I dream of living in ... a World Without Dictators! I'm a Libertarian Paternalist in Slovakia - Freedom with Responsibility - 10% of income into your own Pension; Tax Loans for education, health, housing; now supporting Employment Maximizing Companies!

blog posts on immigration at The Truth Laid Bear

Fiction, nuance, Kerry; blacks & Dems

http://www.michaeltotten.com/archives/000370.html

Michael long ago wrote a fantastic, Bruce Chatwin style story about the ice in the fridge, that I fondly remember.  Now he’s free to write more.  My advice:

 

Please keep honing your writing gifts (yes, I'm envious) with some nuanced short stories -- and your passionate clarity in, even (especially) if balanced between, political choices.

 

I still don't think it's too late for Kerry to win your vote, or at least more votes, by speaking clear on defense & Iraq -- but even if he did so speak, would you believe him.  Now?  Mr. flip flop.  I'm now pushing the idea that Bush's biggest mistake in Iraq is not supporting more local council elections.  I suggest you consider looking at sites from your commenters (yes, mine too!), and see if you find any interesting, or worth linking to.

 

Your readers respect your opinions.  Marc seems OK -- but still much longer on criticism than advocacy of something better.  From his LA Weekly site, there's a gem of an article about middle class blacks breaking through the (unspoken PC) taboo on discussing violence in the black community.   

 

(My site has a post on it!  Including a ref to http://www.blackgenocide.org/  With pictures of the "truth" -- horrible.)  New prediction: blacks will soon start to admit that abortion is racist, and the Dem radical fems will be in trouble (and denial).

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/30/04 23:55 | link | comments

But Kerry has no future

Demosthenes has a couple posts; one on the Chem attack planned for Jordan; one against Brooks claiming too much time is spent on the past, not enough on the future.  Demos reasonably uses Monty Python, but I love the MP, don't think it's quite applicable here.

 

Hi Dem; don't know why I decided to punish myself with you today -- but I love MP too.  Glad your prior post mentioned the MASSIVE chem attack, a WMD near miss.

 

BBC has a tape saying it wasn't AQ, but if they DID have WMDs, they'd be targeting Tel Aviv, not Jordan.   I actually think the US in Iraq, substantially, to save Israel from a nuke/WMD attack.  Not sure it will succeed; next 5 years, close race between democratic nation building and Iranian nuke building.

 

And if terrorists DO use WMDs, will that prove Bush right to have tried to stop it?  or wrong? 

 

Oh wait, we can't talk about the future, we have to keep looking back.  Here's a past Q: Since it was always obvious some would die in the Iraq liberation, what's the maximum US Army dead that could be still considered a success?  My minimum number is 3000 in a year -- we're well below that.

 

My own biggest complaint about Bush is the lack of locally elected mayors, since it's obvious that Iraqis, eventually, will have to run everything.  In a post <a href="http://www.motime.com/myblog/view/2210/yes?date=1083000026#264950264950"> Harry Potter, Ender Wigging, (no) Help for Iraqis</a>, I wonder about what's the best way to shock them into taking care of themselves.  I'm interested in your comments on it...

 

[I'm imagining an MP like Eric Idle, sitting backwards on a horse.  "Of course this is the best way to get to where we've going; we have to know where we've been".

Um, and, just, where ARE you going?

"Don't change the subject; I'm so sick of everybody changing the subject.  We simply MUST have ALL the details, full disclosure.  No stonewalling.  Where have we been, and why are we here now?"

But, WHERE are we going?

"I'm sick of that question!  We were in Vietnam - quagmire.  No need to talk about Bosnia, Kosovo; NOT Rwanda, nor Somalia.  Of course nobody mentions Pol Pot, those millions of murdered Cambodians had nothing to do with the US running away from SE Asia.  The point is HOW, exactly, did we get where we are?  Can't you see how we're NOT being led?"

But, but, where are ...

"I'm SICK of that question!"']  Sigh, it's not even that funny in my head, but really, where does Kerry want the USA to go?

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/30/04 23:39 | link | comments

Middle class, black, living with violence -- gov't

Erin Aubry Kaplan (Via Michael, linking to Marc Cooper), writes this great story of middle class blacks who haven’t been able to talk about violence.  But it’s like a vulture, undiscussed, in all their conversations.  “Our degrees and positions prepared us to attack the overview — with policy, budgets, campaigns for mayor — but what to do on the ground, where a steady ooze of violence is sucking down much of that carefully configured overview like paper into quicksand, nobody quite knows.”  This article doesn’t mention it, but that violence is there even with a huge proportion of young black males in jail.

