Category Archives: Politics

by Barry Kelly | October 2, 2013 · 11:58 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS-78 THE ADVISOR

BEWARE OF THE MESSAGE

The Advisor was pacing in his office. It was day two of the government shutdown and the President had just appeared on TV to blame it on the Republicans. The Advisor could see right through him and surrendered himself to the journals.

He wrote: I’ve studied politics and the struggle for power all my adult life. The essence of all efforts to gain power is the developing and dissemination of “the” message. Truth is usually not necessary. The believers don’t need the truth. No great takeover of power ever involved the truth. Russia, China, Cuba, Eastern Europe, Germany, and various third-world countries are good examples. But the current administration of the Progressive Democrats is a world-class messaging machine.

For example, the blame game of who is responsible for shutting down the government. All the President had to do was agree to applying Obamacare to the Congress and to delay the application of the law to individuals, in the same way the President gave a year’s delay to big business without any consultation with the Congress, in itself an unlawful and unconstitutional act. He made 16 other changes in the law also without consulting the legislative branch. Yet the message is that Republicans wanted the government shutdown. That’s not the truth. In the struggle for power, truth is a bystander. Why didn’t he compromise? There was plenty of political space for him.

The reason he didn’t is ugly. The President’s actions can only be understood if you understand he must use every issue to destroy the opposition. The goal is a one-party government. He cannot escape Alinsky’s teaching that the issue is never the issue. Ultimate power for a Progressive elite is the end game. The transformation of America cannot be accomplished as long as there is even a bewildered opposition that still doesn’t understand the rules have changed. Only a very few of the Republican Party’s elite talking heads are learning the new rules, but very slowly.

Obama’s war is here, in the homeland. Iran, Russia, South America, Syria, Egypt, and North Africa are of no interest to him, unless he can shape the issue to diminish the opposition party. He is willing to sacrifice our former international position of respect, won at the cost of much blood and treasure if he can improve his domestic power position. He doesn’t want to be a world power. He just wants to be an equal part of a one-world order governed by a United Nations on steroids. A world of talk, legal maneuvering, and equality. Where wealth must be redistributed to achieve the equality of nations. Anything to achieve this goal is good: climate control, cap and trade, energy resources controlled by an international group. Limitations on the size and quality of troops and weapons. The keeper of the new world order dictates when, where, and what force is needed to maintain equality. It is Utopia by the same, old, tired wishes for a fairy-tale land that has failed everywhere it has been tried, now lives anew in the minds of the new Progressive elite. While dreamers may think the end is a beautiful creation, the process is ugly and never ending. Beware of the message. Search for the truth for only it will make you free.

The author has 27 years of Government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an

advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to share this on Facebook and to click the “like” button below. Comments and dialogue are welcome.

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Filed under Alinsky, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions, Progressives, totalitarianism

by Barry Kelly | September 30, 2013 · 8:23 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS-77 THE ADVISOR

OBAMA’S WAY

The Advisor was shaken. It was after 2:00 AM and the Secret Service just called to say the Boss was on his way down. He turned the coffee pot on and got himself together. He could go to sleep most nights rather quickly but, after 82 years it took a while to wake up and function. Sometimes he wished for a schedule. It would never happen. The Journals told the story. Presidents seek advice where and whenever they like. That’s partially why the institution of the Advisors had lasted so long.

I think I must be the least effective of all the Advisors, he thought as he found two coffee mugs. The President listens but never takes my advice. I have no agenda. Protecting this bastion of liberty from all attackers is my agenda. Now for the first time an Advisor knows that the President has his own unique agenda that requires, in his words, “The transformation of America.” After five years the ugly shape of the transformation is becoming visible. That transformation if successful will mean the end of individual liberty in the world. Can I and should I help him to accomplish this goal?

The advisor paused. I have to. It’s my mission. I took the oath of office willingly and he was elected twice by the people. The question is if the people elect a man to be their leader, is that enough? I would argue that freedom can be lost through the tyranny of the majority. We fought for the right to establish a free Republic of the people, for the people, and by the people. We have now or soon will have a majority of voters who seem to favor a Democracy over a Republic. These are very different concepts. The President’s core supporters are the people who believe in an elite leadership of the masses who will lead the nation toward a managed equality and world government.

