The GW Patriot: March 2008

Monday, March 31, 2008

Sunday, March 30, 2008

According to Blogger, the GW Patriot Blog published 467 posts from February 14, 2007, until January 1 of this year. That's 320 days. Between January 1, 2008, and today (90 days), we have published 217 posts--nearly half the 2007 number.

Since New Year's Day, we've averaged 2.4 posts a day. The daily average for 2007 was only 1.4 posts per day. Onward, upward, and (usually) rightward we go.

Keep up the good work, guys and gals!

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Let Prudence Rule

"It [The Iraq War] could last six days, six weeks... I doubt six months..."

-Donald Rumsfeld

The American adventure in Iraq is now five years old and an honest analysis is definitely necessary at this juncture, especially with an election approaching. I remember very vividly the debate leading up to the war and I remember just as vividly my own rabid support for the Wilsonian expedition. I will only speak in my defense on that matter briefly, and say that I was caught up in immature identity politics, where the Republican Party, it's leaders and it's interests became my own. My misguided support is also an example of the danger of a strict and rigid ideology, completely out of touch with reality. Even the most hawkish of Reagan administration officials knew a bad investment when they saw one and were willing to cut their losses (see: Reagan's withdrawal from Lebanon after a terrorist attack on a Marine barracks). Reagan's first inclination was that withdrawal would lead to Lebanese chaos and the "end of Lebanon" (sound familiar?) but further examination revealed the reality of Middle Eastern politics to the Gipper as terrifyingly irrational.

First I will address several abstract absolutes used by the hawks of war. These absolutes are used to reinforce their practical and realistic goals in the campaign, and are normally considered incontrovertible benefits of the Iraq campaign. In reality they only serve to mislead and misinform in the inevitable instance that the pragmatic reasoning no longer holds water. In Iraq, hindsight has shown us that when WMDs were not found and when claims of Iraqi support of terrorism came under dispute, the fool-proof fallback was the righteous claim that we are "spreading freedom" and "defeating tyranny." But the forefathers of conservative theory warned against broad generalities such as these. Freedom is noble and desirable, no doubt, and tyranny equally heinous and undesirable. But circumstances lend the necessary context to every political measure, and Iraq is no exception. Indeed, polling in the country has shown that although free elections and civil liberties are surely a desire of the Iraqi people, being bombed into oblivion and having all sources of order completely dismantled was not a cost the people were willing to pay. Free men are surely happy men, but in order for the sustainability of a system of government, prudence and tradition are the best indicators for a peaceful future.

The unbending loyalty held by Mr. Bush and his cohorts to the legitimacy of democracy would eventually (if you will pardon the pun) blow up in their respected faces. Middle Eastern democracy advanced the interests of many Arabs, but unfortunately it advanced the interests of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in Palestine, and al-Sadr in Iraq. In fact, if any singular action can be pointed to that has had a more damaging impact on the "Holy Grail: Liberty" than the use of democratic means by evil groups in the middle east to gain power and influence and fight American interests, I would like to be notified of such an action.

The circumstances of the Iraq adventure could be argued for hours, and frankly most evidence is on the side of those of us who wish to leave. But in the end circumstances are meaningless to the aforementioned (and brilliantly defined) "true believers." We are fighting "Islamofascism" say the war advocates, and in Iraq we are killing the radicals pushing a worldwide caliphate. On this very blog I once browbeated about the ominous and undefinable threat and how all measures must be taken to extinguish it. But further analysis reveals this threat as a fractured and diverse movement, not unified by any one message or mission. We can find Muslim leaders around the world who have called for the end of America and Israel, for the killing of Christians and Jews, and for the spread of a Muslim civilization, no doubt. But would these words have weight or meaning if Arabs had no evidence of an imposing American hegemon? And are we as a nation to saturation-bomb all souls who hate us? Do all the forces of the world that look upon American power with disdain and anger need to be put in their place?

In the end, in order to buy into the idea of this impending apocalyptic threat, one must completely oversimplify the enemy's motives and interests. Unlike Communism or Nazism, this enemy does not define itself as "Islamofascist" yet the term still stands. It is used to paint groups of completely different origin and cause as unified by their ties to Islam. Indeed that is the one unifying feature shared by these enemies. We are to believe that Sunni Islamist terrorists, Shi'ite religious radicals, Ba'athist party insurgents, Palestinian nationalists, Syrian expansionists, Hezbollah's political movement in Lebanon, and most importantly the government of Iran are all of the same brand and are all enemies to be battled to the death. In light of the fact that the finest foreign policy minds in the country can not decide upon a more definable enemy, permit me to suggest the possibility that the terminology of this war is deliberately vague. Vague enough to permit perpetual war anywhere, for any reason, and despite any extenuating circumstances.

These revolutionary expeditions we have taken into foreign lands where reason and fanaticism are indistinguishable continue to hurt us, and will do so for a long time. Billions of dollars have been and will continue to be spent, and fighting men and women, who donated in droves to the most antiwar candidate in the Presidential race, continue to kill and die in the name of a failed experiment. Evidence that this truly is a mess lies in the words of the warmakers; despite all the misinformation sold to the American people and all of the statements and promises that never panned out, the entire argument and discussion regarding our presence in Iraq and the Middle East at large, the argument has been reduced to the following: if we leave, Iraq will fall into chaos and disorder. But this only suggests the following: that the problems caused by our exit are more harmful to our interests than the costs currently endured by both the average American (in dollars) and the fighting American (in blood). I have yet to hear an argument compelling enough to convince me that the costs will be worse after an exit.

And as for the problems that may occur in the region after we leave, the blame for those problems lie with those who pushed falsely and fervently for this war and it's continued escalation. The blood is on their hands, not on the hands of those who wish for Americans to need not kill or be killed for this misguided cause.

The liberal argument for withdrawal tends to be just as misguided and blindly ideological as the argument was to enter the war. Looking back over the past five years, the conservative case for withdrawal is by far the most compelling and prudent course of action. Nearly every other American foreign policy tradition, from Robert Taft isolationism to Eisenhower-style internationalism is more sensible and prudent than Bush-style go-it-alone militarism mixed with rabid nationalism. It is not the time to stubbornly hang on to a mission that has long since come to pass as a failure. It is time to learn from these mistakes and look forward. As Aldous Huxley once wrote, "Rolling in the muck is not the best way of getting clean."

I leave you, as I always do, with the words of a man much smarter than myself:

"Why engage in wars halfway around the world, at incalculable expense in men and money? As Burke, two centuries gone, said of the Pitt government's strategy against revolutionary France (with respect to the Netherlands), 'A war for the Scheldt? A war for a chamberpot!' And later, 'The blood of man should be shed but to redeem the blood of man. The rest is vanity: the rest is crime.'

A war for Kuwait [Baghdad]? A war for an oil-can! The rest is vanity; the rest is crime."
-Russell Kirk

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Lady Colonials fall in Sweet 16

Liberal Deceit: Abortion and Breast Cancer

From the Colonials For Life listserv:
"Join CFL as we host Andrew Schlafly,
founder of Conservapedia and practicing attorney who files law briefs
for conservatives before the U.S. Supreme Court on abortion and other causes.
He was on the Harvard Law Review with Barack Obama and has
appeared on MSNBC, NPR, BBC and other national media.
Mr. Schlafly will be speaking on what pro-choice politicans
don't want you to know about the abortion-breast cancer link."
Monday, March 31st
6:30 PM
Marvin Center 307

Please come if you can make it. Should be interesting. Also, Andrew is the son of the great Phyllis Schlafly, and there's a slight possibility that she might make an appearance.

Maybe one of our writers could turn it into an article for the upcoming issue of the Patriot?

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Friday, March 28, 2008

Thoughts on Bond

I'll have to respectfully disagree with what seems to be the prevailing opinion among my fellow Patriot writers (gee, that's a first) on the choice of Julian Bond as commencement speaker.

Most of the people supportive of the choice, though, aren't being fair to the critics. An anonymous commenter:

Yeah, hopefully next year we can get someone who became famous without offending anyone and who is totally uncontroversial to give a really exciting, completely balanced speech that everyone agrees with.

The problem is not that Bond isn't "uncontroversial," or that he might say things with which some students will disagree. Their criticism is that the things Bond has said are both controversial and completely off-the-wall crazy. Calling him the "Ann Coulter of the Left" would be a stretch, but it certainly is Coulteresque to compare one's political opponents to the Taliban, Confederate slaveholders, and Nazis. Aren't we and our intellectual role models supposed to be above that sort of tripe? Is that really any better than demanding that the United States invade Muslim countries and convert their leaders to Christianity?

