WHILE IRAQ BURNS----

Iraq is on fire with civil war, and that's just one more crisis on top of about five more brain rattling scandals and rumors of war. One wonders what's next---Armageddon? So we took a breath and attended the Colorado Republican annual fund raising dinner last weekend. Would they have any
encouraging words or helpful hints?  It was predictably predictable---open bid auction, sit down dinner, accompanied by piped in dead Sinatra crooning, all manner of thank you's  and plaques awarded----and finally the speaker, a pinch hitter for the well known among conservatives, Michael Horowitz. A well known conservative speaker and author, Mr. Bill Whittle had some tough shoes to fill, but he did that and then some----his remarks were delivered with  rapid fire
style, and his message was electrifying-- don't let the country go downhill anymore! He was young, cool, crisp, and on fire with his message---i.e., don't buy into the narrative of defeat, that America has seen its better days, we're done, and hello socialism.  No, stand up and fight against a media who has sold their souls to a president who has sold us down the river with his policies, and failed us as a leader on almost all levels. But what to do? Get involved,  care enough to speak your mind, refuse to be shut up, called a racist, or politically incorrect for criticizing the cultural tsunami of intolerance for anyone who dares to utter anything at all against Obama, or not in harmony with the current attitude of tolerance for all, except those who are deemed intolerable. Freedom of speech, except for those whose speech does not meet the approval of the administration or the culture ---off with their heads, uh-so to speak. Ask  the NFL's Washington Red Skins.

The speech was a clarion call for a party who is down on their knees , suffering from a split personality complex, and a Tea Party grass roots faction, who have the very annoying habit of speaking their minds even against the more moderate establishment core of the party---and managed to unseat the Senate minority whip, Eric Cantor last week. How dare they? Who do they think they are anyway, to go against the grain of career politicians who know the ropes, which is to go along, in order to get a long career. Sorry boys and girls, but evidently Cantor was considered too middle of the road for their taste---or maybe he was just a victim and the nearest target for  fed up Americans, who are mad as hell and aren't going to take it anymore. The Cantor ouster was a blistering blow, and a warning shot across the bow to those who think the way to go is a little more to the left to please the liberal populace that has everyone thinking that the emperor is wearing clothes, when in fact, he is buck naked and shivering with one disaster after another. But how does one break the spell, wake people up, turn this country back to the prosperous, proud, and confident place it once was?  Not going to be easy--but the Repubs could start by losing Sinatra, presenting a bolder, fresher image, speak their opinions to all who will listen, and include the Tea Party folks, possibly the only ones who have the guts to call it as they see it. They could also stop bickering over the details of who loves whom, who lives with whom, or who wishes to get an abortion--ain't nobody's business but their own.

We don't know for sure yet, but the party of Abraham Lincoln, the party that was originally named after the idea that the republic of the people, not the government, should be in control of its own destiny----is a done deal, unless it can rise from the ashes of its near demise, refuse togive into a loser attitude, and instead, get red hot with the message that their idea of how to do things is the way, the truth and the light. Yes, he actually said that religious thing, and it resonated because Republicans so need passion about now---not religious passion, but faith and enthusiasm for their core mission statement---smaller government,  lower taxes, and the free market system.  He went on to say that capitalism, though imperfect, works the best, and socialism never has, and that the best way to help the most people is to let most of the people help themselves, without a supposedly benign government and their cronies promising to fight for the good of all, while feathering their nests with their own power and the inevitable greed that goes with centralized government. They, the oligarchs of power, are not immune to unsavory traits---Obama himself said once that anyone who is against him and his party's ideals is the enemy and must be destroyed. Not a very democratic concept, but one that he has managed to quite adroitly perfect within a very short span of time---We are not the better for it----we are divided, ripe for conquering.

We have been transformed. It goes like this-- we no longer believe much in ourselves, and neither doe the rest of the world. Exceptional? No, that would mean we are special, and that's not politically correct in today's globally thinking, kumbaya wishing world.  Much better to be one of the guys, instead of a pushy leader. That's been the new normal, and we bought it hook, line, and sinker---because some actually agreed, and liked and trusted Obama---but does he really like us?? And
are we really better now, more loved, and safer than we were before Obama??
Or are we simply his stepping stones to re-invent America into his very own different, European vision, and hang the consequences?

