Negative Liberty

Is this the Patriot Act Redux?

Kissinger has some opinions about the Middle East. That’s putting it mildly.

What, children are being left behind?! Lies, surely!! OK, probably shouldn’t be joking. This isn’t funny at all.

We’re really beginning to see some election machine problems in the wild. This is really scary.

CDC says Black-White vaccine gap closed.

Former Texas Governor Ann Richards dies at 73.

This can’t be good. Saudi Arabia encouraging oil and not alternative fuels. It’s never been about running out of oil for me.

Earmark reform bill has passes the Senate. What? They did something right?

White House attempting to keep Bolton at the UN. If you don’t remember, they temporarily handed him the job as a recess appointment. The Senate doesn’t seem to pleased with him…

Powell backs GOP leaders in move away from Bush’s policy on detainees. BAM. I loved Tony Snow’s reponse to a reporter’s question on whether Powell was just confused. “Yes.” Ha.

The real story about Armitage and Plame.

Blair defending American and warning countries about isolating the US.

Specter’s warrantless wiretapping bill is dead in the water.

Awwww SNAP! Congress is being called on its BS report on Iran.

Remember those Anthrax letters? What happened? Sue and you may find out.

BORAT seems to be causing some trouble. Looks hilarious to me.

The NYPost loves its Mikey. Bloomberg for Prez?

Clooney lends his dashing good looks to the Darfur debacle.

How do we live well without harming our planet? Let Netflix be an example.

A lesson in effective political advertising.

See you tomorrow…

2008, 2008 election, ann richards, anthrax, arlen specter, borat, bullshit, campaigns, cdc, cia, colin powell, darfur, diebold, earmark reform bill, education, education system, election fraud, elections, ethnic cleansing, foreign policy, geneva conventions, genocide, george clooney, gop, green planet, henry kissinger, iran, iran nuclear report, john bolton, los angeles, michael bloomberg, middle east, netflix, no child left behind, nypost, oil, patriot act, recess appointment, richard armitage, saudi arabia, saudi oil, senat, tony blair, torture, united nations, vaccine gap, valerie plame, voter fraud, voting, warrentless wiretapping, white house, wiretapping

Well, we’re back. And I’m alive, for the two of you reading this. Forgive the obligatory 9/11 items in today’s Linkroll. We talked a lot about having a roundtable about 9/11 but figured it’s going to be covered nine ways from sunday, so screw that. But since we’re not posting anything, let me just say when I walked the WTC PATH last week, I got very, very pissed off. The politics of all of this are pathetic. End rant.

On a lighter note, I always feel better after getting back on schedule after being off for so long. Kind of like how I keep telling myself I’m going to start running again. Yeah… never gonna happen.

Anyway…

Bush spoke last night about freedom and moderation (Whatever the hell that meant.) to mark the 5th of November… er yeah, the 5th 9/11.

Exclusive control of the executive and legislative branches of government is bad, no matter the party.

On a related note: Read this. And this.

Driftglass on five years.

To my huge surprise, apparently Cheney is a hard-liner.

Foreign Affairs kicks ass.

I hear the Bolton speech at Nebraska was border-line ridiculous, and apparently the bloke is sarcastic about genocide. Look for the audio version in the Podcast.

Facebook takes another step in its quest for world domination.

Iraq seems to be in dire trouble.

The IMF has been in the news quite a bit recently, with saying the World economy is overall stable, and that China needs to be doing some thinking.

Wikipedia gives a royal “fuck you” to China – unlike Google and countless others.

Americans blame Bush for 9/11.

Maybe this will be the final word. There was no link between Al Qaeda or Osama bin Laden and Saddam.

Worried CIA operatives buy legal insurance. Probably a smart move.

A 2008-coattail effect rundown.

CNN sums up my feelings about the sad thing that is what happened to the unity after 9/11. And all I can say to those politicians is: “Fuck you. Seriously. Fuck you.” Someone recently said to me that all politicians are corrupt in Congress and we should just start from scratch. I’m starting to like that idea.

Fox says America is safer. I guess that’s that.

It’s been a little heavy today.

