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Gerald Ford 1913-2006
2006-12-27 19:16:00
Former President Gera ld Ford passed away on December 26, 2006. We would like to take the time to reflect on this man who had the monumental task of boosting America's morale during one of our lowest points in history.KJW: In his August 8, 1974 resignation speech, President Richard Nixon, stated that "the first essential is to begin healing the wounds of this Nation, to put the bitterness and divisions of the recent past behind us, and to rediscover those shared ideals that lie at the heart of our strength and unity as a great and as a free people."Gerald Ford was the person who first and foremost was charged with that responsibility. In his first and most historic step toward that end he pardoned President Nixon on September 8, 1974. In doing so he said in part:"My conscience tells me clearly and certainly that I cannot prolong the bad dreams that continue to reopen a chapter that is closed. My conscience tells me that only I, as President, have the constitutional power to firmly s...

The First 100 Hours
2006-12-20 17:01:00
Democratic leaders in the House have promised to pass several items on their legislative agenda in their first 100 hours in power. Potential items include: raising the minimum wage; halving the interest rate on college student loans; allowing stem cell research; authorizing the federal government to negotiate lower drug prices for Medicare; implementing the recommendations of the 9/11 commission; rolling back subsidies to big oil companies; and, committing to no new deficit spending. What, if any, of these items will, or should, be pursued ? KJW: It appears that soon to be Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, understands the opportunity that lies before her. The question that always seems to arise when it comes to the Democrats is: will they take advantage of the opportunity, or will they screw it up? RAISING MINIMUM WAGE: This is a no brainer. It should be the first piece of legislation introduced by the new Congress. The legislation should not be a part of any other bill. It should...
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Will Frederick Kagan's December 14, 2006, "Choosing Victory: A Plan for Suc
2006-12-19 16:49:00
Will Fred erick Kagan's December 14, 2006, "Choosing Victory : A Plan for Success in Iraq" be the option that President Bush pursues? If so, should we support it? And most importantly, will it work?KJW: I am frequently asked by my conservative friend, EJS, whether I want us to win in Iraq. I usually hesitate when he asks me that question. Of course he interprets that to mean that I don't want us to win. In fact, the reason that I hesitate is that I have not seen any indication that the course being followed by the Bush administration could conceivable lead to any form of "victory". The initial military action was clearly won by the U.S. With regard to the peace, we have just as clearly been losing. So now we are faced with the question, can we reclaim victory through further military and diplomatic actions? As I have related in previous posts I believe that it will be necessary for the U.S. to remain in Iraq for at least the next 18 to 24 months regardless of the course we pursue. T...
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Are the Holocaust deniers something we should be concerned with?
2006-12-13 00:43:00
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has convened approximately 70 "researchers" such as ex-Klansman David Duke to discuss their doubts about the extent of the Holocaust , and questioning whether or not it actually happened. Have Western leaders' reactions up to this point been sufficient, or should there be a larger outcry? How does this influence Muslims' thinking around the world?KJW:I do not believe that the denial of the Holocaust should be a criminal offense. I believe that every person should be allowed to express their views and opinions, even power hungering maniacs like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Furthermore, I believe that the number of people educated in a free society who actually believe that the Holocaust never occurred is rather small. However, Iran and much of the middle east are societies that do not allow their citizens to be freely educated. In such societies that are oppressive and regulate what their citizens may and may not learn, there is a problem. Societies suc...
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Where do we stand now with regard to Iraq?
2006-12-08 04:40:01
There has been a flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to end the violence in Iraq . With the naming of a new defense secretary and the emergence of the Iraq Study Group's report, is the United States on the path to victory in Iraq? Of the three options (Go Big, Go Long, or Go Home), which is the best course of action to take now?KJW:The key to succeeding in politics these days seems to be framing your opponents position on issues with a negative sound bite. Although "Cut and Run" eventually went down in flames there is no denying that it was effectively used for many months. While I would not agree that the only options available in Iraq can be framed as "Go Big", "Go Long", or "Go Home", I will nevertheless address this latest example of the political sound bite.For this discussion I will address the specific issues as if none of them would meet any resistance at home from the public, media or government officials. Let's just pretend for a minute that we are all sheep. O...
