Ex-liberal Bill Whittle posts on deterrence here (part 1) and here (part 2). Some samples:
Watching the Presidential debates of October 1st, and the subsequent reactions to them, has left me once again with the sad realization that there are many millions of people who prefer a man who says the wrong things well over one who says the right things badly ? and in the case of the first debates we are talking about saying very, very stupid things well and intelligent things very, very badly.
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It all comes down to carrots (liberals) or sticks (conservatives). By the way: if you?re in a rush and need to run, here?s the spoiler: You can offer a carrot. Not everybody likes carrots. Some people may hate your carrot. Your carrot may offend people who worship the rutabaga. But no one likes being poked in the eye with a stick. That?s universal.
I?m a stick man. I wish it were different. But part of growing up ? in fact, the essential part of growing up ? is realizing that wishing does not make it so.
Folks, it?s time to reach down deep and get in touch with our inner adult.
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It would be nice to live in a world full of liberals. I say that as a staunch conservative. It would be nice to live in a world that behaved like a Hollywood party or a university campus, filled with kind, educated people with lots to lose, who cherish reason and responsibility and are incapable of brutal, violent acts. If all the world were filled with decent, compassionate, rational people, life would be a bouquet.
But it?s not. There are bad people who do bad things, and there are bad countries run by bad people who do bad things who eat the kind and gentle people for breakfast. There is no denying this. Therefore, liberals are insane. I speak from experience here.
It?s a damn shame, it really is.
Well, maybe it’s not a shame that we don’t live in world full of liberals as they are, just that we don’t live in one full of liberals as they believe themselves to be. But this is the choice in this year’s elections: we have a candidate who wants us to believe that the world is basically all hearts and flowers and one who doesn’t, and we have to choose the one who doesn’t even though he’s not smooth, or articulate, or especially charismatic. And if we choose wrongly, we may not live to correct the mistake, so it’s important to get it right.
No dude- the choice is between a candidate who has not only read Sun Tzu but lived it, and one who can’t even pronounce his name.
Thank you for proving that your political convictions are a matter of pure snobbery. Sun Tzu is a dead Chinese fortune cookie writer whose ideas have no particular relevance to the modern world.
LOL! Well, tell that to the generals who kicked ass in the 20th century.
My only hope is that your candidate’s campaign shares that sentiment- they’re already losing the election because they’ve ignored Sun Tzu’s dicta.
Tell it to Tommy Franks, who kicked ass in the 21st century using American tactics.
LOL! You mean he “kicked ass” by having the Iraqi army “melt away into the people” only to have a guerilla war on his hands?
You mean he didn’t see that coming?
I guess I DO gotta tell it to Franks, since the Iraqi army playbook was right out of Sun Tzu. And now, of course, we’re stuck with a quagmire.
BTW, my blog should be fixed to be able to comment now. Blogspot’s free, but flaky.