'Obama year 6' and so Many Liberals are not Proud of America?

(My new American Thinker post)

Maybe we have too many polls. However, this one caught my attention.

According to Pew, as reported in the Washington Post, there are a lot of liberals who are not proud of the country:

Michelle Obama took some heat in 2008 for saying that, "for the first time in my adult life I am proud of my country..."

As it turns out, that sentiment isn't all that unusual on the far left of American politics.

According to a new Pew Research Center study, only 40 percent of consistently liberal Americans say they often feel proud to be Americans.

The other 60 percent say that doesn't describe them.

The finding is contained in Pew's new "Political Typology" report, which breaks Americans down into seven different categories --rather than the usual three. Among the seven categories, "solid liberals" are the only group in which a majority say they aren't regularly proud to be Americans."

This poll is stunning for two reasons:

1) I thought that Obama was the "change we've been waiting for";

2) What country are they proud of? Where else would these people rather live?

Maybe we should trade all of these liberals for entrepreneurs around the world who appreciate freedom and free markets. I'm sure that there'd be a lot of volunteers around the globe.

Of course, maybe liberals are just miserably unhappy people. Let's not overlook that explanation for this poll. 

P.S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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And the lights all went out in Caracas

(My new American Thinker post)

It's not The Bee Gees' "Massachusetts" but the lights did go out in Caracas, as reported by The Guardian:

"A power plant failure has knocked out electricity across a large part of Venezuela, interrupting a nationally televised presidential ceremony and forcing a suspension of subway and train services around the country.  
The outage affected at least 14 of the country's 23 states and caused several hours of traffic jams, as well as darkening homes and offices, in the capital, Caracas, on Friday.  
The plant, supplying electricity to Venezuela's central and western regions, failed in the early afternoon, said the electricity minister, Jesse Chacon. Power was mostly restored in Caracas by nightfall but remained out in other parts of the country, where power failures are more common."

Let's just say that "Cubanization of Venezuela" is one step closer.  Venezuela, a country that never had routine power outages before Chavez, is now having them as often as they do in Castro's Cuba.

Socialism and electricity just don't go well together, do they?

A Venezuelan couple told me the other day that the lights go out so often that planning your evenings is impossible to do.  How can you go out or live a normal night life if the lights keep going out? 

Use candles?   Flash lights?  Well, they have a shortage of candles and batteries, too.

My Venezuelan friends did say that one good thing about the power outages is that they don't have to hear President Maduro's rants on TV. I remember my parents saying the same thing when the lights went out in Cuba!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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At this rate, every other street in Argentina will be named after Nestor Kirchner!

Take a good look at Argentina and you will notice that just about everything is named after a guy named Nestor.

Of course, we are talking about former President Nestor Kirchner who was followed by his wife, the current President Cristina Fernandez.

According to Andres Oppenheimer, "the cult of personality" is alive and well in Latin America:

"In Venezuela, where the late President Hugo Chávez started the latest cycle of personality cult in the region, President Nicolás Maduro is distributing millions of school textbooks glorifying Chávez and himself.

The Maduro government is supplying schools with an Illustrated Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, which carries among others illustrations a smiling, handsome-looking Chávez playing with children under the headline “Supreme Happiness.”

Another illustration shows a God-like Chávez watching from the sky, while an imposing Maduro, wearing a presidential sash with the country's national colors, raises his hand in triumph. The headline of the illustration reads “Democracy.”

In Ecuador, President Rafael Correa, whose party is now seeking to change the constitution to allow for his indefinite reelection, is not only censoring press criticism but demanding that newspapers say nice things about him.

Earlier this month, Ecuador's government Information and Communication Office started legal procedures against the dailies El Universo, El Comercio and Hoy for failing to report about Correa's recent trip to receive an honorary degree in Chile. Correa himself had denounced in a May 17 speech the lack of press coverage of his trip to Chile and asked his supporters to take legal actions against the newspapers, according to Ecuador's Fundamedios press freedom advocacy group.

In Bolivia, President Evo Morales recently presented a children's book entitled Little Evo's Adventures, glorifying his childhood.

The book, written by former top presidential aide Alejandra Claros Borda, includes five short stories — including Little Evo Goes to School, Little Evo Plays Soccer and Little Evo and the Three-Color Donkey— and has been partially distributed to schoolchildren by Bolivia's Ministry of Communications.

