Border politics
October 1, 2008
I supported Bush going into Afghanistan because I thought we were going to capture bin Laden and those responsible for 9/11.
But now I am worried when I hear Barack Obama and others talk about the infamous border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This border by all accounts is the headquarters for evil and apparently everyone knows it but I guess we need more than seven years to figure out how to maneuver those mountains. I have a problem with Obama’s hubris regarding the launching of targeted attacks against al-Qaeda and the Taliban if the Pakistan government is not cooperative. The problem with this logic is that it sounds reasonable on face value but if President Obama were to decide that the Pakistani government is not doing all it that it can to help root out bin Laden and company, he would have already the justification for launching full attacks against Pakistan. This is because there is not a large intellectual gap from not being cooperative to being part of the problem.
Bush had a tricky relationship with Pakistan’s former President Musharraff because Musharraff was a dictator that promised to help to the US in the so-called war on terror. Of course, we have little or nothing to show for it but now that the US doesn’t have to pretend to like Musharraff, there is a window of opportunity to do what the neocons probably wanted to do all along; maintain a significant troop presence in Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This strategy ensures that America can keep a strategic base near China and Russia, further isolate Iran, and bolster the mutually assured destruction principle with respect to Israel.
I think Obama should not trade Iraq for Afghanistan. In Iraq, we were supposed to secure the weapons of mass destruction that didn’t exist, and then it turned into a war against Iraq, and then we had to stay to catch the terrorists that migrated to Iraq, and now we have to stay in Iraq to not only rebuild the country, but establish a democracy. Senator Obama, I understood the Afghanistan theater to be focused on holding those responsible for the 9/11 attacks. We don’t need to occupy Afghanistan (like we are doing in Iraq) to achieve this goal. Let’s get back to basics.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
The myth of the Christian candidate
August 3, 2008
Good morning fam,
I hope all is well with you. A friend of mine just recently body sort of shut down due to the heat so be careful out there and stay hydrated. Speaking of heat, the cost of heating your home this fall and winter will more than likely be higher than last year so start considering putting money away now to deal with those bills.
However, I am here today to talk about the myth of the Christian candidate. Too often, the two wedge issues that conservatives use to determine if a candidate is moral or Christian enough are gay marriage and abortion. What I hate about this debate is that it forces God into a political framework that is too small and quite frankly, disrespectful.
Why is it that we never talk about tax policy in terms of Christian values? Are tax cuts for corporations and the wealthy really in line with this mistaken notion that God wants everyone to be rich? Man often defines as rich as monetary wealth, none of which we can take with us when we leave this earth. It is the love we give and receive from each other that makes one truly rich. Just think about it, anyone reading this column that went to college and stayed in the dorm remember how fun it was to be a broke college student, eating Ramen noodles, finding the most creative ways to eat and pay bills, always knowing that you had to laugh to keep from crying.
Having said that, what if we had a tax policy reflected in Proverbs 30:8-9 that reads,
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me, give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. 9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say , ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal and so dishonor the name of my God.
And let’s consider war and consider the fact that yes, sometimes war is justified but if we honest with ourselves, sending troops to fight a wars chiefly designed support our conspicuous consumption as opposed to ending genocide is crazy to me.
Our health care system is designed to make sure that when you need health care most, insurance companies profit margins grow to the extent that they find ways to deny payment for needed services. And we are talking about people with health care so you can imagine the fear of not having it. I am just trying to imagine Jesus charging payment before he healed the sick and I just can’t see it.
The problem is that we all need help because even bad things happen to good people. You may do everything right and may have to end up taking care of a sick parent or child or enduring a debilitating disease yourself. I don’t know about you but I want to elect candidates that realize that we can’t put God in a box or a political party, but we can apply Biblical principles to the full spectrum of issues facing our society.
Stay up fam,
Brandon Q.
