Politics

On “appeasement”

Conservative Republicans (using the terms in their modern corrupted meaning here) have their panties in a knot about the Obama camp’s reaction to Bush’s shot at him from Israel the other day.  They’re hopping around shouting “Appeasement!” and “Chamberlain!” as if they had any idea what either reference meant.

(By the way, Chamberlain’s ‘appeasement’ was not in talking to Hitler, but in giving him half of Czechoslovakia.  Mark that down because it’ll be important in a minute.)

“Appeasement” is a stone the self-styled followers of Reagan should be very careful about throwing. Their poster-boy was a worse appeaser than Chamberlain ever was.  And by that I mean that Chamberlain negotiated a treaty that everyone knew about, but Reagan traded arms for hostages on the sly and got caught.  All the while, talking tough like a movie star reading a script.  Which he was.

The Reaganites are scandalized because Obama has said he would talk to our enemies.  That of course, being the worst thing you can do in any situation.  It’s always better to swagger and sabre-rattle and bluster.  You know, “Speak loudly, because you have a tiny, um… stick.  What would Roosevelt say?  Here’s what Dick Cheney said:

“I believe that it’s not an accident that our hostages came home from Iran when President Reagan was president of the United States. He didn’t sit down in a negotiation with the religious extremists in Iran, he made it very clear that those hostages were coming home.’’

Apparently Dick Cheney and I agree on one thing: it was not a coincidence that the hostages came home when Reagan became president.

Learning the wrong lesson from History

Mark Twain said; “History doesn’t repeat itself, but it rhymes”.  There was a case back in 1938 where Hitler made demands and Chamberlain compromised on them, and because of that all of WWII is now Chamberlain’s fault.  The lesson?  “Never, ever listen to your enemies!” All situations are just like Nazi Germany, and sitting down to talk with the other side (who shall henceforth be called ‘the bad-guys’) legitimizes them and invites attack.  You should demand the other side surrender and kiss your ass before you’ll even talk to them, even if it will get them expelled as representatives of their people.  Got it?

Sorry, but that’s just stupid. I mean brutishly, unforgivably stupid in a way that cannot be explained by anything but childish insecurity.  It’s a confusion of naked power with confident strength.  It might be an ideal strategy if you are God and you combine invulnerability with genocidal malice and truly unlimited power, but in no other case.  As a way for mortals to meet mortals, it is the height of hubris. It is the pride that goeth before a fall.  Obama knows that; he is far more a student of history than his critics.

Oh, and Neville Chamberlain, remember him? He pushed for rearming Britain and it was he, not Churchill who in 1939, declared war on Germany.  And though his earlier policies (which had strong public support at the time) had failed and he was forced to resign as Prime Minister, he became an effective member of Churchill’s war cabinet.

Chamberlain was an appeaser like Reagan, then he changed.  But his name and legacy are still used as an epithet for politicians to throw around. You know the old saying about ‘glass houses’…

Posted by George on 05/17/08 at 01:25 PM
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Who knew Hitler would be so useful?

Well everyone knows it, I guess.  There is after all, Godwin’s Law, which states that as any Internet discussion lengthens the probability of someone invoking Hitler as a rhetorical device approaches one.  And Ben Stein has been using Hitler lately to diss Darwin.  But did President Bush have to get into the act?…

Continued...

Posted by George on 05/15/08 at 10:17 PM
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‘Toon Physics’ and the Hillary Campaign

My choice for Quote Of The Week on the Clinton campaign:

“IN CARTOONS there is often a moment when a hapless character, having galloped over a cliff, is still unaware of the fact and hangs suspended in the air, legs pumping wildly, until realization dawns, gravity intervenes, and downfall ensues...
- The Economist editorial page, ”Almost There”, 10 May 2008

The editor went on to say that “Mr. Obama’s refusal to follow her (and Mr. McCain) in supporting an idiotic summer suspension of the petrol tax, crude economic populism at its worst, was especially notable.” There’s lots more - Go Read!

Posted by George on 05/11/08 at 12:08 PM
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The Manchurian Candidate

Sometimes I wonder if Anne Coulter is secretly working for the Democrats, as when she speculates that Barack Obama might be a “Manchurian Candidate”.  Keith Olberman asks… “Annie!  You ever seen the Manchurian Candidate, the classic original with Frank Sinatra and Lawrence Harvey?  The Manchurian Candidate is about an American war hero, ex-POW, who while he’s in captivity, gets brainwashed by the Chinese...”

Posted by George on 05/03/08 at 10:29 AM
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The more things change

Just in case you’re wondering how long the Republicans have been using the same script…

“...Did the Democrats, asked Republicans, intend to give Puerto Rico back to Spain?  Or forget that American lives had been lost in the Philippines?  Weren’t Democratic anti-imperialists like Stevenson, as President McKinley asked, similar “to guerrillas who shoot at American soldiers?”

