Miscellaneous Threads Worth Reviewing:

My comments will be interspersed...

UN Confirms: WMD smuggled out of Iraq? (The Anchoress)

Those who have thought it strange that despite all the so-called "evidences" against "WMD's" and all the "Bush Lied" assertions made by various nattering nabobs why your host has not reversed course on his long-enunciated position on the war in Iraq;{1} well, it is quite simple really.

First of all, I take a long view on these matters and know well that these things take a while to round into shape.{2} Secondly, I am quite aware of the problems with a round the clock media influence{3} and how it can misrepresent more complex arguments quite easily.{4} Thirdly, your host never put any of his eggs into the WMD basket to begin with so all of the shrieking back and forth on this issue was seen by me as a case of missing the forest for the trees to a significant extent.{5}

And fourthly, your host has been an adherent to the "Syria Hypothesis" since before the war started and has noted this in various ways on this very weblog subsequent to the war.{6} Nonetheless, it is nice to see the long view approach that your host takes on issues such as this appear to receive yet more vindication...not to mention Our view that the media has an obvious bias in favour of quackish liberalism. But enough on that subject for now.

Moving onto the Captain's Quarters, there are these four threads worth considering:

Louis Freeh: Let's Get Hearings On Able Danger

The summary of the above thread is as follows (in his words):

We need to press Arlen Specter and Pat Leahy to fight the DIA and issue subpoenas if necessary. One man has already sacrificed his career for this effort, and that sacrifice should not pass unrewarded.

As one who has gone on record supporting a focus on Able Danger{7}, I cannot disagree in the slightest with the above assertion. Bug your senators people...including Senator Arlen Spector who expressed interest in this back in September but may well get wishy washy in true congressional fashion on the matter in question. Of course those of us who have Maria Cantvotewell and Patty Murray (the latter of whose lips have been firmly attached to the backside of Robert "Sheets" Byrd for the past thirteen years), it will not make much of a difference but one must try nonetheless. Moving from Able Danger to Democratic cowardice, we have this thread for consideration:

What Could Be More American Than A Vote?

Just a taste...

The Republicans made the right move -- instead of debating the issue through the media, they took the Democratic demands and introduced it as a resolution for debate where rhetoric actually counts, and where both sides get equal time. In the Democratic world, that equates to something vaguely unfair. They tried to hide behind a procedural block, and when that didn't work, they screamed and hollered in support of the idea of withdrawal -- and then promptly voted against it when it counted.

Since I cannot improve on what was just noted by the good captain, let us move onto the third thread:

Woodward Apologetics 101

This quote is priceless:

[J]ournalists only believe in protecting sources when leaks come from fellow liberals and/or serve to embarrass conservatives.

In fact, that quote belongs in the long-running "points to ponder" series so look for it in the future to be added. Moving on...

Iranians Admit Getting Blueprint For Nuclear Warhead (Captain Ed)

A show of hands please for those who trust in the UN to handle this matter properly by themselves...anybody...anybody... did not think so.{8}

Freedom Has a Taste the Protected Will Never Know (Beth Cleaver)

Well said. However, that is not to say that those of us who are protected by the freedom our fighting soldiers provide do not have an awareness of what they do as well as an appreciation for it. But we have more from Beth including this gem:

Boogie to Baghdad

I do not consider myself unfamiliar with the divers threads surrounding the war on terror subject but I must confess to not being familiar with this one (until now). It is in the 9/11 Commission Report; however I have not read most of it...mainly because they refused to deal adequately with Able Danger and (therefore) the ultimate position they take is significantly tainted as a result. Nonetheless, thanks for the heads up...another nail in the metal-filled coffin lid of the "Bush Lied" canard.

Laziest Post Ever

No Beth, that is the second laziest post ever. I still hold the record (I think) for the laziest post ever and it can be viewed HERE.{9}

403-3

Of course since there are 435 house members, a vote like that means there were twenty-nine people who either (i) abstained from voting or (ii) were absent. Still though, for all the Democratic congressional bluster about demanding "immediate withdrawal", when put to a vote, the craven way many of those windbags responded is quite telling.

Whatever else you want to say about Cynthia McKinney, (D-GA), José Serrano, (D-NY), and Robert Wexler, (D-FL) -at least they put their vote where their mouth is. Moving on...

The Iraq War: A History Lesson (Michelle Malkin)

Sounds to me like a worthy project. By the way, readers who peruse my post defending the use of force in Iraq will notice that I include situations and events from the 1990's in that assessment. The reason is that they are not an insignificant part of the overall equation. However, to include stuff that predates 9/11 is to shoot holes in the "Bush Lied" cadaver-of-an-argument so it is not surprising to me that those sorts ignore that stuff.

