2006 – It’s Been Quite The Year

It’s been one year since we left the city for the country and we seem to have taken root here rather quickly. We left a city with over 10,000 people per square mile for a township with 164. The pace of life here is distinctly slower and much more polite.

We have searched the whole year long for a “downside” to our new way of life and have been unable to find it. Though M’Lady now has an hour drive to work instead of 15 minutes she says she can greet the neighbors cows, sheep and chickens every morning, take a drive in the country twice a day and her smile gets wider the closer to home she gets. It’s all in your perspective.

We took the first year to get familiar with our new home at M’Lady’s suggestion and a sound piece of advice it was as I am always the one to quickly implement “grandiose plans”. While I was restrained from making major changes we did manage to get some building accomplished and we became beekeepers in the bargain. Next year there are plans for a large vegetable garden, more fruit trees and chickens. Slowly, but surely, we are making this home into our dream.

Here’s hoping that 2006 was as much a blessing to you and yours as it has been to me and my family.

I wish everyone a Happy, Healthy and Prosperous New Year!

Take This Son, May It Serve You Well

Our young miss e-mailed me about this great podcast she heard with Giles Martin, son of Sir George Martin, and producer of the soundtrack for Cirque du Soleil's "Love". It is a enlightening interview and well worth your time. It has also prompted me to run out to get the CD which is a wonderful remix/juxtaposition of many of the Beatles classic songs.

Blog Of The Week

I have been nominated for "Blog Of The Week" honors at Dancing On Colette's Grave. While this is a somewhat nepotistic honor, I accept it none the less. In return, I have linked to Colette and encourage you to visit her site. As with Truth, For A Change, you will find them to be a change of pace from the postings here.

Quote Of The Day

"Battle, n., A method of untying with the teeth a political knot that would not yield to the tongue."

- Ambrose Bierce, "The Devil's Dictionary"

Get Back On A War Footing

Ralph Peters, the author of "Never Quit The Fight" had a pointed article in The New York Post today about what our new strategy for Iraq should be. Here are some excerpts:

"We need an exclusive focus on the defeat of the foreign terrorists, uncooperative Sunni Arabs and Muqtada al-Sadr's Shia thugs. Our enemies control Iraq with fear. We need to make them fear us more than the population fears them.

"And we must stop reciting insupportable platitudes about every element of government playing a role and the supreme power of negotiations. That's just nonsense. Contrary to pundit blustering, the overwhelming majority of insurgencies over the past 3,000 years have been defeated - by uncompromising military responses."

"Our enemies don't believe we have the guts to pacify Iraq. They may be right.
It would be obscene to deploy more troops and further strain our military unless we're serious about winning. And all half-measures will fail.

"The paradox is that beleaguered Iraqis would welcome a harsh security crackdown - our toughest obstacle would be a global media alliance already patting itself on the back for our defeat. "

Quote Of The Day

In dishonor of the recent ghoulish article from the AP reporting that U.S. military deaths in Iraq have surpassed the number of Americans murdered on 9/11:

"If I had my choice I would kill every reporter in the world but I am sure we would be getting reports from hell before breakfast."

- General William Tecumseh Sherman

Merry Christmas

When I walked in the door yesterday I was greeted by the wonderful aroma of freshly baked cookies. M’Lady and our young miss were putting the finishing touches on the latest batch of holiday treats.

The house is decorated, the tree is up, the stockings are hung and the family has gathered.

I think we’re ready.

I would like to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas. And please remember our military men and women who are serving away from home during the holidays.

Quote Of The Day

“When we are unwilling to draw clear moral lines between free societies and fear societies, when we are unwilling to call the former good and the latter evil, we will not be able to advance the cause of peace because peace cannot be disconnected from freedom.”
- From “The Case For Democracy” by Natan Sharansky

Yankee Ingenuity

On a lighter note, MSNBC reports the following story:

STRATFORD, N.J. - In an age of multimillion-dollar high-tech weapons systems, sometimes it's the simplest ideas that can save lives. Which is why a New Jersey mother is organizing a drive to send cans of Silly String to Iraq. American troops use the stuff to detect trip wires around bombs, as Marcelle Shriver learned from her son, a soldier in Iraq. Before entering a building, troops squirt the plastic goo, which can shoot strands about 10 to 12 feet, across the room. If it falls to the ground, no trip wires. If it hangs in the air, they know they have a problem. The wires are otherwise nearly invisible.

Quote Of The Day

"All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given to us."
- J. R. R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring

The Iraq Study Group Report

This panel is a disgrace. For a group that considers themselves to be "realists" this report has a very "unrealistic" view of our enemies. Castigate the conduct of the war anyway you like; this is definitely not how we should handle the current situation. Negotiate - with Iran and Syria? You must be joking; these people equate talking with weakness. Why aren't we actively undermining Iran and Syria? They are the major "bad actors" in the region, they continue to supply arms to the various factions in Iraq and their regime's are ripe for change. But no - let's talk with the mullahs. I suppose it's asking too much for anyone to remember Munich when we don't even remember 9/11. I will state this as plainly as I can:

Citizens of The United States;

the enemy is right in front of you

and they are building nuclear weapons.

Here is an article on the report by Andrew McCarthy for National Review that sums it up quite well:

"The ISG wants us to talk to the mullahs? How can we blame them? That’s exactly the course the administration has chosen for the life-and-death challenge of the jihadist nuke. To mollify “the international community,” for which no evil is beyond “dialogue,” Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice pushed for an end to the inconvenience of American moral clarity. We should abandon this notion that Iran is an implacable enemy, she insisted. We should join with our “partners.” Let’s reason with the mullahs. Ply them with breathtaking incentives: security assurances; economic aid; high-technology; aviation, energy, telecommunications and agriculture assistance.

"The Bush Doctrine? You’re with us or against us? Unrealistic. No need, after all, to sour the mood by demanding an end to Iran’s terror mongering. And sticks to go with these carrots? No, not to worry. The Iranians would surely be moved to comply, and, if they didn’t, why, surely the Russians and the Chinese would back some sticks … notwithstanding that Iran is into them like a shylock.

"You know, of course, the result. The Iranians laughed at us. So impressed were they by this nuanced display of soft power that … they sicced Hezbollah on Israel, armed up their Iraqi militias, and blithely went on building their nukes.

