Eaglespeak has an interesting post on the efforts of Russia to solidify their claims to Arctic Mineral Resources. Russia is claiming a huge expanse of the Arctic seabed, claiming that an undersea mountain range, previously supposed to be part of Greenland  is, in fact, part of Russia's continental shelf. More here...

Related  is this series of articles that proposes ideas for dealing with the threat to Canadian sovereignty over arctic islands that is posed by...er...Denmark.

Canada, Denmark the USA, Norway and Russia all have competing and occasionally overlapping claims in the Arctic. Given the recent flexing of Russia's muscles in the area (we HAVE the receipt thank you) it is logical to focus on that rather than two of the more peaceful nation in the world....but the situation in the Davis straits is rather fuzzy legally as it was never really an issue before. Now as the Polar cap recedes and turns this rescource rich area into a major shipping lane and makes getting at those resources tenable things could get interesting. A real war between Canada and Denmark is, of course, unlikely but something similar to the cod war could actually occur.

Crazy.

Of course this is another reason for the Coast Guard to keep and augment its red hull fleet.

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Colleen Doran has 2 interesting and related posts regards the apprehension and outright fear certain intellectuals have of the new media and the coarsening or dumbing down of our culture ...see here and here.

   Now complaints about the quality of thought put forth by the rabble is not  without some merit. The history of democracies is as old as the first lynch mob, which, of course, is why this nations founders strove to give us a Republic.

The internet has vastly lowered the bar for publishing and done an end-run around the editors that were once the gatekeepers. The result, more often than not, HAS been semi literate "cranks with chips on their shoulders" typing out unfocused digressions and on the fly media reviews without the benefit of any deep literary appreciation or other expertise. To find such 'travesties of the tubes' one  need not look far....

  That example notwithstanding, I think the benefits of this unkempt stream of consciousness do outweigh the downsides. The Jayson Blair fiasco is mentioned in the comments and it is important to remember that Walter Duranty got to keep the Pulitzer given to him by those same hallowed gatekeepers.

  Is there a colossal cacophony cretins creating cartloads of craptacular crap plaguing the interweb?

Yes.

But one can turn it off or on with a mouse click...and the potential to bypass the people who fancy themselves arrestor switches on society is what really gets up many of these peoples nose. As Colleen  points out...

The artiest of the art crowd is just as inflexible, narrow-minded, and cliquish as they would presume a community of Mennonites to be; their idea of what is acceptable is different, but no less rigid in context.

The second link is closely related and bears reading as well. Both have lively comment threads that warrant a look....the second of which is launched by an accusatory comment from some Parsons wannabe who one could be forgiven for thinking is a bitter, out-of work-editor...a rather bad one.

Anyway, enough of my rambling, go read both posts.

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I am no fan of the frothing hysterical Bo-Bo's that make up most of the Kossacks. But damn....this is just profoundly stupid.

This is exactly the sort of wretched passive-aggressive sleaze we deal with on college campuses and that we oppose in the real world in opposing the "fairness doctrine".

Using the government to stifle viewpoints you don't agree with is wrong.This is one of the principals of American conservatism. (_{You should acquaint yourself with those Mr. Bambenek}).

The sweet irony of doing this to those who long for the "fairness doctrine" does not in any way mitigate the wrongness of it. Lowering ourselves to the level of the more extreme Dems rather defeats the purpose of opposing them.

Brickmuppet Blog utterly opposes this ill-conceived asshattery.

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The recent furor over the large traffic fines (and linked state income tax increases) seem pretty justified to me.

Aside from their onerous size, the tickets seem poorly geared toward saftey, and even the Governor agrees they are mainly a revenue measure.

Speed, especially on the interstates is not a major saftey concern....changing speeds are....like the sudden changing of the speed limits in Newport News (Warwick Blvd.) and Norfolk (Terminal Blvd.) downward to take advantage of this upcoming windfall.

