Eye on the Watcher’s Council

As you may know the members of the Watcher’s Council each nominate one of his or her own posts and one non-Council post for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week’s Council nominations is here.

The Glittering Eye, “You’ve caught the firetruck. Now what?”

In my submission for this week I use a column by Ralph Peters as a point of departure for reflecting on the future of Iraq policy. I think it’s bleak.

American Future, “The Politics of Iraq”

Marc Schulman, too, is thinking about the future of Iraq policy in his submission, in his case taking a column by Mark Steyn as his starting point.

Joshuapundit, “The March of Folly”

In his submission Freedom Fighter hones in on the Democratic leadership, now holding a congressional majority, and predicts “an intensified concentration on settling old scores and a curtailing of our ability to defend ourselves at a time when our nation is perhaps in the greatest peril we have ever faced”. He may well be right.

I think there’s some room for hope. A political party in power is simply a different creature than the same party out of power. We’ve seen that in the Republicans for the last several years. I think they’ve painted themselves into a corner and Iraq and we’ll need to adjust our policy to cope with the aftermath of our withdrawal. It won’t be easy.

Done With Mirrors, “Santorum’s Daughter”

Callimachus reveals a disturbing torrent of bile directed against, of all people, Rick Santorum’s eight year old daughter. I’m not sure that much can be learned from this other than when there are enough people there will be more hateful people, too. When was deviancy defined down to the point that repellent mocking of the understandable reactions of a normal eight year old girl became acceptable?

Soccer Dad, “One-Sided Diehl”

Soccer Dad considers Israel-Hezbollah and Israel-Palestinian negotiations and proposals appurtenant thereunto and finds them wanting. I don’t have much to add to Soccer Dad’s exposition other than to point out that in the narrative of colonialization as applied to Israel (with Israel in the role of oppressor-colonizer and Israel’s neighbors in the role of oppressed) of course all concessions and initiatives should be made by Israel.

Gates of Vienna, “It’s Much Too Late to Worry”

The recents elections are on Dymphna’s mind, too, although I think that analogizing Nancy Pelosi to Stalin is a bit much. Norma Desmond, perhaps, or Domina in Richard Lester’s version of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Maybe I see things through rose-colored glasses but I continue to think that, however harsh the rhetoric, Americans of both parties have more in common with each other than with, say, Frenchmen or Germans or even Brits.

In Dymphna’s post she relays an anecdote from the Baron’s teenage years.

ShrinkWrapped, “Leftish Bankruptcy in a Time of Abundance”

One of those differences from our European cousins has traditionally been our differing views of wealth, equality, and competition. ShrinkWrapped’s submission is a wide-ranging essay that starts with the foundation of society in managing scarcity and envy and touches on an enormous number of topics including the recent election, global warming, and iranian nuclear development.

I guess I’m left-wing enough to think that, in my ideal version of American society, most of us would be more or less equal in wealth—a middle class society, the modern equivalent of Jefferson’s yeoman farmers. However, the manner in which the goal is achieved is important, too. Taking from the rich in order to give to the rich isn’t much of an improvement.

I find today’s adulation of wealth for its own sake distasteful but I suppose I’m in a tiny minority. I’m especially chary of wealth when it’s obtained as a consequence of rent-seeking and quite a bit of what passes these days for entrepeneurialism is actually rent-seeking.

Rhymes With Right, “An Interesting Exclusion”

Greg, Greg, Greg. In a commentary on a column in the Washington Post, Greg reveals that he’s at sea in understanding today’s identity politics.

The first rule of identity politics is that you are what you think you are. Consequently, Barack Obama (for whom I have the utmost in respect), with a black father whom he scarcely knew, raised by a white mother in Hawaii of the 1950’s and 1960’s in isolation from African American society (and, even more importantly, from what sociologist Charles Moskas calls “Afro-American society”), is black.

The second rule is that identity trumps all other considerations.

The third is that being part of an identity group requires authenticity. Authenticity is not the same as reality. Therefore, black Republicans simply aren’t black: you can’t be authentically black and be a, yech, Republican. You see all blacks are Democrats. By definition.

I hope that clears everything up.

AbbaGav, “Don’t Cry for Me Bangalore”

Gavriel leaps into the world of interviewing by interviewing himself on the subject of globalization. He’s got a stiff upper lip.

The Education Wonks, “Pledgeless in California”

EdWonk reports on a California community college whose student government has banned the Pledge of Allegiance. I’ll say this for the education beat: it’s a never-ending source of post material.

Right Wing Nut House, “The Slaughter of the Moderates”

Rick Moran observes that ideological homogeneity has its price and the Republicans are now paying it, bidding fair to become a Southern social conservative party. That’s my main gripe against today’s Republican Party. I can’t forgive them for accepting the Dixiecrats, who’ve prospered at the expense of the more centrist Rockefeller branch of the party.

The Sundries Shack, “How to Disagree Civilly…”

Jimmie Bise uses a post from Powerline Blog on the “vote for Democrats makes terrorists rejoice” as a jumping-off point for a temperate criticism of John Cole of Balloon Juice. I’ve long considered John Cole to be one of the most reasonable guys in the blogosphere but he’s gone off the rails lately and, honestly, now I’m not so sure.

On the substance of the Powerline thesis I think that Democratic activists and terrorists have one thing in common: they’ll both be disappointed both in America’s response and in the Democratic leadership.

Well, I’ve decided which posts I’ll vote for. Which would get your vote?