Well, he’d better … because if North Korean nukes aren’t more important than the sex life of an obscure congressman, Ahmadinejad is right – our civilization is in deep trouble. But I suspect it’s not – in deep trouble, that is – not that deep anyway. Besides Foley was starting to get boring. How much of this trivia can people take, especially if it’s not about Paris Hilton?
Meanwhile, the most important part of the North Korean situation to me, so far, is that the Chinese are taking it very seriously, calling it a “brazen” act. Will this precipitate a kind of realignment of states with a vested interest in the global economy? The Japanese have set up a “task force.” Any bets on how long it would take Japan to go nuclear, if they haven’t already? About as long as it takes them to get out the latest Sony Vaio, I would think. In the end, this is probably a good development. A strong Japan is going to be very necessary. The South Koreans themselves will not be far behind, I would imagine. I’d bet my Samsung monitor on it. [You gave that one away.-ed. Yes, but it was great.]
But all kidding aside – and I promise not to make any more nuclear jokes, Dr. Strangelove … at least for the next few minutes – what this brings to light for me is another underscoring of the fundamental lack of seriousness of a great part of our society, especially in the political and media classes. They have spent the last few years in an over-sized game of the Bickersons while history is moving forward at a frightening velocity. North Korea, Iran, the Pakistani intelligence service – look around and you see an international cartel of psychologically deranged nuclear armed states forming. Who’s next? Syria? In a way I hope the Democrats win in November, so that they are forced to face reality. We’re going to need everybody pulling together on this one.
(COMMERCIAL: Pajamas is following the North Korea story closely, of course.)
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21 Comments
1. Stace:I keep having these flashbacks; I just can’t stop them. I see a national media focused on Gary Condit as the 9/11 hijackers finalized their plans. I see all Lewinsky, all the time, as Saddam was kicking out the inspectors and Bin Laden’s ambitions escalated.
Oct 9, 2006 - 8:06 am 2. David Thomson:“In a way I hope the Democrats win in November, so that they are forced to face reality.”
The first one who mentions Hitler presumably loses the argument. Alas, I must take that risk. A number of politicians thought that the Nazi leader would moderate his behavior once saddled with the responsibilities of running the government. That didnít work out very well, did it? Unfortunately, full grown human beings rarely change for the better. We should hesitate to bet against the odds when the stakes are so high.
Oct 9, 2006 - 8:24 am 3. jedrury:These are serious times and the Dems are not serious people on the most important issue of national security. They will take the House (I did chuckle at Roger’s term “Mastergate”), and, maybe the Senate and they will start by cutting down funds for Iraq. Congressional power will be retained for two years by which time the silly issues on which they got elected (”Mastergate”) will vanish and result in a return to sanity by the electorate.
Evidence of the GOP losing the House: Tom Reynolds, the once formidable GOP Congressman from Western NY and chief of the House Campaign Committee is down 15 points against a 75 year old Dem nonentity in recent polls. This was once a safe seat; not anymore.
There will be a lot of bloodletting but the GOP deserves to lose the House. The GOP got horridly complacent in power.
Get ready for point counterpoint in Washington; a time to weigh just how good George Bush is in divided governance. A lot better than the press gives him credit. The party will be better out of power in the House.
Oct 9, 2006 - 8:30 am 4. jedrury:David:
The Nazi analogy is unconvincing. There is little doubt that the American electorate recognizes that national security is issue #1. So the fickle Dems will work within that reality by mouthing respect for WOT while calling for an end of engagement in Iraq.
In Weimar Germany, the Communists and the Nazi worked to effectively undercut and destroy the Republic/von Papen and von Hindenburg. There was no issue of national security at that time. The issues were unemployment, reparations and national identity.
Different issues, different era.
Oct 9, 2006 - 8:38 am 5. David Thomson:“The issues were unemployment, reparations and national identity.”
Not quite accurate:
The issues were unemployment, reparations and national identity—and German pride.
Everyone who voted for Hitler was well aware of his aggressive mindset. It always played an important part in his political campaigns.
There are roughly thirty days before the election. That is something like a million years in our Faster Feiler universe. The Republicans could still pick up two senate seats. The Mark Foley scandal is backfiring on the Democrats. Americans are learning about the sleazier aspects of Foleyís outing.
Oct 9, 2006 - 9:17 am 6. jedrury:“The Mark Foley scandal is backfiring on the Democrats.”
