Who gets to the WMDs first? We or Al Queda?

(My new American Thinker post) The reality is that someone is going to get to those WMDs currently protected by the Syrian army.  Someone will control them.  The question is whether it will be our side or Al Qaeda.

The latest is that the Syrian PM was attacked in what he thought was safe Damascus. 

Well, nothing is safe in Syria and specially not those WMDs that Al Qaeda is desperately trying to get their hands on.  The UK press is all over this story:

"The fight for al-Safira is no ordinary turf war, however, and the prize can be found behind the perimeter walls of the heavily-guarded military base on the edge of town. Inside what looks like a drab industrial estate is one of Syria's main facilities for producing chemical weapons - and among its products is sarin, the lethal nerve gas that the regime is now feared to be deploying in its bid to cling to power"

Al Qaeda will challenge the aforementioned walls.  They want those WMDs because it gives them the power to diminish their opposition.   WMDs also give you leverage, as North Korea is showing.   The Israelis also fear that those weapons could go to Hezbollah.

We have two choices.  We can say that the US public is tired of war and watch Al Qaeda overrun the walls.  Or, we can make a military statement and keep Al Qaeda from those weapons.

I am not saying that this easy or simple.  We have a son in the US Army so these discussions of military involvement are not theoretical in our home. 

There are risks and consequences both ways.  My point is that the days of "leading from behind" and hoping a speech will solve every problem are indeed over.

Who gets the weapons?  I hope that we have a president who will lead and explain to the nation that we can not allow those weapons to fall in the hands of terrorist groups.

Well, I hope that we have such a president because we really need one!

 

---

Tags: Syria and the WMDs  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

The problem with Syria is that there are no pretty options

(My new American Thinker post)

Be careful about promises because someone is likely to remind you of them.   Remember when President Obama issued a warning, the "red line" in Syria?  The game changer statement?

It looks like someone crossed the line  and US intelligence agencies agree that they have. 

President Obama is buying time arguing about what the definition of what a "red line" is.    The bottom line is that the line was crossed and everyone is looking for President Obama's next move!

The reality is that Syria is one of those impossible problems reserved for presidents.  And the "problem" just landed in the Oval Office.

What do you do?

1) Do nothing is not an option.  You can't sit back and let someone drop chemical bombs on innocent people.  We did that with Saddam Hussein and it just emboldened him to invade Kuwait and get very reckless. 

Also, doing nothing sends a signal to Israel about what we could do in Iran, another one of those problems headed in President Obama's direction.  Doing nothing will also throw Jordan into turmoil.

2) Go to the UN.  Well, how did that work with Iraq?  How much help are we getting from allies in Afghanistan?  Unfortunately, President Obama will find out what President Bush and Clinton found out about the UN.  The UN is really good about making anti-American statements but it is not very helpful with any of the world's serious problems, like Syria today, Iraq and Sudan in the past.

3) Call on the Europeans to help.  Good luck with that.  The Europeans are too busy with their unemployment and collapsing welfare states.  Furthermore, their "militaries" are inadequate anyway.   We saw in Libya that NATO can not put 2 jets in the air without US assistance.

4) Send US troops.  The US public won't go for that.  Furthermore, President Obama has not prepared the public.  He has not even explained Afghanistan and we have 60,000 troops there!  

There are no pretty options but something must be done.

Syria is about to to get very complicated.  I feel sorry for President Obama because Syria is awful!   

--------------------------------------------

Click here for Sunday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: The Syria mess  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Yes, Obamacare is a roadblock to economic growth

(My new American Thinker post)

The US economy and baseball player Josh Hamilton have something in common:  they are both in a big slump.

The first quarter GDP numbers are in and it is not good:

"The bad news is that this recovery is still half the pace of the normal expansion. The Joint Economic Committee reports that if the economy had grown at the typical pace coming out of recession, at this stage GDP would be closer to $17.4 trillion. This $1.4 trillion growth deficit is roughly the size of the combined annual production of Michigan, Ohio and Pennsylvania in 2011." (WSJ)

Translation:  We are not growing!

My "day job" is recruiting and let me tell you what the marketplace is telling me. 

