Author: VD

The US civil administrator in Iraq Paul Bremer announced steps to reinstate some former members of Saddam Hussein’s disbanded Baath party in the new army, as well as in schools and universities. Bremer made the announcement in a rare televised address to the nation that appeared aimed at rallying Iraqi support as the US-led coalition battles a dogged insurgency by both Sunni and Shiite Muslim militants. Amid mounting concern over the poor performance of Iraqi security forces during recent attacks, the US overseer said more former members of Saddam’s military would be allowed to join the ranks of the new army. He also announced measures to speed up the reinstatement of thousands of teachers who lost their jobs because they were once Baathists, even though they were often forced to join the former dictator’s party.

I don’t understand this at all. Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress have said from the beginning that de-Baathification was an absolute necessity. Are they wrong? While it’s true that the Baathists – an Arab mutation of National Socialism – did keep the Shiites in check by killing over 100,000 of them, I’m not convinced that this is the solution. Then again, I’m not there, so it’s impossible to speak with any degree of certainty. But from a theoretical point of view, this sounds problematic at best. Also, from what I’ve read, those teachers were used as spies, so they participated in the system even if they weren’t enthusiastic about it.

This should be of interest for those who are concerned about the use of the FCC as an instrument of Christian extremism. From the Mises Institute: The rationale Roosevelt and his acolytes employed to justify the creation of the FCC has been reiterated for decades. According to the boosters of the 1934 Federal Communications Act, the radio spectrum was a limited resource. It also crossed state borders. As such, it was necessary and appropriate that the federal government own the airwaves. As argued by the Roosevelt Administration, the broadcast spectrum was, by its nature, a public good, and it was in the public interest that Washington regulate its use, thus avoiding potential private business conflicts. In 1938, for example, the FCC revoked the license of the Yankee Radio Network, a conservative broadcaster that often editorialized against FDR’s policies. The FCC announced: “Radio can serve as an instrument of democracy only when devoted to the communication of information and exchange of ideas fairly and objectively presented . . . It cannot be devoted to the support of principles he [the broadcaster] happens to regard most favorably . . .”

First, note who established the FCC. None other than that most left-wing of presidents, the man who socialized the American economy, FDR. Second, note how it was being used 66 years ago. The modern equivalent would be the Bush administration shutting down Air America. (NPR would be a better target, of course, but that’s a legitimate shut-down by government, since NPR is government.)

Pat Tillman, a former NFL player who swapped a glamorous football career to enlist in the U.S. Army, has been killed in action in Afghanistan. The 27-year-old former football player [for the Arizona Cardinals] was killed in direct action during a firefight in Afghanistan.

This is a book of non-fiction written by a liberal Jewish New Yorker who decides to go expat for a few years with his wife and newborn son. Possessed of a romantic childhood vision of Paris, reinforced by an actual visit as a teenager, the little family takes an apartment in Paris and experiences the pedestrian joys and petty tribulations of living amidst Old Europe’s last natural aristocracy, the Parisians.

It’s a delightful book. Adam Gopnik has a wry sense of humor and a keen eye for not only the small details that paint a vivid picture of his experience there, but also the broader generalizations that, taken in the collective, define the French character. It is well-written too, for who could fail to be amused by the following passage:

“Like all ambitious French politicians, Juppe chooses to present himself as a literary man. He has actually written a book of reflections titled La Tentation de Venise – The Venetian Temptation. Juppe’s Venetian temptation was to retire to a house there, where he could escape from political life, admire Giorgione’s Tempesta, drink Bellinis in the twilight, and think long deep thoughts. La Tentation was regarded as a fighting campaign manifesto, since it is as necessary for an ambitious French politician to write a book explaining why he never likes to think of politics as it is for an ambitious American politician to write a book explaining why he never thinks of anything else. Juppe, ahead of the pack, had written a book asserting not only that he would rather be doing something else but that he would like to be doing it in a completely different country.”

