Sheep

I can envision several scenarios by which our current president could secure for himself a second term.

1. From our recent experience in Egypt, we have learned that the most organized party usually wins. The Left (or Democrats) are organized to the hilt. The in-fighting among Republicans has already begun.

2. A third-party candidate (like Trump) could enter the race and split the Republican Party. Result: Obama is president for another four years.

3. Things between then and now could become so chaotic, we might decide to postpone elections indefinitely.

4. Or, the media could re-cast Obama as the prodigal son, now embracing all the ‘right’ policies while, at the same time, demonizing Republicans and painting them as dangerously cruel and ‘extreme‘. Obama himself could help his cause by tracking to the right in public pronouncements, and promises which he obviously never intends to keep. You and I know that, but the drones will go for it in droves. Besides, we’re constantly hearing what a super guy Obama is; that it’s only his policies that are misguided.

There are probably several other ways Obama could get himself ‘re-elected’, ways that I haven’t even yet thought of. Outright election fraud comes immediately to mind. It could even be a combination of some or all of the above. I wouldn’t be surprised if the strategy has been already scripted (like the last election was) and is sitting in some lib bureaucrat’s bottom drawer somewhere. What we can be sure of that it’s there, just waiting to be implemented (if it hasn’t been already).

Remind, there were people in our country who applauded after the World Trade Center was hit. Those same people have exponentially increased in numbers. They see themselves as having momentum (they won’t let go), while the rest of us are becoming more and more marginalized.

Obama’s election wasn’t a fluke. Everything that brought it about is still in play. There has been no epiphany among the great unwashed (sheep).

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Before They Gouge Out Our Eyes

Obviously it won’t be Obama who rides to our rescue. He’ll be the one seen as having run the country into the ground. No doubt, accusations will continue to fly from both sides. So who will it be? A Reagan-like figure? Or someone more centrist? Left? Anybody (again)? Will it even matter?

Hard to say at this point. I maintain we’re already ‘landing softly’. This is not enough for these people. The plan appears to be global. The action will center on the Middle East. That’s where the die will be cast. Everything will radiate out from there. Oil.

What struck me was how desperately Obama wanted to take credit for what happened in Egypt. It’s not yet over. If the worst should happen (and I don’t see how the worst can be avoided under our present leadership), will our president again seek to claim credit? Probably. But it won’t wash - not here, anyway.

A war in the Middle East, whether America is involved or not, will act as a ‘reset’ button for - not Russia, but - America. (How the Russians must have laughed!)

It’ll happen soon enough. While economic collapse could drag on for years, the Middle East - from Turkey to Pakistan and down into North Africa - has reached the boiling point. I have no clue if Israel is even prepared to defend itself. In any case, it’s probably out of Israel’s hands as well.

The era of cheap oil is be over. We hear it over and over again - like self-fulfilling prophecy. Oil has been the lifeblood of American ‘success‘. Our worthless dollars will no longer buy oil from the Middle East. And then there’s the matter of retribution. Venezuela will go along with it and cut us off.

Cloward-Piven has already achieved its aim. This can be illustrated in any number of ways. We’re now into our post-revolution. The point is, we no longer control the ropes. Who will come to our rescue (with some version of the Marshall Plan) should we stumble? (Again, we have already stumbled.) The sainted Brotherhood? The Chinese? The Russians? It’s likely that we’ll continue to wallow in our own stew for some time to come.

Doubtful too that Obama will be granted a villa in Shiraz (believe me, I tried to find some sort of beach resort for the family) to live out his miserable life. Though, it might be thrilling to catch a glimpse of Michelle’s ankle just before they gouge out our eyes.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Philadelphia Route

Besides showing that Obama has no credible plan (that he can publicly articulate) for the Middle East, the current crisis in Egypt points to America’s waning influence in the region. Yesterday, our president was absurdly trying to position himself to take credit for what he thought was about to happen from reading headlines in the papers. It is clear that his name had been struck from the list of those who need to know. As such, he knew as much as we do. So much for the billions our government spends on intelligence.

It might be useful to remember why Mubarak has been in power for 30 plus years: Egypt is the only country in the Middle East to sign a peace treaty with Israel. This means that Egypt has been the only country in the region to acknowledge the fact of Israel’s existence. Previous American administrations understood that this was the only requirement for Mubarak to stay in power.

As our current president has continued to make it clear that Israel no longer matters to him, Mubarak’s role also diminished in importance. Other aspects of Mubarak’s rule were now subject to full exposure.

Mubarak was basically America’s cop in the Middle East. He was properly rewarded by the U.S. to keep the peace within his limited jurisdiction. He has done an admiral job of it, suppressing the murderous attitudes among his own people, sometimes by force. He essentially put those who were crying out for Israel’s destruction in jail. We do the same with people who repeatedly voice threats of bodily harm towards others.

In recent years, it has come to be widely accepted that it is Israel that is actually at fault here; that Israel no longer deserves our protection. Therefore, the cop, Mubarak, was no longer needed. The Muslim Brotherhood - long committed to Israel’s destruction - had now served its sentence (and had hopefully learned its lesson) and was now to be released from confinement.

