Russell's Thoughts

Is Barack Hussein Obama Socialist?

"[F]undamentally, Socialism is nothing but a theory of "just" distribution; the socialist movement is nothing but an attempt to achieve this ideal.  (Ludwig von Mises, Socialism, English translation of Die Gemeinwirtschaft (2nd. ed.) (1936), Liberty Fund, Indianapolis, Indiana, 1981, p. 131.)

"I think when you spread the wealth around, it's good for everybody."  (Barack Hussein Obama in reply to economic challenge by Joe the Plumber.)

These two quotes leave little room for doubt that, whatever it is called, socialism is precisely what Obama desires.

The Supreme Court by Chief Justice William Rehnquist

William Hubbs Rehnquist was sworn in as Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court on January 7, 1972. Nominated to the Court by President Nixon, Rehnquist went on to become Chief Justice on September 26, 1986 following the retirement of Warren Berger. The next year, Rehnquist published the first edition of his history of the Court. In 2001, he released a substantially revised and expanded version of The Supreme Court to further improve our understanding of what he calls “the least understood of the three branches” of government. This new book offers the reader an amazing glimpse into the inner workings of the Court, the major epochs of its history, and its influence on our nation.

Christopher Hitchens: Justifying the Iraq War

Persistent claims that President Bush lied in order to propel the United States into Iraq are, themselves, lies.  They begin with the assumption that he lied and then set out to prove that he did.  Doing so is intended to undermine the rational justifications for the war itself.  The argument is flawed partly because it is based on 20/20 hindsight and partly based upon a radical and dangerous oversimplification of international geopolitics.  For my part, I do not give a tinker’s damn whether the specific reasons that were advanced at the outset proved to be 100% valid when everything was said and done.  (It is not lying to have simply been wrong on one point or another.)  What is really important is that the war has served a significant moral good.

Alcohol: God's Elixer of Life

There is a very interesting and entertaining program on the Fine Living network called The Thirsty Traveler.  This is a show in which the host tours the world to discover the secrets of the making and enjoying of fine wines, beers, and liquors.  It is a truly fascinating show revealing the rich history of the fermentation of various plants for the production of potable beverages.  I say potable beverages because the very purpose of the fermentation process is to produce a beverage that is safe to drink from waters that have often been quite deadly.  Before the age of chlorine treatment of drinking water, the most common means of cleaning water was the manufacture of alcoholic drinks in which the fermentation process destroys harmful bacteria.  That alcohol was God's provision for safe and healthful drinking water in primitive cultures.  What many Christians have called the devil's brew has actually been God's elixir of life.