mild-mannered scholar by day, raging anti-socialist by night

 
THE JOE WILSON SAGA CONTINUES

Adding to the growing pile of political insta-memoirs, Former Ambassador Joseph Wilson of yellowcake infamy has just come out with his own tell-all book on the Bush Administration. The press was all abuzz in anticipation of revelations likely to make the White House uncomfortable. The revelation reported thus far, however, actually serves to weaken Wilson's claims: He states that it was Baghdad Bob who approached Niger in a possible attempt to obtain uranium. Hardly a complete rebuttal to the claim that the Administration exaggerated the significance of the issue, but certainly suggestive of there being more substance to it than Bush's critics like to portray.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 4:48 PM | Link

 
NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC MAPMACHINE

The National Geographic Society's MapMachine is a great resource for creating online maps displaying a variety of themes.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 12:27 PM | Link

 
AN ODE TO MCDONALD'S

Whacking Day considers an innocent, happy event that would horrify the world's McDonald's-haters.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 3:54 PM | Link

 
THE MYTH OF THE RACIST REPUBLICANS

The Claremont Review of Books has a must-read article on why the widespread idea that the Republicans took up racism in order to win over the South is a historical falsehood.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 2:18 PM | Link

 
BLOG ACCESS PROBLEMS ADVICE

If any of you have had problems accessing Blog*Spot sites via bookmarks or links lately, here is the solution: Apparently Blog*Spot is no longer acknowledging blog URLs that have "www" inserted as the first address item, regardless of whether or not the page actually exists (e.g. "www.varenius.blog..." rather than simply "varenius.blog..."). Remove the "www" from the address and it will work once again.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 11:44 AM | Link

 
FREEDOM TERRIFIES COMMIE BRAT

Via Whacking Day, I found this whiny rant about freedom in the "Quarterly Magazine of the Communist Youth of Australia" known as Bright Red [...Oceans of Blood, that is!]. Since I'm in a foul mood today thanks to my GERD acting up something awful, it's time to fisk this load of drivel...

Freedom (Under Capitalism)

freedom is a choice of 10 types of bottled water, yet having no clean rivers.

freedom is a brand new car with free cd player, free airbags and free air conditioning, yet choking on the air outside when you have to walk.

Ah yes, choking on the air outside... something the masses blessed to live under communism knew quite well, comrade. But then living with nightmarish levels of pollution beyond anything imaginable in the West is a small price to pay to escape the oppression of bottled water and nice cars, isn't it?

freedom is choosing who will make political decisions, yet not choosing what those decisions are.

Yes comrade, it's something called "representative government." It exists so that you and I don't have to spend every moment of our lives occupied with voting on governmental actions. The personal isn't political for everyone, my friend.

freedom is being allowed to protest, yet having the protest ignored.

Freedom is being allowed to ignore obnoxious, self-righteous twits who harass and obstruct people who can't sponge off Mommy and Daddy anymore and thus have to work rather than play heroic revolutionary all day.

freedom is a credit card because we can't really afford what we buy.

Freedom is the ability to live within your means if you so desire, or not. The choice is yours.

freedom is being able to drink alcohol, wishing we had the bodies and the looks that we are told we are supposed to have.

Freedom is also the ability to ignore pop culture and be a true individual, if you so desire.

freedom is being able to take a panadol to ease the pain, because the world won't slow down for us.

What duty does the world have to slow down for you? Move to the Outback if city life is too much for you.

freedom is an instant meal done in two minutes, yet suffering the impact of artificial ingredients for a lifetime.

Freedom is the ability to choose between quick artificial meals and more involved nutritious ones. You are free to choose the trade-off that you wish.

freedom is dressing how you like, yet having to comply to a strict dress code if you want to keep your job or enter that club.

Freedom is being able to determine the requirements in place at the business or club that you own. Or do you mind if I burst into your living room at 2 AM, haul my motorcycle through the window, and start repairing it on your nice white carpet? You do? Bourgeois pig! How dare you exercise your property rights against me!

freedom is a home loan, while the banks profits are in the billions.

And a home loan is the freedom to buy housing that otherwise would be beyond your means. Would you prefer living in the street so that the bank will make nothing? Or paying rent forever with nothing permanent to show for it?

freedom is a throw-away cup, freedom is a throw-away eco-system, freedom is the ultimate convenience while the earth dies fast, freedom is not caring about the consequences of your actions.

Freedom is also the the ability to bring legal pressure against those who trash the environment. The freedom of classical liberalism is freedom under the Rule of Law, not that of the juvenile daydreams of your blak blok anarchist friends.

freedom is a value system of apathy and waste.

Like the apathy of the vodka-soaked Soviet shopfloor? Like the waste of making 10,000 left shoes and no right ones?

freedom is an illusion that we are made to believe.

Made by whom? The media that we are free to shut off?

freedom is a lie.

Well, you've certainly made a piss-poor case of proving that so far!

freedom will bring death to this planet, yet I don't want to die

I'm afraid the death part is ultimately beyond the jurisdiction of any of us, comrade. But at least we will die free from the bloody, oppressive dystopia your childish fantasies would impose on the planet instead.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 5:24 PM | Link

 
BURKE AND LEGITIMATE REVOLUTION

Philokalia Republic has been linking to old articles from The Intercollegiate Review, the main journal of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute. Lots of great articles to be found there.

One article which I found particularly interesting discusses Edmund Burke's view on what makes a revolution legitimate (PDF). Burke is often accused of being inconsistent in supporting the Glorious Revolution of 1688 and the American Revolution, yet rejecting the French Revolution. The article explains why these positions are in fact completely in keeping with Burke's political principles.

posted by Bernhardt Varenius at 4:31 PM | Link