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Where do we stand now?
2006-12-07 16:39:02
There has been a flurry of diplomatic efforts in recent weeks to end the violence in Iraq. With the naming of a new defense secretary and the emergence of the Iraq Study Group's report, is the US on the path to victory in Iraq? Of the three options (Go Big, Go Long, or Go Home), which is the best course of action to take now?MRB:KJW:EJS:The United States has, with its' latest moves, given a clear signal to adversaries that we are wavering in our resolve and aren't serious about winning in Iraq any longer, but rather more interested in saving face and "managing the situation," as Nancy Pelosi has referred to it as. The naming of Robert Gates as Defense Secretary signals a change of course, but not necessarily in a way that will provide for victory. Remember, VICTORY is defined as having a stable, secure Iraq capable of governing itself, and most importantly, to have an ally in the War on Terror in the middle of the Mideast. Gates has long been in the James Baker camp, the camp tha...
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Which Presidential hopefuls are in the best position for 200
2006-12-02 16:34:51
With the midterm elections behind us now, which candidates are best positioned for a President ial run in 2008, and whose Presidential aspirations may have vanished?MRB:The horns and party hats of the Democrats' celebration are barely put away and the cap has been screwed on the bottle of Scotch the Republicans used to drown their sorrows and we are already predicting 2008. 2008? That sounds so close and there is so much to do. I am having a hard time thinking that far ahead right now. My feeling is that we need at least the proverbial 100 days to let the Democrats settle in, and by that I don't mean measuring for new drapery. During this time a couple of things will happen. Not the least important of which will be the emergence of who the new leadership will comprise and how they get this early, crucial job done. It will also reveal who in the Republican party will emerge as the leaders most willing to help right the wrongs they perpetrated for the last 12 years. It's going to be...
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Can Barack Obama be elected President ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
In his victory speech, Senator Barack Obama said regarding his long shot candidacy... "(When I announced my campaign) at the time, as many of you know, people were respectful but nevertheless skeptical...they felt that in a nation as divided as ours there was no possibility that someone who looked like me could ever aspire to the United States Senate. They felt that in a fearful nation like this someone named Barack Obama couldn't hope to win an election." If Barack Obama does become a 2008 President ial candidate the same questions posed by him will arise again. MRB:I WISH AND PRAY UPON A STARWhat ticket would I like to see in 2008? That's the real question and a good one. At this point I don't know. Sen. Obama is a breath of fresh air in an otherwise stuffy and chaotic Democrat party. No doubt about it. My wish would be that that Americans would do at election time what we all say we should do. Look for competency, a grasp of ideas, unfearful and unbeholden leadership, a PLAN. C...
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Kerry gaffe: November gift ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
"You know, education, if you make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. And if you don't, you get stuck in Iraq." Is John Kerr y 's gaffe enough to help Republicans retain the majority in the House?MRB:I was embarrassed to have Sen Kerry as our presidential candidate in 2004 and that he continues to go around purporting to speak on behalf of Democrats today. Sen. Kerry, please be quiet and leave the joke telling to Letterman, Leno, O'Brien and Stewart. They have great writers skilled in political satire.I understand the context in which he gave the speech and I understand he was Bush-bashing in apolitical campaign speech. I also understand, having given enough speeches myself, how a well meaning tongue can slip up when it collides with a well intentioned brain. But there is too much at stake right now for the Democrats to make stupid mistakes and play into the Republican agenda a week before the election -- they ar...
