tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-304055122012-01-31T13:46:06.670-08:00Faithful Conservative Catholics™ dedicated to deadening the nation's conscience to torture in favor of the Most Holy Trinity of Bush, Rumsfeld and Cheney. Following the Protocols of the Elders of Likud and Entering into Evil™ since ... wouldn't you like to know!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comBlogger2531100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-44338213487875887182008-02-06T14:34:00.000-08:002008-02-06T14:36:14.054-08:00

I wish to apologize for having wished publicly that Cdl. Roger Mahony's mother underwent an abortion while she was carrying him. Not only is abortion hideous but it insults those Catholics who revere the hierarchy and takes attention away from the man's episcopal performance. My previous comments served no purpose and unnecessarily offended bystanders. Having said that, let me reiterate that

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com205tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-30722367923461074792007-10-13T12:57:00.000-07:002007-10-13T12:58:20.893-07:00

Like some of the others here, I am not opposed to Mark's idea that he write a book about torture for a lot of the same reasons that Victor and Blackadder laid out in the comments of the previous thread. I would actually be fairly interested to read a book that would involve a serious study of the Catholic approach to interrogation, how the US military has approached the problem, and end with a

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com207tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-73703129503953752112007-10-05T16:25:00.000-07:002007-10-05T17:50:23.738-07:00

As shown both here and here. I could point out the logical fallacies, straw man arguments, and above all his complete lack of charity (all of which have been fixtures for him on this issue), but at this point I think these are pretty clear to anyone who takes the time to read the thread. And while I know Mark regards us here at CFF as nothing more than craven apologists for the Bush

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com52tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-50499994065149771812007-10-02T08:56:00.000-07:002007-10-02T08:57:00.384-07:00

The further Mark continues to identify himself with the fringe politics of Ron Paul. And while I think he makes a number of very valid points in his criticism of the Giuliani campaign here and here, Mark not surprisingly goes off the rails and declares that the Bush administration "did a fine job of playing on everybody's fear and whipping up the tubthumpers against traitors and cowards who

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-16742570988073652022007-09-18T18:16:00.001-07:002007-09-18T18:16:52.580-07:00

No doubt as a feature of our continuing irrelevance and his lack of interest in our blog. And at a time when I was just about to post a prayer request for his current woes. As Victor and I have repeatedly stated here, as much as we may disagree with Mark we have no desire to see him suffer, either personally or financially. I am aware that there are other people here who may have different

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-85332159970642579352007-09-18T17:42:00.000-07:002007-09-18T17:46:04.212-07:00

I'll get to what Mark wrote in a minute, but first I want to challenge what both Joe D'Hippolito and Diane wrote about theocracy:If your analysis of Mark's political Weltanschaung is correct, then he is no different than many ultra-conservative Catholics who (like Buchanan) effectively decry modern civilization in favor of a quasi-medieval model in which the Church, aided by an allegedly

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-44379349121304542182007-09-15T10:06:00.000-07:002007-09-15T10:55:40.784-07:00

In response to the comments of the previous post. While I can't speak for Victor, posting at CoF has been lessened of late due to a combination of factors including the fact that I was of the understanding that Mark was on something of an extended hiatus. That issue having been resolved, part of the problem with continuing a regular posting schedule for CoF has to do with the fact that at the end

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com29tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-22772313338414377592007-08-02T18:36:00.001-07:002007-08-02T18:36:45.770-07:00

Mark writes:We initially went to war to destroy them and take out Osama bin Laden. However, that just war got put on the back burner so that we could pursue some other grand End to Evil strategy that had basically nothing to do with September 11 and our inital causus belli. The Taliban is therefore still around, as is Osama bin Laden, who is, we are assured, no longer relevant.Short of a major

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com38tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-24878221414128484672007-08-02T18:23:00.000-07:002007-08-02T18:30:54.260-07:00

As I and others have noted before:Yes, there is a Brave New World faction in the West, whose chief representatives are, perhaps, the transnationalists of the Davos type. It has little or nothing to do with the neocons. The Brave New Worlders have not prospered in recent years. Part of the story is the foundering of the European Union project; part of it is the defenestration of cultural and media

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-33859827305813323822007-08-02T18:22:00.001-07:002007-08-02T20:46:37.386-07:00

This is Mark, agreeing with my argument that it is not so much Ledeen as what he represents:It is precisely "what Ledeen represents" that I am criticizing ... It is of *far* greater consequence to you that I am impolite to Ledeen and his repellent moral reasoning than that his repellent moral reasoning underlies all the excuse-making that has been made for the Bush Administration's policies of

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-51359800885531042252007-08-01T15:33:00.001-07:002007-08-01T15:33:34.357-07:00

I would refer you to the comments of the earlier entry. I think that the short form as to why Mark behaves as he does when it comes to Ledeen is that Mark has defined the man in his own mind as a representative of all that is evil when it comes to neoconservatives. The fact that he is now bringing Strauss into this is a clear indication to me as to just how far gone he is.Also, this exchange in

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-14329671954600957802007-07-31T15:19:00.000-07:002007-07-31T15:20:17.200-07:00

A reader noted the following in response to my query of why Mark has such a vendetta against NRO:Mark's been sore at NR for a few years. I recall him once explaining that he felt they stiffed him for a column.I honestly don't remember this. Does anyone else? Mark's behavior towards the publication appears to me to be an incredibly childish display of loathing and resentment. I've just never

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-65999823206824360092007-07-31T15:10:00.000-07:002007-07-31T15:11:17.827-07:00

