North Korea
North Korea detonated a nuclear weapon and snubbed its nose at our president. Our president declared the action was “unacceptable.”
Driving home from a family visit, my wife and I were discussing the event, listening to the radio. It popped into my head, “Where is Ronald Reagan when you need him?”
Newt Gingrich, Republican ex-speaker of the House, recalled that very theme in his e-mail, “Winning the Future.”
He reminded his audience how Ronald Reagan dealt with Libya. Twenty-five years ago, in the Gulf of Sidra, American naval aircraft,F-14 fighters,crossed what Muammar Qaddafi had called “the line of death.”
The Libyans challenged us, and we shot down two Libyan fighter planes. We had reasserted freedom of the seas and given the world proof that a new leader was bringing new strength.
North Korea now knows that the “unacceptable was acceptable.” Instead of action, our president and Congress are having a first class political fight over the bad acts of a gay congressman, completely ignoring job one,”to protect and defend.”
We are losing in Iraq, Afghanistan and the Middle East.
As for the war on terror, congress has voted on fence legislation (which doesn’t guarantee the building of any fence) and also approved legislation to guarantee the fair treatment of enemy combatants.
Our government says we are fighting Iran by proxy. Huh? What is that, exactly, and why don’t we fight them directly?
Where is Ronald Reagan when we need him?
Barry M. Gold
Irvine
Foley Probe
Now that witnesses are being called to testify in the Mark Foley sex scandal, I trust the House Ethics Committee will honor its pledge to conduct a full and complete investigation of this matter.
To this end, it might be useful to ask then-congressman, now Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, what he knew and when.
Before moving to the SEC last year, Orange County’s Cox was a ranking member of the House GOP.
Don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying he had any knowledge of Foley’s lurid e-mails to underage pages. Still, Cox and his staff were in regular contact with many of the principals in this sordid affair, including Speaker Dennis Hastert, his staff, Rep. Thomas Reynolds and other Republicans on Capitol Hill.
If Cox has nothing to add to the committee’s probe, fine. If he does, then it seems to me the public has a right to know.
Denny Freidenrich
First Strategies LLC
Laguna Beach
