There are a billion and a half Muslims in the world; 8 million in the United States. The world is too small to just ignore them, so we’re either going to have to find a way to co-exist with them, or we’re going to have to kill them.
I vote for persistent, rational dialog.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
What a Lousy Way to Run an Empire
If America plans to continue on its imperial path, it needs to put someone in charge who actually knows how to run an empire.
The whole point of invading foreign lands, overthrowing governments, killing civilians and soldiers and installing our own political philosophies and moral sensibilities on the defeated populi is to then suck the wealth from those nations and spread it around back home. Think of the Spaniards and Incas, the Japanese in World War II or Attila when he was doing his “scourge of God” thing across Europe.
America today, however, is bass-ackwards. Yes, we invade and overthrow governments and kill people and so on, but then we pump money into the conquered countries. The wealth transfer is from the American taxpayers to the people we just whupped, as if we’re trying to buy their affection.
Iraq’s oil spigots should be turned wide open, to the benefit of the U.S. (I know, we have private oil companies, not a government one, but at the very least we should be using Iraqi crude to fill our Strategic Petroleum Reserves to overflowing.) And that trillion dollars worth of Afghani minerals ought to be used to reimburse us for what we’ve spent propping up that corrupt regime.
That’s the way to do to be a real empire, my friends.
The whole point of invading foreign lands, overthrowing governments, killing civilians and soldiers and installing our own political philosophies and moral sensibilities on the defeated populi is to then suck the wealth from those nations and spread it around back home. Think of the Spaniards and Incas, the Japanese in World War II or Attila when he was doing his “scourge of God” thing across Europe.
America today, however, is bass-ackwards. Yes, we invade and overthrow governments and kill people and so on, but then we pump money into the conquered countries. The wealth transfer is from the American taxpayers to the people we just whupped, as if we’re trying to buy their affection.
Iraq’s oil spigots should be turned wide open, to the benefit of the U.S. (I know, we have private oil companies, not a government one, but at the very least we should be using Iraqi crude to fill our Strategic Petroleum Reserves to overflowing.) And that trillion dollars worth of Afghani minerals ought to be used to reimburse us for what we’ve spent propping up that corrupt regime.
That’s the way to do to be a real empire, my friends.
Monday, July 26, 2010
War and the Individual
A basic tenet of Libertarianism is that “The Individual is Sovereign”.
People are not bees in a hive or ants on a hill – interchangeable, insignificant beings whose purpose is to blindly serve, even die for, the colony. Our value is in being individuals, not mere pieces of the whole. You are important because you are a separate, individual human being, not because you are part of 300 million Americans.
By necessity, we individuals – we citizens – form governments to handle those tasks we cannot reasonably handle on our own or in voluntary cooperation with others. What and how numerous those tasks should be is a matter of separate debate, but the point is that with humans, the colony – the nation, society and its leaders – should exist to serve the citizens and not the other way around.
And so, for war to be valid, it must stem from a direct physical threat to the citizenry, and not because of a leader’s whim or a supposed affront to “the nation’s honor”. There must be an identifiable enemy threatening those citizens, and not a nebulous boogey-man like “international terrorism”. There must be an effective, rational plan in place to neutralize that enemy along with a pre-determined definition of victory, not an open-ended mission which can be continually modified to prolong and expand the conflict.
If these parameters are not solidly identified, a nation should never ask its soldiers – valuable, individual human beings all – to go in harm’s way. They are not ants to be sacrificed for the supposed good of the colony; they are honorable men and women who have volunteered to defend their families, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. They are in uniform to protect our people and our borders, not to occupy foreign lands like Iraq and Afghanistan based on misinformation and outright lies from the political überclass.
Honoring these soldiers’ service and bravery by bringing them home alive and well will be my Job #1 in Congress.
People are not bees in a hive or ants on a hill – interchangeable, insignificant beings whose purpose is to blindly serve, even die for, the colony. Our value is in being individuals, not mere pieces of the whole. You are important because you are a separate, individual human being, not because you are part of 300 million Americans.
By necessity, we individuals – we citizens – form governments to handle those tasks we cannot reasonably handle on our own or in voluntary cooperation with others. What and how numerous those tasks should be is a matter of separate debate, but the point is that with humans, the colony – the nation, society and its leaders – should exist to serve the citizens and not the other way around.
And so, for war to be valid, it must stem from a direct physical threat to the citizenry, and not because of a leader’s whim or a supposed affront to “the nation’s honor”. There must be an identifiable enemy threatening those citizens, and not a nebulous boogey-man like “international terrorism”. There must be an effective, rational plan in place to neutralize that enemy along with a pre-determined definition of victory, not an open-ended mission which can be continually modified to prolong and expand the conflict.
If these parameters are not solidly identified, a nation should never ask its soldiers – valuable, individual human beings all – to go in harm’s way. They are not ants to be sacrificed for the supposed good of the colony; they are honorable men and women who have volunteered to defend their families, friends, neighbors and fellow citizens. They are in uniform to protect our people and our borders, not to occupy foreign lands like Iraq and Afghanistan based on misinformation and outright lies from the political überclass.