"I'm allowed to misrepresent Michael Ledeen whenever I like because he really is an evil person!"I'm continuing to follow this with unvarnished amusement: "Creative destruction" is an economic term. It refers to the fact that revolutions in technology or innovations in the economy often lead to the destruction of older businesses. The company that manufactures buggies goes out of business with

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com25tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-22826026148663232522007-07-31T03:59:00.001-07:002007-07-31T03:59:53.123-07:00

Inspired by an e-mail from a good and dear friend, this simply must be archived for posterity: I'm going to have to brush up on my understanding of the phrase "Creative Destruction for the Greater Good." I thought it was when the good guys lost sight of what was important, even though their end was a justifiable end, and therefore ended up doing or advocating nasty things as a result. It appears

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-31741446039615780082007-07-28T13:13:00.000-07:002007-07-28T13:17:25.607-07:00

Here are some fun quotes for Mark to read the next time he declares Bush a heretic and a secular messianist for asserting that political freedom is a gift from God:"Before any man can be considered as a member of civil society, he must be considered as a subject of the Governor of the Universe. And to the same Divine Author of every good and perfect gift [James 1:17] we are indebted for all those

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-60552350837832812312007-07-28T09:03:00.002-07:002007-07-28T13:06:58.908-07:00

Mark writes:I can no longer see any good reason why Bush, Cheney, Gonzales and the other schemers and enablers behind this policy could not be convicted of war crimes in the (impossible) event that they were ever tried.So then Mark, are you now in favor of impeachment? If not, why? One wonders if such trials should be conducted in the United States or some other venue. I would also love to see

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-30220930267687090882007-07-28T09:03:00.001-07:002007-07-28T09:03:17.157-07:00

Then to know history is also to know the idiocy of those who would argue that American democracy is increasingly a sham. One wonders what Mark would have thought in the days when to qualify for participation in the electoral franchise one had to own property or (if memory serves) when only the rich could afford to be members of the British parliament because the office drew no salary. Were those

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-40746635268014652382007-07-25T16:19:00.002-07:002007-07-25T16:28:54.139-07:00

Is yet another exercise in counter-factuals:I'm interested in that notion of a "trustworthy government" among conservatives. I *think* it boils down to the reality that conservatives (or at least neocons) trust the government in the form of the military, but not in the form of the post office.I'm not sure why. Part of it seems to be the endless WWII nostalgia which view all wars through that lens

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-50484896437913731872007-07-25T16:19:00.001-07:002007-07-25T16:19:33.269-07:00

That Mark is apparently familiar with Ross Douthat linking to this article in which Ron Paul embraces the John Birch Society:What is interesting is Paul’s idea that the identity of the person who did write those lines is “of no importance.” Paul never deals in disavowals or renunciations or distancings, as other politicians do. In his office one afternoon in June, I asked about his connections to

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-88418526319996216992007-07-19T17:30:00.000-07:002007-07-19T19:01:31.414-07:00

Is basically my take on Mark's meditation on a very good book review of The Army of Davids by Glenn Reynolds. Mark basically holds that Western civilization is essentially unsalvageable:It would be nice if the human race were all Jeffersonian Yeoman Farmers who simply wanted to brew beer, play rock and roll, and talk about liberty through technology. However, if even a small percentage of us are,

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-56701801403234408262007-07-19T17:17:00.000-07:002007-07-19T17:29:59.457-07:00

Reader Phillip writes in the comments:Though I think all one has to consider is the content of Mark's blog. It is mostly political at this point with little apologetics. He would disagree perhaps, but polemics is not apologetics.I think that this is best manifested in Mark's angry response to a former reader. The comments in the combox were, as is rapidly becoming standard fare, much better than

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-19672483490039710222007-07-19T15:43:00.000-07:002007-07-19T17:02:19.382-07:00

Mark has this funny way of shifting back to it when it suits his rhetorical purposes.More on that in a moment, but first let us turn to his latest wisdom from Pat Buchanan. Having failed to date at his multiple predictions for when exactly the US is going to get around to mounting that all-out attack on Iran, Mark is now pondering August. It works about as well as any date, I suppose.But here's

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-16020280348119752172007-07-16T16:00:00.000-07:002007-07-16T16:40:52.832-07:00

I've been watching the discussion between Mark Adams and Kathleen in the combox and felt compelled to weigh in.The short answer is that Mark's entire approach on torture has been fairly incoherent. Depending on who is asking the questions, he has either a mixture of patronizing and willing to admit at least some flaws in his own arguments (his response to Akin) or ready to issue an anathema sit

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-44914873188267205372007-07-13T23:58:00.000-07:002007-07-14T00:07:07.920-07:00

I can't comment directly on what Father Neuhaus said about the Evangelical Declaration Against Torture until it is up on the website and you'll forgive me for not taking Mark at face value on this one given his past habits of "skimming" on this stuff. As a practical matter, I think that this debate is soon likely to become an anachronism since either there is going to be al-Qaeda attack of

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com19tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-18622660721916602392007-07-13T14:10:00.000-07:002007-07-13T14:34:22.436-07:00

When I read moral-equivalence shit and the associated comboxes, where self-righteous pacifists (there is no other kind) maintain that the US military deliberately targets Iraqi civilians -- in those situations, I cannot avoid the thought that it would be a salutory lesson for the US military (and I often have the same thoughts in re Israel) actually to deliberately target civilians for a day. For