This said, I don't really mind inviting Bond to speak at commencement. First, here's a shocker: commencement speakers don't really matter. It's an honorary degree and a five minute speech, and--like it or not--Sergio Gor is not G.E.M. Anscombe. We might as well make a big fuss over the color of the trim on the graduation robes, or the quality of the grass on the Mall. Second, I'm willing to give Bond the benefit of the doubt because of his admirable work with SNCC during the Civil Rights era. I hope he'll draw more on that than on his RepubliConfedeNaziBan fantasies when he's thinking of material for his speech.

GW students love to whine and bitch, but let's at least try to keep that limited to the important stuff.

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Thursday, March 27, 2008

We all finally have something we can agree on.

After a year (just about) of picking at each other, the three main entities of GW's conservative movement, Us here at the Patriot, the CRs and our more militant brethren over at YAF can finally agree on something, Julian Bond was a poor choice for a commencement address:

Sergio Gor and his YAF minions have started a facebook group on the subject: here.
and as previously mentioned the CRs have penned a letter to the Hatchet
and we'll continue to blog about it.

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Breaking: College Republicans Disagree with University About Something

Mangy, Transient Dormless Sophomores Roam the Aisles of Gelman Library

Hunter got to it first, but I read the Hatchet article, and was left with more questions than answers about GW's own mangy, transient dormless hobo. If Marco Chomut happens to read the Patriot blog (doubtful), perhaps he can grace us with some answers in the comments section.

First, where were his parents in all this? Granted, they might not have been able to get him put back into housing, but I imagine they would have had (or still have) strong words for (a) their child, who lived in a library for nearly two months or (b) the University that forced him to do so by kicking him out of housing. Of course, this neglects the possibility that Mr. Chomut managed to hide his mangy, transient dormlessness from his parents. Props to him if that's the case--I can't even keep my eating habits secret from the all-seeing eye of mother.

Secondly, does he have any plans to sue or make a fuss? It doesn't sound like he has grounds for a strong lawsuit, but too few people harass this University when it fails its students so badly (by, say, acting like an uptight parent and throwing her own kids on the street for failing to make rent.)

Thirdly, his hair is suspiciously well-coifed for someone who's been homeless and showering in Hell-Well for two months. Just thought I'd note that. He looks like he's in better than I am after an equal amount of time living in New Hall.

Fourthly, where did he wash his clothes? Did he wash his clothes?

So many questions...

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Conservatives More Liberal In Donations

But I thought since I believe in the free market I was greedy?

Although liberal families' incomes average 6 percent higher than those of conservative families, conservative-headed households give, on average, 30 percent more to charity than the average liberal-headed household ($1,600 per year vs. $1,227).

Conservatives also donate more time and give more blood.

Residents of the states that voted for John Kerry in 2004 gave smaller percentages of their incomes to charity than did residents of states that voted for George Bush.

Bush carried 24 of the 25 states where charitable giving was above average.

In the 10 reddest states, in which Bush got more than 60 percent majorities, the average percentage of personal income donated to charity was 3.5. Residents of the bluest states, which gave Bush less than 40 percent, donated just 1.9 percent.

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Blame GW's infamous bureaucracy.

Wednesday, March 26, 2008

Oh God, My Eyes.

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

Double-O Racist

Bond. Julian Bond.

Well known racist Julian Bond will be receiving an honorary degree from the University as well as giving the 2008 Commencement Address. I have recently recieved an unhappy email from various alums who wish to write an op-ed for the Patriot. We will, of course, oblige.

I don't need to say anything, but you know I'm upset.

EDIT: I guess I should read the blog more thoroughly... The alumni involvement is still newsworthy and worth another post, right?

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Ladies and gentlemen, we are part of the problem.

Apparently, there's just too much commentary out there:

MSNBC says James Carville told Larry King that Hillary Clinton has to win Texas and Ohio to remain in the race! On the Moderate Voice, a poster named Damozel says John McCain has capitulated on torture and is now dead to right-leaning Dems! A caller to Joe Madison's radio show complains that Tavis Smiley was an arrogant snob when he snubbed Michelle Obama by not letting her speak somewhere! A body language expert on "Fox & Friends" believes Clemens was lying because he clenched his jaw and licked his lips! On MSNBC's "Morning Joe," someone named Chuck is venturing the bold opinion, and I'm quoting this directly, that to get the nomination, Hillary's best strategy has to be "to start winning, not losing." Because a beagle has won the Westminster dog show, FoxNews is predicting a wave of beaglemania. Instapundit links to another blog that links to another blog, where a blogger says he "still can't decide whether Obama is an empty suit, or worse, a truly excellent dissembler." On something called Israellycool.com, a blogger wonders with suspicion why the mainstream media have ignored the insidious fact that, for his birthday, North Korea's Kim Jong Il got a floral basket from Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas. The Page reports that Hillary Clinton campaign chief Terry McAuliffe says he is "more confident than I have ever been" that Hillary will get the nomination. Immediately, at least four blogs furiously link to a quote by David Plouffe, Obama's campaign manager, saying that an Obama victory is nearly inevitable.

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Ladies move on to the Sweet 16.

Monday, March 24, 2008

Number 4,000

It's finally here. CNN reports:

"One day, people will look back at this moment in history and say, 'Thank God there were courageous people willing to serve, because they laid the foundations for peace for generations to come,' " Bush told reporters after a meeting at the State Department.

In other news from the peaceful land of Iraq, a nighttime curfew was imposed in Basra ("amid reports of growing lawlessness among Shia militias," according to the BBC), and the U.S. may have killed its own allies with an air strike near Samarra.

I am filled with unutterable loathing.

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At least its not Knapp or SJT..

In a decision that smacks of tolerance and all that fun stuff, GW announced today that NAACP chairman Julian Bond will be the keynote speaker at this year's commencement.Bond has, despite the NAACP's "non-partisan" status, frequently gone out of his way to attack President Bush and the Republican party, statements that have called into question the organization's tax-exempt status. Bond's speech at commencement is the same day as the 40th anniversary of the assassination of the one truly honorable civil rights leader Martin Luther King, Jr. A coincidence that GW was all too happy to point out.

I'm sure Bond's invitation has nothing to do with the strange of "racist incidents" that have happened on campus this year.

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Obama and his Reverend

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Are These Times Really Tough?

Many people today are griping over the economic downturn while completely disregarding all the luxuries we now consider necessities in everyday life. Here is a great opinion piece by Steve Moore that puts things back in perspective:

A few weeks ago I gave a talk on the state of the economy to a group of college students -- almost all Barack Obama enthusiasts -- who were griping about how downright awful things are in America today. As they sipped their Starbucks lattes and adjusted their designer sunglasses, they recited their grievances: The country is awash in debt "that we will have to pay off"; the middle class in shrinking; the polar ice caps are melting; and college is too expensive.

I've been speaking to groups like this one for more than 20 years, but I have never confronted such universal pessimism from a young audience. Its members acted as if the hardships of modern life are making it nearly impossible for them to get out of bed in the morning. So I conducted a survey of these grim youngsters. How many of you, I asked, own a laptop? A cellphone? An iPod, a DVD player, a flat-screen digital TV? To every question somewhere between two-thirds and all of the hands in the room rose. But they didn't even get my point. "Well, duh," one of them scoffed, "who doesn't have an iPod these days?" I was way too embarrassed to tell them that I, for one, don't. They thought that living without these products would be like going back to prehistoric times.

Times are tough in many old industrial areas of the country. And middle-class anxiety about the costs of health care and higher education is real. But new data from the Census Bureau reveal that Americans of all income groups have made enormous gains in their standard of living in recent decades. As late as 1970, air conditioning, color TVs, washing machines, dryers and microwaves were considered luxuries. Today the vast majority of even poor families have these things in their homes. Almost one in three "poor" families has not one but at least two cars.

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Saturday, March 22, 2008

Lady Colonials defeat Auburn, onto round 2.

Friday, March 21, 2008

Iraq and "True Believers"

I've avoided writing anything substantial about the War in Iraq for some time now--ever since last summer, before Pat was miraculously converted to a view similar to my own (something for which I take no credit)--but with the hawkish McCain having secured the nomination, and a pile of work on my desk begging me to procrastinate, I'll leave a few words in response to Hunter's "true belief" in the cause.