Honoring these soldiers’ service and bravery by bringing them home alive and well will be my Job #1 in Congress.
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Edmond Sun Takes the 5th
The Edmond Sun Editorial Board took a look at the 5th District Congressional race and in an editorial in the Edmond Sun on Saturday, July 24, 2010, it made no endorsement. Why? Read on.
After commenting that the voters will have a tough choice to make in the primaries, the paper stated that “The good news is that the majority of the candidates trying to nab Rep. Mary Fallin’s seat are truly high-caliber candidates.”
Neither Democrat received a nod or even a mention by name, so I guess they aren’t in that majority of “high-caliber candidates”.
That leaves 9 candidates, but as Independents, Dave White and I aren’t in the primaries, so we’re off the list – for now, anyway.
That leaves the 7 Republicans, a majority of whom would be 4 or more. And the Board did mention 4 names: Calvey, Jett, Lankford and Thompson. But even though the Board was sure that any 1 of these 4 would provide “good representation in Congress”, the editorial also stated that after questioning these men in 8 areas and looking at their agendas, none of them earned “nods of confidence” in a “majority of those areas.”
In other words, by the Board’s own admission and using its own ranking system, neither Calvey, Jett, Lankford nor Thompson scored over 50% approval rating.
No wonder the Editorial Board didn’t end up pick anyone to endorse: These “high-caliber candidates” are all received F’s!
After commenting that the voters will have a tough choice to make in the primaries, the paper stated that “The good news is that the majority of the candidates trying to nab Rep. Mary Fallin’s seat are truly high-caliber candidates.”
Neither Democrat received a nod or even a mention by name, so I guess they aren’t in that majority of “high-caliber candidates”.
That leaves 9 candidates, but as Independents, Dave White and I aren’t in the primaries, so we’re off the list – for now, anyway.
That leaves the 7 Republicans, a majority of whom would be 4 or more. And the Board did mention 4 names: Calvey, Jett, Lankford and Thompson. But even though the Board was sure that any 1 of these 4 would provide “good representation in Congress”, the editorial also stated that after questioning these men in 8 areas and looking at their agendas, none of them earned “nods of confidence” in a “majority of those areas.”
In other words, by the Board’s own admission and using its own ranking system, neither Calvey, Jett, Lankford nor Thompson scored over 50% approval rating.
No wonder the Editorial Board didn’t end up pick anyone to endorse: These “high-caliber candidates” are all received F’s!
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Vilshack, Sharrod, Honor
In 1963, John Profumo, Britain’s Secretary of State for War, was caught having an affair with Christine Keeler, who was also the supposed mistress of a Russian spy. Mr. Profumo lied about it in the House of Commons, but was soon shown to be guilty. In contrition, he resigned his position and spent the rest of his life doing good works, starting by cleaning toilets at Toynbee House, a London charity.
The point – which isn’t original to me – is that Mr. Profumo understood “honor”, and how to atone for his sins. He truly felt remorse for his actions and, even though no real damage was done except to his own reputation, in order to redeem himself in the eyes of man and God he worked diligently at helping others. For the final 43 years of his life.
Today, politicians and government officials and make the most egregious errors and tell the most outrageous lies, yet expect to be fully forgiven after a tepid, “sorry”. If they even do that.
Just the latest example is Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilshack. He hastily fired Shirley Sharrod based on an internet video of her supposedly racist remarks, then within 24 hours had to apologize for dragging her reputation through a muddy rut. And yet, despite the flagrancy and offensiveness of his actions, nothing will really change in Vilshack’s life. He won’t resign; he won’t be punished; his career will remain intact. After all, he said he was sorry, and isn’t that enough?
I’d send him a toilet brush, but I doubt he’d have a clue.
The point – which isn’t original to me – is that Mr. Profumo understood “honor”, and how to atone for his sins. He truly felt remorse for his actions and, even though no real damage was done except to his own reputation, in order to redeem himself in the eyes of man and God he worked diligently at helping others. For the final 43 years of his life.
Today, politicians and government officials and make the most egregious errors and tell the most outrageous lies, yet expect to be fully forgiven after a tepid, “sorry”. If they even do that.
Just the latest example is Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilshack. He hastily fired Shirley Sharrod based on an internet video of her supposedly racist remarks, then within 24 hours had to apologize for dragging her reputation through a muddy rut. And yet, despite the flagrancy and offensiveness of his actions, nothing will really change in Vilshack’s life. He won’t resign; he won’t be punished; his career will remain intact. After all, he said he was sorry, and isn’t that enough?
I’d send him a toilet brush, but I doubt he’d have a clue.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Illegal Immigration
What to do about illegal immigration?
