2009 January 04 | Hanlon's Razor

Israel starts the ground assault

By Hanlon, on January 4th, 2009 at 01:10 PM

israel-palestine To me, the event itself, namely Israel pouring thousands of soldiers along with tanks into Gaza, is actually the second most alarming part of it. What really bothers me is that while the world has figured out that Israel’s actions are completely inexcusable, the United States, both parties, marches in lockstep with Israel, no questions asked.

But in New York, the Security Council failed to agree on a statement calling for a ceasefire after the United States argued that a return to the situation that existed before Israel’s ground invasion was unacceptable.

US deputy ambassador Alejandro Wolff said after the four-hour sitting that Washington believed it was important that the region “not return to the status quo” that had allowed Hamas militants to fire rockets into Israel.

“The efforts we are making internationally are designed to establish a sustainable, durable ceasefire that’s respected by all,” Wolff said. “And that means no more rocket attacks. It means no more smuggling of arms.”

The pervading logic is that whatever Israel does is completely justified by whatever someone in Hamas may do. If one guy in a Hamas t-shirt throws a grenade into an empty parking lot, it opens the door for the entire Israeli army to flatten a Palestinian neighborhood. The problem has nothing to do with Israel, it has to do with the situation that “forced” Israel in to desperation.

Both sides are equally guilty, and the US needs to recognize this fact. Israel hides behind US support, hence these horrifically disproportionate “reactions”. The path to reconciliation does not go through blind allegiance to Israel, it goes through an honest assessment of the conflict. Both sides must be brought to the table and take responsibility for what they’ve done to exacerbate the situation.

Now would be a good time to start, but I’m not holding my breath.

The Minnesota recount ends

By Hanlon, on January 4th, 2009 at 12:41 PM

The United States capitol building Now, as they say, the fun can begin.

After awarding a last batch of votes from more than 950 improperly rejected absentee ballots, the Canvassing Board is expected to declare either Democrat Al Franken or Republican Norm Coleman as winner of the recount. But Minnesota law lets the losing candidate file an “election contest” that would throw the whole race into the courts, effectively blocking final certification of a new senator.

“I’d say it’s close to inevitable” that the losing candidate will sue, said Edward Foley, an election law expert at Ohio State University who has closely monitored the Minnesota recount.

That’s just the beginning. Apparently expecting Al Franken to come out ahead, the Senate GOP leaders are taking swift, decisive action.

Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas), said Friday his caucus would block any attempt to seat the winner of Minnesota‘s Senate election until an expected court case is finished and an official election certificate is issued.

Now as nice as that sounds, realize that if Coleman was ahead by one vote, the Republicans wouldn’t be blocking his seating on Franken’s behalf. Much like early reports in 2000 suggested the Republicans would have disputed a presidential candidate winning the popular vote but losing the election since internal polling suggested that the most likely scenario, only to reverse themselves come November, we’ve got some delightfully selective adherence to electoral regulations.

You can understand their plight, though. Having Al Franken win a Senate seat must be a hell of a kick in the pants.