Posse Incitatus

Notes from a book store

I don’t go to book stores much any more.  Primarily, this is because I don’t buy many books (I’m actually trying to thin out my collection) and when I do buy one, it is usually after careful thought, rather than an impulse buy.

So I get it on Amazon.

I finally did take a couple hours to browse in a book store, though.  What an eye-opener!

Apparently, a large portion of the book-buying public is completely insane.  I say this based on the number of books that fixate on the evil that is bound in George W. Bush.  Seriously, these people are acting as though we had paradise on earth until he took office.

Bush Derangement Syndrome is nothing new, but I confess I never fully grasped its scope.

One book in particular caught my attention:  The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder by Vincent Bugliosi.  Apparently he blames the president for the deaths of our combat troops in Iraq.

Now I assume this is supposed to be a scathing criticism of the president’s failings, but to any rational observer it is an even more damning indictment of Bugliosi’s sanity.

Paging through it, I was reminded of why the Founding Fathers went through the effort of putting the definition of treason in the U.S. Constitution: because previous states used it as a catch-all to get rid of people that suddenly became politically undesirable.  Athenian democracy was notorious for praising and then proscribing political figures, depending on the fleeting whims of popular sentiment.

Actually, most of the classical world had problems with “fatal attribution errors.”  I recall one instance where a kid was choked on a pear, so the tree he plucked it from was condemned for murder, uprooted and burned.

Ancient Romans blaming trees for people not chewing their pears properly seems very much akin to blaming George W. Bush for the actions of terrorists at war with us.

I guess there really is nothing new under the sun.

This demonstrates how liberals really can’t deal with the real world – far from being “reality-based,” they keep acting as though life has a “rewind” button.  Since they don’t like the Iraq war, the notion is that you can impeach the president, pull the troops out, and pretend it didn’t happen. Oh, and say “sorry” a whole lot.

To call this attitude “juvenile” is to insult children all over the world.  It’s worse than that, because it is also implicitly chauvinistic.

How?  Because it assumes that absent US action, the rest of the world just sits there placidly, waiting for us to give them their next cue.  They wait for us to act, because they cannot – not of their own volition.  No, the 150+ other countries of the world wake up every day and have to see what AMERICA does.  If we don’t give them a positive sign, their day is ruined.

I guess it isn’t chauvinism, it’s narcissism elevated to national policy.  Crazy stuff.

If there is a good side of this, it was that Bugliosi’s book was on the discount shelf, so hopefully even the latte-sipping crowd can’t stomach his bilge.  At least we can hope.

The Posse is lately doing more God-blogging than gun-blogging.  One reason is that ammunition is so expensive that I simply don’t go shooting much.  Money is also tight (thanks to high gas prices, food going up), so I optimistically hope to buy my next firearm a year from now.

I think the main reason, however, is that the Anglicans are making such an entertaining target.  The Arch-dhimmi of Canterbury is like a one-man full-employment act for religious commentators.

I’m going to leave it to James Lileks to perform the full honors on his latest encyclical.  Read it and weep with laughter and frustration.  At this rate, his successor will be a practicing Imam.  I mean it’s not like there isn’t a precedent.

Anyhow, one of the things that bothers my about the Anglican crack-up is that, from a theological perspective, their changes make absolutely no sense.

I find it amusing that people talk of “liberals,” “progressives,” “traditionalists,” and so forth, as if they were choosing delegates for the county convention.

Religion is, in theory, a revealed, eternal and unchanging truth.  If, as Anglicans now apparently believe, women and homosexuals are fully entitled to take holy orders and be priests and bishops, what does that man about the hundreds of years that they could not?  Heck, only a half-century ago it was forbidden.  Now it’s okay.  What happened?

Was there a memo from the Heavenly Father adding a few pages to the New Testament?  I’m actually trying to be serious here.  My grandfather (God rest his soul) was a Methodist for almost his entire life, until he was driven out by the liberal wing who considered his beliefs – the beliefs of their church, mind you – outdated and non-inclusive.

I spoke with him about it, and he said it was a hard thing to go through – probably the hardest thing of his life.

That is why my heart goes out to the “traditionalists,” the people who believed something was a true, righteous path only to have – and this is the important part – the leadership say “Sorry, that wasn’t true, this NEW version is even more revealed and more truthier.”

And it goes on and on, year after year.

I think one of the big appeals of radical Islam is that it is unapologetic and presents the confident image that many mainline Protestant churches used to have.  After 9/11, you saw a lot of the multi-culti types wagging their heads at the “courage” of the hijackers.  I’d argue that it wasn’t courage but at least there was some conviction there.  They figured if they killed a bunch of unarmed people in a horrific fashion they’d spend eternity having all manner of hot sex.  It’s a sick philosophy, but they acted on it.

Liberals – especially Christian liberals – don’t act on much of anything.  It’s like the great example of the “Free Tibet” bumper stickers – great sentiment, but it accomplishes nothing.  There is no action associated with it.

But they can admire the Iranians, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro and the Palestinians because they DO act – sure, blowing up pizza shops, slaughtering children – but such conviction.