The 20mph downswings in speed limits on rural roads like 258 in Isle of Wight county are already an issue....they tend to be sudden with minimal warning and often associated with a hill and a patrol car. This is sleazy enough without a thousand dollar fine (and a spike in taxes for years).

Traffic fines should be for satey...not revenue generation. I hope the backlash from this is VERY strong.

I seem to remember back in the early days of the republic we had a method of dealing with public officials like Gov. Kaine....I wish I could remember what that was....

                     

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 ....the alternative is worse.

Sen. John Kerry said during a C-Span appearance that fears of a bloodbath after the US withdrawal from Vietnam never materialized. He says he’s met survivors of the “reeducation camps” who are thriving in modern Vietnam. An award-winning investigation by the Orange County Register concludes that at least 165,000 people perished in the camps.

Note that 165K is a seriously lowball figure even for the camps alone. It does not take into account those killed outright by the commies nor does it deal with the genocide perpetrated against the Montagnards.It does not deal with 250,000+  boat people who died in leaky sampans trying to flee the socialist utopia inflicted upon them and it doesn't even touch the death tolls in Laos and Cambodia caused by the  fall of those nations governments to the communists which the fall of Saigon made all but inevitable.

....but it is a good place to start.

...and I'm sure survivors of the reeducation camps are going to say anything they can to prevent being put back into the fine accommodations that Kerry's efforts in the US made available to them.

Asshole....

This seems part of a larger campaign by Dems to whitewash the human catastrophe that was the result of their proudest moment.

Senator Kennedy earlier this year made this rather bizarre statement.
Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., replied, "Well, first of all, I heard the same kinds of suggestions at the time of the end of the Vietnam War. The 'Great Bloodbath,' we're going to have over 100,000 people that were going to be murdered and killed at that time. And for those of us who were strongly opposed to the war, [we] heard those same kinds of arguments."

Yeah...and those arguments proved correct...

 The purpose of this memory hole silliness is, of course, to deflect attention from what will happen if we bail on the Iraqis the way we did  the South  Vietnamese.

  There were many principled arguments and good people on the side opposing the decision to go to war in Mesopotamia. But the notion that ONCE THERE we should break our word and leave them to a Cambodia scale horror or worse is not in any way an act of good faith...It is moral cowardice, intense denial,  or the most venal politicking.

 This long war is difficult, heartbreaking, expensive in blood and treasure and, like all wars, it is a terrible and wretched thing. However, I firmly believe that given our current choices, fighting it is the best, most ethical alternative for our long term security, and  that of the Iraqis.

More hereand here.
An interview with General Petraeus here.

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A very special holiday message from Brickmuppet Blog!

It's Bastille Day everybody!
Jerry Pournelle:
On July 14 I usually write an exposition on just what
happened on Bastille Day seven prisoners, all aristocrats, were
liberated. Four forgers, two madmen, and a young man who had
challenged the best swordsman in Paris to a duel, and had been
locked up by the king at the request of the lad's father. The
forgers vanished. The madmen were put into the common madhouse.
The young aristocrat took a revolutionary name, joined the
liberation forces, and was later beheaded during the Terror. The
garrison of the Bastille consisted of retired soldiers, many of
them missing limbs, and were as much waiters and attendants as
guards, since the Bastille contained only aristocrats who were
confined in relative comfort. The garrison was slaughtered and
their heads put on pikes.

The Revolution brought in a new vision of man and government.
Before it was over, French armies had ended the Venetian
Republic, the oldest republic in history. The Revolution ended
when Napoleon Bonaparte, Emperor of the French, failed to
incorporate all of Europe into a new Empire. Revolutions often
have unintended consequences. Few people seem to learn anything
other than "Next time for sure."

Of course many important things came from the French Revolution...but as today is Bastille Day we'll focus only the positive....
.........Oh yeah....the metric system!

Well that was short.

