Friday, April 10, 2009

Jimmy Carter Is Back ?

The Somali pirates have kidnapped the captain of the Maersk Alabama and taken him off in a lifeboat. The launch ran out of fuel and is adrift in international waters in the Indian Ocean. The hostage captain, Richard Phillips jumped overboard to swim away towards the American destroyer U.S.S. Bainbridge. The destroyer did nothing. They stood by and let him be recaptured. The only thing to presume is that the destroyer is under orders not to molest the pirates. At what level would an order like that initiate?

The pirates did not shoot at their hostage. Perhaps they have no ammunition left? Let's wait for their reinforcements to arrive, so they will have a fair chance.

Another example of Jimmy Carter diplomacy? Welcome back to a replay of the 1980s. What is wrong with our leaders? I know, what's right with them? Don't they even have human feelings? What am I writing? I met Jimmy Carter (at his home in Plains to record a spot for Metromedia News) before he became President. My impression at the time which I have freely shared over the years was that the lights were on but no one was home. At the time it reminded me of drug addicts I knew. I recognize it now as the emotional absence similar to Asperger syndrome. I wonder if anyone else ever made that observation?* Is this true of Obama also?

*After writing that, I decided to Google Aspergers and Jimmy Carter - apparently there are no original thoughts, merely individually derived. Someone else wrote a blog that pointed me to a Wall Street Journal article that made the same observation.

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