Posted by
Mike Silverman on Sunday, May 17, 2009 1:57:14 PM
Hello Again. I'm not sure if anyone reads my blog anymore, but I thought I'd post a few thoughts about recent events.
* President Obama speaking at Notre Dame's graduation ceremony ;
Personally, I don't have a problem with this. I strongly support of freedom of speech as a natrual right for all citizens of the US and all people of the world. But then, I don't attend Notre Dame. It's a matter for the school administration and it's students and alumni to determine who their guest speakers should be. It seems that what bothers most of the people who are protesting his appearence there, is less the fact that he is going address the graduating students, but that he is being given an honorary law degree from the university, an institution of the Catholic Church whose teachings are diametrically opposed to Presiden't Obama's view on abortion. This I can certainly understand. President Obama clearly supports the most radical pro-choice policies of the left, and faithful Catholics strongly oppose abortion. It's one matter to have the President make an address to an assembly of students, it's quite another to honor him with a special degree from an institution whose teachings are to the opposite on such a dramatically important matter as abortion. A reasonable compromise from the school's administration would seem to be to have the President speak, but do not give him the degree. I have listened to some of the student protesters who said they would be satisifed with that. President Obama, as a goodwill gesture, should perhaps choose to decline accepting the honorary degree in light of the obvious turmoil it is causing. It would be a dignified thing to do, and could be a catalyst in defusing the tensions over this. I hope he will do that, though I suspect he probably will accept the degree. As a final comment on this controvesy, it's interesting to note how the news media is making this into an isolated controversy between people of the Catholic faith, and President Obama. Millions of US citizens who are not of the Catholic faith, such as myself, also are strongly opposed to the cultre of abortion-on-demand , and oppose President Obama's stance on the matter.
* Speaker Of The house, Nancy Pelosi's argument with the "CIA";
This is ridiculous. I watched the news report in which she was asked if the CIA lied to her. When she uttered the word "yes" I thought she would immediately catch it as a mistaken thing to say, and rescind it in the same statement. She didn't. She stood by it. I don't want to wast too much commentary on this, since it is such a dramatically rookie-type, neophyte knee-jerk silly thing for her to have alleged, that it pretty much speaks volumes for itself. You don't kick the dog that's guarding your house. Congress relies on the CIA for important intelligence briefings on the status of our country's security. Pelosi has forced the CIA to defend itself now, since by remaining silent they would in essence be submitting that they lied to her. Thus she has started a war, and put herself directly in the middle of it. Pelosi has had reign over the House Of Representatives similar to what a queen matriarch would have over her kingdom. She undoubtedly was feeling her power, feeling untouchable. But as Elloit Ness proved to Al Capone, even the biggest and the badest can be knocked from their pedestal. Capone picked a fight with the wrong guy, and Pelosi has made a similar mistake.
* National Health Care, Obama-Style;
Well, what's to be said that hasn't been said already? President Obama recently demanded , and got a vague promise in return, that the nation's hospitals and drug companies and insurance agencies reduce health care costs by $2 trillion over 10 years. That's hysterical coming from a man who just asked for a nearly 4 trillion dollar budget made of tax payer's money. A man who has already spent generations of tax money that hasn't even been collected yet. What huge arrogance and hipocrisy on display. Of course, his biggest plan is for every man woman and child to have government run health insurance. Anyone who has had to deal with medicare or the VA for any major issue knows the nightmare he wants to inflict universally on the country. No thanks. Transparent prices of services and medications, consumers choosing their own policies as best fits their lifestyle rather than leaving it up to the government or an employer, and tort reform are some of the keys to reducing medical costs as well as allowing the individual in conjuction with the doctor to choose the medical services they require rather than some nameless faceless insurance or government bureaucrat.
- Mike Silverman