Churchill as War Criminal

As this story from the London Telegraph makes clear, the Germans have started attacking Churchill as a war criminal because he approved of the bombing of civilian populations. An article in the largest newspaper in Germany is arguing that Churchill wanted to exterminate the German civilian population; it claims that civilian deaths were not only collatoral damage, but were the purpose of the bombing.

Well, this reveals more about current German sensibilities (not that some kook wrote a kooky book, but that a major newspaper decides to serialize it) than about Churchill’s policy. Winston had a pretty good knowledge of the laws of war and the difference between civilization and barbarism. And he also knew something about modern technology and its effects (the submarine and the airplane are ones he worried about most) on modern all-out wars that were guided by ideologues and had no respect for limited (and relatively civilized) wars of the past. The area bombing was always controversial (even during the war) and even Churchill could--after viewing of an Air Ministry film of German cities burning--ask the question: "Are we beasts? Are we taking this too far?" He was conscious of the problem. See his March 28, 1945 memo to the Chiefs of Staff, for further reflection on the issue. Much can be said on this subject, and reasonable people can disagree, of course, yet it cannot be stated that the Brits or Churchill tried to exterminate the Germans. Is it possible, is it likely, that the Germans are, once again, becoming the idealists/ideologues that they have been in the past? Let us see some measured reason come from this people.

By the way, I saw on the news this morning Bush sitting with Blair at the NATO meeting holding a news conference, and the camera took in the whole man. Bush was wearing his cowboy boots! Cowboy boots in the heart of Europe! What a good man Bush is!

Daschle Over the Top

This is really too much. Tiring, boring, predictable. If Daschle doesn’t watch himself, and continues whining, he’ll turn into a Democrat.

The New Model Gore

I have been trying not to watch Gore on "everything and always AlGore TV", but he is an omnipresent fact, like a head cold that will just not go away. And the timing of this latest Go AlGore campaign is timed so that those who enjoyed the GOP victory in the last election only had less than a week bathing in the warmth of victory. From now on it’s Gore and nothing but Gore. And this is a Gore (and his Tipper, attached lovingly to his hip) that is vivacious and funny and far left and has made his peace with reality (and he is being praised for this?). Michael Kelly reflects on all this in a lovely piece in the Washington Post. As far as I can tell, he nails Gore’s essence, or, at least it’s latest manifestation. Note especially Kelly’s emphasis on Gore’s newly re-defined family values, and what this foreshadows. His first line is perfect: "A terrible banality is born. Again."

Microwave Bomb

This is a story from The Times of India on the microwave bomb. There is also a note about the thermobaric bomb. Short and clear.

Woodward’s Book

Tony Blankley offers a nice short course on how to read Woodward’s new book on the war (parts have been excerpted in the Washington Post). He explains Woodward’s method and why the book, in the end, is not woth reading, regardless of the hype it has been given; the most interesting parts have already been serialized, and it is clear that George Tenet and Secretary of State Powell are the heroes (Rummy and Cheney wouldn’t talk to him).

Gettysburg Address

Tuesday was the 139th anniversary of the Gettysburg Address, not only the shortest speech ever given, but arguably the best. Do yourself a favor: read it aloud and let the Anglo-Saxon rhythms reveal themselves to your ears.

Here is a good speech on Lincoln that Ken Masugi gave several years back. You also can listen to Mac Owens discuss the Gettysburg Address during one of our summer teacher institutes.

Garrison Keillor Slammed

Bruce Sanborn reflects on anger in politics, no, not the Illiad, but rather on Garrison Keillor’s wrath. A funny and thoughtful piece on a comic’s anger.

Pelosi, like Gingrich?

Andy Busch writes a warning to those (of us) who are excited by the fact that Pelosi is heading the Demos in the House: she is a liberal and will move the party to left (and it looks like Gore is going to help her) and that will be good for the GOP. Not so fast, says Busch. He thinks that it is possible that she will begin to set up the kind of majority that Gingrich established and for similar reasons: she will practice the politics of conviction and will go for the GOP’s jugular. This could not only help her re-organize the base of the party but could have the strategic effect of building a Democratic majority that is more than fleeting. He explains what the GOP will need to do if she proceeds with this plan: they will have to start making serious arguments, they will have to be more coherent and "it will require the consistent public articulation of an argument that is better." The implication is that the GOP will have to become better than they have been. Very thoughtful, very good read.

