I Still Like Trump

He'll virtually assure a second term for Obama, and he's putting those old Bush cronies in their place. Karl Rove has recently said that Trump isn't to be taken seriously, and Trump's response was basically that Rove is partly responsible for the horror that is the Bush administration and therefore his opinion on political matters has even less credibility.

The Illusion of Escape from the Caprice of Man

In the upper left of this picture of a London protest against the French burka ban, you can see a sign that looks like it reads, "The Veil: Liberation from Man Made Laws". This is a really good illustration of one of religion's tempting myths. Many people who are drawn to religion hate to have to make up their own mind about right and wrong. They don't trust their own moral judgement, have weak consciences and find great comfort in the simplicity of allowing religion to make moral decisions for them.

Now, what I said above sounds contemptuous, but I don't mean any contempt for those who struggle with guilt, shame, or an inability to hold themselves to a strict moral code. Lots of people are like that; probably even most. I only have contempt for those who condemn people for having the balls to continue the struggle with their consciences rather than submitting their own judgement to the equally capricious, and even more capriciously interpreted rules and regulations of religion.

Libertariansim Is Not Conservative

Many libertarians consider themselves conservatives, but they really shouldn't. The reason why I think they do this is because people who do have some conservative beliefs also tend to believe in a laissez-faire style free market. Advocating this, however, is not conservative.

For a belief or position to be conservative, I think it should stand for the conservation of something, or at least for the resurrection of something that has been abandoned. Advocating laissez-faire economics does neither of these things. Because a completely free market capitalist system has never existed in all of human history, advocating such is actually very radical. It is anti-conservative. Sure, some people who advocate this also advocate the resurrection of traditional social values and, therefore, can rightfully call themselves conservatives, (although not entirely consistent conservatives). Libertarians, however, who want to do away with both traditional economic systems and with traditional morals, cannot.

Why Donald Trump Is My New Favorite Republican Candidate

I was a hardcore Palin supporter for quite some time, because I knew that she might actually get the Republican nomination and, if she did, Obama would slaughter her. Now that her approval ratings among Republicans are starting to sour, it looks like her chances are as good as they once were. When Donald Trump started throwing around the idea of running, I got a little nervous. I thought this guy might have enough popularity to beat Obama, if he were to get the Republican nomination. This was dumb on my part. After having listened to a few interviews, it seems as though he's even dumber than Sarah Palin, and that, while he might be popular enough to get the nomination, he clearly has no idea what he's talking about when it comes to foreign policy and everybody who's not a Republican can clearly see that.

Some people think the whole Trump thing is just a publicity stunt, and it very well could be, but I hope Trump really does run. He's so naive when it comes to foreign policy that he'll make Obama look like Henry Kissinger. Let's just hope that people don't clue in to what a dunce he is until it's too late. Unfortunately, Glenn Beck of all people, already has.

A Point of Order

While I think something should be done to impede Qaddafi's brutalization of his fellow Libyans, there are a few procedural issues with the enforcement of the no-fly zone. Unlike the Iraq war, this is not a violation of international law as best I can tell. It has security council approval. However, there are problems with regard to US law. While the aerial bombardments are clearly an act of war, no such war against Libya has been declared by Congress. There hasn't even been an authorization for the use of military force like Bush had before the invasion of Iraq, which is itself of questionable constitutionality. The president cannot legally wage war against another country without congressional approval.

It's About Time

For the first time, polls show that a majority of Americans support gay marriage.

Of course we all know that gay marriage is an inevitability in the US, but this is an early indication that it may come about via legislation rather than judicial proclamation.

Maybe Libya Will Turn Out Better

Hopefully the humanitarian intervention in Libya will turnout better than the air raids on Serbia, which, looking back, look like they exacerbated rather than mitigated the violence against ethnic Albanians. In Libya, however, nobody will be able to say that the brutality against rebels began only after Western intervention. People have been getting mowed down for days and this looks like the only way to make it stop.