“Once upon a time, long, long ago, in a faraway place (actually, a contrary-to-fact made-up one), there lived a group of human beings without benefit of government. Any government at all. How did they manage? Well, whenever there was a dispute between two neighbors, or friends, or merchants, or between a retailer and a customer, the plaintiff and defendant together would hire someone to mediate between them. This would be a leader of the community, or a prince, or leader of the clan, or an old wise man, someone renowned for his wisdom and sense of fair play. If there were a robbery, or a rape, or a murder (or a commercial dispute in which one of the parties refused arbitration), the victim would resort to the same kind of person who, for an agreed-upon fee, would mobilize the community to bring about justice by use of force or banishment or both.” Walter Block reviews Hans-Hermann Hoppe’s excellent book, Democracy: The God that Failed.

Popularity: 7% [?]

From the Guardian, Friday May 21, 2004: “It was 10.30pm in the remote village of Mukaradeeb by the Syrian border and the guests hurried back to their homes as the party ended. As sister-in-law of the groom, Mrs Shihab, 30, was to sleep with her husband and children in the house of the wedding party, the Rakat family villa. She was one of the few in the house who survived the night. ‘The bombing started at 3am,’ she said yesterday from her bed in the emergency ward at Ramadi general hospital, 60 miles west of Baghdad. ‘We went out of the house and the American soldiers started to shoot us. They were shooting low on the ground and targeting us one by one,’ she said. She ran with her youngest child in her arms and her two young boys, Ali and Hamza, close behind. As she crossed the fields a shell exploded close to her, fracturing her legs and knocking her to the ground. She lay there and a second round hit her on the right arm. By then her two boys lay dead. ‘I left them because they were dead,’ she said. One, she saw, had been decapitated by a shell.”

From the Guardian, Monday May 24, 2004: “Several prisoners have been found to have died before or during interrogation. They include Major General Abed Hamed Mowhoush, a former commander of Iraq’s air defences, who died last November during interrogation at Qaim. The original US autopsy said he had died of a heart attack. It now appears he was suffocated during interrogation when a CIA officer put him in a sleeping bag and sat on him.”

From a war that never should have been, by a President who never should have been, innocent American citizens (and Westerners in general) will suffer the fruits of terrorism for many years to come. No, Mr Bush, terrorists are not evil people who envy the West our freedoms and luxury; they’re normal people, the relatives of the people you’ve killed, the people you’ve tortured. The enemy is you, Mr Bush.

Popularity: 9% [?]

From Scott McClellan’s White House Press Briefing on April 28, 2004:

Q Also, Senator Kerry, in the last couple of days, has brought up the issue of the President’s Guard record again, suggesting that the President is not standing on any kind of firm ground in criticizing Senator Kerry because of unresolved questions about his Guard duty. Your response?

MR. McCLELLAN: Yes, this question came up yesterday in the briefing, and I addressed it. I said you might want to refer that question to the campaign. It’s just another political attack and, therefore, you might want to address that question to the campaign.

Q No, but he’s bringing it back—
MR. McCLELLAN: If you want to talk about some of these campaign and political attacks, I think you can best address those—it would be better to address those questions to the campaign.

Q He’s bringing up an issue that was bounced around this room at length—

MR. McCLELLAN: And it’s been fully addressed, and all the records have been released, and the President fulfilled his duty and was proud to serve and be honorably discharged from the National Guard.

Q You never did answer my question on whether the President ever did community service when he was in the National Guard. I wonder—
MR. McCLELLAN: Helen, I’m not going to engage in political—in responding to the latest political attack by Senator Kerry—
Q It’s not political, it’s a very simple question.

MR. McCLELLAN: And if you want to address—this is relating to the most recent political attack by Senator Kerry. I’m happy for you to address that question to the campaign.

Q Can you answer that question, yes or no?

MR. McCLELLAN: The campaign responded to this yesterday. They addressed it.

Q Why don’t you answer it?

MR. McCLELLAN: It’s been addressed. I addressed it previously.

Q What did you say?

MR. McCLELLAN: And if you want to keep bringing up these questions, you’re welcome to. But I’m not going to dignify them.

Q What did you say?

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead.

Q What’s undignified about community service?

MR. McCLELLAN: We’ve already been through this. We’ve already addressed all these issues. This is trying to get me to engage in the most recent political attack by Senator Kerry. I’m not going to do it from this podium.

Q That is not true.

MR. McCLELLAN: If you want to talk about those questions, you can direct those questions to the campaign.

Q Do you think it’s legitimate to bring up your service in the past?

MR. McCLELLAN: We’ve already been through this, Helen. Thank you.

Popularity: 5% [?]