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Let’s assume for a second that the Iraqi war was perfectly planned and that the aftermath of the fall of Saddam had been a smooth transition to democracy. Would Kofi Annan have said this:
From our point of view and the [U.N. ] charter point of view, [the Iraq war] was illegal.
So, in other words, the financial interests of France, Germany and Russia trump the humanitarian and peacemaking mission of the UN?
What exactly would be a legal action under the UN charter? Sitting around and doing nothing while millions of people are killed in Sudan? Sitting around and doing nothing while millions of people are killed in Bosnia? Sitting around and doing nothing while hundreds of thousands of people are tortured and killed in Iraq? Sitting around and doing nothing about human rights violations in North Korea, Iran, China, Kafur? Sitting around and doing nothing while North Korea and Iran develop nuclear weapons programs? Accepting bribes and allowing the Iraqi government to sell oil illegally?
The UN is a useless, corrupt organization that does nothing accept translate speeches.
Lockout???? YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!! I can’t wait to have SportsCenter this winter without all those annoying hockey highlights. That will just mean more NCAA Basketball highlights. WOOHOO!! The NHL could not stay away long enough, as far as I’m concerned.
Not to pile on or anything, but has anyone noticed the bracelet that John Kerry wears on his left hand? I wonder what that is. Seems unusual for a predidential candidate, but it could be, among many other things, some kind of Vietnam thing.
(This could have just been something he wore yesterday…)
Dan Rather. To me, the man is the poster child of perceived liberal bias of the majority of the media. I’m not sure the bias is what it used to be, but Rather continues to exhibit bias, even partisanship. It seems to me that he is letting his ego bring down the entire news reputation at CBS over this National Guard issue. I didn’t think CBS could fall any further, but Rather has seen fit to leave his mark yet again.
Experts, including the one CBS used, cast significant doubt on the authenticity of these documents.
I know the readers of these pages have moved on from discussions of the events of 30+ years ago to more relevant issues that have a significant impact on the current presidential race. It seems to me that most of America has as well.
Why would Rather stake his reputation (or lack of one if you look to CBS news’ fall in the ratings) on this issue?
sorry, harry, i didn’t get a chance to read the linked article before yahoo pulled it.
but did you see this?
The Moller M400.
Harry’s new ride.
I still think Kerry’s biggest problem is that, deep down, he agrees with the way the current administration is fighting the war on terror. I wonder what would happen if he just said “Hey, I think these guys have done a pretty good job fighting the war on terror and I’ll do pretty much the same thing they are doing. Now, let’s focus on all these domestic problems where these guys haven’t done a good job.” (Kerry speaking not me)
The problem with this stance is that it really would alienate the left in the Dem party and put his base at risk–and they might pick Nader or someone else instead.
However, I think it would accomplish Kerry’s major problem right now: shifting focus from foreign policy to domestic issues. He’s certainly got very different ideas about what to do domestically and shifting the argument there would force people to make a clear choice. At the end of the day, his leftist ideas about how to run doemstic policy might win back over the base who he might lose over a foreign policy agreement with Bush. Also, making such a statement agreeing with Bush would help clear up his otherwise horrible explanation of his stance on the Iraq war.
“If we make the wrong choice, then the danger is that we’ll get hit again and we’ll be hit in a way that will be devastating from the standpoint of the United States.”
Via: Sullivan
So, the first week of football is behind us, and the three teams of note on this board all walked away with wins - one a little more close than the others.
Georgia at South Carolina
This week, the Georgia Bulldogs head to the ugliest football stadium in America, the flex space building that is Billy Brice to match up against a South Carolina team wearing its third new uniform in four years. That simple fact is a wonderful metaphor for the Cocks.
The bad news for the Dawgs is this could be an overlooker. South Carolina does have the talent to sneak into a title game in the incredibly competitive SEC - a la Arkansas a few years ago - and if they pull the upset in front of an always rowdy black-clad crowd, they’d be on the road to a sneaky SEC win.
Thing is they won’t because Lou Holtz has never won a close game at South Carolina and until he does, you can’t pick his team to win a close one. This is a last drive sort of game, and it will feature two of the better running attacks in the country. It will look, smell and be like true SEC football - not that Florida, bomb-it-long junk. In the end, the Dawgs walk away with a hard fought victory and even more confidence. Georgia 24…South Carolina 21
Georgia Tech at Clemson
Clemson looked feable at times last week against Wake Forest, but it’s important to remember that Wake Forest coach Jim Grobe has Tommy Bowden’s number. Wake beat Clemson 45-17 last year the week before that same Clemson team pasted FSU. On the other hand, it’s still Wake Forest and the Tigers needed last second heroics to escape with the win.
Georgia Tech can play defense and Clemson can’t run. Unless the running game improves for the Tigers or Charlie Whitehurst gets into the groove, this should be a low scoring affair. Georgia Tech QB Reggie Ball can’t throw but he can run and the Tigers gave up 260 yards to Wake.
This game is a lot like the Georgia game with one exception, Clemson is at home. That fact alone should give the Tigers enough of an edge to pull out a low-scoring, close game. Clemson 17…Georgia Tech 10.
Two notes: I should have done this last week, but I’ll be here every week from now on and will keep track. Others are welcome to pick through the comments section. Secondly, Tennessee has a week off before they get the Ron Zook version of the Gators.
The National Review has a pretty interesting take on the national debt.
The numbers are staggering: The CBO estimates the unfunded liability for Social Security at $7.2 trillion. But this is virtually nothing next to the $37.6 trillion cost of Medicare. In short, we would need to have about $45 trillion in the bank today earning interest in order to pay all the promises that have been made for future Social Security and Medicare benefits � over and above the future taxes and premiums that will be collected to fund these programs.
These numbers, in my mind, argue for two things. Tax cuts have to stop, and, in fact, taxes have to be raised.
To put these numbers into a form that is comprehensible, the CBO [Congrssional Busget Office] has made a calculation of the future gross domestic product that will be produced over the same time period. These are the actual resources from which Social Security and Medicare benefits will be paid. The CBO estimates that we would have to raise taxes by 6.5 percent of GDP immediately and forever to maintain these programs in perpetuity. This year alone, that would mean a tax increase of $800 billion.
Secondly, and importantly, the goal of universal health care is unattainable without one of three things: another rise in taxes, enormous cuts in defense spending, or enormous cuts of every other federal funding program including farming, highways, schools, training, arts, etc. This final piece should include pork.
Bartlett finishes with a pretty spectacular observation:
At least when a corporation misbehaves, there is an ultimate market check in the form of bankruptcy. Creative accounting can only go so far in covering up transactions that are fundamentally unsound. But national governments never go bankrupt and don�t have to worry about customers buying their goods and services for revenue. They just raise taxes or print money and keep on going. �As a result, temptations for the government to engage in creative accounting may be even greater than those in the private sector,� Block suggested.
It�s worth keeping this in mind the next time some congressional demagogue denounces corporate dishonesty.
Zogby, who is evidently a real person, has a pretty interesting breakdown of the polls saying Bush has an 11% lead over Kerry.
It’s worth reading to understand the polls, or at least this Zogby fellows interpretation thereof. For instance, the Newsweek poll showing Bush’s big lead, had a majority of Republican voters, whilst the last two elections have, according to Zogby, been split pretty evenly betwixt Independents, Republicans and Democrats with a slight lead for Democrats. Of course, it could be that there are more Republicans now, but, well, read the next paragraph.
Are the polls skewed? I don’t think so, but I also don’t think things are nearly as dire as pundits and Kerry himself seem to believe.
Looks like Georgie Boy’s scared of a little debate. Poor Georgie. Those citizens can be mighty scary. Run away, Georgie, run away.
Almost regardless of what happens in Iraq and Afghanistan, President Bush is very unlikely to fulfill his promise of reducing the federal budget deficit by half within five years, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said today.
“The message is that you cannot grow your way out of this,” said Douglas Holtz-Eakin, who is director of the Congressional Budget Office and a former chief economist on President Bush’s Council of Economic Advisers.
So, it’s cuts in programs, then? Strange, I don’t remember any mention of cuts in spending.
In fact, I’m pretty sure, this administration spends more than anyone, not counting the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. George Bush says this:
If you look at the appropriations bills that were passed under my watch, in the last year of President Clinton, discretionary spending was up 15 percent, and ours have steadily declined.
But what he really means is that spending has grown, on his watch, from $319 billion to $417 billion during his tenure - numbers that are adjusted for inflation. The White House publishes these sort of things (Excel spreadsheet), but, if you don’t read, you won’t know that.
Here’s a “little” analysis of his spending, courtesy of a Google search for the phrase “bush’s spending.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: Written with a little help from Slate.
though we often post here our differences in opinion, i’ve long felt that on most issues the vast majority of americans agree (something like 80+%). unfortunately, to get nominated for your parties ticket, you must pander to the wings of the party.
the most influential middle man at present is arnold. he is doing a great job in left leaning california. the opinionjournal has a lovely summary of it here.
it’s too bad that we won’t see arnold vs. hillary in ‘08. he would seriously kick her ass.
though we often post our differences here at bs, i’ve long felt that on most issues, the vast majority of americans agree (something like 80+%).
i think the best current example of this is in left leaning california. arnold is doing a fantastic job. the opionionjournal has a lovely summary of it here.
regardless of whose in the white house next year, it is truly unfortunate that we won’t see a battle between arnold and hillary in ‘08. he would seriously kick her ass.
“U.S. Official Says Close to Catching Bin Laden“
in response to m. shores sept 2 post, reuters has come up with this article. it sure would be refreshing if they would just surprise us with photos of his body rather than taunt us with fables of his near capture.
and if it fails, i’m sure we will hear from the left about how this was just another right wing political move.
I meant to link to this from the WSJ editorial page yesterday and now I can’t find the link, but I think it’s worth rewriting because it makes an excellent and most important point:
You might think that having watched workers leap to their deaths from the Twin Towers, nothing about Islamic terrorists could shock us.
We thought so too. But even in the midst of a bloody battle for civilization itself, the images that converged on America yesterday scream out: The photograph of the dead girl hanging out the window of a suicide-bombed Israeli bus on the newspaper front pages; the Web footage of a Nepalese worker in Iraq having his throat slit, one of 12 hostages killed; and the Russian children who at this writing are being used as human shields by terrorists (presumed to be Chechens) who stormed their school, killed some people and are threatening to kill 50 children for any member of their group harmed. . . .
We say: Look at the pictures. Look at the children who die not because they are collateral damage but because they are the TARGETS (emphasis mine). And ask yourself the uncomfortable but defining question of this campaign: Is this the kind of enemy that requires a “more sensitive” war?
The summation of the article is even more poignant today after what appears to be a bloody, horrific end to the activities in Russia.
I’d give it a B+ for effectiveness, which is higher than I would have given Kerry, but I can only give it a C in terms of things I believe in. I’ll shut up now.
Washington Post: Kerry did not cast a series of votes against weapons systems, as Sen. Zell Miller (D-Ga.) suggested in a slashing convention speech in New York late Wednesday, but instead Kerry opposed a huge Pentagon spending package in 1990 as part of congressional deliberations over restructuring the military in the post-Cold War era.
� Both Vice President Cheney and Miller have said that Kerry would like to see U.S. troops deployed only at the direction of the United Nations, with Cheney noting that the remark had been made at the start of Kerry’s political career. This refers to a statement made nearly 35 years ago, when Kerry gave an interview to the Harvard Crimson, 10 months after he had returned from the Vietnam War angry and disillusioned by his experiences there. (President Bush at the time was in the Air National Guard, about to earn his wings.)
� Both Cheney and Miller faulted Kerry for voting against body armor for troops in Iraq. But much of the funding for body armor was added to the bill by House Democrats, not the administration, and Kerry’s vote against the entire bill was rooted in a dispute with the administration over how to pay for $20 billion earmarked for reconstruction of Iraq.
So, despite hopes for a repeat Big Speech blog, you’ll have to wait for my comments after the fact. I know you’re sad, but do remember, they will be comments effected by analysis.
So far, he’s pretty good. In fact, his speech to this point is the same as David Brooks’ article posted below.
David Brooks, author of one of my favorite books, Bobos in Paradise, had an article in this past Sunday’s NY Times’ Magazine about how to rework the Republican Party considering a number of facts, the first of which is the title of the article: The Era of Small Government is Over.
If what is laid out here were indeed the basic tenets of any party, that party would be my party.
1. We need to strengthen nation-states. The great menace of the 20th century was overbearing and tyrannical governments. The great menace of the 21st century will be failed governments, because those are the places where our enemies will be able to harbor and thrive, where violence can nurture and grow, where life is nasty, brutish and short.
2. At home, the most obvious and daunting problem is runaway entitlement spending. Right now, Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security consume 8 percent of U.S. G.D.P. By 2040 these programs will consume 17 percent….The solution is clear: push back the retirement age, reduce benefits for upper-income people, redesign the welfare state so that individuals have control over their own benefits packages.
3. America remains a remarkably mobile society, but at the bottom ends of the education and income scales, we’re seeing an ever-larger group of people unable to rise and succeed….Progressive conservatives understand that while culture matters most, government can alter culture. It has done it in bad ways, and it can do it in good ways.
4. People in the strong-government tradition do not believe in active government for the sake of active government, but for the sake of competition….Everybody understands that our budget and tax systems have become dishonorable, favoring the well connected, neglecting everybody else, breeding cynicism and sapping national morale. These systems will never be pure and pork-free. But every few years somebody has to come in and clean out the encrustations that inevitably develop.
5. Our current energy supplies are economically unsustainable and politically dangerous. For conservatives, the first task is to move the debate beyond its politically ruinous confines.
6. American society is now rife with forces that encourage people to think about their own success, to cultivate their own gardens, to segment themselves off into their own cultural cliques. There should be at least one moment in life when people are encouraged to serve a cause larger than self-interest, fuse their own efforts with those from other regions and other walks of life and cultivate a spirit of citizenship.
Kerry: I’m not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq
Has anyone noticed we haven’t seen one of those “rat speaking from a hole” videos of Osama bin Laden in quite some time? I wonder if that’s an indication of something good–as in he’s dead or having more trouble as his network is crumbling.
Senator Zell Miller sort of reminds us of the retarded guy who thinks he’s the quarterback of team when actually he’s the towel boy. He’s the GOP’s mascot, not a player and there’s something creepy and condescending in the way Republicans treat him, like they have plans to de-pants him or give him a swirly in the locker room as soon as no one’s watching. That was the plot of a Cuba Gooding, Jr. movie or something, right?
If anyone missed MSNBC/Hardball with Chris Matthews coverage of the convention last night, you missed the most hilarious exchange between a reporter and a politician I have ever witnessed. Both Matthews and his colleague Keith Olberman recount some of it here. In the heat of the argument, Zell said he’d like to challenge Matthews to a old fashioned duel a la Aaron Burr.
Neither Matthews nor Miller could hear each other very well and they obviously misinterpreted some of what the other was saying. Zell was royally pissed (an understatement) at what he thought was mistreatment and liberal bias of Matthews. He was rightfully pissed at Matthews’ tendency to talk over his guests before they have a chance to answers.
MSNBC has by far the best coverage and analysis.
Update: I found a link to the video clip.
I just watched, with my lovely and pregnant wife, the man who tried to beat me up because I wouldn’t play a rap song at the fraternity house talk to CNN about tonight’s speeches by Messrs. Miller and Cheney. That’s right, Dylan Glenn. Unbelievable.
Let’s see: a school held hostage, two planes blown out of the sky, and suicide bombers. Fun couple of days in Russia.
The Economist argues, importantly, that these recent attacks in Russia have nothing to do with al Qaeda and everything to do with the failed policies of President Putin.
The carte blanche given to Russian security forces to abduct, torture and kill young Chechen men suspected of rebel ties spawned the �black widow� phenomenon; and it is no longer confined to Chechnya.
If you’re unfamiliar with the black widows of Chechnya, take a look at this article.
Dust was falling over the Chechen village of Kirov-Yurt when the Russian troops approached Uvais Nagayev, 32, at the gate of his family house. They asked him and his friend Zaur Dagayev, 29, for their passports, beat them to the ground, dragged them to a nearby cemetery and shot them.
Amant Nagayeva, the sister of Uvais, was, authorities suspect, the bomber of one of the planes in Russia.
Really crack reporting from the nice folks at the Old Grey Lady.
Bianca, a dancer from Puerto Rico, said it was the same stuff, different state with a group of delegates and their friends from North Carolina on Saturday. “This guy bought me two drinks. I tried to get him to dance. He wouldn’t do it. He tells me, ‘I’m very conservative, my friends made me come here.’ He was really uncomfortable.”
This is hilarious, from today’s AJC. The Carpenters union in Atlanta is hiring people to picket the State Bar of Georgia, because the carpenters themselves are “too busy” working to do it themselves. Anyone wonder why many people our age think unions have outlived their usefulness?
From the NYT, By ELISABETH BUMILLER Published: August 31, 2004
ASHUA, N.H., Aug. 30 - President Bush, in an interview broadcast on Monday, said he did not think America could win the war on terror but that it could make terrorism less acceptable around the world.
Lest one think there might be a ray of realism in W’s fog, along come Scott McClellan and the rest of the Republican goons to quash that notion:
From the NYT, By DAVID STOUT Published: August 31, 2004
President Bush tried today to stop the political fallout over his comments last weekend that the war on terror might not be winnable. Indeed, �we will win� that war, Mr. Bush told the national convention of the American Legion in Nashville.
Is is better to protect the nation from reality and feign strength than to acknowledge truth and be portrayed as indecisive? Only when you’re weak.
The Electoral College is changing quickly. The latest polls when factored into the elctoral calculus put Bush ahead and with more than the 270 votes. Very interesting change in the matter of weeks. Who knows the reason, but the Swift Boat ads and Kerry’s virtual disappearance from the news coverage in the past few weeks are surely factors.
This may make the “bounce” from the RNC non-existent because it appears to be happening before the convention is even over.
I don’t count Kerry out given his dramatic comeback in the Dem primaries, but his campaign is certainly on the wrong course at the moment.
Although I don’t think anyone was watching last night, this portion of Rudy’s speech caught the right tone:
I don’t believe we’re right about everything and Democrats are wrong. They’re wrong about most things. [Big laugh.] But seriously, neither party has a monopoly on virtue. We don’t have all the right ideas. They don’t have all the wrong ideas. But I do believe there are times in history when our ideas are more necessary and more important and critical and this is one of those times when we are facing war and danger.
I think that tone will play well with any voters who did see it. Later, Giuliani honored Kerry’s military service, and the crowd spontaneously — and genuinely — applauded. That type of response would be unthinkable at a Democratic rally today, but what Democratic operatives don’t understand is that this administration and Republicans generally really do honor military service — it’s not a political posture.
Later, Guiliani criticized Kerry’s record and history of flip-flopping, as Ann Althouse describes:
Bush sticks with his position, and Kerry changes. Kerry voted against the Gulf War, Giuliani says, and when the crowd boos, he ad libs, “Ah! But he must have heard you booing,” because Kerry later supported the war. Giuliani is animated and comical as he talks about Kerry. He quotes Kerry’s famous voted-for-it-voted-against-it line and does a cool New York shrug with perfect timing.
Giuliani remained lighthearted, and no one will be able to say he was nasty, but it’s a bad sign for Dems that Republicans are in a position to mock the opposition.
So far, so good.
m. ferguson makes an interesting point about why america’s conservatives should possibly hope for a kerry victory in november.
Sorry, boys, but Reuters has bad news: “Flying Cars Reportedly Still Decades Away“
Researchers stress that the ultimate dream � an affordable, easy-to-use vehicle that could allow regular people to fly 200 miles to a meeting and also drive 15 miles to the mall � is still probably decades away.
Our teachers LIED to us.
We are three-quarters toward the end of this crisis,” said Hamed al-Khafaf, senior aide to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani who entered Najaf in a huge convoy of vehicles earlier Thursday for talks with radical rival Moqtada al-Sadr.
The Iraqis are finally taking an interest in the future of their own country. This, to me, seems like a watershed moment.
The number of Americans living in poverty rose by 1.3 million last year, to 35.9 million, while those without health insurance climbed by 1.4 million, to 45 million, the Census Bureau reported today.
With statistics like these, George Bush should lose the presidency.
Unfortunately, the Democrats have nominated, again, a pompous blowhard who, when placed in the harsh light of a presidential campaign, will simply wilt. Why?
It’s an interesting phenomenom, and I’ve got a name for it: Pompous Blowhard Syndrome, or PBS.
PBS takes two forms. The first is a tendency to speak as if your literary teacher was Lord Alfred Tenyson, standing on a pulpit, looking down over his pupils, and booming about the incredible beauty of a sparrow, which, actually, is a pretty fun lecture - if you’re talking about sparrows. It’s a completely different thing if you’re talking about my health insurance.
Tenyson was a famous egomaniac. One of the commonalities shared amongst all egomaniacs is a fragile sense of self-worth. This fragility leads to problem number two: when faced with a challenge to their own character or ideas, the sufferer of PBS will exagerate.
For example, “I invented the internet,” or, “I was in Cambodia for Christmas when Nixon said there were no troops in Cambodia.” Both of these have some vague basis in truth, but they are also both false.
George Bush’s tenure has been a spectacular failure: the largest attack against American soil in our history, an uncompromised intelligence failure, an unparralleled deficit, a level of tension between America and its allies never before seen in our history, an environtal policy that is environmental in name only, and a nation divided in a way it has not been in thirty years.
All or none of this may be George Bush’s fault, but it’s irrelevant. His tenure has been a failure.
George Bush, though, will get a second chance because John Kerry suffers from PBS worse even than his predecessor, the unbearably oratorial Al Gore.
Look, I may be wrong: Bush’s policies may yet work. Kerry’s handlers may get him to shut up, and, god have mercy, stop talking about Vietnam. The economic news may get better or worse. Iraq may improve or devolve. France may suddenly fall in love with America.
But, as it stands now, the beer test will rule the day, and I never, ever want to have a beer with John Kerry.
I’m not changing my vote, Bush has been too ineffectual and I disagree too strongly with too many of his positions, but my sense now is this: the campaign begins in earnest this Monday and George Bush will receive a post-convention boost. That boost will put Kerry on the defensive, and, as a classic sufferer of PBS, he will lose complete and total control of himself. You’ve heard it before and my fear is it will become indemic in his campaign.
Violence has erupted in Najaf, despite the presence of thousands of Iraqi civilians. It is not immediately clear who, but someone lobbed mortars into the crowd.
Go look at the morgue. It’s full.
The challenge for the American populace in Iraq has changed. Saddam Hussein is out of power. Iraq is no longer an immediate threat to our safety, if it ever was. Will we continue to support our troops there? Will we leave Iraq a better place than we found? Or will our only goal become “getting the boys home?”
Here’s hoping we have the national will to sustain the good fight in Iraq and to be on the side of good in a situation which only becomes more confusing every day.
The newest Rasmussen Poll has Bush ahead of Kerry by two points in Florida. According to at least one of the Electoral Maps to the left (The Hedgehog Report), that switch leads to an Electoral Vote tie (269-269). The number of ways that a tie can occur is surprising, and I keep finding scenarios where you switch one state here or there, and we’ve got a real controversy on our hands.
Kerry’s apparent recent slide in the polls obviously comes at least partially as a result of all the Vietnam coverage. Interestingly, though, I don’t think the press has really dug into the most important point — Kerry’s statements and behavior after returning from Vietnam.
Whether the press ever will turn its attention in that direction and in the other great unexplored terriroty in the Kerry history — his Senate record — remains to be seen. For now, all we have is Vietnam, and three interesting points were raised yesterday and today. First, Kerry’s personal journal hints that he did not meet enemy fire until almost 2 weeks after the incident for which he was granted his first Purple Heart. Enemy fire is a requirement for Purple Heart qualification. If it turns out — and I’m not saying that it will — that Kerry embellished his record to get a Purple Heart in order to get shipped home early, it will be politically devastating, and the campaign will be over. (Note, Glenn Reynolds points out that Kerry’s journal entry that “we” received our first enemy fire today could have been referring to his unit, and not to himself. Not an unbelievable interpretation.)
Second, Kerry stated during a speech that he remembered well the day Martin Luther King was shot (April 4, 1968), because he was in Vietnam at the time. But he did not go to Vietnam until November, 1968. In itself, this statement probably isn’t such a big deal. But Kerry just got busted for saying that it was “seared” in his memory that President Nixon denied troops were in Cambodia when Kerry was there during Christmas 1968 — even though Nixon wasn’t president, and Kerry wasn’t in Cambodia, at the time. And other similar statements may come to light. If the pattern of Kerry stories shows a history of using Vietnam for cheap political advantage, Kerry may get an M.O. like Gore’s reputation for exaggeration during the 2000 campaign. That would be quite damaging.
Finally, the citation for the Silver Star that Kerry displays on his Website is signed by former Secretary of the Navy John Lehman, who did not attain that position until 1981, or 12 years after Kerry returned home. As it turns out, Kerry has received three separate citations (the explanation of the reason for the award) for the same Silver Star. This is not like asking for three copies of the same document, issued at different times and therefore bearing the signatures of different commanders. Rather, there is an entire process for the issuance of a citation, and even for the amendment of a citation. (The guys at Front Page Magazine explore that issue and raise nefarious questions; I don’t vouch for them or claim they are correct.) I don’t even suspect Kerry didn’t deserve the medal, but the important point is that, until Kerry attacks some portion of the Vietnam issue head on, and on the merits of the question (as opposed to ad hominem attacks on the Swift Vets), the proliferation of questions like this will lead to his getting the type of reputation noted above.
If I were on the Kerry team, I’d have him do this: come out and retract and apologize for the statements made before the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations in 1971 (that American soldiers were committing war crimes on a regular basis). He might take a short-term hit in the polls, but then he at least could argue, “I’ve addressed that, and now we’re moving on.” Until he makes such a “Sister Souljah” move, Kerry won’t be able to get past the Vietnam issue.
I keep finding wonderful blogs written by reporters in Iraq. The is another one, written by Christopher Allbritton, a reporter for AP and the The New York Daily News.
It’s great to get the reporting directly, without the hands of an editor or a paper’s “tone” muddling things up. These guys are universally nuts.
I know this is the oldest topic on earth, and a particular eye-roller for Dems, but media bias in the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth case is driving me nuts.
What astound me are the lengths to which the mainstream media are going to give Senator Kerry the benefit of the doubt on the swift boat issue. Now, first off, I think that Kerry deserves great credit (if not all the credit he thinks he deserves) for volunteering to go to Vietnam straight out of Yale. However, by making this act of nearly 40 years ago pretty much the sole issue on which he is running, he has invited detailed scrutiny of what happened over there–and that’s exactly what he’s getting. It seems to me that the Vets for Truth have a two-pronged agenda. The first, and more defensible, is to call Kerry out for the atrocious statements he made in his Congressional testimony in 1971 and for the hypocrisy of running for office as a proud Vietnam veteran after having essentially tarred all Vietnam veterans with his testimony. The second is that he was likely a cocky ass while over there who talked more than he acted and seemed from the get-go to have an agenda (why else would someone reenact the details of their heorics during an ambush so it could be filmed?) and they reached a point at which they decided that he had to be called on the details of his record.
Now, all that said, the media (Washington Post and New York Times in particular) have gone to great lengths to not only investigate the allegations (this is the right thing to do), but to treat the claims of the SBVT with great skepticism. This, too, is probably the way to go, but where was such skepticism when the issue of President Bush’s service in the National Guard was front page news? As you’ll remember, the Bush camp released voluminous documentation of his service, and the media zoomed in on the fact that it could not be 100% proven that he was there. Well, it seems to me that there is a hell of a lot more proof (and less doubt) about whether Bush served his full term than there is that Kerry’s various stories about his service (we won’t even get into the fact that there is absolutely no record of his supposed trips into Cambodia about which he talked frequently and publicly) . And, the people raising these doubts are themselves decorated war heroes, as opposed to the loutish Michael Moore.
I saw Ceci Connelly of the Washington Post on Fox’s Special Report last night (which, by the way, is the best hour of nightly television going), and she could not have shilled harder for Kerry if she were on the campaign payroll. Again, I think these claims have to be held to a high degree of scrutiny, but she is supposed to be a reporter. I just could not imagine her, or any other reporter from a similar paper, going to the same lengths to defend the President, unless of course that President was Bill Clinton and we were back on Monica (so to speak).
As a former supporter of McCain-Feingold, I now recognize that the law has clearly demonstrated another law - that of unintended consequences - and proven to be nothing short of a complete failure. The current debate nationally and here on better.shorter is a most perfect demonstration of such.
Presidential elections are different from any other in our country and in many ways less important than local elections, ballot initiatives, senatorial and congressional votes. They remain, however, the most important election because they give us the opportunity to debate the future of our country, the path down which Americans generally wish to proceed.
And this election is the most important in recent memory. We have a new, still-not understood enemy. We are at war. We have an economy waving in the wind. We have the fundamental forces of globalization effecting us in ways we cannot yet imagine. We have reached a crossroads in the environmental debate. We have a shrinking middle class. We have not solved the question of how to make our education system the world’s best. We have a flawed health care system.
All of these are important questions. (Please note, I’m not arguing for or against the status quo or a new solution.)
Instead, we have only one question so far in this round of national politics: the character of the candidates.
Here’s the rub: the left and the right would argue that the character issue is relevant and they would be right. Ask Matt about the validity of questioning the Bush family’s ties to the Saudi royal family, and he’ll say hell yes. Ask Frank about the validity of questioning John Kerry’s vietnam service and he’ll say hell yes.
Weird conundrum, no? The character of the candidates is a valid issue and, yet, it’s not the most important or the most necesary argument.
So, then, why are we arguing it so voraciously. Could it be, maybe, that we are arguing it so voraciously because our political system now allows for no other argument?
The complex set of rules that have come from McCain-Feingold and the untold other election reforms have essentially hog-tied the parties, the candidates and the special interest groups, and, unintentionally or not, quieted all other debate.
On the other hand, MoveOn is free to mock the president in 100 different ways. The swift boat questions can be asked again and again. Innuendo has become the coin of the realm in political debates: witness Michael Moore. Vitriol is its most popular form: witness Rush Limbaugh.
So, then, where are we? Well, there are two issue ads running right now in Colorado - Kerry on health care and Bush on security. There is no real national discussion of these issues. This is what reform has wrought. That is too bad.
NOTE: This entire post is the conclusion of a conversation between myself and Patrick Singer. Harrison was the most eloquent in arguing against McCain-Feingold and was very, very right.
There’s not much else to be said about the Swift Boat ad controversy that hasn’t already been said, though it’s been fun to see the ad’s claims proven time and time again to be outright lies (my personal favorite is the doctor who claims to have worked on Kerry despite there being absolutely no record that he ever did: “You’ll just have to take my word on it,” he told the Times last week.)
So I wanted to just chime in and ask the Bush supporters, Are you not disgusted by this? Do you not find this to be everything that turns people off about politics? Does this not make you at least question somewhat the character of the man you plan on voting for? Yes, I know it’s yet to be proven that this was done with Bush’s or Rove’s knowledge, but . . . . come on.
In the meantime, enjoy this further debunking courtesy of the fine folks at the Smoking Gun.
but, just so we’re clear, the theme of MY reunion is going to be “Oh, My Gof, I’m so old.” And, also, Britany, when are you going to get pregnant? Just giving up a little bit of something.
…so here’s a post about Carly Patterson.
According to the NY Times, there were some sweet comments (from people other than Patterson) at the post-meet press conference:
After failing to win the all-around gold in her third and final Olympics, [Russian Gymnast Svetlana] Khorkina forced a smile on the medal stand. Later, she sat in the news conference room and made faces while reporters asked questions. Patterson, sitting next to her, stole glances at Khorkina.“I’m still Olympic champion,” Khorkina said. “If somebody doesn’t know, I was an Olympic champion in Sydney.” [untrue]
A few minutes later, commenting on Patterson, Khorkina said: “She’s very good. She’s good because she has a Russian coach.”
And this from former U.S. coach Bela Karoli: “This system works, and I invented it.” Way to give the credit to the coach, your wife, Bela.
And since BM will no doubt spend the morning not doing productive work, she should go ahead and read this and this from ESPN, this and this from AP, this from Reuters, this from The Washington Post (by Liz Clarke, who some may remember as the former NASCAR reporter for The Charlotte Observer) (may require registration, BM can have my login info) and this from CBS Sportsline. Nothing is up yet, but you may also want to check The Moscow Times, The Japan Times, The Taipei Times and, of course, The Jerusalem Post, for international perspectives. Finally, the morning wouldn’t be complete without one link to a story on Aaron Peirsol’s controversial disqualification, from our beloved AJC.
I officially retire this topic from BS until 2008.
Interesting new polls to check out under the Electoral College calculator. States are changing. Colorado has gone from strong Bush to weak Bush to dead even. Kerry has been here about 3 times in the past month, so maybe that explains it. What’s interesting, and I have to confess I didn’t know this until I read the guy’s methodology, is that many states are statistical dead heats even though he may show them as weak Bush/weak Kerry. It will be very interesting to watch this change over the coming weeks. Make sure to look at the state by state graphs to see the changes over time. Very Cool. (And no, Kerry has no chance of winning Colorado despite what these polls might suggest).
Yvette and I like modern furniture. We’ve got a baby coming. We’d like some modern baby furniture. Used to be you could rely on Google for something like this. Not anymore. Here’s what happens when I google modern baby furniture.
Notice, there’s no madern baby furniture to be found anywhere. The sponsored links are somewhat valuable.
This is what happened to Yahoo! At one point, it was a great search engine. But, once people figured out that all they had to do was put a bunch of search terms in their code to get to the top, the whole thing went to crap.
We at East West Partners, as I’ve mentioned before, now manipulate the hell out of our site in order to get good Google listings. Through a little chicanery, every site links to every site, thus making us look a little more important.
Of course, “links to” aren’t the only criteria in the well-protected Google search algorithm, but they’re very important. In other words, if Google makes it big, it won’t be because of the search engine.
interesting take on the effect the american troops in europe have had on european opinions on many international matters.
Europe is free to flaunt its “concern” � and even its “deep concern” � over the eastern Congo precisely because it’s entirely irrelevant to events in the Eastern Congo. As Stephens points out, European countries now have attitudes in inverse proportion to the likelihood of their acting upon them.
as i have said before, if europe didn’t have financial ties to iraq and speak out so strongly against the war, would the american left be as much against it? in a similar vain, if europe had not depended on america for their security, would they have been as against the war?
i know that many of the left leaning bloggers here are in favor of the war, and as such, am referring to “the left” of america, not of the blog. but, do you guys think that if europe had been behind the war, the left would have supported it, or at least been less vocally against it? it seems unlikely that if the western world were in favor of liberating iraq and the only large countries against it were russia and china, that the left could be as vocally against it.
i just think it is fascinating to look into the motivations behind some of the vocal opinions we’ve been hearing from the continent.
a few thoughts brought on by the interesting perspective of the troop realignment.
I’d think Kerry would agree with Bush’s plan for troop redeployment, but apparently he does not. This is puzzling to me. Is it beyond the guy to ever say he agrees with something? I know the answer is no, but it’s solely due to politics.
A “ho” costume from a Yahoo! store selling pimps & hos outfits for children. In a word: what?