Victornoreply@blogger.com49tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-59792311155510644812007-07-12T18:50:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:19.645-08:00

I think I side with the Blackadder on this one.The thing to remember most about Niccolo Machiavelli is that he is not a philosopher of ends. Oh, he has preferred ends certainly -- he's an Italian and Florentine patriot, e.g. But one of his greatest contributions to political thought is that the acquisition of power is essentially the same regardless of the ends.¹ On the very point of Italian

Victornoreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-18157311419349329842007-07-12T18:41:00.000-07:002007-07-12T18:50:37.108-07:00

I want to note that I agree with Mark Shea that this is the funniest headline ever (I showed it to our Homeland Security reporter at work, to check if it was just me, and she doubled over in laughter too). And as the son of a Glasgow cab driver, I thank Mr. Shea for the heads-up.I must also admit partiality to this video, which Randy Andy titled "Every Time He Was Throwing A Punch He Was Saying

Victornoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-49003815041232401992007-07-10T16:16:00.000-07:002007-07-10T16:36:12.831-07:00

As readers know, I have long argued that Mark tends to ignore the intellectual implications of his arguments, whether it is about his fundamentalist exegesis Gaudium et Spes on torture but not deportation or more recently when it comes to the Bush administration. So while he wants Dick Cheney impeached and tried for war crimes, he is agnostic on the issue of whether or not to impeach Bush? Am I

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com16tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-47541442992926573972007-07-07T23:21:00.001-07:002007-07-07T23:21:40.885-07:00

He writes in the comments:The combination of Secular Messianism (or Wilsonian Idealism, or whatever you want to call it) with Machiavellianism may seem paradoxical, but upon reflection I am of the opinion that is there no contradiction between the two. In fact, in practice they are often closely allied.Machiavellianism has solely to do with means, not ends. A man may use machiavellian means to

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-46119840687271079232007-07-06T16:40:00.001-07:002007-07-06T16:40:57.073-07:00

There are so many things that I find interesting about this statement:was taught ten years ago, in a much more naive time in my life, that Republicans Care About The Rule of Law. So deep was their concern for this that they impeached a President for perjury. They also cared, as I recall, about limited government, restraining gov't spending of my money, avoiding stupid nation-building wars, and

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-14142782551178738782007-07-06T01:45:00.000-07:002007-07-06T01:47:26.829-07:00

Inspired by Mark's, naturally.One of the things that comes out here and actually makes me feel more than a little sorry for the guy is that he can write stuff like this:John Paul would always read a country's best literature to familiarize himself with the soul of a nation he was visiting and I think there's much wisdom in that. I live in a country that can boast The Adventures of Huckleberry

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-43676357480153101872007-06-29T19:00:00.000-07:002007-06-29T19:28:48.105-07:00

... That words are being put into his mouth, I would think that he would be happy that he is now on record to correct the error. The argument that it is selective quotations also stopped holding water when he started using Michael Ledeen quotes (unlinked to any original source or context, one might add) to lay the victims of global communism at the man's feet.As an example of which, take a look

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-30214121831229733152007-06-29T18:51:00.000-07:002007-06-29T19:00:12.760-07:00

It seems rather ironic to me that Mark declares Dick Cheney the worst vice president ever without considering among others, Aaron Burr. I would be very interested in hearing his explanation for how Cheney is worse than Burr.And while this comment was made as a quip to this post, I actually think that the point is a good one. If you believe that terrorism is a law enforcement rather than military

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-24568492407789571732007-06-29T17:07:00.000-07:002007-06-29T18:43:27.379-07:00

While I was unaware of St. Thomas Aquinas's views on the subject (and thanks to Blackadder for the link), I think that my criticism is still a valid one. As is clear to anyone who is even remotely familiar with how Mark treats other GOP political candidates, he has definite blinders where Ron Paul is concerned. For Mark, Fred Thompson doesn't care about abortion and there is no real difference

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-87568884076897429772007-06-29T16:54:00.000-07:002007-06-29T16:56:44.052-07:00

Like Rod, Mark is now starting to recognize the practical implications of his preferred policy that we withdraw from Iraq. Quoting Bacevich, he wants the United States to grant asylum to those Iraqis who have helped us in the course of the war, lest they be left behind to be slaughtered by al-Qaeda and Iran. I still disagree with Bacevich's position, but it's a morally consistent one that is

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-32537583472395625432007-06-29T16:47:00.001-07:002007-06-29T16:47:38.353-07:00

Mark's arguments are a dubious thing to follow at the best of times, but his remarks favoring the impeachment of Dick Cheney are really a new one. Myself, I doubt that Mark had to read beyond the part of the Slate column that referenced torture before determining that Cheney was guilty. While it is certainly true that Cheney is a very different type of vice president than his predecessors, I find

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-28353151079418289272007-06-26T20:17:00.000-07:002007-06-26T20:20:04.522-07:00

Before I begin, my condolences to Mark on his current troubles. As I have repeatedly said, my intention is that he mind his manners rather than lose his livelihood and as such have no intention of gloating at his expense.That said, as Mark's Bush Derangement Syndrome continues apace, he now appears to have settled on a villain and at least a partial explanation as to how the administration can be

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-85447764905648306742007-06-22T22:16:00.001-07:002007-06-22T22:16:20.138-07:00

Mark appears to buy into the worst forms of liberal caricature here:I think it plain that the reason we were so easily stampeded into this misbegotten war in Iraq is precisely because we just wanted to punch somebody and we were happy to buy whatever the Administration was pushing about supposed "connections" between Saddam and 9/11 and the Administration was happy to oblige us by constantly