First, Hunter ought to be more careful about what he calls himself, because by subscribing to the label of a "true believer" he may say more about his beliefs than he originally thought. The term itself was invented by autodidact psychologist Eric Hoffer in 1951 and popularized (as a syndrome) by M. Lamar Keene in 1976. A true believer (in a policy, ideology, religion, etc.) suffers from a sickness of the brain--an inability to acknowledge the unpleasant truths that contradict the theories, ideas, and preconceptions which they support or enjoy. Despite mounds of evidence to the contrary, the true believer refuses to acknowledge his or her own error. Witness, for example, the fanatical loyalty of many Nazis to Hitler's regime even after the Gotterdammerung order of April, 1945.

What has this to do with the War in Iraq? I have no idea if Hunter and the remaining American hawks actually are true believers. I won't label them that way, because I know that people have a tendency to ascribe to their opponents all sorts of imagined traits. (I won't even begin to describe the hostile, shallow, uninvited psychoanalysis I've received on account of my political opinions.) It is also true that over the past five years Iraq has seen progress from dictatorship into anarchy and back up into some semblance of a liberal democracy. However, the blind faith with which people like Hunter accept the idea of American military force "helping" people overseas still shocks me, and makes me think that there must be a grain of "true belief" in their support for the continued military occupation of Iraq.

Hunter writes:

The world isn't beyond saving, and neither is Baghdad. We are in the midst of record low civilian and soldier casualties, the Iraqi government is continually working, with alot of work to go, on a permanent stable Iraq, and it is our obligation not just as the initial invading force, but as the lone superpower to insure that Iraq does not fall into oblivion, to be wiped away from the history books as Iran, Syria, and Turkey absorb the weaken states we have abandoned. Iraq is still a worthy, noble cause.

We shouldn't collapse into negativity when thinking about our presence in Iraq, but we should avoid this sort of romanticism as well. As economist Christopher Coyne explained in his recent book After War: The Political Economy of Exporting Democracy, military force (however benevolent, heroic, noble, etc., it may be) has proven an astoundingly uneffective tool for constructing stable, liberal, democratic governments. Pointing, as most war supporters do, to "record low casualties" is bunk, because the goal of the surge was never simply to reduce casualties, but to prepare the way for an eventual U.S. withdrawal from the country. Now, its success is being trumpeted as a reason to remain in the country for decades longer. Call this the amazing, self-perpetuating war! The success of the surge is no proof that we are winning the long-term struggle to construct Iraqi democracy, but simply that adding more guns has reduced violence.

For a century America has experimented with the use of military force in "democracy-building." In light of our failures (which vastly outnumber our successes), could it be that military force is no substitute for the genuine, inside-out cultural changes that gave birth to sustainable, liberal democracy here in America? Have war supporters considered that some parts of the world may not want our help, or that the best way to help them might be some method other than military occupation?

I know Pat's opposition to the war is much more pessimistic than my own. I don't share in his "damn-them-all" attitude, or his belief that populations abroad can be blamed for the failure of American might to move mountains. But I do believe that the romanticization of military power--of the mission, of "spreading freedom" at the point of a gun--is no substitute for evidence of effectiveness, and that it helps no one to persist in a destructive cause. That persistence is a dangerous symptom of the true believer, and it gets us nowhere but into a bind. Eventually, we'll have to rely entirely on faith and romantic notions in order to support US military actions, because the evidence of their effectiveness will have become so sparse. Then, we'll all be true believers.

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Ever soft-boiled an egg in a dishwasher?

The World's Biggest Cheapskate has, along with placing a governor on his themostat and attempting to make a sweater out of pocket lint. He believes that 80% of all the things we buy are junk that is better left unbought. If he's talking about frequent shoppers at The Sharper Image, I agree.

Anyway, I think this guy has never heard of the concept of "opportunity cost." Just ask anyone that has spent two weeks knitting a pocket lint sweater.

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March Madness

GW has a lot of horses in this year's NCAA Tournament:
UMBC, Xavier, St. Joseph's, Temple, UCLA, who are all teams we have lost to, are in the tournament. UMBC and Temple are already out,but look for UCLA and Xavier both to make runs deep into the tournament.

One bright spot, Play-in game winner and 16th seed Mount St. Mary's (The Mount) a team we beat in our season opener 77-62 will no doubt be slaughtered tonight against North Carolina. However, if The Mount can pull off the upset of the century, that technically means that we too can and should beat North Carolina...just a thought.

Our intra-city "rivals" Georgetown and American (yes, American has a basketball team), both made the tournament. American kept it decent for a while against the Tennessee Volunteers (Gold Ole' Rocky Top! WOO Rocky Top Tennessee!) but then the Vols realized they were one of the best teams in the country and they were playing a school that few knew even had a team, and then pulled away for the 72-57 victory. As previously mentioned the Hoyas (worst mascot name ever) beat up on UMBC 66-47, meaning that Georgetown would no doubt beat the Hoya out of us. Still want that "rivalry" game?

On a similar note, my bracket is somewhat alive, except my dreams of Winthrop and Drake being the Cinderellas at the ball, have been dashed. My Final Four is still in tact.

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Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Hell Freezes Over

Baghdad isn't beyond saving.

It seems that I might be the only regular blogger on here that actually (still) supports the War in Iraq. Five years on, I am before you still a true believer.
The argument put up by some that the Iraqis are somehow undeserving of the "liberty" they've been given is one find concerning. It seems that some are using the actions of a few (suicide bombers, local area militias, rogue clerics) to paint with a broad brush that all Iraqis and their fellow residents of the Middle Easterns are nothing more than barbaric, backwards heathens who deserve nothing more than for their countries to self-destruct. I don't hold such pessimistic views.
I am not going to stand up here and say Iraq has been a perfect situation, you will find that even the most enthusiastic supporter of the war will not admit to such things. On the other hand, Iraq has not been a "Vietnam" as many early and current detractors hoped it would turn into. Instead we have a country that five years ago was overlorded by a Dictator and his BDSM-loving sons, all three of whom are now dead by the hands of those who they once oppressed, and now is democracy. Unlike Vietnam, which never had a stable government or legitimate elections, the Iraqis have gone to the polls in record numbers multiple times, under the threat of a few thugs who would rather bring Iraq into a Saddam-Sharia hybrid where basic civil liberties are erased, turning Iraq and its fellow Muslim, Middle-Eastern countries into a Islamo-Oceania (been reading 1984 over the break, in lieu of actual work). As the lone superpower in the world, we can not allow such things to happen.
I don't buy into the myth that somehow we are creating a new "Empire" for ourselves, I believe that is a desire that died with Teddy Roosevelt. Manifest Destiny is something the American government, much less the American people has long grown tired of. Instead what we have now is a world in which at one time begs us for help and then tries to push us away when he attempt it. I don't believe it is entirely our problem.
Its ok to blame the world for the world's problems. This had led many into a neo-isolationism, in which we believe the world is beyond saving and we could far better by just allowing the world to crumble unto itself, and quoting Black Hawk Down "Watch it destroy itself on CNN".

The world isn't beyond saving, and neither is Baghdad. We are in the midst of record low civilian and soldier casualties, the Iraqi government is continually working, with alot of work to go, on a permanent stable Iraq, and it is our obligation not just as the initial invading force, but as the lone superpower to insure that Iraq does not fall into oblivion, to be wiped away from the history books as Iran, Syria, and Turkey absorb the weaken states we have abandoned. Iraq is still a worthy, noble cause.

..now come the comments.

2 comments

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Cheney Makes Me Feel Warm and Fuzzy About Empire

Cheney says the "Mideast needs freedom."

Oh, the dangers of ideology.

Just a quick reminder from a political genius (and the first true conservative statesman):

"Circumstances (which for some gentleman pass for nothing) give in reality to every political principle its distinguishing color and discriminating effect. The circumstances are what render every civil and political scheme beneficial or noxious to mankind. Abstractly speaking, government, as well as liberty, is good... Is it because liberty in the abstract may be classed amongst the blessings of mankind, that I am seriously to fecilitate a madman who has escaped from the protecting restraint and wholesome darkness of his cell on his restoration to the enjoyment of light and liberty? Am I to congratulate a highwayman and murderer who has broke prison upon the recovery of his natural rights?

