Tuesday, March 10, 2015


News Clips For The Day


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/video-university-of-oklahoma-sae-house-mom-racial-slur-n-word/

New twist in University of Oklahoma race scandal
CBS NEWS
March 10, 2015

New revelations are fueling the outrage at the University of Oklahoma and beyond. Some members of the school's Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity face disciplinary action. A video surfaced Sunday showing members chanting a racist song containing the "n-word."

Another video surfaced Monday night showing Beauton Gilbow, the fraternity's 78-year-old "house mother" known as "Mom B," using that same racial slur in 2013.

The fallout from the scandal already hit Greek life on campus over the weekend, and extended elsewhere on Monday when a top high school football recruit de-committed from the football-crazy university after seeing the video.

CBS News met "house mother" Gilbow on Monday and interviewed her inside the Sigma Alpha Epsilon frat house. A former teacher who raised three sons, she said the job as house mother for the fraternity was a perfect fit for her, reports CBS News correspondent Jericka Duncan.

When CBS News spoke with her, she was reacting to the nine-second video of students chanting racial slurs. But on Tuesday morning, it's her own words that have set the internet ablaze.

In the 2013 video posted on Vine, Gilbow is seen "rapping" the lyrics to a song that includes the "n-word."

But on Monday, she expressed shock when talking about the SAE fraternity members who were recorded on a charter bus, using the same word.

"There will never be a n----r SAE, you can hang them from a tree but they will never sign with me, there will never be a n----r SAE," SAE members could be heard singing.

"I heard the words. Unbelievable... This is not SAE," Gilbow said.

Because of the video, the SAE house has been ordered closed.

So after 15 years of living in the back room of the house, Gilbow said she has no job and no place to live.

"This has been my family," she said. "I can't imagine tomorrow."

She said she was "very disappointed."

"Very ashamed, embarrassed," Gilbow said.

All those who live in the Sigma Alpha Epsilon house face a university imposed deadline of midnight Wednesday to move out. The fraternity's national headquarters closed the chapter and suspended all of its members.

The song was captured from at least two camera angles, but the disgust is coming from all sides.

Hundreds of students marched on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, still reeling over what was recorded aboard that bus.

"Somebody should have stood up and said, 'Hey, we should not say this,'" student JD Baker said.

On Monday, the Greek letters were removed from the home's brick facade.

As a fleet of moving vans assembled outside of the frat house, the university's president stood alongside students.

"I don't have words in my vocabulary to adequately describe how I feel about people who would use those words in that way and chant in that way," Boren said.

CBS News reached out to Gilbow Tuesday morning for comment. She was unavailable.

The executive office of the Tri Delta sorority, which has a chapter on campus, examined the bus video and is "cooperating fully" with University of Oklahoma officials as they try to figure out whether members of the OU Tri Delta chapter were also seen in the video singing along.




“Another video surfaced Monday night showing Beauton Gilbow, the fraternity's 78-year-old "house mother" known as "Mom B," using that same racial slur in 2013. The fallout from the scandal already hit Greek life on campus over the weekend, and extended elsewhere on Monday when a top high school football recruit de-committed from the football-crazy university after seeing the video.... In the 2013 video posted on Vine, Gilbow is seen "rapping" the lyrics to a song that includes the "n-word." But on Monday, she expressed shock when talking about the SAE fraternity members who were recorded on a charter bus, using the same word. "There will never be a n----r SAE, you can hang them from a tree but they will never sign with me, there will never be a n----r SAE," SAE members could be heard singing.... Hundreds of students marched on the campus of the University of Oklahoma, still reeling over what was recorded aboard that bus. "Somebody should have stood up and said, 'Hey, we should not say this,'" student JD Baker said.... The executive office of the Tri Delta sorority, which has a chapter on campus, examined the bus video and is "cooperating fully" with University of Oklahoma officials as they try to figure out whether members of the OU Tri Delta chapter were also seen in the video singing along.”

