Wilmette Wadical

A rational Iran would understand that a failure in negotiations over the next six months would mean increased sanctions.  Congress would see to that with Senators Shumer, McCain, and Cornyn leading the charge.  Let Israel and aforementioned Senators play Bad Cop to Obama Good Cop.  In the meantime, Israel is held in check.

The Persians have felt dissed since the overthrow of Mosaddegh in 1953, with the help of the CIA.  Bush labeling Iran as part of the "axis of evil" didn't help.   Removing Iranian fears of their own existential threat from the West opens the possibility of reducing conflict throughout the Levant, particularly in Palestine.  Culturally, Iran is closer aligned with the West than with Arabia. 

I generally think the work the ACLU does is a good thing, but I am put off by a recent letter I received.  It was titled an ACLU 50-State Survey, but when the same physical sheet of paper contains both a survey and a solicitation for money, the thin veil of academic impartiality is shredded.  It is primarily a fund raiser posing as a survey, and as such is intellectually dishonest.  I know it's tough out there, and you have to do what you think you have to do to raise money, but this kind of fund raising is disappointing.  They didn't even have the integrity to at least print the fund raiser on a separate sheet of paper.  Tsk, tsk.