See you tomorrow…

9/11, anniversary, campaigns, censorship, china, cia, committees, congress, dick cheney, elections, facebook, foreign affairs, fox, freedom, george bush, google, investigation, iraq, john bolton, jon stewart, polls, saddam link, senate, terror, wikipedia

Okay, well with Fawkes off gallivanting about, and me about to be ohne internet access until Monday, things will be a bit spotty. It’s already been spottier than we would have liked, but it was unavoidable. We’ll be back to a more respectable schedule next week.

Sorry about the lack of links as of late. We have all been very busy and/or sick. Fawkes, who normally handles the linkroll, is out today, so I’ll do a quickie to keep you busy.

Warren Jeffs has been arrested. Leader of the Fundamentalist Church of Latter Day Saints, he is wanted as an accomplice to rape and for attempting to marry minors to older men. His actions represent many of the excesses present in the practice of polygamy in the United States.

I may not care much for the “Gubernator,” but at least he had the balls to sign a climate control agreement of the kind Bush dismissed. Conservatives in particular continue to dismiss global warming as “liberal propaganda,” but there are some who are willing to act.

The RIAA says: Don’t share kids, it’s illegal. Don’t worry, it has nothing to do with protecting art, but everything to do with dwindling bottom lines for an association of leeching middlemen. Also: Ramen = music?

Darfur continues to deterioriate. Ineffectual UN leadership, a useless African Union force, and nothing but words from Western nations have led to a deepening of the tragedy already on a slippery slope to genocide.

Bush uses national security and Iraq to boost mid-term chances. Somehow, I don’t think that focusing on the violent mess that is Iraq will help. National security is always a favorite Republican standby, but given that Bush’s numbers didn’t really increase much after the whole trans-Atlantic plane-bombing scare, I don’t know how much that’ll help him. This, however, might do more for his cause.

Iran wants to be a regional superpower. Aside from the fact that “regional superpower” is a meaningless term, it is true that Iran has emerged as the dominant power player in the Middle East, not the least because of the United States’ attitude towards it. Here is a place where America’s War on Terror is at its least effective and most dangerous.

The US War on Terror sets a bad example, giving governments around the world an excuse to detain anyone without reason. Just brand them a “terrorist.”

Mm, pork! The perils of a welfare state.

2006 elections, alaska, america, california, campaigns, climate, copyright, darfur, international community, iran, iraq, israel, lebanon, middle east, polygamy, republicans, riaa, terrorism, united nations, war on terror, welfare

A shaky cease-fire has reigned in South Lebanon for two weeks now, but the real war is being waged on the ground by Hizbullah’s propaganda machine. And this is a war they are winning with ease. In a region all but leveled by more than a month of sustained Israeli air strikes and ground operations, almost all the rebuilding is being done by Hizbullah’s surprisingly resilient local bureaucracy. This ominous fact is a marker of two things: that Israel utterly failed in their stated objective of “crippling” Hizbullah, and that Israel is doing an equally poor job of helping to rebuild the mess they made.

Before you pounce on me for “sympathizing with terrorists,” allow me to elaborate. The spark that lit off this ill-conceived travesty was the kidnapping of Israeli soldiers by Hizbullah, who, true to form, intended to ransom them in exchange for the release of Islamic militants in Israeli jails. There is nothing new in this chain of events in itself—it has happened numerous times. The unexpected this time around was the surprisingly violent response. Israel replied to the kidnapping with an overwhelming series of aerial strikes throughout Lebanon aimed at Hizbullah’s supply of mobile rocket launchers.

As a citizen of a country targeted by extreme acts of terror, such a response is understandable. Hell, we did essentially the same thing by bombing Afghanistan (further) back to the Stone Age in 2002. However, it is grossly out of proportion in real terms. That doesn’t matter, however. What matters is that the young and fragile government of Ehud Olmert could not afford to look impotent in the face of growing violence aimed in their direction. Israel has been very patient with Hizbullah, Lebanon, and the Palestinians in recent years. Even the ultra-hawk Ariel Sharon realized the necessity of restraint and concession when dealing with his enemies. In a war to the end, Israel will lose. The days of week-long wars decided by massive armor engagements are long gone—and with them any chance for a quick, decisive victory on Israel’s part. In a war of attrition, the Israelis cannot hold out. Sharon realized this, and avoided open confrontation at all costs. Olmert, desperate to look like he was capable of “doing something” about terrorism, saw the Hizbullah kidnapping as a perfect opportunity to rattle the sabres, call up the reserves, and generally assert that Israel was still in control.

