MarinerPundit

POTUS Speechifies at that-place-across-the-sound-from-Fort-Schuyler

2006-06-20T08:25:00.000-05:00

Thank you for the warm welcome -- if you know what I mean. Admiral Stewart, Secretary Mineta, members of the United States Congress, Academy staff and faculty, distinguished guests, proud family members, and most importantly, the Class of 2006. I'm honored to be the first President to address the United States Merchant Marine Academy. I know that a presidential visit to Kings Point has been a long time in coming. And, Admiral, I hope it's worth the wait.
This is a proud moment for the Class of 2006. You have worked hard for this day. You sweated through the hardest indoc in Academy history; you braved the Jamaican beef patties of Delano Hall -- You spent a year when your classroom was a ship and your campus the Seven Seas; you've made it through endless drills on the Grinder; you've survived the restriction musters that come with missing the train back from Manhattan. This fall, your football team brought home the Secretaries Cup by beating the Coast Guard. You've rung the bell outside Wiley Hall. And the words etched in your class ring affirm your commitment to teamwork: "Not for you, not for me, but for us." Your parents are proud of you, your teachers are proud of you, and this Academy is proud of you. On behalf of the American people, I congratulate you on a fine achievement, and I thank you for choosing to serve the United States of America.
This morning, I flew here on Air Force One with my friend, Andy Card. You might remember Andy -- he was my former chief of staff, and he attended this Academy in the 1960s. It just so happens when he was a plebe, he was stuffed in a duffel bag and run up the flagpole. I know he appreciates the much warmer welcome he received here today.
Secretary Card also reminded me that the President of the United States has the authority to lift all demerits and restrictions. So I bring you a graduation present. In keeping with the longstanding tradition at our nation's service academies, I hereby absolve all midshipmen who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses -- I leave it to Admiral Stewart to define exactly what "minor" means. Life at this Academy is demanding -- and it is meant to be. America is a great maritime power, and our Merchant Marine has a vital role to play. In times of peace, the Merchant Marine helps ensure our economic security by keeping the oceans open to trade. In times of war, the Merchant Marine is the lifeline of our troops overseas, carrying critical supplies, equipment, and personnel. For more than six decades, the mission of this Academy has been to graduate highly skilled mariners to serve America's economic and national security needs. To train you for these responsibilities, this Academy sharpens your mind, it strengthens your body, and builds up your character. The Academy has made you strong and instilled respect for the Kings Point motto -- Acta Non Verba -- "Deeds, Not Words."
"Deeds, Not Words" was the hallmark of this Academy in World War II. In the early years of the war, America's efforts to supply our allies in Europe were threatened by the U-boats that were sinking American ships faster than we could build them. The need to arm and defend our merchant ships was urgent, and King Pointers answered the call. One
of them was an 18-year-old named Edwin O'Hara, whose statue stands not far from here. In September 1942, Cadet O'Hara was serving on the USS Stephen Hopkins when it came under attack from two Nazi raiders. After the entire gun crew of the Hopkins was killed by enemy fire, O'Hara singlehandedly served and fired the last five shells in the ready box, scoring direct hits on the German warship Stier. Cadet O'Hara was mortally wounded in the action, but not before he helped send the Stier to the bottom of the South Atlantic.
Edwin O'Hara is one of 142 Academy graduates who gave their lives in the second world war. Today Kings Point is still the only one of our five service academies that sends its students into the theaters of war -- and for that reason, it is the only Academy authorized to fly a Battle Standard.
"Deeds, Not Words" was your response on the morning of September the 11th, 2001. From this campus, every man and woman could see the black smoke rising from the Twin Towers. Within hours, your midshipmen were working side-by-side with the Coast Guard and marine division of the New York City Fire Department. Over the next nine days, you moved firefighters and police and emergency response teams into Ground Zero. You moved tons of food and water and supplies. The heroic response to that terrible day showed the spirit of America -- and the spirit of this fine Academy. And I thank you for your service.
"Deeds, Not Words" defines the Academy's role in the global war on terror. Your cadets are forward deployed in the Middle East, where they're supporting operations in Afghanistan and Iraq. Your Global Maritime and Transportation School is providing advanced training in areas from marine engineering to port security for military units like the Navy Seabees and Surface Warfare Officers. And your graduates are serving our nation in every branch of our Armed Services, as sailors projecting American combat power across the Earth; as Marines and soldiers leading platoons from Khandahar to Tikrit; as Coast Guard officers securing our homeland; and as airmen delivering justice to terrorists hiding in safe houses and caves. In the global war on terror, the men and women of this Academy are making a difference on every front -- and the American people are grateful for your service.
To win the war on terror, we will continue to build and strengthen ties with our friends and allies across the world. America's alliance with Europe is a key pillar of our strategy for victory. And tomorrow, Laura and I will depart on my 15th trip to Europe since I have taken office. This visit comes at a critical moment for America and our allies. We have important decisions to make that will affect the prospects for peace and prosperity across the world. And today I'm going to talk to you about the objectives I will pursue on this important trip. My first stop will be Vienna, where I will attend the annual summit between the United States and the European Union. And then I'm going to travel to Budapest to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Hungarian Revolution. And I'm really looking forward to the trip. Americans have strong ties to the European people. We have warm friendships with European nations. And on my trip this week, we will strengthen our close and growing partnership with the European Union.
America's partnership with the European Union grows from sturdy roots -- our common love of freedom, and our commitment to democratic principles. Those of you graduating today have grown up with a Europe whose major powers are at peace with one another. Yet in the sweep of history, this is a dramatic change. There was a time in history when Europe was the site of bloody conflicts and bitter rivalries. As recently as the last century, Europe was the site of two devastating world wars. Now, because generations have sacrificed for liberty and built strong democracies, the nations of Europe are partners in common union, and neighbors on a continent that's whole, free, and at peace.
A free and peaceful Europe is one of the great achievements of the past century. My generation, and yours, will be judged by what comes next. So America and Europe must work together to advance freedom and democracy. We will cooperate to expand trade and prosperity. We will strengthen our efforts to combat terrorism. And we will stand together to stop the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
Our work begins with a common commitment to extending the reach of freedom and democracy. On Prime Minister Blair's recent visit to America, he said: "The governments of the world do not all believe in freedom. But the people of the world do." As people who have secured our own freedom, America and Europe have a duty to help others do the same. We're fulfilling that duty together in Belarus, where we support the reformers seeking to erase the stain of dictatorship from Europe. We're fulfilling that duty together in Georgia and Ukraine, where we stand with brave people striving to consolidate democratic gains. We're fulfilling that duty together in the Balkans, where people who have suffered so much have made a choice to live in liberty, and should be welcomed as a part of Europe in the 21st century.
As we saw on September the 11, 2001, the actions of a repressive regime thousands of miles away can have a direct impact on our own security. In this new century, the loss of freedom anywhere is a blow to freedom everywhere. And when freedom advances, people gain an alternative to violence, and the prospects for peace are multiplied and all nations become more secure. So America and Europe have launched bold initiatives to aid democratic reformers across the world, especially in the broader Middle East. We've worked with the United Nations to end the Syrian occupation of Lebanon -- and we will not rest until the Lebanese people enjoy full independence. We're determined to end the conflict in the Holy Land and bring about a solution with two democratic states, Israel and Palestine, living side-by-side in peace and security.
Our shared commitment to extending freedom and democracy is clear in Afghanistan and Iraq. Together America and Europe have helped bring about a historic transformation in those countries. Two of the world's most dangerous regimes have been removed from power, and the world is better off for it. Al Qaida's training camps have been closed in Afghanistan. Al Qaida's leader in Iraq has been killed. Two violent dictatorships are being replaced with growing democracies that answer to their people, that respect their neighbors, and that serve as allies in the war on terror. Afghanistan and Iraq are taking their rightful place in the free world -- and America and Europe must work tirelessly to help them succeed.
One week ago today, I left Camp David and flew to the capital of a free and democratic Iraq. In Baghdad I met with Prime Minister Maliki and members of his cabinet. The Prime Minister is a man of strong character; he has a clear and practical plan to lead his country forward. He briefed me on the immediate steps he's taking to improve security in Baghdad, to build up Iraq's economy and to reach out to the international community.
The formation of a new government and successful raids on al Qaeda targets in Iraq have created a moment of opportunity. Iraqis must seize this moment -- and we will help them succeed. I assured the Prime Minister that when America gives a commitment, America will keep its word. By helping Prime Minister Maliki's new government achieve its aims, we will expand opportunity for all the Iraqi people, we will inflict a major defeat on the terrorists, and we will show the world the power of a thriving democracy in the heart of the Middle East.