I must be tolerably sure, before I venture publicly to congratulate men [Iraqis] upon a blessing, that they have really recieved one... The effect of liberty to individuals is, that they may do what they please: we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations."

But let's just keep speaking in abstract generalities. Freedom. Tyranny. Good. Evil.

For the record I know I am short on unique thought on this topic. If Burke is a giant of the past upon whom's shoulders we are to stand, I am still climbing, and I can't quite see over the barricades yet.

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Monday, March 17, 2008

Facebook just got awesomer.

For while now we have been able to specialize our "Religious Views" on Facebook, but now, a little late I feel, Facebook is finally letting you customize your "Political view" here are a few of the options that I've thought about for myself:
Conservative-ish
Neoconservative
Shitty little NeoCon
Neo-con
Neo-Con
Neo Con
Neoconservative
Republican
pseudo-Republican
Texas Independence
Scottish National Party (I can forget the centre-leftness, for the sake of a free Scotland)
Plaid Cymru (Party of Wales, Free my other third!)
Ulster Union (the lesser of two evils, sorry Morgan and Pat)
nonterrorism using Sinn Fein
Conservative Party of *insert Country name*

I also took the liberty of thinking of a list for our dear EiC Patrick Ford:
Conservative-ish
Edmund Burke
18th century whigs
Sinn Fein
Tradtional Conservative
Paleoconservative
Paleo-Con
Shitty Little Paleo-Con
Paleo Con
Paelocon

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The "Other" Irish

Given the connection between Irish Americans and Irish Catholicism, it's easy to forget that not all Irish Americans (or Irishmen) are Catholic. Unfortunately, there are precious few opportunities to celebrate Irish heritage that are not also tied to Catholic religious observances like the Feast of St. Patrick or symbols of "Irishism" that don't have Catholic religious origins, like the color green or the shamrock.

Any celebration of Ireland, however, is incomplete without the Orange third of the flag--after all, as the saying goes, "you may be baptized Catholic, but you're born Irish." Few remember that protestant Irishmen led the early Irish nationalist movement in the 18th century, and that some of Ireland's favorite sons weren't Catholic.

A few things (and people) that these errant sons of Ireland gave to the world:

1) Jonathan Swift
2) The United Irishmen
3) Guinness stout
4) Arthur Wellesley, the Duke of Wellington
5) The Rebellion of 1798
6) Wolfe Tone
7) Edmund Burke
8) Bram Stoker
9) Oscar Wilde
10) W.B. Yeats
11) Trinity College, Dublin

Hell, for us, #3 and #7 should be sufficient.

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Is The Dollar Really This Bad?

Amsterdam - The U.S. dollar's value is dropping so fast against the euro that small currency outlets in Amsterdam are turning away tourists seeking to sell their dollars for local money while on vacation in the Netherlands.

"Our dollar is worth maybe zero over here," said Mary Kelly, an American tourist from Indianapolis, Indiana, in front of the Anne Frank house. "It's hard to find a place to exchange. We have to go downtown, to the central station or post office."

That's because the smaller currency exchanges -- despite buy/sell spreads that make it easier for them to make money by exchanging small amounts of currency -- don't want to be caught holding dollars that could be worth less by the time they can sell them.

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Official Saint Patrick's Day Thread

Today, on the holiest of Irish holidays, I figured it would be appropriate for us to discuss all of our favorite Irish things. Please comment to your heart's content.

As for me, here are my favorite Irish things:

* Guinness
* Edmund Burke
* The color Kelly Green
* Irish-American Punk (Dropkick Murphys, Flogging Molly)
* Real man's whiskey (Jameson, Bushmills, both superior to any Scotch I have ever tasted)
* James Joyce (especially Ulysses)
* The poetry of Yeats
* Van Morrison
* Corned beef
* The Fighting Irish (I know, not really Irish)
* Edmund Burke

Least Favorite Irish things:

* Bono
* Irish Cabbage dishes
* Those terrible Leprechaun movies
* The associations between the city of Boston, their sports teams (especially the Red Sox) and being Irish. I am very Irish and I hate Boston sports teams.
* Bono
* My temper
* Bono

I hope I didn't forget anything. Please share!

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"Don't Enlist, Stay and Kiss"

Sunday, March 16, 2008

McCain's Beloved Anti-Catholic Fanatic

Leave the President alone!! No, leave Admiral Fallon alone.

After Adm. Willaim "Fox" Fallon, the commander of CentCom in Bahrain resigned last week, I feared that conservatives were going to turn on him, turning him into some man who wants us to fail in Iraq,and here it is. Michael Barone has penned a McCarthy-esque piece darkly hinting that many of our current diplomats and high-ranking military officers that have been trained at high-level "liberal" institutions and are now letting that liberalism seep into their judgmentall in an effort to discredit President Bush, most notably Admrial William Fallon.

While Barone does address a fair point that Fallon's exit is because he might have been insubordinate to to his civilian commanders, who under our constitution have full control of the military. Barone does so with smacks of paranoia that Fallon somehow wanted to collaborate with China and the Palestinians, against the interest of our country, and of course President Bush.

As far as I'm concerned, Fallon did a wonderful job. The rumors that he was against the surge are pure heresy, and only mentioned by Barone via the infamous article in Esquire. Fallon, along with General Petraeus, have brought a symbolance of peace to Iraq that was not there a year ago, and they should both be rewarded for it. Fallon, ever the honorable soldier and knowing that his disagreements with the Chain-of-Command would only lead to conflict, did a truly honorable thing in resigning, and for that he forever will have my gratitude as a true patriot. I just hoped in doing so that he wouldn't be punished for it by the right, I guess its too late.

On a side note: the Esquire piece is really more of an indictment on the Bush Administration's alleged "Saber-rattling" towards what the author believes to be an eventual war with Iran. But in using Fallon to justify his own feelings towards our foreign policy, he merely shows Fallon to be a man of intelligence and strength;a man who understands that Iran may perhaps be a threat,but not one worth going to war over.

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The Greatest Irish Statesman

The St. Patty's Day celebration has already been long underway, but if my fellow Irishmen can tear themselves away from their Guinness and Bushmills for a few minutes I believe there is not a better time to discuss Ireland's finest statesman, Edmund Burke. Indeed, at a time when conservatism is on the retreat on every front, a reexamination and reexertion or Burke's brilliance is necessary and essential.

The uniquely Irish nature of Burke's philosophy is especially worth examination on the most joyous of Irish holidays. Indeed, Russell Kirk's description of Burke's birthplace is beautifully relevant to his political philosophy:

"Walk beside the Liffey in Dublin, a little way east of the dome of the Four Courts, and you come to an old doorway in a blank wall. This is the roofless wreck of an eighteenth-century house, and until recently the house still was here, inhabited although condemned: Number 12, Arran Quay, formerly a brick building of three stories, which began as a gentleman's residence, sank to the condition of a shop, presently was used as a governmental office of the meaner sort, and was demolished in 1950 -- a history suggestive of the changes on a mightier scale in Irish society since 1729. For in that year, Edmund Burke was born here. Modern Dublin's memories do not extend much beyond the era of O'Connell, and the annihilation of Burke's birthplace seems to have stirred up no protest. Still more recently many of the other old houses along the Quay's have been demolished; indeed most of the eighteenth-century town falls into dereliction. The physical past shrivels. Behind Burke's house (or the sad scrap of it that remains), toward the old church of St. Michan in which, they say, he was baptised, stretch tottering brick slums where barefoot children scramble over broken walls. If you turn toward O'Connell Street, an easy stroll takes you to the noble facade of Trinity College and the statues of Burke and Goldsmith; northward, near Parnell Square, you may hear living Irish orators proclaiming through amplifiers that they know how to lead the little streets against the great. And you may reflect, with Burke, 'What shadows we are, and what shadows we pursue!'

Since Burke's day, there have been alterations aplenty in Dublin. Yet to the visitor, Ireland sometimes seems a refuge of tradition amidst the flux of our age, and Dublin a conservative old city; and so they are. A world that damns tradition, exalts equality, and welcomes change; a world that has clutched at Rousseau, swallowed him whole, and demanded prophets yet more radical; a world smudged by industrialism, standardized by the masses, consolidated by government; a world crippled by war, trembling between the colossi of East and West, and peering over a smashed barricade into the gulf of dissolution: this, our era, is the society Burke foretold, with all the burning energy of his rhetoric, in 1790. By and large, radical thinkers have won the day. For a century and a half, conservatives have yielded ground in a manner which, except for occasionally successful rear-guard actions, must be described as a rout."