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Dear Mahmoud,
2006-12-02 16:34:51
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad sent a letter to the American people. Here is your chance to respond.MRB:Dear President Ahmadinejad and Noble Iranians,Thank you for your letter. I was truly struck by its sincerity and logic and contolled passion which, in these troubled times, is very welcome. There is, today, far too much loud, screaming rhetoric of hatred and wishing total death and destruction on one another. You seem to understand there is no purpose served by doing that.I was even moved by your analysis of our failed policies in Iraq. Nothing new there really since all the information you use is readily available through our free press, and internet and electronic media and people talking and arguing freely on street corners and churches and schools. It's all out there. It's they way we do it here in America. Many of your points I have made myself right here in preceding entries to the 3HM. You have a good take on the high cost of this war and how it has affected us eco...

2006 Election Post Mortem
2006-12-02 16:34:51
The real question today is not just who won which race, but what the election results mean for each one of us and the issues we care about, such as the war and the economy. MRB:I am sitting here still stunned from what happened yesterday. I had thought the Democrats would pick up the 15 needed to take the House once again. I was hoping that we'd end up with a close split in the Senate. I did not expect the over whelming victory we had. I am all smiles and have been calling and emailing friends around the country patting one another on the back. Wow. Twelve years of eating at the kids table and now we get to sit with the adults.The question is, after the smoke from the celebratory fireworks blows away, what really happened and, maybe more importantly, how did it happen?What happened is that a clear message was firmly delivered; not a mixed, irritating message the Republicans could sneak around again, but one that can't be ignored. All the biggest wins, and the ones most people paid...
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Is going Negative a Positive ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
In the last few days before the election it seems like there are no political campaigns left that have not gone negative. The research seems to conclude that "going negative" whether you like it or not works. Do negative political ads simply educate an uninformed electorate as to a candidates shortcomings or do they lead to further disillusionment and apathy among voters?MRB:I PAY NO ATTENTIONAnd I'm sure all of you are saying, "Yeah, right." But I really don't watch the ads for the simple reason I do not own a television and when I do watch it is only for a few minutes at a time at a friend's home or my favorite pub. I took an overnight trip recently and watched more television in the motel room in one night than I'd seen in the past year and then it was only the movie channels on cable. Let me tell you I don't miss any of it. But I do hear about the political ads from friends and colleagues and I don't like what I hear. I also see them from particular candidates and their ch...
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Are Republicans happy or disappointed that Rep. Pelosi decid
2006-12-02 16:34:51
Even before the election results were final, Republican s began voicing their outrage at the possibility that Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., might become Chairman of the House Select Committee on Intelligence. Now that Speaker-to-be, Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., has announced that Rep. Hastings will not get the nod, are Republicans truly happy or are they disappointed ?MRB:Contrary to some of my fellow Democrats I do not think that Speaker-elect Pelosi has lost anything in the first few weeks of her new authority. I spent most of my adult life in Baltimore, Maryland, where politics is not just something you read about in the papers. It is a full contact sport and it was in that tough as nails environment where Mrs. Pelosi cut her political teeth.Appointing Rep. Hastings, after his outrages, to the Select Committee on Intelligence would have been an oxymoron. That decision was clearly a no-brainer. Did the Gone Old Party really think she'd do that after an election where they just lost beca...
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What role should Iran and Syria play in a post war Iraq ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
With the Bush administration being pushed toward a regional resolution to the war in Iraq , the question becomes what role, if any, should Iran and Syria play in a post war Iraq ?MRB:I am not quite sure why, after six years of this administration, I keep scratching my head in puzzlement about why it refuses to sit down and discuss serious issues of global consequence with those nations whom we call our enemies. I suppose that talking is too hard and it must seem easier to let things escalate until we have to send troops in to make them see things our way. That being said I know my comments here will seem just, well, too liberal. Not only do we have to talk to our enemies, in this case Syria and Iran, but it is absolutely mandatory that we do so. Why does something so important, so diplomatic, so crying out for true United States leadership, simply fall on deaf ears of this "stay the bloody, damned course" presidency. Not only do we need to have Syria and Iran involved, but other nati...