Via my new favorite site: DaddyTypes
As some of you know, 200 of the 600 units at Betsey’s self-storage facility in Charleston, WV, were flooded earlier this summer. The units are built 6 feet above any flood plain and the creek lies another 30 feet below the flood plain level. For the first time in anyone’s memory, the creek rose 36+ feet and destroyed 200 customers’ belongings. The financial impact (cost of the clean-up and the inability to rent 1/3 of the units until the situation is permanently resolved) has been tremendous, not to mention the insurance claims and negative publicity. Many area residents feel that the strip mining de-regulation (allowing streams to be filled in and forests to be clearcut) that has occurred under the Bush administration is largely responsible. When there is less forested area and streams are filled with mining sludge, the runoff is concentrated into fewer, smaller watersheds which are unable to accommodate the volume. This article is pretty long, but it details the damage that has been permitted under this adminstration.
…This probably goes without saying, but we need a Standing Order here on BS.com, and I think we can all agree on it: no Olympic spoilers should be posted to the site. I’ve been trying to avoid the news prior to TV coverage, but just about every surprise has been ruined on other sites. I’m coming here to avoid that stuff. Nuff said.
OK, this is ridiculous. Kerry……royalty?
For those of you who don’t have HDTV, you’re really missing out on the Olympics. NBC is broadcasting two separate feeds on regular NBC and NBC-HD. NBC-HD has the Olympics on 24 hours a day, all in high definition and with minimal commercial interruption. Very cool. This is the first time I’ve seen them split the feed between HD and regular NBC–they usually show the same stuff.
As if you needed a reason to go out an get that 65″ Mitsubishi HDTV. AWESOME.
Did anyone else notice the stark difference in the appearance of the Iranian and Iraqi athletes? The Iraqis were beaming. The Iranians . . . not so much.
BTW, BM would like me to comment on the outrage of the judging of the men’s gymnastics competition. Apparently, the judges visited the American coach right before the competition and, despite 2 years competition to the contrary, determined that the start value of several U.S. team members’ routines would no longer be 10. According to BM, this is equivalent to telling a swimmer, just before the race, that he will be required to wear a weight tied to his ankle during the finals.
I suspect that the judges in question will turn out to be French.
Who woulda thunk it?
“Multiple investigations now under way in Washington and Iraq and at the United Nations all center on one straightforward question: How did Mr. Hussein amass so much money while under international sanctions?
An examination of the [oil for food] program, the largest in the United Nations’ history, suggests an equally straightforward answer: The United Nations let him do it.”
How about this Dutch idiot, Peter van Walsum, who ran the Iraqi sanctions committee in 1999 and 2000:
“Everybody said it was a terrible shame and against international law, but there was really no enthusiasm to tackle it. We never had clear decisions on anything. So we just in effect condoned things.”
Uhm, you think maybe they “condoned things” because officials throughout the UN were on the take:
The work of the Office of the Iraq Program, which administered the oil-for-food activities, and of its former director, Benon V. Sevan, is the focus of an independent United Nations investigation headed by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman. His panel is looking into the broader charges of mismanagement and corruption in the program, as well as specific accusations that United Nations officials, including Mr. Sevan, took kickbacks.
Interestingly, the UN seemed to lose the forest for the trees. The fifteen member security council had three competing agendas: preventing Iraq from gaining WMDs (England and the US), protecting members’ financial interests (France and Russia, and getting supplies to the Iraqi people.
Two of these things are appropriate. None justify accepting bribes.
It would seem to me that the United Nations is at a crossroads. It has the opportunity to purge its membership of this sort of behavior and become what it was intended to be, a place for the world to gather and discuss, honestly, its issues. Or, it can waste the good will of the world’s nations and become nothing more than a bully with no respect. Their choice. We’ll see.
“Multiple investigations now under way in Washington and Iraq and at the United Nations all center on one straightforward question: How did Mr. Hussein amass so much money while under international sanctions?
An examination of the [oil for food] program, the largest in the United Nations’ history, suggests an equally straightforward answer: The United Nations let him do it.”
How about this Dutch idiot, Peter van Walsum, who ran the Iraqi sanctions committee in 1999 and 2000:
“Everybody said it was a terrible shame and against international law, but there was really no enthusiasm to tackle it. We never had clear decisions on anything. So we just in effect condoned things.”
Uhm, you think maybe they “condoned things” because officials throughout the UN were on the take:
The work of the Office of the Iraq Program, which administered the oil-for-food activities, and of its former director, Benon V. Sevan, is the focus of an independent United Nations investigation headed by Paul A. Volcker, the former Federal Reserve chairman. His panel is looking into the broader charges of mismanagement and corruption in the program, as well as specific accusations that United Nations officials, including Mr. Sevan, took kickbacks.
Interestingly, the UN seemed to lose the forest for the trees. The fifteen member security council had three competing agendas: preventing Iraq from gaining WMDs (England and the US), protecting members’ financial interests (France and Russia, and getting supplies to the Iraqi people.
Two of these things are appropriate. None justify accepting bribes.
It would seem to me that the United Nations is at a crossroads. It has the opportunity to purge its membership of this sort of behavior and become what it was intended to be, a place for the world to gather and discuss, honestly, its issues. Or, it can waste the good will of the world’s nations and become nothing more than a bully with no respect. Their choice. We’ll see.
How cool is this?
The former director of the CIA, Admiral Stansfield Turner, had the following to say yesterday about the nomination of Representative Porter Gross to be the new head of the CIA. Pretty cavalier stuff. Do remember, though, that he was CIA director under Carter, thus making the following reek of partisanship.
1. This is an irresponsile act on the part of the President because it is motivated by partisan politcal, electoral purposes. We cannot afford to play partisan poliotics with our intelligence apparatus.
2. Porter Goss has many qualifactions for being DCI. n He has one overriding disqualification. That is that he is a very partisan, political person. We must keep politics and intelligence enirely separate.
3. This administration has already jeopardized the public’s view of the credibility of our intelligence by its misues of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We cannot afford to make the public even more skeptical of the reliability of our intelligence by having a political figure as its head.
4. This is a terrible time to nominate anyone to be DCI. By gthe time Goss is confirfmed, if he is, it will be mid-September, six weeks before the election. No one at the CIA will take the new director seriously until after the election, but John McLaughlin will no longer be in charge. No one will. If Kerry is elected he almost certainly would replace Goss, confusing the situation even more. We should leave McLaughlin there until after the election.
Via (surprisignly): Wonkette
The former director of the CIA, Admiral Stansfield Turner, had the following to say yesterday about the nomination of Representative Porter Gross to be the new head of the CIA. Pretty cavalier stuff. Do remember, though, that he was CIA director under Carter, thus making the following reek of partisanship.
1. This is an irresponsile act on the part of the President because it is motivated by partisan politcal, electoral purposes. We cannot afford to play partisan poliotics with our intelligence apparatus.
2. Porter Goss has many qualifactions for being DCI. n He has one overriding disqualification. That is that he is a very partisan, political person. We must keep politics and intelligence enirely separate.
3. This administration has already jeopardized the public’s view of the credibility of our intelligence by its misues of intelligence on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. We cannot afford to make the public even more skeptical of the reliability of our intelligence by having a political figure as its head.
4. This is a terrible time to nominate anyone to be DCI. By gthe time Goss is confirfmed, if he is, it will be mid-September, six weeks before the election. No one at the CIA will take the new director seriously until after the election, but John McLaughlin will no longer be in charge. No one will. If Kerry is elected he almost certainly would replace Goss, confusing the situation even more. We should leave McLaughlin there until after the election.
Via (surprisignly): Wonkette
Showing a friend how it all works. Sorry for the interruption.
This infuriates me (LA Times — may require registration):
The big news on AIDS is that there is no news. After 20 million deaths over 25 years, there should be some news � of a vaccine, of a cure � but there’s nothing on the horizon. And in no small part, it’s because politics has squeezed out science.* * *
The “Big Pharma” story is less straightforward. Activists say the drug companies have underfunded R&D. But the truth is that the drug makers have spent tens of billions of dollars on fighting AIDS. Now, however, they are quietly pulling back. Why? Because they no longer see profits ahead. The drug companies are being pressured into basically giving away their existing anti-AIDS meds in Third World countries, home to 95% of the 38 million people infected with the virus.
Even so, they are routinely vilified; the chief of Pfizer, Hank McKinnell, was booed off the stage in Bangkok. If a pharmaceutical company were to come up with an AIDS-smiting “silver bullet,” Magic Johnson would gladly pay the sticker price, while everyone else would demand it free. If you’re Pfizer, it’s hard to make money that way.
Governments and non-profits should be about two things: (1) funding basic science research to help fill in the gaps of knowledge for which the market does not recognize a direct economic benefit, and (2) purchasing and distributing the drugs that pharmaceutical companies develop. But the anti-pharma lobby wanted a free lunch. As a result, many will die. Because they don’t trust or understand free markets, critics of the drug companies who supposedly “care” about finding a cure for HIV have set their cause back by decades.
Via Kausfiles.
“The is not the way we do things in America,” Kerry said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address. “Here in America we don’t sacrifice science for ideology. We are a land of discovery, a place where innovators and optimists are free to dream and explore.”
“The is not the way we do things in America,” Kerry said in the Democrats’ weekly radio address. “Here in America we don’t sacrifice science for ideology. We are a land of discovery, a place where innovators and optimists are free to dream and explore.”
When Koko the gorilla used the American Sign Language gesture for pain and pointed to her mouth, 12 specialists, including three dentists, sprang into action.
So begins a CNN article on Koko, the sign-language using chimp at the San Diego Zoo. It’s a little strange, this article, particularly this part:
Koko and Ndume, her partner of 11 years (he doesn’t ’speak’), have been trying unsuccessfully to have a baby, and the doctors thought the checkup could let them know whether she had any biological problems preventing it. She doesn’t.
Though, lest we forget this is an ape, there’s this juicy detail:
Her teacher, Francine Patterson, was at her side when the anesthesiologist prepared to put her under in the morning, and apparently Koko asked to meet her specialists. They crowded around her, and Koko, who plays favorites, asked one woman wearing red to come closer. The woman handed her a business card, which Koko promptly ate.
This map looks about right to me (for now). It shows Kerry winning the electoral college 280-258 if the election were held today, a 22-vote spread. Note, under this scenario, if Missouri and its 11 electoral votes go the other way, as I think they will, we’d have an Electoral College tie. Talk about controversy.
UPDATE: the Electoral Vote Predictor linked above has now changed, but Tripias.com highlights another potential tie scenario — it has Kerry leading Bush 296-242, a 54-vote margin. Switch Florida’s 27 votes from Kerry to Bush, and you’ve also got a tie…
July employment numbers were 14% of Wall Street’s projections; the stock market is reacting negatively and pricing in a long, slow recovery (if you’re optimistic). Bush misspoke today (again) in a speech and said, more or less, that “we are constantly looking for new ways to destroy America and our friends,” and added in another speech that he thinks the legacy system for sons and daughters of alumni should be abolished.
Poor economic leadership, questionable intelligence and hypocrisy…all in a day’s “W”ork.
Interesting to note who is supporting whom in the election campaign. BofA chairman is going with Kerry while the bank’s CEO and vice chairman are supporting Bush. Wachovia CEO Ken Thompson supports Bush, but what about the COO of News Corp. supporting Kerry? Surprising to me considering News Corp owns Fox.
The New York Times’ editorial today echoes all of my comments about the terror warnings (they’re ripping me off!), though it of course does so in a more eloquent and less angry fashion. This is the longest editorial they’ve run since the start of the war, to my knowledge, and it’s extremely powerful.
Key points:
- The administration was right to issue a warning about the new evidence it had uncovered, but it was handled incompetently by Ridge, causing unecessary fear, confusion and uncertainty. They write, “We would have been happy last weekend if a senior official more adept than Mr. Ridge had called a news conference to say what the government knew and what defensive measures had been taken. Instead, he spoke in apocalyptic terms, then produced an “intelligence official” who offered more detail and more alarming words, anonymously.”
- Yet again, we were vaguely told that the information was the most “dire” since 9/11 and that an attack could occur in the “near term,” though this was clearly not the case. As The Times puts it, “For three days, officials at news conferences and background briefings said their concerns were based on new information, then old information, then back to new information. Many people were scared out of their wits on Monday, cynical on Tuesday and befuddled by yesterday.”
- The way this was handled and the timing of warnings in the past gives the impression that these are politically motivated. They write, “Some of the past terror alerts have seemed aimless and happened when the Bush administration would have benefited from a change in the political conversation. On Sunday, when the administration had grim and specific information to convey, Mr. Ridge did a real disservice to himself, his president and the public by giving what amounted to a campaign pitch for ‘the president’s leadership in the war against terror.’ ”
- Last, “The administration should also stop dropping dark hints about Al Qaeda’s having election-related motives to attack, as if a vote against the current president were appeasement.”
One point they make that I didn’t, but which I completely agree with–It’s time to junk the color coded warning system. It’s meaningless. As The Times writes, “It does [citizens] no good to be told to be scared, more scared or really scared, especially when they are also being told to act as if nothing’s wrong. Unless the government is prepared to tell people to stay home from work, there’s no reason to keep lighting the terror lamps.”
It Gets Worse: After the Iraqis were banned from City Hall, two of them were robbed. Not a good PR day for Memphis.
Sign of the Day: “[Mary Kay] Letourneau, 42, slipped out of prison quietly after midnight and was met by a crowd that included dozens of media outlets and a group of rowdy teenage boys waving signs that said ‘I’m 18, Baby!’ and ‘Take Me Home.’ “
Not So Smart: Quincy Carter is “shocked” that the Cowboys released him. No one else is.
Genius: Pam Anderson releases novel; no attempt is made to hide her ghost writer.
The ACT/Will Ferrell send up of George Bush is out. I’ll just quote my favorite Washingtonienne/Wonkette/Ass-lover:
We just watched that Will Ferrell parody of W that produced by Americans Coming Together (why abbreviate a name we enjoy saying so much?), and we’re just happy that someone has finally produced political commentary on Bush that is at least as subtle as ours. Don’t get us wrong, there’s nothing wrong with being hamfisted. (Mmmm, ham fists. . .) We just think that if you’re serious about convincing people to vote against him, showing a fake George Bush looking like a fool is a less powerful message than, say, showing how the real George Bush has made us all look foolish.
Personally, I think Wonkette misses the point. The ad, which is funny, very specifically calls out the Bush “hope” that the liberal/leftist/non-Bushie/devil-lover that is attracted to this line of thinking won’t vote. In other words, it’s designed to inspire the angry non-Bushie to vote.
Either way, I don’t think it’s very effective. Funny? Yes. Effective? No. And, quite frankly, a little worthless. This sort of vitriol is just as inspiring to the people who like Bush as it is to the people who don’t. Still, you should watch because Will Ferrell is funny.
.. maybe us liberals don’t know what we’re talking about. The NY Times is reporting that an al Qaeda operative was arrested by British authorities somehow inspired by the terror warning.
This, does not however, prove that the constant machine gun presence in and around New York is explainable. I’m not sure that the American intelligence people couldn’t have just said something to the British intelligence people without letting the whole world know: “We’re on to you.”
Still, it’s good to know there is sometimes a positive and tangible result to these things.
While George Bush and John Kerry spoke today in Davenport, Iowa, almost within rock-throwing distance of each other, there were three bank robberies. Police say they were unrelated.
In case it isn’t obvious, all three of these robbers had the same idea, and, importantly, are fans of Die Hard With a Vengeance.
Usually, I change the titles, but this one is perfect.
If one were to answer the question, it would seem to me that the word “accountability” would be used in conjunction with the phrase “lack of,” but that’s just my opinion. Okay, it’s not just my opinion, but I like to take credit for things, unless, of course, I’m blogging. If that’s thewhich case, I have to give credit using the following format:
via: instapundit.
Some folks in Tennessee wouldn’t let a group of visiting Iraqis into a city council meeting or something like that, because they weren’t sure “the FBI [had] been informed.” The Iraqis are touring the US to get an understanding of how democracy and civil rights work.
Via: liberal site.
1. Congratulations, Matt, that’s great news.
2. Drudge notes that John MacEnroe’s new CNBC show actually got a 0.0 Nielsen rating last night — with a total of 37,000 households, nationwide.
3. Great debate about the terror alert and the timing down below. I know I’ll sound like a broken record, but the lefties are just loony. The more the Left identifies wacky political-conspiracy-type justifications for every little thing Bush does, the less likely they will be to convince the public (1) that Bush actually is evil and (2) that Kerry is a good (and more importantly, necessary) alternative. To wit:
a. Drudge also indicates tonight that the NY Times tomorrow will report that this week’s terror warning was based in part on years’ old information, but also on information just obtained last week. (Update: and here it is.)
b. Bush didn’t lie in the 16 words in the SOTU; Joe Wilson did.
c. Turns out the “Mission Accomplished” speech was Tommie Franks’s idea — he thought other nations, who claimed they would help with the reconstruction, would view the speech as an invitation to start contributing.
The lesson to the Left (not, you, Matt and Chris) is get a grip, guys. Not everything the administration does is a cynical, calculated political move.
as recently as 3 months ago, we were being told by the left that the economy was in the stinker. now President Bush has “squandered [a] robust economy.”
i guess the nuancer is just showing the “complexities” of the economy.
we often hear about davidson, but i thought i’d throw out a few rice things.
Miss Texas is from Rice. they prob could have found a better picture though.
Rice Wins Commissioner’s Cup As WAC’s Top All-Around Program.
and the coolest thing. some dude at rice gold coated silica. they then injected this gold into mice with tumors. the tumors have “leaky” vessels, so the gold things accumulated in the tumor. they shine a near-infrared light at the tumor (through the skin) which heats the gold, killing the tumor.
that’s fantastic. ingenuity. i mean, how did these people think of these things.
hope it pans out. (oh, and don’t tell peta).
…and they lost today.
I have not yet bought into the conspiracy theories about the various terror warnings we’ve received over the past few years (though it’s hard to deny that they all do seem to be timed pretty conveniently in the administration’s favor), but the way Sunday’s warning was handled, to put it mildly, pisses me off.
It is now completely clear that there is not and never was an immediate threat to the buildings and cities in question, and that all of the surveillance and information dated back to 2001 and even further to 2000. It was updated in January, they now tell us vaguely, but there was no new surveillance. Do I think a warning should have been issued and security at those sites stepped up? Of course. But whether it was the product of sloppiness or intentionally misleading, Ridge and other administration officials made it seem that an attack was very much a real possibility in, as he put it Sunday night, “the near term,” a statement he has now backed off considerably.
The Holland Tunnel, which my girlfriend (now fiancee, by the way) travels through to work each morning, was shut down at midnight on Sunday to commercial traffic, as was almost every other tunnel and bridge into Manhattan, men with machine guns rode the subway into work with me on Monday morning, cops were positioned even at the bikepath entrance to the Williamsburg Bridge a few blocks from my apartment, constant alerts were posted everywhere and the fear level was racheted up higher than I’ve seen in more than two years. But please go about your regular business, we’re told.
Then, today . . . . Oh wait, there’s not an immediate threat. There’s probably not anyone here in the city planning attacks after all, these are just sites of interest that they’ve wanted to attack for some time. In other words, nothing new at all. We’ve known since 2001 that Al Qaeda wants to blow up buildings with truck bombs, and we’ve known that financial institutions are a likely target. Nothing we learned in the past two weeks is new, save the details of some surveillance done three years ago. Nothing. Gee, Tom, maybe you could have mentioned this on Sunday?
Which, is to say, it sure as hell seems like someone’s trying to scare me. And it isn’t the terrorists, it’s my government.
Frankly, I’m sick of this crap.
90% of Afghans have registered to vote.
Call it due to an extremely polarized electorate or something else, but all the pageantry and puffery in Boston last week seems to have been to no avail. Per CNN, the likely voters polled favored Bush 50-47, whereas two weeks earlier they had favored Kerry 49-47. This is not a good sign for Kerry.
Howard Dean, Senior Advisor to Kerry Campaign.
from CNN:
In an interview Sunday on CNN’s “Late Edition,” Dean said he was “concerned that every time something happens that’s not good for President Bush, he plays this trump card, which is terrorism.”
“His whole campaign is based on the notion that ‘I can keep you safe, therefore, in times of difficulty in America, stick with me,’ ” Dean said. “It’s just impossible to know how much of this is real and how much of this is politics, and I suspect there’s some of both.”
Kerry has come out and said he disagrees with Dean that recent warnings are politcally motivated. Does he understand the damage Dean’s statements do to his campaign? I don’t think so.
Interesting article here about the potential shift in Jewish voting from their traditionally Democratic slant to more pro-Bush given his staunch support of Israel. I think Kerry has taken the Jewish vote too much for granted, especially in all his rhetoric about strengthening ties with Europe. Jewish people are not too keen on strengthening ties with Europe because many european countries have not alway had the Jewish interests at heart. Could be interesting how this goes in the election. I do think that both parties recognize the need to defend and protect Israel from aggression, but Bush has been particularly adept at showing his resolve here.
While it’s easy to blame politicians (Republican and Democrat, alike), Bob Herbert recognizes a fundamental flaw in our society; the quick fix, instant gratification, and the 30 minute sit-com solution have become an expectation of the American people. And while I agree with Herbert’s premise that the state of the Union is grim, I disagree that American voters deserve better. The underlying problem in this country is that Americans don’t want to know the truth and, therefore, they don’t deserve better. Even David Brooks’ latest book, while praising the eternal optimism of the American people, leads us to the conclusion that Americans don’t want to know the real extent of our nation’s problems, they want to hear that someone will fix the problem and, beyond that, we are intolerant of any detailed and realistic discourse. By disowning the political discourse upon which our democracy was built, Americans have abandoned the political process to PACs and politicians who are financially interested in the outcome of particular issues. If Americans displayed a similar level of interest in the political process and were more realistic in their expectations of problem resolution, accurate political assessment would become part of the normal political discourse and constituents would demand it. As long as Americans’ concerns are defined by the walls of their gated subdivisions, winning politicians will promise sanguine solutions involving minimal personal sacrifice. Even the “doom and gloom Dems” who profess realism have offered little more than platitudes and are afraid to confront realities. Kerry says we’ll keep jobs at home…really, how? Under Kerry’s leadership we’ll win the war on terror. Again, how?
The answer is that no one wants to know “how.” They want to know that it will be done quickly and without any significant personal sacrifice. It won’t happen this way; it can’t. And, if we learned anything from John McCain’s campaign finance reform debacle, it’s that Americans are doomed to failure by a resistance to pursue what we know is right if it involves personal discomfort.
Here endeth the lesson.
Wow. Never expected this to happen this year. Bobby Cox must really be the man. I must admit, however, that I have watched about 4 hours of baseball all season.
zell talks about why he is going to new york and skipping boston this year.
“All the speeches we heard this week weren’t able to hide the truth of what today’s Democratic Party has become: an enclave of elites paying lip service to middle-class values. Americans looking for a president who understands their struggles and their dreams should tune in next month, when we celebrate the leadership of George W. Bush.”
the much loved rodhamclinton has an editorial in the online WSJ. she makes quite a few good points. but it would be nice to hear from some companies who do a lot of offshore outsourcing, like Heinz, for instance, on their take on the issue.
i doubt that all these companies do as little investigaiton into the actual costs as mrs clinton would lead us to believe. she does propose some interesting ideas for keeping the jobs here. her ideas sound awfully business friendly though.
nice read.
As I’ve been saying to Archie, the reason the Bush Administration agreed to outrageous farm subsidies is so we’d have something to give up in trade negotiations, which now appears to have been a successful strategy.
I love Georgia.
I love Georgia.
Well, we said hello to Charlotte yesterday. This week though, we will also say goodbye.
Goodbye to an old friend of mine. A friend that taught me to drink. Not drink like I did in college, where I didn’t learn how to drink, just how to get it in my stomach. It’s where I learned to hold my liquor. It’s also where I learned I didn’t want to be able to hold it too well. It’s where James Lenin became one of my best friends. It’s where I learned the words to “A Boy Named Sue” and about twenty other Johnny Cash songs. It’s where I learned what A snuff film was. It’s where I first saw an owner pee all over his own ladies’ bathroom. It was the The Village Idiot, but to me, it will always be the greatest bar anywhere, anytime.
This is the text of all of Kerry’s speech. Weird. We’ll see if the thing moves.
UPDATE: Did John Kerry fight in Vietnam?
UPDATE II: This stuff on faith is INCREDIBLE. Body blow. Body blow. “I don’t wear my religion on my sleeve…”
UPDATE III: On CNN you can here the guy calling for the balloons and confetti now that the speech is over. “I want all balloons to go, Goddamit. What’s happening to the balloons? We need all of them coming down.” This has been going on for five minutes. “What the fuck are you guys doing up there.” CNN camera even cut to the balloons. Hysterical.
UPDATE IV: Stephonopolis just gave the review I would give, the delegates came to this convention united against Bush. They’ll leave united behind Kerry.
UPDATE V: The democraticmakeover.com thing that the Republicans are running seems a little silly. It doesn’t really make sense. (I mention this because it’s the backdrop for the counterpoint interview on CNN.) PBS has the best coverage in my mind: a historian, a thoughtful conservative and a thoughtful liberal - neither too much so and both working to be objective. I must also say that I am confused as to why Reverends Jackson and Sharpton are on the stage.
LAST UPDATE: CNN is forever showing either one side or the other, and it’s as annoying as all get out. How about some analysis. Stop interviewing Tad Devine and Ralph Reed. Of course they thought (will think) their candidates’ speeches were the bomb. Seriously, analyze the damn thing and stop being so worried about the mythical “objectivity.”
OKAY, LAST UPDATE: This conclusion is all about balloons. The consensus is definitely: “Lots of balloons.”
It’s early in the speech, but, man, he’s going after them. Did he just call the President a liar? Yep, did do.
If you were guessing boy, which everyone seemed to be, you were wrong. Charlotte Bray Frampton will be arriving in Denver on or around December 22, making her the third Frampton Sagitarius. (What that portends I have no idea.)
Yvette is convinced she looks like me. How she can take that from the following picture is beyond me. (My eyes aren’t that far apart, though the doctor assures me they’re going to look more normal later on. I don’t think she’s seen my baby picture.)
Charlotte’s looking good: great hearbeat, no downs syndrome, all her toes, her brain’s growing, and her spine’s forming. She’s smallish, in the twenty-third percentile for length.
As some of you already know, having a kid is a pretty kick ass experience. I swear I had pains in my cheeks; I was smiling so much today.
scroll down to “The Agony of the Feet“ to see botwt’s opinion of the eyes wide open display in boston, and the reponse he got from the “man in charge”. it sounds familar.
still waiting for ANY argument other than, “I am 99% certain there was NO connection between Saddam and al Qaeda’s attack on the WTC.” and yvette’s “You can’t ask someone to prove a negative. It’s impossible.” (gore did not win the 2000 presidential election.)
i know the leftists on this site are tired of this question, but how are you so sure and yet can’t provide anything to support your position? as i said, i’ve an open mind, but nothing has been written here to make me understand the dems take on the matter.
The news today from Iraq is pretty terrible. 68 Iraqis dead in an attack that only targeted Iraqis (not coaliton personnel). I hope the international community takes note that this attack likely would have happened whether the US was there or not. These crazy terrorists are simply against democratic ideals. I’d hope more nations take note of this and offer to lend a hand. Trying to build a democracy ain’t easy and Iraq needs help from abroad. What would have happened if the French hadn’t helped the US in the Revolutionary War?
The line of the night last night came from The Daily Show’s Jon Stewart. He was discussing Clinton’s speech and showed the clip where he said “Strength and wisdom are not opposing values.” Stewart’s response: “Yeah, as opposed to say ‘power’ and ’self-control.’” Hilarious.
Scott Simon, the liberal host of NPR’s Weedend Edition, savages Michael Moore’s “Farenheit 9/11″ in The Opinion Journal today:
Michael Moore has won the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival, and may win an Oscar for the kind of work that got Stephen Glass, Jayson Blair, and Jack Kelly fired.Trying to track the unproven innuendoes and conspiracies in a Michael Moore film or book is as futile as trying to count the flatulence jokes in one by Adam Sandler. Some journalists and critics have acted as if his wrenching of facts is no more serious than a movie continuity problem, like showing a 1963 Chevy in 1956 Santa Monica.
He concludes:
Governments of both parties have assuaged Saudi interests for more than 50 years. (I wonder if Mr. Moore grasps how much the jobs of auto workers in Flint depended on cheap oil.) Sound questions about the course, costs, and grounds for the war in Iraq have been raised by voices across the political spectrum.But when 9/11 Commission Chairman Kean has to take a minute at a press conference, as he did last Thursday, to knock down a proven falsehood like the secret flights of the bin Laden family, you wonder if those who urge people to see Moore’s film are informing or contaminating the debate. I see more McCarthy than Murrow in the work of Michael Moore. No matter how hot a blowtorch burns, it doesn’t shed much light.
Just thought it was interesting.
Drudge links to a CBS story claiming Nader wants to attend the Democratic convention. But Nader doesn’t sound at all like he wants to endorse Kerry:
“We are trying to destroy the two-party corporate system. Both parties are pro-war, pro-Patriot Act; both parties are pro-WTO,” Nader said, mentioning a litany of issues that the two major political parties agree on, at least in broad-brush policy.Nader added that Democrats should earn his supporters by recognizing progressive issues.
“You go through four days of the Democratic convention and they won’t attack cooperate power, they won’t mention corporate welfare or corporate crime,” he said.
* * *
“It is more likely I will ask John Kerry and George W. Bush to withdraw before I’d withdraw,” Nader said. �They are focusing on one-tenth of the vote they think they may lose and ignoring the nine-tenths of the party they must get.”
I’m sorry, but I have no respect for Jimmy Carter and can’t believe the Dems put him up there last night to talk about foreign policy matters. He’s the biggest foreign policy failure of the last century.
He criticized Bush on North Korea. Wasn’t Carter the one who negotiated the 1994 accords with North Korea that everyone knew were a sham? It was verified as a sham later. I guess those Nobel folk need to do more homework.
He blamed Bush for the Israeli-Palestinian problem. I mean come on. Those Camp David accords really changed the whole landscape over there didn’t they?
I need not bring up Iran hostages or Carter’s “stellar” performance on Cold War politics. These are all foreign policy failures of an extreme degree.
Don’t the Dems realize we live in a vastly different world than even four years ago? I guarantee you the Dems would have done no different from Bush. Well, maybe Carter would have let the French dictate our foreign policy, but I know Clinton would not have.
I know he’s old and a has been in the Dem party, but why give him the prime time spotlight?
…and I bet it’s killing more than half of the readership of b.s. And by killing, I mean killing them. He he.
UPDATE: Now it’s Bill’s turn and these people love him.
UPDATE II: He’s laying out my problems with the Republicans better and more succinctly than anyone else ever has.
UPDATE III: As Tom Brokaw just said on NBC, “They call him Elvis, and not for nothing.”
UPDATE IV: I was going to write a review, but it simply would have said these sort of things:
His timing and rhythm were perfect. Oration is an art form. As such, talent helps but the basics can be achieved through diligence and effort. Sadly, it is not a priority for President Bush. Clinton showed why he is revered for his speech-making ability - at several points he had the crowd mouthing the words along with him, not just with the parts he repeated, but even the first time he said “a more… perfect… union.”
Via: InstaPundit which instantly posted two reviews of Clinton. (I’d link to the second one, but a link from Glenn is sure to crash a site and has.)
In short, Clinton’s tone tonight was perfect. The tax cut was for rich people. (I can’t find the link, but nobody’s favorite Ben Affleck put it this way: bench seat buyers at Fenway got a nickle, box seat buyers got the box for free.) Bush is taking cops off the streets, he is cutting combat pay, he is cutting health care for veterans, he did avoid the draft, he has angered our allies, his “environmental” policies are crap, unless you are an energy company and never, ever want to improve the impact your plant has on the environment unless it improves your ability to deliver energy at higher rate of return, he does act unilaterally we he can and cooperates only when he must. These are bad things. These are things that should be fixed. And while I’m aware that no one has thought of a viable health care plan, ours can be better, and going after trial lawyers won’t make it that way. In terms Archie can understand, we should cure the disease, not releive the symptoms.
Can Kerry say these things as well as Clinton? I doubt it - highly - and thus find myself no more confident than before this campaign began. Heck, I’m not even sure Kerry would do these sort of things, but I hope he was listening tonight, because Clinton showed us the candidate we want. (Or, I guess what I mean to say, is “the candidate I want.”)
Good night, all.
interesting article in the Medical Herald.
i’ve previously stated numerous reservations i have with a national healthcare system, probably most of which are based on treating patients in our system and hearing of their experiences elsewhere in their home countries’ national system. it comes down to what this article focuses on: rationing.
i’ve recently learned something about hillary’s plan that i had never heard of, and does not exist in other countries’ systems. it would have been illegal to provide treatment or be treated outside of the national system. that is scary and very unamerican.
anyway, it is an interesting article that, though somewhat biased to its audience, does a fair job of giving voice to the other side.
This is an interesting link describing a new idea about the spread of ideas. I don’t think I can explain it any better than the authors, so take a look for yourself when you’ve got some time to read the “manifesto.”
The organizing force behind ChangeThis is a man named Seth Godin, author of a number of great marketing books and whose blog I read almost everyday.
His books, particularly Purple Cow and Unleashing the Idea Virus, are great anthropological studies of marketing and ideas. One day I’ll put together an “Amazon List” of the books I rely on for marketing and the concepts behind our marketing. When I do, these two will be on it.
This is an interesting link describing a new idea about the spread of ideas. I don’t think I can explain it any better than the authors, so take a look for yourself when you’ve got some time to read the “manifesto.”
The organizing force behind ChangeThis is a man named Seth Godin, author of a number of great marketing books and whose blog I read almost everyday.
His books, particularly Purple Cow and Unleashing the Idea Virus, are great anthropological studies of marketing and ideas. One day I’ll put together an “Amazon List” of the books I rely on for marketing and the concepts behind our marketing. When I do, these two will be on it.
On The McLaughlin Group this morning, Eleanor Clift, the liberal columnist for Newsweek, was talking about how Clinton got a huge boost during the 1992 Democratic convention when the news broke that Perot would not be running, because the Republicans were allegedly threatening to ruin his daughter’s wedding. Clift remarked — smugly, I thought, and with a sort of knowing grin — that (paraphrasing here), “Who knows, we may have a similar announcement this week.” That is, she hinted that Ralph Nader would quit the race during the convention. [The transcript will be available here, but it's not up yet.]
If Nader were to show up at the convention to throw his support behind Kerry, the media would go into a frenzy. All the stories would be about how Kerry’s victory now seemed “inevitable.” (On a sidenote, I think that type of coverage would be more damaging to the Bush campaign than the actual swing (2-3%) of deeply disaffected voters to Kerry.)
On one hand, this would make sense to me. Nader’s egomaniacal presidential campaigns indicate he wants more than anything to influence national politics, but the utter failure of his message to attract significant support means he’ll never play anything more than a bit part. And despite his ramblings that the Dems and GOPers are the exact same, it seems inconceivable that he could actually prefer to have Bush in the White House over Kerry. Finally, remember that Kerry and Nader met together in May. Although news reports of the meeting concluded it was not highly successful, friendly, or productive, no one could really know what happened behind closed doors. For example, Nader could have agreed to endorse Kerry at the convention if Kerry agreed to X, Y and Z (X=nominate Edwards for VP, Y=promise to nominate me for FTC, FCC, USTR or somesuch, and Z=take a certain position on Iraq at the convention).