Burke, despite his humble beginnings and the tepid treatment of his philosophy in academia, has had a profound impact on politics and government in western society, and has enjoyed an especially devoted following in the United States over the past few decades amongst conservatives of a more traditional brand. But he is still distinctly Irish in his philosophy of prudence and his opposition to ideology. He saw threats to freedom in anti-Catholic laws in his homeland, and constantly had to endure rumors of "secret Catholicism" because of his ardent defense of the Church in Ireland. He saw freedom and order as dependent upon one another for a just and well run society, which lead him to support the American Revolution while condemning it's French counterpart. His views on liberty and order shed some light on the chaos of American nation-building exercises in the Middle East as well.

President Bush has made it his mission to spread Democracy to the backward Middle East would have left Burke stunned, though not at a loss for words. For every broad and naive statement on liberty by Bush, Burke had forseen and condemned such rigid ideology, asking essential questions to those who value "liberty" as an abstract concept over all else. How can I, as a man who values liberty and freedom, not support the liberation of homo-erectus types in the Middle East? Burke would look on with disgust at animals strapping bombs onto autistic children and declare the following:

"Circumstances (which for some gentleman pass for nothing) give in reality to every political principle its distinguishing color and discriminating effect. The circumstances are what render every civil and political scheme beneficial or noxious to mankind. Abstractly speaking, government, as well as liberty, is good... Is it because liberty in the abstract may be classed amongst the blessings of mankind, that I am seriously to fecilitate a madman who has escaped from the protecting restraint and wholesome darkness of his cell on his restoration to the enjoyment of light and liberty? Am I to congratulate a highwayman and murderer who has broke prison upon the recovery of his natural rights?

I must be tolerably sure, before I venture publicly to congratulate men [Iraqis] upon a blessing, that they have really recieved one... The effect of liberty to individuals is, that they may do what they please: we ought to see what it will please them to do, before we risk congratulations."

Burke would have bee quite perplexed by modern neoconservatism. As the home where he was born was destroyed by modernism and industrialism, Burke would have asked whether being in bed with big business is good for societal preservation. As President Bush declares that all freedom movements have American support, Burke would have asked of the differences between freedom movements in Iraq (which did not exist) and those in Pakistan (which we aided in the destruction of). At a time when prudence has no place in politics, Burke calls from the community of souls and pleads for sanity from his former disciples. But, alas, the philosophy of the present shrivels before the knowledge of the past, and an American empire expands and falls before our very eyes. Burke once famously declared "the age of chivalry is gone." I declare the age of protection, preservation, and prudence to be on it's last breaths.

As modernism and industrialization destroy the last physical remnants of Burke's existence, his philosophy lives on through a select few, dedicated to the protection and perpetuation of the roots of western order and ordered liberty. When that old house in Dublin still stood, out from it's doorway and into the modern world came Burke, intent on beating back the forces of intellectual radicalism. At a time when a psychotic over-emphasis on personal reason thrives over the wisdom of the giants of the past, upon whom's shoulders we all stand, Burke's philosophy calls upon all of us to stand athwart progress (to borrow Buckley's phrasology) yelling "Stop!"

That's where you will find me.

Full Disclosure: I was motivated to share my own thoughts on Burke by the recent article in National Review Online, found here.

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Hatchet Job #1

We have all done it. The Hatchet is the only legitimate source of campus news in print at GW, and this monopoly basically forces us to indulge in a sado-masochistic reading of our University's premier publication. But sometimes we slip up. We pick up the Hatchet, and against our better judgement we decide to read the opinion page. I did this a few days ago and was sucked into the piece by Brendan Polmer on Eliot Spitzer's sex scandal. Here are my thoughts:

"Following a string of Republican sex scandals over the last year and a half - including Louisiana Sen. David Vitter and his New Orleans prostitute, Idaho Sen. Larry Craig and his Minneapolis airport bathroom incident, and Florida Rep. Mark Foley and his predatory chats with underage pages on Capitol Hill - I almost forgot that Democratic politicians are also capable of thinking with the wrong head, so to speak. After all, who could forget President Bill Clinton and the Monica Lewinsky affair?"
*The inevitable citing of Pelosi's "culture of corruption" was not surprising, but the second paragraph? I thought this was an article about Spitzer! Mr. Polmer, here are some names to wikipedia: Sen. Daniel Inouye, Rep. Barney Frank, Sen. Brock Adams, Rep. Fred Richmond, Rep. John Young, Rep. Mel Reynolds, Rep. Gerry Studds, Rep. Wayne Hays, and last but not least the entire Kennedy family. All Democrats, all involved in major sex scandals.

"Apologies aside, perhaps somebody should inform the governor that, as a public official, such private matters don't exist when it comes to the whereabouts and actions of your scandalous escapades. Soon enough, the world will know way too much information about Gov. Spitzer's misguided genitals - just as we all know about Bill Clinton and that disgusting blue dress, Mark Foley and his masturbation habits, David Vitter and his diaper fetish, and Larry Craig's wide stance. Gross."
*Classy. The amazing thing about this whole piece is the lack of moral clarity from the author. Spitzer shouldn't have done anything because... he should have known he would get caught! Not because he is a home wrecker and is shaming his family and his office.

"What really adds insult to injury in many of these political sex scandals, however, is the amount of hypocrisy that causes more and more Americans to further lose trust in their government. Gov. Spitzer may not have been a wild-eyed, right-wing conservative figure, but the very fact that he played an essential role in busting up a New York prostitution ring during his time as attorney general of New York, prior to his governorship, really stings."
*Here is where Polmer unloads the real kicker... His shock that it is possible for a Democrat to be a hypocrit involved in a sex scandal. I'm sorry that you're a senior studying journalism and you haven't figured this out yet Brendan, but THEY'RE ALL CROOKED!! You don't have to be a "wild-eyed, right-wing conservative figure" to be a moral hypocrit. The only time a Democrat gets away with sexual perversion without being a hypocrit is when the said Democrat has no moral standards to live up to in the first place. Is that to be celebrated?

I am no Republican hack, but the naivity coming from a senior such as Brendan is troublesome. Here at GW we are truly breeding insightful and level-headed journalists!

5 comments

PB finally has a band...

After waiting for a good deal perhaps, Tiffany Meehan and her PB groupies have finally picked a band to headline Spring Fling.... every 14 year olds favorite band 2 years ago.. Gym Class Heroes.

according to Breaking News article in the Hatchet the band "...is best known for its 2006 hit-song, "Cupid's Chokehold,""

I'm all about the classics, but if we're going to reach back, let's reach back a little farther. It seems to me that they aren't that great or relevent, considering they were so willing to perform on such short notice.

of course Meehan is impressed with them: "In light of their recent success, we're excited to have Gym Class Heroes"... by recent she meant 2006.

just to look at how far we've fallen: past performers at Spring Fling have been The Roots, Lauryn Hill and Regina Spektor.. three artists that at least have a speck of relevance.

6 comments

Saturday, March 15, 2008

The Sin Tax Cometh

In Britain

Alcohol duties will rise by 6 percent above the rate of inflation, meaning an extra 8 cents for a pint of beer, 26 cents for a bottle of wine and $1.10 a bottle for spirits such as whiskey, from this weekend.

The duties will then rise by another 2 percent above inflation in each of the next four years, reversing a trend in previous budgets to keep increases low for most alcohol products. Duties on spirits were frozen for the past 10 years to boost British spirit makers' competitiveness, accounting for the large jump this year.

A packet of cigarettes will rise by 22 cents.

The first budget under Prime Minister Gordon Brown also planned to reward environmentally aware citizens by imposing higher taxes on heavier-polluting cars from 2010.
The government will also begin imposing a charge on single-use plastic bags next year, a measure already in place in Ireland, if supermarkets and other stores do not make "sufficient progress" to voluntarily reduce their use by the end of this year.
The government said the money raised by a plastic-bag levy would go to environmental charities, while the rises in alcohol and cigarette taxes would help fund a $2 billion package to tackle child poverty.

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Friday, March 14, 2008

Young Americans for Divisiveness and Identity-Centered Politics

Cheap Labor Is Expensive, Expensive Labor Is Cheap

So why aren’t jobs rapidly exiting Manhattan and Menlo Park? The reason is that expensive labor is once again extremely cheap. Google presently has 17,000 employees, but its profits per employee are $247,000. Goldman Sachs has roughly 30,000 highly paid workers, but with profits of $16 billion last year, profits per employee worked out to $530,000. Judging by the high level of productivity on the coasts, companies there pay high nominal salaries that prove to be excellent bargains.

