Friday, March 20, 2015

BloggeRhythms

For quite some time now, Rush has made the point that among many other issues for politicians and government leaders, the “peace process” is a never-ending career endeavor unto itself which they really don’t want to solve. Because, if peace actually were to occur, what would politico’s replace it with as a goal? And what would be left for the thousands involved in the matter at every level do? 
 
Yesterday, Rush explained it all, as follows:
 
A caller said: “Late nineties I saw an interview on CNN with Larry King and Benjamin Netanyahu. There had just been a bombing in Israel, I think 12 people perished on a bus. And Larry King asked the following question, he said, "Do you think this latest bombing will hinder the peace process?" And it looked like Benjamin Netanyahu was just caught in the crosshairs for a second, and he's like, excuse me?  He says, "Well, do you think that this latest bombing will hinder the peace process?" And Netanyahu picks up his face again, he said, "Yes, I definitely think 12 people being blown up is gonna hinder the peace process."
 
Rush responded: "Yeah, that's interesting, because your memory there of Larry King's question makes the exact point. The Middle East peace process, it's its own world. The Mideast peace process is like a location.  It's like a state.  It has certain realities.  It has job opportunities.  It has objectives, none of which are publicly stated.  It has its own inertia.  And it is immune to actual, real-world events.  It has no relationship to reality.  It's a career.  It's a major at various universities, or could be. 
 
When you're 10 years old and your parents say, "Little Johnny, what do you want to be when you grow up?" 
 
"Well, Dad, I want to go to the Middle East peace process, and I want work there."
 
"You want to work at the Middle East peace process?  Why is that, little Johnny?" 
 
"Well, because it seems like it's gonna be around forever, Dad, and there's a lot of money there, and I'd be on TV a lot." 
 
"By God, little Johnny, you know, you got a point there.  Well, what happens in the Middle East peace process, little Johnny?"
 
"Oh nothing, Dad, that's the great thing, nothing ever happens.  It just is.  It just is, Dad, it's just there.  I mean, nobody ever fails there, and nobody ever succeeds.  It's just always everything's on the come, Dad." 
 
"Little Johnny, how do you know the term 'on the come'?  Where did you --"
 
"Never mind, Dad.  I just want to go to the Middle East peace process." 
 
And that is a brilliant analysis of precisely what’s gone in the Middle-East for as long as most of us can remember. And will likely continue quite long into the future because, just as little Johnny concluded, “nobody ever fails there, and nobody ever succeeds.”  
 
As far as the president’s concerned, aside from the growing dislike for his courting of Iran, he’s got another major problem here at home. Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky has begun a campaign to block Obama’s climate change agenda in statehouses and courtrooms across the country, arenas far beyond Mr. McConnell’s official reach and authority.
 
According to nytimes.com’s Coral Davenport, “The campaign of Mr. McConnell, the Senate majority leader, is aimed at stopping a set of Environmental Protection Agency regulations requiring states to reduce carbon pollution from coal-fired power plants, the nation’s largest source of greenhouse gas emissions.
 
“Mr. McConnell contends that the Obama administration has bypassed Congress and stretched the boundaries of existing law to impose climate change regulations — and that he intends to step outside of Congress and use creative legal methods to push back.
 
“The E.P.A. is bypassing Congress and the American people by unilaterally proposing these crippling regulations that would wreak havoc on our economy and are clearly unprecedented,” he said. “I have used and will continue to use all of the tools available to protect families and jobs, whether that be in Congress, or outside of the legislative process.”
 
As far as the issue itself is concerned, nothing’s changed much in the mind’s of the public which puts climate change, along with the quality of the environment, second from the bottom of a list of 15 issues Americans rated in Gallup's last survey. Which means that Senator McConnell’s proposal’s likely to receive significant public support across the nation.
 
Which brings us to today’s update on Bill Clinton’s wife.
 
The Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday, that “the Clinton Foundation raised millions of dollars from individuals with ties to foreign governments and state-owned companies while Hillary Clinton was Secretary of State, according to a published report. 
 
“[M]ore than a dozen such individuals, along with their foundations and companies, gave between $34 million and $68 million in the years after Clinton became America's top diplomat in 2009.” 
 
Donors include Victor Pinchuk, a former member of the Ukrainian Parliament whose foundation gave $8.6 million to the Clinton Foundation between 2009 and 2013. Prince Turki al-Faisal, a member of the Saudi royal family and a former ambassador to the U.S. who gave an undisclosed amount in 2013 and 2014. And, Venezuelan media mogul Gustavo Cisneros, who owns one of that country's largest television stations. He gave between $500,000 and $1 million, at various times, including during Clinton's State Department tenure. 
 
“Another donor, a London-based businessman with ties to Bahrain's state-owned aluminum company, was acquitted on bribery charges last year. His foundation donated between $1 million and $5 million to the foundation.”
 
What’s truly ludicrous, though, is what a Clinton Foundation spokesman said, repeating prior claims that the donors did not give to the foundation with the expectation of political access.
 
I hope that anybody believing that one gives me a call because I own a bridge connecting NYC to Brooklyn. And since I’m willing to sell it for a very attractive price, if they buy it and put a toll booth on it they’ll make back their investment in no time flat.
 
That's it for today folks.
 
Adios

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