Defeating them strategically

I was reading a thread over at LGF on the future of the Democrat Party and made this comment:

Bush has the Democrats defeated strategically and they don't even know it.

Socialism is a declining demographic.

DeSoto in his book on the nature of Capitalism which I review here shows that man is by nature capitalist.

If you follow Bush's economic strategy you can see that his intent is to make as many people as desire it, owners.

The Democrats have no counter for this.

Unenforceable Rights?

I've been thinking again about the judicial appointments process and how a way long time ago Judge Bork couldn't get elevated to the Supreme Court Bench. With Rhenquist likely to retire very soon due to ill health, the question of appointments and filibusters comes up.

I think Judge Bork would have been a terrible Supreme Court Judge. I think the best indication is his calling the IX and X Ammendments "ink blots". In essence what he is saying is that we have rights that cannot be protected in the courts. I think that is a dangerous position.

So I Google™ - Bork "ink blot" - and who do I come up with? Clayton Cramer, Randy Barnett, and Prof. Bainbridge discussing Raich. How timely.

Clayton says that the IXth and Xth Ammendments are unenforceable since they make mention of nothing specific.

I would like to point out that the 2nd was designed for just such situations. When the government can't figure out what the people's rights are or protect them. The 2nd Amdmt was to help the government understand.

So far the people of California have been restrained in the matter. Taking it to the courts. If the courts read the election returns they know that medical marijuana is popular even in a heavily Republican State like Montana.

BTW I think Randy has the better argument. Unenumerated rights are just as defensible as enumerated rights.

From time to time you can learn what unenumerated rights are important when you see citizens reaching for their guns.

Question is why let it get that far?

Stupidity in government.

So what else is new?

Steve Gardner

Powerline has posted a bit about what has happened to Steve Gardner after speaking out against John Kerry. Steve was the only Swiftie on John Kerry's Boat(s) who did not support John.

It turns out Steve has lost his job - or rather the position was eliminated.

The company is the Millenium Information Services and their contact page is here.

Millenium answers their critics. They may not be the bad guys. It could all be one big misunderstanding.

Via Instant Pundit.

Target Iran

The United States has just fired a shot across the bow of Iran. The war of words has become more heated in the last week or two as the Iranians have played a double game with Europe. I said that the situation in Iran might be a job for the Marines. Well it turns out that at the very least the Army is having a go at it.

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The top U.S. commander in Iraq (news - web sites) warned Iran and others in comments published on Monday to think twice before trying to take advantage of the U.S. military at a time when it is fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Why the Iranians would want to move against us in an overt manner that would cause us to use our air or naval power against them would be beyond me," Army Gen. John Abizaid, head of U.S. Central Command, said in an interview with USA Today.

Abizaid, who was speaking in Qatar, was asked about concerns in Congress that a shortage of U.S. troops might tempt nations such as Iran or North Korea (news - web sites), both accused by Washington of trying to develop nuclear weapons.

Abizaid, the top U.S. military commander for Iraq and Afghanistan, said the armed forces were not overextended.

The United States has 138,000 troops in Iraq and more than 18,000 in Afghanistan, with others deployed in Kuwait, Japan, Germany, Africa, South Korea and Bosnia.

"We can generate more military power per square inch than anybody else on Earth, and everybody knows it," Abizaid said. "If you ever even contemplate our nuclear capability, it should give everybody the clear understanding that there is no power that can match the United States militarily."

Washington and some Iraqi officials have accused Iran of supplying Iraqi insurgents with money, arms and militants, but on Sunday Tehran said it was ready to co-operate with Iraq to stop militants crossing their mountainous 1,000-mile border.

Now it seems to me that the statement about nukes is a warning to Iran that using nukes might not be in Iran's best interest even if they manage to build a few.

A bio of the General can be read here.

The Fools May Be Making Peace

A few days ago I said that the Palis needed to stop incitements (Sharon's condition) and start the peace talks. I ended the piece with a quote from German Gen Rundstedt - "make peace, you fools".

So I read yesterday that Hamas is ready for a ten year 'hudna'. That is a ten year truce. Not peace by a long shot. But not your usual Hamas rhetoric either. I thought to myself. Those boys must be hurting. Still a long way to go, though, for any kind of peace agreement.

So I open the Jerusalem Post today and what do I see in the headlines? PA orders end to incitement.

