RUTHFULLY YOURS

Disclosure: is the founder of OpenTheBooks.com and IL watchdog organization, For The Good of Illinois
I have been perusing college curricula, and the biggest scam in America is in very low higher education. If you removed more than thirty percent of classes…i.e. gender studies, trangender studies, women’s studies, climate studies, etc. and a variety of “extra curricular” baggage, a decent education would be possible and great deal of money would be saved. This column is an excellent example and Open the Books is a fabulous organization exposing all the fraud and waste in the VA….rsk
Wine Cellars, Shooting Clubs, a corrupted $20 Million State Grant, a College President’s $500,000 Comp Package, $600 Million in Construction Projects, & much more…

Nearly every day, the news headlines are screaming about the increasingly unattainable costs of tuition and the insurmountable price tag of attaining a college degree. Student debts are at crushing levels which impacts social mobility and drives a deeper divide between the haves and have not’s.

Do you want to know why college costs and debts are so oppressive? Colleges have become fiefdoms unto themselves- even at the local community college level. An excellent case-in-point is within my own locale at the College of DuPage (COD).

Here’s what we’ve exposed at COD during the last 45 days:

Stopped a political strategy to procure a $20 million state grant
Requesting COD President Robert Breuder’s emails during the two week period prior to the governor’s visit to campus for commencement, we exposed a political strategy to “shake loose” a $20 million state construction grant by bringing support to incumbent Governor Pat Quinn. Citing our exposure, the major Chicago dailies editorialized and the scandal ran on the front page. The governor said the president’s strategy was “extremely alarming” and employed “misrepresentation.” Quinn then suspended “all future capital dollars.”

http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/rhode-island-2014-candidates-for-congress-where-they-stand?f=puball

Primary: September 9, 2014

To see the actual voting records of all incumbents on other issues such as Foreign Policy, Second Amendment Issues, Homeland Security, and other issues as well as their rankings by special interest groups please use the links followed by two stars (**).

U.S. Senate

US SENATE LOGO SQ
Sheldon Whitehouse (D) Next Election in 2018.
Jack Reed (D) Incumbent

http://www.jackreed2014.com/splash http://www.reed.senate.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/senate/jack_reed.htm**

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Voted against construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments. Senator Reed has fought for a national energy policy that creates jobs and saves families and businesses money through improved efficiency. Investing in clean energy cuts down on harmful pollution, strengthens our economy, and increases American competitiveness. To make America more energy independent while protecting public health and taxpayer dollars, Reed has supported efforts to safely and responsibly increase domestic oil and gas production. As Chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Reed wants stronger oversight of energy companies drilling on our public lands and waters. Reed has called for more rigorous inspections of drilling facilities to ensure energy companies are safeguarding public health and the environment, and believes that these companies should pay their fair share of royalties to the American people.

ENVIRONMENT Dealing with Climate Change and Preserving Our Natural Resources – Senator Reed understands that a clean environment is important to our state’s economy and Rhode Islanders’ health and quality of life. His conservation efforts have helped clean up and preserve Rhode Island’s open spaces, beaches, and waters, so future generations may appreciate the beauty of the state while living healthy, productive lives.

He also recognizes that our environment is under constant stress from a changing climate. Warming temperatures and weather volatility pose a threat to our environment, economy, and national security, and Senator Reed believes that part of our mitigation strategy must include a national energy policy that limits carbon pollution, focuses on the development of clean, renewable energy sources that create jobs, and holds big polluters accountable. He also believes that communities must take action to better adapt to a changing climate. This includes the increase in resilience of our critical infrastructure and emergency preparedness. Reed chairs the Appropriations Subcommittee on Interior and Environment, which writes the budget for several key environmental agencies, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). He has fought efforts to gut the Clean Air Act, rejecting harmful policy riders and deep funding cuts that would weaken the EPA’s ability to address climate change and fight pollution that threatens public health. Reed has also fought to maintain robust funding for the EPA Clean Water and Drinking Water State Revolving Funds. These key federal programs help states finance priority water and wastewater construction projects that support jobs, improve water quality, and safeguard public health and the environment.

IMMIGRATION Senator Reed believes we must have smart, fair, workable immigration policies that welcome into the United States those who embrace America’s ideals and values. Yet our current immigration system hampers economic growth, weakens our ability to deter illegal traffic into the United States, and fails to meet that standard of fairness. As such, Senator Reed supports comprehensive immigration reform that fixes our broken federal immigration system and protects our national security. Throughout his time in the Senate, Senator Reed has voted to move forward with comprehensive immigration reform, including the 2013 Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act. This bipartisan bill, which passed the Senate, would reduce our budget deficit and institute broad measures to secure our borders, deter employers from hiring those who come here illegally, and offer a tough but fair pathway to earned citizenship. Fixing our immigration system also means supporting policies that foster innovation and growth, including a process to retain highly-educated individuals once they graduate from American colleges and universities, rather than taking their skills overseas.

