Monday, March 21, 2005

Ask the Iraqis

One of the most significant opinions about the war in Iraq (was it worth it?) is addressed in a post by Austin Bay. The diplomatic tiff between Iraq and Jordan (they are witdrawing their embassy staff) is the first sign that Iraq itself really thinks that it deserves peace - not the pseudo peace sought after by the withdraw-at-any-cost crowd, but the peace afforded by law and order. The Iraqi electorate has been protesting the celebration in Jordan of the suicide bomber of Hilla who killed 125 Iraqis. This newly vocal electorate is demanding that its neighbors stop supporting (celebrating and abetting) the terrorists who indiscriminantly kill them. Finally, a country in the region that is esposing civilized values. Why does is it so difficult to see that celebrating the wanton massacre of innocent civilians is evil?

There is one other post by Austin Bay that also gives hope. He quotes Husayn Uthman, an Iraqi, who argues that their country is immeasurably better off now, with Saddam gone.
I am sheltered in Iraq, but I know how the world feels, how people have come to either love or hate Bush, as though he is the emobdiement of this war. As though this war is part of Bush, they forget the over twenty million Iraqis, they forget the Middle Easterners, they forget the average person on the street, the average man with the average dream.

Ask him if it was worth it. Ask him what is different. Ask him if he would go through it again, go ahead ask him, ask me, many of you have.

Now I answer you, I answer you on behalf of myself, and my countrymen. I dont care what your news tells you, what your television and newspapers say, this is how we feel. Despite all that has happened. Despite all the hurt, the pain, blood, sweat and tears. These two years have given us hope we never had.
Hope, that is what this war has given the Iraqi people.

The anti-war crowd still persists in railing against the war - mainly for the huge sacrifices that it has exacted from both our country and from Iraq. But just one opionion like that of Husayn Uthman requires that we examine our perspective.

Remember the line penned by Thomas Paine, "That which we obtain too easily, we esteem too lightly. It is dearness only which gives everything its value. Heaven knows how to put a proper price on its goods." The Iraqis and our own troops know the dearness of freedom.

Tuesday, March 08, 2005

Waimea Bay Again...


Waimea Bay Breaks Again 

Kurt, at Surfline, tells us that the new NW swell that hit last night is 18-20 ft., with an occasional set near 22 ft.

Over the weekend my wife took me to the Big Island for a little change of scenery. My Surfing Buddy and his wife also came along, and we stayed in Volcano City. We hiked out to see some new lava flows, plus we drove around to Naalehu and had some of the best tamales I've ever had in my life. It is always amazing to see the majesty of nature, and the Big Island is one of those incredible places.

Gee, its great to be here in Hawaii.

Sunday, March 06, 2005

Roper and The Loss of Shame

I fear that Justice Anthony Kennedy has lost all sense of shame (see George Will, Armstrong Williams, Jeff Jacoby, David Limbaugh, Mark Alexander, Rich Tucker).

There is usually a tether that binds each of us to institutions of our society; to our nation, to our city of birth, to our friends from our youth, or to our family. We so much value these ties that bind us to our roots that we go out of our way to avoid disgrace - particularly if such disgrace would be found out by our parents (or children), by our old school mates, or by "those back home." Kennedy, it seems, feels no more sense of belonging to this imperfect society of mere mortals. He has now transcended our realm of existence.

As much as I really disagree with most of what he writes, Pete Hamill once wrote a very quotable paragraph or two:
The sense of shame is a kind of cement in any decent society. The fear of shame reminds each of us that some things must not be done. You don't become a criminal because you would bring shame to your family. You don't employ muscle against the weak. You don't beat up women or prey on the old. You don't father children and then abandon them. You don't cheat or swindle because exposure would coat you with the tar of shame. You don't preach high ideals and live a lie.

But it's clear that we are now awash in shamelessness. It's clear that the sense of shame needs to be revived and the shameless held to account.


Pete Hamill, in this piece, was writing about his liberal cause du jour. But, he was dead-right when he mentions that shame is useful as it prevents us from stepping too far out of line. Justice Anthony Kennedy seems to have broken all ties to the "conservative" loyalties of his youth and now appears to feel no shame whatsoever as he sets himself up to be some reincarnation of Lycurgus the lawgiver.

Just like the self-indulgent alchoholic who feels no shame as he looks up from the gutter in his drunken state of vomit-covered filth, Justice Kennedy appears to have no remorse for his bald grab for power over our legislative system. He must have broken free from his connection to our system of jurisprudence based on constitutionality and precedent (and loved by we mere mortals). It seems from Roper vs. Simmons (see also this post) that he is intoxicated with his own feelings of self importance and feels little need to justify his assertions of constitutional obligations by referencing our actual constitution. Apparently to him, his opinion of what constitutes international opinion and "evolving standards of decency that marked the progress of a maturing society" trump the actual constitution and the express will of legislatures.

As Kennedy has allowed himself to think his personal opinion of right and wrong trumps his sworn duty to uphold the constitution, he proves himself to be caught up in a eurphoric state of power. He and four other like-minded "liberal thinkers" are able to usurp power over the express will of elected state officials and the juries that try the sad cases involving minors and murder. What is incredible is that Kennedy's grab for power over the legislative branch is done without an ounce of apparent shame. Kennedy doesn't resort to constitutional arguments, he doesn't feel he has to do so. Instead, it is self-focused, as if his views of right and wrong supercede those of all other humans.

I for one am ashamed that we have allowed our supreme court to think that they can legislate from the bench.