(452) POLITICS & PEACE

I saw P. J. O’Rourke the other morning on television, and he predicted that Obama would win if there was good economic news within 30 days before the election. Otherwise, he thinks the Republicans will win.

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I just took an internet test to determine which candidate thinks most like me. I was not surprised when Ron Paul was the candidate I most agree with. If you are anti-Ron Paul, don’t worry. He has no chance of winning.

I also watched an interview with a fellow who is saying that we should have playoffs in college football. First things first. The person conducting the interview was asked if it would be a good idea for the Federal government to intervene and force the NCAA to conduct playoffs. What a moronic suggestion. When asked why we don’t have playoffs, the fellow who was being interviewed gave an astute answer. He said, “The people who run the bowl conference championship organization would make more money if they had playoffs,” but money is not the issue. The issue is power. And he opined that all conflict is over who controls the power. Otherwise we would get rid of the Department of Energy, the Department of Education, a bunch of criminal laws and several other worthless, do nothing organizations. Alas, we cannot. The public has been scared out of its collective wits and thinks that if we give up any part of the government, we will slide into the black hole of chaos and ignorance. However, it was refreshing to hear someone talk about the quest for power. I once represented a police officer who was making $60,000 a year. A major client of mine had an opening for a chief of security position that paid $150,000 a year, plus enormous benefits. (This was back in the day when $150,000 was a lot of money.) I think he could have gotten the job, but he would not give up the power to make arrests. He loved the control. So it goes on the world stage.

To Obama’s credit, he is cutting the defense budget. Amazingly the press interviewed a red neck who said that China was trying to take over the world, and we needed the biggest, hairiest military possible to contain the Chinese. Caveat: If the Chinese want to take over the world, we would be equal to a bump on the elephant’s butt, and nothing more. Since we oppose oppression, torture, and anti-democracy nations, why haven’t we taken on China? The answer is manifold. For instance, we depend on China to stay alive because they’re the only country that will buy our junk bonds, and, two, somebody in the upper echelon of our government realizes that attacking China would be sheer folly, and that we would be obliterated in a matter of minutes. Goodness, there’s someone somewhere who’s smart enough to realize we should leave China alone.

Ironically, as soon as we end a war (Iraq), we start looking for another war to get into. As I said in a prior blog, war is the greatest waste, always has been, always will be.

My friend, David Schwanzengruber, has observed that no one remembers those who had died in war, nor do they remember the causes that anyone fought for. Soon after the war is over those who were killed become names on blocks of stone in cemeteries, and that’s it. I have frequently said “Let’s endeavor to stop war.”

I don’t know if you’ve noticed the Republican candidates, but there could actually be a comedy routine based on this blundering herd of idiots.

Respectfully submitted,
Donald M. Heavrin,
Someone seeking peace