Sensitive to the concentration of power that accompanied war, Stevenson informed Bryan that imperialism must remain the central issue of the campaign.  His constant subject, after his brief complaints about high tariffs, “which secure unjust advantages for the few”, remained “the greedy spirit of commercialism which has embroiled our government in an unnecessary war, sacrificed valuable lives and placed the American Republic in deadly antagonism to our former allies in their effort to secure their liberties.  For the first time in our history we are boldly confronted with the question of imperialism - the spirit of empire.”

Jean H. Baker, The Stevensons, W.W. Norton & Company, p. 176, on the 1900 presidential race between William McKinley and William Jennings Bryan

Posted by George on 04/25/08 at 12:22 PM
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Iraq Veterans Against The War (updated)

Iraq Veterans Against The War visited our campus today with a display of boots and shoes.  Lined up in neat rows like tombstones, decorated with a name and in some cases a photo or a medal, each pair of boots belonged to an Illinois soldier who didn’t make it home.  There were also circles of shoes, from Iraqi civilians of all ages.  Veterans were on hand to reflect on the war.

What could I say that is not said by a little pair of fuzzy booties that belonged to a child?  Or by a pair of boots that belonged to a soldier, decorated with his high school graduation picture?  It is bad enough when there is an arguable purpose to it all, but this war is for nothing.  It is a personal vendetta of our codpiece-in-chief.

Mark Twain said; “History does not repeat itself.  But it rhymes.”

Boots in a row
image

Continued...

Posted by George on 04/22/08 at 07:54 PM
Politics • defense • (13) Comments • Link

A modest proposal to control Civic Boosterism

Civic Boosterism (CB) is a pernicious disease that afflicts city councils and mayors in mid-sized cities.  Call it “Chicago Envy” if you like.  In its early stages it’s fairly harmless or even beneficial; hanging potted plants from signposts downtown, commissioning artists to do murals on the side of buildings, and promoting rehabilitation of 1800’s buildings.

Late-stage CB is another matter.  The victims begin to suffer delusions of grandeur and they hear voices… of highly-paid consultants.  “Growth!” whispers the consultant.  “If you’re not growing, you’re dying!” (Precisely the philosophy of a cancer cell, as Edward Abbey famously observed.)

“Oh no”, thinks the council person or mayor.  “I don’t want to die! But the consultant says; “For just a medium-sized wad of taxpayer’s money, I can save you.  I can tell you how to grow...”

Continued...

Posted by George on 04/20/08 at 08:42 AM
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Sunday Morning Sermonette:  Obama’s ‘bitterness’ speech

When “egghead” Adlai Stevenson was running for president, one of his supporters gushed; “Sir, every thinking person in America will be voting for you!” Stevenson replied; “Thank you, maam, but it won’t be enough.  We need a majority.”

There’s an urban legend that Dwight Eisenhower was shocked to learn that fully half of US school children are of below-average intelligence.  He wanted immediate action to correct the situation.

So it’s suddenly a big deal if Barack Obama says;

“You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them,” he said.

“And it’s not surprising, then, they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy to people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations,” he added.

FOX News about had a giant spontaneous newsgasm over that one.  They spent the whole afternoon (and will probably spend the next several days) calling Obama an elitist.  John ‘flip-flopper’ McCain said that Obama was “out of touch with average Americans.” (Excuse me, isn’t ‘average’ pretty much an analogue of ‘typical’ as in “typical American?” Just asking.)

And surely the funniest comment of the day was made by Hillary Clinton, who said voters did not “need a president who looks down on them.” Sorry, I should have warned you to turn down the gain on your irony meter there. 

Remember when Reagan described the Soviet Union as an “Evil Empire” and everybody freaked out, but Andy Rooney (no fan of Reagan’s) said; “Would anybody care to argue that the Soviet Union is NOT an evil empire?”

Well, would anybody care to argue that a lot of rural American voters are NOT bitter about the sustained loss of their good jobs?  Or that some of them aren’t clinging to their guns as if Armageddon were right around the corner?  Or that many voters aren’t trying to elect a right-wing mega-church version of Jesus Christ into the White House?  Anybody at all?  Bueller? 

OK, so Obama was telling the truth.  No wonder FOX news is so upset.

We have had just about enough of of a president who’s an “average guy”, who’s “in touch with the average American” (whatever that is). I want someone who’s in touch with other cultures too.  Someone in touch with inner-city poverty.  Someone who’s in touch with race issues in a way no other president ever has been.  I want someone who knows something about Muslims. Someone with a clue about science. Someone who knows our frakking constitution forwards and backwards.  Someone with the guts to call stupidity by its real name.  I want someone with some pretty damn elite abilities for our next president.  If he doesn’t watch NASCAR, I can live with that.

