Andrew's Tiki Lounge

My Take on the Latest North Korean Crisis (from The Waterloo Region Record)

As many of you know, I write a regular column for The Waterloo Region Record. The column below is my take on the ongoing North Korean nuclear controversy.

North Korea still fighting the cold war, but isn't about to start a real war

May 30, 2009

ANDREW HUNT

North Korea's recent nuclear test sent shock waves around the world. The Stalinist hermit nation has a way of unnerving a number of world leaders, especially in Washington, D.C.

The underground nuclear explosion on Monday was not the first North Korean nuke test, and it won't be the last. Back in 2006, Pyongyang conducted a similar test using a slightly smaller device.

There has been a lot of tough talk coming from President Barack Obama's administration over this latest nuclear test. "North Korea's programs pose a grave threat to the peace and security of the world," Obama said following the detonation.

But don't expect Washington to attack Pyongyang any time soon. Obama's predecessor, George W. Bush, had an even more belligerent attitude toward North Korea than Obama, yet there wasn't anything he could do to halt North Korea's provocative sabre-rattling. This was due, in large part, to American forces being overextended in other parts of the world, namely Iraq and Afghanistan.

We Canadians tend to view events in North Korea with a sense of uneasiness. North Korea frightens us, too. We know that it's a totalitarian nation that does not permit dissent. We're aware that it has allocated a great deal of money and resources to its nuclear program, despite the many people starving within its borders. And the cult-like nature of its government -- often shrouded in secrecy, with no accountability to its own people or the rest of the world -- is antithetical to everything we believe.

Yet it's also important to remember that North Korean belligerence is not simply the work of a bunch of insane Stalinists with a death wish.

What we are witnessing now is part of a protracted Cold War struggle that has been going on more than 60 years now.

The Korean Peninsula has long been one of the most militarized parts of the world. North Korean leaders have pointed to the large-scale American military presence in the region as the reason behind their actions. Even this week's nuclear test, they insist, occurred in response to U.S. warships cruising near North Korea's coasts.

Officials in Pyongyang do not see themselves as the provocateurs. To them, Washington is the threat to peace and security in the region, no matter who is president.

North Korea's dictator, Kim Jong Il, may be a tyrant and his sanity is often in doubt. But he is also shrewd. His provocative actions have exposed the impotence of Washington at this moment in time. And the Chinese government, North Korea's longtime sponsor and underwriter, has no interest in deterring Pyongyang's nuclear program.

You hear a lot of nervous talk these days about North Korea being on the verge of starting a nuclear war in the region. From the standpoint of the Stalinists who run that country, the reality is quite different. They regard their missile and nuclear programs as essential parts of their self-defence.

Don't be too quick to believe the apocalyptic doomsayers. What we are witnessing now in the troubled Korean Peninsula is not the beginning of World War III. It is, rather, the latest chapter in a Cold War stalemate that has been in place since the end of the Second World War.

That stalemate will not be broken any time soon. When the Cold War ended in the early 1990s, the ripples were scarcely felt in the towns and villages of North Korea. Today, almost 20 years later, one of the Cold War's last remaining conflicts -- the struggle in the Korean Peninsula -- shows no signs of letting up.

Andrew Hunt is an associate professor of history at the University of Waterloo.

Fighting the Good Fight for Same-Sex Marriage

I always thought the old saying, "Don't mourn, organize," is absurd. 

Mourning is a part of life. We mourn when we lose friends or loved ones. We mourn when we read about people dying in disasters or accidents. And we mourn when there are terrible political setbacks that have a negative impact on decent people.

Such was the case when the California Supreme Court upheld a state ban on gay marriage in a 6-1 vote. 

There is no better time than the present to mourn. But when the radical songwriter and poet Joe Hill uttered the words "don't mourn, organize" just before he was executed by authorities in the state of Utah in 1915, he perhaps should've said, "Mourn and organize." 

While the California Supreme Court's ruling was profoundly discouraging -- and a damn good reason to mourn -- it has also triggered mass political action on a scale not witnessed since the Civil Rights Movement. And this is a reason to take heart. 

Try this: Go to Google News and enter the words "same" "sex" "marriage" and "protest." Hundreds of articles will come up. They tell touching stories: about men and women, from all walks of life -- many of whom have never participated in a protest before -- taking it to the streets. 