Of course, Nader’s presidential runs also show that he’s crazy and, if he really does believe all the stuff he spouts, he wouldn’t get into bed with Kerry under any circumstances.
Obviously, there’s no way to know, and we’ll see this week, but if it happens, you heard it here first.
I’m not a cycling fanatic, but watching the TDF this year has been really fun. Today, Lance rode to his 6th straight victory in 10 Tours, cementing his place as perhaps the greatest cyclist and athlete ever.
“If there is a terrorist attack on or near Election Day, it is important to remember that terrorists hate democracy, not republicancy. Even terrorists know that is not a real word. So if you are a Democrat, do not appear in public on Election Day. The terrorists will be able to identify you as a Democrat by your fashionable casual clothing, your look of concern when you see litter or starving children, and your hatred of America. If you do go out in public, you can throw the terrorists off your scent by going into a voting booth and voting Republican, then loudly proclaiming to anyone who will hear, ‘I voted Republican, by God! I love that Iraq war! Good times! Ick, who put this starving child in my Range Rover? Why, I oughta …!’”
Via Wonkette
…is fascinating. Be sure to check the comments, where he this reporters mom is communicating with him.
…nails the commission on the head. I think both candidates have a chance to take the right stand on this one. The question is which one will?
Does anyone else think this big commission report on the 9/11 is as big of a surprise as Britney Spear’s coming break up with her fiance?
We know our system for protecting us from terrorism prior to the attacks was fucked up. We know we can’t continue to do it the same.
Now, the suggestions of the commission may have some validity, although I’m pretty sure that the idea behind the Homeland Security Department was that same as their idea that there should be some sort of counter-terrorism group, just taken to the next, logical step.
Anyway, I’m just wondering.
Does anyone else think this big commission report on the 9/11 is as big of a surprise as Britney Spear’s coming break up with her fiance?
We know our system for protecting us from terrorism prior to the attacks was fucked up. We know we can’t continue to do it the same.
Now, the suggestions of the commission may have some validity, although I’m pretty sure that the idea behind the Homeland Security Department was that same as their idea that there should be some sort of counter-terrorism group, just taken to the next, logical step.
Anyway, I’m just wondering.
Does anyone else think this big commission report on the 9/11 is as big of a surprise as Britney Spear’s coming break up with her fiance?
We know our system for protecting us from terrorism prior to the attacks was fucked up. We know we can’t continue to do it the same.
Now, the suggestions of the commission may have some validity, although I’m pretty sure that the idea behind the Homeland Security Department was that same as their idea that there should be some sort of counter-terrorism group, just taken to the next, logical step.
Anyway, I’m just wondering.
Back in front (yes, it’s a weak division, but that’s beside the point).
thomas sowell has a very interesting article on a topic brought to light over the wallmart class action. i like the bit about, “If an employer could hire four women for the price of hiring three men, why would he ever hire men at all?” good thing i own my own business (and only women interview for our jobs).
thinking of thomas sowell, reminded me of this article that i read over the weekend and this article that i found from the liberal boortz.com website. i think that it is sad that the naacp which has done so much good for this country has turned into another left wing voice rather than continued down the path to improve the lives of african americans.
i’m not sure on what basis the framptons KNOW that saddam had nothing to do with 9/11. i don’t think the citizens of this great country really know the inner workings of our current enemies.
to that end, please look at stephen hayes’ newest book. i’ve not yet read it, and probably won’t, but i don’t see how you fellas can be so certain that there was not a link.
then, also, we continue to hear reports in the news that refer to the reason we went to war was because W thought that saddam had wmd, but that we never found them. this even appeared in any article that discussed a sarin gas attack in iraq this year. now this has come about, and i’ve not heard a word about it.
so, i guess what i’m getting at is, can you guys admit that there were wmd and that maybe saddam did have something to do with the two largest terrorist attacks on american soil? i’m not trying to be controversial, just curious how you are so steadfast in these untenable (imho) positions.
Pretty astute though a little far-fetched toward the end. (Congo and Macedonia?)
For those who don’t want to read it, when it comes to foreign policy, America is a meat and potato eater whilst enlightened Europe is a well-dressed man comfortable with his sexuality.
Via: Arts & Letters.
Pretty astute though a little far-fetched toward the end. (Congo and Macedonia?)
For those who don’t want to read it, when it comes to foreign policy, America is a meat and potato eater whilst enlightened Europe is a well-dressed man comfortable with his sexuality.
Via: Arts & Letters.
Pretty astute though a little far-fetched toward the end. (Congo and Macedonia?)
For those who don’t want to read it, when it comes to foreign policy, America is a meat and potato eater whilst enlightened Europe is a well-dressed man comfortable with his sexuality.
Via: Arts & Letters.
Clinton Taylor debunks the Terror in the Skies story by simply finding out who the “terrorists” were. So, while we don’t have to worry about this specific incident, he points out something just as scary: the FAA had received specific warnings of a terror incident that day, yet the plane was allowed to continue on to L.A. And the air marshals, flight crew and even the passengers, for that matter, botched the job:
I certainly don’t mean that the interceptors should have scrambled or the passengers should have started swinging Chardonnay bottles as soon as the oud player took too long in the john. But evidently no one even engaged these guys in a conversation, and no one, not the flight crew, and not the air marshals, challenged their egregious violations of protocols about congregating near restrooms or standing up in unison as the plane started its descent. Nothing was done to alleviate the terror Jacobsen, and probably a lot of the other passengers, felt.Liberals will likely decry the suspicion and interrogation the musicians faced on Flight 327. And the principled Right will regret that that was necessary. If the band’s English wasn’t very good they might not have understood the instructions. But a polite word and some helpful gestures earlier on, rather than a guilty PC silence, might have saved them some embarrassment. In any case, the police-state parallels fade quickly: In a real police state, like, oh, Syria, you are not even allowed inside the country with an Israeli stamp in your passport.
Not a bad point.
“SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco voters will have the chance to make their city the first in California to allow non-citizens to vote in school board elections if they have children in the school system.”
“The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted 9-2 on Tuesday to place a charter amendment on the November ballot that would allow residents who are parents or guardians of students to cast such votes. It would apply to illegal aliens as well as other non-citizens.” (emphasis added)
“The city attorney advised supervisors that it if the measure is subjected to a legal challenge, a court would likely find it in conflict with the state constitution, which requires voters to be U.S. citizens.”
I understand that this is well intentioned. However, I must ask why people in this country keep trying to give rights of citizens to people that are not citizens. It just doesn’t make sense. There is simply something fundementally wrong with this.
Don’t you have some news to share?
Looks like Bonnie Raitt is joining the Dixie Chicks in bashing her president to appeal to foreign crowds. Let’s hope she doesn’t pay for it at home with fewer records sales because then Republicans will be accused of censorship. (Her sales probably don’t amount to much anyway)
Evidently, the veep and the veep wannabee are going to battle this trial lawyers are the reason we don’t have affordable health care, no they’re not, are too, your mom is a wuss agrument. Here’s a little breakdown from WaPo. This should be a big issue primarily because it appeals to Edwards’s populist nature and Cheney’s liaise fair (how do you spell that?) inclinations.
Cheney: “This problem doesn’t start in the waiting room. It doesn’t start in the operating room. The problem starts in the courtroom.”
Edwards: “Senator Kerry and I stand with families and kids as we always have and as we believe it’s important for the president and the vice president to do, instead of being on the side of insurance companies and big drug companies, which is, unfortunately, where they are.”
Evidently, the veep and the veep wannabee are going to battle this trial lawyers are the reason we don’t have affordable health care, no they’re not, are too, your mom is a wuss agrument. Here’s a little breakdown from WaPo. This should be a big issue primarily because it appeals to Edwards’s populist nature and Cheney’s liaise fair (how do you spell that?) inclinations.
Cheney: “This problem doesn’t start in the waiting room. It doesn’t start in the operating room. The problem starts in the courtroom.”
Edwards: “Senator Kerry and I stand with families and kids as we always have and as we believe it’s important for the president and the vice president to do, instead of being on the side of insurance companies and big drug companies, which is, unfortunately, where they are.”
Evidently, the veep and the veep wannabee are going to battle this trial lawyers are the reason we don’t have affordable health care, no they’re not, are too, your mom is a wuss agrument. Here’s a little breakdown from WaPo. This should be a big issue primarily because it appeals to Edwards’s populist nature and Cheney’s liaise fair (how do you spell that?) inclinations.
Cheney: “This problem doesn’t start in the waiting room. It doesn’t start in the operating room. The problem starts in the courtroom.”
Edwards: “Senator Kerry and I stand with families and kids as we always have and as we believe it’s important for the president and the vice president to do, instead of being on the side of insurance companies and big drug companies, which is, unfortunately, where they are.”
In one of the dumber rulings in recent memory, the Colorado Supreme Court basically tossed aside the long-held, well-established rule that the government can impose no prior restraint on publication in ruling that the media could not publish a transcript from a closed hearing in the Kobe Bryant trial.
While the court was trying to recognize the importance of the state’s rape-shield law (the hearing concerned the alleged victim’s sexual behavior before and after), rulings in favor of prior restraint are virtually unheard of in this country (in the UK, they’re much more common). This is the bedrock of First Amendment law, and while I think it ludicrous and disgusting that a rape victim has to defend her sexual history, allowing prior restraint of publication sets far too dangerous a precedent.
This editorial from the Rocky Mountain News nicely lays out the case against the court’s decision.
No doubt, the Supreme Court will be overruling this one. Thanks, guys, it’s always fun to have your home state’s court look foolish.
…stop playing with the new computer, Chris, you’re posting too much. So this is the last one for the night.
An interesting page from the law of unintended consequences book; turns out, the national guard does some other things besides fight wars in the Middle East:
“Much of the concern has focused on wildfires, which have started to destroy vast sections of forests in several Western states. The governor of Oregon, Ted Kulongoski, a Democrat, said in an interview after meetings here Monday that the troop deployment had left his National Guard with half the usual number of firefighters because about 400 of them were overseas while a hot, dry summer was already producing significant fires in his state.”
Bagh Blog is the blog of a freelance reporter named Charlie Crain who is living in Baghdad. It’s a great blog, full of insight about the personal consequences of living in a strange place and about the real effects of the war in Iraq.
Money quote from Thursday’s post:
“Iraq has too many independences,” the clerk said with a smile and a shake of the head.
“Which one do you celebrate?”
“None of them.”
This is a transcript from the Daily Show. Keep this in mind: Kerry/Edwards are out of the main stream and the first and fourth most liberal senators in the Senate.
via for the first of many times: Wonkette
… and I followed his suggestion, that I read Wonkette every day. I’m glad I listeded. I’m too lazy to put it in the links right now, but go there every day.
Two things: it’s a political junkies dream site and even includes pool reports from the poor saps following the President (POTUS) everywhere he goes, and, importantly, it’s written by the woman who literally wrote Suck - the greatest website of all time and the original blog. (It is never given credit as such but it still is.)
Enjoy!
P.S. This is the first BlogThis! post from my Apple - the good news being I can BlogThis! from here and don’t have to always go back to blogger.
Matt didn’t have air conditioning at Duke, now all freshmen get iPods.
I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.
I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.
I couldn’t make this stuff up if I wanted to.
Ah-nold calls the Dems “Girlie-Men.” Hilarious. Of course, they’re “outraged” and are responding that he’s a homophobe.
Bruce Bawer, an American expat in Norway since 1998, explores European Anti-Americanism in The Hudson Review. Among other causes, he cites a homogeneous, largely state sponsored media:
Yes, there�s much about the American news media that deserves criticism, from the vulgar personality journalism of Larry King and Diane Sawyer to the cultural polarization nourished by the many publishers and TV news producers who prefer sensation to substance. But to suggest that American journalism, taken as a whole, offers a narrower range of information and debate than its foreign counterparts is absurd. America�s major political magazines range from National Review and The Weekly Standard on the right to The Nation and Mother Jones on the left; its all-news networks, from conservative Fox to liberal CNN; its leading newspapers, from the New York Post and Washington Times to the New York Times and Washington Post. Scores of TV programs and radio call-in shows are devoted to fiery polemic by, or vigorous exchanges between, true believers at both ends of the political spectrum. Nothing remotely approaching this breadth of news and opinion is available in a country like Norway. Purportedly to strengthen journalistic diversity (which, in the ludicrous words of a recent prime minister, �is too important to be left up to the marketplace�), Norway�s social-democratic government actually subsidizes several of the country�s major newspapers (in addition to running two of its three broadcast channels and most of its radio); yet the Norwegian media are (guess what?) almost uniformly social-democratic�a fact reflected not only in their explicit editorial positions but also in the slant and selectivity of their international coverage. Reading the opinion pieces in Norwegian newspapers, one has the distinct impression that the professors and bureaucrats who write most of them view it as their paramount function not to introduce or debate fresh ideas but to remind the masses what they�re supposed to think. The same is true of most of the journalists, who routinely spin the news from the perspective of social-democratic orthodoxy, systematically omitting or misrepresenting any challenge to that orthodoxy�and almost invariably presenting the U.S. in a negative light. Most Norwegians are so accustomed to being presented with only one position on certain events and issues (such as the Iraq War) that they don�t even realize that there exists an intelligent alternative position.
Things are scarcely better in neighboring Sweden. During the run-up to the invasion of Iraq, the only time I saw pro-war arguments fairly represented in the Scandinavian media was on an episode of �Oprah� that aired on Sweden�s TV4. Not surprisingly, a Swedish government agency later censured TV4 on the grounds that the program had violated media-balance guidelines. In reality, the show, which had featured participants from both sides of the issue, had plainly offended authorities by exposing Swedish viewers to something their nation�s media had otherwise shielded them from�a forceful articulation of the case for going into Iraq. In other European countries, to be sure, the media spectrum is broader than this; yet with the exception of Britain, no Western European nation even approaches America�s journalistic diversity. (The British courts� recent silencing of royal rumors, moreover, reminded us that press freedom is distinctly more circumscribed in the U.K. than in the U.S.) And yet Western Europeans are regularly told by their media that it�s Americans who are fed slanted, selective news�a falsehood also given currency by Americans like [NPR commentator Mark] Hertsgaard.
It’s an interesting (and funny, at times) analysis from someone who claims to have been inclined toward European criticisms when he left the states. Warning: very long.
(Via Virginia Postrel.)
i don’t know if you are aware of the Eyes Wide Open exhibit. i was innocently driving down the road in Chatham, MA, on July 16, when i happened past their free speach.
it frankly made me quite mad. they had all these boots lined up for the fallen soldiers, then another pile of 1,000 to represent the iraqis who’ve died since the war started on their soil. don’t get me wrong. those soldiers deserve all the honoring they can get.
but to put on this display without even a nod to the 3,000+ 9/11 losses is insane. i know they are making a political statement, in MA, of all places. but , jesus, give us a little perspective. and it was on the lawn of a church.
then, i get off the plane to browse bs, safely back in atl, and i read that bit about the 14 member syrian musical band. the same politics putting on this display are the ones that are keeping us from searching more than 2 middle eastern men.
being a scientist and not a statesmen, i can’t put in words here at bs how it made me feel. but if this reflects where our country is headed, i’m worried.
Elton John complains to the BBC about “censorship” and the “bullying tactics” of the U.S. government. Only his complaint isn’t with the govenment at all. Instead, he whines that Toby Keith’s career has been bolstered by support for the war, while the Dixie Chicks have gone down the tubes.
What an idiot.
I’m sending this photo from our cruise to the Mediterranean last month using a program now available for free from google. Pretty easy to use, too. We’ll see how it looks. 
I know I’m only 8 years behind everyone else on this, but South Park is one hilarious show. I just watched a few episodes and laughed my arse off. Very clever writing (albeit juveline at times….which is still funny). Anyway, sorry in advance for the random post, but I felt compelled to put this on bs. Frampton, surely you have watched this show? Anybody else into this show?
Bobby Fischer, the chess player, is being held in Japan for trying to leave the country without a valid passport. The New York Times story about him today includes this:
A virulent anti-Semite in spite of his own Jewish ancestry (his mother was a Jew), he has claimed that his belongings were stolen by a Jewish conspiracy from a warehouse in Southern California, where he lived during the 1980’s. The federal indictment against him after the match in Yugoslavia [in violation of economic sanctions imposed as a result of the war in the 1990s] seemed to ignite an equally virulent anti-American fire in him. Over the past five years, his occasional rants to radio stations in Iceland and Hungary, as well as the Philippines, have been full of hate against Jews and the United States.On Sept. 11, 2001, he told a radio talk-show host in Baguio, the Philippines, that the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were “wonderful news,” adding he was wishing for a scenario “where the country will be taken over by the military, they’ll close down all the synagogues, arrest all the Jews and secure hundreds of thousands of Jewish ringleaders.”
Charming.
It was a big decision fret with much fraught, but I’m switching to Apple. The truth is that I’ve long imagined myself the sort of person who works on one of these bad boys, but the limitations at work, specifically that I could interface with our exchange server, kept me from signing up.
That problem is no more. Entourage, Microsoft’s Apple version of Outlook, now communicates completely with such servers and I’ll be able to share calendars, addresses, to-dos and files with my co-workers. Furthermore, the general switch to .net and other coding languages that do not rely upon the underpinnings of Windows or Macintosh operating systems means that, more and more, the operating system on your computer is irrelevant.
Examples abound, but the best example of cross-platform programming is Adobe, whose In-Design, Acrobat and other programs run on any platform.
As for proprietary software such as Office, it long ago became more important for Microsoft to make its files compatible everywhere, meaning that you can read an Excel file even on an Apple .
Furthermore and interestingly, Microsoft now owns a good portion of Apple primarily, I believe, to hold the company up and thus creating a good competitor. It’s important that Apple succeed less Microsoft become a monopoly.
Anyway, I’m making the switch. Though I’m sure no one cares, I’ll be reporting in from time to time on the experience.
This is terrifying. (Via Instapundit).
Experts on federal sentencing expect Stewart to get 10 to 16 months in prison.
Awwwwww. Poor Martha.
Or rather, a sorta funny, but it made me smile:
REPORTER TO KERRY: Senator Kerry, is Light a wave or
a particle?
KERRY’S ANSWER: Well, Tim, quantum mechanics teaches
us that light exhibits the characteristics of BOTH a
wave and a particle; so, EITHER theory can be
considered valid under specific defineable
circumstances.
RIGHT WINGER #1: That’s John Kerry for you! Always
trying to straddle both sides of the issue!
RIGHT WINGER #2: Can’t he take a firm stand on
anything??
RIGHT WINGER #3: Which IS it, Senator Kerry. Wave or
particle??
REPORTER TO BUSH: Mr. President, can you spell the
word “cat?”
BUSH’S ANSWER: Oh, gee. You’re really putting me on
the spot! Lots of pressure here! Wish you’d given me
this one in advance. Let’s see…. K-A-T?
RIGHT WINGER #1: He WAS really, really close.
RIGHT WINGER #2: Nobody expects the President to be a
championship speller!
RIGHT WINGER #3: The IMPORTANT thing is that he says
what he believes. THAT’s real leadership!
“WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney says rumors aside, he�s not dropping out of the race.”
I thought this issue had been settled a long time ago.
I’ve added links on the left to 4 sites that are following the polls and, importantly, provide the information on a state-by-state basis. Also included are links to the presidential voting markets at Iowa Electronic Markets and Tradesports — the price on the market indicating the percentage chance that the market, as a whole, gives the candidate to win. (You have to scroll down to the bottom of the Tradesports page, to the “Winner Takes All” market.)
In 2000, a bunch of sites had Internet funding and essentially tried to “cover” the election competitively with the major media. I think this time, we’ll see more sites like those to the left, which contain lots of data, and you probably won’t see so many sites that try, in a formal way, to aggregate that information. I mean, who’s going to finance such sites this time around? Obviously, there will be no shortage of commentary on the Web, but I think the interesting buzz will be coming from less traditional outlets.
Hopefully, these sites will be interesting to watch — feel free to send other suggestions.
It was all procedure, but the Senate will not vote this year on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Six Republicans voted against having a vote this year.
Of course, my party continues to take the easy road. Senator Tom “I’m a Wuss” Daschle:
“Marriage is a sacred union between men and women. That is what the vast majority of Americans believe. It’s what virtually all South Dakotans believe. It’s what I believe.’
“In South Dakota, we’ve never had a single same sex marriage and we won’t have any,” he said. “It’s prohibited by South Dakota law as it is now in 38 other states. There is no confusion. There is no ambiguity.”
It was all procedure, but the Senate will not vote this year on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Six Republicans voted against having a vote this year.
Of course, my party continues to take the easy road. Senator Tom “I’m a Wuss” Daschle:
“Marriage is a sacred union between men and women. That is what the vast majority of Americans believe. It’s what virtually all South Dakotans believe. It’s what I believe.’
“In South Dakota, we’ve never had a single same sex marriage and we won’t have any,” he said. “It’s prohibited by South Dakota law as it is now in 38 other states. There is no confusion. There is no ambiguity.”
It was all procedure, but the Senate will not vote this year on a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriages. Six Republicans voted against having a vote this year.
Of course, my party continues to take the easy road. Senator Tom “I’m a Wuss” Daschle:
“Marriage is a sacred union between men and women. That is what the vast majority of Americans believe. It’s what virtually all South Dakotans believe. It’s what I believe.’
“In South Dakota, we’ve never had a single same sex marriage and we won’t have any,” he said. “It’s prohibited by South Dakota law as it is now in 38 other states. There is no confusion. There is no ambiguity.”
Did anybody else see this? Once again, the only thing I heard from these two was how bad the Bush administration is and that, if Kerry were President, we wouldn’t be in the current situation we have in Iraq. I honestly have been listening to try to figure out what Kerry wants to do. I’m willing to listen with an open mind. However, all I get from him is criticism of Bush, and zero specifics about what he wants to do. It’s really quite bizarre.
Also, did anyone catch Mrs. Kerry’s comment about her ex-husband’s money? I thought that was a bid strange. (She made a somewhat passing comment about how she liked her late husband’s money. “His money was just dandy.”) It seemed a bit of an odd comment from a potential First Lady. Perhaps it was a telling comment instead, showing that they are just blue-blood Massachusetts elitists that have no way to relate to real Americans. Hmmmmmmmmm. I get the feeling that Edwards’ wife (seemingly a “proper southern lady”) doesn’t know quite what to make of Kerry’s wife.
Did anybody else see this? Once again, the only thing I heard from these two was how bad the Bush administration is and that, if Kerry were President, we wouldn’t be in the current situation we have in Iraq. I honestly have been listening to try to figure out what Kerry wants to do. I’m willing to listen with an open mind. However, all I get from him is criticism of Bush, and zero specifics about what he wants to do. It’s really quite bizarre.
Also, did anyone catch Mrs. Kerry’s comment about her ex-husband’s money? I thought that was a bid strange. (She made a somewhat passing comment about how she liked her late husband’s money. “His money was just dandy.”) It seemed a bit of an odd comment from a potential First Lady. Perhaps it was a telling comment instead, showing that they are just blue-blood Massachusetts elitists that have no way to relate to real Americans. Hmmmmmmmmm. I get the feeling that Edwards’ wife (seemingly a “proper southern lady”) doesn’t know quite what to make of Kerry’s wife.
Did anybody else see this? Once again, the only thing I heard from these two was how bad the Bush administration is and that, if Kerry were President, we wouldn’t be in the current situation we have in Iraq. I honestly have been listening to try to figure out what Kerry wants to do. I’m willing to listen with an open mind. However, all I get from him is criticism of Bush, and zero specifics about what he wants to do. It’s really quite bizarre.
Also, did anyone catch Mrs. Kerry’s comment about her ex-husband’s money? I thought that was a bid strange. (She made a somewhat passing comment about how she liked her late husband’s money. “His money was just dandy.”) It seemed a bit of an odd comment from a potential First Lady. Perhaps it was a telling comment instead, showing that they are just blue-blood Massachusetts elitists that have no way to relate to real Americans. Hmmmmmmmmm. I get the feeling that Edwards’ wife (seemingly a “proper southern lady”) doesn’t know quite what to make of Kerry’s wife.
Evidently, the earth’s magnetic field is reversing itself, evidently because of shifting molten iron in the Earth’s core. Pretty cool/scary/fascinating.
Compasses will point south.
But Guantanamo captives can challenge their detention in the U.S. courts, which the should be covering. Of course, I had to get it from China. Okay, I’m faking a little bit, but this was not front page news anywhere in the past few weeks.
…I Love The 90s you are totally missing out.
MSNBC.com: “The Philippines said Tuesday that it would withdraw its troops from Iraq ‘as soon as possible’ in response to kidnappers� demands. Philippine officials were quoted as saying they expected the hostage to be released later Tuesday.” (emphasis added)
If this doesn’t give the insurgency a boost, I don’t know what will. Even if the Philippines were going to pull out in August anyway, why would they actually acknowledge that they were doing so in response to the hostage situation? None of the other governments have negotiated with the terrorists (at least officially) during these hostage situations and beheadings. I was shocked that their government would acknowledge the hostage threat and actually respond to it by giving in to their demands. Certainly they could have found a more tactful way to handle this.
This is simply poor, poor decision making on the part of the Philippine government, regardless of what may be going on in Manila. This one act by the Philippine goverment could end up costing many more Coalition (primarily American) lives.
Evidently, gays getting married is akin to a man marrying an animal. Who are these idiots?
“It does not affect your daily life very much if your neighbor marries a box turtle. But that does not mean it is right. . . . Now you must raise your children up in a world where that union of man and box turtle is on the same legal footing as man and wife.”
– Sen. John Cornyn (R-Tex.), advocating a constitutional ban on same-sex marriage in a speech Thursday to the Heritage Foundation.
via Sullivan
Article from Newsweek about inaccuracies in Michael Moore’s movie.
Yvette and I, in what has become a pretty good Sunday night tradition for us, finally saw Farenheit 9/11. I’ve never been made more angry by a film in my life.
Interestingly, I was only sort of mad at George Bush.
Sure, he’s a coy, bratty, bullying man. He’s got a sense of entitlement and cockiness and exclusiveness that I’ve always despised in people. Moore picks on this intensely. But, of course, Moore himself is a coy, bratty, bullying man, and watching the two “face off” in this movie is often times frustrating.
What made me angrier was this: the victims, the sufferers in this war of ideas, the people who hurt and who die, are not part of the discussion. They are not part of the debate.
Moore’s movie does one thing well, and is most honest, when it focuses on the pain the war in Iraq has caused, both physical and mental. For the mother of a young man killed in Iraq, it’s the question of why her son was there in the first place. For the families of those killed in 9/11, it’s the question of why someone would want to kill their husbands, brothers, wives, fathers, etc. For the people of Iraq, it’s the question of why they are terrorized (yes, I said terrorized) by soldiers representing the United States. It’s a question of why their children are killed by bombs dropped anonymously in the night.
And, the truth is, the answer to the question of why is simply this: a group of men are battling each other for power. Bush’s White House wants the world to bow to them. Bin Laden and his minions want the same. The Saudis, too, want to control everything with their money.
What is lost, or more to the point ignored, is that their petty fights kill and disrupt the lives of everyone. And I mean everyone.
It’s sad and maddening.
One thing, though, that is heartening is my own memory that we in the United States can do something that the Saudi people and those who follow bin Laden cannot. We can vote George Bush and thus John Ashcroft and Dick Cheney and the rest of them out of office. This movie reminded me that it’s good to be American.
I really can’t wait to see this movie. Review by the National Review.
This new series on HBO looks hilarious. Mark Wahlberg is the executive producer, and the show is based on his posse.
One thing: I can’t for the life of me figure out why the NY Times runs a TV review but doesn’t tell you when the show is on.
How, Americans have asked since 9/11, can I contribute to the War on Terror? One man took the War into his own hands:
This week, Jack, a convicted felon whose real name is Jonathan Keith Idema, was arrested with two other Americans and accused of running his own vigilante antiterrorism campaign in Kabul. Afghan and American officials said that Mr. Idema, 48, and the two other Americans posed as government officials and illegally imprisoned at least eight innocent Afghan men for 10 days or more.
As BM pointed out, people do some crazy s—.
…and why both the Dems and GOPers are wrong. From the New Republic.
…and why both the Dems and GOPers are wrong. From the New Republic.
…and why both the Dems and GOPers are wrong. From the New Republic.
Jason Alexander (not the one from Seinfeld) tells all.
Not surprisingly, Iraqis are kind of fed up with these foreigners messing with their affairs. And by foreigners, I mean Islamic terrorists and fighters who have come to Iraq to fight the Americans. Could that be because the Iraqis aren’t actually interested in fighting the Americans, just governing themselves.
Not surprisingly, Iraqis are kind of fed up with these foreigners messing with their affairs. And by foreigners, I mean Islamic terrorists and fighters who have come to Iraq to fight the Americans. Could that be because the Iraqis aren’t actually interested in fighting the Americans, just governing themselves.
Not surprisingly, Iraqis are kind of fed up with these foreigners messing with their affairs. And by foreigners, I mean Islamic terrorists and fighters who have come to Iraq to fight the Americans. Could that be because the Iraqis aren’t actually interested in fighting the Americans, just governing themselves.
Matt was very angry at the administration when news of the Joe Wilson/Valerie Plame affair broke, and he immediately assumed the administration was at fault. The bi-partisan Senate report, and the Washington Post, now call Wilson’s credibility into serious question.
I’m not saying this administration is perfect, but the vitriol of its opponents (see, Michael Moore) leads them to make claims that just don’t add up. Again, if the Dems allow the Deaniacs to steer the ship, there’s no way Kerry can win. Swing voters just won’t buy the line that, for example, Bush went to Iraq for oil. Cooler heads in the DNC need to prevail.
Matt was very angry at the administration when news of the Joe Wilson/Valerie Plame affair broke, and he immediately assumed the administration was at fault. The bi-partisan Senate report, and the Washington Post, now call Wilson’s credibility into serious question.
I’m not saying this administration is perfect, but the vitriol of its opponents (see, Michael Moore) leads them to make claims that just don’t add up. Again, if the Dems allow the Deaniacs to steer the ship, there’s no way Kerry can win. Swing voters just won’t buy the line that, for example, Bush went to Iraq for oil. Cooler heads in the DNC need to prevail.
Matt was very angry at the administration when news of the Joe Wilson/Valerie Plame affair broke, and he immediately assumed the administration was at fault. The bi-partisan Senate report, and the Washington Post, now call Wilson’s credibility into serious question.
I’m not saying this administration is perfect, but the vitriol of its opponents (see, Michael Moore) leads them to make claims that just don’t add up. Again, if the Dems allow the Deaniacs to steer the ship, there’s no way Kerry can win. Swing voters just won’t buy the line that, for example, Bush went to Iraq for oil. Cooler heads in the DNC need to prevail.
… of b.s, but please visit the Human Rights Campaign to protest the constitutional amendment designed to provide different rights to different Americans.
Looks like Murdoch was the one and only source for the Post’s ridiculous Gephardt gaffe. More proof that God is watching out for us down here….
I know my conclusion will not come as a surprise, but hear me out: The Edwards Hangover will commence shortly.
I really don’t have many personal views about Edwards, but I think his selection was bad politics. All the analyses today talk about what he brings to the ticket — essentially, a smile and a Southern drawl. He fills “likeability” gaps in the Kerry resume, but no one even pretends that he adds substance to ticket. Or, for that matter, that Kerry and Edwards even like each other.
I was terrified that Kerry would pick Sam Nunn or, say, Richard Holbrooke — someone who would have allowed Kerry to get to the right of Bush on some aspect of the war — be it nuclear proliferation, Middle East diplomacy or the hunt for Osama. Take it for what it’s worth, but when I heard that it was Edwards, I was relieved.
Although it’s difficult to see right now, I think the selection was a sign of weakness — that Kerry had to choose Edwards to mollify the left and pick up the financial support of the trial lawyers. Had Kerry already locked up his base — as he should have by this time in the cycle — Kerry would have been in a position to be more creative with his pick and to go on the offensive.
Ultimately, in order to win, Kerry needed to pick someone who added substance to the ticket, someone who would have been acceptable to the Deaniacs, but only just so. More than anything, they needed someone who would convince centrist voters that the Dems are serious about terrorism. The Dems keep saying that this election will be won or lost on domestic issues. But what Kerry’s pick demonstrates is that Dems still don’t understand that having solid anti-terror credentials is a necessary, baseline precondition for acceptability in a presidential ticket. In other words, all else being equal, domestic issues would sway the election, but first, you’ve gotta prove your ticket has the goods on Terror. Kerry failed the test.
The vitriol is unappealing.
“That was a misprint…..I swear! It was supposed to say Edwards! Honest!” said the editor of the New York Post.
“That was a misprint…..I swear! It was supposed to say Edwards! Honest!” said the editor of the New York Post.
“That was a misprint…..I swear! It was supposed to say Edwards! Honest!” said the editor of the New York Post.
This morning, I came across the Constitution of the Confederate States of America, which was based on the federal Constitution. On a first read, it’s striking that, less than 100 years after ratification of the Constitution, people already saw pork as a problem that the Founders failed to anticipate or address. For example Article I (dealing with the powers of the legislative branch) of the CSA Constitution contains these provisions:
Article I, Section VII (presidential power to sign or veto a bill passed by the House and Senate) contains a line item veto provision:
The President may approve any appropriation and disapprove any other appropriation in the same bill. In such case he shall, in signing the bill, designate the appropriation disapproved, and shall return a copy of such appropriation, with his objections, to the House in which the bill shall have originated; and the same proceedings shall then be had as in case of other bills disapproved by the President.
Article I, Section VIII (the Commerce Clause) contains an express prohibition on individual pork projects:
The Congress shall have Power . . . To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes; but neither this, nor any other clause contained in this Constitution, shall ever be construed to delegate the power to Congress to appropriate money for any internal improvement intended to facilitate commerce; except for the purpose of furnishing lights, beacons, and buoys, and other aids to navigation upon the coasts, and the improvement of harbors, and the removing of obstructions in river navigation; in all such cases such duties shall be laid on the navigation facilitated thereby, as may be necessary to pay the costs and expenses thereof;
Article I, Section IX puts further limitations on the Congress’s appropriations power
Congress shall appropriate no money from the Treasury except by a vote of two-thirds of both Houses, taken by yeas and nays, unless it be asked and estimated for by some one of the heads of departments and submitted to Congress by the President; or for the purpose of paying its own expenses and contingencies; or for the payment of claims against the Confederate States, the justice of which shall have been officially declared by a tribunal for the investigation of claims against the Government, which it is hereby made the duty of Congress to establish.All bills appropriating money shall specify in Federal currency the exact amount of each appropriation and the purposes for which it is made; and Congress shall grant no extra compensation to any public contractor, officer, agent or servant, after such contract shall have been made or such service rendered.