I’ve heard Obama tell automakers to quit whining and get competitive.  He’s told school kids that it’s nice they graduated 8th grade and all, but tomorrow’s another school day and they better study even harder.  I’ve heard him keep a level head debating an absolute whackjob, Alan Keyes.  He told white Americans not to expect patriotic hymns from older blacks, but then he turned around and told the black community not to expect white Americans to be happy about affirmative action.  That’s a person with some serious knuckles. 

Lots of people seem to vote on “Hey!  He didn’t suck up to me enough!” or “He didn’t promise me enough!” or “He said something that could be interpreted as not complimentary to my demographic group!” Well tough.  You know the biggest demographic group that needs to get a frakking clue?  Americans.  And the clue we need to get is, that we’re not the world’s savior; we’ve got a log in our own eye.  We’ve lost the moral high ground, the esteem of many of our allies, the value of the dollar, and any chance of a head start on climate change.  It’s time to stop whining and start fixing. 

(Cross-posted to Stupid Evil Bastard)

Posted by George on 04/13/08 at 06:44 AM
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I don’t know what could be funnier than…

I don’t know what could be funnier than watching FOX News rooting for Hillary because they’re in Full Panic Mode over Obama.  They think McCain has a chance against Hillary and they could be right.  They’re even pushing the idea of an Obama/Hillary ticket.  Anything to get Hillary on the “Democrat party” ticket.

In other news, the US is becoming slightly more popular overseas.  I’m gonna take a wild guess that the success of the Obama campaign has a lot to do with that.  ‘Cause that’s the only thing that’s different lately; Bush is still a sanctimonious jerk, still taking no serious action on carbon emissions, still stuck in a pointless war, and we’re overrun with religious zealots.  But we have a man equipped with a working moral compass running for president and making some headway at it.  That’s got to help.  Or maybe it’s because we’re starting to forgive France for being too stupid to go along with our Big Iraqi Adventure.

Well don’t get too excited; our overseas fan club has “surged” all the way from 31% to 35%. 

Posted by George on 04/02/08 at 10:17 PM
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Is patriotism a virtue? Guest post by Kent Ashcraft

Recently I’ve been wanting to ask people driving giant SUV’s, “What is it exactly that you love so much about Saudi Arabia?” But it’s just a passing thought.

Then today I got one of Kent Ashcraft’s infamous emails.  You may remember him from the Dear Dr. Laura bit of doggerel where he asks how to apply the Leviticus to his gay neighbors.  This time, he’s on about ‘Patriotism”, and in an election year, it seems like a fit topic.

“This much is certain: We Americans owe our existence as a nation to the American patriots who fought in the Revolutionary War. As a result of that debt, we generally consider patriotism to be one of the greater virtues people can possess. In reality, it’s somewhat more complex than that.

First of all, the patriots of the American Revolution were not fighting in support of their country, which at the time was England. They were fighting against their country for the right to break away and establish a new one. It’s only in retrospect that we view them as loyal to the (present) fatherland; in reality they were the opposite of loyal…

Oh noes!!! How can you say that about our founding fathers?!!  Rebels against their country, with the help of France no less ?!!!

Continued...

Posted by George on 04/02/08 at 07:00 PM
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Fitting back in

Insights into round numbers and the changing shape of holes in families and society:

“...these numbers, round or otherwise are nonsense. They’re worse than meaningless. They allow us to care about this war on cue for some fraction of a news cycle. But by the time we’ve gone to the fridge, grabbed a beer, and slapped our fat asses back down on the sofa, things have moved on to the story of the drug-addled starlet’s custody fight with her 5th ex-husband. In six or seven months, when the number’s climbed to another round increment, the press will spare a few more minutes of air time and remind us to care again briefly. Between now and then, most of the deaths will be back below the fold on page A-39...”
- Zoologist Mike Dunford, Numbers and Tragedies, Statistics and Losses

There’s a lot more - go read!  Mike’s wife, a doctor, has been deployed to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Update links:

Posted by George on 03/25/08 at 06:00 AM
Politics • defense • (1) Comments • Link

Bush on the romance of danger

President Bush, speaking by video conference to military and civilian workers in Afghanistan:

“I must say, I’m a little envious,” Bush said. “If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy succeed.”

“It must be exciting for you ... in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You’re really making history, and thanks,” Bush said.

Tip ‘o the hat to Terry

Posted by George on 03/21/08 at 07:26 PM
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“…Not this time!” - Obama talks about race

There’s a certain quality to some people.  The first time I heard Jesse Jackson speak, I was wishing he’d shut up before he got to his third sentence, and he hadn’t even finished thanking the people who organized the event.

