The Rant

Is Iraq improving?   At least some people think so .   Perhaps "politics at least has a chance" with respect to continuing sectarian conflicts.  Perhaps conflicts can be resolved by elections.   That would be a nice development.    If the Democrats were trying to help with sectarian conflicts in Iraq, would the press pay more attention and in a more favorable fashion?      Perhaps not. Good news is not news.  I just watched the John Adams miniseries.  I wonder of modern Americans would have the stomach to fight a revolution for "Liberty".   What modern Americans want is someone to take care of them, not freedom.    We gladly submit to bureaucrats, judges, "experts" who tell us what to eat, what to read, what to think, and where to spend our money.   Give us security and we'll gladly surrender our liberty.  One thing that apparently hasn't changed since the beginning of American history is that considerations for the national interest sometimes take...

Senator Hatch:  "We have as much oil in oil shale in Utah, Wyoming and Colorado as the rest of the world's oil, combined."   This is one obvious tool to use to achieve more energy independence.   Yet no one seems to be in favor .   Please explain.  ___________________

  ________________________________________________    The next step in Presidential politics is unfortunately predictable.   If any person has the gall to criticize any policy of Barack Obama, or examine his record, he will be accused of being a racist.  This is just another form of ad hominem attack, like calling your opponent stupid.    From a logical point of view, any argument about policy can be either right or wrong on the merits, regardless of the intelligence, education or moral attributes of the accuser.  Hopefully, if Obama's policy (or lack thereof) is attacked, Barack will choose to respond to the attack on the merits, and not fall back upon the blanket reaction of accusing your opponent of being a racist.   There are plenty of issues to discuss: how America should extricate itself from Iraq,  how best to keep the economy moving, how to educate the young to be ready for the 21st Century,what is a rational and just tax policy?  Does Barack or McCain have the best qualifi...

In Canada, the Human Rights Commission has convicted every single person charged with violations.   The current defendant is Mark Steyn . His crime:  writing a book.  Apparently Free Speech is no longer considered a basic human right in Canada.  Pity. 

    I am quite convinced that the reasons given for going to war in Iraq were not accurate.  I think they were honest mistakes,  influenced by the Bush  prejudice to find some (any) good reason to get Hussein.   However, the issue for the present is what is to be done now that we are there.  There does seem to be a little good news coming out of that geographical locale this past month.   One can only hope that some good will come out of it.   We need to exit in a responsible fashion, responsible to our soldiers, but also to the Iraqi people we leave behind.   Millions died when we abandoned Vietnam, we should not forget.  Something similar could happen in Iraq if we are not prudent.  I am currently reading  Odd Thomas by Dean Koontz (re-reading)  Killing Floor by Lee Child   (it is starting out great)  The Singularity is Near by Ray Kurzweil   (recommended)  Uncertainty, Einstein, Heisenberg, Bohr and the Strugle for the Soul of Science by David Lindley   (My book club)  Tool and Die ...

Christopher Hitchens at Slate contrasts the McClellan and Feith Books and feels the Feith book is far more worth reading.  He says:     "If you want to read a serious book about the origins and consequences of the intervention in Iraq in 2003, you owe it to yourself to get hold of a copy of /douglas Feith's War and Decision....  As undersecretary of defense for policy, Feith was one of those most intimately involved in the argument about whether to and, if so, how to put an end to the regime of Saddam Hussein. His book contains notes made in real time at the National Security Council, a trove of declassified documentation, and a thoroughly well-organized catalog of sources and papers and memos. Feith has also done us the service of establishing a Web site where you can go and follow up all his sources and check them for yourself against his analysis and explanation. There is more of value in any chapter of this archive than in any of the ramblings of McClellan."  Doesn...

With his new book coming out, I thought some perspective was appropriate. From a website: http://rightweb.irc-online.org/profile/1146.html Feith's resignation from the Department of Defense sparked speculation that he was pressured to leave because of ongoing investigations into the administration's efforts to manufacture support for the Iraq War, which was widely criticized in and out of government. Gen. Tommy Franks, the commander of the Iraq invasion, once referred to him as the "stupidest guy on the face of the earth." 11 History professor Juan Cole wrote in January 2005, when Feith announced his impending resignation: "Feith is clearly resigning ahead of the possible breaking of major scandals concerning his tenure at the Department of Defense, which is among the more disgraceful cases of the misleading of the American people in American history." 12

Time to retire the Congress?   "Pathetic.  Craven. Irresponsible. Unprincipled." The Farm Bill . 

President Bush gave a speech at the World Economic Forum today in which he said:  Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail.  In our democracy, we would never punish a person for owning a Koran. We would never issue a death sentence to someone for converting to Islam.  Democracy does not threaten Islam or any religion.  Democracy is the only system of government that guarantees their protection.  Well said. 

