When Are We Going to Do as We Say?

As Iran makes nukes and Syria fuels the enemies of Iraq and the freedom coalition we find ourselves speaking the words of the Bush Doctrine and anemically enforcing it. When will we finally take on the terror masters?

IRS agents have been investigating Syria's role in food-for-oil. Syria illegally bought Iraqi oil (above and beyond the quota) with hard currency and military equipment. Now they think this money is funding the 'insurgency' and other terrorist acts. Iran is close to having nukes. Meanwhile, the mullahs ruthlessly suppress demonstrations against them. If these reasons are not enough to take on these tyrants that vow the destruction of us and our allies, I don't know what is. I remember being in boot camp in 1987, and our Series Commander told us that Iran had declared war on the United States. If this is true, we have our internationally legal recourse to take on the terror masters.

All we need to do to take on Iran is arm and train the folks that are already rising up against the Islamo-facists. We can give these true freedom fighters air cover and let them bleed for their own freedom. Iranians are yearning to be free. Their actions prove they want it. Let's help them achieve it.

With Syria it is more difficult. As with Iraq the oppression in Syria has been so long and thorough we'll have to go in hard and heavy. But with the Marines coming off the Mediterranean in the West and 4th ID coming over the desert from the East, the tyrants of Damascus would have no place to hide (I'm sure Turkey and Jordan would not like to take in the vagabonds of an old regime).

It's time to stop fiddling around and show they we are serious about those who hide terrorists.

Are Unions Needed?

There seems to be a serpent in the American Workers' Paradise of the AFL-CIO. Seven unions are boycotting the AFL-CIO convention; because they are upset at the direction the parent federation is taking organized labor. Instead of entrenching themselves deeper into Democratic Party politics they want to spend more time in trying to organize workers, particularly the private sector, where unionization has dropped from a third to less than 8% of the total labor force.

The industries that are in trouble are the one that are heavily unionized. With unionization comes stagnation. Like the Communist of old, Unions want to make sure each plant uses as much labor as possible; more labor, more members, more dues, more money and power for the union bosses. Some of the greatest hindrances to modernization for the manufacturing plants have been unions. If plants modernize, there will be fewer workers in the plant. With few workers the union bosses cannot extort dues from the largest amount of workers possible. Unions stop these efforts thinking that they will save as many jobs as possible. Instead, the whole plant shuts down and is moved overseas where workers are paid a fraction of what the union demanded from the company.

Who gets the blame? The greedy company. Who should at the very lest share the blame? The greedy unions. How much do Mr. Hoffa, Mr. Sweeney, Mr. Hansen, & Mr. Stern et al. make in salary. I would bet a dollar to a donut that it is more than the typical union member makes. What kind of non-declared perks do they get as they wine and dine the politicians in Washington and various state capitals? Well, I don't see any of these people living a lifestyle in the abject poverty they claim American workers are living in.

The bulk of unionized jobs are found in the public-sector (the government). It is the last place where Marxist-collective mindset still has hold and will not come to the realization that the ideas of Marx and Lenin are as dead as they are. As individuals in the private-sector labor force realize they have more leverage by their individual training and initiative to better compensation. As time moves on labor unions will find themselves with less and less power as the 21st century gains steam.