"ISG Chairman James Baker, a foolish man, looked Congress in the eye on Thursday and explained his master plan. Did it seem foolish to propose negotiations with Iran, our relentless enemy? Sure. But, the “realist” doyen puttered, if we invite them to negotiate about Iraq’s future, and they demur, why, we’ll expose their intransigence for all the world to see.

"Right. They slaughter and abet the slaughter of our marines, our airmen, our sailors, William Buckley, Robert Stethem, William Higgins, and countless others. They tell us their defining goal is a world without America, a world in which our allies are wiped from the face of the earth. But, at long last, we’ll know who they really are … if they don’t show up for a meeting.

"Blue-ribbon panels can afford such juvenilia. They are, after all, unaccountable. What’s the administration’s excuse?

"What makes a superpower super is power. If we don’t use it, what’s left? Iran believes they will destroy us and acts on that conviction every day. We … seek negotiations.

"I’m not a hugger, but I hugged my four-year-old son as I wrote this. We abdicate now. We turn a blind eye as our implacable, insatiable enemies pick off our best and our bravest. We shrink from the duty a quarter century of mayhem imposes. We don’t have the will.

"It will be for my son, and yours, to face down this challenge. A challenge that endures because we offer to talk while they plot to kill."

Quote Of The Day

"Faithless is he that says farewell when the road darkens."
- J. R. R. Tolkien

Our Unceasing Ambivalence

Shelby Steele wrote a very insightful article for The Wall Journal's op-ed page yesterday about the war in Iraq and our inability to define victory:

"Why don't we know the meaning of this war and our reasons for fighting it? I think the answer begins in the awkward fact that America is now the world's uncontested superpower. If this fate has its advantages, it also brings an unasked-for degree of dominion in the world. This is essentially a passive dominion that has settled on a rather isolationist nation, yet it makes America into something of a sheriff. Whether the problem is Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq, Iran, North Korea or Darfur, America gets the call. Thus our youth are often asked to go to war more out of international responsibility than national necessity. This is a hard fate for a free and prosperous citizenry to accept--the loss of sons and daughters to a kind of magnanimity. Today our antiwar movement is essentially an argument with this fate, a rejection of superpower responsibility.

" Is it any wonder, then, that we have failed to completely win this war? Since World War II, American leaders--left and right--have worked out of an impossible double bind: They cannot afford to win the wars they fight. Thus the postmodern American war in which the world's greatest power deconstructs its own motives for fighting until losing becomes a better option than winning. And yet the end of the Cold War has made these wars between the West and the Third World inevitable. When the world was clearly divided between the free West and the communist East, Third World countries could play the ingénue by offering their alignment to the most generous suitor. At the center of a market in alignment, they could extract financial support and enjoy a sense of importance.

"But after the Cold War, these countries suddenly became crones without appeal or leverage in the West. And it was out of this sense of invisibility, this feeling of having fallen out of history, that certain Middle Eastern countries found a way to play the ingénue once again. They would not compete with or seduce the West; they would menace it.

"For every reason, from the humanitarian to the geopolitical to the military, Iraq is a war that America must win in the hegemonic, even colonial, sense. It is a test of our civilization's commitment to the good against the alluring notion of menace-as-power that has gripped so much of the Muslim world. Today America is a danger to the world in its own right, not because we are a powerful bully but because we don't fully accept who we are. We rush to war as a superpower protecting the world from menace, then leave the battle before winning as a show of what, humility? We confuse our enemies, discouraging them one minute and encouraging them the next.

"Could it be that our enemies are really paper tigers made formidable by our unceasing ambivalence? And could it be that the greater good is in both the idea and the reality of American victory? "

We need to embrace our heritage as well as our destiny; we are a great nation founded on ideals which represent the highest aspirations of mankind. America is the greater good and we must proclaim this to the world with our deeds. Our failure to do so will have enormous implications not only for us but for all of Western civilization.

Quote Of The Day

In honor of the recent Democratic take over of the Congress....

"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."

- Mark Twain

Pheasant Season

This is one of my favorite times of the year. Family and friends gather to spend time together afield in pursuit of the ringneck pheasant. And the star of this year's hunt is pictured above - our Brittany - Abby. Our premier pheasant finder, Tristan, went down just before the season opened when she had to have surgery on her larynx. While Tristan convalesced, Abby rose to the occasion in her first solo effort and performed beyond my wildest expectations!

We had a wonderful season and bountiful harvest.

Quote Of The Day

"A liberal is a person whose interests aren't at stake at the moment."
- Willis Player

Counterpoint

Here is Marlipern's latest installment of The Great Debate.

"At long last, I have a few rebuttal comments to Squire’s recent post. It doesn’t cover every point of contention, but it’s a good start.

Minimum wage… “Why should we pay young people well?” Well, if you consider $7/hr. paying someone “well”, I have this really great bridge for sale…. No, I’m not suggesting paying the young, or the old, or the poorly qualified “well”. I’m suggesting that we make sure that they can survive in the real world. Have you forgotten what it was like to struggle paycheck to paycheck? I haven’t. As for the idea, “Let the market determine wages.” No thanks, not at the expense of the most vulnerable in our society. I just don’t think “the market” is looking out for the best interests of those they consider “expenses”, rather than what employees really are, a company’s most valuable asset.

Energy independence… “Does this mean we can drill in ANWR now?” You can drill in the ANWR until you’re blue in the face, it WILL NOT solve the problem. Petroleum is not the solution. As we’ve seen for the past 30+ years in this country, petroleum IS THE PROBLEM. Let’s try thinking outside the box for a change.

Global warming… As for your point “OK – it’s a fact; based on 200 years of data on a subject that unfolds over a geologic time scale.” You are absolutely right. So what? Can we agree that based upon the latest widely accepted scientific research, burning fossil fuels is bad for the environment? Why is it that conservatives seem to feel that it’s not necessary to address an issue until it reaches crisis proportions? Here’s a concept – be proactive, rather than reactive, regarding an issue of the common good; rather than only applying that approach when waging war.

Campaign reform… “Money is the mother’s milk of politics.” Again, so what???? It doesn’t make it right. So, you’re saying, “that’s just the way it is”????? I’m sorry; I refuse to accept resignation when it comes to the corruption so rampant in our representative government. As for the comment “when the Founders, your radical buddies, wrote ‘We the people…’ they were referring to adult, white, male, property holders.” Well, I think we’ve certainly addressed that little oversight. And it was a Republican who got the ball rolling on that one – thank you, Abe. Are you suggesting we go back to “the good old days”?

