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5.11.2002 1:35 PM The sexiest intellectual battle right now is over biotechnology. There have been plenty of articles, weblog posts, and even a petition drive. Just recently, Francis Fukuyama released his Our Posthuman Future to really get the debate going. But another heated intellectual battle has re-ignited with the release of Thomas DiLorenzo's The Real Lincoln. This battle is being waged in conservative and libertarian magazines and websites. In The Real Lincoln, DiLorenzo tries to de-mystify Lincoln from the favorable books written about him over the years. He punctures the notion that Lincoln went to war to free the slaves. Instead, DiLorenzo writes that he did it "to save the union." DiLorenzo doesn't stop just with slavery and the Civil War. He goes on to argue that our current Leviathan state got its first legs from Lincoln's administration. Lincoln defenders are a passionate lot and don't take such critisism lying down. Writing in the Spring 2002 issue of the Claremon Review of Books, Tom Krannawitter rebuts DiLorenzo. He calls The Real Lincoln "the latest attempt to finish the job so ignobly begun by John Wilkes Booth in April 1865," and then quips, "that his aim is not nearly as good as Booth's." The most powerful of Krannawitter's points is his examination of a quote DiLorenzo ties to Lincoln claiming he didn't believe that "All men are created equal." The quote is actually from a Virginia minister, and Lincoln was using it to criticise the man's position. While not anywhere close to the intellectual fraud of Michael Bellesiles's Arming America, it certainly appears to be either sloppy thinking or anti-Lincoln spin. Having read little about Lincoln and the Civil War except from high school textbooks and McPherson's outstanding Battle Cry of Freedom I can't take a firm position. I lean toward the Lincolnphiles because the war did end slavery and preserved the nation. However, I'm sympathetic toward sessionist positions. Remember, the United States itself was created by seceding from the British Empire. The Founders called it "revolution." Lincoln critics like DiLorenzo also point out the many, many abuses that took place during the war. I credit them for that. "Dishonest About Abe" Sean Hackbarth | 5.10.2002 12:38 AM Former Green Bay Packers coach, Dan Devine died. The Packers had this to say about Devine:
No mention is made of the story about distraught Packers fans killing Devine's dogs. Sorry, I couldn't find a link to the story. Anyone know more about it? Godspeed, Dan. "Dan Devine Dies At 77; Remembering His Packers Career" Sean Hackbarth | 12:28 AM Have faith in the Saudi peace plan? I don't because in that theocracy they have men like Sheik Salleh Abdul Aziz Mohammed al-Sheik who said, "The suicide bombers are permitted. The victims are considered to have died a martyr's death." I would like to blame this all on the Wahabi strain of Islam, but I've heard few Islamic voices declare homicide bombers as enemies of a "religion of peace"--to use Pres. Bush's words. "Once Again" Sean Hackbarth | 12:07 AM Ha'aretz reports that President Bush agrees with Prime Minister Ariel Sharon that Arafat can't be dealt with in negotiations. Sources say the plan is to agree to negotiations after "structural changes that would ultimately sideline Arafat." Bravo! No more chances for Arafat. He's failed his people and must disappear. I wonder what Colin Powell thinks of this? "IDF Massing Troops Near Gaza in Preparation for Retaliatory Strike" "Arafat's Out" Sean Hackbarth | 5.9.2002 11:32 PM Econoblog could be really intersting. Sean Hackbarth | 10:47 PM A smiley face?!? A smiley face!?! Luke Helder has moved from anti-American terrorist to strung out loon (no offense to any fine bird readers). Since his beliefs parallel the Heaven's Gate cult, I would have expected the bombing pattern to look like a crop circle or some astronomical chart, but a smiley face? One reader e-mailed:
I see that. Smiley faces and acid go together like white on rice. (Brown on rice for you more health conscious readers.) During his hearing in Reno, he just starts hitting it off with his lawyers and the judge like they're all hanging out in the dorms of UW-Stout. Here's some of what went on in the courtroom:
Does Helder even know what serious trouble he's in? Does he realize how many people he hurt and almost killed? This just screams of insanity, but there has to be more to this. In a week, this story has gone from frightening to the beginnings of a Saturday Night Live skit. "Police: Suspect Planned Smiley Face Bomb Pattern" [UPDATE: The FBI says that Helder threatened to blow up a mailbox in Minnesota in 1998. This may be the beginnings of a pattern.] Sean Hackbarth | 5.8.2002 10:08 PM Welcome everyone who's found my little neck of the Web via InstaPundit. I have another post on Luke Helder below. Hope you come back for more than just comments on mailbox bombers. Sean Hackbarth | 9:59 PM Rem Koolhaas' idea of a new EU logo demonstrates the current problems with modern art. First, it's glaringly ugly. Second, it's a conglomeration of many ideas--here being all the