Wonderful Matters

In today's Los Angeles Times was a piece by their in-house pundit Doyle McManus, titled "A Coalition of Frenemies." I didn't read it, but I can predict what he'd say. Correct me if I'm wrong, I don't mean to be presumptuous, not at all. But surely he'll talk about how the bestest of bestest diplomacy is required, one that tries reeeally hard to get conflicting interests to just jolly well get together to defeat the common enemy, that dratted Islamicism -- errrrrgh do we reeeally hate that Islamicist threat errrrrrrrgh... Oh brother. What's new. It's all just the latest idiocy from World blappers getting their cues from World megaphone holders many of whom are the most eloquent and erudite blappers in the most revered media and education institutions, and people like McManus just labor to try to sound the most boffo. But nothing changes. People wage war with one another, often in large groups, often asking Caesar to join their skirmishes, ...

Virtually every news orifice out there is showcasing their polls on Iraq, this on the eve of top U.S. general-in-Iraq David Petraeus' report tomorrow-- I think it's tomorrow. What they're asking are things like "What do you think about our progress in Iraq?" and "Do you think Petraeus will give an accurate assessment of things?" Really, what should be asked is, "What do believe about what the media spews at you?" It blows my mind that so many have something to say about things they just haven't the faintest idea about. "38% say this, while 57% say that." It reminds me of an Onion piece that I just have to provide a link for here . Oh cynical me. Thing is, as I was peeking around a bit at the worship of the God David Petraeus (remember, even the most zealous detractors of everything "Bush" are themselves some of the most pious devotees), it came upon me how to precisely say what Ellen Tauscher is actually saying when she ...

Recently Congress passed an immigration reform bill that says a bunch of stuff about what to do about the illegal immigration situation. What this legislation does is merely carve in stone the status quo: a lot of people coming into this country from Mexico-- and staying for some time-- because the political and economic conditions in that country are so pathetic. The elite punditry do a lot of bouncing and banging off a bunch of walls that have something to do with the issue-- it makes your head spin watching it. But if you carefully look at immigration it can be narrowed down to this: 1. A whole lotta people hate living in a crappy place and want to come to the U.S. 2. The U.S. only has so much productive capacity-- as impressive as it is-- and an inordinate increase in population does strain that. 3. The U.S. can do one of two things to ameliorate this: Put an electric fence along the border with great big signs every fifty feet or so that say in Spanish, "If you touch this fen...

The talk around the country is the release of the Iraq Study Group Report, and its recommendations regarding U.S. involvement in Iraq. I got the gist of what they were saying, and certainly all good American Catholicists will have their opinion about what it says and what we should do. Does it recommend what Rome did? If I'm not mistaken, I believe Rome conquered a territory by rounding up all the king's lieutenants and executing every one. Every single one of them. They then brought the king to Caesar's rostrum for all to see, and dropped him to the floor where Caesar placed his foot on his neck and asked him a simple question. "Are you with me, or your former country?" If he answered "Caesar," he was allowed to live. If he answered the latter, he too was executed. Saddam Hussein has already made his choice. Why is contemporary Rome allowing all of his lieutenants to run around fomenting what everyone now concedes is a civil war? Certainly at th...