Dave Johnson

ARE YOU READY, CUBS FANS?

Unless you live on another planet, you are likely to know that the Cubs are for real in 2015 and might---just might---make it to the World Series and WIN IT!  This is the team that die-hard Cubs fans have sought after for decades.  It is special and they are having a very good time beating all comers in this post-season.

 

They turned the Pirates into boys, the Cardinals into little peepers, and now they look ahead to the NLCS against the Mets or Dodgers, whichever team stumbles into the semi-finals for the National League pennant.  It matters not who the Cubs play---that team is in big trouble!  The leadership skills and baseball knowledge of manager Joe Madden and the confidence level of his players make for a formidable opponent at this level of major league baseball in 2015..


Generations of Cubs fans are cheering for their guys from every corner of the United States and a few other countries, as well.  We know that it is Cubs' year and we believe that only good will come of this post-season quest.  So sit back and enjoy a delightful fight for the championship these great coaches and players are about to earn.  Go, Cubs, go!

Why the Iran Nuclear Deal Matters
August 5, 2015

Last election, in 2014, the American people plopped a Republican majority in both houses of Congress to challenge any and every initiative President Obama might advance in his final two years in office.  That same, “mid-term” electorate was partly a result of gerrymandering of Congressional districts by state legislatures to insure the re-election of incumbent members of Congress and partly by a low voter turnout in an “off-year” election.  The separation of powers among the branches of government has stepped forward to demonstrate the founders’ original intent with the historic pending legislation on approval or disapproval of the Iran Nuclear Deal next month.

Following the annual summer recess period, Senators and members of the House of Representatives will return to their congressional seats to debate and vote against the implementation of the agreement reached with the government of Iran by the P5+1 on July 14th that would ease sanctions on Iran in exchange for monitoring of its nuclear program by the IAEA, International Atomic Energy Agency, an independent U.N. watchdog organization.  The Obama Administration, through Secretary of State, John Kerry, has shown dogged determination to prevent the development of nuclear weapons by the world’s largest sponsor of terrorism along with five other international powers, France, Great Britain, Germany, Russia, and China. 

But the U.S. Congress, led by Republican majority opponents, has obstructed the president’s initiative at every step of the way and undermined the talks with a group letter written by Arkansas Senator Thomas Cotton cosigned by many of his colleagues to Iran’s government and its Supreme Leader.  That unprecedented interference in American diplomacy by the legislative branch was only outdone by the invitation to Israel’s Prime Minister Netanyahu to speak against the negotiations before a joint session of Congress by Speaker of the House, John Boehner. 

Nevertheless, the agreement known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was diligently negotiated and the smiling parties shook hands on it.  Agreeing to these negotiations and implementing its terms are two completely different animals.  Expect both houses, on their return from summer break, to vote against the deal.  President Obama will then veto that resolution of disapproval.  Then, to override the veto by the president, two-thirds of both houses will need to vote to uphold their original objection to the deal.  That override vote will separate the men and women from the boys and girls in Congress.  In the current presidential election year cycle, members will have to defend their votes to those who elected them---you and me.  In terms of American national security, simply, you will get what you voted for..