Cut it Out!!

I was struck the other day by a television news report about the effect sanctions are having on everyday life in Iran.

People are going without some basics and there is unemployment and discontent among the masses.

These conditions are a result, in part, of the drastic sanctions that have been levied by the United Nations in an attempt to do two things.

The stated priority is to force Teheran to desist from developing nuclear weapons.  The other, unstated goal, is to create regime change in the Islamic theocracy led by the Holocaust denier Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

I almost met Ahmadinejad in New York once when I was covering his trip to the UN for CBS News.

We were staked out across from the Intercontinental Hotel waiting for any glimpse of Iran's president.  Our producer got word that he was in a meeting at a small office a few blocks away.  I took my camera and quietly went to the location, on a side street across from an outdoor café.

I took up a low profile position hoping for a scoop shot of him coming out.  I waited for about a half hour and wasn't disappointed.

There he was, diminutive, open collared and accompanied by just a few bodyguards as he came out, right toward me, on his way to his limo.

He saw me and, because I was smiling at him, came right in my direction as if he wanted to meet me and shake my hand.

At the last minute, before he could step off the curb, one of his handlers diverted him into his car and he was gone.

What I saw was not an ogre but a funny little man with a broad smile, seeming every bit like an "innocent abroad."

His demeanor made me question what was being said about him.  After all he had, in fact, made the remarks about the Holocaust and he is, in fact, the leader of an oppressive dictatorship.

But is he merely a puppet or really the mastermind behind all of the terrible things that have allegedly happened at Iran's hand?

Who knows?  Certainly not me nor the pundits or editorialists we rely so heavily on.

But...that's not the point of this post.  The point of this post is to draw a parallel between the hardships being experienced in Iran and the ones that we are about to experience here in the U.S.

The mandated cuts that have been talked about, without pause, over the past few months, are about to take effect.

The Congress couldn't reach an accord last year so, here we are on the brink of yet another financial disaster, because, once again, the headless (heartless...) "leaders" in Washington can't get out of their own way long enough to actually do something for the country rather than themselves and their puppetmasters.

But maybe that's exactly what's happening here.  Maybe there is method to the apparent madness that is our, so called, legislative process.

The GOP says they are willing to allow the Sequester cuts to go into effect in order to force, not only the spending cuts they claim to want but to, more importantly, force the conversation about the overall cost of government and the myriad programs we have chosen to create and fund.

Some argue that maybe the Republicans are trying to induce a regime change here just like the one the UN is trying to force in Iran...as they (the UN, not the Republicans...ahem...) tried (and failed...) to do in Iraq before the war there.

They have made no secret of their hatred of Obama (because he's black...) and the fact that they want to take over.

But is this really the way to do it guys?  To cut programs that are vital to the country's growth and well being.

Air traffic controllers?  Teachers?  FDA inspectors?  Really...?

The Democrats will blame the Republicans for whatever bad happens as a result of these cuts but the GOP is betting that Obama will ultimately take the bulk of the heat.

Who knows...their calculations may turn out to be right.

Then, in  2016, Paul Ryan will be elected president because Hillary will not be able to overcome Obama's failures, her own questionable past the Republican's political "Swift Boat" campaign tactics.

Then, Ryan will adopt his budget and the, then, Republican controlled Houas and Senate will pass it and we'll really see some cuts.

As Jim Carrey beautifully put it in "The Mask"...

"Hold on to your lug nuts! It's time for an overhaul!"

Stay tuned.