Category Archives: Political Commentary

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Prosecutorial Misconduct

8 Comments

Not just for Ted Stevens, but was it also related to Scooter Libby?

[Update a few minutes later]

Who is Brenda Morris?

This just points out that while elections matter, they don’t necessarily matter as much as they should, due to entrenched civil servants below appointment level, which is why the CIA seemed to be at war with the Bush administration for much of the past eight years (not to mention the State Department). And the administration never seemed willing to even try to do anything about it (for instance, no one was ever fired for all of the leaks to the New York Times). I’d be curious to know if Ms. Morris ever prosecuted a Democrat.

History, Media Criticism, Political Commentary, Space

The Beginning Of The Myth

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I missed noting it yesterday, but it was the fiftieth anniversary of the announcement of the Mercury 7. It set the pattern for the mythology of the NASA astronaut (with two minor variations — the first in the sixties when it was no longer necessary to be a test pilot, and in the late seventies, when women were allowed into the club). I may have more thoughts later, but to me, it was one of the key events that led us off on a very wrong path that has resulted in the space quagmire we’re in to this day.

History, Philosophy, Political Commentary

Speaking Of Pirates

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Did you know that they were early incubators of democracy?

Yes, those stereotypically lawless rum-chuggers turned out to be ardent democrats. And in their strange enlightenment, Leeson sees the answer to a riddle about human nature, worthy of “Lord of the Flies” or an early episode of “Lost.” In the absence of government and law enforcement, what becomes of a band of men with a noted criminal streak? Do they descend into violence and chaos?

The pirates who roamed the seas in the late 17th and early 18th centuries developed a floating civilization that, in terms of political philosophy, was well ahead of its time. The notion of checks and balances, in which each branch of government limits the other’s power, emerged in England in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. But by the 1670s, and likely before, pirates were developing democratic charters, establishing balance of power on their ships, and developing a nascent form of worker’s compensation: A lost limb entitled one to payment from the booty, more or less depending on whether it was a right arm, a left arm, or a leg.

The idea of enlightened piracy is strange swill to swallow for those steeped in a pop culture version of the pirate – chaos on the high seas, drinking and pillaging, damsels forced onto the plank. Sure, there’s something about the independence of piracy that still speaks to people today. (Even the founders of International Talk Like a Pirate Day acknowledge that there is, in people who love to say “Aargh,” a yearning for a certain kind of freedom.) But it turns out that pirate life was more than just greedy rebellion. It offers insights into the nature of democracy and the reasons it might emerge – as a natural state of being, or a rational response to a much less pleasant way of life.

Of course, those were largely pirates of the Anglosphere. Somehow, I suspect that Somali Muslims might generate a different kind of pirate society.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Bringing The World Together

27 Comments

Barry and the Pirates:

This is what we have come to. Unilateral action, even if it is as clear cut as defending US interests against pirates, must be avoided. Murderous Jihadist terrorists get civil rights and government lawyers while US taxpayers pick up the bill. Pirates, who board US shipping and threaten American seamen, get treated like simple criminals that do not warrant so much as a mention by the President. One would have thought it was a no-brainer for the Manchurian President, a populist win-win to paint Obama as a decisive leader, a chance to inspire confidence that he was up to the challenge. It was a chance to warn aggressors, pirates or otherwise, away from international shipping. It was also a chance, now squandered, to reassure friend and foe alike that America had not lost her nerve or reneged on her exceptional role as a world leader.

But no, it’s all just a distraction from the greater work of wealth redistribution, “social justice,” and remaking America into the utopian vision of a narcissistic socialist academic with a nice speaking voice. No pompous speeches and meandering lectures this time, the implications of piracy on trade and sovereignty are beyond Obama.

Treacher has similar thoughts:

1) Presidents of the United States don’t tend to go around apologizing for their own country on foreign soil.

2) Pirates don’t tend to attack American ships.

3) When both happen within a week of each other, each one for the first time anybody can remember, there might be loose talk.

Shootings happen more often than we’d like, but people like Oliver Willis and Markos Moulitsas have no problem pinning one on Glenn Beck or Rush Limbaugh or whoever else they want to malign. Whereas pirates kidnapping Americans at sea happens once every 200 years. But I’m not supposed to wonder if President Obama running around the world with a “Kick Me” sign on his back — which almost flew off during his spine-bending bow to a king — has anything to do with America getting, um, kicked.