"I heard the words. Unbelievable... This is not SAE," Gilbow said. What does a philosophical “conservative” do when caught red-handed? Deny and cry “for shame!” They not only have no conscience about what they do, they are not brave enough to admit it and face the music, either. I wonder what would happen if every time one of these situations of group misbehavior occurs, the names of every individual who took part in it were published in the papers? The end of anonymity for all culprits might mean better behavior. There's one thing for sure – neither the Fraternity nor the University is going to intervene in their behalf. Even a sorority is apparently involved in it. Girls usually have better personal training than boys, but not always. One more instance of blatant and heartless racist behavior is exposed. This goes beyond an honest “conservative” viewpoint. I wonder if any black students will sue over this case. There should be a black student group on campus. The University would have “deep pockets,” and ultimate responsibility as well, I think.



REPUBLICAN LETTER TO IRAN – FOUR ARTICLES


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/iran-fm-zarif-republican-letter-warning-nuclear-deal-us-not-trustworthy/

Iran: GOP letter shows U.S. "not trustworthy"
CBS/AP
March 10, 2015

Video – GOP senators accused of trying to sabotage Iran nuclear talks

TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran's foreign minister says a letter from U.S. Republican lawmakers warning that any nuclear deal could be scrapped once President Obama leaves office suggests the United States is "not trustworthy."

Mohammed Javad Zarif is quoted by the website of Iranian state TV on Tuesday as saying the letter by 47 GOP senators was "unprecedented and undiplomatic." He had earlier dismissed the letter as a "propaganda ploy."

The United States, along with five world powers, hopes to negotiate a framework agreement this month and a final accord later this year which would curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

In the open letter to Iranian leaders, Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and 46 other Republicans said that without official approval from two thirds of the senate, any deal between Iran and the U.S. would be merely an agreement between President Obama and Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

"The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen," they wrote, "and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."

The White House and Democrats in Congress also denounced the letter, accusing the senators of trying to sabotage the negotiations.

Speaking Monday, Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid called the letter "a hard slap in the face of not only the United States but our allies."

Sen. Cotton told CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes, "the only thing unprecedented is an American president negotiating a nuclear agreement with the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism without congressional approval."

In an interview with CBS News over weekend, President Obama said the U.S. would walk away from the nuclear negotiations with Iran unless Washington can verify that Tehran is not developing nuclear weapons.

As CBS News' Elizabeth Palmer reported, there were signs last week that the nuclear talks -- which have dragged on for two years -- might finally be getting somewhere.

"We're closer than we've ever been," Mark Fitzpatrick, an arms control analyst at Strategic Studies Institute in London, told Palmer.

Iran -- its economy reeling from low oil prices and U.S.-led sanctions -- finally made a key concession in the talks.

"The Iranians agreed to limits they'd never agreed to before," Fitzpatrick said. "They had been talking about not cutting anything, but now they're ready to cut back significantly."

Palmer explained that Iran's negotiators signalled at long last that they're ready to cut the number of centrifuges used to make enriched uranium, a key component in nuclear weapons -- from 19,000 to between 6,000 and 7,000.

And crucially, they said they would also reduce the amount of enriched uranium they keep on hand from 7.5 tons to around 700 pounds, shipping the rest out of the country.




“Mohammed Javad Zarif is quoted by the website of Iranian state TV on Tuesday as saying the letter by 47 GOP senators was "unprecedented and undiplomatic." He had earlier dismissed the letter as a "propaganda ploy." The United States, along with five world powers, hopes to negotiate a framework agreement this month and a final accord later this year which would curb Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.... "The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen," they wrote, "and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.".... Sen. Cotton told CBS News correspondent Nancy Cordes, "the only thing unprecedented is an American president negotiating a nuclear agreement with the world's leading state sponsor of terrorism without congressional approval.".... Palmer explained that Iran's negotiators signalled at long last that they're ready to cut the number of centrifuges used to make enriched uranium, a key component in nuclear weapons -- from 19,000 to between 6,000 and 7,000. And crucially, they said they would also reduce the amount of enriched uranium they keep on hand from 7.5 tons to around 700 pounds, shipping the rest out of the country.”

