For three years of war, the Bush administration deluded itself into thinking that they sat atop a generational political realignment. Karl Rove et al saw George Bush as a McKinley-like figure who had inaugurated a decades-long Republican dynasty.
What is wrong with dynasty? Dynasty lacks accountability.
No pressure in Iraq guys, we have a compliant Congress. Don't bother selling this to the American people, they understand GOP means patriotism, peace through strength, and a no-nonsense view of the world; we speak the same language; the electorate is in the bag.
Now George Bush is operating within a new model. The administration understands all too well today that the American people are fed up with where we are in Iraq, and we want to quit. This past election saw crushing defeats for the President and his policy, and the next election, if we are in the same position in Iraq, will be much worse.
An aside: At least one of two things is true: the President and his brain trust badly misjudged the obstacles in the Middle East, and/or the President failed miserably in articulating what was ahead of us and preparing us as a nation for the long siege against Islamism, history and fifty years of American foreign policy in the region that works against us.
What can Bush do? He can give up. He can pack up the troops and bring them home. He can say he made a huge mistake. He can ask forgiveness and reach across the aisle for help in shutting down military operations. He can say his heart was in the right place, but events overwhelmed him. We wish the people of Iraq the best, and we hope that the Middle East finds the right path on the long highway of life--but we are done.
Or he can say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. I am certain that the President is going to give this project one more shot. The President must understand, finally, that he has used up all his “political capital.” For a very brief period, he can stand against an electoral mandate and a hostile Congress--but not for long. He must make decisive progress, and it must come quickly.
With the clock winding down, President Bush is putting the ball in the hands of Lt. Gen David H. Petraeus. Is victory still possible? Stranger things have happened. Generals Grant and Sherman turned the tide for President Lincoln during desperate times. Has President Bush found himself a fighting general? Perhaps more importantly, is George Bush ready to be a fighting president?
Here is a New York Post column from Ralph Peters, who argues that Petraeus is capable but possibly not belligerent enough.
A profile of Petraeus from the Washington Post here.
What is wrong with dynasty? Dynasty lacks accountability.
No pressure in Iraq guys, we have a compliant Congress. Don't bother selling this to the American people, they understand GOP means patriotism, peace through strength, and a no-nonsense view of the world; we speak the same language; the electorate is in the bag.
Now George Bush is operating within a new model. The administration understands all too well today that the American people are fed up with where we are in Iraq, and we want to quit. This past election saw crushing defeats for the President and his policy, and the next election, if we are in the same position in Iraq, will be much worse.
An aside: At least one of two things is true: the President and his brain trust badly misjudged the obstacles in the Middle East, and/or the President failed miserably in articulating what was ahead of us and preparing us as a nation for the long siege against Islamism, history and fifty years of American foreign policy in the region that works against us.
What can Bush do? He can give up. He can pack up the troops and bring them home. He can say he made a huge mistake. He can ask forgiveness and reach across the aisle for help in shutting down military operations. He can say his heart was in the right place, but events overwhelmed him. We wish the people of Iraq the best, and we hope that the Middle East finds the right path on the long highway of life--but we are done.
Or he can say damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead. I am certain that the President is going to give this project one more shot. The President must understand, finally, that he has used up all his “political capital.” For a very brief period, he can stand against an electoral mandate and a hostile Congress--but not for long. He must make decisive progress, and it must come quickly.
With the clock winding down, President Bush is putting the ball in the hands of Lt. Gen David H. Petraeus. Is victory still possible? Stranger things have happened. Generals Grant and Sherman turned the tide for President Lincoln during desperate times. Has President Bush found himself a fighting general? Perhaps more importantly, is George Bush ready to be a fighting president?
Here is a New York Post column from Ralph Peters, who argues that Petraeus is capable but possibly not belligerent enough.
A profile of Petraeus from the Washington Post here.
Category: Mainline Christianity
Posted by: an okie gardener
A regular attender at an Episcopal congregation described in the Washington Post writes to criticize the coverage. Here.
For most reporters churches are strange and foreign lands beyond their know world and so illustrated with mermaids and dragons.
For most reporters churches are strange and foreign lands beyond their know world and so illustrated with mermaids and dragons.
Here's something else I learned recently. My source in industry shall remain anonymous, but I will vouch for him.