What an idiotic move.

First of all, we have some basic military lessons to learn. First of all, for all its tactical flexibility and general usefulness, air power alone cannot win any conflict. We have seen several examples of this recently, most notably in Afghanistan and Kosovo. Air strikes are a beautifully useful political tool. They make the leader look powerful by striking out at his (or her) enemies with overwhelming firepower, and they have the tremendous PR benefit of having very limited casualties (for the attacker, anyway). Airstrikes can be a very useful military tool… but not when used to the exclusion of other forces. Bombs cannot kill infantry very effectively. They can take out hardened targets and armored vehicles very well. What good does this do Israel? Very little. Yes, you can hit all the mobile rocket launch vehicles, drastically reducing the availability of long-range missiles to Hizbullah. But each soldier can carry shorter-ranged rockets that do nearly as much damage. Bomb all you want, but you won’t kill very many soldiers—the US learned that lesson (ostensibly) in Viet Nam.

Secondly, some Israeli general needs a public flogging. I know the reasoning that went behind sending in tank divisions. Tanks are pretty. They look cool, they make lots of noise, they blow shit up. A division of tanks screams “Look! I’m powerful!” And yet, they’re completely useless for the type of war Israel was looking to fight in Lebanon. No matter the terrain, heavy armor is not very useful for defeating irregular infantry. Guerrillas melt into the terrain, especially in cities and mountains. Tanks are limited to relatively level terrain, their tracks are extremely vulnerable to explosives, and they are very dependent on reliable supply lines.

On a broader level, this war was pretty obviously unwinnable to everyone outside Israel’s decision-making council. You cannot defeat a populist insurgent force through overwhelming firepower. “Peace through superior firepower” does not work in all cases. Especially when you’re fighting in their home territory. We have countless examples of this. Viet Nam, Colombia, Iraq, Roman Germania, Ottoman Arabia, Chechnya, South Ossetia… the list could go on for pages.

The chief reason for this is PR. In this instance, the PR for Israel is atrocious. I’m not just talking about anti-Israel protests in Europe—Europeans tend to be anti-Israel as a rule. I mean on the ground in Lebanon. Do you think the Lebanese are going to appreciate their homes being leveled, forewarning or no? Israel can justify it however they want (”harboring terrorists”), but that doesn’t change the fact that some poor (and I mean “poor” in a literal sense) Lebanese family has had its house flattened by Israeli bombs. If Israel’s trying to make the Lebanese cease harboring Hizbullah, they’re going about it completely wrong. Hell, even if the Israelis had won by some miracle, they would be viewed as occupiers and oppressors. Win or lose, the Israelis have destroyed civilian lives, undermined a fragile (but, until the war, increasingly effective) Lebanese government, add heaped fuel on the anti-Israel fire.

When dealing with terrorists/guerrillas/insurgents/etc., brute force is extremely counter-productive. I know there are those of you out there that will argue that the only lanugage violent people like terrorists will understand is force. And you’re right. The terrorist leaders see force as the chief means of achieving their goals, along with propaganda and finance. However, insurgent groups depend ultimately on the goodwill of the people with which they live. The Taliban would not be making a comeback in Afghanistan if the locals did not identify with them; the Mehdi Army in Iraq would not be such a potent force if the locals did not enthusiastically support them; the French Resistance would not have been such a terror to the Nazis if the population was not behind them. These groups rely on the local population for basic logistical support in the absense of normal military/commercial lines of supply. By throwing an army into the region and leveling virtually everything in sight, you only embitter the population and give them incentive to support the forces you seek to suppress. This is why 100,000+ troops are doing the Americans so little good in Iraq, it’s why carpet bombing did the US no good in Viet Nam, it’s why the Russian Army can’t keep Chechnya in line, and it’s why the European-trained Ottoman army failed to keep the Arabs under control. Overwhelming (and often indiscriminate) firepower breeds fanatics.

Despite long decades of practice in dealing with terrorism, Israel’s current leadership clings to the outmoded American-style methods of approaching the terrorist threat. That is: Kick down the door, guns blazing, and hope that, somewhere in the rubble, your enemies lie defeated. Contrary to some critics, I believe terrorism can and must be defeated; however, I think that armies, bombs, and prison camps are the absolute wrong approach.

