I recently happened to be at an event where billionaire George Soros was being interviewed. The right wing hates Soros because he is: (a) liberal, (b) rich, and (c) fearless. [I could also make a case that they hate Soros because he is (d) Jewish, but I leave that up to you.]
Soros said a lot of things, but he said two sentences that I wish that everyone could hear. This is what he said:
“You can’t cut your way out of a recession. You have to grow your way out of a recession.”
Yesterday, I wrote about President Obama's announcement last week that he had signed an agreement to extend the U.S. military occupation of Afghanistan for twelve more years. I said that at this point, the war in Afghanistan very much resembles what, in October 2002, State Senator Barack Obama called a "dumb war."
Which begs this question: what is not a "dumb war"? Well, we just saw a good example of a not-dumb war, at least if you happen to be French.
Last year, Nicolas Sarkozy, the President of France, decided that he was going to take out Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. I'm not going to argue whether that was right or wrong; that's not the point. The point is that France won that war, at very minimal cost.
So the French Air Force bombed Libyan targets. But France also enlisted NATO support. In fact, France's NATO allies bore 80% of the cost of the war in Libya.
The actual cost to France was 320 million euros, which equals around $415 million. And not one French soldier died. (I'm aware of the fact that around 25,000 Libyans died, but again, that's not the point.)
In the airport in Atlanta yesterday, I happened to be standing next to some American soldiers, wearing camouflage, on their way to Afghanistan. They knew the name of the province that they were going to, but they were arguing over what part of the country that province is in. One said the east. One said the south. One said the west. One of them thought that their destination was near Kandahar, but then they started arguing over where Kandahar is located.
I hope that they get it all sorted out before the shooting starts.
If they don't know what part of the country that they're going to, then what are the chances that they speak the local language? (There are 48 different native languages in Afghanistan.) What are the chances that they know anything about Islam? (Which is practiced by more than 99% of all Afghans, language differences notwithstanding.)
Herman Cain came to Orlando to campaign against me last week. And yes, it's still more than six months before the November election. But as the Republicans see it, I am what the military refers to as a "high value target." So they bring out the big guns early, and the bombardment begins.
I've told people that I was secretly hoping that Herman Cain would win the Republican nomination. Because if both parties nominated an African-American for President, then every racist in America would feel like committing suicide.
Nevertheless, I was surprised to see Herman Cain leading in the Republican polls both in Iowa and nationwide, last October and November. I understand the Republican's desperation to nominate someone other than Mitt Romney, but Herman Cain for President? Seriously?
Our favorite Congressman, and yours, was on national TV again last Thursday. The subject was Mitt Romney and George W. Bush – what do they have in common?
Candidate for Congress (D-FL)
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