"If you're against market capitalism, you're not in favor of Sweden; you're in favor of Soviet Russia."

A couple pictures from Yankee Stadium in The Bronx.

First post in weeks, but The NY Times had an excellent article which happens to display Obama's support of corn ethanol subsides and overall lack of a coherent energy policy.


http://www.nytimes.com/2008/06/23/us/politics/23ethanol.html?pagewanted=1&ei=5087&em&en=bf288b4414f2c278&ex=1214366400

“The military is the greatest waster of money and manpower we have. They must be made to conduct their affairs in a businesslike manner.”
- Barry Goldwater

I love Dunkin Donuts

American Tories

David Brooks wrote a semi-interesting column yesterday summing up the Tories recent revival in UK's municipal elections representing a possible change for the GOP.

"The flow of ideas has changed direction. It used to be that American conservatives shaped British political thinking. Now the influence is going the other way.
The British conservative renovation begins with this insight: The central political debate of the 20th century was over the role of government. The right stood for individual freedom while the left stood for extending the role of the state. But the central debate of the 21st century is over quality of life. In this new debate, it is necessary but insufficient to talk about individual freedom. Political leaders have to also talk about, as one Tory politician put it, “the whole way we live our lives.”

Cameron describes a new global movement, with rising center-right parties in Sweden, Canada, Australia, France, Germany, the Czech Republic, California and New York (he admires Schwarzenegger and Bloomberg). American conservatives won’t simply import this model. But there’s a lot to learn from it. The only question is whether Republicans will learn those lessons sooner, or whether they will learn them later, after a decade or so in the wilderness. "

If there is a McCain victory this November (or defeat) it seems likely that the American conservatives might coincidently take this route. Its not hard to start imaging American conservatism to emmulate the book pictured below (for better or worse) in the near future.

Intersting point by Andrew Sullivan

Andrew Sullivan, who once was the editor-in-chief of the New Republic, wrote this op-ed of Clinton's overall campaign strategy recently.


"..the Clintons have turned Pennsylvania into a microcosm of what they think
the general election will be in November. And the Clintons are running as
the Rove Republicans. If they fail to destroy Barack Obama as effectively as
Karl Rove – Bush’s master of the dark arts – destroyed Al Gore and John Kerry in 2000
and 2004, with tactics just as brutal but even more personal, then they will
have driven American politics to a critical point. They will have shown that the
paradigm that has reigned in US politics for at least two decades has been shattered. "

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/comment/columnists/andrew_sullivan/article3778978.ece

Life imitates art

On Volokh Conspiracy this post read easrly this morning

"Al Qaeda Objects to 9/11 Conspiracy Theorists: So do you think it might give
pause to 9/11 conspiracy theorists that Al Qaeda has now criticized Iran for spreading 9/11 conspiracy theories in an alleged effort to deny Al Qaeda the credit it believes it is due for the 9/11 attacks? Hmm, no, I guess not"

Which seems to bear an uncanny rememblance to this recent Onion clip; http://www.theonion.com/content/video/9_11_conspiracy_theories

old pdf from 2003 of realists against the Iraq war http://mearsheimer.uchicago.edu/pdfs/P0012.pdf

A G-8 meeting with guns

The blog "vodka Pundit" on Nato expansion

NATO isn’t a defensive alliance anymore. It’s a club. It’s a very nice club of very nice countries, and it even has a very nice clubhouse — er, headquarters — in Belgium. But it’s an alliance without a plan, and without even a real enemy.

And while it probably wouldn’t hurt to let in a couple more members, two questions need to be asked. What would they contribute? And what would be our responsibilities?

No policy-makers asked these questions when NATO let in Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, and all the rest after 1989. And nobody important is asking them today.

So by all means, let in Ukraine. Bring in Georgia. Might as well let in Armenia and Mongolia, too. How about the Zambians? They seem nice.

My point is, it doesn’t matter. Because until NATO has a plan, it’s not a real alliance. It’s just a big G-8 meeting with guns.

Hitchens on Clinton

Hitchens take on Hillary's Bosnia gaffe on Slate.com.

It's hardly necessary for me to point out that the United States did not receive national health care in return for its acquiescence in the murder of tens of thousands of European civilians. But perhaps that is the least of it. Were I to be asked if Sen. Clinton has ever lost any sleep over those heaps of casualties, I have the distinct feeling that I could guess the answer. She has no tears for anyone but herself. In the end, and over her strenuous objections, the United States and its allies did rescue our honor and did put an end to Slobodan Milosevic and his state-supported terrorism. Yet instead of preserving a polite reticence about this, or at least an appropriate reserve, Sen. Clinton now has the obscene urge to claim the raped and slaughtered people of Bosnia as if their misery and death were somehow to be credited to her account! Words begin to fail one at this point. Is there no such thing as shame? Is there no decency at last? Let the memory of the truth, and the exposure of the lie, at least make us resolve that no Clinton ever sees the inside of the White House again.

jackass stunt gone wrong

Its hard to not to cringe at this.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uhWta-BIAA&feature=related

Somewhat outdated, but indeed relevent

Jonah Goldberg on voter ignorance:

In a sense, this (election) is populism updated for the age of "Oprah" and "Dr. Phil." Principles and policy details take a back seat to the need to say "there, there -- I understand" to the voters. As Willie Stark, the populist protagonist of "All the King's Men," bellows to the insatiably needy crowds: "Your will is my strength, and your need is my justice."