Post a Comment On: Sipsey Street Irregulars

[Image] The wisdom of the famed Alabama philosopher, Mrs. Gump: "Stupid is as stupid does, Forrest." A few months ago I attended a two day conference on the subject of the future of U.S.-Russian relations, attended by an impressive array of officials from Administrations past and present and experts on things Russian. One of the subjects discussed was the possibilities for additional, even more dangerous crises between our two countries. There were lots of potential flash points identified, beyond the current crisis in Ukraine, ranging from the Baltics to Kaliningrad, Moldova, Kazakhstan and the Arctic. But for each of these there were also “cooler” heads who argued that it would be stupid for Putin to initiate a new crisis in any of these places. After all, given the declining state of the Russian economy, technology base, demographics and even military capacity, he was playing with a very weak hand. Finally, one former senior Pentagon official interrupted to say “you can’t take stupid off the table.” Most every war happens because of miscalculation about means and ends. The more the enemies of liberty -- the beasts in human form with their insatiable appetites for collectivist tyranny -- sense weakness, the bolder they become. Thus, tyranny by executive fiat concerning firearms SEEMS to be a non-starter and a political death wish by every modern example (just ask Bill Clinton why his party lost control of the House of Representatives in 1994 or Al Gore why he lost the 2000 election) but then, “you can’t take stupid off the table.” It all depends upon whether Obama is trying to establish a traditional political "legacy" or whether the Kenyan Candidate is out to merely destroy the country. If it is the latter, then his "stupidity" doesn't look so stupid after all.