The Rabid Quill

One of the first things that are wrong is this: the deep and silent modern assumption that past things have become impossible. There is one metaphor of which the moderns are very fond; they are always saying, “You can’t put the clock back.” The simple and obvious answer is “You can.” A clock, being a piece of human construction, can be restored by the human finger to any figure or hour. In the same way society, being a piece of human construction, can be reconstructed upon any plan that has ever existed.

-G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World

Ron Paul and his supporters are frequently derided as clinging to the 19th century, as lovers of anachronisms and “disproven” ideas. They love the barbaric relic of gold, and want to take us back to the age of robber barons and child labor. No matter how Ron Paul’s enemies choose to mischaracterize his agenda, his platform does indeed take much inspiration from the past. My contention, however, is that looking to the past constitutes a strength, not a weakness. In fact, the past is now the only route to a decent future.

Every election promises the same things: new ideas, a new direction, leadership that looks to the future. But what is so very wrong with the old ideas, the old directions or leadership that consults the past? There has to be something useful about the past! Do all the ideas of our predecessors become obsolete every four years?

This need to “look to the future” with “new ideas” and “progressive” thought is not just infatuation with the new, and it isn’t just the “progressive” left that does this. The gubernatorial campaign of the incumbent Republican governor in Indiana, Mitch Daniels, uses this vocabulary in profusion. I am convinced this language represents a fear of the past. And why shouldn’t our politicians be afraid of the past? The great statesmen of previous generations tower over today’s petty politics. Thomas Paine wrote Common Sense and moved a continent. When a modern politician writes a book, it is a stack of mass market chum published to boost campaign visibility.

The familiar turn of phrase, standing on the shoulders of giants, does not apply to modern America. She has not only climbed down from those sturdy shoulders, but is so intimidated by the giants she runs the other way.

The future is a blank wall on which every man can write his own name as large as he likes; the past I find already covered with illegible scribbles, such as Plato, Isaiah, Shakespeare, Michael Angelo, Napoleon. I can make the future as narrow as myself; the past is obliged to be as broad and turbulent as humanity. And the upshot of this modern attitude is really this: that men invent new ideals because they dare not attempt old ideals. They look forward with enthusiasm, because they are afraid to look back.

-G.K. Chesterton, What’s Wrong with the World

If we avoid looking at the past, we are spared the task of living up to it. The blank slate of the future allows us to scribble our ambitions as if they were grand new ideas. It has not already been painted on by the great masters from the past.

This is what makes Ron Paul’s version of change wholly unique in the presidential field. He was brave enough to look to the past, and find the ideas that already did us well, even if America gave up on them. The gold standard was not disproven just because it was abandoned. In fact, it is this abandonment of hard money that has caused the present-day credit crisis! Laizzes-faire was not disproven just because government chose to intervene. Constitutionalism is not disproven just because the current government is too far out of its bounds. It is exactly because we gave up on these ideas that they are worth trying again. We’ve been trying “new” things for so long, a true change would be to try something old! And that is what Ron Paul’s campaign offered.

The term “conservative” at least suggests a respect for the past, which is why I find myself working in the Republican Party in order to affect some positive political change in this country. I believe a lot of other people have made the same decision, now that they have discovered Constitutionalism and the ideals that most consider “libertarian.” Hopefully there is room in this Party for more than one Ron Paul. I don’t see any new blood coming into the GOP from other sources, so there had better be, or Republicans are going to go share their fate with the Dodo, and for the same reasons.

When America observed strict Constitutionalism, exercised a more laizzes-faire policy than today, and stuck to a hard money standard, she enjoyed steady and sustainable economic growth that dwarfs even today’s booming Asia. For some reason, those ideas were given up on, because some people feared the inconveniences of too much freedom, and instead preferred the obstacles accompanying too little freedom. We have tried the welfare-warfare state for nearly a century. We have endlessly chased the new, and have not avoided what I can only describe as a brewing economic meltdown. In the present crisis, is it still too soon to look back and try the ideas that worked?

I won’t lie: I love playing competitive games across the Internet. Usually that takes the form of a PC or console shooter, maybe an RTS, but more than a few times I like taking a break from “hardcore” gaming and settle down to the likes of an online board game. In this case I played some Backgammon. I came across the slick BGroom software, an online backgammon client, which allows you to play with others, for free or with actual money, across the Internet. It’s available at a few different websites all operated it seems by the same group, but all three are similarly useful. They will be linked in the rest of this article, and provide information on the game, its rules, etiquette, strategies, tournaments and a pile of other irresistible knowledge for the backgammon junkie.

For example, do you know what a Raccoon is, and why it follows a beaver? Check out this terminology page. This game is so much more nuanced than I thought.

Now, I’m not a gamblin’ man so I didn’t risk any of my own money in the process, but I did want to provide a look at the software they provided.

