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The Broader View: The Importance of Restraint

Trump orders the killing of General Suleimani and top aides and on 1/3/2020, the vehicle they were traveling in after arriving in Baghdad is hit by a rocket fired from a drone. They go up in flames.

Suleimani was in charge of Iran’s military interventions in the region (Iraq, Syria, Lebanon, Gaza, Saudi Arabia, Yemen) and thus responsible for much devastation and misery, including the death of Americans.

But how did we get there?

Deeply held rivalries in the area go back many years and have been increased by the establishment of the Israeli state, which we back.

Maintaining our commitment to supporting Israel does not mean, however, giving in to the wishes of their leaders.

The Middle East remains a cauldron of festering enmities shared by millions of people and which will require the concerted effort of enlightened local leaders to mitigate. And it will take many years for that to happen.

There will be no clear winner in that process and it is obvious that for a modicum of peace to be reached, a series of compromises and an abundance of education, restraint and economic development will be needed.

That long term view was the motivation behind the nuclear deal signed in 2015 between the US, Iran, China, France, England, Germany and Russia.

The deal called for Iran to stop the development of nuclear weapons for a 10 year period in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions. The point of the deal was to gain us time. Precious time for Iran to develop economically, and for that development to take root in their people and in the surrounding area so that attitudes toward compromise became more amenable.

But that option did not seem sufficiently comforting to Netanyahu and company. They saw the nuclear deal as ‘appeasement’ of Iran. Anyway, it was an Obama idea and what did he know? It well suited Netanyahu’s bellicose instincts that the idea be scrapped.

But the nuclear deal would have been very acceptable to a man like former Israeli prime minister Yitzhak Rabin, who was murdered by an Israeli extremist in 1995. (even developed nations murder their best, like we did JFK and Martin Luther King and Robert Kennedy)

Men and Women make a difference. Yitzhak Rabin was a leader with an intelligence, imagination and compassion that Netanyahu has been incapable of emulating.

When Netanyahu sees Trump become president, he sees his chance to scrap the nuclear deal. And it suited Trump just as well. For Trump, anything Obama did was tainted. And Netanyahu whispered the right words into his ears. Scrap the deal! Make us safer!

Was the signing of the nuclear deal with Iran an abandonment of Israel? Of course not.

We stand by that nation in good and bad times. That commitment has been made.

While the US is strong, Israel will always have a staunch ally and we will go to their side if they are in danger.

But that does not mean that we have to stop efforts at finding a compromise.

Trump, with his limited foresight, could not get it. He does not have that imaginative reach and we are the worse for it.

Iran has vowed retaliation for Suleimani’s death. There is no question that it will come. Such retaliation could take any shape, happen in foreign soil or on our own, be directed toward military installations or toward innocent civilians. Anyone of us could be a victim.

It should give us pause.

Pause to think why we elect our leaders. Pause to remind us that our choice of leader must have the ability to think under pressure, to have compassion, to have an imagination, to care for other human beings. It is not easy to find all those qualities in a person but seek them we must. Or we will pay for the consequences.

A few days ago, I had the opportunity to view a photo exhibit of American soldiers who had died in the service of the nation. They were from all races. Men and women of various ages, who had committed to defending our nation. Each photograph was compelling. Each made me reflect.

Freedom has a price and those courageous men and women had volunteered to fight for all of us. The least they deserve is for our leaders to honor their commitment by being judicious in their choices.

Keeping such photo exhibit as a permanent installment in the White House, would help remind our presidents of what sacrifices Americans make.

Oscar Valdes

Take Immigration and the Economy Away from Trump. Now!

There is the possibility, let’s be really clear about it, that Trump might get reelected.

It sounds like a nightmare, doesn’t it, but there it is.

A man who lost the popular vote in 2016 by nearly 2.9 million votes has a chance of becoming our president for another 4 years.

Trump took the immigration issue and whipped his supporters into a frenzy. He painted a picture that immigrants where the reason they had not fared better economically. Or socially.

It was the immigrants’ fault. And he would clean house, build a wall, put in restrictions, stir as much hatred as possible so his loyal supporters could march to the polls and put in that ballot for him.

But immigration is not Trump’s issue. It is the nation’s issue. All of us should have a say in the matter.