The Advisor was pouring coffee when the heavy steel door swung open and the President came in wearing a warm-up suit. He looked trim and healthy but very tired. Rather than his usual civil greeting, he said, “I’m pissed. Everywhere I go people are trying to tell me what to do. Even my own staff. At least down here nothing I say gets discussed the next day by some pompous talking head. I hate them. Especially those of the left. They should know better. This mess with Iran, Syria, and Russia has everyone chasing their tails or trying to step on mine. Damnit, on top of that the right wing radicals in the Congress are fighting ‘The Affordable Care Act and raising the debt limit. Obamacare is the damn law. I like to put them all in the Gitmo place they love so much.”

“Mr. President, how can I serve you?”

“I’m tired of talking. I want to ask you questions and just listen.”

“I’ll answer as if I was burdened with the same issues, which in my way I am. Okay?”

“Yes. My first question is how would you handle Iran’s nuclear weapons program?”

“I would not focus my entire efforts on stopping Iran from becoming a nuclear power. The issue is greater and has more points of danger. Iran’s unshakeable commitment to developing nuclear weapons is driven by their goal to dominate the Middle East in one Muslim Shia state ruled by Iran. Nothing the West can do will change this national goal. The best weapon against Iran is to motivate the Sunnis to actively provide an roadblock to Iran’s aggression. Syria is a pawn in that struggle. Assist the Sunnis in their effort to secure Syria for the Sunni sphere of influence. Hamas, Hezbollah, and a large part of the Jihadist movement would be weakened. Yes, I know al Qaeda is basically Sunni. But Iran is far more dangerous than the stateless organization of al Qaeda. No effort of yours to diplomatically stop Iran’s messianic drive to acquire nuclear weapons will do anything but give Iran more time to weaponize. Negotiation with them with the goal of exposing their treachery and rallying the Sunnis …in the end a military strike will be necessary. But get the Sunnis actively on your side first.”

“What about the budget issues and The Affordable Care Act?”

“That is an easier problem. You can solve that because you are the problem. Never mind the Alinsky theology about using every issue to diminish the opposition. Alinsky was never president. You are. Some issues must be solved. The American people do not trust a president that cannot solve important problems. You, yourself, have delayed and modified parts of The Affordable Act several times. Because it needed fixing. You stretched and maybe broke the law doing so. But that is another issue. Your problem is, do you want to give Americans better health care or do you want to use control of the health/medical industry as a big step toward socializing America? You can’t have it both ways. Negotiate health care with the Congress, both Houses. There are good things in Obamacare. Keep the good and modify the rest. Your ratings will soar and the budget crisis will disappear. The choice is yours.”

“That’s enough for me. I need to get some sleep. I’m not finished. I’ll work up to listening to more of your analysis. It helps me deal with my Republican enemies.”

The President took a last drag on his cigarette and walked out the door with an almost imperceptible over the shoulder wave to The Advisor.

The above is a fictional account of a meeting that never took place. Too bad.

The author has 27 years of Government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an

advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to share this on Facebook and to click the “like” button below. Comments and dialogue are welcome.

Historic phone call between Obama, Rouhani caps Iran’s big week at UN (csmonitor.com)
Syria Crisis Yet to Derail Iran Nuclear Talks (ipsnews.net)

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Filed under Alinsky, Conservative views, Eight Decades of Insights, fiscal cliff, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions

Tagged as Iran, Obama, Obamacare, politics

by Barry Kelly | September 12, 2013 · 10:53 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 75-THE ADVISOR

FOREIGN POLICY?

The President had just entered the Advisor’s underground office. It was a surprise visit. The Advisor was alerted that the President was on his way down to the tunnel between the White House and the Treasury Department. The Advisor’s office was off an unused and restricted branch off the main tunnel. Access to the Advisor and the secret location was now controlled by the Secret Service. The existence of the Advisor and his location was the best-kept secret in the nation.

The President took his customary seat at the small conference table and said, “I need to clear my thinking about Syria and foreign policy in general. I don’t really like your advice but it does help me think through through problems.”

“Mr. President, my mission is to help you. If my advice helps your thinking about problems, that’s good. What specifically do you want to cover tonight?”

