Scott Bradford: Off on a Tangent

What To Do About Syria?

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Map of Syria
Map of Syria

I am not an isolationist. There are times when countries, or coalitions of countries, can and should intervene in other nations’ affairs.

I am happy, generally, to stay out of other countries’ business and reserve that interventionism for cases where one nation poses a direct and immediate threat to others. I make exceptions in cases where a particular regime engages in serious, systemic, continuing violations of its own citizens’ basic human rights. I supported the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (see: The War in Iraq: Ten Myths), as well as the more recent intervention in Libya . . . although I did not necessarily support our strategy or President Barack Obama’s (D) unconstitutional way of executing it (see: Presidents Aren’t Dictators).

Many who tend toward the libertarian side of the political spectrum take a principled view that foreign affairs are really none of our business. Although I understand this position, I respectfully disagree. The community of nations must be ready to step-in—at least in extreme situations—not only to fight against nations that threaten the greater peace, but also to help a nation’s people fight against the maniacal dictators and belligerent madmen that too-often rule them.

Ideally this would happen in the context of an international body like the United Nations. But the only U.N. body with the authority to intervene militarily is the Security Council, and its structure—where five nations, including the United States, have unlimited veto authority—ensures that it will almost never be able to act. As we saw with Iraq, even in those rare cases where the U.N. takes a strong stand on paper, it is unwilling to obey its own charter and back it up with military force.

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The Difference Between Manning and Snowden

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Bradley Manning (U.S. Army) and Edward Snowden (Laura Poitras / Praxis Films [CC-BY-3.0])
Bradley Manning (U.S. Army) and Edward Snowden (Laura Poitras / Praxis Films [CC-BY-3.0])

You might remember that I defended Julian Assange and Wikileaks—much as I don’t like them—because they have the right to publish whatever they want. We wouldn’t attempt to prosecute the Washington Post for publishing classified material that it obtains from undisclosed sources, would we? Although the Post is bound by U.S. laws dealing with classified material, we also have (or at least had) strong First Amendment protections for media outlets. A leaker might be a criminal, but the recipient and publisher of the leak isn’t.

Wikileaks, as a foreign media outlet, doesn’t have First Amendment protections . . . but it also isn’t bound by U.S. laws about classified material, so they are still in the clear.

I pointed out at the time that, “Crimes were committed here. The people who stole secret information and gave it to Wikileaks have mishandled classified information; that is a crime, and the culprits should be charged and prosecuted.” It turned out that the culprit was U.S. Army Private First Class Bradley Manning, who has since been convicted of violating the Espionage Act and a number of other serious crimes.

More recently, Edward Snowden—a federal contractor employed by Booz Allen Hamilton—also divulged classified information to the media, particularly relating to a National Security Agency (NSA) program that collects and analyses virtually all phone records in the United States. While I called Manning a criminal, I’ve called Snowden a hero. I stand by these characterizations. Despite efforts—particularly by Assange—to equate Manning and Snowden’s actions, the two leaks (and men) are very different.

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Unity Pillar Spotlight: Installed

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I had finished most of the work I was doing on my 2008 Subaru Outback, but there was one project that kept getting delayed. I’ve done a lot of work on the car over the last few months. I upgraded the stereo, partially de-badged the tailgate, blacked out part of the grille, installed a tougher rear anti-sway bar and a front strut brace (which made a huge improvement on twisty roads), installed a ScanGauge II gauge and diagnostic device, upgraded the horns, thoroughly cleaned the intake system and engine compartment, and more.

But along with all these other things, I also bought a Unity pillar spotlight . . . which has been sitting in its box waiting for me to work up the courage to install it. All these other upgrades and improvements were relatively easy to un-do if I messed them up, and were unlikely to cause any permanent harm. The spotlight though requires drilling three holes in the A-pillar—two just through the surface, and one large hole all the way through into the passenger compartment. Holes are relatively permanent, and expensive to un-do if necessary.

