Why Mourn Bhutto?

While the assassination of Benazir Bhutto is horrifying, I don't know if she as an individual is worth mourning. I read the Wikipedia entry on her and the charges against her, and it sounds like she and her husband were fabulously corrupt. We're talking in excess of $1 billion in criminal activities. Charges come from reputable Western nations, not just her political opponents in Pakistan. Also, she is aligned with the international socialist movement.

If I were a Pakistani given the choice of voting for Bhutto, Musharraf, or Sharif, I think I'd slit my wrist. I'm guessing Masharraf is the lesser evil, but it's a wild guess.

Government Mail

I ordered a roll of 100 postal stamps by mail in early December. The US Postal Service cashed my check, but the stamps were lost in the mail. I'm out $41.00.

UPDATE: The Christmas card my mother mailed my son, postmarked December 8, just arrived yesterday, December 31.

UPDATE: An online retailer shipped a package to me on Dec 18 via the US Post Office. It had not yet arrived as of Jan 3. I used the tracking number to look at the shipping status. I found out that the package sat in their L.A. "Sortation Center" for about a week after spending 11 days in their Dallas center. They claim it will be delivered on Jan 4 after more than 2-1/2 weeks in transit. I've found UPS and FedEx ground services take only 2 - 7 days.

UPDATE: I am pleased to report that a friend of mine explained the problem with the late package: "It's because Postal rates are too low."

UPDATE: On January 7, I received the following response to my lost stamps:

According to our information, We make every effort to ensure our orders are processed and received within 2-3 weeks. However, due to the rate increase as well as the release of some very popular stamps, orders are taking longer to process. You can expect to receive your order in 1-2 weeks. I apologize for any inconvenience this has caused.

UPDATE: On February 2, I went to the Post Office to ask about the missing stamps. I was told I need to go to a different Post Office.

UPDATE: The week of Feb 4-8, I made a few calls to the local PO mail order number, after which I got a message recorder where I was "allowed" to leave a message with my complaint. Hearing nothing, I left another message on another day. No reply. No stamps yet.

UPDATE: On Feb 12, Monica at the PO called me to say she found out the problem. They were looking for "Bob" Giramma rather than "Robert" Giramma. Good thing my last name is not Smith or Jones. Having finally determined that some people named Robert are nicknamed Bob (and totally ignoring that the family name "Giramma" is extremely rare), they could look up the sale information. They claim to have sent me the stamps on Dec 12. They will send a replacement order by certified mail soon. Can I tell the IRS my taxes are late because the Post Office hasn't been able to sell me stamps? Good thing I didn't order those "Forever Stamps."

A friend reassures me that "There's hope."
Postcard penned in 1929 arrives in Boston mailbox from Seattle

SUCCESS: After a mere two months or so since ordering my "stamps by mail" from the US Postal Service, today (Feb 13, 2008) I hold in my hands A COIL OF 100 US POSTAL STAMPS! There's a "Mail Theft and Vandalism Complaint" form (PS 2016) to complete, but why should buying stamps be any easier than filing your federal tax return?

Remember the Guardians of Freedom at Christmas

"A Soldier's Silent Night"

Click Here To Listen

.

T'was the night before Christmas

He lived all alone,

in a one bedroom house

made of plaster and stone.

...

The soldier awakened

I heard his rough voice,

"Santa don't cry,

This life is MY choice.

.

I fight for freedom,

I don't ask for more;

My life is my God,

My country, My corps."

...

Then, the soldier rolled over,

In a voice soft and pure,

He whispered, "Carry on Santa,

It's Christmas Day, all is secure."

Read the whole thing here. or listen to it here.

And if this doesn't bring a tear to your eyes, then you're a far better Vulcan than I.

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Romney vs Giuliani from my libertarian perspective

Neither Mitt Romney nor Rudy Giuliani are libertarians to most of us who support that cause. Personally, I believe Romney would be the better of the two, when measured from my libertarian-right perspective.

Romney is exceptionally brilliant, while Giuliani is merely very smart. Romney has an impressive private sector resume, while Giuliani has spent most of his career in government and the (non-productive) legal sector. Both men will advocate far more government than I'd like, but Romney is more likely to favor mandates that involve private sector competition. Romney ran a diverse state; Giuliani ran a specific city.

So in the categories of competence and free market experience, Mitt Romney is my preferred candidate over Rudy Giuliani. Despite Ron Paul's foreign policy errors, he is still my top choice among the major party candidates.

My friend Bruce Cohen has some related thoughts.

Unintended consequences of non-interventionism

Reflections on 'Blowback'
By Lee Harris

Excerpt:

We may agree with Ron Paul that our interventionist policy in the Middle East has led to unintended negative consequences, including even 9/11, but this admission offers us absolutely no insight into what unintended consequences his preferred policy of non-intervention would have exposed us to. It is simply a myth to believe that only interventionism yields unintended consequence, since doing nothing at all may produce the same unexpected results. If American foreign policy had followed a course of strict non-interventionism, the world would certainly be different from what it is today; but there is no obvious reason to think that it would have been better.

Full article:
http://tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=121207A

Status of GWOT in Aghanistan and Iraq

Regarding the so-called GWOT, I'm thinking about the status of military activities in Afghanistan and Iraq. One at a time:

The Taliban and al Qaeda lost their base of operations within a few months, and they've not gained it back. Afghanistan, however, is yet another dysfunctional country run by culturally backward Muslims. If the US and NATO leave, the Taliban and al Qaeda will be back. So we're stuck there, for the time being. You can call that victory or failure, but that's the way it is. If you really want to defeat them, you need to invade northwestern Pakistan and accept the subsequently likely bloodbath.

While the initial military invasion of Iraq was very successful in overthrowing the Baathist regime, President Bush commanded the occupation badly. Of course, anyone can say that with 20/20 hindsight. But Iraq now has the potential of turning into a success for the US, however unintentional the path may be. Al Qaeda chose to make a stand there, and they are close to defeat. The Islamic world, much of which used to sympathize with al Qaeda, has mostly turned against them.

You cannot have liberty when individuals and groups are killing people worldwide in the name of religious tyranny. To defeat such savage obstacles to liberty, we must kill as they do. The difference is in the purpose, and the purpose of freedom is worth lots of blood -- preferably theirs.

Gentlemen may cry, Peace, Peace-- but there is no peace. The war is actually begun! The next gale that sweeps from the north will bring to our ears the clash of resounding arms! Our brethren are already in the field! Why stand we here idle? What is it that gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty or give me death! -- Patrick Henry, March 23, 1775

The Ron Paul Phenomenon

It looks to me like Republican Ron Paul is getting more enthusiasm, support, and contributions from LP members than I've ever seen before. I bet he's taken in more money, and gotten Libertarian Party (LP) members to work more hours, than the entire party gets in a typical [year, decade, eternity?]. He gets some of his strongest support from the anarcho-libertarians, even though several important Ron Paul policies are incompatible with their beliefs. Party members need to think about this.

Surely Dr Paul gets lots of publicity by being in the GOP, which puts him on TV in political debates that seem to occur almost every week. But most LP members don't care much about that venue or party. The official party candidates are getting almost zero attention, which is normal on the mainstream national level but not necessarily among party members.

What is it? Can the Ron Paul phenomenon be leveraged by the LP now or in the future? If libertarians can only get this much attention by running in one of the big two parties, then maybe Libertarians need to think about turning the party into an activist wing of one of those parties and field libertarian candidates there.

Or maybe Ron Paul is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon capitalizing on a unique alignment of the stars.

Has there been any discussion of this on any blogs or e-mail lists?