“A few weeks ago you asked me what I meant by the phrase, ‘Transform America.’ Telling you my thoughts re transformation clarified my thinking. Today I want to talk about my vision of America in the world.”

“I’m the smallest audience a President ever had for such a topic. I am honored. Please, your audience is ready.”

“People say I came to the White House with very little experience. To some extent that is true. My actual experience with managing huge organizations or in leadership roles is nonexistent. But I bring other skills no other President had. I was a practicing Muslim when I was very young. It is a very different religion from Christianity or any other world religion. More is expected from the believer. Free thinking is discouraged. There was no reformation in Islam. The individual, the family, and the Nation are all one. Islamic law is the law. Religion and country are not separate. I am no longer a Muslim but I know what they feel and think. I doubt if any previous President could make that statement.

“My father was not an American. He was a true Kenyan nationalist, as was his family. They did not sit around and hope things would change. They worked and struggled for change. To me change is part of the result of hope and struggle. I understand the process. I was also exposed to collectivist theology when I was very young.

“To me the sacrifice of individualism or the freedom of the individual must give way to the greater good of collectivism. You may think that this is a strange way to explain my foreign policy objectives. But it isn’t. In place of the individual put a single nation state. Now what is different? The freedom of a single nation must give way to the collectivist’s better world. America has dominated the world since World War II. The only change is that America became more powerful and wealthy while the rest of the world fell far behind. When I came to power the United States was the only super power.

“I believe that is wrong. It is wrong for an individual or a group of individuals to control wealth and power in a single country just as it is wrong for one nation to control more than its fair share of the world’s resources and power.

“My foreign policy plan is to gradually spread America’s wealth to other nations and to slowly weaken the power of the United States military to dominate the world. I do not want America to become energy self-sufficient.

“There will be no pipeline bringing oil from Canada to our refineries. Canada does need more wealth. The Muslim world does. If they cannot sell their oil, they will be lost. Buying oil from OPEC, borrowing money from China, climate control and Cap and Trade, pushing our manufacturing to other countries, keeping taxes high – all these policies are spreading America’s wealth. Domestically my goal is to destroy the ability of families to accumulate great wealth. Very high death taxes are the way to do that. But back to foreign policy.

“When we become a more humanitarian, less wealthy nation and reduce our stockpile of conventional and nuclear weapons, other nations will be more willing to join with us to better the entire population of the world. In theory the same process and theory used to spread the wealth among the American population, can be used to spread America’s wealth throughout the world. One world, one people, one God is not an idle dream. I know I can’t achieve all this in three more years but a series of Progressive Presidents, and Congresses can. I have always known I was a citizen of the world. What do you think?”

“Mr. President, if that is your dream, it doesn’t matter what I think.”

“No. I need to hear your comments.”

“You must know that what you have described is not new. It is an Utopian plan that has been tried in both small- scale models within the United States and in countries such as, Russia, China, Germany, Cuba, Eastern Europe, a few nations in Africa, and England. When people see the Utopia they sacrificed for, they haven’t liked what they saw. The problem is Collectivism requires management by an elite, chosen by whatever process. The management challenge presented by collectivization is too great for any elite structure.

All elites in history who have had total control over the economy, the people, the courts, police, and military have succumbed to corruption. The term power elite describes the problem. Mr. President, look at your own Administration. It is an elitist structure. Where is the transparency you promised? You are an elitist yourself. You know what is good for the people better than they do. ‘They will not be able to understand Ben Ghazi. So why tell them?’ All the unprecedented incursions of individual freedoms by Executive decree, the disdain you have shown for the Constitution and the courts. Your unwillingness to work with the Congress.

“I see I’ve struck a nerve. I am not trying to insult you, but I am trying to cause you to rethink collectivism as a goal, domestically and internationally. You may have some immediate successes but I fear failure will be your final result with great damage to the America you were elected to guide.”

“I thought you, as an old black man, would understand what I’m trying to do.”

“Someday, I’ll tell you my story. Thank you, Mr. President for being so honest with me. I do have your best interests as my mission.”

The President finished his coffee, stabbed out his cigarette and let himself out.

The author has 27 years of Government service, including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an

advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to share this on Facebook and to click the “like” button below. Comments and dialogue are welcome.

