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Why It’s Time To Act In Libya

The Article: Act. Now. The world must do more than watch the Libyan bloodletting. by Hussein Ibish in Foreign Policy.

The Text: The unfolding catastrophe in Libya has forced the world to once again grapple with the conundrum of international humanitarian intervention. However, recent efforts at intervention — notably the humiliating episode in Somalia and the terrible failure to act in Rwanda — have revealed both the risks of action and the costs of inaction.

Muammar al-Qaddafi’s bloodcurdling speech on Feb. 22 should force even skeptics of international intervention to think twice. In his defiant remarks, the Libyan dictator vowed to “cleanse Libya house by house” in order to stay in power. Qaddafi also insisted that he has not begun to crack down in earnest — despite sketchy reports that his effort to quell the protests has already left hundreds, possibly thousands, of unarmed people dead — and approvingly cited other uses of state security forces to quell unrest, such as the Chinese assault on Tiananmen Square and the U.S. actions in Waco and Fallujah.

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The End Of The Obama Frat

The White House press secretary was all set to TP the White House. He vowed to do it if Auburn won the BCS Championship. Robert Gibbs had a deal all worked out with the Secret Service where they would leave a couple rolls in an undisclosed location, and he would unfurl them over the White House roof or maybe a tree out front.

It was all good in the house of Obama Phi. They balled hard in guys only basketball games. Everyone was a “dude” or a “bro”. They did fist-pumps, not handshakes. Chief of Staff Rahm Emmanuel dropped f-bombs left and right, and Robert Gibbs never met a sports analogy he didn’t like during White House press meetings. Even the staff elder Lawrence Summers would doze off during economy briefings and generally do whatever he pleased. White House interns learned to be careful rounding West Wing corners lest they find Barack and Michelle canoodling.

And they were changing the world while doing it. Obama’s first two years were two of the most prolific in modern presidential history: the Stimulus Package, improved global image, credit card consumer rights, tobacco regulation, healthcare reform, Wall Street regulation, ending the Iraq War, etc.

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March Madness: Half-Mad, Half-March

We’re past Valentine’s Day, we’re quickly moving through February and the month of March will be upon us quite shortly. So, what does that mean? It means the NFL lockout will commence very soon but it also means that college basketball is set to take the center stage.

Yes, March is the month that many sports fans refer to as March Madness, but let’s evaluate this: how mad is this month?

The college basketball tournament that everyone gets excited about is the NCAA Tournament, which in 2011, will begin on Thursday, March 24th. And we won’t determine a winner until we are all the way into April.

So why all the madness?

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