chong

There is one, but he was so misguided when he was in office, and probably the worst and most ineffective one to be in that position. His name is Jimmie Carter. I had great hopes for him when I voted for him the first time he ran. He lived in a world of Disney. I'm afraid we're headed that same way again now, as when he was in office. His appeasement attitude towards the Iran hostage situation led us to be where we are now. IMHO. Of all the US leaders, I believe that Gen. Douglas MacArthur best understood eastern cultures and their attitudes. Just look at Japan's reaction to him when he toured Japan after the war. He was treated like a king. The Korean War, and for that matter, the Vietnam War, would not have lasted as long as they did had he been in command and allowed to run the war the way he knew how. Too many politicians and their appeasement attitudes caused wars to be prolonged.

Remember Gen. Norman Swarzkopf? Imagine if he were allowed to finish the job during Desert Storm. Just like with MacArthur, appeasement politicians, and even his own immediate commander, decided to get in the way of Swartzkopf. WWII ended because the US showed its might, and the US didn't even have to go to Berlin after Japan surrendered. The apparent "You're next" message was enough to get the Germans to surrender.

Beth laments the unfortunate situation in Ecuador. But that country is not unique in that regard. The majority of countries that were colonized by Latin European countries, esp. Spain, suffer from what I call the "Spanish colony syndrome". Sadly, the Philippines is one of them. Some well meaning citizens in those countries do nothing but complain about their colonizers, yet offer no solution to the current conditions other than to keep the foreigners out. Militant politicians want to kick out remaining symbols and military from their country, under the guise of "how can we learn how to run, if we don't learn how to walk by ourselves first" philosophy. As and example, the US bases in the Philippines were closed at the insistence of radical politicians because of the above philosophy. After the bases were closed, 90% of the businesses in the immediate areas closed for obvious reasons. What did these politicians do for them? Nothing. That's because they're all self-serving. And they don't need to campaign for votes, money and/or intimidation is all they need.

I realize that that is true everywhere, even here. The only difference is that here it's a lot more discreet, and politicians that actually get caught can actually get prosecuted. But then again, what about that congressman from LA, who hid $90,000, wrapped in aluminum foil, in his freezer?

Wow! Did I say all that? Wish I had more time. . . .