I enjoyed the book and found myself laughing out loud on more than one occasion. This is a warm book, a gentle and humane book, full of a man’s affection for a city and his great love for his son, through whose eyes we see the vast chasm between the expat and one who has never known another home. If the book will do little to change one’s view of the French as arrogant curs with a penchant for socialism and boot-licking, it nevertheless will provide one with the ability to smile when next encountering the inevitable Gallic intransigence. A book well worth reading.

Joseph Farah writes: I knew this was coming in 2000 and told you then. I have met George Bush exactly once. In my presence, he was asked point blank what he would do if confronted with unconstitutional legislation on his desk. His response? “How would I know if it were unconstitutional?” Anyone asking such a stupid question is unworthy and unfit for the highest office in the land.

I’ve never subscribed to the Democrats notion that George Bush is stupid. He isn’t, as his SATs translate to an above average IQ of around 115 or so. Not impressive, but significantly smarter than many of his most vocal critics. But the fact that he would evade such a simple question in such a obvious and puerile manner only underlines my total unwillingness to support him in any way, even though Kerry is similarly indifferent to the Constitution.

His failure to veto a single bill out of Congress supports Farah’s first-hand testimony that we now have a president who has no interest in opposing unconstitutional legislation. He had his chance and he blew it. He does not deserve another one.

If you have any interest in a new browser, you may want to check out the new Opera 7.5. it’s still in beta, but it’s got a very clean new look, has finally gotten rid of the big icon bar across the top – now there are small icons that fit nicely on the current address bar where you can type in the URL – and has added IRC chat and newsfeed reading capabilities. It’s still got the great pop-up blocking ability, which was the reason I originally switched to it and it’s available for Windows, Linux and Macintosh.

The beta feels a little less crisp, speedwise, than the previous 7.23 release, but that’s normal. Otherwise, it seems quite solid. I’d recommend having a look at it, especially if you’re still using the clunky vehicle that is IE.

From Debka: Nasrallah described how, several weeks before Israel was scheduled to withdraw from Lebanon, he organized the town and village populations of the south and several thousand Shiites from Beirut into massed groups of civilians, each ordered to stage marches in different sectors. Elderly people hoisting Lebanese and Hizballah flags, women and children marched in a body on the bases of the Israeli-backed South Lebanese Army who, aware of the Israeli pullout, did not dare open fire on the advancing processions. In no time, all their bases were overrun by the motley mobs and the Hizballah flag fluttering overhead. According to Nasrallah, the departing Israeli troops had to negotiate safe passage back to the Israeli border in exchange for leaving their weapons, even tanks, behind.

Our sources reveal that the Hizballah leader showed Hamas the Gaza version of his plan. For stage one, he proposed collecting the 200,000 Palestinian mourners who followed the Yassin and Rantisi funeral processions, and dividing them into groups of 10-15,000. Each would march on a marked IDF position or camp defending Netzarim and Gush Katif. In stage two, a million Hamas marchers would hurl themselves at Gush Katif, the largest settlement bloc of the Gaza Strip. Even Israeli tanks would not be able to arrest this human deluge, he said. The Israelis may start shooting, but the Palestinian mass will keep coming, and, like in Lebanon, it will mow down the army positions. The settlements will then crumble. Israeli troops and settlers will be stampeded into flight and the Palestinians will take over their bases and homes – not in 2005 as the Israelis offered, but next summer.

This would likely work. The Israelis, being foolishly of the opinion that it is possible for them to be regarded any worse by the world, will hold their fire until it is too late. As with Lebanon, they’ll find themselves retreating in disarray, giving enough encouragement to their enemies to inspire another three years of useless and pointless carnage that will achieve nothing.

