America's Greatest War...to date...

The American Civil War (1861 - 1865).

So far, this has been their greatest war so far; certainly as it relates to deaths - some 665k Americans from both sides of the Mason - Dixon Line.

This is saying something given America's proclivity for war which I attribute to the violent way in which its birth came about.

This is also the 150th Anniversary of that Conflict.

I have always believed myself to be a Southern Sympathizer and would no doubt have supported the South had I been alive at that time.

It has nothing though to do with the Issue of Slavery.

Rather, Wars are caused by issues of Power; in the case of the South it was losing influence to the rapidly expanding North and their two ways of life - Agarian South and Industrial North became less and less compatible.

You may also recall Lincoln's words, spoken at the beginning of the Civil War, in regard to the Issue of Slavery:

" if I could save the Union without freeing a single slave, I would do it..."

Put in today's context - the US and its Allies find themselves engaged in the Middle East conflicts - this has less to do with defending human rights in those troubled nations - rather it has more to do with the fact that the bulk of the world's oil is located there. Again a Power issue rather than one of principle.

As for me, I would have wanted the South to Win that war some 150 years ago: but, at the same time, I am glad they did not.

Why? Because Power and Principle conflicted - it was better that the Principle of freeing the Slaves won out.

In honour of this 150th Anniversary I penned the following Poem. It deals with the Battle of Gettysburg which took place July 1-3 and represented the turning point in that dreadful war; in particular, it deals with the infamous and highly unsuccessful open field Charge, by Maj. General George Pickett.



DEATH ON THE MORROW

There was Death on the Morrow, as he inspected his lines;

Death on the Morrow, in his Plumage so Fine; (Pickett was a bit of a dandy)

Pickett was Resolute in the Face of Dismay;

While Dixie rode with him, on Doomed Shoulders, next day.


He accepted Lee's Orders without Reservation;

While Longstreet looked on, in Solemn Trepidation; (Longstreet, Lee's 2 i.c. did not favour "Pickett's Charge)

The Morrow would see shells rain down from the Round Tops, on High;

Leaving both Man and Beast below, to Die.


And when the Smoke cleared, his Division no more;

He would look on the Field in Anguish so Sore;

Lee would blame Pickett and Pickett, Lee;

And with their Loss, ended the Hopes of the Confederacy.


There was Death on the Morrow, as he inspected his lines;

Death on the Morrow, in his Plumage so Fine.

---------

BACK TO THE 60s...

For one last time. I promise.

Who, What, Where and When have been asked in regard to the ongoing Riots in England.

(Where you might ask is the Why .... I will come to that later).

Anyway, a local talk radio show has been dealing with the Riots in England over the course of the last few days. The host, begins his program by asking Why is this happening Now and throws the topic out to his telephone audience for reply.

The Responses, and there are many, deal with everything but the Why.

For example: They point out that it is most often the young entitled (read welfare) recipients or privileged youth out for a thrill (ie the Who);

• They also note it is occurring in our major Western Cities such as London, Paris and here in Canada in Toronto, Montreal and Vancouver (i.e. the Where);



• And of course, in regard to the When - it is happening now - certainly now in London and here in Canada - at last year's G-20 and in Vancouver at this Spring's Stanley Cup Playoffs.

When they get to the issue of Why - surprisingly a large number of callers go back to the 60s "when the roots of today's problems began". Much like I have said in earlier Blogs, "it all began in the 60s".

Before I get into the specifics of their comments, let me recap why I see the 60s as a strategic to understanding today.

Baby Boomers like myself, started to become adults over the course of the 1960s. Since then, our numbers have dominated society and will continue to do so for the next several decades. It has been and will continue to be, all about us.

So my premise is that to understand today one must understand that decade especially with the dramatic changes that took place during those 10 significant years. As I mentioned, many of the comments from the callers dealt with this peculiarity.

