When you should be doing something else....
There's so much this morning, so much I shouldn't be wasting my time on it... ah hell. Here I go.
Cathy Seipp anticipated my previous blogpost (below) about the devaluation of language by political rhetoric. She, of course, gets it a little more concise than I did, even though I prefer my clunky logic. Mark Steyn is another of my favorites, also talking about how 'multiculturalism' can be so harmful. My friend Caesar is right, you have to learn to filter it out. Or you suffer from 'Idiot Fatigue', only countered by involvement in civil debate, at places like Dinocrat which I think is an excellent compromise of the viewpoints.
Starting at the world at large but coming back to home:
Who really won the recent conflict in Lebanon? Or more accurately, who's in a better position for the next outbreak of hostilities? Tigerhawk's article is a good overview, linking to this article in the Jerusalem Post about similar misperceptions following the Yom Kippur War of '73. Even with practical problems involving the recent experiences in Gaza of the past few years, the financial markets behavior, while I wouldn't go so far as to say predictive, are probably quite indicative of local perceptions. Either way Israel, and the world community, shouldn't depend on France and the EU for practical help. One thing that the international community right now definitely is, is divided. I hope (and I'm pretty sure that) my Israeli friends won't trust them for their security.
Europe is having some economic problems at the moment, besides typical impotence and idealism- or more incidences of fake journalism. Not just the typical 1930's allusions we American's are so fond of, even if they are increasingly accurate. Many educated people, though, worry not that they won't do anything about their demographic shifts, but rather that they will fall back on their long history of bloody purges, which would be interesting, to say the least. However, it does make me worry that it will be difficult to find a practical solution for Iran and increasingly commits us to armed conflict them. Paradoxical, that- how deterrence require a strong military to prevent the utilization of it.
Coming back to the US, everyone is looking into their crystal balls and putting in their predictions for the '06 elections. Too soon to say. I'm going to try hard not to get pulled into the partisan thing and keep as objective on that as I can, but even with the revised posturing on Iraq (which I'm quite skeptical about). Truth is, there's some good news that is curiously unreported, and continuing progress in programs like Welfare Reform. The President isn't on another planet, although some like to think so. It's always interested to see how people of the other perspective cover these same issues.
I will highlight this E.J. Dionne article, him being someone who I particularly disagree with quite consistently- even if he writes well, about the intellectual traditions of political debate. He concedes that his brand of 'Liberalism' is losing the intellectual arguments of the day due to a lack of rigorous argument. I quite sympathize with this, not just because I think his arguments are highly unsupported! But to the idea of non-polarized, civil, rational dialogue between differing political viewpoints- his column is a step forward. His side will need that if they don't reproduce enough- something that must be considered in the dominant laissez faire culture of the times. Maybe (just maybe) that might have something to do with abortion and gay culture? Not that there's anything wrong with that (oh no!)....
I'm going to close with this glorious salute to America, recalling Mount Suribachi and the journalist who preserved our effort for the ages.
Cathy Seipp anticipated my previous blogpost (below) about the devaluation of language by political rhetoric. She, of course, gets it a little more concise than I did, even though I prefer my clunky logic. Mark Steyn is another of my favorites, also talking about how 'multiculturalism' can be so harmful. My friend Caesar is right, you have to learn to filter it out. Or you suffer from 'Idiot Fatigue', only countered by involvement in civil debate, at places like Dinocrat which I think is an excellent compromise of the viewpoints.
Starting at the world at large but coming back to home:
Who really won the recent conflict in Lebanon? Or more accurately, who's in a better position for the next outbreak of hostilities? Tigerhawk's article is a good overview, linking to this article in the Jerusalem Post about similar misperceptions following the Yom Kippur War of '73. Even with practical problems involving the recent experiences in Gaza of the past few years, the financial markets behavior, while I wouldn't go so far as to say predictive, are probably quite indicative of local perceptions. Either way Israel, and the world community, shouldn't depend on France and the EU for practical help. One thing that the international community right now definitely is, is divided. I hope (and I'm pretty sure that) my Israeli friends won't trust them for their security.
Europe is having some economic problems at the moment, besides typical impotence and idealism- or more incidences of fake journalism. Not just the typical 1930's allusions we American's are so fond of, even if they are increasingly accurate. Many educated people, though, worry not that they won't do anything about their demographic shifts, but rather that they will fall back on their long history of bloody purges, which would be interesting, to say the least. However, it does make me worry that it will be difficult to find a practical solution for Iran and increasingly commits us to armed conflict them. Paradoxical, that- how deterrence require a strong military to prevent the utilization of it.
Coming back to the US, everyone is looking into their crystal balls and putting in their predictions for the '06 elections. Too soon to say. I'm going to try hard not to get pulled into the partisan thing and keep as objective on that as I can, but even with the revised posturing on Iraq (which I'm quite skeptical about). Truth is, there's some good news that is curiously unreported, and continuing progress in programs like Welfare Reform. The President isn't on another planet, although some like to think so. It's always interested to see how people of the other perspective cover these same issues.
I will highlight this E.J. Dionne article, him being someone who I particularly disagree with quite consistently- even if he writes well, about the intellectual traditions of political debate. He concedes that his brand of 'Liberalism' is losing the intellectual arguments of the day due to a lack of rigorous argument. I quite sympathize with this, not just because I think his arguments are highly unsupported! But to the idea of non-polarized, civil, rational dialogue between differing political viewpoints- his column is a step forward. His side will need that if they don't reproduce enough- something that must be considered in the dominant laissez faire culture of the times. Maybe (just maybe) that might have something to do with abortion and gay culture? Not that there's anything wrong with that (oh no!)....
I'm going to close with this glorious salute to America, recalling Mount Suribachi and the journalist who preserved our effort for the ages.
posted by sunguh5307 at
4:56 PM
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