Some years ago I rented Zardoz and these guys are just like the immortals – so jaded and sated that even being killed is a kind of thrill. 

The recession we deserve

The Hated Instapundit has been running an occasional series titled “Dude, where’s my recession,” wherein he mocks the constant insistence by the mainstream press that the economy is terrible.  It’s an amusing feature and does tend to highlight how, when Bill Clinton was president, the economy was reported as soaring and near-perfect yet the same indicators under President George W. Bush indicated a “jobless recovery,” and a “nascent recession,” “struggling growth,” etc.

In his latest outing, he notes that we may well be headed for a recession, and that if it happens after Obama is elected president, we can watch for the press to tell us it is a good thing.

He’s right.

I am old enough to remember the 1990-91 recession and it was squarely blamed by the Democrats and their allies in the press corps on the evils of the Reagan administration. It was a “hangover” of the “decade of greed,” our just desserts for unelecting Jimmy Carter and trashing Walter Mondale.

Just as the WSJ had a “Homelessness Rediscovery Watch,” the Posse would like to start a “The Recession You Deserve Watch,” wherein the press will blame everything on the evils of George W. Bush and imply that only the Obamessiah can bring it to a close.

You see, we are a sinful nation and by voting for Obama, we can be absolved of that sin, and in His infinite mercy, He will lift us out of recession, even though we don’t really deserve it.

I’m not into handicapping the election, but I do think that people are getting creeped out by the fawning adoration that Obama is getting.  A few more months of this is going to get really tiresome.  The amazing thing to me is how poorly Obama is polling.  The guy is being billed as the Second Coming, and the current administration isn’t even bothering to phone it in any more.  Obama should be up by 15 points, and yet it’s basically tied.  If I were a Democrat, I wouldn’t buy those advanced tickets to the inauguration just yet.

Death from above!

As a former bando with eight years’ marching experience, I can deeply respect the military musicians who remained at attention as a parachutist crashed own on the low brass section.

The great thing about this article is that it lists the damaged instruments before the human toll.

Two tubas were destroyed, said Mike Keating, assistant chief of the post's Fire Department. MacDonald said a trumpet was also damaged.

Harsh.  I know I speak for music-lovers everywhere when I say:  Couldn’t you have landed on the saxophones?

Band member Sgt. Rachel Boggs was knocked unconscious and had a fractured jaw, hospital spokeswoman Lisa Medrano said. Sgt. Andrew Spinazzolla suffered minor neck and head injuries and had a fractured ankle, Medrano said. Staff Sgt. Mark Lucero sustained what Medrano called a minor leg injury.

Damn.  The parachutist wasn’t hurt – apparently because he landed on these guys’ heads.

Anyhow, my sympathies – and admiration – to the Army musicians who got these rather unusual Line of Duty injuries. 

Anglican fissues widen

The big breakup of the Anglican Communion continues.

Over at The Corner, Jack Fowler offers a slew of links to the latest clashes within the troubled church’s leadership, this time involving the investiture of female bishops.  Apparently, quite a few traditionalists find no scriptural basis for this move.  Rather than accommodating them, the synod voted to steam roller them.

It’s a fascinating contradiction.  On the one hand, the Anglicans are showing brutal determination in enforcing their new dogma regarding female bishops, yet at the same time, they are utterly spineless in dealing with the far greater threat of radical Islam.

This begs the question:  Which is more offensive to the dignity of women, male-only bishops or sharia law with honor killings, female circumcision and arranged marriages?

Of course, the post-modern left has a long and ignoble history of picking the easy fight and shying away from the dangerous ones.  Disaffected Anglicans aren’t likely to hack off anyone’s head or self-detonate on a bus.  It’s fun to take a bellicose and unbending attitude on something when you know the opposition can’t stop you.  I wager quite a few Anglican leaders are working out their frustrations over the drastic decline of the church on these hapless traditionalists who want nothing more than to keep the faith they inherited intact.

The wild card in all this is His Holiness Benedict XVI.  With leading Anglican bishops already negotiating the conversions of entire parishes, Benedict has an historic opportunity bring a huge numbers of Anglicans back into the fold.

Moreover, the fragmentation of the Church of England may well cause a domino affect, as outraged African and American congregations debate breaking with Canterbury over the question of homosexual unions.

Random shots

Here’s a fun thought:  Michigan’s newest voters will have to hearken back to their elementary school days to recall a time when the state’s economy was actually going somewhere.  It’s been that long.  I guess we’re getting used to the pain.

Driving ‘round town and tuning into the radio, I can’t help but wonder how much those ads with Tim Allen urging us to stay where we are and go places we’ve already been are costing.  Is anyone encouraged by this tripe?

First off, they are terribly written. The phrases are awkward and full of faux grandeur.  It’s like a parody of Victorian prose.

More importantly, Tim Allen is a lousy narrator.  Good comedian, but bad at reading stuff.  Hey, he’s a Michigan guy, I get it, but so is James Earl Jones.  We couldn’t we get The Voice do this stuff?  Jones can make reading a soup can label dramatic and compelling.