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What should US economic policy be toward Asia?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
With President Bush wrapping up his latest Asia n tour, should any changes be made to US economic policy in regard to Asia, or are Bush's free-trade policies the right course?MRB:The discussion here concerns the issue of "Asian" challenges to our free-trade policies. The topic is, of course, much bigger than that. It's ultimately about worldwide free trade and what it means to us and everyone else.But our dear Mr. Bush is currently in Asia as part of his annual foray into the foreign territory -- and I'm not just talking geographical territory -- of representing us at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting. If, in fact, Mr. Bush is there because he really believes in the free trade agreements then it will be the first time in six years I've ever agreed with anything he's said or done. I'm just not convinced. These meetings appear so awkward for him, like he'd rather be somewhere else. The reason I feel he always looks so out of place is that he has been trained in the n...
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What do we do about Iran's impending nuclear capability ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
President Bush has mainly been talking about economic and diplomatic isolation, however, the administration is also leaving open the option of military action. The question is this: if the economic and diplomatic options do not succeed, should the U.S. (or Israel) launch a pre-emptive military strike on Iran 's nuclear facilities ?MRB:Before we do anything rash against Iran we have to exhaust every single negotiable point we have. Certainly nuclear weapons are a serious issue. But we have to make absolutely sure that Iran has them and, most importantly, intends to use them against Israel or any other country or population it deems unfit according to fundamentalist Islamic rule.There is a delicate cat and mouse game going on here. We are assuming that Ahmadinejad does, in fact, have nuclear weapons. What if this is just bluster? What if our intelligence is again wrong? Do we go charging in to "liberate" yet another Arab country on a whim and undocumentable claims of Weapons of Mass D...
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Is Europe lost already?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
With a history of lax immigration policies and emphasis on tolerance, has Euro pe already been lost to radical Islam? Is the United States headed in the same direction?KJW: Europe is not lost, yet. The French riots last November, and the controversy and violence related to the Danish cartoons of the Prophet Mohammed, make clear that the ongoing struggle with radical Islamism is, if anything, more of a problem presently for Europe than it is for America. The United States only has a Muslim population of less than 1 percent. For Europe, however, it is much different. In the Netherlands, 6 percent to 7 percent of the population, and as much as half the population of large cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam, are Muslim. In France, the percentage is around 10 percent. Many of the organizers of recent terrorist incidents?including Mohammed Atta, the Sept. 11 ringleader; the March 7 Madrid bombers; Mohammed Bouyeri, assassin of the Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh; and the July 7 London bombe...
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Can Lady Liberty's message be the same in an age of Islamic
2006-12-02 16:34:51
"Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me. I lift my lamp beside the golden door." Will the door remain open, or will American immigration policy change? KJW: The times they are a changin'In August 2006, Peter Costello, the Australian Treasurer, stated: "What I've said is that this is a country, which is founded on a democracy. According to our Constitution, we have a secular state. Our laws are made by the Australian Parliament. If those are not your values, if you want a country which has Sharia law or a theocratic state, then Australia is not for you . . . there are some clerics who have been quoted as saying they recognize two laws. They recognize Australian law and Sharia law. There's only one law in Australia, it's the Australian law. For those coming to Australia, I think we ought to be very clear about that. That's what we ask of people that come...
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Time to predict the outcome of the November 2006 election
2006-12-02 16:34:51
Each of us will now set forth our respective predictions of the final overall outcome of tomorrow's election. We will also predict the specific winners in critical Senate races which may very tilt the scales one way or the other MRB:Senate:Arizona: Jim Pederson (D) Jon Kyl (R)This is my wish and hope vote. My gut tells me that Kyl will win but in the long run a change is necessary. Kyl is too much a Bushman. Pederson by 2 points.Conn.: Ned Lamont (D) Alan Schlesinger(R) Joseph Lieberman (I)Lieberman hurt himself earlier with his pro-war stance, but I feel he has recovered and if I get my wish that the Senate splits 50-49-1 he'll side with his former Dems in most matters. Lieberman by 5 points.Maryland : Ben Cardin(D) Michael Steele (R)I spent most of my adult life, 25 years worth anyway, in Maryland and lived almost all of it in Ben Cardin's district. I liked him and felt he was competent and forceful for his districts needs. He has weaknesses against Steele. He's not as dynamic...
