Machiavelli's Dame Fortuna smiling on Hegel's Zeitgeist on Horseback or in other words, Obama.
-Adam
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label politics. Show all posts
Thursday, October 23, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
Sunday, March 30, 2008
Thursday, February 14, 2008
McCain: Flipper on the nuclear trigger?
I think all dems have to do is show variants of this video. The contradictions are many and growing now that McCain is pandering to the right.
McCain's Insane Analogy
I suppose the whole thing could be dismissed as mere rhetoric:
The idea that staying in Iraq will be peaceful is nonsense because as long as we are in Iraq ,Americans will be harmed and will have to live in bunkers. And the reason for that is that we have destroyed Iraqi society and replaced it with multiple conflicting units that seem unlikely to ever reach a consensus.
The surge may have reduced the level of conflict, it may be beating Al Quada, but it will not stop Sunnis from killing Shiates. We should stabilize our relations with the Kurds (and help them stabilize theirs with the Turks), help put a very loose federal system in place, and get out. All else is the madness of old men with a poor grasp of the history of the 20th Century. McCain's rhetoric reveals both ignorance and delusion. He should scare you.
Q: President Bush has talked about our staying in Iraq for 50 years -- " (cut off by McCain)
And yet, I think actually this is just another example of the same kind of delusional fantasy that got us into Iraq in the first place. Comparing Japan or South Korea to Iraq is crazy and totally ahistorical.
The occupation of the Japanese mainland did not involve fighting with insurgents, it involved the quick and effective transformation of a broken unified enemy into a functional state governed by the rule of law and the establishment of a representative government. It involved the active cooperation of the Emperor, not his hanging, but his active involvement as a source of stability in a new constitutional order. It involved the transformation of military power into economic power. The US presence in Japan after the Occupation ended has been peaceful (except for the crimes committed by American soldiers), but it always was. My late uncle Lee Weinberger, who was stationed in Japan soon after the occupation remembered those times fondly. All the vets do/did, because they had a great time. Does anyone expect an Iraqi version of The Teahouse of the August Moon? Hardly a hardship assignment, throughout the post-war period, going to Japan, like assignment in any peaceful country where the local population is friendly, was and is safe and usually fun compared to entering a war zone in Korea, Vietnam, or now in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The Korean War is obviously of a very different character than WW2. An important part of the Cold War, it was also a civil war. Once the border was demarcated, North Korean insurgents/terrorists/soldiers were a source of relatively minor conflict, but such scattered incidents do not make for effective comparisons to Iraq. Consider also the fact that many South Koreans are members of American Protestant denominations and the comparison really makes no sense.The idea that staying in Iraq will be peaceful is nonsense because as long as we are in Iraq ,Americans will be harmed and will have to live in bunkers. And the reason for that is that we have destroyed Iraqi society and replaced it with multiple conflicting units that seem unlikely to ever reach a consensus.
The surge may have reduced the level of conflict, it may be beating Al Quada, but it will not stop Sunnis from killing Shiates. We should stabilize our relations with the Kurds (and help them stabilize theirs with the Turks), help put a very loose federal system in place, and get out. All else is the madness of old men with a poor grasp of the history of the 20th Century. McCain's rhetoric reveals both ignorance and delusion. He should scare you.