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-73233350195215043692007-06-20T08:37:00.000-07:002007-06-20T08:41:39.006-07:00

While I am by no means a fan of Giuliani and find his explanation for dropping out of the Iraq Study Group less than persuasive, let me offer a counter-proposal: he recognized, as did a number of others who participated but didn't drop out (Cliff May, for one) that the foreign policy recommendations being offered were Darwin Award winners, particularly for a candidate who wanted to base his

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-48229713750601605052007-06-20T08:36:00.000-07:002007-06-20T08:37:06.034-07:00

In that I'm glad that Mark no longer holds Michael Ledeen responsible for the situation at the Iraqi orphanage. No word yet on linking Ledeen with the victims of communism, but I am still more than happy to acknowledge progress where it occurs.In the case of the latter, two possible explanations were offered to explain what Mark was trying to say. The first of these were in our own combox:Mark

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-54654223018049693632007-06-18T22:37:00.001-07:002007-06-18T22:37:15.378-07:00

His incoherence and inability to muster a coherent argument is becoming more and more apparent by the day. I'll be looking forward to his anathema sit against the entire Republican Party when they fail to nominate Ron Paul. Of course, Mark argues that he doesn't support Ron Paul, he just links to his supporters' website while at the same time disparaging Mitt Romney's pro-life credentials and

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com21tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-79975350286081984072007-06-15T09:57:00.000-07:002007-06-15T09:58:06.952-07:00

I don't know how long this conversation is going to last, so I'm going to transcribe a some portions of the discussion. I think it's a pretty good indication of just which principles Mark is willing to compromise on first when it comes to politics:First, let me say that I like a lot of Ron Paul's positions, but doesn't some of his some of his libertarian views (e.g. legalized drugs/prostitution),

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-14966125403614762942007-06-13T15:09:00.000-07:002007-06-13T15:10:11.014-07:00

Mark replies on the issue of deportation:This was fair well gone over by the excuse makers at the Coalition for Fog. The basic strategy (rather ironic for people who were so exercised about Fundamentalist Proof texting) was to point out that since it is absurd to say that all deportations are wrong, then *nothing* JPII mentions can really be intrinsically immoral (and by "nothing" they meant "

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-72229426563736510102007-06-12T12:19:00.001-07:002007-06-12T12:22:05.682-07:00

It is also apparently on par with Salafist jihadism.So speaketh Shea:That secular messianic impulse is why I keep banging on about the sinister rhetoric of Creative Destruction that is animating the latest Big Thinkers in their Wilsonian/Machiavellian attempts to create heaven on earth (in this case, via democratic capitalism). Ideologies that attempt a short cut around human nature via violence

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-41954360596991781412007-06-11T21:02:00.002-07:002007-06-11T21:14:00.512-07:00

Since I gather from his latest posts that Mark seems to regard Ledeen and his views as being solely responsible for all that goes ill in Iraq. One wonders what will happen when he gets to the people who actually had real authority on the ground like Rumsfeld, Bremer, Sanchez, and Casey. My best guess is that he has very little idea who the latter two are and very little desire to learn. Or

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-38748167539754507492007-06-11T21:02:00.001-07:002007-06-11T21:02:44.747-07:00

As provided by Jim in the combox:Mark has a stunningly monolithic view of the Republican party -- as though the party Politburo vets and approves every statement any politician makes.One might also note that Mark's continuing slander of the GOP is now spreading to encompass the Party rank-and-file as a whole.What is an even further indication of how politically tone deaf (or maybe just deaf) he

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-84710446689758930062007-06-11T21:01:00.000-07:002007-06-11T21:02:21.442-07:00

A reader provided me with these links where Mark actually talks about deportation as it relates to his reading of Gaudium et Spes:Nonetheless, I agree with Zippy that Jimmy's argument is a bad one, both for Zippy's reasons and reasons of my own. If an act is intrinsically evil, then it does not become proportional and just when circumstances change. That appears to be the entire point of

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-25534203044656935472007-06-08T21:08:00.000-07:002007-06-08T21:54:25.396-07:00

Is Mark Shea willing to weigh in on whether or not those who favor the deportation of illegal immigrants (either in toto or on a case-by-case basis) are advocating an intrinsic evil? I know that immigration isn't exactly Mark's premier subject, but under the exact same exegesis and argumentation that he's used in the torture debate I don't see how he can argue otherwise and remain intellectually

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-34442244365463782682007-06-08T20:52:00.000-07:002007-06-08T21:08:10.737-07:00

I know that Publius has raised the issue the Corner's Rudymania in the past, I still tend to think that the Rudymania mainly comes as a result of their search for an alternate leader in the absence of George Bush. What I think will be the key moment is whether or not the Rudymania continues to its current degree once Fred Thompson jumps into the race. I've still yet to see any particularly

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-25384357199120523912007-06-08T19:36:00.000-07:002007-06-08T20:14:45.659-07:00

This is a guest piece from friend of the site Shawn McElhinney:On General Norms of Theological Interpretation and "Dissent":(A Historical Lesson and a Question For Mark Shea and His Ideological Allies)Readers of this humble weblog (referring to Coalition For Fog) are aware of how Mark Shea has treated those who have taken issue with his theologically unsound (to put it nicely) interpretation of

Victornoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-67276501280019025232007-06-07T17:43:00.000-07:002007-06-07T18:27:29.049-07:00