 

I am on the phone with small to medium size businesses in Dallas TX.  They are confused.  They don't think that the government is working for them.

 

It all started with Obama-Care, the worst piece of legislation ever passed by the federal government.  It was bad because it did not address the health care problems, such as "preexisting conditions" and mindless lawsuits.

 

ObamaCare has spooked the business owners.  They don't understand it and aren't in a mood to hire an accountant to explain the 2000 pages.

 

The economy will continue to stagnate until someone pulls the plug on this monster called ObamaCare!   By the way, that "someone" may be a coalition of Democrats in panic mode!

---------------------------------------

Click here for Sundaty's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: The US economy  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Uncertainty is killing the US economy

We've spoken in the past about uncertainty and the US economy.  Well, this is pretty clear from Bill McNabb:

"Quite simply, if firms can't see a clear road to economic recovery ahead, they're not going to hire and they're not going to spend. It's what economists call a "deadweight loss"—loss caused by inefficiency.
Today, there is uncertainty about regulatory policy, uncertainty about monetary policy, uncertainty about foreign policy and, most significantly, uncertainty about U.S. fiscal policy and the national debt. Until a sensible plan is created to address the debt, America will not fulfill its economic potential."

Very well said!  Click here for the Sunday show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Uncertainty is killing the US economy  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Obama fatigue PLUS reality is helping revive GW Bush

The opening of the Bush Library put Pres GW Bush back on the front pages.  

Time will tell the story on the GW Bush legacy.   

Frankly, GW Bush is indeed benefiting from a little Obama fatigue, as Peggy Noonan calls it.

Also, he kept the county safe, as Charles Krauthammer posted on Friday.
  
Some people will always hate Bush no matter what.  I think that most Americans will give him a second look and his comeback will continue.

We spoke with Bill Katz of Urgent Agenda about the Bush legacy.  Click here for the Sunday show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Obama fatigue PLUS reality is helping revive GW Bush  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Dear President Obama: Let's fix the problem rather than insult our intellegence with pandering for votes!

(My new American Thinker post) AG Holder just confirmed what I posted yesterday about the Obama Administration's lack of seriousness about immigration reform. AG Holder's comments demonstrate to me that some liberals just want the issue rather than a serious solution to a problem:

""Creating a pathway to earned citizenship for the 11 million unauthorized immigrants in this country is essential. The way we treat our friends and neighbors who are undocumented – by creating a mechanism for them to earn citizenship and move out of the shadows – transcends the issue of immigration status. This is a matter of civil and human rights. It is about who we are as a nation. And it goes to the core of our treasured American principle of equal opportunity."

This is obscene and further proof that they want the issue rather than a solution.

How in the world can anyone connect immigration policy with civil rights? In the 1960's, people marched because black US citizens were denied their civil rights. It is incredible that the first black AG would make a statement like that. Wonder what Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks would say about a reckless and "pandering" statement like that?

Let me repeat: The Obama team wants to give speeches rather than fix the problem!

Yes, I want to fix the immigration mess. We have "de-facto" amnesty! Simply put, we have a mess and it's get messier every day.

How do we fix this mess? Let me tell you how this naturalized US citizen who came here legally would do it:

1) Drop the path to citizenship. It divides Congress and illegal immigrants are not asking for it. The only people asking for a path to citizenship are Democrats and some misguided Republicans. I have never had an illegal immigrant tell me that he wants to be a citizen so that he can vote. What they are telling me is that they want to work.

Furthermore, a path to citizenship insults my parents and others who came here legally. There are thousands of people who are waiting to come here legally. What message are we sending them?

2) Offer a "work visa" to anyone who is willing to submit to a few procedures:

a) pay a fine for breaking the law and using fake documents;

b) submit to a criminal background check; and,

c) make estimated tax payments if applicable.

3) Make it clear that "green cards" and "citizenship" will only be available to those who do it the right way.

4) Let employers know that there will be stiff fines for those who hire people without papers and jail sentences for repeat offenders.

Last, but not least, drop this nonsense that we are being "mean" for enforcing immigration laws or expecting visitors to respect them.

