The Fort Wayne News-Tribune reports that U.S. Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN) is calling for a tough stand against the plans of the radical Islamic government in Iran to develop nuclear weapons. The Indiana Senator and possible Democratic Presidential contender in 2008 has just returned from a one week trip to the Middle East which included meetings with government leaders in Iraq, Israel,Afghanistan and Pakistan who expressed concerns about the possibility of a nuclear Iraq. http://tinyurl.com/8sy86
"They are hell-bent on acquiring nuclear weapons. That is somethingthat ought to alarm all of us," he said of Iran during a conference call with Indiana reporters. "It would be naive in the extreme to think verbal persuasion will work with the government of Iran."
I agree with Senator Bayh. The U.S. must take action to stop Iran from becoming a nuclear power. It will be a difficult challenge as pointed out today by Fraser Nelson in The Scotsman column "Let's admit it, Iran has the upper hand." http://tinyurl.com/cyqmm Bush cried wolf on Iraq so it may be difficult to support for military action against Iran if necessary. A few carefully targeted air strikes on Iran might help to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions and make the world a safer place.
LAMPSON LEADS DELAY
The LA Times reports some good news from Texas where former Democratic Congressman Nick Lampson is now leading indicted former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay for his House seat by a 30 to 22 margin. Lampson, a moderate Democrat, lost his Congressional seat in 2004 following a DeLay engineered gerrymandering of Texas U.S. House seats by legislative Republicans. The race is complicated by the presence of a independent candidate Steve Stockman who had 11 percent in the poll. http://tinyurl.com/aefdv
ORLANDO SENTINEL CALLS FOR DEMOCRATS TO BROADEN "SHRINKING TENT"
Citing a recent party switch by a Florida legislator, the Orlando Sentinel editorialized that the Democratic Party tent is becoming too narrow. Too many Democratic party activists still seem to think that support of absolute abortion rights is what defines our party. http://tinyurl.com/bkzhh
WORSHIPPING AT THE ALTAR OF FREE MARKETS
As Harold Meyerson pointed out in a recent Washington Post op-ed piece, laissez faire capitalism seems to disdain stability while most human beings don't. http://tinyurl.com/8xqa7 That is why Republican proposals to privatize Social Security have met public resistance. I am certainly not against capitalism per se. Markets can serve very useful purposes, but they should be used as a tool not as an object of worship. Let's face it laissez faire capitalism is the religion of many Libertarians and conservative Republicans. They worship the free market so much they are willing to sacrifice our industrial capacity and standard of living for ivory tower theories that have failed to bring about a broad based prosperity for Americans. Democrats need to champion an activist role by government to protects workers and consumers. Robert Reich points out in the American Prospect that free markets do not always lead to a free people. Reich points to the example of Chinese capitalism which co-exists quite well with a very oppressive government. http://tinyurl.com/csjj5
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