Trouble in LibDem Land

Britain's Liberal Democrats have risen in recent years to become a bona fide third party, something many thought impossible given Britain's electoral system. Recently, however, the party has begun to question the leadership of Charles Kennedy, who has remained firmly out of the public eye since the last general election. (Regular viewers of Prime Minister's Question Time on C-SPAN will know Kennedy: he's the Scot whose questions always include the words "funding" and "rise," as in "Will the Prime Minister not agree with me that only a rise in funding will suffice to solve the problem?")

Now it seems that some in his own party are questioning his leadership. From today's Telegraph:

Charles Kennedy's woes deepened yesterday when the Liberal Democrats' "timidity" and lack of drive under his leadership were condemned by a senior colleague.

The criticisms, by Lembit Opik, the party's Northern Ireland spokesman, appeared to show that doubts over Mr Kennedy's leadership within the party were growing.

Another leading Liberal Democrat MP confirmed privately that there was "huge disquiet" over the state of the party and about whether Mr Kennedy could combat a rejuvenated Conservative Party led by David Cameron.

"If we got to a hung parliament, just what job would Kennedy get offered in a coalition government? Paddy Ashdown would have been shadow foreign secretary after 1997," said the MP in a damning comparison for the current leader.

Since taking his party to its best election result for decades on May 5, Mr Kennedy has struggled to curb internal discontent.

At the party's September annual conference Mr Kennedy appeared to concede that he was more of a chairman than a leader.

The anti-Kennedy grumblings, which surfaced after the general election, focus on the party's perceived failure to have made any headway during the lengthy Tory leadership contest.

It's a rare sight in politics to see a leader take a party to its all-time best showing and lose its confidence at the same time. One suspects that more is going on here than meets the eye.

One would be right.

Britain's constitutional arrangement remains fundamentally a two-party political system. The LibDem rise to prominence was nothing more than a temporary rush to fill an unnatural vacuum created by a historically weak Conservative Party combined with the unusual tensions caused by the Iraq War. Now that new Conservative leader David Cameron has righted the ship, the resulting Conservative rise is squeezing out the always tenuous space the LibDems began to imagine was comfortably theirs.

(On a side note, I hereby pronounce that Lembit Opik is the best political name of all time. In the spirit of today's postings, I pledge to secure a "Vote for Lembit Opik" t-shirt in the Pedro mould.)

I Could Have Passed That Bill In 10 Seconds

Representative democracy of the type practiced in the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia and New Zealand is vastly superior in all measureable terms to any other system either formerly or currently in use.

Today comes further proof of this essential fact, via the proud State of Idaho's fine legislature. They adopted the following resolution, unanimously, that, I think, speaks for all of us:

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 29

BY WAYS AND MEANS COMMITTEE

1 A CONCURRENT RESOLUTION
2 STATING LEGISLATIVE FINDINGS AND COMMENDING JARED AND JERUSHA HESS AND THE
3 CITY OF PRESTON FOR THE PRODUCTION OF THE MOVIE "NAPOLEON DYNAMITE."

4 Be It Resolved by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:

5 WHEREAS, the State of Idaho recognizes the vision, talent and creativity
6 of Jared and Jerusha Hess in the writing and production of "Napoleon Dyna-
7 mite"; and
8 WHEREAS, the scenic and beautiful City of Preston, County of Franklin and
9 the State of Idaho are experiencing increased tourism and economic growth; and
10 WHEREAS, filmmaker Jared Hess is a native Idahoan who was educated in the
11 Idaho public school system; and
12 WHEREAS, the Preston High School administration and staff, particularly
13 the cafeteria staff, have enjoyed notoriety and worldwide attention; and
14 WHEREAS, tater tots figure prominently in this film thus promoting Idaho's
15 most famous export; and
16 WHEREAS, the friendship between Napoleon and Pedro has furthered
17 multiethnic relationships; and
18 WHEREAS, Uncle Rico's football skills are a testament to Idaho athletics;
19 and
20 WHEREAS, Napoleon's bicycle and Kip's skateboard promote better air qual-
21 ity and carpooling as alternatives to fuel-dependent methods of transporta-
22 tion; and
23 WHEREAS, Grandma's trip to the St. Anthony Sand Dunes highlights a long-
24 honored Idaho vacation destination; and
25 WHEREAS, Rico and Kip's Tupperware sales and Deb's keychains and glamour
26 shots promote entrepreneurism and self-sufficiency in Idaho's small towns; and
27 WHEREAS, Napoleon's artistic rendition of Trisha is an example of the
28 importance of the visual arts in K-12 education; and
29 WHEREAS, the schoolwide Preston High School student body elections foster
30 an awareness in Idaho's youth of public service and civic duty; and
31 WHEREAS, the "Happy Hands" club and the requirement that candidates for
32 school president present a skit is an example of the importance of theater
33 arts in K-12 education; and
34 WHEREAS, Pedro's efforts to bake a cake for Summer illustrate the positive
35 connection between culinary skills to lifelong relationships; and
36 WHEREAS, Kip's relationship with LaFawnduh is a tribute to e-commerce and
37 Idaho's technology-driven industry; and
38 WHEREAS, Kip and LaFawnduh's wedding shows Idaho's commitment to healthy
39 marriages; and
40 WHEREAS, the prevalence of cooked steak as a primary food group pays trib-
41 ute to Idaho's beef industry; and
42 WHEREAS, Napoleon's tetherball dexterity emphasizes the importance of
43 physical education in Idaho public schools; and
44 WHEREAS, Tina the llama, the chickens with large talons, the 4-H milk

