With the appointment of a new executive editor, it's a time of renewal at the New York Times. Case in point: David Brooks's Friday column, "The Depravity Factor."  Therein, the so-called "conservative" columnist of the Good Gray Lady announces the startling discovery that, sometimes, you know, only the use of force will do.  Really. Sometimes you just need to take people out.  Not until all of the depraved despots of the Middle and Near East have been deposed, Brooks writes, de haut en bas (or assume room temperature, as Rush would say),  is there a realistic chance of achieving an Arab-Israeli settlement. Or achieving the over-arching goal of creating modern, healthy nation-states across the Muslim heartland. Truly, the scales have fallen from David Brooks' eyes. He's a Daniel-come-to-judgment. Iraq? "It was necessary to get rid of Saddam's depraved regime." Muammar Qaddafi?  "Fundamentally depraved..." Hamas? "[D]epraved." Bashar al-Assad? "[O]ne of the...(Read Full Post)