Immigration has helped us become the strong nation that we are. A nation one hundred times better than Trump (who, while decrying immigrants, has married two immigrant women).

It should be up to all Americans to decide how to handle immigration.

It should not be up to a man who lost the popular vote.

His supporters do not represent the will of this nation.

We do need new legislation on immigration for we must be in control of our borders. But such control should be based on a consensus reached by all Americans.

Which is why I am proposing that we hold a National Referendum on Immigration.

How many immigrants should be allowed in, with what skills, from which countries, for how long a period?

After a set period of discussion on the pros and cons, then all Americans would vote on what to do about it. Then it would go to congress to be made into law.

Our democratic presidential candidates have not taken this matter seriously.

Immigration deserves to be front and center, with a sound plan to address it, otherwise Trump will do the same that he did in 2016 and stir more hatred of immigrants in his supporters.

To check him, a plan is needed. And it is needed now!

On the Economy.

Is it better than under Obama? Yes. This in spite of the dampening effect of the ill advised tariff war with China. But who blocked the needed spending to boost the economy during 2010-2015? Republicans in congress (please see Paul Krugman – The Legacy of Destructive Austerity – NYTimes 12/30 2019). The same Republicans who then, after Trump became president, chose to reverse course and approve such spending.

The duplicity of Republicans has to be exposed. Their blocking of Obama’s economic measures clearly harmed Americans’ economic wellbeing.

Democratic presidential candidates need to be very vocal on these two issues.

The harm caused by Republican policy has been devastating to the nation.

It should be front and center in the presidential political debate.

Finally, a word in support of Common Cause’s effort to Fix The Broken Electoral College by sponsoring a proposal for a ‘National Popular Vote Compact’ which is ‘… an agreement among states to guarantee the presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.’

To donate online please go to commoncause.org/join.

Thanks

The Debate in Atlanta

It was a good one. The candidates showed voters that the nation has people of substance to choose from and I found it inspiring that they all spoke of the importance of unifying the nation. They were reaching out to all Americans.

No one in particular ran away with it but I think Warren and Biden are beginning to edge out the rest of the group.

Medicare for All will be the crucial issue throughout the race. It will probably sink Sanders since he’s taken the most extreme position, that of pushing the program from day one in office. The issue could end up damaging Warren also, but she’s starting to sound a more gradualist approach so she’ll fare better than the Vermont Senator.

Biden surprised me in that he appears to be growing stronger as the campaign moves on. He stumbled once but held up pretty well overall.

Booker was spirited, as were Klobuchar, Yang, Steyer, Buttigieg, Steyer, Harris and Gabbard.

One of them will end up being the Vice-presidential candidate.

If Warren wins the nomination, she’ll likely not choose Biden as VP but if Biden is the winner, he will pick a woman from the group of Warren, Klobuchar and Harris.

Who will Warren choose as running mate? I think she’ll go with Booker, with Yang and Buttigieg having a chance at it.

The new entries in the race, Michael Bloomberg and Deval Patrick, have little chance to catch up. They were too late to get going.

The next debate is in Los Angeles in early December.

Will Impeachment Eclipse the Drive to November 2020?

The impeachment inquiry is taking up a whole lot of time and energy, whereas the outcome is very uncertain.

Trump cannot keep from making mistake after mistake, but for democrats to use up so many resources, to the point of diminishing the drive to persuade enough voters to beat him at the ballot box, is a monumental mistake.

At present, the center stage is Trump’s and he loves it, and that is not lost on the electorate who is not inclined to read the fine print in the multitude of documents to be reviewed. Soon they will be bored with the proceedings.

‘It will turn out to be a positive for me,’ Trump said defiantly in response to the announcement of the inquiry. I suspect he will be right.

Subpoenas will be issued and the many actors will take their seat in front of the panel of interrogators, but the questions and answers will be difficult to follow. I assure you there will be much frustration as the respondents give vague answers like, ‘I don’t recall’ and ‘To the best of my recollection this is all I know…’ etc.

Let us not forget that in Trump’s universe, there are two kinds of lawyers and only two: those who take notes and those who don’t. He picks those who don’t. Enter Rudy Giuliani.

