Late October Self-Discipline

I did my duty last night.  I mortified the flesh.

I got home late and, as I stood in the kitchen, packing my lunch for today, I turned on the Magic Talking Satan Box (or, as some would say, the television).

There, the flickering phosphors revealed the two-dimensional likenesses of a couple of one-dimensional men.  One is Prexy, and apparently wishes to go on being such; the other desires to displace the first.

I logged approximately five minutes of "debate" time.  During this time, I learned that either Amur'ka "stands with" Israel, in some absolute and unconditional fashion, or that Amur'ka is Israel.  No doubt the distinction is somehow crucial, to the finely-calibrated mind.

I also learned that it's important what you do with your mouth, while your opponent is speaking (but you're still being shown, via split-screen).  What you do is, you assume a  sort of facial rictus that both these blots on the landscape would no doubt call a "smile."  In the one case, it's an entitled sort of smirk; in the other, it's a coprophagous stunt with the lips and teeth that reminds me of the frozen snarl on the mouthparts of the road-killed possum that I got too good a look at while riding my bicycle last weekend.

That was enough.  I have now absolutely fulfilled my obligation to duh-mocracy for 2012.

It's That Time Again!

What ... time for me to write a post?  No need for me to get in a big hurry, I guess -- it hasn't quite been a month since the last one.  I mean it's time for those who love to give their consent to being ruled by tyrants to renew their consent, and urge others to join the flock.  Recently, the local LP has urged this, suggesting that one loses his power to influence the actions of our rulers by neglecting the solemn ritual.  Since I'm sure our daring libertarians would never neglect to vote both early and often, I'm left with a question: how's that working out for you, guys?  Swinging plenty of influence, are you?

Meanwhile, I'm indebted to LewRockwell.com for passing along an amusing image:

It Must Be Time For Regime Change ...

... in Libya.

Oh, wait, we already did that, didn't we?  Didn't we pretty much see to it that last year's New Hitler, Moammar Gaddafi, was butchered eliminated taken out?  Good.   Then there's no more problems in Libya.  So, let's see, Americans killed by towelheads ... what to do, what to do ... I know!  We need regime change in Syria!  Get rid of the latest New Hitler, Assad!

I mean, what could go wrong?

Or maybe regime change in Iran?  Again, what could go wrong?

Or, uh ... just thinking out loud here ... ahhh ... we could ... maybe ... mind our own business?  Come home?

Nah.  Sorry.  It's a non-starter, I know.  Forget I mentioned it, please.

My Buddy Bibi

Imagine my surprise to see in the news today where Benjamin Netanyahu has finally said something I can agree with completely.  (Or maybe I could call him "Bibi," since we're so tight these days.)  Kind of made me muse a little, about an impossible alternative universe where I have The Power here in the U S of A.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday said the United States had forfeited its moral right to stop Israel taking action against Iran's nuclear program because it had refused to be firm with Tehran itself.

Sure, Bibi, I'm right with you, except for the "forfeited" part -- after all, you can't forfeit what you never had.  And, the way I see things, since Israel is a foreign country, about the only thing we have any business stopping Israel from doing would be invading the US.  OK, Bibi, I'm pretty much with you so far.  Go right ahead:

In comments which appeared to bring the possibility of an Israeli attack on Iran closer, Netanyahu took the Obama administration to task after Washington rebuffed his own call to set a red line for Tehran's nuclear drive.

"The world tells Israel 'wait, there's still time'. And I say, 'Wait for what? Wait until when?'" said Netanyahu, speaking in English.

"Those in the international community who refuse to put red lines before Iran don't have a moral right to place a red light before Israel," he added, addressing a news conference with Bulgaria's prime minister.

Netanyahu has been pushing Obama to adopt a tougher line against Iran, arguing that setting a clear boundary for Iran's uranium enrichment activities and imposing stronger economic sanctions could deter Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and mitigate the need for military action.

You're right as rain, Bibi; if I had my way -- oh, wait!  I do! -- the US would -- I mean, will now -- completely mind its own business and not even suggest, not even hint, that foreign country Israel may not attack / invade / destroy foreign country Iran.  You've gotta do what you've gotta do, as you see it.

