Hemingway’s Worry in 1946
“[Ernest Hemingway] worried that if the United States did not ‘learn to understand the world and appreciate the rights, privileges and duties of all other countries and peoples,’ it could easily...
View ArticleBacevich on Modern Conservatism and Civil Rights
“the impetus for providing equal access to the rights guaranteed by the Constitution originated among pinks, lefties, liberals, and bleeding-heart fellow travelers. When it came to ensuring that every...
View ArticleRonald Reagan and the Taliban in Afghanistan
“The freedom fighters of Afghanistan are defending principles of independence and freedom that form the basis of global security and stability” – Ronald Reagan in 1982 “American officials no longer...
View ArticleThe Essence of Partisan Politics
“Yet even as they take turns denouncing one another, the two parties tacitly collaborate to maintain a status quo that both find eminently satisfactory. To be sure, party loyalists…maintain the...
View ArticleAbraham Lincoln on Prohibition Laws
“Prohibition will work great injury to the cause of temperance. It is a species of intemperance within itself, for it goes beyond the bounds of reason in that it attempts to control a man’s appetite by...
View Article(Don’t) Blame Canada
My article (Don’t) Blame Canada has been featured over at Reformed Libertarian today. Listen to this Post
View Article21st Century Rules Against Arbitrary Invasion
Apparently not recognizing the irony, John Kerry told Vladimir Putin: “You just don’t in the 21st century behave in 19th century fashion by invading another country on completely trumped up pretext.”...
View ArticleSarah Palin’s Sacrilegious Comments
At a recent NRA rally, Sarah Palin said “Well, if I were in charge, they would know that waterboarding is how we baptize terrorists.” What a horrible thing to say! This is quite precisely the...
View ArticleHow Republicans Used To Talk About Immigration
This is a Republican debate from 1980 between Ronald Reagan and George H. Bush. It’s amazing how things have changed! G. H. Bush -> “I would like to see something done about the illegal alien...
View Article“Because..Obama”– A Sampling Of Problematic Themes In Political Discourse
1. “People will die if X doesn’t happen”. Basically, this is a fear tactic. It may be a grounded fear or an absurd fear. Either way, a connection is made and that settles it for many people. A solution...
View ArticleOn Memes Which Advocate Torture
Here are some (allegedly) brief thoughts about what I call “Because..9/11 Memes”. Basically these are memes which juxtaposit the torture utilized against suspects in the war on terror with scenes from...
View ArticleSurveillance Duplicity – Part 1
What They’ve Said “The FISA court provides oversight’ FISA warrant requests 2000: 1,005 requests (0 requests denied, 1 modified) 2001: 932 requests (0 requests denied, 2 modified) 2002: 1,228 requests...
View ArticleRand Paul On The Cuban Embargo
In Time, Rand Paul has written on the Cuban embargo, largely in response to Marco Rubio. He puts his finger on an interesting contradiction. Those who so busily go around deriding non-interventionists...
View ArticleSlavoj Zizek on What Could Happen In Iraq
In 2004, well before ISIS existed, Slavoj Zizek said the following: “The danger, following the logic of a self-fulfilling prophecy, is that this very American intervention [in Iraq] will contribute to...
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