In Argentina, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner has named so many streets, bridges and buildings after her late husband, former President Néstor Kirchner, that daily Clarin journalist Leonardo Mindez has created a blog named “Put Néstor's name to everything.”

The blog includes nearly 100 public works that carry the late president's name, including the country's Atucha II nuclear plant, which has just been renamed — you guessed it — “President Néstor Kirchner.” In addition, the government has spent more on pro-Kirchner propaganda during soccer games on TV than on health or education, critics say."

This is insane and it's time to stop it.  It's one thing to name an airport after a former president, JFK in NY City, or an expressway, like Bush in Dallas.  It's quite another to engage in this kind of self promotion.  It hurts "the rule of law"!

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/06/28/4206096/andres-oppenheimer-a-blow-to-latin.html#storylink=cpy

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Luis Suarez should apologize to Uruguay

(My new American Thinker post)

Like many of you, I’ve followed this World Cup with a bit more interest because of USA team playing with lots of heart and desire.

After all, wasn’t Team USA doomed when we were put in the Group of Death?   Remember all of the pre-Cup talk about Team USA struggling against powerhouses like Germany, Portugal and Ghana?

How did that prediction work out?  Team USA played very well and came within seconds of eliminating Portugal on Sunday.

Sadly, the story of this Cup is not Team USA, the surprise performance of Team Costa Rica or some of those acrobatic goals.

The story of Cup 2014 is the “bite” that millions saw on TV: Luis Suarez of Uruguay biting a defenseman from Italy.

The “bite” got Suarez suspended and he will have to write a big check to FIFA as well.  (By the way, Suarez has been involved in these biting incidents before)

I think that Suarez should stop complaining about the penalty and act like a man rather than a spoiled pro athlete. Was he expecting to be sent home with a letter to his mom?

Suarez should apologize to his country, a nation with a rich tradition of “futbol.”    Uruguay has won 3 Cup titles since the tournament began. They take their “futbol” seriously and deserve a player who respects rather than mocks the game.

Apologize first and then let’s talk about the penalty.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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The country could use a Democratic Howard Baker these days

(My new American Thinker post)

I was thinking about Howard Baker the other day when the IRS Commissioner was before Congress.  

I got so frustrated watching "safe seat" Democrats just play partisan games with something that should not be partisan, i.e. allegations that the IRS was playing politics.

I said to myself:  Where is the Democratic Howard Baker?  Where is the Democrat who will put country above party and ask a difficult question?

We learned today that former Senator Howard Baker passed away at 88.

He was a very accomplished legislator and public servant, as we read in the Washington Post obituary:

"Mr. Baker was the first popularly elected Republican senator from Tennessee, cultivating a moderate image despite an often conservative voting record. He shuffled about, rumpled and snapping away with his Leica whether in Senate committee meetings or the White House Cabinet Room.  
When he was named vice chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Presidential Campaign Activities — the Senate Watergate committee formed to investigate the 1972 break-in at Democratic National Committee headquarters in the Watergate office building — Republicans were confident that the second-term southerner and trial lawyer with the boyish look and aw-shucks manner would defend the White House. His 1972 campaign literature described him as a “close friend and trusted advisor of our President, Richard M. Nixon.”

As scandals pile up, from "Fast & furious" to "Benghazi" to the "IRS," we remember a man who was willing to ask hard questions and take off his party uniform for the good of the country.

I ask again:  Where is the Democratic Howard Baker?

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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We remember Senator Howard Baker who died today

We remember Senator Howard Baker who died today http://t.co/y2lXlT9aHC via @Scantojr
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 27, 2014

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A big 9-0 ruling for "the rule of law"

A big 9-0 ruling for "the rule of law" http://t.co/eOyEWesbbN via @Scantojr
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 26, 2014

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The late Dr Ajami warned about the Obama cult in 2008

(My new American Thinker post)

Got blindsided Wednesday morning with the news that Dr Fouad Ajami passed away:

"Born in a village in southern Lebanon and raised in urban Beirut, Dr. Ajami straddled different worlds from a young age. He settled in the 1960s in the United States, where he pursued a career in academia, became a U.S. citizen and, in an era of extreme division between Western and Arab societies, became a chief, if controversial, interpreter of the Middle East.  
His books, articles and frequent television commentaries often had an elegiac quality to them. He lamented dictatorial Arab governments and became widely known for his views on Iraq, where he welcomed intervention by the United States."

