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Tuesday, October 8, 2002 - 06:11 p.m. - But but but...I have to say that as dangerous as the saber-rattling can be, it is probably the only feasible way to get what we want out of Iraq's leaders. The rattling, not the impaling, that is. "What we want," broadly speaking, is an end to the regime's brutality and limits to its ability to wage war on civilians. Yes, yes, we're hypocrites and rich folks will get richer off their oil, and, worst of all, the world feels less secure. But, if Hussein's regime is as - oh, let's just say "evil" - as we believe it to be, then getting him to step down by using credible threats is OK by me. And I think that's what GWB and his cronies have been doing all along. They had to act like they meant it. Some probably do mean it (Wolfowitz, e.g.), which makes the threat much more plausible. It also explains why the rationale for the war kept changing - as soon as the doves would poke holes in one argument, another was trotted out. This line of paranoid thinking works equally well for their secret rationale being oil or intimidation - or both. Thing is, if they really justwanted oil, they could simply drop sanctions and offer attractive prices. Does this mean I think that peacers should shut up? Of course not - without that pressure, GWB might actually become obligated to fight, and odds are his thinkers counted on fairly strong (but not too strong) public opposition to the use of force. Public mythology aside, these are not idiots running the store. Venal, overly moralistic, hypocritical, mushy-mouthed, and boring, but not stupid. If the left could play the game with half the finesse of the right, the US two-party system would be the Democrats and the Greens, with the Republicans the fringe pro-biz party that keeps the Dems close to the center. So anyway, NO WAR!
Saturday, October 5, 2002 - 05:58 p.m. -
Monday, September 30, 2002 - 10:38 p.m. -
Monday, September 30, 2002 - 10:21 p.m. - So what I'm realizing is: I'm good at this. Not just library monkeyshines, not just selling shit to nerds (though I am exceptionally talented in each of those stupid fields), but working through all the pain and making new things appear when they're needed. The busier I am, the better I work. I remember this from my saving-the-world-from-AIDS days, but it's been a long time since I've had to remind myself. I reckon most of you who know me know what a profoundly lazy man I am. Especially those of you who've had to suffer through my interminable droughts when working on supposedly self-motivated projects*. E.g. that one site that might one day entertain someone who isn't a friend. It infuriates me that I can't make the mojo happen on my own projects, but only when I have a boss (usually with a wad of bills in hand) expecting me to produce on deadline. But here I am babbling to you-all when I should be writing for Bill. I suppose I'll have another non-funny-link entry ready for you in a month or so. 'Til then. * Like, I guess, this dumb blog. Food for thought, there, or something.
Sunday, September 29, 2002 - 12:58 p.m. -
Friday, September 27, 2002 - 08:29 p.m. -
Friday, September 27, 2002 - 08:27 p.m. -
Monday, September 16, 2002 - 07:57 p.m. -
Monday, September 16, 2002 - 07:53 p.m. -
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