US Republicans, Galactic Stupidity, Dangerous Future

If anyone needed more evidence of how the US will decline in power and influence (not a bad thing, actually) need only to look at the caliber of intellect in positions of power within the Republican party – which, sadly to say, will sooner or later be in control again. Some opinions of the galactically stupid:


First batter, Representative Alan West (Fl): "But let me close by saying this. The world is going to hell. And I don't know any other way to say it. When you look at what's happening in Libya, I don't care what anyone says; you can't win away from 30,000 feet. I've been on the battle field before. I don't know why we're shooting $567,000 a piece Tomahawk cruise missiles into Libya. You know, back two or three weeks ago, we could have taken care of this situation if we had done the exact same thing that Ronald Reagan did back in the early 80's to Muammar Gaddafi, when he dropped the bomb in his back yard. Muammar Gaddafi didn't say a word for the next 30 years."

I won’t go into his military record – abusing prisoners for a start. But, what is he talking about? Reagan launched targeted attacks in response to a terrorist bombing by Libya. I remember the targeting camera film back in 1986 – it shifted from the tent where Qadaffi was sleeping (later confirmed) to the immediate adjacent building. We missed because he changed his location. He did not stay quiet. Lockerbie was two years later (among other things). Strike one.

Second batter, Representative Steven King (NY): "We think that a sovereign nation should have no border incursions. If we have a border incursion, and it's someone who is lined up next to someone else, lined up next to someone else, and they're carrying weapons and uniforms, that's called an invasion. Whether they're wearing uniforms or carrying weapons, or whether they're coming across in orderly ranks, or whether they're coming across at a rate of perhaps as many as 11,000 a night — and that's some data that came before the House Immigration Committee under sworn testimony — you take the annual illegal border crossings and you divide it by 365, and some of that data, under oath, calculates out to be 11,000 illegal border crossings in a 24-hour period, a lot of that taking place at night. When you think of 11,000 a night, and so I ask the question, what was the size of Santa Ana's army? About half that. That, Mr. Speaker, is the magnitude of the illegal border crossings that we're seeing."

Santa Ana’s army was a force of about 4,000 – invading a rebel held territory of Mexico. The same as Mexican immigrants “invading” ? How many – 11 thousand a night??? Illegal immigration (total – not just Mexican) is actually about 500,000 a year. Old , tired and stupid white men – largely Republican – want to run foreign policy for the US and will in the future. Strike 2.

Third batter, Mike Huckabee (presidential wannabe in Israel February): He said that the Israeli established policy - the idea of Israel giving land to Palestinians in exchange for peace is an "unrealistic, unworkable, and unreachable goal." “There are vast amounts of territory that are in the hands of Muslims, in the hands of Arabs. Maybe the international community can come together and accommodate.”

So – move them all to Muslim countries. Transfer them, like rabbi Meir Kahane wanted (even he was banned from serving in the Knesset because of his racism). Mike wants a population transfer and even forcible deportation of all Arabs from Israel, including the West Bank and the Gaza Strip. But then none of the Geneva Conventions or international law make a difference to Republicans. Strike three.

The problem is that a substantial number of Americans go along with or believe all the above. Banana Republic anyone?

Speaking of Stupid

Image via Wikipedia

Ok. I finally, eventually, get around to reading something about the US. Unfortunately, the first thing that hit me from the “internets” was this piece of undiluted ignorance posturing as intellectualism from someone, in my far off youth, I considered smart.

So why is America’s “win the future” administration so fixated on railroads, a technology that was the future two centuries ago? Because progressivism’s aim is the modification of (other people’s) behavior.

Forever seeking Archimedean levers for prying the world in directions they prefer, progressives say they embrace high-speed rail for many reasons—to improve the climate, increase competitiveness, enhance national security, reduce congestion, and rationalize land use. The length of the list of reasons, and the flimsiness of each, points to this conclusion: the real reason for progressives’ passion for trains is their goal of diminishing Americans’ individualism in order to make them more amenable to collectivism.

To progressives, the best thing about railroads is that people riding them are not in automobiles, which are subversive of the deference on which progressivism depends. Automobiles go hither and yon, wherever and whenever the driver desires, without timetables. Automobiles encourage people to think they—unsupervised, untutored, and unscripted—are masters of their fates. The automobile encourages people in delusions of adequacy, which make them resistant to government by experts who know what choices people should make.

When did George Will become so stupid? Trains are much more efficient than planes or cars over certain distances and destinations. Go to Japan, or China, or Europe. Or maybe he hates the idea because VERY IMPORTANT PEOPLE like him really don’t want to sit with the rest of us. And to try and stretch his dislike of those he considers beneath him, he assigns the desire to make transport better and more efficient for the user to some sort of plot by Progressives to control other peoples’ lives.

George, go back to writing about baseball.