My favorite article from Dr Ajami is from the 2008 campaign, actually a couple of weeks before people voted.   It was called "Obama and the politics of the crowds" and it was right on target:

"There is something odd -- and dare I say novel -- in American politics about the crowds that have been greeting Barack Obama on his campaign trail. Hitherto, crowds have not been a prominent feature of American politics. We associate them with the temper of Third World societies.
We think of places like Argentina and Egypt and Iran, of multitudes brought together by their zeal for a Peron or a Nasser or a Khomeini. In these kinds of societies, the crowd comes forth to affirm its faith in a redeemer: a man who would set the world right."

And Dr Ajami had a warning for the crowds - "the yes we can" screamers:

"The morning after the election, the disappointment will begin to settle upon the Obama crowd. Defeat -- by now unthinkable to the devotees -- will bring heartbreak. Victory will steadily deliver the sobering verdict that our troubles won't be solved by a leader's magic."

I saved this article and share it to as many young people as possible.  It is a landmark of a column and indicative of Dr Ajami's knowledge of history and human nature.

RIP Dr Ajami!

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Uruguay's fans deserve an apology from Suarez

It's a shame but Luis Suarez is on the front page for the wrong reason.    

He did not score.  He bit a player from the other team.

Uruguay played hard and  beat a very good Italian team to advance to the round of 16.  Sadly, nobody is talking about that.  Instead, everybody is talking about a player biting another player.

Are you kidding me Luis?  Is this what Luis Suarez thinks of the game?  Doesn't he have more respect for Uruguay's glorious "futbol" history?  

And where was the referee?  I can't believe that he didn't see what happened or had one of his associates on the line tell him about it.

Suarez needs to be punished very harshly by FIFA.    

He just showed the world how NOT to play "futbol".  

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Obama polls plummet on 'two I's' -- Iraq and Immigration

(My new American Thinker post)

The latest NYTimes/CBS News poll brings more bad news to President Obama on the foreign policy front, or basically Iraq;

"The poll found that 58 percent of Americans disapprove of the way Mr. Obama is handling foreign policy, a jump of 10 points in the last month to the highest level since Mr. Obama took office in 2009.
The spike in disapproval is especially striking among Democrats, nearly a third of whom said they did not approve of his handling of foreign policy."

The second "I" is immigration.  This issue has blown up in President Obama's face, specially since kids showed up at the border.

According to Fox News:

"Approval of President Barack Obama's handling of immigration has dropped to 31 percent, while 65 percent of people surveyed by Gallup disapprove of his immigration policies."

Both of these issues reflect President Obama's lack of vision and unwillingness to tackle problems.

On Iraq, he was all hung up on keeping a campaign promise about ending the war.  He wanted to give that reelection speech about removing the troops from Iraq. 

It worked in 2012 but it is not working in 2014.   Even Peter Beinart, a liberal, is now saying that President Obama deserves blame for the situation in Iraq.  He really does!

On immigration, President Obama has never been willing to say that immigration laws must be respected.  His vague remarks clearly invited parents in Central America to send their kids for a better life in the US.  

On both fronts, immigration and Iraq, President Obama faces terrible challenges and seems totally overwhelmed by events.  

Again, he created both messes and now has to deal with them.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Tuesday: African American issues with Patricia Dickson, writer

Tuesday: African American issues with Patricia Dickson, writer.....Listen in now at http://t.co/DLuR8GqOZ0. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 24, 2014

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The World Cup impact on business PLUS high tech tools to learn a foreign language with Carlos Roncal

MONDAY: Using high tech tools to learn a foreign language with Carlos Roncal...Listen in now at http://t.co/BLf6ImdzfV. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 24, 2014

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More crackdowns on Cuban journalists

(My new American Thinker post)

All of those "reforms" down in Cuba do not apply to daring Cuban journalists who try to tell the truth about the island's repression. The Washington Beacon brings us another example of life in Cuba:

"A recent wave of governmental threats and attacks on Cuban journalists has led to heightened concern among human rights and press freedom advocates.
Last week, Cuban journalist Roberto de Jesús Guerra Pérez alleged that on June 11 a government agent beat him as he waited outside the Czech Republic embassy in Havana to connect to the Internet. 
“An unknown man intercepted and attacked Guerra without warning, punching and kicking him in his head and face, and leaving him with a broken nose, as well as cuts, scrapes, and bruises all over his body,” according to the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). 
Guerra is the founder of Centro de Informacion Hablemos Press (CIHPRESS), an online news site critical of the Cuban Government that frequently publishes stories on the affronts its reporters encounter. 
Roberto Gonzalez, a legal associate with HRF, was in contact with Guerra following the beating.  
Gonzalez told the Washington Free Beacon Guerra had gone to the police and filed a complaint after the event. 
Gonzalez said Guerra identified the man who beat him outside the embassy as a state agent. Four others on two motorcycles showed up during the thrashing—one urging the assailant to cease. 
According to Gonzalez, the aggressor finally stopped, then told Guerra, “This is so you know what we do to dissidents.”"

I guess that the government thugs didn't get the memo about the reforms.

Our friends at Babalu reported over the weekend that Antunez, a major dissident, was released and is currently under house supervision.  Antunez said that his wife was harassed during his time in prison.

So more reforms but more of the same repression, political prisons and total disregard for any dissent from the party line.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Another Clinton-Obama book

Are you ready for another book?    

Ed Klein is out with a new book about the Clintons and Obamas.    
The Klein book exposes the "feud" between the two couples:

"Outwardly, they put on a show of unity — but privately, the Obamas and Clintons, the two power couples of the Democrat Party, loathe each other.

“I hate that man Obama more than any man I’ve ever met, more than any man who ever lived,” Bill Clinton said to friends on one occasion, adding he would never forgive Obama for suggesting he was a racist during the 2008 campaign.

The feeling is mutual. Obama made ­excuses not to talk to Bill, while the first lady privately sniped about Hillary."

My guess is that the "feud" is real and it goes back to 2008.  

At the same time, do I want to hear more about these two couples?    Frankly, I don't!

P.S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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There is something about Texas and jobs

(My new American Thinker post)

From the IRS losing emails to the crisis in Iraq, we've lost track of an amazing success story, i.e. the Texas economy.

We got very good news today about jobs in Texas in The Dallas Morning News:

"Texas employers added more jobs than any other state in May, and if that pace continues, economists say this year could be a record-setting one for the state.   
Texas saw an increase of 56,400 jobs in May after adding 62,400 in April, the biggest monthly gains in four years, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.
The April figure was revised down from an initial 64,100.  
The state jobless rate dipped from 5.2 percent in April to 5.1 percent — well below the U.S. rate of 6.3 percent last month.   
Texas and the nation have seen stronger job growth for the last few months. That trend, combined with other improving statistics, such as consumer confidence and industrial production, show a strengthening economy and a rebound from a hiring slowdown caused by bad weather at the start of the year.   
“I was pretty shocked at how big the number was again,” Boyd Nash-Stacey, an economist for BBVA Compass bank, said about the job growth. Texas’ recent job gains are three times the average monthly job-creation rate over the last 15 years, he calculated.   
“Texas is on pace to create the second-most jobs nationally of all time — about 500,000 — which to me is unbelievable that we’ve seen numbers this strong in the recovery,” Nash-Stacey said.
“California created about 600,000 jobs in 1978.”"

Oil and gas are obviously big job creators. 

My impression is that Texas attracts people, and employers, because of a climate that understands that delicate balance between regulations and over regulating industries.

Add to this that foreign investors also like Texas, as Jim Landers wrote recently:

"It is cheaper to do business in North Texas than in many other parts of the country. There’s no state income tax. The cost of housing is low. Electricity supply is a concern during peak demand days, but energy is otherwise relatively cheap and abundant.  
Other factors count even more in location strategies. Nancy McLernon, president and CEO of the Organization for International Investment, says the top financial people at foreign companies want access to talent, customers and good infrastructure (airports, highways and such).  
“Texas has done well,” McLernon said, “and because it’s done well, it’s going to attract even more’’ investment.  
She calls it “the Davos water cooler effect,” after the Swiss mountain village that hosts an annual conference of top business, government and cultural figures. If one company has a positive experience in North Texas, others will look into the area as well.  
Kenan Fikri, a research analyst with the Brookings Institution’s metropolitan policy program, sees evidence of this in Monday’s announcements by Toyota and Hisun.  
“A lot of it probably has to do with momentum,” he said. “Clearly they think Dallas has the talent they need to tap into.”"