The Palestinian Authority leadership has ordered PA-controlled media to stop all incitement against Israel and Jews, the London-based Arabic daily A-Shark Al-Awsat reported Monday.

The order also pertains to video clips, songs and music videos which call for the continuation of the armed intifada, the paper reported.

According to the report, the order was given 24 hours after Prime Minister Ariel Sharon urged the Palestinians to put an end to incitement as a prerequisite to the resumption of talks based on the road map peace plan.

Interesting that it takes a week for the news to filter out.

I'd say the Stupidfada is over.

The Palis lost.

Now it is probably a little early for full scale celebration but it may be, with Arafat's death, sanity or at least a bit of it may be returning to the Palestinians.

It may just be that the fools are making peace.

A Japanese view of Arab Culture

Well I'm noodling around Al Bawaba forums again and came across this article by a Kuwaiti Arab, Muhammad Al-Rumayhi, reviewing "The Arabs: A Japanese Point of View," by Japanese researcher Nobuaki Notohara. It was originally translated by MEMRI.

What Enabled the Japanese to Enter the New Cultural Age?

"Whenever some Arabs meet at a scientific convention and Japan is mentioned, the participants compare Japan's revival to the yearned-for Arab revival. They say that Japan succeeded in entering the new age while at the same time preserving its social culture. Apparently, this is the majority opinion among Arab observers. It appears that this is an apologetic view or justification aimed at saying, 'You can enter the age of modernization, globalization, and production without giving up your social heritage, the traditional political pattern, and the behavioral norms that are inappropriate for our time.'

"'And if they are told that the Japanese entered the new age because they changed the political patterns and social behavior to which they were accustomed and because they adopted new ideas, some Arabs respond to this with amazement and denial…'

There is way more of interest including why Japan as a nation is not still angry about getting nuked twice.

The short answer. It does not help to lay blame on others. Self criticism is the only way forward.

Here is hoping the Arabs get it before too long.

Iran's Nucular Program is Peaceful - Really

Iran is promising to really give up its nuclear (and you thought I couldn't spell) program. In fact it is promising to keep the promise it made just last week. Really, no lie. (except to kufars). Yep. It could be true this time just ask them. Rooters has the story:

Under the terms of the deal, Tehran pledged to suspend all activities related to plutonium reprocessing and the enrichment of uranium, a process of purifying uranium for use as fuel in nuclear power plants or, when very highly enriched, in weapons.

In exchange, France, Britain and Germany have offered on behalf of the EU a package of economic and political benefits, including a promise to build a light-water nuclear reactor that is more difficult to use for weapons purposes than other types.

In a cliffhanger week of backroom haggling, Iran had asked that 20 centrifuges -- which enrich uranium by spinning at supersonic speeds -- be exempted from the deal it reached with the EU's "Big Three" freezing its nuclear program on Nov. 7.

Iran has been promising and unpromising since 7 Nov.

Even the North Koreans did a better job than that.

Say. Maybe this is a job for Jimmy Carter. He did so well with the Iranians when he was President and with the North Koreans when he wasn't.

OTOH perhaps this is a job for the Marines.

Nuke 'em

A war cry has gone up. It is the war cry of the American left. They want their enemies nuked. In America. By Iran.

Wright Patman says in post #11:

I live in Texas. But I can see your point.

A nuke delivered to Collin County, Texas (northern suburbs of Dallas), would hit nothing but red.

And the really neat thing is that it is nothing but paved-over prairieland to begin with, so there would not be any noticeable loss of scenery. In fact, the craters might make for interesting tourist attractions.

One could combine one's vacation trip by first visiting Dealey Plaza where the original coup was plotted and carried out and then travel 30 miles to the north to witness the (literal) fallout the military-industrial coup generated 41 years later.

As so many have said. They are not just the loyal opposition. They are on the other side.

Several posters are not concerned by Iranian nukes. After all, they point out, the first target will just be the Jews in Israel.

These are not lovers of peace. They are war lovers. The peace they hope for is a loss for their side. And a win for the opressors of women.

How progressive.

Palestinian Logic

Israel has a plan to leave Gaza. Raji Sourani, director of the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights has a few thoughts on the subject.

"In simple words," said Sourani, "nobody in Israel wants Gaza -- Left or Right. If this plan is applied, then it means the occupation will continue, meaning we will have no control over our destiny.

