Supreme Court Decides Iraq
ArchPundit
Paul cracks me up.
Fred Phelps Hates George Bush
One of the more amusing hate mongers out there is Fred Phelps–amusing because of the twisted tree of family relations going on in that organization. I posted on Blog Saint Louis that doofus and gang will be in St. Louis to protest the Laramie Project.
What is a bit stranger is that he seems to protest Bush and Laura Bush with some frequency. Okay.
Good Day to Be Cub Fan
Steve Traschel is pitching for the Mets. Back when Traschel was a Cub, I was at a horrific game in which the fans started heckling Riggleman to pull him. As I pointed out to the hecklers, there was no one else to put in. He then gave up a homer.
The good news is Traschel gives up home runs like no one else and Sammy needs to move on from 499.
Carts Before the Horse
This Washington Post Editorial is getting a lot of mention today, as it should. There is also Republican movement in the House to focus on a more international effort and unless we want to be occupying Iraq by ourselves, this seems an obviously good idea with the caveat that we control security concerns during occupation.
What is troubling about the noises out the Pentagon is that they seem to think they are going to impose a government on Iraq. That is a really good way to lose the peace in the occupation. While Afghanistan is clearly different and it is unclear how stable it will be in the long run, one excellent choice there was to convene an Afghan assembly to make specific decisions regarding the first transitional government. Ownership in some form of this government would reduce the inevitable arguments from both Islamists and Baathist remnants that the US is occupying Iraq for its own interests.
If democracy is going to take root in Iraq, it must be through a process that incorporates disparate elements of Iraqi society and not disparate elements of the Bush administration.
This should be self-evident, but the idea that Chalabi can return and be influential is problematic to say the least. Josh Marshall covers this from one angle and makes some important points.
There is another issue here and that is how accepting the Iraqi public will be of those who left. After civil wars or other wars dividing countries’ loyalties, those who leave often aren’t particularly welcome by those who stayed. Nicaragua provides a somewhat mediocre comparison, but it is one I’m familiar with in terms of what happened when the Sandinistas lost the 1990 election and turned over power to Chamorro.
The ‘Miami Boys’ were not welcomed back with open arms except financially. Many wealthy Nicaraguans left for Miami and waited out the entire 1980s there. Upon the electoral defeat of the Sandinistas they returned, but even the anti-Sandinistas who were stayed did not care for them. By leaving the Miami Boys missed the hard work of dissenting against a regime that quite often did not tolerate dissent. Those who stayed and fought the Sandinistas politically were much more credible to most Nicaraguans. Assuming that an opportunistic operator will work as a new leader is a very poor assumption.
Perhaps Chalabi isn’t as shady as some suggest and he could be a future leader. If that is the case, then the Iraqi people can make that choice in an election later. For now, the US should look to establish civilian leaders who stayed for an interim government.
Interestingly, Karzai fits a somewhat similar model of someone who was at least around if not consistently in Afghanistan during the civil war periods.
The Continuing Coverage of the Nature Conspiracy
is at the Illinois Leader.
It is just a mess, but quite humorous to read.
Pension Bond Plan Rejected
Blagojevich is going to have to learn that he can’t just try and bully Senate Republicans. Some of them are fiscally prudent and a strong plan will pass, but they should be included in the plan.
Listen to This
Bob Arnot became a true war correspondent last night–MSNBC has it up, here. I’m a bit slow today after staying up to listen.
Giuliani May Run, but Where?
The Political Wire passes along the information that Giuliani may run for President in 2008. So what magical event is going to make Republicans nominate a pro-choice, pro-gay rights, pro-gun control candidate?
How Flaky Is Kucinich?
I always knew there was something wrong with that boy and now it is all so clear…Kucinich is supported by John Hagelin of the Natural Law Party.
Many are less familiar with the kooks who are the Natural Law Party, but one of their positions is:
? Research on the Fundamentals of Peace. How to access the Unified Field?the fundamental, universal field of peace that lies deep within the consciousness of everyone?in order to generate a global influence of harmony and coherence through collective meditation and other peace-creating technologies.
This, of course, is an off shoot of their prisoner rehabilitation plans to use meditation to rehabilitate prisoners.
The Natural Law Party is the political apparatus of Maharishi University of Management. One of my favorite clubs there is the Yogic Flying club. They apparently have taken down the pictures they used to have where one could figure out yogic flying is flapping your knees really hard in an effort to levitate.
I believe we can guarantee such a candidacy will present no serious problems for anyone besides Dennis Kucinich’s political future.
But the good thing is if you are ever travelling through Fairfield, Iowa where the MIM is based (along with newly incorporated Vedhic City), they have some kick-ass vegetarian restaurants.
Semantic Vandalism Takedown
Fred Kaplan continues his excellent war coverage by pointing out attacking combatants is not terrorism. Are we clear?!