by Rob Ritchie
Jared Keller writes about The 'Kerry in Vietnam'-thing
This all makes me very uneasy. Perhaps because I've never served in the military, and unfortunately, probably never will (see this post for an explanation), I'm extremely reluctant to engage in the disparaging of anyone's service in the military - especially in duties that are widely acknowledged to be quite hazardous (as is the case with the swift boats). I'd much prefer that our criticism of John Kerry be limited to his deplorable record on national security issues, and his bizarre ability to perform 180-degree turns on policy issues when the polls suggest he should. From all appearances, John Kerry is a man utterly devoid of a moral compass or guiding principles, and a ridiculously self-important stuffed-shirt with arrogance stamped on his entire being. That having been said, he is a veteran of a difficult war who served his country by volunteering for a dangerous duty. I have nothing but disdain for his political beliefs (such as they are), and will gleefully vote against the man. That having been said, I don't like the way the Republicans have begun to stoop to Terry McCauliffe's level on this one...
by Rob Ritchie
Larry Miller:
It's the War, Stupid
I mean, please, anyone who ever reads past page two has known since President Bush landed on that aircraft carrier that Fallujah was the headquarters, the homeland, the core of everyone who ever worked and killed for Saddam Hussein. It's not just a place, a city, a neighborhood, with terrific down-home folks going to choir practice and trying to get by in tough times. It's the place--the bull's eye, it's got them all, and it might as well be called Tortureville, or Saddamfield, or Baathburg, and the best of them could most charitably be called "loyalists." What in the world did anyone imagine was going to sprout up there in the last 12 months? A chamber of commerce? A garden club? A band shell for Sunday programs of Sousa?
Hat tip: lgf
10:28 AM Mar 11, 2004by Rob Ritchie
Andrew Sullivan, noted gay-marriage advocate, quotes C.S. Lewis today:
"Before leaving the question of divorce, I should like to distinguish two things which are very often confused. The Christian conception of marriage is one; the other is the quite different question -- how far Christians, if they are voters or members of Parliament, ought to try to force their views of marriage on the rest of the community by embodying them in the divorce laws. A great many people seem to think that if you are a Christian yourself you should try to make divorce difficult for everyone. I do not think that. At least I know I should be very angry if the Mohammedans tried to prevent the rest of us from drinking wine. My own view is that the Churches should frankly recognize that the majority of the British people are not Christians and, therefore, cannot be expected to live Christian lives. There ought to be two distinct kinds of marriage: one governed by the State with rules enforced on all citizens, the other governed by the Church with rules enforced by her on her own members. The distinction ought to be quite sharp, so that a man knows which couples are married in a Christian sense and which are not."