Month: October 2004

Commonweal has published a symposium of sorts on the upcoming election.

• Thomas Higgins on why he’s supporting Kerry.
• Robert Royal on voting Republican.
• Paul J. Griffiths on opting for “none of the above.”

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury,pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light; and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seekto be consoled as to console; to be understood as to understand; to be loved as to love. For it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned; and it is in dying that we are born to eternal life. Amen. — St. Francis of Assisi

UPDATE: Sources tell me that this famed prayer was not actually written by St. Francis (see here).

There’s a place I know where the train goes slow

Where the sinner can be washed in the blood of the Lamb

There’s a river by the trestle down by sinner’s grove

Down where the willow and the dogwood grow



You can hear the whistle, you can hear the bell

From the halls of heaven to the gates of hell

And there’s room for the forsaken if you’re there on time

You’ll be washed of all your sins and all of your crimes



If you’re down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there where the train goes slow



There’s a golden moon that shines up through the mist

And I know that your name can be on that list

There’s no eye for an eye, there’s no tooth for a tooth

I saw Judas Iscariot carrying John Wilkes Booth



He was down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

He was down there where the train goes slow



If you’ve lost all your hope, if you’ve lost all your faith

I know you can be cared for and I know you can be safe

And all the shamefuls and all of the whores

And even the soldier who pierced the side of the Lord



Is down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there where the train goes slow



Well, I’ve never asked forgiveness and I’ve never said a prayer

Never given of myself, never truly cared

I’ve left the ones who loved me and I’m still raising Cain

I’ve taken the low road and if you’ve done the same



Meet me down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there where the train goes slow



Meet me down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there by the train

Down there where the train goes slow

–Johnny Cash

Political analysis is not our strong suit here at VI, but what’s a blog for if not for offering amateurish, half-baked opinions? Tally ho, then!

I didn’t see the debate last night (my wife and I watched the truly wonderful Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind instead), but I perused the transcript this morning as well as commentary from various sites and blogs.

For what it’s worth, it seems to me that Kerry made two distinct arguments about the Iraq war which are not entirely compatible.

The first is to concede that Saddam was a threat, but then to say we should have done more to get our allies on board and exhausted every avenue at the UN before invading. However well this kind of multilateralism uber alles position may go over with readers of the New York Times, it ain’t gonna play in Peoria. Bush will always be able to say that he’s not going to wait around for UN permission to protect America from looming threats.

Kerry’s better argument was to maintain that the war in Iraq has been a costly distraction from the war on terrorism properly speaking, especially the hunt for Osama bin Laden in Afghanistan. This kind of argument will appeal to swing voters who want a strong commander-in-chief ready to defend the nation. It also has the merit, in my view, of being true.

But the point is that Kerry can’t consistently hold both positions. If Saddam was indeed a threat (or perhaps if we were justified in perceiving him to be a threat), then it becomes less persuasive to claim that the Iraq war was unnecessary. By conceding that Iraq posed a genuine danger, Kerry gives Bush the high ground, allowing him to paint himself as the decisive leader.

Of course, it’s hard for Kerry to deny that Saddam posed a danger and explain his vote to authorize the use of force. Thus, he’s forced back to taking the position that we should have done it differently. So, was the going into Iraq a good idea that was just carried out ineptly, or was it a bad idea per se that detracts from our effectiveness in stopping al-Qaeda? Kerry seems to want to have it both ways.

From Virginia Postrel:

Weirdest Line of the Night

“I’m going to get it right for those soldiers, because it’s important to Israel, it’s important to America, it’s important to the world, it’s important to the fight on terror.” I actually replayed this on Tivo to make sure I heard right. Because it’s important to Israel????? First?????

Those priorities may help win Florida, but they’ll come back to haunt a Kerry administration–and the United States–in the Arab world.

Huzzah! The father of our country turned his prodigious talents to, among other things, whiskey-making after his retirement:

When Washington left the presidency and returned to Mount Vernon in 1797, his plantation manager, a Scotsman named James Anderson, suggested that his boss use the farm’s excess grain to make whiskey for the local market. Washington agreed reluctantly, Pogue says, but the whiskey sold so well that in October 1797 Washington had his slaves build a 75-by-30-foot distillery.

The distillery’s five copper stills churned out about 4,000 gallons of rye whiskey the next year. In 1799, Washington did even better, selling nearly 11,000 gallons and earning about $7,500 — an enormous sum in those days.

More…

(via Dappled Things)