HEALTHCARE Senator Reed has supported efforts to improve the quality of our health care system and reduce costs for consumers, and has been nationally recognized for his work to provide all children with access to affordable health care. He helped author key provisions of the health insurance reform law, the Affordable Care Act (ACA), to give individuals and families more choice and more control over their health care. For the first time, insurance companies can no longer deny coverage for a pre-existing condition, charge women higher insurance rates, or put an annual or lifetime cap on how much they will pay for care. The ACA addresses these unfair practices, gives more people the chance to afford insurance, as well as preserves and strengthens employer-based insurance and federal programs like Medicare. Reed is also steadfastly committed to preserving and protecting Medicare and Medicaid, improving the health of Rhode Islanders and the quality of the care they receive, and lowering costs without slashing benefits. Throughout his career, Reed has worked to support Rhode Island’s Medicaid and State Children’s Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) program, RIte Care, with additional federal funds. RIte Care provides over 200,000 Rhode Islanders with vital assistance. Without this program, many would likely go without needed care or make costly trips to emergency rooms.
Mark Zaccaria (R) Challenger

http://www.linkedin.com/pub/mark-zaccaria/7/2a6/411

Former R.I. GOP Chairman Mark Zaccaria running for U.S. Senate

http://www.providencejournal.com/politics/content/20140624-former-r.i.-gop-chairman-mark-zaccaria-running-for-u.s.-senate.ece

Zaccaria ran twice in 2008 and 2010 for the 2nd Congressional District seat held by U.S. Rep. James Langevin, D-R.I., and then took over the chairmanship of the state’s Republican Party in 2011. He relinquished the reins last year, after the party took another beating in the 2012 election. In an interview a year ago when the GOP was still in the hunt for a candidate to challenge Reed, Zaccaria argued that the right candidate could effectively attack Reed for being a “consummate Washington insider.” “The guy has a voting record that goes forever. And he’s voted for a lot of crap,” Zaccaria said. “You have to ask the hard-working taxpayers of Rhode Island: Is this guy working for you? The answer is no.”
Not sure of your district? Click here to find out

US HOUSE OF REP LOGO

District 1
David Cicilline (D) Incumbent

http://www.cicilline.com/ http://cicilline.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/David_Cicilline.htm**

Rated +1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Voted against construction of the Keystone XL Pipeline without limiting amendments. David has been has a strong and vocal advocate – voting to uphold important protections for clean air and water. David voted against dangerous legislation that would have opened up New England’s coastline, including Rhode Island, to offshore drilling. David strongly and vocally opposed the Republican attempt to enact an Interior and Environment Appropriations bill that would have seriously jeopardized our land, air, and water, while also slashing funding for vital water infrastructure investments that benefit and support jobs in Rhode Island and in states across the country. David continues to be a strong advocate for the President’s efforts to reduce carbon pollution and address global climate change. David believes it is time to end our addiction to foreign oil. David has been working hard to rein in excessive Wall Street oil speculation, which many experts agree is part of the rising price consumers are paying at the pump. David is also focused on the long-term energy independence of our nation. The only way to get gas prices down in the long run, while also helping improve our environment, is to support the development of renewable energy and advanced vehicle technologies. That’s why he has supported efforts to rein in taxpayer subsidies for big oil companies and shift federal investments to focus on clean-energy technology – creating jobs in the renewable energy economy, diminishing our reliance on foreign fuels, and helping protect our environment.

U.S./ISRAEL RELATIONSHIP As a Member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, David has been a consistent supporter of a robust relationship with Israel. Israel is a strong and brave democracy and has been an inspiration for the world for more than sixty years. The State of Israel was founded on the values of pluralism, justice, and respect for human rights, and as a practicing Jew, David is proud that Israel continues to embody those same values today. It is because of these shared values and a commitment to protecting minorities and workers, rejecting discrimination of any kind, and the strong belief in freedom of speech and an impartial judiciary, that the relationship between the United States and Israel is so strong and mutually reinforcing.

Israel remains America’s strongest ally in the region. It is absolutely imperative that the United States makes it unmistakably clear that our support for the State of Israel is unshakable. In addition, we must strongly and vocally support the absolute right of Israel to defend itself and take all steps necessary to protect the safety and security of the State of Israel and her people. David’s trips to Israel have only strengthened his belief that a strong Israel is not only vital to her people, but also vital to U.S. interests. The United States must be prepared to provide additional assistance to Israel for her increasing defense needs.

HEALTHCARE David supports the Affordable Care Act that was passed by Congress and signed into law by the President, but he also understands that the law is not perfect and we should be working together to address any issues that surface during the law’s implementation and do all that is necessary to make sure the law is working for all Rhode Islanders. Already, the Affordable Care Act has helped expand coverage to thousands of Rhode Islanders, reduced costs, initiated critical reforms of the health care delivery system, and provided thousands of Rhode Islanders with the peace of mind that health insurance will be there for them when they get sick. For a wide range of Rhode Islanders, the Affordable Care Act has been a landmark achievement. Rhode Island’s state-based exchange, Health Source RI, has provided coverage to more than 30,000 consumers as of January 2014. In addition, every person, regardless of their gender, age or a pre-existing condition, now has access to affordable care. Lastly, the rising cost of health care is finally slowing, and many consumers are experiencing dramatic reductions in their monthly premiums. David believes the law is not perfect, but we cannot move backward and must work to fix what does not work.

