tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-56667822011-04-22T00:10:38.897-04:00Wherein yet another set of politcal ideas are occasionally expressedManasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comBlogger401100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1119640580392881252005-06-24T15:12:00.000-04:002005-06-24T15:16:20.396-04:00

In case anyone comes to look:Because my system is sooooo ancient (7+ years old), I cannot access the updating system of blogspot on my home computer. Therefore, I am starting a new LiveJournal (also called Manasserius), which I can access at home. So when I get the urge to post, I'll post there. If I ever update, I may return to this blog. Just to confuse you.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1113077989693226942005-04-09T15:51:00.000-04:002005-04-09T16:19:49.693-04:00

In today's Boston Globe, there was an article called Rift Emerges in GOP After Schiavo Case. I found this article to be truly frightening. It reports that a group of conservative leaders is annoyed at the Republican leadership for not being more forceful in the Schiavo case. What bothers me is not the rift in the GOP, but in what the conservatives were demanding. To whit:They blamed the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1110314762701829802005-03-08T15:20:00.000-05:002005-03-08T15:46:02.703-05:00

I saw an op-ed piece today in the Boston Globe about secularism, called The Dark Side of Secularism, by James Carroll. It was, in many ways, a disturbing column. From reading it, he takes the view that separating 'church and state' has involved separating morality from law. Early on, "church and state" became a euphemism for the separation of the private realm from the public – the separation

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1109723637765400842005-03-01T19:10:00.000-05:002005-03-01T19:33:57.766-05:00

I was just watching Senator Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) on the NewsHour on PBS. He was making his usual rants about how the Democrats have filibustered seven judicial nominations by the Administration, and how this is unprecedented. Forgive me if I'm wrong, but it is my understanding that the reason there were no filibusters before was that, prior to the Republican take over of both the White House

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1108580635414633222005-02-16T13:38:00.000-05:002005-02-16T14:06:32.013-05:00

Rafik Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon, has been assassinated. Mr. Hariri was becoming more and more vocal about his opposition to Syrian influence in his country. So the Bush Administration reasons that the Syrians were the ones who killed Mr. Hariri, or at least the ones who had him killed, and recalled ambassador Margaret Scobey. Of course, since they came to that conclusion about a

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1103312761900513082004-12-17T14:31:00.000-05:002004-12-17T14:46:01.900-05:00

In today's Boston Globe there was an article called Arms Reductions, Troop Increase Eyed by Bryan Bender. He uses as a source Thomas Donnelly of the American Enterprise Institute, who blasted Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and his 'Transformation' policy in a paper called Rumsfeld's War, which was posted on 16 December. After talking about how the Secretary has consistently strove to

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1101242370912205782004-11-23T15:19:00.000-05:002004-11-27T15:32:33.356-05:00

I just finished reading Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terror, by Anonymous (Michael Scheuer) (Brassey, Inc: Dulles, VA, 2004). Mr. Scheuer, who was an active CIA analyst when the book was published (hence the reason it came out as "Anonymous") but recently retired, spent nearly two decades specializing in the Muslim areas of Asia. This book is his latest on the subject of

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1100987105402536842004-11-20T16:36:00.000-05:002004-11-20T16:45:05.403-05:00

"Traffic light of death" -Anonymous, Imperial Hubris: Why the West is Losing the War on Terrorism (2004), on the Department of Homeland Security's color coded warning system. When I finish reading this book, I'll give my views on it. I also know that they author has recently retired from the CIA and is now known, but I can't remember his name.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1100816615661774972004-11-18T16:38:00.000-05:002004-11-18T17:23:35.660-05:00

Ok, so it's been a while and everyone and her third cousin (thrice removed) has posted some sort of post-election report, mostly on 'Why Kerry Lost'. There has been a lot of stuff saying that he lost because the people in the Red states are just hill-billy hicks who don't know any better than seeing President Bush's smile and everyman persona. To begin with, that is a load of horse hockey. The

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1100813921279229512004-11-18T16:36:00.000-05:002004-11-18T16:38:41.280-05:00