I have been reading "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg.  The point of the book is not so much that liberals are Nazis, but that after World War 1, Fascism was in the air. If you look at the language of many of the political leaders of the time, including both Roosevelts and Wilson, they are hard to distinguish from statements made by Mussolinni, Hitler, not to mention Stalin and Lenin.  The same was true of George Bernard Shaw, Dewey, and most popular journalists.    It was "common sense" at the time that some kind of war government, if it put its mind to it, could solve all the problems of the day and bring us some kind of utopia.   Any one who disagreed was something akin to a "traitor."  It is only the grim history of totalitarianism in the 20th century that makes these early 20th century popular dreams so embarassing.  As for limited government liberalism of the 19th century, it was near brain death during this period.   There was virtually no conserv...

If we take as our goal an ultimate ideal of some world government, that will enforce the peace, and prevent future wars of aggression, how do we work towards that noble ideal?  The problem with the current United Nations to my mind is that many member states have no respect for the ideals I wish to install in a future world government.  Many are dictatorships with no respect for individual rights.  How can we rely upon such governments to work towards justice and democracy world wide?  I think that it is this disrespect for the United Nations more than any preconceived hatred for the notion of a world government, that hold back essential political progress towards a just world government.  Here are the nations of the world rated on an index of freedom.  In recent years, the commission on Human Rights has included such nations as China, Cuba, Saudi Arabia, Sudan Venequela and Zimbabwe.   We can expect great progress with leadership like that.  Perhaps a competing organization of member...

One thing that bothers me about news is that is often given without context.  There is no history, let alone any political philosophy or over arching purpose or goal.  Often the underlying assumptions are rather retarded.  All war is bad.  All corporations are bad.  All Republicans are bad.  Etc.  For example, in Iraq, the News is what happened yesterday, or maybe last week.  Some battle happened. A bomb exploded.   A certain number of Americans were killed or wounded.  But big questions are left untouched.  What would Iraq be like today, if the America had not invaded.   Would the Iraqis be better off, or worse?  In what senses?  Is it ever proper to invade a country to depose a dictator? What would happen to Iraq if we withdrew immediately?   These are hard questions to answer. It is much easier to count bodies of dead soldiers.  One, two, three . . .   What are Americas current goals in Iraq?  Free elections and democracy? The Rule Of Law in Iraq?  The prevention of civil war and d...

Bob: This book is an important read to see how our cold war strategery blinded us to Pakistans entrance into the nuclear club. It also provides some back ground as to our consistent belief that IAEA was a bunch of idiots. Thus Saddam must have had nuclear weapons programs running in the run up to the war.

This is a great interview. http://www.thedailyshow.com/video/index.jhtml?videoId=168543&title=douglas-feith-uncut-pt.-1

     Conan the Zen dog prays with his master, the Buddhist priest.   Conan goes through his prayer routine at the temple in Naha, the capital of Japan's southern prefecture, without prompting by the Priest Joei.         The priest thinks it may be more difficult to teach the dog to sit cross legged during Dog-Zen meditation.  

    The real war of significance in the world today is a war of ideas, not a war between armies.   Who speaks the truth?       Scientists say that truth must have evidence and logic to prove it. It must be demonstrable and have predictive power.   Supernaturalists claim that they have a secret pipeline to an invisible, omnipotent God, who gives them instructions.   Bin Laden and Pope Benedict both claim to be special spokespersons for different versions of this same God.       Why does God need spokespersons. Why does an omnipotent God not speak to all persons?  Why do the different prophets of God speak in conflicting messages?        Scientists say: judge the evidence for yourself. Use your brain and make a reasoned decision.       Bin Laden says, "If you criticize our philosophy, if you criticize our prophet, we will not listen to you, we will hunt you down and exterminate you.  You do not have the right to choose for yourself what you believe. You must submit to Islam or die....

   Bin Laden is really mad about that cartoon about Muhammad.    Retaliation is threatened.  In other words, the punishment for publishing a cartoon suggesting that Muhammad might be linked to violence (he has a bomb on his head) is more violence from the followers of Muhammad, thus proving that the cartoon was accurate.    Is this cartoon really the most pressing business facing the Islamic world?  Don't Moslems have a sense of humor?? 

Speaking as a member of the "other party."  I listened to Barack Obama give his speech today with growing admiration.   Obama seems to me to be a man of rare intelligence and subtlety, especially for a politician.  I don't think I could agree with all his policies, but I admire his intelligence, his calm, his idealism and his desire to bring people together.  I find myself wishing that I could find good reason to support this man. 

     A retired Kuwaiti superstar recently left the Gulf emirate for Afghanistan to join ranks with al-Qaeda and Taliban forces fighting there.   H e decided to leave the sinful world of singing and join the Holy Jihad against the west.    His job prior to deciding to head for Afghanistan was to warn people of the dangers of art and its sinful atmosphere.   Apparently, he now believes that killing foreigners is more holy than singing pop music, thanks to the influence of his religion, Islam.  I thought it was poverty that caused terrorism.