IMMIGRATION David strongly believes that the House of Representatives should pass legislation to help approximately 11 million undocumented immigrants emerge from the shadows, and provide a responsible path to citizenship for those who want to fully participate in our civil society and contribute to our nation’s economy. This reform must begin with securing our border and ensuring that those who are here without proper documentation be required to “go to the end of the line,” pay a penalty, pay their taxes, and pass criminal background checks before receiving citizenship.
Matt Fecteau (D) Challenger

http://www.mattforri.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

FOREIGN POLICY Afghanistan. We have invested too many valuable resources, and have shed more than enough blood in Afghanistan. The time is well-past due to bring our brave Soldiers home. As a combat veteran myself, I understand the sacrifices that are made by our uniformed military personnel. I also believe that the first priority of all of our decisions must be the ultimate safety of our troops.

Cuba. I support lifting sanctions against Cuba. The best way to spread freedom and respect for human rights is more cultural exchange between American citizens and Cuban citizens. Lifting sanctions would also be a small economic stimulus. Approximately $5 billion in additional revenue from export sales and 6,000 jobs could be created by lifting sanctions against Cuba.

Iran. The US must do everything reasonable to ensure the Iranian government does not acquire nuclear weapons. We must work with our allies and the international community to hold the Iranian government accountable to its international treaty obligations.

Israel. The US must remain committed to our long friendship with the state of Israel. We must also continue to support Israel in the face of any challenges that lie ahead. The surest way to ensure Israel remains secure is to produce a realist and durable peace accord.

Syria. As a military member, I cannot support overt US military intervention in Syria. While I condemn the tragic loss of life, Syria is not our war. However, I support working with local allies to bring about a conclusion to the Syrian conflict while holding war criminals accountable for atrocities that may have occurred.

War on al Qaeda. One huge reason I joined the military was 9/11. I continue to believe we should eliminate and undermine al Qaeda in realistic and Constitutional ways.

HEALTHCARE Obamacare. I support the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA), otherwise known as Obamacare. However, while the President and Congress should be commended for this legislation, I believe the Act does not go far enough. I strongly support ‘Medicare for All’ or universal healthcare. Healthcare is a universal human right and it would save us billions. One study states that the ‘Medicare for All Program’ would save us around $600 billion the first year.

Mental Health. The President should be commended for allotting an additional $100 million to Mental-health facilities and providers. However, that $100 million does not go far enough. We need to continue to increase mental healthcare funding and coverage to mitigate the effects of mental instability.

ENVIRONMENT The Federal government must take the initiative to protect our environment. The following are four crucial initiatives I support: First, I believe Cap and Trade is a vital program that would help reduce carbon emissions. The Congressional Budget Office projects that cap and trade could produce $873 billion in revenue and cost $864 billion over the next ten years. In short, it would be a deficit neutral piece of legislation. Second, I support expanding the tax credit towards hybrid and plug-in vehicles. The current tax credit of $7,500 does not go far enough. The price of “green” vehicles still is not competitive. Through properly-sized tax credits, we can work to make them affordable for the greater marketplace. Third, renew the Solar Investment Tax Credit. The Solar Investment Tax Credit is set to expire at the end of 2016 and with it, the 30% investment tax credit. This tax credit has fueled 1,600% solar installation growth since its inception in 2006 and has created around 100,000 jobs. The success of this program is clear – extending it indefinitely would be good for America.

Fourth, produce more Green Jobs. We need to refocus our energy on producing environmentally friendly products which we would be able to install domestically and export globally. This would reduce our trade deficit, our dependency on foreign oil, protect our environment and create additional American jobs in the process. A billion invested in solar would create 1,900 jobs, and a billion invested in wind would create 3,300 jobs. The US could become a major exporter of green products, but it has to move fast. In addition, I reject the Keystone Pipeline. The Keystone Pipeline only contributes to global warming and would transport some of the most toxic fossil fuel over 2,000 miles from Canada to the Gulf Coast. In the unfortunate event of a rupture, this toxic fossil fuel could contaminate water, destroy ecosystems, or endanger public health.
Cormick Lynch (R) Challenger

http://www.cormicklynchforcongress.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ECONOMY AND JOBS As your Congressman, Cormick’s primary objective will be to restore the American economy to full strength. With the highest unemployment rate in the country, economic malaise impacts Rhode Island perhaps harder than any other state. Any proposal to reignite dynamic economic growth will rest upon lowering taxes and costs of doing business both in Rhode Island and the country as a whole. The United States has the highest corporate tax rate in the developed world, and Forbes has rated Rhode Island as the worst state for doing business. In addition, Rhode Island was ranked dead last in a June 17, 2014 survey of small business owners, citing the state’s tax structure, regulatory environment, and overall business climate. While fortune 500 companies avoid regulation by outsourcing jobs and prohibitive tax rates by moving overseas, small business owners and workers are unable to do so. It comes as no surprise that America’s small business and manufacturing sectors were hit hardest by the Great Recession. These dynamics must change for the emergence of a robust economy to occur. It will take a concerted effort both from the state house and your representatives in Washington in order to be successful. Having served in the armed forces, as a firefighter, and a private equity analyst, Cormick’s strong leadership and diverse experiences enable him to understand the challenges facing Americans today.