Let's, in bullet form, review those comments:

• JFK was assassinated in Nov. 63 and with him ended the Age of Innocence; followed by the killings of M. L. King and Bobby Kennedy;



• Early in the 60s, Rock and Roll and the Waltz was replaced with the Twist, The Beetles and later in the decade, Hard Rock;



• Large numbers of Boomers - tuned out and turned on ...to drugs;




• The Vietnam War reached its peak and split America;




• Violence in the Streets - inner cities burned;



• Church Enrollment began its steady decline;



• Schools were less disciplinary;



• The Birth Control Pill was introduced to Society; girls were now able to be as reckless about sex as their male counterparts;



• Despite this, Abortion rates rose;



• Girls / Women were less likely to placed on a Pedestal;



• The trend in Women returning to the work place began in earnest (i.e. kids sent off to day care, fewer mothers home when children returned from school);



• Government Pensions and Health Care were introduced marking the beginning of the Age of Entitlement;



• Discipline in the Home declined as did parenting skills.

So this was put forward as to Why so many have gone off the rails - have opted out - lack a conscience or what have you.

And it is put forward as to Why but in reality it is as much about When things started to go south - ie the 60s.

In fact, many of the bulleted items above do not deal with the Why. That is to say, Why did many Boomers tune out and turn on? Why did Church Enrollment start its downward decline? Why did Parenting Skills decline?

To that Question, I Have No Idea.

The bottom line though remains - the 60s represent a watershed for modern society. Many good things resulted but I think on balance, there were more bad things and many of those negative influences prevail to this day.

We now have an Entitled Society, a significant minority of our Citizens lack a conscience and the rest of us are left trying to cope in the best way we can.

As to Why - who really knows.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

I Finally Figured Obama Out.

Since his Election I have found Barack Obama to be an Enigma - I just could not get a handle on the guy.

Let me come clean here - it will come as no surprise for you to know that if I was American - I would not have voted for Obama but what you might not realize is that I was hoping he would win.

In my mind, the time had come for a Black American to be in the White House in the same manner that the time has come for a Woman to occupy that space.

I felt the pride of Black America that one of their own had a shot at being President.

For a long time, I hoped that he would grow in office but as time has gone on, I can see this will not happen.

The guy blames everyone for failings - the Big Corps; the Big Banks; Republicans; Tea Partyers; The Rich Whites, George W. Bush, Fox News and so on and so on.

Each target in turn, gets a hammering at what seems to be one of his daily Press Conferences.

He forgets that he is the President of ALL AMERICANS - he is in place to represent Them ALL and he is in place for find Solutions for What Ails the USA.

He needs to drop the Blame Game, but I have just come to the conclusion that he is incapable of doing that. In fact, he is wired in such a fashion that it is just not in his DNA.

What I now realize is that it comes down to his upbringing and his life experience that prevents him from acting differently.

This realization came to me as a result of his several appearances over the course of the Recent Down Grade Debacle- and in particular in what he said and what he failed to say.

I guess I have known about his flawed approach for some time and have even touched upon it in many of my Blogs but this recent Crisis brought it home to me.

Obama's father left him when young, his mother could not keep him and he went to live with her Grand Parents.

As an adult, he worked as a Social Worker in the poor Black Districts of Chicago.

He sat over the course of 20 years in a Church where the Pastor ranted and raved about the vile Whites while condemning America as 'G.D. America'. (While this same Pastor lived in a rich white enclave in a $10 million home - some hypocrite).

As a Black and given his life experience, he too had to come to believe in victimization - the Whites victimizing the Blacks.

Us versus Them.

Problems of the Black Community could easily be placed at the door step of the insensitve Whites.

Solutions were not needed, only excuses and blame given.

That explains why he has surrounded himself with such Socialist Minded Persons - each ready to support his dogma that someone else is to blame.

No need to take corrective action - just Blame, Blame, Blame.

It also explains why he is so cool to Israel . I hesitate to say it but there is a streak of Anti Semitism that runs through Black America i.e. if Rich Whites are bad then Rich White Jews are even worse.

I do not envy Barack Obama, indeed I feel quite sorry for him. He has a little over a year left in office and I do not expect much positive will result.

In my mind though - it is not his fault. It is in his wiring.