Obama apparently thought we needed to be brought down a notch or two-- give up our role as the world's policeman---mission accomplished, as we watch in dismay as country after country seems to be coming apart at the seams. How's that "re-set" button working for us in Russia, and isn't it  so high-minded and "tough love" how we've left Iraq to fend for itself? Yes, yes--- maybe we should never have gone there in the first place, but we did, and things were going rather democratically well for them for a while---until we turned tail and left  quite prematurely, basically rendering all our military lives lost for nothing, and allowing an open door for terrorism to come roaring viciously through. Same thing happening in Syria, Libya, and Egypt---and very likely Afghanistan, as we soon make our announced exit. Zero net sum---but all part of the pattern to surrender our power, and transform ourselves into an innocuous, neutered, hands off, just another country, --- too noble, war weary, and broke to fight, not to mention emotionally and physically exhausted from our own problems here at home.
 
Time to pick up our marbles, draw up the bridges, and stay home? Sounds rather good, doesn't it---home sweet home, and who needs anything else? Except that home isn't safe from the the wrath of a relentless  terrorism which has not gone away. ISIS is the new Al Queda and it is even more vile and violent---they are deadly serious about their goal to terrorize whole countries into submission, as witnessed by the kidnapping of young Nigerian girls, and now the brutal torture and maiming of Iraqi dissidents. Their ultimate goal is complete dominance over Iraq, Iran and Syria, the enforcement of Sharian law, and their next target is Israel, then, inevitably us, because we support Israel, and are the embodiment of their version of sin. They mean business, and we're already in their cross hairs. It is just a matter of time---and still, our President fiddles, and considers, and thinks some more---he is a reluctant warrior, slow to condemn terrorists, and an indecisive peacemaker.  And so, he does very little, and hopes that things will resolve themselves---as countries burn, people die, democracies fall to the brutality of religious fanatics, and the fires advance ever closer to our shores.

This week President Obama curiously released 12 more Guantanamo prisoners heretofore connected to terrorism.  This follows the very confusing and unsettling trade of 5 known terrorists for one American soldier who apparently deserted his base and his troops 5 years ago in Afghanistan.  Details to follow, but for now, one has to wonder---what is going on? Who is running the store, and isn't it time we start demanding more answers? In addition, we closed down the American embassy in Iraq, and all Americans are being asked to leave. A suicide bomber killed at least 15 people in Nigeria.  The tide of war is not receding, as Obama has previously announced---on the contrary, the perfect storm may be brewing.

Things are not going well---and like the man said, it may very well be high time we push back---before it's way too late.  Does that mean we want war, more lives lost to
a country that can't seem to help itself? Absolutely not. No more. We've lost enough, paid enough. helped enough. But it does mean serious accountability for an administration whose lack of  leadership may very well have weakened us to a point of vulnerability and last ditch defensive, survival actions. And, sadly, it may mean to prepare for things to get much worse, as the Middle East falls into anti-American hands, and the possibility of a caliphate, a united terrorist ruled Middle East, emerges as the face of an enemy we will have no choice but to fight for our lives and our way of life.

Speak up America---now is not the time to be docile as lambs, properly politically private, and silent as death.  It is time to take our country back from the brink of despair---if you're a Conservative, "man up", speak out, join forces.  If you're a Liberal---think about it. These are not good times. This is no time for petty politics, but for serious introspection and heartfelt debate---as Iraq burns, so too, do the embers of trouble simmer here at home.  We are not Iraq, but we are a country in harm's way, with deep problems of our own, enough to sink a ship.  Isn't it time we begin to pull together, or will we keep fiddling and fighting among ourselves until there is little left to fight for?

One of the things Mr. Whittle, the Republican speaker, said hit home hard----it went something like this:  Don't let one inexperienced man, or one politically driven party decide the fate of us all, as has occurred in other countries, to dramatically change the very foundations of our" house ", our economy, our history, the values by which we live, and our own sense of who we are--there are at least close to one half of us who are more than a little concerned that this is happening before our eyes---because we were too intimidated, timid, and disbelieving to stop it. Words to ponder---as Iraq burns, and we choose to either take wary notice or ignore both the smoke and our own growing fires.