My Beauty Best Teacher

George Friedman, CEO of Strategic Forecasting, is a noted futurist, someone who predicts future trends in politics and business. According to a recent article of his, one of the biggest threats to the security of the world (and therefore one of the biggest threats to American military, political, and business interests) is Iran. Iran soon will acquire nuclear weapons, and they may just use them against Israel or other US allies in the region, or give them or sell them to terrorist groups out there who may use them to attack the United States. 9/11 was bad, but a suitcase nuke in New York City is an unimaginable tragedy. This is what Friedman wrote about Iran and the United States options, specifically the Obama administration, on how to deal with Iran:

Obama has three choices on how to handle Iran: First, he can impose crippling sanctions against Iran. But that is possible only if the Russians cooperate. Moscow has the rolling stock and reserves to supply all of Iran’s fuel needs if it so chooses, and Beijing can also remedy any Iranian fuel shortages. Both Russia and China have said they don’t want sanctions; without them on board, sanctions are meaningless.

Second, Obama can take military action against Iran, something easier politically and diplomatically for the United States to do itself rather than rely on Israel. By itself, Israel cannot achieve air superiority, suppress air defenses, attack the necessary number of sites and attempt to neutralize Iranian mine-laying and anti-ship capability all along the Persian Gulf. Moreover, if Israel struck on its own and Iran responded by mining the Strait of Hormuz, the United States would be drawn into at least a naval war with Iran — and probably would have to complete the Israeli airstrikes, too.

And third, Obama could choose to do nothing (or engage in sanctions that would be the equivalent of doing nothing). Washington could see future Iranian nuclear weapons as an acceptable risk. But the Israelis don’t, meaning they would likely trigger the second scenario. It is possible that the United States could try to compel Israel not to strike — though it’s not clear whether Israel would comply — something that would leave Obama publicly accepting Iran’s nuclear program.

And this, of course, would jeopardize Obama’s credibility. It is possible for the French or Germans to waffle on this issue; no one is looking to them for leadership. But for Obama simply to acquiesce to Iranian nuclear weapons, especially at this point, would have significant diplomatic and domestic political ramifications. Simply put, Obama would look weak — and that, of course, is why the Iranians announced the second nuclear site. They read Obama as weak, and they want to demonstrate their own resolve. That way, if the Russians were thinking of cooperating with the United States on sanctions, Moscow would be seen as backing the weak player against the strong one. The third option, doing nothing, therefore actually represents a significant action.

The Atlantic came out with its list of Winners and Losers from Obama's 2011 budget. I modified it somewhat. Those who win the game of using the state to redistribute wealth from one person to another are:

1. Those people who are currently on the low end of the income tax breakdown, either because they are just beginning their careers, or they do not work very many hours, or they do not have very many useful skills that they bring to the marketplace, would be winners as Obama in all his infinite wisdom has decided to keep in place the tax cuts that Bush gave these people that have worked so well. As these people gain more experience, work harder, and gain more valuable job skills, they will become losers, as Obama's policies do just that- punish success.
2. Public school teachers, such as the NEA, which has so strongly backed Obama and his policies, even though doing so has destroyed education funding in our nation and led to massive pay cuts and layoffs for teachers. Obama's healthcare plan would destroy teachers, but oooohh, he is handing out an extra $3 billion to schools, so that's makes them winners.
3. The government would revoke $6 billion of Bush-era tax breaks on energy producers such as oil, gas and coal companies, and instead give those tax-breaks to clean energy technologies that are little more than boondoggles that suck energy from the system and are inefficient at using resources. This makes these politically correct industries 'winners' in the government lottery of holding a gun to my head to give them my money.
4. Government employees are the biggest winners. Discretionary spending skyrockets, in spite of Obama's recent lies to be a budget fighter and deficit hawk.

Biggest losers from Obama's budget:

1. Successful people, who create jobs, invest wisely, live within their means, and work hard. Obama doesn't like those people, and so is going to raise taxes on them to punish them for being good people (ie, let the Bush tax cuts on households making over $250,000 expire).
2. Banks and companies would be losers, as Obama attacks the money and companies in our nation in a determined attempt to chase it all out of the USA. Multinational corporations will pay higher taxes on overseas earnings.
3. Oil, gas, and coal companies will be shaken down for another $40 billion by eliminating Bush-era tax breaks. These companies will respond by cutting jobs, investment, and production in our nation, and raising prices on everyone who uses energy, making everyone a loser.
4. The biggest loser in the proposed budget is NASA. These people supported and believed in Obama, and now they are being backstabbed by having the mission of NASA changed to 'support of the global warming lie' and the cancelling of all space flight activities.

There is a blog out there called "Third Way." It is staffed by Obama supporters and three of its former chairs now serve in the senior ranks of the Obama administration. This is the sort of blog that Obama reads and the sort of blog that Obama takes his marching orders from. This blog is a fascist blog that preaches a fascist ideology.

While listening to the radio today, I was struck by the number of callers to both liberal and conservative radio shows that embraced the so-called third way- a political strand that emphasises its opposition to both communism and capitalism and attempts to embrace a variety of nationalism. The third way attacks big banks and big companies, all while owning larger and larger pieces of those banks and companies. The third way attacks communism by hurting labor unions and workers of the world and rejecting the workers of the world unite slogans, preferring instead to buy into a pseudo-populism. The third way is the way of the fascist regimes of Hitler and Mussolini, who both rejected the politics of the left and right in order to usher in a new era of hope and change.

The Third Way blog that Obama reads for his ideas is a 'progressive blog', and one would be wise to read about all the horrors of the progressive movement, from its support of fascism and eugenics to its oppression of free speech and individual liberty. The blog supports an economic agenda that is focused on 'a culture of shared values' and 'a clean energy revolution'- clearly it does not believe in a culture of freedom and liberty and sensible energy solutions, but instead it buys into the same environmentalism that Hitler and Mussolini were both enamored with and strives to force everyone to buy into their ideology.

Interestingly enough, one of the major positions for The Third Way blog that Obama likes is that prisoners should work a 40 hour work week. I noted last month that the US Government Employs Slave Labor to Compete Against Private Companies, but astute observers would note the date that the US started to employ prisoners to compete against private businesses- Federal Prison Industries Inc. was created in 1934 by FDR at the height of the popularity of the third way, or fascist, movement.

There is a lot of scary movements out there, but one of the most horrifying that caused some of the greatest tragedies is the fascist movement. Be on guard always for 'third way' thinking in our political leaders.

Via theblogprof, Riehl World View brings to my attention that the The Air Force Academy in Colorado has set up an outdoor worship area for followers of Wicca, Druidism and other Earth-centered religions. Our government, which is flush with cash and not distracted by fighting two major wars, decided to spend its time and resources building a double circle of stones atop a hill on the campus near Colorado Springs, so that cadets and other service personnel in the area can worship 'Earth-centered faiths.'

I understand that a lot of people really do believe in the vengeful Green God, but to change NASA's mission prove global warming is wrong, to change the EPA's mission to the control of our economy in the name of global warming is wrong, and to have the Air Force Academy spend its time building altars and shrines to the Green God is also wrong.

Matthew A. Loh writes:

Critical thinking plays a significant role in human achievement and problem solving, however, some societies, due to several conscious and subliminal factors may discourage critical thinking. This leads to under-development and under-achievement in the society. The solution to this problem will involve awareness and cognitive reorientation at an individual level and at society level...[continue reading]