Iran and Saudi Arabia

Why would Iran try to kill the Saudi Ambassador to the United States? If you wanted to you could come up with all sorts of grand Tom Clanceyan conspiracy theories, but often the simplest answer is probably correct. Iran and Saudi Arabia are regional rivals for power in the Middle East. Because the Iranians know that targeting a US or Israeli ambassador would mean certain war, they chose the next best thing to accomplish two goals: demonstrate their power to the Sunni Saudis and show the U.S. that they have a global reach.

Using our southern border shows our vulnerability; not to mention highlighting the ease with which the Mexican cartels (armed with Fast and Furious guns) can be used to continually degrade our national security.

The operation was amateurish and thankfully failed, but it does give one pause that there may be some destabilizing elements in the highest reaches of the Iranian regime. What if this was a rogue operation? Will the Saudis reply militarily? Do they have the capability to considering they had to pay off their "Arab Spring" protestors? Will this provocation increase Israeli fears of Iran's reach or do they already know their capabilities to operate in the west?

There are many other questions that could come out of this incident...stay tuned.

A New Start

Well, it's time to get back on the horse and start bloggin' again. My last post was pretty uninspired, so I'll try to do a bit better. I just (re)-downloaded Blogger on my Android-based phone so there's no excuse for me not checking in to IntRam more frequently.

So, what's been happening? Herman Cain, the former Godfather's Pizza CEO is running ahead of pretty much everybody for the GOP nomination. I like his down-home, plain-spoken manner, I'm not sure about his 9-9-9 plan, but it's a start to get people talking. I was really excited that Rick Perry jumped into the race a couple of months ago, but he's been underwhelming. Although, that view is mainly coming from the left and people who don't like him on the right, so I'm still for Perry until he gets beat. Romney is just another slick-ass politician who will disappoint a lot of people if he's elected.

It's a shame that Gingrich has so much baggage in his past. He's clearly the smartest candidate we have and has the most robust intellect which would serve the country well. A general election campaign with him against Obama would just be brutal. All the rest of the candidates: Bachmann, Paul, Johnson, Santorum, Huntsman (am I forgetting someone?), are pretty much unelectable and may be vying for a cabinet post or appointment...

Well, that's it for now. Let's try to keep this going. I've been ranting and raving about a lot of stuff and I need to get it down on "paper"...

I wonder

Will posting a message from my phone actually work?

Wow

Well, it's been a loooong time since I posted here. A lot has happened since October 2009 (last post).

Obama has proven to be the disaster most thought he would be...

Democrats lost the House of Representatives, a bunch of Senate seats, Governor's mansions and state legislatures...

National health care passed, was repealed in the House and hopefully will be gone in a couple of years...

Blah, blah, blah. Who cares about all that? The most important thing is...

...the Steelers are going to their 8th Super Bowl!

The STAIRWAY TO SEVEN begins NOW!!

Here's a "deal" for ya!

According to PolitickerNJ.com, State Senate Minority Leader Tom Kean (R) has not dismissed out of hand the possibility of making a deal with weakened State Senate President Dick Codey (D) to ensure Codey's re-election to the senate presidency. Senator Stephen Sweeney, a south Jersey Democrat is challenging Codey and it looks like his challenge will be successful.

Codey may be looking to Kean to bring in some Republican votes with promises of chairmanships and other goodies. There's nothing new about deal-making in New Jersey politics, but I for one would like to see the Republican Party take a different tact for once. But first, here's the background by the numbers:

There are 23 Democrats and 17 Republicans in the State Senate. Nine Democrats are supporting Codey and 14 have come out publicly to support Sweeney. Do you see where I'm going with this?

What would motivate Republican voters more than a good ol' fashioned fight that would give them an opportunity to see their leaders show some gumption? Senator Kean needs to throw his hat in the ring for the Senate presidency and force the Democrats to make a choice. Obviously the Democrats wouldn't countenance a Republican senate president so they would have to make deals of their own (and that's what they're best at) to secure the presidency for Sweeney or Codey.

Why not throw a monkey wrench into the Democrat caucus for once? Why not show some fire and leadership and prove to the average Republican voter that there's someone in Trenton willing to go all in?

If the Republicans are concerned about angering the Democrats, who cares? What are they getting now? The Republicans are in the minority and don't look like they'll be out of it any time soon, so why not use this opportunity to show their differences?

And when I mean "all in", I really mean "ALL IN". This effort needs to be a full-fledged campaign. Chairman Jay Webber and the whole party establishment can use this opportunity to connect with solid and wayward Republican voters alike. Phone calls, mail pieces, etc should be sent out to demonstrate a new level of aggressiveness from the New Republican Party. This can be a catalyst for true change in how Republicans are viewed.

What's the downside? No chairmanships. So what, do you think Bill Baroni was going to get Judiciary? Or Tony Bucco was going to get the Budget Committee?

The collegial working relationship that is supposed to be the order of the day in the Senate won't be irrevocably damaged by Kean and the Republican caucus fighting for their beliefs and their voters. They actually may gain a new level of respect.