I wish it were true but I fear that the election will turn on this transitory issue and the failure of the House leadership to enforce discipline on its members. Story in the Post this morning about Congressman Jim Kolbe,a retiring gay from Arizona, fronting up Foley about these emails a few years ago. The story is not really specific about what was said or done. But, strict party discipline comes from reporting it back to leadership who then should firmly address the issue. “Mark, what the hell is going on here, what hell are we going to do about it, NOW !!” Not done. Too much soft toe dancing around the issue like calling the emails; “unfriendly.” Discipline – the long term welfare of the party – fell apart.
I see no evidence of this backfiring. Maybe you do but not on this watch.
Oct 9, 2006 - 9:32 am 7. David Thomson:ìI wish it were true but I fear that the election will turn on this transitory issue and the failure of the House leadership to enforce discipline on its members.î
Mark Foleyís e-mails were relatively mild. The House leadership would have been accused of gay bashing had it dared to ìthoroughlyî investigate the congressman. We should never forget that the far more inflammatory instant messages were released only a few days ago. Also, it appears that Foley never had sex with any youths! At this moment, it seems that he waited until they were full grown adults—and no longer employed as pages. He may have never violated his oath of office.
Dennis Hastert was placed in a no-win position. I am utterly convinced that the MSM would have tarred and feather him for gay bashing. On top of that, the infamous instant messages would have remained hidden if he was being damaged politically! The evidence indicates that left-wing activists sat on them for three years. They obviously did not give a damn about protecting pages—but only political opportunism.
Oct 9, 2006 - 10:09 am 8. Fausta:Who’s next?
Oct 9, 2006 - 11:52 am 9. Terrye:No, Hugo.
I am not so sure the Democrats will win, but if they do they will not get serious. They were not serious in the 90’s and they won’t be now. They will just blame Bush. It is all they know how to do.
I am not sure that the Foley thing will be a big deal come election. Reynolds is in a different position than some other people in that regard. We will find out.
Oct 9, 2006 - 12:25 pm 10. J. Mark English:Hello,
This is a great blog. I’m going to be sure to link yours to mine. Would you mind doing the same for me?
Thank you very much.
My site:
http://www.americanlegends.blogspot.com
Take care,
Oct 9, 2006 - 12:33 pm 11. Godzilla:Mark
At first I thought that it was good news that the nuke(s?) the North Koreans tested were relatively small in TNT terms. Until the Belmont Club hypothesizes that the nukes might be suitcase-sized, that is.
I have to be confronted with this idea on a blog first. Jeez. If the MSM ain’t dead, it sure is f*****g worthless.
Oct 9, 2006 - 3:23 pm 12. jedrury:David:
I do not disagree with your suppositions.
The Dems knew and Hastert faced a Hobbesian dilemma. But there should have been a challenge to counter the uproar now.
Let’s go back to my original post: the GOP may have a fine opportunity to thoroughly discredit the Dems in the long run. The GOP is especially effective in opposition. Being the majority party, you are exceedingly vulnerable to the vagaries of chance, time, circumstance and arrogance.
Oct 9, 2006 - 4:14 pm 13. David Thomson:The nation is in play; the GOP can do better next time. At least, the GOP is capable of learning while the Dems are tone deaf.
ìAt least, the GOP is capable of learning while the Dems are tone deaf.î
Learn what? To overact and take draconian measures not justified by the available evidence? I have just visited the blog that ìrevealedî Mark Foleyís interest in teenage boys. It definitely looks like a scam operation set up by radical leftists. Please note that the blogger (or bloggers) are anonymous. This is suspicious by itself. The e-mails shown are boring to read! There is nothing remotely salacious. Read them for yourself:
http://tinyurl.com/fsty6
In no way, shape, or form, could Dennis Hastert justify a ìthorough investigation based on these e-mails.
Oct 9, 2006 - 4:46 pm 14. jedrury:“the GOP is capable of learning”
What I did not elaborate on was that the GOP came into the House in 1994 and held it for 12 years. In that time, it should have learned that the media despises GOP country club values and takes whatever liberties with the most minor of scandals exaggerating them as a threat to the Republic. For example, is there a bigger farce than the campaign line that Foley “threatened the children of America.” Ugly stuff and so off base but all arguably fair in a pugilistic sense. Was there a more attenuated far fetched non- scandal than Wilson Plame?
