Thursday, September 11, 2014

No Choice

Yesterday, we saw two leaders backed against the wall.

President Obama ordered air strikes in Syria.  Target:  ISIS.  It's the first time there will be U.S. military action in that middle eastern nation.  There is no option.  If the ISIS threat is to be neutralized, you have to hit them where they live, and that's Syria.

The president had to do something.  ISIS is a big threat.  Americans have been killed.  On top of that, the president's popularity is plunging.  The majority of people surveyed in an ABC News poll view the Obama presidency as a failure.

NFL commissioner Roger Goodell is the second on today's "no choice" list.  Late last night, he appointed a special investigator to look in to the way the league handled the Ray Rice video.  Goodell originally suspended Rice for two games for punching his fiance (now wife) unconscious in an Atlantic City hotel.  Rice was kicked out of the league and cut from the Baltimore Ravens after a second video surfaced, showing the actual punch.  There are allegations the league had the "punch" video months ago, but it did nothing.

A special, independent investigator is the only way to go. It's better than the dreaded "internal investigation."  As Larry King once said, only one question is asked at an "internal investigation," and that's "How are we going to cover this up?"

As many people are saying, including your blog author, why did they need the punch video to bounce Rice?  Wasn't an unconscious woman, being dragged from an elevator enough?

At least, the Rice story has ignited discussions aimed at ways to curb domestic violence and help its victims.