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
The Stark Reality of Numbers: Mass Homicide Since 1950
This post is not funny. Gunnar Heinsohn in an article co-written with Daniel Pipes has put together the following list:
-Adam
Conflicts since 1950 with over 10,000 Fatalities*
| 1 | 40,000,000 | Red China, 1949-76 (outright killing, manmade famine, Gulag) |
| 2 | 10,000,000 | Soviet Bloc: late Stalinism, 1950-53; post-Stalinism, to 1987 (mostly Gulag) |
| 3 | 4,000,000 | Ethiopia, 1962-92: Communists, artificial hunger, genocides |
| 4 | 3,800,000 | Zaire (Congo-Kinshasa): 1967-68; 1977-78; 1992-95; 1998-present |
| 5 | 2,800,000 | Korean war, 1950-53 |
| 6 | 1,900,000 | Sudan, 1955-72; 1983-2006 (civil wars, genocides) |
| 7 | 1,870,000 | Cambodia: Khmer Rouge 1975-79; civil war 1978-91 |
| 8 | 1,800,000 | Vietnam War, 1954-75 |
| 9 | 1,800,000 | Afghanistan: Soviet and internecine killings, Taliban 1980-2001 |
| 10 | 1,250,000 | West Pakistan massacres in East Pakistan (Bangladesh 1971) |
| 11 | 1,100,000 | Nigeria, 1966-79 (Biafra); 1993-present |
| 12 | 1,100,000 | Mozambique, 1964-70 (30,000) + after retreat of Portugal 1976-92 |
| 13 | 1,000,000 | Iran-Iraq-War, 1980-88 |
| 14 | 900,000 | Rwanda genocide, 1994 |
| 15 | 875,000 | Algeria: against France 1954-62 (675,000); between Islamists and the government 1991-2006 (200,000) |
| 16 | 850,000 | Uganda, 1971-79; 1981-85; 1994-present |
| 17 | 650,000 | Indonesia: Marxists 1965-66 (450,000); East Timor, Papua, Aceh etc, 1969-present (200,000) |
| 18 | 580,000 | Angola: war against Portugal 1961-72 (80,000); after Portugal's retreat (1972-2002) |
| 19 | 500,000 | Brazil against its Indians, up to 1999 |
| 20 | 430,000 | Vietnam, after the war ended in 1975 (own people; boat refugees) |
| 21 | 400,000 | Indochina: against France, 1945-54 |
| 22 | 400,000 | Burundi, 1959-present (Tutsi/Hutu) |
| 23 | 400,000 | Somalia, 1991-present |
| 24 | 400,000 | North Korea up to 2006 (own people) |
| 25 | 300,000 | Kurds in Iraq, Iran, Turkey, 1980s-1990s |
| 26 | 300,000 | Iraq, 1970-2003 (Saddam against minorities) |
| 27 | 240,000 | Columbia, 1946-58; 1964-present |
| 28 | 200,000 | Yugoslavia, Tito regime, 1944-80 |
| 29 | 200,000 | Guatemala, 1960-96 |
| 30 | 190,000 | Laos, 1975-90 |
| 31 | 175,000 | Serbia against Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, 1991-1999 |
| 32 | 150,000 | Romania, 1949-99 (own people) |
| 33 | 150,000 | Liberia, 1989-97 |
| 34 | 140,000 | Russia against Chechnya, 1994-present |
| 35 | 150,000 | Lebanon civil war, 1975-90 |
| 36 | 140,000 | Kuwait War, 1990-91 |
| 37 | 130,000 | Philippines: 1946-54 (10,000); 1972-present (120,000) |
| 38 | 130,000 | Burma/Myanmar, 1948-present |
| 39 | 100,000 | North Yemen, 1962-70 |
| 40 | 100,000 | Sierra Leone, 1991-present |
| 41 | 100,000 | Albania, 1945-91 (own people) |
| 42 | 80,000 | Iran, 1978-79 (revolution) |
| 43 | 75,000 | Iraq, 2003-present (domestic) |
| 44 | 75,000 | El Salvador, 1975-92 |
| 45 | 70,000 | Eritrea against Ethiopia, 1998-2000 |
| 46 | 68,000 | Sri Lanka, 1997-present |
| 47 | 60,000 | Zimbabwe, 1966-79; 1980-present |
| 48 | 60,000 | Nicaragua, 1972-91 (Marxists/natives etc,) |
| 49 | 51,000 | Arab-Israeli conflict 1950-present |
| 50 | 50,000 | North Vietnam, 1954-75 (own people) |
| 51 | 50,000 | Tajikistan, 1992-96 (secularists against Islamists) |
| 52 | 50,000 | Equatorial Guinea, 1969-79 |
| 53 | 50,000 | Peru, 1980-2000 |
| 54 | 50,000 | Guinea, 1958-84 |
| 55 | 40,000 | Chad, 1982-90 |
| 56 | 30,000 | Bulgaria, 1948-89 (own people) |
| 57 | 30,000 | Rhodesia, 1972-79 |
| 58 | 30,000 | Argentina, 1976-83 (own people) |
| 59 | 27,000 | Hungary, 1948-89 (own people) |
| 60 | 26,000 | Kashmir independence, 1989-present |
| 61 | 25,000 | Jordan government vs. Palestinians, 1970-71 (Black September) |
| 62 | 22,000 | Poland, 1948-89 (own people) |
| 63 | 20,000 | Syria, 1982 (against Islamists in Hama) |
| 64 | 20,000 | Chinese-Vietnamese war, 1979 |
| 65 | 19,000 | Morocco: war against France, 1953-56 (3,000) and in Western Sahara, 1975-present (16,000) |
| 66 | 18,000 | Congo Republic, 1997-99 |
| 67 | 10,000 | South Yemen, 1986 (civil war) |
*All figures rounded. Sources: Brzezinski, Z., Out of Control: Global Turmoil on the Eve of the Twenty-first Century, 1993; Courtois, S., Le Livre Noir du Communism, 1997; Heinsohn, G., Lexikon der Völkermorde, 1999, 2nd ed.; Heinsohn, G., Söhne und Weltmacht, 2006, 8th ed.; Rummel. R., Death by Government, 1994; Small, M. and Singer, J.D., Resort to Arms: International and Civil Wars 1816-1980, 1982; White, M., "Death Tolls for the Major Wars and Atrocities of the Twentieth Century," 2003.