 

There are good whites, and bad whites, good blacks, and bad blacks.  (The stuff about whites HAS to be here to avoid being a racist – but it’s good to remember all people are individuals.)  Middle class blacks need to reject secular extremism, that white, elitist, guilt and angst ridden anti-Christian belief that good & evil exist, but not God and Evil, and evil is mostly their current political opponents.  There aren’t a lot of women of color featured in Kerry’s campaign, nor in pictures of the huge pro-abortion March on Wash.  Maybe the fact that so many black women are having abortions, and how the percentage of blacks in America is declining due to abortion, and how little abortion or radical feminism has helped blacks; maybe these facts are part of it.  www.blackgenocide.org  seems on top of it.  In its effects, the pro-abortion group is the most racist, anti-black group in America. 

 

But blacks can’t disagree, or else they become “Uncle Toms”.  Only blacks who suck up to white, bitter, envy-filled, PC hate-spewers can talk.  If you’re a US Supreme Court Judge, yet have a different opinion, you’re “ungrateful”.  If you’re the National Security Advisor to the President of the US, but you have a different opinion, “you’re a disgrace to your race.”  Funny how often the PC pro-diversity folk use race to criticize and rudely insult any admirable, high achieving black who disagrees with the too-white, too-feminist, tootally intolerant PC line. Blacks need to support vouchers in schools, and lots more, smaller, schools; and the ability of schools to boot out the bad kids. 

 

When are blacks going to stop brown-nosing white Dems for more gov’t scraps? “Please massah, please massah, please massah, we dumb as logs blackies cain’t do nothin’ for uselves; we’s gots to have gov’t help.  Yas’m, we votes Dem, if’ns we votes; and Dems talk about how much helps we needs, and how helpless we is, and how dose rich white business folks gots to have higher taxes…. 

 

We need better education, and more money didn’t help last time.  Or the time before.  Or before that.  Or any time in the last 30 years, ever since white housewife teachers could get more money in business and left teaching – ever since then, more money has failed to get better education.  So that proves we need a LOT more money.”

 

When will black America grow up and stop looking for easy, “free” gov’t money as the solution to their own problems?  Gov’t is based on violence, after all – every gov’t solution is a violence based solution.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/30/04 21:24 | link | comments

Iraqi city councils needed - NOW

You should actively support what Iraq needs: local city council elections for Iraqi cities.

 

I call for such council elections. With the city council electing a mayor. So that there are more elected Iraqis who have some authority – due to their being elected. In a recent article, Exit Poll, Michael Rubin supports an Iraqi constituency-based electoral system. Which may be the only way to avoid Iraq degenerating into 3 states by those defending against Shia domination.

 

The lack of more direct, local elections, even using the imperfect ration card as a surrogate registration card, seems the biggest unnecessary mistake of the CPA. Yes, not all cities are ready – those that ARE ready, that DO elect councils, and mayors, can more easily promote themselves. Maybe not Baghdad, but why isn’t there a city council for Basra, Kirkuk, Mosul?

 

The local nature of the elections will help newly voting Iraqis focus on their own local situation; which is good. Similarly, in the earlier debate about US grant money vs. loans, once councils/ mayors are elected, THEY can choose to raise money through muni-bonds (or some non-interest bearing alternative). And they should, with US promises to underwrite such issues. The more peaceful, better run cities will be doing better, sooner. And elected Iraqis, with names, will begin to be publicized – this publicity for elected Iraqis is crucially important for winning the ‘hearts and minds’ of uncertain democracy supporting Iraqis.

 

Iraqi sovereignty will mean Iraqis making spending decisions; this should have been started already and should be started wherever it’s feasible. I think this is the best alternative, and that your fine analyses of Iraq should refer to your own preferred alternative. Constituency-based elections are one of these; local city councils, with most power, is another. As I argue here, with Harry Potter & Ender Wiggin for support.

(Open letter to Michael Ledeen, Michael Rubin, Reuel Marc Garecht, Victor Davis Hanson, Newt Gingrich, David Frum, Richard Perle)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/29/04 20:47 | link | comments (1)

The Race: Democracy or ME terror nukes

Hubris, you're really, really, funny. Thanks.

Heather, look at Jeff Jarvis on Buzzmachine for other Iraqis.

 

On Vietnam, here's a value question: if the US had stayed another 5 years, lost another 50 000 soldiers, but created a split S. Vietnam (like S. Korea) and avoided the Cambodia Killing Fields (of 2.5 million murdered), would that have been better?