Every country in the world, and specially Mexico, has immigration laws. Stop apologizing for our immigration laws! Please stop. No country in the world, and again specially Mexico, apologizes for their immigration laws.

The purpose of immigration laws is to protect the home country. For example, these laws are in place to protect home workers from employers who'd gain an advantage by hiring workers on the cheap.

My proposal is fair, respects the rule of law and values US citizenship.

However, I fear that people like AG Holder are bent on killing immigration reform so that they can run in 2014 blaming the GOP rather than explaining this "train wreck" called ObamaCare!

---

Tags: Immigration reform To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Some thoughts on college graduates and the jobs market

It's almost June and time for graduation ceremonies and parties.  It is also time to take a look at higher education and the students that we are graduating.

I found this report rather striking:

"One reason there may not be so many grads hired is that many employers don't believe college graduates are trained properly.
A survey of 500 hiring managers by recruitment firm Adecco, found that a majority—66 percent— believe new college graduates are not prepared for the workforce after leaving college. Fifty-eight percent said they were not planning to hire entry level graduates this year, and among those managers hiring, 69 percent said they plan to bring on only one or two candidates.
"Too many students are graduating with a weak background in science and math," said Mauri Ditzler, president of Monmouth College."  (CNBC)

There are no simple answers but we could try a couple of things:

1) Stop handing out so many loans to students.  All we are doing is creating a generation of young people under-employed and in debt; 

2) Encourage more high school to purse vocational training.  We need more plumbers and roofers.  Frankly, there is more money in roofing and plumbing than literature; and,

3) Have every high school student check out Aaron Clarey's "Worthless":

Click here for Friday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Some thoughts on college graduates and the jobs market  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

A+ for Cruz: Obama wants the issue not "reforma"

 

(My new American Thinker post)  Senator Cruz has been rather direct since he landed in Washington.  Thank God for his bluntness, specially what he just said about President Obama and immigration reform:

 

""President Obama does not want an immigration bill to pass," Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) told CBS News' Jan Crawford in an interview that aired on Wednesday. "I think that the president wants to campaign on immigration reform in 2014 and 2016. And I think the reason that the White House is insisting on a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally is because the White House knows that insisting on that is very likely to scuttle the bill.""

 

Well said Senator Cruz!

 

President Obama has always been a demagogue rather than a statesman on the topic of immigration reform.

 

He was one of a few Democrat Senators who killed the McCain-Kennedy proposal in 2007 with poison amendments over guest worker visas.

 

As President, he never proposed or put a specific idea on the table.  He has never called on Senate Democrat majorities to vote on immigration reform.

 

Cruz is "correcto".  Obama wants the issue.  He wants something to talk to "hispanos" about!  He does not want to  explain the high unemployment rate in Hispanic districts and the lousy public schools in big cities brought to Hispanic parents by the Democrats and the public teachers' unions.

 

Keep talking Senator Cruz.  I like what you are saying!

 

---

Tags: Senator Cruz and immigration reform  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

A little dose of "blue state blues"

What is like to live in a very blue state?  They don't get any more blue than New York and California.   

Enjoy our chat with New York pundit Karen Beseth & California's Leslie Eastman .

Click to hear Thursday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: A little dose of "blue state blues"  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

The "ladies in white" finally get an important recognition

(My new American Thinker post) For years, "Las damas en blanco" (The Ladies in White) have marched for freedom in Cuba.  They walk peacefully every Sunday and call for freedom in Cuba.  Some of these ladies have husbands and sons in political prisons.

This is from The Miami Herald:

"The Ladies in White were awarded the Sakharov Prize for Freedom of Thought in 2005, but Cuban authorities did not allow them to travel to Brussels to pick it up. A change in Cuban travel rules in January meant they could finally travel to Europe."

The "ladies" started marching after the infamous  "crackdown of 2003" also known as Cuba's Black Spring.  It was a repressive moment largely overlooked by the US media and specially the "Hollywood-ies" who travel to Cuba for "eye to eye" sessions with Fidel.

We are happy that the ladies are getting recognition.  They represent one of the most remarkable human rights movements in the world.    They've faced insults and physical attacks from government thugs.  Nevertheless, they are marching, and their numbers are growing, every Sunday after mass.