Integrity of the election system… “You can not contest every single national election just because your candidate does not win.” I am not suggesting that, and you know it. I am referring to the specific actions that were taken by Republican operatives to “steer” elections in a particular direction. My guy has lost many times, and I haven’t cried foul. This is different, and it makes me sick. Try reading RFK Jr’s article in Rolling Stone. I have yet to hear anyone on the right effectively contradict the evidence he lays out.

Social Security solvency… “What about privatization?” Quite frankly, what about it? You want to implement privatization for those who are interested, go for it. But it DOES NOT address the solvency issue of the Soc. Security trust fund. Period. Apples and oranges my friend.

Well the one thing that I discovered in looking at the recent exchange between Country Squire and myself is some of the general philosophical differences between your typical conservative/Republican and your typical liberal/Democrat. I guess it boils down to the fact that we just look at things differently.My observation of those differences looks like this:
A conservative would prefer to maintain the status quo, rather than risk a change.
A liberal would like to change the things that are obviously (to them) not working.
A conservative will tell you, “That’s the way things are. Get used to it.”
A liberal will tell you, “This is the way things should be. Let’s make it happen.”

You conservatives are realists. And that’s a good thing.We liberals are idealists. And that’s a good thing too.I’m not suggesting either view is right or wrong, good or bad. Just different. In the final analysis, having both perspectives active and viable has served our country well for the past 200+ years. It truly is a set of checks and balances that, unfortunately, the Republicans have desperately tried to erode in recent years through one-party control of our government.Well that “status quo” is about to change come November. And the Republicans have nobody to blame but themselves. “That’s the way things are. Get used to it.”

Quote Of The Day

"Observe your enemies, for they first find out your faults."
- Antisthenes

Intellectual Cocooning

Tigerhawk posted this comment in relation to the Chapter 11 filing of Air America and how their failure was a direct result of being unable to take listeners from NPR (emphasis is mine):

"The left has a tough time of it in the United States, I think, because it is in the minority but does not understand that it is. It dominates universities and the national news and entertainment media. As a result, liberal intellectuals who develop new ideas do not have to test their arguments to the same degree as conservatives because they are much more likely than conservative intellectuals to be surrounded by people who agree with them as a matter of course. Conservative "institutions" were built because by the 1970s conservatives felt that they were frozen out of the national conversation. Liberals should not, as Ezra says, mimic the Heritage Foundation or Rush Limbaugh. Instead, liberals should go out of their way to understand their opponent. They should engage, argue and even hang out with conservatives, and listen to the smart arguments that will be raised against their best new ideas. Only then will they understand how to refine their own arguments into a winning message."

Intellectual cocooning should be avoided at all costs. It is often shrill and venomous debate that causes listening to stop.

Additional Fuel To Fire The Great Debate

Recently on Tigerhawk's blog Charlottesvillain posted "what's a liberal?" and then Cassandra came back with "what it means to be a conservative." Both posts deserve a reading as they apply directly to The Great Debate. Besides, a visit to Cassandra's blog, Villainous Company, is worth it just for the pin-up art alone!

The Great Debate

As I mentioned recently, I have linked to a blog called "Truth, For A Change" which is brought to us by Marlipern. During some recent exchanges certain challenges were issued and as a result we have begun "The Great Debate". For my part, I am more interested in where we might find common ground, as I am fairly certain we can find topics to disagree on without much difficulty. I’d say we are getting off to a fair start since I believe we have found common ground on 70%. But let me steal/paraphrase a comment I read recently:The goals of liberals were "Peace, prosperity, and national security," whereas the goals of conservatives were "Peace, prosperity, and national security." What we disagree about is how to get there.

I have taken the liberty of reproducing Marlipern's ten topics/viewpoints with my comments interspersed so it is much more like the discussion it is intended to be.

1. Raise the minimum wage.Should a family of four be able to survive on one person earning minimum wage? No. But should a young person, just getting started? Absolutely.

Answer: I disagree. “Minimum wage workers tend to be young. About half of workers earning $5.15 or less were under age 25, and about one-fourth of workers earning at or below the minimum wage were age 16-19. Among employed teenagers, about 9 percent earned $5.15 or less. About 2 percent of workers age 25 and over earned the minimum wage or less. Among those age 65 and over, the proportion was about 3 percent.” This isn’t my opinion – this comes from the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics Characteristics of Minimum Wage Workers 2005. Why should we pay young people well? Are we discriminating against them because they are young, have no experience and do not bring much in the way of ability to the table? Let the market determine wages.

2. Make education a top priority in our country.Our nation’s schools are in an abysmal state. We are short-changing our nation’s future. If you think, “no child left behind” is the solution, fine. Then fund it damnit!

Answer: I agree. Our nation’s schools are in an abysmal state – agreed. Then let’s implement standardized curriculum and testing across the county so that anyone who tests at or above a 3.5 GPA gets a free ride to college. And any school that is not performing to acceptable standards gets closed or preferably, burned to the ground. Can you say school vouchers? And let’s not forget Ted Kennedy’s involvement in “No Child Left Behind”. "Senator Kennedy has also been a leader in the fight to close the $17 billion gap between funding provided so far by the Administration and Congress and the resources necessary to get the job done."We strongly believe that in order to make the No Child Left Behind law work, more fundamental changes will have to be made. The law continues to evaluate student and school progress on just a 'snapshot'—two tests taken once a year—and it fails to measure growth in individual student achievement over time.”So says the NEA, the single largest roadblock to implementing this act. Two tests taken once a year – exactly how often do you think we would be “testing for growth in individual student achievement over time”? And could we really do it for a mere $17 billion? Not to mention, do you think it would eventually show what a sham the public school system in this country really is – and that the NEA bears a great deal of the blame? Please do not misunderstand me; I have a great deal of respect for some teachers. But what I have a problem with is a union that fights monitoring of results which shields their membership at the expense of our children.

3. Make our nation TRULY energy independent.This is more than just good policy; it is a matter of national security. We have some outstanding scientists and engineers in this country (I know, I’m one of them :-) ), we CAN do this.

Answer: I agree. It is definitely a matter of national security; we have the technology and the people. And I know because you’re one of them. Does this mean we can drill in ANWR now? I mean, since it’s a national security issue and we have the technology and the people and everything…..

4. Take global warming seriously, AND DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT!!!!This is not theory, this is not an opinion, this does not require “further study” to verify. This is a fact. No, it’s not some commie-leftwing-treehugger-antiestablishment conspiracy to kill big oil. The science bears this out. It’s time we thought of the future of our planet, rather than just the future of one political party or their corporate contributors.

