Bill Clinton, Had He Done the Right Thing Back Then...

...how would history be different now?

What got me thinking about this question again and ole' Slick Willy was the way former Texas Ranger Ron Washington handled his infidelity the past couple of weeks.  And also how my Governor Mark Dayton reacted to the Adrian Peterson situation with these remarks:

"It is an awful situation. Yes, Mr. Peterson is entitled to due process and should be 'innocent until proven guilty.' However, he is a public figure, and his actions, as described, are a public embarrassment to the Vikings organization and the State of Minnesota,"

Back in 1998, I was adamant that the only proper thing for Bill Clinton to do in light of the whole Monica Lewinsky scandal was for him to resign his office in disgrace.  That was clearly the right thing for him to do.  Yet for reasons that may forever be beyond me Bill wouldn't do it and the Democrats wouldn't make him do it.  It's not like the Democrats wouldn't still hold the Presidency and I believe it's the only reason why GWB even had a shot at beating Al Gore in 2000.

Would 9/11 have happened? I think probably so and the War in Afghanistan would have gone pretty much as it has.

Would the Iraq War have happened?  I think the chances are better than 50/50 that it would have.  A little later than 2003 probably, but I believe Al Gore wanted Saddam gone.

Would Gore have gotten a 2nd term? I'm 98% positive he would have.

Would the financial collapse of 2008 happened?  Pretty much 100% sure nothing would have happened to stop that.  But I believe the nation would have been in better financial shape thanks to no Bush tax cuts for the top 2%.  Yes, I believe the Bush tax cuts were clearly a mistake.

Who wins the 2008 election?  In light of that, a Republican obviously.  I don't even know if we would know Barak Obama's name right now had Bill Clinton resigned.

Would we have gotten Osama at the exact same time we eventually did?  Pretty much.

Who wins in 2012? No idea, but what I'm sure of is we would be in a lot better shape in the "Long War" than we are now.

Why didn't that SOB Bill resign?

9/11 Has America Forgotten?

I am sad to say that I think in some important respects we have. The tragedy of 9/11 happened because of a failure to recognise and effectively preemptively stop our enemies. Much has been done to see that this kind of failure could not occur again, but I fear we have lost much of our vigilance at this point. The American people are flagging in regards to Afghanistan and for the most part completely abandoned ship in regards to what should have been our commitments in Iraq.

The leaders of Iran seek nuclear weapons and openly talk of destroying our ally Israel. In Afghanistan and Iraq the Iranian rulers have plotted and conspired to kill American soldiers and stood in the way of progress and peace.

I question the resolve of the United States populace and the wisdom of our present Commander and Chief. I fear dark days ahead because we have forgotten, we have become passive and I don't think we should be at all.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven...A time for war, and a time for peace."

The enemies of America are not defeated, some of them have not even been engaged and made to pay for their treachery.

9/11 Remembered

These are the lyrics to the song Violent Times by The Call, one of my favorite bands. The song was written in the early 80's, but I think it fits today, especially on 9/11, much better than it did then.

Still recovering from the loss
Still discovering from the loss
Violent times
Violent times
We honor friends who have passed away
Stolen years as we mourn today
Violent times

Careless teachers molding minds
Careless rulers eye for eye
Violent times
Violent times
Guarded cities
Forgotten souls
The sad neglect will take it's toll
These are violent times
Violent!

Untamed passions
Primal rage
The child of hatred comes of age
Violent Times
Violent Times
With our outer nature have come to terms
The destructive nature crash and burn
These are Violent Times

Still recovering from the loss
Still discovering from the loss
Violent times
Violent!

Just a post or 2 down is a previous 9/11 Post.

9/11/01 Remembered

This is my favorite piece written in the aftermath of 9/11/01

Leonard Pitts, Jr. - Miami Herald

They pay me to tease the shades of meaning from social and cultural issues, to provide words that help make sense of that which troubles the American soul. But in this moment of airless shock when hot tears sting disbelieving eyes, the only thing I can find to say, the only words that seem to fit, must be addressed to the unknown author of this suffering: You monster. You beast. You unspeakable bastard. What lesson did you hope to teach us by your coward's attack on our World Trade Center, our Pentagon, us? What was it you hoped we would learn? Whatever it was, please know that you failed. Did you want us to respect your cause? You just damned your cause. Did you want to make us afraid? You just steeled our resolve. Did you want to tear us apart? You just brought us together.

Let me tell you about my people. We are a vast and quarrelsome family, a family bent by racial, cultural, political, and class division, but a family nonetheless. We're frivolous, yes, capable of expending tremendous emotional energy on pop culture minutiae: a singer's revealing dress, a ball team's misfortune, a cartoon mouse. We're wealthy, too, spoiled by the readily availability of trinkets and material goods, and maybe because of that, we walk through life with a certain bit of blithe entitlement. We are fundamentally decent, though-peace-loving and compassionate. We struggle to know the right thing and to do it. And we are, the overwhelming majority of us, people of faith, believers in a just and loving God. Some people, you perhaps, think that any or all of this makes us weak. You're mistaken. We are not weak. Indeed, we are strong in ways that cannot be measured by arsenals.

Yes, we're in pain now. We are in morning and we are in shock. We're still grappling with the unreality of the awful thing you did, still working to make ourselves understand that isn't a special effect from some Hollywood blockbuster, isn't the plot development from a Tom Clancy novel. Both in terms of the awful scope of it's ambition and the probable final death toll, your attacks are likely to go down as the worst acts of terrorism in the history of the United States and, indeed, the history of the world. You've bloodied us as we have never been bloodied before. But there's a gulf of difference between making us bloody and making us fall. This is the lesson Japan was taught to it's bitter sorrow the last time anyone hit us this hard, the last time anyone brought us to such and monumental pain. When aroused, we are righteous in our outrage, terrible in our force. When provoked by this level of barbarism, we will bear any suffering, pay any cost, go to any length, in the pursuit of justice.

I tell you this without fear of contradiction. I know my people, as you, I think, do not. What I know reassures me. It also causes me to tremble with dread of the future. In days to come, there will be recrimination and accusation, fingers pointing to determine whose failure allowed this to happen and what can be done to prevent it from happening again. There will be heightened security, misguided talk of revoking basic freedoms. We'll go forward from this moment sobered, chastened, sad. But determined, too. Unimaginably determined. You see, there is steel beneath this velvet. That aspect of our character is seldom understood by people who don't know us well. On this day, the family's bickering is put on hold. As Americans we will weep, as Americans we will mourn, as Americans we will rise in defense of all we cherish.

Still, I keep wondering what it was you hoped to teach us. It occurs to me that maybe you just wanted us to know the depths of your hatred. If that's the case, consider the message received. And take this message in exchange: You don't know my people. You don't know what we're about. You don't know what you just started. But you're about to learn.

But on this, only the 4th anniversary, since that day I am beginning to have questions about the resolve, commitment, and integrity of many in this country. I haven't forgotten, have you?