Looking at the above is enough to make my skin crawl. The authors of the above wanted to examine the relative level of death in the Israeli-Palestian conflict. As you can see, it ranks 49th. It is not about simply making comparisons, but seeing the extent to which certain conflicts attract significantly more attention than others. I only hope that this present century is different, but I have my doubts. I think the world that Thomas Hobbes described is still very much the one we live in.-Adam
Sunday, August 26, 2007
The Florida Factor: Is the DNC born to lose?
OK, so the DNC does not like the fact that the Florida Primary is going to be the 29th of January. Is it really a good idea to threaten to disenfranchise the Democrats of Florida?
Florida Democrats would forfeit their votes in selecting a presidential nominee unless they delay their state election by at least a week, the national party said in a stern action Saturday meant to discourage others from leapfrogging ahead to earlier dates.
Personally, I think Iowa and New Hampshire have no right to their position in the primary system. Such undue influence by two states most notable for their lack of people strikes me as absurd. Additionally inherited privilege is what America was founded against, so I say strip these pygmy states of their undue influence.
If the DNC is stupid enough to penalize one of the key states in the next election than we can be certain that the people of Florida will act accordingly.
The boys at the RNC must be laughing. The Dems will do whatever they can to shoot themselves in the foot. I can't decide whether I want to laugh or cry.
Florida Democrats would forfeit their votes in selecting a presidential nominee unless they delay their state election by at least a week, the national party said in a stern action Saturday meant to discourage others from leapfrogging ahead to earlier dates.
Personally, I think Iowa and New Hampshire have no right to their position in the primary system. Such undue influence by two states most notable for their lack of people strikes me as absurd. Additionally inherited privilege is what America was founded against, so I say strip these pygmy states of their undue influence.
If the DNC is stupid enough to penalize one of the key states in the next election than we can be certain that the people of Florida will act accordingly.
The boys at the RNC must be laughing. The Dems will do whatever they can to shoot themselves in the foot. I can't decide whether I want to laugh or cry.
Monday, August 13, 2007
Bush: Will need a new half brain at end of August
With Karl Rove resigning at the end of August, Bush is going to be looking for half of a brain replacement. Alternatively, Cheney may just take over completely. Don't assume this is a good thing. Do assume that more rats will be leaving this sinking ship of state.
Ever the family man, Karl is stepping down according to The Wall Street Journal because I've got to do this for the sake of my family." The same article restates for those who have been living under a rock that
"Mr. Rove has advised Mr. Bush for more than a decade, working with him closely since Mr. Bush first announced he was running for governor of Texas in 1993 and serving as chief strategist in his presidential campaign in 2000."
Joel Kaplan, Rove's "replacement" likes "Egg Bagels with Lox Spread and Raw Onion." The Wonkette also reports on less interesting things about him. Maybe Bush will start eating bagels, but somehow, I think he will keep eating Texas Toast. They certainly must put something funny into his.