Answer: PPPLLLLLEEEEEEEAAAAAASSSSSEEEEEE. I disagree. OK – it’s a fact; based on 200 years of data on a subject that unfolds over a geologic time scale. Thirty years ago every scientist was convinced we were going into the next ice age. Now it’s global warming. Please make up my mind. “Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore warned hundreds of U.N. diplomats and staff on Thursday evening about the perils of climate change, claiming: Cigarette smoking is a "significant contributor to global warming!"Gore showed computer-generated projections of ocean water rushing in to submerge the San Francisco Bay Area, New York City, parts of China, India and other nations, should ice shelves in Antarctica or Greenland melt and slip into the sea.”I’ll give the planet San Francisco and New York City if I can still drive my SUV. And as for cigarette smoking being a "significant contributor to global warming!" as Jocelyn Elders, the Clinton appointed US Surgeon General once said “You’ve gotta die of something.”

5. Require a balanced federal budget, period.A constitutional amendment perhaps? Yes, you heard me, a Democrat advocating for an amendment that the federal budget be balanced. It’s simple math. We’ve gone from the largest budget surplus in history to the largest deficit in history. We cannot continue down this road. Our children and our grandchildren are going to inherit enough of the problems we’ve created. They don’t need to be in perpetual debt as well.

Answer: I agree but with provisions. I am not convinced a constitutional amendment could/should correct this problem. And yes – it is rich, that you, a Democrat would suggest one. As for it being simple math – I’m not so convinced. Both parties have shown a complete lack of regard for our children and grandchildren when it comes to disciplined spending. The only difference here is one of emphasis; historically, Republicans spend more on the military at the expense of domestic programs and the Democrats offer the opposite. But pork remains king.

6. Implement serious campaign finance reforms.Public financing of elections? Maybe. A serious cap on soft money? Perhaps. But the point is, our democracy should not be for sale to the highest bidder. It’s “We the People”, not “We the Corporations”. Pay to play doesn’t seem consistent with “promote the general welfare”.

Answer: I disagree. Money is the mother’s milk of politics. Public financing of elections – surely you jest. I’ve got a great idea – let’s tax ourselves to let these idiots run for office!!!! What a wonderful trough that would be!!!!Anyway, I thought McCain-Feingold fixed all of this.By the way, interestingly enough, when the Founders, your radical buddies, wrote “We the people…” they were referring to adult, white, male, property holders.

7. Establish trade policies that protect American jobs.I’m not suggesting that we isolate ourselves. I’m not suggesting that corporations shouldn’t be able to turn a profit. But somehow, some way, we need to make it a priority to have decent, good-paying jobs for workers right here in the U.S. of A. If we keep outsourcing our jobs, we might as well start outsourcing the consumers as well. Because eventually, there won’t be anyone left here who can even afford the cheap Chinese products at Wal-Mart.

Answer: I agree with provisions. Our economy is changing from a manufacturing to a service economy. It concerns me a great deal since I work for a manufacturing oriented company. But the fact remains that we are increasingly moving to a service based economy - and as with the change from an agricultural to a manufacturing economy, some people inevitably get hurt in the process. We do need to keep certain industries (i.e. steel, auto) if for no other reason than national defense considerations. But our children need to be concentrating their efforts on the post industrial jobs of the future not following in their parents footsteps and going to work in the mill. If you have not already done so, read Thomas Friedman’s book “The World Is Flat”.

8. Take some serious steps address nuclear and WMD proliferation.The greatest threat to our civilization continues to be a man-made threat. This isn’t just some tree-huggin’ nonuke freak talking here. Even dubya is concerned with the spread of WMDs. (too bad he can’t find any – yes, that was a cheap shot, and well-deserved) Given today’s verification of a nuclear North Korea, this issue is all the more relevant.

Answer: I agree. But the real question is how. This could be a huge discuss all by itself. See my post on North Korea for starters.

9. Make the election system in our country above reproach.Forget about whether or not there were shenanigans in 2000 (which there were), or 2004 (ditto). The fact remains that the American people are questioning the integrity of the very system that insures that their voices are heard and their interests are represented. If we cannot insure the validity and transparency of the very foundation of our democracy, then the rest of our discussion is pointless.

Answer: I agree with provisions. And if you think that our election process is flawed, you should watch the rest of the world try to do what we have been doing for over 200 years – the peaceful transfer of power via the ballot box.These sour grapes have turned to vinegar. We have had close elections before. In 1960 the question was “How many times can a dead person vote in Chicago, Illinois?” The answer was “As many times as it takes to make Jack Kennedy president.” For the good of the country, did Richard Nixon contest the election – no. But in 2000 Al Gore did and so did his army of lawyers. Gore won the popular vote and lost the Electoral College. If you don’t like that election system then work to change it; but, like it or not, we have been using it to elect presidents in this country for a long time. Strangely enough, people tend to forget that the mid-term elections of 2002 were a pick up for the Republicans when, historically, they should not have won.In 2004 you just plain lost. Get over it. “The fact remains that the American people are questioning the integrity of the very system that insures that their voices are heard and their interests are represented.” Wrong. Less than half of the people are because the person they voted for was not elected. You can not contest every single national election just because your candidate does not win. However, if someone is actually caught circumventing the election laws then let’s make an example of them and put them in front of a firing squad. But if you are not bright enough to figure out where you are supposed to vote, what voter registration is all about, what kind of ID you might need and how a butterfly ballot or an electronic voting machine works – don’t complain – you probably aren’t doing the Republic a great service by casting a ballot either. And leave the lawyers at home.

10. Insure the solvency on the social security system, for generations to come.Some on the right have argued that there is nothing to worry about, that the liberals are twisting this way out of proportion. Given the Republicans’ recent proclivity to spend this nation into oblivion, I couldn’t disagree more. Some of us are fortunate enough to not have to worry about whether social security will be there for us when we retire. That doesn’t mean we should turn our back on those who are not so fortunate.


Answer: I agree. What exactly was the Democrats plan for Social Security reform when they decided they didn’t want President Bush to reform it? The President came out and said there was plenty to worry about in regards to Social Security and showed it would go bankrupt. What about privatization? Nope, can’t do that; we’re not smart enough. Give me the money the government is taking from me and let me invest it. I’ll be just fine.And as for retirement – I am glad to hear you have nothing to worry about. But turning our backs on the less fortunate? Come on. Social Security was never meant to be a retirement plan. When President Roosevelt put it together you had to be 65 years old to qualify – which happens to have been older than the average person lived to be at the time.