I think yes. I think communism is terrible, and war is hell, but some activities are more noble than others.

 

The Christian-human rights supporting West is at war with radical Islam in fascist regimes and in non-state multinational terror orgs. We either surrender or fight. If fighting we either defend, containment like, or try to remove root causes -- the fascist dictators.

 

We're in Iraq, in a race to democratize the Middle East. The Islamofascists are racing to get nukes, and give them to terrorists.

 

Interesting Moderate Republican, 30s, African American, gay, Rep minister.

 

To Calpundit Kevin: the neo-cons you so often criticize are willing to go after regime change in Iran & N. Korea, too -- but in a democracy, public sentiment restricts what can be done. Anybody who thinks we should have invaded Iran BEFORE Iraq has, in some theoretical security sense, a good argument. But Iran had not been condemned by 17 UNSC resolutions, had not invaded Kuwait, etc. etc. Almost NO public support -- and I don't believe bt or any Bush hater would support Bush if Bush had gone after Iran first.

Similarly N. Korea.

 

If the US public can't get behind "tough Bush" regime change in Iraq, then it's hypocritical to complain that Bush isn't tough enough against others -- just another case of using any negative side of a realistic tradeoff as a stick to beat Bush.

Too tough (Iraq)--Too soft (Iran, NK). Too tough (Patriot Act)--Too soft (pre 9/11).

Too much deficit spending (too soft on the rich!) -- not enough new jobs (too hard on the poor???).

 

Bush hate volume is so irrationally loud that it obscures the real debate about rogue regimes developing nukes. And soon to give them to non-state terrorists.

 

Prolly Tel Aviv will be nuked before any US city. Is this a US problem? Yes. Because Israel will prolly act before they're nuked. Hopefully there will be a functioning democracy in Iraq before Iran has nukes. Loud, irrational Bush hate protests here, now, reduce that probability.

Of course, the purpose of being anti-Bush is to support the new secular fundamentalism, whose priests are the fashionable activists & celebrities of the day, and whose unwritten creed is nevertheless intolerant of all other religions.

 

Really cool, what Kevin Kelly likes. Jim Dale’s HP audio; Fit or Fat but in a new Body for Life version.

 

What does Tech want? -- computer aided telepathy.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/28/04 22:16 | link | comments

Tuesday - the Left needs self-criticism

Kevin suggests that there's an end to pragmatism

 

The basic problem is this: each potential policy has good points, and bad points. But, somehow the Left (mostly) has created this idea that any policy that's not perfect, w/o bad points, is terrible.

 

Terry Ott wrote a fine comment; but look at the 4 points from a secular fundamentalist POV:

1) obedience to authority, marked by eagerness to follow someone they regard as the 'authority;'

2)hostility and aggressiveness towards those who are perceived as 'out-group;'

3) an orientation towards the use of force to achieve their ends;

4) anti-intellectualism, punishment-based religiosity and acceptance of inequality.

1) - the Left requires Dems to be pro-abortion. Even Jesse Jackson, previously noting how far more blacks kill their fetuses, now toes the PC authority line. Yes, it's vague PC 'authority', rather than the pope or any one individual, but it's totally intolerant.

2)hostility -- look at MoveOn; Daily Kos; AlterNet (where I was booted off). I think the Angry Left has more hostility today than the Reps., by far.

3) use of force -- ALL gov't actions are force. The Left likes lots of gov't, just not lots of army. Forcing valedictorians to NOT pray; forcing poor parents to send their kids to lousy gov't schools; forcing taxpayers to waste money on programs of good-hearted folk, even if the programs fail. Big Leftist complaint: Bush reduced (forced) taxes on the rich!

4) anti-intellectualism -- this is rich. When the truth that avg Black IQs are 10% less than whites can't be talked about? When elites have hated capitalism for hundreds of years, but capitalism is best at helping poor folk out of absolute poverty? Oh yeah.

4c) accept inequality -- yep, guilty here. The right is willing to leave the super rich alone in order to make the middle class rich, and the lower class homeowners (with running water). The Left prefers "Gods must be Crazy" poverty; for everybody else.

 

But the real divide is:

4b) religion. NOT punishment issues, but the basic issue of absolutism or moral relativism. Bush-haters hate his "axis of evil", since Bush has belief in good & evil, and thus God. And is against abortion, etc. But if morals are really merely relative, than Bush can't really be evil? Yet to Bush-haters, he is. How can that be?