Edit: Rumsfeld says war critics haven’t learned history’s lessons. I say he’s studying the wrong wars.

foreign policy, israel, lebanon, middle east, terrorism, war on terror

We’re having some communication and technical problems. We’ll be back up and running by tomorrow.

To keep you busy until then:
Track how your congressmen vote!

Sen. Joseph Biden’s plan for Iraq.

Newspaper executives admit they must reinvent the wheel to survive.

China don’t mess around with its secrets.

The bizarre story of the day goes to: middle-school teacher suspended for displaying foreign flags in his classroom.

Are we the 21st century Rome? Empire building is good, right?

For some reason I have it in my head Bush is from Texas. I have no idea why. Anyway, he’s vacationing back home with pops in New England.

The State Department is investigating Israel’s breach of arms agreements.

Liberals to become extinct as conservatives out-breed them.

Democrats are clinging to Katrina rebuilding efforts, or lack thereof, in an election swing campaigning against the administration.

In his usual manner, New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin is pissed. Specifically, he’s pissed that nothing’s happening. Not in New York, not in New Orleans, apparently. But he says he’s doing a better job than New York. I live nearby and I haven’t seen them do a single thing at the WTC site in 4 months. I’d say he’s right. And I still really want to see that Spike Lee film.

Pub owners are complaining about the smoking ban in Edinburgh. What are you going to do?

Jeff Sachs says the best way to win in the middle east is to drop the “us vs. them” ideology. Probably a good start.

Warrantless wiretapping would have prevented 9/11, according to Rove.

No scary intelligence for the elections this November, please.

Muslim and Arab men see a decline in earnings after 9/11.

Everyone seems to be discussing American foreign policy, so we can either just sit back and enjoy, or we can post something substantial. Maybe next week. Until then, read this article.

Why doesn’t Lieberman just switch parties? He’d probably get more support.

As Sen. Hagel was sounding off about Iraq last week, another Republican, this time Rep. Says, is calling for a timetable for a pullout.

And for our ridiculous post of the day: GOP push to kill Science for good.

We will be bringing you our first roundtable post on Monday morning.

See you Monday…

9/11, campaings, china, christopher says, chuck hagel, democrats, elections, empire, enlightenment, foreign policy, gop, intelligent design, internets, iraq, israel, joseph biden, joseph lieberman, journalism, karl rove, katrina, liberals, new orleans, new york, newspapers, november elections, nsa, president bush, ray nagin, republicans, rome, science, scotland, smoking bans, state secrets, texas, wiretapping

Pluto is no longer a planet. Take that Disney. It’s kind of funny, because it really doesn’t change anything as Temüjin pointed out in yesterday’s comments. It’s still Pluto.

Now I’m not in the habit of Bush bashing, but check this out in regards to his comments earlier in the week about Iraq’s involvement in 9/11.

Bush: It could be worse. Well, he’s right.

Scientists believe they have found a way around Administration ethical objections to (and Bush veto) to stem cell research.

As a strong sign of goodwill and nonproliferation, Israel is buying some nuclear subs. Who can blame them?

One of Howard Dean’s web peoples is now going to be working for Sen. John McCain. Interesting.

Stop polluting! Save the polar bear… family jewels?

If you’re going to have a “chief astronomer” and sack him for being a scientist… maybe you shouldn’t have a chief astronomer position in the first place?

Canadia is not going to rule out a private healthcare initiative. But then where will all the hipster teenagers move to avoid Bush and Privatization?

Keeping in mind the source of this article, rumors are abound of a “surprise” coming in regards to Iran’s nuclear program. What, is the Iran going to open its trench coat to reveal its dirty bomb to the rest of the innocent world? Something to keep an eye… or two, on.

“2nd 9/11 has been prevented.” Good to know. It’s strange, I didn’t hear much about the Germany plots. I’ve been really busy the last week, was this breaking news on CNN and Fox and all that? Just curious.

The United States has renewed its offer to end its Cuba embargo. I won’t hold my breath.

Prudhoe bay is having some fresh problems. The Alaskan oil field had to throttle its output by another 90,000 barrels a day. All this while the EPA is examining two-year-old documents from an engineering firm that warned of corrosion in the BP pipeline network. Ouch.

