Normally, I don't sully myself with liberal blogs, even though I happen to have a few in the "Sturm" section. Well, most don't admit they're liberal. Like Goldstein. Oh sure, he acts all conservative, but I mean come on people! A conservative Colorado Jew?! Puh-leeze.
But every now and then you have to hold your nose and wade in. Sure, I've commented a couple of times on Yglesias' blog, but that doesn't exactly make me a flamin' Democrat. It's not like all of a sudden I'm a vegetarian, garbage-sortin', public-transportation takin' hippie or anything.
And it's a good thing. Because now the liberals want to disfranchise old people. Oh, sure, it's ok when you guys wheel them to the polls and vote for them, but when we do it it's suddenly unethical or some'n.
I say Roll-em Up and Slap a Bush/Cheney sticker on their foreheads!
1. I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt not have strange gods before me.
Define "strange". On the whole, I'd go with this one. 1!
2. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
Bzzzzzzzzzzzt. Ok, movin' on...
3. Remember thou keep the Sabbath Day.
I think that should actually be "thou keepest". Or is imperative conjugated differently? I'm not sure. As for the substance of the commandment, all the stores and businesses are closed in Europe on Sunday, so I'll take that as a yes. 2!
4. Honor thy Father and thy Mother.
Though we've had our differences, I do honor mom and dad, as far as that goes. 3!
5. Thou shalt not kill.
This is soo easy! 4!
6. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
Hmmm. I'm not married. Does that count? 5!
7. Thou shalt not steal.
Well, I stole lunch today. Bzzzzzzt.
8. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
Nope, don't lie about people. 6!
9. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife.
Considering my neighbors, this is a slam-dunk. 7!
10. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's goods.
I'm not much of a materialist, not that there's anything wrong with being a materialist. Still, it would be nice if my heater worked like the guy's upstairs...doh! Bzzzzzzzt!
Well, 7 out of 10. That's not half bad for not even trying.
German news outlets are getting the vapors over recent gains by far-right political parties. According to an International Watchdog Association, ultra-nationalist organizations like the NPD and DVU are emerging as the low-carb alternatives to the bloated socialist menu that has dominated the political here since The War.
After a long night of beers a couple of weeks ago, I touched base with a Real Live East German. Our discussion of possible solutions to the emerging Nazi problem led us to an interesting idea: the German Rationalist Party, or VPD. Although purely hypothetical at this point, a good libertarian party would run gangbusters in Europe, I suspect.
The real cause of the rise of the right, in my opinion, is the lack of alternatives to the left. There is no truly conservative party in German politics. Of the two main parties, the Social Democrats-Greens alliance (Fischer's & Schroeder's party) and Christian Democrats (Stoiber's Party), neither focuses on individual freedoms or small government. They're both statist parties with only slightly differing viewpoints on how the government should run everybody's lives.
The right, on the other hand, doesn't really seem to be interested in government work per se; just on hot-button social problems, like immigration, reparations to Israel, cultural protectionism and the like.
What Europe in general, and Germany in particular, needs is something to fill the vacuum created by the hard-left turn their politicians have taken. So, the answer to right-wing extremists in Germany could very well be a move toward the center by the left. The people need an alternative to the Socialists that doesn't involve shaving their heads, and right now, there isn't one.