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Exercise your right to vote !
2006-12-02 16:34:51
"Let us never forget that government is ourselves and not an alien power over us. The ultimate rulers of our democracy are not a President and senators and congressmen and government officials, but the voters of this country." -- Franklin D. Roosevelt.
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Should Iraq be Partitioned ?
2006-12-02 16:34:51
President Bush's position is that partition as a solution in Iraq is a "non-starter". Nevertheless, the idea of partition being part of the solution in Iraq is gaining momentum. MRB:BREAKING UP IS HARD TO DOEarly on, as in a year ago, I said that if you seperated the fighting factions in Iraq and give them a certain amount of autonomy without the fanatical (and there is no other word for it) religious convictions of the three religio/politico groups in Iraq, that they might be able to get there own piece of turf in order and all would be well. La-de-dah. I even said as much a few days ago in the weekly gathering of our 3HM group. But I no longer see that as the best scenario.I see two countries emerging, not three, and I don't think it will be a pretty picture. For all practical purposes the Kurdistanis are independent and operating as such as described by my colleague KJW. And, most importantly, they can be pretty self sufficient since they have oil production and good relations ...
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Was Benjamin Franklin right ?
2006-10-31 00:58:00
Benjamin Fran klin is credited with writing: "Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." Is what Benjamin Frank lin said still valid today?MRB:YES HE WASTo give up any liberty is a risk but to do it out of fear is a tragedy. Not only that but when a free nation like ours gives up something -- or imposes that loss on select citizens out of our fear -- a great sense of trust must exist between the government and the citizens who elected it.We have to remember in this argument that we are always giving up tiny pieces of our liberty and freedom. I must stop at red lights and not drive 60 miles per hour through school zones. I can't shout FIRE! in a theater. That's why we have these things called laws and fines and jails to house those people who think they are better than the rest of the citizenry. I'd say being in jail constitutes a loss of freedom, wouldn't you? But I'd also say these restrictions make us feel a li...
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Would Democratic control of Congress be a good thing or a bad thing ?
2006-10-29 20:33:00
The latest polls indicate that the Demo crats may take control of the House and also may take control of the Senate. Not since the Republicans took control with their Contract with America have we seen such a change of power. If it occurs this will result once again in a divided Government. The question then becomes: IS THIS A GOOD THING?MRB:ABSOLUTE POWER?"Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely" as the saying goes and that is what we've had since the Contract with America. Some of us have felt that would have been more appropriately called Contract ON America. Look at what and where it has gotten us. Almost no significant legislation. No Child Left Behind? Sounds like someone saw that McCauley Calkin movie. Social Security reform? Dead in the water. FEMA? What? There has been some very nice tribal dances about a war on terrorism and poorly conceived planning and execution that has surpassed a level of ineptitude that I thought I'd never see again after Viet Nam.So m...
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The Political Nature of Man
2006-10-28 19:07:00
Aristotle once said, "Man is by nature a political animal." In the pages that follow we hope to share with you our political thoughts and ideas. You will quickly discover that the three of us are very different political animals. MRB is a Liberal. KJW is a Centrist. EJS is a Conservative. On each topic we will present our respective views. We hope that these views will be well reasoned. There may be a few times when we will be in complete agreement. Occasionally we will be in agreement on a result, but for very different reasons. More often than not we will be in utter and complete disagreement. Even in those times we will treat each other and you with respect. To paraphrase Voltaire - we may not agree with what each other have to say, but we will defend to the death each other's right to say it. Here is who we are:MRB:I am the liberal of the trio. I do not remember ever not being a liberal. I am 59 years old and, of course, am a "child of the sixties". I have been politically acti...
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