Wince and Nod

Let's all ask the President to resign!

2011-07-25T21:40:00.001-05:00

Contact the President at : http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Contact the Vice President at : http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact-vp/
Contact the Speaker at: http://www.speaker.gov/Contact/

Apparently the Senate Majority Leader only wants to hear from Nevada.
Here is what I wrote to President Obama and copied the Vice President and the Speaker:

Dear Mr. President,

Please tender your resignation at once. You should have accepted the deal the House and Senate leadership produced yesterday. This is the last straw. There is no way that the Vice President can do worse than you are doing. It's true that you have to deal with the collapse of a 150 year old domestic political method going back to Bismarck. It's hard for the captain to deal with a sinking ship that he thought could never sink. Yet you will not work, unlike the Vice President. You are always and only talk, talk, talk. The Vice President likes to talk, but he is at least talk, talk, work, sometimes, talk, work, talk and every so often work, talk, talk. You alternate between petulant whining and angry, irresponsible demagoguery. When the Vice President whines you can't tell because he is smiling and upbeat, and his irresponsible demagoguery is of the happy warrior type. He frequently speaks responsibly. You only speak responsibly when you are trying to simulate a responsible adult. Real responsible adults don’t constantly whine. Real responsible adults don’t constantly engage in angry, irresponsible demagoguery. And real adults do the work.

This is especially distressing because you claim to understand the Constitution. The Executive Branch is supposed to produce concrete plans rapidly. This is it's virtue. You almost never produce concrete plans, with your surge in Afghanistan being the notable exception. That one practically had to be beaten out of you. Right now the House produces concrete plans faster than the Executive Branch. Even the Senate, which is supposed to be the deliberative branch, seems to be working faster than you are.

Clearly you were built for the Senate, where deliberate, deliberate, deliberate works fine. Please beat the Peter Principle and resign.

Yours,
Thomas L. DeGisi

It Was Always Obvious...

2011-01-09T21:56:00.000-06:00

... that the Iraq war was justified to stop Hussein from getting nukes.

Progressive Policies Harm The Poor

2010-07-05T14:00:00.004-05:00

Reverend Jim Wallis understandably believes that progressive policies are the most Christian social policy. It is understandable because he believes in God the Father, Jesus, His Son and us as adopted children in Christ. Progressive policies are a natural extension of the Christian family, which is a an authoritarian, socialist institution. God and Christ are the heads of the larger Christian family and parents are the head the smaller Christian families which make up the larger. We love our families and we want to have the same kind of nurture only bigger.

But Wallis is mistaken.

Here is what God had to say about the government, in I Samuel 8:

11 He said, "This is what the king who will reign over you will do: He will take your sons and make them serve with his chariots and horses, and they will run in front of his chariots. 12 Some he will assign to be commanders of thousands and commanders of fifties, and others to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and still others to make weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. 13 He will take your daughters to be perfumers and cooks and bakers. 14 He will take the best of your fields and vineyards and olive groves and give them to his attendants. 15 He will take a tenth of your grain and of your vintage and give it to his officials and attendants. 16 Your menservants and maidservants and the best of your cattle [b] and donkeys he will take for his own use. 17 He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his slaves. 18 When that day comes, you will cry out for relief from the king you have chosen, and the LORD will not answer you in that day."

The authoritarian dream Wallis embraces fails. It is not Godly. The authoritarian dream will make people suffer. And, as has always been the case, the rich will suffer the least and the poor the most.

In economic terms, the family does not scale. At the microeconomic level, the family is wonderful for the poor, the middle class and the rich. It has been so since the beginning. But at the macroeconomic level it is free choice, the free market, liberty and the creative destruction of capitalism that is wonderful for the poor, the middle class and the rich. Since the beginning free choice, the free market, liberty and creative destruction have been how families have interacted with other families.

God is wildly into freedom. He could have built robots. He did not.

It's also plain that God is wildly into creative destruction, even if we aren't. That was his plan to save our souls. How is Heaven going to be implemented? The old world will pass away!

So, Reverend Jim, I'm afraid you need to embrace the free market at the macroeconomic end. For the poor. For children. So we can have more justice and more peace.

I was inspired by this article: Is the Tea Party a Christian Movement?

It's Time To Stand Strong For Israel

2010-06-09T12:28:00.000-05:00

American policy must be an utter condemnation of Turkey's support of Hamas and Hebollah. The Turks are peddling vicious anti-American and anti-Israeli propaganda at home. Their news reports that our soldiers clogged the Euphrates with Iraqi bodies and that Americans and Jews conspired to sell Iraqi organs. Mein Kampf is a best seller.