A free and sovereign Iraq requires the strong support of Europe. And some of the most important support for Iraqis is coming from European democracies with recent memories of tyranny -- Poland and Hungary and Romania and Bulgaria and the Czech Republic and Slovakia, Georgia, Ukraine, Latvia, Lithuania, and Estonia. Others in Europe have had disagreements with our decisions on Iraq. Yet we've all watched the Iraqi people stand up for their freedom -- and we agree that the success of a democratic government in Baghdad is vital for the Iraqis and for the security of the world.
The European Union has been the world's most -- among the world's most generous financial donors for reconstruction in Iraq. And Europe and America will encourage greater international support to help Prime Minister Maliki implement his plans for recovery. The international community has pledged about $13 billion to help this new government. Yet only $3.5 billion has been paid. This is a critical time for Iraq's young democracy, and assistance from the international community will make an immediate difference. All nations that have pledged money have a responsibility to keep their pledges -- and America and Europe will work together to ensure they do so. America and Europe also stand together in our determination to widen the circle of prosperity. We're cooperating on projects to develop clean, secure energy sources, especially alternatives to fossil fuel. On the continent of Africa, we're working to strengthen democracy, relieve debt, fight disease, and end the genocide in Darfur. At the World Trade Organization, we're working to lower trade barriers by concluding the Doha talks. America has made a bold proposal to eliminate trade-distorting agriculture subsidies and tariffs -- and I call on Europe to join us, so we can set an example of free and fair trade for the world. By spreading prosperity, America and Europe will create new opportunities for our people, to help alleviate poverty, and deliver hope and dignity and progress to millions across the world.
Together America and Europe are laying the foundations for a future of peace and prosperity. And yet the terrorists are threatening this progress. So at our summit this week, we'll take new steps to strengthen our cooperation on counterterrorism, to improve transportation security, and to crack down on terrorist financing. And we will renew our commitment to support the voices of peace and moderation in the Muslim world, to help provide a hopeful alternative to radicalism. America and Europe must stand united in this war on terror. By being steadfast, and by being strong, we will defeat the enemies of freedom.
America and Europe are also united on one of the most difficult challenges facing the world today, the behavior of the regime in Iran. The leaders of Iran sponsor terror, deny liberty and human rights to their people, and threaten the existence of our ally, Israel. And by pursuing nuclear activities that mask its effort to acquire nuclear weapons, the regime is acting in defiance of its treaty obligations, of the United Nations Security Council, and of the International Atomic Energy Agency. Nuclear weapons in the hands of this regime would be a grave threat to people everywhere. I've discussed the problem of the Iranian regime extensively with leaders in Europe, particularly in Great Britain and Germany and France. I've also consulted closely with the Presidents of Russia and China. We've all agreed on a unified approach to solve this problem diplomatically. The United States has offered to come to the table with our partners and meet with Iran's representatives -- as soon as the Iranian regime fully and verifiably suspends its uranium enrichment and reprocessing activities. Iran's leaders have a clear choice. We hope they will accept our offer and voluntarily suspend these activities, so we can work out an agreement that will bring Iran real benefits. If Iran's leaders reject our offer, it will result in action before the Security Council, further isolation from the world, and progressively stronger political and economic sanctions.
I've a message for the Iranian regime: America and our partners are united. We have presented a reasonable offer. Iran's leaders should see our proposal for what it is -- an historic opportunity to set their country on a better course. If Iran's leaders want peace and prosperity and a more hopeful future for their people, they should accept our offer, abandon any ambitions to obtain nuclear weapons, and come into compliance with their international obligations.
I've a message for the Iranian people: The United States respects you and your country. We admire your rich history, your vibrant culture, and your many contributions to civilization. When Cyrus the Great led the Iranian people more than 2,500 years ago, he delivered one of the world's first declarations of individual rights, including the right to worship God in freedom. Through the centuries, Iranians have achieved distinction in medicine and science and poetry and philosophy, and countless other fields.
In the 21st century, the people of Iran, especially the talented and educated youth, are among the world's leaders in science and technology. Iranians have a large presence on the Internet, and a desire to make even greater progress, including the development of civilian nuclear energy. This is a legitimate desire. We believe the Iranian people should enjoy the benefits of a truly peaceful program to use nuclear reactors to generate electric power. So America supports the Iranian people's rights to develop nuclear energy peacefully, with proper international safeguards. The people of Iran, like people everywhere, also want and deserve an opportunity to determine their own future, an economy that rewards their intelligence and talents, and a society that allows them to pursue their dreams. I believe Iranians would thrive if they were given more opportunities to travel and study abroad, and do business with the rest of the world. Here in the United States, Iranian Americans have used their freedom to advance in society and make tremendous contributions in areas from business to medicine, to academics.
To help provide more opportunities for the people of Iran, we will look for new ways to increase contact between Americans and Iranians, especially in education and culture, sports and tourism. We'll provide more than $75 million this year to promote openness and freedom for the Iranian people. These funds will allow us to expand and improve radio and television broadcasts to the people of Iran. These funds will support Iranian human rights advocates and civil society organizations. And these funds will promote student and faculty exchanges, so we can build bridges of understanding between our people.
Americans believe the future of Iran will be decided by the people of Iran -- and we believe that future can be one of progress and prosperity and achievement. We look forward to the day when our nations are friends, and when the people of Iran enjoy the full fruits of liberty, and play a leading role to establish peace in our world. The advance of freedom is the calling of our time -- and the men and women of the United States Merchant Marine Academy are answering that call. In a few moments, you'll walk through Vickery Gate and leave the Academy that's been your home. You leave with a bachelor's degree, a license as a Merchant Marine officer, and a commission in one of the branches of our Armed Services. And you leave with something else: The great truth that duty and honor and courage are not just words; they are virtues that sustain a free people, people who are determined to live under self-government. They're the virtues that will be your anchor and compass in a life of purpose and service. These are the virtues that America demands of those entrusted with leading her sons and daughters in uniform. And these are the virtues that America has come to expect from the blue and grey.
We see the devotion to duty and honor and country in the life of one of this Academy's finest graduates, Aaron Seesan. Aaron was an Ohio boy who grew up dreaming of being a soldier. He brought that dream with him to this Academy -- and when he walked through these gates three years ago, he carried on his shoulders the gold bar of a second lieutenant in the United States Army. After entering the Army, Lieutenant Seesan trained as a combat engineer. And he was serving at Fort Lewis, Washington, when a group of soldiers who were based at the fort were struck by a suicide bomb in Iraq. Two of the men were killed. And that's when this young lieutenant volunteered to go to Iraq to take the place of a wounded platoon leader.
When Lieutenant Seesan arrived in Iraq, some of his fellow soldiers wondered what was the Army thinking. His platoon sergeant said, "I didn't know what the hell a Merchant Marine graduate was doing here in the 73rd Engineering Company." The sergeant quickly changed his mind when he saw Lieutenant Seesan in action, taking care of his men as they patrolled the most dangerous roads in and around Mosul. In May 2005, he was leading a routine sweep of a city street when a bomb exploded and hit the fuel tank of his Humvee. Those who were with him recall his last words: "Take charge, Sergeant Arnold, and take care of the others."
He died on May 22 -- on National Maritime Day. For his act of bravery, Lieutenant Seesan was awarded the Bronze Star. And the campus memorial that bears his name will remind all who come here of Kings Point commitment to Aaron Seesan gave his life freely. While still in high school, he wrote a poem that now seems prophetic. He wrote, "Mourn not my terrible death, but celebrate my cause in life." Aaron's cause in life was freedom, and as you take your place as officers in our Armed Forces, I ask you to celebrate the freedom for which Aaron fought and died. America has invested in you, and she has high expectations. My call to you is this: Trust your instincts, and use the skills you were taught here to give back to your nation. Do not be afraid of mistakes; learn from them. Show leadership and character in whatever you do. The world lies before you. I ask you to go forth with faith in America, and confidence in the eternal promise of liberty.
In all that lies ahead, I wish you fair winds and following seas. As I look out at the men and women before me, I will leave here knowing that you will bring honor to our nation, and to this Academy that has prepared you for the challenges you will face. May God steer thee well, Kings Point. And may God bless America.

