HOT5 Daily 5/20/2009

1. "Why a “Palestinian Sate” has never happened and never will" Let's hope not.

Representative Sample : the entire peace process — including the two-state solution — is a chimera. Neither side can live with what the other can offer. But if it is a fiction, it is a fiction that serves U.S. purposes.

2. "The GOP needs libertarians more than libertarians need the GOP right now"  Good luck getting the base to recognize this.

Representative Sample: Once the Republican Party gained control of Congress, libertarians and the goals of the Republican Revolution were simultaneously flushed down the commode of win-at-all-costs politics.

3. "Faithist Memes, Religious Privilege, Victimization, and Bad Arguments" Five weak theist arguments you will hear repeatedly.

Representative Sample: According to the followers of this meme, by challenging their points, it’s offending their beliefs. Thus, they’re the victims. So, obviously, they should just have their way and that way no one will be offended!

4. "The rise of private policing in the U.S." Unlike the postion of the post, which is negative, this could be either good or bad, depending on how it is handled. It's not as if public policing is exactly abuse-free.

Representative Sample: some cities are actually pushing to give private security forces the power of arrest. What transparent union-busting. These cities don't want to pay pensions and benefits to real police officers, so they're falling back on disposable rent-a-cops.

5. "Kinder, Gentler GWOT" A good response to an interesting New Republic article.

Representative Sample: Wow. Howbout that New Republic. So Bush was justified by prior precedent all along, and his policies have been legitimized by Obama’s adoption of them.

To submit a blog post for HOT5 Daily, please e-mail me at unrright@NOSPAMgmail.com. Put HOT5 in the subject.