Character Matters

Why character matters even in politics:

* Even if people are corrupted by power, why start with someone who is already fully corrupted? Can it really get better from there? No, it will only get worse.

* It's much easier to "use" someone with low character and poor reputation as a tool for various hostile agendas - through smear campaigns, through dwelling on personal flaws etc. WHy give free ammunition to your opposition?

* For those still making excuses for Putin or Erdogan, if you keep justifying alliances of convenience with no evidence that those alliances actually help in any way, with murderous thugs who seek to destabilize and corrupt everything around them, you yourself will end up becoming part of the problem. If you still think Putin or Erdogan are allies in ANY sense of the world, you are standing with bloodthirsty murderers who are enemies to freedom and who are seeking to destroy the United States.

No Such Thing As Coincidences

I doubt that Bill Browder's visa revocation is an accident.

More likely, it was ordered by someone who is either directly sympathetic to Putin's goals or wants to make the administration look bad.

Regardless, Secretary Tillerson should make a personal apology on behalf of the agency to Mr. Browder, who, instead, should be lauded for his heroic efforts on behalf of human rights and anti-corruption.

Who Stands in the Way of Palestinian Self-Determination?

The Palestinian leadership has been denying its people their right to self-determination since 1948. Think about. Thanks to Rahim Hamid for inspiring reflection.