Libertarians and Democrats

I saw this Will Wilkinson piece earlier and read it all: "A Libertarian’s Lament: Why Ron Paul Is an Embarrassment to the Creed." I didn't bother commenting on it because Wilkinson's not worth it. He's a drug-addled leftist, IMHO, and a pretty much typical libertarian. So, what do you know, but American Glob has picked up the slack, "In Which I Respectfully Disagree With Will Wilkinson" (via Glenn Reynolds):

I don’t know Will Wilkinson personally but I know he’s a Libertarian writer who has worked for the highly regarded Cato Institute.

Wilkinson wrote an article for The New Republic today in which he calls Ron Paul an “embarrassment” to the creed of Libertarianism.

I like many of Ron Paul’s ideas and disagree with others, specifically his approach to foreign policy but my objection to Wilkinson’s article has nothing to do with Ron Paul.

It’s based on the first half of his second sentence…

In 2006, I tossed a few dollars at the Democrat running for Senate against the loathsome Rick Santorum. It could have been a three-headed goat, for all I cared, but Wikipedia says it was Bob Casey.

Before you jump to conclusions, let me state for the record that I am not now, nor have I ever been a supporter of Rick Santorum. I don’t believe he is a “loathsome” person as Wilkinson characterized him, I think he is probably a decent man despite our political differences.

My problem with Wilkinson’s article is simply this:

I don’t believe it’s possible to be a Libertarian and support Democrats. Ever.

Keep reading.

Actually, I doubt it would take long, but you could probably find lots of libertarians who supported Democrats in California last year, when Proposition 19 was on the ballot. Both Democrats and Libertarians endorsed the measure, which placed them in a de facto political alliance. Indeed, there's also a "progressive-libertarian coalition" that joined forces on the initiative. So, while in theory it may be impossible to be a libertarian and support Democrats, in fact those two ideologies generally have just as much in common as do libertarians and conservatives on support for free markets. Indeed, if you look at criminal justice and civil liberties you're more likely to see Democrats (progressives) allied with libertarians. Frankly, when it comes to a robust foreign policy and a defense of social conservatism, I make little distinction between leftists and libertarians. Throw in gay marriage (libertarians back it), and really, what's left for libertarians to be associated with that is generally referred to as right wing? Ron Paul is loathsome to me on foreign policy, but even more we learn over and over again that's he's anti-Semitic, and even Will Wilkinson attacks him as racist. I just can't stand people like that. A foreign policy that excoriates U.S. support for Israel turns quickly into a crude copy of neo-communist Jew-bashing eliminationism. So with all due respect, I'd think American Glob might want to rethink his partiality to Ron Paul in a hypothetical match up between Paul and Obama. They're both disasters, and a pox on both of their houses.

Up in Smoke: Failed U.S. Supreme Court Nominee Douglas Ginsburg to Join Faculty at New York University School of Law

In 1986, D. C. Circuit Court Judge Douglas Ginsburg was nominated to the U.S. Supreme Court by President Ronald Reagan. He would have replaced retiring Justice Lewis Powell, except that President Reagan withdrew Ginsburg's nomination after revelations emerged that he'd smoked marijuana as a faculty member at Harvard Law. (NPR's hatchet-woman Nina Totenberg revealed the information, of course, and Ginsburg confessed.)

I discuss Ginsburg's failed nomination every semester during coverage of Supreme Court nominations. Ginsburg was selected by Reagan after Robert Bork was rejected in his Senate confirmation vote. And I can never forget the Newsweek cover story from back in the day, "The Ginsburg Fiasco: Up in Smoke."

In any case, he's in the news, at BLT, "D.C. Circuit Judge Ginsburg to Join NYU Law Faculty." (At Memeorandum and Volokh.)

Sarah Palin to Blast Washington's 'Compromised Political Class' in Iowa This Weekend

See Robert Costa, at National Review, "Palin Will Blast ‘Compromised Political Class’ in Iowa."

