| Tuesday, May
20, 2003
LAST BUFFY TONIGHT!!!
The Jessica Lynch story continues
in Mail. It certainly wasn't the pure hoax that the BBC seems to
believe. Why the BBC is trying to promote such misinformation I don't
know.
And I have moved some of my thoughts concerning Governing
Iraq over to the "What to do" page
in the War folder. That page contains thoughts from just after the
September 11 attack, has a long gap, and picks up again after the Iraqi War.
I'll try to keep it current as time allows. I see no reason
to change my views on how to govern
Iraq. We must build working governments and rule of law at local
levels: a winner take all national election would result in a slaughter. What
Is Empire? I will make this short: In
this modern world, Empire is rule not based on the principle that
governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed. In
the past, non-Imperial rule might be based on other principles. As James
Burnham once observed, there is no more rational basis for one form of
government than for another. Political action takes
this form: A tells B to something, and B does it. He may do it through
sheer coercion, in which case this is not entirely a political action. A
purely political action happens when B obeys because he thinks he ought to
obey, even when he does not agree with the action to be taken. Why
might A have the authority to give orders to B? Historically
there have been several forms of authority.
Monarchy: "You obey me because you swore allegiance to me, and your
fathers swore allegiance to my father. You obey me because I am the
legitimate king, and I have sworn to look after this land to the best of
my ability. Obey." Aristocracy: "You
obey me because I am the agent of the best among you. You obey us because
we are the best in the land, we are those who are enlightened and we know
what is good for you and for the Earth, for the nation and for you, the
people. You know this is the rule of the best. If you believe you belong
among us, prove it. Marry your sons to our daughters or your daughters to
our sons, let your children grow up understanding the duties of our class.
We are the best, and you know it. Obey."
Democracy: "We held an election, and I won fairly. Fifty percent plus
one among you voted for me. Obey." None of those is a
compellingly rational way to run a country, but all have been seen as
conferring legitimacy on governments. The United States was
founded on the single principle that governments derive their just powers
from the consent of the governed. It was stated flatly in the Declaration,
and Lincoln in his Second Inaugural and in the Gettysburg Address pretty
well made that the governing principle of the United States. Imperial
rule is rule without the consent of the governed. Levels
of Consent It should be clear, then, that governments
govern best when everyone consents. It is also clear that this is
unlikely. The remedy is to devolve as much government as possible to the
lowest level possible: let townships choose their laws where possible. My
example is censorship of books: I would grant the right of my neighbors to
determine that my books should not be allowed to be sold in local book
stores. I would argue that they should not have such a law, but I do not
question their right. If enough of my neighbors consent to that law, then
I can consent as well, or leave. I would argue that the
United States of America does NOT have the right to ban my books. I
would argue the right of my neighbors to adopt Sunday closing laws. I
would not grant that right to the United States of America. In
the US, the political unit is the State, and most of these questions
belong at the state level: but I would then argue strongly that the states
ought to devolve such matters to counties, and counties to cities and
villages. Clearly this can be carried to absurd lengths, but the more
consent the better; and that argues sometimes for patchworks of laws. Examples
of nationalized questions that never should have been so: Separation of
Church and State; Abortion; Marijuana and other drug laws; regulations
concerning alcohol; health and welfare and self-endangerment. None
of those ought to be national questions. Every one of them should be at
state levels, where legislatures will try to obtain the widest possible
consent. Now back to Empire: Empire results when we tell
people to obey laws to which they did not consent, and over which they
have little control. That is what we now exercise in Iraq. We
don't have a lot of choice over there. But I have had my say on how
to govern Iraq elsewhere, and I see no point in repeating it.
New security information
sources over on the security page
Well, Buffy ended with a bang. We won't have to worry
about Sunnydale High and Hellmouth any more. Spike definitely has soul,
and Annya the revenge djinn is definitely transformed... Perhaps
it went on just a bit too long, but it was great even so.
Thanks to Bob Delaney for the next one. You
have got to see this: http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/cs/honda/honda.html although
you may prefer to start at
http://www.imediaconnection.com/content/features/051303.asp for
the story. Either way, I suggest you don't watch as it downloads but wait
until it finishes. But even with hesitations as it downloads it's
fascinating.
Then go have a look at http://news.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?
view=DETAILS&xml=/news/2003/05/18/ncell18.xml .
Take water and
potash, add electricity and get - a mystery
By Robert Matthews, Science Correspondent
(Filed: 18/05/2003)
British researchers believe that they have made a
groundbreaking scientific discovery after apparently managing to
"create" energy from hydrogen atoms.
In results independently verified at Bristol University,
a team from Gardner Watts - an environmental technology company based in
Dedham, Essex - show a "thermal energy cell" which appears to
produce hundreds of times more energy than that put into it.
==============
and tell me what you make of it. Thanks to Charlie Worton
for this one.
And see mail.
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