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by Barry Kelly | September 2, 2013 · 2:25 pm

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 73-ADVISOR

SYRIA

It was after midnight when the Advisor answered his red line phone and heard the codeword indicating the President was on his way. Minutes later, the President opened the steel door off the tunnel between the White House and the Treasury. As soon as he stepped in, he said, “I need a cup of your special coffee and a cigarette.”

“It’s poured and waiting for you. It’s late and you must be tired. Do you want to sit at the table or in my little conversation nook?”

“Lead me to the softest chair. I am beat. This Syrian thing has gotten out of control. All my advisors have spoken with their usual, on the one hand or the other comments they think are helpful advice. I decided to come and see you. I seldom like what you tell me but you make me think and clear up the fog of political chatter.”

“Thank you, Mr. President. You by now know that I like to start from the beginning. The Syrian problem was out of control during your first term with people from your Cabinet and key Progressive congressional figures rushing out to Syria and coming back with stories like the message Secretary Clinton brought back about President Assad being a reformer your administration could work with. As you understand, Mrs. Clinton is out of her element in the demanding nature of international diplomacy. She represented you and left you with a mess. A mess that now has little chance of turning out well for the nation and your presidency.”

“I understand and agree with you, but the decision I have to make is simply whether I should authorize a limited strike against Assad and under what conditions.”

“With all respect, Mr. President that is not the decision confronting you. It is much deeper and more complicated. The time when limited support to the opposition would have made a difference was at least two years ago. That window is now closed. Don’t think Syria. Think Iran and Russia. Syria is a weak arm of Iranian power in the Middle East. Syria’s role for Iran is primarily as a conduit for supplies to Hezbollah. Without that safe passageway for Iranian aid to Hezbollah, the ability of Hezbollah to control Lebanon and threaten Israel would vanish. On the Russian side, their primary interest is in securing a warm water port for their fleet. Ostensibly they now have one in Syria that is even now supporting a Russian naval presence in the Mediterranean. For that reason Russia will not allow you to get UN support for any military action in Syria.”

“The Russians must know I’m not going to invade Syria. I’m only planning on a limited strike.”

“Again with respect, Mr. President, there is no such thing as a limited strike. You can order a limited strike, but your opponents, understanding the lack of enthusiasm for another war in the Arab world resulting in a flood of body bags and an outflow of our treasure, can respond in a way to expand the conflict. Then you will feel a response is necessary. For example, if one or two of our ships are attacked and sunk, you will have to respond in self-defense. This will not be a Ben Ghazi where you can do nothing. Your choices are limited. You can do nothing. You can do a limited cruise missile strike and hope for the best or you can destroy Assad’s air power and punish Syria for using chemical weapons and give the rebels a much better chance to overthrow Assad. Whatever you decide, the power position of the United States in the Middle East has been seriously eroded.

“There is one other option. Take the problem to the Congress and blame them for whatever happens. They can be made to be at fault, no matter what they decide to do. This is an Alinsky-ite dream. The issue is never the issue. Use all issues to destroy the obstacles preventing you from seizing total power. Your former Secretary of State who wants to replace you will be pleased. Your decision can damage your influence in the Progressive Party. If Secretary Kerry had any thoughts of seceding you as President, you have destroyed that possibility for him. He took the bait and now looks like the man who turned on his country in the Vietnam War.”

“It amazes me that you can sit down here in a modern cave and have so many insights. You even understand my anti-colonial bias. I do not like to use American military power to restore western power in the Middle East. I can’t bring myself to attack Syria with only the French, with their legacy of subjugating Syria in the Colonial period, as an ally. What would you do in my place?”

“That is too hypothetical even for me. When in doubt, doing nothing is often the best choice. Remember the sarin gas killed approximately a thousand people in a terrible agony that was captured by the cameras. Assad’s forces killed a hundred times that many prior to the chemical attack. My last comment is where did Assad get that quantity of chemical weapons? He certainly didn’t produce them in Syria. Do you think a large part of them came from Iraq? The country that had no weapons of mass destruction even though they used chemical weapons against the Kurds and Shias. Mr. President, my best advice is to surround yourself with people who live in the real world, not in some virtual world they can control with propaganda and an endless mantra of untruths chanted in unison to the American people.”

