von

The Hawks as a whole can be divided into (four) parts

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Check out Daniel Drezner’s intriguing attempt at hawk taxidermy in the wake of the Chalabi raid. Interesting stuff that (like all attempts at broad-brush categorization) probably generates a bit more heat than light. But, if we’re categorizing, put me with the neo-paleos, Fareed Zakaria-old-skool. (Neopaleonius Zakarius.) (Original categories from The New Republic.)

Good is good policy.

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From the Paratrooper of Love: Iraqi media, almost unbelievably, have in recent days begun to editorialized astonishment at how the United States has responded [to the prison scandle]. No covers ups. No denials. The President of the United States, the world’s most powerful man, formally apologized to the people of Iraq. The U.S. Congress grilled … Read more

Yup, that’s about right.

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I think Matt Yglesias (who’s 23 today*) has got it ’bout right regarding gay marriage: It’s generational and it’s inevitable.

Some social conservative types have speculated to me that the overwhelming pro-gay sentiment among young people can be counteracted by the natural conservatizing effects of aging. Folks who think that are, I think, seriously underestimating the extent of the young-old disjoint on this topic.

Support for gay marriage isn’t something that one’s likely to outgrow, because it’s essentially founded on the notion that gay marriage is a matter of civil rights. If you don’t buy that proposition, then you probably can’t be convinced to support gay marriage. (Some libertarians among you might be convinced that marriage in general is none of the State’s business, but that’s merely an extreme version of the “civil rights” argument.)

Once you buy the proposition that gay marriage is a matter of civil rights, however, it’s not easily discarded. You don’t wake up one day and say, hmm, now that I’m 35 (or 45 or 55), it’s time for me to outgrow my youthful notions of “civil rights.” This isn’t like, “man, I used to like the kine bud, but now I got a job, a house, and two kids in school, so you knowwwwww.” This is a world-view issue, not a life-style issue.

Thus, I predict that within 30 years laws permitting gay marriage will be the rule, rather than the exception.

von

P.S. So you can judge your messenger’s bias, know that I strongly support gay marriage (though I believe it should be accomplished by legislative means, not lawsuits). Know also that, just because I’ve framed the debate as a civil rights issue, I do not believe that those who oppose gay marriage are necessarily homophobic; nor are they evil; nor are they bigots. Many base their opinion on deeply-held religious beliefs that root themselves in the highest and kindest aspirations of humanity, and which we would all do well to respect.

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Rummy Must Go? Ummm, no (Remix)

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I’ve twice argued that Rumsfeld should not depart his post over the alleged abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison. If this statement by Powell (via Marshall, who has commentary) proves true, however, it seems my defense has been in vain. Key passage: “We kept the president informed of the concerns that were raised by the … Read more

Blogs I like

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I sometimes give into the impulse to attack the, ummm, no-so-well thought out parts of the blogosphere, and, in the process, completely forget to praise the blogs and bloggers whom I really, really like. The following list is not an endorsement of each view ever presented on the following blogs, nor is it exhaustive. Rather, it’s a list of blogs that I think the blogosphere would be much, much poorer without. And that happened to occur to me in the last five minutes. Do check them out, if you don’t already.

And I continue to be, not yet a Buddha. (Though, this begs the question: Is it Buddha, or a Buddhisatva, whom we’re aspiring to be?)

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Rummy Must Go? Umm, No (Part Deux)

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My defense of Rumsfeld provoked a fair number of fair critiques by the readership. Jesurgislac sums up one line of argument with the following:

Well, Von, this is what you said, quoted exactly: “What I do suggest is that torture and abuses are a routine and expected part of war, and that if there mere presence of torture and abuse in wartime was sufficient to require a cabinent-level firing, no Defense Secretary would last any war.”

How is this not saying that since it’s “routine and expected” that US solders will break the law (against torture), no Defense Secretary should be expected to enforce the law or be fired if he doesn’t?

I’d appreciate it if you would actually explain what you were saying here, rather than just let me keep trying to figure it out and telling me I’ve got it wrong.

Since I got tied up in other matters and didn’t respond much this critique or others, here’s another go at why, based on present evidence, Rumsfeld should stay.

Note: I intentionally leave out practical (perhaps Rumsfeld, flawed though he is, is the best person for the job) or political (firing Rumsfeld is a tacit admission by Bush that his Iraq policy is off track) concerns. This doesn’t mean that these concerns don’t exist — just that I’m feeling moralistic, not pragmatic, today.

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Rummy must go? Ummm, No.

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Put me with Glenn Reynolds and Donald Sensing. From Sensing: [T]he calls for [Rumsfield’s] head are both idiotic and deceptive. . . . Deceptive because Rummy is taking the fire, but Bush is the target. A more purely partisan, crass, politically-motivated campaign I have never seen. And yes, I include the Ken Starr investigation. The … Read more

Frat Law

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There is a popular meme making the rounds, which suggests that the abuse at Abu Ghraib Prison was not “torture” or was more akin to fraternity-style hazing. Charles Johnson of Little Green Footballs, who gets his last link from me in this post, presents the case: I’m really surprised (and increasingly irked) at how widespread … Read more

Back from Orlando . . . .

