Politics

Ahh, Politics. Everybody talks about politics at least sometimes don’t they?

Book Review – Iron Kingom: The Rise and Downfall of Prussia, 1600-1947 by Christopher Clark

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This massive tome lays claim to being a complete history of Prussia, and if he doesn’t achieve it, he doesn’t miss it by much. It is fairly large at over 700 pages but Dr. Clark has a pleasant writing style that makes the book easy to read. He is not so much recounting events as using the historical events to tell the story of Prussia. The book opens with the retelling of the Allies abolishment of Prussia as a political unit in 1947 then goes right to the beginning of Prussia with the establishment of Prussia as a political unit under German sovereignty under the Great Elector in the years … More after the Jump…

The Decline and Fall of the United States?

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There has been much talk and discussion both in editorials and on various internet forums about the pending decline of the supposed US “empire” or the USA itself. I was thinking about this on the way back from dropping my wife off at work this morning and the more I think about it, the more I think it could only possibly happen if America lets it happen. The USA is not comparable to the UK prior to their fall from Great Power status post WWII. The disparity between the size of the two nations both physical and in population is too great for their to really be a valid comparison. … More after the Jump…

Endorsing Herman Cain

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This piece by Charles Kradlec is one of the most ringing well written endorsements of Herman Cain I have seen.   It is well worth reading your self.   The conclusion of the piece says it all: When we vote for an individual to be president, it is an act of trust.   I choose Herman Cain because his policies would lead to a more prosperous, more secure America and a more just society. I trust Herman Cain to be president because he trusts liberty and the American people to move America forward to the great nation it aspires be. I could not agree more.   I heartily hope and … More after the Jump…

Gotta Love the Onion

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This was one of the headline stories on the Onion today: Historians Politely Remind Nation To Check What’s Happened In Past Before Making Any Big Decisions. Hilarious, Just Hilarious

Knowledge of history and democracy

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Text of Declaration of Independence Saw an interesting article today: Back to School, Back to U.S. History Basics from George Nethercutt is probably one of the best arguments I have read for emphasizing historical literacy in schools that I have seen in a long time. I have posted before about the general lack of civics knowledge in America and it is worth saying again and again that civics and history knowledge is essential to the functioning of American democracy. The argument that if the citizens of a country lack knowledge about the historical roots of their government and nation then they will not long keep either is very true. Is … More after the Jump…

Rick Perry on Social Security

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Being a Texas resident I like Rick Perry so I will probably be posting a lot about him in the run up to next year’s election.   I predict that Perry will win the Republican nomination and trounce Obama.   The question is who will be his running mate?  I think and hope it will be Herman Cain. Here is the first link:  A commentary piece from Perry in USA Today

China: A Potential or Current Threat?

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Jed Babbitt has an excellent piece on RCP today that talks about the potential threat China represents to the US and by implication, the rest of the Western world.China’s Economic Sword.   People have been pointing to the potential threat China poses for at least the past twenty+years and are almost invariably poo-pooed as being unrealistic and that China does not pose a threat to the US they just want to modernize and bring the fruits of that modernization to their own people.   I tend to think that China is indeed a threat and a threat we in the West ignore at our own peril. There are several developments … More after the Jump…

BOOK REVIEW: Civilization: The West and the Rest by Niall Ferguson

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I have read several of Niall Ferguson’s books and while I may not always agree with him hi writing style and analysis are always interesting and thought provoking.   Civilization: The West and the Rest is no different.   I have the UK edition of the book, I doubt it is significantly different from the US edition except for the cover, but cannot guarantee it. In this book Dr. Ferguson attempts to analyze and explain why the West, which he defines as European and countries with a European heritage, has prospered so much over the past 500 years and how the West managed to control so much of the globe. … More after the Jump…

The Fall of Qaddafi and the future of the “Arab Spring”

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I wrote about the war/action/conflict/kinetic what have you in Libya when it kicked off in March, April, and again in June. With the rebels now storming Tripoli itself and being on the verge of success under the cover of NATO, the question now becomes what will the successor regime look like. I will guess here and say that it will be a notional democracy wit an oligarchy of strongmen in power. They will also make all the right noises to placate the soft-heads in the west and make them feel good about their policy of R2P. It will probably not be long before the new regime starts hunting down Qaddafis … More after the Jump…

Schoolhouse Rock and Civic Knowledge

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Ace of Spades put up an excellent post a few weeks ago about the lack of Civics knowledge in this country.http://ace.mu.nu/archives/318322.php#318322 The best part of the post are the links to the old Schoolhouse Rock videos that just about everyone older than 30 should remember. I fondly remember them from Saturday morning’s when I was kid. Anyway, check out the post and watch the videos too. Here is a great site to go and test your civics knowledge: The BBHQ Great American Civics Quiz. There are 54 questions on the test. I got a 46, I guess I need to study some more.  🙁 Post your score in the comments.

A Balanced Budget Amendment

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Here is an excellent piece from the CATO Institute on why the US needs a Balanced Budget Amendment.   It includes this awesome graphic illustrating the way our national debt has grown over the last thirty-years.   After looking at that can anyone doubt that America as a nation needs to quit borrowing money and spending it like a drunk sailor on Liberty?  The issue with America, specifically our government, is that they have gotten addicted to spending money we don’t have.   I have said for years that if I ran my personal accounts like the government does theirs I would be in jail for fraud.   It is … More after the Jump…

A Great One from the WSJ

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The First Rule of Liberalism: Government failure always justifies more government. That is one of the best lines I have seen in a while. Thanks to the Best of the Web Team at the Wall Street Journal for coming up with it. It is just about as good as Reagan’s famous nine most terrifying words in the English language are, ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help.’

Germany’s Current Strategic Position

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At the present time, Germany is in a strategic position unparalleled in its history.   The German state shares no borders with any potential enemies in the near future.   Historically Germany has had to contend with one or more enemies sharing contiguous borders with it and rarely has Germany been able to count on outside help in combating these enemies.   As a continental as opposed to maritime power this situation is unprecedented for Germany with her short coastline and long land borders.   Historically Germany has always shared a border with at least one enemy whether at peace with them or not. The list of historical enemies is … More after the Jump…

Last Shuttle Mission

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The last shuttle mission will go up on Friday July 8th. The Mission, STS-135 by Space Shuttle Atlantis will the 135th and final shuttle mission and mark the end of an era at NASA. What is really pathetic is the fact that their is no follow on manned orbiter for the US space program. We, the US, has ceded the lead in space to Russia and China and probably Japan. The president has decreed that henceforth the US will depend on other countries and private companies to put American Astronauts into orbit. That is just pathetic and I cannot understand the logic behind that decision. Everybody should have to observe … More after the Jump…

Tilting at Windmills: What the Hell is Obama, NATO, and the West Doing in Libya?

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I have been pondering this one for a while now.  What exactly, is the west trying to accomplish in Libya?  I have posted on this before here and here, and I am still puzzled as to what we are trying to accomplish in Libya, protect so-called innocent civilians or topple Qaddafi’s regime? The stated goal of the administration is to protect civilians in line with the UN Security Council resolution # 1973, but the way in which the air campaign is being waged certainly makes it seem as if toppling Qaddafi is the goal of the bombing.  Their were intense air attacks yesterday, and one of his son’s was killed … More after the Jump…

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