As the Brotherhood enjoys great influence and popularity throughout the Middle East (where Israel is universally despised), Obama initially thought that freeing Mumia Abu-Jamal (sic) would earn him some accolades. There have already been prison breaks in Egypt. Mumia (sic) will be freed (if he hasn‘t been already). Accolades for Obama? No (neither here nor there).

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

The Nightingale And the Rose

Pardon me while I don’t quite bite. Anything can be spun, including facts and numbers - like ‘the economy is improving’ and ‘unemployment is decreasing‘ and ‘green‘ jobs are the future. It’s generally done by introducing a ‘new’ method of counting, using ‘new’ parameters and a different basket of assumptions. In education, overall results are generally improved by lowering the bar and dumbing down tests.

All this frantic fudging does not change a single thing of significance. Obama is still a socialist (whether we say it or not). And he may even be a card-carrying member of the Muslim Brotherhood for all we know (whether we even dare ask the question).

Partisanship has nothing to do with it. The proof is in the pudding. America is slipping, the dollar is slipping, our educational system is not producing and we are making mistakes in every area of endeavor relative to the rest of the world.

Whether we point it out or not, whether or not we’re turning off our radios because we’re sick of hearing about it, it’s happening at an alarming rate.

I note that the Batchelor show has one big advantage over everybody else in the business: he doesn’t take calls. Therefore he’s spared the tedious bleating of the inarticulate, the partisan poisoned, and the uninformed. Batchelor only talks to ‘experts’; meaning, that what has made them experts is in large part their familiarity and comfort level regarding language. This translates well to radio. It does not mean, however, that the ‘great unwashed’ - the rest of us - have nothing to say.

While everyone likes to claim the people’s support for whatever murderous scheme they might find themselves accessories to, they remain prepared to drop public opinion for expediency’s sake. In Beck’s case, I am not so sure his being dropped from major markets has so much to do with poor ratings as with his fingering of the great puppet master himself: Soros, who seems to have his fingers in every conceivable pie - just as I never believed that the re-elections of Reid and Pelosi were entirely free of electoral fraud.

I just finished reading ‘The Nightingale and the Rose’ by Oscar Wilde. It is one of the stories that came in a volume published by Puffin Books, a division of Penguin. Like Grimm’s fairy tales, the themes in these stories are not necessarily all clover and honey. Some serious issues are explored here under guise of clear language and simple metaphor. ‘Nightingale’ for instance explores the notion of personal sacrifice for a lost cause. It can bring tears to a child’s eyes and continue to haunt into adulthood.

In America, there have been many more such sacrifices than those currently living here. In fact, it could even be said, that every grave in America holds the remains of a martyr who had some sense of the eternal. What would any of them say if they were to come back today and watch the rose tossed carelessly aside to be crushed by an unseeing wagon wheel? Would they be impressed by the gloss of manipulated polls and surveys? Or would they be moved to weep at the flag (they fought and died for in some cases) being dragged through the muddy streets of our relentless discontent?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

No More Sequels

It’s easy to predict this one - to run it all the way out to its conclusion. It’s like we’re all at the movies, watching a James Bond thriller. It’s been cat and mouse all the way. The final scene is approaching. Bond has located the farm house where the beautiful hostage is kept. He creeps stealthily towards it. He has already poisoned the dog. He reaches the porch. The floorboard creaks. He stops. All remains quiet.

The door is unlocked. Standing aside of the frame, he pushes it open. It creaks on its hinges. A car passes along the road. Bond freezes. All else remains quiet.

Meanwhile, the villain lurks in the shadows inside the house with his hand over the mouth of the beautiful hostage. He watches Bond’s movements on a monitor.

Though cautious, Bond thinks he’s in the clear. He had checked the barn earlier. There were no cars there. Bond draws his gun before bursting into the house.

Involuntarily, we put a hand over our mouths. We want to scream at the screen, “Watch out!!!”

Why is the media suddenly becoming so cagy about Egypt? Saying anything but the obvious is treated as virtual blasphemy. No speculation endues. History starts with Obama, even as his own history remains incomplete. All we need to know is that before Obama, all history led to ruin. The U.S., the most powerful nation on earth, was in charge and everyone else had to dance to its tune - and life on the planet was a misery to most.

Perhaps it’s not accident that Obama started his presidency with what was billed as a major speech in Cairo. I just re-read it. It struck me as childish - almost simple-minded. I’m sure nobody there bought it. They might even have been offended by its condescending tone.

Platitudes don’t translate easily to bread. Not much there by way of loaves and fish. Certainly not much mention of political strategy which, taking into account that America was speaking, was a lie of omission. Just so much American soma, Coca-Cola, change, and all the rest. Nobody believed it.

Except, it wasn’t America speaking. The ‘change‘, that would involve them, had actually come from America . And though nobody knew it yet, much of what Obama said was true - a reflection of the new America, the one in bed with jihad and the Muslim Brotherhood. Nobody foresaw that Egypt would become the crucible. Except, Obama knew.

