Saturday, June 14, 2003

"There is nothing conservative about war. For at least the last century, war has been the herald and handmaid of socialism and state control. It is an excuse for censorship, organized lying, regulation, and taxation. It is paradise for the busybody and the narc." Peter Hitchens, in Harper's, 6/2003.   Mr. Hitchens, a Brit, is obviously a conservative himself, and I don't agree with all of his points. War was certainly the handmaiden of socialism under FDR, but not at all under Reagan or Bush. But overall he is on the mark. How else can you describe the post -9/11 climate in the US, except as "paradise for the busybody and the narc"? Woody 10:13:10 PM    comment []

I Am a Man of Peace by Ariel Sharon First of all, I would like to thank the Homeless Leftists for giving me the opportunity to give my side of the story. People see overblown news reports about assassinations, helicopter attacks, etc., and jump to the conclusion that I have given up on the peace process. In fact, I have never given up on my peace plan, which is very simple: Whenever I find out that a Palestinian does not want peace, I kill that person. Eventually, every single person in the occupied territories will want peace, because if they didn't want peace they would be dead. I don't know why so many so-called peace-loving Americans can't understand this simple logic. I wish more Americans were like Kurtz, that gentleman Marlon Brando played in Apocalypse Now. "Drop the bomb! Exterminate them all!" I couldn't have put it better myself. Of course, by "them all" I don't mean all the Palestinians, just the ones who don't want peace. I feel like I am repeating myself, but seem people find this all difficult to grasp. Thank for your time. I need to go back to making peace now. You will see what I am taking about on the news tonight. 5:22:23 PM    comment []

Crossing Over Call me bland and bourgeois, but I'm a sucker for these CNN Offbeat stories, like this one about a guy who had his funeral at Waffle House. I think more people should have funerals like this. People hand over tens of thousands of dollars to have a rather impersonal funeral and then get stuck in the ground. Have you ever been to a funeral and thought, "Well, Irma has passed, but at least she can spend eternity in this fine walnut coffin with brass hardware"? (If you do, then I guess you are reading the wrong essay.) Why not spend the money to have a trip around the world while you are still alive? Go to Tahiti and die on the beach, if you are in a position to plan ahead. As a practical matter, people do have to be buried somewhere, but a lot of well-known, accomplished people died in pauper's graves.   Do you think any less of them? I don't. I'm young enough that any serious funeral planning would be morbid, but I would go for the cheapest coffin available. Spend the money on good champagne or scotch for the living. Woody 9:51:44 AM    comment []

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