The download was quick and the installation takes care of itself. I’m usually wary of downloading gaming software — you run a high risk sometimes of catching some adware and spyware in the process. Not so with BGroom so far. The application’s installation was clean and quick, didn’t ask for any personal details, and fired right up. The interface is snappy, intuitive, and easy on the eyes.

The main screen for their program, once you’ve installed it and created an account, looks like the image above. There are several rooms for different skill levels, each filled with games in progress as well as open games available to join. You can even create your own.

Before you and your opponent even begin, a screen allows you to negotiate the terms of your game, the stakes, which optional rules you’ll use and what the pace of the game’s timer will be like. It’s all very flexible and quick. You’ll be playing in no time.

Even those who have never played backgammon online (or even the traditional dead-tree variety) will find this online game relatively easy to pick up. Only the actions the game’s rules permit you to take are highlighted on the board when you roll the dice at the beginning of your turn. If you don’t know how to play, it can just about teach you. You can probably tell from the screen on the right that I still need some more teaching.

Even if the game itself is insufficient to teach you, they provide a pretty good introduction to the rules and strategies of the game at this website.

My experience with the software overall was very pleasant. I don’t know how long the practice points will last you if you have a habit of losing, but this is a version of backgammon I could easily choose over its flash-based rivals elsewhere on the Web.

Pages to check out:

• BGPrime (online backgammon) - Information on game etiquette,
• BGRoom (backgammon online)- Download one of the most successful backgammon web apps around
• 1on1Backgammon - Beginner’s tips, strategies and tutorials

I think the McCain campaign is staffed by comedians. Granted, they’ve done a better job than the bumbling parasites running my favorite Congressman’s campaign, but sometimes these guys make strange requests. Since McCain became the presumptive nominee, I’ve gotten regular solicitations from the Republican Party’s newsletter to donate to his campaign. Below is the text of their most recent mailing.

Dear Supporter,

As we head into the graduation and summer holiday season, we have an exciting offer for all John McCain supporters. The John McCain 2008 campaign is offering you a special opportunity to receive an autographed copy of Faith of My Fathers, the national bestselling story of John McCain and his family.

In Faith of My Fathers, John McCain tells his amazing story of courage and leadership during his more than five years as a POW in North Vietnam. The examples and lessons taught by his father and grandfather enabled him to survive imprisonment and emerge as a true American hero. This book demonstrates that the McCain family has long believed that the highest honor one can gain is through service to our country. John McCain has served our country for decades, and we want him to continue serving as our next President of the United States.

Today, with your contribution of $150 or more, you will receive a signed, hardcover copy of the inspiring Faith of My Fathers. This book can be shared with your family and friends to help them understand, in John McCain’s own words, the service he and his family have had the honor of providing to our country. There is no doubt that this book will reinforce what you, his strongest supporters, already know; he is the right man at the right time to lead our country. Please follow this link to reserve your copy today.

Now, first of all, John McCain’s autograph just isn’t worth $150 to me. I used to like him, years ago. He was less supportive of the war than his Republican peers, and was apparently willing to stick to principle rather than party. That doesn’t seem to be the case anymore. He’s like so many other Republicans I’ve met, who may have once believed in the philosophy of freedom, but have since sold out or made compromises out of fear, or have caught the imperialist brain rot. They’re nice guys, but someone has flipped a few switches in their heads that make their actions wildly inconsistent with their beliefs. I think John McCain is one of those Republicans. Not sexy for a true believer in small, restrained government.

Second, this book was published in 1999. I don’t recall a whole lot about that election season’s primary race, but maybe this book was a good advertising mechanism back then. Back then, John McCain would have been a wee lad barely into his sixties. But he’s running for president again, and has he published anything else? Anything elaborating on what he really believes, and what he wants to do about it? Ron Paul has a book that was officially released two days ago, and from the very first page it shows sharp wit, the product of a vigorous mind. Johnny, you’re slipping. I guess you’re just not the young, energetic dynamo you were at 62. Like the candidate, this book is old and unoriginal. It’s a family memoir. I haven’t read it, but I doubt such a work contains a whole lot in the way of policy beliefs. If anything it’s a work of fan service for all those who feel a romantic nostalgia for the Fifties. I guess that’s appropriate. That demographic is the biggest group to remain loyal to the Republican Party over the last 8 years.

And finally, he didn’t even write this by himself. It was co-authored by Mark Salter. That’s not really a fault, but if you were to judge the remaining two Republican presidential candidates based on their book-related activities, John McCain is lagging way behind. He’s recycling a 9-year-old book about his family that he had help writing, while his competitor has just published an incisive manifesto, an exclamation point at the end of a candidacy which has already sparked a velvet revolution within the Republican Party, and American politics.

So John McCain is selling a flourish of his pen for $150. My guess is that his 71-year-old cancer-survivor hand can only handle about 50 such scribbles. Maybe 80 if he switches hands. Any takers?