The problem for the Ohios and Michigans of the world is that many residents want to do that which is relatively cheap on a nominal, per-employee basis, but very expensive overall. The best example of this is General Motors. The average salary at GM is one that most on Wall Street wouldn’t bother to get out of bed for, but when we consider that GM regularly loses money, those low wages are very expensive.
Read More...

P.S.: 700th post. Woot!

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Thursday, March 13, 2008

And the award goes to...

And The Cautious Optimists Have it!

Saumya Narechania secretly hates the Order of the Hippo.

Saumya Narechania's op-ed in the Hatchet about the Order of the Hippo is a little bit pitiful, because he writes about the group the way Joan Didion did about Phi Beta Kappa. Didion was crestfallen when she wasn't inducted, you see. :(

It gets even odder when Narechania comes to the defense of the group:

As long as the group is committing no harm, and, in fact, could possibly be benefiting the University, why should we try to claw at its walls? Just as I've resigned-myself to the fact that I won't be included in the organization, I've also come to the conclusion that with the backing of Trachtenberg, the Order isn't going to be disappearing anytime soon.

Of course, nobody is actually attacking the OotH. Which makes me wonder why he bothered to defend them. I see now that it's all part of a complex psychological game: he actually wants us to attack them. Well played, Saumya Narechania, well played.

Sounds like fun, anyway. I'm in. After all, an irrational fear of secret societies (read: boozing clubs with elaborate entry requirements) is a great tradition of American democracy!

I hereby call for the establishment of an Order of the Anti-Hippo (or perhaps an anti-Hippo S.A. non-slate) to be led by Narechania and other disgruntled non-inductees.

* UPDATE: Saumya's a DUDE!! Sorry. Thanks to the comments for pointing this out.

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POLL DAY 2

Shocker

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Sign of things to come?

Daily Ignorance

I was perusing the old opinion articles at the Daily Colonial and came across this dandy by Danny Kampf. For those of you who don't know, Danny boy is the DC's local ignoramus, to be forever remembered amongst the rational and reasonable as the baffoon who compared those who believed in a religion to believing in magical creatures such as unicorns.

This article has the thoughtfulness and nuance typical of Danny boy's articles. I'll save you the trouble: "I am a liberal of the most predictable sort, and I use fun words like 'jingoism' to make me sound smart, but I still want to vote for McCain. Why? Well, what about the Iraqi's?" [quote and paraphrasing of argument mine]

I am bothered a bit by Iraqi casualties but moreso by American casualties. Let those who brought us there under false pretenses take the blame and responsibility for Iraq, but Americans need not continue to die. I realize Kamps is more sympathetic to the dying Iraqi than the dying American (even though statistically both are prone to vacuous thought and to visions of crazy concepts like unicorns and an afterlife). But I, sadly enough, am not, and I am content to leave that part of the world in the stoneage and bring our boys home.

For a laugh, read Kampf's other work. He needs a few good books to read even more than he needs a haircut.

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Congressional Earmark Update

To catch some people up to speed, Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC) is offering an amendment to put a one year moratorium on earmarks in the Senate. This is a very noble cause, considering the recent omnibus bill contained 11,612 earmarks costing $17.2 billion. Here is Jim DeMint's speech about the amendment. It's a little long, but well worth the watch. He is a tireless defender of taxpayer rights and is a very important member of the Senate.

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POLL

A Tale of Two Panderers

Since I share neither the cautious optimism nor the hyperbolic pessimism of the two former posts on today's runoff I felt I might share my most humble opinion on today's runoff between Vishal Aswani and Kevin Koslowski.

Ultimately politics often becomes the art of the panderer, and the winner then becomes the person who panders most persuasively to the most influential or universally accepted groups. In the absence of real accomplishments (example: Aswani v. Kozlowski or Clinton v. Obama) pandering becomes the main issue, and in this respect GW politics has come to resemble national politics in a frightening manner. Buzz words and special interest advocacy becomes policy. Let's look first at Vishal Aswani:

Vishal demonstrates a true understanding of the average GW student, and panders in three very effective ways, corresponding perfectly with his three student initiatives listed on the online ballot. First, he offers student advocacy, which means Vishal will play Santa Claus and see how much free stuff he can get for the student body. Vishal understands, as I do, it is very difficult to beat Santa Claus (just look to the puerile and fatuous nature of the harebrained "Easter Bunny" to see a victim of St. Nick). Secondly, he appeals to GW's guilt-ridden environmental lobby (which includes upwards of 90% of the student population by my scientific calculations) with his vow to push for more "environmentally conscious efforts on campus." And thirdly, he talks in no specific manner about advocating for the "community" by filling a demand that doesn't exist for a special counseling center for gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, questioning, and crosseyed students, working with the greeks on campus, and advocating a position on housing so nuanced it boils down to "make housing better."

Not to be outdone on the pandering front, "K-Koz" does his own share but by my estimation ends up with knees relatively less sore than Vishal's. Kevin actually devotes much of his ballot platform to how awesome he is, about 80% of it to be precise. He has worked up quite a resume full of administrative and spirit clubs and initiatives that he has belonged to. He certainly loves GW more than you or I do. Then it's his turn to play Santa, listing "making online voting a reality, enhancing cooperation between students and administrators, and consistently standing up for student orgs when it comes to funding" as the gifts he has bestowed upon GW's student body. God knows (even if I don't) that our student orgs are were in the past basically starved by the greedy student body. Additionally, Kevin has strongly stood against "hate" and has spearheaded efforts to fight the abstract concept everywhere it flourishes on campus (except for OG's costume parties, which are all in good fun). Lucky for us he leaves out broad generalities on the environment, providing hope that not all GW students are intent on talking global climate change until they are green in the face. Kevin also gets bonus points for writing his description in the third-person.

So considering all of this pandering, you ask, who am I to vote for, Pat? Please tell me! But alas, I have no answer for you. Looking at their platforms it seems clear to me that these are two sides of the same coin. In my estimation we will have an uneventful year of Nicole and Brand replication with a little more gay and black thrown in. As for my vote... heads is a vote for Vishal while tails is a vote for Kevin.

Tails it is.

P.S. What did Nicole and Brand campaign on before candidates could campaign as Nicole and Brand?

Edit: Kevin is also an advocate for the unnecessary counseling center for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transsexual, and questioning. But not for the crosseyed (or left handed).

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Thoughts on the Run-off Election

To start, I don't share Hunter's Southparkian evaluation of the alternatives in the run-off. If Vishal happens to have some very ambitious (read: probably infeasible) ideas in his platform, that's not enough to see him labelled as "douche" (or "turd," for that matter).

Given the way Vishal himself has characterized his plank on Sodexho--as more of a long-term project--and given the fact that he still wants to pursue short-term improvements like an end to mandatory J Street spending, I'm not too worried that he's biting off more than he can chew with promises to the student body.

Besides, I like the fact that he's putting more extreme ideas out there. After all, weren't we always criticizing the S.A. for its complacency with the status quo?

I have more concerns about Kozlowski's plans to revamp the Senate, in part because they sound disturbing ("diversity" seats which he has yet to really describe in detail, for example), but also in part because I think a lot of his ideas just won't help the student body. There's no reason to think that expanding the Senate will make it any better at serving students, and no reason to think that, to paraphrase the Hatchet, begging and pleading will get a Presidential candidate to come to GW during the campaign season (or that this would be a major boon for the University).

Have they both been posturing for this moment since the day they got to GW? Perhaps. One might be inclined to think this true if one believed that any activity in the S.A. or student organizations counts as "posturing." (By that definition, we've all done a fairly large amount of posturing, and I wonder why my posturing hasn't gotten me anywhere.) But that would merely be evidence of a character flaw, and three years at GW have taught me that S.A. Presidents can have much, much worse character flaws than excessive ambition.

2 comments

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Douche and Turd

In my opinion there is not a show on television that gives better and more accurate social, cultural and political commentary than South Park. One of the more memorable episodes (which is hard because they are all memorable) is an episode called "Douche and Turd". In it the kids of South Park elementary are forced to pick a new mascot, and their choices in the runoff are a Giant Douche or a Turd Sandwich. I feel that this what we are left with, two candidates that really aren't that great.

