ABC News Report: The Iran Hostage Crisis (1979)

Source:FRS FreeState

What a year and what a way to close out 1979 with a group of Americans being taken hostage in a third-world country in the Middle East. If I had to guess the worst year in Jimmy Carter's life whether it was in politics, or out of politics. With the economy basically crashing and stagnating with a high combination of high interest rates and inflation. With high unemployment, with those things basically wiping out whatever the economy did as far as economic growth. And then you throw in an energy crisis with a high cost of living. The economic problems that America were facing in the late 1970s actually started in 1978 rather than 1979. But its 1979 when they came into full force even leading into a recession. It was just one huge problem after another for the Carter Administration and perhaps too much for any President or administration to deal with especially all at once. But 1979 and the Iranian Hostage Crisis was great for ABC News. It is where they truly became a national news division that could compete with both CBS News and NBC News.

Donnie Mossberg: Malcolm X Debate With James Baldwin, September 5, 1963

Source:Real Life Journal 

This is the perfect debate to have because what is integration worth if it doesn’t come with freedom. You could have different races and ethnicities integrated in the same community, city, state or even country. But if one race of people or one ethnicity of people doesn’t have the same freedom and constitutional rights under law as another and can be fired and denied the right to vote, or live in a home or speak out in public simply because of their race, then what is integration worth for the people who do not have freedom.

Malcolm X wasn’t interested in integration at all and simply not integration at the sake of integration. But he was interested in freedom for an entire race of people who had been denied it for their entire existence in North America. Since the time they were African slaves to Europeans in the British colonies and then later the United States, to post Civil War where they were denied the same freedom as European-Americans as officially American citizens and free people.

The New Republic: Cass R. Sunstein: 'Why Paternalism is Our Friend'

Source:FRS FreeState

Before I get into what I really want to talk about, I’m going to start this post off with a question. What the hell happened to the New Republic? Because before they got new management and Chris Hughes became its new editor, this was a real liberal democratic magazine. The official liberal democratic magazine in America that had a healthy skepticism about governmental power. That all seems to be gone now and now they are sounding like defenders of the state, especially the nanny state.

And that freedom is dangerous and that it shouldn’t be our goal or the job of government to protect our freedom, but literally to protect the people, as if we are morons or little children and can’t do that for ourselves. And even if that means protecting people from themselves and even locking them up for their own good when they make choices that aren’t in their best interest. Reading the New Republic now, except for Jeff Rosen who is a real Liberal, is like reading the The Nation magazine or the AlterNet, or listening to the political commentary on MSNBC. It’s “big government knows best and has all the answers and individual freedom and choice are dangerous”.

They are paternalists on the far-left, people who I really don’t even call Progressives any more but paternalists or prohibitionists. Prohibition is a progressive idea by the way, but I generally what I call people who think like this whether they are on the Far-Left or Far-Right, are nanny statists or nanny staters. People who believe that it’s the job of government to protect people even from themselves.

And when you combine paternalism when it comes to personal or social issues with socialism as it relates to economic policy and you believe in things like nationalizing the healthcare and health insurance systems, as well as the retirement system and perhaps even the banking system, maybe even the energy industry and you combine that nanny statism on social issues, you really have what looks like communism. You got a King Kong size big government there to protect people from themselves. “Because big government is our friend and freedom and freedom of choice is our enemy”. That it’s not big government that’s the problem, but that big government is our friend and should direct how we live our own lives.

Paternalism whether it comes from the Far-Left as it relates to the War on Drugs, alcohol prohibition, tobacco, junk food, soft drinks, or whether it comes from the Far-Right as it relates to violent video games or pornography, or trying to outlaw pre-marital sex, or adultery or divorce, it doesn’t. Work because if people want to do things bad enough, they’ll find a way to do it and damn the consequences. One of the reasons why we have taxes and regulations in America is to encourage good behavior and discourage bad behavior. Not to manage people’s lives for them. That if you want people to make healthy choices, you subsidize that and penalize them when they make unhealthy choices.

ABC News Report: Iran Hostage Crisis (12/03/1979)

Source:FRS FreeState

The 1979 Iran Hostage Crisis made ABC News. Similar to how Monday Night Football and perhaps Monday Night Baseball and all of their great college football coverage starting in the 1970s, made ABC Sports. Frank Reynolds, Peter Jennings, Ted Koppel, even though they were all very good at their jobs pre-1979 became national network stars for ABC and not just ABC News, because of their great coverage of this story. The Iranian Hostage Crisis, which I believe at least believe was the unofficial start of the so-called War on Terror. They had special reports on this story every night at least early on the story. That show later becomes Nightline with Ted Koppel. Which with him is one of the best news shows of all-time. Too bad it was only a half-hour.

I don't think you can blame ABC News for Jimmy Carter losing reelection in 1980. But the fact that they dedicated so much of their coverage and resources to a story about American hostages being held hostage halfway around the world by Islamic Theocratic terrorists certainly didn't help President Carter. Because millions of Americans watched ABC News every night to get the latest news on that story especially if one of their relatives was being held hostage. And they were right cover that story as tightly and closely as they did. Because it was almost as if America was at war with Iran to free our people from there and to bring them home. And you had the relatives of these hostages constantly worried about the health and safety of their relatives that were being held hostage.

National Post: Jesse Kline- 'Liberal Party Talks Tough But Still Struggles to Define Itself'

Source:National Post- Canadian Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau.