Today, I finally went forward with the install . . . and I’m happy to say that it went relatively well. There were a few snags—mostly related to me not having the right tools, quickly remedied with a trip to Home Depot. The light moves and works the way I expect. I’m not happy with the little rubber gasket that came with the kit from Unity—it doesn’t seem to have made as good of a seal as I would like. Some time over the next week I’ll get it sealed better and then we’ll be set.

That pretty much completes all of my planned work on the Outback. But, if you follow me on Facebook, you probably know I have a new project: I got a great deal on a used 2004 Subaru WRX. I expect it to be good for fun weekend drives, and for learning how to work on a car that I don’t need to worry too much about breaking and having out-of-commission now and then. But first, I need to work on my clutch control. . . . Anyway, here are a few photos.

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Who Violated the Oath of Office Yesterday?

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Yesterday, the United States House of Representatives considered whether to terminate the National Security Agency’s (NSA) unconstitutional collection and analysis of innocent Americans’ phone records. Representative Justin Amash (R-MI 3rd) introduced an amendment to a defense appropriations bill which would have de-funded the NSA’s illegal program. The bill would not have affected legitimate, targeted national security search warrants or wiretapping.

The Amash amendment failed by a narrow 205-217 vote. President Barack Obama (D) and his administration went into a frenzy in the lead-up to the vote, joined by both Republican and Democratic congressional leaders, urging members to vote against it.

Ninety-four Republicans and one hundred eleven Democrats voted in favor of the amendment and, by extension, the Fourth Amendment. One hundred thirty-four Republicans and eighty-three Democrats voted instead to continue allowing the shredding of the Bill of Rights.

I shouldn’t have to remind our esteemed representatives that they have each sworn an oath to support and defend the Constitution. Two hundred and five members of House of Representatives—including my own representative, Frank Wolf (R-VA 10th)—violated that oath yesterday. In a sane world, they would be impeached and removed from office. In this world, the best we can hope for is that enough voters remember this and send these men and women packing in 2014. They have violated our trust, and do not deserve to hold high office.

Read on for a list of our anti-liberty representatives. See if yours is on the list and, if they are, let them know what you think of their betrayal.

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Governor McDonnell: Explain Yourself

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Governor Bob McDonnell (R-VA) is now in the midst of a full-on corruption scandal. Many political scandals are depressingly predictable, but I have to admit that this one took me by surprise. McDonnell’s political career—as a member of the Virginia House of Delegates, then as our attorney general, and now as our governor—had been unblemished by serious controversy. He won relatively strong Off on a Tangent endorsements when he ran for attorney general in 2005, and again when he ran for governor in 2009.

McDonnell has governed largely as I expected him to, charting a center-right course of fiscal responsibility and respect for human rights and civil liberties. I have disagreed with him from time-to-time, particularly when it comes to his strong (but misguided) support for privately-operated toll roads, but overall I have been satisfied with his performance.

Among other promises, then-Attorney General McDonnell promised that, if we made him governor, he would work to eliminate fraud and abuse in our state government and improve transparency. I mentioned these promises in my endorsement. Although he has made some improvements along these lines in how the government bureaucracy of the Commonwealth of Virginia operates, he apparently doesn’t think that they should apply to himself.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is now investigating McDonnell because he and his family allegedly received over $145,000 in gifts—some unreported—from Jonnie R. Williams Sr., an executive at Star Scientific, possibly in return for some unspecified preferential treatment. Some of these gifts were made to Maureen McDonnell, the governor’s wife, which shielded them from the normal reporting of political donations.

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Scott Bradford is a writer and technologist who has been putting his opinions online since 1995. He believes in three inviolable human rights: life, liberty, and property. He is a Catholic Christian who worships the trinitarian God described in the Nicene Creed. Scott is a husband, nerd, pet lover, and AMC/Jeep enthusiast with a B.S. degree in public administration from George Mason University.