Friday, May 02, 2003

Sockdolager [NoPC] Davy Crockett on government "charity." 8:59:40 PM    comment () Global Eye -- The Karamazov Question. The man nodded. "If tonight you could guarantee the good of the world -- peace and freedom, democracy and prosperity, now and forever; if tonight, you could relieve the suffering of all those who labor under tyranny and persecution, all those who groan in poverty and disease; if tonight, you could redeem the anguish of creation, past and future, now and forever; if tonight, you could guarantee this universal reconciliation, by the simple expedient of taking this" -- here the man suddenly produced a black pistol and held it out to the president -- "and putting a bullet through the brain of this little one here, just her, no one else: would you do it? That is my question, this is your opportunity." With firmness of purpose, the president grasped the pistol and walked around the desk. With confidence, calmness and steady hand, he pressed the barrel to the girl's head and pulled the trigger. Her eyes, which had grown even wider with her smile at the approach of the nicely dressed man and his rosy cheeks, went black with blood in the instant shattering of her skull. Her body spun round -- once, twice, three times in all -- from the force of the shot, then fell, with the remnant of her mutilated head flailing wildly, in a heap on the floor of the Oval Office. [The Moscow Times] A short story which illustrates how Bush (and many of the Crusaders) think. Although it's a parable, I've seen Crusaders argue in favor of the conquest of Iraq in just this way. 8:41:49 PM    comment () Rumsfeld: Iraq 'not fully secure'. US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says he hope the UN will play a role in Iraq but warns military action is not over. [BBC News | Front Page | UK Edition] Apparently the government is still having trouble getting its story straight. 2:09:03 PM    comment () Aloha, Ashcroft. First we had dissident individuals, then dissident groups, then dissident towns. Now a state is bristling at the Patriot Act and other new restraints on our freedoms. Hawaii has passed a bill declaring that "to the extent legally possible, no state resources -- including law enforcement funds and educational administrative resources -- may be used for unconstitutional activities." The resolution also urges the state's congressional representatives "to work to repeal any sections of the USA Patriot Act or recent executive orders that limit or violate fundamental rights and liberties protected by the Constitutions of Hawaii and the United States." [Hit & Run] It sounds nice, but I'm sure they don't really mean it. After all, Hawaii has oppressive victim disarmament laws, and enforcing them is certainly an unconstitutional activity. 2:03:23 PM    comment ()

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