FOREIGN POLICY As an Iraq War combat veteran, Cormick has served alongside the countless men and women who put their lives on the line to defend American interests at home and abroad. He knows firsthand the security challenges facing the United States in the twenty-first century and wants to make the reforms necessary for our defense department to become more efficient. In recent years President Obama’s approach to trimming the defense budget has resembled a hatchet more so than a scalpel. Defunding the defense department has not taken the form of cutting back on the 167 countries the United States operates in. Instead, he has done so by reducing troop levels for all branches of the armed services, which has jeopardized our state of readiness. Cormick knows there is room to eliminate waste and reform the department, but Ronald Reagan said it best when discussing the need for a strong military: “Peace through strength.” Diplomacy is the best security, and our diplomatic leverage is strongest when our military is well funded. However, the support of the public and our political leadership is equally important. It is absolutely necessary to streamline efficiency and ensure the American peoples’ interests are at stake when and if we choose to act. Regardless of how one feels about the “Red Line” controversy in Syria, President Obama’s handling of the situation alienated the public as well as our allies. Presenting a united front is of vital importance, as failure to do so worries our friends and emboldens our enemies.

IMMIGRATION The debate over immigration reform has become muddled into a tired political talking point. Cormick believes Immigration Reform and Border Security are two separate things. The primary concern is to secure the border, as it is a threat to national security. However, Cormick fully supports a path to citizenship for those who come to this country legally and seek employment. Political posturing on this issue has created a humanitarian crisis. The failure to act has left countless men, women, and children in a lawless state of affairs.

VETERANS The recent Veterans Affairs scandal highlights a problem that has plagued America for decades. General Shinseki’s resignation is a step in the right direction, but the Veterans Affairs system needs to be rebuilt from the ground up. “Support the Troops” has become a political punch line; we as a society have failed in our commitment to take care of our brave men and women upon their return from overseas. A veteran’s months long wait to see a doctor or the exorbitant suicide rate among our armed service members is not a political football for Cormick, they are his friends and comrades. While less than 1% of Americans today serve in the armed forces compared to 12% during World War II, our obligation to veterans cannot change. Our country should provide today’s veterans the same opportunities afforded to the World War II generation. Cormick was able to finish his finance degree due to the post 9/11 GI Bill, but the same commitment needs to be made to veterans’ physical and mental wellbeing. The Department of Defense lost more service members to suicide than to combat last year, and this needs to change. Cormick wants to tackle the full spectrum of issues facing today’s veterans. Veterans should not have to struggle to find gainful employment or the healthcare they need. The American people can never repay these brave men and women for their service, but at the very least we can make this life or death issue a top priority.

HEALTHCARE Cormick believes Obamacare is in need of significant reform. Proposals to expand access to healthcare should be focused on lowering rates and improving the quality of care for consumers. Instead, the law has largely provided political pork for insurance companies and picked winners and losers. Small businesses in particular have suffered from rising premiums and new taxes from its overbearing regulation and inconsistent enforcement. Obamacare’s array of mandates have caused businesses to cut employees’ hours to part time, cost individuals the ability to choose their own doctor, and many have lost the insurance plans they had been happy with for years. Cormick supports a free market approach to healthcare, removing red tape such as the inability to sell insurance across state lines and the price gouging currently practiced by insurance companies and hospitals.
Stan Tran (R) Challenger

http://www.stantran.us/

District 2
Jim Langevin (D) Incumbent

http://langevin.house.gov/ http://langevin.house.gov/

http://www.ontheissues.org/house/James_Langevin.htm**

Rated -1 by AAI, indicating a mixed Arab/Palestine voting record. (May 2012)

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

ENERGY Voted against construction of the KeystoneXL Pipeline without limiting amendments Comprehensive Energy Solutions – Our nation needs a comprehensive energy strategy that includes the development of clean and renewable energy sources, as well as new initiatives to encourage conservation and energy efficiency in order to protect hard working families and small business from skyrocketing oil and gas prices. While big oil companies pull in record profits, our consumers are paying the price. I am a founding member of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition (SEEC) and currently serve as Energy Task Force chair. SEEC was established to advocate for policies including clean energy innovation and job creation, environmental protection, and policies that will address global climate change. (For more information on SEEC and the Coalition’s efforts to pursue clean energy policies, please visit our website.) As a member of SEEC, I joined 26 colleagues in highlighting specific clean energy and energy efficiency incentives, many of which were extended in the American Taxpayer Relief Act of 2012.

LGTB RIGHTS I have been proud to represent the interests of the LGBT community in Washington. Just two months after Rhode Island’s enactment of marriage equality, I applauded the Supreme Court’s groundbreaking decision in United States v. Windsor to strike down a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) that denied federal benefits to legally married same-sex couples. I was proud to support this decision by cosigning a brief filed with the Court in favor of repealing DOMA. There is simply no place for discrimination in our society, and this decision set a new precedent to ensure that same-sex couples receive the same rights, protections and benefits available to all married couples, from Social Security survivor benefits and immigration rights to military and veterans benefits. The Administration has already begun changing regulations to comply with this decision, including an announcement that all legal same-sex marriages will be recognized for federal tax purposes. These are important steps toward achieving equal rights for all, but we must continue fighting to remove any remaining discriminatory language from federal law. That is why I am an original cosponsor of the Respect for Marriage Act, which would fully repeal the Defense of Marriage Act. I am also proud to be a co-sponsor of the Uniting American Families Act, which would allow US citizens to sponsor same-sex partners for immigration purposes, just as they can sponsor spouses.