I would like to know the names of every Republican who signed this letter. They are carrying their power struggle with Democrats too far again – just as they did when they shut down our government. They are ignoring a great advance in the negotiations, and the State Department has vowed that Iran's stockpiles of uranium will be verifiable or the US wouldn't agree to the deal. See the article below from the Iranian government.




http://crooksandliars.com/2015/03/backstabbing-republicans-publish-open

Backstabbing Republicans Publish Open Letter To Iran Undermining Negotiations
By karoli
3/09/15 

I am once again shocked, but not surprised, at the lengths Republicans will go to to undermine the President of the United States while he is conducting negotiations with the government of a foreign country.

Bloomberg News reports on an open letter signed by 47 Republicans warning Iran that whatever they negotiate with President Obama can be undone in two years by the next President, who they presume will side with them.

Organized by freshman Senator Tom Cotton and signed by the chamber's entire party leadership as well as potential 2016 presidential contenders Marco Rubio, Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, the letter is meant not just to discourage the Iranian regime from signing a deal but also to pressure the White House into giving Congress some authority over the process.

“It has come to our attention while observing your nuclear negotiations with our government that you may not fully understand our constitutional system … Anything not approved by Congress is a mere executive agreement,” the senators wrote. “The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time.”

Here are the traitorous Senators who serve Israel and their biillionaires over their own country:
Tom Cotton
David Perdue
Joni Ernst
James Inhofe
John Cornyn
Mitch McConnell
Marco Rubio
Roger Wicker
John Hoeven
Richard Shelby
Thom Tillis
Richard Burr
Steve Daines
Jeff Sessions
John Boozman
Cory Gardner
Shelley Moore Capito
Ron Johnson
Mark Kirk
James Lankford
Chuck Grassley
Roy Blunt
John Thune
Mike Enzi
Pat Toomey
Bill Cassidy
John Barrasso
Ted Cruz
Jim Risch
Mike Crapo
Deb Fischer
Ben Sasse
Orrin Hatch
Dean Heller
Pat Roberts
John McCain
Rand Paul
Rob Portman
Lindsey Graham
Mike Rounds
(Some signatures were difficult to make out, but this is my best effort at the entire list of traitorous greedy warmongering presumptuous Republicans.)




I think this article is correct, in that the real reason for this extraordinary letter is the strong opposition of Netanyahu to our signing a nuclear agreement with Iran. Most Republicans are hardline supporters of Israel under any foreseeable condition, including Israel's continued war against the Palestinians. He has also asked for our putting on even stronger sanctions against Iran, rather than reducing them as has been suggested. His recent visit to the legislature last week is probably the actual root of the unprecedented action by Republicans.

Iran has agreed to strongly reduce their stockpiles of uranium and the number of centrifuges used to produce higher grades of fuel. This is a clear sign that they want to make a deal. It would be very foolish for the US to do anything that causes this deal to fall through. It is also a tragic move in human relations. True, there are “hardliners” in Iran, but the nation is right now fighting ISIS with boots on the ground, and they have allowed their cooperation with us to show in several ways over the last months since Hassan Rouhani took office as the President. Things are going uphill now. We mustn't carelessly let ourselves “go slip slidin' away.” Unfortunately this is one of the problems of our highly divided government. The Republicans are making yet another power grab. I'm willing to wager they will lose, however. I'll keep track of this matter in the coming days.




http://www.politico.com/story/2015/03/iran-letter-could-backfire-gop-dissenters-say-115922.html

GOP dissenters: Iran letter could backfire
By BURGESS EVERETT and MICHAEL CROWLEY
March 9, 2015

Photograph – Sen. Susan Collins is one of a group of Republicans skeptical of Sen. Tom Cotton’s letter to Iranian leaders about nuclear negotiations. | AP Photo

Republicans could alienate Democrats whose votes are needed to override an Iran sanctions veto.

Not every Senate Republican signed on to Sen. Tom Cotton’s extraordinary letter to Iran’s leaders, and several of those who didn’t are fuming about the freshman senator’s Monday-morning foray into nuclear diplomacy.