Wisdom from Ben Stein for Memorial Day

2006-05-29T19:33:00.000-05:00

For my fallen brothers and sister. Lux aeterna dona, Domine...
And for those currently serving, especially my Command & Staff classmates soon to deploy in the sand box. Our brethern shield in dangers hour.

Yes, damitall, emphasis is mine.
They Did God's Work
By Ben Stein (who, I must note, is a former Marine)
Published 5/26/2006 11:59:59 PM

Remarks delivered on Saturday evening in Arlington, Virginia, at the Memorial Day weekend seminar and grief camp of TAPS -- the Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors.

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME be a part of your family. This is the most important family on the planet right now. There is a First Family on Pennsylvania Avenue, but this is the real first family. The family of those who have paid the ultimate price to keep us free and dignified and alive.

A bad day for me is when I get stuck in traffic or have a toothache or notice that I have gained weight or my teenage son is surly.

A bad day for you is realizing that the only man or woman you have ever loved is gone for this lifetime.

A difficult day for me with my wife is when she's out at her bridge lesson and comes home late so my dinner is late.

A difficult day for you is when you wake up from a dream that your husband or wife or son or daughter or mother or father was alive and laughing with you and realize you'll never see that loveable person again for the rest of your natural lives.

A bad day for an ordinary American is seeing the stock market go down or watching his son sneak a beer.

A bad day for you is a sort of loneliness, a hopeless, cruel loneliness that cuts right to the bone like the cut of a knife, that tells you that there is no one there to hug you, no one to kiss you, no one to fix the kids' bikes, no one to wipe away the tears that just come uncontrollably when you least expect them.