So there you have it.

If the Israelis stay in Gaza it will of course be occupied territory.

But if they leave it will be no different. Gaza will be occupied territory.

This is very subtle.

Perhaps what he is saying is that the wrong people are occupying Gaza.

I could go with that.

Pat Tilman - Sportsman of the Year

Black Five says go to Sports Illustrated and vote for Pat Tilman as Sportsman of the Year. So do I.

I'd appreciate it if you took some time to go here to vote, select Pat Tillman on the sliding window on the left of the site (he's second from the bottom and wearing a red football jersey), click on his picture, then hit the vote button. Just in case you have trouble finding his picture, here is a screenshot of what Pat Tillman's ballot looks like.

Looking at Defeat In Iraq

No it is not America looking at defeat. It is the Jihadis. This just in from Middle East News:

BAGHDAD [MENL] -- Sunni insurgents have expressed concern over the prospect of a defeat by the U.S.-led coalition in Iraq.

Islamic sources said that for the first time in more than a year the Tawhid and Jihad group led by Abu Mussib Al Zarqawi appears to have lost control over many of its insurgents in the Sunni Triangle. The sources said Iraqi and U.S. assaults on major insurgency strongholds in such cities as Baghdad, Faluja, Mosul, Ramadi and Samara have resulted in heavy insurgency casualties and a break in the command and control structure.

Over the last few days, Al Zarqawi supporters have appealed for help from Al Qaida and related groups.

via LGF comments.

Faith Based Sex Education

Well Bush is off on one of his moral crusades to get abstinence only sex education more funds. A nice quote from the article:

Teaching only about abstinence means students will be less able to prevent pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases, say supporters of comprehensive sexual education.

``The only 100 percent way to avoid a car collision is not to drive, but the federal government sure does a lot of advocacy for safety belts,'' said James Wagoner, president of Advocates for Youth, a group that promotes education about birth control and condom use.

On top of that it seems that no one knows which approach is best. All Bush can say is that people desire the programs. It is stuff like this that made me vote for Obama.

After Action Report

A very good after action report from 2slick.

We moved all of our vehicles and soldiers from Camp Fallujah to a position about 1 mile north of the city. That's also where we set up our TF support area (re-fuel, re-arm) and where we set up the Tactical Operations Center. All day long while were setting up at that location, Air Force and Marine Corps aviators shaped the battlefield with laser-guided bombs and hellfire missiles. Although American forces had not been into the city since April, we had been collecting intelligence on the city for months through unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV's), human intelligence, and Special Forces. So we knew exactly where they stored their weapons and where they held meetings, and so on...all of these attacks from the air were precise and very effective in reducing the enemy's ability to fight us before thebattle even started.

With each attack, secondary explosions of weapons/ammo blowing up were heard. The Coalition also threw the enemy a curveball by destroying all the vehicles that had been parked in the same location for more than 3 days---the enemy planned to use these as car bombs when we attacked. Again, almost every single vehicle the air assets attacked had huge secondary explosions.

After 12 hours of massive air strikes, Task Force 2-7 got the green light and was the first unit to enter the city.

Read the whole thing.

Sergeant Angel and Friends

Some very good looking Seargents pose with pistols.

American women.

Ya gotta love them.

In fact I do.

Sacrifices

I was thinking today (and most other days in the past, weeks, months, and now years) about our Soldiers and Marines and Air Men and Sailors dying doing our work. And it hurts. And it makes me sad. And it makes me wonder if I have the right to call on their lives in my name.

It is a heavy burden. It weighed my heart down this Thanksgiving. There was just a little bitterness from the food. The sweets were not perfectly sweet. I think of all the Thanksgivings our young men and women are giving up to do a very dirty job for us. We have asked them to turn a sewer into a home for a bunch of people many of whom resent their help. Oh yes. Some of you are going to get killed doing the job. Not many as compared to previous sewer cleanings. But still. On the average 3 of you a day out of one hundred and thirty thousand. And how can I ask for the gift of your life. It weighs heavily on me.