And it's been almost 5 months since last I posted. A new, real post will soon follow.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1086983187412899992004-06-11T15:11:00.000-04:002004-06-11T15:46:27.413-04:00

Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears; I come to bury Cæsar, not to praise him. The evil that men do lives after them, The good is oft interred with their bones; So let it be with Cæsar. -Antony, Julius Cæsar, Act III, scene ii I was a mere teenager in the 1980s, and one who was pretty clueless about what occured more than 10 feet away from him, so I remember little as to

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1086893576029764542004-06-10T13:42:00.000-04:002004-06-10T14:54:06.930-04:00

Last weekend was my mother's reunion at Wellesley College. On Saturday night, I attended a talk given by one of her classmates to the class. She is rather well known, so when my mother offered to let me go, I accepted. Her name at Wellesley was Madeleine Korbut. She is now known as Madeleine Albright, former Ambassador to the U.N. and former Secretary of State. Secretary Albright talked

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1085253707920871812004-05-22T14:29:00.000-04:002004-05-22T15:21:47.920-04:00

Within weeks of the 9/11 attacks, Congress passed the USA PATRIOT Act. Since that time, many people have complained that the Act went to far in sacrificing our civil rights for safety. These people include myself, Newt Gingrich, The American Civil Liberties Union, The American Library Association, and over 320 states, counties, cities, and towns across the United States. I worked on one of

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1085168060528458822004-05-21T14:41:00.000-04:002004-05-21T15:34:20.526-04:00

The Bush Administration is limiting the rule of law when it involves the War on Terrorism. Problems with this view can be seen in many ways, including the case of Abdallah Higazy, who was detained for month because a hotel security guard lied about him owning a special radio in a hotel next to the World Trade Center; Mr. Higazy would still be in custody if the real owner had not turned up

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1084650269811838032004-05-15T15:41:00.000-04:002004-05-15T15:44:29.810-04:00

'Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.' Lord Acton, 1887.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1084648828903764652004-05-15T14:36:00.000-04:002004-05-15T15:20:28.903-04:00

[One of] Rumsfeld's ... failure[s] is his fierce resistance to having legal norms constrain any of the US government's activities in its "war against terrorism." He and other administration officials pay lip service to the "rule of law." But in practice they are ready to observe legal safeguards only if they are consistent with their own chosen ends. (Rumsfeld's Actions Speak Louder, op-ed by

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1084225058352422662004-05-10T17:17:00.000-04:002004-05-10T17:37:38.353-04:00

This is actually a response to the one Comment I've gotten. I'm putting it here, since it seems to be a good post. Noz, you're right of course. The "war on terrorism" is unwinnable, and as such should NOT be taken literally. Taken metaphorically, we still can't stop all terrorism, but we can limit it. But this kind of "war" must not be fought on the battlefield: each time we fight a battle,

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1084032915425800932004-05-08T12:15:00.000-04:002004-05-08T12:18:30.623-04:00

'One week after shocking photos appeared showing prisoners subjected to sexual humiliation, Rumsfeld said the treatment was "inconsistent with the values of our nation. It was inconsistent with the teachings of the military ... and it was certainly fundamentally un-American." ' (Rumsfeld: Worst Still To Come, CBSNews.com, 8 May 2004.) There has been quite a bit of talk about the abuses at Abu

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1083884000168588082004-05-06T18:53:00.000-04:002004-05-06T18:56:33.093-04:00

I saw in this last week's New York Time's Magazine an article by Michael Ignatieff called Lesser Evils. To be honest, I have not read the entire article, but the concept and the first section intrigued me. The concept: Could we lose the war on terror? In the first part of the essay, he tells how we could lose the war: if the government fails to prevent another massive terrorist attack, then

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1082649307021633512004-04-22T11:55:00.000-04:002004-04-22T12:06:09.590-04:00

