Thursday, December 31, 2009
Bomb Iran proposal and Obama agenda reviewed
LOOKING AHEAD by Wally Dobelis
This review of President Barack Obama’s agenda for 2009 was precipitated by Alan J. Kuperman’s NY Times op-ed on Christmas Eve, “There’s only one way to stop Iran" which gave your reader an awful jolt. Merry Christmas, bomb Iran. Ugh!
Granted, the stop nuclear bomb development talks have broken down; this UTexas professor who heads an obscure Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Program in collaboration with a Nuclear Control Institute feels that President Obama's plan to move the enriched uranium to Russia for control, and to feed the nuclear research plant (Natanz) as needed only facilitates proliferation. Therefore, the impasse gives the US a good chance to stop the risky process by bombing. He sees President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad facilitating terrorism already, and wants to bomb Iran's plants, with surgical precision , to minimize civilian damages, and to foster the anti-government groups.
To begin, his argument regarding the Iranian masses rising against their government following the bombings by US is nonsense. Most of the 70 million Iranians like US, but they are patriotic, and the inescapable civilian deaths would strengthen Ahmadinejad. Conquering a country nearly one-fifth the size of US with air power is impossible, and we cannot maintain a third territorial war. As to arming terrorists, the controller of Iran's nuclear activities is the Supreme Ayatollah, and he has not armed Taliban, their natural Sunni enemy, and has kept Hamas and Hezbollah at bay. The controlled development of Iran's research plant is still in the works, and may be feasible, with Turkish assistance. The death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri may have left a positive legacy (before passing away, he apologized for the 1979 Iranian seizure of the US Embassy).
What prompted the NY Times into publishing this threat? Did they think that intimidating Iran would be a deal-maker? As Ahmadinejad is concerned, it would be more of a spur to his rabble-rousing rhetoric, which has already caused an experimental Iranian militia occupation of the most productive Iraqi oil well, on 12/18/09, and two more within a week? Maybe Ahmadinejad, with his End of Days mentality, is looking for an armed conflict? Maybe the Ayatollah is already wise to it, and internally maneuvers to hold the troublemaker President down? All this indicates for the US to be cautious, and not rile the spirits. The NY Times, and John McCain, another sometime bombing advocate, should hold back.
Going on with the review, the health program. The Senate Democratic bill, jerry-rigged to satisfy all 60 Democratic members, will, with all its warts (including the shameless extortions of Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson), cover 30 million of the uninsured, and will, by 2019, give health insurance 94% of citizens and legal residents below the Medicare age, well ahead of the 84% currently insured. The Congressional Budget office estimates that the deficit will be reduced by $132 billion in the next decade, more later, and an independent commission will add other cost saving elements (e.g. tort reform), free of lobbyist influences. Small businesses will be given tax breaks.
The health insurers will have to keep their administrative expenses and profits to 15 cents per premium dollar on group cases, 20 for individual cases, and d will accept all comers; also stop imposing lifetime limits on benefits and be restricted in specifying annual limits. The public option to compete with the private plans was lost, and the alternative is a couple of private plans supervised by a government agency, currently administering death benefits for federal employees, a weaker option. Banning coverage of abortion expenses by health plans sold on the new exchanges, allowing buying separate policies is another lame alternative. The plans leave open the chance of huture improvement.
Merging the Senate and House bills will be a bear; House wants a tax surcharge on incomes over $500,000 ($1 million for couples), Senate will tax high-limit employer plans and increase Medicare payroll charges for incomes over $200,000 (couples $250,000).
The saddest part is the withdrawal of the Republicans from participation in the health plans, or any other initiatives of national interest. The risk is that the two party system is endangered. The Democratic Senator extortionists are a legal abomination, and the Republicans praying for the death of Senator Robert Byrd to kill the 60 vote majority are a moral one.
The rescued banks, such as Goldman Sachs, have been found to have packaged subpar housing bonds and peddling them to clients, then selling the bonds short. Betraying consumer confidence should be actionable. Jail the creeps!
Copenhagen was a very limited success, better than the nothing it could have turned out to be. Some $30 billion aid in the next three years, $100 billion by 2020, to help underdeveloped countries, is ¼ of the amount requested; however, some of the small countries’ demands bordered on extortion. Next year, better results in Mexico.
Real state prices are beginning to hold; the repossess rate of mortgaged properties is still excessive particularly among the black low-pay population, and excess TARP funds should be applied in relief.
President Obama, stay well and keep going!
Wally Dobelis and the staff of T&V wish a Happy New Year and good health to all readers.