Will the distinguished former New York mayor have a clear memory of what happened in his many meetings in the Ukraine? Of course not. And the interrogators will be pulling out their hair. Will Ukraine be cooperative? It depends. Do they think Trump will win reelection? Judging by the enthusiasm of Mr Zelensky, their president, Trump is faring well in that land.

There is an abundance of facts to make the case that Trump should not be reelected. But the hard work needed to persuade people to vote for a democratic candidate remains to be done.

There is a thirst in the American electorate for a person to lead us whose task is simply that, to lead. Lead us to connect with each other, to decrease inequality and increase opportunity.

There is a great desire in the American electorate for someone without personal problems, someone who can focus on the task of leadership and is not hungry for personal attention.

But it will take time to clarify the winning message that will make voters eager to cast their ballot come November 2020. There are no short cuts to get there.

Trump can and should be beat at the ballot box.

Impeachment should not eclipse the light that can take us there.

The Problem of Political Correctness

It does not allow for the evolution of a person.

There’s a whole lot that can happen in a 15-20 year span.

A whole lot that can be learned,

A whole lot of transformation that can take place.

So to pillory people, of whatever political ideology

For events going back more than 15 or 20 years

Is to ask for a standard of purity that reeks of absurdity.

Life and events affect us profoundly,

Sometimes taking us in very different directions.

To not allow for this, risks filtering out people

With great ability and healing capacity.

Judging a person by their actions (unless criminal) in the last 15-20 years,

The span of a generation,

Should be enough to know where they stand.

Beware models of purity,

They come in boxes where rich imaginations cannot live.

An Unnecessary War

Trump is on the verge of ordering an attack on Iran.

If he had not pulled out of the agreement with that nation, calling for it to halt their development of nuclear weapons in exchange for the lifting of economic sanctions, an agreement arduously negotiated by Obama and including European nations and Japan, we would not have this crisis.

The deal was to last 10 years, during which there would have been time for changes to occur in Iran, but Trump was seduced by Netanyahu into breaking the pact and here we are on the brink of war.

If we go to war this will be Trump’s war, timed perfectly with Netanyahu’s bid for another term as prime minister of Israel in tomorrow’s election.

Here’s a leader, Israeli voters can confidently say as they head to the polls, who can whisper things in Trump’s ear and make things happen,

Woe to us for tolerating this.

American Factory. The Documentary. A Review.

In 2010, a plant that had been vacated two years earlier by General Motors in Dayton, Ohio, was taken over by Fuyao, a Chinese manufacturer of glass for automobiles. ‘American Factory’ is the story of what transpired as two cultures came together to make the enterprise successful.

It wasn’t easy. Each side had to work hard to try and understand the other.

A group of experienced Chinese workers is brought in to teach the work to the Americans. The Chinese do the complicated technical job effortlessly as the Americans look on. It will take time for them to come up to speed.

Some Chinese are skeptical or scornful.

‘Their fingers are fat,’ says one Chinese supervisor. ‘They are lazy’ says another. ‘In China the workers do six (12 hour) shifts a week, with two days off per month. The Americans do only 8 hours a day and don’t like to work the weekends.’

One Chinese executive, after explaining the best approach to working with the Americans, ends by reminding his Chinese audience that they are better than their hosts.

And yet, there is kindness on both sides.

An American worker speaks warmly of his Chinese supervisor and all that the man has taught him. In turn, he invites the supervisor and fellow Chinese to his farm.

We hear a Chinese worker showing admiration for the American lifestyle. He’s had to make sacrifices in coming to the US, like not seeing his family for long periods at a time.

A group of American supervisors invited to China to see the company’s factories witness the enthusiasm of their people, but also are struck by the strict regimentation of the workers. Is that what it has taken for their country to rise so quickly?

Like with their Chinese counterparts, the pressure of factory production on the Americans is demanding and unforgiving, requiring an enormous amount of attention to detail. A mistake and you’re injured. A little slow and you’re out.

American managers have their problems too. At the beginning we’re shown one such manager enthusiastically advocating for Fuyao. At the end he’s been sacked. He’s bitter.

Transplanting to the US the Chinese company’s style leads to mounting grievances and eventually the Americans try to unionize, but the majority vote against it. They want their jobs. ‘All the union will do,’ says one worker – a woman, ‘is keep the bad workers…’

The film is many things, and one that is plain is the contrast between the managerial and worker classes.

