Sucking Wind....

Haven't been blogging much of late, mostly because having colds while being asthmatic really rather sucks. It is undoubtedly a boon for those in the business of selling pharmaceuticals and the tissue I've went through has undoubtedly deforested a small county, but it's hard to keep up with the news when your lungs decide that air is really an irritating foreign substance.

The Democrats may not like President Bush's ideas on how to win the war in Iraq, but this at QandO demonstrates their lack of ideas (or coherent thought, for that matter) on how to do better. More evidence the Dems are more concerned about beating Bush (who isn't running for anything) than the best interests of the United States. Unless they believe a US defeat in Iraq is better for us, of course. Not to mention even more reasons why I'm glad John Kerry isn't president of the United States. (I can't say that GWB pleases me much, but Kerry makes him look like Abraham Lincoln.)

The irony is, if they would put in the effort to come up with a better strategy for the Middle East, or a better way to success in Iraq, they could win in a walk in 2006. Instead, they carp and whine. If they don't pick up seats in 2006, they've no one but themselves to blame.

Seconded

Here's a letter that the Strib's editors should take to heart:

Here's where to start

How refreshing! The Star Tribune calls on President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and all Republicans in Congress to vow to start a meaningful, respectful debate.

Why doesn't this include all Democrats and especially the Star Tribune editorial page contributors?

Does this mean no more cartoon caricatures of the president as a puppet sitting on someone's lap? Does this mean no more articles contributed by such writers as Molly Ivins referring to the president as "Dubya"? Does this mean no submissions from writers making personal attacks on his intelligence or calling him a liar?

My God! How will you ever fill your editorial and opinion pages?

DOUG CLEMENS, BLOOMINGTON

Mr. Clemens, I salute you! May I suggest the Star Tribune start the DFL side of the discussion by refraining from this. (note: flash animation) Then, they might even attempt to grapple with conservative ideas, rather than sneering at them, but that is undoubtedly too much to ask.

Soon to Appear at a Jail in California...

Randy Cunningham, ex-Congressman. Good riddance. 'Tis a shame that his best days were over Vietnam.

Freedom!

For Scotland and Freedom!


Which Action Hero Would You Be? v. 2.0


Well, the other choices were Batman or the Terminator, what do you expect?
created with QuizFarm.com

Walking the Line

Saw "I Walk the Line" last night at the theater with friends, and must admit it was better than I expected. For vague reasons I've never been fond of singer biopics, somehow they just don't interest me much. I've always liked Johnny Cash though and maybe that made a difference. There seemed to be a lot of other people who liked it as well, as the theater was full on a Sunday night.

The move covered the early part of Cash's life up to when he peformed a Folsom Prison in 1968. I'm not a student of the guy's life, so I did learn a few things about him I didn't know. First was what a s**t he was during his time as a drunk. I also didn't realize just how long he was a pill-popping drunk. 13 years is a long time to live in a bottle, pill or beer. He came back from a fairly deep hole, but he was fortunate in that he had some money when the crack-up came, and he had June Carter. Maybe she was enough, I guess.

Insanity on the Other Side

Ok, well both are the other side if you're an independent, but in this case it's the Dems who have a problem. If this guy and commenters represent their base, I just don't know what to say. (via Michelle Malkin)

Well, maybe this: if you're going to characterize the people you disagree with as evil and criminal, it is helpful to actually be able to cite some evidence. The same goes for accusations of fascism and authoritarianism and other assorted garbage. It also would do to remember that the Bush administration is not a regime, nor is it a dictatorship, they are not trying to destroy the damn country, and someone else will be in office come January 20, 2009. Those of you out there who want a Democrat to be that person need to cultivate patience and rediscover your sanity, or it won't happen. How about respecting the idea that Republicans and conservatives have principles and ideals as well, their disagreement does not make them evil.