HEALTHCARE Despite the fact that we spend more on health care than any other industrialized nation, too many of our citizens still face challenges in accessing the very medical care that America has long been a leader in providing. On March 21, 2010, I was proud to join my Congressional colleagues in taking an historic vote to pass comprehensive health reform legislation. The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act has already started instituting the changes we need to provide more security and stability to Americans who have health insurance, guarantee insurance to the millions who don’t, and lower health care costs for our families, businesses and the government. These goals were ultimately reaffirmed by the U.S. Supreme Court in a June 28, 2012, decision to uphold the law. The consumer protections at the heart of the law will prevent families from being denied coverage because they are sick, abolish annual and lifetime insurance limits, allow young adults to remain on their parents’ coverage and close the Medicare prescription drug doughnut hole for seniors. The high court’s ruling also substantiated Rhode Island’s efforts to lead the nation in the planning and implementation of the health reform, including an online health insurance portal to allow individuals and small businesses to shop for insurance based on transparent, competitive pricing while providing tax subsidies to those who can’t afford the full cost of coverage. To learn how the Affordable Care Act affects you, or to find a Rhode Island insurance plan that best meets your needs, please visit HealthSource RI, or call their assistance center at 1-855-840-HSRI (4774).

IMMIGRATION Despite delays in bringing meaningful legislation to the House floor, I remain committed to passing comprehensive immigration reform. I have long been a strong advocate for providing a legal path to citizenship. I supported the Comprehensive Immigration Reform ASAP Act of 2009, which would have strengthened border security while creating a straightforward program that requires undocumented immigrants to pass a background check, pay a $500 fine, pay taxes and learn English and U.S. civics in order to earn legal status that places on the path to permanent residence and eventual citizenship. I have also supported legislation to address the immigration status of specific populations, such as the Uniting American Families Act, Reuniting Families Act, the DREAM Act and the STAPLE ACT. Immigration reform is not amnesty. Rather, it simply provides a mechanism for bringing undocumented immigrants into our system so we know who is here and can ensure they are following the rules. Undocumented immigrants would still face significant hurdles before earning citizenship, and, just as importantly, they would not take the place of anyone who has followed the proper steps to enter our country.
Rhue Reis (R) Challenger

http://www.reisforcongress.com/

HOT BUTTON ISSUES

OBAMACARE Legislation that never would have become law if congress was not sold a bill of goods on false pretenses. Shame on the democrats for not researching what they were voting on. The lesson? Stop doing what you’re told and start doing your job.

FEDERAL GOVERNMENT BUDGET Stop spending what we don’t have…when individuals and companies do it as excessively as our government has, they would have been bankrupt several times over…let’s be responsible, so that our children and grandchildren don’t have to keep paying for our lack of effective governing.

ECONOMIC CLIMATE / BUSINESS CONDITIONS The President makes it sound like things are picking up steam, that employment is way up and the middle class is recovering. Unemployment is still high with many leaving the workforce. With U.S. oil production at its highest levels, shouldn’t gas prices be significantly lower? Obamacare promises to hobble any economic gains by adding new overhead burdens. In short, we cannot continue like this.

THE PROPER ROLE OF FEDERAL GOVERNMENT The role of government must return to what I believe the Founders envisioned it to be. That is, one that is limited by the enumerated powers of the US Constitution, which leaves substantial governing responsibilities to the states.

FOREIGN AFFAIRS / AMERICA’S POSITION IN THE WORLD – DISMAL! The Snowden and WikiLeaks episodes have caused and will likely continue to cause serious embarrassment along with hampering future foreign relations. Our foreign policy seems to be distancing us from our strongest ally in the Middle East, Israel. The result is a weak U.S. negotiating position marked by lack of trust on all sides. It’s time to step back up and re-assert American Leadership in the World.

Read more: Family Security Matters http://www.familysecuritymatters.org/publications/detail/rhode-island-2014-candidates-for-congress-where-they-stand?f=puball#ixzz38qyDDV2i
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Many years ago, on my first trip around the world, I was struck by how the children in the Middle East — Arab and Israeli alike — were among the nicest-looking little children I had seen anywhere. It was painful to think that they were going to grow up killing each other. But that is exactly what happened.

It is understandable that today, many people in many lands just want the fighting between the Israelis and the Palestinians to stop. Calls for a ceasefire are ringing out from the United Nations and from Washington, as well as from ordinary people in many places around the world.

According to the New York Times, Secretary of State John Kerry is hoping for a ceasefire to “open the door to Israeli and Palestinian negotiations for a long-term solution.” President Obama has urged Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to have an “immediate, unconditional humanitarian ceasefire” — again, with the idea of pursuing some long-lasting agreement.

If this were the first outbreak of violence between the Palestinians and the Israelis, such hopes might make sense. But where have the U.N., Kerry, and Obama been during all these decades of endlessly repeated Middle East carnage?

The Middle East must lead the world in ceasefires. If ceasefires were the road to peace, the Middle East would easily be the most peaceful place on the planet. “Ceasefire” and “negotiations” are magic words to “the international community.” But just what do ceasefires actually accomplish? In the short run, they save some lives. But in the long run they cost far more lives by lowering the cost of aggression.