In one hundred cities across America, opponents of the California Supreme Court's ruling will protest. They'll hold marches, participate in bold acts of civil disobedience, shut down entire parts of cities, and -- yes -- there will even be illegal same-sex marriage ceremonies in the finest tradition of Thoreauian Civil Disobedience. 

The rainbow flag -- the flag of diversity -- will flap proudly in the wind in parks, outside of state houses, at city halls, on beaches and outside of people's houses. A new generation is on the move, supported by veterans of earlier political struggles. They are the heirs to earlier noble traditions in American history: abolitionism, the women's rights movement, labor rights, antiwar struggles.

And they'll come out in full force -- the elderly and young, African Americans, Asian Americans, Latinos, Caucasians, Republicans (yes, there is such a thing as the Log Cabin Republicans), Democrats, libertarians, anarchists, socialists, business owners, professionals, working-class people... you name it -- and they'll push for the inevitable. 

The time will come when Gays and Lesbians will proudly marry in America. And these unions will be supported by the legal system. It is as inevitable as the sun rising. 

The California Supreme Court's ruling was discouraging. But then I think of Dorothy "Del" Martin and her companion, Phyllis Ann Lyon -- heroines in the tradition of Frederick Douglass. I blogged about Del Martin before on Andrew's Tiki Lounge (see here). When same-sex marriage was briefly legalized in California last year, Del and Phyllis married after a half century of fighting for lesbian rights. It was a deeply touching moment. Days after the ceremony, Del Martin passed away -- on August 27, 2008. 

Del and Phyllis gave so much of themselves to fight for an America where Gays and Lesbians could stand proudly and out in the open. If Del were still alive, she'd be proud of all the people who are flooding out into the streets, fighting the good fight so that all people can enjoy the beauty of marriage. 

Adding fuel to a fire that has been raging an awfully long time...

The latest terror plot that has been nipped in the bud by authorities -- in this case, alleged plans to bomb two Bronx synagogues (one of them pictured on the right) and shoot down military planes -- represents one of the most unfortunate setbacks in the United States in a long time. 

We've gone a long while without hearing about terrorists, homegrown or foreign-born. President Barack Obama shifted the tone of the debate as he began to jettison the language of the so-called "War on Terror." In newspaper headlines and online news sources, the word "terrorist" has been either absent or marginal for a long time. 

Now this happened. 

It wasn't bad enough that the accused were allegedly planning to hit military targets. It also appears they were planning on destroying synagogues -- most likely while inhabited by worshippers. 

So this was not only a terrorist plot; it was also an act of anti-Semitism -- one that can be added to a long and growing list of escalating anti-Semitism around the world. 

I've blogged here repeatedly on the dangers of anti-Semitism, most recently on March 9. My position is that anti-Semitism is never justified under any circumstances, especially not by some of the more troubling or misguided policies of the Israeli government. 

Equally unfortunate, the alleged actions of these men have fanned the flames Islamophobia in the United States -- which need no additional fanning. American Muslims have once again had to scramble to defend their loyalty. As Aliya Latif, civil rights director for the New York-based Council on American-Islamic Relations, put it, "I'm worried about the potential backlash to the Muslim community. Questioning the loyalty of law-abiding Muslims is fodder for anti-U.S. forces erroneously coupling religion and terror." (Source.)

These four terror suspects have created a severe setback for the forces of progressivism calling for an end to the war on terror. They've done just the kind of thing that makes Dick Cheney lick his chops. And in days of late, when the media is comparing the competing views of national security offered by Cheney and President Obama, actions like the one in New York tilt public opinion toward the Cheney camp, which is just what we don't need.

The alleged terrorists have lengthy criminal records, according to The New York Times. The leader of the group, James Cromitie, spent years in and out of state prison for various offenses, including selling cocaine. But those who were close to him remembered another side to him: friendly, conversational, helpful. His older sister remembered him as a "jokester" who enjoyed impersonating Smokey Robinson. 

Cromitie and his comrades have sent chills across America. People don't like to think that homegrown terrorists can be created on American soil. Back in 1995, when the federal building was bombed in Oklahoma, newspapers and television talking heads immediately blamed Palestinians. It turned out to be a couple of marginalized white supremacists, raised and educated in the United States. 