Not really politically relevant at all, but there’s a new startup company which claims to offer you a better solution for searching and organizing your web experience. Play around with it and let me know what you think.

Hillary is comfortably ahead in the polls in NY.

For all the crap I like to give CNN, its “In the Footsteps of bin Laden” was pretty interesting. The real question is: Where’s the Mike Wallace one-on-one with bin Laden?

This just in: French fishermen don’t like Greenpeace. But who does? Joking.

Phillipine President Gloria Arroyo is a strong political force, now surviving two separate attempts of impeachment. There have been claims of corruption, fraud and human rights violations.

It has come to my attention that United States “ambassador” to the United Nations will be holding a public forum at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln as part of its E.N. Thompson Forum on World Issues lecture series. If you happen to be in the middle of nowhere — a.k.a. Lincoln, Nebraska — stop by and try not to let your head explode. I do not believe they are serving alcohol at this event.

Are we giving the terrorists what they want? Author Bruce Schneier seems to think so.

Blimey, those anti-truck-bomb security poles actually work. This video is good evidence to that.

Here’s a great interview with Editor in Chief of Al-Jazeera from the Washington Post’s David Ignatius. They are the “channel for everybody” not the “channel of insurgents.”

Anderson Cooper: Method anchor.

An update to an earlier story, the FDA has allowed over-the-counter sales of Plan B medication. Three cheers.

Martin Jacques, over at CiF, has a nice commentary on the “international community” as only “the west”.

In case anyone has forgotten, there are still atrocities occurring in Sudan. And peace plans are failing left and right.

The judge who ruled against the wire-tapping program has come under fire for her involvement in a organization which donated funds to the plaintiff, the ACLU. Considering the sources of the outing (JudicialWatch) and that of this article (ThinkProgress), try to stay objective and come to your own conclusions.

I don’t know where Caligula’s analysis is, but the Democrats are thinking very hard about the 2008 race and who to nominate.

The Journal has a very interesting piece on the Housing burst, if you’re comfortable with that term, if you’re into that sort of thing.

Is there movement in Congress to make Churches exempt from Eminent Domain? Marci Hamilton takes a look. This is definitely Caligula’s area of expertise.

Sen. Barack Obama is set to take a public HIV/AIDS test as a show of support for the practice.

Great, now not only do you have to watch out for the IRS, but you have to watch out for the fake IRS.

1 in 4 Americans feel safer now than they did before 9/11. That’s reassuring. Thanks CNN.

What do we really know about the Iran threat? What do you say? Are we being misled?

There is some chatter on the Polygamy front:

Robert George

In response: Independent Gay Forum

New Attacks on Gay Marriage: Independent Gay forum

On a different note, I am fascinated by Guido Fawkes’ referring to himself in the third person in all of his posts. And no, there’s no relation.

See you tomorrow…

2008 elections, 9/11, aclu, aids, alaska, anderson cooper, astronomy, barack obama, campaigns, canadia, catholicism, churches, cuba, democracy, democrats, elections, embargo, eminent domain, evolution, gay marriage, germany, global warming, gop, greenpeace, guido fawkes, healthcare, hiv, howard dean, intelligent design, international community, iran, iraq, irs, israel, john bolton, john mccain, lebanon, marriage, middle east, netvibes, november elections, nsa wiretapping, nuclear proliferation, oil, plan b, planets, pluto, polar bears, polls, pollution, polygamy, president bush, privacy, privatization, purdhoe bay, religion, robert george, stem cell research, terrorists, the french, the pope, university of nebraska, wiretapping

Senator Lieberman is tied with Ned Lamont in this poll, says we’re in WWIII.

Edwards is out and about again, Caligula’s favorite Dem. candidate at the moment, the South’s favorite son is fundraising and thinking about 2008 so it seems.

There are some hot races, besides the Lamont-Lieberman extravaganza, including for the Governor of Virginia, and the Maryland Senate race.

The Geneva Conventions of 1949 are now universal. Except when inconvenient, of course.

More evidence of a civil war in Iraq, via Jill Carrol. America is now enemy #2.

The PEW center did an interesting poll about Iraq, broken down by religion.

It’s about time: A federal judge has blocked the administration’s plan to allow logging in Sequoia National Monument.

The housing bubble may just burst… Good timing as we’re in an ideal place for a slower-down in the economy.