It strikes me that Mark has yet to understand the difference between imperialism and Empire, though this is probably a minor point.Mark writes:Yesterday, I posted briefly about the fact that Ron Paul--who has been subjected to all sorts of "He must not be allowed to share the stage with *decent* men like Rudy Giuliani!" agitprop since the first GOP debate--had, in fact, been one of the few GOP

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-88046549288112804282007-06-07T17:42:00.001-07:002007-06-07T17:42:53.746-07:00

What I find most interesting about this post is, perhaps because Mark deliberately divorces himself from popular culture, he is seemingly unaware that some really macabre entertainment existed before the United States began to debate torture. The "ticking time bomb" scenario for instance far predates 24, for instance, I remember encountering it in all manner of comic books during my childhood in

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-69941932684034773892007-06-06T11:01:00.000-07:002007-06-06T11:14:21.648-07:00

I will bet that this quotation, possibly with ellipses and all, did not come from a primary source document. Also, concerning the martyrdom of Father Ragheed Ganni, maybe Mark can explain to me if he cares about the Chaldean population so much why he now endorses abandoning them to the tender mercies of al-Qaeda? He would strain a gnat when it comes to Ledeen while swallowing a camel when it

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-37608927465064554752007-06-06T10:48:00.000-07:002007-06-06T11:00:56.263-07:00

In terms of understanding Mark's views on the war in Iraq:All I know is what I read from people who are closer to the events than I am. I know it's gotta be frustrating for the troops on the ground who are bravely doing countless good things for the Iraqi people in trying to kill bad guys, get the lights and the water on, fix the smashed infrastructure and all the rest. I consider the troops on

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-17984060021486074592007-06-06T10:31:00.000-07:002007-06-06T10:47:36.094-07:00

Concerning why I would rather not vote than vote Giuliani if he won the Republican nomination. I don't think that it's at all unreasonable to argue that a Giuliani loss would be less destructive for the GOP both short and long-term then to have him win and have the argument that politicians need not concern themselves with social conservatives at the national level validated. In short, we could

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-38823854635835505022007-06-06T09:50:00.001-07:002007-06-06T10:31:01.451-07:00

For someone who complains a lot about how our political system reduces everything to two sides, Mark sure has a tendency to do it himself:One of the many stupid ways in which the War on Terror has been fought is to sneer whenever somebody proposes trying to understand why radical Islamists become radical Islamists. We prefer the Christopher Hitchens approach: just hate them and spit on any

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-6006436618030541192007-06-06T09:49:00.000-07:002007-06-06T09:50:11.058-07:00

Or so it appears. The quotation is not his, though I think that the following thoughts with his question that I think are legitimate to note.The type of war that might lead to civilizational destruction depends very much on who is doing the fighting. If Britain had conquered the United States in the War of 1812, it certainly wouldn't have been an optimal outcome but it would be a very different

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-75242141409306389592007-06-01T06:52:00.001-07:002007-06-01T06:52:28.096-07:00

This is about the second or third time that Mark has referenced Rod as a regretful supporter of the Bush administration. If I recall correctly, Rod hasn't supported Bush since at least Hurricane Katrina (nearly two years ago) and he had already broken with him on foreign policy before that.Mark also says this:n the same way, the visceral forces of love of home unleashed by 9/11 seem to me to

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-50119669750028570662007-05-29T18:04:00.000-07:002007-05-29T18:05:26.303-07:00

We need to pull out of Iraq (but not Afghanistan?) because of some general indictment of the United States, yet we should also be concerned over the plight of Christian persecution. This doesn't strike me as a terribly well-thought out or consistent position (say what you will about Buchananite isolationism, and believe me I have, but at least it's consistent). Why Mark's general critique of the

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-9178219346478855132007-05-28T12:53:00.000-07:002007-05-28T13:20:59.197-07:00

"Surge-related" American forces capture a de-facto prison of al Qaeda's in Baghdad. Surprise, surprise ... Jihadis torture people:U.S. forces freed at least 41 kidnapped Iraqis during a raid Sunday on an al-Qaida hide-out northeast of Baghdad, the military said. Some of the victims appeared to have been tortured and suffered broken bones. ...Some of the captives appeared to be suffering from heat

Victornoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-57627455749981717222007-05-28T12:33:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:20.282-08:00

Michael Denton takes the Catholic Hatriots to task even harder than I do (and it should be noted that I don't agree with everything he says ... I do think secular flags and patriotic songs are inappropriate at church/Mass), as does Patrick O'Hannigan (both linked at Christopher Blosser's)But the best part, and the reason I have a separate post, is the three quotes Michael cites from Bishop Fulton

Victornoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-25701567641194898202007-05-28T11:35:00.000-07:002007-05-28T14:41:39.021-07:00

As one of his Memorial Day posts, Christopher Blosser linked to a post at VoxNova called "Memorial Day and the Religious Syncretism of the State" by Michael Iafrate, which basically ... well ... Here's the part Chris excerpted, without comment from himself:Two years ago, on the Sunday before Memorial Day, a visiting priest was celebrating Mass at my parish in West Virginia. Near the end of Mass,

Victornoreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-39582500239373854972007-05-24T18:58:00.001-07:002007-05-24T18:58:56.769-07:00

At least sort of, since I gather he got more than a little irate and started deleting comments when the point started to be made that perhaps, just perhaps, he might hold some level of hatred towards Bush (which he still denies he possesses, his recent Daily Kos-like behavior to the contrary). I generally think that Dave Armstrong did the best summary of the situation with the following remarks:

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-47150180092030592612007-05-24T16:11:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:20.785-08:00

... at Chez Shea. From the Smoking Gun (there's lots more there):As I've said, I simply have no patience with arguing from ugly-looking photos -- they're a demagogic device intended to invite to knee-jerk visceral unthought, and it makes me more suspicious of the user ("weak point, holler louder," basically).But these photos remind us of the selectivity of the outrage among what I will take

Victornoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-89740823775758694262007-05-24T12:43:00.001-07:002008-12-08T13:19:21.398-08:00

Ron Paul engaged in a publicity stunt to defend his words in the Republican presidential debate, sending a reading list to Rudy Giuliani to pack up his claim in the debate that US foreign policy was responsible for September 11."I'm giving Mr. Giuliani a reading assignment," the nine-term Texas congressman said as he stood behind a stack of books that included the report by the commission that

Victornoreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-39167720749191337292007-05-23T20:25:00.000-07:002007-05-23T20:35:26.195-07:00

It's old news that Mark continues his descent into complete BDS, the latest symptom being his calling for impeachment while plainly not even bothering to read (it came out in the comboxes here and here) what he claims is the basis for the impeachable offense.But Mark ignorantly ranted away, relying on WorldNetDaily paraphrasing. NSPD 51 does nothing at all remarkable, as a careful read would show

Victornoreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-85279011346916153802007-05-23T15:27:00.000-07:002007-05-23T15:28:16.853-07:00

Mark now supports the impeachment of George Bush after reading an article by Jerome Corsi over at WorldNetDaily. I'm not terribly surprised by this given his complete and utter willingness to believe Russian conspiracy theories about the US planning a massive attack on Iran to coincide with Good Friday. It is also clear to me upon reading his completely hysterical rant that he has little to know

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-39784804785978882212007-05-22T18:32:00.000-07:002007-05-22T18:33:47.213-07:00

Is sort of my reaction to Mark's latest anathema sits of the day against both VDH and the Bush administration. I don't have time to dwell on them in the depth that I usually prefer to, so let me instead make the following points:- He never really addressed Ron Paul's racial issues, he just dismissed them as the product of the GOP smear machine. Given that even some of Paul's self-professed

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-1479043633088288972007-05-22T11:25:00.000-07:002007-05-22T11:53:43.999-07:00

My cinephile friend Adam alerted me to this video of a campaign speech by a Japanese nihilist-anarchist candidate for governor of Tokyo. It is completely awesome. Both in the lyrics and in the music. To some extent, Adam's description reminded me of Tammy's campaign speech in the great 1999 movie ELECTION, which capped off the best scene in any movie that year.But then it dawned on me what it

Victornoreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-6093883151009280902007-05-18T16:40:00.000-07:002007-05-18T16:52:33.349-07:00

So how exactly do I read this other than as gloating that it doesn't matter if the country goes to hell so long as Mark can continue to feel self-righteous:Every so-called Faithful Conservative Catholic who has labored to justify the wicked policies of torture and prisoner abuse of this Administration and to do everything in their power to ignore the Church's clear teaching on consequentialism in

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-64992910497106826002007-05-17T19:17:00.000-07:002007-05-17T19:23:04.966-07:00

As noted by his reader, isn't it amazing that the GOP was able to rig up a time machine back to 1996 in order to hatch a plot against Ron Paul for use in 2007. Mark, however, will hear none of it, probably because it plays into his crackpot notions that there is some evil conspiracy of the rich elites afoot to ruin Ron Paul, support torture and the war in Iraq, and kill off the poor.*As even some

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-57607828683290278782007-05-17T15:17:00.000-07:002007-05-17T15:43:17.174-07:00

Since Mark has by admitting that he thinks Ron Paul is doomed. At the same time, I think that you can certainly see how one might take away the opposite view given his comments the other day that the reason Paul was banned from LGF poll was evidence that some kind of populist uprising was at hand and that the moneyed and the influential were out to get him.As to the issue of banning Paul from

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-55831164915481482562007-05-17T10:25:00.001-07:002007-05-17T10:25:47.198-07:00

So speaketh Shea, at least. Following his bizarre claim that there was a "burst of interest" in blogosphere for Ron Paul after the debate and that the Rubber Hose Right was "frightened" because of it (if we are, it's because he's a nut far more than anything to do with torture), he appears to have backed down from his initial rhetoric that seems to indicate that Paul stands a snowball's chance in

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-85251360329370385152007-05-16T16:02:00.000-07:002007-05-16T16:03:18.870-07:00

I'm not terribly surprised that Mark has taken the plunge gone into the tank for Ron Paul, but given his stated rationale for doing so I am once again going to label him as a paleocon. I'll also take the opportunity to note once again that it is the fact that Mark airs these types of social and political views that I remain so vehemently opposed to him. To his credit, he has yet to claim that any

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-25605356204653781262007-05-15T19:20:00.000-07:002007-05-15T19:21:53.201-07:00

In Mark's bizarre condemnation of Norman Podhoretz, he makes this very interesting claim about the rationale for the Iraq war:However, due to the influence of people like Podhoretz, that war got derailed into a Grand End to Evil scheme in which men were sent to die for a delusional vision of a democratic capitalist Iraq animated by a postmodern secular vision of the human person as a fornicating

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-48758027175290772162007-05-15T10:30:00.000-07:002007-05-15T14:08:15.568-07:00