Louisiana Senate Race

I saw the encounter between Mary Landrieu and Suzanne Haik Terrell on Meet the Press this past Sunday. I was not impressed by Landrieu. She is overly aggressive, too talkative. Her only message was that she will be an independent voice. And she made a big point of saying (many times) now that the GOP has control of the Senate she should be elected so she can be an independent voice. The GOP doesn’t really need this seat to have the majority in the Senate, so therefore she should be elected. Besides, she just loves everything George Bush does, etc. You get the picture; a lot of empty rhetoric and a lot of skating around on the issues. Landrieu spoke an infinite deal of nothing. Terrell was refreshing by comparison. Intelligent and articulate, honest, but not a talk hog. I liked her. I bet I know something about what kind of women Lousiana voters like. Terrell will win. The governor decided to endorse her after he saw the debate. Here is the story on the debate from The Times-Picayune and Governor Foster’s endorsement.

Segway Human Transporter

Amazon is offering the Segway Human Transporter for $4,950. You can be the first (as they say) on your block to own one. Delivery will be in March of 2003. Is this what we have to look forward to in our old age? Instead of cruising around on a motorcycle am I going to buzzing around town on one of these things? God, I hope not.

London Tube Terrorism

This is an article from the London Times that considers the latest arrests there of terrorists said to be interested in gassing the underground. It is well written and even instructive on how the likes of MI5 is handling things. But it is also amusing, in that dry-English-kind-of-way.

Is Iran Teetering?

As you know (although the media doesn’t publicize it much) there have been huge student demonstrations in Iran for over a week. The supreme leader has said that he will review the death sentence of a dissident academic. Joining those demonstrations has been a grandson of the Ayatollah Khomeini, by the way. (We may lose a man, but we always end up getting their children or grandchildren; remember Stalin’s daughter?). It is the opinion of many serious people that these demonstrations are just another example of the crisis situation the regime finds itself in. Indeed, Micahel Ledeen thinks it is time to liberate Iran, now.

Gender Gap and Media Bias

Mark Steyn explains why there is no longer a gender gap, or, even better, why whether or not Pelosi is a woman doesn’t matter. Or, yet best of all, he admits to media bias in all matters political, and thinks it’s in the interest of the good guys and hopes that the likes of Judy Woodruff and Jonathan Karl keep up their bias. Besides, it turns out that old women (OK, elderly ladies) vote Democratic, while the young are for the GOP. He finds all this worthy of ridicule, and he is right, as usual. An amusing read.

Is Saddam Searching for Asylum?

The London Guardian reports that a senior Iraqi (known as "Chemical Ali" to the Kurds) has visited a number of countries (including Algeria, Tunisia, and Lybia) trying to find out whether any one of them would be willing to take in the Iraqi leadership. None of this can be confirmed, of course, yet it is interesting. It could also be an attempt on the US’s part to undermine morale within the Iraqi regime.

North Korea now admits to having Nukes

Until now North Korea has only acknowledged to having a program to produce highly enriched Uranium, but now it has admitted to having nuclear weapons, according to the BBC.

France, Germany in Decline

This is from the current issue of The Economist and, although I am not sure what brought it on, it claims that the French are not only having political and economic problems, but are in the middle of a self-esteem crisis. Given the little I know about the French, this does not surprise me. But note the military cooperation the US is getting from the French on the Island of Djibouti, France’s largest overseas base. Also note this equally pessimistic article about Germany. Schroeder’s government is off to a terrible start, and his support has taken a nosedive since his re-election. Robert Samuelson thinks that the German economy is in such bad shape that he calls Germany "the sick man of Europe;" that appelation used to be reserved for Turkey. Maybe such matters are worth considering when Dubya finds himself in the middle of Europe next week. It is being reported that he will not have a private meeting with Schroeder.

El Al Hijacking Attempt

A terrorist attempted to take over an El Al flight from Tel Aviv to Istanbul. He had a knife. He was subdued by two security guards on board. The bad news is that a man (an Israeli Arab) was able to get on an El Al flight with a knife. El Al is supposed to be the safest airline on the planet.