We’re told that Fuyao did not become profitable until 2018, all the while paying its employees $14 and hour. When General Motors was the employer, some workers were making $29 an hour. But Fuyao was now the only option available.

Think of the car you drive and the clear and sturdy windshield that helps you cruise smoothly at 80 miles per hour or more, your hair unruffled by the wind. The film shows us the complexity and skill involved in making possible that experience, the many steps necessary to deliver a light panel of glass that will not blow up in your face. And think then of how little the workers are paid.

Thought provoking and humane, we come away from the viewing of the film with a sense of how much needs to be done to build bridges across nations, and across social classes.

The Speech that Biden and Sanders are About to Give.

(It was written by the two and is to be delivered by them at two separate locations at the same time)

Dear fellow Americans,

At no time in our history, have so many talented women chosen to run for the office of president. At no time has there been such great need for our best publicly minded citizens to step forward.

The values that our nation holds dear, freedom, openness, fairness, strength of character, compassion, are under assault by the bigoted and the small minded.

Democracy itself being under siege, it is urgent that we join forces to fight back against those who seek to divide us and plunge us into darkness.

The two of us have a long history in politics. You may disagree with us on some matters, but we both are confident that, in our different capacities and to the best of our abilities, we have always endeavored to do the best we could for the nation.

And so it is that with both sadness and joy, the two of us would like to announce that we are no longer seeking the office of the presidency.

We are saddened because we are putting aside our highest personal ambition, which is not easy.

We are joyful because we think our decision will pave the way for a woman to become president to all Americans.

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate who will be showered with money by the financiers and business people who want to continue to get the tax cuts and deregulations that favor them.

We democrats are facing in Mr Trump a candidate for whom money will not be an obstacle in this election, because the affluent class of this country sees him as their best hope to maintain inequality and keep them in power .

But the unfairness we are seeing in taxes, in health care, in education, is breaking our backs and degrading the American spirit.

This is the time to stand up against those forces that keep spreading the word that if the very rich cannot keep getting richer, why then there would be no more creativity in the land.

This is the time to rise against those forces that keep telling us that if the very rich are not given unlimited privileges, why then the rest of us would not have it in ourselves to find our way to prosperity and harmony.

They are wrong. Very wrong.

We democrats, strongly believe, that when education and health care are made available to all of us, then that will release the drive and ingenuity that is needed to create a world where there is dignity alongside plenty.

And we believe, that this very special moment in our history, is just the right time for an American woman to step front and rise to the office of the presidency, leading us to unity, greater prosperity and reestablishing our place among the nations of the world.

In 1789, two hundred and thirty years ago, we elected George Washington as our first president.

During those two hundred and thirty years since we elected George Washington, we have never elected a woman president.

Two hundred and thirty years.

My fellow Americans, don’t tell us that in nearly a quarter of a millennium there has not been a highly qualified woman capable of carrying out the duties of president of this nation.

There has not been a woman president in our land because consciously or unconsciously, overtly or covertly, we consistently have thought of ourselves as better than them.

Let us be brave and admit it, for that is the first step toward healing the soul.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who was just as talented as you are or more.

Look into your heart and tell us that you have not come across a woman who did not have ample leadership qualities.

If you haven’t then you haven’t looked. If you haven’t then you have been blind. Talented women are everywhere, they are standing next to us this moment. They are present in every field of endeavor, and they have been vastly underutilized.

It has been our loss. We cannot afford such waste.

Our current president is a symbol of the undervaluing of women. Put aside his many degrading remarks and just look at the composition of his cabinet. Out of 15 positions, only 2 are presently occupied by women. Only 2, the secretaries of education and transportation. Is this not a representative democracy?

Both of us who have crafted this speech have had good political careers. We’re not done yet. But we think that we both have had a good run and that it is time to step aside and let a woman move forward.

We are taking this position, more than a year before the election, because we believe that the electorate needs to get to know the women candidates for president. We are also taking this position partly because of our age, and there’s no turning back the hands of time.

We may have our own preferences as to a woman candidate, but we are not endorsing anyone just now.

