Comments on: Leave the Gun. Take the Cannoli. http://www.newclarion.com/2010/03/leave-the-gun-take-the-cannoli/ Our mission is to combat the unreason and selflessness that are sweeping our culture from the nihilist left to the religious right, and to sound a new ideal of capitalism and individual rights in American politics. Mon, 06 Feb 2012 03:04:42 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Myrhaf http://www.newclarion.com/2010/03/leave-the-gun-take-the-cannoli/#comment-8027 Myrhaf Wed, 24 Mar 2010 04:59:37 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2010/03/leave-the-gun-take-the-cannoli/#comment-8027 Fascinating story. It's been almost 40 years since I read Dune, so I've forgotten everything except that it is a desert planet with big worms. Fascinating story. It’s been almost 40 years since I read Dune, so I’ve forgotten everything except that it is a desert planet with big worms.

]]> By: Mike http://www.newclarion.com/2010/03/leave-the-gun-take-the-cannoli/#comment-8018 Mike Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:00:00 +0000 http://www.newclarion.com/2010/03/leave-the-gun-take-the-cannoli/#comment-8018 Spot-on observation, sir. I would like to add another similar fictional parallel. No spoilers, as this all occurs in Act 1 of the novel and is therefore expository: In Frank Herbert's "Dune," the Atreides go to Arrakis to claim their fiefdom knowing it is a trap and that the Harkonnens will attack. They believe that the cost and logistics of bringing force to bear through the conduits of space will prevent the Harkonnens from doing much more than matching their numbers. They therefore assume that with superior Atreides training, awareness of the trap, and moral superiority, they will carry the day. The Atreides are defeated, because the Harkonnens show up not with the expected level of force, but with overwhelming force. Atreides mentat Thufir Hawat estimates that the Harkonnens spent their entire fortune to bribe the Spacing Guild enough to transport all their military <i>materiel</i> to Arrakis. Baron Harkonnen confirms this later in the book: he spent their House into almost a century of debt to make good and sure the Harkonnens WON. Hawat laments that he failed to anticipate that Baron Harkonnen would pay any cost, no matter how high, to ensure victory. The Harkonnens went to the mattresses, just as the Democrats did. They were willing to pay any cost to win, and it worked. Mark Steyn is absolutely right that even if this costs the Democrats a decade or more out of power, when they come back, their socialistic heath care Leviathan will still be in place, stagnating along. They could hardly wish for a greater prize. Spot-on observation, sir. I would like to add another similar fictional parallel. No spoilers, as this all occurs in Act 1 of the novel and is therefore expository:

In Frank Herbert’s “Dune,” the Atreides go to Arrakis to claim their fiefdom knowing it is a trap and that the Harkonnens will attack. They believe that the cost and logistics of bringing force to bear through the conduits of space will prevent the Harkonnens from doing much more than matching their numbers. They therefore assume that with superior Atreides training, awareness of the trap, and moral superiority, they will carry the day.

The Atreides are defeated, because the Harkonnens show up not with the expected level of force, but with overwhelming force. Atreides mentat Thufir Hawat estimates that the Harkonnens spent their entire fortune to bribe the Spacing Guild enough to transport all their military materiel to Arrakis. Baron Harkonnen confirms this later in the book: he spent their House into almost a century of debt to make good and sure the Harkonnens WON. Hawat laments that he failed to anticipate that Baron Harkonnen would pay any cost, no matter how high, to ensure victory.

The Harkonnens went to the mattresses, just as the Democrats did. They were willing to pay any cost to win, and it worked. Mark Steyn is absolutely right that even if this costs the Democrats a decade or more out of power, when they come back, their socialistic heath care Leviathan will still be in place, stagnating along. They could hardly wish for a greater prize.

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