Who is the worst?

Jimmy Carter, former President of the United States, is trying his darnedest to reclaim the title of "worst president ever."

He used to be the unchallenged leader as the worst ever, until Barack Obama nudged him out a few years ago. But this time Carter has re-opened old memories and old wounds when he uttered the following about a guy named Hamid Aboutalebi whom Iran just nominated as its Ambassador to the United Nations -- "You know, they were college students at that time and I think they have matured, and I think it would be inappropriate for the United States to try to block someone that Iran wanted to choose."

Jimmy, Jimmy, give me a break.

Can you believe he's really saying it's inappropriate for the United States to try to block someone that Iran wants to send to this country as its Ambassador to the U.N.? You've got to be kidding.

I've believed for a long time that poor old Jimmy has been failing, but how can he have failed so badly that he is willing to overlook the fact that this guy was a hostage taker?

He was part of the student group who stormed our embassy in Tehran and took it over for the duration. We should welcome someone who kept 52 American citizens captive for 444 days while Carter was president, in violation of international law and in violation of everything known as human decency?

Even Democrats like Chuck Schumer say that Aboutalebi should not be permitted to enter our country.

For a change, I'll throw in with Chuckie, and most red-blooded Americans. It's a disgrace to even consider letting this guy enter the United States under any circumstances. Now, Schumer and I, along with the multitudes against letting Aboutalebi in, could be overruled. It seems there are a couple of matters that interfere with the facts and with our feelings. One is the Host Country Agreement between the U.N. and the U.S.; the second is the law of U.N. Treaty Obligations.

I won't bore you by quoting legalese, but trust me, these documents require our country to let in any and all riffraff another country decides to send as a representative.

Of course, if Obama wants to reclaim the "worst president" title, all he has to do is let the State Department issue a visa to this Iranian criminal as a matter of course. If he wants to relinquish the title for a moment and give it back to good ol' Jimmy, he can say not only "no", but "hell no" to Iran and not grant a visa.

Confusing times

Have you heard about Brendan Eich, former CEO of a Silicon Valley company, Mozilla, who was forced to resign because he had the temerity to contribute $1,000 to the sponsors of Proposition 8 in California back in 2008.

This was the ballot issue passed by 54 percent of the state's voters that affirmed marriage was between one man and one woman; you know like the way it's been for thousands of years. That is until activist judges discovered the 13th Amendment passed in the 1860s not only assured black folks equal treatment under the Constitution, but it also says that homosexuals aren't treated equally if they are not allowed to have sex with someone of the same sex.

I haven't discovered those words when reading the 13th Amendment, but who am I to argue with those learned judges?

Anyway, the LGBT community, being sore winners, (Proposition 8 was overturned by the courts) wanted to win some more so they threatened to boycott his company, which is the brains behind the Firefox Web browser.

So, disregarding Eich's free speech rights but championing sexual pleasure rights he was shown the door and didn't let it hit him in the behind on the way out.

I believe that Neil Andersen, leader in the Mormon Church, got it right last week when he said -- "While many governments and well-meaning individuals have redefined marriage, the Lord has not."

I opine, you decide.

-- Willie Williams is a Siloam Springs resident. He can be reached at [email protected]. The opinions expressed are those of the author.