Once again we are told that the “second in command” of al-Qaida has been captured. The FOX War Channel is ecstatic. How many seconds in command is that, anyway?

Let’s see. Every time the new Number Two (how appropriate a name) is captured, things get much, much worse in Iraq. Therefore, the “obvious” conclusion is that capturing the new Number Two will make things better.  Americans who believe this pure bull and support the regime that dishes it out deserve to have their children drafted and sent to Iraq. ~Thomas DiLorenzo

Here is a classic example where I agree with the substance of Prof. DiLorenzo’s comments but somehow come away thinking that libertarians are capable of two “speeds” of argument: hyperbole and indifference mixed with contempt.  For instance, if there is a nefarious government regulation mandating water-conserving toilets, the outrage will be swift and severe against the maniacal designs of Leviathan’s hold on America’s toilets.  If someone suggests that the massive demographic transformation of entire sections of the country may have untoward and undesirable effects, or may even be disastrous for the country, the response will be: some of my best friends are Mexicans, and they don’t want to destroy America, you fool, and that’s all I’m going to say about that.  Here Prof. DiLorenzo is rightly concerned about the gullibility of the public and their willingness to keep buying into official stories of progress in the war, but somehow manages to put it in such a way that makes him–and his point–seem obnoxious.  I don’t know how someone takes justifiable outrage at public ignorance and government propaganda, then uses language in such a way that says he rather approves of the conscription and possible death of other people’s children and still expects to be taken seriously.