Homies on Parade
MY homies. Good stuff from Justin Logan on Taiwan’s insouciance about its own security and Gene Healy on America’s insouciance about untrammelled executive power to dispose of your life.
Have I mentioned lately how proud I am to know these gentlemen?
Comment by Frank —
September 27, 2005 @ 2:41 am
I can’t argue with Gene Healy any, although I wonder if others share my fantasy of using those powers on Republicans in the administration and Congress. (Not proud of it, just saying)
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I think the Taiwan pretty much knows what it is doing here though. It made sense for Taiwan to spend a lot on defense when China was a large but poor country. In 20 years at current growth rates America won’t be able match China, so it has to look exeptionaly pointless for Taiwan to try.
Comment by Mr. Obscura —
September 27, 2005 @ 7:50 am
Healy’s piece said much better than I ever could the primary reason I am so deeply uncomfortable with the current administration. Not enough has been made of this issue.
Comment by Jason Fliegel —
September 27, 2005 @ 11:52 am
I’m not sure what to think of Justin Logan’s piece, which is largely a function of the fact that I’m not sure what to think of Taiwan. Putting aside the sheer tragedy of having a nation of 22 million conquered by an oppressive regime (”Other than that, Mrs. Lincoln, how did you enjoy the play?”), I’m not sure why we care about Taiwan. It’s got no strategic importance as far as I can tell; if China went from an autocratic regime with a population of 1.29 billion to an autocratic regime with a population of 1.31 billion, would that make a whit of difference in anyone’s lives apart from the unfortunate 22 million?
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Once that becomes the question, the next question is how much are we willing to do to protect 22 million people from an autocratic regime? Of course, we’re currently embroiled in a war to “spread freedom” to a country roughly the same size (population-wise) as Taiwan (not really, but we can’t really walk aroiund openly telling people that we went to war to secure a permanent base in the Persian Gulf).
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So, to return to my original statement, I don’t know what to think about Taiwan.
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Gene’s piece presents an easier question. I agree with him 100%. Gene’s a smart guy (I can say that because I went to school with him).
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Boy — I’m too committed to the social safety net and the idea of government as a positive transformative force to ever give up my identity as a liberal, but the last few years sure have made me a lot more libertarian than I used to be.
Comment by matthew hogan —
September 27, 2005 @ 2:49 pm
Jason F –
“I’m too committed to the social safety net and the idea of government as a positive transformative force to ever give up my identity as a liberal.”
Try, just for 24 hours, take a walk on the wild side. Imagine all the people, not sharing all the world, but having enough freedom to build their own part of it. Imagine that every good thing you propose to have done for people by government will be put exclusively into the hands of GW Bush or Michael Brown (it will). Imagine Abu Ghraib every time you think of government as a positive transformative force — bringing democracy and all. Imagine drowned and impoverished New Orleansers in 2005 every time you think of social safety nets (supposedly up and runnning in 1965).
Perhaps some day you’ll join us and all the world will live as 4 billion or so. Rather than a measly one.
No apologies to John Lennon as he a) was wrong, and b) is dead. Nor to Lou Reed.
Comment by Jason Fliegel —
September 27, 2005 @ 4:37 pm
Saying that we shouldn’t trust the government to do anything because of the failures of Abu Ghraib and Michael Brown seems to me no different from saying we should trust the government to do everything because of the success of the Manhatten Project or the Apollo Program.
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The government can fail, the government can succeed. The government can attract black-hearted villains, the government can attract superhuman heroes. The government is a tool, a means to the end. There is no tool that is right for every task, but neither does anybody make a tool with no use whatsoever. The trick is finding out when the government is the right tool for the job.
Pingback by Positive Liberty » Blog Archive » Mencken on American Bravery, Confirmed —
September 29, 2005 @ 9:15 am
[...] cki
Gene Healy has an excellent op-ed piece about the Padilla case (link via Jim Henley). I have to say that even while blogging is “just a hobby” for [...]