Month: February 2008

A wise person once said: "A fool learns from his experience. An intelligent person learns from the experience of others." To which one could add: "And an idiot does not even learn from his own experience." So what can we learn from a book which shows that we do not learn from experience? All this … Continue reading “An End Foreseen”

The neoconservatives, who have never been right about anything, have lately suffered more knockdowns than "The Bull of the Pampas," Luis Firpo, did in his first round with Jack Dempsey in 1923, but hopes for their demise as a political force have unfortunately proven to be premature. Part of the problem is that the blog … Continue reading “John McCain and the Neocon Resurgence”

Updated at 1:20 a.m. EST, Feb.11, 2008Although Egyptian President Hosni Mubarek said that U.S. presence on Iraq is a destabilizing force in the region, U.S. Defense Secretary Gates hinted that a pause in the drawdown of American troops in Iraq is likely. Meanwhile, one American soldier was killed and two more were wounded during an … Continue reading “Monday: 1 US Soldier, 40 Iraqis Killed; 67 Iraqis Wounded”

I‘m an innumerate, but the figures on this – the saddest story of our Iraq debacle – are so large that even I can do the necessary computations. The population of the United States is now just over 300,000,000. The population of Iraq at the time of the U.S. invasion was perhaps in the 26-27 … Continue reading “The Iraqi Brain Drain”

Matt Welch, the new editor of Reason, gave a talk at the Cato Institute about his new book, John McCain: The Myth of a Maverick, in which he sums up the grave danger to the republic represented by the McCain campaign. Welch remarked that McCain is part of the “imperial class,” pointing to the politico-military … Continue reading “The Rise of the Imperial Class”

After one spends 45 years in Washington, high farce does not normally throw one off balance. I found the past few days, however, an acid test of my equilibrium. I missed the National Prayer Breakfast – for the 45th time in a row. But as I drove to work I listened with rapt attention as … Continue reading “Waterboarding for God, With Decency and Compassion”

As the nation’s major media outlets crown John McCain (George W. Bush on steroids) as the Republican nominee for president, their nearly criminal neglect of Ron Paul’s candidacy in the 2008 presidential campaign is nearly complete. “Big media” have never deemed Paul a “major candidate,” as their paltry coverage of him shows. In fact, the … Continue reading “A Direct Descendant of the Founders”

Updated at 11:20 p.m. EST, Feb. 10, 2008As U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates made a surprise visit to Iraq to meet with political leaders and military commanders, at least 86 Iraqis were killed and 107 more were wounded in new attacks. No Coalition deaths were reported, but a U.S. soldier was found guilty in of … Continue reading “Sunday: 86 Iraqis Killed, 107 Wounded”

Updated at 1:30 a.m. EST, Feb. 10, 2008At least 50 Iraqis were killed or found dead and 14 more were wounded in the latest violence. Mass graves continue to be discovered in Diyala province, and Mosul prepares for a major security operation. A Navy SEAL was killed and six more were wounded on Thursday during … Continue reading “Saturday: 1 Navy SEAL, 50 Iraqis Killed; 14 Iraqis Wounded”

In June of 2004, a neo-crazy media sycophant at Reuters (Charbonneau) reported that unidentified "diplomats and nuclear experts" had told him that "an experimental high-tech intelligence technique developed by the United States" had detected what sounded like the whine of gas-centrifuges, spinning at supersonic speeds, operating "somewhere" in Syria. Furthermore, the unidentified "diplomats" had told … Continue reading “Another Act of War”