America must move our Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. We must move carriers into the Eastern Mediterranean. We must pledge to enforce the blockade ourselves, including sinking any Turkish warships which attempt to defend another flotilla. We must demand that Turkey pay a 200 million dollar indemnity to Israel for their support of terrorists. If the Turks don’t agree (and it is OK to negotiate the amount down to half that) we must demand they be kicked out of NATO. If they are not, we must leave NATO ourselves.

The Turks are showing every sign of becoming genocidal once more – to which I say “Never again”.

A firm hand will prevent much bloodshed – including Turkish blood. As our good allies during the Cold War, they deserve firmness to save their own lives.

All The World's Not A Stage

2010-05-18T19:30:00.000-05:00

So Jonah Goldberg points out that following our habitual scripts doesn't make sense. Specifically the liberal script which rapidly condemns bigotry against blacks by a white person, but cannot condemn genocidal bigotry against Jews by a Muslim person. That said, I need to be careful about my own scripts.

Hot Enough To Fry An Egg

2010-05-15T22:48:00.002-05:00

James points out that you can cook eggs on a shovel - among other uses.

Rules Aren't Smooth

2010-04-07T18:14:00.004-05:00

This Joel On Software article explains why software standards don't work nearly as well as we want. This is also why the rule of law does not work as well as we want. And why Bibles and written constitutions do not work as well as we want.

I like more liberty and less law.

How To Develop A Political Grassroots Movement

2009-05-16T21:22:00.001-05:00

I know this article is about software, but I think it can be applied to other problems.

An Important Decision

2009-05-09T19:15:00.002-05:00

Here's something anyone who drives a car should know: The Truth About Hiring a Criminal Defense Lawyer.

Persistence Is Good

2009-05-05T22:26:00.001-05:00

Read how the rare application of hard work leads to success.

Look Out, Janet!

2009-04-14T15:18:00.007-05:00

An Old Comment Thread...

2007-08-11T15:35:00.001-05:00

on an idea for a Constitutional Amendment.

Joe Huffman's The Jews in the Attic Test

2007-08-11T15:26:00.000-05:00

It also works for slaves in the Barn. The test is:

Will this law make it difficult or impossible to protect innocent life from a government intent on their imprisonment or death?

More here.

Cracking a Bottle

2007-08-03T19:05:00.000-05:00

Artificial Wombs?

"We call it cracking a bottle back home."

Read Mass Producing Babies--Toward an Artificial Womb.

Global Cooling On The Way?

2007-08-03T19:00:00.000-05:00

Read Eternal Mindshine of the Spotless Sun.

Orson Scott Card on Global Warming

2007-07-29T00:30:00.000-05:00

It's worth reading.

In fact, what we have right now, while we are not yet as warm as the peak of the Medieval Warming (a fact that Mann and others have tried to deny or obscure), is a superb climate that is making life better for people all over the world. It's the cold periods that cause famines and population drops, and promote plagues and floods.

We should be grateful.

Instead we are being hit with dire warnings, every one of which is either false or a normal part of the Earth's history; our business should be to adapt to the unavoidable solar-caused warming, not to destroy the worldwide economy in order to prevent something that human activity is not causing.

41 Years a Marine

2007-03-31T22:10:00.000-05:00

We didn't quite make it to the ceremony, as we had a conflict, but Master Gunnery Sgt. Kendall Phelps was honored today at the Liberty Memorial in Kansas City. So we visited the memorial and it's WWI museum instead. I highly recommend it.

A Sad Day for the ACLU

2007-02-25T00:49:00.000-06:00

... ACLU chapter ex-president charged in child-porn case ...

Fox News has video.

O'Reilly says Charles Rust-Tierney had videos showing "pre-pubescent girls being violently raped", and that he coached youth sports teams.

How horrible. How tragic. God weeps for those little girls.

Let justice be swiftly done.

Update: I added the word chapter above, noted by the bold. Thanks, shep.

Equalizer

2006-09-26T00:38:00.000-05:00

Mary Katharine Ham points out that women have a right to defend themselves. I have a wife and three daughters. I agree.

The Problem Is Bigotry

2006-09-19T02:22:00.000-05:00

I think perhaps we need to recast some this opprobrium towards Muslims in a different mold. The analogy I wish to draw is between rampant bigotry among Muslims towards Christian and Jewish minorities living in their midst and rampant bigotry not so long ago among white Americans towards black American minorities in living in their midst.

The rampant bigotry among Muslims even leads to uppity Christians being lynched.

In this light, Muslims who justify their bigotry and their behavior by referring to the Koran are no different than white Christian who abused the Bible in the same way.

So - all those Muslims who responded to the Pope with violent protests? Miserable bigots, the lot of them. Do you fight bigotry by moderating your criticism of it?

There were plenty of white Americans who did little but quietly say to their kids, "We don't act like that." There were plenty of white American leaders who did nothing effective to fight bigotry for decades after the Civil War.

Take a deep breath here and consider this historical parallel. Change could be a long time coming.