For a long time I admired Sarah Palin's savvy instincts (and I still do), but I think she's waited too long to announce her intentions for the presidency. Apparently, she'll say in Iowa tomorrow that she's still undecided, and then she'll reprise her basic stump speech about how dumb are establishment politicians and how broken is establishment politics. I can't help thinking that Palin's moment has passed for this cycle, and that she'd be better off announcing definitively that she'll not be a candidate in 2012. For more on that see Doyle McManus, at LAT, "Palin the procrastinator," and Alex Parker, at U.S. News, "For 2012, Sarah Palin's Time May Have Run Out."

And check the video at Right Scoop, "Karl Rove: Palin is hurting herself. She needs to get in or get out."

BONUS: From Tony Katz, at Pajamas Media, "The Sarah Palin “Will She/Won’t She” Tour Begins."

To the Shores of Tripoli

From Robert Kagan, at Weekly Standard:

... the end of Qaddafi’s rule is a great accomplishment for the Obama administration and for the president personally. It is a shame that some administration officials are trying to downplay the role of the United States in this whole affair, absurdly trying to turn the “leading from behind” gaffe into a kind of Obama doctrine. In fact, the United States was not “leading from behind.” By far the most important decision taken by any world leader in this entire episode—the decision that made all the difference—was President Obama’s decision that the United States and the world could not stand by and see the people of Ben ghazi massacred.

That American choice was the turning point. All praise to France’s Nicolas Sarkozy and Britain’s David Cameron for being ahead of the president in seeing the need for armed action—just as Margaret Thatcher was ahead of George H.W. Bush in seeing the need for action against Saddam Hussein in 1990. But here is the plain and critical truth of the matter: None of this could have been done without the United States leading the way.

Only the United States has the military capacity, the weaponry, the surveillance technology, and the skill to open a safe path for the air and ground war against Qaddafi’s forces. France and Britain alone would not and probably could not have done the job without unacceptable risk to their forces, which were very thin to begin with. In the early days, especially, American A-10 and AC-130 ground attack aircraft were critical in pummeling Qaddafi’s armored vehicles and forcing them to halt offensives against rebel positions. In the last days of the conflict, American high-tech surveillance allowed the rebels to pinpoint the positions of Qaddafi forces in and around Tripoli. Throughout months of fighting, prowling American Predator drones forced Qaddafi and his men to keep their heads down.

The president and his secretary of state also carried out an adept diplomacy that eventually garnered not only European but, remarkably, Arab support as well. This in turn forced both Russia and China—fearful of Arab wrath—to acquiesce. There were costs, of course: a U.N. resolution inadequate to the task at hand and the usual problem of trying to keep many players on board during a mission. On balance, however, it was worth it. The administration was surely right that the intervention would be more effective if it did not appear to be exclusively an American operation and that the combination of European and Arab support for removing Qaddafi was enough of a prize to warrant some compromises.

But the larger point is that, again, only the United States could have pulled all these disparate political and regional forces together. No other nation, not France, not Great Britain, not even a united EU (which German opposition prevented) could have managed this global diplomatic task. In this allegedly “post-American” world, the United States remains both indispensable and irreplaceable.

That's a dramatically different take than Max Boot's, "Did Libya Vindicate 'Leading From Behind'?" Boot doesn't love America's reserve role in these interventions, especially since success requires American military power to begin with. Why shrug off our leadership role and argue "we've got your back"? Kagan just calls it an American victory no matter how you slice it. But all along I've found Victor Davis Hanson's arguments to be the most compelling, which hold, for example, that the Obama administration hadn't the slightest clue about toppling Gaddafi, as evidenced by the administration's pathetic flip-flopping on the goal of regime change or not.

In any case, Kagan and Boot agree on one thing: The war's not over yet.

Libya War Not Yet Over

Well, I need to start watching MSNBC more often. I just love Reva Bhalla, Director of Analysis at STRATFOR:

And at Telegraph UK, "Gaddafi releases new audio message," and "Gaddafi vows to 'let Libya burn' as he defies calls for surrender."

Plus, "Libya: rebels prepare to seize Bani Walid."

Fear of Terrorism Fades as 10th Anniversary of 9/11 Nears

While that's a good thing, trust in government to protect from an attack remains limited.

See Gallup, "Americans' Fear of Terrorism in U.S. Is Near Low Point."

See also USA Today, "Fewer would trade rights for security than in days post-9/11."

Afternoon Rule 5

Theo's been on fire lately, so I thought I'd take time out to send readers over there.