Because Wal-Mart drives such hard bargains with suppliers, it is not unusual for suppliers to alter their specs so as to sell to Wal-Mart with a profit. I'm talking major manufacturers selling goods through Wal-Mart that are not as well-made so as to fit into the price structure. So what's the problem? Nowhere on the labels will it say that the specs differ from what one might purchase elsewhere.
That sounds fraudulent.
Because Wal-Mart drives such hard bargains with suppliers, it is not unusual for suppliers to alter their specs so as to sell to Wal-Mart with a profit. I'm talking major manufacturers selling goods through Wal-Mart that are not as well-made so as to fit into the price structure. So what's the problem? Nowhere on the labels will it say that the specs differ from what one might purchase elsewhere.
That sounds fraudulent.
Category: General
Posted by: an okie gardener
While back up in the home country of northern Missouri between Christmas and New Year's, I saw two things I never imagined.
First, the local paper carried a picture of a mountain lion taken in Livingston County, not too far from home. The cat had activated a camera left along a deer trail to count deer. The big cats are starting to move back into Missouri, preying on the deer. Wow. Mountain lions back in Missouri after all these years. Resulting from a tremendous increase in the number of deer compared to 50 years ago, protected status, and also (I assume) from the depopulation of rural Missouri. Like much of the Midwest, most rural north Missouri counties peaked in population between 1900 and 1920.
Second, I saw fresh sign of moles at work in late December on the family farm. Never before have I seen that. Even the warmer winters I remember left the ground too cool. Those who try to deny climate change are whistling in the dark. See this earlier post.
First, the local paper carried a picture of a mountain lion taken in Livingston County, not too far from home. The cat had activated a camera left along a deer trail to count deer. The big cats are starting to move back into Missouri, preying on the deer. Wow. Mountain lions back in Missouri after all these years. Resulting from a tremendous increase in the number of deer compared to 50 years ago, protected status, and also (I assume) from the depopulation of rural Missouri. Like much of the Midwest, most rural north Missouri counties peaked in population between 1900 and 1920.
Second, I saw fresh sign of moles at work in late December on the family farm. Never before have I seen that. Even the warmer winters I remember left the ground too cool. Those who try to deny climate change are whistling in the dark. See this earlier post.
Category: Same-Sex Marriage
Posted by: A Waco Farmer
From Mirror of Justice: A blog dedicated to the development of Catholic legal theory:
"January 03, 2007
"A "Shameful Reversal of Rights"?
"Today's Boston Globe carries as its lead editorial a commentary on the Massachusett's legislature's permitting the continuation of the legal process to define constitutionally marriage as the union of one man and one woman. HERE The title of this editorial is: "A Shameful Reversal of Rights." But, is the action a true reversal of any "right"; moreover, is the action of the legislature "shameful"? The answer to each of these questions is no."
Read the entire post here.
Thanks to Tocqueville, who, at my request, recommended this recent post as an insightful analysis.
"January 03, 2007
"A "Shameful Reversal of Rights"?
"Today's Boston Globe carries as its lead editorial a commentary on the Massachusett's legislature's permitting the continuation of the legal process to define constitutionally marriage as the union of one man and one woman. HERE The title of this editorial is: "A Shameful Reversal of Rights." But, is the action a true reversal of any "right"; moreover, is the action of the legislature "shameful"? The answer to each of these questions is no."
Read the entire post here.
Thanks to Tocqueville, who, at my request, recommended this recent post as an insightful analysis.
05/01: Say it Ain't So, Joe!
Biden disappoints:
From Glenn Kessler and the Washington Post:
"Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said yesterday that he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone disaster so the next president will "be the guy landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof," in a chaotic withdrawal reminiscent of Vietnam."
You may read the entire article here.
I was holding out much hope for Joe Biden. My sincere wish was that the Senator would choose statesmanship over grandstanding. There are two Bidens. Most of us are familiar with the blowhard-Biden of the judiciary committee, spewing gibberish and comically attempting to match wits with great legal minds. But there is another Biden. A thoughtful, pragmatic and experienced Senator who loves his country more than himself.
I was hoping for the statesman Biden--but got the clown. The demagoguery above also serves as his unequivocal signal that he seeks the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2008. Only Joe Biden with a bad case of Potomac Fever would be addled enough to display this degree of wanton foolishness.
From Glenn Kessler and the Washington Post:
"Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said yesterday that he believes top officials in the Bush administration have privately concluded they have lost Iraq and are simply trying to postpone disaster so the next president will "be the guy landing helicopters inside the Green Zone, taking people off the roof," in a chaotic withdrawal reminiscent of Vietnam."
