Jul 17, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses
Irvine, CA—"The worldwide condemnation of Israel's retaliation against Lebanon is morally obscene," said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute. "The calls effectively demand that the innocent victim be sacrificed to the aggressor.""Instead of excoriating Hezbollah and helping Israel to annihilate it, President Bush and other leaders urged that the victim, Israel, not cause 'excessive' damage to the aggressor--and begged that no harm come to Lebanon's terrorist-supporting government. Were Israel to follow such calls, it would have to leave in place the terrorist leadership and infrastructure that works to abduct, blow up and slaughter Israelis.
"The obscene premise governing so many of the West's leaders is the belief that we have no moral right to defend ourselves against the forces of Islamist barbarism.
"All of this can serve only to encourage Islamic totalitarian groups to intensify their war on Israel--and the West."
Jul 16, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
From Cox and Forum:
The criticism that Israel is using a "disproportionate response" to the kidnappings of its soldiers is an attempt to morally disarm Israel and make Israel out to be a bully. This notion is ludicrous when considered in the full context: Hezbollah and Hamas initiated the current crisis in an ongoing war against Israel's right to exist. Notice that no one cried "disproportionate response" when Hamas demanded 1,200 prisoners in exchange for one Israeli hostage. Hamas and Hezbollah aren't playing a game of proportions, why should Israel?Israel, an outpost of freedom in the Middle East, has every right to use whatever means necessary for her long-term interests to defeat those who are warring against her. All the "disproportionate response" critics are accomplishing is to empower Israel's enemies to wage more war, harm more Israeli citizens and escalate the violence. They are kicking Israel when she is down, when she needs our support the most.From The Jerusalem Post: Chirac: Israel has gone too far.French President Jacques Chirac castigated Israel for its military offensive in Lebanon on Friday, calling it "totally disproportionate," while he and other European leaders expressed fears of a widening Middle East conflict that could spiral out of control.Referring to Israel's attacks Friday on Lebanon's international airport and other transport links, the latest in a three-day offensive, Chirac asked aloud whether Lebanon's destruction was not the ultimate goal."One could ask if today there is not a sort of will to destroy Lebanon, its equipment, its roads, its communication," Chirac said during an interview in the garden of the presidential Elysee Palace to mark Bastille Day, the French national holiday.From Russia to Spain, leaders voiced concern at the escalation of the conflict, with Lebanon now drawn into the spiral of violence that has long been the mark of the Israeli-Palestinian crisis.In Russia, President Vladimir Putin called on all sides to stand down."All the sides that are involved in the conflict must immediately cease military action," he said before a G-8 summit this weekend in St. Peterburg. ...In Spain, Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero warned Israel that it was "making a mistake" to attack Lebanon and said that both the EU and the United Nations must secure "an immediate cessation of the hostilities.""One thing is defense, which is legitimate, and another is a counteroffensive of widespread attack," Zapatero told Punto Radio. "It won't bring anything other than an escalation of violence."The Vatican, the seat of the Roman Catholic church, echoed that remark - and the fear of a widening conflict."In fact, the right to defense on the part of a country does not exempt it from respecting norms of international law above all for that which concerns the safety of the civilian population," said a statement by Cardinal Angelo Sodano, the Vatican's No. 2 official.Pope Benedict XVI was following the situation, the statement said, warning that it risks "degenerating into a conflict with international repercussions."
From FoxNews: G8 Leaders Agree on Statement About Mideast Fighting.Leaders of the world's wealthiest nations agreed Sunday that three Israeli soldiers kidnapped by terror groups must be returned as a first order of business, and that all sides must put down their arms to resolve a conflict that is tearing up both Lebanon and Israel's northern region.Members of the Group of Eight, the world's industrialized nations and Russia, issued a consensus statement that they say sends a "strong message" on the Mideast crisis.
