Final Thoughts

As the curtain falls on 2017, I have a few final thoughts.

The people of Venezuela and Iran deserve so much better.  The peoples of these two countries should be prosperous and free and yet suffer under the boot of their respective dictators.  As of this writing, the economy of Venezuela is in collapse, hyperinflation has taken hold, babies are dying and people have resorted to eating their pets.  Basic medicines are unavailable.  Yet, Nicholas Maduro, the bus driver, shows no signs of changing course.  The people are too famished even to protest and rebel.  Yet as recently as this summer, Pope Francis visited and urged more “dialogue.”   Really, Francis?  And what to you expect “dialogue” to produce?   Worse, Goldman Sachs threw the regime a lifeline by purchasing an issuance of bonds.  A few short years ago, Venezuela was the darling of the American left, as social commentators like Michael Moore and Democratic runner up Bernie Sanders praised Venezuela as a model for a modern state that ended income inequality.  Except for Maduro and his inner circle, Venezuela has had a leveling out of incomes.

As of this writing, the people of Iran have once again taken to the streets.   It is inspiring to me to see the brave people of Iran call for the overthrow of this oppressive regime that has so repressed its people for so long.  Iran is not simply a country.  It is a civilization and like Venezuela, ought to be rich and free.  Instead, it is a pariah state seeking to dominate the region, wipe out Israel and be a thorn to the U.S.  The situation was made worse by terrible post-war planning in Iraq, and Obama’s misbegotten nuclear deal with the mullahs.   We have learned that Obama released several people illegally attempting to procure WMD technology and dropped charges against others to appease the Iranian regime.  He also stepped on the DEA’s efforts to stop Hezbollah from importing cocaine into the U.S.  And this is on top of shipping $400 million of cash to the Iranian regime and unfreezing other assets.  Instead of hemming in the terror state, Obama effectively acted as Hezbollah’s patron.

Once again, the people of Iran are rising up.  Unlike Obama, who stood silent for days after the Green Revolution broke out, Trump has tweeted out his support for the Iranian people.   I would love nothing more than to host the first Iranian freedom party in Illinois early next year.  The pictures of beautiful young Neda choking to death on her blood still haunt me as the murderous regime cracked down on the protests in ’09.   One can only hope for a better outcome for the Iranian people this time.

It is also interesting to me that the first rebellion against the regime came from the chess world.  U.S. women’s chess champion Nazi Paikidze-Barnes refused to play in the world championships in Tehran because she refused to wear a hijab.  Likewise grandmaster Dorsa Derakhshani moved to the United states and joined the US Chess Federation when Iran barred her from playing because she also refused a hijab.  While the American left embraces the hijab, these women are appropriately rebelling against the oppression it symbolizes.

Linda Sarsour and others on the left claim that the hijab symbolizes freedom.  It does not.  If you want to see an image that symbolizes freedom---especially for Muslim women, please see the image above.

If I could be granted one wish in 2018, it would be a brighter future for the people of Venezuela and Iran.