Links, 8-15-2008

• Gerard Baker:  Georgia:  Europe Wins a Gold Medal for Defeatism.  "If shifting moral blame won't relieve us of our responsibilities then surely defeatism will."  Europe and its moral degeneration.
• Thomas Sowell:  Whose Special Interests?  "Since unions are losing the game under the current rules, their obvious answer is to change the rules."  Open-ballot measure touted as worker's rights breakthrough really is about intimidating workers into doing the union's bidding.  Guess which presidential candidate strongly supports it?
• Kathleen Parker:  The Beauty of Imperfection.  "Democracy is messy."  I think she means "freedom is messy," but no matter.  Chinese Olympics stuff.
• Mona Charen:  The 3 A.M. Phone Call Is Real.  "Americans had already expressed misgivings about Barack Obama’s preparedness for the harsh world we inhabit. This laboratory test can only increase that anxiety."  Yeah, B.O. called for a U.N. Security Council resolution to halt the violence.  Guess who has a Security Council veto?
• James E. Carter and James C. Miller III:  President Obama's Economy.  "The combination of profligate spending and higher tax rates created a substantial drag on the economy. It didn’t help that President Obama has presided over one of the most protectionist administrations in decades."  A "look ahead."