You may read the entire article here.
I was holding out much hope for Joe Biden. My sincere wish was that the Senator would choose statesmanship over grandstanding. There are two Bidens. Most of us are familiar with the blowhard-Biden of the judiciary committee, spewing gibberish and comically attempting to match wits with great legal minds. But there is another Biden. A thoughtful, pragmatic and experienced Senator who loves his country more than himself.
I was hoping for the statesman Biden--but got the clown. The demagoguery above also serves as his unequivocal signal that he seeks the Democratic Party's nomination for president in 2008. Only Joe Biden with a bad case of Potomac Fever would be addled enough to display this degree of wanton foolishness.
04/01: Baseball Hall of Fame
The list is out of those eligible for the Baseball Hall of Fame this year.
Going in on the first ballot I think should be Cal Ripkin, Jr. and Tony Gwynne. I think Lee Smith also deserves in. Mark McGwire is on the list for his first year of eligibility, but I cannot lobby for him, as much as it breaks my heart (I'm a huge Cardinals fan). He has been evasive regarding performance-enhancing drugs. For my opinion on this issue see here.
Going in on the first ballot I think should be Cal Ripkin, Jr. and Tony Gwynne. I think Lee Smith also deserves in. Mark McGwire is on the list for his first year of eligibility, but I cannot lobby for him, as much as it breaks my heart (I'm a huge Cardinals fan). He has been evasive regarding performance-enhancing drugs. For my opinion on this issue see here.
Category: From the Heart
Posted by: an okie gardener
We spent the day New Year's Eve with family near Des Moines. The year ended in central Iowa on a gray day with rain, falling termperatures, and finally snow. Driving away from the church hall, through the grey hills with blowing snow darkening the already dim light of late afternoon, we were in Winter.
Garrison Keillor, in one of his monologues, said that winter in Minnesota reminded us of our place in the universe--prey. I'm sure Garrison has read Jack London, the writer who can make you feel the searing cold of a Yukon night as temperatures plunge to 70 below. Life is always under threat in a Jack London story: Unable to kindle a fire, hands stiffening with cold, hope that if I can kill my dog and put my hands into his warm body I yet may live, but my dog will not come close to me, eventually leaving my stiffening body. Winter is death. Death always pursuing life: wolves howling about the dog sled hurrying across the frozen waste, with too few bullets for the gun. Death is what happens to humans in the Wild, death is what ends life; death freezes our foolish attempts to find meaning in the snowy vastness. This is London's message. (cont. below)
Garrison Keillor, in one of his monologues, said that winter in Minnesota reminded us of our place in the universe--prey. I'm sure Garrison has read Jack London, the writer who can make you feel the searing cold of a Yukon night as temperatures plunge to 70 below. Life is always under threat in a Jack London story: Unable to kindle a fire, hands stiffening with cold, hope that if I can kill my dog and put my hands into his warm body I yet may live, but my dog will not come close to me, eventually leaving my stiffening body. Winter is death. Death always pursuing life: wolves howling about the dog sled hurrying across the frozen waste, with too few bullets for the gun. Death is what happens to humans in the Wild, death is what ends life; death freezes our foolish attempts to find meaning in the snowy vastness. This is London's message. (cont. below)
04/01: Strategy for the Long War
Category: America and the World
Posted by: an okie gardener
An excellent essay at Blackfive on a comprehensive strategy for the Long War with Radical Islam. Well worth reading. It is long enough to take some time to read, and more time to reflect upon. Link from Instapundit.
From Robert P. George in National Review:
"The Story of a Well-Lived Life:
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, R.I.P.
"Elizabeth Fox-Genovese was a scholar as notable for her bravery as for her brilliance. After what she described as her “long apprenticeship” in the world of secular liberal intellectuals, it was careful reflection on the central moral questions of our time that led her first to doubt and then to abandon both liberalism and secularism. Needless to say, this did not endear her to her former allies."
Read the entire essay here .
"The Story of a Well-Lived Life:
Elizabeth Fox-Genovese, R.I.P.
"Elizabeth Fox-Genovese was a scholar as notable for her bravery as for her brilliance. After what she described as her “long apprenticeship” in the world of secular liberal intellectuals, it was careful reflection on the central moral questions of our time that led her first to doubt and then to abandon both liberalism and secularism. Needless to say, this did not endear her to her former allies."
Read the entire essay here .