By the author of the Jack Brandon novels. The author has 27 years of Government service,

including two years serving President Ronald Reagan in the 1980s as an advisor. Considering today’s volatile political situation, you are encouraged to share this on Facebook and to click the “like” button below. Comments and dialogue are welcome and helpful. Find and connect with the author on Goodreads.

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Filed under Eight Decades of Insights, foreign policy, Intelligence & Politics, Obama, political solutions, Progressives

Tagged as assad, Obama, Syria

by Barry Kelly | August 29, 2013 · 8:00 am

EIGHT DECADES OF INSIGHTS 72 – THE ADVISOR

THE PRESIDENT’S POLICIES

It had been three weeks since the President had left the Advisor to deal with a crisis. The Advisor was still pondering how to see the world from President Obama’s viewpoint. If he could manage to see the world through the same lens maybe he could be of more help to the President. Three weeks ago the President had sounded enthusiastic about answering some of the same questions The Advisor of 1932 asked President Roosevelt when he, too, was struggling to find common ground. The Roosevelt Journal of 1932 was open on the Advisor’s desk when the phone rang. He picked it up and heard the codeword that meant the President was on his way down. The Advisor rushed to put on a fresh pot of Sumatra Roast and to get out a pack of the President’s favorite cigarettes. He just finished arranging the small conference table when the door swung open and the President stepped in. He crossed to his seat at the table and murmured to the Advisor, “Everywhere I go there is a table or a seating arrangement with a place preordained for me to sit. At least here I can sit anywhere. Right?”

“Yes, Mr. President, you can sit anywhere. In our lore, this is part of the Oval Office.”

“Except that I can’t bring any guests.”

“Of course you can. I just won’t be here.”

“The last time I was here, you asked if you could ask me some of the same questions one of your predecessors asked President Roosevelt. If it was okay with FDR it is okay with me. I believe you asked me what I meant by my phrase, ‘transform America.’ Is that right?”

The Advisor nodded and said, “Yes and take your time. I believe the answer to that question is the foundation of your polices.”

“Yes. It is. But not many of my own staff understand. By transforming America I mean getting this great nation on the right path to benefit all Americans and all the people in the world. I believe we have been following a wrong path for years, displaying our power and our wealth as a license for intervening in the sovereign affairs of other nations. Who do we think we are, gathering far more than our share of wealth and using most of the world’s energy to increase our wealth and power? The right path for this nation is to take the lead in distributing our national wealth to all the nations of the world and to unilaterally reduce our military strength so all the world can see we no longer have the power to dominate. Our future is to be a responsible member of the United Nations and give up deciding what we should do in our own interests. You see, leading from behind is the promise of the future. It is this soft power we have lacked. America has a deep history of the establishment and failure of utopian societies.

“By really sharing our wealth and equalizing opportunities so no one can control more than their fair share of wealth, we will bring into being the real promise of freedom, not for the individual, but for all the people. One person, one vote, one party is the real promise of democracy. In my time as President, I will do all I can to distribute wealth, first nationally and then internationally. I will, at the same time, redirect our military by reducing its man power and weaponry.

“The only real law is international law applied to both people and nations. Why should an act be criminal in some country and not in others? What is fair about that? It is an honor to have the United Nations Headquarters in America. I will channel more and more of our wealth and security policies through the UN. The early utopians did not think big enough and did not have the necessary ruthlessness to protect, defend, and spread their philosophy. I do.”

“Mr. President, thank you for explaining your policy of transformation. I’m now in a better position to give you advice whenever you come down to see me. Like yourself, most Presidents don’t need or want strategic policy advice. In the journals, most have sought tactical advice to further a program in support of their broader policy goals. I would like to talk with you the next time you can come about the obstacles you see in your way to achieving ‘transformation.'”

The President was already standing, crushing his cigarette and remarked, “The lawyer in me enjoys our sessions. No one makes me think the way you do. Now I have to go.”

The Advisor watched the door slowly close and lock. He said aloud, “It’s all in the open now. I must be careful to understand his core beliefs before giving any advice. Like some of my trail-breaking Advisors of times past, I’m truly frightened.”

By the author of the Jack Brandon novels. The author has 27 years of Government service,

Meeting with President Reagan, Vice President Bush, Deputy National Security Adviser Frank Carlucci and General Colin Powell in the Oval Office.