Just thought it was interesting…
So I finally saw the movie last night, after trying two nights in a row (it has been sold out pretty much every showing in NYC), and as much as Moore drives me batty, I have to say it is far and away his best film. Yes, there are distortions, simplifications, a lack of concrete proof, ridiculous assertions and the like, but there’s also remarkably compelling footage from Iraq, heartbreaking interviews with a woman from Flint who loses her son in the war, a brilliant, liberating dissection of the administration’s use of the terror warnings to instill fear, and a coherent argument that will pursuade many that we used 9/11 as the excuse to justify a long-desired invasion of Iraq.
Many others have pointed out the ridiculous exaggerations in the film, the plain silliness of Moore’s claims that the Bush family’s ties to the Saudis were at the root of a conspiracy to wage two wars in order to enrich the Bushes and their related companies. If you haven’t read it, this Newsweek article is a nice attack on many of the film’s central tenants. But even though it’s easy to dismisss so much of Moore’s arguments, the film also made me angry again, and I think it will make many more angry, too. The smugness of this administration, its incompetent handling of the war on terror, its refusal to cooperate with Congress on investigation after investigation, its willing and far too common deceit. My favorite moment came when Moore shows Rice and Rumsfeld both claiming in early 2001 that Iraq had been contained, that he did not have major stockpiles of weapons and that he was no longer a threat to the US or the World. Yep, that one was a real hoot.
To say that this film means Bush is in even more trouble would be understating it. The audience I saw it with gave the screen (a screen, for chrissakes) a standing ovation. The thing is the number one film in the country, and it’s selling out not just in Manhattan but everywhere. This movie is not just speaking to the Bush haters, and it sure seems to be creating a lot more of them.
interesting piece at the opinionjournal about raising the minimum wage.
i’ve been told by a source at better.shorter that i scared off elise and catherine in discussing the economy. i thought then, and still do now as i reread the post (better.shorter march, scroll to the “they just don’t get it” post by matt on 3/26 and read the comments)that what i said wasn’t that controversial nor inflammatory. and i am sad if i had that unintended consequence of running off two newbs.
i’ve never taking economics, but i do know that raising the minimum wage will generally have the opposite effect from that intended by its backers, and i know that there has to be some unemployment for the economy to remain strong.
additionally, the economy does seem to be better than the dems tried to lead us to believe just 3 short months ago.
btw, “compassionate conservatism” - who ever said i was compassionate?!
Funny story here from the AP. Not exactly the people I’d want going door to door for my get out the vote effort.
Interesting op-ed in the Times today by everyone’s favorite, Paul Krugman, about how Ashcroft’s terrorism policies are greatly colored by his political leanings and that in some cases he seems more interested in preseving them than in actually protecting the American public.
Example One: A major FBI bust of a terrorist’s plan to detonate a chemical weapon that could have killed hundreds. The suspect was arrested last year along with a major weapons cache and he was significantly further along in his plans than Padilla, yet the Justice Department did not so much as release a press release about the case. (I for one had never heard of it before this morning.) Why? Because, Krugman suggests, the suspect was a white supremacist, not a Muslim. In fact, the FBI is on the record as saying we face our biggest domestic terrorism threat from ecological and animal right activists, and Ashcroft seems to be focusing efforts there rather than on extreme rightests. Hmmm….Anyone else see a disconnect here?
Example Two: Ashcroft’s order to search all government lists for ties to terrorists, including voter registration lists, immigration lists and the like. The only one left off: Gun registrations. Perhaps this has something to do with his gun lobby ties? And it’s not a privacy issue. Krugman writes, “After all, a few months ago he took the unprecedented step of subpoenaing the hospital records of women who have had late-term abortions.”
Which brings up my question, what the hell is it anyone LIKES about this guy???
Nothing earth-shattering here…just an observation of what is probably the obvious.
After getting off to a big start, Kerry just seems to be campaigning, but campaigning about nothing in particular. I hear Kerry’s criticisms of Bush, but not really anything more. I can’t tell you anything he wants to do or change. He keeps saying the Bush administration has done poorly in this, or done badly in that. However, it’s almost like he has so little charisma that nobody really cares, the media included. No interesting sound bytes at all. The die-hard Dems will vote for him, but I don’t konw why I should really consider him. Like alot of people, I’m not all that fired up about Bush at the moment, but Kerry seems to offer very little as a plausible alternative. Again, it’s just an observation from one who is not overly involved in the political scene. Take it for what it’s worth, which probably isn’t much.
I’m just not real sure about this guy.
“Pentagon officials still insist Rumsfeld acted legally, but admit it all depends on how you interpret the law.” (This is about the most wishy-washy and least convincing argument I’ve ever heard from the Pentagon on something like this. Perhaps everyone is trying to distance themselves from Rumsfeld, in anticipation of his dismissal? Just a thought.)
Maybe I’m wrong, but I worry that Rumsfeld is really starting to hurt Bush’s credibility.
“Creating and amassing wealth is an outright moral obligation.”
it is interesting that america has come so far from the “protestant work ethic” that we need articles like this one to remind us of how best to serve ourselves and our fellow americans.
it is a refreshing read.
Evidently, they don’t like to have people re-publishing their stuff via the internet. Now, I can tell you, this is stupid, but we’ll see.
I’m no dummie, but the blogosphere simply won’t accept it - particularly considering how much linkage the times gets.
UPDATE: I fixed the link.
Evidently, they don’t like to have people re-publishing their stuff via the internet. Now, I can tell you, this is stupid, but we’ll see.
I’m no dummie, but the blogosphere simply won’t accept it - particularly considering how much linkage the times gets.
UPDATE: I fixed the link.
Evidently, they don’t like to have people re-publishing their stuff via the internet. Now, I can tell you, this is stupid, but we’ll see.
I’m no dummie, but the blogosphere simply won’t accept it - particularly considering how much linkage the times gets.
UPDATE: I fixed the link.
The fact that they polled only registered voters and not likely voters may be an issue with the results, but I find them pretty interesting. Does this mean the best strategy for the Democrats is to keep Kerry out of the spotlight/news so people don’t learn more about him (given that a large number of the respondents in the poll said they didn’t know much about Kerry)? It seems to me like this has been the strategy as of late (even prior to the “time out” called for Reagan’s death).
gmail is open to posters at blogger. if you ain’t got it yet, sign in to post a new, uh, post, and there is a link on the “dashboard” page. hit the “yes, please” link and you can join chris, harrison and me with the gmail.
a gig of email space. nice. we will have to wait to see how well the spam filters work though.
in case you are interested, archie
“The new government is thanking America and Bush. Why are the media silent?”
“The new government is thanking America and Bush. Why are the media silent?”
“The new government is thanking America and Bush. Why are the media silent?”
…in the Men’s 10,000m (26:20.31) and the Women’s Pole Vault (15′10″) at an international meet in the Czech Republic. Perfect time to be peaking — it’s Olympic summer baby.
What a load of crap. How big is Bush’s ranch? How many people can afford to own a baseball team. How much money is Cheney getting in retirement from Haliburton?
UPDATE: The DNC responded to the RNC’s new game with an e-mail to various reporters and editorial writers. Here’s a sample, courtesy of Talking Points - pretty damn funny.
“Yesterday the Republican National Committee, chaired by Ed Gillespie (whose lobbying firm collected at least $27 million from corporate clients like Enron in the two years before he became RNC chair), unveiled a new internet game poking fun at the personal finances of John Kerry.
“It is unclear whether the campaign of George Walker Bush (son of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and grandson of Connecticut Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush) and Dick Cheney (worth between $24 million - $107 million; former Chairman and CEO of Halliburton who received a $20 million retirement package to run for vice president) has endorsed this line of attack. Bush (a CT-born Yankee who summered in Kennebunkport, Maine, and attended the Kinkaid school in Houston before moving to Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, where he became head cheerleader and earned the nickname the Lip from his chums for his rapier wit), was unavailable for comment.”
Neal actually has a pretty intelligent analysis of the whol thing.
What a load of crap. How big is Bush’s ranch? How many people can afford to own a baseball team. How much money is Cheney getting in retirement from Haliburton?
UPDATE: The DNC responded to the RNC’s new game with an e-mail to various reporters and editorial writers. Here’s a sample, courtesy of Talking Points - pretty damn funny.
“Yesterday the Republican National Committee, chaired by Ed Gillespie (whose lobbying firm collected at least $27 million from corporate clients like Enron in the two years before he became RNC chair), unveiled a new internet game poking fun at the personal finances of John Kerry.
“It is unclear whether the campaign of George Walker Bush (son of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and grandson of Connecticut Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush) and Dick Cheney (worth between $24 million - $107 million; former Chairman and CEO of Halliburton who received a $20 million retirement package to run for vice president) has endorsed this line of attack. Bush (a CT-born Yankee who summered in Kennebunkport, Maine, and attended the Kinkaid school in Houston before moving to Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, where he became head cheerleader and earned the nickname the Lip from his chums for his rapier wit), was unavailable for comment.”
Neal actually has a pretty intelligent analysis of the whol thing.
What a load of crap. How big is Bush’s ranch? How many people can afford to own a baseball team. How much money is Cheney getting in retirement from Haliburton?
UPDATE: The DNC responded to the RNC’s new game with an e-mail to various reporters and editorial writers. Here’s a sample, courtesy of Talking Points - pretty damn funny.
“Yesterday the Republican National Committee, chaired by Ed Gillespie (whose lobbying firm collected at least $27 million from corporate clients like Enron in the two years before he became RNC chair), unveiled a new internet game poking fun at the personal finances of John Kerry.
“It is unclear whether the campaign of George Walker Bush (son of U.S. President George Herbert Walker Bush and grandson of Connecticut Senator Prescott Sheldon Bush) and Dick Cheney (worth between $24 million - $107 million; former Chairman and CEO of Halliburton who received a $20 million retirement package to run for vice president) has endorsed this line of attack. Bush (a CT-born Yankee who summered in Kennebunkport, Maine, and attended the Kinkaid school in Houston before moving to Phillips Academy in Andover, MA, where he became head cheerleader and earned the nickname the Lip from his chums for his rapier wit), was unavailable for comment.”
Neal actually has a pretty intelligent analysis of the whol thing.
I had never heard of howmanywouldittake.com, hotornot.com, bangable.com or any other of those “ratings” sites, but this story is pretty funny.
I think I want this job. www.CIA.com?
OK, to follow the post regarding apostrophe misuse, I post these all important grammar issues:
First issue:
I’m not sure if I’ve just never noticed before, but it sure seems that people are using the word “anymore” incorrectly a good bit these days. Driving to work this morning, I heard a guy on the radio say “I watch TV alot anymore”. I have heard the word used this way a bunch lately. Maybe I’m wrong on this, but isn’t “anymore” supposed to be used in partnership with a negative? For example, it would be correct to say “I don’t watch TV alot anymore” or “I don’t like hamburgers anymore”, but incorrect to say “I drive to work everyday, anymore.”
Here’s what The GRAMMAR CURMUDGEON says about “anymore”.
Second issue:
It has become fashionable with newscasters to use the word “an” before the word “historic”. Since he “h” in the word “historic” is not silent and is actually pronounced, shouldn’t the word “a” be used instead of the word “an”?
Here’s what the Grammar Curmudgeon says about “an”.
Any thoughts? Disputes?
On the lighter side, USC can’t get it together in football or basketball, but they sure know how to play baseball.
i’m not to fond of his take on bush and iraq, but a lot of what he says wrt gaza makes sense to me. give it a look.
this is horrible. i know that it occurs frequently in war, but it does make a sad story even sadder.
I’d be interested in Yvette’s take on this article in Newsweek which talks about the eroding support for Bush in Florida’s Cuban community. I will confess that I have yet to finish reading the article, but since the author leads with information from a Cuban who has raised over $100,000 for Kerry I am disinclined to believe his sources are representative of the Cuban opinion.
Thoughts Yvette?
Look at Drudge, which has on his front page a photo of Gore - a la Howard Dean - screaming like a mad man during his speech today. I’m sure the speech has plenty of other evidence that Gore has lost it, but I couldn’t get past the third paragraph, which has this nugget:
And now he [Bush] will not honor our fallen dead by attending any funerals or even by permitting photos of their flag-draped coffins.
In fact, there are two arguments why Bush won’t allow the coffins to be photographed: (1) if you’re willing to give Bush the benefit of the doubt, it’s because such photos would be too upsetting to the families of the dead and the soldiers who remain in service, or (2) if you think Bush is a crapweasel, it’s because he doesn’t want to hurt morale on the home front with the true reality of the war.
For those who want the photos shown for the second reason — and Gore is clearly one of them — I disagree that the educational value of the photos outweighs the damage they do, but that’s a value judgment on which reasonable people can disagree. But Gore hides the reason he wants the photos shown. He says it would honor those soldiers. Well, maybe in his warped world, but most anyone can see it’s a completely illogical, disengenuous argument. You don’t honor the dead by allowing reporters and photographers to swarm around a coffin, disrupting military rituals.
Gore’s statement about Bush’s failure to attend any funerals is just as disengenuous. To claim that Bush doesn’t care about the soldiers is absurd. Even the most virulently anti-Bush critic cannot deny the love Bush has displayed for the troops, both as a whole and as individuals — and, frankly, the love they have shown for him on numerous occasions. There are many other reasons why he wouldn’t attend the funerals, and they’re much more compelling — namely, Bush doesn’t want to make a spectacle out of an event that is supposed to be quiet, dignified, and designed to assist the families with their grief.
On both fronts, Gore makes ridiculous arguments to score cheap political points. What gets me so upset about this is that his arguments, and those of the extreme left time after time, is that their arguments assume — indeed, are based upon — the very fundamental bad faith of the other side. That is, you cannot believe the things that Gore has said unless you also believe the other side is evil.
This is why politics in this country are so partisan and nasty. It’s not that Bush has the best interests of the country at heart, but the left believes his efforts are less than optimally effective because he needs to tweak Policy A in Way X. Rather, it’s that he’s a greedy hatemonger trying to destroy all non-Christians and the environment in order to enrich a few buddies in Houston.
If this is the way we speak, we cannot have a conversation.
Fortunately, for my side at least, I believe this path leads to defeat for the Dems. If their leaders are making such assumptions on the campaign trail, they will not connect with voters. The assumptions are so extreme that they won’t resonate with voters. In fact, I confidently predict, they just sound plain crazy. It’s too bad, really — we need two parties contributing to this war. For now, we’ll just have one.
(Sorry for any typos, no time to proof.)
Interesting piece about the media, coverage of the war, the relationship with the Bush administration. The conclusion of the press: the press has not been critical ENOUGH of the Bush Administration. Interesting world these folks live in…….
Interesting piece about the media, coverage of the war, the relationship with the Bush administration. The conclusion of the press: the press has not been critical ENOUGH of the Bush Administration. Interesting world these folks live in…….
Interesting piece about the media, coverage of the war, the relationship with the Bush administration. The conclusion of the press: the press has not been critical ENOUGH of the Bush Administration. Interesting world these folks live in…….
… as it should be.
Announced on Phish.com yesterday.
Announced on Phish.com yesterday.
Announced on Phish.com yesterday.
… continues its excellent coverage of the “Wedding Party.”
I removed this stupid post because the jpeg was screwing up the look of the page. If you really want to read it again, you can do so here, although why you’d want to is beyond me. Really, I am sorry for the stupid, stupid post.
… as delivered by the one and only John Stewart. Please read.
… as delivered by the one and only John Stewart. Please read.
… as delivered by the one and only John Stewart. Please read.
On top of throwing a 1-hitter today, Tom is 6-2 so far this year, with a 2.13 ERA. Maybe letting him go wasn’t such a good idea after all. Of course, even though he’s with those hated Mets, you still have to pull for Tom. He did, after all, play his AA ball in Greenville.
On top of throwing a 1-hitter today, Tom is 6-2 so far this year, with a 2.13 ERA. Maybe letting him go wasn’t such a good idea after all. Of course, even though he’s with those hated Mets, you still have to pull for Tom. He did, after all, play his AA ball in Greenville.
On top of throwing a 1-hitter today, Tom is 6-2 so far this year, with a 2.13 ERA. Maybe letting him go wasn’t such a good idea after all. Of course, even though he’s with those hated Mets, you still have to pull for Tom. He did, after all, play his AA ball in Greenville.
MSNBC.com: “…in Baghdad, a suicide attacker exploded a car bomb…An al-Qaida-linked group � the Monotheism and Jihad Group � claimed responsibility and said the attack was carried out by a Syrian.” (Caveat: this is an early report.)
I post this not due to the attack, but only because I took note of the claim that it was a Syrian, not an Iraqi, that carried out the attack. Why is this significant? Well, it just made me wonder what the average Iraqi thinks about this situation and what we have done, whether good or bad. We have all heard reports that all the extremist anti-United States radicals have come to Iraq to give us a difficult time. I wish we could get a feel for what the average Iraqi thinks and wants from us, rather than assume that the radicals in the “resistance” represent the opinions of the average Iraqi. As said by many of us before, the coverage would make you think that the Iraqis are the ones giving us such resistance, when it’s really the thugs of the arab world that are causing most (if not all) of the problems.
Again, just a thought…(Let me know if this sort of post - posting a thought like this - is frowned upon since it takes up a good bit of space. I certainly don’t want to breach “better.shorter etiquette”.)
EDIT: Notice that the article also relays some apparent GOOD news (how could that be??). “…militiamen and U.S. forces had agreed to stop fighting in Karbala…”
Here’s the latest update on the attack. Seems very legitimate to me. The comment at the end about the UN’s feeling on the incident is exactly why we don’t need them in charge of this effort.
This guy doesn’t like Zell Miller very much, apparently.
This guy doesn’t like Zell Miller very much, apparently.
This guy doesn’t like Zell Miller very much, apparently.
MSNBC.com: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is considering delaying accepting his party�s nomination to gain time to raise and spend private contributions…
MSNBC.com: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is considering delaying accepting his party�s nomination to gain time to raise and spend private contributions…
MSNBC.com: Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry is considering delaying accepting his party�s nomination to gain time to raise and spend private contributions…
This is abuse. Evidently the torture chambers aren’t actually closed, there’s just someone else running them.
By the way, I know it’s not, but if this is what Steven (or, more to the point, someone else) means by getting tougher, I couldn’t disagree more. This sort of behavior is not the point.
For the record, Bush pretty much knew this was going on.
As these reports come out about blowing up weddings and prisoner abuse, contradictory reports seem to surface shortly thereafter which pick apart the initial reports. There was one report I heard that an alleged Iraqi prisoner described what had been done to him, while another person that knew him told the reporter that the alleged prisoner had not even been in prison. (caveat: I did hear this second-hand and did not see the actual report). We have had a lengthly discussion below about the reports of the missiles shot into the alleged wedding party, soon to be contradicted by reports of weapons found at the scene. I think Shores indicated in that discussion that we may never know exactly what has taken place in all this conflict. I think he may be entirely correct. Not sure what my point is, but I just thought I’d post my thought. Maybe my point is that it’s unfortunate that US citizens won’t know what has really happened and won’t have all the information necessary to do any type of objective evaluation of the situation (now or in the future).
Just a passing thought…
Sorry for the basic post, but there’s really not all that much one can say about this, other than that it’s horribly sad. I know mistakes are a part of war, but I don’t think this is going to help too much in the winning-the-hearts-and-minds category.
The WSJ today has a nice piece written by Garry Kasparov–reigning chess king and slayer of the computer chess program. Kasparov provides some particularly enlightened realism with respect to the war on terror that people of the world would be well advised to heed. I don’t know his background and have no idea of his popularity other than among chess folk, but I hope people listen.
It reinforces my belief that Bush needs to get tougher and bolder in this war. Do what is necessary to win–at all costs. As he has said before and needs to reiterate, we should be hunting down the terrorist leaders and killing them. Old fashion frontier justice.
I don’t think I’d be tempted to eat one of these, but I might wet myself if I ran across it…
I don’t think I’d be tempted to eat one of these, but I might wet myself if I ran across it…
I don’t think I’d be tempted to eat one of these, but I might wet myself if I ran across it…
Kim Strassel on the S.C. Senate race.
For those of us who haven’t been paying attention, it appears David Beasley has crawled out of his hole to run on a protectionist platform.
[Maybe God will tell him to be a free trader after he's elected! -ed. I don't have that much faith...]
Kim Strassel on the S.C. Senate race.
For those of us who haven’t been paying attention, it appears David Beasley has crawled out of his hole to run on a protectionist platform.
[Maybe God will tell him to be a free trader after he's elected! -ed. I don't have that much faith...]
Kim Strassel on the S.C. Senate race.
For those of us who haven’t been paying attention, it appears David Beasley has crawled out of his hole to run on a protectionist platform.
[Maybe God will tell him to be a free trader after he's elected! -ed. I don't have that much faith...]
“World Bank Corruption May Top $100 Bln”
first the un screws up the oil for food program, now this surfaces. i really wish washington would strap a pair on and demand full disclosure of these fiscal atrocities prior to sending any more money behind the fence in new york.
though i’ve not watched any tv this week, i haven’t heard a word about this story. when will the press get on the un like it gets on its own government.
Cutting and running is not the solution. No one ever said that establishing a democracy (or whatever you want to call a free society) in this part of the world would be easy. I reject the notion that Bush doesn’t have a clue. They have a plan they have been working. Have issues come up which challenge that plan or cause them to deviate slightly? Yes, but that doesn’t mean the plan and the end goal should be abandoned.
The following is just a glimpse of what we’ve done so far:
-vaccinated 3 million children
-renovated 2,356 schools
-created infrastructure to generate 4,518 MW of power–more than pre-war levels
-established a Central Bank and implemented a new currency
-Marshlands Initiative to rejuvenate polluted marshlands ecologically, socially and economically (Wow, you say, the Bush administration did that)
-Established 16 governorate councils, 78 district councils, 192 city or sub-district councils, and 392 neighborhood councils, allowing more than 19 million people to engage in local policy discourse. That’s a lot of representative government if you ask me.
-Established more than 660 community associations in 16 governorates as part of a campaign targeting grassroots democracy.
More highlights can be seen here.
I don’t know about you, but these accomplishments seem like the result of some good planning. Can we get more coverage of this kind of stuff?
Red Cross report: just thought I’d post this report as well.
EDIT: ALSO, FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, HERE’S A LINK TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION, “Adopted on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August, 1949″,
IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIRE TO READ IT. (IT’S PRETTY LONG.)
I’m not posting these as a statement in any way, but simply as informational links since these are such hot topics right now.
However, I am getting alot of mixed emotions about what is going on….Quite frustrating at the moment.
Red Cross report: just thought I’d post this report as well.
EDIT: ALSO, FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, HERE’S A LINK TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION, “Adopted on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August, 1949″,
IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIRE TO READ IT. (IT’S PRETTY LONG.)
I’m not posting these as a statement in any way, but simply as informational links since these are such hot topics right now.
However, I am getting alot of mixed emotions about what is going on….Quite frustrating at the moment.
Red Cross report: just thought I’d post this report as well.
EDIT: ALSO, FOR WHAT IT’S WORTH, HERE’S A LINK TO THE GENEVA CONVENTION, “Adopted on 12 August 1949 by the Diplomatic Conference for the Establishment of International Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, held in Geneva from 21 April to 12 August, 1949″,
IF YOU HAVE ANY DESIRE TO READ IT. (IT’S PRETTY LONG.)
I’m not posting these as a statement in any way, but simply as informational links since these are such hot topics right now.
However, I am getting alot of mixed emotions about what is going on….Quite frustrating at the moment.
Hmmm, how to say this?? As more details surface about the “Iraqi prisoner abuse scandal” doesn’t it seem unlikely that this was an isolated incident perpetrated by a few miscreants. Evidence begins to point to these activities as part of a widespread strategy to interrogate prisoners and obtain information about the insurgency during a time when our progress in Iraq was stalling (early December, before Saddam’s capture?). The photos may have been taken and used to threaten the prisoners (tell us what you know or we’ll show these to your neigbors, relatives and friends or other detainees). Given the nature of the photos (naked, sexually deviant, submissive to women) and the indifference of the captor participants, could it be that tenets of the Arab culture were specifically targeted and exploited to coerce prisoners into revealing information (the so-called “treatment” in McKiernan’s report)? If so, and the intended result was to shorten the war and save American and Iraqi lives, is this behavior as deplorable as Americans want to believe? Demented and deviant, certainly. But how badly do Americans want to win this war?
Easy enough for the Pentagon to throw a scapegoat on the block for court-martial and hope the public doesn’t go searching for that which it cannot handle, the truth. (props to Jack Nicholson.)
courtesty of thesmokinggun.com
Just thought I’d post the link. Abuse discussion begins on page 15. Pretty rough stuff.
courtesty of thesmokinggun.com
Just thought I’d post the link. Abuse discussion begins on page 15. Pretty rough stuff.
courtesty of thesmokinggun.com
Just thought I’d post the link. Abuse discussion begins on page 15. Pretty rough stuff.
It’s a great word to describe Michael Moore.
And in the interest of using less space: guess who’s back, back again, Tiger’s back, tell a friend.
God, I’m a loser.
It’s a great word to describe Michael Moore.
And in the interest of using less space: guess who’s back, back again, Tiger’s back, tell a friend.
God, I’m a loser.
It’s a great word to describe Michael Moore.
And in the interest of using less space: guess who’s back, back again, Tiger’s back, tell a friend.
God, I’m a loser.
On the Abu Ghraib front, if there’s one group of people I don’t have sympathy for, it’s the prison guards who say they didn’t receive proper training.
Similarly, NPR ran a story this morning diagnosing the problem as a lack of training about the Geneva Convention. (Leave it to the crazy leftists at NPR to assume training in abstract principles of international law would teach soldiers something they failed to learn from their mamas.)
Umm, we may ultimately hold the military brass accountable for the abuse, but to say that lack of training is the culprit is reeediculous. The argument reminds me of a brief BM worked on, when defending a small fire department accused of failing to prevent hazing of new firefighters. The brief concluded with something like this: “If grown men do not know that jumping naked atop another man’s face constitutes unacceptable behavior, no training program would reasonbly be anticipated to teach them so.”
Local high school basketball start Randolph Morris announced yesterday that he will forego the NBA draft and will go to Kentucky instead of Georgia Tech, which recruited him since 9th grade. His explanation?
A stellar student with a 3.9 GPA, Morris also said Tech was a “perfect fit” for him, but he passed on the North Avenue campus because “I would not be comfortable as a student-athlete at Georgia Tech.” He said the academic load is a “lot more rigorous at Tech. . . . I want to set myself up to be successful.”
Tubby ought to make this kid take multivariable calculus first semester.
A nice, solid apology from President Bush Thursday.
“I told him I was sorry for the humiliation suffered by Iraqi prisoners and the humiliation suffered by their families,” Mr. Bush said.
Well done and very appropriate. Next. (Next would be: fix it.)
But, when the Journal writes something like this, you’ve got to take note. There’s a whole lotta something going on, and that something is not a popular vote blow-out.
Some of you may remember meeting Morgan Spurlock at our wedding. Personally, I don’t, but that shouldn’t surprise anyone. He’s a high school classmate of Betsey’s (from Beckley, WV) and has made quite a splash with his new documentary, Super-Size Me. It won the Documentary Director’s Award at Sundance this year and is scheduled to open up nationwide this weekend. Apparently he has a pretty saavy agent because he’s been everywhere in the last couple of months. He’s no Amarosa, but he’s been in People, on the Today Show twice (including this morning) and in the NYT. Check out the film if it comes to a local theater. Especially you, Harrison, “Mr. I-want-to-have-my-Dad’s-birthday-dinner-at-McDonald’s.”
Rumsfeld and Powell’s battle continues. Evidently, Powell has been arguing within the adminstration that the government needed to improve the situation within Iraqi prisons. The Pentagon takes issue with that characterization, believing that they were just as interested in this as was State:
“It would be unfair to Secretary Powell to portray the discussions among [national security] principals about this issue in the way some people seem to be trying to portray them,” said Lawrence T. DiRita, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. “There was a lot of important activity and interest taken by the principals, including Rumsfeld, to make sure we were doing all that we could.”
That’s a nice way of saying that Powell is trying to make us look bad and he should stop.
Accepting the Pentagon’s claims, which I kind of don’t, one thing is for certain: doing all they could clearly wasn’t doing much.
As a side note, if you’ve read or are reading Plan of Attack, there is clearly a battle within the administration for the attentions of President Bush. Unfortunately, it seems to be a zero-sum game, meaning that either Rumsfeld of Powell speak. Heretofor, Powell has been the odd man out. That’s too bad, because his experience and inclination toward diplomacy has been sorely lacking throughout this experience. The abuse issues are merely the most photogenic example of such.
Rumsfeld and Powell’s battle continues. Evidently, Powell has been arguing within the adminstration that the government needed to improve the situation within Iraqi prisons. The Pentagon takes issue with that characterization, believing that they were just as interested in this as was State:
“It would be unfair to Secretary Powell to portray the discussions among [national security] principals about this issue in the way some people seem to be trying to portray them,” said Lawrence T. DiRita, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. “There was a lot of important activity and interest taken by the principals, including Rumsfeld, to make sure we were doing all that we could.”
That’s a nice way of saying that Powell is trying to make us look bad and he should stop.
Accepting the Pentagon’s claims, which I kind of don’t, one thing is for certain: doing all they could clearly wasn’t doing much.
As a side note, if you’ve read or are reading Plan of Attack, there is clearly a battle within the administration for the attentions of President Bush. Unfortunately, it seems to be a zero-sum game, meaning that either Rumsfeld of Powell speak. Heretofor, Powell has been the odd man out. That’s too bad, because his experience and inclination toward diplomacy has been sorely lacking throughout this experience. The abuse issues are merely the most photogenic example of such.
Rumsfeld and Powell’s battle continues. Evidently, Powell has been arguing within the adminstration that the government needed to improve the situation within Iraqi prisons. The Pentagon takes issue with that characterization, believing that they were just as interested in this as was State:
“It would be unfair to Secretary Powell to portray the discussions among [national security] principals about this issue in the way some people seem to be trying to portray them,” said Lawrence T. DiRita, the Pentagon’s chief spokesman. “There was a lot of important activity and interest taken by the principals, including Rumsfeld, to make sure we were doing all that we could.”
That’s a nice way of saying that Powell is trying to make us look bad and he should stop.
Accepting the Pentagon’s claims, which I kind of don’t, one thing is for certain: doing all they could clearly wasn’t doing much.
As a side note, if you’ve read or are reading Plan of Attack, there is clearly a battle within the administration for the attentions of President Bush. Unfortunately, it seems to be a zero-sum game, meaning that either Rumsfeld of Powell speak. Heretofor, Powell has been the odd man out. That’s too bad, because his experience and inclination toward diplomacy has been sorely lacking throughout this experience. The abuse issues are merely the most photogenic example of such.
This picture pretty much says it all.
Please note that you can mark a box in the comments section that will generate an e-mail to you anytime someone else responds to comment. In addition, that e-mail comes with a link to the discussion on better.shorter. This seems like a pretty sweet tool to me. In essence, it takes our old e-mail conversation and integrates it into the site. Holger, who created the code for our commenting system, is currently adding a manner for us to e-mail comments into the system. Once that is up and running, I will let everyone know and we will integrate that into the system as well, making better.shorter as instantaneous and interactive as it used to be.
Interesting that he’s saying these things after Bush did exactly what Kerry is bitching about. I think (and I believe I’m pretty mainstream here) the Bush Administration is handling the current situation pretty well. Of course they’d like to be able to go back and prevent this stuff from ever happening, but that can’t be done.
Kerry is criticizing just to be critical. In the process, he’s alienating voters because he sounds stupid or out of touch because he’s ranting and raving for Bush to do something that’s already being done. Can’t he just say he supports the administrations efforts to resolve the matter and that the use of language by Bush, such as he “abhors” what happened, is appropriate?
Kerry is going down fast.
…do people like the “Recent Comments” thing on the right or no?
From the USA Today. Inspiring story of someone we all know.
From the USA Today. Inspiring story of someone we all know.
From the USA Today. Inspiring story of someone we all know.
ST. LOUIS (AP) — Greg Maddux put on a triple-threat performance: He helped beat the St. Louis Cardinals with his arm, bat and legs.
Maddux pitched seven strong innings, stole a base, got an infield hit and scored twice in the Chicago Cubs’ 7-3 victory over the Cardinals on Monday.
Maddux (2-2) outpitched former Braves teammate Jason Marquis for his 291st career victory. He allowed two runs and seven hits, walking none and striking out six.
GO GREG!! (We still have to pull for the guy. It’s been said before on here, I believe; however, I do wish he were to reach 300 in a Braves uniform.)
I begrudgingly admit that I am impressed with CBS for respecting the request of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs to delay the story about the Iraqi prisoners. I had totally lost faith in CBS (and pretty much still have) because of its more than apparent bias in its journalism, but I have to applaud them here.
It brings to mind an interesting journalism ethics question that perhaps Matt can shed a professional opinion upon. When is it appropriate to delay a story when requested by the government? I think the readers of this blog (at least the contributing readers) certainly support a free press and any impediments to that would only be acceptable in the most extreme of circumstances. I assume the reasoning in this case must have involved such circumstances.
It’s not often I applaud Dan Rather’s judgement, so all you readers who despise my right-leaning posts please take note of it!
Well, I spent most of my free time this weekend working up a new look for better.shorter. I like it. We’ve got our own look, finally, and I think the page is easier to read than was the older version.
On the other hand, this isn’t my place, so I’m more than open to suggestions. Let me know what you think - please.
Six comments:
1) The photo is a little grainy right now. I used a crappy image program because I didn’t think Yvette had Photoshop on her computer. (She does; I just didn’t know she did. Dumbass.) By the time you see this, I may have already fixed it, though I’m not actually sure I can.
2) Waffle House is a short-order restaurant. Get it?
3) People might notice their links are gone: Matt, you never gave us any. Yvette, you didn’t either. Wells and Archie, we’ve never had a spot for you, but we’d love to add you. Freer, you have not posted since football season, and that will get and has gotten you booted off the island. (We hope you come back.)
Finally, Britany Roberts, oh, Mrs. Roberts, we know you’re out there, but until you show your pretty little face and stop acting like you’re that much cooler than we are, you, too, are off the island. (Actually, now that I think of it, I see you there, Frank.)
4) In a nod to Dr. Roberts, all of our names post in lower case letters.
5) I got a lot of help from two websites: Webmonkey, which is unfortunately going out of business, and Harpold.com. I heavily tweaked this template.
6) This whole venture was inspired by Harrison’s earlier post linking to Belmont Club. Man, everyone used our old template.
As mr kerry continues to try to paint himself as the average american, the nytimes had this adver.. i mean article on the front page, above the fold, so i’m told.
the article actually is about his 6foot8 aide. but with comments about his bp&js, his $20 hotel tips, and the football carried for when john wants to toss “it on the tarmac,” it appears the times is attempting to propagate the idea that mr kerry is just like you and me.
they didn’t mention the hairdresser that he flew down on his private jet (that costs about $5,000 per hour to run). and all the while kerry is telling me i shouldn’t be driving my blazer - since HE doesn’t own one - as he continues to “nuance” his way through all the issues.
and the left hates bush.
[a bit disjointed, i know, but i really can't believe the times doesn't have anything better for above the fold.]