And that got me to thinking. About the towers. The jumpers most of all. The jumpers. So I was thinking some more about that day and the days after. And the people on flight 93 counter attacking 90 minutes after the first attack. The counter attack was successful. But the whole attacking party died to win that victory. Not to mention those on the plane who only watched. Those are some heavy odds. And Americans rose to the challenge. After taking a vote. How American. We started that tradition in the Revolutionary War where the militia voted for its own officers. A democratic army of the people.

And I said to myself, what can I do to honor their sacrifice too? The citizen soldiers who have shown the way for our fine boys and girls.

So I have said this many times since I found out about flight 93. Silently. To myself. If I am ever in position to make a counterattack I promise to make it in the same spirit as our fine military and flight 93. Without regard to my own life.

Thank you all for all you have given to this country. And when my opportunity comes I only hope I can be as courageous and worthy.

Happy Thanksgiving.

Raich

Randy Barnett, a great American lawyer who posts from time to time at the Volokh Conspiracy, is going to argue Raich vs. Ashcroft in front of the US Supreme Court on Monday November 29th. The case revolves around the raids the DEA did in California on various cannabis co-ops around October 2001, shortly after the attacks on New York and the Pentagon. Angel Raich in October of 2002 sued the Federal government to stop the raids on the various co-ops in California.

Drug War Rant has a very good run down of the details of the case and the arguments of the various parties pro and con.

Because of the way the case was framed it has a very good chance of changing the way that the Federal Government deals with the medical marijuana issue.

Here is a bit I wrote just after the raids started on what was happening and why I was against the raids. Ashcroft will soon be gone but the damage he did will linger on for a while. Let us hope the Supreme Court sees fit to restrain the Feds, the Justice Department and the DEA.

--==--

THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

There is something going on in California. Something that has received practically no press anywhere in America. The DEA is going on a rampage against medical marijuana users and their legal suppliers despite the fact that marijuana as medicine was voted for by 56% of Californians over five years ago.

Here are the details of what has been happening. On the 25th of October approximately 30 Federal agents raided the West Hollywood headquarters of the Los Angeles Cannabis Resource Center after over five years of operation. The center is supported by the local sheriff's office. Sheriff's Captain Lynda Castro said the raid was "a difficult pill to swallow." Three members of the West Hollywood City Council showed up after the raid to protest the DEA action. The raid was based on a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that stated that marijuana does not have medical value and therefore it is against federal law.

The value of marijuana as medicine was never properly contested but only stipulated by the government under the protests of the defence.

The government's own Institute of Medicine reported in 1999 that even smoked marijuana may have medical value under certain circumstances.

In addition the government also distributes government grown marijuana to seven patients. And the DEA's own administrative law judge Francis Young said in a 1988 ruling that "It would be unreasonable, arbitrary, and capricious for DEA to continue to stand between those sufferers and the benefits of this substance in light of the evidence in this record." So the Supreme Court ruling is based on a stipulation that even the government knows is a lie. Proving that the big lie technique still works. Even in America.

But that wasn't the only major DEA raid on California. On the 28th of September the DEA raided the offices of Dr. Mollie Fry and her husband attorney Dale Schafer who announced in July that he would run for El Dorado County district attorney. In this case the G men were collecting about 6,000 to 7,000 patient records because Fry was well known for recommending marijuana to AIDs and cancer patients among others. The doctor and her husband were also well known for testifying for the defence in medical marijuana cases in California. In theory the files taken should be protected by attorney-client privilege as well as doctor-patient privilege. In fact these days there is no protection against the Federal government. Not law, not custom, not judges, and not people asking for redress of grievances. This one sure looks like a political prosecution to me. We are sure lucky America isn't a banana republic. Think of what this country would be like if we had really corrupt people at the helm. Well no need for thinking any more if you can just open your eyes.

In this time of national emergency we don't have the time, money, and manpower to waste on recreational pot smokers and nationalized corruption. We certainly don't have the resources to waste on the sick and infirm. Attacking the sick is bad sense in time of peace and is a total waste in time of war; in addition it violates every tenet of morality I ever heard of. Hurray for Attorney General Ashcroft, touted in his confirmation hearings as a paragon of morality and a good Christian. I thought Jesus promoted comforting the sick, not attacking them. I'm sure if I was a member of the church Mr. Ashcroft attends it would all be clearer to me.

We Americans cannot expect government to continue behaving in such an immoral manner and still hope to win the war against fascism. This lack of fundamental god given morality will corrupt us and sap our will just as racism did in Vietnam. We must end prohibition now.

