Today’s football spiking from the ever-prescient and diligent Nation defender, President Obama — Jhihadi John has been vaporized. Along with three cheers for me, Obama claimed, “. . . we have contained them.” Whew, that must be really good news, after all, a President wouldn’t lie. Umm, oh, wait, what’s that noise? A bomb?
Obama had hardly dropped his ABC microphone that news broke from Europe: Paris was under siege — a well coordinated siege. At least 158 killed. Countless injured. More work-related violence? No. Islamic terrorism unleashed — un-contained.
French President Holland then announced that he was closing France’s borders and Paris would be under curfew. Closing borders? How insensitive and inhumane of him. Does he not know — that is politically incorrect? Isn’t Hollande the head of a socialist party? Isn’t he one of the European leaders along with Merkel who believes in open borders? Haven’t these two promoted the massive migration of un-vetted refugees? Now Hollande lies to France, claiming that he is closing its borders? That is not possible. France’s borders are porous and easily penetrable by anyone seeking ingress.
Now Hollande claims France stands united? What does it take for lame minds like Hollande’s to accept that Muslim terrorists mean business? Evidently he didn’t believe their threats of infiltration.
Is there a lesson for America? . . . Other than questioning anything Obama pronounces, can anything be gleamed?
Vetting millions, or even just a few thousand from the middle east or even from Asia is impossible. No amount of diligence can verify the veracity of any documents presented for admittance, if any are even presented, which is often not the case. The West needs to accept that ‘documentation’ is readily available for a price throughout most of the world. Accepting immigrants in our world is a game of playing the odds. Today Paris showed us what is at risk.
A constituent of the vast baby boomer generation with a career which has been fortunate to know the ponderous corporate worlds, as well as the intimately pressurized, and invigorating entrepreneurial domains of high tech and venture capital, I have harvested my share of mistakes meandering through corridors of enterprise from Silicon Valley, to London and endless, colourful, sometimes praetorian points in between. The voyage has provided an abundance of fodder for a pen yielding to an inquisitive keyboard, a foraging mind, and a passionate spirit.
Whether political or business or social or economic or personal, is it not all political? It is a privilege to write, and an even greater privilege to be read by anyone, and sometimes with the wind at my back the writing may occasionally be legible. I do not write to invite scorn, nor to invite respect, but if I get really lucky the writing can stimulate thinking. I also write for the very selfish purpose of animating my own processes, and engaging the best of what life offers. Above all, whether biting fire or swatting shadows, I am grateful to be gifted the freedom to write and publish whatever flows down to the keyboard. To all those who enabled this freedom, and to all those standing guard to preserve it, I am indebted.