Inspiration from Dean's World and Meryl Yourish.

Well Spent

2006-08-29T02:14:00.000-05:00

Be a Boy Scout (prepared) at five dollars a whack.

Not Dames and Gumshoes

2006-07-23T22:16:00.000-05:00

The Army is becoming the world's largest detective agency. See Strategy Page on "Police Intelligence Operations," Field Manual 3-19.5.

Porkbusters

2006-07-02T19:23:00.000-05:00

I like the Porkbusters. Earmarks? Get rid of them.

Morocco Begins With M

2006-05-10T08:41:00.000-05:00

As do Moderate and Muslim.

Care and Feeding...

2006-05-09T23:27:00.000-05:00

of SayUncle Â» Bullies. Thanks, SayUncle.

An Islamic Argument...

2006-04-04T00:32:00.000-05:00

...For Freedom of Religion.

Loving Muslims...

2006-04-04T00:31:00.000-05:00

...Hating Islam.

A Credit To Her Uniform

2006-03-26T13:11:00.000-06:00

Thanks for your service, Sgt. Amanda Pinson.

Via Dean Esmay.

Total Solar Ecilpses Aren't Rare

2006-03-26T03:38:00.000-06:00

On average there's one every 18 months, according to SPACE.com, but they are only visible on a very small portion of the earth's surface each time.

The News Is Like A Snickers Bar

2006-03-26T03:31:00.000-06:00

There's some nutrition, but it's really mind candy.

Via Dean Esmay.

This Is Why I Don't Buy The Paper, Anymore...

2006-03-25T09:05:00.000-06:00

They don't print the stories of heroes, like this one.

Be a Pirate!

2006-03-25T00:32:00.000-06:00

Even as a kid I never wanted to be a pirate. With me it was always a knight, or an inventor. But with this fleet, and these rules, I'm thinking of hoisting the Jolly Roger.

Fifty Ways To Leave Your Bad Prose

2006-03-22T20:33:00.000-06:00

Via Rand Simberg, here are Fifty (50!) Tools which can help you in Writing.

It cost us one million dollars not to do something about Murray"

2006-02-13T00:01:00.000-06:00

I can't improve on Dean's title.

The Prophet was a Moderate

2006-02-12T23:58:00.000-06:00

There are moderate Muslims - including the Prophet himself. Thanks Dean.

Corporal Jonathan K. Clarke USMC: Someone You Should Know

2005-12-31T12:12:00.000-06:00

Michael Fay gives the story of a man who has made his job - checking ID's at the lunch hall to prevent a suicide bomber from getting in - a real morale booster for everyone he checks. Some people improve the lives of everyone they meet. God Bless Corporal Clarke.

Hat Tip to Blackfive, for the "Someone You Should Know" meme. Don't miss Lance Corporal Pascal Cisse, USMC, either.

Private Roderick Evans: Someone You Should Know

2005-12-30T08:08:00.000-06:00

This man lost 230 pounds to enlist in the Army!

Miserable Donuts: An Army Broken?

2005-12-03T23:32:00.000-06:00

Major John Tammes says that Representative Murtha is exaggerating the intelligence:

As anyone who has read this blog knows, The Inner Prop and I served in Operation Enduring Freedom V (Afghanistan, March 2004-March 2005). We stood at the end of the longest sustained supply line in the history of human conflict. We were in war-torn Central Asia. Af-frickin'-ghanistan. We had decent food, e-mail, phone (OK, sometimes they weren't always working, but almost all the time) excellent medical support, good pay, regular (if slow) mail. We had a PXs at most of the larger bases, and coffee places sprang up too. We had so damned much ammunition that we needed to build a bigger ammunition supply point at Bagram, AF. We had so many vehicles that we were constantly squabbling over where to put them all - and we had enough up-armored ones too. Our supply warehouses were stuffed with clothing, boots, body armor and the like. "Living hand to mouth" is the worst lie of the bunch.

Murtha has a reasonable worry - that the Army will suffer in Iraq as it suffered in Vietnam. But worries aren't realities.

Another Soldier's Plea

2005-12-02T17:37:00.000-06:00

He says, basically, that we should listen to an honest man, George Bush. Best lines:

It’s sad that so many Iraqis and others are dying over here. However, when you discover you have cancer the treatment is always the same - attack it at the source. You don’t wait for it to spread. And when is the last time you heard a doctor putting a limited timetable on cancer therapy? I can picture it in my mind. “Mr. Smith, we have seen some progress with your tumor. It’s shrinking. But we need to move on now. The timetable for treating you has passed. Good luck.”

Via Instapundit. (Who else?)

Thanks, Joe!

2005-11-29T12:28:00.000-06:00

I forgot to be thankful for Joe Lieberman last Thursday. But I am thankful. Mr. Lieberman gives me hope for my old party.

