politics

The Political Acumen of Otto von Bismarck

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Otto von Bismarck (1815-1898) was probably the most accomplished politician that Germany has ever produced.   He was almost single-handedly responsible for the emergence of the nation of Germany during the nineteenth century.   He was appointed Prime Minister of Germany in 1862 by the Prussian King Wilhelm I (1797-1888) in the middle of a constitutional crisis in Prussia in which the Reichstag refused to authorize a state budget.   Bismarck handled this crisis with ease by using the machinery of state to collect taxes without the Reichstag thus making them irrelevant.   He continued to collect taxes and finance the state for four years until finally the Reichstag was … More after the Jump…

R2P or not?

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R2P means “Responsibity to Protect“, and is the idea that the “International Community” has an obligation to “prevent and stop genocides, war crimes, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.” This obligation extends regardless of whether or not traditional national interests are at stake. We can see that clearly in the case of the UN sanctioned attacks on Libya over the past five weeks. The question is since the West is bombing Libya to protect and save civilian lives from a government attempting to put down a rebellion, how long until we start bombing Syria since they are doing the same thing as Libya.  The even bigger question to my mind … More after the Jump…

Courtesy Patrols Outside Fort Benning

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Drudge has a link up to this story about the military instituting Courtesy Patrols (CP) in downtown Columbus, Georgia just outside the gates of Fort Benning. The story itself is very balanced and explains what a CP is what they will be doing quite well I think. I personally am in the military and have both seen and had to act as a CP during my time in the military. They are nothing remarkable. As the story makes clear, the CPs have no legal standing with regards to people who are not in the military. They do have however, and can execute, command authority over members of the military who … More after the Jump…

Can’t Play Online Poker Anymore :(

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I don’t play poker online but I Think it is kind of stupid that the Feds would waste so much time and effort stopping it, They should probably regulate it and tax it, that might even help with the Deficit. I do think the banner they put up when shutting down Poker sites is quite amusing. Full story here It is only a matter of time before there is some kind of internet policing for speech as well s amusement. Net Neutrality indeed.

Book Review: The Makers of Rome by Plutarch (Penguin Classics)

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I am currently on an arc of reading Latin classics I have not read but always wanted to. I finished the first one a few days ago, the Penguin Classics edition of The Makers of Rome by Plutarch. It is not a complete copy of Plutarch’s Lives however, it only includes the lives of nine Romans, Coriolanus, Fabius Maximus, Marcellus, Cato the Elder, Tiberius Gracchus, Gaius Gracchus, Sertorius, Brutus, and Mark Antony. Plutarch writes in an engaging style that is very easy to read and the translator does an outstanding job of converting the Latin into English while keeping his style. Plutarch is not always historically accurate; he has a … More after the Jump…

Does this Little Girl Look Like a Terrorist to You?

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This was linked on Drudge Today.   Words Fail me.   How idiotic can our “security” procedures in America get? That little girl sure looks like a threat to me. UPDATE: The TSA has posted a response/explanation at their Blog. The best out of context logic in the post is this “Recognizing that terrorists are willing to manipulate societal norms to evade detection”. In the words of some political hack in Washington who I can’t remember, it “requires of suspension of belief” to think this little girl was a terrorist or some kind of threat.

The Ryan Budget Plan- The GOP Path to Prosperity

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About a month ago I asked when we were going to have a serious conversation about our national debt, it looks like that time might be now if our Republican and Tea Party congressman have the courage to grab the moment with the release of Rep. Paul Ryan‘s budget plan.   Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin, is the author of the Roadmap for America, and is Chairman of the House Budget Committee. he outlined the new GOP budget proposal today in a piece in the Wall Street Journal titled The GOP Path to Prosperity. It seems to me that the ball is now in the Democrat’s court. They must explain why … More after the Jump…

Cultural Sensitivity?