Oh, and speaking of the US minding its own business: you know that annual $3 billion in US aid to your crappy little country?  That's history, as of this moment.  Don't interpret that as some kind of arm-twisting, though; we're through subsidizing you, whether you make war on your neighbors or not.  And I certainly hope you weren't assuming that we'd make war on Iran, just because you do.  That sort of foolishness is also all done with.

You see, Bibi, my country's broke.  That money we've been shipping to you?  That was borrowed anyway, and that nonsense has to stop, and I mean stop yesterday.  Believe it or not, there's American citizens right here who don't have money or jobs or anything, and ... well, you know, charity begins at home, as the old folks say.  You know that vast standing army we've been sending to the Middle East for, well, no good reason at all?  That was wrong; but, even if it wasn't, we're broke and can't pay for stupidity of that kind any more.  (Truth to tell, we never could, but that's water under the bridge now.)  So we're reducing our military, and our military spending, to a level commensurate with the actual defense of actual US territory, which means we don't need about 95% of it.


They say every cloud's got its silver lining.  And there's one good thing about being insolvent: it makes foreign policy a rather simple business.  Refreshingly so, I think.

It's a whole new world out there, Bibi.  So don't worry about any red lights from spoilsport old Uncle Sam; there won't be any.  Knock yourself out, bud.

Global Nuisance

Shouldn't Mrs. Clinton be in North Carolina right now, inspiring the donkeys?

Or maybe in Louisiana, consoling the victims of the recent hurricane?

Wait -- here's an idea!  She could go to Afghanistan to review and inspect the Afghan security forces that our Troops have been heroically training.  They seem to need a stern talking-to about not being a bunch of naughty Talibs and al-Qaedas and turr'rsts and all that.

But no.  She's flitting back and forth to China, embarrassing herself (if that's even possible) and such small fraction of her fellow Americanoes as may still possess a working brain:

In a short, frustrating visit to Beijing, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton was stood up Wednesday by the future leader of China and delivered a stern lecture on China’s rights in the South China Sea.

Both China and the United States aired their differences about how to handle the uprising in Syria.

During the third stop in her nearly two-week sweep of Asia, Clinton had hoped to meet with Vice President Xi Jinping, who is expected to get the nod next month to succeed Hu Jintao as China's president.

Xi also canceled meetings Wednesday with the Singapore prime minister and Russian officials, claiming a back injury. Nonetheless, the no-show at the session with Clinton was widely interpreted as a snub.

In advance of the visit, Chinese state media lashed out at Clinton, ridiculing what it said were her efforts to maintain American “hegemony” in the Pacific. Beijing particularly resents U.S. efforts to mediate China's competing claims with neighbors — Japan, Vietnam and the Philippines, in particular — to barren islets and reefs around its waters.

You have to love those scare quotes around hegemony.  I mean, what would you say is being maintained, when US functionaries are sorting out disputes among east Asian countries concerning east Asian matters?  Last time I checked, there's no US territory anywhere near the South China Sea -- not even if you count Hawaii as such, which I'm not much inclined to do.  But that's another discussion.  In any case, I'm sure what we're maintaining isn't hegemony, which would be bad; it's probably our full-spectrum dominance that's being maintained.  Which is a good thing, since we use it to give the gift of Duh-mocracy.

Whether the lucky recipients want it or not.

In fact, maybe especially if they don't want it.  It's more fun that way, you see.

The Politics of Babylon

I address this post, with substantial familiarity and more than a little affection, to the conservative Christian evangelicals who constitute a large part of the Republican base; who are enthusiasts for all things military and police; who listen to the usual talk-radio lineup and follow politics closely; and who are apt to be downcast and gloomy in the late summer of 2012.  Brothers and sisters: open your Bibles, please, to chapter 4 of the book of Daniel and follow along, starting at verse 28 ...

All of this happened to Nebuchadnezzar the king.  Twelve months later he was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon.  The king reflected and said, "Is this not Babylon the great, which I myself have built as a royal residence by the might of my power and for the glory of my majesty?"  While the word was in the king's mouth, a voice came from heaven, saying, "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is declared: sovereignty has been removed from you, and you will be driven away from mankind, and your dwelling place will be with the beasts of the field.  You will be given grass to eat like cattle, and seven periods of time will pass over you, until you recognize that the Most High is ruler over the realm of mankind, and bestows it on whomever He wishes."  Immediately the word concerning Nebuchadnezzar was fulfilled; and he was driven away from mankind and began eating grass like cattle, and his body was drenched with the dew of heaven, until his hair had grown like eagles' feathers and his nails like birds' claws.