We strongly believe, however, that during this next year before the general election, we will need to concentrate our efforts and that the less diluted the field is, the more clear our choice will become, and the less likely it will be that we squander much needed resources.

Fellow Americans, the nation needs to heal.

Our current president is tearing us apart.

We need someone with the capacity to reach out to those whose animosity is consuming them, remind them that in unity lies our strength, and so begin to build the bridges to a fairer, kinder and stronger America.

Let us make 2020, the Year of the American Woman*. By then, it will have been 231 years since we elected our 1^st president.

Thank you

And God bless America.

Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders.

*The idea that 2020 be designated the Year of the American Woman, was first proposed on 7/18/2019 by an obscure California writer and blogger who shall remain unnamed.

Hong Kong and the Tariff war.

There they are, week after week, the residents of Hong Kong protesting the mainland’s suppression of their liberties, in violation of the agreement China signed in 1997 with England which would guarantee the territory keeping their rights for another 50 years. Week after week the protesters continue to fight, and week after week the police and armed thugs push them back.

Is the rest of the world taking a firm stand against the mainland’s repression of the protesters?

No.

The US could be summoning international support to tell China not to mistreat the protesters but it is not. And it is not because Mr Trump has not valued our alliances.

Our president may think he has achieved a great victory in getting China – through his imposition of tariffs – to drop from being our number one trading partner to becoming our third largest, behind Canada and Mexico, but that is no victory at all. Instead, what the tariffs have done is increase animosities and hurt the global economy.

As Trump has carried on with applying tariffs on China and threatening them on our allies, our stature in the world has diminished.

As Trump has carried on against immigrants, our moral standing has suffered too.

Meanwhile, with each protest, the people in Hong Kong keep sending out a call to the nations of the world to take a stand with them in the fight for freedom. We used to be able to hear those calls but gone is our moral leadership.

Can we ask China not to repress the protesters in Hong Kong when we are bashing them with tariffs? They would laugh at us.

Can we ask the rest of the world to take a stand with us? The likely answer, ‘aren’t you all about making America great again? That doesn’t include us, does it?’

The courageous people of Hong Kong will fight on because that is their precious land. They are fighting for their freedom. They are also fighting for the freedom of all Chinese, even those in the mainland whose voices are harshly suppressed.

One day China will be free, and they will do so fueled by the memories of the sacrifices of their brothers and sisters in Hong Kong.

What Mr Trump doesn’t get, is that China’s drive for becoming a great nation cannot be stopped.

Yes, they have traded unfairly and stolen technology, but they have it in them to learn from it and create their own. Didn’t they already travel to the other side of the moon without our help?

A different approach to the trade problem was available, and still is, one that includes cooperation with our allies who are also affected. But our myopic president dismissed such option. The complexities of the world dwarf him.

Had he not started a tariff war, we, and the rest of the world, could well have been in a better position to stand together in defense of Hong Kong.

And yet, still we hope, that Hong Kong doesn’t turn into another Tiananmen.

The Financier Jeffrey Epstein. A Brief Note.

He made a lot of money and used it to abuse underage women. He could hire the best attorneys to minimize culpability, he had mansions and private islands and knew lots of famous people,

and yet

ended up dying in a prison cell, by his own hand.

All that money can buy did not help.

All that money can buy did not get him the serenity to face his sexual urges and say, ‘I must control this. I am harming other human beings and myself. I am taking advantage of underage women.’

All that money can buy did not get him the inner strength to say, ‘I am a capable man but my sexual urges overwhelm me, I cannot control them.’

All that money can buy, all those ‘high powered’ people he surrounded himself with, none of it, was enough to get him a moment of quiet were he could say, ‘I need help. I am desperately in need of it. I cannot manage my impulses on my own. I do not have the power. Money does not give me that power. How can I find it? Where?’

Maybe he even had moments when he looked up the number of a psychiatrist or psychologist and almost dialed it, maybe even passed by the office, thought of going in, even knocked on the door only to change his mind at the last minute.

Maybe.

Did anyone around the wealthy financier, did anyone close to Jeffrey ever say to him, ‘dear man… you are ill… very ill… and you need help. With help you can heal. There is help. Help to turn your life around. Please get help, for your sake and that of others.”

All that money can buy.