Here is a view from Europe by the late Eric von Kuehnelt-Leddihn, (who agrees with me about the metric system!)
Read the whole thing.





This concludes our special holiday presentation.

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It's all over the 'sphere of course but here are thoughts on the Rushdie Knighthood, the British Royal Family and Monty Python by Fred Thomson.

The efforts by the two princes, Harry and William, to fight in Iraq impressed me. I was also impressed by the knighthood of author Salman Rushdie and the British reaction to the predictable outrage that followed.

That's not to say I'm a big fan of the British-Indian novelist. I don't agree with a lot of his criticism he's made of America and the UK in the past. But that's the point, really. In the West, we can disagree strongly with someone without issuing fatwas and calling for his death. We can even honor someone with whom we disagree.

 I kinda like Fred....

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Over at Captains Quarters, Ed Morrisey points out that the measure of an effective candidate may be the worry he inspires in the opposition.

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The Anchoress has a long and lucid post on the frothing anti-Bush hatred...
...on the right.
You knew, by the way, that George W. Bush favored eventual naturalization for illegal immigrants. He said it when he was Governor of Texas. He said it when you elected him in 2000, and again when you voted him in again in 2004. Then, in 2005, you said, “fix the long-standing immigration problem and fix it immediately, perfectly and exactly as we tell you to.” (C’mon, you know that’s what you said!) And when Bush responded, “but I’ve been really thinking about this issue since ‘way before I was president – even back when you weren’t thinking about it – and I disagree with your solution and here is why,” and you cried “betrayal.”


I had some related thoughts here. I have some problems with this president but I am deeply aware of the last two alternatives.  This immigration thing has utterly jumped the shark. 

Republican base is, for the first time, being as nutty and fanatical as the Kossacks. This is single issue idiocy of the sort that pushed Lieberman from the Democratic party.

Ignoring the ill conceived PR of the monomaniacal freakout over immigrants by people the press has been eager to paint as bigots for years, Ignoring the fact that competition is the basis of capitalism, ignoring the hypocrisy of the children of immigrants slamming the doors behind them...Lets look at this politically for a moment....


The fact is that there is particular irony there.

In the 1960's the Democrats, who had put up the immigration quotas in the 20's radically modified them to favor the third world over those from Europe.
The party had been taken over by the radical left at that time and they assumed that the immigrants from that part of the world would be a population of Che's  eager for socialism  and ensuring their rise to power.

Well they got it backwards...
The population of Europe has as high a percentage as we do of the sort of coddled upper middleclass BoBos and rich spoiled trustfunders who like Marx and Engels before them cannot conceive of being independent....the sort of people who have the leisure time and means to become activist lefties.

The populations from the third world have seen socialism....they have lived it and they have learned their lesson...they are coming here to get away from it.

This explains the sudden lack of support from the Dems...who actually killed the bill. Are there exceptions?

Sure...

Is LaRaza real.....yes....so's the fricking KKK last time I checked.

We need to control the border, sure...I'm with you on that... but those of us who favor family values should not be advocating the breakup of families at the whim of govt. bureaucrats....which is what the people who are freaking out over chain migration are advocating.

I'm FOR border enforcement but I'm also for letting these people in. Percentage wise we are nowhere where we were at the turn of the last century when 13 percent or more of the total population was immigrants.

That worked out pretty well for us.

There are concerns, to be sure, getting English taught to these new Americans is right at the top...but the bill these people helped kill had the first proposed requirement for English fluency before citizenship in a very long time.

This tantrum is Jacksonianism at its worst. People who are single issue voters tend not to favor any sort of compromise.....In a republic, politics IS compromise....that's how we avoid death camps.

I'm really deeply ashamed of this whole thing...

...and given the alternative that the self destruction of the Republicans makes all too likely...not a little worried.


Enough of my blather....Anchoress has more here.

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Warning: Angry, utterly off the reservation, Brickmuppet vent...