I'm not bragging.  I'm just saying that Texas is doing something well, especially when it comes to creating the kind of business climate that businessmen like to invest in.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Did President Obama ask President Pena Nieto how those kids walked north to the US?

(My new American Thinker post)

As we've posted previously, we like what President Pena-Nieto has done in Mexico - from fighting the teachers' union to the first meaningful energy reforms ever.    

He's done a good job but left me very disappointed when I learned that the US-Mexico border is full of kids from Central America.

According to news reports, President Pena-Nieto and President Obama spoke about the "kids on the border" crisis:

"Between October and May, more than 47,000 unaccompanied minors, mostly from Central America, crossed into the United States, nearly double the number in the previous 12 months, U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson said last week.   
Johnson and senior officials from various U.S. agencies will travel to Texas on Friday to view the government's response to the influx of children, the Homeland Security Department said in a statement.  
Obama told Pena Nieto that the United States and Mexico could work together to return children safely to their families, and noted that the children, many of whom are unaccompanied, were vulnerable to crime and abuse. 
Obama repeated his position that arriving migrants would not be eligible for legalization under proposed immigration reform legislation or deferred action for childhood rules."

On the surface, it sounds like the two presidents took a step in the right direction, especially pointing out that the new arrivals will not qualify for any reform under consideration.

We hope that President Obama had a frank talk with President Pena-Nieto:

1)  How did these kids walk through Mexico without attracting the attention of the police?  We've heard for years that Mexico is not fun terrain for Central Americans.  How did these kids avoid that scrutiny?   Where did the money come from to buy thousands of kids passage to the US?  Who paid for the gas, for example?

2)  Were the cartels behind the movement of these people?  If yes then that scares me about their ability to move within Mexico without any trouble.

3)  I hope that President Obama walked away from the conversation with a better understanding of what the cartels are doing to Central America.  Guatemala is a killing field.  El Salvador and Honduras are also facing gang and cartel warfare.
What's next?  

President Obama should put National Guard troops on the border to send a message. 

Also, the US Embassy and consulates in Central America need to tell people to stay home because there is no future for an illegal immigrant in the US. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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This is Obama's Iraq War

(My new American Thinker post)

For much of his presidency, President Obama has benefited from an overprotective news media that keeps looking the other way and won't confront him.  Can you say Benghazi or the IRS?

Also, the Obama White House has used the "let's show outrage, do nothing, and hope that people will forget" approach to difficult problems.   Can you say "Fast & Furious" or the awful ObamaCare roll out.

He can't pull that off in Iraq. 

First, he does not control events, especially now that Baghdad is next.  You can't put a pretty face on terrorists taking over an Iraq refinery.    

Second, Iraq is just the beginning. Jordan could be next.  The whole region is watching this army of terrorists march from Syria to Iraq without any opposition.

It puts President Obama and the Democrats in a terrible situation, as liberals like Nicholas Kristoff points out:

"I’m flinching at a painful sense of déjà vu as we hear calls for military intervention in Iraq, as President Obama himself — taunted by critics who contend he’s weak — is said to be considering drone strikes there."

How will Democrats react when President Obama orders air strikes without a congressional resolution?

President Obama is in an awful position.  You drop bombs and put troops on the ground.  Or, you can do nothing and hope that gasoline prices don't hurt a weak economic recovery.

President Obama now owns Iraq and it does not matter how often they bring up former President Bush or VP Cheney. 

This is Obama's Iraq War and there are no pretty options.  Add to that a man who is sinking in the polls because less and less people see him as an executive or leader. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Iraq today with Barry Jacobsen

Thursday: Iraq today and a little military history with Barry Jacobsen.....Listen in now at http://t.co/NXKJuBg5ka. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 20, 2014

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No problems in the world so let's get the Redskins

(My new American Thinker post)

It must be a Garden of Eden out there because the federal government has the time to go after the Redskins, known around Dallas as NFL enemy #1.

According to a "trademark" decision, the US government is now in the business of determining whether or not a team mascot discriminates against a group.

Who is next?  Will the Obama administration soon decide that American Thinker discriminates against Americans who don't think?

The decision is absurd and I hope that Mr Snyder, and fans all over, stand up against this nonsense.

The decision also comes at a time when there are so many problems on the president's desk.

In Iraq, The New York Times reports that the big oil refinery may be lost to terrorists.

