Tuesday's links and comments

Thomas Sowell has a great column titled Then and Now. The United Nations was established in the aftermath of WW II, in the article he wonders how the current UN would have acted during that war.

Eventually, by 1945, allied armies had both Germany and Japan retreating. What would have happened if we had had Kofi Anan and the mushy mindset called "world opinion" at work then?

Kofi Anan would undoubtedly have called for a cease fire.

He could have pointed out that the American response to Germany was wholly "disproportionate" because the Germans had never landed troops in America or bombed American cities, and were certainly no real threat to the United States at that point.

The people criticizing Israel and calling for a cease fire need to understand cease fires only benefit the aggressor who realizes they bit off more than they can chew. When they regroup (or reload) they will pick when to violate the cease fire.

Hidden in this article is a telling point which shows that Sen. Clinton is not as astute a politician as her husband.

"It's the American dream, stupid," said the former first lady in a riff on her husband's successful 1992 campaign mantra — "It's the economy, stupid." It worked — Democrat Bill Clinton served two terms in the White House.

What the senator (and whoever wrote this article) fail to realize is why the original version worked in 1992 for Bill Clinton. When Bill Clinton used the original term of "It's the economy, stupid" it supposedly referred to a sign in his office which was intended to keep him and his campaign focused on the economy. The word stupid was intended to be self-deprecating not an insult of his opponent. Bill Clinton understood that being angry and hurling epithet's at your opponent may thrill the people who already intend to vote for you but does nothing to garner more votes.

This is from yesterday but still wanted to comment on it.

NOBEL peace laureate Betty Williams displayed a flash of her feisty Irish spirit yesterday, lashing out at US President George W.Bush during a speech to hundreds of schoolchildren. "I have a very hard time with this word 'non-violence', because I don't believe that I am non-violent," said Ms Williams, 64. "Right now, I would love to kill George Bush." Her young audience at the Brisbane City Hall clapped and cheered.

This shows that the NOBEL prize lost its value long before they gave it to the likes of Arafat and Carter. This woman should not be in any position to influence impressionable children.

In local entertainment news: Winterfest canceled; attendance blamed. Hmmm, wonder why?

Some people complained about the $24.99 ticket price.

So, a family of four would spend 100 bucks to wander the park looking at Christmas lights. That means they were dependent on the very stupid or the very rich for their business.

Also today we get a couple reminders to pay our taxes correctly. Here and here.

If you're interested in the 2006 senate and house races then SIXERS at National Review Online is required daily reading. Today they have two items on James Webb who is challenging Sen. George Allen for the U.S. Senate seat from Virginia. I served in the Navy when Webb was SECNAV and I lived in Virginia when Allen was governor. Based on what I've seen of both men, this race won't be as close as the Dems are hoping.