Via Instapundit (along with half of everything I post, I expect).

So I'm Not Alone

2005-11-28T12:38:00.000-06:00

The Washington Post notes these poll results, which show most people apparently have the same opinion of Democratic Congressional leaders that I do. First quote:

Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by Democratic senators hurts troop morale -- with 44 percent saying morale is hurt "a lot," according to a poll taken by RT Strategies. Even self-identified Democrats agree: 55 percent believe criticism hurts morale, while 21 percent say it helps morale.

Second quote:

Their poll also indicates many Americans are skeptical of Democratic complaints about the war. Just three of 10 adults accept that Democrats are leveling criticism because they believe this will help U.S. efforts in Iraq. A majority believes the motive is really to "gain a partisan political advantage."

Of course they are polls, so they are only slightly more accurate than the weatherman and slightly less accurate than military intelligence, and public opinion changes almost as fast as the weather....

A Clinton Appointee Remembered

2005-11-27T02:45:00.000-06:00

Gee, maybe the Democrats have forgotten Clinton Appointee Kenneth M. Pollack. Well, the Brother's Judd haven't. And the case Pollack made for deposing Saddam was good then, and it's still good.

Gun Vault, Safe to Armed in Seconds! - Products

2005-11-27T01:50:00.000-06:00

Got a Mini GunVault for myself for Christmas. It's on sale for eighty bucks at Cabelas until 4 December. Now I just have to figure out where and how to mount it. Well, and I need to wrap it, of course.

Arabia Steamboat Museum

2005-11-26T23:57:00.000-06:00

The most amazing attraction in Kansas City is a celebration of the pioneering values of adventure, entrepreneurship and the can do spirit. The Wince family took a pair of Mrs. Wince's cousins and their families yesterday to see the Arabia Steamboat Museum. (Aside: Isn't it cool when two brothers marry two sisters?) The Steamboat Arabia was a floating ante-bellum Wal-Mart. It hit a sang in the muddy Missouri on the way to big supplies to pioneers in Nebraska and sank. 132 years later a group of men in search of buried treasure dug it up with no government money and they are sharing these incredible finds with only private support. See what shopping was like in 1856!

More Democracy for Kenya

2005-11-24T12:25:00.000-06:00

More democracy in Africa? That's something to be thankful for.

Democrats Despise! Iraqi Hopes They Minimize!

2005-11-23T23:53:00.000-06:00

Well, clearly my slogans need work. You say we are losing? I don't know who this "we" is. Our troops say they are winning the war and are proud of their efforts. I'm not winning or losing the war, I'm working on billing software. If you are losing the war, stop it! (Wink.) If on the other hand, you are saying our troops are losing the war, well, you aren't over there, they are. I trust them. Stop criticizing the people who are fighting and dying. It would be different if they also thought they were losing. Then you could criticize the Administration and say the Administration was losing the war. But since the troops don't agree, I just will not accept that. Here's what I'll accept: You believe the Administration should be winning faster or cheaper or better. But not that "we" are losing.

Myths

2005-11-23T23:51:00.000-06:00

The American Enterprise gives nine Urban Legends About the Iraq War.

Pray for The Weary Warriors

2005-11-22T12:25:00.000-06:00

It seems Kurt Vonnegut is feeling down. We need to respect our old warriors, weary of war, especially when we disagree with them. Pray for Kurt Vonnegut, John Murtha, John Kerry and any other old warrior who is tired of war.

I Like Going To The Dentist

2005-11-21T12:45:00.000-06:00

Heh. Say Uncle likes the nitrous oxide buzz, but does not understand one dental custom at all.

The Opposite of SGT Walter J. Rausch

2005-11-20T23:56:00.000-06:00

Here is a person, Professor John Daly, unlike SGT Walter J. Rausch, who should be fired, just because he reflects so poorly on his employer, Warren Community College. Do our institutions of higher learning know how disgusting they appear by defending people like Daly? In his email, Daly denies the 100 million killed in the Communist Holocaust. That's right, Daly is no different from a Holocaust denier. Communist sympathizers are no different, morally, than Nazi sympathizers. This isn't surprising, since Nazism is Communism's younger, less murderous, but more bigoted brother. So, does Warren Community College also employ Holocaust denying Nazi sympathizers as a sop to academic freedom? I doubt it.

Via the Gun Guy.

This Is A War For Freedom

2005-11-19T19:09:00.000-06:00

Perhaps the Iraq War is not a war for freedom to you. But it is for this sergeant. Arguably, that gives him more moral authority than Martin Luther King or Mahatma Gandi. How so? They were fighting for their own freedom, and the freedom of their own people. This sergeant is fighting for freedom not just for someone else, but for another people. Think about what surrender will do to this young man and those, like me, who support his desire to fight, win, and achieve his noble purpose.