Saying of the week:

If drugs back terrorism why don't the terrorists deal in aspirin?

Ask a politician:

Do you support drug prohibition because it finances criminals at home or because it finances terrorists abroad?

This weeks politician:

Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah - the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee. He voted for Mr. Morality Ashcroft. Mr Hatch promoted him as just the remedy for Janet "Burn the Women and Children" Reno. So now we get John "Persecute the Sick and Dying" Ashcroft. This could actually be an improvement. But somehow I doubt it.

Contact Senator Hatch in Washington D.C. Voice: 202.224.5251 Fax: 202.224.6331 or you can e-mail him by going to: http://www.senate.gov/~hatch/help_contact.htm on the www. Voice or fax is probably better for those not resident in Utah.

A Welfare Story

So on this Thanksgiving I'm kinda going places on the net I don't usually visit.

And I come across this:

...studying [the]Statistical Abstract of the United States in 1995 for evidence to refute the conventional but false wisdom that out-of-control welfare costs were due to an exploding number of “welfare queens” ever more deftly defrauding the system, I discovered another kind of ripoff that – had I still been working as an investigative reporter – I would have labeled “the greatest welfare fraud of all time.” From 1970 through 1990, the welfare bureaucracy had increased its own administrative costs by 5,390 percent (not a typo) even as it slashed the value of stipends and services to recipients by nearly two thirds. The administrative cost hikes of course included substantial salary increases and workforce expansions: there were “welfare queens” aplenty, but they were all members of the bureaucracy.

He goes on a tear. And from a humanists point of view it gets worse as he describes his own experience and that of others in the welfare system.

It is quite a story. Not a pretty one.

Iraq Exit Strategy

Blackfive has a map.

Via Chicagoboyz.

Crippling Iran's nuclear ambitions

Developing nuclear weapons is very energy intensive. It requires a LOT of electrical power. (look at why Oak Ridge, Tennessee was so important to the Manhattan Project).

If I wanted to disrupt Iran's nuclear ambitions without knowing all the nuclear sites I would go after the Iranian power grid.

Common Law

So I'm over at Al Bawaba again having a discourse with Faust and the rest of the denizens and I'm inspired to write this little piece.

--==--

Let me put in my 2 cents.

A decision has been made some where in the labrynth of the US government that the US is going to be #1 on the planet for the next 100 years. Basically until the transition away from oil as an energy resource is complete. (one must know the trends in science and technology not just politics to know what is happening).

In 100 years the planet will be 99% civilized. And it will be American/British civilization, not French. Common law will be the rule.

Now Brit civilization is very interesting in that respect because common law is what the Brits/Americans are ruled by. The laws reflect the actual behavior of the people. As opposed to the French system where law is handed down from on high and obedience is demanded. Islam is a French system. The will of the people does not have the force of law.

The Brit/American system is adaptable. It bends. It changes. The French/Islamic system is brittle, change is difficult. The French/Islamics bridge the gap between law and reality by ignoring the inconvenient parts of the law. What we anglos would call hypocracy. It appears in every brittle system. Take the Soviet Union for instance.

Now the surprising thing is that I learned all this in a high school (Omaha Central) class over 40 years ago. English history. A truly fascinating subject. The Norse pirates were a very big influence on the course of English law. The Magna Carta was the outcome of the clash between Norse law and the French system imposed by Wm. the conquerer.

This war we are in is truly a clash of civilizations at least 1,000 years in the making.

We will have same sex marriage in America (in time) and the drug laws will be repealed. Because it is what the people want. There are very few fixed rules in the anglo system except listening to the will of the people. Things are decided by the way people live. Not rules handed down from on high by our betters. You know, the mullahs and kings.

Any way as far as I can tell the outcome of the war was decided a long time ago. What you see in action is just the mopping up operation. The Italian Oriana Fallaci has written extensively about the power of the plebes. For those interested she is a very good read and understands the issues in her bones. Men will fight and die so that they can make their own rules. This is a fact.

Jefferson sealed it in 1776. July 4th is the official date. Go back and read what he said. Good stuff. It defeated the Soviet Communists. It will defeat Islam.

Well any way I'm starting to get like Adnan. Verbose.

Think. Think. Think.

A caliphate or self rule? Who has the most power?