Speaking as an independent, I would like to see the DFL become a more effective opposition party. If nothing else it helps keep the GOP honest. Unfortunately, although I don't have much affection for the GOP, I have come to despise the current version of the Democratic Party. Why? Part of it is the vitriol, bile, and hate speech that comes in a torrent from the party of "tolerance". Another part of it is the inability to actually propose something constructive. The whole of the DFL seems to have decided that hating Bush is enough, and has never gotten over the 2000 election. Why should I vote for your guys when all you can offer is "We hate Bush"? Give me something to vote for.

Quit whining about the fact our forces are in Iraq. If you're convinced the administration is fighting this war incompetently, don't just sit there whining and bitching about it, show me how we can win it. Don't promise me an economy that will give me handouts because globalization makes me unemployed, what policies do you have that can create the conditions to allow me to make my own way? In other words, don't snark and complain, make an argument.

Overlooked Days in History

What do I mean? Read this at Samizdata. It's a shame the Velvet Revolution seems to have been lost in the shuffle of history.

After reading this at Instapundit's and the other blog posts linked from it, I have two questions.

First, what does one call the people on the Democratic side of the aisle who have been selling the "Bush Lied!" lie? Unpatriotic probably is not the term, since these people have undoubtedly convinced themselves that their dishonesty is "for the good of the country". Make no bones about it, this is a story that has been dishonestly presented. See this Norman Podhoretz' piece for a rebuttal of the "Bush Lied" view.

Second, given the uncritical reporting of the Democratic version of the Iraq war debate by the media here in the US, are there any journalists out there who are disgusted at total lack of scrutiny of what the Dems were saying to the public, if only as a matter of journalistic craftsmanship? Or is that unimportant in a profession whose membership skews Democratic by a 7:1 ratio?

A bonus question based on the comments to the Matt Welch piece at Hit and Run: Given the difference between what journalists report from Iraq (mostly negative) vs. the reporting being done by the soldiers themselves via milblogs etc. which appears to be considerably more positive than press accounts, how likely is it journalists are giving us a complete picture of what is going in Iraq? What effect does the skewed narrative have on the conduct of the war in Iraq? (Gives encouragement to the Islamists and Baathist murderers, I expect)

City vs. Suburb

Over at a Shot in the Dark, Mitch Berger expounds on the good vs. not-so-good parts of living in the city, and gets a spirited response from the from the suburbanites at Freedom Dogs and the Fraters', with the Warrior Monk chiming in from Minneapolis.

Since I never pass up opportunities to spout an opinion that no one will ever read on a subject that I only have passing familiarity with, here's how I resolved the dilemma. I work in Eagan, but when I finally decided to buy a home and started looking there, it became rather obvious that I would be living somewhere else (the laughter from my real estate agent when I mentioned the price I could afford and Eagan in the same breath was my first clue). I ended up looking at the places in the first ring suburbs and in St. Paul. Minneapolis was ruled out immediately because I was pretty sure the city government there would drive me insane, and because the taxes there were rather a lot higher than in St Paul and the 'burbs. The northern 'burbs were affordable, if I was willing to drive an hour each way to work, and the communities on the south side of the river were higher priced than I could pay.

With some trepidation I started looking in St. Paul becuase there were homes there with prices that I could almost afford. After looking at various homes on the East Side I ended up in a modest three bedroom house near 3M that is close to quite a few amenities and was under 200K. So in a word, price was the controlling factor. The neighborhood is actually kind of a nice compromise between the 'real' city and the suburbs, being at the edge of Maplewood but only a 20 minute bus ride to downtown, with shopping, parks, and a library in walking distance. The lots are smaller but that just means less yard work. And I don't even have any bullet holes in the walls... .

I feel the need for an ale,

'cause I'm






To which race of Middle Earth do you belong?
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And here I thought that my liking for stouts was merely a matter of taste.

Speaking of Katherine Kersten...

the Strib's Reader's Representative wrote a column about the reaction of the Strib's readership to her hiring. It seems that she gets plenty of hate mail from those nice, tolerant, diversity-loving liberals who find a conservative metro columnist to be not included in their definitions of "diversity". Are the letters expressing disappointment at their own failure to respect diversity? Nope. They are demanding that Kersten be fired. How disillusioning... .


