TheSophist's blog
Posted at 7:12pm on Jul. 9, 2008 The Ideological Offensive (VERY LONG)
By TheSophist
In his meticulously documented memoir, War and Decision, former Assistant Secretary of Defense Doug Feith laid out several themes that serious-minded Americans must consider in depth.
One of the themes he kept hammering on over and over again was the need for the United States (as the leader of the free world) to undertake an ideological offensive against what he called, following Norman Podhoretz, "Islamofascism". He basically condemned the State Department under Powell, and the White House itself, for failing this critical task.
Posted in National Security — Comments (1) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:47pm on Jul. 8, 2008 Oh Maureen Dowd - Find Ye the Ideal Husband
By TheSophist
It is good from time to time to emerge from the seriousness of the threat against civilization posed by radical irhabis, or the continuing slide towards socialism, to take on topics of utter frivolity.
Maureen Dowd is herself such a topic, but it never gets more frivolous than when she -- the author of the book Are Men Necessary? -- takes on marriage. She did so in a recent Op-Ed in the NY Times. Most of the column is devoted to the advice of one Father Pat Connor, a "79-year old Catholic priest born in Australia" who has been giving lectures to young women entitled "Whom Not to Marry". Some pearls of wisdom are:
Posted in Culture — Comments (22) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 7:57pm on Jul. 3, 2008 Existential Struggle: Thoughts On the Eve of Independence Day
By TheSophist
In a recent post of mine, I have had the pleasure to engage in civil, reasoned discourse about the propriety of using or not using torture in our War against Irhabis. In that discussion, it struck me that there is an unspoken assumption that underlies all of our thoughts about the War, about what's right and wrong, and about our policies.
Posted in War — Comments (9) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:51am on Jul. 2, 2008 A Policy for Torture: Responding to Christopher Hitchens
By TheSophist
The 59-year old chain-smoking auteur Christopher Hitchens has undergone waterboarding in order to experience it first hand. His conclusion? "Believe Me, It's Torture." That is the title of his article.
His conclusion is that we, the United States, should cease the practice of waterboarding. In all honesty, I can get behind that, but the reasoning that Mr. Hitchens uses to get to his conclusion strikes me as equal parts all-wet and civilized fantasy.
Posted in War — Comments (83) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 6:43pm on Jul. 1, 2008 Why the Rich Donate to Obama
By TheSophist
We all knew this, deep in our hearts, but finally, some evidence emerges that Obama's support comes primarily from the moneyed class: investment bankers, lawyers, doctors, and so forth. David Brooks has done the research, and writes in his latest NYT column:
Posted in 2008 — Comments (29) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:56am on Jun. 30, 2008 What We Are Up Against: Economic Illiteracy Destroys Democracy
By TheSophist
Recently, a number of conversations I've had with colleagues, neighbors, and friends had me extremely concerned that Americans simply do not know the most basic facts about economics. Conversations about rent control, about "windfall profits tax", about supply and demand, about incentives, about topics that an adult simply must understand in order to participate meaningfully in a modern democracy all led to my wondering just how the Republic is to survive.
Posted in Economy — Comments (100) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:45am on Jun. 25, 2008 Seeking Redstaters to Rise in Defense of State & the CIA
By TheSophist
Last night, I finally managed to finish Doug Feith's massive, and massively documented, War and Decision. It may have been the most illuminating book I have ever read about how our government actually functions, and it has the benefit of extensive documentation. Dough Feith tries hard to be fair, although given his central role as a player in the dramas (instead of just an observer), his biases are extremely evident.
Posted in War — Comments (24) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:06am on Jun. 13, 2008 The Progeny of Miscommunication -- How McCain Must Move Us Forward
By TheSophist
By now, we all know that the Supreme Court decided on a 5-4 vote to side with America's enemies in the Boumediene case. It is a spectacular usurpation of power by the unelected judiciary, and I'm sure we all will dissect the decision in days and weeks to come, and have occasion to regret it for years and years to come.
As I'm working through the marvelous War and Decision by Douglas Feith, I am coming to realize more and more how we are in danger of losing this war due to a fundamental lack of communication by the Bush White House. They made the right decisions, but failed to communicate it, failed to "frame it" in the right way, and as a result we have abominations like the Boumediene ruling.
Posted in War — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 9:52am on Jun. 9, 2008 McCain's "Go*k" Problem (?)
By TheSophist
I put the title with a question mark, because it isn't clear just yet how big a problem this is/will be for McCain.
But I got sent this link by a leftist friend (well, so far anyhow -- we'll see after 2008 elections) who asked me how I could possibly support McCain:
Posted in 2008 — Comments (17) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 11:18am on Jun. 6, 2008 On the Need for a Change in Our Lexicon
By TheSophist
In one of the best blog posts I've read recently, Dafydd over at Big Lizards continues the conversation about our need to start engaging in ideological warfare with the Islamists. That is a fantastic discussion in and of itself. I strongly recommend reading not just that post, but the posts before it that engendered the discussion.
Posted in The Parties — Comments (10) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 10:03am on Jun. 3, 2008 The Conservative Reality Based Community
By TheSophist
The most important book I have read this century is Mark Steyn's America Alone. That it talks about the most important development of the 21st century with clarity, comedy, and above all courage makes Steyn's work a classic. The issues Steyn discusses will have consequences for the entire world for the foreseeable future.
Posted in Policy — Comments (38) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 3:05pm on Jun. 2, 2008 Senator Obama is a Man of Principle
By TheSophist
Senator Barack Obama, by withdrawing from Trinity United Church, has shown us all that he is a man of uncompromising principle.
Obama took care to praise Trinity's work to "help the hungry and homeless and people in need of medical care" and said he had "tremendous regard" for Moss.
"But it's clear that now that I am a candidate for president, every time something is said in the church by any one associated with Trinity, including guest pastors, the remarks will be imputed to me even if they totally conflict with my long held views, statements and principles," Obama said.
Posted in 2008 — Comments (37) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 1:14am on Feb. 28, 2008 In Praise of Licentiousness
By TheSophist
(I had this posted originally on The Sophistry, but a couple of commenters -- probably sent from RS originally -- thought I should post it here for additional thoughts.)
For some time now, I've been engaged in a running debate about the American Identity with some very smart thinkers on the topic, such as Paul Cella. One recent thread on Redstate.com led to a seeming consensus that the American identity, whatever else it may be, is nebulous and difficult to pin down. Another thread goes into more detail trying to define "American culture" that is worth reading. There have been other incredibly erudite discussions on the subject as well.
Posted in Immigration — Comments (38) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 7:56pm on Feb. 26, 2008 Hope for the Future! Change is on its way!
By TheSophist
And no, I'm not talking about His Obamaness. Rather, I speak of real change that is coming, a real hope for the future.
Here's the headline from the latest Editor & Publisher website article:
Russian Blogs The Antidote to Neutered Media
Oh, my dear friends at E&P... It ain't just the Russian Media that's neutered....
Posted in Liberals — Comments (0) / Email this page » / Read More »
Posted at 2:55pm on Feb. 4, 2008 Assimilation, American Culture, and Johnny
By TheSophist
Absentee's excellent post on why the anti-illegal immigration movement needs to expel the racists and bigots from within its ranks and engendered a healthy debate and discussion.
One of the things I found most interesting is the oft-expressed view that we, as a nation, must focus on assimilating immigrants. English as a national language is a common theme, and many opine that legal employment, citizenship, and various benefits be contingent on a showing that the immigrant want to learn, absorb, and assimilate American culture.
Posted in Immigration — Comments (19) / Email this page » / Read More »
