Ok, I said I wasn’t going to make political rants on this blog. I lied.
Here are questions that I, as a nominally liberal person, ask myself, and which I don’t like the answers I come up with.
1. Why, after defending Clinton by saying that it doesn’t matter how much of a scumbag he is to his family, that’s between him and his family, are Democrats making such hay over the fact that Arnie is just as much of a scumbag towards his wife?
2. Remember those people from Europe who went to Iraq to be human shields, and left in disgust when Saddam wanted to use them to protect military targets rather than infastructure which wasn’t going to be targetted anyway? Now that pro-Saddam guerillas are attacking infastructure like water and electricity, how many of them have come back to offer their services as human shields? Or just come back to help with the reconstruction?
3. Why am I against the death penalty, but I’m perfectly happy to make exceptions, like the guy who killed Lacy Miller?
1. Why, after defending Clinton by saying that it doesn’t matter how much of a scumbag he is to his family, that’s between him and his family, are Democrats making such hay over the fact that Arnie is just as much of a scumbag towards his wife?
I don’t think it’s that he’s a scumbag towards his wife, so much as his misbehavior was groping and other other inappropriate behavior towards women who were not receptive. As far as I know, Clinton’s escapades were consentual. (One can make the point that the President of the US really can’t have non-marital sex that isn’t rape-like in that the power differential between parties is so huge, but that’s an argument I’ll buy only in selected cases.) Arnie was imposing his attentions on women who hadn’t necessarily signaled that they’d be welcome.
3. Why am I against the death penalty, but I’m perfectly happy to make exceptions, like the guy who killed Lacy Miller?
Because you’re human, and there isn’t any doubt about this guy’s guilt? It seems like justice when you know without a doubt that he is guilty of a heinous, truly brutal murder of a completely innocent person. That’s why justice is left to the state, and not to individuals, to protect us from our own worst impulses.
I’ve got to disagree with you over 1. Remember Paula Jones – that was a definite case of inappropriate behaviour towards a woman who was not receptive. It is hard to think of that as anything different from what Arnold was accused of doing.
Paula Jones’ case was dismissed by the court, and Clinton eventually reached an out of court settlement. The court that dismissed her case said that it was too weak, she had no proof. Considering the fact that her legal fees were paid by a conservative group interested in nailing Clinton, I’ve never been at all sure that PJ was actually harassed any more than Monica was. (Again, we run into the gray area of power differentials, but that’s not outright rape or harassment.)
Dear Laurie
my company AirData won the British Design Award for Software in 1988 for its PC – based flight planning system. We pioneered large-scale data download from the Crays at the UK met office at Bracknell – sold it to 17 airlines before I sold the company – so – I’m qualified to say that Co-Pilot is utterly brilliant – thanks.
I’ve been divorced (more than once)- so – I’m qualified to say that it took a while to realise that my friends (and others) were right to tell me to ease up on telling the world about it as not many people really want to know. On a personal basis – if you ever want to talk – contact me. Thanks again for being a dedicated nerd.