Again, the lack of interest for the "ladies" in the US feminist movement or Hollywood is amazing!

---

Tags: The "ladies in white" finally get an important recognition To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Rangers are off to a great start & other DFW sports

We had a chance to look back at the Mavericks & Stars plus the NFL draft in a couple of days.   

The Mavs did not make the playoffs.  They had a good run but it was not enough.  The Stars need to win the last 2 and get some help to make the playoffs.  Both teams are rebuilding and it may be a couple of years before there is really something to cheer about.

The Cowboys need a good draft.  At the same time, we've been saying that for a few years.  We may be looking at another 8-8 season.

On the fun side, the first place Rangers are off to a great start.  The pitching is solid and specially the bullpen.

 Click to hear Wednesday's DFW Sports show with David Busby & Carlos Torres:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Rangers are off to a great start and other DFW sports  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Driving by the Bush Library at SMU

 
My new American Thinker post.

The Bush Library will open in SMU this week so let "the Bush-43" talk begin. 

  

President Bush has avoided publicity except for sitting next to Nolan Ryan at Rangers' games.  He did publish a book but his press contacts have been few. 

 

The Library gives us a chance to look back at an unappreciated man and presidency.

His election in 2000 was indeed very close but it was not decided in Florida.  Instead, it was decided in Tennessee, or Gore's home state.  Bush could have stolen all of Florida's 7 million votes and still lost the presidency if only Gore had carried his home state of Tennessee, or Clinton delivered his home state of Arkansas.  I am convinced that much of the left's anger over 2000 was rooted on the reality that a sitting president & vice-president could not deliver their home states.

Bush was brilliant in his handling of 9-11. I loved his outrage.  He defined the threat and did not play word games like Obama does. Wouldn't you love to hear a bit of "you are with us or against us" after Boston!  Bush called it a terrorist attack not "a tragedy".

On Iraq, Bush was right. We did not find stockpiles of WMDs at some warehouse but Saddam was a threat to the region.  He had invaded two of his neighbors and used chemical weapons twice. Saddam had mocked the UN and laughed at all of those resolutions calling on him to respect the "cease fire" that ended the first Gulf War.  The evidence shows that he was determined to rebuild his stockpiles and create more trouble in the region.  The world is better off without Saddam and his two sadistic sons.

On Iraq, the Democrats, with the exception of Sen Lieberman and a couple of others, were just utterly dishonest. They supported the war and then they didn't.  They never cut the funding once they had majorities. 

On Afghanistan, Bush had a better idea.  He did not commit troops but used special forces and technology to keep the terrorists in the mountains.  Obama, on the other hand, has committed lots of troops and no one has a clue of our objective or policy.

On Latin America, Bush was outspoken in supporting free trade agreements.  Obama has largely forgotten the region. 

Around the world, Bush was hated but respected. Obama may be loved but does anybody really respect him? 

On immigration, Bush spoke to the nation supporting a specific reform.  We can agree or disagree with McCain/Kennedy but Bush was willing to take a stand.  On the other hand, Obama has delivered ceremonial "5 de Mayo" speeches and has never sent a proposal to Congress after all of these years.

Yes, Bush probably spent too much money.  However, the deficits relative to GDP were 3%.  On the other hand, Obama has been around 9%.

On spending, we recall Obama saying that it was unpatriotic to leave our kids with so much debt.  However, Obama has added more to our debt that Bush did.

On the war against terrorists, Bush was bold and went after the bad guys.  On the other hand, Obama called Bush a cowboy and then followed most of his major policies. 

History is not through with Bush.  No one knows what his presidency will look like 50 years from now when we are all dead and gone.

Remember "Seward's Folly" or the purchase of Alaska back in 1867?  The "Nixon pardon" looks a lot different years later too! 

My point is that future historians will look at his presidency a lot different than we do.  They will appreciate things that many of us may not appreciate today.  They won't be infected with the "Bush Derangement Syndrome" that so many suffer from today.

My guess is that his presidency will be seen as consequential.  

