by Ederik Schneider

“My mother’s caregiver, Tamara, despises Vladimir Putin. She’s a Georgian, and bitterly resents Russia’s 2008 invasion of her home country and subsequent appropriation of South Ossetia and Abkhazia into Moscow’s orbit. “That idiot Putin!” Tamara cries every time I visit my mom. Putin, she says, is determined to reconstitute as much of the Soviet Union as possible; now that he’s carved off Crimea and eastern Ukraine, he will also find excuses to invade and swallow the three Baltic states. “If no one stops him,” she says, “that idiot will keep going. You’ll see.” I used to think Tamara’s fears were exaggerated, and that the pain of strong sanctions and a crumbling economy would deter Putin from further predations. But he has actually stepped up his aggression, with Russian state media predicting a direct military confrontation with the West — and warning that Russia might defend itself with a first-strike nuclear attack.”

Source:The Week

I have a hard time seeing even Vladimir Putin attempting to invade any of the Baltic States for one reason only which is NATO. If Russia attacks the Baltic States, that brings in NATO and then Europe and America would respond to what Russia is doing and would send in ships, planes, personal to defend those countries. And then Russia would have a big decision to make. Do they really want to take on NATO that is so heavily backed by America. Russia could sort of get away with what they did in Ukraine even though they are now paying a heavy price for it financially and economically because Ukraine is not under protection of NATO.

I’m sure Vlad Putin as dreams if not fantasies of reuniting the old Russian Empire and perhaps go back to the Soviet Union days, but with more of a private enterprise economy and a more developed country perhaps. But he doesn’t have the resources and the manpower to do that. The Russian Federation military is not the Soviet Union military obviously, as far as numbers and resources and manpower even. And they are very limited to what they can do especially their economy and economic growth is so linked with their state-owned energy industry that is struggling right now because of all falling oil prices and economic sanctions.

The Putin Administration needs to pay a heavy price for invading Ukraine. They need to continue to pay that heavy price since they brought that on themselves. And if that is short of physically being eliminated from Ukraine, then the economic price should be so severe that people in the Russian Government think to themselves, “how long are going to put up with this dictator and how much damage are we going to allow him to do to our country before we look at replacing him?”. And could come fairly soon as people inside of the Russian Federation are already very aware of the damage that their President has done to their economy.

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