And via Michelle's blog we find this thread from a relatively new site called "All Things Conservative":

Operation Clean Sweep and Iraq Update (Bill Crawford)

Once again, the alternative media has to report the news that the MSM does not want to report for (presumably) ideological reasons.

Where the WMDs Went (Jamie Glasnov)

Former intelligence officer Bill Tierney concurs with your host both with regards to the war approach viz. Iraq as well as the Syria hypothesis...something which I remind you that the Duelfer Report did not rule out of the equation.

Huge Anti-Terror Protest in Jordan (Little Green Footballs)

Can anyone think of an MSM source other than the Washington Times who has reported on this event???

Kurt Vonnegut: Moonbat (Little Green Footballs)

Well, at the very least that will probably get Vonnegutless some feature coverage over at a certain site aptly called Treasonous Communist Rubbish.{10}

And finally, some of the stuff you can find with a word search at wikipedia include the following:

Backward message (From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia)

I cannot believe someone actually put this into wikipedia!!! Nonetheless, I include it here since it mentions an album I wrote a review for Amazon on. (The rough draft of which will be posted to this weblog before the end of the month.)

Besides, it should stand to reason that a bad message played backwards on a record logically has its problems. After all, if we have something bad being played backwards it is akin to adding two numbers together of equal value, one positive and one negative (i.e. 2+-2). But then again, simple logic is often a problem for those who spend their time panting and otherwise hyperventilating over "backwards messages" on recordings along with various and sundry other forms of useless drivel (read: idiotarians and moonbats of various persuasions).



Notes:

{1} Why Those Who Hold Out For Peaceful Solutions With Iraq Are Wrong (circa February 9, 2003)

Nary a jot nor tittle of what I wrote in that post (nearly three years ago) has been altered by subsequent supposed "findings" or "facts" about WMD's, their existence or non-existence, etc. That is not to say that finding WMD's either in Iraq or elsewhere would not bolster the arguments made of course but an absence of them does not hurt my view at all.

{2} Points to Ponder on "Weapons of Mass Destruction" by Amir Taheri (circa December 14, 2003)

{3} Miscellaneous Reflections on the Most Recent Beheadings and the War on Terror--An Audio Post Part I (circa September 22, 2004)

Miscellaneous Reflections on the Most Recent Beheadings and the War on Terror--An Audio Post Part II (circa September 22, 2004)

{4} The media in its mainstream incarnations should be taken with many grains of salt if not a saltshaker with regards to any pronouncements it makes on the aforesaid complex issues. This is the foundation of the McElhinney Media Dictum finally defined after many years of adherence last year at the Rerum Novarum Miscellaneous BLOG.

{5} Readers who have followed this weblog for a long time are aware that I never in the entire subject of the war in Iraq -even from the earliest of the postings where I took an unequivocal position in favour of the utilization of the military option there to the more immediate post war period and beyond to the present time- placed any of my eggs in the WMD basket. For those who wondered about my reasons for this, you now have some of them. In light of how many commentators are tossed to and fro with whatever the immediate media zeitgeist happens to say, it does not hurt on occasion to point to the very solid trackrecord of your weblog host and how often he has avoided falling into those traps. [Excerpt from Rerum Novarum (circa September 16, 2005)]


{6} Here is a list of many of the threads where this was noted explicitly or otherwise:

More on the Iraq War, the Syria Hypothesis, and the Duelfer Report (circa June 8, 2005)

Briefly on Iraq, WMD's, and Another Pseudo-"Progressivist" War Dogma Bites the Dust (circa March 14, 2005)

The Iraq - Al Queda Connection (circa September 18, 2004)

More on Extreme Ideologies (circa August 31, 2004)

Miscellaneous Mutterings on David Kay and His Testimony (circa January 30, 2004)

Points to Ponder on "Weapons of Mass Destruction" by Amir Taheri (circa December 14, 2003)

{7} Among which are these excerpts:

I surmize that...the existence of Able Danger and its coverup will prove to be a huge black mark on the previous administration. And in light of Hillary's longtime designs on the presidency, Able Danger would not be a benefit to her cause to put it mildly...