Like Truman, he will be remembered for making tough decisions rather than kicking the can down the road like Obama is doing with the debt.  

He will also be remembered as a man who spent two terms fully committed to the defense of his homeland.

 

---

Tags: Driving by the Bush Library at SMU  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Jon Perdue's great and MUST READ book about Latin America

Fausta Wertz brought Jon Purdue's book to my attention.  It is a MUST READ for anyone who is serious and curious about Latin America.  This is how Fausta introduced Jon:

"Jon Perdue is the director of Latin America programs at the Fund for American Studies in Washington, D.C.  In this capacity he travels extensively throughout Latin America, lecturing at universities and think tanks (in English and Spanish) and participating in conferences that bring together Latin America scholars and policymakers.'

 Click here for Tuesday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Jon Perdue's great book about Latin America  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Watertown, Massachusetts, is exhibit A for the 2nd Amendment

No kidding!  The two terrorist brothers were not licensed to own guns.  Where have we heard that one before?  That bumper sticker about only "outlaws" getting guns tops "the slogan hit parade" again.

Watertown, Massachusetts, is exhibit A for the 2nd Amendment.  Like Katrina in '05, once again we saw the importance of citizens having the means to defend themselves.

We got lucky that the younger brother was wounded and chose not to confront any of the families living in Watertown.

What if he had broken into a home?  What if he had tried to take a kid hostage to negotiate some kind of exit?

Yes, you can call the police when he is in a bedroom holding your kid hostage. 

Or you can call them after he murdered your family on a rampage.

Or you could shoot the terrorist and defend yourself, family and property.

President Obama's "gun control" campaign took a big hit this week when Senate Democrats walked away.

It took an even bigger hit in Watertown when citizens once again realized the value of a gun to defend yourself.

Click here for Monday's show with Bob Parks & George Rodriguez:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Boston and the 2nd amendment  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Bob Parks and Watertown

We spoke with Bob Parks on Monday.  Bob spent many years in Watertown, Massachusetts, the small town at the center of the Boston terrorist chase.  He wrote a post about the town and the events.

 Click here for Monday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

---

Tags: Bob Parks and Watertown  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

Yes, treat the terrorist as an enemy combatant

My new American Thinker post.

No one values due process more than I do.  After all, my dad's cousin spent 14 years in a Cuban prison without a trial.  I understand the arguments that people have certain rights.  There is no bigger right than being represented by an attorney or objecting to indefinite detention.

However, this young man in Boston is no political prisoner or US citizen who robbed a bank.  He was not picked up by a secret police for saying that Obama did not close Guantanamo.

He is a terrorist who joined forces with his older brother, and perhaps others, to fight the US. He left the Bill of Rights behind the moment that he placed a bomb and killed innocent people watching a traditional race.

So what do you have to do to get named an enemy combatant?   My guess is that most Americans agree that killing innocent people at the Boston Marathon is enough to be called an enemy combatant.  This guy is clearly an enemy and he is combating the US.

Here is the bottom line:  Dzhokhar will be convicted.  The evidence is pretty good.  He is even charged with killing a police officer.  We won't have much problem finding a jury that will find him guilty.

The real question is:  What does he know?  How can we get him to talk?

I agree with The Wall Street Journal:

"The important security issue isn't convicting Dzhokhar but finding out what he knows that might prevent a future attack or break up a terror network. This is where naming him an enemy combatant would be useful. Such a designation allows for extensive, long-term interrogation without a lawyer. Especially because President Obama has barred enhanced-interrogation techniques, such long-term psychological pressure can be crucial to learning if the brothers worked with anyone else, if they received terrorist training, and more."

We need to name him an enemy combatant so that we can gather some intelligence, or information about his potential allies and their plans. 

So let's send him down to GITMO for two reasons:

1) We need information: and,

2) We need to send a message that we understand that this is a war against the US not some guy involved in identity theft.

Does the Obama administration have the courage to upset the ACLU and the college professors? 

I hope so because this is about preventing the next attack not convicting the younger brother.

Click to hear Sunday's show:

Listen to internet radio with Silvio Canto Jr on Blog Talk Radio

 

---

Tags: Enemy combatant  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!