Finally, some good news – then some bad

The Senate voted against restricting ownership of firearms, a victory for our Constitution, especially the Second Amendment. What is it about this sentence that is difficult to understand, one that was kept concise, so that it would not be open to discussion –

“A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

It has been undermined ever since, by an overzealous government that will use any technique and ploy it can think of to control and document weapons ownership.

The public (and the president) has clearly forgotten his oath of office –

“I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

I’ve added the underscore to illustrate what his primary job is. He has failed. He has worked to subvert the Second Amendment, and in my mind he has violated his oath of office. Does that matter? In truth, I think that the public treats the oath of office as just a sentence. I do not.

The NRA said that we have thousands of gun laws are already on the books, few enforced. Politicians have found that only by passing new laws can they ensure reelection. Just supporting existing enforcement of laws doesn’t help reelection. So they pile on law after law, overlapping the old ones.

Few are enforced.

Now the bad news. As I’ve written before, our government’s foreign policy is a disaster and has been for decades. The Arab Spring adventure to reorder the Middle East has deposed governments (or regimes, as they were renamed) and resulted in new governments’ hostile to the United States. These new governments are largely friendly with Muslim extremism who oppose Israel’s existence, or more accurately Israel’s foreign policy.

The dominant fighters in the Syrian conflict is the al-Nusra Front, that we have labeled a terrorist organization. This group has been more effective and ruthless than the pro-western friendly forces working to depose Assad. The al-Nusra Front has sworn allegiance to al-Qaeda. It wants to take over Syria so the country can merge with Iraq to form the beginning of a new Caliphate, the start of a new Islamic empire. I’m sure that Saladin or Muhammad would have approved.

The bad news is that in our efforts to depose the Syrian government/regime/dictatorship/oligarchy/tyranny, etc (GRDOT),  European governments and the CIA are supplying weapons to groups other than the al-Nusra Front opposing the Syrian GRDOT. I have no doubt that some of those weapons are being secured by the al-Nusra Front and if Syria falls, Syria’s chemical agents will be captured and used against the west or Israel. Fortunately, the Russian Federation likes its Mediterranean ports in Syria, and will do its best to block the fall of the Syrian GRDOT.

If you doubt this, look to our best friend in the 1980’s, during the Russian occupation of Afghanistan, Osama bin Laden and the results of that friendship. Washington makes these horrendous mistakes all of the time, but until today our geographic isolation has saved us.

Unfortunately both John Kerry, our new Secretary of State and Chuck Hagel, Secretary of Defense both appear to be far out of their leagues.

Let’s hope that being geographically isolated continues to work in our favor.