Give it a shot Mr. Minority Leader, you never know.

What will they say now?

We all remember the outrage from liberals around the world and here in America when the Abu Graib prison "abuse" stories hit the front pages. From Ted Kennedy to Nancy Pelosi to Barney Frank to Barack Obama, leftist politicians shouted from the rooftops about the so-called "abuses" perpetrated by members of our armed forces.

If they want to know about abuse, they need to read this article from the Times of London. It outlines what some have said about the treatment of Iranian protesters in Iranian prisons. Here's a short list of some of the alleged abuses:

• Fingernails pulled out
• Forced to lick dirty toilet seats
• Hair pulled out
• Beatings
• Death

Now, how does this stack up with putting a pair of panties on a prisoner's head or making them stand on a box with their hands outstretched? It doesn't. If liberals want to look for cruelty and find an offense around every corner, they don't need to look at our military, at George W. Bush or any other demon they love to hate. There is a stark example of evil in the Middle East.

We all need to wake up and see the threat that is coming over the horizon. The Iranian leadership are dasdardly little men who thrive on power and will not think twice about killing one of their own innocent citizens on the street to make a point. What do you think they will do with a nuclear weapon?

Ok liberals, here's your chance. Will you speak out against REAL abuse as harshly as you did about prisoners being embarrassed?

It's Official...

Well, I guess I have no choice. I'm going to have to rename this blog, the "Joe Biden Gaffe Hour". I tried to hold off, thinking that our Vice President wouldn't say something stupid on an almost daily, if not hourly basis, but, alas, he's beaten me down.

At an AARP rally full of bussed-in senior citizens, good ol' Joe said, remarkably, that:

“Now, people when I say that look at me and say, ‘What are you talking about, Joe? You’re telling me we have to go spend money to keep from going bankrupt?’” Biden said. “The answer is yes, that's what I’m telling you.”

Check out the full link to the article to see the whole context of his speech, but basically our fiscal policy consists of: "spend more to save money". If I'd only figured this out earlier I could have become Treasury Secretary (oh wait, I've always paid my taxes, so that's out).

Joe is like that kid who never got picked for a kickball team, but when finally chosen, he gets so excited he jumps up and down, doesn't pay attention and repeatedly kicks the ball foul. His teammates want to beat the snot out of him, but he looks so excited and is so enthusiastic that they don't have the heart to do it.

Well, a few more foul balls and Joe will be sitting on the sidelines watching, wondering "what if?".

Set up for a fall?

This is interesting...

President Obama has just given Vice President Gaffe a major part of his foreign policy portfolio. It was announced today that Joe "I wouldn't take a subway with this flu thing going on" Biden will be leading the effort to bring Shiites, Sunnis and Kurds together in Iraq as our armed forces leave the country.

Hmmm.

One of the biggest complaints from the left about former President Bush was that he gave former Vice President Cheney too much power and too big of a role in the administration. Now Obama is giving one of the biggest pieces of policy (foreign or domestic) to the man who can't keep his foot out of his mouth.

Hmmm.

As our men and women in uniform leave Iraq, some violence has begun (4 troops were killed as the cities were handed over to the Iraqi security forces) and we can all be sure that Al-Qaeda is waiting for the last of our forces to leave to try and destabilize the country. If that happens who will be to blame?

Hmmm.

Watch your back Joe; you know that in Washington, when the music stops you better have a chair to sit in or...

Hmmm.

It's here!

Can we all just agree that socialism is here?

Biden the Liability?

President Obama may be popular and look invincible right now, but he's got to be thinking things aren't totally rosy at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. As he tries to "remake" America into his own liberal (socialistic) image, he repeatedly has to watch what his partner-in-crime, Vice President Joe Biden is saying and doing.

The list of Biden Blunders is too long to even get into, but the latest one has got to have Obama cringing. Biden, speaking to a group of law enforcement officers, said that Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor will "have their back" when she reaches the highest court. Oops.

Everyone with just a grade school level of knowledge of the courts has to know that judges/justices must be impartial and make their decisions based on the merits and facts of the case before them. For all of the criminal defense attorneys and plaintiff lawyers who represent police brutality victims, these words must have come as quite a shock.

To the rest of us who were paying attention during the campaign, this is just another gaffe in a long line of them; not just from Biden, but from this unprepared, inexperienced and naive group that currently runs our country's executive branch.

I've written about Nancy Pelosi in previous posts and it made me think that we must have the most dimwitted, faux-intelligent leaders now than in any other point in our nation's history. People have told me that Obama is extremely smart and the other Democrats in charge are highly capable. To be honest, I haven't seen any of that yet.

From Obama's "I've visited 57 states so far" to Pelosi's "I didn't think the CIA was serious about waterboarding", none of us should be surprised that the country is heading down a dangerous path.

Considering all of Biden's gaffes in the short 6 months he's been in office, would anyone be surprised if he wasn't dumped from the ticket in 2012? He's got three and half more years to stick his foot in his mouth and the Democrats are all about winning. If Biden becomes too much of a liability, he'll suddenly come down with some illness or family situation that will preclude him from running.