Clearly, the War on Terror has not stamped out homegrown terrorists. We can be thankful, though, that this ring was cracked wide open by authorities before it could do any damage. The same thing happened on Canadian soil about four years ago, when a homegrown plot was spoiled by authorities. Vigilance has paid off. This has been a setback, true. But imagine how much worse off we would all be if those synagogues had been destroyed and those military planes shot down. The very thought of it is chilling. 

Bonnie & Clyde-O-Rama: 75 Years of Blood, Mayhem, Romance, Bank Robberies & Cool Fashion!

May 23 marks the 75th Anniversary of the brutal deaths of gangster lovers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow (pictured right). The couple robbed numerous banks and gas stations and died violent deaths. They live on in American history as legends. And the 75th Anniversary celebrations of their bloody demise are already underway. 

Here are some interesting tidbits about the outlaw Romeo and Juliet that I bet you didn't know:

1. There is a garage-apartment on 34th Street and Oak Ridge Drive in Joplin, Missouri, where the couple engaged in a deadly shootout with authorities on April 13, 1933, that is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It's not the only place in Missouri on the register. A bank that the couple robbed in Oronogo, Missouri during the depths of the Great Depression has also made it onto the fabled list. (Source.)

2. In the small town of Gibsland, located in the northern part of Louisiana, there is a stone marker on Route 154 with an inscription that reads, "At this site, May 23, 1934, Clyde Barrow and Bonnie Parker were killed by law enforcement officials." On May 23, huge crowds are expected to descend on the small community. Many will be dressed as gangsters and molls, and you can expect the dramatic '34 death shootout to be reenacted over and over again. A recent story in the British Independent newspaper noted: "On the big day itself, ... 10,000 to 15,000 may show up in Gibsland (normal population 1,100) for re-enactments of robberies by the Barrow gang, and the gory finale in which Ted Hinton and his partners pulverised the lovers with 180 bullets." There will be vendors' booths in Gibsland and even a conference of historians and crime buffs. (Source.) 

3. There are two -- count 'em, TWO -- new books out on Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow! They are: Go Down Together: The True, Untold Story of Bonnie and Clyde, by Jeff Guinn, and Bonnie and Clyde: The Lives Behind the Legend, by Paul Schneider. For an excellent review of both books by historian Simon Baatz, see The Washington Post Book World. The New York Times Book Review also ran an excellent assessment of the two books by Bryan Burrough (author of the terrific book Public Enemies, upon which the upcoming John Dillinger biopic starring Johnny Depp is based.)

4. The bank-robbing couple inspired fashions, both in their own day and when the critically-acclaimed 1967 film about them (which was largely fictionalized) was released in theaters. The movie Bonnie and Clyde starred Faye Dunaway and Warren Beatty. It triggered a huge fashion craze, as women across the country began dressing like Dunaway and adopting her hairstyle from the film. And, believe it or not, there has been a resurgence of interest in Bonnie and Clyde fashion. Recently, The New York Post ran a story on Bonnie and Clyde-inspired fashions.

5. The Dallas Historical Society has a special section devoted to Bonnie and Clyde, complete with a timeline of events and photographs of key Bonnie and Clyde landmarks, including Bonnie's elementary school and Hargrave's Cafe, where Bonnie once worked as a waitress. Click here to see it. Also, if you're intrerested in learning more about Bonnie and Clyde from the point of view of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, click here to see the FBI's Bonnie and Clyde Files.

Why the continued fascination with Bonnie and Clyde? I think the most insightful explanation comes from Washington Post corespondent Dan Zak:

They're a blank slate on which anything can be writ. They can radiate romance, youth, sexuality and hubris. Or they can be social deviants polluted by poverty. Or they can be puppets who act out modern morality. We can build them up into folk heroes or antiheroes, and tear them down to show that crime doesn't pay. It's the perfect mix of brazen romance and deadly thrills, a story tailor-made for constant interpretation and rediscovery - especially now, when America's high-profile criminals are the people who operate in a decidedly unromantic fashion.