Demos Seeking New Message and New Messenger

Even the New York Times can’t hide the fact that the Democratic Party is in dissaray. Notice the comment of one Demo operative: "We don’t have the farm team that we had 10 or 20 years ago." And that will mean a long term problem, not just 2004.

The 49 competitive House races

This Roll Call article considers the 49 new members of Congress who won their seats by less than 55% of the vote. These are the only competitive House districts and this is likely to be true in the 2004 elections as well. Another reason why the Demos are not going to take the House back in 2004.

Homeland Defense Bill

The Washington Times carries a news story today about the privacy provisions in the Homeland Security Act. And here is the William Safire column of a few days ago that has caused such a ruckus. He thinks tyranny is at the door. Yet, I don’t understand what this Poindexter project ("Information Awareness Project") has to do with the Homeland Security bill. Here is the text from the White House. I may be missing something but I don’t see anything to be overly concerned about. Correct me if I am wrong.

Hell’s Angels, Mongols, Pagans

I guess the Mongols are the good guys in this one. Tumultuous biker wars shall kin with kin, and kind with kind, confound.

Technology and the Iraq War

This is a very clear piece by a physics professor at Berkeley on some of the new technological devices that will come into play if there is a war in Iraq. It appears in an MIT publication.

Sullivan on Eminem and Politics

This is an Andrew Sullivan piece in Salon on how the left is using/abusing the popularity of the movie "8 Mile" for political purposes. Thoughtful.

Gore’s Bold Calculation

Here is Karen Tumulty’s piece in Time on what Gore is up to. This is one of the many pieces in print and on TV that you will be seeing about Gore. He has made a strategic decision to be the topic of conversation for the next many months before he declares his candidacy. It is clear to me that he is campaigning already, and that he is acting and talking according to a pre-conceived plan established before the election debacle. And it is also clear that he is going to be on the attack from now on. He means to make clear where he stands, and he will not want any ambiguity about it. He wants to present a clear alternative to Bush and the GOP. He wants to give direction to the Democratic Party, and will not want Pelosi to get in his way. Indeed, he is forcing her to jump on his bandwagon as early as possible. He wants to make sure there will not be any other Demo candidate to his left. The fact that his poll numbers are so low is entirely to his advantage; they can only go up. (See this LA Times poll from today which claims that only about a third of the Democratic insiders want Gore to run again). This strategy may assure him the nomination of the Democratic Party, yet it will also surely assure him a defeat in the general election. Among other things, Gore calls Bush’s foreign policy "horrible," his environmental stance "immoral," and his economic policy "catastrophic." At one point in the interview he makes the amazing claim that our foreign policy is now "based on an openly proclaimed intention to dominate the world." I believe that this bold calculation to move to the left and to craft a new unabashedly liberal Democratic Party will serve him well. If he keeps it up--which I believe he will--he will act like a magnet to the various left/liberal parts of the Demo Party and will end up shaping the party for years to come. He is right, this maneuvre will be clarifying. So much for the possibility of moderating the Democratic Party. Maybe Pelosi should become his running mate. The Democratic Leadership Council is now dead. Unless, of couse, Hillary revivifies it after 2004, at which time--after the massive Gore defeat--she will pretend to move the party back toward the center and become the moderate Democratic candidate in 2008. Isn’t politics fun?

Ann Coulter on what Demos should do

This is Ann Coulter’s amusing piece of advice to the Democratic Party and what directions they may profitably take.

Should non-native born citizens be allowed to become President?

George Will considers the governor-elect of Michigan (D) and the chatter she has caused (because she is an unabashed liberal and very attractive) because she should be (because of the above two points) a natural candidate to be on the Demo ticket for 2004. Trouble is, she was born in Canada. Folks are now beginning to talk about changing this provision of the Constitution (Art II, Sect 1) and Will, although concluding that it shouldn’t, seems a bit ambivalent about it. Well, I am not ambivalent: the foreign born (of non-US parents) should not be allowed to become president. I am betting that this will become an issue during the next year. I’ll pay attention.

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