I recently saw a blog on Rubber Hose about a recent House vote allowing Federal Guard and Reserve troops who have been deployed more than six months to be able to tap into their pension funds. (House Lets Guard, Reserve Forces Tap Into Retirement Savings Without Penalty, Mary Dalrymple, the Associated Press, 21 April 2004.) The reason for this was because many of the Guard and Reserve people

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1082591879691157292004-04-21T19:57:00.000-04:002004-04-21T20:03:28.140-04:00

In today's Boston Globe, there was an interesting op-ed piece by Derrick Z. Jackson talking about Secretary of defense Donald Rumsfeld's recent comment about how the soldiers in Iraq were "fungible". (Rumsfeld's 'Fungible' Facts, 21 April 2004) The exact quote was: "Oh, come on. People are fungible. You can have them here or there," said when asked about the 20,000 soldiers whose tours of duty

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1082233258535586192004-04-17T16:20:00.000-04:002004-04-17T16:23:52.763-04:00

Let us talk about something that some would rather we not: secrecy. President Bush's administration seems to thrive on it. John Dean has a new book out called Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, which pretty much tells you what the book is about. (Note: as a disclaimer, I have not read the book, so I cannot comment too much on it.) Examples abound of the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1082047419501397402004-04-15T12:43:00.000-04:002004-04-16T16:23:13.343-04:00

It has been over a year now since the U. S. entered Baghdad. How is the search for Weapons of Mass Destruction coming? #'s found: 0 #'s expected to be found: 0 (But we may still find some!!) And as a reminder: # of months the UN Inspection team was given to find them: 3 # of months the U.S. has been in controll of Iraq: 12 But the UN Inspectors were incompetent because they couldn't find

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1081986064379815002004-04-14T19:41:00.000-04:002004-04-14T19:43:55.606-04:00

I suspect that if I were ever to meet face to face with George W. Bush, I would think him to be neither evil nor stupid. This could say something about the part of me that is rebels against thinking poorly of my fellow humans until seeing proof beyond a reasonable doubt. Many of friends would disagree with me on this judgment. They see President Bush as a vapid bore who is not much in the oil

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1081652201560569382004-04-10T22:53:00.000-04:002004-04-10T22:59:29.340-04:00

Or there about. As to why I haven't been posting, there is no good reason. I just got out of the habit. But I'm back, and hopefully will post semi-regularly from now on. Or at least until something comes along to distract me again.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1063336932921427772003-09-11T23:11:00.000-04:002003-09-11T23:22:12.906-04:00

Then a woman said, Speak to us of Joy and Sorrow. And he answered: Your joy is your sorrow unmasked. And the selfsame well from which your laughter rises was oftentimes filled with your tears. And how else can it be? The deeper that sorrow carves into your being, the more joy you can contain. Is not the cup that holds your wine the very cup that was burned in the potter's oven? And is not the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1063244373587389212003-09-10T21:31:00.000-04:002003-09-10T21:39:33.550-04:00

The U.S. has had full control of Iraq for one and a half times longer than the U.N. inspection teams had (4 1/2 months vs. 3 months), and still no real signs of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Does this mean that our own inspection teams are even more incompetent than how we claimed the U.N. teans were? On today's NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld talked briefly about

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1061690460382777322003-08-23T22:01:00.000-04:002003-08-23T22:01:00.390-04:00

Because I am in the middle of moving my abode, I will be ranting on later.

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1061493513407252392003-08-21T15:18:00.000-04:002004-05-22T14:34:34.373-04:00

In yesterday's New York Times, there was an article on Attorney General Ashcroft's 'roadshow' promoting the USA PATRIOT Act (H.R. 3162) in the face of mounting opposition to it, and even arguing that the provisions in it should be strengthened. ('Ashcroft Says Efforts to Weaken Terrorism Law Will Place Americans at Greater Risk," NYT, 20 August 2003, p. A14, no link.) Claiming that the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1061271143897461742003-08-19T01:32:00.000-04:002003-08-19T01:34:18.026-04:00

