Credit where credit is due...

In order to be fair with our President, I feel it is important to give him credit when he does something worthy of it. So, today I want to thank him for dealing with the most important issue... of the 1980's.

The White House announced last week that it had negotiated a new nuclear arms reduction agreement with Russia that would reduce each countries nuclear stockpile to no more than 1,550 warheads. This is a significant step towards the President's goal of eliminating nuclear weapons from the world.

In the 1980's with the specter of "Mutually Assured Destruction" hanging over the head of every world citizen and with the irresponsible cowboy Ronald Reagan holding the reins of power in the United States, a group of concerned activists got together to stop the world from exploding.

The movement eventually held massive rallies in Washington, the United Nations and around the world demanding action. In 1982 they petitioned the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union to "adopt a mutual freeze on the testing, production, and deployment of nuclear weapons and of missiles, and new aircraft designed primarily to deliver nuclear weapons".

Popular musicians of the time waxed poetic. Sting hoped that the "Russians love their children too." The punk group Violent Femmes talked of "Hallowed Ground": "Everyone's trying to decide, where to go when there's no place to hide. I follow the bombs as they're coming down.  This must have been hallowed ground."  The pop group INXS chanted  "Annhilate, Atomic fate, Mediate, Clear the State, Activate, now Radiate, a Perfect State, Food on Plate, at 98, We All Rotate, Gravitate, the Earth's Own Weight, Don't Suffocate, on Your Own Hate. . ." It went on and on.

Amidst all of this, I can almost visualize a young, idealistic Barry Obama in his second year at Columbia University, swept up in the message, the music and the madness, wearing a t-shirt that proclaimed "You can't hug your kids with nuclear arms", cursing Ronald Reagen and dreaming someday that it would all just go away, if only the right person were elected President.

Well today, he takes the first step to fulfill his dream.

Of course, someone should tell him a couple of inconvenient facts:

1. It is estimated that of the 2,200 nuclear weapons the Russians are currently allowed by the START II agreement, LESS THAN HALF (1,100) are actually operational. So effectively, the Russians give up NOTHING while we give up 700 perfectly usable weapons.

2. Do I actually have to mention that the North Koreans and the Iranians are hyperventilating at the opportunity to strike a blow at the United States using nuclear or at least atomic weapons.

So here's to you Mr. President. You have set us on the path of being a paper tiger. A toothless power, unable to respond to provocations and attacks from people bent on our destruction. Congratulations!

Honestly, is my sarcasm a bit thick?