Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Around the World Wide Web 36

I saw a bumper sticker today that said, "Peace Through Music." What can this mean? I think I know: if you play Pantera loud enough, it disorients the enemy and makes him easy to shoot. That must be it.

1. Lots of good posts in October over at Kalamazoo Objectivist. Between Sarita and Mike, Michigan seems to be in good hands.

2. Ed Cline looks at the spate of anti-American movies coming out of Hollywood. He notes that the modern war movies are "ambiguous," but ambiguity is the point. The movies intend to instill doubt in their viewers.

This doubt is the fruit of altruism. The doubt is over whether America has a moral right to defend itself against militant Islam. Or should America, the strongest nation on earth, buy its right to exist through sacrifice for the weaker nations? The enemy is certain he has a moral right to destroy us. America's intellectuals are not certain we have a right to destroy the enemy.

Can a nation survive that doubts its right to exist?

3. Hillary Clinton tries to be on both sides of an issue (should illegal immigrants be given drivers licenses) and when the moderator tries to pin her down she accuses him of playing "gotcha." She's not as smooth a liar as her husband. Roger Simon calls it "the worst performance of her entire campaign."

Where do I stand on the issue? I don't think the state has the right to dictate who can drive. I think anyone who wants to come to America should come on in without anyone's permission and drive without anyone's permission. I disagree vehemently with Senator Dodd, who calls a drivers license a "privilege." If I understood where Senator Clinton stands, I could tell you if I disagree with her.

4. Der Fuehrer's Flatulence Problem.

5. Schumer Asserts Iran War Would Destroy G.O.P.

6. Dick Morris is often wrong, but I think he's dead on here:

Hillary realizes, as Bill once told me, that any government entitlement for poor people can be easily repealed since they lack political power and practical voting strength. But middle class entitlements, once granted, last forever - see Social Security and Medicare and rent control in New York City.

So Hillary will pioneer entitlements and grants for middle class families, making them at once dependent on government aid, winning their political gratitude, and giving them a stake in benefit programs that also help the poor.

She will bring us much closer to the Swedish, French, and German model where everybody gets a check from the government, regardless of their wealth or income, making it impossible to criticize the program.

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