Some of the seven dissenters told POLITICO they have doubts about Cotton’s move, saying there are more effective means to force President Barack Obama to address Congress’ concerns about the deal.

With Republicans needing significant Democratic support to achieve their goal of derailing the talks — or at least altering the emerging deal — some senators said Cotton’s effort could backfire by injecting excessive partisanship into the debate over how best to prevent a nuclear-armed Iran.

Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker said he was approached to sign the letter by Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, but he concluded it might set back his ultimate goal: veto-proof support for a bill he has sponsored requiring a congressional vote to approve or reject an Iran deal.

“I knew it was going to be only Republicans on [the letter]. I just don’t view that as where I need to be today,” Corker said in an interview. “My goal is to get 67 or more people on something that will affect the outcome.”

Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) expressed doubt about her colleagues’ tactic of skirting the White House and trying to affect foreign policy by going directly to Tehran.

“It’s more appropriate for members of the Senate to give advice to the president, to Secretary Kerry and to the negotiators,” Collins said. “I don’t think that the ayatollah is going to be particularly convinced by a letter from members of the Senate, even one signed by a number of my distinguished and high ranking colleagues.”

Indeed, the response from Tehran was the equivalent of an eye roll, with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif concluding the letter “has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.”

Meanwhile some Democrats warned that Republicans risked alienating some of the dozen or so Democrats who have pledged support for two GOP measures that could blow up the fragile talks. Sen. Dick Durbin of Illinois, who has not signed on to either a sanctions bill or to one allowing Congress to reject a deal with Iran, shook his head and sighed audibly when asked about the letter.

“It really makes it difficult. There was a time in Congress where politics stopped at the water’s edge on foreign policy. We gave the president whatever he needed to do his best. We could debate it, disagree with it,” said Durbin, the No. 2 Senate Democrat. “Now I’m afraid we’ve reached a level here with that letter. It’s just, I could not think of a more overt effort to jeopardize peace negotiations.”

For his part, Obama accused the lawmakers who signed the letter of “wanting to make common cause with the hardliners in Iran.”

“It’s an unusual coalition,” Obama said in brief remarks in the Oval Office. “I think what we’re going to focus on right now is actually seeing whether we can get a deal or not. And once we do — if we do — then we’ll be able to make the case to the American people, and I’m confident we’ll be able to implement it.”

Vice President Joe Biden issued his own strongly worded statement late Monday, saying the letter “is beneath the dignity of an institution I revere.”

“In 36 years in the United States Senate,” Biden said, “I cannot recall another instance in which senators wrote directly to advise another country — much less a longtime foreign adversary — that the president does not have the constitutional authority to reach a meaningful understanding with them.”

The letter, organized by Cotton and signed by 47 Senate Republicans, offered Iranian leaders a primer on the U.S. Constitution and warned that any nuclear deal with Obama but not approved by the Senate could last fewer than two years, when a new president takes over.

“We’re heading in a really bad direction,” said Sen. Roy Blunt (R-Mo.), a member of GOP leadership. “I’m going to do whatever I can do to slow down what I think is a bad deal.”

Democratic support is essential for Corker and other Republicans building veto-proof majorities for two bills they call essential to preventing a “bad” Iran nuclear deal.

Cotton insisted in a CNN interview on Monday afternoon that Democrats had been asked to sign on to the partisan letter, though a Democratic Senate source closely watching Congress’s Iran machinations first learned of the Cotton letter in a news story on Monday morning.
Corker’s bill would require an up-or-down vote by Congress on any deal that Obama strikes with Iran — and although a “no” vote would not bind Obama and bring down a nuclear deal, it would restrict Obama’s ability to waive economic sanctions on Iran. The other measure, sponsored by Sens. Mark Kirk (R-Ill.) and Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), would require new sanctions on Iran should Tehran leave the negotiations or violate its current agreements with the U.S. and its five negotiating partners: Russia, China, France, Germany and Britain.

Both measures are close to the 67 Senate votes needed to override the vetoes President Obama has threatened. The White House has warned that congressional interference could blow up the talks and lead to a possible military confrontation with Iran.

