Category Archives: ethics

An Illustration

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…of an unacceptably bloated bureaucracy.

As most of you know, President Barack Obama is bent on releasing as many terrorists from our Guantanamo detention facility as he can, moving the remainder to US prisons, and closing Gitmo. Whether or not this is a good idea, there is bureaucratic failure involved in the thing.

…officials note that Carter has approved some transfers and is pushing his staff to move quickly to get more to his desk. But many other proposed transfers are slogging through the bureaucracy, under review by a long list of defense, military, intelligence, and other administration offices.

There’s no excuse for this. It’s a simple, yes or no, question. The terrorist can be released or not. There’s no reason for delays.

DoD and the other cabinets and agencies in the Executive Branch (and in the other Branches) badly need personnel downsizing, military and civilian, with the personnel—highly experienced, all—returned to the private sector.

There is no excuse for the slow-walking.

Too Desperate for Diplomacy

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In July 2012, [then-Secretary of State] Clinton’s closest foreign-policy aide, Jake Sullivan, met in secret with Iranian diplomats in Oman, but made no progress in ending the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program. In a string of high-level meetings here over the next six months, the Secretary of State and White House concluded that they might have to let Iran continue to enrich uranium at small levels, if the diplomacy had any hope of succeeding.

The beginning of this administration’s decision to let Iran develop nuclear weapons behind the fig leaf of the JCPA.

Her diplomatic legacy, and President Barack Obama’s diplomatic legacy, are more important than the safety of Israel. More so than the safety of the United States, too, since the same fig leaf fundamentally removes barriers to Iran’s parallel intercontinental ballistic missile development program.

Remember this in 18 months. Remember this even if Senator Bernie Sanders (I, VT) is the Democrats’ nominee for the Presidency: these are Democrats who’ve perpetrated this. Remember this even if Vice President Joe Biden is the Democrats’ nominee: as the number two guy in Obama’s White House, he’s in this travesty up to his neck.

Donald Trump and Buyable Politicians

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Donald Trump openly boasts that he donates to politicians so he can exact favors from them after they reach office.

After all, he got his BFF and rented woman, Hillary Clinton, to dance at his wedding as a result of a “donation.” Or so he says.

There’s an actual fact, though, that contradicts his boast.

It seems Trump wanted to build one of his casinos in Florida in conjunction with the Seminoles. The casino, though, would have expanded the range of gambling beyond the bingo that Florida law then allowed. To get support for changing the law, Trump did then-gubernatorial candidate Jeb Bush a solid, hosting a fund-raiser in Trump Tower for Bush’s campaign benefit, and he donated 50 stacks of his own money to the campaign.

Once elected,

Bush maintained his hardline stance against gambling in the state, delivering a death blow to Trump’s hopes of building out a multi-million dollar casino endeavor with the Seminole Tribe of Florida and prompting him to abandon those plans.

Bush said,

I am opposed to casino gambling in this state, and I am opposed whether it is on Indian property or otherwise…. The people have spoken, and I support their position[.]

The people had spoken three times, in fact, rejecting three separate referendums on the matter.

Maybe this explains Trump’s slavering animosity toward Bush.

Hmm….

Irrelevant Questions?

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An 11-year-old successfully defended himself, his 4-year-old sister, and his home during an attempted mid-afternoon home invasion by a 16-year-old and an accomplice, by shooting the 16-year-old and driving off the accomplice. The children’s mother was out at the time.

Now the police are questioning the mother—no word on what they’re doing with the accomplice, who was caught a short time after the successful defense.

[P]olice want to know why the children were home alone and why the 11-year-old had access to a gun.

What’s the problem with being home “alone?” The 4-year-old was being babysat.

Why shouldn’t the boy have access to a weapon? He’s eleven years old, and there’s no indication he’s not been properly trained. He fired a single shot to effect his defense, though—that’s either a potful of luck, or perhaps he’s had the training.

Police believe the mother bought the gun after prior break-in attempts.

There’s a hint there.

The police are wasting resources.

More Obama Administration Stonewalling

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President Barack Obama’s State Department is resuming its efforts to delay release of Hillary Clinton’s email collection, which she created on the private server she used in substitution for State’s legally mandated government-controlled server while she sat in the SecState chair.

State filed, in the records-release case brought by Citizens United (yes, that Citizens United), a request that all such cases be consolidated under one Federal judge, and the filing added

A significant amount of time is required to process the records and determine which documents are responsive and what portions of the documents are exempt….

I agree that a significant amount of time is required for this. State has had that significant amount of time afforded it already: some of these cases have been in progress for years, and it wasn’t until a Federal judge earlier this year ordered State to stand and deliver on a regular schedule that those deliveries began.

No, State has already had the time it’s requesting. Produce the emails. Full stop.