That jackass Kristol has no freaking clue what he's talking about. He's the one who needs to read more Kipling -- specifically, Kipling's later work, written after his son was killed in action in the First World War (the boy's body was never recovered). Kipling wasn't so thrilled about the White Man's Burden after it devoured his son.

The Children

THESE were our children who died for our lands: they were dear in our sight.
We have only the memory left of their home-treasured sayings and laughter.
The price of our loss shall be paid to our hands, not another’s hereafter.
Neither the Alien nor Priest shall decide on it. That is our right.
But who shall return us the children ?

At the hour the Barbarian chose to disclose his pretences,
And raged against Man, they engaged, on the breasts that they bared for us,
The first felon-stroke of the sword he had long-time prepared for us—
Their bodies were all our defense while we wrought our defenses.

They bought us anew with their blood, forbearing to blame us,
Those hours which we had not made good when the judgment o'ercame us.
They believed us and perished for it. Our statecraft, our learning
Delivered them bound to the Pit and alive to the burning
Whither they mirthfully hastened as jostling for honour—
Not since her birth has our Earth seen such worth loosed upon her.

Nor was their agony brief, or once only imposed on them.
The wounded, the war-spent, the sick received no exemption
Being cured they returned and endured and achieved our redemption,
Hopeless themselves of relief, till Death, marvelling, closed on them.

That flesh we had nursed from the first in all cleanness was given
To corruption unveiled and assailed by the malice of Heaven—
By the heart-shaking jests of Decay where it lolled on the wires—
To be blanched or gay-painted by fumes—to be cindered by fires—
To be senselessly tossed and retossed in stale mutilation
From crater to crater. For this we shall take expiation.

But who shall return us our children ?

... For all the propaganda we hear about tribal conservatism and customs and about islamofascists and all that, what the majority of the people in the FATA want is peace, schools for their children, and an end to corruption and the bullying of the religious militants. As Wahir Zaid basically said in yesterday's NYT, South Asian Islam is gentle and flows from Sufism, and doesn't need the harsh fundamentalism of the Middle East.

-- ondelette

Wahir Zaid (and others, of course) needs to educate Americans as to the nature of Sufism. I would rather have my fate in the hands of a true Sufi than any other spiritual person that I could think of. The mystical paths that are in all religions are closer to each other that the religion that they spring from but Sufism tends to bring warm love and acceptance to any 'religion' that will listen to its message.

We have our own homegrown 'Sufism' here in America; it is the Society of Friends (Quakers). They have long been known for being peace loving and morally upstanding. God grant me a jury of Quakers when the cops frame me.

Ouch.

If that "thinker" was wearing his old high school shoulder pads, foot-cleats, and football plastic hemet with a face guard while reading what you wrote, I bet there would be a loud scream?

Ouch!

I'm not thinking this to not ever have to say 'ouch' in the future, but It's almost Spring...

It's OT (off topic) to say respectfully... I wondered into a pleasant real of a memory.

O, huh.

I think.

"Isn't it goofy to hang garlands of green holly on those Florida's plastic pink flamingoes

yard-ornaments in late December?"

I goes now.

But please, charm us with yet another angry screed demonstrating to us your divine right and righteousness, please do. Remember - it's "US" agin "THEM", of course it is.

A billion angry Carpenter bees without those stingers make lots of dust.

The bumble bee will pollinate with a stinger the bell shaped blueberry blossom.

P.S. Nancy. My nickname in high school was Otts. It was short for Wales, Arthur.

On one side we have the liberal modern let's hug the people who want to kill us culturalists and on the other we have the conservative South Park they takin ur jerbs culturalists.

LBJ was a liberal warmonger who killed 14 billion Vietnamese!

Believe us Glenn when we say 'those people' have more to fear from you than they claim to fear from dusky brown car bombers. And visa versa.

I'm not sure I understand this, but I do support Ron Paul.

Could you repeat the question?

Thanks for the reference to Three Cups of Tea.

Thanks for your thoughts on Sufism and Quakers. BTW, I totally botched his name (from memory). He's Waleed Ziad, not Wahir Zaid.

Oh well.

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/16/opinion/16ziad.html?scp=6&sq=Pakistan&st=nyt

wrote an entire tome devoted to the unit his son served in WW1, the irish republican guard (the english army would not take him). and he was devasted by his loss. it is a wonderfully written history of the battles fought, just recently republished.

billy kristol should really read it. or any history of the great war (great waste) before waving his little war flag...

George Bush Does a Videoblog on FISA

by: Matt Stoller

Mon Feb 18, 2008 at 14:28

http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=4010

There are some other places I could comment this but I'm afraid that certain listeners would take it as real.

Theodore Roosevelt placed a high premium on physical courage and the warrior ethos.

He encouraged his youngest, and favorite son, Quentin, to join the Army during World War I.

Quention became a combat pilot and flew successfully over France.

But he was killed in July 1918 at the age of 20.

The war ended that November.

Roosevelt was heartsick over Quentin's loss and died in January 1919.

He was 60.

Sufi teaching stories are to be read at multiple levels and often resort to indirect methods and humor in order to circumvent the subjective self so that truth may be gotten at. The below modern Sufi joke/teaching-story is a favorite of mine.

===================

There was once a small boy who banged a drum all day and loved every moment of it. He would not be quiet, no matter what anyone else said or did. Various people who called themselves Sufis, and other well-wishers, were called in by neighbors and asked to do something about the child.

The first so-called Sufi told the boy that he would, if he continued to make so much noise, perforate his eardrums; this reasoning was too advanced for the child, who was neither a scientist nor a scholar.

The second told him that drum beating was a sacred activity and should be carried out only on special occasions.

The third offered the neighbors plugs for their ears; the fourth gave the boy a book; the fifth gave the neighbors books that described a method of controlling anger through biofeedback; the sixth gave the boy meditation exercises to make him placid and explained that all reality was imagination. Like all placebos, each of these remedies worked for a short while, but none worked for very long.

Eventually, a real Sufi came along. He looked at the situation, handed the boy a hammer and chisel, and said, "I wonder what is INSIDE the drum?"

==================

I hope you like it.