OK, consensus is this is a parody.....but the fact that one must scratch ones head and wonder is damming enough. The fact that this moronitron  is one of the 3 loose screws who raised his hand to say "I am an IDiot " is more damming.

OK perhaps I'm being too harsh ...after all, the Williams Jennings Bryan types were historically left leaning Democrats (New Dealers early progressives and such) before the were effectively purged from the party in the early 70's when that party took a hard turn even farther left.

The Faustian bargain that the Republicans made at that time was actually more rational and principled than it seems with 20/20 hindsight. That is, many of the social libertines were not (and are not) just about going out and spreading social diseases but also intensely hostile to all people of faith...anyone they felt was influenced by the 'false consciousness' of faith and generally hateful and intolerant of religion in general and Christians in particular. The deal the Republicans made was "Vote for us.We acknowledge your right to exist" which was a far better deal than the Dems were offering.

Of course the problem with the Williams Jennings Bryan types is that they pretty much originated the concepts of big government in this country. While some social standards and arrestor switches must be in place for a Republic to work, the idea of government mandating morality is not really compatible with the concept either....and from the temperance movement to the pledge of allegiance to gun control to federal welfare to the Scopes trial to the drug war...Christian "progressives" always initially led the way ...

So the outcome was predictable.

3 of the 12 presidential candidates, Brownback,  Huckabee and  Tancredo can raise their hands to say that they don't believe in science, or they don't understand it in any way...and say with a straight face that they represent the "real" conservatives.

No...I'm not being too harsh...

I've really got MORON'S ON MY TEAM!!

That debate was months ago.....but the Grand Old Party has been on an auto cannibalistic binge for some time . The Instapundit has been cataloging "The Bizzare Republican Death Wish " for over a year.

However, I think he's a bit backwards on this...the tone deafness and condescension of the White House has actually been far surpassed by the kneejerk nativist idiocy of the Jacksonian wing of the party...in many ways a subset of the WJB immigration from the Dems.

The Jacksonians have many admirable qualities...attention span and tolerance are not counted amongst them. They do have a very forthright policy on those who they consider to be potential threats to their nation . It can be summed up as "Hulk Smaaash!!!!"

There's not much room for nuance there....not much patience for a Marshall Plan or the rebuilding and extended painful years of action that this long war requires.

Certainly not much compassion for starving people who come into this country....as their ancestors did...searching for a better life.

The President is actually doing something admirable with this immigration thing. Reynolds and others are right....the administration has not sold it to the base...communication is not his strong suit....but it is fairly certain that the "base" Reynolds is referring to are the Jacksonian wing of the party who simply will not be persuaded.

  As is often the case, both sides have points.

In particular, the assimilation worries of the Jacksonians are actually valid given the moronic multiculti idiocy exhibited by the left for reasons ranging from naiveté to extreme bad faith. A nation as diverse as ours MUST have a common language. Likewise, controlling ones borders is one of the basic responsibilities of any nation. Finally the extremes of the American left and extreme Mexican nationalists (who are socialists...an odd  combination with unsavory results historically ) consider the southwest US to be rightfully Mexican Territory and actively support the idea of shifting demographics to help Mexico reclaim the territory. A decent overview of this from a fringe site is here....which is fitting linkage because the movement in question, while real, is quite far on the fringes of the Latino community...It seems to have far more support from the fringes of  the US Lefty Professor set and thuggish Che' wannabees than actual Mexican immigrants...who came here because they desperately want to be in...not Mexico boys and girls....but the U.S.A.
. They are likely NOT coming to spread the dysfunctional misery that is currently the USM over twice its current area.....as they'd just have to walk farther to get out of it again.

Of course,  if we make them feel sufficiently unwelcome....well....anythings possible...
...oh wait...

    Numbers are funny things...the NUMBERS of immigrants are truly scary, until you correct for proportions in relation to the current US population. IF we can get a handle on who's coming in, turn back those who are crooks or contagious,  we will be stronger  for their  entrance...for one thing they do work.

