"The Culture War Isn't Over, but..."
..."it's in the final rounds." So says the "marijuana entrepreneur" in this article. A great piece, because it exposes the whole medical marijuana swindle. Recall that California rejected legalizing marijuana, and in several places voters are having buyers' remorse about medical marijuana dispensaries. Are the feds simply going to drop marijuana's designation as a Schedule 1 narcotic? How will that be justified--sorry, we goofed, its really good for you after all? Marijuana is being legalized simply because cultural mores are changing, not because we have any new discoveries about it. It's the same weed it's always been. The shame is this will actually hurt a lot of people, and will totally undermine parents trying to convince their kids to stay away from the stuff, but who cares about them? We mustn't stand in the way of our inalienable right to be stoned.
http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052702303630904579419033028056534?mod=WSJ_Opinion_LEADTop&mg=reno64-wsj&url=http%3A%2F%2Fonline.wsj.com%2Farticle%2FSB10001424052702303630904579419033028056534.html%3Fmod%3DWSJ_Opinion_LEADTop
Saturday, March 15, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
The Autumn of the Patriarchs?
Mexican historian Enrique Krauze thinks the Venezuela regime is on its last legs. Some years back he argued in a long book that Chavez was really a fascist and that Venezuela should be rightfully governed by social democrats like himself. He didn't seem to recognize Chavez in fact picked up most of the old Accion Democratica (social democrat) voters, who are now his most loyal supporters. In this piece, he is probably underestimating President Nicolas Maduro's legitimacy. He also makes too much of these protests, which Chavez endured practically nonstop from 2001-2003. Maduro still has the Chavez system behind him, which includes the Army. This accounts for a lot.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116918/venezuelas-protests-age-latin-american-dictator-over
Mexican historian Enrique Krauze thinks the Venezuela regime is on its last legs. Some years back he argued in a long book that Chavez was really a fascist and that Venezuela should be rightfully governed by social democrats like himself. He didn't seem to recognize Chavez in fact picked up most of the old Accion Democratica (social democrat) voters, who are now his most loyal supporters. In this piece, he is probably underestimating President Nicolas Maduro's legitimacy. He also makes too much of these protests, which Chavez endured practically nonstop from 2001-2003. Maduro still has the Chavez system behind him, which includes the Army. This accounts for a lot.
http://www.newrepublic.com/article/116918/venezuelas-protests-age-latin-american-dictator-over
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Where is our Cincinnatus?
Steve Krason of Franciscan University reminds us that often the President has had to act decisively on domestic policy, sometimes on an "extraconstitutional basis," to defend the fundamental law of the constitution. One example he might have cited was Eisenhower's efforts to enforce desegregation in Arkansas, which helped overcome social inertia and resistance in the South. Krason is thinking about the overreach of Obamacare and the EPA and other federal agencies bent on reducing basic freedoms. Still this article will arouse some controversy, as few conservatives see much to like in the presidency these days.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/presidential-power-a-rescuer-not-a-nemesis
Steve Krason of Franciscan University reminds us that often the President has had to act decisively on domestic policy, sometimes on an "extraconstitutional basis," to defend the fundamental law of the constitution. One example he might have cited was Eisenhower's efforts to enforce desegregation in Arkansas, which helped overcome social inertia and resistance in the South. Krason is thinking about the overreach of Obamacare and the EPA and other federal agencies bent on reducing basic freedoms. Still this article will arouse some controversy, as few conservatives see much to like in the presidency these days.