national flags of EU states--with little thought. The British Union Jack loses its royalty by becoming only a few bands of red, white, and blue. Finally, there's no meaning behind it. It doesn't symbolize anything. The logo is just a bunch of colorful lines slapped together with little thought. With the American flag the stars represent the individual states, while the red and white stripes represent the 13 original colonies that broke off from Britain. By looking at that flag, you can see the historical span of a nation. You look at Koolhaas' creation and you wonder what's wrong with the television. "EU May Get New 'Bar-Code' Logo" [via Plastic] Sean Hackbarth | 9:35 PM Despite the conventional wisdom (i.e. Big Media), Pim Fortuyn wasn't the Dutch version of Le Pen. Much of his platform consisted of restructuring bureaucracies and cutting red tape. What linked Fortuyn with Le Pen was his resistance to endless immigration. Fortuyn wanted immigration restrictions because he feared the illiberal Islamic culture of many newcomers. He also opposed it because he didn't see the Netherlands as an "immigration country" due to high population density. There are no racial or anti-Semitic attacks. If I had to describe Fortuyn's political philosophy in a few words I would call it "reform libertarianism with a Pat Buchanan touch." Positions of Lijst Pim Fortuyn [via The Corner] Sean Hackbarth | 9:00 PM If Arafat is really serious about ending the bloodshed and moving toward peace, he should offer to work with Israeli forces in destroying Hamas, Islamic Jihad, and any other terrorist groups operating within Palestine. After today's homicide bombings, the PA condemned them by calling them "terrorist crimes." That's a start, but the PA must convince Israel that they want and end to all this is. To do that, Arafat must declare terrorist organizations enemies of Palestine and then have them eliminated. I have little faith that Arafat will do that. He just has too many connections to groups behind the bombings. He also doesn't want peace because then Arafat would have the difficult time of actually trying to build a prosperous Palestine. He's kind of like Castro. As long as he has some outside force to blame, he can continue to be the victim and hold power. "Sharon Anger over Suicide Bombing" Sean Hackbarth | 4:20 PM Mailbox bomber, Luke Helder has been captured and has confessed to his terrorism spree. The man the FBI considered "armed and dangerous" tossed a gun out his car when authorities pulled him over. While prosecutors across the Midwest filed charges against Helder, he remains in a Reno, NV jail under suicide watch. What should we make of this guy? The reason he may be under a suicide watch is because he was wearing a Kurt Cobain t-shirt. The picture of him being led in handcuffs by police show him with a goofy grin on his face. He's even slightly grinning in his mug shot. He certainly doesn't look too distraught. Is he posing for the cameras? I ask this because Helder's father said, "I think he's just trying to make a statement about the way our government is run. I think Luke wants people to listen to his ideas, and not enough people are hearing him, and he thinks this may help." Luke Helder's ideas appear to be laid out in a letter sent to a University of Wisconsin-Madison newspaper. In the letter, he denys the existence of death. Death is just a concept created by people who don't understand what happens beyond. In notes found with mailbombs on Friday, Helder wrote, "There is no such thing as death. The people I've dismissed from this reality are not at all dead." The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram has put Helder's possible motive best by calling them "strong philosophical religious beliefs." His statements feel more spiritual than political. They have a cultish quality that reminds me of the Heaven's Gate cult who made itself infamous in 1997. The cult said, "We know that it is only while we are in these physical vehicles (bodies) that we can learn the lessons needed to complete our own individual transition, as well as to complete our task of offering the Kingdom of Heaven to this civilization one last time." This falls in line closely to Helder when he writes, "The body is a temporary learning experience. You learn in the body, and play out of the body". Both beliefs about the body parallel each other. What differs is Helder makes no mention of space aliens, spacecraft, or having to leave one's "vehicle" (body) to go to the "Next Level." Jonas Cord thinks Helder's ideas may be derived from the "The Punk/Vegan/Rage Against the Machine crowd." Based upon my brief comparison between Heaven's Gate and his writings, I think Helder may be caught up in some cult with anti-government feelings from a drug paraphenlia charge. FBI: Suspect Admitted to Making Pipe Bombs" Text of Letter Helder Sent to UW Newspaper "Pine Island Remembers Helder as Polite, Ordinary" "Dad Aids Son's Capture" Sean Hackbarth | 5.7.2002 1:56 PM TAM's international correspondent based in London, Eric G (not to be confused with Ali G) provides this coverage:
Sean Hackbarth | 1:28 PM Luke John Helder, the man wanted in connection for the recent mailbox bombings spree is a resident of Pine River, Minnesota and a student at the University of Wisconsin-Stout (about 65 east of the Twin Cities). WTMJ radio in Milwaukee is reporting that Helder is 21 or 22 and an art and industrial design major at the univerisity. UW-Stout's specialty is in applied arts. Some of the majors you can earn at UW-Stout include construction, applied science, engineering technology, technology education, and packaging. So, Helder may have had access to tools and materials to make pipe bombs while in school. "FBI Names Pipe-Bomb Suspect" "UW-Stout Student Sought in Pipe-Bomb Case" Sean Hackbarth | 3:52 AM Add Rush's album to a bumper crop of new music for 2002. "Rush Vapor Trails" Sean Hackbarth | 3:24 AM Glenn Reynolds has discovered someone with more traffic-pushing power than him. Sean Hackbarth | 3:10 AM Mark Byron provides a fine summary and quick analysis of the events in Europe. Note the European concern about immigrant assimilation and state centralization. That continent has been in convulsions ever since they passed the Mastrict Treaty. 9.11 only intensified the Islam-immigrant issue. Sean Hackbarth | 2:36 AM Scott offers some interesting comments and quotes about urban sprawl and the "New Urbanism." Included is this chilling comment from Jim Kuntsler, author of The Geography of Nowhere:
Within the chest of New Urbanism lies the heart of an authoritarian. Count me in favor of sprawl then. Sean Hackbarth | 5.5.2002 11:02 PM Last month, during my vacation to London, I had the unfortunate privilege of seeing the aftermath of a huge pro-Palestine rally in Trafalgar Square. Rumors were that 80,000 packed the place. I was admiring fine works of art in the National Gallery while the "fun" was taking place outside. The only way I knew something was up was the announcement that the main entrance to the museum was closed due to the protesting masses. When I finally ventured into the square, the rally was over, and people were murmuring this and that before leaving. The lasting memory I have of the protesters is seeing a shirt calling for a free Palestine. On the shirt was a map of what a free Palestine should look like. It wasn't just the West Bank and Gaza. It was the area from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. A free Palestine to the shirt-wearer meant the rubbing out of Israel. I got chills. I bring this anecdote up, not just to fill you in a part of my English adventure, but to let you know that a big pro-Israel rally will take place today in the same Trafalgar Square. If you're in London and attend the rally (that means you, Eric), let me know how it went. Israel Solidarity Rally [via muslimpundit] Sean Hackbarth | 10:48 PM Condeleeza Rice, on Fox News Sunday said,
She went on to say,
While saying a few times that the Palestinians could choose their leaders, her words suggest the Bush administration wishes Arafat would disappear from the Middle East picture. If this is the case, then it's right in line with Ariel Sharon's position that Arafat isn't a appropriate peace negotiator. Sean Hackbarth | 10:14 PM Bravo! Bravo! The U.S. is pulling out of the International Criminal Court. Collin Powell played nice when he said, "Since we have no intention of ratifying it, it is appropriate for us, because we have such serious problems with the ICC, to notify the depository, (the) Secretary General, that we do not intend to ratify it, and therefore we are no longer bound in any way to its purpose and objective." It's a seriously flawed concept to create a world court without a world government (something I don't support). Who would hold the court accountable if it abused it's powers? Since it's tied to the U.N. would the ICC extend the U.N.'s perpetual opposition to the U.S. and Israel? "Powell: U.S. Will Disengage From World Criminal Court" Sean Hackbarth | 4:30 PM What a shock! Le Pen lost. Not that that wasn't expected. More interesting will be French Parlimentary elections. If Chirac can get a center-right majority, he might actually get some things done. If not, then his scandals will plague him. The discontent with having to vote against Le Pen may encourage French Leftists to come out in droves to make sure Chirac doesn't get his majority. Chirac's landslide victory was largely anti-Le Pen. He might not be so lucky in a few weeks While Le Pen got slaughtered at the polls, his number one issue will be addressed. Le Pen ran on law and order. Chirac has said he will emphasise fighting crime. While seldom getting elected, fringe candidates like Le Pen do push issues to the forefront. But in this case, it freaked out people all over the planet (except for me). "Polls Show Landslide Chirac Victory" "Chirac Wins French Election Runoff Against Le Pen, Exit Polls Show" Sean Hackbarth | |
ABOUT When I'm not pondering the fate of the universe, I'm reading, writing, or selling books. Here you'll find comments on politics, culture, books, and music. Not necessarily in that order. MAILBOX sean--at--theamericanmind.com  Support democracy and human rights in Iraq! 
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