Obama cancels his Democratic Republic of the Congo trip due to factional violence. It still boggles my mind that Obama is the sole African American in the United States Senate. Just completely boggles my mind.

Colbert’s at it again, using the internets in a plot to destroy America. Actually, he’s just using the internets to showcase fans’ creative edits to his green-screen footage. Clever.

I don’t know what I love more about this article, the fact they put “war on terror” in quotes or that it was short enough for me to read in 30 seconds.

While this link forces me to admit I frequent Wonkette, they did hilariously pointed out something interesting about the Richard Armitage meeting with Bob Woodward. It does look like Armitage is the original source of the leak, not that Woodward ran with it before anyone else – he just knew before everyone else. Bragging rights are important in journalism.

Volokh has a good rundown of the prospects of the NSA wiretapping on appeal. Some of the comments are interesting, if not tedious from the day before. But that’s why you read political blogs, right?

McCain is trying to gain some public clout by criticizing the current policies on Iraq. Somehow it doesn’t seem to carry much weight with me, coming from him. But I’ve never really been much of a fan.

Nick Clegg makes some good points for an open-door immigration policy in Europe.

It’s either a really good day or a really bad day to be a Marine. In the first involuntary recall since the early days of Iraq, the Marines fall short in recruiting. There was a great excerpt of a narrative on this subject on NPR today, listen for it – while I do a better job of finding NPR links.

I didn’t catch it, but HBO ran Spike “Inside Man” Lee’s special on the Katrina anniversary. I’ll have to keep my eye out for reviews. I’m sure we’ll be seeing Brian Williams knee deep in some water next week not dodging flying metal. Wait that was Anderson. Nevermind.

On an unrelated note, can someone please tell me why what we call a planet or a dwarf planet is so important? Temüjin?

Don’t cash that Medicare check just yet. The big bad government made a $50M oopsies.

See you tomorrow…

ahmadinejad, anniversaries, barack obama, bob woodward, campaigns, democrats, environment, eu, gop, immigration, internets, iran, jill carrol, john mccain, joseph lieberman, katrina, medicare, ned lemont, new orleans, november elections, planets, polls, president bush, privacy, religion, spike lee, the guardian, valerie plame

n. — the practice or custom of having more than one husband or wife

Although polygamy has faded into the background of American culture since the LDS state of Utah/Deseret was incorporated into the Union in the late 1800s, it nevertheless remains a factor in Mormon culture, a black spot swept under the rug by the Elders as much as possible (chiefly by excommunication of those discovered to be practicing the now-forbidden tradition). Most Americans have a strong negative reaction to the idea of polygamy. It is seen as dirty, anti-Christian, and anti-American. Part of this is the deep importance of the idea of marriage to American society (astronomically high divorce rates aside), and part of it is Protestant distrust and outright hostility to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. An example of American hosility toward polgyamy was recently seen in a protest held in Salt Lake City by children of polygamist families to defend their way of life. A brave move, to be sure, as their existence is technically illegal.

Polygamists feel persecuted, their way of life threatened in defiance of America’s supposedly tolerant social atmosphere. I’m not going to sit here and go through the legal, social, and religious reasons behind the Union’s insistence on the abolition of polygamy as a condition for admittance. If you want a history lesson, ask me, open a book, or (if you’re desperate) look it up in Wikipedia.

I am here to discuss why I think polygamy—in this case, it should more technically and realistically be called polygyny—is such a terrible practice.

I will not claim to dislike the theoretical practice of polygamy. Just as I think it is not only silly but repressive to define marriage solely in terms of a man and a woman, I think it is equally silly and repressive to constrain marriage to one man and one woman. All such attitudes are close-minded and inherently limiting. Marriage, as defined as both a contract and as an act of love, should not be so constrained. In light of this, I should be all for polygamy.

I’ll start with the very act of marriage. Marriage as it is defined in our society essentially makes a woman subordinate to the man. I know that, since the 1970s and the Women’s Liberation Movement, our society has been less openly misogynist, just as we have been less openly racist since the Equal Rights Movement. However, forty years is a short span of time in the face of human societies, no matter the acceleration in our daily lives thanks to technology. Cliché time: Old habits die hard. Marriage as a contract and as a religious act transforms the woman into an extension of the man: she takes on his name, his debt becomes hers, etc. It is much less so than it has been in the past, to be sure, but the limitations and definitions are still there. Even in multiple marriages the property aspect rears its ugly head; all the wives are married to one man, but not to each other. It’s all about possession, not mutual sharing. Why do you think so many people fight so hard to keep marriage as man-and-woman only? To preserve what has been one of the most useful and profitable hierarchies in human history. As soon as you open up marriage to other orientations, you fatally weaken the primary vehicle for male control of females.