The perception of partisanship has caused Senate Democrats to back away from GOP measures in the past. Last week, after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell sought to fast-track Corker’s bill, 10 Democrats who have supported one or both of the Iran measures revolted at what they called an effort to “score partisan political points, rather than pursue a substantive strategy to counter Iran’s nuclear ambitions.”

The American Israel Political Affairs Committee, the powerful pro-Israel lobbying group, has urged members of Congress in the past to maintain a bipartisan front, fearing that partisanship could undermine the goal of pressuring Iran to prevent it from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

Asked about the letter Monday, Menendez said: “You saw that it was a partisan letter. Tells you everything about it.”

Republicans’ defense of the letter is based on both the constitutional balance between the White House and the Capitol and the particulars of the agreement that world powers are pursuing with Iran.

But Obama officials say their agreement with Iran will be unlike a permanent treaty, which requires Senate ratification. In part that is because treaties typically last in perpetuity, whereas any deal with Iran would endure for a limited amount of time, probably 10 or 15 years.

Moreover, Obama doesn’t need Congress to cut a significant deal with Iran. He can suspend many of the sanctions the U.S. has imposed through his executive authority for as long as two years, and direct the U.S. to approve United Nations resolutions relaxing international sanctions on Iran.

But a vote of Congress would be needed to permanently lift crucial sanctions, including ones that have crippled Tehran’s financial sector. And Republican members of Congress say they have been shut out, left with little choice other than to alert the Iranians that though they appear powerless this moment, ultimately Capitol Hill’s support will be necessary for any deal Iran forges with diplomats.

“I worry about the president’s foreign policy. I respect the office and I respect the responsibility the president has. And I also respect what the Congress has to do,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.). “When you have an administration that appears to be going toward a goal of making a deal and you don’t have any understanding of what that deal is and once it’s made you have no input on it? I think it’s a dangerous situation.”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) said he’d expressed his views on Iran by signing onto Corker’s bill, declining to criticize the Cotton letter’s tone even though he was absent from its signers. Asked if he’d left his name off that letter because it was inappropriate, Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) replied: “I’m not saying that. I just decided not to sign it.” (“I just didn’t think it was appropriate,” Flake told The Arizona Republic in a separate interview.)

Some sympathetic observers of the nuclear talks saw the GOP threat to undo any deal Obama strikes with Iran as overblown. Ilan Goldenberg, a former Obama Pentagon and State Department official now at the Center for a New American Security, likened the GOP’s role to its opposition to Obamacare: “There will be all kinds of threats to unravel the agreement.”

And given that Obama can waive many sanctions for up to two years, Goldenberg added: “By the time any president goes to Congress for final removal of the sanctions, an agreement will be so far along in implementation and the whole world will be so committed to the process that it will be very hard for any Congress to sabotage it.”

The missive to a hostile foreign capital directly challenging a sitting president letter shocked many longtime foreign policy analysts.

“I think that’s just at an entirely new level and I am really quite astounded,” said James Goldgeier, deal of the School of International Service at American University.

Seung Min Kim contributed to this report.





http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2015/03/10/392067866/iran-calls-gop-letter-propaganda-ploy-offers-to-enlighten-authors

Iran Calls GOP Letter 'Propaganda Ploy,' Offers To 'Enlighten' Authors
Bill Chappell
MARCH 10, 2015

Photograph – A letter from U.S. senators suggests the lawmakers "not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution," says Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Kyodo /Landov

Republican senators' letter to Iran about ongoing nuclear talks has prompted a lengthy response from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who delivered an overview of international law as he critiqued the letter.

Zarif said he was astonished by the letter, saying it suggests the U.S. lawmakers "not only do not understand international law" — a subject in which he is a professor — "but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy," according to Iran's Foreign Ministry.

The Iranian minister said, "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy."

His response (we have more of it below) came after it was announced Monday that 47 Senate Republicans who oppose a potential deal with Iran over its nuclear program had signed a letter to the country's leaders.

