A favorite complaint from politicians is that their words or actions are taken out of context. Lest we be accused here, let’s put President Obama’s new policy of reducing America’s nuclear arsenal and restricting its use into the context of his feeble efforts to stop Iran from getting the bomb.
The result: Only outlaw states and their terrorist clients will have nukes and be willing to use them. That’s the full context of Obama’s strange desire to abdicate America’s role as the world’s lone superpower.
Obama described the policy aims to The New York Times, which concluded his changes represented the middle ground between liberals and conservatives. Nonsense.
The honest-to-Chamberlain truth is that his goal of a nuke-free world is being pursued with a peace-at-any-price recklessness.
That’s not a matter of left or right political philosophy. It’s a childish fantasy that is dangerous to America’s health.
It is one thing to hope the rest of the world will go along if we tie both hands behind our back. It is quite another to behave as though all mankind is already on board the Peace Train.
Obama told The Times the United States would promise not to use nukes against a country that doesn’t have them, even if that country first attacks us with chemical or biological weapons. He said there would be exceptions — he cited Iran and North Korea — because they have violated nonproliferation treaties.
He also said he wouldn’t develop any new weapons, a move sensibly resisted by Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
The combined policies fit into the suspicion that Obama sees American power as a problem in the world rather than a solution. Neutering or reducing our might, he believes, makes us and the world safer.
It’s his faith-based initiative, and it makes zero sense. There is simply no historic or common-sense basis for it.
Giving up our advantages unilaterally will almost certainly make us more vulnerable, unless rival nations like Russia and China also stop pursuing their national interests.
But why would they do that? There is no incentive for them to follow us. We’ve negotiated against our own interests, leaving them free to pursue theirs without penalty or fear of us.
Imagine how our allies will react. If we are no longer able or willing to protect them, they would probably side with our adversaries or ramp up their own militaries to defend themselves. That could destroy the peaceful equilibrium that has kept major nations in Europe and Asia from fighting full-scale wars for more than 50 years.
Finally, the whole idea of eliminating nukes is a form of suicide if we’re going to simply stand by and allow outlaw regimes like Iran to get them. Yet that’s exactly what Obama is doing by settling for weak-tea sanctions at the United Nations.
Incredibly, he even seemed to admit as much. “We’re not naive that any single set of sanctions automatically is going to change Iranian behavior,” he said.
There you have appeasement in a nutshell. He wants the world to give up nukes and insists America lead the way, but he’s not willing to stop a crazed theocracy that is determined to get them and threatens to use them.
Soda jerks’ tax attacks a little hard to swallow
Rage against government is all the rage. But New Yorkers ought to save some righteous indignation for con-artist beverage companies fighting a proposed state tax on sugary drinks. The companies are making false claims about a sensible plan to help fight obesity.
In TV spots best titled “No Cliché Left Behind,” an Everywoman unpacking groceries demands Albany stop taxing “our families.” As numbers flash on the screen, she complains the tax would add $5.07 to her food bill.
A companion Web site also plays the “hardworking families” heartstring and warns against “raising taxes on products we buy every day.” Throughout, the tax is called a “soda tax” or a “beverage tax.”
It’s neither. The tax is limited to sweetened drinks, yet it takes a mighty search engine to find the word “sugar” in any of the companies’ efforts. I believe the omission is intentional.
At one penny per ounce, the tax would not be a wild driver of costs. Claims it would add $5.07 would be true only if someone bought 507 ounces of sweetened drinks — or eight of those monster 64-ounce soda containers.
Most importantly, the proposal aims to get people, especially kids, not to buy sweet drinks and to switch to unsweetened ones.
State Health Commissioner Dr. Richard Daines says sweetened drinks contribute about 200 calories a day for most people, up from 70 two decades ago. “It’s part of what pushed our American diet out of balance,” he said.
As for any impact on jobs, he says the same companies that make sugary drinks make sugar-free ones. “New York will not become dehydrated,” he told me. “We’ll drink something else.”
I’m hardly a tax-and-spend guy, but facts matter and anyone resorting to misleading claims doesn’t have confidence in his argument. In this case, the facts support the tax.
MEDICAID $CREWUP SO TYPICAL FOR NY
Come and get it! The Post reports that Albany whizzes didn’t update their computers, letting thousands of ineligible New Yorkers get free Medicaid. Officials admitted the blunders started nine years ago and cost the state $140 million.
Correct that: they cost New York taxpayers $140 million. They didn’t cost the state a penny.
With more than 4 million people in the state getting Medicaid, the blunders rein force the suspicion that nobody is guarding the door. If a routine problem like outdated computers can go unfixed for nine years, other gaps almost certainly exist, too.
Actually, there is no “if” about it. The system is rife with fraud and everybody knows it. It’s just that nobody does much about it.
Get tough now, Mike!
When he described the Easter night rampage in Times Square as “wilding,” Mayor Bloomberg provoked flashbacks of the days when the Apple was rotten. But Bloomy is in a position to make sure history doesn’t repeat itself. So, Mike, Do Something!
Right & rung at NCAA’s
Throughout the exciting Final Four, I was shocked at how CBS managed to fill every action break with a promo or an ad. But that was nothing compared to the grubby ending.
As the Duke players and coach Mike Krzyzewski (left) were cutting down the net, the broadcast focused on the brand of ladder they were using and declared it the “official ladder” of the event. Next year, maybe CBS can make a buck off the scissors, too.
The new math
A friend sends along a riddle.
Q: How do you create a $13 trillion economy?
A: Start with a $14 trillion economy and add Barack Obama. Presto!