Bush is still ridiculously urging "restraint" from Israel, but at least we're sending them jet fuel for their warplanes.Some critics of our inclusion of the Pope in this cartoon are trying to distance the Pope from the comments of Cardinal Sodano. But this news report quotes the Pope as follows:"In recent days the news from the Holy Land is a reason for new and grave concern for all, in particular because of the spread of warlike actions also in Lebanon, and because of the numerous victims among the civilian population."
A very relevant observation at Tigerhawk that I think also applies Israeli strikes in Lebanon. (via Alan Fang)There has been some complaint about Israel's reactions in Gaza as "asymmetrical." Those complaints are, frankly, silly. Military actions in war are meant to be asymmetrical and lead to victory. They are not meant to be measured to achieve a stalemate.
More from Pope Benedict XVI: Pope makes new appeal for peace in Middle East."In reality, the Lebanese have the right to see the integrity and sovereignty of their country respected, the Israelis the right to live in peace in their State, and the Palestinians have the right to have their own free and sovereign homeland," a message from Pope Benedict read, as released by the Vatican Information Services on Thursday.
The Lebanese surrendered their sovereignty when they continued allowing a terrorist state to exist within their borders. Palestinians leadership has never demonstrated that they would create anything but a terrorist state, and they have no right to that.
Jul 13, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses
Excellent commentary from Robert Tracinski at TIA Daily The Wall Street Journal editorial below points out that the economic growth of the past three years, encouraged partly by tax cuts, has resulted in an increase in government revenues, as rising incomes have increased government's take, despite the slight decrease in tax rates. The Journal then asks, "Since when do liberals object to a windfall for the government?"
The obvious rejoinder is: since when do conservatives applaud it? Unfortunately, the answer is: for a long time. The Journal is harking back to a long "Supply Side" tradition of evading the fundamental question of the proper role and moral limits on government and instead proposing lower taxes and free markets merely as a "practical" means for achieving the goals of big government. [emphasis added]
But as Grover Norquist points out (and the Journal concedes), this leaves the rapid expansion of government spending unchecked—creating the conditions for more federal budget crises in the future, no matter how fast America's producers work to make the economy grow.
The real news, and where the policy credit belongs, is with the 2003 tax cuts. They've succeeded even beyond Art Laffer's dreams, if that's possible. In the nine quarters preceding that cut on dividend and capital gains rates and in marginal income-tax rates, economic growth averaged an annual 1.1%. In the 12 quarters—three full years—since the tax cut passed, growth has averaged a remarkable 4%....This growth in turn has produced a record flood of tax revenues, just as the most ebullient supply-siders predicted. In the first nine months of fiscal 2006, tax revenues have climbed by $206 billion, or nearly 13%. As the Congressional Budget Office recently noted, "That increase represents the second-highest rate of growth for that nine-month period in the past 25 years"—exceeded only by the year before. For all of fiscal 2005, revenues rose by $274 billion, or 15%....
Remember the folks who said the tax cuts would "blow a hole in the deficit"? Well, revenues as a share of the economy are now expected to rise this year to 18.3%, slightly above the modern historical average of 18.2%. The remaining budget deficit of a little under $300 billion will be about 2.3% of GDP, which is smaller than in 17 of the previous 25 years….
Individual income tax payments are up 14.1% this year, and "nonwithheld" individual tax payments (reflecting capital gains, among other things) are up 20%. Because of the tax cuts, the still highly progressive US tax code is soaking the rich. Since when do liberals object to a windfall for the government? ["Soaking the Rich," Wall Street Journal, July 12]
Jul 13, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses, Dollars & Crosses 2
From Cox and Forum:
We're hoping that Israel continues to vigorously defend herself and refuse negotiations with Hezbollah and Hamas for the kidnapped Israeli soldiers. In our cartoon "Non-negotiable" we celebrated such an aggressive response. But it should be remembered that the terrorists' tactics have worked for them in the past. A FoxNews article yesterday noted this fact in passing:
Israel has carried out several prisoner swaps with Hezbollah in the past to obtain freedom for captures Israelis. These include a January 2004 swap in which an Israeli civilian and the bodies of three Israeli soldiers were exchanged for 436 Arab prisoners and the bodies of 59 Lebanese fighters. In 1985, three Israeli soldiers captured in Lebanon in 1982 were traded for 1,150 Lebanese and Palestinian prisoners.
