JFK assinated at 46

I'm going to be 46 next week. Sheesh. 

Bill O'Reilly is a liar. But who cares? His detractors- proving this gets you no where. His supporters- controversy is their life blood. But he is not a report. He is not an Anchor (like B. Williams). Get over it. 

Jen Bush said an interesting thing the other day- Republicans are great at defining what they are against. Less so for what they stand for. 

Obamacare, bad. But what will they replace it with? (Nationally)

Medicaid expansion, bad. But they were accepting LIP money. Now that this has dried up, what are they going to replace it with? (Florida)

Budget shortfall, bad. Cuts to police force by 147 officers must be Mayor's fault. But an increase in tax revenue due to higher property values is a tax hike? There was still a budget shortfall. (Jacksonville). 

This whole world has gone insane. Clintons using CGI to peddle influence & access. Jen Bush, the non-candidate, taking advantage of the Citizens United ruling to pile up hordes of cash. Obama refusing to use the term 'Islamist.'

How do you negotiate with someone who would deny your right to exist? (Iran). 

How do you decide to Arm the 'least' radical group (Syrian opposition, after the lessons of Afghanistan/USSR war and the eventual rise of Al Qaeda. 

The whole war on terrorism is a losing proposition. Is Muslims have placed so little value on their own lives (suicide bombing), but consider the lives of infidels less valuable? 

I think about how we finally won WWII, by decimating two Japanese cities with the Dropping of Little Boy & Fat Man on the Japanese. Although the Japanese were willing to use suicide bombing (kamikaze) to achieve military goals, this was for the warrior class. Certainly the loss of life of the general citizenry had to have weighed heavy on the Emperor's decision to surrender. (Of course, there is a lot of debate surrounding these events, their goals & necessity). 

The annihilation of those two cities

A terrible, horrific tragedy. But what outcome could be expected if it was the Islamists that these bombs were dropped on? Not very good, I'm afraid. We'd have to keep bombing. 

President Obama recently brought up the Crusades in discussing the problems with the fight against Islamists. At the Feb 5, 2015 prayer breakfast, the president said:

Humanity has been grappling with these questions throughout human history. And lest we get on our high horse and think this is unique to some other place, remember that during the Crusades and the Inquisition, people committed terrible deeds in the name of Christ. In our home country, slavery and Jim Crow all too often was justified in the name of Christ.

I've thought about this a lot for the last three weeks. Specifically the Crusades, where 'Christian' warriors were dispatched to fight Islamists. But I think the President is wrong in this framing, but not for the reasons that have the right wing, esp. Evangelical politicos up in arms- the Crusades had a bigger goal of stopping Islamist expansion. They failed. 

And the rise of the Islamists occurred precisely as the Dark Ages were ushered in. Is this a coincidence? What dangers exist today that could allow the activity of the Islamists to usher in a new Dark Era?

As this has been the focus of much of my thoughts lately, maybe it is something that can be researched. As a friend and I have often discussed, every civilization has a rise and a fall. It is history that delineates the actual 'when.' We have discussed this regarding economics and the U.S. V. China super power dominance. But what if, like in the early Middle Ages, it is a third group, like the Islamists?