Thoughts past midnight

James Lileks: "Will civilization be the death of civilization?"

Truly, I say yes.

I do not worry about nuclear bombs in the hands of North Korea or Iran. As Lenny Briscoe said on "Law & Order," "Crazy don't mean stupid. Look at my ex-wife."

I do not worry about North Korea or Iran setting off nuclear weapons. What I worry about is the sale of said weapons to other entities.

How to respond?

Napalm. Times a million.

With no response--with forceful civilization--the likelihood of a bomb in a major city, an event that would kill hundreds of thousands and reduce 9/11 to a mere forerunner, goes above fifty percent in my lifetime.

So what to do?

Civilization is what the UN gives you.

Survival is this.

President Bush: "Good evening. From this moment, any evidence that North Korea or Iran have a nuclear weapon, or are even close, will be considered an attack by said countries on the United States, and will be met with the full force of a military response. Yes, we were essentially wrong about WMDs in Iraq--not that Saddam Hussein did not deserve to be driven from office. Yes, if we erred, we erred on the side of safety. We will err on that side again, if pull comes to tug. But make no mistake. If we are wrong, let us be wrong on the side of safety. Thank you, and God bless America."