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. . . . And unwilling to confront the reality of a war that the current administration seems unwilling to win, and a heartsickening torturegate that the Secretary of Defense appears unable to confront. C’mon, man, at least read the freakin’ report — it’s practically in the New Yorker, for God’s sake. (MSN removes the … Read more

Rumsfeld’s War, Powell’s Occupation

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This is so unbelievably idiotic that I can barely comment. (The usual suspects, of course, think it brilliant.) But, for the sake of argument, assume that every single word of it is true — indeed, I’ll allow that there is likely a germ of truth to it, albeit poorly thought-out and expressed. Exactly who decided … Read more

Sleeping dragons.

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I see that we now estimate that North Korea now has eight or so nuclear weapons, and absolutely no incentive to give them up.

The increase in the estimate would underscore the strides North Korea has made in the past year as the Bush administration struggled to respond diplomatically while waging a war against Iraq in an unsuccessful effort to search for such weapons there.

Well, at least we got the North Koreans to agree to multilateral talks. Hurray!

Let’s quit the nonsense. North Korea wants aid and a security guarantee from the United States and, in exchange, claims that it will relinquish its nuclear weapons. In response, put the following on the table, do it publicly, say (and mean) that it’s non-negotiable, and get your allegedly-compliant Republican Congresspeople to push the necessary legislation through: “Done, on the condition that North Korea fully and completely opens itself to inspections by IAEA, in the manner that South Africa did when it gave up its nuclear arsenal. If you fail to follow through and/or renege in any part of the agreement, all guarantees are off and all non-essential food aid is immediately suspended.”

Then, send a carrier task force slowly steaming in the general direction of the Korean pennisula. (Do it very slowly, though; the idea is to get in position to respond to a future escalation by North Korea, as well as to send a subtle message to our partners, the Chinese, that we’re through being trifled with.* It is not to begin an escalation.)

Just my two cents, if the administration is listening.

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The value of a dollar.

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Let’s run the numbers, shall we? At the onset of war, the Pentagon’s chief financial officer said that postcombat operations in Iraq were expected to cost about $2.2 billion a month (the monthly “burn rate”). By early June, however, the Pentagon adjusted that forecast to $3 billion/month. The average monthly burn rate from January 2003 … Read more

Bad things . . . .

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Run and hide! Yglesias and Scalzi are coming to destroy my Anglo-Protestant values! Oh, the humanity! (They’re commenting on “The Hispanic Challenge,” a recent article by Samuel Huntington in Foreign Policy Magazine.) On a slightly more serious note, immigration tends to get my libertarian grove-thing on: I like the idea of people wanting to work … Read more

Bush names Negroponte as the US Ambassador to Iraq

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President Bush named John Negroponte, the United States’ top diplomat at the United Nations, as the U.S. ambassador to Iraq on Monday and asserted that Iraq “will be free and democratic and peaceful.” (via the New York Times.) There are good reasons why Negroponte should not have this job; there are better reasons, however, why … Read more

The Apocalypse is around the bend . . . .

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For perhaps the first time since 1992,* a public figure has actually admitted making a mistake!

“Words can sting and hurt,” [Sen. Christopher] Dodd [D-CT] told The Associated Press Wednesday. “If in any way, in my referencing the Civil War, I offended anyone, I apologize.”

He said he was trying to make the point that Byrd would have been a good senator at any point, and “I was not thinking of the KKK or his vote against the Civil Rights Act.”

Add my voice to the chorus of those who are congratulating Dodd for doing, umm, what seems self-evident. (Have we really sunk so low that we cheer the admission of obvious blunders? We have? Well, carry on then.)

(Via John Cole via RJ West.)

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Timing is everything (or so I’m told)

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Assume that, in theory, I agree with this (I do). Is it nonetheless inappropriate for me to ask: (1) How does announcing it now advance our interests in Iraq, where our attackers are acquiring an overtly religious bent? (2) How does announcing it now advance our interests in Afghanistan, which is all-too-well obeying the law … Read more

Things are not made for the sake of words, but words for things.

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Paul Cella has an interesting article in the American Spectator Online, which concerns (broadly) the difficulties of interpretation. It appears to be a slightly-condensed version of a recent entry Paul’s outstanding blog.

Paul isn’t the first, of course, to touch on how difficult it can be to read a certain text “correctly” (or, indeed, whether any reading can be termed “correct”).* But I can’t help but relate his piece to my work. I’m a patent litigator, mostly, and a lot of what I do requires me to construe and apply frightening-vague patent claims. I know the limitations of the written word all too well. An old case, AutoGiro, put it best:

An invention exists most importantly as a tangible structure or a series of drawings. A verbal portrayal is usually an afterthought written to satisfy the requirements of patent law. This conversion of machine to words allows for unintended idea gaps which cannot be satisfactorily filled. Often the invention is novel and words do not exist to describe it. The dictionary does not always keep abreast of the inventor. It cannot. Things are not made for the sake of words, but words for things.