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Is this Cultural Sensitivity or demeaning to American women? I for one, would refuse to leave the gate in one of these for simple safety reasons if nothing else. I doubt they are made out of Kevlar and seriously doubt they make the locals respect American women any more. The only thing that garners strength in Tribal societies is projecting strength, not adopting the wear of servitude. I also wonder if this photo is not photoshopped, it just does not look right to me. There is something about both the blond and black haired soldier that does not look right. I would almost swear that I have seen the blond … More after the Jump…

Samual Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations”

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Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations?, Foreign Affairs, Summer 1993, pp. 22-49 This article set off a debate in academia that continues to this day. What Huntington argues in the paper is that after the fall of communism in 1989, the world is no longer looking at a standoff between ideologies but that the world will revert to clashes between civilizations. The basic thesis is that the ideological struggle between liberal democracy and communism covered over or subsumed the natural differences between civilizations. He argues that prior to the end of the Cold War the conflicts that shaped history were primarily Western and have gone through three phases since … More after the Jump…

What is an Act of War?

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In light of the beginning of Attacks against Libya and the UN Security Council Resolution authorizing the establishment of a No-Fly Zone over part of Libya I thought it would be useful to have a post about Acts of War and historically what has been considered a legitimate reason to go to war. I will focus this post on the Westphalian System established in 1648 by the Peace of Westphalia ending the Thirty-Years War that also inaugurated the current system of Sovereign nation-states operative in the world today. The Westphalian System did not spring fully formed in 1648, mainly because it was focused on monarchical and dynastic states and not … More after the Jump…

Where is the Serious National Conversation about American Debt?

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I really try to stay away from politics but I find that I just have to say something her, even if I just howling in the wilderness and nobody is listening. Debt or at least the current and future debt of America has been much more prominent in the news lately.   It is always in the news, but people are actually, hopefully, starting to talk about addressing the issue in a serious manner.   I ran across these three pieces recently that address the issue and also talk about what America needs to do versus what it is doing. Niall Ferguson, The End of Prosperity? Fareed Zakaria, Are America’s … More after the Jump…

The Tolerance of the American Left

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Last month, after Rep. Giffords and five others were killed outside of a Safeway store in Tucson, AZ. the opinion pages were full of folks on the left blaming conservatives, the Tea Party, talk radio, and Sarah Palin for rhetoric that led the shooter to target Rep. Giffords.   A month and a half later we now know that rhetoric, political or otherwise, had absolutely nothing to do with why Jared Loughner decided to shoot his congresswoman.   We knew that almost as soon as we knew the shooter’s name;  that did not stop the left from laming conservatives anyway. The left tries to portray themselves as some sort of … More after the Jump…

History, the News, Egypt, and American Foriegn Policy

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Niall Fergusson, one of my favorite current historians recently wrote a piece in Newsweek that perfectly captures what I think is the best way to use history as a guide in determining the best way to act in the present.   Of course, he is slamming the current US Administration in this piece so that rather makes me happy too.   The piece is here.   He also went on “Morning Joe” on MSNBC and expanded on his views.

His biggest point is that the administration blew it with Egypt because they changed their mind so many times.   I love it how he uses a quote from Otto von Bismarck to illustrate what Obama did not do.   Here is the quote from the story:

“The statesman can only wait and listen until he hears the footsteps of God resounding through events; then he must jump up and grasp the hem of His coat, that is all.” Thus Otto von Bismarck, the great Prussian statesman who united Germany and thereby reshaped Europe’s balance of power nearly a century and a half ago.

Last week, for the second time in his presidency, Barack Obama heard those footsteps, jumped up to grasp a historic opportunity … and missed it completely.

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Notable Quotes about Liberalism

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I was trolling the internet today and decided to start collecting quotes about modern liberalism and post them here.   I will preface this by admitting that for the most part I am conservative both politically and socially.   Most of them I think are pithy, truthful, funny, or all three.   Well, here they are below the fold:

More after the Jump…

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