Source:The Daily Post

"TORONTO — Liberal leadership hopefuls had their final opportunity to make their pitch to party members and supporters in Toronto on Saturday. The candidates focused on personality, rather than policy, and spent little time attacking each other, choosing instead to focus on how much they hate Stephen Harper."  

From the The National Post 

"Justin Trudeau's major address to delegates at the 2014 Biennial Convention of the Liberal Party of Canada in Montreal on February 22, 2014." 

Source:Fact Point Video- Canadian Liberal Party Leader Justin Trudeau.

From Fact Point Video 

It seems to me at least as a Liberal American that if a political party is going to call itself the Liberal Party, then it should be a Liberal Party and not try to occupy the center and focus on purely centrist positions. That if you want to be a Centrist Party, then that's what you should call yourself or the Independence Party. Perhaps Mushy Middle Party, or the Radically Moderate Party. But if you are going to call yourself the Liberal Party, then that's exactly what you should be. Otherwise you are falsely representing and advertising yourself.

We all know where the Conservative Party in Canada is, they are a Conservative Party that's exactly what they are representing, the center-right in Canada. And we know where the New Democratic Party is, the lets call it the far-left party in Canada. Even by Canadian standards they are on the far-left and are a social democratic party that probably represents Quebec or Scandinavia better than Canada as a whole. Canada is not as socialist as people tend to think and actually has a smaller Federal Government as percentage of gross national product than America.

I'm not an expert on Canadian politics obviously being a life-long American whose never lived in Canada. But I do follow Canadian politics and a lot of their elections going back to the late 1990s. Thanks to C-SPAN and the internet and what I get about the Liberal Party in Canada is that the reason why they are out of power is because Canadians and perhaps even Liberals themselves up there do not seem to know what the Liberal Party stands for anymore.

What does it mean to be a Liberal? That if you are trying to just occupy the center and not look like Social Democrats, you are not only giving away the center-left in Canada, because you are not even trying to occupy what you claim to be which are Liberals, but you are also giving away the center because people don't know what you are. You say you are Liberals, but you are trying to tell Canadians you are Centrists instead, so what are you.

All I'm saying is that if you are going to be the Liberal Party, then that's exactly what you should be and that's what your platform should look like. "We are the Liberal Party in Canada that represents the center-left. We are not Social Democrats on the far-left and not trying to be the New Democratic Party. But we are Liberal Democrats that believe in freedom and that it's the number job of government to protect freedom for those who have it and still deserve it. And expand freedom for people who do not have it, but deserve and need it".

It's not the job of government to take care of people with a superstate. But to protect their freedom and expand freedom with opportunity for people who need and deserve it. Thats what a Liberal platform would look like, that's what the vision would be. And if Justin Trudeau are actually Liberals, then that is what they would be pushing. And perhaps even get support from the growing libertarian movement in Canada who are not Social Democrats or Conservatives either.

James Miller Center: President Jimmy Carter: Statement on Iran Rescue Mission

Source:FRS FreeState

The failed rescue attempt in 1980 during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, was a disaster for several reasons. One, it showed that the greatest superpower in the world was still be held hostage by a group of Islamic terrorist thugs from the third world. And that America was unprepared and not up for the job in dealing with and ending this crisis. They weren’t sure who they were dealing as far as the people, but also what type of weather they were dealing with and how far they would have to go to make the rescue attempt. Being short on fuel, which is why the helicopter crashed. As well as just being another reminder about the energy shortage back home in America with people not able to afford, or having enough fuel of their own for their own automobiles.

And a hostage crisis in one of the top 3-5 oil and natural gas producers in the world and a country like Iran. Where America use to get some of their oil and gas from, was not helping the situation. But that’s just the policy disasters of the situation. And then you get to the politics of it. This meant that the chances of the Carter Administration being able to rescue the American hostages before the 1980 general elections, were probably not going to happen. And that this along with a weak economy, with high unemployment, high interest rates and inflation, cost of living basically across the board.

And on top of that an energy shortage, were going to be issues that Ronald Reagan, Congressional Republicans and the Republican National Committee were going to be able to use. Against President Carter and Congressional Democrats for the entire 1980 general elections. And these would be issues that Democrats were simply going to have to deal with and not be able to run from. And would see everyday. So this failed rescue attempt during the Iranian Hostage Crisis, was a disaster on several fronts. It just made the United States look very weak compared with a group of third world Islamic terrorists. And just another reminder of how bad things were at home in America.

Al Jazeera: Operation Eagle Claw: Failed Attempt to Save The American Hostages in Iran

Source:FRS FreeState

This rescue attempt not working was a disaster for the Carter Administration for several reasons. One, it showed that they were not prepared and weren't sure who they were dealing with and the area they were dealing with to have a helicopter crash like that. Because it lacked the fuel and that they were simply just weak even compared with a group of Islamic terrorist thugs holding a group of American diplomats and keeping the greatest superpower in the world in crisis mode like that. Seeming not to know what to do and how to handle the situation. To go on top of a  pretty bad economy, the worst economy since the Great Depression.

With high unemployment, high prices, high interest rates and inflation, an energy shortage. That the Iranian Hostage Crisis along with the bad economy would be something that Ronald Reagan and Congressional Republicans as well as the Republican National Committee would be able to use against President Carter. And Congressional Democrats for the entire 1980 campaign, because the hostages weren't coming home before the general elections. I do give credit to President Carter for simply attempting the mission and looking for ways to quickly free the American hostages. One of those A for effort decisions. But an F as far as how the mission was planned and executed.