Quote Of The Day

I recently finished reading William Manchester's two volume biography of Winston Churchill The Last Lion and perhaps the most chilling sentence was:

"One pictures Neville Chamberlain in hell, sitting at one end of a table with Satan at the other, each checking off items on his agenda, and a slow, awful expression of comprehension crossing the late P.M.'s face as he realizes that he has just traded his soul for a promise of future negotiations."

Why North Korea is the Wrong Focus

I have been reading about North Korea a great deal this week in an effort to determine if they did test a nuclear device, which it seems they have, as well as to gain an understanding of where we should go next with this situation. In a comment to a recent post about North Korea Marlipern said:
"In the end, it will likely be China that comes to the world's rescue, and puts the North Koreans in their place. I'm sure they have no desire for a nuclear-armed irrational neighbor to their south.Who would have ever thought we would be relying on China to get our diplomatic work done for us."

On the contrary, the very definition of "diplomatic work" is getting other nations to enact our policies by eliciting either their co-operation or the co-operation of their client states. And as one can see from the article below, China has long been the "man behind the curtain" in this little drama. Hence, the six party talks. China, if indeed they do act against North Korea, will certainly not be doing so out of a sense of international altruism. They will act because it is in their best interest and because of the box they find themselves in, courtesy of the United States. Read on.

Winds of Change.NET: Why North Korea is the Wrong Focus: "So the day has likely come, as it inevitably had to. And with it comes the question: "Now what?"

And my first answer is: Forget North Korea. No proposal involving their government, from idiotic talk of sanctions (what, we're going to cut Kim out of the movie remake?) to even dumber and more craven responses around "rewards" (read: appeasement and a license to keep cheating) is worth even 10 seconds of your time. Search and boarding activities for ships from North Korea may be helpful, and preparations for that have been underway for a while, but ultimately this doesn't solve the problem and raises risks whenever used.

If you want to fix the problem, you have to see and understand the lever.
The truth is that North Korea is an irrelevant bit player in this whole drama. The real player here is China. They have helped North Korea at every step, and North Korea's regime cannot survive at all without their ongoing food and fuel aid. Kim Jong-Il's nuclear plans may be slightly inconvenient to the Chinese - just not not inconvenient enough to derail a strategy that still promises net plusses to those pursuing it within China's dictatorship.

Recall Winds' comprehensive look at the forces within and around China, its geo-political goals and imperatives, and its military options. Korea is a potent potential competitor that has historically had some rivalry with the Chinese, and South Korea is part of the chain of countries that helps to box China and prevent unimpeded access to the sea lanes on which it is so dependent for resources. With its highly developed economy, it's also an investment rival for projects in Russia, and thus complicates Chinese efforts to secure Siberia's resources as a land-based alternative.

Hence the two-faced strategy China is pursuing. One that uses North Korea as their deniable "cut out," and works in conjunction with South Korean political elements to irritate the US and build pressure to push them out of Korea. Once that is achieved in whole or in part, or South Korea concludes for other reasons that the US security guarantee cannot be relied upon to the extent required, South Korea can be "Finlandized" by making China its key security guarantor. Of course, this will happen in return for the same kind of quiet veto power and political interference the USSR exercized in Finland during the Cold War.

That's a very big strategic carrot to dangle in front of fellow members of China's ruling dictatorship. This approach is also bolstered on the flip side by a Chinese aversion to seeing a wave of starving North Korean refugees from what may be the most evil regime in human history wash over Manchuria. Hence, both advantage and fear work to keep Chinese support in place, while shaping South Korea toward a strategic Chinese double-win in which they also pick up the pieces in any northern collapse. The current South Korean government's "sunshine policy" which preaches "one Korea," plays down issues with the North and will not confront it, and demonizes the USA at a grassroots level is perfect on all counts from a Chinese perspective. North Korea's threat will not go away, of course, but friction with the USA, paralysis that keeps their North Korean client safe from retaliation, and positioning Korea psychologically to be responsible for the North later (but not, for instance, for starving North Korean refugees now)... all are exactly what China's doctor ordered from a geo-political perspective.

That will not change. Not until - and unless - the potential advantage is seen to be outweighed by very immediate consequences, and the fear of regime collapse in North Korea is replaced by a greater fear. Since China's is also an absolutist dictatorship, the consequences and greater fear must be far greater in order to trigger the kind of to-the-death (and here we mean the real deaths or equivalent of people and families, not just political careers) internal political battles required to remove the architects and proponents of the current strategy. Who cannot back away from it normally, both for fear of their lives and positions in such a system and for more culture-specific reasons around "face."

In other words, China won't move unless its current strategy is seen to cost them, big-time.
The biggest cost, and the only one that will be real to them in any sense, is to have Kim Jong-Il's nuclear detonation result in parallel nuclear proliferation among the nearby states China wishes to dominate/ bully. That would be a foreign policy disaster for the Chinese, and would cause the current architects of China's North Korea policy to be buried along with their policy. Which, as we noted earlier, is the only kind of policy education that works in a system like theirs.

So... if this turns out to be a nuclear test, ignore North Korea. Sanctions et. al are a total waste of time. Target China indirectly, with consequences it can easily understand as horribly bad from their perspective but which appear to be perfectly reasonable responses to North Korea.
In other words, make it clear to the Chinese via back-channel diplomacy that anything Taiwan chooses to do re: acquiring nuclear technology is no longer of any interest to the USA until Kim's regime is gone - and that the Taiwanese are being briefed to that effect (the US had stopped a Taiwanese nuclear effort by threatening a cutoff of all military aid). Be clear also, and make public statements that "other states in the region" now have a viable reason to respond in kind. One could also drop hints about and then refuse to deny to the Chinese that back-channel discussions have begun with South Korea and Japan that involve America offering them a set number of working nuclear weapons from US stocks as a counterweight. They can also be told more directly via diplomatic channels that the USA will also support either or both countries if they choose to pursue their own programs, meanwhile floating diplomatic "trial balloons" re: a system that gives these countries their own deterrents as a better option, because it does not produce the capacity for further manufacture and so is "less destabilizing to the region."
How China chooses to fix the North Korea problem after that and thus stop all of these intiatives is, of course, up to them.

Welcome to the big leagues, and have a nice day.