As mr kerry continues to try to paint himself as the average american, the nytimes had this adver.. i mean article on the front page, above the fold, so i’m told.
the article actually is about his 6foot8 aide. but with comments about his bp&js, his $20 hotel tips, and the football carried for when john wants to toss “it on the tarmac,” it appears the times is attempting to propagate the idea that mr kerry is just like you and me.
they didn’t mention the hairdresser that he flew down on his private jet (that costs about $5,000 per hour to run). and all the while kerry is telling me i shouldn’t be driving my blazer - since HE doesn’t own one - as he continues to “nuance” his way through all the issues.
and the left hates bush.
[a bit disjointed, i know, but i really can't believe the times doesn't have anything better for above the fold.]
As mr kerry continues to try to paint himself as the average american, the nytimes had this adver.. i mean article on the front page, above the fold, so i’m told.
the article actually is about his 6foot8 aide. but with comments about his bp&js, his $20 hotel tips, and the football carried for when john wants to toss “it on the tarmac,” it appears the times is attempting to propagate the idea that mr kerry is just like you and me.
they didn’t mention the hairdresser that he flew down on his private jet (that costs about $5,000 per hour to run). and all the while kerry is telling me i shouldn’t be driving my blazer - since HE doesn’t own one - as he continues to “nuance” his way through all the issues.
and the left hates bush.
[a bit disjointed, i know, but i really can't believe the times doesn't have anything better for above the fold.]
If you read the major news sources, all you learn about Fallujah and Najaf is that our guys are there, and everyone is shooting at each other — it all seems totally random. But actually, it’s a battle. This post from a blog called Belmont Club, is the best explanation of the tactics being employed (by both sides) that I have seen (scroll to “Thrust and Parry” if the permalink doesn’t work). The short answer: the good guys are winning in Fallujah.
(Via AS.com)
Everyone on this board likes cool inventions - as witnessed by the love affair with Ginger. Well, this is a cool one, too. Maybe even cooler since we don’t have to completely redesign cities to put it to use.
Everyone on this board likes cool inventions - as witnessed by the love affair with Ginger. Well, this is a cool one, too. Maybe even cooler since we don’t have to completely redesign cities to put it to use.
Everyone on this board likes cool inventions - as witnessed by the love affair with Ginger. Well, this is a cool one, too. Maybe even cooler since we don’t have to completely redesign cities to put it to use.
Atlanta: Wins- 10, Losses- 8, Games behind - 2
Even with a bunch of no-names, the Braves are doing OK. Could Bobby Cox pull off his best managing job yet? If so, would anybody in Atlanta even notice or care?
Just a passing thought…….
This is devastating. Pat Tillman was the biggest bad ass in America (as I noted here, in March 2003). He died last night after being wounded in a firefight in Afghanistan.
We should launch an all out effort to kill this SOB.
I think it’s time to launch a new offensive and call it phase II of the Iraq war. We should not try to negotiate any further with the terrorists controlled by al-Sadr and the ones who continue to strangle the people of Fallujah. I say “Hunt ‘em down and kill ‘em.” They’ve terrorized their fellow citizens and our soldiers, civilian contractors and basically everyone who is trying to bring good to their country.
The 9th edition of the Index of Leading Environmental Indicators has been released by the Pacific Research Institute. Gregg Easterbrook calls it the “best summary of [environmental] trends.” It’s an interesting read. Shorthand conclusion: during the 20th Century, all trends — air quality, water quality, species protection, land protection, forestation, etc. — other than greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions show positive improvement and continue to improve.
Two interesting nuggets from the report:
1. The global warming models on which the Kyoto Protocol (and other global warming policy proposals) are based use projections of CO2 emissions into the future. In order to predict future GHG emissions, the modelers use as a proxy projected growth in gross domestic product (GDP), on the theory that, as economies grow, they will emit more carbon dioxide and other GHGs. So far, sensible enough. The problem is that the GDP projections are wildly unrealistic, leading to predictions such as that, by the year 2100, South Africa will have four times the GDP of the U.S. and that the GDPs of such economic powerhouses as Libya, Algeria and North Korea will surpass that of the U.S. Therefore, the most “authoritative” models are based on preposterous assumptions about the levels of GHGs in the atmosphere. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that global warming won’t happen, but it does mean the models need to be completely re-worked. And the problem — which Easterbrook laudably has been highlighting — is that any scientist who wanders off the reservation by making any such criticisms is abused by the environmental lobby, and even some environmental “scientists.”
2. The “Weekend Effect.” The study notes that many media outlets have been highlighting increasing ozone levels as evidence the Bush administration, in particular, is soft on environmental controls. While the cause of this increase is not entirely understood, the best theory is that ozone creation depends not on absolute levels of pollution, but on the ratio of various nitrous oxides to volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the atmosphere. As a result of lowering absolute levels of nitrous oxides (particularly on weekends), our cities have unfortunately “improved” the ratio for ozone creation. Thus, over decades, policies that have effectively reduced certain pollutants have increased levels of other pollutants. Again, the point is not to relax environmental standards, but that blind religiosity toward reducing pollutants sometimes has negative effects. The policies must be based on sound science.
This brings us back to Easterbrook, who although a liberal, has it out for both parties on the environment. On the left, he argues, the enviro-lobby has become a de facto wing of the Democratic party, and anyone who challenges conventional wisdom or the most loosely-scientifically based theory is demonized as an enemy of the environment. On the right, he says, the Republicans appear to bask in a reputed hostility toward the environment. Both trends are counterproductive.
Easterblogg is now daily reading for me. I’ve added it to my links.
Matt has said that the flip-flopping label won’t work and implies that Kerry gets more and more attractive as the campaign proceeds. I disagree. Maybe the criticism of Howard Fineman doesn’t concern you because, as a peddler of conventional wisdom, his analysis will change as the political sands shift. But how then to respond to the constant criticism and dismay of a liberal like Mickey Kaus?
In the “I-voted-for-it-before-I-voted-against-it” vein, Kerry has now announced a “nuanced” position on his own ownership of SUVs: he doesn’t own one, his family does. Ahh, that clears it up — your wife is one of those greedy, environment-busting turds that you have condemned.
The problem is Kerry isn’t defining himself with what he stands for, but what he stands against. There’s nothing wrong with opposing the Iraq war (or the administration’s prosecution of it) or, for that matter, owning an SUV. But when his entire platform is based on “Bush LIED!” or “Bush is raping the environment!” rather than his own set of alternative proposals, it’s all too easy to conclude that he’s merely a political opportunist. That’s why he will lose.
Shawna wanted to see it work.
To me this Friedman article is frustrating and a very real source of future economic and social problems here in the US. It seems the kind of technical education that is required to succeed in this technology-driven world could/should be taught here as it is abroad.
it would be nice to hear some of this in the main stream media. i don’t think the un gets any real criticism on tv. considering how much time halliburton has gotten for $65 million (i think), i’m much more interested in hearing what will become of the investigation into the oil for food program that apparantly was 150 times worse (some $10 billion).
i hope the congress straps a pair on and takes on these guys. with the amount of money we give them, it should be pretty easy to get them to act right. but that can’t happen. oh well.
it would be nice to hear some of this in the main stream media. i don’t think the un gets any real criticism on tv. considering how much time halliburton has gotten for $65 million (i think), i’m much more interested in hearing what will become of the investigation into the oil for food program that apparantly was 150 times worse (some $10 billion).
i hope the congress straps a pair on and takes on these guys. with the amount of money we give them, it should be pretty easy to get them to act right. but that can’t happen. oh well.
it would be nice to hear some of this in the main stream media. i don’t think the un gets any real criticism on tv. considering how much time halliburton has gotten for $65 million (i think), i’m much more interested in hearing what will become of the investigation into the oil for food program that apparantly was 150 times worse (some $10 billion).
i hope the congress straps a pair on and takes on these guys. with the amount of money we give them, it should be pretty easy to get them to act right. but that can’t happen. oh well.
As Bush continues to run ads claiming Kerry waivered on Iraq by voting for the war and against the $87 billion funding bill, Kerry points out this rather fun fact.
From this AP article, which just made me like the guy even more:
Kerry noted that Bush had threatened to veto the $87 billion bill if it included money to pay for health care for reservists and required Iraq to pay back some of the money set aside for its reconstruction.
�Think of that. The president threatened to veto that bill, and yet he is now accusing me for voting no,� he said.
Seems to me both sides are stupid. Violence is only begetting violence. Israel continues to have the moral edge in the trading of violence, though their lockdown strategies seem a little less clear cut.
Seems to me both sides are stupid. Violence is only begetting violence. Israel continues to have the moral edge in the trading of violence, though their lockdown strategies seem a little less clear cut.
Seems to me both sides are stupid. Violence is only begetting violence. Israel continues to have the moral edge in the trading of violence, though their lockdown strategies seem a little less clear cut.
Really an amazing compendium of quotes from all over the world in response to the bin Laden surrender tape. My favorite? This one:
I’m flattered. He obviously thinks Europe is making a serious contribution to fighting terrorism. We should be encouraged by this to increase it.
- Alex Swanson, Milton Keynes, UK
Another good one:
We don’t negotiate with mass murderers. We hunt them down and deliver them to justice.
- Roger Morgan Freedlan, Whitwick, England
The scariest?
Seize the moment, be fair to your self. They are not terrorists, they are rebels and they have a fair case.
- Sea Sea, Taiwan
Really an amazing compendium of quotes from all over the world in response to the bin Laden surrender tape. My favorite? This one:
I’m flattered. He obviously thinks Europe is making a serious contribution to fighting terrorism. We should be encouraged by this to increase it.
- Alex Swanson, Milton Keynes, UK
Another good one:
We don’t negotiate with mass murderers. We hunt them down and deliver them to justice.
- Roger Morgan Freedlan, Whitwick, England
The scariest?
Seize the moment, be fair to your self. They are not terrorists, they are rebels and they have a fair case.
- Sea Sea, Taiwan
Really an amazing compendium of quotes from all over the world in response to the bin Laden surrender tape. My favorite? This one:
I’m flattered. He obviously thinks Europe is making a serious contribution to fighting terrorism. We should be encouraged by this to increase it.
- Alex Swanson, Milton Keynes, UK
Another good one:
We don’t negotiate with mass murderers. We hunt them down and deliver them to justice.
- Roger Morgan Freedlan, Whitwick, England
The scariest?
Seize the moment, be fair to your self. They are not terrorists, they are rebels and they have a fair case.
- Sea Sea, Taiwan
Bin Laden, today, offered a truce to European countries that do not attack Muslim countries. Or at least, that’s what the big satellite propoganda machines said.
Interesting change for many reasons, but I still love the logic behind everything we hear from these murderers. Here’s a good example:
The speaker also vowed to seek revenge against the United States because Israel assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Look, I believe that Israel’s persecution of Gaza etc. has been poorly executed. The settlements, the oppression, those sorts of things are bad. But they certainly were as of right to take out an enemy that is constantly killing their own people. Isn’t it, after all, the Muslims who brought the eye for an eye concept to the world.
Then, let’s add a little mystery to the whole thing: how exactly am I responsible for the death of the Hamas leader? Bizzaro land.
Bin Laden, today, offered a truce to European countries that do not attack Muslim countries. Or at least, that’s what the big satellite propoganda machines said.
Interesting change for many reasons, but I still love the logic behind everything we hear from these murderers. Here’s a good example:
The speaker also vowed to seek revenge against the United States because Israel assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Look, I believe that Israel’s persecution of Gaza etc. has been poorly executed. The settlements, the oppression, those sorts of things are bad. But they certainly were as of right to take out an enemy that is constantly killing their own people. Isn’t it, after all, the Muslims who brought the eye for an eye concept to the world.
Then, let’s add a little mystery to the whole thing: how exactly am I responsible for the death of the Hamas leader? Bizzaro land.
Bin Laden, today, offered a truce to European countries that do not attack Muslim countries. Or at least, that’s what the big satellite propoganda machines said.
Interesting change for many reasons, but I still love the logic behind everything we hear from these murderers. Here’s a good example:
The speaker also vowed to seek revenge against the United States because Israel assassinated Hamas founder Sheik Ahmed Yassin.
Look, I believe that Israel’s persecution of Gaza etc. has been poorly executed. The settlements, the oppression, those sorts of things are bad. But they certainly were as of right to take out an enemy that is constantly killing their own people. Isn’t it, after all, the Muslims who brought the eye for an eye concept to the world.
Then, let’s add a little mystery to the whole thing: how exactly am I responsible for the death of the Hamas leader? Bizzaro land.
We didn’t have the TV on and I didn’t watch the President’s address last night, but this morning I have been reading the transcript and am astounded by Bush’s inability/refusal to answer the questions asked and demonstrate anything resembling contrition regarding the incessant string of mistakes his administration has made. I support the war in Iraq and think removing Saddam is/was the right thing to do, but there is a litany of errors in judgement, diplomatic missteps and frankly, lies, which he steadfastly refuses to acknowledge. The worst part is, they’re not a secret. Everyone knows the mistakes and people (especially the international community) expect an acknowledgment. He might find forming a sentence less of a challenge if his mind wasn’t so focused on obscuring the truth and covering his ass. A commander-in-chief accepts responsibility, a politician spins it. Bush, however, isn’t articulate enough to even spin effectively. (Stop smiling Frampton, Kerry ain’t the answer, either.)
wow. they suspended the WHOLE police force. i mean, really, that seems a good way to fight crime.
i actually think that is a bold, ballsy move. but seriously, i wouldn’t want to be there now.
wow. they suspended the WHOLE police force. i mean, really, that seems a good way to fight crime.
i actually think that is a bold, ballsy move. but seriously, i wouldn’t want to be there now.
wow. they suspended the WHOLE police force. i mean, really, that seems a good way to fight crime.
i actually think that is a bold, ballsy move. but seriously, i wouldn’t want to be there now.
yesterday, when i googled waffle, the first four results were j kerry’s page. not anymore. i wonder why. back in the day when chris put up the google search that took you to the white house page (i can’t remember which derogatory statement he searched) it lasted for days. does google support j kerry? it wouldn’t surprise me.
yesterday, when i googled waffle, the first four results were j kerry’s page. not anymore. i wonder why. back in the day when chris put up the google search that took you to the white house page (i can’t remember which derogatory statement he searched) it lasted for days. does google support j kerry? it wouldn’t surprise me.
yesterday, when i googled waffle, the first four results were j kerry’s page. not anymore. i wonder why. back in the day when chris put up the google search that took you to the white house page (i can’t remember which derogatory statement he searched) it lasted for days. does google support j kerry? it wouldn’t surprise me.
I have pulled for Phil for a long, long time. However, a few years ago, I finally decided that, despite all the talent and Tour victories that he has, Phil Mickelson would never win a major championship. He always seemed to find a way to either lose it or just get beat.
In case you have been in a cave for the past four hours, PHIL WON THE MASTERS. I happily eat my words.
Frampton & Shores, check this development out. It’s being done by Charles Brewer, the founder of Mindspring who recently started Green Street Properties in Atlanta. Looks pretty cool.
Look at this picture before you read the caption. It’s pretty amazing, if a little disturbing.
(Via AS.com)
It’s getting a little complicated in Iraq, and little is an understatement.
This is a watershed moment.
the engines of the minuteman III are being replaced with newer, epa approved propellants. i’m glad the epa is protecting the environment from the exhaust of NUCLEAR weapons.
the engines of the minuteman III are being replaced with newer, epa approved propellants. i’m glad the epa is protecting the environment from the exhaust of NUCLEAR weapons.
the engines of the minuteman III are being replaced with newer, epa approved propellants. i’m glad the epa is protecting the environment from the exhaust of NUCLEAR weapons.
Phil fans should read this and get ready for his Masters win.
Spent the day in Augusta for the Monday practice round. Unbelievable weather. Here’s the 13th green as we arrived around 9:30.
Tiger putting on the 7th green:
And Nick Faldo teeing off on 6, I believe:
Big Fun.
Greenspan: Make Bush Tax Cuts Permanent
Thu Feb 12,10:56 PM ET
By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer
WASHINGTON - Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday that Congress should make President Bush’s tax cuts permanent and cover the $1 trillion price by trimming future benefits in Social Security and other entitlement programs�
[interestingly, yahoo has removed this article from their archives.]
—–
Greenspan: More taxes may be needed
Friday, March 12, 2004 7:28AM EST
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said Thursday that tax increases probably will be needed in combination with benefit cuts to close the funding gap faced by Social Security.
“Is the world angry at Russia, which spends nothing on AIDS and rebuffed Kyoto? Is the world angry at China, which got a pass on Kyoto and spends nothing on AIDS for other countries?
Is the world angry at North Korea for killings its people? Angry at Iran for smothering that vibrant nation with corrupt and thuggish mullocracy? Angry at Syria for occupying Lebanon? Angry at Saudi Arabia for its denial of women�s rights? Angry at Russia for corrupt elections? Is the world angry at China for threatening Taiwan, or angry at France for joining the Chinese in joint military exercises that threatened the island on the eve of an election? Is the world angry at Zimbabwe for stealing land and starving people? Is the world angry at Pakistan for selling nuclear secrets? Is the world angry at Libya for having an NBC program?
Is the world angry at the thugs of Fallujah?
Is the world angry at anyone besides America and Israel?”
good point. (scroll to the bottom of the page, if it is still there.)
“Is the world angry at Russia, which spends nothing on AIDS and rebuffed Kyoto? Is the world angry at China, which got a pass on Kyoto and spends nothing on AIDS for other countries?
Is the world angry at North Korea for killings its people? Angry at Iran for smothering that vibrant nation with corrupt and thuggish mullocracy? Angry at Syria for occupying Lebanon? Angry at Saudi Arabia for its denial of women�s rights? Angry at Russia for corrupt elections? Is the world angry at China for threatening Taiwan, or angry at France for joining the Chinese in joint military exercises that threatened the island on the eve of an election? Is the world angry at Zimbabwe for stealing land and starving people? Is the world angry at Pakistan for selling nuclear secrets? Is the world angry at Libya for having an NBC program?
Is the world angry at the thugs of Fallujah?
Is the world angry at anyone besides America and Israel?”
good point. (scroll to the bottom of the page, if it is still there.)
“Is the world angry at Russia, which spends nothing on AIDS and rebuffed Kyoto? Is the world angry at China, which got a pass on Kyoto and spends nothing on AIDS for other countries?
Is the world angry at North Korea for killings its people? Angry at Iran for smothering that vibrant nation with corrupt and thuggish mullocracy? Angry at Syria for occupying Lebanon? Angry at Saudi Arabia for its denial of women�s rights? Angry at Russia for corrupt elections? Is the world angry at China for threatening Taiwan, or angry at France for joining the Chinese in joint military exercises that threatened the island on the eve of an election? Is the world angry at Zimbabwe for stealing land and starving people? Is the world angry at Pakistan for selling nuclear secrets? Is the world angry at Libya for having an NBC program?
Is the world angry at the thugs of Fallujah?
Is the world angry at anyone besides America and Israel?”
good point. (scroll to the bottom of the page, if it is still there.)
We’ll see how the Kerry campaign reacts to this news–which can be construed as nothing other than a positive indication that the economy is doing well.
We’ll see how the Kerry campaign reacts to this news–which can be construed as nothing other than a positive indication that the economy is doing well.
We’ll see how the Kerry campaign reacts to this news–which can be construed as nothing other than a positive indication that the economy is doing well.
Who would have predicted 20 years ago that these seven former Iron Curtain nations would now be some of our staunchest allies? It just goes to show you the positive power of American Foreign Policy, especially the Reagan Administration’s. No doubt we’ll be seeing the same type of results in the coming years in the Middle East under the Bush policy. People will again look back and say we were right on the course of action in Iraq because it has begun a wave of change in a hostile region.
Who would have predicted 20 years ago that these seven former Iron Curtain nations would now be some of our staunchest allies? It just goes to show you the positive power of American Foreign Policy, especially the Reagan Administration’s. No doubt we’ll be seeing the same type of results in the coming years in the Middle East under the Bush policy. People will again look back and say we were right on the course of action in Iraq because it has begun a wave of change in a hostile region.
Who would have predicted 20 years ago that these seven former Iron Curtain nations would now be some of our staunchest allies? It just goes to show you the positive power of American Foreign Policy, especially the Reagan Administration’s. No doubt we’ll be seeing the same type of results in the coming years in the Middle East under the Bush policy. People will again look back and say we were right on the course of action in Iraq because it has begun a wave of change in a hostile region.
…and why they’re so high:
1. Demand is high, fueled by growing economies in China and the U.S.
2. Supply is decreasing — OPEC has announced a 1.5 million barrel per day supply cut, in addition to another 1.5 million bpd reduction in the amount member nations are cheating
But also interestingly:
3. Hedge funds are driving prices up as they look for good investments in a low interest rate environment with overpriced equity markets
4. The U.S. continues to buy oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve, and
5. There’s a risk premium added to the price, based on a concern about a terrorist-induced supply shock
Link here (may be subscription only)
The Bush administration is clearly busying itself with attacking Dick Clarke, going so far as to claim he lied under oath. They are on very, very dangerous ground right now. From a campaign perspective, the merits of Clarke’s arguments aren’t the point, nor is his character or his motivations. The Bush administration should be spending every ounce of its efforts to explain why they feel they’ve reacted well to terrorism, why their policies are better, why they were taking appropriate steps prior to 9/11. Attacking this man makes them look defensive, makes them look like they have something to hide, makes them look like their focus is, once again, on politics not policy (sorry to belabor that point, but I think it defines this president). To top it off, Rice’s refusal to testify to the commission under oath looks even worse.
I say this in all honesty, and I feel without exaggeration, but right now Bush is headed toward a major defeat.
mommar’s son seems to have a great idea for libya. i doubt he speaks for his father, but the article is very interesting. it would be wonderful to see his ideas play out.
mommar’s son seems to have a great idea for libya. i doubt he speaks for his father, but the article is very interesting. it would be wonderful to see his ideas play out.
mommar’s son seems to have a great idea for libya. i doubt he speaks for his father, but the article is very interesting. it would be wonderful to see his ideas play out.
mommar’s son seems to have a great idea for libya. i doubt he speaks for his father, but the article is very interesting. it would be wonderful to see his ideas play out.
One of the unheralded results of the Iraq war was the impression it made on countries like Libya that they better straighten up. Since witnessing the removal of his fellow despot Saddam, Qadafi has made some serious inroads into joining the rational world order: agreeing to pay reparations to the Lockerbie crash victims’ families, turning over WMD program materials and info, and now agreeing to join the battle in the war on terror. I have no doubt that Libya is just the first country in what will be many that wise-up and realize they don’t want to suffer the same fate as Saddam’s Iraq. This effect will vindicate the Bush foreign policy in the history books.
One of the unheralded results of the Iraq war was the impression it made on countries like Libya that they better straighten up. Since witnessing the removal of his fellow despot Saddam, Qadafi has made some serious inroads into joining the rational world order: agreeing to pay reparations to the Lockerbie crash victims’ families, turning over WMD program materials and info, and now agreeing to join the battle in the war on terror. I have no doubt that Libya is just the first country in what will be many that wise-up and realize they don’t want to suffer the same fate as Saddam’s Iraq. This effect will vindicate the Bush foreign policy in the history books.
One of the unheralded results of the Iraq war was the impression it made on countries like Libya that they better straighten up. Since witnessing the removal of his fellow despot Saddam, Qadafi has made some serious inroads into joining the rational world order: agreeing to pay reparations to the Lockerbie crash victims’ families, turning over WMD program materials and info, and now agreeing to join the battle in the war on terror. I have no doubt that Libya is just the first country in what will be many that wise-up and realize they don’t want to suffer the same fate as Saddam’s Iraq. This effect will vindicate the Bush foreign policy in the history books.
One of the unheralded results of the Iraq war was the impression it made on countries like Libya that they better straighten up. Since witnessing the removal of his fellow despot Saddam, Qadafi has made some serious inroads into joining the rational world order: agreeing to pay reparations to the Lockerbie crash victims’ families, turning over WMD program materials and info, and now agreeing to join the battle in the war on terror. I have no doubt that Libya is just the first country in what will be many that wise-up and realize they don’t want to suffer the same fate as Saddam’s Iraq. This effect will vindicate the Bush foreign policy in the history books.
Daddy’s got a new set of wheels.
-Chris Frampton, March 23, 2004
“Israelis Stop Teen Wearing Bomb Vest“
-AP Headline, March 24, 2004
HAWARA CHECKPOINT, West Bank (AP) - A 16-year-old Palestinian with a suicide bomb vest strapped to his body was caught at a crowded West Bank checkpoint Wednesday, setting off a tense encounter with Israeli soldiers whom the army said he was sent to kill.The soldiers, taking cover behind concrete barriers, sent a yellow army robot to bring scissors to the teenager so he could cut off the vest. They then made him strip to his underwear to ensure he was unarmed before detaining him.
There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the latest in a series of foiled attacks on Israel by Palestinian youths.
The family of the teenager, identified as Hussam Abdo, said he was gullible and easily manipulated.
“He doesn’t know anything, and he has the intelligence of a 12 year old,” said his brother, Hosni.
Is there a shred of doubt that, if instead a Jewish boy had strapped a bomb onto his body and walked into the Palestinian territories, Yasser Arafat’s security forces would not have shot him in the head?
As much as the Euroweenies dismiss the idea, there are in fact good guys and bad guys in this conflict.
I know most Democrats disavow him, but he does carry powerful influence in the South–not that Kerry has much of a chance there anyway. But, expect to see a lot of Zell on GWB’s campaign trail in key states like Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky and Louisiana which are likely to have close races between the two candidates. Too bad Zell’s leaving politics because he’s pretty entertaining and shrewd.
I know most Democrats disavow him, but he does carry powerful influence in the South–not that Kerry has much of a chance there anyway. But, expect to see a lot of Zell on GWB’s campaign trail in key states like Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky and Louisiana which are likely to have close races between the two candidates. Too bad Zell’s leaving politics because he’s pretty entertaining and shrewd.
I know most Democrats disavow him, but he does carry powerful influence in the South–not that Kerry has much of a chance there anyway. But, expect to see a lot of Zell on GWB’s campaign trail in key states like Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky and Louisiana which are likely to have close races between the two candidates. Too bad Zell’s leaving politics because he’s pretty entertaining and shrewd.
I know most Democrats disavow him, but he does carry powerful influence in the South–not that Kerry has much of a chance there anyway. But, expect to see a lot of Zell on GWB’s campaign trail in key states like Tennessee, West Virginia, Florida, Missouri, Kentucky and Louisiana which are likely to have close races between the two candidates. Too bad Zell’s leaving politics because he’s pretty entertaining and shrewd.
Shores is cool.
Politicians (mostly Democrats) have been quick to scare their base about the horrors of outsourcing, despite the fact that an overwhelming majority of economists believe it is a good thing. The WSJ has an interesting piece today that points out how much the US has been a beneficiary of outsourcing of jobs by foreign countries to the US. It cites numerous examples: auto plants for Honda in Tennessee, Mercedes in Alabama, BMW in South Carolina and R&D facility for Novartis moving from Switzerland to Massachusetts. It also claims that states where politicians have made the loudest noise about outsourcing have been tremendous benficiaries of it: Ohio has imported 242,000 jobs, Indiana 163,000 and Michigan 244,000. This is all lost on the Lou Dobbs of the world who want to hang CEOs for participating in a global economy. This all came to mind this morning when I was watching a CEO of some textile company based in Greensboro, NC on CNBC and he was talking unapolegetically about his manufacturing plants in the Far East, Mexico and Honduras. He knows this benefits the American consumer and improves the strength of the global economy.
I’m sure it’s hard on a case by case basis to appeal to the former textile worker who now buys the product they used to make and it has a made in Mexico label on it. But, let’s look at the bigger picture: protectionism is a bad thing. Improving the strength of the world economy will give jobs to those folks in developing countries who might otherwise have too much time on their hands and begin plotting terrorist attacks against those evil, rich Americans.
Instead, the claim that matters from Dick Clarke’s book is Bush’s insistence that counterterrorism officials “find” a link between Iraq and September 11.
We all know that Bush’s team was willing to allow Americans to believe that there was a direct link between the two, which there was not. Don’t get me wrong, there are links between people in Iraq and al-Qaeda, but there is no evidence of any sort of link between the the Iraqi government and the bin Laden hordes other than a mutual hatred of the United States.
The concern is the credibility of U.S. foreign policy: not in the eyes of the rest of the world, though their opinion does matter, but in the eyes of the American people. If Bush simply wanted an excuse to go to Iraq and forced his terrorism folks to find one, that’s a real problem.
Instead, the claim that matters from Dick Clarke’s book is Bush’s insistence that counterterrorism officials “find” a link between Iraq and September 11.
We all know that Bush’s team was willing to allow Americans to believe that there was a direct link between the two, which there was not. Don’t get me wrong, there are links between people in Iraq and al-Qaeda, but there is no evidence of any sort of link between the the Iraqi government and the bin Laden hordes other than a mutual hatred of the United States.
The concern is the credibility of U.S. foreign policy: not in the eyes of the rest of the world, though their opinion does matter, but in the eyes of the American people. If Bush simply wanted an excuse to go to Iraq and forced his terrorism folks to find one, that’s a real problem.
Instead, the claim that matters from Dick Clarke’s book is Bush’s insistence that counterterrorism officials “find” a link between Iraq and September 11.
We all know that Bush’s team was willing to allow Americans to believe that there was a direct link between the two, which there was not. Don’t get me wrong, there are links between people in Iraq and al-Qaeda, but there is no evidence of any sort of link between the the Iraqi government and the bin Laden hordes other than a mutual hatred of the United States.
The concern is the credibility of U.S. foreign policy: not in the eyes of the rest of the world, though their opinion does matter, but in the eyes of the American people. If Bush simply wanted an excuse to go to Iraq and forced his terrorism folks to find one, that’s a real problem.
Instead, the claim that matters from Dick Clarke’s book is Bush’s insistence that counterterrorism officials “find” a link between Iraq and September 11.
We all know that Bush’s team was willing to allow Americans to believe that there was a direct link between the two, which there was not. Don’t get me wrong, there are links between people in Iraq and al-Qaeda, but there is no evidence of any sort of link between the the Iraqi government and the bin Laden hordes other than a mutual hatred of the United States.
The concern is the credibility of U.S. foreign policy: not in the eyes of the rest of the world, though their opinion does matter, but in the eyes of the American people. If Bush simply wanted an excuse to go to Iraq and forced his terrorism folks to find one, that’s a real problem.
The son of a prominent Boston doctor, David Arndt was on his way to becoming a leading surgeon in his own right when a bizarre blunder interrupted his climb: He left his patient on the operating table so he could cash his paycheck. A series of arrests followed, exposing a life of arrogance, betrayal, and wasted promise…
Scary.
From Arts & Letters Daily.
The son of a prominent Boston doctor, David Arndt was on his way to becoming a leading surgeon in his own right when a bizarre blunder interrupted his climb: He left his patient on the operating table so he could cash his paycheck. A series of arrests followed, exposing a life of arrogance, betrayal, and wasted promise…
Scary.
From Arts & Letters Daily.
The son of a prominent Boston doctor, David Arndt was on his way to becoming a leading surgeon in his own right when a bizarre blunder interrupted his climb: He left his patient on the operating table so he could cash his paycheck. A series of arrests followed, exposing a life of arrogance, betrayal, and wasted promise…
Scary.
From Arts & Letters Daily.
The son of a prominent Boston doctor, David Arndt was on his way to becoming a leading surgeon in his own right when a bizarre blunder interrupted his climb: He left his patient on the operating table so he could cash his paycheck. A series of arrests followed, exposing a life of arrogance, betrayal, and wasted promise…
Scary.
From Arts & Letters Daily.
Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion appropriation for further funding of the troops in Iraq: “I don’t think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That’s irresponsible.” And more “but I don’t think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We’re not going to cut and run and not do the job.”
Interesting, because that exactly what he did. He voted against the bill one month later in the heat of the Democratic presidential nomination process.
What a waffler.
Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion appropriation for further funding of the troops in Iraq: “I don’t think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That’s irresponsible.” And more “but I don’t think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We’re not going to cut and run and not do the job.”
Interesting, because that exactly what he did. He voted against the bill one month later in the heat of the Democratic presidential nomination process.
What a waffler.
Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion appropriation for further funding of the troops in Iraq: “I don’t think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That’s irresponsible.” And more “but I don’t think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We’re not going to cut and run and not do the job.”
Interesting, because that exactly what he did. He voted against the bill one month later in the heat of the Democratic presidential nomination process.
What a waffler.
Asked if he would vote against the $87 billion appropriation for further funding of the troops in Iraq: “I don’t think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That’s irresponsible.” And more “but I don’t think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We’re not going to cut and run and not do the job.”
Interesting, because that exactly what he did. He voted against the bill one month later in the heat of the Democratic presidential nomination process.
What a waffler.
Speaking of lying, MoveOn.org has posted this fun clip to their website. Way to go, Donald. It’s not too often you get caught right on the air.
Did I mention that trying to portray Kerry as a waffler ain’t gonna work?
(PS: I think the notion of censuring Bush is silly, but still….)
Serious allegations by Dick Clarke, a self-described independent, have brought the serious rebuttal by the White House. I have to say the White house version seems much more accurate, especially given Clarke’s ties to the Democrats, his demotion by Condi Rice and the fact that his publisher is owned by Viacom like CBS where he made his allegations in prime time last night (perfect example of terrible journalism and a the most one-sided presentation I may have ever seen).
What I find interesting about this is not my disdain for Clarke or support for Bush, but rather the fact that people are seriously trying to lay blame for what happened on September 11th on someone–anyone. I don’t blame Bush nor do I blame Clinton for consciously overlooking intelligence that might ahve led to the capture of those perpetrators before they committed these crimes. I assume that the preseident and his top advisors deal with so much intelligence information that it makes it difficult to always make the right call given what is surely very limited and highly interpreted info.
Should a commission look into 9/11 and what might have happened leading up to it? Absolutely. It should be done in the spirit of bettering our security for potential future attacks rather than in the spirit of partisan politics or finding a scapegoat.
The WSJ this morning presents a very detailed account of the day’s events on 9-11 as they related to the president’s response to the events. They focus heavily on Bush’s use of the pronoun “I”. For example, it is said that General Myers went to the Pentagon and raised the alert status of our military forces prior to talking with Bush even though Bush said in his address to the nation that “I immediately raised the alert status of our military.” The writer says it in a sort of “gotcha Bush” manner. What in the world is Bush supposed to say? Is he supposed to give a detail by detail explanation of how the executive branch works while comforting the nation in a time of peril? Surely his use of the word “I” is taken by most to mean that the executive branch of government that he runs did this or did that. Does the writer really think people actually believe Bush has the time to do every task that he might take credit for as an accomplishment or action of his administration? Come on. He sets the tone, picks the people and manages from the top.
This “gotcha” attitude and “he said, she said” partisan banter is exactly what has led to the polarization of the electorate that Frampton alludes to in his comments in the previous post. Partisans too often lose sight of the fact that we are all on the same team as Americans.
what do these people think would happen in iraq if the coalition forces left now? even kerry has asked Spanish Prime Minister-elect Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero to reconsider and leave his troops there awhile longer.
i think one of the underlieing fundamental reasons there is so much protest is the hatred of Bush, which i can’t understand. i could hardly tolerate clinton, but i certainly never hated him. do any of you understand the hatred that is rampant on the far left?
and why can’t reuters refer to the “islamic militants” as terrorists? is there any doubt that those 19 people were terrorists? i guess by refering to them as militants, reuters is acknowleding that there is a war on, as opposed to the US simply invading other countries to route out terrorists - a point which is not clear from their editorial style.