 

Bush-haters BELIEVE in secular fundamentalism, but are unwilling to accept they have merely an alternate belief system -- instead attempting to deny the validity of all God/ authority belief systems like (1).

 

There's plenty of "he's not perfect" criticism of Bush by folk who will prolly vote for him. It's the Left's inability to criticize itself, so far, that is causing the polarization. And yeah, the Left will keep complaining about Bush, and moderates will complain about both.

Anybody who can't complain that Kerry's flip flops mean nobody knows what he'll really do, isn't a moderate.

 

Heather on centerfield discusses a good Joe Klein note on tactics & strategy, criticizing Clinton as all tactics, and Bush as all strategy.

I invite you to look here:

where I discuss the real strategic need -- empowering Iraqi people to own their democratic destiny; without going through a mullocracy, first.

I don't think Bush is perfect, and think he should have provided more security, earlier; and even now should support more local city council elections. Tactical issues. But the main strategy has to be to get Iraqis willing to die, and kill, for their democratic future. The Islamofascists DO have such Iraqis, and other Arabs & Persians.

 

Sustainability – prolly too leftist a site, but not a blog; will have to visit later.

 

Celebration of excessive freedom, to be use obscenity. 

While I used to agree with freedom more, trying to raise kids to be good looking at society, and reality, I find "too much" freedom is really reducing my freedom, too much.

I want to be free from the f-word, and NOT have to censor everything all day. I think it really IS Henninger's race to the bottom.

It's a matter of what is the default, and are there alternatives. For porn lovers and X language aficionados, there are lots of avenues and methods to satisfy their desires. But what about the freedom to avoid seeing soft core porn?

 

Morality is a bit like lying: a person who makes 100 statements is a liar if any of them are lies. To be free of liars means giving up listening to the, possibly 99 non-lying statements, of this liar. Well, I'm increasingly willing to pay a higher censorship cost to be free of offensive toilet humor, sex, and cursing -- as long as it's not totally illegal.

 

John Robb linksTom Friedman in NYT on a Lebanese street being named for JF Kennedy.

Well, after the US Vietnam cut & run & Cambodia Killing Fields, it's no wonder there's little respect in Arabia, now. Will you agree you're wrong (OK, not totally, utterly, completely) if, within 10 years, there IS a major G.W. Bush highway in Iraq?

I support trying democratization in Iraq, even if the Iraqis are unwilling to sustain it; the alternative was Islamofascist work on WMDs and the inevitable Israeli pre-emptive strike -- or else Tel Aviv being nuked first.

 

John Robb is disturbed about Iraq – if we leave there, unlike in Vietnam, “they’ll follow us back.”

9/11 ... They're already HERE!

We ARE at war.

The Christian human-rights West against Islamofascism.

They're here, they want to kill you, and me, and win -- install sharia.

Get used to it.

Centrist Coalition notes that Bush refused to apologize.

bk, and the Leftist press -- yes, THEY want the Pres. to confess to making mistakes. Bush doesn't think he's made any mistakes worth mentioning -- it's the PRESS, and bk, who are being obstinate in their refusal to accept Bush’s words. When Clinton LIED, and the Dem Attack Machine was smearing Starr until there was DNA semen proof that Clinton was knowingly speaking falsely about his own actions, then Clinton comes on TV and apologizes. Yeah, Oprah junk touchy feely we’re all victims of our uncontrollable urges. Junk.

When Bush says he’s NOT going to wait for an imminent threat, the Bush haters and Leftist press keep criticizing him for using imminent threat as a justification.

Bush is not accepting the PC discussion framework. The Left hates that, and the unfair criticism of Bush (9/11, US should withdraw now) is driving out reasonable criticism (is the current policy the BEST for Iraq?).

 

USC online journal article--EchoChamber.com: Is the Net Polarizaing U.S. Political Dialogue? And is this good or bad?

A bit -- mostly positive.

Blog writers don't get paid money -- they get paid in psychic satisfaction. Because they have passion. Most writers, including bloggers and comment submitters, have to believe what they write enough to spend the time writing it.

Seeing injustice is a big motivator. Pat Tillman gave his life -- many warbloggers give their time (including work times), to speak out. The Politically Correct thought-police are a big cause for many Reps., the success of Bush is a big cause for many Dems.

Rick at the Centrist Co. is definitely a bit left, but they do seem respectful of alternatives.

 

It's pretty unobjective to avoid mentioning Technorati and their measures of blog traffic -- but then you'd prolly have to include Glenn http://instapundit.com and Andrew Sullivan. Your own Leftism, in leaving OUT the other side, is the most common Leftist bias.

