WEDNESDAY ROUNDUP: Rumors of Wars Edition

The world remains a dangerous place

Hello all! This morning I attended a training with Ada County Elections to be a Chief Judge for next month’s election. With as much controversy as there is over our national elections systems, I want to highlight the security of Ada County’s. There are numerous layers of accountability: poll workers are trained to make sure every ballot is accounted for at the start and the end of Election Day, corroborate the count of how many voters checked in versus how many ballots were cast, and to retain original paper ballots for future audits. I feel confident that we can trust our elections in Ada County.

Obviously the big story this week is the Middle East. Hamas launched a major terror attack against Israel, who is now preparing to retaliate with full scale war. Social media is full of rumors of atrocities, and it’s hard to tell what is really happening. This morning I saw reports that Hezbollah had launched an invasion of Israel from the north, only for later reports to suggest that a flock of birds had triggered detection systems.

Everyone is jumpy right now, for good reason. But for those of us in America, outside of the war zone, it behooves us to be patient and discerning. Many people have pointed out that yesterday was the 33rd anniversary of the testimony of “Nayirah,” a Kuwaiti teenager who supposedly witnessed atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces. She described awful things, including babies being dumped out of incubators and left to die. Her message helped convince the United States to intervene, sparking the Gulf War.

It was only after the war that the world learned that her testimony had been mostly made up. “Nayirah” was actually Nayirah al-Sabah, the daughter of the Kuwaiti ambassador to the United States. Her story had been prepared by a public relations firm on behalf of an organization that had been explicitly formed to sway public opinion in favor of intervention in Kuwait.

Such “atrocity propaganda” is used by many groups throughout the world, so we have to be careful about jumping to conclusions.

That said, I generally believe that Israel is the more civilized nation in this situation, and Hamas terrorists — no matter their grievances against Israel — cannot be allowed to murder innocent men, women, and children without consequences. However, I think the warmongering talk coming from politicians like Nikki Haley and Sen. Lindsey Graham is dangerously irresponsible.

As we wait for more information, I recommend this video by the Lotus Eaters crew on the background to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians. If I have time this week I might do a live stream where I share my own perspective on the fascinating history of that region.

There is another war going on, this one within the Idaho Republican Party. Thankfully this one is bloodless, but the rhetoric is escalating. As you know, the chairman of the Ada County Republican Central Committee suddenly resigned last week, publishing an open letter castigating both the Idaho GOP and PCs within the ACRCC. My article about the affair has been widely shared, hopefully giving some broader context to the controversy.

Since then, both the state party and the remaining members of the ACRCC executive board have issued statements of their own. Click here for the Idaho GOP response; the ACRCC’s statement is below:

On a happier note, have any of you heard of Lord Miles Routledge? He’s been described as a “danger tourist” for his propensity to visit areas of the world enmeshed in conflict. He first gained international notoriety for being stuck in Kabul when the Taliban took over in August 2021. Since then, he has visited Ukraine and South Sudan as well. He disappeared eight months ago on yet another trip to Kabul, causing many people to wonder if he had been killed.

This week, UK news reported that he had been released from Taliban custody along with three others. He has yet to tell the whole story of what happened (he’s presumably waiting for a book deal) but the lads at the Lotus Eaters shared their thoughts today in the video below.

Personally, I have enjoyed following Lord Miles’ adventures. He’s a throwback to a certain sort of carefree adventurer that we see throughout history — the pirate, the mountain man, the explorer who lives for danger. It’s nice to know that attitude hasn’t completely disappeared from the human race.

Last night I attended a candidate forum for the Meridian city council races. I took copious notes and should have a piece out tomorrow. Make sure you’re subscribed so you don’t miss a thing!