Darfur: One Big Reason Why the United States Should Stop Shedding Its Leadership Role

One of my favorite movie lines, as I have mentioned before, comes from Zulu, a film from the 1960s about 19th century British soldiers grimly facing down thousands of Zulu warriors. There were a little over a hundred British and the Zulus had a couple thousand rifles.

Before one assault on the small fortification, a frightened soldier asks his sergeant why they are fighting. The Sergent, in classic British Victorian fashion, answers "Because we are here, and no one else."

That describes perfectly the United States' role in the world up until 2009. We stand for freedom, we back democracy, we support capitalism. Why? Because no one else cares. We do it not for popularity but for principle. We know gratitude is fleeting, but we understand that the world is safer when it is free. At least we knew and understood those things until January of this year.

Darfur is an international outrage. Slavery and massacres of Christian blacks by Muslims continues unabated. I am not suggesting that we go into the region by ourselves like an Old West sheriff and clean up the town. Some situations call for the John Wayne treatment, this does not. What we need is to round up our posse. Get some old friends like the Poles, British, etc. and some new ones like Kenya and South Africa. Take on a leadership and organization role, but provide direct support mostly in logistics.

Fact is, though, our credibility gets shakier all the time. Who can trust our commitment to democracy when the president acts like Gordon Brown is the black sheep cousin while Hugo Chavez is the coolest guy on earth?

Darfur needs attention and our diplomatic ship needs righted. Too bad neither outcome looks feasible for at least, say, four years.

Great News For Those Excited About the return of the Death Tax

Obama promised change. If a man owns a business and dies before he can turn it over to his children, change is all they will have. Obama's budget resurrected the death tax.

The government and knowledgeable accountants are the only ones that benefit from this ghastly tax which takes 50% from every estate. Certainly some can figure ways around the tax, but what about the business or farm owner that dies suddenly and young. Tough break. Uncle Barack is coming to steal his share

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As soon as we get a weak president, the sabre rattling begins. Our Defense Department claims it is impotent to stop any illegal rocket launch from North Korea. (Oh really? An overflight of B-52s, a launch of Tomahawks, etc. before launch wouldn't stop it?) Why on earth does one trumpet weakness to the world anyway? Now North Korea threatens US Navy vessels patrolling in international waters offshore.

Credibility is hard to get. tougher to keep. We lost eight years of credibility in eight weeks. Who respects us now?

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The next world leader that suffers from the Obama wraparound ought to turn around and slug him. He did it to Bush and now he has done it to Prime Minister Gordon Brown. In front of the cameras, Obama likes to put his arm around the shoulder of a leader, a condescending looking gesture. One British reporter said it looked like Obama was shepherding the Prime Minister from the room. The effect is as if Obama's saying, don't worry, I'm here. As if he is the experienced world leader.

No Title of Nobility Shall be Granted

231 years ago the 13 British colonies declared independence, in the Declaration of Independence, they clearly stated, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” Five statesmen from Massachusetts signed that document; John Hancock, Samuel Adams, John Adams, Robert Treat Paine and Elbridge Gerry.

March 4, 2009 British Prime Minster, Gordon Brown stood before a joint session of the US Congress and stated, “I want to announce that Her Majesty The Queen, has awarded an honorary Knighthood for Sir Edward Kennedy.” Now our founding fathers knew that titles of nobility inferred inequality of men. They promptly outlawed titles of nobility in the Articles of Confederation to insure the equality of men.

When considering the new constitution the Founding Fathers had very strong convictions. The outlawing of nobility titles was so important that James Madison had this to say about including that prevision in the new constitution, “The prohibition with respect to titles of nobility is copied from the articles of Confederation and needs no comment.” - January 25th, 1788, Federalist Papers #44

Alexander Hamilton ranked the banishment of nobility titles at the top, he even used all capital letters for emphases when he wrote, “The establishment of the writ of habeas corpus, the prohibition of ex-post-facto laws, and of TITLES OF NOBILITY, TO WHICH WE HAVE NO CORRESPONDING PROVISION IN OUR CONSTITUTION, are perhaps greater securities to liberty and republicanism than any it contains” He went on to say, “Nothing need be said to illustrate the importance of the prohibition of titles of nobility. This may truly be denominated the corner-stone of republican government; for so long as they are excluded, there can never be serious danger that the government will be any other than that of the people.” Alexander Hamilton, Federalist Papers #84

As we know from history the pleas fell on receptive ears, because the banishment of titles of nobility made it into the US Constitution under Article 1, Section 9, “No Title of Nobility shall be granted by the United States: And no Person holding any Office of Profit or Trust under them, shall, without the Consent of the Congress, accept of any present, Emolument, Office, or Title, of any kind whatever, from any King, Prince, or foreign State.”

Today Senator Ted Kennedy and the US Congress have to make a decision. Are they statesmen or politicians? I think we can guess what the first Massachusetts Senators Caleb Strong and Tristram Dalton would recommend. Senator Kennedy should politely say, “No, thank you,” sighting the US Constitution. While Senator Kennedy has a long and distinguished career he is our equal nothing more. Congress should grant no exception and if Senator Kennedy wishes to accept, then he should resign from his office and renounce his US citizenship, just as the founding fathers renounced their British citizenship in order to form a nation of equals.