http://www.crisismagazine.com/2014/presidential-power-a-rescuer-not-a-nemesis
Sunday, March 9, 2014
The Human Disease
What is difficult for many to understand is how radical the enviromentalist has become. We assume they merely want reforms to safeguard against pollution, to make the enviroment safer for humans. In fact, radicals in the movement want to make the enviroment safe from humans. They want to prevent economic progress because they see it fundamentally as an assault on Mother Earth, whom they regard as a living entity. I spoke with an oceanography not long ago who lamented that conversion to natural gas has enable the U.S. to reach its emissions quote under Kyoto without having to enact any draconian policies. The point to him was not to achieve this goal, but to decrease our use of fuel, period. Anyway, check out this article by Wesley Smith on the mentality behind this movement:
http://www.discovery.org/a/22591
What is difficult for many to understand is how radical the enviromentalist has become. We assume they merely want reforms to safeguard against pollution, to make the enviroment safer for humans. In fact, radicals in the movement want to make the enviroment safe from humans. They want to prevent economic progress because they see it fundamentally as an assault on Mother Earth, whom they regard as a living entity. I spoke with an oceanography not long ago who lamented that conversion to natural gas has enable the U.S. to reach its emissions quote under Kyoto without having to enact any draconian policies. The point to him was not to achieve this goal, but to decrease our use of fuel, period. Anyway, check out this article by Wesley Smith on the mentality behind this movement:
http://www.discovery.org/a/22591
Friday, March 7, 2014
Dr. K: Ukraine as a New Finland
A sensible approach here by "Dr. Kissinger," who is right at home thinking about the great power relationships of the post-Cold War. (Kissinger can't still be writing himself; I saw him a few years ago at the airport, wheelchair-bound, frail, and detached.) The "West" apparently saw the Ukraine's rejection of a free trade agreement with the EU as a hostile act. But events are moving swiftly now; the Crimea seems poised to join Russia, which will be quite an afront to the values that have guided international affairs for the last several decades.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html?hpid=z3
A sensible approach here by "Dr. Kissinger," who is right at home thinking about the great power relationships of the post-Cold War. (Kissinger can't still be writing himself; I saw him a few years ago at the airport, wheelchair-bound, frail, and detached.) The "West" apparently saw the Ukraine's rejection of a free trade agreement with the EU as a hostile act. But events are moving swiftly now; the Crimea seems poised to join Russia, which will be quite an afront to the values that have guided international affairs for the last several decades.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/henry-kissinger-to-settle-the-ukraine-crisis-start-at-the-end/2014/03/05/46dad868-a496-11e3-8466-d34c451760b9_story.html?hpid=z3
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
Why Are We Still in a Cold War Mindset?
Russia occupies its own sphere of interest and does not threaten vital American interests. True, she has given asylum to the traitor Snowden, but Germany probably would have too. Our dubious decision to back Pretorian politics in the Ukraine must be seen as a threat to Moscow. The media reaction against Russia's moves in the Crimea has been remarkable. (Note we invaded Panama in 1989 when we saw a vital strategic interest at stake.) Peter Hitchens, who has no illusions about the nature of the Putin regime, offers some thoughtful points on the manufactured crisis here:
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/
Russia occupies its own sphere of interest and does not threaten vital American interests. True, she has given asylum to the traitor Snowden, but Germany probably would have too. Our dubious decision to back Pretorian politics in the Ukraine must be seen as a threat to Moscow. The media reaction against Russia's moves in the Crimea has been remarkable. (Note we invaded Panama in 1989 when we saw a vital strategic interest at stake.) Peter Hitchens, who has no illusions about the nature of the Putin regime, offers some thoughtful points on the manufactured crisis here:
http://hitchensblog.mailonsunday.co.uk/
Monday, March 3, 2014
Goodbye, Chavez
As predicted, Venezuelan President Maduro's invocation of Chavez's legacy has only diminished him in the eyes of his supporters. See article below. What the article fails to note is that the disturbances in Venezuela are nothing new. Chavez had to deal with them, in spades. I doubt Maduro has seen demonstrations the size that faced Chavez back in 2001 and 2002, sometime numbering 500,000 or more. The problem for Maduro is he can't rally his side like Chavez could.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0302/Chavez-legacy-fades-in-Venezuela-as-crowds-fill-the-streets-video
As predicted, Venezuelan President Maduro's invocation of Chavez's legacy has only diminished him in the eyes of his supporters. See article below. What the article fails to note is that the disturbances in Venezuela are nothing new. Chavez had to deal with them, in spades. I doubt Maduro has seen demonstrations the size that faced Chavez back in 2001 and 2002, sometime numbering 500,000 or more. The problem for Maduro is he can't rally his side like Chavez could.
http://www.csmonitor.com/World/Latest-News-Wires/2014/0302/Chavez-legacy-fades-in-Venezuela-as-crowds-fill-the-streets-video
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