Nothing short of that kind of response is going to change anything.

Quote Of The Day

"Newspapers are for people who didn't read the Internet yesterday."

- James Lileks

How I Spent My Weekend

This is how I spent my weekend - enjoying the beautiful weather and bringing in the apple harvest off the trees on our property.




Here is how Kim Jong-il spent the weekend.




Bad dictator! Bad, bad dictator!!!

I know I said that I would only write posts that fit the ten year time test - but he didn't have to do this just for me.

Let's see - nuclear weapons and ICBMs equals Clear and Present Danger. Stay tuned.

Quote Of The Day

"Great people talk about ideas, average people talk about things, and small people talk about wine."

Fran Lebowitz

Truth, For A Change

Please note that I have posted a new link to a blog called Truth, For A Change. While the fare there is considerably different than what you are apt to find here, be sure to give Marlipern a try. We're going to see if we can find some common ground or at worst, agree to disagree.

Ah, political debate - one of the many, many things that makes this country great!

I'm Back

After blogging a while and then standing back for a couple of months I have decided to begin posting again. I am sure that no one has noticed that I have been gone but…….

Anyway, I have decided to comment only on the “important”, “big picture” issues of the day and not the “disasters du jour”. If you want wall to wall Mark Foley coverage, please look elsewhere. The acid test now being applied will be “Will this topic have relevance ten years from now?” This should make for fewer posts but heavier lifting.

Why Joe Lieberman Is Being Thrown Out Of The Democratic Party

In the Washington Post today Robert Kagan delineates why Joe Liberman is being given the boot by the Democrats. Is it because he is a "bad" Democrat on social or economic issues? No. Is it because he is a "hawk"?

The Last Honest Man: "No, Lieberman's sin is of a different order. Lieberman stands condemned today because he didn't recant. He didn't say he was wrong. He didn't turn on his former allies and condemn them. He didn't claim to be the victim of a hoax. He didn't try to pretend that he never supported the war in the first place. He didn't claim to be led into support for the war by a group of writers and intellectuals whom he can now denounce. He didn't go through a public show of agonizing and phony soul-baring and apologizing in the hopes of resuscitating his reputation, as have some noted 'public intellectuals.'"

The willfull misleading of the public by various elites both in politics and the media was rampant during the lead up to World War II as well.

Quote Of The Day

"The spread of evil is the symptom of a vacuum. Whenever evil wins it is only by default: the moral failure of those who evade the fact that there can be no compromise on basic principles."

- Ayn Rand from Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal

WWCD

In this article, Victor Davis Hanson relates how much the world stage of today resembles Europe in 1938 at the height of appeasement. The only question we have left to ask is "What would Churchill do?"

VDH's Private Papers::The Brink of Madness: "But what is lost sight of is the central moral issue of our times: a humane democracy mired in an asymmetrical war is trying to protect itself against terrorists from the 7th century, while under the scrutiny of a corrupt world that needs oil, is largely anti-Semitic and deathly afraid of Islamic terrorists, and finds psychic enjoyment in seeing successful Western societies under duress.

In short, if we wish to learn what was going on in Europe in 1938, just look around."

I'll Bet She Didn't Look Like Jessica Tandy Either

Our son, the summer alpaca rancher, had to take one of the animals to The Ohio State University Veterinary Medical facility in Columbus for some tests. He told me that only after checking the animal's name tag did he discover that he had been driving "Miss Daisy".

Quote Of The Day

"When weeding, the best way to make sure you are removing a weed and not a valuable plant is to pull on it. If it comes out of the ground easily, it is a valuable plant. "

- Anonymous

Best Overheard Conversation

M'Lady and I were having breakfast one Saturday morning recently when a rather large local farmer decked out in bibb overalls and a John Deere baseball cap came into the greasy spoon to join his cronies. After verbally abusing the waitress, which apparently was considered good sport by his fellows, and ordering a cup of coffee he leaned back in his chair and said "Well, I guess the drought's over".

The previous evening it had rained 6 inches.

Great. My Headset Jack Doesn't Work Anymore.

Gizmodo, The Gadget Guide: "A UK newspaper reminds us that cellphones are just downright disgusting, and are even dirtier than toilets. That's because they're exposed to much more bodily bacteria than any toilet seat. A combination of being near your mouth with all that spit and stuff, and those cellphone electronics keeping the bacteria warm all day turns that handset into a teeming metropolis of creepy-crawley microbes"

Well, They're Better Than Toasters

I heard not one but two offers on the radio today for free Apple iPods. Get an iPod for signing up for classes at some business school no one has ever heard of and get a Nano for setting up a new checking account (?). Cool.

A Visit To The Fair

We finally got a break in the hideously hot weather as a line of thunderstorms moved through the area and M'Lady and I decided to take in the county fair this evening. A nice time was had by one and all. We viewed practically every animal on the premises from lamb to draught horse, goat to peacock, bee to bull, not to mention some of the human variations on display. The people watching was particularly good, which I attributed to the musical headliner of the evening - Styx. They were bad enough the first time around and I doubt they have improved while playing county fairs for $30 a head.

M'Lady took particular interest in the duck races the children held. Pet ducks raised by the contestants were simultaneously released inside 10 foot long pens and encouraged to run to the opposite end by much table top banging. Good, clean fun that even the ducks seemed to enjoy and not a PETA member in sight.

And since much of life consists of good timing, the last words I heard the announcer say as we walked out the front gate were "Styx will be coming on stage in two minutes and tickets are still available....".

Quote Of The Day

Seen on a church sign:

"If the grass is greener on the other side, fertilize yours."

I Love David E. Petzel

the gun editor for Field & Stream:

The Gun Nut: "Through the history of firearms, many of the most effective guns have also been the most graceful, the Kentucky rifle, the Springfield Model 03, the Colt Peacemaker, the Winchester Model 12, the Savage Model 99. Gun designers who put ugly firearms on the market should be sealed in a room where the collected speeches of Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) are played at a deafening volume for all eternity."

It's Like Hitting A Fastball

If you think about it - it's over.

The Gun Nut: "I'm indebted to my friend John Thomas for this one. John is a retiree who teaches rich people how to shoot a shotgun, and we were talking the other day about a client of his who couldn't hit a crossing target.
His problem, said John, is he thinks about it. It's a clear case of analysis paralysis.
Truer words were never spoken. If you want to miss with a shotgun, or a rifle in most cases, just think about what you're doing. Gene Hill used to say that the ideal trapshooter would be a gorilla who knew how to handle a gun; he'd be too dumb to analyze, and recoil wouldn't bother him. "

Zen And The Art Of Shotgunning. While you need to be aware of everything around you when handling a firearm, you can't think about what you're doing when actually shooting. Try to explain that to someone that wants to take away your Second Amendment rights.