But Barack Obama is at the other end of that scale.  I’ve been following his career since Paul Simon (the Illinois senator, not the pop singer) sent a letter of support for him. I saw him maneuver through the Illinois legislature without getting devoured by that machine. I saw his cool handling of that raving maniac, Alan Keyes.  I’ve seen him say to crowds exactly what they did not want to hear, while deftly finding the thread of higher nature in his audience.  He doesn’t rattle easily, Barack Obama, and when he takes the oath of office, he’ll actually know what he’s talking about when he pledges to “...preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.” He will never dismiss our constitution as “just a .. piece of paper.”

A couple weeks ago his pastor said some inflammatory things about race.  Now this should hardly be news; Republican candidates routinely have long relationships with preachers who believe certifiably nutty and destructive things, while Wright’s remarks contain more than a grain of uncomfortable truth.  But those few seconds of video have been reified from the life of a preacher we don’t even know, and trumpeted 24 hours a day on cable news and right-wing blogs as if they were the secret agenda of Obama himself.

On Tuesday Obama delivered his famous speech on race. For too long race has just been a card one could play for political gain, a lever to pry out reason from discussion leaving only divisive emotions, a minefield across which white Americans, no matter how good their intentions, could see relationships explode from the slightest misstep.  Barack was having none of that; he spoke about race with stunning completeness and painful honesty, saying for the first time things I have wanted to hear someone say but until now nobody had the guts or the credibility.

I cannot improve on Jon Stewart’s perfect description: “At 11:00 am on a Tuesday, a prominent politician spoke to the American people about race, as though they were adults”.


Notes:
  • Campaign site: Full text of speech
  • Chicago Tribune: The Obama I know: “Terrific listener goes wherever reason takes him”.  Outstanding editorial from one of Obama’s former colleagues at the University of Chicago Law School
  • Joe Irvin has insightful commentary about Obama and the voter around the speech
  • The discussion at Stupid Evil Bastard is, as always, not to be missed
  • Winston at Nobody Asked says;
    ...He eloquently and effectively delivers with the same style as Dr. Martin Luther King, a passionate style that captivates an audience with deliberate, methodical rhythm and repetition. The effect is indeed powerful and convincing. Not all leaders have this ability, but all truly great leaders are masters of oratory. They use their talents to persuade and motivate people to dream, to hope, to achieve. Barack Obama is such a leader…

Posted by George on 03/21/08 at 04:13 AM
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Looking across the aisle for escape

Do you suppose the Republicans want the Democrats to get us out of Iraq?  After all a Democrat got us stuck in the last quagmire and a Republican got us out.  Not in a timely fashion, admittedly, but that’s how quagmires are.

It would be a considerable win for them, disentangling the country from their mistake and at the same time letting Sean Hannity blame the Democrats for “defeat”.  Because we surely would have won if we’d just kept our hand in that blender a little longer. 

(Right - as if we’re going to bring ‘peace’ to a part of the world where people have been nursing grudges since the 13th century...)

I’d feel better about John McCain if I could just hear him admit; “It was a mistake to invade Iraq.”

Posted by George on 03/07/08 at 12:20 PM
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One out of a hundred Americans in prison

The Pew Center On The States reports that about one out of a hundred Americans are in jail or prison right now.  That means an even more appalling percentage will have prison records and cannot participate in our economy beyond a minimal (or illegal) level.  It’s more than Russia, China, Saudi Arabia, more than any of those countries we’re accustomed to regarding as examples of oppression.

The article says we spend “more than $49 billion” to be the worldwide imprisonment leader but that’s just the up-front cost.  By exiling so many people from the legitimate economy and creating a vast criminal infrastructure for common street drugs (let’s face it this is mostly about drugs) the cost to our economy will dwarf the cost of damaging it.  The war on drugs is a giant hemmoraging injury to our economy.  We have to stop it. 

If only there were some historical example we could learn from, where the war on a drug turned out to be more damaging than the drug itself.  Hmm… it seems there must be something but I can’t quite remember what it is.  Maybe I should go have a few beers and forget the whole thing.

Notes:

  • ***Dave, Paul, and Les open up major cans of whup-ass following the Pew report.
  • One out of six federal inmates is in for marijuana-related offenses, more than are in for violent crime.
  • I don’t actually drink beer; that was just snark.
  • The War On Drugs falls disproportionately on the poor and on people of color.
  • Baltimore Sun report on this story gives the following example:
    There are 23,342 people incarcerated in Maryland, according to the Pew report. “And roughly 70 percent of them are in prison for drug or drug-related offenses,” Anderson said. “And of that 70 percent, 92 percent are African-American.”

  • WCBSTV report on this story
Posted by George on 03/01/08 at 10:21 AM
Politics • Law • (10) Comments • Link
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