Secure the borders, of course, but then what? What do we do with the 12 to 15 million illegals – Hispanics, yes, but also Europeans, Africans, Asians and even Canadians – already in the country. (And no, they won’t just go back home on their own if we cut off their employment. Being in the U.S. without jobs is still a lot better than being back there without jobs.)
Despite the bare-knuckle conservative bravura of some 5th District candidates, the fact is that we cannot feasibly deport all these people. Not without becoming a police state.
How else could we possibly round up and hold them en masse except by using the military, and by violating civil rights of innocent Americans – immigrants and otherwise – left and right? Once we have them herded into containment camps, what then? Send them back in cattle cars? In the holds of cargo ships? Or just march them along at bayonet point?
And what makes us think their countries of origin would even take them back? Mightn’t they end up like the women, children and elderly of ancient Alesia, who were thrown out of their own fortified city by the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, then refused escape through Caesar’s siege walls and left to hopelessly wander and starve in the no-man’s land between two powers?
Amnesty for current illegal aliens is necessary; decades of the problem being ignored by Republican and Democratic legislatures and administrations have made it so. Call it a necessary evil if it makes you feel better, but it is necessary.
Certainly, let them start their path towards citizenship at the back of the pack, from the day they first register as legal resident aliens and not when they first got here. Or, if they prefer, allow them guest worker status with the ability to leave and return as they wish. These are procedural details which can be worked out.
But the idea that we can deport 5% of our population without irreparably damaging our nation and our Constitution is ludicrous.
Secure the borders, of course, but then what? What do we do with the 12 to 15 million illegals – Hispanics, yes, but also Europeans, Africans, Asians and even Canadians – already in the country. (And no, they won’t just go back home on their own if we cut off their employment. Being in the U.S. without jobs is still a lot better than being back there without jobs.)
Despite the bare-knuckle conservative bravura of some 5th District candidates, the fact is that we cannot feasibly deport all these people. Not without becoming a police state.
How else could we possibly round up and hold them en masse except by using the military, and by violating civil rights of innocent Americans – immigrants and otherwise – left and right? Once we have them herded into containment camps, what then? Send them back in cattle cars? In the holds of cargo ships? Or just march them along at bayonet point?
And what makes us think their countries of origin would even take them back? Mightn’t they end up like the women, children and elderly of ancient Alesia, who were thrown out of their own fortified city by the Gallic leader Vercingetorix, then refused escape through Caesar’s siege walls and left to hopelessly wander and starve in the no-man’s land between two powers?
Amnesty for current illegal aliens is necessary; decades of the problem being ignored by Republican and Democratic legislatures and administrations have made it so. Call it a necessary evil if it makes you feel better, but it is necessary.
Certainly, let them start their path towards citizenship at the back of the pack, from the day they first register as legal resident aliens and not when they first got here. Or, if they prefer, allow them guest worker status with the ability to leave and return as they wish. These are procedural details which can be worked out.
But the idea that we can deport 5% of our population without irreparably damaging our nation and our Constitution is ludicrous.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Don't Trust; Always Verify
“Trust, but verify” is a phrase with no meaning. President Reagan used it a lot, mostly referring to dealings with the Soviets. It was a sound-bite, nothing more.
The fact is, if you trust, you don’t have to verify. That’s what trust means. I trust my wife, so I don’t have to call to see if she is where she says she’ll be. I don’t really even have ask her where she’s going because I trust her. I’d just like to know about when she plans to be back so I’ll know when to start worrying.
When it comes to the government, however, the word "trust” should never enter into it. Always, always, always, always verify. Demand hard facts to back up whatever you’re told by the government.
Whether it’s the president, a congressman, a general, a police officer, an IRS agent or a tour guide – never take their word for it. They lie. They lie because they know that 99% of people will take their word for whatever they say. And that if they get caught in a lie, they know that most of the time nobody will do anything about it.
Weapons of mass destruction, intern sex, no new taxes, “we’re not torturing anybody”, “I didn’t taser that guy who was already in handcuffs on the ground”; if comes out of the mouth of a government representative, verify.
And that goes double for political candidates.
The fact is, if you trust, you don’t have to verify. That’s what trust means. I trust my wife, so I don’t have to call to see if she is where she says she’ll be. I don’t really even have ask her where she’s going because I trust her. I’d just like to know about when she plans to be back so I’ll know when to start worrying.
When it comes to the government, however, the word "trust” should never enter into it. Always, always, always, always verify. Demand hard facts to back up whatever you’re told by the government.
Whether it’s the president, a congressman, a general, a police officer, an IRS agent or a tour guide – never take their word for it. They lie. They lie because they know that 99% of people will take their word for whatever they say. And that if they get caught in a lie, they know that most of the time nobody will do anything about it.
Weapons of mass destruction, intern sex, no new taxes, “we’re not torturing anybody”, “I didn’t taser that guy who was already in handcuffs on the ground”; if comes out of the mouth of a government representative, verify.
And that goes double for political candidates.
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