The 180lbs. “Guerilla”:
Let’s first look at the notion of Global Warming. Despite the fact that, "There is a considerable presence within the scientific community of people who do not agree with the IPCC conclusion that anthropogenic CO2 emissions are very probably likely to be primarily responsible for global warming that has occurred since the Industrial Revolution," (Daily Tech) the mainstream media continues to report on a phenomenon that has not been proven as though it is fact. Furthermore, policy around carbon emissions is being developed based on this misinformation. "In the past 70 years the Sun was more active than at almost any other time in the past 11,400 years...Mars, Jupiter, Neptune’s largest moon, and Pluto warmed at the same time as Earth." (IBID)
The upcoming election serves as a distraction -- in that the really important issues are not discussed and instead media attention is focused on Barak Obama’s associations, i.e., Jesse Jackson using the “N” word (in two different ways, mind you); Jeremiah Wright and the novel idea (sarcasm) that there is a contingent of black people who do not like white people; fellow democrat Kucinich, who during his first presidential campaign quoted the Koran and roused his Muslim audience to chant Alahu akbar (Daniel Pipes) wants us to spend oodles of tax payer dollars to impeach George Bush (and at the end of his term of office, completely irresponsible), and Tony Rezko, a slumlord connected to Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (who may also, rightly so due to his mismanagement of Illinois government, face impeachment). None of this enlightens the electorate on Obama’s strategic plan for the defense of our country, if he was to be elected to the highest office of the land. If Obama had plans to aggressively fight terror, secure our borders, and defend our sovereignty, I think it would be safe to say that most of the people who want to see this on his platform would ignore all the rest.
The “recession” is another shiny thing. In an article in the Wall Street Journal, J.P. Morgan’s chief economist Bruce Kasman is quoted, ‘While earlier this year it seemed like momentum was carrying the economy into a clear recession, there's only "a slightly better than even chance" of a recession now. "Even though there are meaningful drags from the credit crisis and energy costs, the economy is showing resiliency."’
Human Event’s Mac Johnson writes:
This economy faces real and significant structural problems. Housing prices have crashed, lending has contracted, the dollar has been halved, oil prices have soared, and food prices have been biofueled up to recent highs.
All these issues have taken a huge toll on consumer confidence, pushing it -- and the stock market -- to the lowest levels in years. And consumer confidence is precisely what is targeted by exaggerated election-year doom-mongering from the mainstream media. Given the already anemic state that confidence is in, it may not take much hyperbole and rant to send it into a tailspin -- especially since the media will have much better ammunition to work with in such an already worrisome economic environment.”
Finally, the headlines are dominated by Iraq, Iran, Israel, Syria, and Pakistan. No one would dispute that there is reason to fear the volatile nature of the Middle East and the exporting of Muslim extremists to the United States, the possible activation of terrorist cells with nuclear capability in our own country, and the political correctness which contradicts our rule of law and detracts from our ability to defend ourselves against foreign agents operating on our soil.
Getting back to China...China now has a new fleet of submarines which can launch Julang-2 (JL-2) ballistic missiles, “Five Type 094 missile submarines could account for over 180 warheads,” Richard Fisher, a military affairs specialist with the International Assessment and Strategy Center, is quoted as saying. Julang-2 missiles could be used to target Guam, Alaska and Hawaii. China acquired all the needed technology from the U.S. during the 1990s (during Clinton’s term in office). Particularly troublesome is the following contradiction in why China has embarked on their military buildup:
“China’s rise in international trade and commerce, plus its growing dependence on imported foreign oil, also has expanded Beijing’s maritime strategy from a mostly submarine force to one of building surface ships to “defend sea lines of communication” (SLOCs).” (IBID)
“Chinese Gen. Zhu Chenghu told reporters in 2005 that China would attack U.S. cities with nuclear weapons in response to any conventionally armed U.S. missile strikes against China during a conflict over Taiwan. Years earlier, Gen. Xiong Guangkai threatened to use nuclear weapons against Los Angeles if the U.S. helped Taiwan defend against a Chinese invasion of the island.” (IBID)
China’s advanced cyberwarfare capability has been implicated in, “a number of intrusions and attacks on military, government and corporate systems,” which are tied to the People’s Liberation Army (PLA). Stratfor China is also developing an anti-ship ballistic missile and electromagnetic pulse weapons (which are also a threat from Iran) which can be used to wipe out electronic systems over a very wide area. (IBID). All of this means that the United States must involve itself in an expensive arms race if it is to maintain superiority in weapons technology and defense capability. Certainly, this should be a topic of election concern.
The 2008 election is a great disappointment. Each candidate’s appeal to voters appears to be based on a level of examination of the issues reflective of an intellectual challenge more suited to the kind of popularity contests influencing junior high school class elections all over America. It’s frightening to think that one of the candidates for office has captivated the electorate because he is articulate and good looking even though he is completely devoid of experience on the foreign stage and does not have a coherent plan for running our country. Furthermore, his understanding and loyalty to this country’s rule of law can legitimately be considered questionable. And while the other candidate seems to have a much better understanding of the threat of radical Islam, he is too quick to pander to potential voters on non issues such as global warming and the economy, contributing to a massive misinformation campaign designed to detract from what is really important. |