Ever the family man, Karl is stepping down according to The Wall Street Journal because I've got to do this for the sake of my family." The same article restates for those who have been living under a rock that
"Mr. Rove has advised Mr. Bush for more than a decade, working with him closely since Mr. Bush first announced he was running for governor of Texas in 1993 and serving as chief strategist in his presidential campaign in 2000."
Joel Kaplan, Rove's "replacement" likes "Egg Bagels with Lox Spread and Raw Onion." The Wonkette also reports on less interesting things about him. Maybe Bush will start eating bagels, but somehow, I think he will keep eating Texas Toast. They certainly must put something funny into his.
Friday, July 27, 2007
Foie Gras now and forever! Eat free or die!
When I initially heard about the Chicago foie gras ban, I was appalled. The nanny state in all its forms disgusts me, but culinary bans on the basis of animal cruelty strike me as simply hypocrisy. The ban is being fought by Chef Didier Durand's Chicago Chefs for Choice. If you are in Chicago check their site for some great events.
Thanks to Steve G. for passing along "The Goose is Nothing: Fighting Chicago’s Foie Gras Ban." It is a long article worth a good read.
And remember, eat, drink, and be merry for eventually all our gooses will be cooked.
Thanks to Steve G. for passing along "The Goose is Nothing: Fighting Chicago’s Foie Gras Ban." It is a long article worth a good read.
And remember, eat, drink, and be merry for eventually all our gooses will be cooked.
Post-Surge Strategy: Time for Some Realism
Whatever the merits of the surge as a military strategy, it is clear enough that conditions in Iraq have deteriorated to the point that we need a new policy. Whether we have lost per se is something that I am not willing to say, simply because it is not over.
I am not of the opinion that it makes good politics or is strategically viable to simply de-fund the war and go home. I offer the following not very original five point plan that offers a realist alternative:
1. Support the creation of Sunni and Shiite states. There is a complete breakdown of civil authority and conditions that can only be described as civil war in the Shiite and Sunni “controlled” areas of Iraq. When citizens are told to arm themselves because the state can no longer protect them, the state is no longer a state. We should accept this and simply try to make the best of it. As Peter Galbraith and then Senator Biden have argued a decentralized solution is the only viable solution. At this point, a loose confederation may still be possible. Most likely we will not find great allies in either the Sunni or Shiite states or quasi-independent states that eventually emerge, but should look to the Kurds.
2. The situation in the Kurdish North is totally different. A viable state is in place which can become an important American, Israeli, and, if we put the time and resources into it, a Turkish ally as well. Our single biggest diplomatic priority should be stabilize the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdish “State” because when all of this is over, a pro-American Kurdish Republic is likely to be the only good thing we get out of Iraq. The Turks and Europeans will have access to an important oil supply and a deserving people will have the nation that they should have received at Versailles.
3. We have an interest in making sure that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is squashed, to that end we should do whatever is necessary using elite units and strategic alliances with their enemies. We can still expect casualties, perhaps blowback, but seems to me we have no choice, but to fight them. It is a pity that we created an Al-Qaeda in Iraq because it would be better to concentrate on killing the parent organization in Afghanistan, but we need to do both.
4. Get ready for the fallout. No matter what course we take assume that the other players in the region will react in ways that require us to make difficult decisions. Assume worst case scenarios and begin to plan for addressing them including the potential for war with Iran and regional war/proxy war between Sunni and Shiite countries. Plan for increased attacks on US assets throughout the Middle East and develop plans for hitting back hard.
5. Prepare for blowback in the US: secure the borders, enforce immigration law, and create a system of national identification. One of the things I like about living in Japan is that, comparatively speaking, it is hard to get in here illegally. Of course, it is not impossible to do so, but this country takes its borders seriously. It is time that the US does the same. The US has missed more 9-11s because Scotland Yard, lucky breaks, and less than competent attempts. It is safe to assume that another 9-11 will result when such fortuitous conditions fail to arise. Given that Border Security is an obvious gaping hole that someone will take advantage of sooner or later, the US should make a serious attempt to deal with this by increasing border security; implementing a full integration of Passport, Social Security, and State Identification leading to the creation of a national ID card with biometric security features; and through the legalization of desirable illegal aliens and the forced repatriation of the undesirable. It is a pity that the Bush Administration lacked sufficient credibility on immigration law enforcement to get a sufficient number of Republicans in the House to pass some version of the now dead immigration bill. This would have been an imperfect, but useful first step. A state with a porous border will sooner or later cease to exist.