A bad day for me is getting stuck in an airport security line. A bad day for you is being on the plane alone.

Yet your loneliness has meaning. Your loneliness, your pain, is the mortar and concrete that anchors the nation. The sacrifice your loved ones made, the sacrifice you made, that your kids made, is what makes the whole American world safe from terror.

Your loved ones' lives had what we all want: meaning. The knowledge you were doing something big for others. That is EVERYTHING in life.

Wall Street does not have it. Hollywood does not have it. They're just in it for the fame and the money.

Your loved ones were in it for unselfishness, for kindness, for love of one's fellow man. There is no higher meaning on this earth.

The media try to rob your husbands' and wives' and kids' lives of meaning saying this war is not about anything.

They're wrong and they say what they say because they don't see the truth. They print a story on the front page about Marines killing civilians in a town in Iraq and if they did, it was wrong. But the big media never report a MARINE throwing himself on a bomb to protect an Iraqi child, or a Marine giving his life to rid a town of murderers or a Marine or an Army man or woman or a Navy Seal or a Coast Guardsman offering up his life so that Iraqi human beings can have the same freedoms and rights we take for granted here in America.

The media are like grave robbers, robbing you of the certain knowledge that your spouses gave their lives for something deeply worthwhile: human dignity.

Your loved ones' lives and deaths had as much meaning at the lives and deaths of every American who died for freedom from Valley Forge to the Battle of the Bulge to Cho-Sin Reservoir to the Cu Chi tunnels to the Balkans to Kabul, Afghanistan, to Falluja, Iraq.

And if the media doesn't know it, every other American does. This is a very difficult fight, but the ordinary American knows what your loved ones have done and respects them.

Your families, your loved one, your children have more respect than Sean Penn and Barbra Streisand and the Dixie Chicks all put together times a million. And the media like to criticize because they know -- in their hearts -- that they will never have the guts that the man and woman in uniform have. I think media envy of your loved ones' courage has a lot do with media mockery of the war.

To heck with them. Your husbands are the real stars. Your wives and kids are the real stars. They burn brightly forever as long as there are free men and women and the longing for human freedom burns bright in the human heart.

John F. Kennedy said that here on earth, God's work is our work. That doesn't mean Wall Street's work. It doesn't mean the Washington Post's work. It doesn't mean Hollywood's work. It means the work you guys do and the work of your husbands and wives and kids. Living and dying for your fellow man. That is God's work in the deepest sense, and God bless you for what you do, and God keep you until you are with your loved ones again.

Up the Jocks!

2006-05-27T19:24:00.000-05:00

The Royal Scots will merge with the Kings Own Scottish Borderers Battalion to form The Royal Scots Borderers, 1st Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland.

Thanks, as always to Dr. Jerry Pournelle.

The link is here.

This merger, btw, is not uncontroversial.

WELCOME, COMMAND & STAFF MARINES!

2006-05-10T21:05:00.000-05:00

The maritme blog you're looking for is here.

Nope, I haven't posted since 4/21. Sorry.

The Brookings Institute figures from Iraq

2006-05-10T20:58:00.000-05:00

The Brookings Institute -- generally considered a [modern] liberal group of people -- has released a pile of numbers on Iraq.

Here's a summary from a decidedly un-liberal source:
1. Per Capita GDP (USD) for 2005 is forecast to increase from the previous year to $1,051. In 2002 it was $802.
2. Increases in GDP for the next five years: 16.8, 13.6, 12.5, 7.8, and 7.2.
3. Actionable tips from Iraqis have increased every month this year. In January, 4,025 tips were received; February, 4,235; and March, 4,578.
4. On an index of political freedom for countries in the Middle East, Iraq now ranks fourth, just below Israel, Lebanon, and Morocco.
5. Crude oil production reached 2.14 million barrels a day (MBD) in April of this year. It had dropped to 0.3 MBD in May of 2003.
6. Revenues from oil export have only slightly increased from pre-war levels of $0.2 billion, to $0.62 billion in April.
7. Electrical output is almost at the pre-war level of 3,958 megawatts. April's production was 3,600 megawatts. In May of 2003, production was only 500 megawatts. The goal is to reach 6,000 megawatts.
8. The unemployment rate in June of 2003 was 50-60%, and in April of this year it had dropped to 25-40%.
9. The number of U.S. military wounded has declined significantly from a high of 1,397 in November 2004 to 430 in April of this year.
10. Iraqi military casualties were 201 in April of 2006, after peaking at 304 in July of 2005.
11. As of December 2005, countries other than the U.S., plus the World Bank and IMF, have pledged almost $14 billion in reconstruction aid to Iraq.
12. Significant progress has also been made towards the rule of law. In May 2003 there were no trained judges, but as of October 2005 there were 351.
13. As of January 2006, 64% of Iraqis polled said that the country was headed in the right direction.
14. Also as of January 2006, 77% said that removing Saddam Hussein was the right thing to do.
15. In May of 2003, Iraqi Security Forces were estimated at between 7,000-9,000. They numbered 250,500 in March of this year.
16. The breakdown of foreign terrorists by country of origin is interesting. The largest number come from Algeria, at 20%. The next two countries are Syria and Yemen, at 18% and 17%, respectively.
17. The number of foreign terrorists fighting in Iraq was estimated at between 300 and 500 in January 2004. That number increased in April of this year, to between 700 and 2,000.
18. From May 2003 and April 2006, between 1,000 and 3,000 anti-Iraqi forces have been killed each month.

Rule Brittania!

2006-04-21T19:12:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday,Ma'am.

Market Kidney?

2006-03-15T22:09:00.001-05:00

Virginia Postrel (www.dynamist.com) donated a kidney to a friend (see "Let us now praise famous outcomes" from a few days ago). This donation doesn't fit the heartless-libertarian reputation.

Comes now a Bloomberg columnist named Amy Schlaes with some spicy comment and an outline of a very intriguing idea by Dr Steve Postrel, who is, ahem, inter alia, Virginia's husband. Quoth the Maven:

The reputation of libertarians is that they are selfish, and that the female of the species is the more selfish.