An Argument Against Too Much Federalism

2005-11-18T12:20:00.000-06:00

In this post I argued for federalism. I'm still not sure what Breyer would say against my arguments, but based on what I've read so far, he might say that pushing too much power down to small electoral bodies exposes them to the problem of factionalism. Representation over large groups of people dilutes factionalism by making a representative beholden to a wide variety of special interests, whereas a smaller district can easily be captured by a particular special interest group. This is a good argument. One way to solve the problem is by random appointments, like we do for juries. Ancient Athens had many randomly selected positions. Frank Herbert believed that many of our political decisions should be subject to jury review. Now that's active democracy!

Bend It

2005-11-17T12:20:00.000-06:00

I just realized I have a new favorite movie, Bend It Like Beckham. And every time I watch it I end up with the most wonderful music running through my brain.

Active Liberty, Obtained

2005-11-16T12:53:00.000-06:00

I got Active Liberty : Interpreting Our Democratic Constitution, Stephen Breyer's new book, from the library and started reading it. Breyer believes he should interpret the Constitution in ways which promote active citizen participation in our democracy. Good thesis. I'm all for it. I will be interested to find out how he supports it. I have to wonder why he isn't more of a Federalist, though. The less power in Washington and the more at the statehouse the easier and more effective my democratic participation will be. In fact less power in the statehouse and more power at the county, city and even school board levels the more power I have. One school board per school is good, too.

When the Constitution was drafted, the entire population of our Republic was less than some cities today. Lot's of place were governed by town meetings, where everyone, not just a few aldermen, got to vote. I'd say that means we need even less power in Washington, not more.

What Does Losing Mean?

2005-11-16T12:13:00.000-06:00

When will Congress and the President take the War against Islamic Fascism seriously?

This article, by an unknown author, not Major General Vernon Chong, describes the price of losing. The price of losing this war is no less than the price of losing the Cold War and being ruled by totalitarian Communists. Most Communists believed in communal living. And we all know that most people who lived in communes were peaceful. The price of losing this war is no less than the price of losing World War II and being ruled by totalitarian Fascists. Most Fascists were Christians. Isn't Christ the Prince of Peace? Aren't most Christians peaceful people? Of course Hitler, master of a Christian nation, murdered slightly more Christians than Jews. And Stalin, Mao and Pol Pot killed more of their own people than of us. And the Islamic Fascists are killing more of their own people, too.

Hitler, with a tiny fraction of the world's Christians behind him, plunged the world into chaos and murdered fourteen million people. Do we really want a tiny fraction of the world's Muslims to do the same? Let's fight little wars now, not big wars later. And let's not lose.

Spooky!

2005-11-15T19:02:00.000-06:00

I guess with dogs it's green eye reduction. She sure is cute, huh?

The Real Story About The War

2005-11-14T23:36:00.000-06:00

TigerHawk revisits and updates Den Beste's strategic overview of the War on Terror. These were the reasons I favored the campaign in Iraq before it started, and I still do. My biggest fear was that Bush would go to the U.N. and get talked out of it. I shouldn't have worried.

No More Breezes

2005-11-14T23:28:00.000-06:00

The Geek With A .45 muses about architectural adjustments.

Fish Cookies

2005-11-14T23:18:00.000-06:00

My Dad, who likes to fish, turned seventy-five over the weekend. Mrs. Wince made fish cookies and my girls helped, especially with the decoration. Tasty and easy on the eyes. And the same for the cookies.

Keep Raking Lads! They're Gaining On Us!

2005-11-13T23:20:00.000-06:00

Last Saturday I raked all my leaves. Can you tell? Last year I ignored the leaves in the street too long, and the bottom layer turned to mud. It's wonderful to have such beautiful trees along our street. Even in the winter they stand majestic with the cold light filtering through their many branches, squirrel nests exposed for all to see.

More Government Spending Less Happiness

2005-11-12T12:15:00.000-06:00

Juan Non-Volokh links a study by three Swiss economists which found that people are less happy when their government spends more. I don't know if it is true, but I have observed that American conservatives are less happy when their government spends more.

What is the Arm of Decision in the War on Terror?

2005-11-11T12:37:00.000-06:00

Steven Green thinks that he knows where victory will be won or lost in the War on Terror. He says Bush doesn't know. He says Congress doesn't know. He says our public thinkers don't know. He says the media knows - but they don't want you to find out. I'm not sure. Does the Media know they are losing the war?

Fooling Yourself About Bush

2005-11-10T12:35:00.000-06:00

People fool themselves all the time. I fool myself all the time. For example, I fool myself about how much I'll get done each day. And I fool myself about how easy it will be to get up in the morning every night before I go to sleep. If you think Bush either lied or exaggerated the Iraqi threat you are fooling yourself. Norman Podhoretz examines the mountain of evidence.

Via Rand Simberg.