My suggestions are neither modest or lacking in controversy, but simply put we need a realist strategy that minimizes our loses and maximizes returns. The details I mention above may not be what we do exactly, but at this stage some pessimistic practicality is what we need, not what George believes.
I am not of the opinion that it makes good politics or is strategically viable to simply de-fund the war and go home. I offer the following not very original five point plan that offers a realist alternative:
1. Support the creation of Sunni and Shiite states. There is a complete breakdown of civil authority and conditions that can only be described as civil war in the Shiite and Sunni “controlled” areas of Iraq. When citizens are told to arm themselves because the state can no longer protect them, the state is no longer a state. We should accept this and simply try to make the best of it. As Peter Galbraith and then Senator Biden have argued a decentralized solution is the only viable solution. At this point, a loose confederation may still be possible. Most likely we will not find great allies in either the Sunni or Shiite states or quasi-independent states that eventually emerge, but should look to the Kurds.
2. The situation in the Kurdish North is totally different. A viable state is in place which can become an important American, Israeli, and, if we put the time and resources into it, a Turkish ally as well. Our single biggest diplomatic priority should be stabilize the relationship between Turkey and the Kurdish “State” because when all of this is over, a pro-American Kurdish Republic is likely to be the only good thing we get out of Iraq. The Turks and Europeans will have access to an important oil supply and a deserving people will have the nation that they should have received at Versailles.
3. We have an interest in making sure that Al-Qaeda in Iraq is squashed, to that end we should do whatever is necessary using elite units and strategic alliances with their enemies. We can still expect casualties, perhaps blowback, but seems to me we have no choice, but to fight them. It is a pity that we created an Al-Qaeda in Iraq because it would be better to concentrate on killing the parent organization in Afghanistan, but we need to do both.
4. Get ready for the fallout. No matter what course we take assume that the other players in the region will react in ways that require us to make difficult decisions. Assume worst case scenarios and begin to plan for addressing them including the potential for war with Iran and regional war/proxy war between Sunni and Shiite countries. Plan for increased attacks on US assets throughout the Middle East and develop plans for hitting back hard.
5. Prepare for blowback in the US: secure the borders, enforce immigration law, and create a system of national identification. One of the things I like about living in Japan is that, comparatively speaking, it is hard to get in here illegally. Of course, it is not impossible to do so, but this country takes its borders seriously. It is time that the US does the same. The US has missed more 9-11s because Scotland Yard, lucky breaks, and less than competent attempts. It is safe to assume that another 9-11 will result when such fortuitous conditions fail to arise. Given that Border Security is an obvious gaping hole that someone will take advantage of sooner or later, the US should make a serious attempt to deal with this by increasing border security; implementing a full integration of Passport, Social Security, and State Identification leading to the creation of a national ID card with biometric security features; and through the legalization of desirable illegal aliens and the forced repatriation of the undesirable. It is a pity that the Bush Administration lacked sufficient credibility on immigration law enforcement to get a sufficient number of Republicans in the House to pass some version of the now dead immigration bill. This would have been an imperfect, but useful first step. A state with a porous border will sooner or later cease to exist.
My suggestions are neither modest or lacking in controversy, but simply put we need a realist strategy that minimizes our loses and maximizes returns. The details I mention above may not be what we do exactly, but at this stage some pessimistic practicality is what we need, not what George believes.
Hundreds of Beduin from Egypt Ask for Refuge in Israel
In a BBC article focused on the discovery by Egyptian police of a ton of explosives 100km from the border with Gaza, the following was reported:
In April, an Egyptian policeman was seriously wounded by Bedouin gunmen near the border with Israel.
The shooting came as hundreds of Bedouin from the Sinai peninsula gathered at the border.
Rather interesting that some of the Bedouin prefer to be in Israel than Egypt. Of course, the BBC merely comments on this and does not actually analyze it. It might disturb their preconceptions. The Bedouin issue is complex, but so are many issues in the Middle East. If you want analysis by the BBC about the Bedouin in Israel, you can find plenty of negative reporting here.
