The Afghan War should have ended three years ago.

After 9/11, the US demanded that the Taliban hand over Osama bin Laden. If the Taliban complied, then the matter could have ended there. The Taliban could have gone on being petty tyrants in the absolute worst part of the world, and the American could have gone on paying attention to celebrity gossip instead of world events.

We were under the impression that the purpose of the Afghan invasion was to capture or kill a particular mass murderer. The mission could have been called a success three years ago if that were the sole objective. But somehow our government got distracted.

We cannot use our military to build democracy in other people's countries anymore than we can renovate our neighbor's house with a shotgun. The good people of Afghanistan (and the bad people as well) have to decide for themselves that they want a modern country.

Compared to other Terrorists, North Korea -- not so bad.

I am Jeannette Jaquish, and this is my opinion, and my opinion only.
And possibly no one else's, but I'd like feedback.
I actually appreciate that in retaliation for Sony depicting the leader of a country we are not at war with, in a humiliating death scene in a crude comedy movie, that the North Korean hackers:
A. Have not killed anyone, and
B. Targeted the actual people who offended them, not their country or racial or religious group.
True, they have threatened to kill, and if they deliver, I'll change my opinion, and wish I had not posted this, but so far, this is a breath of fresh air for me, compared to all the other blanket-destruction-murder-of-innocents, acts of protest and revenge that I read about daily.

Amnesty, torture, and the rule of law

Some people act as if US immigration laws were written on two stone tablets delivered to Washington DC by Moses himself. If you have any discussion with them about the rights of immigrants or farms suffering from labor shortages, and they'll fall back on the argument that "the law is the law."

But the highest law in the US is the Constitution. Article 2, Section 2 gives the President the power to pardon anyone he likes. He can release someone from federal prison, he can stop the FBI from arresting someone, and he can let people stay in this country.

Bad laws can be ignored altogether, even while they remain on the books. Men are still legally required to register for the draft at age 18, but not one man has been prosecuted for failing to register in 30 years. So I may have wasted a trip to the post office.

Laws should be enforced if they still have merit. Unfortunately, there are some very good laws that get overlooked by the government as well. This country has some laws against torture. Recently, it has been revealed that CIA employees and contractors have been violating those laws.

I really don't see how torture has any value as a interrogation technique. Ask a man a question, and he'll give you an answer. Torture him, and he'll give you a different answer. If you had any way of determining which answer was true, you wouldn't need to torture him in the first place. Maybe other regimes have better luck with the practice. But these countries are better at keeping secrets, and they aren't exactly the types of regimes that we should want to emulate. Torture leads to bad PR for America on the world stage. If we talk about boycotting Iran or Russia for human rights violations, they can make the same claims about us. We should seriously consider moving out of our glass house before throwing rocks.

If you really care about the rule of law in this country, then you should be more concerned about torture (a felony) than illegal immigration (a civil violation).

Diplomatic Relations with Cuba?

Great Scott!

We are going to normalize our diplomatic outreach with Cuba?

Its like President Obama is actually doing his job and being the Head of State or something but still everyone is up in arms because their pet causes got pissed on in the process.

At least Rush Limbaugh and Bill Clinton can finally smoke those Cuban cigars together legally.

Maybe soon we will embrace some of the other better qualities of Jeffersonian Leadership? It was the writer of the Declaration of Independence whom established a core principle of American Foreign Policy which guided us for over a hundred and fifty years, and which while limited, We The People are starting to embrace in the midst of endless Wars and nameless Enemies and landless States

“Peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations
entangling alliances with none.”
~ Thomas Jefferson, President of the United States,
4th March, 1801, Inaugural Address.
You can read the full context of that quote here BTW.

U.S. to Restore Full Relations With Cuba, Erasing a Last Trace of Cold War Hostility 

WASHINGTON — President Obama on Wednesday ordered the restoration of full diplomatic relations with Cuba and the opening of an embassy in Havana for the first time in more than a half-century as he vowed to “cut loose the shackles of the past” and sweep aside one of the last vestiges of the Cold War.

The surprise announcement came at the end of 18 months of secret talks that produced a prisoner swap negotiated with the help of Pope Francis and concluded by a telephone call between Mr. Obama and President Raúl Castro. The historic deal broke an enduring stalemate between two countries divided by just 90 miles of water but oceans of mistrust and hostility dating from the days of Theodore Roosevelt’s charge up San Juan Hill and the nuclear brinkmanship of the Cuban missile crisis.

“We will end an outdated approach that for decades has failed to advance our interests, and instead we will begin to normalize relations between our two countries,” Mr. Obama said in a nationally televised statement from the White House. The deal, he added, will “begin a new chapter among the nations of the Americas” and move beyond a “rigid policy that is rooted in events that took place before most of us were born.” .......

by Peter Baker THE NEW YORK TIMES, 17th December 2014

ELEVENSIES OR NEW YEARS DAY BRUNCH

"We were told there'd be BACON!"

Vice Chair Jeannette and Tom Jaquish are hosting the Libertarian Party of Allen County, Indiana's first  

ELEVENSIES!

NEW YEAR'S DAY BRUNCH!

Join us for 2nd Breakfast anytime from 10am to 2pm, at their home, 1423 Louisedale Dr, Fort Wayne, 46808, north of the zoo, off Sherman.

All are invited!

There will be scrambled eggs, bacon, pancakes, hash browns, coffee, juice, milk and hot cocoa, and later, black eyed peas and ham, served FREE, but they won't be offended if you bring something like fancy creamer, syrup, ground coffee, juice or pastry. There will be NO speeches or fundraising. Just friendly conversation, games, music and activities for children and children at heart.

Please Reserve this event to your calendar via our Facebook Event Page
Questions? Call Jeannette at 260 484-5946 or email jeannettejaquish@yahoo.com.