Sort of like "pro-choice" folk who want more education -- but oppose showing pictures of aborted fetuses; like those available http://blackgenocide.org

 

Samizdata provokes me to think about the EU Constitution, and a UK Referendum:

How about these slogans:

Read it ALL -- or vote no!

Ask your friends if ANY of them have read the whole thing?

If it's not worth reading -- it's not worth supporting.

 

Donald also has some notes about the mostly older women supporting the pro-abortion fight.

When the politically correct decision becomes having the child, and giving it up for adoption, abortion will be hugely reduced, and much more heavily regulated; though prolly not illegal.

 

Or, when pro-abortion means racism? While only 12% of the population, blacks have almost half of the abortions -- a few black women have begun to speak up on this.

 

Donald Crankshaw, look up Levitt -- a significant economic study showing strong correlation between legalized abortion, and reduced crime--18 years later. Which I believe is true, though the study is not impeccable. The "Roe effect" is real.

 

Another study is the reduction in out-of wedlock births, some 18 years later.  Even if these, um, "beneficial eugenics" affects (killing the inferior types) are true, the killing of an innocent human fetus is a moral crime.  Bill, guest at Dean's World, has fine pictures of Kerry at the pro-choice march.

++See: black genocide (great site name) 

about 1/3 of the abortions are for blacks. Blacks have paid about $4 000 000 000 000 for abortions (4 billion).

"Pro-abortion is racist" -- could be coming sooner than I thought!

 

Aaron coins the “get laid politics” phrase for men who support feminism.

>>You’re mostly right; “get laid politics” – wonder if Bill Clinton follows that? But so many of the most interesting to talk to girls were so feminist in the 70s & 80s; intellectual guys who wanted more conversational relationship with the babes they wanted to bed, (almost) HAD to “hear” the fem line; and equal pay for equal work really is pretty strong. Plus, if supporting abortion on demand for co-eds means a bigger chance to get laid with one of these co-eds, it’s no wonder guys accept it. (I did, some.)

You might consider the mistaken Jewish intellectual support for progressive taxation. I do, in a post you might like to read. (did you?)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/28/04 01:46 | link | comments

Harry Potter, Ender Wiggin, (no) Help for Iraqi People

Bush’s minimum US force policy might be wrong – but maybe not. Iraq needs an Iraqi people able and willing to fight for democracy and human rights. Not the US, not the UN – Iraqis. There is nothing anybody outside can do to make that happen, to force Iraqis to be willing to fight. Well, nothing moral anyway – the terrorists are willing and able to use suicide murders, kidnapping, and both random and targeted bombing to intimidate Iraqis against working with the CPA. The US can NOT use those methods.

 

Iraq needs, in every region, in every city, a critical mass of Iraqis willing to risk their lives in order to fight, and kill, the terrorists. I think this would have happened sooner if the US was stronger, earlier, and did more imposition of a human rights/ minority respect model of gov’t, while also giving Iraqis more authority over the money being spent on reconstruction. I’m convinced elections for local city councils and mayors would be the best steps that can be taken to add authority to local Iraqi officials – to get more elected officials. This continues to be the biggest US mistake. But still the US needs to be involved in the security.

What is the optimum level of US involvement?

 

In the Harry Potter books, the evil guys have to be faced by Harry & his friends, initially without much assistance of the adults, not even the good adults. In the HP books, Harry, often alone, must face the evil and triumph, or die. There is really limited help, depending on the book and the danger; and not much from any adults (until very late in HP 5). Harry becomes stronger because he faces his challenges, and overcomes them.

 

Really great stories, emotionally grabbing. What grabs me most strongly is the reasonable injustice – how Harry’s goodness is only slightly twisted to be effectively used against him by the bad guys. And the unjustness of many situations always angers me; yet it remains reasonable. In fact, I remember such feelings from my own youthful teens; though never at the level of Harry. Harry’s character development depends on him meeting the challenges, despite it being unfair, and his character won’t develop if he doesn’t meet the challenge. Harry is even angry at the good adults, and fairly so. Yet, yet, yet … their inaction forces more action, and development, from Harry.

 

This is the Iraq national consciousness issue. The Iraqi people have to eventually solve their own security problems; they have to kill their own Iraqi (& foreign) terrorist murderers, or capture and try them and punish them. They have to stop the kidnapping. America did not impose a benign police state on the Iraqis in order to provide security. No police state; but also less security – it’s a clear, inevitable tradeoff. Many think, as I do, that America allowed too much Iraqi freedom, did not provide enough security. But maybe not. Maybe today’s Iraqi chaos is needed to develop the Iraqi character.