43
"My attitude is, if they're still writing about (number) one, 43 doesn't need to worry about it." --George W. Bush, on his legacy, Tipp City, Ohio, April 19, 2007
bad concepts are my playmates
and truth a stranger I never cite
my rules are those of everyone
who lives without regret
I am a stranger to everyone
My oeuvre is red wet
filled with dirges I sing light
to an audience of reprobates
On heavy matters I weigh light
against the elected house who castigates
I and my mighty right hand hunter fight
but in the end we are hated by everyone
I order others in a sandbox fight
My words once cast a spell on everyone
in fear of jihad's death mates
but now I am the longed for past in sight
Adam July 5, 2007
bad concepts are my playmates
and truth a stranger I never cite
my rules are those of everyone
who lives without regret
I am a stranger to everyone
My oeuvre is red wet
filled with dirges I sing light
to an audience of reprobates
On heavy matters I weigh light
against the elected house who castigates
I and my mighty right hand hunter fight
but in the end we are hated by everyone
I order others in a sandbox fight
My words once cast a spell on everyone
in fear of jihad's death mates
but now I am the longed for past in sight
Adam July 5, 2007
A 4th of July Poem for the American Empire
Justice is not blind
Nor is it impartialIt serves the powerful just as Thrasymachus said
Some will claim justice wrapped in a flag
Others will claim it with a cross
In the worst of times a reverse swastika will suffice
But always there is sophistry
We are all sophists now
Truth is what you make it
and Power is that Truth revealed
Say anything, say nothing, your views will be represented in the latest poll
Prepared for empire, you who were once citizens
Enjoy your home entertainment systems and copious dining options
If you vote it would not matter because you will never act as citizens
And you’ll leave your dieing to all volunteer mercenaries
And I, on the periphery, will marvel as you continue becoming the beast that your worst enemies want you to be, a voluntary exile who looks on his native land
with a nostalgia for a past that might have led elsewhere
Like looking for civic virtue on a vast barren desert
-Adam July 4, 2007
ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE WHEN YOU GO ON VACATION
Akiko and I got out of Tokyo for a couple of days. No internet, no TV, no newspapers. Just hung out in a cabin, hiked, and relaxed.
What happens? George the Idiot goes ahead and makes sure that his buddy wouldn't have to be in jail. Commuting a sentence is essentially saying: His guilt is not the issue, but the Scouter should not suffer. What is guilt without punishment? A $250,000 fine that his friends will pay for him? Give me a break. And no Jewish mother jokes please...
From the viewpoint of politics, I don't blame Bush for doing this. Since everyone who hates him already just hates him for one more reason, he does not have to worry about the public at large. Instead he just needs to play to his base: THE V P (Read the Washington Post Series on the VP!). No really, he is throwing the Republican base a bone, albeit a really small one, to make up for the fact that they now hate him because of his position on immigration. That said, I am still disgusted.
Now how about some photos from our vacation in Izumigo (Japanese site)!
1. The First No Hunting Sign I have ever seen in Japan:
Photo by Akiko
2. When "onry" local service is available:
Photo by Akiko
3. I was subject to a sudden attack of the muses:
Photo by Akiko
4. I grilled my first rice ball and took a really bad photo:
Photo by Adam
5. We also found time to enjoy the scenery on a long hike today:
Photo by Adam
Now that we feel relaxed, we have the energy to get stressed out again.
Adam
What happens? George the Idiot goes ahead and makes sure that his buddy wouldn't have to be in jail. Commuting a sentence is essentially saying: His guilt is not the issue, but the Scouter should not suffer. What is guilt without punishment? A $250,000 fine that his friends will pay for him? Give me a break. And no Jewish mother jokes please...
From the viewpoint of politics, I don't blame Bush for doing this. Since everyone who hates him already just hates him for one more reason, he does not have to worry about the public at large. Instead he just needs to play to his base: THE V P (Read the Washington Post Series on the VP!). No really, he is throwing the Republican base a bone, albeit a really small one, to make up for the fact that they now hate him because of his position on immigration. That said, I am still disgusted.
Now how about some photos from our vacation in Izumigo (Japanese site)!