Righteous Rudy #2

2005-10-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

Today I wish Rudy would require Shamim Siddiqi of Flushing, Queens to annually sail a New York garbage scow to the Carolinas, until he can make the connection between the garbage in his head, and the garbage on the scow, remove the former, and consign it to the latter.

Righteous Rudy #1

2005-10-26T18:26:00.000-05:00

Ten years ago, Rudy Giuliani kicked Arafat out of the Lincoln Center. In what I hope will be a lighthearted continuing series, I will be nominating more individuals for attention by Rudy.

Today, I wish Rudy would forbid FAMS spokesman Dave Adams from visiting the concession stands at Yankee Stadium. No bratwurst for you, Dave!

Rudy Giuliani Is Looking Even Better

2005-10-25T12:56:00.000-05:00

I didn't know about the time he kicked Arafat out of the Lincoln Center. Maybe if he becomes President he can kick Mugabe out of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. That would be sweet.

Rosa Parks Has Gone To Heaven

2005-10-25T12:26:00.000-05:00

I hope Peter has delegated the task of leading her to her mansion to the white man who asked her to give up her seat after he volunteered.

The Translation Theory of Constitutional Interpretation

2005-07-25T00:13:00.000-05:00

Lawrence Lessig describes (in 103 pages) a theory for interpreting the Constitution: Fidelity In Translation (PDF). I've just read the first few pages, but it is an interesting idea.

Lessig points out that we have changed the way we read the Constitution. Yet he also points out that sometimes following an underlying principle means doing things differently:

For we all know that sometimes fidelity to an original meaning requires doing something different, and that, in those cases, doing the same thing done before would be to change the meaning of what was done before. Take a simple example to make the point: If a diplomat is ordered to Ã“be politeÃ” while in Iraq (where belching after eating signals approval) and belches loudly at the end of her meal, it would not be fidelity to her order to belch loudly at the end of her next meal with the British Monarch, even though (in an importantly impolite sense) she would have done the same thing as before. Change hereÃ—bowing rather than belchingÃ—is fidelity. We all know that this diplomat must do something different in Britain if she is to do the same thing as in Iraq. She must change her act to remain faithful to the original commandÃ—not to change her act would be to manifest infidelity.

I look forward to reading the whole thing.

Durbin Should Have Waited For The Facts

2005-07-24T23:08:00.000-05:00

Dick Durbin should have waited for the facts before he popped-off about the American military. See, Dick, the American military is on our side. You are supposed to give the military the benefit of the doubt, not the detainees.

More interesting is what is not in the report. Schmidt and Furlow found no substantiation for Sen. Richard Durbin's allegation that terror suspects were chained for hours and forced to defecate on themselves, nor that Gitmo interrogators kept their prisoners in hot or cold rooms, two claims he made on the Senate floor. They also found no verification that the military denied prisoners food or medical necessities, a favorite charge of the Left.

Congratulations, Dick. Unlike thoughtful, measured Senators, like Brownback or Lieberman, you have earned a reputation of thoughtlessness. When you are quoted I'll think something like this: "Hmmm, Durbin. Not a careful thinker. Likes to throw tainted red-meat to his base. I'll wait till I hear from someone I can trust."

United We Stand

2005-07-07T12:20:00.000-05:00

Ara Rubyan is right. The leaders of this country must unite against terror. But in a democracy the voters are the leaders. With that in mind, I apologize for comments I have made which are divisive and I invite anyone to call me out, both for past, present and future behavior. The one mind I can be sure of changing is my own.

Would Welfare Reform Work for Africa?

2005-07-07T12:15:00.000-05:00

This African economist thinks so. Africa doesn't need aid. It needs capitalism.

Hooray! Let's Bomb Syria!

2005-06-23T12:38:00.000-05:00

Bring back Cowboy George! Let's cut the suicide bomber supply line now.

Grandkids, Tradition and the Good Life

2005-06-02T12:41:00.000-05:00

Lee Harris explains the proper function of tradition, demonstrates how it has made life better, and how it will continue to do so.

This is great stuff, so go read it.

Via somebody I don't remember, darn it!

Comment On the FEC's Proposal To Regulate Bloggers

2005-05-21T20:48:00.000-05:00

Via Instapundit.

I Want A New Tax

2005-05-20T12:43:00.000-05:00

I want a new tax controlled by the Fed. It could even be several taxes: like a small property mill levy, a 0 to 5% progressive income tax, a 0 to 5% capital gains tax and a 0 to 1% sales tax. When the economy heats up, instead of raising rates and making our deficit worse by paying more interest on the debt, which I'm very tired of, the Fed temporarily raises taxes a little. And it doesn't give my former party an excuse to raise taxes, increase spending and then never cut taxes. When the economy cools off, instead of it being an excuse for my fellow Republicans to cut taxes but not spending and then never raise taxes, the Fed cuts them temporarily.

