Real Threats to American Way of Life

How I feel right now:

Yesterday I mentioned in the links an open letter sent to Iran by 47 Republican senators. The letter stated that any deal Iran made with the U.S. under the Obama administration should be considered only temporary, with no lasting value after our current president leaves office.

Now, just to be perfectly clear, I am not a Democrat. I am also not a Republican. I tend to disagree very strongly with points in both parties, and while I despise several Republican lawmakers, I am not a die-hard, "Obama is awesome" fan. I don't like his privacy policies, for instance, and I'm upset that we haven't closed Gitmo yet. I may not agree with his intended deal with Iran, even (I'm undecided, right now).

What these senators have done with this open letter, though, is more than political bickering. It undermines the office of the President - after all, if the actions of this president's administration counts for next to nothing, why would the actions of any president's administration matter? That, in turn, undermines the international reliability of our nation as a whole. Why trust anything U.S. officials say? No deal with the U.S. could be understood as binding for a significant amount of time. We're then seen as untrustworthy as a nation, even when particular officials can be relied on completely.

I know it was probably just another "we hate Obama" stunt, another attempt to block all progress so they could then turn around and scream, "See? He doesn't do anything!" Iran is taking it that way, too.* The White House seems to think it's Republican warmongering. But it's no good waving around pitchforks and torches just for the hell of it - someone is going to get hurt. And that someone, in this case, is every single American who wants this nation's word to mean something in the international community. The letter was short-sighted at best, and treasonous at worst, and it worries me that we've got senators in office who would do such a thing.**

Can I just say I'm embarrassed beyond belief (if not at all shocked) that Louisiana's own David Vitter and Bill Cassidy were in on this travesty?

*Iran is also willing to school the senators in how international law and the Constitution actually work: "Zarif expressed astonishment that some members of US Congress find it appropriate to write to leaders of another country against their own President and administration. He pointed out that from reading the open letter, it seems that the authors not only do not understand international law, but are not fully cognizant of the nuances of their own Constitution when it comes to presidential powers in the conduct of foreign policy." [Source] There's more - go read. Or, TLDR: International agreements made under one President are, in fact, valid and binding for his successors. You'd think senators would know this stuff, wouldn't you? And how embarrassing is it that the entire international community is so aware of GOP shenanigans that they know to just dismiss this as a "propaganda ploy"? 

**Related: Republicans are beginning to act as though Barack Obama isn’t even the president; Joe Biden Goes Ballistic On Senate Republicans: Iran Letter Beneath 'Dignity Of An Institution I Revere' On the lighter side (satire): Iran Offers to Mediate Talks Between Republicans and Obama 



Links!

• Libraries, Books, Writers, & Suchlike
• Ending the Invisible Library 
• March 10, 1926: First Book-of-the-Month Club selection is published 
• Science & Health
• Do Parents Nurture Narcissists By Pouring On The Praise? 
• Net & Tech
• Dead Drops: what to do if you see a USB stick sticking out of a wall 
• The ACLU sues the NSA over mass Internet 'upstream' surveillance 
• March 10, 1876: Speech transmitted by telephone 
• Education
• Obama to propose student loan bill of rights 
• International
• Ireland made an oops: Loophole means ecstasy and loads of other drugs are now legal (but only until Thursday) 
• Other (Serious Stuff)
• Director of Allman biopic pleads guilty in train crash death 
• Wisconsin family, protesters seek justice for teen shot by police 
• VA manager's email mocks veteran suicides 
• McDonald’s Sues To Stop Seattle From Raising Minimum Wage to $15; Not Loving It 
• Maine GOP Senator suggests Pres. Obama will see ISIS at family reunion 
• Bobby Jindal tells a national audience that Louisiana’s economy is ‘stronger than ever’ The question here is whether he is oblivious or flat-out lying. Either way, it's not good. Seriously, how can you say the economy is doing well when you're slicing higher education to the bone, cutting healthcare to the point hospitals are shutting down, the State Library can only afford to be open two days a week while public libraries struggle to keep Internet connection, public parks are cutting hours, and poor defendants may not be able to get the help they need to secure representation? 
• Other (Fun Stuff)
• Pixar's 'Inside Out' Already Looks Like Our New Favorite Movie 
• How to Really Drive Across the U.S. Hitting Major Landmarks 
• Last Week Tonight with John Oliver: Daylight Saving Time - How Is This Still A Thing?  
• KIDS ARE SUPER ULTRA MEGA FUCKING WEIRD Yeah. I'd like to assure him that they outgrow the weird, but Swicky is nine and still very, very odd, so...