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August 2007 Archives

August 26, 2007

Corporate Islamofascism and Constituent Verbal Furballs

It is an accurate observation that the non-playful use of the term "Islamofascism" usually indicates that the written work which contains it emanated from some part of Idiotland, or has at least crossed its airspace. On the other side of the spectrum, to me anyway, in this day and age, once I see "corporate" used as a slur or with some kind of ominous overtone, a "here comes a rant from the other coast of Idiotland" reaction kicks in. ( I have yet to come across "corporate Islamofascism" but I am sure there is a rare neocon progressive out there nurturing it under ultraviolet light in a shoebox to use if say Wal-mart were to add Muslim prayer-time breaks for employees, although that would probably end up being "corporate dhimmitude".)

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Posted by Matthew Hogan at 05:33 PM | Comments (1)
Filed Under: Activism , American Culture , Egghead Stuff , US Politics

August 18, 2007

Is "The Only Good Arab is a Dead Arab" A Threat?

Having actually personally met some of the apparent victims in this situation, it pains me to say that I think they are probably wrong. Last year, a Foreign Service officer (and Georgetown Foreign Service School alumnus) emailed and voice-mailed a series of messages to individuals of the Arab-American Institute. These were "the only good Arab a dead Arab"; "they should burn in hell", etc .- type comments, and resulted in criminal charges. But to look over the whole accusation/indictment, and one ought to before judging, one can ask if there is enough here to charge Mr. Bigoted Foulmouth with a crime. After gender and time of day circumstances are considered, it may add up, but it's a close call. Without more, I'd go down on the side of free speech and say dismiss the charges unless more facts come out. (It does, nonetheless, make you wonder about State Department vetting standards.)

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Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:13 PM | Comments (4)
Filed Under: American Culture , Egghead Stuff , Lebanon , US Politics

August 05, 2007

Unitary executive doctrine (for American legalo-politico-geeks only)

There is alot of hullabaloo, palaver, mishegoss, or whatever about the so-called unitary executive doctrine. Despite my minimal government libertarian orientation, both in and out of bed, and a loss of just about all faith in the Bush folks, I cannot get the ruckus. The President has all the executive power except in those areas limited by the Constitution. I still don't get the fuss over the attorney firings, he can hire whomever he wants and fire them. I think people are mixing this up with an unnamed idea that sort of says that the sovereign powers of the nation devolve onto the executive in the absence of Constitutional limits or in times that the Consitution is impracticable to enforce. This usually boils down to saying that in areas of foreign policy, and border control, the President cannot be limited. This may be Addingtonism, but it shouldn't be mixed up with the President's right to control and keep separate the Executive Branch.

Posted by Matthew Hogan at 10:54 PM | Comments (10)
Filed Under: Egghead Stuff