After all, libertarians insist on applying commercial paradigms to moral problems, which seems asocial and downright unfeminine.
--snip--
After spending so much time thinking renally, Virginia's husband Steve even came up with his own elegant little market solution to the fatal organ shortage. Citizens who give an organ get a holiday from federal taxes for a year. High earners pay lots of tax, and low earners pay next to none. As Postrel points out, the holiday idea is therefore less vulnerable to the usual criticism that organ dealing exploits the poor.

The kidney holiday sounds quirky enough to also appeal to the philanthropist, who tends to want two contradictory things: the satisfaction of giving and the sense that he really is getting something out of it.

Still, Virginia in the end gave not because she was Right, but because it seemed right.

``It was not as Virginia, the libertarian, but Virginia, the friend, that I was giving'' Postrel says. ``People who believe in markets do all sorts of non-market transactions.''

"Without thinking much about it, Postrel and Satel have made some important points. Well-intentioned policy can be fatal. Arch-conservatives can have big hearts, as big as any heart at the London School of Economics or at the Democratic Leadership Council. Market-orientation and charity are not opposites. Sometimes they go together. Public institutions can't monopolize morality, as much as they would like to. And they probably shouldn't be allowed to monopolize kidneys, either."

Read it all

Hej Danes! We've been here before

2006-03-14T23:36:00.000-05:00

US News & World Report (USNWR)columnist John Leo reviews a forshadowing of the cartoon mess here
In 1976 a Syrian born Muslim directed a film in which Anthony Quinn starred as the Prophet's uncle. Money quote: "Later, a group of black American Muslims attacked three buildings in Washington, D.C., taking 149 hostages. One of their demands was that The Message must not be released. In a 39-hour siege, a reporter was killed and many hostages were stabbed, beaten, or shot. The movie, in an Arabic version, was shown in the Middle East. The English version, never released, appeared for the first time on a DVD last November 1, not long after the appearance of the Danish cartoons."

Yes, the emphasis is added.

Let us now praise famous outcomes

2006-03-08T23:17:00.000-05:00

Virgina Postrel is out of the hospital and both she and her recipient friend are doing fine.
Good news!
Read it all here: http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002077.html

Good will

2006-03-04T20:02:00.000-05:00

Virginia Postrel, one of the US' greatest treasures donates a kidney to a friend in need, because "if your kidneys stop working, you have three options: die, go on dialysis (regularly described as "living hell" by dialysis patients and their loved ones), or find a donor kidney. And donor kidneys are in short supply, made shorter by legal restrictions and social taboos."

She also acknowledges the presence of large-scale jackasses (a social breed which is, alas, entirely too scalable)who are trying to prevent "made-to-order replacements that are exact genetic matches, either through therapeutic cloning or some now-unknown future technology"

Randites, this is an example of what Ayn Rand herself referred to as good will among men. Look it up. So, enough with not-so-sotto-voce comments about altruism.

This is intestinal fortitude. Read it all here:
http://www.dynamist.com/weblog/archives/002075.html

Rwanda

2006-03-02T21:45:00.000-05:00

So...
A couple of months ago, the Marine Corps Command and Staff College embarked on a study of Rwanda. An example of a peacekeeping mission that went as wrong -- I hope -- as it's possible to go.

Simplistic overview: Rwanda is inhabited by two major peoples (or tribes, if you'd prefer), the Hutu and Tutsi. Hutus are the majority. Tutsi are ethnically similar, but are often physically larger and were chosen by the colonial power of Belgium to be the dominant peoples.

After independence, along with wheels within wheels, various forms of fighting developed between the two. After many missteps and fumbles and the beginning of civil war, the UN injected a peacekeeping force under the command of a Canadian General named Dallaire (also a graduate of the US Marine Corps Command and Staff College).

Dallaire was tipped off to a plot to slaughter Tutsis, made a plan to confiscate the equipment, advised his chain of command, and was ordered not to proceed.

The massacre started with the death of the president of Rwanda in a plane crash -- actually the a/c was shot down. At its height, the killers were murdering more per hour than the Nazis did during WWII. In about 100 days, about 800,000 people were killed.
1. If Rwanda had never been a colony, the Hutu and Tutsi would be, at worst, tribes that don't like each other and occasionally go to war.
2. If the UN had done nothing, the civil war would have fought itself out. Tragedy? Yes. Massacre? Probably no.
3. If the population had been armed, the killers would have been considerably more circumspect.
Here's a review of a book on the subject: http://www.bookslut.com/nonfiction/2005_07_005966.php

Any Port in a Storm, from Reason Express

2006-02-22T14:52:00.000-05:00

Executive summary: there's nothing a Port Operator can do in the way of mischief which the other parties using that port (shippers, ship operators, Longshoremen...) can't also do. T'ain't that there's not a problem in the ports, it's that requiring port operators to be U.S. companies won't fix that.

So it takes a lot to stoop to the level of stupidity shown by the politicos and shysters killing themselves -- not that there's anything wrong with that! -- to get in front of cameras to denounce the port operation deal.

News flash: Chuck Schumer -- who's a politico and a shyster -- isn't even entitled to have an opinion on this issue.

Economic phrasing: what, in the way of terrorism or mischief, can a port operator do which a shipper or operator can't do? Hint, the answer is: nothing.

The point, friends, isn't that our ports aren't security problems it's that you haven't solved any security problems by blocking this deal and you may very well have created some. For example: the U.S. is the country who abandoned the Shi'a and Kurds the the murderousness of Saddam Hussein after the 1991 Gulf War. The people of the gulf are entitled to think of us, U.S., as untrusworthy.

And now, demonstrating the tone-deafness for which this branch of the Republican party is so justly famous, the White House is announcin that the Prez didn't know until it was a 'done deal.' See: www.drudgereport.com.

Herewith some wisdom from Reason.com. emphasis added:

This just in, foreign ships dock in American ports! On one level, the Bush administration is the victim of straight-up hysteria over the sale of some U.S. port functions to a state-run United Arab Emirates company. But it is also political tone-deafness of the first order not to anticipate that hysteria would bubble up given the current seal-the-borders climate.

On the issue of port security, yes there are legitimate anti-terrorism concerns. But port ownership (sic. The issue is port operations, not ownership. The ownership won't change) does not guarantee good or bad security. In fact, the assumption that international airline traffic was somehow more dangerous than domestic flights was a big hole in pre-9/11 airline security. Not even national directives in Washington can guarantee good security procedures at the local level, at each individual port or airport.