Wonder what that will do to the price of gas the next time that the fans drive to the stadium to watch the Washington "whatever their new name" is?

Not surprising, a new poll is devastating to President Obama's job approval, as Chris Cilizza wrote:

"Fifty-four percent — let me repeat, 54 percent — said that Obama "cannot lead and get the job done," while just 42 percent said he could lead."

Of course, we do have time to go out after the Redskins.   Maybe this is why a majority of Americans now think that President Obama cannot lead.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Brazil. Colombia, Argentina and other US Latin America stories

Wednesday: Brazil. Colombia, Argentina and other US Latin America stories....Listen in now at http://t.co/ZbwQr9pes8. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 18, 2014

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Colombia election may not settle anything

(My new American Thinker post)

President Santos of Colombia was reelected with 51% of the vote over the weekend, as reported by The New York Times:

"Mr. Santos’s victory came after an exceptionally bitter campaign between two members of the country’s right-of-center political establishment, in which both sides traded accusations of dirty tricks, including spying, hacked emails and the use of drug money.

Mr. Santos, 62, cast himself as the peace candidate and made the negotiations with the country’s largest rebel group, the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, the centerpiece of his campaign.

In the last week of the race, Mr. Santos announced that he had begun preliminary talks with a second, smaller guerrilla group, the National Liberation Army, or ELN, offering the prospect of a comprehensive peace that could, if successful, end decades of jungle battles, bomb attacks, kidnappings and political killings. Despite Sunday’s optimistic tone, the talks with FARC have dragged on for more than 18 months.

Mr. Zuluaga and his backers charged that Mr. Santos was willing to give away too much to achieve peace, and they warned that guerrilla leaders could skip jail time or other punishment for their activities."

I agree with Mr Zuluaga.  President Santos has given away too much to negotiate with people who have never negotiated in good faith before.

The other issue is that Mr Santos put together a coalition that got him reelected but  may not be in the same corner when it comes to governing.  There were elements of the left and right in his coalition.

We wish our friends in Colombia the best.  At the same time, it's hard to see how this election settled anything.  There are still big divisions in the country and this election didn't fix any of that.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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MONDAY: The elections in Colombia with Michael Prada

MONDAY: The elections in Colombia with Michael Prada....Listen in now at http://t.co/jixPYiIOxz. #BlogTalkRadio
— Silvio Canto, Jr. (@SCantojr) June 17, 2014

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

Irony of Ironies: President Obama will intervene in Iraq because of oil

(My new American Thinker post)

During the Iraq War days, we used to hear that President Bush (41 & 43) intervened because of oil.  I'm sure that you remember the posters and the speeches about how our war in Iraq was about oil.

Get ready because President Obama will soon use US air power to keep terrorists from taking over a country with significant oil fields.

According to news reports, you could soon be paying a lot more to fill your tank if Iraq collapses:

"While that price is nearly 13 cents more than one year ago, most experts are predicting a relatively tame 7 to 10 cents a gallon increase in the next two weeks as the summer season kicks off.   
But any reduction in the flow of Iraqi crude due to the ongoing Islamic insurgency in the northern Iraq cities of Mosul and Tikrit could have worldwide economic consequences, according to oil industry analyst Phill Flynn, who said speculators are watching for the worst-case scenario.  
“They think that Baghdad will not fall and that will be a more spirited defense of that city,” Flynn said. “But if it does fall and if the terrorists move further south, the price you’re paying at the pump today is gonna look like a bargain in a couple weeks.”

Higher gasoline prices will have an awful impact on the tepid economic recovery. In fact, it could push us into a recession rather quickly.

So get ready for military action to protect oil prices. 

I can't wait to see how the anti-war left, and their friends in the Democrat Party, will react. 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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

Mr President: How is that 'de-Bushing' of the world working out?

(My new American Thinker post)

Try this later today. Go back and watch some of those "You Tube" videos from the 2008 campaign. It certainly sounds so silly now to watch then Secretary of State Clinton in 2009 promise a "smart foreign policy" in contrast to "the cowboy approach."

The Obama world is here and it's very scary, to say the least.   

