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Today the Anchoress looks at what socialism is and what the president is doing. It’s a good read but there is one line in particular that should be read over and over again:
…socialism does not work, except in monasteries and the reason it works in monasteries is because it is voluntary.
Read it, remember it and repeat as necessary.
Jay Nordlinger does what he almost always does. Has the best commentary on the issue of the day. That issue being Rush. He starts with Colin Powell:
After November’s election, Colin Powell said that Republicans have to stop listening to Rush Limbaugh. Since when have they ever listened to Rush? For president, the Republicans nominated probably Rush’s least favorite politician (in the GOP, that is). And I’m sure most Rush fans voted for him, because they thought he was a lot better than the alternative, which he was.
Whom did Powell support, by the way? Barack Obama, the Democrat, and the most left-wing president we have ever elected, possibly. I’m not sure that Powell Republicanism is the Republicanism the GOP should want.
And let me say a further word about John McCain — whom I admire, and whom I voted for enthusiastically. He was almost perfect for the GOP moderate types, you would have thought. He was anti-Christian Right. He was Mr. Campaign Finance Reform. He was Mr. Amnesty. He was Mr. Global Warming. He was Mr. Reach Across the Aisle.
Except for being against abortion and for free trade, he was well-nigh perfect.
And if McCain isn’t good enough for the Powell brigades — who ever would be?
He gets to the bottom line in a hurry:
For eight years, we heard nothing but “Dissent is the highest form of patriotism.” Those who did the most to block or undermine President Bush were exalted as the Great Americans, and People. But dare oppose The One (i.e., our 44th president) — and you’re one of the lowest life forms.
Well, nuts to that.
There are many things wrong with the Republican party today, and Rush Limbaugh, in my opinion, is not one of them. Donald Rumsfeld (another pet bogey) used to say, “America is not what’s wrong with the world.” That is true. And Rush Limbaugh is not what is wrong with the Republican party.
Frankly, Secretary Powell is more like what’s wrong: If he can’t discern the superiority of John McCain to Barack Obama, where the presidency is concerned, who needs him?
The whole column should be required reading for Republicans. If republicans aren’t willing to figure this out then we deserve all that we get.
I wasn’t going to comment on the new Newsweek Cover which is like a societal vote for Carter but Tim Blair’s line is too perfect to ignore:
“Living with” radical Islam would be a whole lot easier if it didn’t involve so much killing.
It doesn’t get better than that.
Michael Totten gives the full story of the battle of the defaced swastika:
Christopher was the target. He was the one who had defaced their sign. One of the guys smacked him hard in the face. Another delivered a roundhouse kick to his legs. A third punched him and knocked him into the street between two parked cars. Then they gathered around and kicked him while he was down. They kicked him hard in the head, in the ribs, and in the legs.
Read the story for the escape but here are my favorite parts:
“You’re bleeding,” Jonathan said and lightly touched Christopher’s elbow.
Christopher seemed unfazed by the sight of blood on his shirt.
“We need to get you cleaned up,” Jonathan said.
“I’m fine, I think,” Christopher said.
He seemed to be in pretty good spirits, all things considered.
“The SSNP,” I said, “is the last party you want to mess with in Lebanon. I’m sorry I didn’t warn you properly. This is partly my fault.”
“I appreciate that,” Christopher said. “But I would have done it anyway. One must take a stand. One simply must.”
Later on Chris point out what an actual traditional liberal thinks as opposed to the phony human shields
“Anyway,” he said, “call me old fashioned if you will, but my line is that swastika posters are to be defaced or torn down. I mean, what other choice do you have?
He elaborates further:
“You know these guys are widely suspected for setting off most or all of the car bombs,” I said.
“They weren’t ready for that then,” he said.
“They weren’t,” I said, “but they’re dangerous.”
“Once you credit them like that,” he said, “you do all their work for them. They should have been worried about us. Let them worry. Let them wonder if we’re carrying a tool or if we have a crew. I’d like to go back, do it properly, deface the thing with red paint so there’s no swastika visible. You can’t have the main street, a shopping and commercial street, in a civilized city patrolled by intimidators who work for a Nazi organization. It is not humanly possible to live like that. One must not do that. There may be more important problems in Lebanon, but if people on Hamra don’t dare criticize the SSNP, well f***. That’s occupation.”
It stirs something that I hadn’t felt since 9/11.
On the day of the attacks I was playing a game in my tabletop baseball league at another person’s house. I had already seen the two planes hit and I frankly wasn’t phased by it. I figured it was a terror attack, I figured that terror attacks happen and it was only a matter of time that it hit us. It was an intellectual exercise.
Then I heard about Flight 93 and the people fighting back. For me THAT changed everything. The idea of ordinary Americans determined to fight back and die game changed them from the sheep being eaten by a wolf (the way life works) to the Shepherd defending against the wolf pack.
Christopher demonstrated that one has to stand up and be counted. There is a reason why the French Resistance is celebrated and honored while the Vichy is not.
As one of the great atheists he might resent it but how can you NOT pray for a fellow like that.
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