We have two candidates who have seemingly been running for SA president since the moment they arrived on campus: becoming super-involved, attaching themselves to student org. after student org. And of course, being SA senators and CI Cabinet members, in other words we have a Loews running against a Home Depot. Their ideas are unrealistic and down-right insulting to the intelligence of us as students. I'm sorry Vishal, but you aren't going to be able to tear up GW's multi-million dollar contract with Sodexho.Kevin,explain to me how you are going to fill "diversity seats" and "greek seats" when we have trouble filling out the few seats we already have?

But, if you have seen the episode, there is a brief ray of hope in the end, as it is shown in the end that your vote counts, not because you pick a winner, because you are at least apart of the process.

So vote Douche, vote Turd, just vote. If anything it gives us more fodder for the next year.

3 comments

Monday, March 10, 2008

Funny Video About Outsourcing

Globalization Helps The US Too!

On one side of the Atlantic Ocean, BMW says it will cut 7.5 percent of its work force over two years. On this side of the water, the company says it plans to increase production by more than 50 percent by 2012.

"This is completely driven by the plunge in the dollar," said Greg Gardner with Oliver Wyman, publisher of the Harbour Report on automotive manufacturing activity. "It is untenable to produce at a much higher cost in Germany."

The euro climbed to record heights Friday, reaching $1.5463 before falling back to $1.5335 in late trading after the Federal Reserve announced it would provide more cash to banks that need it. That means European goods cost more for Americans to buy.

By building the cars in the U.S., BMW can save money on the lower dollar and on wages because its South Carolina workers make less than German workers, Gardner said.

The declining dollar also means BMW and other foreign automakers probably will start buying locally for more of the parts used by their U.S. plants, he said. That shift in production has led to the cuts at home for the Munich-based luxury car maker.

Please tell me that this is some sort of elaborate joke.

Endorsement of who sucks less.

The Hatchet is clearly not pleased with the crop of candidates this year. From there initial anti-endorsement, to it seems reluctantly endorsing Aswani against a candidate by all accounts has a platform that is down right silly. I, like the Hatchet remain throughly unimpressed by these two candidates. It would be easy for me to applaud them for their stances against Mandatory J-Street spending, but it would be even harder for them to defend an overwhelmingly unpopular policy, that the University will have to address before next year.

This line should tell you all you need to know: "Neither Kevin Kozlowski nor Vishal Aswani has any exceedingly noteworthy achievements under his belt".

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The Hatchet Endorses Aswani

Read it here.

A refreshing money-quote:

Aswani steers clear of focusing excessively on the organization he wants to lead. The average student is likely not affected by Senate seats going unfilled. To the contrary, the average student is interested in seeing real, tangible change continue to stem from the SA presidency next year.

Sadly (but predictably), the Hatchet has little to say in praise of Aswani's plans to fix the student organization funding allocation process.

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Endorsement Game.

As the run-off in running up (March 12th) let us reflect on who actually likes KKoz and Vishal:

For Kozlowski:
College Republicans (click for endorsement video)
Higher Education Student Association (HESA)
GW NORML (click for endorsement video)
GW Cricket (click for endorsement video)
GW Swimming
GW Balance
Marc Abanto, Former SA Presidential Candidate
Rob Lockwood, SA Senator-Elect (click for endorsement video)
GW Ginger Kids Association
"Greek Candidate"
(from kk4sa.com)

Vishal:
Indian Student Association
Korean Student Association
Student Bar Association
The Daily Colonial
International Affairs Society
Medical Center Student Council
College Democrats
SEAS Engineers' Council (E-Council)
Allied in Pride
Kavita Aswani
(from vishalaswani.com)

Now, just by looking at these, it leaves little wonder why Vishal had the plurality from the general. He has got endorsements from arguably three of the largest and most influential student orgs on campus (SBA, IAS, and CDs). He also has the entire engineering school behind him, undergrad and grad, a small but very formidable voting base. Kozlowski on the other hand, besides the endorsements of the CRs and the Higher Education Student Association, does not have any major student org endorsements (sorry GW Gingers). While his endorsements from Abanto and Senator-elect Lockwood will help him marginally, it will definitely hurt him that he does not seem to have any sort of wide spread support (apart from being the "greek candidate), that along with a rather scathing anti-endorsement of him in The Hatchet, will not help him. He claims to be a "greek" candidate, but the Greek Community on this campus is anything but united, and it might actually might come back to hurt him as there is a good tide of anti-greek sentiment on campus especially since Vishal a non-greek will easily appeal to those who aren't involved in a Greek letter organization. I'm not saying it will be handed over to Vishal, but it looks like here he has a good deal of the campus vote locked up, and it is definitely his election to lose.

4 comments

Friday, March 07, 2008

Another $42 Million Down The Drain

Dying Is Punishable By...Death?

You better not die in this town in France

The mayor of a village in southwest France has threatened residents with severe punishment if they die, because there is no room left in the overcrowded cemetery to bury them.

In an ordinance posted in the council offices, Mayor Gerard Lalanne told the 260 residents of the village of Sarpourenx that "all persons not having a plot in the cemetery and wishing to be buried in Sarpourenx are forbidden from dying in the parish."

It added: "Offenders will be severely punished."

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Paul Out

Thursday, March 06, 2008

"You know that Sharper Image gift card you got for Christmas? Right now, it's worthless."

Hold the jokes about how they were always worthless, please.

Consumer advocates are fighting the good fight, protecting Americans from one of the greatest threats to prosperity since the '29 stock market crash--Chapter 11 businesses defaulting on gift cards:

The gift-card problem provides more ammunition to consumer-advocacy groups that have lashed out against expiration dates and burdensome fees imposed if cards are not used within a certain time frame. More than 20 states have passed regulations loosening restrictions on the use of gift cards.

"Consumers need to buy gift cards with their eyes wide open," said Jack Gillis, a spokesman for the Consumer Federation of America.

The problem, it seems, is that gift cards are treated like loans to a company--not purchases. As such, Chapter 11 rules say that companies filing for bankruptcy (ala Sharper Image) are not required to honor them. Egads! Where will I find my Trump Steaks, massage chairs, golf GPS, and "iwavecube" personal, portable microwaves now?!

God, who gives anyone a Sharper Image gift card, anyway?

3 comments

GWblogs

The three other student written GW blogs have been a little lax lately:

1) the utterly pointless and reputation-hurting GWScene is turning out to be nothing but a novelty and advertising scheme that will eventually run its out. I'm not going to predict its failure,because it won't fail. People love seeing pictures of themselves, especially at this school. And promoters will continue to benefit from the adverts for their "exclusive parties"...
2) the Colonalist hasn't updated in three days, needless to say I am crushed (seriously). I hope the writers over there haven't run out of comedic steam.
3) the biggest disappointment, has been the Hatchet "News Room" blog, which has been dead for the past six days, except for a story that was in Monday's Hatchet, and was removed for the same reason, nothing newsworthy that couldn't wait for print guys? really?

4 comments

NAFTA Cartoon

I could have predicted that!

Wednesday, March 05, 2008

The Best Team you've never heard of.

This isn't a sports blog, but this is related to GW and is very noteworthy:

Our Lady Colonials are the Number 13th(AP Poll) and 12th (ESPN/USA Today) ranked team in Women's Basketball, making them the highest ranked team in Women's Basketball from a non-major conference (Big 12, Big 10, Pac 10, Big East, SEC, ACC). Women's Basketball might not be the most exciting sport to watch, but with our men's team taking a "building year" it is the only sports bright spot our school has.

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Grand Old Party

Michael Brendan Dougherty ( a great fellow) on the madness of CPAC and the Conservative movement at-large.

A highlight: Six feet from us hung a t-shirt that read "I only sleep with Republicans,” and two booths away Young Americans for Freedom featured an airbrushed poster of Ann Coulter in her best come-hither pose. The Young Britons’ Foundation didn’t have any Edmund Burke tracts, but they did have a poster of a sultry brunette, her lips parted slightly. The lascivious caption: “Life is better under a conservative.” Not to be outdone, banners at the Clare Booth Luce Policy Institute’s booth encouraged each young woman walking by to become “A Luce Lady.” CPAC’s many parties would provide ample opportunity.

This is not my movement...