In this age of economic uncertainty, when so many ordinary men and women are anxious about what the future holds in store, it is no surprise that a pair of doomed bank robbers have made a comeback. The short and violent lives of Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow continue to resonate with millions of people because their search for money, romance, thrills and, yes, even immortality still speaks to us today. We can understand them -- their passions, their urgency, their quest for excitement -- and we can understand why they did what they did, probably more than we care to admit.

Sign of the Times: Disappearing America

By now, you probably know that General Motors is closing dealerships across North America. These are terrible times for the ailing auto industry. The Hinckley Dodge dealership in Ogden, Utah, the oldest continuously run Dodge dealership in the world -- it opened its doors in 1915 -- will soon close down for good. (Source.) I used to live in Ogden, back in the 1990s, and I remember the thriving Hinckley dealership. It will be no more, after almost a century of serving the community. General Motors will close down 1100 of its "underperforming" dealerships. In total, Chrysler and General Motors will be dropping 1900 dealerships by 2010. 

According to the Associated Press, Alan Bigelow, whose family has been running a Chevrolet dealership in the Cleveland area for decades, will soon be out of business. As Bigelow told AP: "We're 98 years old. We're two years from a hundred, and I don't want to go out at 99 years." The National Automobile Dealers Association estimates that the combined Chrysler and GM closures could eliminate up to 100,000 jobs across America. On automobile lots from Maine to California, prices are being slashed, interest rates are lower than ever, and dealers are desperate to sell their cars. It is as if they sense that they are part of a disappearing America. They're struggling against the clock. The dismantling of industrial America, which began decades ago, is now being felt in every community throughout the land. And it is a tragic thing to behold. 

What is at the root of the recent gang-up on Nancy Pelosi...

What did Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (left) know and when did she know it?

The question has become an obsession of Pelosi's conservative Republican foes. 

If you haven't been following the headlines in the United States, Pelosi has been coming under fire from Republicans because she claims -- in the words of the New York Times -- "she had been misled by [Central Intelligence Agency] representatives seven years ago about harsh treatment of terrorism suspects." 

But CIA Director Leon Panetta issued a statement insisting the CIA had been honest and open all along about the horrible treatment of alleged terror suspects. Panetta's statement said: 

Let me be clear: It is not our policy or practice to mislead Congress. ... Our contemporaneous records from September 2002 indicate that CIA officers briefed truthfully on the interrogation of Abu Zubaydah, describing 'the enhanced techniques that had been employed.' Ultimately, it is up to Congress to evaluate all the evidence and reach its own conclusions about what happened.

Now Republicans who supported President George W. Bush's torture policies are rushing to condemn Pelosi for -- in their eyes -- not being entirely truthful. Republican Senator Kit Bond of Missouri said of Pelosi, "According to the CIA's record, Speaker Pelosi was briefed on what had been done. It's outrageous that a member of Congress would call our terror-fighters liars." 

Once again, right-wing Republicans are attempting to create a classic GOP diversion. The real issue is that the Bush administration left America with countless horrible legacies, and one of the worst of them was a legacy of torturing alleged enemies of the state. 

Republicans are pouncing on minor inconsistencies in Pelosi's public statements to try to steer attention away from Bush's dismal record. The real issue is that the man was the worst president in American history. His administration sent troops -- America's sons and daughters -- to fight in tragic, costly and unnecessary wars overseas. Closer to home, the practice of torture became a routine occurrence. And when vets came home from the wars after making great sacrifices for their country, they were treated shabbily because Republicans are far better and giving gargantuan handouts to big corporations than they are at allocating comparatively meager amounts to struggling veterans' programs. 

But conservatives want you to focus on what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she knew it. Just like they'd rather focus on meaningless nonsense about gay marriage or school prayer while Rome burns. If these attack dogs had any sense of decency, they'd turn their rage against waterboarding and the other forms of torture that are so awful, so despicable, that when they're captured on film, the president dares not release images of them for the rest of the world to see. 

Pelosi-gate will pass. And when it does, leave it to the GOP Shock Troops to find some other meaningless issue in an attempt to steer attention away from the deeper crises plaguing American society. 

It's about the only thing they do well these days.

Tearing down the Reagan Myth, one brick at a time...