Finally, there is the question of money. If the UAE relationship can provide the kind of deep pockets needed to finance security upgrades, then overall port security might be better off. Until that can be demonstrated, however, the howling will continue, particularly from a Congress in full mid-term election mode.

http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-02-19-voa27.cfm

Danmark

2006-02-11T20:06:00.000-05:00

I have Danish relatives who risked an early departure from this veil of tears working in the Danish resistance in the 1940s. Least I can do is sound off.
Here's a great link to something by an Egyption called "The Big Pharoh" who whomped up a variation on the Ten Commandments: http://haloscan.com/tb/bigpharaoh/113948714526054499.

I can sum these commandments up very briefly: "Hey diaper loaders, are you interested in accomplishing something or do you just want people to laugh at you?"

Specifically, here's what the BP wrote. Italicized comments are mine:

1.Thou shall not have westophobia. The west is not plotting against Islam, they don’t give a hoot about your religion nor the religion of this old Hindu man walking in downtown Calcutta, India. The West is busy with far more important things.

2.Thou shall remember that millions of Muslims in Europe have far more rights than non-Muslims in Arab/Muslim lands (for more info, contact the Christian villagers of el-Udaysaat) So quit playing the victim here. I simply don’t buy it.

3.Thou shall understand that the West is a pool of ideas and people. In the west you will find: Non-muslims who love Islam (Karen Armstrong and Prince Charles), non-Muslims who hate Islam (J-Posten and Oriana Fallaci), converts to Islam who love Islam (Murad Huffman, Roge Garoudi), converts out of Islam who hate Islam (Hirshi Ali and Ibn Warraq). So for heaven’s sake, you can’t paint the West with one brush.

4.Thou shall understand that the West gets their info on Islam not from your preaching nor from the books you translate to them but from your actions.

5.Thou shall riot and protest when Muslims kill other Muslims (for more info, contact the Shia families of Iraq and Darfur Sudanese)

6.Thou shall try to riot and protest when Muslims kill non-Muslims. If that’s not possible, at least try to do commandment 5.

7.Thou shall NOT riot over cartoons published 4 months ago. Try to riot over cartoons published 2 months ago. At least it might make more sense that way.

8.Thou shall not boycott an entire nation because a single newspaper, TV channel, radio station, politician, actor, actress, etc, etc, in that nation said or wrote or drew something that offended you. Why? Because its stupid and childish to do so and it fur

We've lost one of the good guys...

2006-01-19T19:35:00.000-05:00

An old friend of mine died yesterday. Jeff Bloomberg was a classmate from my brief (spring semester, 1971) sojourn at Adelphi University. The number of stories I have...

I really can't write through tears, so I'll hand this over to another classmate (and once upon a time apartment-mate) Dave Smukler, who was with him:

"It breaks my heart to tell you that our old friend Jeff Bloomberg passed away yesterday afternoon.

"Jeff was diagnosed with cancer only last Fall, and had been having chemotherapy
treatments. He had tolerated the first few rounds of chemo very well, but last week was very difficult. I spoke to him on Sunday evening, and sores in his mouth and throat made it difficult for him to talk for long. He said he'd call me back the next day, but he wasn't able to. Something went badly wrong on Tuesday, and he was taken to the hospital, and quickly slipped into a coma. His wife Linda called me Wednesday morning, and my wife Ann and I joined her in the hospital. We were with Jeff, along with Linda, Jeff's parents, his brother Norman, and a few other relatives and close friends, when he died at about 2pm.

"It probably won't surprise you to know that Jeff had a positive attitude to the very end. We had a long talk a few weeks ago; he told me about having read Lance Armstrong's book, and how much he identified with Armstrong's "never give up" attitude. In addition to traditional treatments, Jeff aggressively pursued alternative treatments and a strict diet. (Can you picture our old friend on Green Tea and a vegetarian diet...?... he was...) The last time we went out to dinner with Linda and Jeff was at a Vegan restaraunt, and he had fully embraced it.

"Jeff had continued to work until the end, going into the office two days a week, and from home a few days a week. Amazingly, he had actually taken on greater responsibilities at AIG since he was diagnosed, supervising other attorneys for the first time in his career. He and I spoke about the trials and tribulations of supervising people, and as always, he had a sensible and non-judgmental perspective on it."

Godspeed, old friend.

American Wisdom

2006-01-18T22:20:00.000-05:00

In Dr Steven Levitt's latest bestseller "Freakonomics", he mentions the very poor risk assessment people do. Specifically, friends, compare the danger between being killed in an automobile accident or dying in a terrorist attack. Now, guess which problem gets more tax dollars?

Making the point even better is www.janegalt.com with this post.

Quoth the maven (actually, the maveness)who is entitled to have an opinion:

Conservatives who want to berate me for not appreciating the threat of terrorism, let me take a little, er, pre-emptive action here. Unless you have lost the ten or so people that I bid farewell when the towers collapsed, including my first boyfriend, have watched the smoke rising off the ruins from the roof of your childhood home, have tried frantically to find out if your current boyfriend had been taking training down at the WTC that day, and have numbly tried to convince yourself that the buildings you knew so well were really and truly and forever gone as you turned up for another weary day of work at Ground Zero . . . unless you have done all those things, then please do not lecture me on terrorism. I get it.

Amen, sister. I spent 9/11/01 trying to contact friends who work for DOD. Within a week I'd found that, although I'd dealt with many of the people who died in the Navy Command Center, the victims i knew well enough to say 'hi' to were aboard American 77. I.e., I get it too.

So let me join with Sister Jane. What makes us Americans is our insistence that the government can't do certain forbidden things. Assertions, a la France, that the government won't don't cut it.

Porkbusters to Republicans: smarten up!

2006-01-13T19:00:00.000-05:00

We are bloggers with boatloads of opinions, and none of us come close to agreeing with any other one of us all of the time. But we do agree on this: The new leadership in the House of Representatives needs to be thoroughly and transparently free of the taint of the Jack Abramoff scandals, and beyond that, of undue influence of K Street.