At one time, launching a military attack on another nation risked not only retaliation but annihilation. When Carthage attacked Rome, that was the end of Carthage. But when Hamas or some other terrorist group launches an attack on Israel, the aggressor knows in advance that whatever Israel does in response will be limited by calls for a ceasefire, backed by political and economic pressure from the United States.

It is not at all clear what Israel’s critics can rationally expect the Israelis to do when they are attacked. Suffer in silence? Surrender? Flee the Middle East? Or — most unrealistic of all — fight a “nice” war, with no civilian casualties? General William T. Sherman said it all, 150 years ago: “War is hell.”

If you want to minimize civilian casualties, then minimize the danger of war, by no longer coming to the rescue of those who start wars.

If an Israeli high-level official were caught on a hot mic candidly commenting on Secretary of State John Kerry’s ill-fated act of Israel–Hamas peacemaking, he might call it “a hell of a diplomatic foray.”

Kerry was caught sarcastically describing the Israeli offensive into Gaza as “a hell of a pinpoint operation” during his round of Sunday-show interviews two weeks ago, before telling his aide over the phone, “We’ve got to get over there” and “It’s crazy to be sitting around.”

Kerry’s belief in himself as the Indispensable Man is touchingly quaint. His conception of the U.S. secretary of state is apparently frozen in a time when it was a position of unparalleled power and respect. Those days are gone.

Or as President Barack Obama might quip, to paraphrase his put-down of Mitt Romney’s foreign-policy views during one of the 2012 presidential debates, “John, the 1980s want their secretary of state back.”

After six years of resetting, leading from behind, ending wars, nation building at home, and pivoting to Asia, the U.S. has reduced itself to a husk of its former influence. When Kerry showed up in Cairo to meet with the president of Egypt, he was wanded by the guards, as if he had just wandered in from the airport security line.

Kerry underlined his dubious relevance by his inability to secure a ceasefire, and his dubious wisdom by making it his overarching goal. At this point, after Israel has committed itself on the ground, the U.S. should be seeking to give it the time it needs to do as much damage as possible to Hamas’s military infrastructure, instead of effectively bailing out the terror group.

Kerry held an ill-advised confab in Paris with Qatar and Turkey, the patrons of Hamas. Even the Palestinian Authority blasted this as the “friends of Hamas” meeting. With the Egyptians, the Saudis, the Emiratis, the Jordanians, and the Palestinian Authority all functionally on Israel’s side in the Gaza War, it should be in a superior diplomatic position, but its superpower patron evidently didn’t get the memo.

By the time Kerry returned home, he had been showered with so much criticism by the Israelis that the U.S. government was saying it could endanger our relationship. The question raised by Obama-administration foreign policy again and again is, How can self-styled “smart power” be so dumb and toothless?

Barack Obama’s disdain for the slow, grinding mechanisms of government has become unmistakable of late. So it is little surprise that, frustrated by congressional inaction on his proposal for “comprehensive immigration reform,” the president last month declared that he would “fix as much of our immigration system as I can on my own.” The result, intimated by White House senior adviser Dan Pfeiffer last week, is a “very significant” executive action to be unveiled by the end of the summer. If reports of the contents of the order are credible, not only will the action fail to “fix” America’s immigration system, it will further undo the constitutionally prescribed separation of powers that this administration has already done so much to weaken.

The White House is reportedly weighing two options for executive action similar in kind to the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program that was implemented — also by executive fiat, via memorandum — in 2012. One option would grant temporary legal status to illegal-immigrant parents of U.S. citizens, authorizing them to remain in the country and to work here. The second option would do the same for illegal-immigrant parents of DACA recipients. These actions could affect anywhere from 3 to 6 million people.

Although the specifics are unknown, any unilateral action of this magnitude and type would be unprecedented. Permission to work would secure for millions of illegal immigrants the benefits of lawful status despite the absence of a green card or a pathway to citizenship. Already illegal immigrants, taken in toto, represent a net drag on the American economy of $55 billion a year, according to the Heritage Foundation, since they and their families make use of direct benefits (such as Social Security and Medicare), means-tested welfare benefits, public education, and other government-funded resources. The tacit moral sanction granted by a new DACA-type program would ensure that program participants are eventually guaranteed these services.

It is not unlikely that a new program would, like DACA, be pitched as a temporary measure. DACA deferrals, for instance, are given in two-year increments, after which recipients must renew their grant. But these “temporary” programs are no such thing. Consider Temporary Protected Status, established in 1990 to provide for illegal immigrants who, for reasons of war or natural disaster, cannot return to their home countries at the moment, but who do not qualify as refugees. Not one TPS beneficiary has been deported because his status expired. TPS status still shields Honduran refugees fleeing Hurricane Mitch, which struck in 1998. By this precedent, there is no reason to believe the Obama administration will aggressively enforce any new, supposedly temporary program.

From Europe to the Middle East, we have seen how disaster follows U.S. retreat and disengagement from the world. But the one area where President Obama seemed to be leaning forward was drone strikes. He personally approved terrorist “kill lists” and has taken out many hundreds of terrorists with drones in Pakistan, Yemen and East Africa.

So why, when Iraqi officials began pleading with him one year ago to strike Islamic State terrorists with drones, did Obama repeatedly refuse — standing by while terrorists overran the country?