Quote Of The Day

"Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power."

- Abraham Lincoln

Democracies Don't Fight Each Other

Michael Totten is filling in for Glenn Reynolds this week at Instapundit and posts the following item:

Instapundit.com: "This war in the Middle East nearly demolishes the theory that democracies don't go to war with each other. Lebanon, aside from Hezbollah's state-within-a-state, is a democracy. At least it's an almost-democracy. Aside from my personal affection for Lebanon, the country where I recently lived, the only country other than the US where I've ever lived, this is what anguishes me the most: The Arab world's only democracy is being torn to pieces by another democracy.
But it's telling, I think, that the Lebanese army, the fighting institution that represents democratic Lebanon and not just one totalitarian-sponsored political party, has chosen to sit this one out. "

Far from proving the point, Israel is fighting Hezbollah - a "totalitarian-sponsored political party" in Totten's words, not Lebanon. Lebanon's fledgling democracy is in no condition to fight this militia. The infrastructure damage Israel has caused to Lebanon is to keep Hezbollah from being resupplied by Syria and Iran - not to strangle the new Lebanese democracy in it's infancy. It might also explain why the Lebanese military has decided to sit on the sidelines since they can't possibly win. While the Arab League has issued a denunciation of Hezbollah, a polarization of political opinion must happen in the Middle East. The time is quickly approaching for these countries to make a decision - which side are you on?

Quote Of The Day

"What we anticipate seldom occurs: but what we least expect generally happens."

- Benjamin Disraeli

The Fragility of the Good Life

The question is do we have the ability to see a long term war through to victory or will we sacrifice that goal if our "good life" begins to unravel. You can be sure that the terrorists of the world are counting on us to become distracted.

VDH's Private Papers::The Fragility of the Good Life: "In our own new age of war, terrorism, huge debt, high-priced gas and frightful weapons and viruses that we try to ignore, we should remember that civilization's progress is not always linear. The human condition does not inevitably evolve from good to better to best, but always remains precarious, its advances cyclical.

The good life sometimes can be lost quite unexpectedly and abruptly when people demand rights more than they accept responsibilities, or live for present consumption rather than sacrifice for future investment, or feel their own culture is not particularly exceptional and therefore in no need of constant support and defense."

Midterm Madness

Madness indeed. Jack Murtha is a disgrace as a former Marine and a member of the United States House of Representatives. I can only imagine the type of voter that would be swayed by his appearance at a campaign rally.

Midterm Madness: "MURTHA ON THE CAMPAIGN TRAIL. The Hill reports that Rep. John Murtha will stump for 41 House Democrats throughout the country as November nears. Two years ago he campaigned for none. But since then he's come out against the war, allowing the hawkish congressman to gain a whole new fan base."

The truly sad part of all of this is that Murtha is making these appearances for political "chits". The Democrats are already beginning to divide up the spoils of a mid-term election rout of the Republicans before the votes have even been counted. One can only wonder at the horrors in store for this nation if the Appeasement Party takes control of the House and/or the Senate.

Mel Gibson's Apology

While there has been a great swirl of interest in Mel Gibson's anti-Semitic rant while being arrested for DUI, most of it prurient, I think his apology should be just as widely circulated.

ABC News: Mel Gibson's Statement: "There is no excuse, nor should there be any tolerance, for anyone who thinks or expresses any kind of anti-Semitic remark. I want to apologize specifically to everyone in the Jewish community for the vitriolic and harmful words that I said to a law enforcement officer the night I was arrested on a DUI charge.
I am a public person, and when I say something, either articulated and thought out, or blurted out in a moment of insanity, my words carry weight in the public arena. As a result, I must assume personal responsibility for my words and apologize directly to those who have been hurt and offended by those words.

The tenets of what I profess to believe necessitate that I exercise charity and tolerance as a way of life. Every human being is God's child, and if I wish to honor my God I have to honor his children. But please know from my heart that I am not an anti-Semite. I am not a bigot. Hatred of any kind goes against my faith.
I'm not just asking for forgiveness. I would like to take it one step further, and meet with leaders in the Jewish community, with whom I can have a one on one discussion to discern the appropriate path for healing.

I have begun an ongoing program of recovery and what I am now realizing is that I cannot do it alone. I am in the process of understanding where those vicious words came from during that drunken display, and I am asking the Jewish community, whom I have personally offended, to help me on my journey through recovery. Again, I am reaching out to the Jewish community for its help. I know there will be many in that community who will want nothing to do with me, and that would be understandable. But I pray that that door is not forever closed.

This is not about a film. Nor is it about artistic license. This is about real life and recognizing the consequences hurtful words can have. Its about existing in harmony in a world that seems to have gone mad."

Mel has accepted complete responsibility for his comments and their implications. I think his apology comes from a true sense of remorse, not from some financial or otherwise ulterior motive. Now we will have an opportunity to watch him make amends with actions not just words and then we can truly gauge his sincerity.

Whatever the outcome of this incident to Mel Gibson, personally and/or professionally, it will be interesting also to watch how the people that vilified him apply the same standards to others such as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Or not.

Why Don't The Cleveland Indians Have A Web Site?

Because the can't put three W's together. It appears this season is not so slowly sinking into the sunset and that the "re-building" has already begun.

Transformed Into A Religious War

Charles Krauthammer is one of the truly "wise men" writing about politics and world events today. I have been wondering how long it was going to take for us to see this conflict as a religious war.

TIME.com: Actually, the Middle East Is Our Crisis Too -- Aug. 7, 2006 -- Page 1: "Something radically new is emerging in the Middle East: the century-old Arab-Israeli dispute has been transmuted from a nationalist to a religious war. And as a result, the Arab-Israeli wars are now merging into the global conflict between radical Islam and the West."

The O'Quiz for July 31st Is Up

Try your luck at this on-line quiz about current events.

BillOReilly.com: O'Quiz

Quote Of The Day

"The difference between genius and stupidity is that genius has it's limits."

- Albert Einstein

The War Against Syran?

Michael Ledeen makes some very interesting points about our inability to see the Middle East conflict as a regional war being conducted through surogates.