The Jewish Virtual Library has more on the issue: Israel-Hizbollah Prisoner Exchange (2004):
In exchange for the bodies of three Israeli soldiers, missing since October 2000, and one Israeli businessman, abducted in October 2000 under questionable circumstances, Israel released more than 430 Arab prisoners on January 29, 2004. Those released by Israel included 400 Palestinian prisoners who were released to the Palestinian Authority in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Another 29 prisoners from Arab nations, and a German-citizen who worked with Hizbollah, were flown to Germany and then most went to Lebanon. In addition, the bodies of approximately 60 Lebanese terrorists were handed over to the International Committee of the Red Cross at the Israel-Lebanon border near Rosh Hanikra.The prisoner exchange was the latest example of Israel's determination to bring its soldiers home, dead or alive. In 1985, Israel freed 1,150 prisoners in exchange for three Israeli soldiers kidnapped in Lebanon by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP)-General Command. Many of the Arabs who were freed became leaders in the first Palestinian intifada. ...In the wake of the morning rush hour bus bombing in Jerusalem's upscale Rehavia neighborhood, some last minute voices were heard urging the government to stop the prisoner swap. MK Aryeh Eldad (National Union) told Maariv, "Yesterday this murderous organization promised us a 'surprise,' so we must stop the release of 400 terrorists before we discover that they've put us in a death trap." According to Dr. Shmuel Bar, a senior research fellow at the Interdisciplinary Center in Herzliya, the message this swap sends to the Palestinians is that "the only way in which anyone can succeed in freeing prisoners is Hezbollah's way of abducting Israeli soldiers and citizens … We're going to be sorry for this."
The Intelligence & Terrorism Information Center has more information on Hezbollah's ongoing war against Israel.
Jul 12, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses
IRVINE, CA--"Hamas and Hezbollah's war on Israel is the inevitable result of Bush's immoral policy of promoting elections in Gaza and Lebanon instead of killing terrorists," said Dr. Yaron Brook, executive director of the Ayn Rand Institute."Hamas won a landslide to become the ruler of Palestinian territories, and Hezbollah is part of Lebanon's government and has a devoted mass following. Both gained power through U.S.-supported elections; both gained unearned legitimacy for their vicious war to exterminate Israelis and Americans. Winning power with the aid of their enemy confirmed for these Islamic totalitarian groups that the West will abet its own destroyers.
"America's self-defense entails crushing Islamic totalitarianism--not ushering its jihadists into political office and galvanizing them to redouble their war against us."
Jul 1, 2006 | Dollars & Crosses
A great interview with Leonard Peikoff by Professor Robery Mayhew on Ayn Rand's novel The Fountainhead.RM: I heard you say in a lecture that you went back to The Fountainhead when you were having trouble with the section on integrity in your book Objectivism: The Philosophy of Ayn Rand [OPAR], and that that proved to be very helpful. Is that correct?
LP: Yes, but it's misleading to single out integrity. In OPAR, I tried to reproduce exactly Ayn Rand's essential thought on everything relating to philosophy. So I steeped myself in her work, including The Fountainhead, for every topic. The Fountainhead doesn't offer an explicit epistemology, but I certainly returned to it many times for the sections in OPAR on independence, sex, selfishness versus altruism, physical force and the like. I milked The Fountainhead of everything I thought essential. For instance, at the end of the section on productiveness, I quote from a scene with Austin Heller and Roark, which contains one of my favorite lines in the novel. Heller says: "After all, it's only a building. It's not the combination of holy sacrament, Indian torture and sexual ecstasy that you seem to make of it." Roark answers: "Isn't it?" That's a wonderful way to describe in condensed form the three components of genuine creative work—the three essential elements of the inner state of a creator. I just wish that in my work I'd had less Indian torture and more sexual ecstasy.
Read the rest.
