Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

Freedom of the press is a basic principle of living in a nation where freedom is heralded.

That is why newspapers are such an integral part of society, which claims to welcome freedom of expression, why has the freedom of the press been disallowed all too often?

The New York Times January 6 editorial stated, "Israel must immediately allow foreign journalists access to Gaza, as the Israeli high court ruled on December 31.  As in every war zone, reporting by journalists -- and human rights monitors, as well -- can discourage abuse, and is essential to full public understanding of the conflict."

Could this Israeli incursion into Gaza backfire?  This is the question this New York Times editorial asks.

The editorial continues:

"With the ground incursion into Gaza, Israel has gambled that it can finally silence Hamas rockets that have terrorized its people for years.  We sympathize with that goal.  But we are concerned that short term success on the battlefield might encourage the Israelis to keep pressing further and longer in an attempt to decimate Hamas and wrest Gaza from its grip."

The reality is, Hamas rejects Israeli's existence and Israel rejects the existence of Hamas.

Hamas labels Israelis as terrorists, and the Israelis label Hamas as terrorists.

Jimmy Carter's book "The Blood of Abraham" traces the Arab-Israeli conflict through the centuries in what is basically a clash rooted in an ancient family feud.  

It is glaringly apparent that only cooler heads could ever resolve this tragic bloody saga.

Name-calling and refusal to even acknowledge the legitimate existence of Israel or Hamas has led to a literal dead end.

As the world watches horrifying scenes of death of civilians in Gaza, men, women and children on nightly news, as well as the deaths of civilians from rockets landing in Israel, it is obvious this killing cycle will end only when international peacekeepers recognize the democratic rights of each side, and establish enforcement, with penalties if violence erupts.

With the U.S. bogged down in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, its resources are stretched to the limit.  Alan Greenspan, ex Fed chief, in his book "Age of Turbulence" states, "Everyone knows the Iraq War is largely about oil."

The U.S. lost its moral leadership over oil.  The Iraq War, going on more than 6 years, is the longest in U.S. history.  

The orchestrated media boasts of peace arriving at last in Iraq are not true.

The nightly TV news displaying an endless cycle of killings in Iraq betrays this false boast.

With the U.S. sinking in its national debt now over $10 trillion, the bankrupt U.S. must borrow from China to fund the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

But now, the U.S.A.'s biggest bailout nation, China in a January 8 New York Times front page headlined story declares:

"China losing taste for debt from the U.S.  Key lender finds uses for money at home."

The most shattering economic question of all must be asked:

Will the U.S. keep printing money with nothing back of it but the paper it's printed on?