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Utter idiocy.

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Updated: . . . . . by me. I’m not a fan of the Daily Kos, but the following post (in its last-updated form) is based on an imperfect understanding of events. To use a useful euphemism.

‘Bout all I can say is that Diarist SOJ is an idiot. Click on continue to read on, or mercifully let it rest.

von

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Time and other essential things: Back rooms and smoke

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Tonight brings news of a deal with al-Sadr. “These are just initial discussions,” said Lt. Gen. Ricardo S. Sanchez, commander of American forces in Iraq, who appeared with General John Abizaid, the commander of American troops in the Middle East, at a Baghdad news conference today. “We are not negotiating at this point until we … Read more

Full Disclosure.

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I posted the following as a comment on Tacitus on Sunday morning. Since it concerns the upcoming election, and since you have a right to know where each of your ObWi commentators are coming from, here it is again. (Note that it’s a bit of a rant: I’d probably tone it down a notch if I were writing it as a blog entry. All typos have been faithfully replicated from the original.)

Update: It appears that my liberal Republican ass is on the left-end of a trend. (Joe Lieberman Democrat also works as a good shorthand.)

This Administration is about to make me lose my “pro-war moderate lefty-libertarian” label, and become a screaming far-left moonbat.

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I’d be remiss . . . .

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If I didn’t at least refer you to the LGF Quiz. You, too, can attempt to determine the “who said it?”: A Little Green Footballs commentator or a Late German Fascist. (Via Wonkette, who first directed my attention to the quiz.) Like Tacitus, I think it’s a bit unfair to hold a blogger responsible, even … Read more

Happy Easter (a day early)

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I missed giving the Passover blessing, so I’ll be a bit early: Happy Easter! For the Christians in the audience, please remember that today is the important one — not Good Friday, despite what Mel Gibson would have you believe.

Of course, consider the source: I’m an agnostic, lapsed Presbyterian, one-time Christian existentialist, one-time Ayn Rand materialist (shudder), who has close Jewish relatives to whom he’s devoted,* who was married in a Lutheran Church, whose parents are Episcopalians, who was deeply influenced in his moral thinking by a Catholic law school,** and who buys a lot of books on Buddhism.***

In other words, I am a mess. But I do like Easter. Easter represents the very highest things in humanity: sacrifice, love, patience, and perserverence. You don’t have to believe in it to be moved by it. (Though, as I grow older — and perhaps wiser — I do find myself believing in it all the more.)

Be kind to one another. Be kind even to your enemies — especially to your enemies.

von

p.s. to Moe Lane/others: Don’t let this pre-empt your own Easter greeting.

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Good. And evil. And the need to make a choice between the two.

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Charles Johnson writes today that “I’ve been coming in for some (in my opinion) unwarranted criticism for the types of posts that get deleted at LGF.”

He then reprinted several posts that would be deleted under LGF’s deletion policy. As many once-LGF fans know, however, the problem with Mr. Johnson’s deletion/banning policy isn’t with the comments he deletes; it’s with the comments that he leaves up and (at times) appears to tacitly endorce. I thus responded to Mr. Johnson with the following comment, which I reprint below (typos in the first paragraph have been corrected — hey, I’m a post-modern Grammar God):

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Three Point Turn

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The Commissar provides some much-needed historical perspective in response to Andrew Sullivan’s annoyance at the 9-11 Commission hearings: What is there to say? We have a frigging war on and the major networks all run this? I have nothing to add. Except to say: we have a war on. We used to win them before … Read more

The Apprentice

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Yeah, I’m an addict. And it’s down to Kwame and Bill.

So, before the announcements are made, here’s my choice. Kwame is the only one who I can see running a multi-million dollar company. But the sentimental favorite is Bill Rancic — despite the fact that his quote is “I’m a trained killer – in business.”

Why Bill? Loyola University Chicago, baby: his alma mater is where I went to law school. We protect our own. (And how dare them mean Trump people suggest that LUC don’t give no good edumacation.*)

von

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Sistani speaks?

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Perhaps — and maybe it’s good. Zayed reports that Sistani is calling for calm, even as he criticizes the occupation: The Grand Ayatollah Ali Al-Sistani issued a fatwa late Wednesday to “resolve the latest developments in Iraq in a peaceful manner” in order to prevent anarchy and bloodshed. “We condemn the behaviour of occupation forces … Read more

Crazy?

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I’ve only a moment, but I have to ask: Has Glenn Reynolds gone insane? “Everybody seems down on Kerrey’s posturing today . . .,” he writes. Well, if your definition of “everyone” is “some, but not all, Republican bloggers and certain people who e-mailed Glen,” perhaps this works. Otherwise, more grist for my theory: All … Read more

So . . . .

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Judgments on Rice? I thought she did fairly well. She was bruised by Bob Kerrey’s questioning, and she gave up a potential bombshell — that the title of the August 6, 2001 President’s Daily Brief was “Bin Laden determined to attack the United States.” I understand, now, why the Administration is trying to keep the … Read more