I do not believe in war by half-measure. We should not have gone into Iraq unless we were prepared to wipe out every Iraqi in the country in defense of our national interest. We aren’t ready to do so, of course, because there was no sufficient provocation nor did/does our national interest demand it. There is no such thing as civilized war, it is inherently uncivil. It is evil. It is, rarely, necessary, in a fallen world populated by evil men. And when it is necessary – when it is absolutely inescapable – it must be pursued mercilessly until victory is beyond any doubt.

BLS writes: I stand by my final analysis: this election is between Bad and Worse. If you don’t pick Bad, then by default, you’ve allowed Worse to win. It might make for great chest-thumping about messages sent, but it’s poor electoral strategy.

I think I finally figured out a way to explain this to everyone. BLS is right, that refusing to select Bad is poor electoral strategy – in the short term. But what this “pragmatic” approach misses is that this is not, in the long term, strategy at all, it is tactics. Tactics are neither good nor bad from a strategic point of view, they are entirely irrelevant. This explains why, to a certain extent, the two sides have been talking past each other. In my view, the “principled” approach is the correct one, as it actually encompasses a longer-term, strategic view.

For example, if the president wins re-election with the support of the libertarian and conservative rights, he has no incentive but instead is encouraged to move further left. If he loses to Kerry, the Republican party will be forced to turn to its base and allow more influence to the grass roots in order to inspire them. This is why both Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan, the two most right-wing Republican presidential candidates, were produced when the party was out of power. Once in power, the liberal wing had the resources to flex its muscle again and squeeze out the grass-roots. George Bush was presented to the party as someone who was in Reagan’s tradition, not his father’s, although once he won the nomination he immediately began to campaign to the left and govern even further leftward.

There is no way that the “pragmatic” approach will ever move the Republican party to the right. In fact, calling the approach pragmatic is a misnomer as Kerry will likely be hamstrung by a Republican Congress that will not allow him to move as far to the left as it will allow George Bush to go. This is a basic paradox of politics. Only Nixon can go to China, only a Republican governor can raise taxes in California and only a Republican administration will be able to successfully attack American gun rights.

I am, of course, skeptical that it makes any significant difference in the long term. The die is already cast. The economic winds are blowing and the American people are far more likely to call for more of the poison than sickened them than they are to call for the antidote. And yet, we persist, as eventually those who survive the sickness of strong government will need those to show them the way out. We are the intellectual Spartans and we do not expect to hold the pass forever. The smart money, actually, pretty much all the money, is on the side of big government. But we can be encouraged with the certain knowledge that paper money always erodes into nothing in time.

In any case, if any of our pragmatic Republicans here can present a scenario which shows how supporting the left-wing of the Republican party will help move the country and the party to the right, comment on it or email me and I’ll post it here.

The nice thing about John Kerry is that you can easily justify supporting him. Chances are extremely high that he supports your position on pretty much anything on which you might have an opinion The problem is that he also supports the opposite position as well.

Why will Bush win? At first, I assumed this would be the case because of the homogamy issue. But now, I believe this because the Democrats nominated a candidate who combines Bob Dole’s likeability with Bill Clinton’s trustworthiness.

Zephyron despairs: “Third Party” candidates have no chance to win. Every campaign finance reform bill drives the nail a little deeper into the coffin. Even if a good third party candidate was getting major support, the lap dog press would run a merciless smear campaign against him. Winning under those circumstances would be impossible. There are too many trust and parrot dummies in America. The Republic is on it’s death bed. I wish it were not so…

Yes, the Republic is on its death bed, assuming it isn’t dead already. The fact that our third-generation leaders don’t wear the purple and take turns playing Caesar only means that the modern Triumverate has not yet revealed itself fully. So what? Let us show them how a Republic dies. Vote Libertarian. Vote Constitution. Vote your conscience and your principles. Don’t let it happen without protest. They cannot claim assent when you will not support them.

There was an inspiring t-shirt I saw in a shop when I was a child. It showed a huge eagle swooping down on a mouse, claws extended. The mouse was not cringing in fear, but standing up boldly and extending a single digit towards the sky. It was captioned “The last great act of defiance.”