As I have noted in private correspondence to a few individuals, what he has done (in writing a book about Able Danger and 9/11) and what he is saying (in promoting his book on the various media curcuits), Rep. Curt Weldon has taken quite a gamble here. Bryan is right about him essentially going "all in" with what he is doing (to use a Texas hold'em expression) in that if he is called and does not produce the cards, he will be finished politically. However, if he can deliver on what he says he can, then his prestige will increase. In fact, if the latter proves to be true, look for Rep. Weldon to become a Republican darkhorse candidate for the presidency in 2008 (whether he wants it or not). My money is on Weldon's gamble paying off because generally speaking people do not make public stances like this unless they can deliver. [Excerpts from Rerum Novarum (circa September 16, 2005)]

And these links:

On Able Danger and A Potential Defense Department Coverup (circa September 21, 2005)

Briefly Revisiting Able Danger (circa October 20, 2005)

"Focus on Able Danger Stupid" Dept. (circa November 2, 2005)

"Focus on Able Danger Stupid" Revisited (circa November 3, 2005)

{8} Those who did raise their hands, I will be nice and ask that you put the bong down and wait a while before voting again (either in what I just asked you, in the 2006 elections, etc).

{9} It is also perhaps the only time in the history of Rerum Novarum that the title for a post was longer than the post itself actually.

{10} An entity whose entire approach to complex issues is a mixture of equal parts moonbat and idiotarian with a serial propensity towards dowdification.

Briefly on Claude Frederic Bastiat and The Law:

The following note was sent to your host by a friend who maintains a very large website with various interconnected themes. Their words will be in shale font.

In adding new content to the 'Church and Liberal Tradition' website today I realized I was long negligent in adding Frederic Bastiat to the list of intellectual precursors:

Claude Frederic Bastiat

As well as adding 'The Law' to the recommended reading section. Just wanted to let you know the matter is resolved. =)

No problemo. I have come to consider that book as a prerequisite for properly understanding law and its function in society...so much so that anyone with a degree in economics or a liberal arts field who is not familiar with The Law, has a useless degree as far as I am concerned.

With regards to the Whig classification, I am not sure that Claude Frederic Bastiat would identify himself as a Whig though. (I guess it depends on how that term is defined.) He certainly supported free trade though I do not think for a minute he would support NAFTA or CAFTA.{1} I cannot see him supporting the crippling business and regulatory climate of businesses in this country and then NAFTA/CAFTA making it easy to go a short distance where these burdens are not a factor (i.e. Mexico, Central America, etc). If anything, he would support free trade without the artificial constraints imposed by useless taxes and regulations in the American climate.

If the only thing that stood between us and Mexico was the wages issue, I do not believe it is likely that many companies would move. But when there is the tons of red tape and other garbage added on top of the wages issue, I have a hard time faulting companies who choose to leave for leaving. The problem is squarely that of the federal government intervening where it has no business intervening and (furthermore) where one could argue that from a constitutional standpoint they are limited in their ability to intervene. Not that the feds care a whit about the Constitution of course (except when it benefits them to). But that is another subject altogether.

Note:

{1} Briefly on CAFTA and So-Called "Free Trade" (circa July 29, 2005)

Points to Ponder:
(On "Ignorance" and "Education")

My grandparents were ignorant people by our standards and my grandfather held only lowly jobs. But their home was spiritually rich because all the things done in it, not only what was specifically ritual, found their origin in the Bible’s commandments, and their explanation in the Bible’s stories and the commentaries on them, and had their imaginative counterparts in the deeds of the myriad of exemplary heroes. My grandparents found reasons for the existence of their family and the fulfillment of their duties in serious writings, and they interpreted their special sufferings with respect to a great and ennobling past. Their simple faith and practices linked them to great scholars and thinkers who dealt with the same material, not from outside or from an alien perspective, but believing as they did, while simply going deeper and providing guidance. There was a respect for real learning, because it had a felt connection with their lives. That is what a community and a history mean, a common experience inviting high and low into a single body of belief.

I do not believe that my generation, my cousins who have all been educated in the American way, all of whom are M.D.s or Ph.D.s, have any comparable learning. When they talk about heaven and earth, the relations between men and women, parents and children, the human condition, I hear nothing but clichés, superficialities, the material of satire. I am not saying anything so trite as that life is fuller when people have myths to live by. I mean rather that a life based on the Book is closer to the truth, that it provides the material for deeper research in and access to the real nature of things. Without the great revelations, epics, and philosophies as part of our natural vision, there is nothing to see out there and eventually little left inside. The Bible is not the only means to furnish a mind, but without a book of similar gravity, read with the gravity of the potential believer, it will remain unfurnished. [Allan Bloom: From The Closing of the American Mind pgs. 59-60 (c. 1987)]