Been on vacation then away for Labor Day weekend.  Finally caught up with all the work.  Have not been reading and watching the news carefully in these past couple of weeks.  But it is obvious the ISIS and Ukraine situations are getting worse.  There are no good solutions out there.  So I don't blame Obama for not coming up with any great plans.  But I think he has made a lot of mistake in at least public perceptions.  For example, going golfing after the conference about Foley's beheading.  Also having leaked that the administration have no plan yet against ISIS was politically inept.  When there are no good solutions, at least act and talk tough but offer no specifics that can come back to haunt you, such as Assad's use of chemical weapons as the red line.  Look, nobody wants to send troops to Iraq and Ukraine.  So none of the hawks have a legitimate idea either.  For now, continue air power and send weapons.

Nishikori vs Cilic?  Whoever made a bet on this daily double can plan for retirement.  Or he may be investigated for blackmailing Djokovic and Federer.

Can the Big Ten play any worse?

Obama decides to use air power to stop the advancement of ISIS.  I am ambivalent about getting involved in Iraq again.  It seems we are just trading one dictator for another whenever we are involved in this area of the world.  ISIS appeared to be our worst nightmare.  A terrorist group that somehow got so powerful that it is operating in the open and destroying the Iraqi army that we have trained.  The major reason for this is that the current government refused to be inclusive of the Sunni minority which led to the rise of ISIS.  It is also so corrupted that the military is run by incompetent people and thus many of the soldiers refuse to fight for them.  So unless there is significant change at the top, I don't see how the U.S. can help them.  We sent in "advisers", just as Kennedy did in Vietnam.  But like Vietnam, if the people are not willing to fight for that government, we will end up in a quagmire.

So is Obama making a big mistake by using air strikes now when he did not do so in Syria?  I don't think so.  In the past few days before the air strikes, ISIS was advancing toward Kurdish territory.  This area has been an oasis in Iraq.  The Kurds were abused under Saddam Hussein.  They were hopeful that after the first Gulf war, Bush the First would have gone into Baghdad and got rid of Hussein and help establish Kurdistan.  That didn't happen but the U.S. did create a no fly zone to help the Kurds somewhat against Hussein.   Since the fall of Hussein, the Kurds have been trying to be loyal to the new government despite not getting anywhere politically.  They have also made peace with Turkey so that now I think Turkey would accept an independent Kurdistan at its border.  The area has been democratically run and westernized.  So I think we cannot let this oasis fall to ISIS.

The Kurds are willing to fight for their homeland, unlike many of the Iraqis under the Baghdad government.  They had to retreat due to the overpowering forces of ISIS.  But I believe with U.S. air power, the Kurds can turn back ISIS.  So here we have a democratic ally that needs our help.  It is essential that we give them help.  Criminals like easy targets.  Once they realize that they can't overrun Kurdish territory like they did in Mosul, ISIS will turn back toward other areas of Iraq.  We should allow Kurdistan to be declared an independent nation.  If it can survive and prosper, we may have a model for other countries in the area.