Posts like this, where he says stuff like this:Ralph Peters, who spends his time calling for torture and shooting surrendering combatantsPeters never said the latter and this was pointed out to him at the time. This post here, my first ever here to be devoted to Shea, is mostly concerned with Michael Ledeen, to whom Shea illiterately attributed Peters' words, but much of it applies to Peters'

Victornoreply@blogger.com27tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-80215567960356672792007-05-15T00:54:00.000-07:002007-05-15T03:08:34.709-07:00

Two miraculous things to point out.First of all, I'm in substantial agreement with Shea on this post about getting a joint email from Jonathan Carpenter accusing him and me (and a couple of mutual friends) of being some sort of blogospheric oligarchy. In fact I already had sent a reply email to Carpenter (but not cc'd to Shea), which read in part:(2) The notion that I am part of "the clique [Dom]

Victornoreply@blogger.com42tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-76176615684783779372007-05-14T23:56:00.000-07:002007-05-15T02:19:41.683-07:00

Actually, this is not terribly surprising ...Anyone reading Bill Roggio's site has been aware of this for more than six months. Not surprisingly, the Northwest Frontier Province that the Times story references just happens to border Waziristan, the region that the Pakistani government has openly surrendered to Taliban/al-Qaeda control.Now Mark can pooh-pooh the decision to invade Iraq all he

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-65392970530880419772007-05-11T18:10:00.000-07:002007-05-11T18:14:46.305-07:00

Given that you now regard Petraeus as credible, are you going to listen to him when he talks about progress in Iraq or Iran's complicity in the murder of American soldiers there?My guess would be no, but we'll just have to wait and see ...

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-92227855342585800062007-05-11T16:20:00.001-07:002007-05-11T16:20:42.734-07:00

So if you're going to throw the Chicago Tribune story at us, you may want to read the whole thing:Among those who fled is Ayleen Georges, 40, whose husband was kidnapped in early April by Sunni insurgents. They later apologized, told him they had abducted the wrong man, and let him go. Ten days later, after the edict appeared, they kidnapped him again.He is too shaken to talk about being abducted

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-3458973592463204052007-05-09T20:23:00.000-07:002007-05-09T20:35:02.537-07:00

Concerning Islamist grievances. As I think John J. Reilly notes in his review of Imperial Hubris:Readers will note that the list of al Qaeda's grievances seems a bit self-generating. The U.S. is in Afghanistan, for instance, because of the attacks on New York and Washington on September 11. (That's also true of Iraq: irrespective of the Baathist regime's role in 911, there was no way a

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-38707518505459830332007-05-09T08:40:00.000-07:002007-05-09T08:54:24.281-07:00

Since the root cause of Jihadism, or at least the cause of its popularity, is the unending support and blank check the US grants to Israel, I think the US needs to fundamentally reorient its policy and treat Israel as the international outlaw that it is, and finally back Muslims claims against others.I propose that in the next 10 years, the US fight two wars against Israel. First, one to support

Victornoreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-27732019164103355642007-05-08T18:25:00.002-07:002007-05-08T19:48:52.404-07:00

I hate to keep beating this particular dead horse and have no intention of defending Buffet, but I would once again ask Mark what exactly he means when he keeps saying stuff like this:Perhaps the favorite pastime of the majority of extremely wealthy people in this country is finding new ways to kill or cull the poor of the world.Near as I can tell, support for abortion is by no means limited to

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-64063247660313490742007-05-08T18:25:00.001-07:002007-05-08T18:25:33.729-07:00

At least in the comments, but let me rattle off my own list of why this doesn't work:1) Oil. As Victor notes, we need it and will continue to for the immediate future.2) Travel. As long as globalization continues and travel costs continue to decline, it will become increasingly impossible to keep conflicts isolated to single regions. We got glimpses of this when the Sikhs, the PKK, and various

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-84248306931335746772007-05-08T18:23:00.000-07:002007-05-08T18:24:20.846-07:00

One of the items that Mark appears to be quite furious about is David Frum's "Unpatriotic Conservatives" article that he and other paleocons regard as nothing less than a bull of excommunication to the anti-war right. I didn't read it as such at the time, particularly given this notable caveat:The antiwar conservatives aren't satisfied merely to question the wisdom of an Iraq war. Questions are

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com12tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-60638739624826644382007-05-06T23:07:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:22.474-08:00

OK ... that's the only time you will ever hear me say that. And actually, it is for picking "Un Hongrois et Juif Grec." (phew!!)Nicolas Sarkozy will be the next French president and, by the standards of French political culture, he's practically a frothing Yank-lover (even nicknamed by his French opponents "Sarko the American") As the New York Sun noted, opponent Segolene Royal even tried to use

Victornoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-32259958728111504562007-05-03T00:42:00.000-07:002007-05-03T00:43:25.863-07:00

I'm not planning to weigh in on Mark's anathema sit against Dean Barnett ...As various commenters have already noted, I've said about everything there is to say about my views on torture. Victor pretty much said everything I intended to about the issue (though there are some minor points I may distinguish in another post), but one thing that I think that Mark and others debating this issue

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-38577011251925379602007-05-02T18:07:00.000-07:002007-05-03T10:44:11.049-07:00

Yes, I'm violating my vow of Sheastity, but this is just remarkable, even by his standards. Shea is reduced here to yelling, stamping his feet and banging his shoe on the table here (the first italic paragraph is the too-patient Sydney).Well duh. But I still think that, despite your attempts to ignore it, there is and should be a difference between coercive interrogation and torture.Duh nothing!