Now more of us know because we can see what‘s happening. We see the outline of what’s coming - what’s already here. Yemen and Jordan bookend Saudi Arabia. The Suez Canal remains a vital shipping lane. Oil remains vital to functioning of the West. Tehran claims armies and allies. Israel cries foul. There will be no more sequels.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Cowering In Egypt

Egypt is in the grip of a classic revolution. It begins with chaos and ends in tyranny. This is not to say that Mubarak represented anything other than tyranny. He knew that it was the only way he could keep his country together - that is, to keep it from descending into the even deeper hell of Tehran’s sadistic hordes. In his particular neighborhood, Mubarak knew, he was essentially spitting into the wind. Not much use in pretending that he would not eventually succumb either to death by natural causes or to go down swinging. He held up his end as long as he could.

When the Left decided to join up with the Muslim Brotherhood, he knew it was over. When the West - and, especially, the United States - turned its back on Israel, he knew it was twice finished. He sent his successor son and his family to safety. He himself would stay and fight and, if need be, go down with the ship.

Not much help from Obama who would pepper his stammering response to the chaos with “the people” to the point where it became embarrassing to listen.

In the past, the U.S. could always be counted on to intervene. It was Mubarak’s reward for making peace with Israel. With Obama’s rise to power, the contract became null and void. Mubarak would have to go it alone.

The plague haunting the world remains anti-Semitism. It’s what unites all the players in the Middle East. Once it became apparent that no one would be spared, the faint-hearted veered to the dark side. Israel was declared a pariah nation and even the West would follow suit.

Israel reminds of an Islamic woman who has sinned. Her fate is determined by shariah. They will want to dig a pit for her. And the bloodlust of their god will be satisfied (now that the secularists have also joined in the clamor).

Besides the Israelis, the secularists will also be losers. They confuse secularism with a total ban of religion. They think that this would help them escape the twin burdens of guilt and duty, not realizing that these, in the hands of men, would become even more oppressive and arbitrary. They further delude themselves in that their 'secular humanism' is much different from religion. It is as crude and intolerant as Islam itself. And its high priests are every bit as extreme as the most radical jihadist.

If you want true 'secular humanism', you need only look to India where it is not unusual for an extremely competent high-tech worker to stop at a temple on his way home to circumambulate the idol of his choosing (always keeping it to the right of him) three times before receiving the priest’s blessing and be sent on his way; or, a humble rickshaw driver inviting his priest to bless his brand new vehicle; or the bus driver stopping at a temple to have his upcoming journey blessed… Religion is woven into daily life. No one mocks it. No one feels slighted. No one is cursed, even if they choose to shun ritual.

The Muslim Brotherhood is not like that. They insist on shariah (for everyone). Atheists are not like that. They insist on religious ritual being hid under a bushel. Communists are not like that. They ban any religion, not understanding the concept of ‘giving unto Caesar…’

Islam is not celebrated for being enlightened or tolerant. It is fear that spreads it. It gives off the illusion of power. Who can resist cowering before madmen after the doors of the asylum are thrown wide open and it becomes no longer possible to avoid them?

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/

Reply to Corlyss: Trouble in Egypt

Corlyss - You knew this was coming. Always looking ahead. Here, in America, it’s already happened. Both in Egypt and in America the people were made to so despise the status quo, they would stampede for ‘change‘. Both in Egypt and in America, there are (and have been) good people in support of ‘revolution’. Mubarak was a dictator, Bush was an incompetent who insisted on playing by the Queensberry rules. But both were more or less benign.

In Egypt, the mullahs painted Mubarak black. In America, the press painted Bush black. The people were riled up. They were told it couldn’t get any worse. In Egypt, they are now taking to the streets. In America, they went to the ballot box (2008).

Ours was a bloodless revolution. We had money as a buffer to absorb the shock (of revolution). When the money runs out, we too will take to the streets. We’re apt to suffer our own Tehran moment. Egypt, on the other hand, is a relatively poor nation. The only option for them is (go directly to… Do not pass GO) civil unrest. In both countries, the revolution was carefully orchestrated. As I said, a lot of good people were enticed to join in. They will be the first to be crushed in what follows.

The revolution is not over - neither in Egypt nor in America. In Egypt, Iran’s “Moslem Brothers are hanging back“. In America, the Marxists radicals are hanging back. Both revolutions are made to appear as a grassroots movement attracting only the pious. In America, we ended up with a dictator. The same will result in Egypt. In America, things will get worse; in Egypt things will get worse as well. Both freedom and any hint of optimism will suffer - along with tolerance, civility, and fair play. Israel should be worried.

Israel has been painted a pariah. Israel is the ultimate target - the jewel in the crown of dictators. America will not help. America’s conscience has been severed from its body politic in the interest of (short-term) expedience. America is going down the same road as Israel (and Egypt). The difference is that America has already had its revolution and the bad guys won. “The Marxists (sic) are patient and relentless.”

By the time the dust has settled, America will be already be preparing for its next ‘revolution’. The military will take the side of the people. The next one should be relatively brief as all of America’s enemies will be residing at close quarters - in Washington/DC.

http://pkoelliker.blogspot.com/