 

This principle is also shown in Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card. In the Battle School training of Ender Wiggin, child-genius future space commander of the Earth fleet against aliens, the adults deliberately do NOT save him from a dangerous encounter with a jealous, older & stronger school rival. The logic is clearly stated by one of the adult supervisors: Ender must know, and feel, that he is alone – that there is nobody who will rescue him. He must do it, alone. He and his space fleet will be victorious, or not, purely from his efforts against the enemy – no help from the adults.

 

Harry and Ender provide good analogies for Iraq – with the USA being the adults, and the new Iraqi police being the young heroes. Today, every Iraq killed by a terrorist is, partly, killed because the Iraqis are not yet stopping the terrorists. Yes, it’s hard. It’s dangerous. Terrorists, AND anti-terrorists, AND non-fighting civilians will die. Appeasement, and hiding, and acceptance of intimidation, seem safer than defiance. But some Iraqis will die in every plausible scenario; and they will keep dying until: 1) the Iraqis willing to fight, kill, and die for democracy subdue the terrorists, or 2) the terrorists are so decimated that they become more like the death-risk of Pali terrorists in Israel, not defeated but much less relevant, or 3) terrorist intimidation works and the majority of Iraqis do not collaborate with nor work with the coalition, and the rebuilding of the Iraq is abandoned by the US, leading to 3b) the US pulls out and the three sections of Iraq split, like Yugoslavia did (which may create a new Turkish-Kurd crisis). Unlike the books, the US Army is willing and able to be on the front lines against the terrorists, and in any case do the heavy lifting – but like the books, if the USA does it, the character of the Iraqi security forces is not improved.

 

How many have to die before the Iraqi security forces are “good enough”? This depends on the Iraqis, their desire and willingness to learn, and change, and on the terrorists. Fallujah may well be the last big terrorist uprising until after 30 June; or it might be the first overflowing drops of an Iraq boiling with anti-occupation and anti-American fever. Should America do more, be more tough, impose a more orderly police-like state? Or allow more freedom and terrorist intimidation?

 

The Iraqis are big folk; they’re adults. OK, they’re not ready to take care of themselves – ready or not, if they don’t do it, it ain’t gettin’ done. Maybe less US force now means more Iraqi responsibility, sooner. On these principles, America needs to get more Iraqis elected, and do more locally in accordance with what elected Iraqis say is needed. In the balance between more freedom and more security, the US security forces should mostly follow elected Iraqi advice.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/26/04 19:20 | link | comments

Arafat should live; others die?

Meryl writes “that Arafat is feeling the heat.  The PLO never changed the part of its charter that calls for the destruction of Israel. This is actually news to some, but not to those of us that have followed the charade. Nor is it going to be news to me that the world ignores the PA foreign minister admitting on the record that his group is still committed to the destruction of Israel.”

 

Poor Jimmy's just another Useful Idiot.  I suggest leaving Arafat, and keep executing everybody else whose stated position continues to be that Israel has no right to exist. As long as Hamas is at "war" with Israel, their leaders should fear for their lives. 

 

Maybe Sharon could suggest that the attempt to kill merely the leaders is an effort to save lives, to achieve Israeli victory & peace with the fewest number of people killed.  The fence is great -- Gaza's poverty problems really become PA problems (and the UN?).  Why aren't they developing?  Why isn't there free speech, and some verbal "alternatives" (not to call it opposition) to Arafat?  Because Pali culture is sick.  They need regime change -- it will be best when THEY decide they need it.

 

Meryl has been blogging for 3 years, with a saga that's cool

Relevant to two of my posts a few months ago on Bush hate, Jew hate, Success hate  And Money grubbing hate leads to Jew hate

 

I don't love Bush, but i'm ... sad, disgusted, upset? at the Bush haters, the Angry Left.  I hate their hypocrisy, though I admit they think they have good hearts.  I think most criticism of Bush is unfair -- and drives out the fair criticism.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/23/04 14:14 | link | comments

Drug profits needed, for now

Kevin writes about drug prices being lower in Canada

C'mon Kevin, you know that drug profits fund research.  If good, new drugs are sold at only production cost, no profit -- no research.  Look at the reduction in research for new AIDS drugs, since the companies know they won't make enough money selling the drugs to pay for the research.