Coming two weeks before the deadline to reach general terms with Iran, the signatories wrote that they had been observing the negotiations over potentially relaxing economic sanctions — and told Iran's leaders they were concerned "that you may not fully understand our constitutional system."

The letter seemed to strike a nerve for Zarif, who moved to the U.S. as a teenager and holds a doctorate and two other advanced degrees from American universities.

As NPR's It's All Politics blog noted, "The letter was written by freshman Arkansas Sen. Tom Cotton and co-signed by 46 of his GOP colleagues, including Majority Leader Mitch McConnell."

The senators cited the U.S. process of ratifying treaties in Congress and President Obama's term that expires in January of 2017, writing:

"What these two constitutional provisions mean is that we will consider any agreement regarding your nuclear-weapons program that is not approved by Congress as nothing more than an executive agreement between President Obama and Ayatollah Khamenei. The next president could revoke such an executive agreement with the stroke of a pen and future Congresses could modify the terms of the agreement at any time."

The Republicans' message was quickly criticized by Vice President Joe Biden, a former senator who said it was "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere."

Seven Republicans did not sign the letter, as NPR's Ailsa Chang reported for Morning Edition today.

Transcript
President Obama said, "I think it's somewhat ironic to see some members of Congress wanting to make common cause with the hard-liners in Iran" who are also against making a deal over Iran's nuclear program.

Zarif, noting that negotiations are ongoing and haven't yielded an agreement, said the U.S. lawmakers' "unconventional methods" show that they "are opposed to any agreement, regardless of its content."

Saying he hopes to "enrich the knowledge of the authors," Zarif said:

"I should bring one important point to the attention of the authors and that is, the world is not the United States, and the conduct of inter-state relations is governed by international law, and not by US domestic law. The authors may not fully understand that in international law, governments represent the entirety of their respective states, are responsible for the conduct of foreign affairs, are required to fulfill the obligations they undertake with other states and may not invoke their internal law as justification for failure to perform their international obligations."

Zarif also noted that many previous international agreements the U.S. has been a party to have been "mere executive agreements," and not full treaties that received Senate ratification.

He also noted that any deal on sanctions and Iran's nuclear program would not be bilateral; would require approval by the U.N. and the U.N. Security Council; and would not be subject to modification by Congress.

He added, "I wish to enlighten the authors that if the next administration revokes any agreement with the stroke of a pen, as they boast, it will have simply committed a blatant violation of international law."

For a different perspective, Ailsa spoke to Richard Nephew, who was on U.S. teams negotiating with Iran during both the Bush and Obama administrations.

Nephew said, "the idea that a sitting group of senators of either party would write to the other side of a negotiation to say, 'Eh, don't sign a deal with these guys' — to me, it really smacks of a misplaced understanding of how the international system is supposed to work."




“Republican senators' letter to Iran about ongoing nuclear talks has prompted a lengthy response from Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who delivered an overview of international law as he critiqued the letter. Zarif said he was astonished by the letter, saying it suggests the U.S. lawmakers "not only do not understand international law" — a subject in which he is a professor — "but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy," according to Iran's Foreign Ministry. The Iranian minister said, "in our view, this letter has no legal value and is mostly a propaganda ploy.".... The Republicans' message was quickly criticized by Vice President Joe Biden, a former senator who said it was "beneath the dignity of an institution I revere." Seven Republicans did not sign the letter, as NPR's Ailsa Chang reported for Morning Edition today.... For a different perspective, Ailsa spoke to Richard Nephew, who was on U.S. teams negotiating with Iran during both the Bush and Obama administrations. Nephew said, "the idea that a sitting group of senators of either party would write to the other side of a negotiation to say, 'Eh, don't sign a deal with these guys' — to me, it really smacks of a misplaced understanding of how the international system is supposed to work."

Zarif is a scholar on the subject of International Law and is quite familiar with the US system, as he lived here and went to college at two of our universities. He clearly feels that the Republicans are merely uninformed and overly zealous, plus making “a propaganda ploy.” I think he's right on all three counts.