I’ve posted my latest post on 3 Quarks Daily (note that I’m no longer mirroring 3QD posts on Abstract Nonsense), It’s Not Oppression Alone. The basic idea of that post is that radical terrorism is caused not just by oppression, but also by various factors concerning the perception of oppression.
A far funnier and overall better post than mine is Shiban Ganju’s teaser into the Dalai Lama’s ascension to the US Presidency.
Next day he appointed three eminent persons as his close advisers. Donald Rumsfeld, Joseph Stiglitz and Arundathi Roy.
He chose Donald Rumsfeld as the chief adviser. When the nation protested, he calmed the fear. ”He is the single most valuable asset in my administration. If we do exactly the opposite of what he recommends, we will not go wrong.”
He invited the Nobel laureate economist, Joseph Stiglitz and said, “You have an image of a person who opposes globalization.”
“But I don’t” Joseph protested, “I am only against the machinations of the world bank and IMF. I have written about it in my book — Globalization and its Discontent.”
Dalai Lama winked, “It doesn’t matter what you write. The street protestors don’t read. They follow the slogans. Look here, we can pursue the globalization of non violence with you leading it. With your image no one will suspect.”
Katie attacks Canadian involvement in the occupation of Afghanistan. Canadian foreign policy is fairly Clintonian: make sure people support you when you bomb random third world countries, don’t be too blatant about things, and never rock the boat. Her post is cogent, once you ignore the left-wing shibboleths like complaining about media bias, ranting about Israel (which despite what Katie says Canada doesn’t give military aid to), and talking about the interests of the working class.
The liberal blogosphere is undergoing a severe shrillness attack, which I hope will subside a few days after the election. At Liberal Avenger, Auguste is dramatizing the election as if the Democrats give a damn about civil liberties and Republicans are totalitarians. The best case scenario is that the Democrats win, increase the minimum wage to $7.25, expand health coverage a little bit, and then resume their usual drill, which consists of screwing the poor and invading random third world countries slightly less blatantly than the Republicans.
Abstract Nonsense 
It’s Sunday links on the west coast, Monday links on the east coast.
Also, I think some of the liberal activists will be disappointed with the Democrats, but you’ll be pleasantly surprised. There will be some measures passed just to force Republicans to vote against them, of course, but a Democratic congress will also put the brakes on the runaway train that’s driving us toward financial ruin and totalitarianism (yes, the current crop of GOP congressmen are totalitarians–see their votes on judicial nominees, or any measure that either increases police power or limits citizens’ rights).
In short, for 2 years Bush will no longer have a rubber stamp. House committees that oversee spending and ethics will be run by Democrats, so there will finally be some oversight and accountability. And however the Senate winds up, Bush will need to start nominating judges who are less radical in order to get them confirmed. This could be crucial for the Supreme Court.
That said, the fact is that many of the new Democrats will be centrists, so while the balance of power in congress is going to shift profoundly toward the center, the balance of power within the party will shift toward the right. In other words, it’s the best of all possible worlds for Senator Lieberman.
Actually 3:30 am would be 12:30 am on the West coast, so it would still technically be Monday morning links over here as well… But lets not get picky.
Cogent eh? I think thats the best compliment I’ve ever received from you, so I’ll take it. I had to complain about media bias… Harper made some comment the other week about giving military aid to Israel… why do you say differently?