See tonight's "Bedtime Totty."

Also, at Bob Belvedere's, "A Little Hump Day Rule 5: Julie McCullough." And BCF, "Because it's Friday...and it's Eleanor Powell."

And from Gator Doug, "DaleyGator DaleyBabe Vanessa Minillo."

BONUS: At Zion's Trumpet, "Polish Barbershop for Men – Hot Cuts – Very Popular."

Added: Check out Animal Magnetism.

Israel Largely Vindicated by U.N. Marmara Report: Turkey Expels Israeli Ambassador, Threatens Legal Reprisals

At New York Times, "Report Finds Naval Blockade by Israel Legal but Faults Raid." The report was issued last month but its release delayed while Ankara and Jerusalem sought to patch up differences. Good luck with that, it turns out. See Israel Matzav, "Turkey expels Israeli envoy," and Jerusalem Post, "Turkey vows legal action against Israelis involved in raid":

Turkey said on Friday it will seek to prosecute all Israelis responsible for crimes committed during an Israeli raid on a ship bound for the Gaza Strip that killed nine Turks in May 2010.

"Turkey will take legal actions against the Israeli soldiers and all other officials responsible for the crimes committed and pursue the matter resolutely," Turkey's embassy in Washington said in a statement.

The threat follows a UN report that confirmed the legality of Israel's naval blockade of Gaza but said Israel had used unreasonable force in the raid. Both Turkey and Israel disputed some of the conclusions of the so-called Palmer Report.

The names of the Israeli marines involved in the raid have not been released, so only ranking commanders overseeing the operation could be identified if Turkey follows through with the legal action.

The full text of the UN report, which was leaked on Thursday, was delivered to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon's office on Friday and will soon be officially published, UN spokesman Eduardo del Buey told reporters.

Of course, Turkey would have acted precisely as Israel did if faced with the same situation. And click on that New York Times piece. Turkey's mad that Israel has the right under international law to impose a blockade.

ADDED: At Astute Bloggers, "IS ISLAMIST TURKEY ATTEMPTING TO INSTIGATE A NATO WAR AGAINST ISRAEL?‏"

Germany Pulls Out of Durban III Anti-Racism Conference

At Jerusalem Post:

BERLIN - Germany's Foreign Ministry announced on Friday that it will not take part in the UN-sponsored Durban III anti-racism conference on September 22, because of the possibility that the event can be turned into a forum for anti-Semitic statements.

In a statement to The Jerusalem Post on Friday, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle said “Germany will not participate in the commemoration event for the 10th year anniversary of the Durban conference.”

He added that Germany “cannot rule out that the Durban commemoration event in New York will be misused for anti-Semitic statements, as was the case in previous conferences.”

Westerwelle continued that “therefore Germany will not participate. This is also an expression of our special responsibility toward Israel.”

You can say that again.

'Highway Star'

I love this song. It's just perfect rock and roll.

From my afternoon drive time yesterday:

4:02 - Highway Star by Deep Purple

4:08 - Highway To Hell by Ac/dc

4:19 - Hip To Be Square by Huey Lewis & The News

4:23 - Hit Me With Your Best Shot by Pat Benatar

4:26 - Hitch A Ride by Boston

4:30 - Hocus Pocus by Focus

4:39 - Hold Me by Fleetwood Mac

4:43 - Hold On Loosely by .38 Special

4:48 - Hold The Line by Toto

4:52 - Hold Your Head Up by Argent

4:58 - Hole In My Life by Police

Unemployment Remains at 9.1 Percent in Worst Showing in a Year

This president sucks.

Earlier job numbers were revised downward as well.

At London's Daily Mail, "Unemployment remains 9.1 per cent as job growth grinds to a halt and markets tumble."

And at Los Angeles Times, "No new jobs added in August as unemployment rate holds at 9.1%":

The Labor Department's monthly report is the worst showing in a year and offers stark evidence that hiring has stalled. About 14 million people were officially unemployed in August, and many of those who do have jobs saw their weekly hours trimmed.

Reporting from Washington— The U.S. economy added no new jobs in August — the worst showing in a year — as employers cut back hiring and trimmed work hours of existing employees.