Anyhow, I can’t help but wonder how much Obama’s anti-NAFTA remarks will hurt him here come November. If I were McCain, I’d play those in continuous loops in Automation Alley and Grand Rapids – and in Port Huron and the Soo.

I hope to begin overhauling this site, including revising the links over the next few weeks.

Also, where did the Carnival of Cordite go?  Anyone still interested, email me.  I’ll host it with a target of maybe next weekend.

A day at the beach

Over the holiday weekend, the Posse ventured to the local swimming hole.  It being hot, most folks were wearing an entirely inadequate amount of clothing.  This made the group of women in body-length bathing suits and headscarves rather conspicuous.

At first glance, it was a Mark Steyn moment: a small group of people consciously separating themselves from the rest.  Surely in the interests of "tolerance" and "multiculturalism" they would demand a secluded space to bathe.  Nope.

The girls, who were teenagers, removed the headgear and dove right in.  Their suits, while covering them from ankle to neck, were form fitting - probably designed for surfing.  So they were modest, but in a good way.  Certainly preferable to all the pre-teen girls wearing string bikinis.

In short, they seemed pretty well assimilated.  I imagined that in a few years, they would probably raise quite a ruckus when Dad or someone tried to tell them what to do.  In the great scheme of things, not all that significant, I know, but I found it encouraging nonetheless.

Owned by an 8th Grader

It's tough to live in Michigan.  The economy stinks, the governor is clueless, and of course we have Detroit.

This delightful clip gives an idea of just how wacky the politics of the Motor City have become.  Behold!  An 8th Grader explains good behavior to the City Council President Pro Tem and wife of Congressman-for-life John Conyers.

I particularly like the way she explains how adults have control over their actions.

Happy Independence Day

There seems to be quite a dust-up between Wesley Clark and the rest of the thinking universe.  His latest foot-in-mouth problem is how he has tried to disparage John McCain’s military service.  It’s enough to make me nostalgic for the 2004 Democratic Primary.

Clark, of course, entered the race buoyed by polls showing him beating President Bush easily.  He immediately became the front runner.  Then he opened his mouth.

I have to wonder what it is like to watch your polls in continuous downward motion.  I’ve worked on more than a few political campaigns, and I recall good polls and bad polls, but I can’t ever recall a situation where the more the candidate said, the worse he did – not at least with a non-fringe candidate.  Well, I guess that’s what Clark was.

Anyhow, Allahpundit repeatedly reduced me to tears with his commentary on Clark’s increasingly desperate efforts to gain traction and stop the slide.

Apparently four years have done nothing to improve his political instincts.

So I’m sure many readers are asking: what does this have to do with the Fourth of July?

Only this:  The genius of the American political system is that it allows for civilian control of the military.  Despite many crises and a radically different world than that inhabited by our Founding Fathers, the Republic has endured.

While I’m naturally glad about the Supreme Court’s Second Amendment ruling, the thought I will carry with me this Independence Day is how fortunate we are to have generals as laughing stocks rather than dictators.

Wesley Clark is a comic figure, but he is also a four-star general who once commanded the bulk of our overseas armies.  When he exceeded his mandate he was cashiered without delay and reduced to hawking books, sucking up to wannabe presidential candidates, and being the butt of our jokes.

Yet another reason to love the United States of America.

 

 

Gun control at bay

One of the interesting effects yesterday’s Keller decision has been to drive the few remaining gun control supporters into a frenzy. Meagan McCardle noted this and does a good job of showing why so many of the stats they are using to argue against gun ownership are worthless.

The first commenter, “Greg” offers this statement which immediately got my attention:

In an ideal world, laws on the books would keep guns out of the hands of these people [repeat criminals]. I am still hoping for an ideal world.

I do not hope for an ideal world.  I know it is impossible.  What I do hope for is a world where rational people accept that they cannot prevent every crime; that the price of liberty is that sometimes people will abuse it. 

The thing is, there is evidence that our laws are effectively disarming the criminal class.  As documented on this very blog (and I believe utterly ignored almost everywhere else) the three Operation Falcon sweeps netted some 30,000 violent felons – and only a tiny fraction – 1.9 percent - had firearms. Note that even this number is a high-end estimate, because it assumes that these were equally distributed. 

This is fairly compelling evidence that criminals are not as heavily armed as gun control supporters would have us believe.  In fact, it in many ways indicates the exact opposite – they are as disarmed as they are likely to get.

By contrast, half of American households are believed to have a firearm.  So the ratio good guys to bad guys is somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 to 1.  Logic tells us that additional efforts to whittle away at that percentage of felons is likely to take an even larger share of law-abiding guns with it. This is basically what has happened in the UK and Australia. 

Disarming the populace at large makes therefore has the effect of making guns even more desirable to criminals.  Again, this isn't theoretical, we have seen it in practice.

At some point, perhaps reality will intrude on gun control advocates.  In the meantime, we need to keep them as far away from positions of power as possible.