1. The First No Hunting Sign I have ever seen in Japan:
Photo by Akiko2. When "onry" local service is available:
Photo by Akiko3. I was subject to a sudden attack of the muses:
Photo by Akiko4. I grilled my first rice ball and took a really bad photo:
Photo by Adam5. We also found time to enjoy the scenery on a long hike today:
Photo by AdamNow that we feel relaxed, we have the energy to get stressed out again.
Adam
Hillary Clinton: The Heart of a True North American Empress
Call me a rapid nationalist, but whatever the aesthetic merits (Listen to John Derbyshire' s 06/22/07 podcast for that) of "You and I" by Celine Dion might be, selecting as your campaign song one by a Canadian is just, well, UN-AMERICAN, in the pejorative sense, not the geographic. I know her supporters voted on it, but at a strategic level was it really a good idea to have let this one be an option? As Larry Sabato writes, "The popular chanteuse is French Canadian, so what better way for Hillary to win over conservatives and Independents in the South and heartland?" I would suggest everyone read Larry Sabato's THE HILLARY DILEMMA (Thanks to my friend Steve for telling me about it) because it makes the clear case why Hillary will either lose in a general election or become just another polarizing President. Clearly her song selection indicates that her campaign is politically tone deaf to those who don't already love her (at least 45% of the electorate according to the various polls cited by Sabato).
I suppose if Hillary were running for Empress of North America "You and I" might be a good choice, but if you are running for President of the United States, a country that produces songs at least as sexually suggestive as "You and I" (Compare"I'm burning, yearning" to the classic "FLY ME TO THE MOON") and at least as commercially successful as what was previously used by Air Canada ("You and I were meant to fly.."), you might think that it would be good to pick a song by an American. Additionally on a thematic level, a song as sexually suggestive just does not play to Hillary's strengths.
I have nothing against Canadians or Canadian musicians, but it strikes me when someone runs for national office, the symbols they use should be homegrown. At least that always seemed to be the case. This, no doubt, did not matter or occur to either the Clinton Campaign or its supporters. One hopes that both relocate to the Republic of North America (Cloud Cuckoo Land).
For me, four years of George the Republican Cog followed by eight years of Bill the Liar followed by eight years of George the Idiot followed by four or eight years of Queen Hillary (no doubt the Canadians can alter their constitution to allow for recognition of the North American Monarchy as well as the British) horrifies me because such aristocratic patterns while perhaps acceptable in an Italian City State, have no place in our country. There is nothing wrong with a family producing multiple Presidents, but there is something wrong with two families in control of our country for what would be over two decades. I have been making this point for years (since before George the Idiot came into office) and was happy to see that Sabuto shares the same concern (see the last paragraph of The Hillary Dilemma. I am a true American and hate royalty to the very depths of my soul. Two families in control or the US for up to 28 years stinks of aristocracy. I am certainly not the first one to think this or write it. Even if Hillary was a candidate worth endorsing, which she is not, on this principle alone she should be rejected.
Afterwards if you still have any doubts go read Christopher Hitchen's No One Left to Lie To: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton and ask yourself if you really want eight more years of triangulation after eight years of sheer stupidity. Can the Republic really take that? I have my doubts. The only thing that could be worse than Hillary and potentially much more damaging to the country would be the election of
, a demague of truly Athenian proportions. Should those two (Hillary and Rudy, Benito can't make it) be the candidates, I will weep for my country.
Till then I will hope that Obama gets the nomination, I just hope he gets his act together before having a fatal Macaca Moment.
.
I suppose if Hillary were running for Empress of North America "You and I" might be a good choice, but if you are running for President of the United States, a country that produces songs at least as sexually suggestive as "You and I" (Compare"I'm burning, yearning" to the classic "FLY ME TO THE MOON") and at least as commercially successful as what was previously used by Air Canada ("You and I were meant to fly.."), you might think that it would be good to pick a song by an American. Additionally on a thematic level, a song as sexually suggestive just does not play to Hillary's strengths.
I have nothing against Canadians or Canadian musicians, but it strikes me when someone runs for national office, the symbols they use should be homegrown. At least that always seemed to be the case. This, no doubt, did not matter or occur to either the Clinton Campaign or its supporters. One hopes that both relocate to the Republic of North America (Cloud Cuckoo Land).
