As we're continuing to hear from Iran....

Many folks are questioning the outcome of the election and protests are indeed happening. I'm not at all fond of the individual who was "elected" or the "fundies" that back him. Personally, I don't think they are playing with a full set of marbles given the statements they often make. Anyway, I wish those who are protesting the best of luck in trying to implement change. I mentioned a site called The Reagan Files a few posts back. Having glanced through a couple of the documents there, it certainly appears that Reagan and company were all complicit in and knowledgeable of (whether Reagan forgot or outright lied) the arms deals known as Iran-Contra. The current crisis in Iran reminds me of why I consider myself a Libertarian....

Entangling Alliances

Thomas Jefferson's first Inaugural address in 1801 contains the following passage:

"Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none; the support of the State governments in all their rights, as the most competent administrations for our domestic concerns and the surest bulwarks against antirepublican tendencies; the preservation of the General Government in its whole constitutional vigor, as the sheet anchor of our peace at home and safety abroad; a jealous care of the right of election by the people—a mild and safe corrective of abuses which are lopped by the sword of revolution where peaceable remedies are unprovided; absolute acquiescence in the decisions of the majority, the vital principle of republics, from which is no appeal but to force, the vital principle and immediate parent of despotism; a well disciplined militia, our best reliance in peace and for the first moments of war, till regulars may relieve them; the supremacy of the civil over the military authority; economy in the public expense, that labor may be lightly burthened; the honest payment of our debts and sacred preservation of the public faith; encouragement of agriculture, and of commerce as its handmaid; the diffusion of information and arraignment of all abuses at the bar of the public reason; freedom of religion; freedom of the press, and freedom of person under the protection of the habeas corpus, and trial by juries impartially selected. These principles form the bright constellation which has gone before us and guided our steps through an age of revolution and reformation. The wisdom of our sages and blood of our heroes have been devoted to their attainment. They should be the creed of our political faith, the text of civic instruction, the touchstone by which to try the services of those we trust; and should we wander from them in moments of error or of alarm, let us hasten to retrace our steps and to regain the road which alone leads to peace, liberty, and safety."

Many folks seem to believe that general non-interventionism means complete isolationism. There ARE those who would build a wall around the country and let whatever goes on outside the wall go on. My view (and that of most Libertarian-minded folks that I know) is that business dealings are absolutely fine and to be encouraged. However, the amount of government dealings with other countries should be drawn back immensely. There are times when it would become necessary to intervene even if not directly threatened. Egregious violations of basic human rights by a country poised to take over one continent and establish a base of power with the potential to threaten us merit strong consideration for intervention. Yes, I am talking about Nazi Germany and Japan and World War II. Afghanistan was absolutely the right thing to do. I still feel that Iraq was a diversion from the main "war on terror". We should have devoted as many troops as possible to deal with the Afghan problem and provide a limited amount of help to keep the situation under control and not engage in nation-building.

Back to Iran...

The US has a history of relations with Iran that goes back a couple hundred years. The past hundred years have included the hostage situation, Iran-Contra, a CIA sponsored coup and the Shah and SAVAK. One item that is particularly interesting about Iran-Contra is that not two years before it occurred, we favored Iraq. That and the fact of US hostages held for 444 days not 7 years prior... It seems questionable at best to have provided shady arms to a country like Iran (or Iraq for that matter). Some of the justification Reaganites used was "to provide assistance to potentially US friendly factions in Iran" should they come to power, further promoting democracy. That worked well, didn't it? Our checkered history of attempting manipulation of the foreign policy (or business or other policy) of other sovereign nations stands as a reminder (to me at least) that such gyrations often fail and, at times, even blow up in our face. What does that mean for Ahmadinejad and crew? We keep a VERY close eye on them... and that's all we do for now. The ever-sprawling tentacles of US government manipulation and foreign aid need to be surgically removed to a more manageable and sensible length. Bush wouldn't have done that and Obama surely won't.

Other links of interest:

Congressional Research Service Reports on the Middle East

The Iran Documentation Project @ The National Security Archive

Nothing OVERLY interesting on the NRC site regarding Browns Ferry last week....

But here's what they added to their ADAMS system:

Relaxation of Order for Compensatory Measures Related to Fitness-for-Duty Enhancements Applicable to Nuclear Facility Security Force Personnel.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, and 3 - Letter of Intent to Adopt National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 805, Performance-Based Standard for Fire Protection for Light Water Reactor Generating Plants, 2001 Edition.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2, & 3, Withdrawal of Proposed Request for Exemption from 10 CFR 50, Appendix R, Paragraph III.G2, Fire Protection of Safe Shutdown Capacity.

G20090158/EDATS: OEDO-2009-0133 - March 18, 2009, ACRS Ltr on Using Containment Accident Pressure in Determining Available Net Positive Suction Head of Emergency Core Cooling System and Containment Heat Removal System Pumps.

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 & 3 - Response to Request for Additional Information Regarding Technical Specifications Change 444 - Adoption of Changes to Standard Technical Specifications Under Technical Specification Task Force Change Number - 448, Rev. 3...

Browns Ferry, Units 1, 2 & 3 - Technical Specifications Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate - Results of Revised Containment Overpressure Analyses for Appendix R - Drywell Coolers Operating.

Browns Ferry Units 1, 2 & 3 - Technical Specifications Changes TS-418 and TS-431 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Response to Round 24 Request for Additional Information (RAI) EMCB.209 Regarding Steam Dryer Analyses (TAC Nos. MD5262, MD5263, and MD5264).

Brown Ferry Nuclear Plant (BFN), Units 1, 2, and 3, Technical Specifications (TS) Changes TS-431 and TS-418 - Extended Power Uprate (EPU) - Results of Revised Analyses for Short-Term Loss-of-Coolant Accident (LOCA) and Appendix R Regarding.....

On a different note, here are two links to the RSS feeds of some Libertarian oriented folks on Twitter:

LibEverywhere
Mises Institute

Enjoy!

Hopefully interesting tidbits...

The Reagan Files website

The map on this page shows greenways/trails in and around Huntsville as of 2006. I hope that the greenways that are shown as "proposed" come to fruition. There are already a fair amount of outdoor activities to enjoy in Huntsville and this would just add that much more...

Don't forget, two new episodes of Gene Simmons Family Jewels tonight.