MSNBC, CNN and others are reporting that Paskitani troops have apparently surrounded Al Qaeda’s number two man. This is huge.
MSNBC, CNN and others are reporting that Paskitani troops have apparently surrounded Al Qaeda’s number two man. This is huge.
MSNBC, CNN and others are reporting that Paskitani troops have apparently surrounded Al Qaeda’s number two man. This is huge.
MSNBC, CNN and others are reporting that Paskitani troops have apparently surrounded Al Qaeda’s number two man. This is huge.
Not often (maybe never) does one hear a rival political campaign officially call a sitting vice president an “attack dog” as Kerry’s campaign did today. This is nasty and only going to get nastier. Kerry stepped right into the Bush strategy this week with his soon to be famous quote: “I actually did vote for the $87 billion [for Iraq] right before I voted against it.” That will certainly resonate with voters as being consistent on issues.
By the way, isn’t it interesting how the Kerry campaign and news outlets like CNN are saying that Spain’s election shows that the U.S. coalition is crumbling and Iraq policy has failed? Weren’t these groups calling Bush a unilateralist and saying there was no coalition just a short time ago? Hmmmm…….
Steroids in baseball is a serious problem, though I’m not quite sure it merits mention in a State of the Union address (Given Bush’s love of the game I can see why it appeared there). If you listen to the players and the commissioner, you begin to understand how much the players overestimate their power. I have to side with commissioner Selig and John Smoltz over the Chipper Jones and Mike Hamptons of the league who think it’s purely a collective bargaining issue. If the players don’t see that most fans view this as a threat to the game and its vibrant history, then they will be sad when the see Congress legislate a solution. I hope this happens. I’m tired of the outrageous power the players wield in this “industry” where Congress has seen fit to grant a monopoly.
This is not a big issue in the context of what’s going on in the world order, but it is a very prominent example of teaching kids that cheating is okay–at leat until they change the rules.
i would love to hear kerry’s supporter’s responses to these articles:
The U.S. loses an ally, and Kerry has little to say.
Next to John Kerry, Michael Dukakis was a hawk.
i just don’t get his position (which is probably because he’s not sure how to take one on any topic) on america’s response to the terrorists.
why does hockey have fighting? it’s all revenue. why aren’t some of these thugs charged with assault by the local authorities?
here’s an interesting article on the subject. i think it is clear from the earlier responses on this blog that we agree that violence in hockey is wrong. what is it going to take to get this sport to behave? i guess the congress will have to pass a bill. right after they finish the debate on steroids in baseball.
Not to state the obvious, but what the hell is wrong with these people? Maybe I miss it. Maybe others view our military in much the same way I view these terrorists. After all, we do kill innocent people from time to time. But, and I think this is a huge difference: we don’t want to.
Killing people who are not battling you is just wrong, no matter what your religious or secular point of view.
It’s sad that this is our world now.
Not to state the obvious, but what the hell is wrong with these people? Maybe I miss it. Maybe others view our military in much the same way I view these terrorists. After all, we do kill innocent people from time to time. But, and I think this is a huge difference: we don’t want to.
Killing people who are not battling you is just wrong, no matter what your religious or secular point of view.
It’s sad that this is our world now.
Not to state the obvious, but what the hell is wrong with these people? Maybe I miss it. Maybe others view our military in much the same way I view these terrorists. After all, we do kill innocent people from time to time. But, and I think this is a huge difference: we don’t want to.
Killing people who are not battling you is just wrong, no matter what your religious or secular point of view.
It’s sad that this is our world now.
Not to state the obvious, but what the hell is wrong with these people? Maybe I miss it. Maybe others view our military in much the same way I view these terrorists. After all, we do kill innocent people from time to time. But, and I think this is a huge difference: we don’t want to.
Killing people who are not battling you is just wrong, no matter what your religious or secular point of view.
It’s sad that this is our world now.
Does anyone understand exactly what is going on in France?
Does anyone understand exactly what is going on in France?
Does anyone understand exactly what is going on in France?
Does anyone understand exactly what is going on in France?
Money quotes:
We can be pretty sure now that this will not be the last of the election-eve massacres.
Al Qaeda has now induced one nation to abandon the Iraqi people.
Why hasn’t Colin Powell spent the past few years crisscrossing Europe so that voters there would at least know the arguments for the liberation of Iraq, would at least have some accurate picture of Americans, rather than the crude cowboy stereotype propagated by the European media?
And, finally…
This is a watershed event. It will change how Al Qaeda thinks about the world. It will change how Europeans see the world. It will constrain American policy for years to come.
UPDATE: Just so we’re clear, the Spanish electorate voted against a leader who had balanced the budget, reduced unemployment from 23% to 9%, lowered taxes, and successfully fought corruption because terrorists told them to.
Money quotes:
We can be pretty sure now that this will not be the last of the election-eve massacres.
Al Qaeda has now induced one nation to abandon the Iraqi people.
Why hasn’t Colin Powell spent the past few years crisscrossing Europe so that voters there would at least know the arguments for the liberation of Iraq, would at least have some accurate picture of Americans, rather than the crude cowboy stereotype propagated by the European media?
And, finally…
This is a watershed event. It will change how Al Qaeda thinks about the world. It will change how Europeans see the world. It will constrain American policy for years to come.
UPDATE: Just so we’re clear, the Spanish electorate voted against a leader who had balanced the budget, reduced unemployment from 23% to 9%, lowered taxes, and successfully fought corruption because terrorists told them to.
Money quotes:
We can be pretty sure now that this will not be the last of the election-eve massacres.
Al Qaeda has now induced one nation to abandon the Iraqi people.
Why hasn’t Colin Powell spent the past few years crisscrossing Europe so that voters there would at least know the arguments for the liberation of Iraq, would at least have some accurate picture of Americans, rather than the crude cowboy stereotype propagated by the European media?
And, finally…
This is a watershed event. It will change how Al Qaeda thinks about the world. It will change how Europeans see the world. It will constrain American policy for years to come.
UPDATE: Just so we’re clear, the Spanish electorate voted against a leader who had balanced the budget, reduced unemployment from 23% to 9%, lowered taxes, and successfully fought corruption because terrorists told them to.
Money quotes:
We can be pretty sure now that this will not be the last of the election-eve massacres.
Al Qaeda has now induced one nation to abandon the Iraqi people.
Why hasn’t Colin Powell spent the past few years crisscrossing Europe so that voters there would at least know the arguments for the liberation of Iraq, would at least have some accurate picture of Americans, rather than the crude cowboy stereotype propagated by the European media?
And, finally…
This is a watershed event. It will change how Al Qaeda thinks about the world. It will change how Europeans see the world. It will constrain American policy for years to come.
UPDATE: Just so we’re clear, the Spanish electorate voted against a leader who had balanced the budget, reduced unemployment from 23% to 9%, lowered taxes, and successfully fought corruption because terrorists told them to.
…this would be the first story I read:
96-year-old denies cocaine charge:
7 crack rocks found on seat of her wheelchair
…this would be the first story I read:
96-year-old denies cocaine charge:
7 crack rocks found on seat of her wheelchair
…this would be the first story I read:
96-year-old denies cocaine charge:
7 crack rocks found on seat of her wheelchair
…this would be the first story I read:
96-year-old denies cocaine charge:
7 crack rocks found on seat of her wheelchair
From NY Times.com:
“A great-granddaughter of slaves, Dr. Simmons was the first African-American president of an Ivy League university.”
“Now, Dr. Simmons, whose office is in a building constructed by laborers who included slaves, has directed Brown to start what its officials say is an unprecedented undertaking for a university: an exploration of reparations for slavery and specifically whether Brown should pay reparations or otherwise make amends for its past.”
This is very interesting……… a waste of university funds, but interesting, nonetheless.
The AJC is hyperventalating over $80,000 in legal fees paid to a lawyer hired to as defense counsel in a death penalty case, who apparently wasn’t prepared when it came time for trial. The article includes highlights from his time sheets, and some of the entries are pretty funny (”Nov. 4, 2002: Read AJC articles [about the Hispanic juror decision], bought and clipped articles — 1 hour.”)
But still, the paper needs to settle down. The county was paying $100 per hour. Before the AJC gives itself a hernia (that’s three figures!), it should realize that’s simply not enough for a lawyer competent to handle a death penalty trial in metro Atlanta. If the rate is that low, of course he’s going to bill every possible second that he even thought about working on the case. This is to say nothing of the fact that the guy got a pretty good result — a mistrial. Even if it was the result of his own lack of preparation, if I’m the defendant, I take a mistrial any day over the death penalty.
HJR Verdict: Brilliant defense!
UPDATE: here’s the lawyer’s Martindale Hubbell bio. Note he’s a KSG alum. Hmm…
In Seoul, they really mean it:
The parliament voted to impeach Roh after hours of scuffles and protests that included one Roh supporter setting himself on fire and another man trying to drive his car up the parliament steps and into the building.
Let’s hope us taxpayers aren’t getting stuck with the bill for flying Big Al around the country so he could stay in the Four Seasons in every major city.
This is an actual test given by Jim Harrick in his basketball class.
Um…….I don’t really know what to say about this.
This surprise decision by Campbell not to run puts the previously “safe” Colorado Republican seat in the Senate up for grabs. Once again, expect national attention to focus on this state as a key in the Congressional Balance of power. It might make the Red state of CO a little more difficult for Bush-Cheney as well given the certain money and attention that will now be spent on issue ads here by Dems that was previously earmarked for elsewhere. Expect current CO Governor Bill Owens (R) to run for Campbell’s seat. He’s got nothing to lose since he’ll retain the governorship even if he loses the Senate run. Plus, he’s a future presidential contender.
.
Evidently, Ben Hogan’s swing secret has been revealed. Looks pretty hard to me, but, basically, you keep your right knee and your left wrist bent. Actually, it sounds painful.
this was m frampton’s response to a quote from t. jefferson that i posted 2/10. (to which he also called it a “tired argument” - it was said by thomas jefferson, of course it is a tired arguement.)
i didn’t really want to get into it then, but the modern interpretation of tj’s quote would have something to do with this:
in response to a $5/month per child medicaid premium, “It would put a big strain on us,” said Hensley, whose family income is about $25,000 a year. “Something would have to go. I don’t have cable, so probably the Internet. Maybe my cellphone.”
now, i’m not advocating a medicaid premium (those of us who pay for health insurance would pick up the tab for the healthcare of those who chose not to pay), but it does indicate where the priorities of those who receive government aid are. and this is a fundamental difference btwn those on the left and the right - whether or not you are willing to admit these are the priorities of america’s poor.
Michael Jackson apparently enjoys shopping at Wal-Mart when he vacations in Colorado. Of course, he shops in a ski mask, which is totally normal.
Can a constitutional amendment be found unconstitutional?
I was going to change the automatic title, but then I realized it was a good one.
Money quote:
So at last it is official: George Bush is in favour of unequal rights, big-government intrusiveness and federal power rather than devolution to the states.
Interesting insight:
It can only be a matter of time before this issue arrives at the federal Supreme Court. And those �activist judges�, who, by the way, gave Mr Bush his job in 2000, might well take the same view of the federal constitution as their Massachusetts equivalents did of their state code: that the constitution demands equality of treatment. Last June, in Lawrence v Texas, they ruled that state anti-sodomy laws violated the constitutional right of adults to choose how to conduct their private lives with regard to sex, saying further that �the Court’s obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate its own moral code�. That obligation could well lead the justices to uphold the right of gays to marry.
I was going to change the automatic title, but then I realized it was a good one.
Money quote:
So at last it is official: George Bush is in favour of unequal rights, big-government intrusiveness and federal power rather than devolution to the states.
Interesting insight:
It can only be a matter of time before this issue arrives at the federal Supreme Court. And those �activist judges�, who, by the way, gave Mr Bush his job in 2000, might well take the same view of the federal constitution as their Massachusetts equivalents did of their state code: that the constitution demands equality of treatment. Last June, in Lawrence v Texas, they ruled that state anti-sodomy laws violated the constitutional right of adults to choose how to conduct their private lives with regard to sex, saying further that �the Court’s obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate its own moral code�. That obligation could well lead the justices to uphold the right of gays to marry.
I was going to change the automatic title, but then I realized it was a good one.
Money quote:
So at last it is official: George Bush is in favour of unequal rights, big-government intrusiveness and federal power rather than devolution to the states.
Interesting insight:
It can only be a matter of time before this issue arrives at the federal Supreme Court. And those �activist judges�, who, by the way, gave Mr Bush his job in 2000, might well take the same view of the federal constitution as their Massachusetts equivalents did of their state code: that the constitution demands equality of treatment. Last June, in Lawrence v Texas, they ruled that state anti-sodomy laws violated the constitutional right of adults to choose how to conduct their private lives with regard to sex, saying further that �the Court’s obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate its own moral code�. That obligation could well lead the justices to uphold the right of gays to marry.
I was going to change the automatic title, but then I realized it was a good one.
Money quote:
So at last it is official: George Bush is in favour of unequal rights, big-government intrusiveness and federal power rather than devolution to the states.
Interesting insight:
It can only be a matter of time before this issue arrives at the federal Supreme Court. And those �activist judges�, who, by the way, gave Mr Bush his job in 2000, might well take the same view of the federal constitution as their Massachusetts equivalents did of their state code: that the constitution demands equality of treatment. Last June, in Lawrence v Texas, they ruled that state anti-sodomy laws violated the constitutional right of adults to choose how to conduct their private lives with regard to sex, saying further that �the Court’s obligation is to define the liberty of all, not to mandate its own moral code�. That obligation could well lead the justices to uphold the right of gays to marry.
I have heard some rumor that Bush may dump Cheney as the VP candidate, and that Condoleezza Rice is being given some consideration. This is more than likely a rumor that has run out of control.
Nonetheless, this got me wondering: If Bush were to dump Cheney, who would make the best VP candidate? Any thoughts?
This is gonna be fun.
The Court is going to review the whole enemy combatant thingy-majigger.
Well, it’s a sad day for Braves fans. In my estimation, the Cubs got a steal on Maddux for 3 years at $24 million. It doesn’t surprise me that Time Warner wouldn’t come up with that kind of money, but bet your ass that Ted Turner would have. The cubs now have by far the most formidable rotation in the majors and they should dominate the NL this season.
I’m still wondering what the Braves are going to look like…..
Well, it’s a sad day for Braves fans. In my estimation, the Cubs got a steal on Maddux for 3 years at $24 million. It doesn’t surprise me that Time Warner wouldn’t come up with that kind of money, but bet your ass that Ted Turner would have. The cubs now have by far the most formidable rotation in the majors and they should dominate the NL this season.
I’m still wondering what the Braves are going to look like…..
Well, it’s a sad day for Braves fans. In my estimation, the Cubs got a steal on Maddux for 3 years at $24 million. It doesn’t surprise me that Time Warner wouldn’t come up with that kind of money, but bet your ass that Ted Turner would have. The cubs now have by far the most formidable rotation in the majors and they should dominate the NL this season.
I’m still wondering what the Braves are going to look like…..
Well, it’s a sad day for Braves fans. In my estimation, the Cubs got a steal on Maddux for 3 years at $24 million. It doesn’t surprise me that Time Warner wouldn’t come up with that kind of money, but bet your ass that Ted Turner would have. The cubs now have by far the most formidable rotation in the majors and they should dominate the NL this season.
I’m still wondering what the Braves are going to look like…..
i think this article needs little comment except, after reading the entire article, perhaps the huge breasted woman might be found with the man who has the large penis.
The (mens’/men’s/mens?) basketball team beat College of Charleston and Georgia Southern in the last couple of weeks. Both C of C & Ga. Southern were leading the division. Go Cats! (Davidson Basketball website) That Winters kid is awesome. (His dad apparently played in the NBA……..AND his dad was a USC Gamecock, so he MUST be good…right Chris??)
Unrelated for Archie: Your Rice Owls played some incredible baseball last spring, didn’t they?
Unrelated for Shores: How about John Daly winning again? Pretty unexpected, but exciting, huh? (I understand it looked really great on that 65 inch widescreen high-definition tv you have.)
OK, so Georgia can be embarassing, but it’s better than Canada right now. First, the “federal language commissioner” censored Don Cherry, the host of some hockey show called Coach’s Corner, for implying that most high sticking in the NHL is committed by European and French players. (As if it weren’t bad enough that Canada has a “language commission,” it turns out this person actually has some influence.) Now they’re attacking Conan O’Brien:
Canada’s government on Friday condemned a show by U.S. late-night television host Conan O’Brien that insulted people in French-speaking Quebec and seemed to suggest everyone in the province was homosexual.* * *
“We want to disassociate ourselves from the comments which were broadcast last night because we do not support them in any way,” junior government minister Mauril Belanger told Parliament.
At one point in the show, Triumph the Insult Comic Dog — a hand puppet that is a regular on the show — said to a Quebecer: “You’re French, you’re obnoxious and you no speekay English.” It told another: “I can smell your crotch from here.”
O’Brien’s team were also shown replacing street signs in the province with those that read “Quebecqueer Street” and “Rue des Pussies.”
Are you kidding me that Conan O’Brien can cause a Canadian uproar? To be fair, they’re claiming only to want a rebate from O’Brien of a government subsidy that was paid to him to host the show in Toronto last year after the SARS scare, but the government (over)reaction seems to demonstrate at least a bit of truth in O’Brien’s joke.
First it was evolution. Now it’s the Big Bang Theory that they don’t teach in Georgia schools. (They also don’t teach plate techtonics, which won’t get as much attention but is perhaps even more stupid.)
Utah, which is dominated politically by Republicans, voted to become the first state to scrap the No Child Left Behind Act.
via: TigerNet. (Hint, you have to be a member to see where this came from and you have to go to the Member’s only board, The Lounge.)
Turns out it’s still a pretty good way to the force the issue. The mayor of San Francisco is issuing marriage licenses to gay couples.
…that Kerry has been having an affair. So far, this has not been picked up by the mainstream media. We’ll see.
UPDATE: The Drudge RETORT has sourced this one.
…that Kerry has been having an affair. So far, this has not been picked up by the mainstream media. We’ll see.
UPDATE: The Drudge RETORT has sourced this one.
…that Kerry has been having an affair. So far, this has not been picked up by the mainstream media. We’ll see.
UPDATE: The Drudge RETORT has sourced this one.
…that Kerry has been having an affair. So far, this has not been picked up by the mainstream media. We’ll see.
UPDATE: The Drudge RETORT has sourced this one.
I found this interesting. It is short and probably over-simplified, but describes both sides (good and bad) of the treatment of the young Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
I found this interesting. It is short and probably over-simplified, but describes both sides (good and bad) of the treatment of the young Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
I found this interesting. It is short and probably over-simplified, but describes both sides (good and bad) of the treatment of the young Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
I found this interesting. It is short and probably over-simplified, but describes both sides (good and bad) of the treatment of the young Afghan detainees at Guantanamo Bay.
Talk about a grossly distorted headline from the AP. Give me a break. Just because Howard Dean says something doesn’t mean the right blames all Dems for thinking that way. I think Bush has been very true to the unspoken promise of the president’s office that they do not blame past occupants for matters of intelligence.
One part of me wants to thank George for this. One part of me wants to scream out, You bigotted fucking asshole.
On one hand, I believe pushing this issue in an election year borders on polical suicide: It will shore up his right-wing base, whose vote he will receive regardless, while losing the votes of all gays, the vast majority of people under the age of 30 and a large number of moderates. Much more important, it allows Kerry (and let’s now admit we no longer need to discuss the other candidates) to easily brand him a radical and raises the spector of intense national debate at a time when Bush should want anything but. On the other, he is actually proposing we amend our Constitution, the very basis of our country, for a social issue on which there is hardly a national consensus.
I have no qualms with anyone who says they don’t support gay marriage. I disagree, but that’s all. I do have major problems with those who would rewrite our Constitution to limit individuals in our country from enjoying the same rights as others.
Sorry for my lack of subtlety on this one, but nothing about this calls for calm.
Comcast has bid to buy Disney. Not an uninteresting thing.
As a long time Disney believer, I can understand why this would be a useful acquisition for Comcast, particularly considering the strength of Murdoch’s ever-growing media conglomerate.
On the other hand, I’d rather that the magic that is Disney be left alone. The simple truth is that Disney’s luster long ago rubbed away as the company expanded distribution channels, became a heavy-hitter in adult movies (Disney made Bad Santa, for chrissakes), and became more watched for its business dealings than its creativity.
In fact, the best Disney movies in recent years haven’t been made by Disney at all, but instead through the computer magic at Pixar.
I think there is room in the market for a true dream maker. A company that enthralls people simply with story-telling and imagination. This company doesn’t have a goal of ever grander domination of the media markets. It doesn’t produce films with naked women in it.
Instead, it appeals to the simple pleasures of childhood. It works to create new and lively characters that are at once nostalgic and contemporary. It creates places that forward the human condition, not matches the current demands of the market.
In other words, there is a niche for the old Disney to come back.
If I had my way, they’d sell ABC, ESPN, Miramax, New Line, and the distribution channels to Comcast and get back to being Disney.
They won’t, of course, considering the fact that Michael Eisner’s head is larger than the head on one of those life size Mickey Mice at the entrace to the parks in Orlando. But, it sure would be nice.
“The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.”
good ol’ TJ
since no one commented on kerry’s opinion of the South, i thought i would repost. maybe y’all don’t care, but it is interesting to see him write off a significant (in my opinion) portion of the country.
and he even says “former Vice President Al Gore would be president if he’d won any number of other non-Southern states in 2000, including New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Ohio.” umm, actually, if he’d one just one more state, in the south, (florida) he would have been our president - how scary is that?
mr.””’’s frampton, any comment?
This link is a picture that Rush Limbaugh apparently posted showing Jane Fonda at a rally in 1970. John Kerry is in the background, for whatever it’s worth. I’m not sure what significance, if any, this has, but I thought I’d point it out.
If we’re going to harp on grammar for a while — and believe you me, I’m OK with that — well then of course you must go visit The Gallery of “Misused” Quotation Marks, which is hilarious.
Follow-up: Holy cow, I almost missed this hilarious, and relevant, editor’s note from the above-linked site:
I get a lot of e-mail from people suggesting that I add a section for misused apostrophes. Sorry, folks, but it’s not going to happen. First of all, the reason I started this site almost four years ago was because I was at once amused and mystified by the peculiar usage of quotation marks. Misused apostrophes usually aren’t that funny; they’re just annoying. Even if I wanted to do such a site, I just don’t have the time (especially since apostrophe misuse is much more widespread, I think, than misused quotation marks). A friend of mine has been thinking of doing a misused apostrophe site, so if he ever does I’ll let you know. In the meantime, you may want to take a look at The Home For Abused Apostrophes — not a lot there, but high quality choices.
(Note, the apostrophe palace is not as funny as the “Gallery.”)
Wow. What a shocker. Despite all the media and left hopes that Tenet was going to come out and lambast the Bush Admin today, the opposite happened. He said he never used the word “imminent.” Funny, Bush never used that word either. They both think Saddam posed a “danger” to the United States. Could anyone argue that? He also said the same thing Rumsfeld said yesterday: we are not finished looking yet.
I have no idea whether we’ll find anything and the days that pass make it less likely. But, these guys are saying and I agree that it doesn’t really matter. Our intelligence told us from two “high level sources” within Iraq that they were developing these things. Were they wrong? Maybe. Was invading Iraq right? Yes, for this and many other reasons.
It’s funny to read this article and see how the reporter tries to “spin” things like there still is the possibility that there’s some conspiracy on pre-war intelligence that Bush is covering up. Everyone involved, including David Kay who both sides acknowledges as impartial, continue to deny anything was coered up or pressure was brought to bear.
This will gradually become the 4th, 5th, 6th…..lead in story on the news until it dies.
Why can’t Duke players play in the NBA? Mostly because Kerysheschki’s style is so “collegiate,” suggests this article. Or maybe it’s because Kryocheski is so high on “team” rather than individual play creation. Or because Cresheski just can’t coach individuals. Who knows?
Ok, this is in an article on NY TIMES.com. I would assume that these articles are proofread fairly well. Nonetheless, I will quote a few sentences (ignore the subject matter, as it’s irrelevant with regards to my point): “DVD’s offer far better picture quality than VHS tape…DVD’s are cheaper to mail, and a lot more of them fit into the same shelf space. DVD’s may well last a lot longer than tapes, too…”
Now here’s my problem. The author uses an apostrophe after DVD to make it plural. Should it not be “DVDs”? Am I just an idiot, or is the apostrophe supposed to be used to show posession and not to make something plural? Has this become accepted English grammar? This is something that just drives me nuts whenever I see it. There’s a music store around the corner from my house that has on their sign “Records, Tapes & CD’s“. I cringe every time I see it.
I find this humorous as well. The author correctly uses an apostrophe in the article’s title “Recording the VCR’s Swan Song”.
Sorry for the extended rant. I do try to refrain from posting unnecessary things that take up alot of space on the board, but this is one thing that just gets under my skin. Silly, huh? Anyway, I make no claims to being a grammar wiz. However, will someone tell me if I’m right or wrong about the “misplaced apostrophe”?
EDIT: Matt, Chris indicates you may have some good insight into this, based on your background. Can you help to clarify?
John Kerry seems to suffer from the same problem Al Gore did: he moves freely with the changing political wind and doesn’t stand on principle. This is mentioned in many articles and opinion pages which I’ll spare the links to, but several examples include:
-Iraq: no vote in 1991, yes vote in 2002, denial of 2002 yes vote currently.
-Special interests: says he has always stood up to them yet is the Senator with the most amount of special interest money raised in the past 15 years (allegation by Howard Dean that has not been refuted).
-gay marriage: opposes it but stands behind the Massachusetts Supreme Court–how does that make sense?
This problem started early with Kerry, most notably on his return from Vietnam. He was an adamant war protester and wanted to symbolize this by throwing his medals he won over the gate and back to the White House. Problem is, Kerry didn’t want to part with his own medals so he borrowed some from a friend to make the symbolic gesture. Doesn’t sound very convinced of his own convictions to me.
This guy will get torn apart in the general election and everyone knows it. That is why these other contenders keep staying in the race because they know they’ll lose with Kerry.
i’m sure you’ve seen this in the opinionjournal, but since i live in the South i found it quite interesting:
If the Democratic nominee writes off the South, President Bush can count on 161 electoral votes. The GOP has a near-lock on 11 other states–Alaska, …, and Wyoming–with 53 electoral votes. (Bill Clinton lost all these states twice, except Montana, which he narrowly carried in 1992 owing to a large turnout for Ross Perot.) This brings the total to 214 electoral votes–nearly 80% of the 270 needed for victory.
it scares the hell out of me that this guy could be the next president, but since he will get the dem nomination, maybe it is good that he doesn’t concern himself with us (The South).
So it begins. Kerry’s continued statements about fighting special interests while in Washington are coming back to haunt him as reporters/opponents begin to dig through reams of data on his past. This story covers his intervention on behalf of insurer AIG and his subsquent receipt of tens of thousands of dollars from AIG for both his senatorial and presidential campaigns. These facts are going to be hard to refute–even though his campaign aide tries to in the article.
Special interests. We all know they are in politics and drive a lot of decisions, some good and some bad. But, please don’t pretend you fight against them unless you truly do. He should drop this point from his stump speech because so many people just don’t care to hear the rhetoric. Shouldn’t he focus more on the issues?
So it begins. Kerry’s continued statements about fighting special interests while in Washington are coming back to haunt him as reporters/opponents begin to dig through reams of data on his past. This story covers his intervention on behalf of insurer AIG and his subsquent receipt of tens of thousands of dollars from AIG for both his senatorial and presidential campaigns. These facts are going to be hard to refute–even though his campaign aide tries to in the article.
Special interests. We all know they are in politics and drive a lot of decisions, some good and some bad. But, please don’t pretend you fight against them unless you truly do. He should drop this point from his stump speech because so many people just don’t care to hear the rhetoric. Shouldn’t he focus more on the issues?
So it begins. Kerry’s continued statements about fighting special interests while in Washington are coming back to haunt him as reporters/opponents begin to dig through reams of data on his past. This story covers his intervention on behalf of insurer AIG and his subsquent receipt of tens of thousands of dollars from AIG for both his senatorial and presidential campaigns. These facts are going to be hard to refute–even though his campaign aide tries to in the article.
Special interests. We all know they are in politics and drive a lot of decisions, some good and some bad. But, please don’t pretend you fight against them unless you truly do. He should drop this point from his stump speech because so many people just don’t care to hear the rhetoric. Shouldn’t he focus more on the issues?
So it begins. Kerry’s continued statements about fighting special interests while in Washington are coming back to haunt him as reporters/opponents begin to dig through reams of data on his past. This story covers his intervention on behalf of insurer AIG and his subsquent receipt of tens of thousands of dollars from AIG for both his senatorial and presidential campaigns. These facts are going to be hard to refute–even though his campaign aide tries to in the article.
Special interests. We all know they are in politics and drive a lot of decisions, some good and some bad. But, please don’t pretend you fight against them unless you truly do. He should drop this point from his stump speech because so many people just don’t care to hear the rhetoric. Shouldn’t he focus more on the issues?
MSNBC.com: “A group sails toward the Florida Straits on a modified 1959 Buick Tuesday.”
This is quite an interesting picture……a 1959 Buick “car-boat”. Pretty darn creative, I must say.
The New York Times is currently sponsoring and running a wonderful campaign site: Times on the Trail. In effect, they’re printing mini-stories from the primary campaigns on a daily basis. It’s fun to follow and should be a great site once the naitonal campaign gets underway.
The New York Times is currently sponsoring and running a wonderful campaign site: Times on the Trail. In effect, they’re printing mini-stories from the primary campaigns on a daily basis. It’s fun to follow and should be a great site once the naitonal campaign gets underway.
The New York Times is currently sponsoring and running a wonderful campaign site: Times on the Trail. In effect, they’re printing mini-stories from the primary campaigns on a daily basis. It’s fun to follow and should be a great site once the naitonal campaign gets underway.
The New York Times is currently sponsoring and running a wonderful campaign site: Times on the Trail. In effect, they’re printing mini-stories from the primary campaigns on a daily basis. It’s fun to follow and should be a great site once the naitonal campaign gets underway.
AZ Kerry 46, Clark 24, Dean 13.
MO Kerry 52, Edwards 23, Dean 10
SC Edwards 44, Kerry 30, Sharpton 10
OK Edwards 31, Kerry 29, Clark 28
DE Kerry 47, Dean 14, Lieberman 11, Edwards 11
Yes, that would be Edwards leading in both SC and OK and killing it in SC. That would REALLY shake things up. I would say Dean’s not doing so bad given that he opted to spend no money in these states and wait for Saturday. We’ll see when the real results come in.
AZ Kerry 46, Clark 24, Dean 13.
MO Kerry 52, Edwards 23, Dean 10
SC Edwards 44, Kerry 30, Sharpton 10
OK Edwards 31, Kerry 29, Clark 28
DE Kerry 47, Dean 14, Lieberman 11, Edwards 11
Yes, that would be Edwards leading in both SC and OK and killing it in SC. That would REALLY shake things up. I would say Dean’s not doing so bad given that he opted to spend no money in these states and wait for Saturday. We’ll see when the real results come in.
AZ Kerry 46, Clark 24, Dean 13.
MO Kerry 52, Edwards 23, Dean 10
SC Edwards 44, Kerry 30, Sharpton 10
OK Edwards 31, Kerry 29, Clark 28
DE Kerry 47, Dean 14, Lieberman 11, Edwards 11
Yes, that would be Edwards leading in both SC and OK and killing it in SC. That would REALLY shake things up. I would say Dean’s not doing so bad given that he opted to spend no money in these states and wait for Saturday. We’ll see when the real results come in.
AZ Kerry 46, Clark 24, Dean 13.
MO Kerry 52, Edwards 23, Dean 10
SC Edwards 44, Kerry 30, Sharpton 10
OK Edwards 31, Kerry 29, Clark 28
DE Kerry 47, Dean 14, Lieberman 11, Edwards 11
Yes, that would be Edwards leading in both SC and OK and killing it in SC. That would REALLY shake things up. I would say Dean’s not doing so bad given that he opted to spend no money in these states and wait for Saturday. We’ll see when the real results come in.
“Law firms, it turns out, are finding that they need their own lawyers to advise them on how to practice law.” - [from NY Times.com 2/3/04]
I found this interesting and quite relevant for my line of work. It’s amazing how easily a lawyer can unwittingly step into an ethical minefield. I think this (hiring general counsel for the firm) will be more and more prevelant, at least with larger firms.
AND IN OTHER NEWS……BOBBY KNIGHT’S AT IT AGAIN:
“Texas Tech Coach Bob Knight got into a verbal spat with the university’s chancellor at a grocery store on Monday, prompting a review by university officials.” - (from NY Times.com 2/3/04).
That’s good for job security, isn’t it?
Two unrelated articles, one in the American Enterprise Magazine and the other on the Easterblogg, highlight the environmental left’s total disregard for science.
Patrick Moore, co-founder of Greenpeace, writes about the organization’s fight against genetically modified food. GM seeds hold enormous promise for increasing productivity of farming, especially important in third world countries that lack the economic resources to compensate for bad harbests by purchasing excess food on world markets. Moore shows how Greenpeace has manipulated facts and distorted science to convince governments to ban the use of GM seeds, the benefits of which are manifestly obvious to the poor farmers who are being prevented from using them:
For six years, anti-biotech activists managed to prevent the introduction of G.M. crops in India. This was largely the work of Vandana Shiva, the Oxford-educated daughter of a wealthy Indian family, who has campaigned relentlessly to “protect” poor farmers from the ravages of multinational seed companies. In 2002, she was given the Hero of the Planet award by Time magazine for “defending traditional agricultural practices.”Read: poverty and ignorance. It looked like Shiva would win the G.M. debate until 2001, when unknown persons illegally planted 25,000 acres of Bt cotton in Gujarat. The cotton bollworm infestation was particularly bad that year, and there was soon a 25,000 acre plot of beautiful green cotton in a sea of brown. The local authorities were notified and decided that the illegal cotton must be burned. This was too much for the farmers, who could now clearly see the benefits of the Bt variety. In a classic march to city hall with pitchforks in hand, the farmers protested and won the day. Bt cotton was approved for planting in March 2002. One hopes the poverty-stricken cotton farmers of India will become wealthier and deprive Vandana Shiva of her parasitical practice.
Meanwhile Gregg Easterbrook posts to his New Republic blog about a recent National Academy of Sciences (i.e., non-partisan) report on air pollution, which shows that a “multi-state, multi-pollutant” regulatory regime that caps pollution at current levels and allows polluters to trade emission permits would result in greater pollution reduction than the current litigation-based Clean Air Act regulatory system — i.e., the scientific report supports the very type of proposal that the Bush Administration has been lobbying.