This review of President Barack Obama’s agenda for 2009 was precipitated by Alan J. Kuperman’s NY Times op-ed on Christmas Eve, “There’s only one way to stop Iran" which gave your reader an awful jolt. Merry Christmas, bomb Iran. Ugh!
Granted, the stop nuclear bomb development talks have broken down; this UTexas professor who heads an obscure Nuclear Proliferation Prevention Program in collaboration with a Nuclear Control Institute feels that President Obama's plan to move the enriched uranium to Russia for control, and to feed the nuclear research plant (Natanz) as needed only facilitates proliferation. Therefore, the impasse gives the US a good chance to stop the risky process by bombing. He sees President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad facilitating terrorism already, and wants to bomb Iran's plants, with surgical precision , to minimize civilian damages, and to foster the anti-government groups.
To begin, his argument regarding the Iranian masses rising against their government following the bombings by US is nonsense. Most of the 70 million Iranians like US, but they are patriotic, and the inescapable civilian deaths would strengthen Ahmadinejad. Conquering a country nearly one-fifth the size of US with air power is impossible, and we cannot maintain a third territorial war. As to arming terrorists, the controller of Iran's nuclear activities is the Supreme Ayatollah, and he has not armed Taliban, their natural Sunni enemy, and has kept Hamas and Hezbollah at bay. The controlled development of Iran's research plant is still in the works, and may be feasible, with Turkish assistance. The death of Grand Ayatollah Montazeri may have left a positive legacy (before passing away, he apologized for the 1979 Iranian seizure of the US Embassy).
What prompted the NY Times into publishing this threat? Did they think that intimidating Iran would be a deal-maker? As Ahmadinejad is concerned, it would be more of a spur to his rabble-rousing rhetoric, which has already caused an experimental Iranian militia occupation of the most productive Iraqi oil well, on 12/18/09, and two more within a week? Maybe Ahmadinejad, with his End of Days mentality, is looking for an armed conflict? Maybe the Ayatollah is already wise to it, and internally maneuvers to hold the troublemaker President down? All this indicates for the US to be cautious, and not rile the spirits. The NY Times, and John McCain, another sometime bombing advocate, should hold back.
Going on with the review, the health program. The Senate Democratic bill, jerry-rigged to satisfy all 60 Democratic members, will, with all its warts (including the shameless extortions of Nebraska Senator Ben Nelson), cover 30 million of the uninsured, and will, by 2019, give health insurance 94% of citizens and legal residents below the Medicare age, well ahead of the 84% currently insured. The Congressional Budget office estimates that the deficit will be reduced by $132 billion in the next decade, more later, and an independent commission will add other cost saving elements (e.g. tort reform), free of lobbyist influences. Small businesses will be given tax breaks.
The health insurers will have to keep their administrative expenses and profits to 15 cents per premium dollar on group cases, 20 for individual cases, and d will accept all comers; also stop imposing lifetime limits on benefits and be restricted in specifying annual limits. The public option to compete with the private plans was lost, and the alternative is a couple of private plans supervised by a government agency, currently administering death benefits for federal employees, a weaker option. Banning coverage of abortion expenses by health plans sold on the new exchanges, allowing buying separate policies is another lame alternative. The plans leave open the chance of huture improvement.
Merging the Senate and House bills will be a bear; House wants a tax surcharge on incomes over $500,000 ($1 million for couples), Senate will tax high-limit employer plans and increase Medicare payroll charges for incomes over $200,000 (couples $250,000).
The saddest part is the withdrawal of the Republicans from participation in the health plans, or any other initiatives of national interest. The risk is that the two party system is endangered. The Democratic Senator extortionists are a legal abomination, and the Republicans praying for the death of Senator Robert Byrd to kill the 60 vote majority are a moral one.
The rescued banks, such as Goldman Sachs, have been found to have packaged subpar housing bonds and peddling them to clients, then selling the bonds short. Betraying consumer confidence should be actionable. Jail the creeps!
Copenhagen was a very limited success, better than the nothing it could have turned out to be. Some $30 billion aid in the next three years, $100 billion by 2020, to help underdeveloped countries, is ¼ of the amount requested; however, some of the small countries’ demands bordered on extortion. Next year, better results in Mexico.
Real state prices are beginning to hold; the repossess rate of mortgaged properties is still excessive particularly among the black low-pay population, and excess TARP funds should be applied in relief.
President Obama, stay well and keep going!
Wally Dobelis and the staff of T&V wish a Happy New Year and good health to all readers.
# posted by Wally Dobelis @ 3:49 PM 
