"Bleep the EU": Victoria Nuland, another Obamacrat Ivy Leaguer, makes a fool of herself

Americans curse more and more--especially on reality-show TV.  Profanity has become so commonplace on television that the producers of Duck Dynasty actually add gratuitous bleeps for the Robertson family's dialog, because the Robertsons--evangelical Christians from central Louisiana--don't curse.

"Bleep the EU"

So we shouldn't be too shocked to learn that Assistant Secretary of State Victoria Nuland said "F--- the EU" in a leaked conversation with the United States Ambassador to the Ukraine, Geoffrey Pyatt.  What's most embarrassing, of course, is that the United States government and the New York Times have been lecturing Russia about meddling in the Ukraine, but the leaked phone call shows that it is the U.S. that turns out to be the biggest meddler.

And where did Ms. Nuland attend college? Brown University.  Yes, Ms. Nuland is another one of Barack Obama's people who was educated at an Ivy League college.  Apparently, these schools do not teach civility and diplomacy; they just  teach people to be scornful and arrogant.

Thus we have Secretary of State John Kerry, a Yale man, who insults the Syrians at the peace talks on the Syrian uprising by basically telling the Assad regime up front that it has to go.  He behaves so arrogantly to the Israelis that the Israeli Defense Minister  accused him of having a messiah complex.  And Barack Obama himself is so contemptuous of the American people that he lies to them repeatedly without bothering to even make a decent apology.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again.  All three branches of our government--but the Executive Branch and the Judicial Branch in particular--are stuffed with people who achieved degrees from elite universities who do not know how to behave decently.  They do not have the simple dignity, grace and character that most Louisiana crawfish harvesters innately possess.

References

Michael R. Gordon & Jodi Rudoren. Israeli Official's Reported Criticisms of Kerry and Peace Effort Draws U.S. Rebuke. New York Times, January 15, 2014, p. A8.

Andrew Higgins & Peter Baker. Russia Claims U.S. Meddling Over Ukraine. New York Times, February 7, 2013, p. A1.

American officials insult India by strip-searching an Indian diplomat. Perhaps India should respond in kind

Devyani Khobragade, India's deputy consul general in New York, was arrested outside her child's school a few days ago.  While she was detained, she was handcuffed, strip searched, and thrown in a cell with common criminals. U.S. authorities acknowledge that the strip search included a search of body cavities,  but they stoutly maintained she was afforded special consideration because of her diplomatic status.


Ms. Devyani Khobragade deserves
a personal apology from Secretary
of State John Kerry
photo credit: Mohammed Jaffer AP

What was Ms. Khobragade's offense?  She is accused of underpaying her housekeeper and working her more than 40 hours a week.

A couple of observations.  First, don't you think it is hypocritical of the United States to kill innocent civilians with drone strikes in Pakistan and then strip search an Indian diplomat for overworking her housekeeper?

Second, if a diplomat must submit to a body cavity search based on an accusation that she underpaid her housekeeper, then Washington politicians should make sure they keep their undergarments in good repair.  How many Congresspeople  and senators do you think are underpaying their nannies, lawn care employees and domestic servants?  A few I would venture. Wouldn't it be embarrassing for a Congressman to to reveal  he was wearing tattered boxer shorts after being booked for not paying Social Security taxes on a nanny's salary?

Of course, the Obama administration issued one of its "I'm not really sorry" apologies. Secretary of State Kerry expressed "regret" over the incident, which is kind of like Obama saying he was sorry people found themselves in the situation of not having health insurance. Hey, "my bad."

I predict the Indians will not be satisfied with anything less than a profound personal apology delivered to the Indian Prime Minister and Ms. Khobragade by a senor American official.  I hope Secretary of State John Kerry flies to Mumbai  to deliver this apology himself, and I hope the Indians extend him an American-style welcome by giving him a thorough cavity search at the airport.

References

Gardiner Harris. Outrage in India, and Retaliation, Over a Female Diplomat's Arrest in New York. New York Times, December 18, 2013, p. A13.

Peace for our time or a historic mistake? The Ivy Leaguers make a deal with Iran and your children will pay the price

World War II was unnecessary, Churchill wrote in The Gathering Storm, the first volume of his history of the Second World War. Had the British and Americans conducted their affairs "with the ordinary consistency and common sense usual in decent households," Church observed, they could have maintained their security without bloodshed.

Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain & Hitler
September 23, 1938

Those of us who read history know that Neville Chamberlain made a groveling peace pact with Hitler in 1938, and less than a year later, England and Germany were at war.  As Churchill put the matter, "You were given the choice between war and dishonour. You chose dishonour and you will have war."

Today, the United States and its passive allies are on the verge of a deal with Iran whereby the United States and the European Union lift their sanctions against Iran and Iran promises not to build a nuclear bomb.

Does anyone believe Iran will cease its efforts to become a nuclear power? I certainly don't.  And Israel, whose life depends upon this issue, doesn't believe it either.  The deal with Iran, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated emphatically, is a "historic mistake."

But, like Neville Chamberlain, who believed his deal with Hitler would bring "peace for our time," President Obama believes he has made the Middle East a safer place. Or perhaps he merely believes a deal with Iran will look good on his vita.

America's national affairs are in such disarray that it is embarrassing to contemplate them. Today, the United States begs a mob of Afghan elders to allow us to pour American blood and treasure into a country that has no interest whatsoever in democratic values or human rights.

On the home front, the President has lied repeatedly about the essential features of Obamacare, but he holds average Americans in such contempt that he doesn't bother with a proper apology.  As Churchill said of British politician Stanley Baldwin, "He occasionally stumbled over the truth, but hastily picked himself up and hurried on as if nothing had happened."

As I have said more than once, our country is being run by people who were schooled in the nation's elite colleges and professional schools--institutions which teach nothing more than arrogance, an unseemly obsession with power and recognition, and a studied cynicism toward traditional American values.

How will all this end? Regarding Iran, there are just two possibilities.  Either Iran will become a nuclear power and thereby make the Middle East even more unstable or Israel will launch military strikes in an effort to destroy Iran's nuclear capability.

If Israel acts militarily, you can kiss your 401(k) goodbye along with your draft-age children and grandchildren.

But don't worry about Barack Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry.  However things turn out, there's a book deal for Obama after he steps down from the presidency.  And John Kerry's wealth is well invested.  He will do just fine financially no matter what happens to you and me.

References

Winston Churchill, The Gathering Storm. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1948.

Jodi Rudoren. Israelis See Ticking Clock, and Alternative Approaches, on Iran and Palestinians. New York Times, November 26, 2013, p. A12.