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Hernando Today

Carter Should Stick To Nailing Shingles On Habitat Houses

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: April 25, 2008

Frances Earl's column in the April 24 edition of Hernando Today raises some interesting thoughts. It seems mainly to be a defense of our former President Jimmy Carter and a general condemnation of anything or anyone Republican.

I will concede that the latest crop of presidents has been less than spectacular compared to those, say prior to the Eisenhower administration. But to extol the virtues of Carter strains credibility.

Yes, he was an honest man and tried to abide by the "do unto other as you would have them do unto you" rule. But in a world where there are no friends, only national interests, this approach is more than naïve, it borders on suicidal.

Yes, Carter did not go around the world making speeches, he did do yeoman work for Habitat for Humanity, but at the same time he found time to go to North Korea and "negotiate" a deal for them to halt their production of fissionable material. From reports that deal lasted until he got on the plane to leave and valuable time was lost trying to salvage it by the Clinton Administration. So now, as a result, the North Koreans have a workable nuclear device.

Now he is abroad talking with the Syrians and Hamas leadership, trying, I assume, to broker a deal for "peace in our time." That, of course, was the statement made by Neville Chamberlain on his return to London from meeting with Herr Hitler, that after caving in to the demands by the Germans for the Sudetenland portion of Czechoslovakia. Also remember that the U.S. and Japanese governments were fully negotiating while the Japanese fleet was sailing towards Pearl Harbor.

The Europeans are negotiating with the Iranians to halt their nuclear program, all the time the Iranians are proceeding to expand their program. At some point they will have a nuclear device and that will be the end of those negotiations.

It is impossible to negotiate with those plotting your destruction when there is no entity to speak for them. If Sen. Barack Obama wants to negotiate with al-Qaida who is he going to contact? Terrorist don't negotiate, they only demand.

Speaking of stealing oil, if we have stolen the Iraqi oil, it is time to fence it and lower the price I pay for gas.

Ms. Earl asked is it possible to be pro-life and pro-war? Yes, Ms. Earl it is very possible, I am pro-life and have fought and would fight again if asked to defend the right of every American to have the life we enjoy. If that makes me pro-life and pro-war so be it, I don't see a conflict between the two.

Also, someone please pass on to Carter that there are some houses that still need him to nail some shingles. It might cut into his mission to bring "peace in our time," but I think in the long run it will be more productive.

Harry Chamberlain

Spring Hill

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