What it looks like today

So the new President has finally arrived! As a contact from Argentina in another cyber world called him "Mr. Hope". That seems like a huge burden. I donated to his campaign. A first in my life. I wanted him to win almost as much as I wanted W to loose in '04.
The President is the CEO of America. As such he issues broad policy direction to the executive branch. If he is a good CEO with competent Department heads there will be changes in American policies.
He will have his biggest influence with budgeting those departments. Here he will have to compete with a Congress that seems to be full of ideologues on both the left and right. I will be surprised if he gets much cooperation in Congress. I think his work will be buried under Congressional buffoonery. I would not be surprised if in 2010 the Republicans make huge gains. Near majority in both houses.
Obama does not seem to have the nasty streak that it takes to reign in an undisciplined Congress. Every minute that he allows Congress to dither is a lost opportunity.
He'll cut back the Military presence in Iraq. Build up the Afghanistan forces and watch as things continue to fall apart in both countries.
Policies effecting the economy can have very few effects. The best effect is not screwing things up any more than they are. The alternative is adding to the problem and further screwing things up. A trillion here or there may help stabilize things. But it is my suspicion that most of that money is going to the wrong places and there are a lot of very powerful people who would not mind if Obama failed. They happen to be in places that will only be marginally effected if things continue to get worse. Certainly the entire Republican party is in that place.

Democrats the Phoney Anti-War party

In October of 2002 when they had a chance to make a difference they were to cowardly to oppose the president because they thought the same thing Bush thought, i. e. We will have a quick victory, install a friendly government and be gone in 12 to 18 months tops. The Democrats dilemma then was - What happens if they get caught on the wrong side of history. They would look like a bunch of doomsayers at a time of quick and easy victory. They were as shortsighted as Bush. They may not have had all the information that Bush had but it did not take Daily Intelligence Briefings to see the potential pitfalls. None of the past or present candidates who were serving at the time had the foresight to challenge the Administration on the implications of this belligerence. All the huffing and harrumping still resulted in positive votes by all the key Democrats. Kucinich voted against it and demands immediate withdrawal. While I like this proposal I can not see how it works without doing even more irreparable damage to US foreign interests.
My not so thorough review of the candidates reveals to me only two who have taken the time to outline plans for extricating ourselves from this debacle. At least they have thought hard about it and put out a plan. Anyone still hemming and hawing out there is in effect supporting Bush. This includes the media darlings of the Democratic party. They need to take a hard look at themselves. http://www.nytimes.com/ref/us/politics/IRAQPOSITIONS.html

Unacknowledged Sacrifice

I am not "link"savvy. I may have posted a link to a Washington post Op Ed piece that ran on Wednesday July 7th, 2006. I may not have posted it. In the event I did not, it is a piece written by F. John Duresky. He is a Captain in the Air Force currently serving in Iraq. The Captain writes about daily occurrences in Iraq and compares them to daily events in the US. It is apparent to the Captain that the overwhelming majority of citizens in the US are bored with news of the war and just want to move on with their lives as if there is no war. ( Please read the article. The Captain writes far more effectively than I.)
When I read the piece I was reminded of a small Christmas party I went to 19 months ago. The children of the hosts were College students. When I asked them what the feeling on campus was regarding the war I was met with silence. When I prodded a little more they said they had not heard much and quickly walked away from me.
It is my experience that most citizens do not care enough about the war to keep themselves informed. Especially those citizens espousing support for the president. Where I live the majority of my neighbors are vehemently opposed to the war. Where I work the feeling is one of faith that the president is somehow going to pull off a Hollywood ending to this unpleasant episode. A few months ago I solicited both communities for supplies that a relative of mine could use in Iraq. My neighbors overwhelmingly supported the initiative. My work community's support was nil. The one person in the office (quietly)not supporting the President flooded me with items. No one else gave anything!
I have been strongly opposed to this war since it's planning stages. When the shooting started I muted my protests in support of the soldiers. I may have been mistaken. I believe that at present muted protest is complicity in an immoral war.
I regret that Captain Duresky, my relatives and fellow citizens fighting this war are victims of an anesthesized citizenry.

A day at the Air Show

Attended my first Air Show yesterday. It was at Andrews AFB. Seems incredible that I went this far without seeing one. It helps to attend with Military credentials though. The parking, while not VIP, is much more convenient. As a side note the Major left her ID in the car at the parking lot. At the 2nd security checkpoint we had to catch a bus back to the parking lot to fetch her ID. Not bad at that time of day. It only delayed us about 20 minutes. The ground displays at this air show alone were fascinating. Anyone interested in military vehicles and equipment or anything that flys would be entertained for hours. Throw in the aerial events and it is a full afternoon well spent. The enclose photo is the rocket assisted C-130 used by the Blue Angels. I got a kick out of the child in the lower right holding her ears.
I was in the Army for 6 years in the 1970's. I witnessed something yesterday I never once saw during my enlistment. After the Blue Angels had flown the Major wanted to watch them taxi to a halt. The crowd had thinned out and we were able to walk up to the fence. As we stood there a few airmen dressed in their BDU's walked by on the other side of the fence. As they approached us 2 young boys standing next to us held their hands out to the airmen for "high fives". As they passed each of the airmen gave the boys the hand slap. It was very cute and amazing to me. Just some ordinary GI's doing ordinary work and these kids treating them like they were stars. It was great to see. Believe me, that did not happen in the 1970's.

Spear tip of American Foreign Policy

Yesterday I went with "S"to Walter Reed Army Hospital. I was fairly stressed walking through the hospital as I am ANY time I am in a hospital. I enjoyed seeing all the military people and the feeling that in this hospital someone was in charge. That's an old military joke ,but it did feel good.
I had been in the hospital for some time and was dealing with the stress that "S" was about to be put through a much more invasive procedure than originally thought. The nurse then found a way to get rid of me and make me feel useful at the same time. They sent me to pick up the meds "S" would need after the procedure. Due to some normal SNAFUs on several levels, it actually took over 2.5 hours to pick up these meds. That was 15 minutes less time than it was before "S" was released from post-op. It kept me busy and focused on things other than the immediate concern.

Walking through the hallways of Walter Reed turned out to be an emotional experience. I saw a robust looking young soldier walking toward me and only as he passed me in the hallway did I glance down and notice his prosthetic left leg. I was surprised that I even glanced down because the young soldier's walk was so unnoticeable. I was happy that this soldier walked with such confidence. I was worried that I was going to overanalyze the experience. I know myself way to well.

That soldier didn't need anything from me. He walked like a soldier with a purpose. But it was then that I remembered that this place was full of soldiers like him. Some much worse off. I thought back to the autumn of 2002 when Congress abdicated its power to a disturbed president. I wondered if I could have done more to prevent this war. A letter to a Congressman or Senator seems awfully lame at this point. Attending an antiwar demonstration in DC on a freezing cold Sunday in January was also weak. Why did we send these kids to a place where anyone with any sense could see that WE do not belong there.

If it was not such a disturbance to all the wonderful work being performed at the hospital it would not be a bad idea for all of us to witness what happens to those who are chosen to forcefully implement American diplomacy after the diplomats fail.