Each of these taxes shouldn't give Greenspan too much room, but enough to help the economy.

The Volokh Conspiracy - House Passes Abortion Bill:

2005-04-29T13:18:00.000-05:00

Orin Kerr wants to know whether the House bill prohibiting transport of a minor across state lines to avoid parental consent and notification laws is constitutional. He may delete my comment, which follows, as not germane since it does not reflect current Supreme Court jurisprudence.

I am not a lawyer, but I have been reading Restoring the Lost Constitution, so maybe I qualify. Here is my attempt to divine original meaning. This bill does not pass Commerce Clause muster, since abortions are not a trading (original meaning of commercial) activity, they are a medical service, and the Commerce Clause only allows Congress to regulate (original meaning is make regular) activity, not prohibit it. But this bill is justified under the Ninth and Fourteenth Amendments, and since it is designed to protect our rights, it is both necessary and proper. The right to raise one's child as one sees fit is clearly covered under the Ninth Amendment, and the Ninth Amendment, as written, applies to both Federal and State governments. The Fourteenth Amendment authorizes Congress to write laws protecting the rights protected by the Ninth Amendment. I would say the Constitution authorizes States have a parental notification and consent law as well, to protect their Ninth Amendment rights.

I will specify that this is not Supreme Court jurisprudence, it is Randy Barnett inspired analysis. The undue burden and health and privacy issues could doom this law, even under such inspired analysis, since the rights to health and privacy must be balanced against parental rights as well as the residual right of the baby. If I understand the commentary I've read, the Court does recognize the rights of the baby, but does not consider them significant enough to protect.

I hope he does not delete it. My dream is that Randy will comment, and perhaps even agree. Ah, the eternal quest for ego gratification.

I Used To Like Jimmy Carter As A President

2005-04-22T17:50:00.000-05:00

I still like him as a man. But, in hindsight, his response to the hostage crisis was completely feckless, and must be considered a root cause of the 9/11 attacks. Full Disclosure Time: A group of college friends and I got together and sent Khomeini a pocket Koran with a can't we all be friends letter. What a yutz I was!

Via Mary Madigan, at Dean's World.

Sometimes bloggers meet...

2005-04-22T13:36:00.000-05:00

The Read this.

Our Forefathers - Collected

2005-04-16T22:24:00.000-05:00

Go check out our Founding Documents. And don't miss out on the double-sided single page copy of the Constitution.

Get Gmail

2005-04-14T23:03:00.000-05:00

This service allows you to get a Gmail invite, and it works.

Loving Your (Political) Enemies

2005-04-14T15:36:00.000-05:00

David Frum shows his love for Andrea Dworkin. He's a better man than I, and he makes some very good points.

At Least One Inupiat Eskimo Wants ANWR Developed

2005-04-14T14:46:00.000-05:00

Don't take my word for it. Read Tara Sweeney's speech. She says 75% of Native Alaskans want the land they own to be developed. Does this mean those who want to keep ANWR from being developed are racists?

John Kerry Is Still Dishonoring The Troops

2005-04-13T13:41:00.000-05:00

John Kerry is fishing for soldier as victim stories. Sorry, Senator. You honor our troops by telling stories of them as heroes, not by painting them as victims. Considering your past and your unwillingness to repudiate your consistent anti-military stance, perhaps you should give up on National Security issues.

The Real Cuba

2005-04-12T14:07:00.000-05:00

Go visit The Real Cuba. BTW, their health care system looks horrible.

Via Kim du Toit.

Hydrogen From My Roof?

2005-04-11T16:39:00.000-05:00

Tim Worstall says that we'll all be getting power from our roofs in less than twenty years. He says sun shine plus water and titanium oxide equals hydrogen and oxygen, and hydrogen and oxygen plus a scandium oxide fuel cell equals electricity.

Sounds good to me.

Via Deinonychus antirrhopus.

Why Radical Change Makes For Big Problems

2005-04-10T23:45:00.000-05:00

Jane Galt may have the best post of the year about same sex marriage, even though she hasn't picked a position.

Via Instapundit.

Bork On The FMA

2005-04-10T23:25:00.000-05:00

Robert Bork says the FMA is our best hope.

Don't Fight A Democracy!

2005-04-06T10:30:00.000-05:00

R. J. Rummel has some fascinating stats on war.

...in the 19th Century democracies won 76 percent of the wars they fought, while monarchies won 43 and dictators 42 percent. In the 20th Century, the percentages are respectively, 54, 37, and 33.

Via Dean.

Hiatus

2005-02-24T21:19:00.000-06:00

Hi, I'm Wince and I'm an internet junkie. Staying off the internet, including blogging, over the past six weeks has greatly improved my life. So I'm going to stay off it and do other things. You all have been very good to me and thank you.

