Syria Trumps America

There were probably better ways to react to the government of Syria using chemical weapons in its own people, especially children, but firing fifty Tomahawk missiles into a Syrian air base, as Donald Trump did this past Thursday, was not one of them.  Even though it was a limited strike on a Syrian air base (which was back in operation after the attack), and even though the White House sought to ensure that the Russians would be out of harm's way by notifying them advance, this could escalate an already tense situation.  Maybe we are not headed for a third world war, but this action - which took place one hundred years to the day after the U.S. entered World War I - puts this country in an even more perilous situation as far as maintaining stability in the Middle East is concerned.

The perversity here is that Trump said he had no tolerance for military intervention in Syria or other foreign countries during the presidential campaign, when Hillary Clinton was the one supporting tougher action in Syria by establishing a no-fly zone over the country, which, if enacted under any President, could start a bigger conflict with Russia.  And if Trump is really concerned about the welfare of the Syrian people, why doesn't he let Syrian refugees come to America?

One politician, who fervently supported taking in Syrian refugees, was just as fervently opposed to intervention in Syria and was also against "regime change" there.  Speaking particularly in opposition to Hillary's call for a no-fly zone in 2015, he said, "This could lead to an escalation of Cold War proportions because of an accident, and I don’t think that’s in the best interest of the United States."

His name?  Martin Joseph O'Malley.

But you probably didn't hear him say that, because the media were too busy making fun of him for saying in a presidential debate, "I think Assad's invasion of Syria will be seen as a blunder," when he meant to say Vladimir Putin instead of Assad.  Really classy, guys.  :-( 

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A federal judge (or so he's called ;-) ) in Seattle - James Robart, a judge appointed by noted liberal George Walker Bush - blocked Trump's executive order banning people from seven Middle Eastern countries and refugees from Syria in particular from entering the country.  Wow, it was temporary! :-D

The administration tried to get the stay on the order overturned on appeal, but another judge sided with Robart.  It could go to the Supreme Court now, given all of the efforts for and against the order churning in the system.  Theoretically, by the time it reaches that court, it could be after the ban was set to have expired.  Needless to say, this only underscores why the Democrats - and whatever party replaces them after the 2018 midterms (the Dems are headed for Whig-like extinction, remember) -will be hell-bent on stopping Neil Gorsuch or anyone else Trump appoints for Antonin Scalia's Supreme Court seat for the next four years.  

Meanwhile, people from the affected countries are coming to America again. It looks like Trump may not win this battle.  But the war has only begun.

And am I upset that Trump's favorite football team has won the Super Bowl?  No, because I'm not a football fan.  If I were, though, I'd be even more upset that a rock and roll band - a real rock and roll band, not a light-rock ensemble like Coldplay - can't get a Super Bowl halftime gig anymore because the NFL has decided instead to book dance-pop divas for them from now until the end of time (which, thanks to Trump, could arrive before the next Super Bowl).