Many Iraqis seem not to realize that we are the good guys, that we are in their country to help them. They see the U.S. and British occupation military around and are resentful and distrustful. Yet all of our rhetoric says that are there to guide the Iraqis into a healthy, and hopefully, prosperous democracy. In addition, we have removed from power a blood-thirsty, maniacal dictator who was

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1061172265528107062003-08-17T22:04:00.000-04:002003-08-17T22:05:03.356-04:00

"I am free only in so far as I recognize the humanity and respect the liberty of all the men surrounding me." -M. A. Bukunin, Dieu et l'etat (1871)

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060999910524616552003-08-15T22:11:00.000-04:002003-08-15T22:11:45.633-04:00

I guess this is the day when we all celebrate the innanity of our country. Fox News is threatening to sue Al Franken over the words 'fair and balanced' in the title of his new book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right. According to Neal Pollack, Fox is saying that the subtile will be 'likely to cause confusion among the public about whether Fox News has

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060998151908717872003-08-15T21:42:00.000-04:002003-08-17T22:07:28.316-04:00

"We must plan for freedom, not only for security; if for no other reason than that only freedom can make security secure." -Karl Popper, The Open Society and Its Enemies (1945)

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060889029285995722003-08-14T15:23:00.000-04:002003-08-14T16:10:52.846-04:00

War is the most extreme, violent, and deadly extension of foreign policy, and must be used with extreme care. Since there is so much death and destruction involved in war, in any war, certain guidelines have evolved in the West to determine if a war is "just" or not. So when discussing the U.S.-Iraq War, the first question that must be asked and answered is, 'Was it a just war?' That question,

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060821850638910182003-08-13T20:44:00.000-04:002003-08-17T22:08:16.573-04:00

Just something to think about: "Necessity is the plea for every infringement of human freedom. It is the argument of tyrants; it is the creed of slaves." -William Pitt the Younger (1759-1806)

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060793645779542762003-08-13T12:54:00.000-04:002003-08-13T12:58:51.910-04:00

After seeing the post of Rubber Hose about FoxNews v. Al Franklin, or whatever the case is going to be called, I've decided to add my site to the protest. And actually, I like to think of myself as relatively well-balanced, politically, at least. I actually consider myself a centrist: I do think we should have a balanced budget, as low taxes as possible, the government should keep out of our

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060792794181972842003-08-13T12:39:00.000-04:002003-08-13T12:45:22.863-04:00

The first time I heard the term "War on Terrorism" was shortly after 9-11, and the first thought that went through my head was, "Oh, god, it's going to be like the War on Drugs." By this I meant that in thirty years time, nothing will have truely changed, and aside from giving politicians nice sound bites, terrorism will be at the same level then as now. After all, despite occassional dips in

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060712702383989582003-08-12T14:25:00.000-04:002003-08-12T14:25:02.373-04:00

Two weeks ago, before I began my short blogging carreer, PBS had a show about Watergate, a retrospective for the 30th aniversary of the televisied Senate hearings. I found it interesting, as I was a mere lad at the time of the hearings and thus remember nothing of them. I particularly found the descriptions of the arrogance and of the Nixon administration disturbing. That the President felt

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060665665458337722003-08-12T01:21:00.000-04:002003-08-12T01:21:05.470-04:00

I believe that the most important difference between the two political view points is a sense of proportion. Conservatives tend to be very good at focusing on short-term goals and immediate rammifications. Of course, the problem is that by focusing so much on the immediate, they have a tendancy to ignore the broader ramifications of their actions. So, for example, George W. Bush sees the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5666782.post-1060561314771903912003-08-10T20:21:00.000-04:002003-08-10T20:34:14.910-04:00

And here we go with yet another political blog. And another liberal one, at that. I wonder if there are any conservative ones. I'll bet there are, but I have yet to hear of them. In some ways, 'liberal' and 'conservative' have lost many of there old definitions. What is a 'liberal'? Liberals tend to feel that there should be governmental programs to aid the physical environment of the

Manasseriushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/05914278178554989008noreply@blogger.com