We are not naive about lobbying, and we know it can and has in fact advanced crucial issues and has often served to inform rather than simply influence Members.

But we are certain that the public is disgusted with excess and with privilege. We hope the Hastert-Dreier effort leads to sweeping reforms including the end of subsidized travel and other obvious influence operations. Just as importantly, we call for major changes to increase openness, transparency and accountability in Congressional operations and in the appropriations process.

As for the Republican leadership elections, we hope to see more candidates who will support these goals, and we therefore welcome the entry of Congressman John Shadegg to the race for Majority Leader. We hope every Congressman who is committed to ethical and transparent conduct supports a reform agenda and a reform candidate. And we hope all would-be members of the leadership make themselves available to new media to answer questions now and on a regular basis in the future.

Read it all, and see who's signed up, here.

You don't have to address God in 6th Grade English...

2006-01-11T20:58:00.000-05:00

A year ago last Sunday, Epiphany Sunday 2005, I paid a visit to a local evangelical Episcopalian church. The people there are openly loving and caring people who do a lot of good and 'worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness' but would be unlikely to say so. After the service, the Pastor asked me what I thought and I hesitated before answering, "Well, today's music didn't have much to do with Epiphany."

I guess I should point out that music in Anglican services are supposed to reflect the theme for the day's readings. You shouldn't, for example, be singing "Away in a manger" on Good Friday.

I expect the Pastor 'got it' but I also suspect his music minister wouldn't have. And the reason he wouldn't have is because we have -- intentionally -- dumbed down Anglican Worship in the US. Any Episcopalian over the age of 40, for example, can properly use the formal English word "Wherefore" correctly without thinking about it.

The current prayer book, contrariwise, seems entirely too frothy... "Yay, God!"

My objections are mostly stylistic, or I thougth they were. Ponder with me now the following from Virginia Postrel, Economics columnist for the New York Times and writer extraordinaire in an essay she calls the "Pap-ist Threat:

Some years ago, an editor asked me how he could give his children an appreciation for the English language. He wanted them to write well. Since he's an evangelical Christian, I told him he should teach them Psalms from the King James translation of the Bible. My mother did that with me as a child, and it gave me an early sense of metaphor and rhythm. It taught me to appreciate, and understand, complex, beautiful English.

My friend didn't like my suggestion. After all, nobody reads the KJV anymore. Forget poetry (not to mention sensitivity to the underlying Hebrew), today's suburban Christianity is all about accessibility. It's been dumbed down.
You may read it all here

The incomparable Peggy Noonan

2006-01-06T20:49:00.000-05:00

The Steamroller
The road to big government reaches a dead end at Jack Abramoff.
We can only hope
Thursday, January 5, 2006 12:01 a.m.

The problem with government is that it is run by people, and people are flawed. They are not virtue machines. We are all of us, even the best of us, vulnerable to the call of the low: to greed, conceit, insensitivity, ruthlessness, the desire to show you're in control, in charge, in command.

A point that needs to be made and remade forever and ever, amen. "We mean well and do ill and ask that our ill-doing be forgiven because we are well-meaning."

--snip--

This is essentially why conservatives of my generation and earlier generations don't like big government. They don't even like government. We know we have to have one, that it is necessary, that it can and must do good, that it has real responsibilities that must be met. Madison again, in Federalist 51: "If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary. In framing a government which is to be administered by men over men, the great difficulty lies in this: you must first enable the government to control the governed; and in the next place, oblige it to control itself."

These are wise words.

But conservatives are not supposed to like big government. It's not our job. We're supposed to like freedom and the rights of the individual. (Individuals aren't virtue machines either, but they're less powerful than governments and so generally less damaging.) We're supposed to be on the side of the grass the steamroller flattens.

Are you listening, neocons? Members of the Bush/Dole/Nixon/Dewey part of the Republican party. I'd hoped you'd gone home after 1996, but it's still not too late.

--snip--

What followed was the trauma of the end of the Clinton years, the 2000 election, the Bush administration, and the historic rise in the antisteamroller party of a new operating assumption: that the steamroller will always be with us. And that if it is destined to become always and every year bigger, heavier and more powerful, then you might as well relax and learn how to run it, how to drive it and direct it. Make friends with the steamroller. Run it to your own ends and not the other team's.

This was understandable, especially after 9/11. Defense is expensive; technology has its own demands; the stakes are high.

And yet. All other parts of the government grew. The size and force of it grew in ways that were not at all necessary or crucial.

And we have a *republican* VPOTUS saying deficits don't matter.

Read it all. Read what Noonan has to say every week!

VP titles it "Get a Wife"

2006-01-01T22:36:00.000-05:00

Virginia Postrel every now and again writes something that causes them who profess and call themselves feminists to wax wroth. If I can find it online, I'll post her essay pointing out the wage gap between men and women's wages can be closed by encouraging educated women to marry uneducated men. Here's another gee-I-wish-I-could-write-like-this moment courtesy of the aforementioned Virginia Postrel who (I hope) considers her blog type-c procrastination, quoting a chap named Paul Graham:
"There are three variants of procrastination, depending on what you do instead of working on something: you could work on (a) nothing, (b) something less important, or (c) something more important. That last type, I'd argue, is good procrastination.
VP then contrasts with the latest essay from David Brooks:
Graham's point cuts against the zeitgeist. In today's NYT, David Brooks argues that, at least for those not blessed with a Y chromosome, errands are what matters most. His paean to domesticity as the highest and best use of women's time, and maybe even men's, does not conclude with an announcement that he's quitting the Times and PBS to spend more time with driving the kids around. (For those who hate Times Select, the column is on p. 8 of Week in Review.)

Taken together, these arguments address several old questions: Why, as Sir Francis Bacon asked, is it that the most important contributors to human progress have often been childless? Why did the rise of the 18th-century city, with its coffeehouses and abundance of servants, promote science, philosophy, and literature? And, of course, why have relatively few women made enduring contributions to fields that require single-minded devotion?

Quite simply: Somebody's got to do the errands of life. You can either do them yourself, hire someone to do them, or get a wife. Historically, the last has been the most common option.