What does that world look like?    The Commentator explains:

"From Ukraine, through Afghanistan and Iraq all the way to the East China Sea, the world's dictatorships and terror groups smell weakness in Washington. They have adjusted their posture accordingly.   
To be sure, any one of those conflict zones, and all the others besides, were problematic to start with. On that most toxic of all modern conflicts, the Iraq war, we have long been of the opinion that reasonable people can disagree about whether the 2003 intervention was the right course of action or whether aggressive containment might have been a better option.   
But simply washing one's hands of Iraq would have been as irresponsible in 2003 as it is today, when the increasingly hopeless Obama administration appears to have been taken by surprise at the consequences of its own incompetence.  
There were never going to be any easy options in Iraq, or for that matter in Ukraine, Afghanistan and elsewhere.  
Leadership is not about things being easy. It's about taking the really tough decisions, and sometimes getting things wrong. But above all else it's about being there, having your hand firmly on the rudder, and letting everyone know what you stand for and what you won't stand for.  
Sound like Barack Obama? No, actually, it doesn't. And that's the core problem. No-one is blaming Obama for the existence of ISIS, the Islamist terror group now running riot in Iraq, where we did intervene, and in Syria where we didn't.  
It's not that ISIS exists, it's what they have become in response to the power vacuums that Obama has allowed to be created. Maybe there is nothing we could have done. But throwing one's hands in the air and shrugging one's shoulders is a sure fire way to guarantee the ascendance of the bad guys.  
That applies to ISIS. It applies to the Taliban. It applies to Vladimir Putin's Russia, and it applies to China. 
Again, don't expect a world with strong American leadership to be easy. Don't expect straight lines or an absence of complexity.  But without American leadership, do expect things to deteriorate rapidly.
Don't take our word for it.
Just look around you."

By the way, let me direct this word to those Americans who say "so what" and "it's none of our business."  I hope that those Americans realize that there is an increase in their gasoline prices around the corner.  Iraq is an oil state and you can't have this kind of radical change without impacting oil markets or the price in your neighborhood pump.

From the US-Mexico border, now full of kids from Central America, to Iraq, about to be taken over by ISIS, President Obama has shown an incredible dereliction of duty and disregard for common sense.

The amazing thing to me is that there are still many who believe that he is doing a good job.  What planet are they living on? What are they smoking?

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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Tags: President Obama's foreign policy  To share or post to your site, click on "Post Link". Please mention / link to the My View by Silvio Canto, Jr. Thanks!

The NPR interview is a preview of what Mrs Clinton will get from the left

Cheers for Terry Gross of NPR for getting out of the tank and asking Hillary Clinton some good questions.   

 

On same sex marriage, and Iraq, Hillary Clinton is nothing but a cynical opportunist.

 

On Iraq, she was all for the war until she had a challenge from then Senator Obama.  After all, who can forget her Senate speech explaining the vote?

 

On same sex marriage, she again has been reading polls and calculating her positions.

 

The NPR interview is a shot across the bow from the left.  

In other words, Hillary Clinton has a lot of explaining to do to lefties who aren't buying her message.

 

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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

Yes, "air strikes" should happen in Iraq

(My new American Thinker post)

President Obama needs to send a very clear message to all of those marching toward Baghdad. 

The message should be clear and delivered by US air power. 

The message is simple:  The US is not going to let terrorists take over Iraq. 

As you probably know, Iraq is coming apart and is turning into a new terrorist haven, as The Economist pointed out:

"Two and a half years ago, as the last American troops left, President Barack Obama described Iraq as “sovereign, stable and self-reliant”.
Today jihadists are tearing the country apart. Mosul is its second city. On June 10th the prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, called for a state of emergency and pleaded for outside help. The next day, in league with rebellious Iraqi Sunnis, ISIS took Tikrit, the home of Saddam Hussein, just two and a half hours’ drive north of Baghdad."

Let's ask one simple question: What's in the best interests of the US?  The answer is an Iraq free of terrorism.  

How in the world is this happening in Iraq good for the US, the West or most of us who put gasoline in our automobiles?

I call on President Obama to get serious and drop the campaign nonsense. 

At this point, it does not matter whether we were right or wrong in Iraq.  

What matters is that a collapse of the Iraqi government will have bad consequences all over.

So let's use our air power and stop the terrorists marching toward Baghdad. Let's also show the Iraq Army that the US will stand with them.

We can't fight Iraqi's war.  At the same time, we should not walk away from a place where we lost 4500 men and spent billions of dollars.

P. S. You can hear CANTO TALK here & follow me on Twitter @ scantojr.

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