Monday, November 21, 2005
RECOMMENDED READING [ UPDATED]
Have not done one these, at least a longer one, in some time. Overdue:
The consistently superb Eide Neurolearning Blog explores the intrinsic limitation of psychological self-referentiality in understanding others in "The Tyranny of Our Thinking Styles"
Jeff at Caerdroia - who was kind enough to put me on his coveted quote banner space today - has a highly sensible piece entitled " The Military and Political Implications of Disclosing Strategy". Churchill and FDR understood such things but back then the media did as well.
Dr. Von posts on "Thinking Out Loud About Emergent Behavior...Those Power Laws"
Military analyst and writer Ralph Peters, always worth reading, in a NYPost op-ed " How To Lose A War" ( Hat Tip: Memeorandum)
John Hagel of Edge Perspectives reflected on the contributions to society of the late Peter Drucker who died just shy of his 96th birthday last week.
String theorist Lubos Motl points his readers toward Seed Magazine
Check out the new Threat' s Watch organized by Bill Roggio, Steve Schippert and Marvin Hutchins. Zenpundit wishes them all success with their new venture.
That's it.
UPDATE WITH SOME POLITICAL ANALYSIS:
The Murtha -Troop Withdrawal vote battle in the House of Representatives reignited the fury of the Swift Boat Veterans against former Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry. John O'Neill, a swift boat Vietnam Veteran and was the author of Unfit For Command had an op-ed today blasting Kerry for his comments regarding Murtha's Republican critics given his own rhetorical history. ( Full text courtesy of Bruce Kesler)
To reiterate an analysis I gave over at The Duck of Minerva, the " coward" shot at Congressman Murtha by Rep. Jeane Schmidt was out of line - ridiculous actually. Murtha is no coward but the Democratic anger in the House had less to do with a nasty remark to that effect than with the GOP leadership seizing on Murtha's poorly conceived proposal to:
a) Short-circuit an incipient antiwar " drumbeat" media strategy to build the political momentum to *force* troop withdrawals from Iraq over Bush administration opposition.and
b) Get the Democrats on record for a highly unpalatable vote.
This was a two-fold debacle for antiwar Democrats. Here's why it happened:
Setting aside a debate over the intrinsic merits of troop withdrawal, the Republicans outplayed the Democrats politically because the Democratic leadership is still trying to force-fit the Iraq War into the politics of the Vietnam War paradigm of their boomer youth ( or the boomer youth of their activist base at least) despite this script being a repeated failure with the general public, even one disillusioned with Bush's handling of the war. Why do they keep doing it then ? Because this is the only frame of the Iraq issue that the Moveon.org screamers/ activist base will tolerate.
The Iraq War is many things but it is *not* the Vietnam War. President Bush incidentally, as I read a lot of military-related boards, sites and journals, has no shortage of critics within the uniformed military and civilian defense community on Iraq, but proposals like Murtha's are not a form of opposition to which many of them would sign-on.
If only the Republicans were half as effective in neutralizing the Iraqi insurgency...perhaps Bush will luck out by having Pat Leahy and Nancy Pelosi form an LBJ Martyr Brigade and then the White House can conduct operations against them. ¶ 7:56 AM
Have not done one these, at least a longer one, in some time. Overdue:
The consistently superb Eide Neurolearning Blog explores the intrinsic limitation of psychological self-referentiality in understanding others in "The Tyranny of Our Thinking Styles"
Jeff at Caerdroia - who was kind enough to put me on his coveted quote banner space today - has a highly sensible piece entitled " The Military and Political Implications of Disclosing Strategy". Churchill and FDR understood such things but back then the media did as well.
Dr. Von posts on "Thinking Out Loud About Emergent Behavior...Those Power Laws"
Military analyst and writer Ralph Peters, always worth reading, in a NYPost op-ed " How To Lose A War" ( Hat Tip: Memeorandum)
John Hagel of Edge Perspectives reflected on the contributions to society of the late Peter Drucker who died just shy of his 96th birthday last week.
String theorist Lubos Motl points his readers toward Seed Magazine
Check out the new Threat' s Watch organized by Bill Roggio, Steve Schippert and Marvin Hutchins. Zenpundit wishes them all success with their new venture.
That's it.
UPDATE WITH SOME POLITICAL ANALYSIS:
The Murtha -Troop Withdrawal vote battle in the House of Representatives reignited the fury of the Swift Boat Veterans against former Democratic presidential nominee Senator John Kerry. John O'Neill, a swift boat Vietnam Veteran and was the author of Unfit For Command had an op-ed today blasting Kerry for his comments regarding Murtha's Republican critics given his own rhetorical history. ( Full text courtesy of Bruce Kesler)
To reiterate an analysis I gave over at The Duck of Minerva, the " coward" shot at Congressman Murtha by Rep. Jeane Schmidt was out of line - ridiculous actually. Murtha is no coward but the Democratic anger in the House had less to do with a nasty remark to that effect than with the GOP leadership seizing on Murtha's poorly conceived proposal to:
a) Short-circuit an incipient antiwar " drumbeat" media strategy to build the political momentum to *force* troop withdrawals from Iraq over Bush administration opposition.and
b) Get the Democrats on record for a highly unpalatable vote.
This was a two-fold debacle for antiwar Democrats. Here's why it happened:
Setting aside a debate over the intrinsic merits of troop withdrawal, the Republicans outplayed the Democrats politically because the Democratic leadership is still trying to force-fit the Iraq War into the politics of the Vietnam War paradigm of their boomer youth ( or the boomer youth of their activist base at least) despite this script being a repeated failure with the general public, even one disillusioned with Bush's handling of the war. Why do they keep doing it then ? Because this is the only frame of the Iraq issue that the Moveon.org screamers/ activist base will tolerate.
The Iraq War is many things but it is *not* the Vietnam War. President Bush incidentally, as I read a lot of military-related boards, sites and journals, has no shortage of critics within the uniformed military and civilian defense community on Iraq, but proposals like Murtha's are not a form of opposition to which many of them would sign-on.
If only the Republicans were half as effective in neutralizing the Iraqi insurgency...perhaps Bush will luck out by having Pat Leahy and Nancy Pelosi form an LBJ Martyr Brigade and then the White House can conduct operations against them. ¶ 7:56 AM