2

1 cows, and the Honeymoon Stallion showcase Idaho's animal husbandry; and
2 WHEREAS, any members of the House of Representatives or the Senate of the
3 Legislature of the State of Idaho who choose to vote "Nay" on this concurrent
4 resolution are "FREAKIN' IDIOTS!" and run the risk of having the "Worst Day of
5 Their Lives!"
6 NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the members of the First Regular Session
7 of the Fifty-eighth Idaho Legislature, the House of Representatives and the
8 Senate concurring therein, that we commend Jared and Jerusha Hess and the City
9 of Preston for showcasing the positive aspects of Idaho's youth, rural cul-
10 ture, education system, athletics, economic prosperity and diversity.
11 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that we, the members of the House of Representa-
12 tives and the Senate of the State of Idaho, advocate always following your
13 heart, and thus we eagerly await the next cinematic undertaking of Idaho's
14 Hess family.
15 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chief Clerk of the House of Representa-
16 tives be, and she is hereby authorized and directed to forward a copy of this
17 resolution to Jared and Jerusha Hess, the Mayor of the City of Preston and the
18 Principal of Preston High School.

I apologize for the formatting, or lack thereof, but I wanted you to savor the entire righteousness of the resolution.

BTW, t-shirt seen in Portland recently: "Pedro Lacks Political Experience"

Tuesday Morning Quick Notes

It's Tuesday, and that means it's Quick Notes time. Let's hop to it:

-- Albert Owens was only 26 years old when he was viciously murdered by Stanley Williams. Owens was working the graveyard shift at a 24-hours 7-11 store in Whittier, California when Williams and an accomplice came in with shotguns and demanded money. Owens complied, then got down on his stomach as ordered. Williams shot him in the back of the head and the back and later that same day made fun of the noises Owens made as he lay dying. In the press reports on "Tookie's" execution early this morning, Owens' name is not mentioned. If he is mentioned at all, he is said to have been a "convenience store clerk" that the Great Writer of Children's Books might have killed way, way back when. Not a celebrity at all, not like "Tookie" or his great supporter Mike Farrell.

But Albert Owens was not forgotten by the people that matter: the people of the State of California. And in their name, justice was done this morning.

-- Europeans really, really just don't understand U.S.-style federalism. Example One: in today's Financial Times, a breathless report regarding the fact that the U.S. Supreme Court will be reviewing the recently re-drawn Texas redistricting plan also seemed to suggest that the Court may also look at Tom DeLay's current legal troubles. Of course, DeLay's current problems have nothing to do with the constitutionality of the redistricting plan and are none of the Supreme Court's concern in the least. Example Two: AFP headline on the Williams execution: "U.S. Executes Death Row Activist, After High Profile Campaign." Sorry, AFP, but the "U.S." didn't execute anyone last night. Example Three: BBC business news reporter who, in a business story about Wal Mart which took place in a previously unknown U.S. state named "R-Kan-Suss," stated that "U.S. law" is unclear on certain points of corporation law. Who knew the U.S. has a corporations law? Now, Arkansas does, and so does California......sigh. After a while, you just give up. But the Europeans are just ever so much more smarter and sophisticated, you know.

-- Did you hear that Jimmy Carter's son Jack may run in Nevada for a U.S. Senate seat? Gee that's swell, but who the hell is Jack? I don't remember a Jack. Amy I remember. But Jack? I even remember brother Billy. Heck, I even remember Billy Beer. But who is this Jack guy and where did he come from? I guess I don't know Jack. (But you already knew that).

-- Recently, NRO's The Corner posted a list of conservative nicknames for liberal newspapers. The Oregonian came in as The Snore-agonian. I found the nickname delightful because the Oregonian's amazing boringness is, in fact, more of a transgression than it's knee-jerk and uninformed liberalism. It's one thing being liberal, I'll forgive you that. But boring?