3 comments

Q-and-A With the Candidates

Now that we've narrowed down the pool of contenders for the S.A. Presidency, I sat down with the two remaining candidates (uh...digitally speaking), and asked them the questions that were on my mind--and might also have been on yours.

First up: Vishal Aswani.

Bill: In addition to ending mandatory J Street spending, you have proposed scrapping GW's entire contract with Sodexho, and replacing it with private vendors. How feasible is this proposal? Why do you think you are the candidate best able to achieve this goal?

Vishal: Well to clarify a bit, I realize that privatizing J-Street is ambitious at best. If elected I plan on working towards one day seeing GW at that sort of juncture. Nonetheless, that doesn’t mean I’ll just be forgetting about J-Street as is right now. In the immediate, I’ll be fighting to lower the spending minimums that freshman and sophomores have, I’ll be fighting for weekend hours, and I’ll be expanding the Dining Services Commission to gave greater student input during all the work that it does with Sodexho. Privatizing J-Street is a dream that I’m going to be working to get started so that in a few years we see it completed. I’m not going to be working on dreams though, I have tangible goals I’ll get done this year.

To answer your question about why I think I’m the best candidate to get the ball rolling on seeing J-Street becoming privatized, just look at everyone’s platforms. I’m the only candidate willing to even mention a desire to see privatization occur someday, which is a high indication of my passion to improve campus dining.

Bill: Your platform plank titled "Greening the University" includes a plan to make all future University buildings "'green' and energy efficient and designed to maximize natural sunlight, natural cooling/heating, etc." Is this policy feasible? What would you say to those students who believe that your platform is too ambitious?

Vishal: Greening the university, specifically regarding energy efficient buildings on campus is highly feasible. I have always told people that if elected, it’s not going to be the SA vs. the world. This aspect of my platform really focuses on my desire to work fast with the university towards a tangible and immediate goal of greening GW. On my platform you’ll see two distinctly separate views, one of which focuses on smaller and more immediate ways to make GW more green (everything from cultural changes that will be done in conjunction with offices and organizations such as GWHP and RHA to physical changes that will be done in conjunction with organizations such as Green GW) and the other are bigger and more broader goals to be done in conjunction with President Knapp.

Fact of the matter is my platform is not going to be done solely by me. Electing Vishal Aswani as the next SA president elects him, his cabinet, and the many people who already have expressed and will express desires to help. My cabinet will have representatives from all cultures and walks of life at GW. Is my platform too ambitious for one person to do? Yes…. But it’s definitely possible for the entire executive to handle and together we will.

Bill: As one of the candidates who has spoken out against the S.A. Senate's allocation process, you claim that the process is "subjective and too dependent on the views of those serving the finance committee." Name at least one specific change you would make to the allocation system for student groups.

Vishal: I would make quite a few changes and would be lobbying to the finance chair-to-be to complete and fulfill them. My changes really focus on things that the President can do since (s)he is bounded by the bylaws and the finances fall under the senate jurisdiction.

a. Creating a worksheet at the beginning of the fiscal year to allow student organizations a chance to see unofficially what the SA might give them. While it may not be exact, any opportunity an organization gets to see what it might or might not be allocated can definitely help them.

b. Having ready, at the beginning of the year, clear cut definitions of what will be considered (or not considered) to be worthy of an operational allocation. Too many times are student organizations receiving 6 or 7 definitions of what an operational allocation is. Time to clear it up!

c. Working with ISS to change the current on-line co-sponsorship application to include an opportunity to upload additional documentation at the beginning of a co-sponsorship application rather than waiting for the committee to ask for more information. Student organizations need chances to prove their case to the committee as soon as they can. By doing this, it allows for expedited allocations of co-sponsorship money and allows student organizations to get the best chance to get the money they
need.

d. Creating a database of corporate sponsors and grants (similar to that at the university of Wisconsin, http://grants.library.wisc.edu/) for students and their
organizations to apply towards for additional funding beyond the SA allocation.
Student organizations need all the money they can get and by giving them the
opportunities to do so it sets a precedence for the SA to help student organizations like never before.

Bill: Both you and your opponent, Kevin Kozlowski, are Senators in the Student Association. What have you done during your time at GW that distinguishes you from Senator Kozlowski, and makes you better able to serve as Student Association President?

Vishal: My focus while in the SA has never been on the rules or bylaws that govern us. I have worked in so many aspects of student life and I feel that is what distinguishes me from my opponent. In my time within the SA, I have authored legislation written in conjunction with Allied in Pride showing student body support for an LGBTQ resource center, worked with RPM to change the call center for late night calls to something GW run rather than outsourced, and working with SEAS on a variety of projects. My work with SEAS has focused on my successful lobbying to both the SA and the administration for more funding, upwards of $20,000 more for SEAS student organizations, finalizing on-line advising, fighting to make sure free printing never leaves SEAS to even working on a soon-to-be released mentoring and alumni program for SEAS undergrads.

Bill: Please provide at least one reason not to vote for Senator Kozlowski in the run-off (as opposed to a reason to vote for you).

Vishal: While I do highly respect Kevin as both an opponent and as a friend, I am a bit distraught on the emphasis he has put towards “being the only candidate to continue the work of Nicole and Brand”. This past year, the SA has done so much to improve the quality of life for students on campus. What the student body needs is someone who won’t ride the coattails of the current administration but instead will focus on using what was done this past year to springboard into more success for the students at GW. The SA does not need a leader who is stuck on the Nicole and Brand plateau, they need a leader willing to continue and drive forward the success of the SA.

Next time, Kevin Kozlowski.

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Tuesday, March 04, 2008

GW stereo-types now online.

Apparently not enough people are aware of this school's stereotype that our students are nothing but spoiled, privileged kids who care more about partying than actual school work.

we now have: gwscene.com to tell the entire world of our wonderful times at super-cool clubs.

This a a website that looks like nothing more than ad space for local party promoters.The "G-Scene" is filled with pictures of cookie-cutter rich girls, wearing the same black dress, with the same colorful drink in their hands. The majority of these girls are most likely under the legal age of alcohol consumption, but of course they don't care, they're just out having a good time, right?

During a time when this University is desperately trying to be taken seriously, this website does nothing more than move us several steps in the wrong direction. The "G-Scene" is designed to be nothing more than a post for pictures of drunk rich kids paying for over-priced drinks at clubs that have to fake their exclusivity, and will do nothing more than further a stereotype that we are all drunk, rich and stupid.

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Monday, March 03, 2008

In Defense of NAFTA

(HT: Carpe Diem)

If NAFTA is so terrible, why is it that more U.S. jobs have been created in the 14-year period after NAFTA was passed than in the 14-year period before NAFTA?

There is a great editorial in the WSJ comparing the effects of NAFTA on Texas & Ohio.

Texas has gained 36,000 manufacturing jobs since 2004 and has ranked as the nation's top exporting state for six years in a row. Its $168 billion of exports in 2007 translate into tens of thousands of jobs.
Ohio, Indiana and Michigan are losing auto jobs, but many of these "runaway plants" are not fleeing to China, Mexico or India. They've moved to more business-friendly U.S. states, including Texas. GM recently announced plans for a new plant to build hybrid cars. Guess where? Near Dallas. In 2006 the Lone Star State exported $5.5 billion of cars and trucks to Mexico and $2.4 billion worth to Canada.
Ohio politicians deplore plant closings even as they impose the third highest corporate income tax in the country (10.5%) and the sixth highest personal income tax (8.87%). A common joke is that Ohio lays out the red carpet for companies -- when they leave the state. By contrast, Texas has no income tax, a huge competitive advantage.

Maybe instead of bashing Mexico or China for losing manufacturing jobs, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland and Barack Obama should shun the anti-tax, pro-growth state of Texas for taking the union-controlled and overtaxed jobs from Ohio.

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Are the Hell's Angels the World's Most Incompetent Assassins?

From CNN, news of a documentary claiming that the motorcycle gang tried and failed to kill Mick Jagger after the infamous Altamont Free Concert:

Gang members hatched a plan to kill Jagger at his holiday home in Long Island, New York, the BBC claims. Their attack by sea was thwarted when a storm hit their boat, throwing the men overboard, the program says.

The alleged plan was disclosed during an interview with Mark Young, a former FBI officer, for the BBC's "The FBI at 100" documentary, presenter Tom Mangold was quoted as telling Britain's Sunday Telegraph newspaper.

Silly Angels--didn't they know that Mick Jagger is the only person in the world cool enough to kill Mick Jagger?

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