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Ed Royce made the stunning revelation in a congressional hearing last week that Iraq had been urgently requesting drone support against the Islamic State since August 2013 and that those requests were repeatedly turned down.

Obama officials have publicly claimed that Iraq requested air support only in May of this year, after Islamic State had already taken Fallujah and was marching on Mosul. That is untrue. And it is Royce’s version of events that is borne out by the public record. On Aug. 17, 2013, in a little-noticed story entitled “Iraq Open to U.S. Drone Strikes on Terrorists,” Bloomberg News reported that Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari was in Washington “seeking U.S. advisers, air surveillance or even drone strikes” and that “the top Iraqi diplomat’s comments are the first time he has publicly raised the possibility of working with the U.S. on anti-terrorist drone strikes.”

That was a year ago. Had Obama acted on those requests, the Islamic State offensive might very well have been stopped. The United States could have hit the terrorists while they were still in staging areas in the western Iraqi desert, away from civilians, where they were easy targets for U.S. drones. Instead Obama did nothing, while the Islamic State massed its forces, marched into Iraqi cities, and proclaimed a radical Islamic state.

How to lose battles and gain sympathizers.

Once again neighboring enemies are warring in diametrically opposite ways.

Hamas sees the death of its civilians as an advantage; Israel sees the death of its civilians as a disaster. Defensive missiles explode to save civilians in Israel; in Gaza, civilians are placed at risk of death to protect offensive missiles.

Hamas wins by losing lots of its people; Israel loses by losing a few of its own. Hamas digs tunnels in premodern fashion; Israel uses postmodern high technology to detect them. Hamas’s missiles usually prove ineffective; Israel’s bombs and missiles almost always hit their targets. Quiet Israeli officers lead from the front; loud Hamas leaders flee to the rear. Incompetency wins sympathy; expertise, disdain.

Westerners romanticize the Hamas cause; fellow Arabs of the Gulf do not. Westerners critical of Israel are still willing to visit Israel; sympathizers of Hamas do not wish to visit Gaza.

Democracy and free markets bring Westerners liberty, human rights, and prosperity — but many Westerners scorn these things in Israel, siding with those who deny human rights, ruin their economy, and practice a brutal prejudice against women, gays, and non-Muslims. In Gaza, a gay reporter, a female reporter with bare arms, a reporter with a small crucifix around his neck, the rare journalist who, surrounded by screaming Hamas supporters, dares to broadcast the truth from Gaza — all these in private would admit to being in fear while they are in Gaza in a way they are not when in Israel.

If 1,000 Arabs a week are killed by other Arabs in Syria and Iraq — whether bombed, shot, gassed, or beheaded — the Western world snoozes. If 400 Arabs are killed in a three-week war with Israel, that world suddenly awakes to damn Israelis as killers. Apparently the West, in racist fashion, assumes that killing one another is what Arabs do best. But when Israelis kill those who wish to kill them, outrage follows.

When Israel wins militarily, it seems to lose politically. When Hamas loses, it seems to win. A European may like the idea of Westerners’ losing to non-Westerners, as long as it is not himself who loses.

Europeans do not protest much when Vladimir Putin carves up Georgia or swallows Crimea. When Russian surrogates shoot down a passenger plane carrying many Europeans, Europe nonetheless stays mostly quiet. There are no protests in Paris over the divided city of Nicosia and the harsh Turkish occupation of Cyprus, which has lasted four decades now. No one in Berlin objects that Russia occupies the Sakhalin Islands or China has absorbed Tibet. Europeans assume that the strong who could hurt them can dictate as they wish.

Once again, in warfare between Israel and its neighbors, Israel’s critics note the many more dead and wounded among the Jewish state’s adversaries than among Israelis and attack Israel for disproportionate use of force. While photos of dead and wounded civilians, or of non-combatants desperately fleeing fighting around their homes, should elicit everyone’s sympathy, the translating of that sympathy into a “proportionality” argument with which to beat Israel is less an expression of humane sensitivity to the plight of innocent victims than a display of sanctimonious depravity.

International law includes a concept of proportionality as it applies to warfare. Intentionally targeting civilians constitutes not simply a criminal act but a crime against humanity. It is also considered a crime to attack a military target when it is clear that the likely incidental civilian injuries and deaths will be disproportionate to any likely military advantage to be gained as a result of the attack.

Consider the nature of the conflict between Hamas and Israel. Hamas is explicit in its genocidal intent, stating in its charter and in myriad declarations by its representatives that its goal is not only the annihilation of Israel but the slaughter of all Jews. It makes clear that it has zero interest in the establishment of a Palestinian state living peacefully alongside Israel.

Apologists for Hamas’s Gaza regime claim that Israel, by blocking open access to Gaza, has, in effect, created an open-air prison in which Gazans suffer constant deprivation and so the organization has the right to try to break the Israeli siege. But from the time that Israel pulled all its citizens and troops out of Gaza, in 2005, the Palestinian leadership in the territory has pursued rocket attacks into Israel, and those attacks only escalated after Hamas seized control of Gaza in 2007. To the degree that Israel has limited access to Gaza, it has done so in response to these incessant bombardments and other assaults. In addition, its doing so is consistent with international law regarding states of belligerency and, for example, the United Nations has upheld the legitimacy of Israel’s naval blockade of Gaza.