If you haven't already seen it, you might want to take a look at Will Bunch's Tear Down This Myth: How the Reagan Legacy Has Distorted Our Politics and Haunts Our Future. It isn't a great book, but it's an important book and a bold one. It is one of the first major books written since the end of the Reagan presidency that is highly critical of Ronald Reagan and his policies. I just finished reading it and several thoughts are racing around in my head. Up until now, most Reagan books have been unabashed hagiographies of the man. They celebrate him, praise him for his honesty, laud him for his integrity, and generally portray him as a visionary who almost single-handedly ended the Cold War. Most of these slavishly pro-Reagan accounts forget the Iran-Contra Scandal, the runaway deficits, the legions of homeless who walked the streets of America during the Reagan years, the deep cuts to the safety net and the out-of-control military Keynesianism, which was every bit as costly as any of President Barack Obama's economic stimulus packages that so many Republicans so strenuously object to.

An accomplished journalist, Will Bunch is a senior writer at the Philadelphia Daily News, a Blogger, columnist and author. I have mixed feelings about the book. It is a welcome departure from the standard Reaganista accounts written by the likes of Peggy Noonan, Dinesh D'Souza and Michael Deaver. The right-wingers have been trying for years to turn Reagan into their FDR, a conservative prophet for the modern age. No doubt, Will Bunch has probably pissed a lot of people off with this book. People don't like to have their fantasies monkeyed around with, especially right-wing people, who can be fierce. 

My problem with the book is that it's too agenda-driven. I've been a Reagan Buff for years, and while the heavy-duty Reagan Love-ins that have passed for biographies and accounts of his presidency have always left me a little squeamish, Bunch often does the same thing as his ideological foes: He cherry picks the facts that suit his negative view of Reagan. Bunch is not the only anti-Reagan author with a new book out there. We now have another largely negative account, William Kleinknecht's The Man Who Sold the World: Ronald Reagan and the Betrayal of Main Street. I recently purchased Kleinknecht's book and I'm planning to read it. Maybe I'll do a comparative review of the Bunch and Kleinknecht books in the future. For now, I can say that I admire both men for their courage. Both authors are going up against some powerful myths. Their books are already being panned by negative reviewers on Amazon.com. And while I never object to making mincemeat out of cherished myths, I hope that critical books on the Reagan presidency with a subtler tone and more scholarly approach will one day line the bookshelves of libraries and bookstores. 

More Limbaugh... Is it just me, or are you getting sick of hearing about this guy too???

Comedian Wanda Sykes is getting grief. 

At the White House Correspondents' Dinner, Sykes joked:

Rush Limbaugh said he hopes this administration fails. So you’re saying, ‘I hope America fails.’ You’re like, ‘I don’t care about people losing their homes, their jobs, our soldiers in Iraq.’ He just wants the country to fail. To me, that’s treason. He’s not saying anything differently than what Osama bin Laden is saying. You know, you might want to look into this, sir, because I think Rush Limbaugh was the 20th hijacker. But he was just so strung out on OxyContin he missed his flight.

There were some observers who thought Sykes went to far. There was an audible gasp from the audience when she told the joke. Shortly after the event, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs remarked, "I think there are a lot of topics that are better left for serious reflection rather than comedy. I think there's no doubt 9/11 is part of that."

Maybe Gibbs is right. The terrorist attack of September 11, 2001, was so horrific that it cannot translate into successful comedy. And Sykes' joke wasn't all that funny, even though her point is well taken.

Let's try a little exercise. Let's compare Sykes' joke to the hate and poison that Rush Limbaugh has spewed over the radio airwaves for decades now. 

Here is a random sampler:

Limbaugh on Feminism: "Feminism was established so as to allow unattractive women easier access to the mainstream of society." 

Limbaugh on the Abu Ghraib Prison Scandal: "This is no different than what happens at the Skull and Bones initiation...I'm talking about people having a good time, these people, you ever heard of emotional release? You ever heard of the need to blow some steam off?"

Limbaugh on Michael J. Fox: "He is exaggerating the effects of the disease. He's moving all around and shaking and it's purely an act. ... This is really shameless of Michael J. Fox. Either he didn't take his medication or he's acting."