Maybe, just maybe, next time the GOP House leadership will avoid the scandals; Abramoff, Ney, Foley, Cunningham, etc. Avoid the scandals by discipline; strict, no-nonsense discipline.
The House GOP got woefully sloppy under the Hastert/DeLay rule.
I am not avoiding your issue of the emails and their contents because the real issue is that the American voter cares little about the actual wording, the nuance; they read that some gay Congressman was coming on to pages.
Issue decided: Throw the bums out.
You are arguing content, I am arguing effect.
Oct 9, 2006 - 5:11 pm 15. Sefton:How can anyone view Condit and Monica as distractions? I don’t mean to pick on anyone here for this was a commonplace view then and now. In retrospect, they were the main event.
Please put your mystery writer’s caps on and consider…
Condit was a member of a House Intelligence Committee who was willing to compromise himself for an affair. We may never know if Condit was compromised but we do know that at that time a member of House Intelligence could be the sort of person who did not care if he was.
Monica recounted how she serviced Clinton while he was on the phone with a member of a House subcommittee on Intelligence. Do we need to know more how Clinton viewed the importance of Intelligence?
Monica was talking to someone else who was talking to someone else and eventually Newsweek knew and then Drudge.
People who think Monica was frivolous must also think that if the 25 person Newsweek Washington bureau knew of her then the 250 members of the Saudi’s Washington Intelligence service did not. Or maybe the Chinese knew, or maybe not. But are you willing to bet your family’s lives on it?
It was expected to think this way ever since the 60’s preening about our sexual and all other sophistications. But let’s stop that. People never thought this way before. See the Profumo scandal. Those people took Profumo seriously because they lived through a time that taught them many people would die if they did not.
Oct 9, 2006 - 5:29 pm 16. Luther McLeod:Good points Sefton. I would contend, that in these days and times, there is nothing that is unimportant. Everything can and will be used…
Oct 9, 2006 - 6:52 pm 17. David Thomson:We now find out that the e-mails of Mark Foley are boring as hell. They are are about as sexually titillating as the words on the back of a cereal box. The American people have been conned by ABC and the rest of the sleazy MSM. Foley sent a few of these e-mails to a page—and his parents were unnerved because he was gay! That is the only reason they expressed any displeasure.
Oct 9, 2006 - 9:21 pm 18. Terrye:If GOP is in the minority, they might not spend their time learning, they might spend their time trying to stave off impeachment of George Bush.
Bush happens to be the Commander in Chief and we happen to be in war. Boring I know when compared to Foley asking a 16 year of for a picture, but all in all I would say this is a lousy tome to be learning a lesson in humility.
I keep hearing conservatives say it is a good thing if they lose. Wrong. Most people are not conservatives. They will not gasp in horror once they realize they did not vote a Malkin or a Coulter to Congress, or for taht matter a Glenn Reynolds or an Ed Morrisey. The only thing they will learn is that the people bitching about the Democrats suddenly really have something to bitch about.
Oct 10, 2006 - 2:55 am 19. Terrye:And as for the Abramoff thing…it is inevitable I am afraid, for both parties when in power. Hopefully the fact that some people got caught will put the fear of God into the rest, but only for awhile. They are human, they will screw up.
Oct 10, 2006 - 3:02 am 20. Syl:Roger
This is not about the obscure sex life of a congressman! Sheeeeeesh.
This is about gay leftist activists trying to destroy an American political party over gay marriage.
And it looks like they might get away with it!
You decry the politics in this country, you decry the softness of the Dems on terror, yet you tell us to turn away from this bigotry on the Left that can have a profound effect on the way we wage this war?!
I am so disappointed.
Oct 10, 2006 - 1:31 pm 21. Mister Ghost:Hi Roger,
I’m compiling the largest roundup in the Blogosphere on the North Korean Nuclear test and I added your comments/link to the post: Link
I was thinking, you went from being a mystery
writer to a political analyst of Pacific Rim Geopolitics. LOL.
And please God, no Democrats in the White House or controlling Congress anytime soon – how much damage did they engender the previous time they had control? We are still paying for Clinton’s negligence in Foreign policy matters, and the
Oct 10, 2006 - 3:27 pmDems taking control of the Senate and impeaching Bush with all these crisises ongoing, that can’t be a good thing.