Advantage Bernie

I try not to allow made-for-TV movies to shape my thinking. The 9/11 attacks were a made-for-TV movie for most of us, except the unfortunate 3000 who served as involuntary extras and lost their lives. The rest of us have let that one deform our country to this day.

In the same vein, I don't watch early season Presidential primary debates. I understand the TV news networks need the ratings boost, but the Republicans are just a pack of clowns. The Dems tonight included at least two "candidates" who are barely running campaigns. It all seems a little crazy.

While doing other things, I did check in with one of my favorite bloggers who reported this:

Down the line question: Who or what is greatest threat?

Chafee: Chaos in middle east.

O’Malley: Nuclear Iran.

Clinton: ISIS.

Sanders: Climate change.

Webb: China.

I think I can fairly conclude that all the responses but one are just silly. Chaffee's answer is so vague as to be meaningless. Iran is a third rate military power half a world away that spends annually about $6 billion compared to the $577 billion the U.S. pours into our war machine. We're letting ourselves be spooked by ghosts when we fear Iran. China is a huge country with only a little over half the GDP of the United States and a lot of domestic problems, including unbreathable air. It's too busy to be a threat. And ISIS is a TV movie, only a threat to the United States if we mirror its spectacular atrocities with our own.

The warming climate is the only serious threat to the people of the United States in the lot.