-- Back to "Tookie's" execution: I can understand being against the death penalty. I almost am against it myself. But rallying in defense of a killer? Crying when he is executed? What is that about? And for the life of me I do not understand why Black "leaders" get so personally invested in stories like this. What is the NAACP saying by zealously representing Williams and pleading for his life? That the cause of Stanley Williams is central to Black people as a whole? There are only two possible answers to that: 1) if no, then the NAACP is wasting precious time, resources and it's still somewhat good name, 2) if yes, then it's a sad statement of where the NAACP thinks Black people are in this country and one I don't buy.

-- Jiri Fischer, the Red Wings defenseman whose heart stopped during a game, was supposed to retire yesterday. The press conference and the advance word was sent out. But, when the time game, Jiri couldn't bring himself to do it and, instead, held out the hope he would play again. No one dared say otherwise. Poor guy.

-- Speaking of hockey, Super Mario is hurt again and won't be playing in the Winter Olympics in Turin come February. Worse for Penguin fans, Mario also said it is almost certain the Penguins will leave Pittsburgh at the end of the season. Where will the Penguins end up next year?

-- Portland, Portland, Portland, please oh please oh please, let it be Portland!

-- Insiders say Kansas City, Houston and, perhaps, Winnipeg are all contenders. Personally, I'd go with Winnipeg. They never should have lost their beloved Jets to begin with.

-- The reviews in the British press of Narnia are just a laugh riot. If you ever had a doubt about the British elite's angry anti-Christianity, or ever just wondered why Hitchens and Sullivan get so exercised about religious conservatives, be sure to read them all. Apparently, tolerance only goes so far.

-- Did you hear the International Red Cross finally let the Israeli public relief agency join? The decision comes after the American Red Cross finally put its foot down and threatened to withhold dues unless their Jewish colleagues were allowed in. However, the agency's emblem, a red Star of David, was not allowed to be used. Instead, the IRC is making the agency use a "Red Crystal" symbol. So, we have the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and the Red Crystal.

Sigh. Shameful anti-Semitism in modern day Europe. And they lecture us.

-- Is it just me or has NFL football become almost unwatchable? Note: it may just be Al Michaels.

-- Yeah, now that I think about it, it's Al Michaels. Worst. Sportscaster. Ever.

Clemency: Denied

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has denied the request for clemency made of him by the now-famous murderer Stanley "Tookie" Williams. (You may find the governor's statement of denial here, and it is very much worth the read).

My support for capital punishment waxes and wanes over the years, but when confronted with a case like this, where a cold-blooded animal has killed people with a callous disregard for life that I find astonishing, I find that in my heart I remain a death penalty supporter.

One of the standard issue emails I receive regularly is the "how can you claim to have Albert Camus as a hero and be a right-wing fascist, a neo-conservative, a war-monger, a supporter of the death penalty" complaint. I have my stock answer--that while Camus was a man of the left he also stood for solid principles which can be found largely on the right now and, in any case, Camus had no love for much of the infantile and deadly leftism of his day and ours--but that usually fails me in times like these.

Camus' "Reflections on the Guillotine" remains the best anti-capital punishment tract ever written. It is, even above and beyond his best writing, well-written and well-argued. In the end, however, I remain unconvinced.

With regard to the death penalty, there is a difference between the European approach and the American approach. In Europe, revulsion to the death penalty stems largely from the fact that this most peculiar of legal processes has been used in just about all European countries (as sophisticated as they are) to unjustly execute political prisoners, either during fascist regimes, authoritarian governments or political upheaval. By contrast, in the U.S., the death penalty has always been the special preserve of only the criminal law. The fact that the death penalty has not been applied outside of that realm has allowed it to retain a legitimacy here that has been forever lost to the European.
On the moral issue involved, though, I simply disagree. In his "Letters to a German Friend" Camus explained to his former friend, a Nazi supporter, the process through which the French Resistance came to judgment on whether or not they had the right to use lethal force to kill the German enemy, and, further, whether or not, even if they had that right, they had the right to use it in the face of certain German reprisal killings against innocent French villagers.

Camus, and the Resistance as a whole, came to the conclusion that not only did they have the right to shoot people in the head, they had a moral imperative to do so, even considering the consequences. The nature of the enemy allowed resistance, even lethal resistance, and, as a necessary by-product of that necessity, differentiated the lethal violence used by the French (which was proper) from that used by the Germans (which was improper). In effect, Camus was arguing that the actions of the Nazis, their inherent evil, allowed one to shoot them in the head.

Which raises the question: what is the difference between a man like Stanley Williams and the Nazis, except one of scale?