The latest snapshot of the labor market provided stark evidence that hiring has stalled and that the feeble economic recovery remains threatened by the unusually deep and prolonged challenges facing American workers.

Friday's report from the Labor Department intensifies the pressure on President Obama to propose a robust jobs plan when he addresses the nation next week, and could also push the Federal Reserve to take further action on interest-rate and other monetary policies when it meets later this month.

The nation's unemployment rate in August stayed at 9.1%, as more people reported that they found part-time work, many of them because that's all that was available.

About 14 million people were officially unemployed last month. About 6 million of them, or nearly 43% of the unemployed, have been without work for six months or longer. Short term, many of them face the loss of extended jobless benefits. Longer term, they face increasing risks of losing skills and hopes of getting re-employed.

The report had discouraging news for current workers as well. The government said private employers in August trimmed by a notch the average work hours of all employees, to 34.2 hours. The average hourly earnings for workers, meanwhile, dropped 3 cents to $23.09 last month.

Lots of commentary at Memeorandum.

The Great Recession and Government Failure

From Gary Becker, at WSJ:

The origins of the financial crisis and the Great Recession are widely attributed to "market failure." This refers primarily to the bad loans and excessive risks taken on by banks in the quest to expand their profits. The "Chicago School of Economics" came under sustained attacks from the media and the academy for its analysis of the efficacy of competitive markets. Capitalism itself as a way to organize an economy was widely criticized and said to be in need of radical alteration.

Although many banks did perform poorly, government behavior also contributed to and prolonged the crisis. The Federal Reserve kept interest rates artificially low in the years leading up to the crisis. Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, two quasi-government institutions, used strong backing from influential members of Congress to encourage irresponsible mortgages that required little down payment, as well as low interest rates for households with poor credit and low and erratic incomes. Regulators who could have reined in banks instead became cheerleaders for the banks.

This recession might well have been a deep one even with good government policies, but "government failure" added greatly to its length and severity, including its continuation to the present. In the U.S., these government actions include an almost $1 trillion in federal spending that was supposed to stimulate the economy. Leading government economists, backed up by essentially no evidence, argued that this spending would stimulate the economy by enough to reduce unemployment rates to under 8%.

Such predictions have been so far off the mark as to be embarrassing. Although definitive studies are not yet available about the stimulus package's overall effects on the American economy, most everyone agrees that it was badly designed and executed. What the stimulus did produce is a sizable expansion of the federal deficit and debt.

Becker's a Nobel Prize winner, one with more smarts, obviously, than idiot economist Paul Krugman.

More at the link.

'Join the Rejects'

This story about UCLA student Chris Jeon joining the rebel insurgency in Libya reminded me of the Cockney Rejects: "Join the Rejects rebels and get yourself killed":

Also at Washington Post, "American student Chris Jeon joins Libyan rebels."

Did Libya Vindicate 'Leading From Behind'?

Max Boot gives Obama the boot on Libya, at WSJ and RCP. Boot's normally pretty gung ho on foreign military intervention, so I'm sensing a little disappointment overall. That is, more forward deployed U.S. power earlier in Libya would have not only shortened the war, but made for a stronger precedent in future crises. See Boot's earlier piece, "It's Not Too Late to Save Libya."

Ethical Oil

Via The Blog Prof:

Obama's Really Bad Day in Public Opinion Polling

Checking over at Memeorandum this morning, I noticed at least three new public opinion surveys that show President Obama continuing down the road to ignominious defeat in November 2012. This warms me to no end, as you can imagine.

At Quinnipiac University, for example, "Obama Approval Hits All-Time Low, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Economy Is Getting Worse, More Voters Say." And at CNN, "New CNN Poll: 65% give Obama thumbs down on economy." And then of course, Rasmussen had this, "Perry 44% Obama 41%; President Leads Other GOP Hopefuls."