That "If" is a big one....
I do think that more needs to be done in border enforcement and would support something as robust along the border as the great wall of China... which the Chinese built long ago with nothing but stone knives, bearskins, and coolies...we now have Bulldozers, Backhoes, and...immigrant Latino laborers...so there is no excuse for this chain link fence silliness.

As I understand it the new point system gives a great deal of weight to English language skills...a vast improvement over the current situation which is  what makes this immigration thing not just compassionate but fairly good for the nation...It is not perfect...no creation of man ever is...but it is a step forward and as good as we could possibly get with a Democrat congress...and far better than we had any reason to hope...the crucial assimilation provisions are likely to be the first targets of the Dems...for who every solemn deal is but one step towards Socialized everything and what they believe will be the fulfillment of Marx's prophecy and  leftist utopia...er..."this time fer shur"

Thus to ensure this immigration deal is actually a good thing one would hope that the Republicans would get back to their stated principals and get fricking electable....

Alas....

I'VE GOT MORONS ON MY TEAM

 The Republicans came to power in '94 to end the wasteful, corrupt pork heavy Democrat majority. They did a good job at first, the Contract with America set laudable goals, some actually visionary and many signed term limits agreements...many of those honored those agreements, or, if given congressional leadership positions, only extended their agreements by 2 or 4 years before going back to real jobs.....those that remained  were not so enamored of reform....

The Republican party is a far more diverse tent than the Dems are now, the  Moralizing Populists and the   Jacksonians are often at odds with each other and  with the more libertarian Goldwater wing of the party, which has been the overarching idealogical base of the Party since the '60s....one of the basic tenets of that wing is that the USA is a REPUBLIC...there are very specific limits on what the federal government can do and that there are things local that the congress has no business funding directly as it becomes just too effing corrupting....

  Which is how we got on the Bridge to Nowhere....

The Republican congress of the early naughts, self purged of the thrifty contract with America true believers, managed to bloat the federal budget beyond all reason. The POTUS, trying to keep bipartisan support for a long, difficult and necessary war vetoed NOTHING in hopes that this terribly expensive tribute would buy support...the Dems reacted as they did in the '70's, ....a predictable outcome of appeasement throughout the ages...of course the Republicans also added bridges, ethanol boondoggles and a zillion poorly overseen projects of increasingly dubious merit, for the veto pen was never raised. They became addicted to the power of deciding who would get their favor and wallowed as pigs in the favors of those eager to win it.

The Goldwater wing....disgusted....stayed home....(we'll show them a lesson!) The Democrats were swept into power and, unsurprisingly, have, in 5 months proved the Republicans pikers in the corruption department...

No the voters who demanded adherence to their parties principles were not the morons here....it was the Party Leadership....where, apparently no lesson was learned.

I am truly in the stupid party....

The only alternative is vastly more unsavory. 

I'm in Hell....

Thanks to the mighty and wise Pixy for the Heliocentric link.

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Via E-Mail
Cassandra over at Villainous Company has posted a long and thoughtful missive on the challenges the Republic faces given the erosion of presidential power.

Yes, I said erosion...there are those who are convinced that this President is setting himself up as Emperor...While a worry for any Republic, regards this guy, I've always been skeptical of that....the non oppression of his most venomous critics being a case in point. Cassandra makes a very good (and worrying) case that the opposite is in fact happening

The office of the president has to be able to make deals, set strategy, and set some form of guidance in foreign policy with the general assurance that a course will be maintained at least until the next election. If the public does not like it....we have elections every 4 years.

This is one of the differences between a Republic and a Democracy. It is also getting very heavily eroded to the point that the office of the POTUS is having its hands tied in ALL things.

Read the whole thing...

Update:
And in a different but related vein...
(and I warn you, a rather more partisan one )
... read this too.

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