Little Red Blog

Perhaps I’ve just become too cynical. When I read the NY Times headline for David Kirkpatrick’s column on Janice Rogers Brown, I immediately believed the column was an attempt to portray Brown in a negative way. The headline – Seeing Slavery in Liberalism. After reading the column, aside from reaffirming my belief that Brown will make an excellent Justice on the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals, I had to believe that either the NY Times had missed its mark or I’d wrongly pre-judged their intent.

Kirkpatrick uses several quotes to exemplify Justice Brown’s views on "the perils of liberalism." His telling of her life story includes her move from the liberal values of her family to her more conservative values. Along the way Kirkpatrick reminds his readers of her faith on more than one occasion. All in all, to my mind, it wasn’t a bad piece of reporting. Yet the headline keeps popping up.

Seeing Slavery in Liberalism

A headline aimed at the left. Many on the left call themselves liberal; this headline is aimed at them. It is meant agitate them, to draw their ire at the gall of a Justice seeing their political view in a comparable light to that of slavery. And moreover, the many liberal, yet not leftist, out there may also be stung by this headline. Although on reading the article, if intellectually honest, they’ll understand what Brown stands for and that it isn’t that far from their own beliefs.

Try this one on for size – "We no longer find slavery abhorrent. We embrace it." Taken alone, one might wonder. Who’s embracing slavery? Is Brown? Kirkpatrick thankfully points out the context with further remarks from Justice Brown – "If we can invoke no ultimate limits on the power of government, a democracy is inevitably transformed into a kleptocracy - a license to steal, a warrant for oppression."

Sounds a tad bit like Alan Keyes on tax policy or John Galt in Atlas Shrugged. Here! Here!

Brown apparently takes issue with Affirmative Action, I'd call that a form of group kleptocracy, is opposed to current abortion rulings, and heaven forbid... "She has criticized the New Deal, which gave us Social Security, the minimum wage, and fair labor laws. She's questioned whether age discrimination laws benefit the public interest," to quote Senator Ted Kennedy. Perhaps that explains Kirkpatrick’s less than clear description of her position leading up the quote – "the triumph of our socialist revolution."

In the end, I’d like to thank Kirkpatrick and the NY Times. I like Justice Brown even more now. Next up Justice Pryor.

Posted by Marvin Hutchens on June 8, 2005 10:41 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (3)

When British Prime Minister Tony Blair asks President Bush, and other G-8 leaders, to increase the amount of aid provided to Africa, and to eliminate the foreign debt of African nations, he is unlikely to be addressing the continents woes with the mindset of Global War on Terror. President Bush is set to announce that the U.S. will further increase aid to Africa, to the tune of $674 million, while continuing his opposition to the remainder of Blair’s plan. He is right to do so for both humanitarian purposes, as well as for national security.

Addressing the humanitarian aspect, I’ll be brief. Provide fish or teach to fish? Provide economic aid via grants (or the elimination of debt) or provide economic incentives to aid (or require) the development of civil systems capable of supporting foreign investment, the development of educational systems, and the legal rights of the people of Africa. I would applaud Blair for his passionate argument for doing more to help Africa, yet I believe he is mistaken in his plan, discounting both the nature of man and the realities of our world. All aid to Africa, beyond the essentials to prevent malnutrition, should be focused on building the infrastructure needed to get beyond subsistence, both in real terms, as well as in terms of cultural and social essentials. It is largely in this area that we have failed, and in this area that money alone will not change anything.

For years the U.S., and the world at large, ignored the spread of Islamist ideals that lead to terrorism in the name of Islam. Our focus was singular… ensure that the U.S. maintained influence in the region, the Middle East, equal to or greater than that of the Soviet bloc. Post Soviet policy was even narrower. Now we fight a war that is likely to outlast many of us, and our former allies have been exposed as at least partially responsible for the development of the hatred of the west built on the regions bigotry, religious and cultural. Despots have largely governed Africa, like the Middle East, and with the cultural value of ethnicity, bloodlines, religious affiliation and race, Africans have waged war on each other while the outside world fed the victims.

The U.S. must address African nations with higher standards. We must not eliminate debt or make grants with the hope that the economic relief felt by the governments will translate to opportunity for the individual. It would merely extend the life of those in power. In place of donations (by the government – I’m completely supportive of individual donations through charity organizations dealing directly with the needy), the U.S. should ratchet up our requirements. This should include direct investments, binding the governments to support and encourage civil opportunities, development of legal and banking systems, expansion of communications, and most importantly - the inclusion of all citizens in a liberal education program. In addition, it should be clear to Africa's leaders that military aid and support of non-democratic leaders will not be an option. You play poorly in the playground, we don't invite you in and serve you dinner, instead, we cut you off and feed those who will work to make things better. If not, we will again silently wait for the next Somalia, Sudan or Zimbabwe to develop. And we’ll pay the man who leads the transition.

Of course, none of this addresses how to end the suffering under the hands of mad men already in place. That’ll have to wait.

[Originally posted at The Fourth Rail.]

Posted by Marvin Hutchens on June 7, 2005 1:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (4)

Last week's winners were:

A Killer in the Shadows - by Right Wing Nut House for the best Council entry.

And the winning non-council entry, by a narrow margin, Taking Islam Seriously by Bloggledygook.

There were many other excellent entries, please visit the Watcher of Weasels for the full result of the vote and links to other entries.

Posted by Marvin Hutchens on June 7, 2005 12:33 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

Bunker Mulligan, Mike Reed, passed away on Friday, June 3, 2005. On learning of his passing, I was shocked and saddened to a far greater degree than I would have expected. I never met Bunker. He and I exchanged emails on occasion, commented regularly on each other’s writings, and agreed in principle on nearly all political issues. That doesn’t explain why it would hurt so much to hear of his death.

Bunker was good and kind man. A prince among us. I’m no avid golfer, yet I immensely enjoyed reading his golf updates. When he posted, I felt I knew him. I knew his passion for his family, his love of our nation, and his desire to see the possible rather than the impossible. His comments and emails were always a highlight for me. He offered praise sparingly, not being a flatterer. Instead, his comments told me that I’d hit the mark, written well, or stated the obvious in terms he agreed with. When he took issue with me, he did so directly and asked me to understand. And most often, he offered a helping hand.

Men like Bunker are too few. I’ll miss him greatly, as I already do. I find myself wanting to revisit every email or comment he shared with me, to reread the entries of his blog and more so, to tell him that he was admired, appreciated and that he had an impact. I don’t know his family, his sons in the service of our nation, or his daughter, but I’m certain their loss is greater than mine. A painful realization, and one I wish they’d not experienced.

Rest in peace Bunker. I’ll see you on the shores someday.

Posted by Marvin Hutchens on June 6, 2005 11:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)