It's one of the greatest of all movies: "Dr. Strangelove, or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love the Bomb".
Except we never did learn to stop worrying and love the bomb. Nuclear weapons are still a far greater threat than the terrorism that produced 9-1l and the horrible attacks on Madrid, Mumbai, London and Bali. One nuclear explosion would be far more destructive and more deadly than all the terrorist attacks put together. And Iran has virtually reached the point where it can produce a nuclear weapon.
Call me old-fashioned but I have been worried about Iran, seriously worried. Call it being afraid.
Equally bad, Iran's having a nuclear weapon would undoubtedly cause a stampede among Middle East countries to get their own nuclear weapons.
Thanks to Obama and his quiet, intelligent persistence for almost five years, we now have an agreement with Iran that halts its impending creation of a nuclear weapon and holds out hope of a long-term agreement. The GOP, Israel's Netanyahu, and some of the Senate Democrats are unhappy with the agreement Obama has obtained. But so what? These same people are always upset. The media are skeptical too because their current "take" on the news is that Obama is a screw-up, i.e. he has a temporarily lame health care web site.
Forget web sites! The real news is this agreement with Iran. And it's terrifically good news, and it is huge. Let's remember that the two governments haven't even been speaking to each other since Jimmy Carter was president. Remember that our lives have been under threat, including the lives of our children and grandchildren. Remember that five presidents before Obama have tried to deal with the Iran situation and gotten nowhere.
Obama is the guy who "goes where no man has gone before". He got health care reform enacted, he killed Bin Laden, he lured Russia into getting rid of Syria's chemical weapons. No prior presidents even came close to getting these things done. The guy is a regular Ghostbuster! Got a problem? Get Obama!
We are luckier in having Obama than we deserve. His latest poll numbers do not show the gratitude we should have for these accomplishments and his other numerous achievements. They are so numerous that I often forget some of them. But I'm going to list them any way, even if I forget some of them. And I'm going to say "Thank You" to Mr. Obama and to all of you who helped make him president. On this Thanksgiving I say, "Thanks, Mr. President for all you've done for us."
Such as:
1. Saving the auto industry and its one million jobs.
2. Halting the worst economic collapse since the Great Depression.
3. Priming the pump for restoration of millions of jobs.
4. Rescuing the state and local governments from collapse and providing the funds to save the jobs of millions of police, firemen and teachers.
5. Getting us out of Iraq.
6. Now getting us out of Afghanistan.
7. Securing another treaty with Russia for further elimination of nuclear weapons.
8. Not taking the bait and rushing us into a bunch of wars some thought we should enter, e.g. Libya, Syria, Georgia, Egypt, North Korea.
9. Requiring BP put up $20 BILLION DOLLARS for restoration of the Gulf Coast.
10. Bringing instant aid to the victims of Hurricane Sandy when the GOP Congress wanted them to have nothing.
11. Trying to console the families victimized in Sandy Hook and trying to get gun control.
13. Halting deportation of the Dream kids and trying to get immigration reform.
14. In these past few weeks, fining a big bad bank BILLIONS for the recklessness and illegalities that led to the 2008 crash.
15. Telling off Chief Justice Roberts for adopting the decision in Citizens United.
16. Ending "Don't ask, don't tell".
17. Supporting the marriage rights of gays.
18. Requiring enormous cuts by the auto/truck industry in greenhouse emissions and requiring big increases in gas mileage, these being very important steps to curb global warming.
19. Ordering that federal forest fire personnel have year-round health care benefits even if employed seasonally. (You take care of the many but also the few. You have a good heart.)
20. (This next is enormous! And shows how he cares for the overlooked even when there's no political payoff.) Requiring that the Native Americans FINALLY get paid the billions and billions in royalties and interest owed them by big business for over a century for all the minerals, oil, gas, timber, water, and grazing that have been taken from Native Americans lands under cover of law but without the payment the law required.
21. Having an Attorney general who vigorously fights for people's voting rights in the states where the GOP conspires to strip them of those rights.
22. Increasing veterans' benefits.
23. Naming a woman to head the Federal Reserve, one of the most powerful jobs in the world.
24. Getting the Lilly Ledbetter Act to make it easier for women to get equal pay.
25. Cutting in half the burdensome "donut hole" seniors must struggle with in paying for prescriptions.
26. All the other benefits contained in the Affordable Care Act that will save lives and curb suffering.
27. Lowering federal student loan interest by removing the middlemen lenders.
28. Doubling the number of Pell grants.
29. Calling the GOP bluff on the various "cliffs" they manufactured. Staring them down during the shutdown.
30. Creating consumer protections regarding our credit cards and other borrowing.
31. Creating a 25 million acre zone of protection for coral reefs off the Atlantic coast.
32. Making fun of Donald Trump at that press dinner while the Navy Seals were killing Bin Laden.
33. Having a great sense of humor and comedic timing. And the cool to kid around while sweating out that Seals' mission.
34. Singing.
35. That smile.
The above list is not in order of importance, but clearly the most important is Number 32. As Kramer would say, "Oh, yeah!" And fall over the coffee table.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving, Mr. President and everybody. You can't all live here in Oregon, but you surely have much to be grateful for wherever you are. And may I say that I'm most grateful to each of you for your readership. And you too, Mr. President, even if you don't read the blog.
Gobble, gobble!
.
No comments:
Post a Comment