You Wouldn't Leave Your Car Running, Would You?

2005-02-11T15:09:00.000-06:00

Take the Identity Fraud Quiz, and learn how to protect yourself.

A Proposed Amendment

2005-01-08T19:08:00.000-06:00

Karl Spence wrote the following to me in an email:

How about an amendment that reads like this:

The Judiciary of the United States shall not presume to exercise nonjudicial power.

The sense in which this Constitution was accepted and ratified by the nation shall be the guide in expounding it. Its provisions are neither to be restricted into insignificance nor extended beyond the natural and obvious meaning contemplated by the plain understanding of the people at the time of its adoption. Any faults it may contain are to be corrected by amendment as prescribed in Article V, not by usurpation.

Disregard of these principles is cause for impeachment.

If any of those phrases sound familiar, it's because they're lifted from the writings of John Marshall, James Madison, Thomas Jefferson, Alexander Hamilton and George Washington.

The amendment would need additional sections to ratify those changes the courts made for us that we should have made for ourselves (e.g., the overthrow of Jim Crow), and --- if it is to have a chance of success --- to give proper constitutional authority to a great deal of the functions the federal government is now performing (Social Security, Medicare, the Federal Reserve, national parks, disaster relief, etc., etc., etc.). Devising it and getting past the furious opposition of today's legal establishment would be a lot of trouble. But at the end of the day, we'd have the advantage of practicing actual self-government, instead of bowing to the dictates of a judicial elite whose interpretations of the Constitution bear less and less relation to its original, true, ratified meaning.

I like it. What do you think? You can also email Karl yourself.

Does HIV Cause AIDS?

2005-01-08T17:02:00.000-06:00

Dr. Harvey Bialy discusses this with us in Dean's World. Sample idea: Out of more than 250 chimpanzees who have been infected with HIV since 1980, only one has gotten AIDS. Chimpanzees are our closest genetic relative, and this is the only disease we know of which has behaved thus. Doesn't that fact deserve investigation?

An Unwitting School Tyrant

2005-01-08T16:14:00.000-06:00

Kim du Toit argues persuasively against a man who would force his views upon my children. Were you to succeed, Professor Apple, you would only force my family to flee beyond your reach. Your intentions are benevolent, I grant you, but like all who would impose your views upon free men, you must be opposed. In the end, you, sir, intend to be a dictator, a petty, harmful tyrant. I'm sure you will work within the system, like Caesar, but in the end your desire is the same: to impose your views upon us all.

Some Compassion From Our President

2005-01-08T15:56:00.000-06:00

I have a sister who is so profoundly intellectually disabled that she cannot chew her food or sit up without assistance. The only reason she has lived this long is that my parents have cared for her to this day, just over forty-two years after her birth. The initiative Rich Lowry describes will not help her, but it will help the many intellectually disabled folks who can work. I've known many such people like this. They are hard, willing workers, who only want to live as normal a life as possible. Jeb Bush is an enthusiastic backer of this program, which is designed to enable more intellectually disabled people to enjoy the dignity of work. Hooray for the Bush family!

Bring Back The Constitution

2005-01-08T15:51:00.000-06:00

We discuss who wants to restore which parts of the Constitution on the lawyer dominated group blog called The Volokh Conspiracy.

Can a 911 Hang-Up Provide Probable Cause?

2005-01-05T06:24:00.000-06:00

Matt Rustler and friends discuss a case.

The Third for StoryMaker

2005-01-05T06:08:00.000-06:00

My duaghters are crazy for Petz . And Petz is significantly better suited for children than Sims, I figure.

Hugh's Questions

2004-12-31T13:36:00.000-06:00

Hugh Hewitt asks these questions.

Here they are with my answers.

Whom did I cast my vote for president for in the past five elections?

2004 - Bush
2000 - Gore
1996 - Perot - as a protest. I was sure Clinton would pull a Nixon, but I didn't like Dole.
1992 - Clinton
1988 - Dukakis

Do I attend church regularly and if so, in which denomination? Weekly, Church of Christ.

Do I believe that the late-term abortion procedure known as partial birth abortion should be legal? No. What I really want is a way to abort the pregnancy but save the child, like artificial wombs.

Do I believe same sex marriage ought to be legal? No. What I really want is research into the causes of homosexuality and a cure for it. Anything which so badly compromises the biological purpose of one's reproductive organs is a disorder, and you should be able to get a cure for it, if you want one.

Did I support the invasion of Iraq? Yes. I think it was great strategy in many ways.

Do I support drilling in ANWR? Yes. There isn't enough environmental impact to matter.

Here are Silflay Hraka's answers.

Another One For Story Maker

2004-12-30T12:56:00.000-06:00

Man finds his old best friend via Google!

The Salvation Army...

2004-12-30T12:46:00.000-06:00

...reports on the tsunami.