Michael Ledeen on Syria and Iran on National Review Online: "Certainly there is lots of bad news, most of which confirms what we already knew: The Western world hates Israel; the taboo on anti-Semitism is off; the Western world has been P.C.'ed to the edge of death; there is no stomach for fighting the war against Islamic fascism.

Sounds like the Thirties to me."

It Is Really Hot

And it looks as if there is no relief in sight - 91 today and 94 tomorrow with heat indexes as high as 104. At least we have air conditioning and James Lileks to help keep it in perspective.

LILEKS (James) :: the bleat: "Welcome to the humidor. These are the days of which we dream in deep January, but once they are upon us we curse them. Some do, anyway. I never complain about hot weather, partly because it's useless, and mostly because it's boring. It could be worse; I could be living 80 years ago, in which case I'd probably be wearing canvas underwear and a thick wool coat, my Wicking Hat and "Care-Free" neck cinch, which could only be relaxed after sundown when the ladies had retired. I would have no air conditioning; I would have one underpowered fan that shoved humid air in my face like a damp towel; I would have a damp towel, on my neck; I would have exhausted the ice allotment long ago, and would be sitting in the dark room with the radio off, because the tubes heated up the house. Sundown would be met by weary cheers from the porches adjacent. Every hour or so, you'd hear the dull thud of a horse passing out. No, I don't complain about the heat."

The Corner on Parents - Again

My children were often dismayed when I told them that the main resonsibility their mother and I took on when we had them was to raise responsible citizens for the Republic.

The Corner on National Review Online: "I think Hanna Arendt was right when she said that Western Civilization is invaded every generation by barbarians - we call them children. I would add that parents are the first, best, line of defense against the invaders.

There are no citizen factories. The State cannot create citizens on a mass scale (history is full of bloody failed attempts to demonstrate otherwise). In a successful society, citizens must be made by small artisans working on a case-by-case basis. We call these artisans "parents." I have no doubt that in a world of bad parents some children would still become good citizens. But not enough, not nearly enough.

A civilization that forgets this has signed its death warrant. Parents matter - a lot. "

Fair Week Is Upon Us

The Fair begins tomorrow and runs through next Sunday. I think M'Lady and I will be giving the chickens and rabbits a good looking over since we would like to begin raising them next year. And, of course, we'll have to stop by the honey exhibit to talk with our fellow beekeepers.

General Info: "The Medina County Fair has been a family tradition for 161 years. We emphasize the preservation of Medina County's agricultural heritage and family traditions. Your county's fair, since 1845, has grown to become one of the top agricultural fairs in the state. "

Cool Car

This car has it all - style, speed (0-60 in 4 seconds), great mileage (135 mpg) and its eco-friendly (100% electric).

Now all they have to do is make it affordable.

Tesla Motors

Words Of Wisdom From Mark Steyn

Mark Steyn, Columnist to the World, accurately points out just exactly which state wields power in the Middle East. And just think what it will be like when they have a nuclear weapon.

Failure to solve Palestinian question empowers Iran: "Saudi-Egyptian-Jordanian opportunism on Palestine has caught up with them: It's finally dawned on them that a strategy of consciously avoiding resolution of the 'Palestinian question' has helped deliver Gaza, and Lebanon and Syria, into the hands of a regime that's a far bigger threat to the Arab world than the Zionist Entity. Cairo and Co. grew so accustomed to whining about the Palestinian pseudo-crisis decade in decade out that it never occurred to them that they might face a real crisis one day: a Middle East dominated by an apocalyptic Iran and its local enforcers, in which Arab self-rule turns out to have been a mere interlude between the Ottoman sultans and the eternal eclipse of a Persian nuclear umbrella. The Zionists got out of Gaza and it's now Talibanistan redux. The Zionists got out of Lebanon and the most powerful force in the country (with an ever-growing demographic advantage) are Iran's Shia enforcers. There haven't been any Zionists anywhere near Damascus in 60 years and Syria is in effect Iran's first Sunni Arab prison bitch. For the other regimes in the region, Gaza, Lebanon and Syria are dead states that have risen as vampires."

On Parenting

While I agree with Tigerhawk and John Derbyshire to a certain degree, I think the biggest difference between my childhood and my children's was that mine was less structured than theirs. But on the flip side, my children got to do and experience things I could only dream about.

TigerHawk: "John Derbyshire today wrote a paragraph that speaks precisely to my greatest regret as a father, that my children are not growing up with the freedom that I did:

I've been aware for some time, and reading that made me freshly aware, of my own great good fortune in having been in the last (actually, I think, about last but one, or last but a half) generation of Western children to have a real childhood: roaming over fields and through woods, falling out of trees and into ponds, experienced with firecrackers, roller-skates, airguns, and slingshots, being bullied and occasionally beaten up by older boys, playing 'British Bulldog' in the schoolyard, sailing model boats and flying model planes, playing complicated street games handed down intact from ancient Rome-and all with never an adult in sight! How lucky we were! How miserable our children must be!"

James Lileks High School Reunion Recap

Lileks 30th High School Reunion piece would be a great deal more humorous if mine wasn't next year.
LILEKS (James) :: the Bleat :: Thu

Quote Of The Day

"Tolerance becomes a crime when applied to evil."

- Thomas Mann

Blackberry Pie

One of the fringe benefits our son has discovered while working at a local alpaca ranch during his summer college break is that the ranch has wild blackberry bushes! He brought home enough berries to make at least two pies and they were still warm from the sun. Guess what's for dessert tonight - does life get a lot better than this?

TigerHawk

I saw this post from Tigerhawk when it was published last week. It presents the Middle East 'democratization strategy' debate very well and is worthwhile reading.


TigerHawk: "Saturday, July 15, 2006
Wither the 'democratization strategy'?
By TigerHawk at 7/15/2006 10:49:00 AM

Several of my absolute favorite terrorism analysts, Andy McCarthy, John Podhoretz, Cliff May, and Michael Ledeen, spent the afternoon of Bastille Day duking it out at The Corner over the 'democratization strategy.' Let's examine the back-and-forth, and then reprise a topic I have been writing about for more than a year: the 'realist' case for promoting democracy in the Muslim world."

Welcome

After reading blogs for quite sometime, I have decided to enter the blogosphere myself. As the sub-title indicates, this blog will be composed of "random thoughts" with a heavy emphasis on random. I hope you will find the posts to be interesting, sometimes humorous and occasionally thought provoking.