SO Much to Read Today!

But not here at EIP, Gentle Reader. Nope, I'm talking about the Big Story of today, and yesterday... this “new” National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) concerning Iran and its nukes. I’ve seldom seen as many links on a subject, any subject, as memeorandum had on this one yesterday…and today, too. There are SO many people commenting on this latest NIE and they’re smarter than me, for the most part. As for me…I’m totally perplexed. To begin with, we’re only seeing a very small part of the overall document, the Key Judgments (pdf alert). God Only Knows (well, Him and the intelligence community) what the rest of the document says, and more importantly, what information/intelligence was used to prepare the findings…and the sources of this information.

Then there’s the not-inconsequential matter of timing. Everyone acknowledges this document has been around for the better part of a year. Why release it now? Do domestic politics play a part? Are we courting the Iranians in some way? Is this the administration’s way of defusing all the “imminent war” talk vis-à-vis Iran? What the HELL is going on here?

As I said…I’m confused. I’ve read a lot on this subject over the past 24 hours or so and I still don’t know what’s going on.

Oh Hell, let’s do something FUN! Right Wing News has put up its “The 2nd Annual Worst Quotes From The Daily Kos (2007 Edition),” and it’s a doozy. This may or may not be your idea of “fun,” Gentle Reader, but I got a BIG kick out of it. It’s much more entertaining than trying to figure out this NIE stuff. OTOH, the “winner” is just SO damned offensive it’s hard to believe an actual American wrote it. To wit:

1) "But do I still support the individual men and women who have given so much to serve their country? No. I think they’re a bunch of idiots. I also think they’re morally retarded. Because they sign a contract that says they will kill whoever you tell me to kill. And that is morally retarded.

Friends, the most important moral decision a man makes in the course of a day is "Who am I going to kill today?" That’s a decision you should agonize over, dream about, rehearse in your mind for hours, not just leave up to some hare-brained President you didn’t even vote for.

A man’s killing list is a very personal matter. It should be between him and those persistent voices in his head. So to sum up, I don’t like our troops, I don’t like what they’re doing, I don’t like their fat, whining families, and yet, I support them. Thank God I live in a free country. Thank You." -- AWhitneyBrown

I guess I’m just morally retarded. Good to know, that.

My Buddy Ed in Florida sends the following:

I didn't snoop this but it's probably true
July 8, 1947

Many of you will recall that on July 8, 1947, approximately 60 years
ago, witnesses claim that an unidentified flying object (UFO) with five
aliens aboard crashed onto a sheep and cattle ranch just outside Roswell,
New Mexico. This is a well-known incident that many say has long
been covered up by the U.S. Air Force and other Federal Agencies and
organizations. However, what you may NOT know is that in the month of
March 1948, nine months after that historic day, the following people
were born:

Albert A. Gore, Jr. (March 31, 1948)
Hillary Rodham (October 26, 1947)
John F. Kerry (December 11, 1943)
William J. Clinton (August 19, 1946)
Howard Dean (November 14, 1948 [close enough])
Nancy Pelosi (March 26, 1940)
Dianne Feinstein (June 22, 1933)
Charles E. Schumer (November 23, 1950)
Barbara Boxer (November 11, 1940)

See what happens when aliens breed with sheep?

I certainly hope this bit of information clears up a lot of things for you.

OK…the red guys were born outside the stated envelope, so this shoots this theory all to Hell. I didn’t account for multiple UFO visits, though. Anything is possible, and Ed could still conceivably be right. It would clear up a lot.

/snark

All y’all no doubt know there were two important elections in other parts of the world this past Sunday. Important in the sense the electorates in Venezuela and Russia were being asked to sign away what little bits of democratic government remain in those benighted countries. The Venezuelans rejected Chavez’ bid to rule for life; the Russians apparently think Vlad I makes a fine tsar. And we Americans are left scratching our heads. “What in the Hell are those Russkies thinking?”, we ask. Enter the WSJ:

The phenomenon in which masses of people enthusiastically sign away their democratic rights is not new: It happened in Germany and Austria in the 1930s. But it's one that Americans especially have a hard time coming to grips with. The freedom agenda may no longer be in vogue, but most Americans implicitly endorse George Bush's view that "eventually, the call of freedom comes to every mind and every soul." When it doesn't--when, in fact, it is consciously and deliberately spurned--we rationalize it in ways that go only so far in offering a persuasive account of the dark allure of tyranny.

Culture is one rationalization. The word is invoked by everyone from self-described Burkean conservatives to left-wing cultural relativists to explain the supposed failure of some benighted corners of the world to adopt and sustain democratic norms. In this view, Africa and the Arab world are too tribal; the Muslim world makes no distinction between the divine and the mundane; Latin America cannot find a stable middle ground between populism and paternalism; the Chinese are too used to emperors and mandarins, the Russians too used to czars and bureaucrats. And so on.

But cultural determinism often runs afoul of reality: The example of China is counterexampled by Taiwan; Zimbabwe by Botswana; Jeddah by Dubai; President Chávez by President Àlvaro Uribe in neighboring Colombia. Like baseball statistics, culture has a way of explaining a lot until it suddenly explains nothing.

The editorial goes on to speculate that the real reason people sign their rights away is because they want to…it’s human nature. You may agree or disagree, but it’s an interesting concept and one I have no real difficulty believing. I’d love to say I don’t think it can happen here, because we Americans are too used to having our freedoms. But…times are good. It all changes, including the political environment, when times are bad. There are always people waiting in the wings to “make things better” when the bread lines start forming. With any sort of luck we won’t see that sort of thing happen in this country again.

I have my fingers crossed. Now, about Russia…

Cynthia over at Gazing At The Flag put up a post today about a project the VFW has going on… to wit:

Brighten the holidays for wounded heroes at the James A. Haley Veterans Hospital in Tampa, Florida by signing the biggest Christmas Card ever!

And how big IS it, you ask? Well, last year’s card was big enough to hold 20,000 signatures. This year the VFW is going for 25,000. But you have to act fast…the deadline is the 10^th of this month. Go here to sign the card…and toss a few bucks in the pot, too, if the spirit moves ya. It’s a small gesture, to be sure, but one that is well and truly appreciated by those who have given so much.