Let me be clear: I do not believe there is One Best Way to live. I do not believe that the gracious life created by attending to small chores (including, but not only, those necessary to raise children) is inferior to one devoted to more focused pursuits. What I believe, and what you'll almost never see suggested by an establishment pundit, is that different people are suited to different sorts of lives and that both strategies have their downsides and their risks. (I wrote about one aspect of this topic--the politicization of parenthood--here.)

My New Year's resolution: Fewer errands, less sleep (I sleep a lot), more reading, more writing. Still to be determined: Is blogging an errand? For me at least, I suspect so. But perhaps I can find a way to manage it.

Read it all.

From TCS Daily - The Most Important Economic News of the Year

2005-12-29T16:27:00.000-05:00

Quoth the inimitable Dr Kling:
TCS Daily - The Most Important Economic News of the Year: "The politicians have done nothing to slow the growth of entitlements. The mainstream media have totally missed the most important economic news of the early 21st century, which is the strong productivity growth. The state of the economy in 2005 is that it is performing well in spite of both the pols and the pundits."

Of more interest
In a recent TCS interview, Robert Fogel suggested that productivity growth of 2 percent per year would be sufficient to ensure the soundness of Social Security. With three percent productivity growth, even Medicare may be sound.

Yep, emphasis is added.

Sacco, Vanzetti, and Upton Sinclair

2005-12-29T00:32:00.000-05:00

A note from the LA Times via "Jane Galt" of "Asymmetrical Information":
Upton Sinclair's novel "Boston" is a fictionalized account the Sacco & Vanzetti trial of the early 20th century. There is, alas, a bit of a problem:
"...Soon Sinclair would learn something that filled him with doubt. During his research for "Boston," Sinclair met with Fred Moore, the men's attorney, in a Denver motel room. Moore "sent me into a panic," Sinclair wrote in the typed letter that Hegness found at the auction a decade ago.

"Alone in a hotel room with Fred, I begged him to tell me the full truth," Sinclair wrote. " … He then told me that the men were guilty, and he told me in every detail how he had framed a set of alibis for them."

Here's the link to Jane Galt.
Here's the link to the LA Times article

I don't think it was malice; musta been ...

2005-12-26T00:59:00.000-05:00

So...
The local NBC franchise here in the DC area starts a bit on the holidays by announcing the end of the twelve days of Christmas and the beginning of Hannukah.

The twelve days of Christmas, of course, start on Christmas day. That's why Epiphany (6 Jan) is also called twelfth night.

So was the Anchor or, more likely, the newswriter speaking from ignorance or from malice?

Well, there's the old adage attributed to Bonaparte: "Never ascribe to malice what is adequately described by stupidity." That might be a paraphrase.

Does Napoleon's wit apply here?

Yep, I think so. Which invites the following question: if they're screwing this up, what else are they screwing up?

A Christmas wish for all of you...

2005-12-25T21:34:00.001-05:00

The most evocative carol for me is found in the penultimate verse of It Came Upon the Midnight Clear. Apparently Dr. Jerry Pournelle and I share the view:

O ye, beneath life's crushing load, whose forms are bending low,
Who toil along the climbing way with painful steps and slow,
Look now! For glad and golden hours come swiftly on the wing:
O rest beside the weary road, and hear the angels sing!

Yet with the woes of sin and strife, the world has suffered long
Beneath the heavenly strain have rolled two thousand years of wrong;
And man, at war with man, hears not the tidings that they bring;
O hush the noise, ye men of strife, and hear the angels sing!

For those defending themselves this night, as some did on Christmas Night, 1950, this is not meant as insult; it is a wish that it might be so. I do not think anyone in the situation of having to bear arms on Christmas Night will misunderstand or take this amiss.

And the best wishes of the nation to all our troops overseas. To those who are under arms this night, may you be safe from harm.
Amen, Doctor.
NOTA BENE: the [colorful adjective] numbskulls who created the modern Episcopal Hymnal bowdlerized this, among many other, hymns and carols. Please accept my presentation of the true lyrics as a show of deliberate disrespect to those responsible.

Everyone else, as our British cousins say, Happy Christmas!

People who fail to save for their own retirement...

2005-12-24T00:08:00.000-05:00

are irresponsible and don't deserve government assistance. Specifically, they're more irresponsible than the much whined-about teenage single moms.
Quoth econlog:

One of the main stumbling blocks to Social Security reform is the view that left to their own devices, many people will fail to save for their own retirement, and "we as a society" can't allow them to live in poverty. Objectively speaking, however, there is a strong case that people who fail to save for their own retirement are much more irresponsible than teenage single moms.

How so? You can become a teenage single mom just by yielding to impulse once. And once you have a child, it takes two decades of hard work to make up for your youthful indiscretion. I won't say "It could happen to anyone," but there are a lot of responsible adults out there who are lucky that their risky teen-age behavior didn't happen to mess up their lives.

In contrast, no one fails to save for his retirement because of a few minutes of teen-age passion. To fail to save for your retirement, you need to make the wrong decision week after week, year after year. If you're too immature to save for your retirement in your twenties, you have a second chance in your thirties, a third chance in your forties, and so on. In short, to fail to save for your retirement, you have to be consistently irresponsible for decades.
Yep, the emphasis is added

Read it all here.
or here: http://econlog.econlib.org/mt/mt-tb.cgi/1232

Also sprach the PC crowd

2005-12-19T21:52:00.000-05:00

From Dr Helen's blog: If you think that boys don't suffer from abuse at the hands of women, than you have to read this. It is the story of a 13-year-old boy who was first abused by his mother and then by the school system who treated him as a criminal rather than a victim of abuse. Why is it that liberals will go to great lengths to fight for the rights of people who are not really victims and then deny the real victims any solace? It is hard to believe that such an abusive counselor is allowed access to a school system--if I were this kid's parent--I would be down at this school in a flash.

Admittedly, it doesn't take much to get me out of the starting blocks when the educational industry starts stomping 'round the room. I dealt with at least my fair share of jackasses (and jillasses) whilst growing up back in the dark ages. BUT, an article like this really raises my blood pressure.

Tell you what, let's all send copies of the article to our congresscritters.
Congresscritter (Fill in last name)
State (s)he represents
Washington, DC 20515
It'll go faster if you add the four digit extension, which you can find here. However, it will get there with the simple address above.