COLLECTIVE MADNESS
“Soft despotism is a term coined by Alexis de Tocqueville describing the state into which a country overrun by "a network of small complicated rules" might degrade. Soft despotism is different from despotism (also called 'hard despotism') in the sense that it is not obvious to the people."
Hot damn! Where can I get me some of that stuff. They need those commercials in Iran.
ReplyDelete"Look here, cutler, the "Islamic world" is appeased every day, left, right, and center - in a time of alleged war. One of Scheuer's virtues is that he knows and acknowledges that.
ReplyDeleteWe are either going to pull back and encourage the Muslim Meltdown, or we are going to have to get really, really good at killing. Not on a WWII scale, cutler. But on a scale far surpassing it.
So much for the oil."
"In Iraq - right now - we are nothing if not if not appeasers and facilitors par excellence. Unless you count these fine folks something other than Islamists.
If the Iraq gig - or any to follow - has in mind confronting Islam, rather than accomodating and encouraging it, I'll gladly eat my hat."
Much that I agree with, which is why I don't see our involvement in and around Iraq at this point as much more than an exercise in damage control.
In "Imperial Hubris," however, Scheuer treats Bin Laden's agenda and the Muslim world as appeasable through a change in American foreign policy. I disagree with this, for a variety of reasons.
If you are correct with regard to the results of this (and I am pessimistic) then that's the way it is. But no, it wouldn't be worse than World War II, though millions would probably die.
Human history - shit happens.
That was from a previous thread.
ReplyDeleteThat's Tambor, Costa Rica, right?
ReplyDeleteTambor, man o man, sign me up.
"Much that I agree with, which is why I don't see our involvement in and around Iraq at this point as much more than an exercise in damage control."
ReplyDeleteAs in, a big gaping wound.
I just don't think that means we have no interest in what comes out of it, can take off immediately and completely, and cathartically pretend it no longer exists and it doesn't matter to us the slightest.
As for oil - the last world war came out of a global economic depression, I don't hope to run the odds again. Great power war isn't extinct, it is just sleeping.
I used to date that girl, the one three back...man, she could run back then, too....
ReplyDeleteWe have serious thunderstorms in N. Texas...Weather Girl broke in to regular programing. Tells me to take cover......I'm bored...think I'll step outside..
Bob
ReplyDeleteoperative word, "used"...she smoked and snorted when she laughed, couldnt take it...she's yours...
On other matters, Bush:
ReplyDelete_Said his administration "had a right to remove" eight U.S. attorneys. Bush added a note of concern about damage to the prosecutors' reputations: "I'm sorry it's come to this," he said.
_Refused to say whether he believes homosexuality is immoral, a characterization made recently by Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. "I will not be rendering judgment about individual orientation," he said.
_Rejected any "quid pro quo" to win the release of 15 British sailors captured by Iran, such as exchanging five Iranians arrested by the U.S. military in Iraq in January. At the State Department, spokesman Sean McCormack said there was no link "as far as we know" between the captured Britons and the release Tuesday of an Iranian diplomat missing for two months in Iraq.
Other Matters
Rufe, dontcha hate it? Bed time, Gag out....
ReplyDeleteHe petitioned the Marines for conscientious objector status discharge and was repeatedly evaluated as an appropriate candidate for it until his petition reached the commander of the Marine Corps, who refused to grant it.
ReplyDeleteZabala petitioned in U.S. district court saying the military was holding him unlawfully. The U.S. district court for the Northern California district agreed and on Friday ordered the Marines to release Zabala from military duty.
There is no word yet on whether the Marines will appeal that decision. Zabala says he would go to jail rather than fight in the war and he will repay the Marines for the stipend he received in boot camp.
Conscientious Objector
One of the objections to having women in combat is that women don't have the upper body strength to lug an overloaded pack into combat. Well, this is the 21st Century, and no one should be lugging the kinds of packs they've made them lug around since World War One. Someone's got to lay that misguided tradition to rest. We've got Stryker brigades and uparmored humvees, you live in your vehicle and get out now and then to lay some hurt on the enemy. And you get women ready for that part by making the same physical test requirements for both genders. Same kind of pushups, same time on the 2.5 miles. Any woman who can't do what a man does, physically, washes out.