Actually, Quinnipiac has Romney leading Obama in a head-to-head, so I doubt there's a bright side for the president. Whoever wins the GOP nomination will harness a hurricane-force of opposition to this disastrous administration. It's only four more months to the Iowa caucuses. I expect Rick Perry to peak anytime now (but would remain a top contender). Michele Bachmann will keep chugging along and could very well take Iowa by continuing her aggressive retail stump-style in the Hawkeye State. Mitt Romney can't blow off Iowa at this point. Things are tightening up and he's no longer the "inevitable" nominee, if he ever was. I actually like Romney best over Obama in the general election, although I'm hoping for Bachmann to become the nominee (as she best represents my politics). Unlike most people, I personally think she'll destroy Obama in the general. She'll bring "hope and change" to America with a vengeance. She's performed well in debates so far and the media attacks on her have backfired by creating a sympathy effect for the Minnesota congresswoman. Of course, she's not the "anointed one," which is generally how Republicans elect their nominees, and I think she'd be better off with executive experience. But economic crisis continues to grip the nation, and each day leaves me more convinced that the Democrats are toast.

More on this forthcoming.

Added: Scared Monkeys links: "Rasmussen Poll Has TX Gov. Rick Perry Ahead of President Barack Obama 44% – 41%."

'Don't You (Forget About Me)'

Listened to Simple Minds during yesterday's drive time, on The Sound LA:

8:25 - Don't Stop by Fleetwood Mac

8:29 - Don't Stop Believin' by Journey

8:33 - Don't Take Me Alive by Steely Dan

8:44 - Don't Tell Me You Love Me by Night Ranger

8:48 - Don't You Forget About Me by Simple Minds

8:53 - Don't You Worry 'bout A Thing by Stevie Wonder

I'll have more blogging tonight:

Israel — An Apartheid State?

From Dennis Prager, at Frontpage Magazine:

Next month, the UN-sponsored hate-Israel festival known as Durban III takes place. Under the heading “anti-racism,” the great bulk of the conference, like Durban I and Durban II, consists of condemning Israel for racism and equating it to an apartheid state.

Of the world’s many great lies, this is among the greatest.

How do we know it is a lie? Because when South Africa was an apartheid state, no one accused Israel of being one. Even the UN would have regarded the accusation as absurd.

Israel has nothing in common with an apartheid state, but few people know enough about Israel — or about apartheid South Africa — to refute the slander. So let’s respond.

First, what is an apartheid state? And does Israel fit that definition?

From 1948 to 1994, South Africa, the country that came up with this term, had an official policy that declared blacks second-class citizens in every aspect of that nation’s life. Among many other prohibitions on the country’s blacks, they could not vote; could not hold political office; were forced to reside in certain locations; could not marry whites; and couldn’t even use the same public restrooms as whites.

Not one of those restrictions applies to Arabs living in Israel.

One and a half million Arabs live in Israel, constituting about 20 percent of that country’s population. They have the same rights as all other Israeli citizens. They can vote, and they do. They can serve in the Israeli parliament, and they do. They can own property and businesses and work in professions alongside other Israelis, and they do. They can be judges, and they are. Here’s one telling example: it was an Arab judge on Israel’s Supreme Court who sentenced the former president of Israel — a Jew — to jail on a rape charge.

Some other examples of Arabs in Israeli life: Reda Mansour was the youngest ambassador in Israel’s history, and is now Consul General at Israel’s Atlanta Consulate; Walid Badir is an international soccer star on Israel’s national team and captain of one of Tel Aviv’s major teams; Rana Raslan is a former Miss Israel; Ishmael Khaldi was until recently the deputy consul of Israel in San Francisco; Khaled Abu Toameh is a major journalist with the Jerusalem Post; Ghaleb Majadele was until recently a Minister in the Israeli Government. They are all Israeli Arabs. Not one is a Jew.

Arabs in Israel live freer lives than Arabs living anywhere in the Arab world.

No Arab in any Arab country has the civil rights and personal liberty that Arabs in Israel enjoy.

Keep reading at that top link.

The "apartheid state" lie is just one more lie in a long train of progressive evils. What's especially sad is that the left gets away with this stuff. Kinda like the Nazis hiding the camps. It's all just one big lie.

Mark Steyn on BBC

Steyn's always a treasure, even when his host is without a freakin' clue (via Blazing and Pundette):

Nude Video: Free Clothes in Santa Monica

Really.

At LA Weekly, "Nude Pandemonium on Streets of Santa Monica For Desigual Clothing Giveaway."

More video at the link.

Also at LAist, "Undies-Clad Shoppers Line Up for Free Clothing Event in Santa Monica."