Aristotle in action III

Republics decline into democracies and democracies degenerate into despotisms. 

~Aristotle

Here's a current example of that process in action:

Need I say more?

Obama White House somehow keeps avoiding its own Battle of Karánsebes

The Story:  September 17, 1788. The Austrian army accidentally fought a battle with itself which resulted in 10,000 dead and wounded - a few days prior to the real enemy showing up. Needless to say, when the Ottomans arrived, they were able to defeat the remaining Austrians without much difficulty.  But there is a lot of questions about the authenticity of the story.  

Regardless of whether or not the story is true, there are lessons in it - both militarily and in most other regards as well, when it comes to leadership.

The lesson:  The Battle Karánsebes serves as a what can happen when there is poor communication at the leadership level.  A series of unfortunate occurrences can lead to a disaster.  It's an example of action by reaction as opposed to planning.  The White House seems to have completely missed the boat on this particular lesson from history (or mythology).  Consider all of the areas where the Obama administration is at odds with itself.

Telegraph historian pegs Obama on healthcare

This article is a great indictment of both Obama and Obamacare.  Telegraph writer and historian Tim Stanley lays out the case that Obama's second term is a mix of inaction and injustice.

...The Obama administration has announced that it’s delaying implementation of the employer mandate aspect of Obamacare until 2015. The mandate says that all businesses with over 50 workers must provide health insurance to their staff or face fines of up to $3,000 per employee. So the delay is a big deal for the following reasons:

1. It’s a tacit acceptance that Obamacare is a job killer. The administration buckled under orders from the Treasury because so many businesses said they couldn’t afford this part of the bill....

If you get a chance, read the entire article. It sums up wonderfully what the delayed implementation of Obamacare shows us about Obama.

Rolling Stone must be desperate for readers

Rolling Stone magazine has featured the Boston Marathon bomber on its latest cover. Does this magazine still have anyone reading it?  The only reason they could do something so atrocious is because they are failing financially and were hoping to benefit from the inevitable controversy.  People were killed because of the actions of this man and his brother.  Rolling Stone had to know that going in.  They had to know that putting the bomber on the cover, and trying to sexy him up with a glamour shot - yes, they did that - would be hurtful to a lot of people and be offensive to the nation.  There is apparently no moral code in place at Rolling Stone.  

Then again, maybe they are actively promoting evil.  This isn't the first time Rolling Stone has done something this stupid.  They once had Charlie Manson on the cover.

1970s Rolling Stone magazine

They do not deserve to benefit from this stupid, insulting and egregious act of moral turpitude.  I did not link to the cover photo.  I urge you not to go to the Rolling Stone website, or to buy the magazine.  Boycott it.

Actions should have consequences.

Aristotle in action II

Even when laws have been written down, they ought not always to remain unaltered. 

~Aristotle

Or alternately, I would suggest, 'they ought not always remain.' Aristotle is right.  Liberals love to add new laws and mandates but are phobic about revisiting stuff that doesn't work.  That's not progressive like they claim to be, it's just blind.

Exhibit A: The Obamacare train wreck has started. The unintended consequences have started to spill out into the press conferences.

Exhibit B: It also seems like any new law has a natural tendency to exponentially grow into more rules as the law reaches the application stage.

Go figure - a poorly conceived, poorly drafted law is turning into a train wreck before our eyes.  Who saw that coming?  Oh yeah, more than half the country.

Aristotle in action

Aristotle has been often quoted as saying you can judge a nation by the way they treat their most vulnerable citizens (it has also been attributed to others).  In Egypt, Coptic Christians are being killed in light of the removal of Morsi from power.

Not much is being done to prevent Coptic Christians from being targeted.  Egypt, clearly has lost civility in its political discourse and moved on to the ugly - murder, prejudice and thuggery. This video is from a couple of months ago if I'm not mistaken, but there are more recent examples as well.


Sadly, not much outside of Egypt is being done either.