The Washington Post and New York Times both buried the story about the NAS study. No big deal, you say: it’s science that people don’t understand or really care about. Why, then, did both papers run above-the-fold page-one stories about other “studies” that came to opposite conclusions? Easterbrook has an answer:
The ill-named Clear Skies plan would replace the Clean Air Act’s cumbersome site-by-site litigation formula with a new system that sets broad overall reduction targets, then allows industrial facilities to trade reduction permits with each other. The Clear Skies plan has been roundly condemned by Democrats, especially in the Senate–among the president contenders, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman have been withering in their denunciations of Clear Skies–and mocked by editorial writers. As this space noted in December, Democrats are fighting Clear Skies exactly because they know it would reduce air pollution: They want to deny George W. Bush a progressive victory going into the 2004 election. But the official reason Democrats, and editorial writers, have derided Clear Skies is their claim it wouldn’t work.
Environmentalists used to debate whether they should support proposals that provide incremental, but less than optimal, improvements in environmental conditions, over proposals that would radically alter the way things work — the question being whether obtaining the less-than-optimal reform would sap the necessary motivation for implementation of the preferred solution. That debate is over; the bad guys won.
Who cares.
Who cares.
Who cares.
Who cares.
Yvette and I were listening to some talk radio last night as we moved yet another load of stuff from our old apartment to our new home. I wish I could remember the name of the guy we were listening to, but I can, so I’ll have to give credit anonymously.
Anyway, he had a great point about the ineffectiveness of the primary system. His point was this: people in Missouri wanted to vote for Dick Gephardt. Now, you question that whole idea, but you can’t doubt that had he been able to survive, he probably would have won the state. However, because Gephardt didn’t do so well in Iowa, he was ruled out. In effect, Iowa and New Hampshire have an unequivocal stranglehold on the election process, determining for the rest of the nation who their primary candidates are.
Taking this a step further, he made a great point about minority voters and their role in the primary system. There are very few minorities in either of these states, yet these states determine who they can vote for. It’s an imbalanced system.
It’s not a huge deal, I know, but it is limiting voters’ choices.
Yvette and I were listening to some talk radio last night as we moved yet another load of stuff from our old apartment to our new home. I wish I could remember the name of the guy we were listening to, but I can, so I’ll have to give credit anonymously.
Anyway, he had a great point about the ineffectiveness of the primary system. His point was this: people in Missouri wanted to vote for Dick Gephardt. Now, you question that whole idea, but you can’t doubt that had he been able to survive, he probably would have won the state. However, because Gephardt didn’t do so well in Iowa, he was ruled out. In effect, Iowa and New Hampshire have an unequivocal stranglehold on the election process, determining for the rest of the nation who their primary candidates are.
Taking this a step further, he made a great point about minority voters and their role in the primary system. There are very few minorities in either of these states, yet these states determine who they can vote for. It’s an imbalanced system.
It’s not a huge deal, I know, but it is limiting voters’ choices.
Yvette and I were listening to some talk radio last night as we moved yet another load of stuff from our old apartment to our new home. I wish I could remember the name of the guy we were listening to, but I can, so I’ll have to give credit anonymously.
Anyway, he had a great point about the ineffectiveness of the primary system. His point was this: people in Missouri wanted to vote for Dick Gephardt. Now, you question that whole idea, but you can’t doubt that had he been able to survive, he probably would have won the state. However, because Gephardt didn’t do so well in Iowa, he was ruled out. In effect, Iowa and New Hampshire have an unequivocal stranglehold on the election process, determining for the rest of the nation who their primary candidates are.
Taking this a step further, he made a great point about minority voters and their role in the primary system. There are very few minorities in either of these states, yet these states determine who they can vote for. It’s an imbalanced system.
It’s not a huge deal, I know, but it is limiting voters’ choices.
Yvette and I were listening to some talk radio last night as we moved yet another load of stuff from our old apartment to our new home. I wish I could remember the name of the guy we were listening to, but I can, so I’ll have to give credit anonymously.
Anyway, he had a great point about the ineffectiveness of the primary system. His point was this: people in Missouri wanted to vote for Dick Gephardt. Now, you question that whole idea, but you can’t doubt that had he been able to survive, he probably would have won the state. However, because Gephardt didn’t do so well in Iowa, he was ruled out. In effect, Iowa and New Hampshire have an unequivocal stranglehold on the election process, determining for the rest of the nation who their primary candidates are.
Taking this a step further, he made a great point about minority voters and their role in the primary system. There are very few minorities in either of these states, yet these states determine who they can vote for. It’s an imbalanced system.
It’s not a huge deal, I know, but it is limiting voters’ choices.
The New York Times Magazine this weekend contains the most offensive interview of the new year, by Deborah Solomon, of Todd Bassett, the head of the Salvation Army.
The interview begins as one would expect: asking Bassett about the recent announcement that Joan Kroc, the McDonald’s heiress, bequeathed $1.5 billion to the Salvation Army to build recreation and community centers around the U.S. Solomon doesn’t even disguise the contempt she holds for the S.A. or the gift itself: “Isn’t it pretty hard to think about the salvation of your soul if you are starving?”
What is Bassett supposed to say? Kroc’s will stipulated that the money be used for certain purposes. Should the S.A. just turn down the money because some liberal NYTM reporter doesn’t think it is being directed to the highest and best use? I guess the question is fine, though. Everyone can question the priorities of someone who donates, say, computer equipment to starving children in Africa. (Although I suspect Solomon would have no problem with spending millions to save some rare species of fish that is being decimated by evil people who need it to avoid starvation.)
But Solomon is just getting warmed up. She goes on to insult McDonald’s for destroying families (by encouraging people to eat in their cars rather than around the family dinner table). Next, she wonders, does Bassett consider himself “poor” because the S.A.’s salaries are so low? These are all strange questions, but then she takes a truly bizarre turn: “Does the Salvation Army have any rules about sexual conduct between consenting adults?”
Bassett answers this curveball politely and with dignity, but you can only imagine him wondering what he’s gotten himself into. Solomon concludes the interview by getting inappropriately personal (”what is the biggest sin you have ever committed”) and then insulting Bassett and the Salvation Army as being “out of touch with contemporary America.”
Where does the Times get off in allowing this breathtaking hostility to a man of religion, whose life work is helping the less fortunate, get into print? Sure, the white(?) Christian male is so . . . simple-minded: he doesn’t even believe people should have consensual premarital sex!
This is unbelievable. Imagine, on the other hand, if Kroc had given $1.5 billion to some Muslim charity. Do you think for a moment the Times would treat that charity’s use of the money with such disdain, all the while insulting the imam and his religion for being “backward?”
Somehow, I doubt it.
DARN THOSE PATRIOTS!!!!
Every once in awhile I despair that the Dems don’t really have a shot in the election, and then I see a story like this one.
Ah, record deficits, ever-soring cost estimates, members of his own party furious with his economic stewardship….thanks, George. It takes a special Republican to lose the upper hand on the economy, but he’s pulled it off.
It’s time for the Dems to shut up about health care and start hammering away at this.
The Denver Post has a bit of digging up the past this morning as it recalls Dean’s days in Aspen during the early ’70s. Among the better reminisences:
“From the restaurant owner who employed Dean and remembered him as a pot-smoking ‘loser’….”
Also questions about his supposed medical deferment from Vietnam “when he paid $250 for a ski pass and claimed to have been on the slopes 80 days” after receiving the deferment.
“It’s nice to think that an assistant dishwasher can run for president.”
“GREENVILLE, S.C. - The Democratic presidential contenders were converging on South Carolina on Thursday, campaigning in the state ahead of their only debate before Tuesday’s primaries here and in six other states.”
They asked me to moderate, to give it a “local flavor”, but I politely declined. I told them to call Brokaw.
Tony Blair has been completely vindicated in connection with the allegations that he and his government “sexed up” the July 2003 intelligence dossier, which indicated, among other things, that Iraq was prepared to deploy WMD in 45 minutes. It was the BBC, in fact, that lied, and Gavyn Davies, Chairman of the BBC, resigned yesterday.
As to Frampton’s suggestion that the Administration should not have played up the WMD aspect over the humanitarian reasons, Jonah Goldberg argues in The Corner that it was the State Department (read: not the Defense Department) that pushed the WMD angle, because State Department lawyers argued that WMD was the only legal justifaction under “international law.” Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle all along minimized the importance of WMD and in fact made a much broader case for deposing Saddam.
As you point out, we may have had a massive intelligence failure. (We still don’t know, and David Kay suggests that some weapons programs may have been moved to Syria.) But the anti-war zealots’ conspiracy theories that “Bush Lied!” are both factually incorrect and completely illogical. After all, such a lie would have required the cooperation of the Blair government, to say nothing of the fact that Bush Administration intelligence was entirely consistent with the intelligence gathered by his predecessor, who, it should be noted, has remained on the sidelines in the Bush Lied debate.
Finally, note the dignity with which Tony Blair yesterday rebuffed those who so viciously attacked him: “I ask that those that have repeatedly claimed that I lied over this issue . . . now withdraw that allegation . . . unequivocally and in full.”
UPDATE: Now, initial reports are circulating that Jacques Chirac was bribed with Iraqi oil money. Funny, they were right, but about the wrong guy: It was all about the oil.
Known problems: asbestos, the facade is falling off, the building sways too much in the wind, and now the elevators free fall from the 36th floor.
Suspected problem: structural soundness.
I used to work there.
Known problems: asbestos, the facade is falling off, the building sways too much in the wind, and now the elevators free fall from the 36th floor.
Suspected problem: structural soundness.
I used to work there.
Known problems: asbestos, the facade is falling off, the building sways too much in the wind, and now the elevators free fall from the 36th floor.
Suspected problem: structural soundness.
I used to work there.
Known problems: asbestos, the facade is falling off, the building sways too much in the wind, and now the elevators free fall from the 36th floor.
Suspected problem: structural soundness.
I used to work there.
…and probably still will be when you’re complaining about me not giving you anymore information about this link.
…and probably still will be when you’re complaining about me not giving you anymore information about this link.
…and probably still will be when you’re complaining about me not giving you anymore information about this link.
…and probably still will be when you’re complaining about me not giving you anymore information about this link.
The scapegoat has been found in this whole WMD mess. That scapegoat? Military intelligence. Just goes to show ya, ya ought to make sure you can deliver on your promises before you start sellin’ em. Of course, if the Bushies had just sold this war on moral grounds rather than on American self interest, we wouldn’t be having this problem.
I don’t know about anyone else, but I’ve never lived in a Super Bowl town before (and no, Chattahoochee or nooga or whatever, doesn’t qualify. For that matter, neither does Atlanta.), so it’s been interesting to see a town unite behind the Panthers (who went 1-15 in 2001). What has not been interesting is the requisite drivel that finds its way to the front page of the Observer every morning. This NYT article is pretty funny though and adds some humor to an otherwise slow news week.
Other than giving Stephen Davis’ leg an extra week to heal and having Winter X Games on ESPN, I can think of no reason to have two weeks between the playoffs and the Super Bowl especially when the reporters are driven to write the crap that appears in every hometown paper this time of year.
Anyway, we’ll be watching on Sunday and, though it lacks the drama and interest of Daytona, we’ll probably watch the entire game. Go Cats.
(AP) - CLEVELAND — Indians minor league pitcher Kazuhito Tadano is asking for forgiveness for what he called a one-time mistake — his appearance in a gay porn video.
Anybody else watch the new show the last two nights? The first night was not that great, but tonight was better. He’s not _____ (insert great political round table talk show host here), but it is entertaining. He just might develop into being a more serious, informed political mind than simply a comedic mind. Does anyone really care that he has a new show? Any thoughts, positive or negative?
Nice tackle, although a bit surprising.
Nice tackle, although a bit surprising.
Nice tackle, although a bit surprising.
Nice tackle, although a bit surprising.
OK, I recognize he’s probably not the most popular columnist around these parts, but I loved Paul Krugman’s column in the Times today, in which, yet again, he blasts the administration for its fiscal recklessness. Like The Economist, he seems to publish one of these each week, though Paul focuses more on the tax side of things, while the Economist blasts Bush for his merry-spending ways.
What stuck me, though, is that Paul brings up again the Starve the Beast plan, for which I have heard some murmurs of support lately on BS.com. Which leads to my question: How can anyone honestly support this concept as a matter of policy?
The argument, as I understand it, is that the Bush Administration’s decision to cut taxes while at the same time increasing spending is intended to create large deficits, thus forcing the US to drastically slash such programs as Medicare and Social Security (and other entitlement programs). In other words, the President of the United States is setting policies deliberately designed to create a financial crisis, thus forcing the country’s hand to cut programs the electorate would never support cutting. Rather than honestly addressing the country with its arguments for why it believes these programs should be cut and trying to gain support to do so, the administration is trying to leave us with no choice.
Keep in mind that I’m not the one saying Bush is doing this, but rather some of his defenders claim he is doing this or that he should. I also recognize that the White House would never publicly admit to it, but I also know this is an idea that has been germinating at the think-tank level for some time. Such a policy, however, is not only sneaky, it is morally indefensible and utterly repugnant. If this is the case, I can’t think of a more disgusting case of, as Krugman calls it, bait and switch.
Here are my predictions:
-Dean does surprisingly well and ties Kerry for the win (within 1-2% either way). Those pundits who wrote him off so quickly after his rant and rave now see him as a comeback guy–which propels him even higher going forward. Dean then rants and raves in his victory speech and proves them all right again.
-Edwards finishes a very strong third and carries the momentum into South Carolina and the other Feb 3 primaries. He continues his “nice guy” demeanor and “two Americas” stump speech and the pundits continue to say he has the best message and is the most articulate of the candidates.
-Kerry’s essential tie with Dean causes him to relegate to his preferred position of underdog. Knowing he has no chance in the South, he campaigns little if at all in South Carolina and instead focuses on the OK, MO, AZ and NM states for early February.
-Clark finishes a distant fourth and ties with Lieberman. The two are written off as having made bad calculations in skipping Iowa, blown their wads in New Hampshire to no avail and only keep campaigning because they have money left in their coffers. Lieberman drops out first. Clark hangs on because he has no idea what he’d do with his life if he isn’t campaigning for president. Neither is ever considered as a running mate later in the process.
-Kucinich at least gets a statistically significant percentage of the vote thus bolstering his enthusiasm and keeping him around for a few more weeks–until Ohio has their primary and he doesn’t win. Then he drops out and endorses Edwards. Edwards cautiously accepts his endorsement, but doesn’t really want the attention it brings him.
-Sharpton gets 0% of the vote and starts preaching about “white America will get theirs when I win South Carolina and become the front runner.” The only problem is no media outlets cover his speech.
My predictions. Anybody else have any?
Peggy Noonan thinks Wes Clark is weird and that he lacks nuance:
More telling is Gen. Clark on abortion. A pro-lifer wouldn’t have the smallest of chances in the Democratic Party, but a certain Clintonian politesse is expected when the question is raised. “Abortion is always a tragedy but denying a woman her reproductive rights under the Constitution would also be a tragedy”–that kind of thing. This is what Gen. Clark said when he met with the Manchester Union-Leader and was questioned by the newspaper’s Joseph McQuaid:Clark: I don’t think you should get the law involved in abortion–
McQuaid: At all?
Clark: Nope.
McQuaid: Late-term abortion? No limits?
Clark: Nope.
McQuaid: Anything up to delivery?
Clark: Nope, nope.
McQuaid: Anything up to the head coming out of the womb?
Clark: I say that it’s up to the woman and her doctor, her conscience. . . . You don’t put the law in there.Gen. Clark was then asked, “What about when she’s grown up and at the prom, can you kill her then?” He said, “Absolutely. Chase her across the dance floor. This is a personal decision for the mother.” Oh–sorry–I made that last part up. He did not advocate killing children 18 years after they’re born. Though one wonders why not.
He does kind of seem like a scrubbed android.
Did anybody else see Dean on The Daily Show (Jon Stewart)? I thought he was pretty funny. Pretty good recovery effort after his rant. He did a good job of making fun of himself.
I just saw some of the clips of the interview Dean’s wife had last night. She seems to be a real bore and not much help to him. She seemed more concerned about this campaign disrupting her life than her husband’s race for the presidency. I understand that she is a doctor and has an important career, but her husband is running for PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES, not president of the local lodge. I would think that running for President would have been a family decision, to be backed by all, especially her. I would expect her to be more supportive, or at least do a better job of faking enthusiasm.
The WSJ opinion page this morning has an interesting article on Jack Welch’s leadership evaluations of the Democratic presidential candidates. He uses a method of scoring them that he employed for his managers for 20 years while CEO of GE. Welch, a self-proclaimed Bush supporter, has some pretty good points in my estimation.
To paraphrase his analysis:
John Kerry–Good but can he inspire people.
Howard Dean–passionate, but can he handle any stress.
Wesley Clark–apparently well suited but there are intergrity questions to resolve
Joe Lieberman–intelligent, but can he keep anyone awake.
He also says of the Democratic economic platform: “it sucks incentive out of the system and could slow the economy and kill the job creation we’re on our way to seeing.”
In the debate last night (transcript here; search for “marriage”), John Edwards announced the principle that the issue of gay marriage should be decided on a state-by-state basis — a sensible, defensible position, even if one disagrees.
In the same breath, though, he attacked the federal Defense of Marriage Act and praised John Kerry for voting against it. The DMA provides that marriages in one state do not have to be recognized in another state if the marriage does not meet the second state’s requirements for marriage. It’s an attempt to prevent courts from applying the Constitution’s Full Faith and Credit Clause in the marriage context. (It may be unconstitutional, but that’s another matter.)
In other words, the DMA effectuates the very principle on which Edwards claims to base his position: it attempts to prevent the imposition of nationwide gay marriage upon the recognition of gay marriage in a single state.
There are plenty of reasons to oppose the DMA and the proposed constitutional amendments regarding marriage. But it’s not valid to oppose the DMA because one believes gay marriage should be decided on a state-by-state basis. Such a statement is internally inconsistent.
Edwards’s position is politically sophisticated: it’s not easy to support two popular principles that are entirely contradictory. But it’s also incredibly cynical, because it plays on the public’s ignorance.
Edwards possibly didn’t know any better; he did claim ignorance on the subject. But it’s more likely that he knew exactly what he was doing. Too bad Brit Hume (who tried) wasn’t able to pin Edwards down on the issue.
did you see dean give dave’s top ten “Ways I, Howard Dean, Can Turn Things Around?” dean gave the list, making fun of his iowa speech. it was hilarous.
did you see dean give dave’s top ten “Ways I, Howard Dean, Can Turn Things Around?” dean gave the list, making fun of his iowa speech. it was hilarous.
did you see dean give dave’s top ten “Ways I, Howard Dean, Can Turn Things Around?” dean gave the list, making fun of his iowa speech. it was hilarous.
did you see dean give dave’s top ten “Ways I, Howard Dean, Can Turn Things Around?” dean gave the list, making fun of his iowa speech. it was hilarous.
To rehash a topic from which everyone has moved on, Pete Rose is not thinking clearly about what it’s going to take to get re-admitted to baseball. Now, he’s going to Foxwoods for a book signing.
Our society can be harsh and unforgiving. Howard Dean, for example, may never recover from The Screech. But in cultural matters, we’re incredibly forgiving of rogues, especially when they show contrition. The pressure on Bud Selig to re-admit Rose probably would have been overwhelming, if only Rose had: (1) admitted everything (c’mon, Pete, we know you bet from the clubhouse), (2) apologized in a way that seemed sincere (on tv — importantly, he didn’t have to convince the people who know him best), and (3) created the appearance that he’s “reformed” or, at the least, working on it. After all, OJ, it’s not as if he committed murder.
Rose obviously thinks #1 is all it takes. But, when everyone knows that you’re making admissions in the hopes of obtaining something in exchange, the contrition and reform elements become far more important. Rose’s ham-handed efforts probably have increased the pressure on Selig not to readmit him.
Selig should force Rose to convince the real skeptics: the Veterans Committee. If readmitted today, the Baseball Writers probably would vote him into the Hall — although that proposition seems more questionable after recent weeks. If Rose is ever readmitted, it should be after the window for the Writers to induct him into the Hall has expired.
did anyone notice that kerry voted for the patriotic act, he voted for “no child left behind,” and he supported resolution 1441?
why then are so many recent kerry comments about how bad bush has done with the patriot act, education and the war?
From ESPN.com
We were right about that interview and the kissing comments. He was toasted….and apparently has a problem.
From ESPN.com
We were right about that interview and the kissing comments. He was toasted….and apparently has a problem.
From ESPN.com
We were right about that interview and the kissing comments. He was toasted….and apparently has a problem.
From ESPN.com
We were right about that interview and the kissing comments. He was toasted….and apparently has a problem.
Newsweek via MSNBC has a blurb about the proliferation of samples and dance mixes that are making their way around the internet and poking fun at Dean’s historically idiotic speech from Iowa on Monday.
The issue of Michelle Wie playing on the PGA Tour should be with us for a while. She’s going to get more excemptions, who would pass this up?
Of course, at the end of the day I think it will become a moot point. This is a player with such talent that her sex, barring an injury or just brain out, will stop being an issue within a few years. She will become a permanent fixture on the tour. You simply can’t forget that she’s only 14.
In my mind, if she can play, she can play.
Mark Katz drafted Clinton’s speeches given at, among others, the White House Correspondents’ Dinners, during which process he taught the president the power of self-deprecating humor. Recalling a thank you call he received from Clinton after the 1995 Correspondents’ Dinner, Katz observes:
This, I would learn, is a common phenomenon among people who find themselves in a conversation with a president. They interject the words “Mr. President” into nearly every sentence, as if afflicted with a very proper strain of Tourette’s syndrome. There is just something about talking to the president that makes you punctuate your sentences with the words “Mr. President.” Not because he wants to hear it-he knows very well who he is–but because you just love to hear yourself say it. After all, when is the next time you’ll get to say “Mr. President” in a sentence? A co-op board meeting? More than that, interjecting those words adds import to any sentence you might say. Compare these sentences:
A. Cheese sandwiches are very tasty.
B. Cheese sandwiches are very tasty, Mr. President.
Pretty funny. Via Arts & Letters Daily.
Seems to me the big winner is Edwards, who did not bring a big organization to Iowa, normally a requirement to win there. Clearly, Dean is the big loser.
Seems to me the big winner is Edwards, who did not bring a big organization to Iowa, normally a requirement to win there. Clearly, Dean is the big loser.
Seems to me the big winner is Edwards, who did not bring a big organization to Iowa, normally a requirement to win there. Clearly, Dean is the big loser.
Seems to me the big winner is Edwards, who did not bring a big organization to Iowa, normally a requirement to win there. Clearly, Dean is the big loser.
Lawrence Wright spent a couple of weeks (months?) teaching reporting to employees of the Saudi Gazette. A long, fascinating and miserable look at Saudi life and press.
Original piece from the New Yorker.
We need a “win-win” solution badly. We need to stay to usher in some stability, but we also need to prevent the loss of life, which is essentially going to be impossible. I hate to be a downer, but I saw this and it just got me thinking about it.
We need a “win-win” solution badly. We need to stay to usher in some stability, but we also need to prevent the loss of life, which is essentially going to be impossible. I hate to be a downer, but I saw this and it just got me thinking about it.
We need a “win-win” solution badly. We need to stay to usher in some stability, but we also need to prevent the loss of life, which is essentially going to be impossible. I hate to be a downer, but I saw this and it just got me thinking about it.
We need a “win-win” solution badly. We need to stay to usher in some stability, but we also need to prevent the loss of life, which is essentially going to be impossible. I hate to be a downer, but I saw this and it just got me thinking about it.
CBS has given MoveOn and Peta ads the
Jacko’s legal defense is off to a bad, bad start. Yesterday, he arrived at his arraignment wearing this: We’ve all heard the talk about the “massive crowds” outside the courtroom that arrived to support him. This is an obvious attempt to influence the jury pool in Jacko’s favor. I think it’s a hamhanded effort that will backfire. All of those supporters will be stricken from the jury pool, and most people selected for the jury will think that display of support was, at the least, weird. So what did they accomplish yesterday? They pissed off the judge and weirded out the jury pool. The whole thing seems designed to ameliorate Jacko’s massive, damaged ego. If this kind of crap keeps up, though, Jacko’s heading for the slammer.
He was 21 minutes late to the hearing, which prompted the judge to warn him, “Mr. Jackson, you have started out on the wrong foot here. … I want to advise you that I will not put up with that. It’s an insult to the court.” Although it does not appear in the AP story this morning, I heard last night that Jacko also had to excuse himself mid-hearing, and the judge chastized Mark Gerragos to instruct his client to “limit his fluid intake” prior to future hearings.
I’ve suspected for a while that Dean’s press was worse than everyone else’s. Turns out, I was right.
I’ve been finding it hard to believe that Wesley Clark’s testimony before the House Armed Services Committee prior to the Iraq war hasn’t garnered more attention. In that testimony, he is 180 degrees from what he is staking his campaign on right now. Bear in mind that this was “professional” testimony given to members of Congress as they were mulling authorizing President Bush to go to war against Iraq. Some highlights from Clark:
On links between Hussein and Al Qaeda: “I think there’s no question that, even though we might not have the evidence as Richard Perle says, that there have been such contacts.” Isn’t he saying this accusation by the Bush Admin is bs in his current campaign? He made the same accusation prior to the war.
On acting solo in Iraq if we can’t get UN support: “There’s no question Saddam Hussein is a threat. Every President has deployed forces as necessary to take action. He’s done so WITHOUT MULTILATERAL SUPPORT if necessary.”
What a waffler. I can’t believe this is not getting more press attention. The guy is extremely hypocritical. Maybe it will come out more after Iowa since he is not competing there.
I can see it now…..”Hey Rob, I’m not the President, but I play one on TV. Let’s go play politician in Iowa. That would be fun……………”
A big, fat YAWN.
I can see it now…..”Hey Rob, I’m not the President, but I play one on TV. Let’s go play politician in Iowa. That would be fun……………”
A big, fat YAWN.
I can see it now…..”Hey Rob, I’m not the President, but I play one on TV. Let’s go play politician in Iowa. That would be fun……………”
A big, fat YAWN.
I can see it now…..”Hey Rob, I’m not the President, but I play one on TV. Let’s go play politician in Iowa. That would be fun……………”
A big, fat YAWN.
NY TIMES: “His new hourlong show, “Dennis Miller,” at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sunday), will have its premiere on Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others, and a nightly “right-left” debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum. “
This could be pretty good. I’m not sure if Dennis Miller can do 5 nights a week (on CNCB) for an hour, though, and keep it “fresh”.
NY TIMES: “His new hourlong show, “Dennis Miller,” at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sunday), will have its premiere on Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others, and a nightly “right-left” debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum. “
This could be pretty good. I’m not sure if Dennis Miller can do 5 nights a week (on CNCB) for an hour, though, and keep it “fresh”.
NY TIMES: “His new hourlong show, “Dennis Miller,” at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sunday), will have its premiere on Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others, and a nightly “right-left” debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum. “
This could be pretty good. I’m not sure if Dennis Miller can do 5 nights a week (on CNCB) for an hour, though, and keep it “fresh”.
NY TIMES: “His new hourlong show, “Dennis Miller,” at 9 p.m. weeknights (with a repeat of one show on Sunday), will have its premiere on Jan. 26. It will include his usual venting on current issues, as well as interviews with political figures, journalists and others, and a nightly “right-left” debate among figures at different points on the political spectrum. “
This could be pretty good. I’m not sure if Dennis Miller can do 5 nights a week (on CNCB) for an hour, though, and keep it “fresh”.
Is anyone else tired of this whole Pete Rose thing?
Is anyone else tired of this whole Pete Rose thing?
Is anyone else tired of this whole Pete Rose thing?
Is anyone else tired of this whole Pete Rose thing?
Honestly, I’m sure this is cool and will be cool if it ever happens, but, I just don’t care.
This kind of talk, from a MoveOn meeting, is not going to help the Dems. Somebody forgot to invite the grownups.
Liberal talk radio is one step closer to reality with the announcement today of the signing of Al Franken to host a daily three hour show. This comes as a surprise to no one. I’m looking forward to it (and certainly Denver will have an outlet given the liberal slant of this city).
I bet that Liberal talk radio will fail miserably for several reasons. Most people get their dose of it from NPR in the morning or afternoon. The demographic of the people who listen to AM talk radio doesn’t really lean towards tuning in to here the liberal point of view. I can’t imagine the environmental show (mentioned in the article) will have anything but a very small cult following consisting of people who abhor buying stuff from big companies that the radio station will need to rely on to sell products to listeners. Franken is funny and will attract listeners for that reason, but my few times seeing him talk in spontaneous situations (and that is what AM talk is all about) have been less than hilarious and more like annoying. Writing a book, reading a book, giving a speech or responding with scripted commentary is one thing, but responding on your feet is quite another talent and one Franken has proven very poor at.
Liberal talk radio is one step closer to reality with the announcement today of the signing of Al Franken to host a daily three hour show. This comes as a surprise to no one. I’m looking forward to it (and certainly Denver will have an outlet given the liberal slant of this city).
I bet that Liberal talk radio will fail miserably for several reasons. Most people get their dose of it from NPR in the morning or afternoon. The demographic of the people who listen to AM talk radio doesn’t really lean towards tuning in to here the liberal point of view. I can’t imagine the environmental show (mentioned in the article) will have anything but a very small cult following consisting of people who abhor buying stuff from big companies that the radio station will need to rely on to sell products to listeners. Franken is funny and will attract listeners for that reason, but my few times seeing him talk in spontaneous situations (and that is what AM talk is all about) have been less than hilarious and more like annoying. Writing a book, reading a book, giving a speech or responding with scripted commentary is one thing, but responding on your feet is quite another talent and one Franken has proven very poor at.
Liberal talk radio is one step closer to reality with the announcement today of the signing of Al Franken to host a daily three hour show. This comes as a surprise to no one. I’m looking forward to it (and certainly Denver will have an outlet given the liberal slant of this city).
I bet that Liberal talk radio will fail miserably for several reasons. Most people get their dose of it from NPR in the morning or afternoon. The demographic of the people who listen to AM talk radio doesn’t really lean towards tuning in to here the liberal point of view. I can’t imagine the environmental show (mentioned in the article) will have anything but a very small cult following consisting of people who abhor buying stuff from big companies that the radio station will need to rely on to sell products to listeners. Franken is funny and will attract listeners for that reason, but my few times seeing him talk in spontaneous situations (and that is what AM talk is all about) have been less than hilarious and more like annoying. Writing a book, reading a book, giving a speech or responding with scripted commentary is one thing, but responding on your feet is quite another talent and one Franken has proven very poor at.
Liberal talk radio is one step closer to reality with the announcement today of the signing of Al Franken to host a daily three hour show. This comes as a surprise to no one. I’m looking forward to it (and certainly Denver will have an outlet given the liberal slant of this city).
I bet that Liberal talk radio will fail miserably for several reasons. Most people get their dose of it from NPR in the morning or afternoon. The demographic of the people who listen to AM talk radio doesn’t really lean towards tuning in to here the liberal point of view. I can’t imagine the environmental show (mentioned in the article) will have anything but a very small cult following consisting of people who abhor buying stuff from big companies that the radio station will need to rely on to sell products to listeners. Franken is funny and will attract listeners for that reason, but my few times seeing him talk in spontaneous situations (and that is what AM talk is all about) have been less than hilarious and more like annoying. Writing a book, reading a book, giving a speech or responding with scripted commentary is one thing, but responding on your feet is quite another talent and one Franken has proven very poor at.
This pisses me off. What sort of regulations are we allowing here?
Maybe a response to some pressure?
These early primaries/caucuses aren’t always won by the person who gets the most votes. If Gephardt and Dean don’t finish 1-2 (no matter who is 1), they’ll be viewed as losing serious ground. Kerry is making a serious push and was all over the news programs yesterday continuing to make his circular argument about voting for the war-not supporting the war-saying Saddam is evil and should have been dealt with-saying Bush made a mistake going into Iraq-saying there are more terrorists now-saying the world is safer without Saddam….etc….etc..(Can anyone make sense of his argument here? He doesn’t even believe the stuff he’s saying).
My call: I think Edwards will come out the victor in Iowa by turning in a surprisingly high percent of the vote. This will give him momentum going into South Carolina and the other states in his backyard.
Biggest loser in the early Primaries: Lieberman. He’ll be out of the race before March.
These early primaries/caucuses aren’t always won by the person who gets the most votes. If Gephardt and Dean don’t finish 1-2 (no matter who is 1), they’ll be viewed as losing serious ground. Kerry is making a serious push and was all over the news programs yesterday continuing to make his circular argument about voting for the war-not supporting the war-saying Saddam is evil and should have been dealt with-saying Bush made a mistake going into Iraq-saying there are more terrorists now-saying the world is safer without Saddam….etc….etc..(Can anyone make sense of his argument here? He doesn’t even believe the stuff he’s saying).
My call: I think Edwards will come out the victor in Iowa by turning in a surprisingly high percent of the vote. This will give him momentum going into South Carolina and the other states in his backyard.
Biggest loser in the early Primaries: Lieberman. He’ll be out of the race before March.
These early primaries/caucuses aren’t always won by the person who gets the most votes. If Gephardt and Dean don’t finish 1-2 (no matter who is 1), they’ll be viewed as losing serious ground. Kerry is making a serious push and was all over the news programs yesterday continuing to make his circular argument about voting for the war-not supporting the war-saying Saddam is evil and should have been dealt with-saying Bush made a mistake going into Iraq-saying there are more terrorists now-saying the world is safer without Saddam….etc….etc..(Can anyone make sense of his argument here? He doesn’t even believe the stuff he’s saying).
My call: I think Edwards will come out the victor in Iowa by turning in a surprisingly high percent of the vote. This will give him momentum going into South Carolina and the other states in his backyard.
Biggest loser in the early Primaries: Lieberman. He’ll be out of the race before March.
These early primaries/caucuses aren’t always won by the person who gets the most votes. If Gephardt and Dean don’t finish 1-2 (no matter who is 1), they’ll be viewed as losing serious ground. Kerry is making a serious push and was all over the news programs yesterday continuing to make his circular argument about voting for the war-not supporting the war-saying Saddam is evil and should have been dealt with-saying Bush made a mistake going into Iraq-saying there are more terrorists now-saying the world is safer without Saddam….etc….etc..(Can anyone make sense of his argument here? He doesn’t even believe the stuff he’s saying).
My call: I think Edwards will come out the victor in Iowa by turning in a surprisingly high percent of the vote. This will give him momentum going into South Carolina and the other states in his backyard.
Biggest loser in the early Primaries: Lieberman. He’ll be out of the race before March.
The finalists are up. Check them out. As for my two degrees of Bush in 30 Seconds, .this is one of Yvette’s friends from NYU’s submission, which is a finalist. If you can remember the guy who couldn’t dance without grinding someone at our wedding, then you remember Adam.
The finalists are up. Check them out. As for my two degrees of Bush in 30 Seconds, .this is one of Yvette’s friends from NYU’s submission, which is a finalist. If you can remember the guy who couldn’t dance without grinding someone at our wedding, then you remember Adam.
The finalists are up. Check them out. As for my two degrees of Bush in 30 Seconds, .this is one of Yvette’s friends from NYU’s submission, which is a finalist. If you can remember the guy who couldn’t dance without grinding someone at our wedding, then you remember Adam.
The finalists are up. Check them out. As for my two degrees of Bush in 30 Seconds, .this is one of Yvette’s friends from NYU’s submission, which is a finalist. If you can remember the guy who couldn’t dance without grinding someone at our wedding, then you remember Adam.