For me, four years of George the Republican Cog followed by eight years of Bill the Liar followed by eight years of George the Idiot followed by four or eight years of Queen Hillary (no doubt the Canadians can alter their constitution to allow for recognition of the North American Monarchy as well as the British) horrifies me because such aristocratic patterns while perhaps acceptable in an Italian City State, have no place in our country. There is nothing wrong with a family producing multiple Presidents, but there is something wrong with two families in control of our country for what would be over two decades. I have been making this point for years (since before George the Idiot came into office) and was happy to see that Sabuto shares the same concern (see the last paragraph of The Hillary Dilemma. I am a true American and hate royalty to the very depths of my soul. Two families in control or the US for up to 28 years stinks of aristocracy. I am certainly not the first one to think this or write it. Even if Hillary was a candidate worth endorsing, which she is not, on this principle alone she should be rejected.
Afterwards if you still have any doubts go read Christopher Hitchen's No One Left to Lie To: The Triangulations of William Jefferson Clinton and ask yourself if you really want eight more years of triangulation after eight years of sheer stupidity. Can the Republic really take that? I have my doubts. The only thing that could be worse than Hillary and potentially much more damaging to the country would be the election of
, a demague of truly Athenian proportions. Should those two (Hillary and Rudy, Benito can't make it) be the candidates, I will weep for my country.Till then I will hope that Obama gets the nomination, I just hope he gets his act together before having a fatal Macaca Moment.
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Judge Kennedy's Women
Jeffrey Rosen's recent New Republic piece on the "Kennedy Court" makes me think about the continuous potential for arbitrary thinking in judicial opinions and how it is very likely that the Court will use such thinking to further curtail liberty. Consider the following very recent but far from sui generis example of Kennedy's method of argument as cited by Rosen:
Consider Gonzales v. Carhart, his five-four opinion in April upholding the federal ban on partial-birth abortions. There was nothing inherently objectionable about Kennedy's tie-breaking vote to uphold the ban--an uncharacteristic example of deference to Congress from the justice who has voted to strike down more acts of Congress than any of his colleagues except for Justices Scalia and Thomas. But Kennedy couldn't resist adorning his opinion with an unnecessary soliloquy about how the ban would serve the noble goal of protecting women from emotional distress. "Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child," he wrote portentously. "While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained."
Rosen goes on to write:
Consider Gonzales v. Carhart, his five-four opinion in April upholding the federal ban on partial-birth abortions. There was nothing inherently objectionable about Kennedy's tie-breaking vote to uphold the ban--an uncharacteristic example of deference to Congress from the justice who has voted to strike down more acts of Congress than any of his colleagues except for Justices Scalia and Thomas. But Kennedy couldn't resist adorning his opinion with an unnecessary soliloquy about how the ban would serve the noble goal of protecting women from emotional distress. "Respect for human life finds an ultimate expression in the bond of love the mother has for her child," he wrote portentously. "While we find no reliable data to measure the phenomenon, it seems unexceptionable to conclude some women come to regret their choice to abort the infant life they once created and sustained."
Rosen goes on to write:
Kennedy simply didn't care that he could find no "reliable data to measure the phenomenon." For him, "It is self-evident that a mother who comes to regret her choice to abort must struggle with grief more anguished and sorrow more profound when she learns, only after the event, what she once did not know: that she allowed a doctor to pierce the skull and vacuum the fast-developing brain of her unborn child ...."
Why is Kennedy so confident that this is "self-evident"? As Ginsburg suggested, a woman who is determined to have an abortion might suffer more profound anguish at enduring a procedure that her doctor considers less safe, or she might suffer just as much anguish if she ends her pregnancy with another, more common abortion procedure--one that Kennedy insists is her constitutional right. The truth is that Kennedy isn't interested in examining the actual experiences of real women affected by the partial-birth abortion ban; he feels he has an intuitive understanding of what women are feeling and is convinced that he has a unique and solemn responsibility to define the essential nature of women's dignity.
After reading Rosen's piece, I read through Gonzales v. Carhart and reached a similar conclusion about the essentially arbitrary nature of Kennedy's "soliloquy," which as Ginsburg points out in the minority's dissent rests upon "an antiabortion shibboleth for which it concededly has no reliable evidence: Women who have abortions come to regret their choices. "
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