ReplyDeleteAspergersReview:
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AspergersGentleman said...
Like the spendthrift that discovers the savings account, Western women will flock to the dignity of Islam, as nothing else will be adequate and anything else will leave them wanting the respect and virtue.
Women are already tired of how they are portrayed in Axe Effect commercials, which reduce them to Pavlov's dogs.
In a country that refuses to watch their NBA, women will simply forget sport in pursuit of a higher purpose, having seen through the fickle and empty gaze of the limelight and seen the grotesque popular culture that gawks it out.
Pelosi is a politician painting her masterpiece; to judge the final product mid-brushstroke is to judge Cedarford an antisemite without first knowing every jew. Americans could be surprised, but Pelosi's challenge is to kick up America's spirit a notch without ruining its diverse flavinoid composition.
4/03/2007 10:54:00 PM
Every man shall stand alone
ReplyDeleteIn a recent post, we discussed the benefits the West will receive from Iran’s latest blundering. Iran’s capture, imprisonment, and unseemly displaying of 15 British sailors and marines will slowly but surely lead to Iran’s economic and financial isolation from the rest of the world. From there will arrive economic turmoil, social chaos, and possibly revolution for the Islamic Republic. Many observers will be highly displeased at the sluggish pace by which these events will unfold, but the direction at least seems clear. This is the good news.
But there is also bad news from the British hostage episode. The bad news is that this incident will add a bit of confirmation to the views of many in Britain and Europe that their governments are too weak and insignificant to defend them. Friends they thought might help them are shrugging their shoulders and walking away. Collective security promised by the NATO treaty is a promise that might or might not be fulfilled depending on the whim of the moment. And common British soldiers, sailors, and marines have good cause to wonder whether their commanders are competent or even care about them.
The more things change...
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Alexis said...
cedarford:
Read British papers on Labour donors on the Iraq War run-up. Then remove Alexis's head from his rectum.
Please give specific citations, preferably with hyperlinks. Vague assertions do not amount to evidence. Also, to ascertain the possible effect of Jewish money, Jewish donations ought to be compared to Labor's total donations and specifically to total donations from Muslim sources.
References to anatomical parts of other people are not necessary and do not enhance this discussion.
"Any woman who can't do what a man does, physically, washes out."
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So were talkin a 100% washout rate, unless we pretend sex no longer exists.
Das said...
ReplyDeletecedarford,
I'm not letting your trademark fetor of anti-Semitism go un-commented upon.
So, what, you took a cigarette break from your job as an Auschwitz guard to drop in and slime the comments seciton of Wretchard's noble site?
I swear you're like those obsessive mental cases that sport a suction dart on their forhead - otherwise they would bash their skulls in; they can't help it. You have a weird obession with bashing Jews in this thread - it's almost like you can't help it - you are a sick, debased person. (Wretchard, a better Christian than I, patiently forebears all participants on his blog, but I would beg commenters here not to engage with this sicko; his remarks are vacuous and redolent of his obsession. Interesting, I've never ever met a smart anti-Semite.)
Someone else posted this earlier.
ReplyDeleteOne of the clearest examples of the stupidity and muleheadedness of GWB when his fantasies come up against reality:
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"When it comes to Iraq’s internal politics, Mr. al-Sistani trumps Mr. Khalilzad.
He also trumps President Bush.
Mr. Bush has stubbornly maintained his vision of a harmonious multi-sectarian Iraq. This is not Mr. al-Sistani’s view and he has been equally stubborn. The difference is that Mr. Sistani and his disciples will always be in Najaf. By contrast, Mr. Bush will leave his office at noon on 20 January 2009.
Mr. Bush could do his successors and his legacy a great benefit by grasping the dismal score he has accrued in head-to-head matches against Mr. al-Sistani. And then formulating a new American policy that takes this poor record into account."
My comment at Westhawk was:
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Alas, the "learning curve" is a straight line.
Perhaps Flat line would be more accurate.
Doug said... Teresita: "Any woman who can't do what a man does, physically, washes out."
ReplyDeleteSo were talkin a 100% washout rate, unless we pretend sex no longer exists.
Jeebus, Doug, you really do have a one-track mind. I'm talking about running, marching, moving loads, etc.