Yes, I know the possibility of heavy weather combined with your native security mania to bring out the inner Keystone Kop in your party leadership. I know you started out hungry for red meat, in the form of a Santorum or a Huckabee or something similar, and now you're reduced to crossing your fingers for an exceedingly pale substitute who finds it very difficult to conceal his contempt for you.  And, yes, your candidate for the Senate from Missouri, Todd Akin, is proving to be ... an embarrassment?  A liability?  A nuclear meltdown?  Something like that.

This is something that I share with you, by the way; I also don't think abortion should be legally available for the "hard cases" of rape or incest.  I would think, though, that a principled opponent of legal abortion wouldn't be driven to inventing some kind of reproductive wack-biology as a reason; one could, after all, simply point out that rapists themselves do not face summary execution without due process; why should their children?  Having an unsavory father shouldn't be a capital crime, it seems to me.  Of course, not everyone will agree; most, I'm sure, will not.  But it's an opposition that can be coherently defended, if you oppose abortion because you think the weak, the helpless, the orphans should be defended, not slaughtered.  On the other hand, if your opposition to abortion is more an excuse for you to indulge your natural inclination toward slut-shaming, then maybe babbling about "legitimate rapes" is something that will come naturally to you.

Coherence, it seems to me, is prominent among the things that the Nebuchadnezzars of the GOP lack, as they eat grass out in the Fields of Foolishness, getting rained on and growing bird-claws.  Now, I do not claim to know that this is God's doing; for me to claim such knowledge would be blasphemous, and I think blasphemy is a pretty serious offense.  But I do have to wonder, from time to time.  Consider Romans chapter 1.  It's a favorite of evangelicals seeking to justify their rejection of homosexuality and other forms of sexual immorality, and yes, that really is there.  But Paul is rather more comprehensive, as we see starting in verse 28:

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

I do not mean to suggest that the GOP is more enthusiastic than the Democratic Party in its embrace of the catalog of unrighteousness against which Paul wrote.  The Two Major Brands are, in my estimation, identical twins with respect to such things.  The distinction that I see is that the GOP markets itself to gullible believers in a way that its opponents don't do so much.  And so it seems to me that if God is really picking primarily on the elephants, maybe it's because they've represented themselves more as the Party of God (sort of an American Hezbollah, maybe?), and perhaps God is indulging an ironic sense of humor.  Or maybe not -- as I've said, this is all speculation on my part, perhaps leaning more toward pure whimsy.

Back to my fellow believers: what, if anything, am I suggesting?  Should you flee from the elephants to join up with the donkeys; trade your red shirts for blue?  To quote the apostle once again, much more briefly: may it never be so.  Instead, may I suggest turning to the Old Testament for counsel in relating to the politics of this modern world.  From Isaiah chapter 52:

Depart, depart, go out from there,
Touch nothing unclean;
Go out from the midst of her, purify yourselves,
You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
But you will not go out in haste,
Nor will you go as fugitives;
For the Lord will go before you,
And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

Your mind is a gift from God, and its proper use is to love Him; and He's been revealed perfectly in the person of Jesus.  Return to your first love.  Delight in His teaching.  Spit out that grass; come back from the fields, and back to your right mind.  And, by the way, even Nebuchadnezzar can serve as a model:

"But at the end of that period I, Nebuchadnezzar, raised my eyes toward heaven, and my reason returned to me, and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever;

For His dominion is an everlasting dominion,
And His kingdom endures from generation to generation.
And all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing,
But He does according to His will in the host of heaven
And among the inhabitants of the earth;
And no one can ward off His hand
Or say to Him, 'What hast Thou done?'

At that time my reason returned to me.  And my majesty and splendor were restored to me for the glory of my kingdom, and my counselors and my nobles began seeking me out; so I was reestablished in my sovereignty, and surpassing greatness was added to me.  Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise, exalt, and honor the King of heaven, for all His works are true and His ways just, and He is able to humble those who walk in pride."