Sometime Blues

Sports Illustrated: Debut of Freddy Adu

This story has caused quite a stir in American soccer circles. As a player from this area, I know people who have played with and against Adu and speak highly of him. His seems to be a very mature soccer player and quite a well adjusted person. I invite any comments on the situation of a child of his age becoming a professional athlete. |

So we played with fire and sort of got burned. If you want to post long arguments, that is cool, but please do it in the form of comments in the future. Otherwise people will think this site is just about Jonathan's encyclopedic knowledge about Israel or Alex's course notes, or my ranting about racism, economic injustice and the virtues of Seinfeld and Elimidate. That being said, allow us to move on.


AP: Bush Campaign Attacks Soft Money Use by Opponents

In an effort to discredit Kerry, who does have a precarious record on fundraising, the Bush campaign has filed a complaint with the FEC regarding the use of soft money contributions by Anti-Bush groups. Firstly, Kerry has definitely done nothing illegal. His campaign would have to do very little to motivate many of these groups, which arose before he began his candidacy, to raise outrageous amounts to defeat Bush. Secondly, it shows the inherent flaws in the federal campaign funding system that Bush can raise bundles of hard money and still collect if from large single donors and it is still technically legal. Ideally we could get Russ Feingold (D-WI) to run for president, but in his absence, defeating Bush will be the biggest step forward for campaign finance reform.

The Economist: Uzbekistan Deals With Terror

While no reasonable person can support terrorism anywhere, I condemn the Uzbek government just as much as the Islamist militants who perpetrated these attacks. Karimov's government is scarcely different than that of the worst Soviet dictators, which Karimov was until the veil of capitalism became enough cover to deter American "justice". Groups like these are only able to take root in Uzbekistan, as they have throughout the Muslim world, because of corrupt and repressive dictators like Karimov that have all to often been supported by world powers like the Soviet Union and the United States. I find it repugnant that Karimov is our ally because he is certainly not a far cry from Saddam Hussein. The main difference is that Karimov is much more in control of himself. Until the current administration makes some effort at regime change in Uzbekistan, I will hold to my contention that a double standard is in use to identify "rogue" regimes.


Running For the Right: God Bless America

It is great that America is taking a stand to defend the rights of this girl to wear what she pleases and practice her religion freely, but do not use this an an example of why America is more principled than France. We are not fighting a war against all enemies of freedom, but selected enemies. We are not invading Russia, Uzbekistan (see above post), North Korea, China, or ceasing to support anti-democratic insurgents the Americas. America chooses its battles carefully, as it should, but not always according to any one principle. I am not going to say that this is a PR stunt (albeit trivial), as I would have no evidence with which to back up that claim. But I would not be surprised if it was.
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Visitors may notice that they can now post comments on posts they find interesting. This has happened for two reasons: 1) Some new people have begun to post things that might elicit comments 2) I found the code to make comment posting possible. What a world we live in.

The Economist: Rwandan Recovery

Here is a good example of when democracy goes wild. For nations making a transition from colonialism to self-rule, sometimes democratic government is not the best starting point, especially when ethnic tensions have built up as they had here. This example reminds me of the Balkan states from the period between the World Wars and immediately after the end of the Cold War and of contemporary Iraq. With respect to the potential for horrifying ethnic violence, Central Africa seems no different from any other part of the globe.

I think the Rwandan example is a good one for other Central African nations that have endured decades of ethnic violence that seemed to be a unending cycle. Certainly the policies of the current government will need to be altered in the future and hopefully a democratically elected government will eventually be able to rule in peace in years to come. However, I can imagine no better temporary solution to the perpetual blame game that led to the bloodiest civil wars ever than to forget about them for a while and remember how to live in peace. If only the Union had been as good about de-programming Confederates at the end of the Civil War, perhaps we would not have the strains of bigotry and separatist terrorism that haunt America today. Hopefully Rwanda can continue to learn from the mistakes of others. |

CNN: UN Withdrawal From Gaza

I agree with my friend Brian that this approach seems quite silly. Punishing those is Gaza is not an effective tool to change the behavior of Israelis or and militant groups on the other side of the conflict. |

The Drudge Report: Clark Book Deal

Obviously this story and others like it are meant to highlight the gains that Richard Clark is making in order to characterize him as an opportunist who has no regard for the state of the nation. However, nobody makes those accusations when Sean Hannity or Ann Coulter write books that use the war on terror or some other sensitive issue to level criticism exclusively at liberals. Clearly the timing of this book release is not ideal because it will influence voters, but this election cannot happen in a vacuum. And more to the point, why should Clark be vilified for presenting his opinion of the facts. If the administration would declassify his testimony and perhaps provide some evidence of their own besides attacks on Clark's character and credibility, then perhaps the American people could make an informed decision on their own without the standard partisan information dissemination that happens with every story from inside the beltway. |

New York Times: Kerry Delivers Speech to Missouri Congregation

I do not understand how the White House can find fault with Kerry speaking about compassion in a church. If Bush can use his spiritual beliefs in speeches about abortion rights and gay marriage, then why can Kerry not discuss his in a church of all places. The White House is using some strange double standard in this regard. Kerry's comments may have been a bit odd in light of the already bitter tone of this campaign season, though I agree that Christian compassion is a valid point to address in a president to admits to let his religion guide his policy decisions, but the reaction is the real demonstration that this race has too much of a negative focus to sustain interest. If the Republican Party is trying to turn people off from the election in the hope that low turnout will help Bush, they are off to a good start but our electoral system is not. |