The recent wonderful, startling, empowering events in Egypt have had wide and possibly unrecognized effects on much of the world including the so-called free western world.

For instance, I have noticed recently that journalists, especially television news presenters and anchors, have been asking much tougher questions of government officials during interviews. Wolf Blitzer of CNN was brutal in his questioning of P.J. Crowley, the Pentagon spokesperson, about the United States position on the Egyptian people's quest for freedom. Blitzer had him squirming and he was barely able to answer questions about whether the Obama administration should finally call for Mubarak's ouster.

It is almost as though the Egyptian people have given the world permission to ask the tough questions and stand up to government secrecy and wrong doings. It maybe is a bit of guilty conscience that they did not ask tougher questions in the run up to the Iraq invasion, and have now been given permission to do just that. The hypocrisy of President Obama and Secretary Clinton saying that the United States should not interfere in the politics of Egypt is that the United States has been interfering in Egypt's politics for decades. Over one billion dollars per year in arms support (which is really just a convenient way of laundering money back to the U.S. defense industry) is considerable interference. But at last they did "interfere" on the side of democracy and called on Mubarak to resign. Another far reaching effect of the events in Egypt is this: ever since 9/11 not only our government but many others have used that event to curb individual freedoms and personal rights in the name of fighting terrorism. It has also been the rationale and justification to support dictators and autocrats such as Mubarak because they would help fight the "war" on terror. The question that must be asked is where are all the terrorists in Egypt (other than the government's hired thugs), where is Al Queda, where are the Jihadists, where are the Islamic militants? Nowhere to be seen in Cairo, I posit. I firmly believe that the Egyptian people would no more allow a group such as Al Queda to dictate to them than they would allow the Mubarak dictatorship to continue. I also believe that it will now be much more difficult to justify the alliances between the United States and other leaders of Mubarak's ilk.

This is an incredible moment in history. It is about time people stand up for dignity and human rights and tear down repressive and despotic regimes. Even here at home, the good people of Madison, Wisconsin, have taken to the streets to protest the governor's attempt to break their unions. I have great praise for the courage they have shown as well as for the 14 senators who have fled the state in solidarity with the workers and have blocked the attempt at disempowering the unions. As they say down under, "good on you" people of Egypt and Wisconsin.

And now to another subject here at home. Because of all the palaver over what would have been Ronald Reagan's one hundredth birthday, I thought I would list a few things his adoring followers fail to mention when they praise their icon. And, I am happy to admit that a few of them I absolutely support, even if the Tea Partyers do not: 1. He raised taxes no less than 11 times during 7 of his 8 years in office. 2. He tripled the Federal budget 3. His administration caused massive unemployment after his one big tax cut, thinking the 'trickle down" effect would create jobs. It did not! 4. He grew the size of government instead of shrinking it. 5. He gave amnesty to over 3 million undocumented immigrants 6. There was the messy Iran Contra affair. 7. Probably the most destructive element of his reign (other than possibly the massive deregulation of banks and corporations that has led to the financial crisis we now face) was the creation of the Taliban and Osama Bin Laden.

Because Reagan was so determined to challenge the Soviet Union in Afghanistan, he supported the Mujahidin fighters who then became the Taliban and Al Queda. Quite a legacy for Ronald Reagan.