As marriage is not an equal contract, expanding this to include many partners (read: wives) only amplifies the problems. Polygamy as it has been practiced in most societies, and most especially Christian and Muslim societies, is strictly male-oriented. It has been, at one point or another, just fine for a man to take several wives, but it has never been permitted for a woman to take several husbands. This is a side-effect of male-oriented and male-dominated religions which both reflect and help define social mores.

The combination of a focus on multiple wives and an attitude of (religiously ordained) male superiority has made polygamy into what polygamy.org terms “sexual slavery.” Women in such situations exist solely to provide men with sexual pleasure and children, and as women often have few rights (at best) in societies that permit polygamy, there is usually no escape. I am not denying that many men in such families truly love their wives. However, this does not lessen the fact that the women in these families exist almost exclusively to provide and raise children. This has been true in monogamous societies as well, up until very recently, but polygamy amplifies this effect: they are effectively creating baby farms. There are in many cases religious reasons for the creation of baby farms (the Mormons, for example, are planning to repopulate the Earth after the apocalypse), and there have been social reasons for this in the past (a readily available workforce for a large family farm).

Complications and abuse also arise because of the way that these marriages occur. Women as young as fourteen enter the marriage market on behalf of their fathers, married off to chosen mates with no say in the matter. This is by no means unique to polygamist societies—in fact, it’s a norm in most societies throughout history. Choice for a woman is a very rare thing in history. Arranged marriages are just another manifestation of woman-as-property in human societies. Back on track: the youth aspect of modern polygamy is a social remnant, preserved from the days when women began childbearing much earlier and lifespans were much shorter. Another aspect, that of borderline-incest, is more of a circumstantial aspect than anything else. This is far more common in the outlaw polygamist colonies in the United States than it is in Muslim countries, chiefly because it is illegal in the United States. As the “stock” of people available for marriage within a polygamist community is necessarily limited, it is almost inevitable that a fifteen-year-old girl will be forced to marry her half-brother. The very underground nature of polygamy in the United States encourages depraved behavior; as a number of testimonies from women escaped from such communities will tell, they are home to slave-like conditions for women, a desperate attempt to keep control of the vehicle for the communities’ continued existence, free from the prying eyes of “normal” society that might otherwise deem them abusive and pedophilic.

My problems with polygamy boil down to misogyny. In an ideal world, where marriage was defined not in terms of gender and number, it would be no different from any other form of social organization. Religion, however, has passed down to us the holy hierarchy: as man is subservient to God, so shall woman be subservient to man (Sticking just to the Bible for the moment: “Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord.” Eph. 5:22, and “Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything.” 1 Pet. 3:1). To me, polygamy just feels like a meat market.

And no, polyandry would be no better!

america, christianity, feminism, gender, marriage, polygamy, religion

Contact your congressman now! Seriously.

campaigns, congress, internets, net neutrality

Iran announces its assumed rejection of the United Nations deadline, but ready for talks? Meanwhile, if you didn’t catch the Mike Wallace 60 Minutes interview with Iranian President Ahmadinejad, check it. Only Wallace could help Ahmadinejad appear lucid.

On a related note, a former Iranian president is coming to Washington. Or so claims FOXNews.

California raises its minimum wage to $8 by 2008. And what is the nation still stuck at?

Rumors are abound of a Malaria vaccine venture, with trials in the field. Hopefully this is not vapor like the heralded SPf66 from a decade ago.

The GOP has gained some measureable support following the foiled airline plot, says USAToday poll.

Aw snap. North Korea is pissed again.

DVRs can help you avoid everyone’s least favorite part of political campaigns. Wait, do people have favorite parts of campagins.

During a news conference, Bush said he had no intention of backing Schlesinger, a former state representative who has been hammered by questions about his gambling. Ouch.Related, there are calls for Lieberman to be thrown out of the Democratic party?

