Category: Politics

I am currently re-reading “The Federalist” (in a delightful and beautiful leather-bound edition from the Easton Press). As I started through the book, I was struck by this passage from The Federalist #4 by John Jay:

Absolute monarchs will often make war when their nations are to get nothing by it, but for purposes and objects merely personal, such as a thirst for military glory, revenge for personal affronts, ambition, or private compacts to aggrandize or support their particular families or partisans. These and a variety of other motives, which affect only the mind of the sovereign, often lead him to engage in wars not sanctified by justice or the voice and interests of his people.

John Jay has accurately described the war and occupation in Iraq, and the motives of the George W. Bush administration, more than two hundred years before they occurred. جيلي بين It is true: those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.

Let’s compare Jay’s four possible reasons that an “absolute monarch” might go to war, and see how they line up with what we have witnessed over the past six years… جيمس بوند لعبة

A thirst for military glory: Bush failed in his military service, never served in combat, and left the National Guard under at best suspicious circumstances. As President, I have no doubt that he wanted to prove he’s quite the military genius. I also imagine he’s a bit jealous of his father, who was a genuine World War II hero.

Revenge for personal affronts: I know I’m not the only one who thinks that a large part of the reason for Bush’s invasion of Iraq may have been a subconscious (and I’m being generous there) desire to “get back” at Saddam for trying to kill his Daddy. Even if that’s not true, certainly Saddam goaded Bush both in public and private, all but daring him to attack. A wise man lets such affronts roll off his back; a foolish man accepts the schoolyard dare.

Ambition: Bush, a devotee of the Project for a New American Century, certainly wanted to prove that he was a brilliant student, and wanted to go down in history as The Man Who Solved The Middle East Oil Problem. So much so that he ignored all other advice to the contrary.

Private compacts to… support their particular families or partisans: Wow. Let’s see, now what business is the Bush family engaged in again? Oh, that’s right! Oil! And the Vice President, I believe he was the CEO of a certain company, Halliburton? So the war in Iraq was the bring “freedom and democracy” to a country that just happens to have the majority of the world’s untapped oil fields. And Halliburton is now the #1 government contractor, and their stock has increased in value by 600% since September of 2001.

So, if anyone wonders if George W. Bush considers himself an absolute monarch, don’t bother reading anything in today’s news. لعبة كزنو Just turn back 200 years and read what John Jay had to say in The Federalist. I don’t think anyone today has said it better.

How Would a Patriot Act? by Glenn Greenwald. Working Assets Publishing, 146 pages.

I have just finished reading a remarkable book, “How Would a Patriot Act?” by Glenn Greenwald. What I found so remarkable – and so refreshing – about this book is that it presents a clear, concise, and non-partisan analysis of the way that George Bush has chosen to wield the power of the executive office.

Greenwald is a constituational lawyer, and an avid scholar of the Constitution both as a document as well as its history. He presents a clear and cogent analysis using the Constitution and the Federalist Papers as his main source material, with some additional references from other writings of the founding fathers and a few supreme court decisions. I am a staunch believer in the Constitution of the United States, and I often consult my copy of The Federalist Papers whenever I have a question about how a particular law or action of the government ought to be judged. So Greenwald’s methodology strikes a resonant chord with me.

This book is not just an excellent analysis – it’s also a great read. Like only a handful of lawyers (John Grisham and Vincent Bugliosi come to mind) he has the gift of prose. I could not put this book down, and found myself reading almost the entire 125 page book in a single sitting. How Would a Patriot Act is a true page-turner. It harkens back to good old investigative journalism, the type we haven’t seen since the days of Watergate. And yet… every single item in the book can easily be found on the Internet. There are no secrets here, just plain talk.

Here’s a quote from the concluding pages of the book that sums up the premise neatly:

We now have a president who is claiming the power to break our laws and to act without any checks of any kind from the Congress, the courts, or the citizens. He and his administration have said this repeatedly and expressly; and they are not just mouthing words; they have acted on them repeatedly. They have broken our laws and exercised against American citizens precisely the powers our Constitution is designed, at its core, to prevent.

Another element that Greenwald writes clearly about is the use of fear and terror by the Bush administration to govern. This has always been the aspect of the Bush presidency that has angered me the most: preying upon our natural fears and desire for safety in order to cement his power.

Let me take this opportunity to state something clearly: I am not afraid of terrorists. I am angry at them. I can not and will not live my life in fear. What angers me the most about George W. Bush is that he gave the terrorists exactly what they wanted: our freedom. “Give me liberty or give me death“, Patrick Henry famously said. And Benjamin Franklin later wrote “Those Who Sacrifice Liberty For Security Deserve Neither”. Those quotes sum up my views succinctly. King George is ruling by using terror as a weapon, as a justification, and as a way of life.

Read this book. How Would a Patriot Act? by Glenn Greenwald. It’s an absolute must, one of the best books I have read in a long while. And if, like me, you find this book compelling, educational, and though-provoking, check out Glenn Greenwald’s always-excellent blog Unclaimed Territory.

American Theocracy (2006) by Kevin Phillips. Viking, 480 pages.

I’ve just finished reading a terrific book, American Theocracy by Kevin Phillips. This book crystalizes a lot of what I’ve felt and believed about the last six years of American politics, and provided me with a lot of information I didn’t have before.

Despite its title, American Theocracy is actually about three separate-but-related trends in early 21st century America: the rise of fundamentalist Christianity in politics, the economic dependence on petroleum, and the debtor status of not just the nation itself, but all its citizens.

I find the conclusions of the book hard to shake. I have personally become resigned over the past few years to the inescapable fact that my home country is well on its way to decline as a world power. Phillips just helps me to understand in detail exactly why this is so, and how the scenario is likely to play out.

As I’m just about to turn 44, I therefore must accept the fact that the rest of my working career, and my eventual Golden Years, are going to be spent in a country that grows increasingly less relevant and less connected to the world at large. Whatever new discoveries are to be made in the fields of science and technology… will be made by other nations. Whatever new medical marvels and biotechnological revolutions occur, they will not be in this country. How do I feel about that?

Surprisingly, by the time I reached the end of the book, I felt OK. Holland, Britain, and Spain (as detailed in the course of the book) all had their time in the sun, and their time has long since passed. Yet, each country still has a vibrant heratige and a proud populace. And each country has long since shed its previous prejudices and religious judgements.

So, much like people in Holland and Spain today, I look forward to spending my years in a country that, while still a vital and proud force in the world, will have less and less to do with the forward course of humanity. I’ll do my part to ease the transition, but I expect to see a lot of disillusionment over the next few decades.