Interventionists often favor aggressive measures in response to a foreign conflict in large part so that they can make themselves look good or feel better. The pitfalls and risks of military action are beside the point so long as they can say that they are on “the right side of history” (and as long as they can vilify their domestic critics for being on the opposite side). If the intervention later produces worse conditions than the ones that existed before the decision to intervene, interventionists can always find some excuse for why they are not at fault and why their only mistake might have been not doing more.
David’s Secret Weapon
The real message of the battle with Goliath is not that the underdog wins, but that things are not always as they are seen.
.. Yet Saul, whose very selection has been a concession to an insecure populace, proves more attentive to the people who demanded a king than to divine commands.
.. David, by contrast, is accustomed to being underestimated—by his father, by his brothers, by Samuel, and by the king—and perhaps for that reason is able to see beyond appearances. And now he also knows that God has chosen him. Rather than being intimidated into submission by Goliath, he coolly analyzes the giant’s defenses, ascertains his weaknesses, and, presenting himself as a harmless shepherd boy, turns Goliath’s misperception to his advantage.
.. This tension between appearance and reality lies at the heart of the entire story. Here are the words with which Samuel had earlier introduced Saul to the people: “See ye whom the Lord has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people” (10:24). Saul looks fit to be a king, just as Goliath looks like a mighty warrior. But for Saul, as for Goliath, what you see is what you get, and all you get. Indeed, the verb see is used again and again throughout the narrative to highlight a superseded worldview.
.. Nor does David pray to God for help before the duel.
Super Bowl 50: F-15s to patrol skies after Blue Angels flyover
The Air National Guard and Civil Air Patrol are also there to make sure that any would-be trouble maker stays far, far away.
.. Sporting events in the past have quoted military flyovers costing between $100,000 to $450,000 depending on the quality and amount of aircraft used.
Some say that aircraft began participating in Super Bowl events in 1968, two years after the inception of the annual championship (1966 was considered to be the first AFL-NFLchampionship; the term ‘Super Bowl’ didn’t apply until 1967) . Super Bowl I did not have a flyover.
Economists Against the Draft
Economists actually played a key role in the Nixon administration’s decision to end the draft in 1973. The draft ended because people hated the Vietnam War, but economists provided the intellectual justification.
.. The basic argument was that the market for soldiers should work like any other labor market. Let the government decide how many people it needs, and let it pay for their labor.
.. A draft lowers the cost for the wealthy “because the people who are important don’t have their children going off and they’re also not paying as much in taxes.”
.. “The military now concedes that women can perform in combat roles, so the rationale for why they shouldn’t be drafted doesn’t apply,” said Tim Bakken, a law professor at the United States Military Academy, adding that a new lawsuit could force a change. “The facts have overtaken the law.”