 

We prolly need a new model to support innovation -- maybe $billion dollar matching rewards for new drugs, or something else.  But please be honest about the free rider benefits of other countries; and yes, you're right it's crazy.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/22/04 19:55 | link | comments

No Draft slaves!

Donald mentions the silly Dem proposal to bring back the draft; clearly designed to hurt Bush.  One reason is the fear that the military is too black.

Higher pay, not temporary slavery.

too black

How about limiting the amount of Fed Aid to (overpriced) Ivy Colleges, based on the number of veterans they admit -- pushing them to increase their admittance of veterans (prolly especially black), and making "being a veteran" a more attractive checkmark for the college bound (more whites)?

By the way, a BIG reduction, or elimination, of Fed aid to all colleges who refuse to allow ROTC might be pretty good, too.  [My 2 years at the US Naval Academy were excellent.]

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/22/04 19:37 | link | comments (1)

New Idealist in India

Deeshaa is an interesting blog about India, the world's largest (potential) democracy.  And hard, but maybe not sufficiently smart, working; according to Atanu Dey.

 Hi, only OK thinking on smart/ hard here, in my view. Related to mistakes about democracy & market process in prior post.
Yes, to be productive hard work has to be oriented at useful/ valuable outcomes.
This happens best when: productive workers get more money... productive managers get more money ... productive companies get more profit. Measure profit, reward the better with more and improve; measure workers, reward the better with more; measure, reward, improve managers. That's the power of both the market and democracy.

If one's wasting time, another should not be, and be getting more money -- or else the reward system is not in place.
Biggest market failure is usually lack of formal, legal, title to land/ property, for the poor people. (See Hernando DeSoto). Also a general lack of enforcement of contract for the poor; and prohibition of fraud against the poor. These rights to property & contract, which must be guaranteed by the gov't, are usually subverted by corrupt gov't. But corrupt people all too often vote for lying politicians who promise them benefits that others will pay for. That's a feature AND a bug, in democracy. (first time here; looks good!)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/21/04 17:41 | link | comments

Iraq Reconstruction: Develop rules or play ball?

The US should push to have local elections so more Iraqis are on city councils and some become mayors, and give those elected Iraqis more spending authority, more power.

 

Michael Rubin (of AEI, former DoD & Iraq) is mildly critical of the new UN plan, with US support, to replace the current governing council with another interim, temporary gov’t.  One big problem of the CPA is

“it spent all its time working out its internal rules and regulations. I'm not sure if we completely jettison the core of the governing council whether we can afford to waste that amount of time when such crucial issues are facing Iraq.”

Whenever kids start to play they always spend a bit of time discussing the rules of the game.  When adults are there, the adults usually specify the already known rules: 9 players each side, etc.  With kids alone, there’s a strong argument that the most important good thing they get out of the play is that practice in making the rules, and agreeing to them.  Not the mere exercise of actually playing; and certainly not the “thrill of victory, or the agony of defeat”.  With kids, with play, this practice at making rules is very, very, good – and the US democracy has been subtly weakened as there has been a huge increase in “organized” sport, with adult imposed rules.  (The rise in extreme, and alternate sports, from skateboards, snowboards, surfboards, through ultimate Frisbee, assuages my worries.) 

 

Iraq is full of adults who have had zero practice in agreeing on any rules of any governing game.  In Iraq, after the fall of Saddam’s statue, the US let the Iraqis argue too much about the rules, and did not let Iraqis do enough government decision making.  Iraqis do not seem to be making the budgetary decisions about reconstruction; nor about the tax rates; nor about the local security issues.  Security and police are fundamental to the rule of law, and the US must have a “last resort” security role, but there’s no reason that Iraqis can’t be making more spending decisions about reconstruction – deciding about spending is real power, and the US should give much more of this power to the Iraqis.

 

What the USA should have done: impose some reasonable rules on the top, with lots of authority available for local mayors & city councils. Use ration-cards as reasonable voter-cards for local, municipal elections of temporary, 1-year terms; local city rules imposed by the US to start, changes available after a year. Send most guys from the army into a temporary voter-registration and census army – with lots and lots of data input into voter and census data; AND property ownership.  Who owns what land???  Iraqi oil money, or a good part of it, should be distributed to all Iraqi citizens, monthly, based on the ration/ voter cards (an Oil Trust kind of idea) – so that sabotage of oil selling means less money to the people.

 

Send lots of reconstruction aid money to the newly elected local city councils.   In addition to the reconstruction aid-grant, the mayors should be able to sell municipal bonds—perhaps with interest (against the Koran), perhaps in another fashion.  Perhaps only with a local referendum to approve the bond, or not.  And if the Iraqis give the French or Russians or Germans; or other Arabs or local Iraqis the contracts – that’s the way it becomes THEIR reconstruction.