For those baseball fans, this is huge news and makes the Astros the team to beat in the NL next season. Clemens is a great pitcher and it will be nice to see more of him in NL games. What makes this even more pleasing that he’ll not retire as a Yankee
Whoops.
Whoops.
Whoops.
Whoops.
CNN.com: “Admitting she lied about winning a multimillion dollar lottery ticket, an Ohio woman dropped her lawsuit Thursday intended to stop the declared winner from collecting the cash. “
Elecia Battle: “I wanted to win so bad for my kids, my family.”
OHHHH. She wanted to win. Well, in that case, it’s OK.
Duh.
CNN.com: “Admitting she lied about winning a multimillion dollar lottery ticket, an Ohio woman dropped her lawsuit Thursday intended to stop the declared winner from collecting the cash. “
Elecia Battle: “I wanted to win so bad for my kids, my family.”
OHHHH. She wanted to win. Well, in that case, it’s OK.
Duh.
CNN.com: “Admitting she lied about winning a multimillion dollar lottery ticket, an Ohio woman dropped her lawsuit Thursday intended to stop the declared winner from collecting the cash. “
Elecia Battle: “I wanted to win so bad for my kids, my family.”
OHHHH. She wanted to win. Well, in that case, it’s OK.
Duh.
CNN.com: “Admitting she lied about winning a multimillion dollar lottery ticket, an Ohio woman dropped her lawsuit Thursday intended to stop the declared winner from collecting the cash. “
Elecia Battle: “I wanted to win so bad for my kids, my family.”
OHHHH. She wanted to win. Well, in that case, it’s OK.
Duh.
On Survivor, Jeff Probst tells departing contestants, “The tribe has spoken. It’s time for you to go.” On The Apprentice, Donald Trump’s new reality game show, losers are told, “You’re fired!”
I love it.
A personality clash between Ereka and Omarosa, 29, a political consultant/pageant coach and the only African-American woman competing on the show, festers into a racial standoff in the second episode. Those are the ragged, unpleasant frictions that made reality shows like MTV’s “Real World” and CBS’s “Survivor” so popular in the first place; they have been airbrushed out of the more contrived dating shows like “The Bachelor.”In the through-the-looking-glass morality of reality shows, the quest for money is more honorable than the pursuit of love, which as almost every variation on “The Bachelor” has shown, is actually a grab for fame and fortune dressed up as romance. Viewers may doubt the sincerity of Larissa on “Average Joe Hawaii,” but it is hard to question Omorosa’s determination to finish first.
The show premieres tonight. (Note that the Times spells Omarosa’s name differently in two adjacent paragraphs. Nice editing.)
Although, Bush’s position on illegal immigration has always been a good one. This is a place where the fading strength of unions within the democratic party conflict with the opinions of rest of the party. I’m telling you, he’s doing some good things.
A pretty remarkable story in today’s Washington Post sums up most of the findings to date regarding Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, concluding that while Saddam certainly wanted to build such weapons and wanted the world to think he could, the first Gulf War virtually destroyed his ability to do so. The article notes that while Iraq did illegally conceal its weapons plans, all indications are that they were just that: plans.
The following paragraphs summarize the findings nicely:
The nine-month record of arms investigators since the fall of Baghdad includes discoveries of other concealed arms research, most of it less advanced. Iraq’s former government engaged in abundant deception about its ambitions and, in some cases, early steps to prepare for development or production. Interviews here — among Iraqi weaponeers and investigators from the U.S. and British governments — turned up unreported records, facilities or materials that could have been used in unlawful weapons.
But investigators have found no support for the two main fears expressed in London and Washington before the war: that Iraq had a hidden arsenal of old weapons and built advanced programs for new ones. In public statements and unauthorized interviews, investigators said they have discovered no work on former germ-warfare agents such as anthrax, and no work on a new designer pathogen — combining pox virus and snake venom — that led U.S. scientists on a highly classified hunt for several months. The investigators assess that Iraq did not, as charged in London and Washington, resume production of its most lethal nerve agent, VX, or learn to make it last longer in storage. And they have found the former nuclear weapons program, described as a “grave and gathering danger” by President Bush and a “mortal threat” by Vice President Cheney, in much the same shattered state left by U.N. inspectors in the 1990s.
A review of available evidence, including some not known to coalition investigators and some they have not made public, portrays a nonconventional arms establishment that was far less capable than U.S. analysts judged before the war. Leading figures in Iraqi science and industry, supported by observations on the ground, described factories and institutes that were thoroughly beaten down by 12 years of conflict, arms embargo and strangling economic sanctions. The remnants of Iraq’s biological, chemical and missile infrastructures were riven by internal strife, bled by schemes for personal gain and handicapped by deceit up and down lines of command. The broad picture emerging from the investigation to date suggests that, whatever its desire, Iraq did not possess the wherewithal to build a forbidden armory on anything like the scale it had before the 1991 Persian Gulf War.
David Kay, who directs the weapons hunt on behalf of the Bush administration, reported no discoveries last year of finished weapons, bulk agents or ready-to-start production lines. Members of his Iraq Survey Group, in unauthorized interviews, said the group holds out little prospect now of such a find. Kay and his spokesman, who report to Director of Central Intelligence George J. Tenet, declined to be interviewed.
Archie and Carroll should read this, from the NY Times:
What young doctors say they want is that “when they finish their shift, they don’t carry a beeper; they’re done,” said Dr. Gregory W. Rutecki, chairman of medical education at Evanston Northwestern Healthcare, a community hospital affiliated with the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University.Lifestyle considerations accounted for 55 percent of a doctor’s choice of specialty in 2002, according to a paper in the Journal of the American Medical Association in September by Dr. Rutecki and two co-authors. That factor far outweighs income, which accounted for only 9 percent of the weight prospective residents gave in selecting a specialty.
Many of the brightest students vie for several hundred dermatology residency spots. The National Residency Matching Program, which matches medical school graduates to residency openings, reported that in 2002, 338 medical school seniors were interested in dermatology, up from 244 in 1997 � though the 2002 figure still represented only 2.3 percent of the potential doctor pool.
I’d be interested to hear what yall have to say, but I would think this is kind of a big problem.
If nothing else, this is the sort of tax cut that makes sense to me, much more so than the current plan.
LONGTIME LOCAL RECORD STORE TO CLOSE DOORS
“GREENVILLE — After 17 years in Greenville, Manifest Discs and Tapes will close its Greenville store’s doors Jan. 19.”
“Owner Carl Singmaster said a decline in sales, brought on by higher CD prices, Internet sales and music piracy, is to blame for the closing.”
I think I bought my first “cool alternative rock” tape at this store (remember tapes?). It is truly a sad day. Darn that Napster!!!
No, no, no, I won the $162 million lottery, but I lost the ticket. If someone would kindly return it to me, I’ll pay you a $5,000 reward.
(Via A&L Daily, of course.)
“The program involves taking digital photographs and prints of the two index fingers of foreigners traveling to the United States on a visa. A test-run of the program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since November 17 has screened 20,000 travelers, Mr. Ridge said, yielding ‘21 hits’ on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal watch list, including people with prior convictions of statutory rape, drugs and visa fraud.
‘It is part of a comprehensive program to ensure that our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists,’ Mr. Ridge said.”
Step one is complete.
“The program involves taking digital photographs and prints of the two index fingers of foreigners traveling to the United States on a visa. A test-run of the program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since November 17 has screened 20,000 travelers, Mr. Ridge said, yielding ‘21 hits’ on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal watch list, including people with prior convictions of statutory rape, drugs and visa fraud.
‘It is part of a comprehensive program to ensure that our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists,’ Mr. Ridge said.”
Step one is complete.
“The program involves taking digital photographs and prints of the two index fingers of foreigners traveling to the United States on a visa. A test-run of the program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since November 17 has screened 20,000 travelers, Mr. Ridge said, yielding ‘21 hits’ on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal watch list, including people with prior convictions of statutory rape, drugs and visa fraud.
‘It is part of a comprehensive program to ensure that our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists,’ Mr. Ridge said.”
Step one is complete.
“The program involves taking digital photographs and prints of the two index fingers of foreigners traveling to the United States on a visa. A test-run of the program at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport since November 17 has screened 20,000 travelers, Mr. Ridge said, yielding ‘21 hits’ on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s criminal watch list, including people with prior convictions of statutory rape, drugs and visa fraud.
‘It is part of a comprehensive program to ensure that our borders remain open to visitors but closed to terrorists,’ Mr. Ridge said.”
Step one is complete.
The New Yorker has an excellent biography on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor and Osama bin Laden’s second-hand man. Extremely long, but a good case study on how someone goes from disgruntled muslim to terror mastermind.
(Also via Arts & Letters Daily.)
The New Yorker has an excellent biography on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor and Osama bin Laden’s second-hand man. Extremely long, but a good case study on how someone goes from disgruntled muslim to terror mastermind.
(Also via Arts & Letters Daily.)
The New Yorker has an excellent biography on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor and Osama bin Laden’s second-hand man. Extremely long, but a good case study on how someone goes from disgruntled muslim to terror mastermind.
(Also via Arts & Letters Daily.)
The New Yorker has an excellent biography on Ayman al-Zawahiri, the Egyptian doctor and Osama bin Laden’s second-hand man. Extremely long, but a good case study on how someone goes from disgruntled muslim to terror mastermind.
(Also via Arts & Letters Daily.)
Stephen should read this speech by Michael Crichton, about the degradation of scientific standards that started with the SETI project in the 1960s. He goes on to discuss nuclear winter, second hand smoke and, finally, global warming. It’s long. Shores, search “second hand” if you just want to read that section.
(Via Arts & Letters Daily.)
I picked up the Times this morning, flipped over the fold, and read the most bizarre story I’ve ever seen in the paper: Dispute in Michael Jackson Camp Over Role of the Nation of Islam.
What the hell is this doing in The Times???? The whole thing is based on “Jackson camp insiders” who say that the group has taken over his decision-making process, shut out his lawyers and essentially brainwashed the guy. While all this might be true–and the testimony of a large number of Jackson “friends,” almost all anonymously sourced, makes me think it probably is–they offer almost no evidence. Jackson’s lawyer even goes as far as denying the claims completely. What’s most strange is that it’s a New York Post-type story written with The Times’ normal stilted tone. The following lines are just classic:
The motives of Mr. Muhammad and the Nation of Islam are not clear. The group, which believes in black pride and racial separation, has not supported Mr. Jackson in the past; Mr. Jackson has undergone extensive cosmetic surgery and his children appear to be Caucasian.
You can maybe argue this deserved a short article somewhere in the National section, but it unquestionably shouldn’t be on the front page. I hate to admit it, but I think they’re losing it up there on 42nd Street.
In a move clearly intended to counter UPS’s acquisition of Mailboxes, Etc., FedEx is acquiring privately held Kinko’s for $2.4 billion. Interesting.
Howard Dean says that Osama bin Laden is entitled to the presumption of innocence, and that death should come only after a jury has declared him guilty. Sure, he later retracted the statement, but doesn’t it speak volumes that the Democratic frontrunner doesn’t have a clear sense of what to do with America’s #1 enemy?
Then Dean, who has kept religious talk to a minimum says he’ll dial it up when he heads down South. This guy keeps talking about what he’s going to do when he starts campaigning in the South, but he keeps making idiotic, condescending statements about Southerners. The fact is, he has no Southern strategy, and it is becoming increasingly clear that he stands no chance with Southern voters. Clearly, he’d have a long way to go winning any Southern states, but do the Dems really want to concede 140 electoral college votes without a fight?
Now, after all the accusations about Enron and the Administration’s secretiveness, we learn that Dean had his own secret energy advisory group.
When are the Dems going to wake up? This guy’s a train wreck waiting to happen, and he’s going to take the whole party with him.
…and all I got was this lousy story.
The Times reported the other day that Halliburton’s alleged corruption has resulted in a whopping $46 million in profits on over $1 billion in revenue. (That’s sarcasm. Pretty small margin for the most corrupt company in the history of the earth.)
The oil contracts? Seems the Pentagon wanted the gas flowing the next day, so Halliburton got telephone bids and put the contract up for normal, written bidding within days. The White House connection? Turns out everyone bent over backward to avoid the appearance of a conflict, and the Administration said screw it, do what has to be done, and we’ll take the political heat. Pretty noble, actually.
The problem seems to be that Iraq is devastated and needs to be rebuilt quickly, it’s a very dangerous place, and only so many companies can do the jobs being asked of Halliburton and Kellogg Brown & Root. Hmm, you’d think some Dems would have figured that out.
Once again, Matt, I believe you should retract. I don’t mean to be inflammatory, but doesn’t it give you pause that a significant portion of your political beliefs these days are based upon conjectures about the Administration’s motives and factual predictions that don’t turn out the way you guessed? Could it be that the Administration is actually making the best decisions possible under extremely difficult circumstances? The Dems keep saying they oppose the Administration’s policies because they will lead to devastating consequences, but the Administration keeps getting results.
From local Greenville NBC affiliate WYFF
“South Carolina Democratic officials say they hope to turn a Jan. 29 debate at the Peace Center into a multiday event of activities, parties, guest speakers and concerts.” (Gee, I can’t wait……)
” ‘[It's a] great opportunity for South Carolinians to be at the forefront in presidential politics,” South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin said. “The Republican Party got to have that opportunity with the big McCain, Bush primary and now we have the opportunity and are seeing the excitement grow every day.’ ” (Boy, oh boy, I can just feel the excitement in the air, since Greenville is such a hotbed of the Democratic party in SC.)
From local Greenville NBC affiliate WYFF
“South Carolina Democratic officials say they hope to turn a Jan. 29 debate at the Peace Center into a multiday event of activities, parties, guest speakers and concerts.” (Gee, I can’t wait……)
” ‘[It's a] great opportunity for South Carolinians to be at the forefront in presidential politics,” South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin said. “The Republican Party got to have that opportunity with the big McCain, Bush primary and now we have the opportunity and are seeing the excitement grow every day.’ ” (Boy, oh boy, I can just feel the excitement in the air, since Greenville is such a hotbed of the Democratic party in SC.)
From local Greenville NBC affiliate WYFF
“South Carolina Democratic officials say they hope to turn a Jan. 29 debate at the Peace Center into a multiday event of activities, parties, guest speakers and concerts.” (Gee, I can’t wait……)
” ‘[It's a] great opportunity for South Carolinians to be at the forefront in presidential politics,” South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin said. “The Republican Party got to have that opportunity with the big McCain, Bush primary and now we have the opportunity and are seeing the excitement grow every day.’ ” (Boy, oh boy, I can just feel the excitement in the air, since Greenville is such a hotbed of the Democratic party in SC.)
From local Greenville NBC affiliate WYFF
“South Carolina Democratic officials say they hope to turn a Jan. 29 debate at the Peace Center into a multiday event of activities, parties, guest speakers and concerts.” (Gee, I can’t wait……)
” ‘[It's a] great opportunity for South Carolinians to be at the forefront in presidential politics,” South Carolina Democratic Party chairman Joe Erwin said. “The Republican Party got to have that opportunity with the big McCain, Bush primary and now we have the opportunity and are seeing the excitement grow every day.’ ” (Boy, oh boy, I can just feel the excitement in the air, since Greenville is such a hotbed of the Democratic party in SC.)
Do you put a 17/18 year old assassin to death or just life in prison? Horrible crime, young criminal….I would not have wanted the burden of being on that jury.
Do you put a 17/18 year old assassin to death or just life in prison? Horrible crime, young criminal….I would not have wanted the burden of being on that jury.
Do you put a 17/18 year old assassin to death or just life in prison? Horrible crime, young criminal….I would not have wanted the burden of being on that jury.
Do you put a 17/18 year old assassin to death or just life in prison? Horrible crime, young criminal….I would not have wanted the burden of being on that jury.
“The U.S. economy, propelled by tax cuts and low interest rates, roared ahead at an 8.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best showing in nearly 20 years, while Americans’ incomes and spending both showed healthy gains in November.”
This is great news. Great news.
“The U.S. economy, propelled by tax cuts and low interest rates, roared ahead at an 8.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best showing in nearly 20 years, while Americans’ incomes and spending both showed healthy gains in November.”
This is great news. Great news.
“The U.S. economy, propelled by tax cuts and low interest rates, roared ahead at an 8.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best showing in nearly 20 years, while Americans’ incomes and spending both showed healthy gains in November.”
This is great news. Great news.
“The U.S. economy, propelled by tax cuts and low interest rates, roared ahead at an 8.2 percent annual rate in the third quarter, the best showing in nearly 20 years, while Americans’ incomes and spending both showed healthy gains in November.”
This is great news. Great news.
The New Republic has a blog about why Howard Dean will be a terrible candidate. From Saturday’s entry:
The Republican strategy for years has been to pair giant tax cuts for the rich with small tax cuts for the middle class. The idea is to tie the middle class together with the well-to-do. Of course, such tax cuts aren’t really in the interest of the middle class. But few voters really understand that the three hundred bucks they’re getting comes at the cost of thousands of dollars in higher debt. Sure, they’d prefer to use the money for something other than tax cuts, but they’re happy to get their three hundred bucks.The classic Democratic counter-strategy has been to support middle-class tax cuts and fight against the upper-class tax cuts. This is fairly easy to do, since the middle-class portion of President Bush’s tax cut is a tiny compared to the portion that goes to the affluent. This allows Democrats to claim the political high ground–under their plan, the vast majority of the voters will get just as much (or more) in tax relief, at a fraction of the cost to the Treasury. This strategy severs the link between the middle class and the very rich.
By proposing to repeal the entire tax cut, Dean would play right into Bush’s hands. Republicans could claim, truthfully, that he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. Dean would be doing exactly what Bush would like him to do–put the middle class back in the same boat as the rich.
Check it out.
The New Republic has a blog about why Howard Dean will be a terrible candidate. From Saturday’s entry:
The Republican strategy for years has been to pair giant tax cuts for the rich with small tax cuts for the middle class. The idea is to tie the middle class together with the well-to-do. Of course, such tax cuts aren’t really in the interest of the middle class. But few voters really understand that the three hundred bucks they’re getting comes at the cost of thousands of dollars in higher debt. Sure, they’d prefer to use the money for something other than tax cuts, but they’re happy to get their three hundred bucks.The classic Democratic counter-strategy has been to support middle-class tax cuts and fight against the upper-class tax cuts. This is fairly easy to do, since the middle-class portion of President Bush’s tax cut is a tiny compared to the portion that goes to the affluent. This allows Democrats to claim the political high ground–under their plan, the vast majority of the voters will get just as much (or more) in tax relief, at a fraction of the cost to the Treasury. This strategy severs the link between the middle class and the very rich.
By proposing to repeal the entire tax cut, Dean would play right into Bush’s hands. Republicans could claim, truthfully, that he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. Dean would be doing exactly what Bush would like him to do–put the middle class back in the same boat as the rich.
Check it out.
The New Republic has a blog about why Howard Dean will be a terrible candidate. From Saturday’s entry:
The Republican strategy for years has been to pair giant tax cuts for the rich with small tax cuts for the middle class. The idea is to tie the middle class together with the well-to-do. Of course, such tax cuts aren’t really in the interest of the middle class. But few voters really understand that the three hundred bucks they’re getting comes at the cost of thousands of dollars in higher debt. Sure, they’d prefer to use the money for something other than tax cuts, but they’re happy to get their three hundred bucks.The classic Democratic counter-strategy has been to support middle-class tax cuts and fight against the upper-class tax cuts. This is fairly easy to do, since the middle-class portion of President Bush’s tax cut is a tiny compared to the portion that goes to the affluent. This allows Democrats to claim the political high ground–under their plan, the vast majority of the voters will get just as much (or more) in tax relief, at a fraction of the cost to the Treasury. This strategy severs the link between the middle class and the very rich.
By proposing to repeal the entire tax cut, Dean would play right into Bush’s hands. Republicans could claim, truthfully, that he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. Dean would be doing exactly what Bush would like him to do–put the middle class back in the same boat as the rich.
Check it out.
The New Republic has a blog about why Howard Dean will be a terrible candidate. From Saturday’s entry:
The Republican strategy for years has been to pair giant tax cuts for the rich with small tax cuts for the middle class. The idea is to tie the middle class together with the well-to-do. Of course, such tax cuts aren’t really in the interest of the middle class. But few voters really understand that the three hundred bucks they’re getting comes at the cost of thousands of dollars in higher debt. Sure, they’d prefer to use the money for something other than tax cuts, but they’re happy to get their three hundred bucks.The classic Democratic counter-strategy has been to support middle-class tax cuts and fight against the upper-class tax cuts. This is fairly easy to do, since the middle-class portion of President Bush’s tax cut is a tiny compared to the portion that goes to the affluent. This allows Democrats to claim the political high ground–under their plan, the vast majority of the voters will get just as much (or more) in tax relief, at a fraction of the cost to the Treasury. This strategy severs the link between the middle class and the very rich.
By proposing to repeal the entire tax cut, Dean would play right into Bush’s hands. Republicans could claim, truthfully, that he wants to raise taxes on the middle class. Dean would be doing exactly what Bush would like him to do–put the middle class back in the same boat as the rich.
Check it out.
As everyone here knows, the downtown connector in Atlanta split the city in much the same way as did the above-ground highway in Boston, recently corrected by the Big Dig. Several years ago, a Tech student suggested building a platform over I-75/85 to reconnect the east and west sides of midtown and downtown. This was dismissed as crazy talk. We don’t do things like that.
Well, the first stage is set to be built — a 256 foot extension (width-wise) of the Fifth Street bridge is going to be built, on which a 1-acre park will be located. The developers hope that the platform is eventually extended all the way to 10th Street. I’m shocked that this is actually going to happen. But no doubt it’s a good thing.
From MSNBC.com
From MSNBC.com
From MSNBC.com
From MSNBC.com
Anybody notice the incredibly difficult non-conference schedule the basketball team is playing this year? Duke, UNC, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and so on. UNCC is on the schedule as usual, but they beat Syracuse this year, I believe. Hence the team’s 4-5 record as of tonight.
And don’t look now…….the Gamecocks are 11-1 in basketball. I just hope it lasts. Chris, I won’t mention what happened in the USC/Clemson football game…..OUCH. Harrison, I also won’t mention the UGA/USC football game either. Ouch again. Those hurt so bad, there is now a “Fire Lou Holtz” website. Pretty amusing stuff.
Anybody notice the incredibly difficult non-conference schedule the basketball team is playing this year? Duke, UNC, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and so on. UNCC is on the schedule as usual, but they beat Syracuse this year, I believe. Hence the team’s 4-5 record as of tonight.
And don’t look now…….the Gamecocks are 11-1 in basketball. I just hope it lasts. Chris, I won’t mention what happened in the USC/Clemson football game…..OUCH. Harrison, I also won’t mention the UGA/USC football game either. Ouch again. Those hurt so bad, there is now a “Fire Lou Holtz” website. Pretty amusing stuff.
Anybody notice the incredibly difficult non-conference schedule the basketball team is playing this year? Duke, UNC, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and so on. UNCC is on the schedule as usual, but they beat Syracuse this year, I believe. Hence the team’s 4-5 record as of tonight.
And don’t look now…….the Gamecocks are 11-1 in basketball. I just hope it lasts. Chris, I won’t mention what happened in the USC/Clemson football game…..OUCH. Harrison, I also won’t mention the UGA/USC football game either. Ouch again. Those hurt so bad, there is now a “Fire Lou Holtz” website. Pretty amusing stuff.
Anybody notice the incredibly difficult non-conference schedule the basketball team is playing this year? Duke, UNC, Texas Tech, Seton Hall, Georgetown, and so on. UNCC is on the schedule as usual, but they beat Syracuse this year, I believe. Hence the team’s 4-5 record as of tonight.
And don’t look now…….the Gamecocks are 11-1 in basketball. I just hope it lasts. Chris, I won’t mention what happened in the USC/Clemson football game…..OUCH. Harrison, I also won’t mention the UGA/USC football game either. Ouch again. Those hurt so bad, there is now a “Fire Lou Holtz” website. Pretty amusing stuff.
Hall of Famer hits on Suzie Kolmer during a sideline interview at the Jets-Pats game this weekend.
(Via Drudge.)
Interesting, and somewhat dissapointing for me, article from the Times today. The money quote is:
“Attitudes on the subject seem to be inextricably linked to how people view marriage itself. For a majority of Americans � 53 percent � marriage is largely a religious matter. Seventy-one percent of those people oppose gay marriage. Similarly, 33 percent of Americans say marriage is largely a legal matter and a majority of those people � 55 percent � say they support gay marriage.”
Interesting, and somewhat dissapointing for me, article from the Times today. The money quote is:
“Attitudes on the subject seem to be inextricably linked to how people view marriage itself. For a majority of Americans � 53 percent � marriage is largely a religious matter. Seventy-one percent of those people oppose gay marriage. Similarly, 33 percent of Americans say marriage is largely a legal matter and a majority of those people � 55 percent � say they support gay marriage.”
Interesting, and somewhat dissapointing for me, article from the Times today. The money quote is:
“Attitudes on the subject seem to be inextricably linked to how people view marriage itself. For a majority of Americans � 53 percent � marriage is largely a religious matter. Seventy-one percent of those people oppose gay marriage. Similarly, 33 percent of Americans say marriage is largely a legal matter and a majority of those people � 55 percent � say they support gay marriage.”
Interesting, and somewhat dissapointing for me, article from the Times today. The money quote is:
“Attitudes on the subject seem to be inextricably linked to how people view marriage itself. For a majority of Americans � 53 percent � marriage is largely a religious matter. Seventy-one percent of those people oppose gay marriage. Similarly, 33 percent of Americans say marriage is largely a legal matter and a majority of those people � 55 percent � say they support gay marriage.”
A wonderful summary of where we are now.
A few money quotes:
Saddam was no creature of the West.
History will record that Bush the younger, basking at present in the dictator’s capture, has collected his own store of failure to set against the triumphs. He too conducted a swift war. But his pre-war diplomacy was less deft than his father’s and his planning for the post-war occupation rudimentary. America went to war on what appears now to have been weak or false intelligence, which the Bush team exaggerated, about Saddam’s forbidden weapons. In fact, the case for war did not have to be stretched this way. Saddam was a serial aggressor who had refused for more than a decade to prove beyond doubt that he had disarmed in accordance with the ceasefire that followed his expulsion from Kuwait.
Mr Bush has made matters worse by continuing to portray Iraq as part and parcel of the war against al-Qaeda. Although this simplification may play in Peoria (not to mention in the presidential election), it is wrong. Yes, Saddam terrorised his people and his neighbours. But to lump all America’s enemies together as �terrorists� is to play with words and, worse, to risk making a muddle of policy. Osama bin Laden is a religious fanatic with an apocalyptic vision of permanent Islamic war against the infidel. Saddam is a secular Arab nationalist who had a rational if reckless dream of acquiring super-weapons and dominating the world’s oil reserves. Saddam had to be stopped, but his defeat has not necessarily hastened the defeat of al-Qaeda, and might even make victory harder if it continues to stoke up Muslim rage against the West.
The task is not hopeless. Throughout the Arab world, it has suited unelected leaders to blame the absence of democracy on the deep structure of their societies, or on the interference of outsiders, or on the complications of Islam. But it might be simpler than that. When given the chance, Arabs have had little difficulty working out what elections are about. What has held democracy at bay is the refusal of their rulers to risk losing power. Such rulers say now that democracy cannot work in Iraq because they do not want it in their own countries.
In Iraq itself, the foreign occupiers, being foreign occupiers, are not popular. And yet few voices, even among the Shia clerics, are raised against the idea of democracy. It will take time, no doubt, to create one. But after the horrors of Saddam, why should Iraq’s people put up with anything less?
A wonderful summary of where we are now.
A few money quotes:
Saddam was no creature of the West.
History will record that Bush the younger, basking at present in the dictator’s capture, has collected his own store of failure to set against the triumphs. He too conducted a swift war. But his pre-war diplomacy was less deft than his father’s and his planning for the post-war occupation rudimentary. America went to war on what appears now to have been weak or false intelligence, which the Bush team exaggerated, about Saddam’s forbidden weapons. In fact, the case for war did not have to be stretched this way. Saddam was a serial aggressor who had refused for more than a decade to prove beyond doubt that he had disarmed in accordance with the ceasefire that followed his expulsion from Kuwait.
Mr Bush has made matters worse by continuing to portray Iraq as part and parcel of the war against al-Qaeda. Although this simplification may play in Peoria (not to mention in the presidential election), it is wrong. Yes, Saddam terrorised his people and his neighbours. But to lump all America’s enemies together as �terrorists� is to play with words and, worse, to risk making a muddle of policy. Osama bin Laden is a religious fanatic with an apocalyptic vision of permanent Islamic war against the infidel. Saddam is a secular Arab nationalist who had a rational if reckless dream of acquiring super-weapons and dominating the world’s oil reserves. Saddam had to be stopped, but his defeat has not necessarily hastened the defeat of al-Qaeda, and might even make victory harder if it continues to stoke up Muslim rage against the West.
The task is not hopeless. Throughout the Arab world, it has suited unelected leaders to blame the absence of democracy on the deep structure of their societies, or on the interference of outsiders, or on the complications of Islam. But it might be simpler than that. When given the chance, Arabs have had little difficulty working out what elections are about. What has held democracy at bay is the refusal of their rulers to risk losing power. Such rulers say now that democracy cannot work in Iraq because they do not want it in their own countries.
In Iraq itself, the foreign occupiers, being foreign occupiers, are not popular. And yet few voices, even among the Shia clerics, are raised against the idea of democracy. It will take time, no doubt, to create one. But after the horrors of Saddam, why should Iraq’s people put up with anything less?
A wonderful summary of where we are now.
A few money quotes:
Saddam was no creature of the West.
History will record that Bush the younger, basking at present in the dictator’s capture, has collected his own store of failure to set against the triumphs. He too conducted a swift war. But his pre-war diplomacy was less deft than his father’s and his planning for the post-war occupation rudimentary. America went to war on what appears now to have been weak or false intelligence, which the Bush team exaggerated, about Saddam’s forbidden weapons. In fact, the case for war did not have to be stretched this way. Saddam was a serial aggressor who had refused for more than a decade to prove beyond doubt that he had disarmed in accordance with the ceasefire that followed his expulsion from Kuwait.
Mr Bush has made matters worse by continuing to portray Iraq as part and parcel of the war against al-Qaeda. Although this simplification may play in Peoria (not to mention in the presidential election), it is wrong. Yes, Saddam terrorised his people and his neighbours. But to lump all America’s enemies together as �terrorists� is to play with words and, worse, to risk making a muddle of policy. Osama bin Laden is a religious fanatic with an apocalyptic vision of permanent Islamic war against the infidel. Saddam is a secular Arab nationalist who had a rational if reckless dream of acquiring super-weapons and dominating the world’s oil reserves. Saddam had to be stopped, but his defeat has not necessarily hastened the defeat of al-Qaeda, and might even make victory harder if it continues to stoke up Muslim rage against the West.
The task is not hopeless. Throughout the Arab world, it has suited unelected leaders to blame the absence of democracy on the deep structure of their societies, or on the interference of outsiders, or on the complications of Islam. But it might be simpler than that. When given the chance, Arabs have had little difficulty working out what elections are about. What has held democracy at bay is the refusal of their rulers to risk losing power. Such rulers say now that democracy cannot work in Iraq because they do not want it in their own countries.
In Iraq itself, the foreign occupiers, being foreign occupiers, are not popular. And yet few voices, even among the Shia clerics, are raised against the idea of democracy. It will take time, no doubt, to create one. But after the horrors of Saddam, why should Iraq’s people put up with anything less?
A wonderful summary of where we are now.
A few money quotes:
Saddam was no creature of the West.
History will record that Bush the younger, basking at present in the dictator’s capture, has collected his own store of failure to set against the triumphs. He too conducted a swift war. But his pre-war diplomacy was less deft than his father’s and his planning for the post-war occupation rudimentary. America went to war on what appears now to have been weak or false intelligence, which the Bush team exaggerated, about Saddam’s forbidden weapons. In fact, the case for war did not have to be stretched this way. Saddam was a serial aggressor who had refused for more than a decade to prove beyond doubt that he had disarmed in accordance with the ceasefire that followed his expulsion from Kuwait.
Mr Bush has made matters worse by continuing to portray Iraq as part and parcel of the war against al-Qaeda. Although this simplification may play in Peoria (not to mention in the presidential election), it is wrong. Yes, Saddam terrorised his people and his neighbours. But to lump all America’s enemies together as �terrorists� is to play with words and, worse, to risk making a muddle of policy. Osama bin Laden is a religious fanatic with an apocalyptic vision of permanent Islamic war against the infidel. Saddam is a secular Arab nationalist who had a rational if reckless dream of acquiring super-weapons and dominating the world’s oil reserves. Saddam had to be stopped, but his defeat has not necessarily hastened the defeat of al-Qaeda, and might even make victory harder if it continues to stoke up Muslim rage against the West.
The task is not hopeless. Throughout the Arab world, it has suited unelected leaders to blame the absence of democracy on the deep structure of their societies, or on the interference of outsiders, or on the complications of Islam. But it might be simpler than that. When given the chance, Arabs have had little difficulty working out what elections are about. What has held democracy at bay is the refusal of their rulers to risk losing power. Such rulers say now that democracy cannot work in Iraq because they do not want it in their own countries.
In Iraq itself, the foreign occupiers, being foreign occupiers, are not popular. And yet few voices, even among the Shia clerics, are raised against the idea of democracy. It will take time, no doubt, to create one. But after the horrors of Saddam, why should Iraq’s people put up with anything less?
…but only with 18.1% of likely Democratic voters. Clark is second with about 13%. Interestingly, John Edwards’s campaign has not taken off at all (3.8%). All that said, 42% of likely Democratic voters in Georgia remain undecided.
…but only with 18.1% of likely Democratic voters. Clark is second with about 13%. Interestingly, John Edwards’s campaign has not taken off at all (3.8%). All that said, 42% of likely Democratic voters in Georgia remain undecided.
…but only with 18.1% of likely Democratic voters. Clark is second with about 13%. Interestingly, John Edwards’s campaign has not taken off at all (3.8%). All that said, 42% of likely Democratic voters in Georgia remain undecided.
…but only with 18.1% of likely Democratic voters. Clark is second with about 13%. Interestingly, John Edwards’s campaign has not taken off at all (3.8%). All that said, 42% of likely Democratic voters in Georgia remain undecided.
From AP: “Weekly Job Claims Fall Sharply“
From AP: “Wesley Clark Says Jobs Aren’t Coming Back“
Maybe Wesley should read the newspaper before he makes such statements about the economic recovery being “jobless.”
The NY Times today has an article reflecting the results of recent polls of the Dems. Two interesting notes: One is that Lieberman’s polls now appear to be rising after his critiques of Dean’s anti-war positions given the recent successes in Iraq.
The second shows that Al Sharpton is polling higher than Kerry and Edwards. Ouch! It’s amazing to me that a guy like Kerry has let it get to this point. He was such a successful politican (and I guess still is?), but his waffling on issues (for the war, no against the war, wait did I mention that I voted for the war since we got Saddam) is his downfall–very Al Gore like. Edwards….what’s his deal? I think he has the best chance of any Democrat, but he’s getting no party support.