4/26/2003
Clearly Fareed Zakaria insights are driving much of the discussion regarding Post-War Iraq. I think this is a good thing. Here David Plotz weighs in with the rules for rebuilding.
And Jonah Goldberg advocats a Swiss model.
Switzerland is peaceful now, but it was formed by warring tribes of Germans, Italians, French, and Romansch, and divided along religious lines in a strategically vital region of Europe not unlike Iraq's place in the Middle East. It seems to me the Swiss model is almost precisely what the Iraqis need. Militarily, Switzerland is a threat to no one but invaders; its neutrality and armed pacifism are a matter of national pride, as is its desire to be a force for good in the region and the world. It's rich, stable, improbably happy — and, yeah, just a little boring in the eyes of the rest of the world. In a sense, History has ended in the Swiss Alps, and that's the way everyone likes it. Who would be crying in their beer if we could say the same thing about Iraq?
And Jonah Goldberg advocats a Swiss model.
Switzerland is peaceful now, but it was formed by warring tribes of Germans, Italians, French, and Romansch, and divided along religious lines in a strategically vital region of Europe not unlike Iraq's place in the Middle East. It seems to me the Swiss model is almost precisely what the Iraqis need. Militarily, Switzerland is a threat to no one but invaders; its neutrality and armed pacifism are a matter of national pride, as is its desire to be a force for good in the region and the world. It's rich, stable, improbably happy — and, yeah, just a little boring in the eyes of the rest of the world. In a sense, History has ended in the Swiss Alps, and that's the way everyone likes it. Who would be crying in their beer if we could say the same thing about Iraq?
4/25/2003
4/24/2003
4/23/2003
In the tawdry, base, and often shameless contest to prostitute the Laci Peterson case for personal gain you have to hand it California Attorney General Bill Lockyer. Nothing like a murdered woman to give your early campaign for a gov. a little boost. Disgusting.
Oh hell, Andrew Sullivan is going off on conservatives. Rightfully so. Being a conservative and not being willing to fight for consensual adults doing what they chose in the privacy of their homes without governmental intervention is so ludicrous it's almost laughable. This is what Sullivan is fighting for, the core principles of an ideology. What Santorum and his ilk are fighting for are political expediency fueled by moral cowardice.
4/22/2003
Howard Dean is clearly the democratic wild card in the upcoming election. He's used the net to help him raise $2.6MM, blew down the house in Calif., and seems to have a message that resonates with many voters.
Pabst Blue Ribbon, the hipster/poseur drink of the day. (note to self, how hip can anything be if the WoPo is discussing it?) And speaking of insanely, annoying, affects, this my last Peta post every.
4/21/2003
Fareed Zakaria over at Salon (suck it up and get the day pass!) discussing The Future of Freedom. The next Sec. of State on how the elites may actually serve a vital role, institutions that need to flourish in a democracy, and what it's like to be an "intellectual pinup".
One lesson of the Balkans was that if you begin the power contest before you build the institutions, everything goes awry because people who are voted into office suddenly lose interest in the rule of law, clean administration and limitations on governmental authority. It's much easier to construct a fair system when you don't know whether you're going to be the ruler or the ruled, because you will have an incentive to create a fair and balanced system....
American democracy has always been safeguarded by strong institutions that protect liberty and it's also been enriched and ennobled by a whole set of informal institutions that Tocqueville called intermediate institutions -- everything from political parties to rotary clubs to choral societies to bowling leagues. If those intermediate associations wither away, if the sense of the civic culture of America decays and is replaced by a kind of polarized populism in which each side is simply trying to use the political system as an arena where you simply have to capture the government however you can, then American democracy is impoverished and loses some of its vibrancy. It doesn't mean American democracy will become Nigerian democracy. It means it won't live up to its promise.
One lesson of the Balkans was that if you begin the power contest before you build the institutions, everything goes awry because people who are voted into office suddenly lose interest in the rule of law, clean administration and limitations on governmental authority. It's much easier to construct a fair system when you don't know whether you're going to be the ruler or the ruled, because you will have an incentive to create a fair and balanced system....
American democracy has always been safeguarded by strong institutions that protect liberty and it's also been enriched and ennobled by a whole set of informal institutions that Tocqueville called intermediate institutions -- everything from political parties to rotary clubs to choral societies to bowling leagues. If those intermediate associations wither away, if the sense of the civic culture of America decays and is replaced by a kind of polarized populism in which each side is simply trying to use the political system as an arena where you simply have to capture the government however you can, then American democracy is impoverished and loses some of its vibrancy. It doesn't mean American democracy will become Nigerian democracy. It means it won't live up to its promise.
Looks like China took a page out of the Iraqi playbook (hide-and-seek from the international inspectors)
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