Limbaugh describing U.S. soldiers who oppose the Iraq War: "The phony soldiers." (That's coming from a decorated Vietnam Veteran... NOT!!!)

Limbaugh on the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People: "The NAACP should have riot rehearsal. They should get a liquor store and practice robberies."

Limbaugh on Arms Reduction: "The only way to reduce the number of nuclear weapons is to use them." 

Limbaugh on football: "Look, let me put it to you this way: the NFL all too often looks like a game between the Bloods and the Crips without any weapons. There, I said it."

Limbaugh on his cat: "She comes to me when she wants to be fed. And after I feed her -- guess what -- she's off to wherever she wants to be in the house, until the next time she gets hungry. She's smart enough to know she can't feed herself. She's actually a very smart cat. She gets loved. She gets adoration. She gets petted. She gets fed. And she doesn't have to do anything for it, which is why I say this cat's taught me more about women, than anything my whole life."

Limbaugh on...

I have a thousand other quotes here, but I just can't take it anymore. Let's leave it at this: Rush Limbaugh makes Father Charles Coughlin look like a voice of enlightenment. 

So yeah, Wanda Sykes' joke wasn't tasteful. And it sure as hell wasn't a knee-slapper. But was it more offensive than your typical Rush Limbaugh hate fest? 

No. 

Dick Cheney Strikes Again

On Sunday, ex-veep Dick Cheney told Face the Nation: "Well, if I had to choose in terms of being a Republican, I’d go with Rush Limbaugh, I think. I think my take on it was Colin [Powell] had already left the party. I didn’t know he was still a Republican."

One of the many reasons why the Republican Party is in the mess it's in -- why it's as weak as it is -- is because it has been hijacked by fanatics like Cheney and Limbaugh. Centrists and moderates, such as Powell, remain at odds with the party leadership. And the longer the extremists stay in control of the GOP, the less likely it is that the party will be able to form a successful coalition of the sort that Ronald Reagan and his followers forged in the 1980s.

What's occurring in the GOP right now is far more interesting than anything happening in the Democratic Party. There truly is a struggle for the soul of the Republican Party underway at this very moment. Moderates are fighting the good fight in an effort to put sensibility and rationality back the forefront of the party's agenda. But they're fighting a losing battle. Ideologues like Rush Limbaugh, Newt Gingrich and Dick Cheney are not about to give up their control of the GOP without a fight. 

But these men are short-sighted. They fail to realize that losing moderates is a recipe for disaster for the Republican Party. It cannot afford such setbacks at this time in history. 

While I'm not rooting for the fanatics, I do happen to believe that what's bad for the GOP right now is good for the American people. It would be America's gain if more decent people jumped off of that sinking ship. 

One Year of Blogging... Hopefully Many More to Come...

It was a year ago that I launched Andrew's Tiki Lounge (see my first Blog Entry here). I was inspired by my good friend, fellow Blogger and all-around mensch, Michael Balter. His Blog -- called Balter's Blog -- is truly one of the best I've ever read and I follow it regularly. If you haven't seen it yet, do yourself a favor: Check it out now. And while you're at it, bookmark it. As for the Tiki Lounge, I took a little spin down memory lane. I went back through some of my old Blog entries. I'm slightly less prolific than I was a year ago, when I sometimes wrote two or three long entries per day (where did I find the time?). These days, I'm doing pretty well if I have one entry per day. But I've noticed that with good Blogs, the real issue is quality, not quantity, and I've always aimed to keep this a high-quality Blog by keeping the frivolous entries to a minimum. The past year has been a wonderful year to Blog. Think about it. It has been a Blogger's paradise. The 2008 election campaign, the economic collapse (which sucks, but it has fueled the Blogosphere, no question about it), the decline of conservatism, the last days of Dubya, the triumph of Barack Obama, the First Hundred Days of his administration, the shifts in foreign and domestic policy... In short, I couldn't ask for a better year to Blog. I look forward to maintaining the Tiki Lounge for what I hope will be a long time. I've loved commenting on the United States from the perspective of a dual citizen (Canadian-American) living outside of its borders. It gives me a unique perspective. I'm sure the events of the coming months will take lots of twists and turns. The United States is a nation full of energy and surprises. And I look forward to commenting on and -- who knows? -- maybe even being a part of its history.