U.S. military policy set by Ricky Martin and Al Sharpton? Jesse Helms
consulting Bono on debt forgiveness?
It would be a joke ... if it weren't true. But, unfortunately, both
things happened, last week. Instead of a national joke, it's a
nightmare.
President Bush announced, Thursday, that the U.S. Navy would be ending
its stay on the Puerto Rican island of Vieques, as well as training
exercises performed there. "They don't want us there," said Bush.
But Bush is wrong. It's left-wing celebrity protesters like Martin and
Sharpton who don't want us there. Isn't it great to have guys, like
Martin – who sings such masterpieces as "Shake your BonBon" and "She
Bangs" – setting U.S. military policy? Martin, once from Puerto Rico,
never lived on Vieques, and now lives primarily on South Beach in Miami
Beach, Fla.
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Celebs, like actor Edward James Olmos, and the
requisite Kennedy – in this case Robert F. Kennedy Jr. – also oppose U.S.
military presence on Vieques. Olmos – whose best "contribution" to
American society is the anal-sex rape prison movie, "American Me" – is
always available for left-wing protests on any issue. But, guess what?
He not only doesn't live on Vieques. He doesn't live in Puerto Rico,
either.
And then there's Weird Al (Sharpton). He's from New York. But he
fantasizes that he's a presidential candidate in 2004. Like good buddy,
Senatrix Hillary Clinton, Sharpton recognizes that Hispanics – particularly Puerto Ricans now living in New York – are an important left-wing constituency, and they've been stirred into wanting the U.S. out of Vieques. They don't live there, either.
Those who do, indeed, live on the island, have – contrary to media
conventional wisdom – indicated that they do want the U.S. Navy to
remain. 2,500 of the 9,300 residents signed a petition indicating
that. That's a statistically significant number, which includes
Viequans like Robert Rabin and Luis Sanchez. But amidst the Puerto
Rican politicians – who live in New York or on the bigger island of
Puerto Rico – little was heard about them. Maybe they'd have garnered
media attention had they been arrested for trespassing, like the other
protesters.
Regardless of local residents' opinion, the most important factor in
Bush's decision should have been military readiness. Because of its
topographical characteristics, Vieques is the only island of its kind,
where dangerous, complicated amphibious and air-to-land military
exercises can be performed safely. The U.S. Navy radar installation,
troop training areas, the beach used for troop landing maneuvers and
the active bombing range were all far away from any residential areas on
the island, according to a New York Times map. For over 60 years,
Vieques has had a U.S. Navy presence, and only one death. You didn't
hear this from Ricky Martin, but there is no other island where the Navy
will be able to conduct such military readiness exercises effectively
and safely. This is about saving American lives.
But, who cares about safety, military readiness, and the opinion of
local islanders, when we have pop star experts pontificating about this
little-known island they never heard of until a year ago?
Or U.S. fiscal policy when we have pop stars educating White House
senior advisers and senior Republican senators about public policy?
Pop group U2's lead singer, Bono, was USA Today's cover boy, Friday.
Not for his recording career. But for his political activism,
specifically his bid for the U.S. to forgive debts of Third World
countries. Not even a U.S. citizen, Bono's been making contacts and
having meetings that would make the most powerful Washington lobbyists
drool. In March, he met for an hour with Secretary of State Colin
Powell. Since then, Bono's met with Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill and, and early this month, he met with White House Deputy Chief of Staff Josh Bolten. Friday night, Sen. Jesse Helms, R-N.C., and his grandchildren attended a U2 concert with his grandchildren, as Bono's guests.
Helms told AP that he turned down his hearing aids and put his hands
over his ears during the concert. "I couldn't really understand what he
was saying," the 79-year-old Helms said. Then, perhaps, Helms missed a
key part of Bono's concerts. During their current "Elevation" Tour, U2
attack Charlton Heston, the NRA and Second Amendment proponents. In a
sarcastic introduction to song "Bullet The Blue Sky," U2 shows footage
of Heston defending his views on firearms, using it as a stark, negative
contrast to a clearly anti-gun film featuring documentary footage of
children and gun violence during the band's performance of the song.
The band's pro-gun control position is in tune with Bono's other
far-left politics. This MTV creation is a staunch supporter of Amnesty International and
Greenpeace and has employed convicted IRA Terrorist John Noonan as a
bodyguard.
Bono's views are to the left of Barbra Streisand. Would the Bush
administration and Sen. Helms consort with her? Not to mention the disastrous results that would come of Bono's silly debt forgiveness idea – the forgiveness of mega-billions which would harmfully affect interest rates and international banking systems; the
top 10 poor nations' debt, according to Bono's group, adds up to $74.5
billion. In addition, it would let a lot of Third World dictators off the hook for money they lavishly spent on themselves, instead of their people.
Bono told USA Today he got the idea from Harvard economist Jeffrey Sachs and the Bible. It's a sad day when Harvard economists, via foreign pop stars, run America.
What's next – John Kenneth Galbraith whispering in the ears of
Aerosmith?
It's even sadder when the Bible is used to justify
forgiving debt owed by countries like Muslim dictatorship Sudan, the
repressive policies of which murder, rape, torture and enslave black
Christians, whose only crime is believing the Bible. Oil-rich Sudan is now developing oil-fields with the Chinese, doubling
its military budget and building new weapons factories with China – with
the money Bono says we should forgive.
If politicians must listen to a rock star, they should heed KISS bassist
Gene Simmons. "We don't comment on whales and the rain forest. We
don't try to be ambassadors to Bosnia. Duh. You need a rock star for
that? Some idiot who couldn't tune a guitar six months ago is now an
environmental specialist? I blame media for giving rock stars more
credence than they deserve. Why don't they ask Al Gore how to play
bass?"
Simmons was right. Whether it's Vieques or foreign debts, letting guys
like Bono and Ricky Martin dictate U.S. policy is "Living La Vida Loca."