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The Hijacking of the Republican Party

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The traditional principles of the Republican Party have in the past several years been subordinated to a more intrusive domestic policy and an imperialistic foreign policy. Whereas a policy of less federal government intrusion into domestic personal affairs once held together most party adherents, now the party machinery has more recently been redirected to a more pragmatic policy of winning and keeping political control, attendant to philosophic principles only insofar as practical politics demands it. Similarly, what historically was once considered a more reserved, sometimes near-isolationist, stance in foreign affairs has been replaced by a foreign policy that is overtly interventionist. This transformation of party and governmental policy is in no way accidental and is only marginally related to the appalling terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. That ...

Freedom, Hope, and Fear: The Paradox of Vietnam, Part 2

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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 Some backpackers said they preferred understated Hanoi to the raucous attack of venders, the capitalism in Danang and Ho Chi Minh City. I enjoyed the bartering, the drivers who surrounded and harangued me. Told that many hawkers would exaggerate tales of suffering to get a better price, I felt the stories were real. Especially in Danang, a city I had experienced through interviews with American Vietnam veterans. The airfields were vast empty spaces with few parked aircraft. Government-owned Vietnam Airlines, the one flagship, dominates the market. Pricing is chaotic because of government controls. Domestic flights are set at fixed prices, relatively expensive, compared to U.S. competitive pricing. It’s best to buy all domestic flights outside the country, because the government doesn’t like competition. Plagued with an erratic reputation for air crashes during the days of the “Russian flying coffins,” recycled Soviet jets, the bilateral 2000 U.S. trade agreement has, one hopes, reversed ...

The Bill of Rights: Antipathy to Militarism

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The Third Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that “no Soldier shall, in time of peace be quartered in any house, without the consent of the Owner, nor in time of war, but in a manner to be prescribed by law.” Obviously, the Third Amendment has little relevance today. But what is relevant for us today is the mindset that underlay the passage of that amendment — a mindset of deep antipathy toward militarism and standing armies. Our ancestors’ fierce opposition to a powerful military force was consistent with their overall philosophy that guided the formation of the Constitution and the passage of the Bill of Rights. While the Framers understood the need for a federal government, what concerned them was the possibility that such a government would become a worse menace than no government at all. Their recent experience with the British government — which of course had been their government and against which they had taken up arms — ...

Hornberger’s Blog, July 2004

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Saturday, July 31, 2004 Well, well, well—surprise, surprise—millions of dollars in Iraqi oil money that have supposedly been used to “rebuild” Iraq are unaccounted for, resulting in 27 criminal investigations for fraud—against U.S. officials. The Los Angeles Times reports, “The report raises anew questions surrounding the occupation government under Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III, who turned over control ...