Victornoreply@blogger.com47tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-73525987172125217282007-05-01T10:18:00.000-07:002007-05-01T11:07:58.845-07:00

Bruce Bartlett suggests in National Review (HT: Rod) that conservatives ought to try to influence the Democratic presidential nomination, since the Republicans inevitably will lose in '08. And that argues for their backing Hillary Clinton, as the most conservative Democrat available (we know it isn't Mike Gravel).Wack as the argument sounds, it isn't THAT wack. As far as his analysis goes (which

Victornoreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-59674608721588854282007-05-01T08:46:00.000-07:002007-05-01T08:47:49.305-07:00

I have not blogged much of late, partly due to internet issues but more than that to the fact that I have not found all that much objectionable in what he has said. I largely agreed with his take, for instance, on the issue of the Gospel of John's authorship. I also think that this an instructive case on what happens when Mark plays to those areas where I think that he is the strongest ( i.e.

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-2106029166161153982007-05-01T08:45:00.000-07:002007-05-01T08:46:23.039-07:00

When Mark goes off his rails on foreign policy I feel that it is instructive to correct him. This is particularly true regarding issues concerning the war. Mark asks what reason he has to believe Bush that the war is winnable? My answer would be none. For better or worse, Bush has left himself with no credibility whatsoever. Myself, Victor, and Bottum have all explained the reasons for this, but

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-49556734121128595592007-04-24T11:12:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:22.876-08:00

You can make jokes about his buffoonishness or drunkenness, or how he didn't turn out to be a great president. But ultimately, this is the only thing that matters:Boris Yeltsin seized history by the throat in 1991. The rest is trivia.He climbed on top of a tank, commanded the attention of the Russian people and the world, and stared down the Communist coup plotters, whom he denounced as "a bunch

Victornoreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-42803543231420217712007-04-20T12:49:00.000-07:002007-04-20T13:01:19.489-07:00

Actually, they are having a lot of fun with the McCain-"Barbara Ann" nonstory at The Spoof. John McCain is joining the Beach Boys (though they'll have to get the copyright-infringement suit cleared up).Mike Love will run for president (wouldn't that be nice).John McCain singing other classic boomer hits (I think Giuliani's theme will be "In the Year 2525," for the date he might win the GOP

Victornoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-57896478065122646442007-04-20T11:35:00.000-07:002008-12-08T13:19:23.265-08:00

If this isn't the stupidest political story in my politically-aware lifetime (since 1973-74, let's say), it's only because the standards for public political stupidity have been set so high in that period.In South Carolina, John McCain was taking questions and was asked about Iran. He answered (video is here):That old, eh, that old Beach Boys song, Bomb Iran. Bomb, bomb, bomb, bomb Iran ...It's

Victornoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-31084189456954469092007-04-19T23:45:00.000-07:002007-04-19T23:48:34.195-07:00

First of all, prayers would be appreciated for Caitlin Hammaren, one of the victims of the Virginia Tech Massacre. I didn't know her personally, but she was the friend of a friend and as such I would ask that you pray for her soul. Secondly, Dave Armstrong asks in reference of my comparison to Sungenis:I am objecting to two-three years of ongoing rebuke, with whole blogs and (from the looks of it

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-43892488800529013352007-04-18T07:22:00.000-07:002007-04-18T07:25:03.458-07:00

Particularly where you write:So it'll continue to go on indefinitely? Isn't there a point when it becomes overkill or unedifying or scandalous (Catholic against Catholic for months on end) or counterproductive, or some combination of the above?That's what I truly wonder about. Okay; so you guys disagree on the torture thing, and related issues, and you think Mark is a big-mouth blowhard loose

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-22911216090570216342007-04-17T10:53:00.000-07:002007-04-17T10:55:48.109-07:00

I plan to get to Dave Armstrong's comments in the combox in a post later today (it deserves a post on its own right), but first I want to follow up on the point that I mentioned the other day and retract the part of it where I said that Mark was adopting a reductio ad Maher Arar mentality. In retrospect, this clearly isn't true.The original substance of the discussion was about why Bilal Hussein

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-684201581688491292007-04-16T14:44:00.000-07:002007-04-16T15:26:49.465-07:00

First of all, my prayers and support to anyone involved in what happened at Virginia Tech today. I'm going to refrain from commenting any further on this until more is known, but it was a horrific act nonetheless.That said, I recognize that this quote is in dispute (UPDATE: Or Not), though the sentiments behind the statement aren't. Either way, like I said previously, it seems to me that Giuliani

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-85960777527241769662007-04-14T21:20:00.001-07:002007-04-14T21:20:48.503-07:00

He's really gone off his meds here, particularly in the combox, and his responses to those who dare to question his increasingly self-righteous claims are underwhelming to say the least. I suspect that at some point in the future when Bush is no longer in office a lot of his new paleocon friends are going to point out that his ever-increasing use of self-righteous and hyperbolic rhetoric is a

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com39tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30405512.post-63595221347117514672007-04-12T21:54:00.000-07:002007-04-12T21:57:43.578-07:00

Might Mark at least acknowledge that his willingness to believe that the United States was looking to use the abduction of the British sailors as a pretext for war with Iran (with the attack all set to begin on Good Friday, no less) had no basis in reality whatsoever apart from his own conspiratorial views? Or if not, perhaps he could at least give Ahmadinejad credit for releasing the British

torquemada05http://www.blogger.com/profile/02007449752650768676noreply@blogger.com7