Moreover, the Israeli “siege” is typically overstated as totally cutting off Gaza from the wider world. In fact, one of Gaza’s borders is controlled by Egypt, not Israel. Further, huge amounts of goods enter Gaza on an almost daily basis from Israel and many Gazans cross back and forth between Gaza and Israel. Even during the current war, Israel continues to supply electricity and water to Gaza and continues to allow the daily passage of tons of goods, including food and medicine, into Hamas-controlled territory.

Also noteworthy is that Israel not only fully withdrew from the territory but left behind assets that could have contributed to Gaza establishing itself on a sound economic foundation. With the extensive financial support poured into Gaza by the international community, it could have become a Middle East Hong Kong or Singapore.

Apparently more than willing to pour gasoline on an already raging fire, an anti-Israeli Turkish relief organization, IHH Humanitarian Relief Foundation, is organizing a “Freedom Flotilla II” to bring “humanitarian” supplies to the Gaza strip. The IHH is the organization responsible for the last attempt to break the Israeli naval blockade of Gaza in a self-inflicted disaster that saw nine Hamas-affiliated terrorists killed by Israeli commandos, who were attacked when they attempted to board the Mavi Marmara. IHH chairman Bulent Yildrim warns that this time, the flotilla will be accompanied by Turkish Navy vessels to “protect us from any potential attack.”

As of now, no firm date has been set for this latest effort to incite a violent confrontation with the Jewish State, but Yildrim insists that once the necessary permit from the authorities in Ankara is approved, the activists will set sail. Yildrim is inviting activists who participated in the 2010 trip to join the cause. The military component is based on a demand by Yildrim that the Turkish government provide protection for its own citizens.

The move reflects the increasing deterioration of Turkish-Israeli relations, already severely damaged by the 2010 attempt by the Freedom Flotilla I to challenge Israel’s right to block weaponry from entering the Gaza strip.

After the incident aboard the Mavi Marmara, a 2011 UN report by the Palmer Commission concluded Israel was within its legal rights to form the blockade. The report further noted that the naval blockade “was imposed as a legitimate security measure in order to prevent weapons from entering Gaza by sea and its implementation complied with the requirements of international law,” that “the flotilla acted recklessly in attempting to breach the naval blockade,” and that there were “serious questions about the conduct, true nature and objectives of the flotilla organizers, particularly IHH.”

And while the report also concluded that Israel’s boarding of the Mavi Marmara was “excessive and unreasonable,” it noted that “Israeli Defense Forces personnel faced significant, organized and violent resistance from a group of passengers when they boarded the Mavi Marmara requiring them to use force for their own protection.” The panel further recommended that those involved “should consult directly and make every effort to avoid a repetition of the incident.”

That isn’t likely to happen. After the incident and subsequent report, Turkey ejected Israel’s ambassador and recalled its own, but refrained from severing economic ties. But on July 19, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accused Israel of “barbarism that surpasses Hitler,” regarding its military incursion into Gaza. He further insisted the Jewish State was guilty of using “disproportionate force” that has “derailed efforts to normalize Turkish-Israeli ties,” according to the Associated Press. Erdogan is running for the presidency in elections that will be held next month.

The media war between Israel and Hamas is a disproportionately unequal one. It’s unequal because Israel must maintain its credibility, while Hamas and its media allies never worry about their credibility.

In an instant messaging news cycle, Israel responds to accusations of atrocities with an investigation while Hamas and its Hamasbara allies in the media package together bloody photos from local stringers along with a narrative and turn it into an instant story.

By the time the Israeli investigation nails down the real story, as with the UNRWA school in Beit Hanoun, the Hamasbara is already moving on to the next atrocity.

Every Israeli statement is pored over and examined from every angle. A Tweet by an Israeli police spokesman was spun by BuzzFeed troll Sheera Frenkel into a claim that Hamas had not kidnapped and murdered the three Israeli boys. The story was then repackaged by New York Magazine for a post that had over 200,000 social media shares. The post was dishonest and untrue… but that didn’t matter.

Meanwhile Al-Monitor’s Laura Rozen participated in the attacks against Israel by accusing Haaretz’s Barak Ravid, who had revealed the Kerry ceasefire terms favorable to Hamas, of being a liar who was passing along false Israeli claims.

Rozen’s alternative draft, which appears to have come from Al Jazeera, did not differ significantly from the Israeli copy, but it didn’t stop her from using her Qatari source to attack Israel. Obama went on to reiterate many of the basic terms in the ceasefire proposal, but by then the narrative that the Israeli media was unfairly smearing Kerry was set.

These tactics, born out of the Twitter age and the complete collapse of journalistic ethics, aren’t just a defense of Islamic terrorism, but they also borrow some of the tactics of the terrorists they defend.

Hamasbara is less dependent on developed stories and more on Tweets and blog posts. Its practitioners are just activists with a media forum. Their smear campaigns depend on quick hit and run attacks. They bring a story into being out of thin air and move on to the next attack just as quickly.

There is something of the Hamas suicide bomber in their willingness to constantly self-destruct their reputations, but journalistic credentials don’t mean what they used to. Activist journalists help manufacture a story that is picked up by second-tier media blogs and mainstream media outlets.