Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
“…status is not the American Conservative position. Rather, conservatives believe that change for change’s sake is folly. What kind of change? At what cost? For the liberals and progressives, everything was expendable, from tradition to individualism to “outdated” conceptions of freedom. These were all tired dogmas to be burned on the alters of the new age.”
Jonah Goldberg, Liberal Fascism: The Secret History of the American Left from Mussolini to the Politics of Meaning.
Dr. Pournelle points out a sad fact about this book and the majority of those who study political science:
Goldberg’s book is an anomaly: serious students of political science shouldn’t find anything here they didn’t already know. Alas, I had to say “shouldn’t”, because a very great number of people who consider themselves serious students of political science will be shocked and astonished to discover that Fascism, Progressivism, and modern American Liberalism have many intellectual roots in common. Roosevelt’s New Deal incorporated many elements of Italian Fascism, and in fact before the mid-30’s many Western statesmen had admiring things to say about Fascism and about Il Duce Mussolini who made the trains run on time and brought prosperity — or its illusion — to Italy. Goldberg documents all this as well as the Jacobin roots of both Fascism and Progressivism. The notion that human life can be improved by central planning and tinkering with the legal and economic system is the common thread to them all.
Posted in Political Books, Politics | 1 Comment »
Thursday, April 23rd, 2009
According to the Wall Street Journal,
…members of Congress from both parties have been fully aware of [enhanced interrogation techniques] since the program began in 2002. We believed it was something that had to be done in the aftermath of the 9/11 terrorist attacks to keep our nation safe. After many long and contentious debates, Congress repeatedly approved and funded this program on a bipartisan basis in both Republican and Democratic Congresses.
By “enhanced interrogation techniques”, the WSJ is referring to techniques that would be considered light hazing in most fraternities and sororities on major college campuses across the country.
Not only has our Dear Leader has, against the advice of the current and four prior CIA directors, told the Islamofascists exactly what to expect once captured, he has also “opened the door to possible prosecution of Justice Department attorneys who provided legal advice” on the hazing techniques used. The WSJ correctly identifies this as “It seems that he has capitulated to left-wing groups and some in Congress who are demanding show trials over this program.”
Now in the cooperative spirit of bi-partisanship that our Dear Leader talks so much about, any such investigations should a deep probe into the Congressional leaders who approved of the program, including Nancy Pelosi and Harry Reid. If Pelosi, Reid, and other key democrat congressional leaders are not included and prosecuted with the same vigor as any Justice Department staffers, Republican members of Congress, or former members of the GWB administration, then it will be clearly visible to citizens of the United States that the extremist left is engaging in a purely partisan Witch Hunt.
Update: To no rational thinking adults surprise, democrat “leader” Pelosi has flat out lied about her prior knowledge.
Posted in Global War on Islamofascism, Politics | No Comments »