 

Let most soldiers have a budget of some $1000 in aid, for any project they deem worthy of support – and every month (week?) have the units publicize the best the work.  Let those who did good, like Chief Wiggles, get MORE gov’t money – immediate rewards for success.  Like the new Spirit of America, to get a TV broadcaster; a year late.

 

It’s not too late to do most of this.  The main thing is to get local elections going, the world needs to know the names of elected Iraqis!  And these elected Iraqis need to practice making decisions about spending reconstruction money.  Spending (and taxing) decision making is what a lot of “governing” really means.  Iraqis need to spend more time spending gov’t money, and less time arguing about the rules.

 

And the new Iraqi free press needs to have the freedom to criticize the spending, and highlight how it could be done better – welcome to democracy, and limited budgets!  (Play ball…)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/21/04 10:13 | link | comments

Blogs and Journalism

Jay Rosen has long post about blogs and journalism; and fine comments.

There's a lot missing about reporting and its differences from journalism.  The who what when where and how; with opinions about the why.  News Reports. Facts. What that means, and in particular, speculation about the future = opinions.  NOT reporting, except in a Nat. Enquirer sort of way (Kerry's opinion is yada yada).  TV news, and much newspaper news, has degenerated from facts with some separate analysis to speculations about the future (what will happen, later -- what are the likely future facts to look like). 

 

Whenever journalism is talking about the future, it's talking about opinions, and TV's seldom better, and increasingly more often worse, than the best blogs.  Blogs with personal, first name opinions (I LIKE first names), also about the future.  And Spokane could possibly cover the whole community by including more personal voices -- but a news org would most often do a better job; and impersonal is better, then. (Good thoughts there; thank you Jay Rosen)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/20/04 19:37 | link | comments

Opinion Duel -- good idea

  

Opinion Duel, with New Republic vs National Online (via Michael)

New Republic & National Review on the same page is truly Excellent.  Too bad no comments there.

 

Jonathan seems delusional in thinking Gore (Clinton III) would have been stronger; he's right about the intensity of the summer warnings being significant; delusional again that a Clinton admin would focus more on terrorism -- unless you add some 25 "top, #1 priorities (what's one more, or five?)" to Clinton's speechifying -- or did Jonathan mean Gore?

 

Oh yeah, Jonathan likes to bad mouth Ashcroft, (slimily?) repeating slurs about terrorism.  Ashcroft has denied these, under oath.  Of course, to Dems, "under oath" is no big deal, depending on what "is" is.  Anonymous rumors, "discovered", are more credible.  Cutting gov't counterterrorism is the real meat, and though it's just one bite, it's not nothing.  Clinton's 8 years of cutting needs to be compared.

 

The big failure of Bush, Clinton, and Bush II is the lack of more Arabic trained speakers; and that is STILL a problem.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/20/04 19:35 | link | comments

On-line philosophy

Internet encyclopedia of philosophy   Cool!  (via Dean)

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/20/04 19:32 | link | comments

How much do Iraqis want democracy?

Donald writes about one important Iraq as Vietnam issue – that the Iraqis need to want democracy too.  As much, if not more, than Americans.  So far, they don’t seem to be willing to speak up for it.

>> The Pres. should admit a mistake -- accepting an obviously anti-democracy press as if it was "neutral".

 

One of the two great economic laws: incentives matter.  The US is NOT giving enough incentives to normal Iraqis to compensate for the FEAR that exists of Iraqi thugs.  The thugs seem to be kidnapping, and murdering, almost at will.

 

There also needs to be some reconstruction - employment policy, so that young Iraqi men have something productive to do.  Yes, the "free market will take of it", in years, with a functioning gov't to protect private property.  For now, Iraq needs a set of municipal Service Corps, headed by Iraqis with US advisors/ monitors, getting US money to rebuild what needs to be rebuilt.  And to protect what needs to be protected.

 

"If we keep fighting as we are, we lose" -- but the point of the 30 June handover is to start fighting in a way the Iraqis think we should fight. It MUST be that July terrorists are fighting against Iraqis, not Americans; even if the Americans support the Iraqis. This would be greatly helped by MORE city elections for Iraqi mayors.

Posted by: TomGrey at 04/20/04 19:30 | link | comments

World's vigilante posse

A US - led NATO needs to become the world's vigilante posse. Not the policeman. A posse. 

I have previously supported a NATO