A whole bunch o' Politics
In Pakistan, military coups are as often as not, the preferred method of securing a government. However loathsome that may be, it's the driving force for the current turmoil. With Bhutto finally seeing that amnesty or no amnesty, Musharraf has tricked her, and plans to keep power, as he assigns cronies to government and military posts, we might not be concerned. All that is the usual SNAFU (spell out the acronym) in Pakistan. What's new is the inability to control Waziristan, and the re-opening of the Red Mosque. Bhutto opened the door to the Taliban before, and the talks with her might very well have been ploys to do it, again. My bottom line; on the current course, the taliban are coming to pakistan. I don't believe that Musharraf wants it, but I think he sees a deal as being his only way to cement power for himself. I do not believe the US should either cut deals nor do I think we should use military force against Pakistan. I think we should get off our Star Trek-inspired prime directive, and get involved diplomatically in re-establishing democracy in pakistan. Step one would be to talk directly with Pakistan's Supreme court about the legitimacy of Musharraf. Step two would be to apply pressure to have Nawaz Sharif be brought out of exile. If any one politician can get Pakistan out of its death-dance with Islamicists, He's it. Why? He's a moderate-to-conservative Muslim, with many connections both to Saudi Arabia, and to moderate Arabs in much of the Middle East, but has no ties to extremists, and, in fact, was able to control the Red Mosque factions. Step three would be to make sure that progess is made on the natural gas pipeline, which will do more to stabilize the middle east than any war ever could.
By the way, lest anyone think that I'm "soft' on islamic extremists, I'd like to point out that I fully support Ayaan Hirsi Ali, and wish that both of "my" governments did as well. She has not had adequate support from either the US government, nor from The Dutch. She deserves both round the clock bodygaurds, and a bully pulpit so that she may express her well-founded, and insightful views, and the spread of that information should be prized! We should ALL read her book "Infidel".
Oh, and on the topic of the Middle East: I also support the so-called "soft partition" plan of Joe Biden. While I don't necessarily want him as President, I think between the Kurds making their own Oil deals, the Shi'ia making deals with Iran, and the Sunnis bouncing between the US and Al Qaeda, it's clear that our options are hard partition, soft partition, or occupying Iraq indefinitely. Of the three, the best, and most workable, right now, would be a semi-federal state, as Biden has planned out.
Oh, and speaking of Presidents, and the Election: while I disagree with James Dobson on many, many fronts, he wrote in the NY times a few sentences that I think are spiffy;
"Polls don't measure right and wrong; voting according to the possibility of winning or losing can lead directly to the compromise of one's principles....Winning the presidential election is vitally important, but not at the expense of what we hold most dear."
That's exactly how I feel, Dr. Dobson. Only, what I hold most dear isn't about abortion or gays, or other things conservative christians hold dear. I hold dear such things as individual liberty, collective well being, and intellectual debate. Show me a candidate who can truly preserve that, and I'll vote for them, whether they stand a chance, or not.
Speaking of standing a chance or not:
Have you ordered an XO, yet? (www.xogiving.org) For $400, you get a laptop that's spill-proof, dust proof, fanless, six hours per battery charge, and looks cool , to boot, but even better, an identical laptop will be sent to a third world nation for use by a child (or children) that otherwise wouldn't get a chance. Think about that. What's a better leg up than connectivity to both the Web, and a word processor, and computer literacy? Think about what having computers has done for india.
Granted, it's not like a new Dell, or what-have-you, but I think saving a life is better than a big hard drive. If this catches on, imagine the sea-change when a place like Ethiopia is at 80% literacy, and 45% computer literacy, with vast numbers net-savvy. Can you see a junta taking root? Can you imagine the kind of lockdown China has?
Speaking of Sea Changes, Congress is now looking to monkey with Sub-prime loans. Ummmm, no. I don't think that's a good idea. They failed for a reason. Rather than easing off on borrowers, and independant private mortgage companies, i think, if the government gets involved at all, it should be to regulate the industry to conform with the european model: loans come from institutions with money, not securities, and loans are made to people who can prove their ability to pay them back. It's not a right to own some McMansion on two acres, when you earn barely above the minimum wage. You have a right to an opportunity, not to a give-away.
But, that isn't to say that Bush is right to veto the S-chip. Quite frankly, he wants to kill us all, so it doesn't surprise me. Still, if we are to socialize anything, I hope it's health care. We've got so many agricultural and corporate subsidies that shouldn't be, that there's a myth out there that we've got a free market economy. Our Military practices socialized medicine. So does our congress. I'd be willing to give up every tobacco subsidy, every subsidy given to every contractor in Iraq, and every other socialized cushion given to corrupt millionaires, if it meant that my tax dollars went towards proper medical care for children. As I've always said: I'd be willing to pay much more in taxes, if I could see the benefit to my society, not just to my government.