Post Script: I forgot to mention an important aspect of Obama's being - he truly wants to reduce the disparity between rich and poor / the have and the have-nots. And this has led to his high spending and in turn, the S&P downgrade. I fully support his goal if for no other reason than it is fair and is the humane thing to do. Where I diverge from him is that you cannot help the poor by beggaring the rich. Plus, sadly, the time is not right for such heavy spending since US and indeed much of the Western World is on the financial ropes. That said, I would like to see some of the Military Spending diverted to helping the less fortunate especially in the area of good schooling. As I have said before, the time has come for America's NATO Allies to offer up coin and resources to offset a much needed diminished role for the US.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

The Sky Is Not Falling ...

YET.



But it is getting offally cloudy.



Yesterday, Standard and Poor, for the very first time in history, downgraded the US Government from Triple AAA status to Double AA+ - Now watch the fireworks; Obama is going to wear this one.



Am I surprised? Of course not - as you know, I have been saying for sometime now the the US Gov't is broke - as in flat broke. Of every dollar spent - 40% is borrowed. Try doing that in your own home for an extended period of time - say more than 3 months.



So why isn't the Sky Falling?



Because there are Two Economies at play here - one the Public One, as in bankrupt governments and the other, the Private One - as in the IBMs of this world. The first cannot take in enough money to meet their needs without borrowing and the second cannot spend their income fast enough; it just continues to build and build.



The recent bi-partisan agreement to reduce spending added to the Credit downgrade should at last cause Americans (read Democrats) to face up to the fact that they can no longer spend themselves into the promised land. Deep cuts are needed and they are needed now.

This is why I have promoted fiscal constraint for Government - not to see people hurt as in public service layoffs, reductions in entitlements etc but to see those matters preserved in a fiscally prudent fashion. Now we are going to see much stronger measures taken to get Government Spending under control which could have been avoided if action had been taken sooner. By the same token, if Governments continue to ignore the situation - the steps that will ultimately have to be taken will be even more severe.



In regard to the Private Sector - things are going quite well - record income and profits are being reported from a host of businesses. Where the economy remains weak is with respect to jobs - that is to say the lack of them. Business though will not hire until the "other economy" - Government - gets its collective act together.



Indeed, Business is benefiting from a devalued dollar and in the case of Europe, a devalued Euro. They are better able to compete in this ever-growing Global Economy.


The problem for them though, is that they are competing with Government for money and as Government continues its wasteful spending that money becomes more and more expensive (read scarce) for Business and Government alike ( ie interest rates are going to rise and the S&P downgrade will play a factor in this).



But there is an IF.



If Government(s) acts quickly to dramatically reduce its out of control spending and raise taxes where possible (e.g. a value added tax in the case of America), hopefully a rise in interest rates will be kept to a minimum. Businesses in turn will be better positioned to start bringing back employees.

A little word "if" but much hangs on it.

Conversely if Government response is weak -the other economy will soon falter resulting in more layoffs and another Great Recession or even worse Depression.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

They're Shocked...

That Nycole Turmel has recent ties to the Bloc and Quebec Provincial Separatists.

Imagine!

As I predicted in my recent Blog on dear Nycole, this was apt to get out sooner than later - indeed what surprises me is why the pundits are surprised - it was always patently evident where Turmel's true loyalties lay.

Now to Turmel herself - she has been on the talk circuit trying desperately to mitigate the damage. Her main line of defence is that "yes "she held membership in the Bloc and in a Quebec-based Separatist Organization but that was to endear herself to friends.

In fact, it was just a matter of weeks before she announced her candidacy for the NDP in the recent Election that she turned her Bloc Membership in and only days ago, cancelled her membership in the other separatist organization.

Talk about a Conversion on the Way to Damascus.

For the Record - I do not Buy it for one moment.

Turmel also alleges that she voted "No" in both of the Quebec Referendums on Separation. Lucky for her, those votes were held by Secret Ballot.

Some have suggested that Layton was unaware of Turmel's Separatists Leanings when nominating her for his replacement.

Impossible.

