In a recent article in Time, Fareed Zakaria spoke about the initial contact between President Obama and President Rouhani of Iran compared to the initial contact between China and the Nixon administration. He preferred to compare it to the Nixon/Brezhnev visits, which was the beginning of detente. I am not sure that I agree, but, if you have been following my blog, you know that I made the comparison back on September 28. Here is what I wrote, “Perhaps history will view this initial telephone call the same way it viewed Nixon’s initial contact with China. Again, you heard it here first. Check back with me in 25 years.”
As Zakaria pointed out, China and the US had a common enemy in the Soviet Union. That gave them a reason to play nice. Iran and the US have no common enemy. That does not mean that they can’t begin to establish some type of relationship. It is just like dating; you don’t have to have something in common to date a someone, but it helps. Iran, of course, would like to lift the UN sanctions. The US would like Iran to stop making nuclear weapons. We will see how this dance works out.
Another day of government shut down, and the IRS says you still must pay your taxes. That is the only question that they are currently staffed to answer. I think it is a nice gesture (or is it a jester?) for members of congress to give their pay to the government employees on furlough. Their generosity inspires me. In an show of solidarity, let’s all forfeit our income for those less fortunate government employees until this shut down is over. You go first.
As Zakaria pointed out, China and the US had a common enemy in the Soviet Union. That gave them a reason to play nice. Iran and the US have no common enemy. That does not mean that they can’t begin to establish some type of relationship. It is just like dating; you don’t have to have something in common to date a someone, but it helps. Iran, of course, would like to lift the UN sanctions. The US would like Iran to stop making nuclear weapons. We will see how this dance works out.
Another day of government shut down, and the IRS says you still must pay your taxes. That is the only question that they are currently staffed to answer. I think it is a nice gesture (or is it a jester?) for members of congress to give their pay to the government employees on furlough. Their generosity inspires me. In an show of solidarity, let’s all forfeit our income for those less fortunate government employees until this shut down is over. You go first.
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