And President Obama makes a heart-warming outreach to the moderate pirate community:

For too long, America has been too dismissive of the proud culture and invaluable contributions of the Pirate Community. Whether it is their pioneering work with prosthetics, husbandry of tropical birds or fanciful fashion sense, America owes a deep debt to Pirates.

The past eight years have shown a failure to appreciate the historic role of these noble seafarers. Instead of celebrating their entreprenuerial spirit and seeking to partner with them to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.

Some of us wonder if our current Overseas Contingency Operation would even be needed had the last administration not been so quick to label Pirates as “thieves,” “terrorists” and worse. Such swashbucklaphobia can lead to tragic results, as we have seen this week.

And I’ll have a scoop this weekend on the new administration’s long-overdue moves to heal the breach with the solar system.

Media Criticism, Political Commentary

That’s Awunna Expensiva Pizza

12 Comments

Who paid for this?

When you’re the president of the United States, only the best pizza will do – even if that means flying a chef 860 miles.

Chris Sommers, 33, jetted into Washington from St Louis, Missouri, on Thursday with a suitcase of dough, cheese and pans to to prepare food for the Obamas and their staff.

Short of out of the president’s own pocket, is there any good answer for that question? If it came out of the White House catering budget, how is that justified to the taxpayers? If someone donated the money, who was it, and what did they get for it?

And why doesn’t the The Daily Mail think that’s an interesting question? Would the New York Times? Or is it just news that’s not fit to print?

And, of course, knowing this, what are we supposed to think when the president excoriates the greedy and rich?

Political Commentary

Come Now, Get Legalized Later

2 Comments

Mickey Kaus on either duplicity or cluelessness on the part of the administration:

Obama might as well print up leaflets that say

LEGALIZATION IS COMING. GET ACROSS THE RIO GRANDE NOW IF YOU WANT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF THIS OFFER!

It’s hard to believe Obama adviser Cecilia Munoz doesn’t realize reopening the amnesty issue could have this effect…

…P.S.: CNN reports–after taking to “two senior administration officials”–that

the Obama administration wants to remove incentives to enter the U.S. illegally

Um, the easiest way to do that would have been to not put out yesterday’s story…

It’s about as well thought out as any other Obama administration initiative.

Economics, Education, Media Criticism, Philosophy, Political Commentary

Some Thoughts On Charity

33 Comments

Arnold Kling:

From a libertarian perspective, your generosity is reflected in what you do with your own money, not in what you do with other people’s money. If I give a lot of money to charity, then I am generous. If you give a smaller fraction of your money to charity, then you are less generous. But if you want to tax me in order to give my money to charity, that does not make you generous.

But it does seem to make you self righteous.

Humor, Media Criticism, Political Commentary

Cage Match

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Who is the greater world leader, President Obama, or Dear Leader?

They describe Kim Jong Il as a “peerlessly great man” who is said to have the “organizing ability of leading millions of people” and is “the greatest of great men produced by heaven.” Similarly, Obama has been described in American media as “the agent of transformation in an age of revolution” and as “a lightworker — an attuned being.” CNN’s Jack Cafferty said, “It’s almost as though our president was born to do exactly what he’s doing.” Songs are written throughout North Korea to proclaim Kim Jong Il’s greatness, but there are also songs written to praise Obama, such as “Yes We Can” by will.i.am and “Personal Jesus” by Depeche Mode. Throughout North Korea, there are paintings of Kim so all can admire his poofy hair and leadership, and here in America there are posters of Obama and many paintings of him (often with him naked and riding a unicorn) so we can see his smile and be assured that everything will be alright. Furthermore, it appears that Kim has supernatural powers, as it is said that when he was born “frost exploded with the sound of firecrackers” and “lakes thawed with such a noise that it caused mountains to shake.” Not to be outdone, Obama said that when he was elected would be “when the rise of the oceans began to slow and our planet began to heal.”

So both Barack Obama and Kim Jong Il are greatly admired by their people and are possibly magical demigods who exist for no other purpose but to lead us, but who is the better of the two?

It is a tough choice.