Privacy advocacy groups are calling for car companies to include information about the don’t-ask-don’t-tell car black boxes in the owners’ manual.

Can circumcision help prevent AIDS? Huh?

Raise your hand if you think Jill Carrol will win a Pulitzer by default next go-round? I’m raising my hand. OK, now that I’m done being insensitive, part 80* of her series, posted today, says terrorists are more clever than she thought.

Opposition to the Iraq war at an all-time high. Really?

This is just cool. Detect nukes in container ships at sea from SF Bay for $12,000.

Congress poised to destroy our internets!

Newt’s back for a 2008 presidential run?
We will have a state-of-the-field-type post coming soon.

Bush finally says he supports Plan B availability without prescription to those over 18.

That Hagel video: “Most unstable Middle East since 1948?”. [Transcript, Fox]

In case you didn’t catch it in the New York Times yesterday, McCain is playing fundraising hopscotch in Washington.

Bush pledges $230M+ to help Lebenon. This is, noted by ThinkProgress, less than is spent in Iraq every day. On that note, what is our deficit at thesedays anyway?

Media Matters has an interesting analysis of the media’s coverage of Administration positions on detention authority.

Apartheid: Israel style?

Is this current push for wider use of airline databases a good thing? Or is it an attack on privacy ala payment records?

I definitely didn’t even think of this, but what do professional, or amatuer musicians do in the current restriction-heavy-flying situation? They’ve brought this to my attention.

See you tomorrow…

ahmadinejad, aids, california, campaigns, chuck hagel, congress, dvr, gop, internets, iran, iraq, israel, joseph lieberman, net neutrality, north korea, polls, president bush, privacy, sanctions

Sen. Hagel says the GOP has lost its way.

How much wood could a wood chuck chuck if a wood chuck could chuck wood at all? What Ned Lemont can do for the party: Everything Lieberman never could or would? Possible input from Caligula soon.

More wire-tapping-goodness-appeal comments from the corner of Bush’s mouth.

Gates foundation helps MediaNews Group acquire new newspapers. Nice to see money is going to the needy.

It’s like deciding who suffers: your mom or your sister… The ever-persisting question of what to do with Social Security.

Michael Hayden is my idol. I want to be just like him when I grow up. He says warrants are the enemy.

WIRED, as always, delves into the world of the currupt and illegal with a great story on PirateBay, the torrent tracker.

Is America a Christian nation? This is a great article.

The Washington Post gives us a good roundup of the current on-goings in Iraq. Basically, it’s not good. Who’da thunk it?

I can really see the push for the Democratic convention in Denver, while others are really pushing for NY. New York is too easy. Can you imaging what it could do for momentum if there was a successful convention in the heart of a Red state?

The CIA is running into trouble in its continuing quest into British financial records. Legal trouble that is, what other kind is there?

10,000 Reasons civilisation is doomed. Add your own.

We have a few articles On Deck for this week:

Caligula has some general thoughts on the Democratic hopes, specifically how the country will vote Republican if the party nominates Hillary.

Temüjin has an analysis coming later this week of why Lebenon shows us why we’ve already lost the ‘War on Terror’.

Temüjin also has a discussion for tomorrow about the social conundrum that is Polygamy.

See you tomorrow…

america, bill gates, bloomberg, christianity, chuck hagel, cia, democrats, denver, gates foundation, gop, iraq, joseph lieberman, michael hayden, ned lemont, piracy, religion, washington post

I thought I would start Sunday’s roll with two YouTube favorites:

George Galloway going off again. Brilliant.

This afternoon, TIME posted its Hillary coverstory. Look for Caligula’s analysis tomorrow.

Someone’s getting a little desperate. Anyone have an over-under on when he’s going to drop out.

Is it possible that Religion fosters bad behavior? Creighton University presents the study online.

The Economist published a piece about photojournalism, and how to improve on digital photography standards.

The war rages on. This article comes as the Episcopal Church’s leader in the U.S. has been saying homosexuality is no sin.

Just when you thought polygamy was dead, they come out of the woodwork. I suppose having six wives never really goes out of style. Look for Temüjin’s analysis soon.

See you tomorrow…

george galloway, hillary clinton, homosexuality, photojournalism, polygamy, religion

We’ll do our best to keep this interesting and relevant. No promises though. Cheers.

welcome