Senator Inhofe, Outtara, Gabagbo, and the Ivory Coast

On the website NewsOK.com, I came across an article about Senator Inhofe of Oklahoma who criticises President Obama for receiving the new President of the Ivory Coast, President Outtara.

Now wait a minute. What is a patriotic, flag-waving Senator like Inhofe (which is the way he customarily presents himself) doing criticizing this visit ? It isn't as though Ivory Coast is a strategic ally, unless you eat chocolate. (Ivory Coast produces up to 50% of the world's chocolate supply.)

The November elections in Ivory Coast (Cote d'Ivoire) were honestly won by Outtara. The margin wasn't narrow. The elections were observed by a number of respected international organizations and were pronounced by them to have been honest and fair. Problems arose when the election's loser, Gabagbo, refused to step down. He was buddies with the head of the army and the head of the police, who at least for a while remained loyal to him. Outtara was forced to hole up in a hotel guarded by United Nation troops in case Gabagbo's forces tried to assassinate him. In the nation's ensuing unrest and disarray, Gabagbo's refusal to step down resulted in the deaths of at least 3,000 Ivoirians.

Yet despite all credible evidence, Inhofe feels President Obama should not receive Outtara and should presumably still be supporting Gabagbo.

When the evidence is so strong that Outtara's election was legitimate, we have to wonder why Senator Inhofe still supports Gabagbo. Was there some kind of arrangement, relationship, or payoff between Gabagbo and Inhofe. If there were, this wouldn't be the first time American Senators have tried to meddle in the affairs of Africa. We have to ask the question: Was Gabagbo paying off Inhofe in order to have a supporter inside the United States Senate ? If not, what benefits does Inhofe hope to receive (or has received) through his support of Gabagbo ?

Reporters, this is worth investigating. We are firing off a letter to Senator Inhofe to ask for an explanation.

On Pundits, Experts, and Observers

I don't claim to be a pundit, an expert on the news with sources other people don't have, or some kind of Washington insider. I am just a citizen. What justifies my writing this blog is a curious characteristic I have. I notice things. Back in college, I remember reading the text of a play by Shakespeare and noticing that something in a line of verse didn't belong and really wasn't part of the verse, but rather a stage direction. My function here as I see it is to bring certain matters my readers might otherwise not notice to their attention. In the post that follows this in time, I shall give a good example.

What Conservatives Really Believe

There is a saying that what a man believes can be determined by what he does rather than by what what he says he believes. Consider this bit of human behavior.

Conservatives, including most Republicans, want to reduce the size of government and end most government programs. They have tried for years to get rid of social security. Despite their unsuccessful attempt to privatize social security a few years back, they still talk about wanting to do this. (Can you imagine the effect this would have had on this country's elderly poor if social security had been privatized before a huge financial crash a few years ago ?)

But have you ever seen a conservative or any Republican who upon receiving his or her social security check sent it back to the government instead of cashing it ?

What Republicans Don't Understand

The debt crisis shows that the Republican party members in Washington just don't understand the normal existence of normal Americans. When we are having tough times because we don't have enough money, what do we do ? For one thing, we cut our expenses. We eat hamburger instead of steak, or pasta instead of hamburger. We stop going to restaurants. We make sure the lights in our homes are off when we don't need them. We skip going on a vacation. We cut, cut, cut our expenses.

But it doesn't stop there.

We also try to increase our income. For millions of Americans these days, this means taking a part-time job. In the debt crisis situation, this is the equivalent of closing tax loopholes and ending tax breaks for oil companies and the very rich.

We should not lose sight of the ultimate goal of the ideologically-driven Republicans. It is nothing less than eliminating most of what government does by eliminating most of the government.

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This just in: An e-mail from our Jamaican correspondent tells us that if there were an election in Jamaica right now for our elected representatives, 98% of them would vote Democratic. Everyone is watching because this debt crisis affects the entire world.

The only thing you as a citizen of the United States can do is to let Speaker Boehner and Senator McConnell know how you feel by calling them. It will only take a minute and it will increase the pressure on them. Call now ! Boehner: 202-225-6205 Mcconnell: 202-224-2541.