Since 1805

I’m so sick of hearing that we’re only “fighting for oil” or “our Foreign Policy is only about oil”.  That’s such BS, and History proves it.   You know the Marine’s Song?  “From the halls of Montezuma, to the shores of Tripoli…”
That song comes from a US action in the Mediterranean region back in 1805.  By order of President Thomas Jefferson, our 3rd President, US Marines and Berber Mercenaries marched 500 miles across Egypt to Derna Tripoli to combat Piracy.  Pirates who were interfering with shipping, and to support a Pro-US Administration.  This is what defending our foreign interests is all about.  It’s not about secret cabal of oil barons squabbling over our planet’s oil fields.

If that was the case, where are the great battles in Alaska, Canada, Texas, Utah, Wyoming, the Dakota’s and the Gulf of Mexico?  Where are the Armies that are invading Venezuela?  These places are all rich in oil resources.  How come the US has not gone in and taken Venezuela’s oil?   Because it’s not about the oil.   It’s about Regional Stability and protecting our interests and those of our allies.  Do you think Thomas Jefferson was concerned about Middle Eastern Oil?  No, he wasn’t.  Was he concerned about Egyptian or Tripolian oil?  No, he wasn’t.  He was concerned about the Pirates.  Just like Bush was concerned about Saddam Hussein.  Who, you may remember, was the concern of the Democrats, who all VOTED FOR that war, and as soon as Bush pulled the trigger, suddenly cried about it because he did what they voted for.  Insanity.  Oil its self had nothing to do with it.  Saddam Hussein threatened the Regional Stability.  Oil is only merely the main product from that region.  The US has other interests there as well.

On another note:
This is why I scratch my head about Obama’s handling of ISIS.  It seems everything Obama has been doing has been to undermine Stability in as many regions has he can.  Middle East, Egypt, Russia, Korea, Libya, China… if he can screw it up, he can and will try.  Who has been reaping the benefits from Obama’s meddling and failures?   The Islamic Brotherhood.  This makes me question what Obama would have done in 1805, had he been in charge.  Because I’m having a hard time deciding if Obama is just a pure pile of incompetence… or if he really is smart and doing just what he promised to do.   He’s always talking about it.

Ebola & our Government

I read a headline that says that the Government says that it can contain an Ebola Outbreak.  Really?  Because the next news story I read is that a homeless man that might have been infected and was under watch, wandered off…  They can’t even contain a homeless man.  And the Government says it can contain an Ebola outbreak.  Right.   All the other news articles today is basically showing the pattern that the Government has no idea what to do.  The CDC is still unsure if Ebola is airborne or not.

You think this can be contained?  Maybe.  But I don’t think so.

We’ve stopped flights to Israel because a rocket landed within 25 miles of an airport in Israel – but we still allow flights from Western Africa.   These flights have passengers that bounce into the USA, and all over the nation…. on aircraft with badly filtered, recirculated air that never get cleaned out and disinfected.  And they expect a stewardess to be a medical screener?   Now those folks who are newly infected and don’t know it yet…. what with the 21 day time frame they have… they go home.  Infect their kids.  Kids go to school.  Kids are constantly sent to school sick.  Because if a kid has the sniffles, that’s not enough to warrant keeping them home.  Not enough to go to a doctor earlier on… they would need a Doctor’s Note to excuse an absence…  as if it’s a Court Ordered Mandate.   Kids can’t even go to the bathroom when they need to, let alone wash their hands when they want or need.   So the sick kids, they go to school.  Infect the other kids.  Then those kids come home, and infect Brothers and Sisters and Mom and Dad… who go to work and go shopping… infect others.

No.  No, I don’t think any rampant infectious disease can be contained in our society.   Ebola has a high mortality rate.  There is no FDA approved treatment.  The national infrastructure has no way to deal with this and society expects people who feel ill to just slam some Theraflu and buck up and go to work.

If Ebola does go airborne, as some think it has, and it gets to the US… It’s going to be a huge problem that the US Government isn’t going to be able to handle.

Study the issue, learn how to deal with it on your own.  The Government is going to be of little help.  Unless you like the idea of Administrative Panic and be put in the modern equivalent of a leper colony.