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Nightly Ramble Friday

Welcome one and alter the most intense nightly read anywhere on the web ; the BitsBlog Nightly Ramble.

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  • DON”T FORGET THE OTHER MILLIONS, ANN:
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    Ann Althouse

    Ann Althouse, writing at Instapundit, says:

    “STILL I AM A MARXIST,” says the Dalai Lama [3], conceding that capitalism has done China some good: “Millions of people’s living standards improved.”  Marxism remains dear to him because it has “moral ethics, whereas capitalism is only how to make profits.” Only. Only improving the lives of millions.

    Does anyone see the missing side of this argument?  Ann apparently did not. Do you?  OK; here’s your clue …. if Marxism has moral affects that he finds so fascinating, and so endearing, what shall we say then about the millions of people who lost their lives to Marxism around the world, and indeed the millions in China both incidental to the initial revolution, and in Mao’s cultural revolution?  Love ya, Ann, but that’s kind of a major “whoops” , isn’t it ?

  • WEAKNESS AND WHAT IT GETS YOU: Charles Krauthammer gets it right as usual [4]:

    It is perfectly obvious that Iran’s latest uranium maneuver, brokered by Brazil and Turkey, is a ruse. Iran retains more than enough enriched uranium to make a bomb. And it continues enriching at an accelerated pace and to a greater purity (20 percent). Which is why the French foreign ministry immediately declared that the trumpeted temporary shipping of some Iranian uranium to Turkey will do nothing to halt Iran’s nuclear program.It will, however, make meaningful sanctions more difficult. America’s proposed Security Council resolution is already laughably weak — no blacklisting of Iran’s central bank, no sanctions against Iran’s oil and gas industry, no nonconsensual inspections on the high seas. Yet Turkey and Brazil — both current members of the Security Council — are so opposed to sanctions that they will not even discuss the resolution. And China will now have a new excuse to weaken it further.

    Quite so.  You know, it’s been a long while since I’ve seen the good doctor screw up on much of anything. Then again, the observations he makes are rather obvious ones.  Which is most likely why the democrats haven’t noticed it.  A leader would take unilateral action here and expect the rest of the world follow. The crowd we have in Washington now will try to appease their way into some kind of half assed consensus.

  • THE CONSTITUTION: I have repeatedly suggested to anyone who would listen, and particularly to those striving for the retention of individual liberty, that if we were to hold to the constitution , we would have far less to argue about.  Apparently, that idea with the help of the tea party and others is starting to catch on. [5]