I’ve been reading my WORLD magazine for November 22, 2003. The front page has a picture of Jackie Kennedy, her two brothers-in-law and the children–Caroline and little “John-John.” There’s a piece inside by someone named Uwe Siemon-Netto about his recollections of the Kennedy assassination. I remember that I was in first or second grade and the principal announced over the intercom that the president had been shot. I think my teacher cried.

Actually, I was more interested in the article about Iraq in the same magazine. US administrator Paul Bremer, according to WORLD, seems to be fine with the imposition of Shariah law in Iraq–as long as no one gets their hand chopped off. Does this mean that stoning adulterers is OK? Or that women will have to wear burqas? I’m not sure Americans are going to be very happy to see our guys dying and getting wounded so that Islamic fundamentalists can oppress their own people–with or without the consent of the majority in Iraq. After all, the majority of Germans supported Hitler, but we won the war. And we didn’t allow any Nazis back into power in Germany. I know it’s not exactly analogous, but we need to be thinking about the long-term interests of the Iraqi people and of the US. Mabe we need to impose our values for long enough to let the Iraquis try them and see if they like Western-style freedom.

I’ve neglected my blog lately. I’m reading Oedipus Rex for the class in ancient literature that I’m teaching on Fridays. I haven’t read Oedipus since I was in high school–lo, these many years ago. I had forgotten most of the details of the story. My first impression this time around is that the Greeks had a very depressing worldview. If your fate is fixed and you really have no choices, what’s the use? Maybe Iraq is fated to be a violent, tryannical state run by power-hungry Islamic terrorists. Maybe America is fated to be their victim. Maybe the victims of September 11 were meant to be murdered. Ah, but here’s one for the liberals, maybe George W. Bush was fated to be president. Then again, I don’t believe in fate or even in strict predestination. I believe God leaves room for choices in this world even though He knows all things and holds all things within His all-powerful will. How? I don’t know that. Isaiah 55:8-9 says,

8″For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD .
9″As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.

That makes sense to me. We are not capable of understanding the thoughts of God.

I finished reading Patrick–good book. I just started The Bounty by Caroline Alexander, subtitled The True Story of the Mutiny on the Bounty. So far, it’s interesting, but a little slow.

I also read some of my favorite columnists on the web–Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, Suzanne Fields. Then, there’s the other three, the one I read to keep up with what the liberals are thinking: Ann Quindlen, Molly Ivins, and Maureen Dowd. I couldn’t read Maureen Dowd tonight because NY Times wants me to register in order to read her column now, and I’m not yet willing to do so. However, judging from the first few words of her column, Maureen is worried about the same thing Molly is worried about, namely that some good news from Iraq might actually escape the liberal news filter, reach the masses, and corrupt the picture of unmitigated disaster that we’re getting from all the major news outlets. The idea that someone somewhere might think that something good is happening in Iraq apparently drives Molly (and Maureen) crazy. And, of course, if we believe this good news stuff, we’re bound to forget that “since Bush declared our ‘mission accomplished’ in Iraq, more than 200 American soldiers have died there, and thousands have been wounded.” How could we possibly forget this fact for a moment; Molly’s on the job and won’t let us.

The liberal columnists do seem to have forgotten a few things themselves. A month ago they were complaining about the electricity and the infrastructure. Now we’re told that the electricity in Iraq is back to pre-war levels–in spite of the sabotage still going on there. Molly doesn’t mention it, and if she did, she would probably only consider this another example of “PR.” US Intelligence now think that much of Iraq’s WMD was transferred to Syria before the invasion, so I notice that Molly isn’t blathering about how there never were any WMD in Iraq in the first place and how Bush deceived us all. Neither does she mention the current danger from Syria which is a direct result of our giving Saddam so much time to hide his WMD while we were trying to placate the French, the UN, and American liberals.

I’d better go to bed. I’m starting to sound like a war-mongering neo-conservative.