09/16/02
Inspecting the Inspector and Making the Case, Part 1
I’ve been tempted to mention, in imitation of the haven’t-seen-a-shred-of-evidence people, that I haven’t seen a shred of evidence that Saddam is not doing everything that every commentator has accused him of. I know that it is even more difficult to prove a negative about a secretive dictatorship than it is to prove a positive about it, but the entire response to what evidence we pro-attack-Iraq folks have produced has been either to deny that a particular nugget exists or to dismiss it outright.
But then I recalled Scott Ritter. Actually, Ritter has made it nigh impossible for me to forget him lately. In fact, his unbelievable quest for fame is one of many qualities about his latest appearances that is on the list of things that Mama always told me indicate somebody who isn’t... well... saying the most honest of things. There’s the nearly messianic vision of himself and the constant references to his credentials and the utter dismissal of other “experts” and the references to “documented proof” that he never has on hand and the unnatural constraints against discussing major relevant topics and the bickering over minutia... oh, and the fact that he just plain lies.
The rest of this essay is available in Just Thinking: Volume I, 10/29/01–10/21/02 and is for sale in Confidence Place: The Timshel Arts Store.
09/09/02 The Heart Is Always More (Society)
09/02/02 Meetings on the Road, III: Inexplicable Carvings (Religion)
08/26/02 Address the Scandal Thoroughly, but Quickly (Religion)
08/19/02 But Still... Media Evidence Against Steven Hatfill (Media)
08/12/02 A Conversion... of Sorts (Religion)
08/05/02 A Bright Future for Revolution, Part 3 (Technology)
07/29/02 Money and Politics: So What’s the Point? (Economics)
07/22/02 Quantum Morality (Religion)
07/15/02 In Cahoots (Life)
Archives back to 10/29/01