So why did he do it?

Layton knows that his recent surge in popularity is entirely Quebec based. He knows too that the bulk of his new Caucus has ties to Separation. So he needed an Interim Leader that could relate to this important contingent; enter Nycole.

What I pointed out in my earlier Blog is that his nominee will turn off their long time base outside of Quebec - the one that has stood with the NDP for decades and it will offend Canadians generally.

It was a dumb move on Jack Layton's part and his Party should never have endorsed it.

The fact that they did means to me that his Party is Dead on Arrival.

Should Nycole step down? Yes.

Will she - likely not.

In fact, from the outset, Jack Layton was probably the only guy that could straddle the divide between Quebec and the Rest of Canada when it came to the NDP.

Without Jack - it will be far more difficult to accomplish and with Turmel continuing in place - it will be impossible.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

Not With A Bang But A Whimper.

My Apologies to TS Eliot.

The US passed their Bill to raise the Debt Ceiling today - just under the midnight wire.

As we all knew they would.

But the All Party Agreement really amounts to little over the status quo - no tax hikes and no substantive spending cuts.

So what exactly was achieved?

A few things in fact.

First, it delayed - at least for the moment - the collapse in confidence of the American System - which would have reverberated negatively around the world.

Second, it has refocused the debate from reckless spending - aka Bush and Obama, to an agreement - even grudgingly on the part of the Dems - that serious spending cuts will have to be taken in due course.

Third, with this agreement, the Tea Partyers have dodged a bullet. Had they forced a Government Default they would have taken the Lion's Share of the Blame for the Fall Out mentioned in my First Point. This could easily have carried over to next year's Presidential Election and caused the defeat of the Republicans.

Fourth, it keeps Obama politically alive for the time-being. He was forced to distance himself from his Left Wing which in turn endeared himself to the Centre where he needs to be to effect a second win.

So all in all much was gained from so little.

But make no mistake, the Tea Party and the Republican Party are right to make Debt Reduction an issue. The States can no longer afford to spend today with tomorrow's money. In that regard it is imperative they win in November 2012.

With their President in place and with control of Congress they can in an orderly and systematic fashion bring Big Government to Heal.

Obama and company too are correct in their pursuit of more Taxes. As I have said in an earlier Blog - the US is in such bad shape that reductions alone cannot address their insolvency. Taxes must go hand in hand with reductions and one of the best taxes to levy would be a Value Added Tax like we in Canada and most of Europe possess.

So in with a Whimper but realize the American has been changed dramatically.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galagher'

The Exact Question Is ....

In Regard To Norwegian Mass Murderer Anders Breivik as posed by countless Media around the World:

1. Is He A Terrorist?

2. Is He A Fundamentalist Christian?

3. Is He Simply A Christian?

4. Is He An Athiest?

5. Is He A Conservative?

6. Is He A Nazis?

7. Is He Part Of A Terrorist Cell Network?

8. Is He Insane?


In posing these questions, this self same left leaning Media miss the Answer in all of this - Breivik is simply a nut-bar who killed innocent children, women and men for his own delusional purposes.

The Media is anxiously looking for a counter-balance to the off stated claim that Islamists are the bad guys. They so desperately want to include the Right in the mix so that when extreme muslims carry out their vile acts - the righteous Left can come back with "they are no different from the violent Right".

In that, the Left is partially correct - violence on the part of anyone be they from the Right - the Middle - the Left - or from Religious Zealots - or from whomever - is always wrong.

But their trying to paint this Madman with a right wing or extreme Christian Label - is simply reprehensible.

The Left cannot continue to ignore the vile actions of the Extreme Islamists because, unlike Breivik - their actions are coordinated, often State Based and founded upon a twisted interpretation of the Koran. Moreover, it is not religion that fuels the Muslim fundamentalists - but rather it is power - the power to control their own peoples and subject others to their Will.

Who then is Anders Breivik?

Answer: He is a lost deranged soul trying desperately to be noticed. In so doing he has gained Infamy rather than Fame.

As I see it...

'K.D. Galgher'