I wonder about the folks complaining about her, sometimes. Here's a letter from Sunday's Strib about Kersten's 11/04 column about the latest group of local anti-war protesters (no link available yet):

With her Nov. 4 column, "Students should take another look at antiwar rally", Katherine Kersten once again fails to recognize the role of educated citizens in a democracy.

She appears to be a proponent of totalitarian government - her way or no way. She defines patriotism as unthinking fealty. Perhaps her homework should be to read what life is like for all people under totalitarian regimes.

I am proud of our children who believe in causes and civilly act on them. Perhaps there is hope for a future flourishing democratic United States.

I can't really express how silly this letter is. First, here's a link to Kersten's column. See if you can find where she equates patriotism with support for totalitarianism. Hint: she doesn't unless one equates totalitarian with the Bush administration, which marks the letter's author as having Bush Derangement Syndrome (BDS). Kersten was describing (and disapproving of ) the organization organizing the march. That is her right under the Constitution establishing this republic, after all. Nor was she saying the students didn't have the right to protest. She just was asking those who supported the march to examine the motives of the organizers. The letter writer obviously equates criticism with censorship or being unpatriotic or some other nonsense.

Of course there could be a simpler explanation. The letter writer simply didn't bother to actually read Kersten's column before bitching about it. Thus the Strib shouldn't have bothered to publish her letter, either.

On Nov. 4, Katherine Kersten characterized Socialist Alternative, the organizers of the 11/2 protests, as being Marxists. The Strib prints this commentary from Ty Moore, an organizer from Socialist Alternative, who complains that Kersten was 'red-baiting'. He then attempts to rebut her by agreeing with what she said about Ty's organization. For example,

We want to replace capitalism with a system of democratic control of the economy from below. Instead of industry and government being run by the super-rich, we believe the top 500 corporations should be put under the control of elected workplace committees, and production organized around a democratic plan. All economic decisions, from foreign policy to wage scales, should be decided democratically, based on human and environmental needs, not the short-term profit drive of CEOs and wealthy investors.

This has nothing to do with the Stalinist dictatorships that Kersten implies we are aiming to re-create.

I don't know ,Ty, but so far the track record of places that have tried the things you describe is that they always seem to turn into those Stalinist dictatorships that you don't intend to re-create. Sounds pretty Marxist to me, anyway. In any case, how can Moore accuse Kersten of red-baiting when she accurately describes what Moore's organization believes?

Paris Burning

There seems to be two schools of thought on the internet about what is driving the rioting in France. On one side we have the argument that it is Islamism driving the violence. The other school of thought is the rioting is due to frustration caused by the lack of economic opportunity, the institutional racism of the native French, and unwillingness of many of the North African, mainly Muslim immigrants to assimilate properly as French citizens.

Personally, I see no reason why both theories can't be true. They can be symbiotic, each feeding off the other. Lack of opportunity and social mobility breed frustration, and Islamists present themselves as a way out. At the same time, the Islamists claim the anger is justified and proper. White (for lack of a better term) Frenchmen see the agitation and become even more suspicious of the recent arrivals from Africa and the Middle East., thus reducing the available opportunities for immigrants to make a better life for themselves. Each reinforces the other.

How to deal with it? I don't know. It does seem the first step would be to restore order. After that, some means needs to be found by which the first and second generation of immigrants in the ghettos can find a way out of their predicament. That of course is the really hard part.

A Pretty Typical Election Day

here in St. Paul. In other words, everyone I voted for lost. Here's hoping my taxes don't go as high as I think they will.

Election Day

Don't forget to vote today. (Ok, maybe not you dead guys in Jersey...)

It's always heartening to see evidence that Al Qaeda isn't uniformly popular in the Middle East. (via Norman Geras)

Why I don't forgive

the actions and words of the attendees of the Wellstone memorial service/campaign rally. This post is a reaction to this Strib opinion piece from Sarah Janecek chiding those who still hold the happenings of the memorial against the DFL. Like Katherine Kersten.

I'm not inclined to quote it, it makes more sense to read the whole thing, and Kersten's piece if one feels the need. Essentially, Janecek's position seems to be that people should not hold a grudge over the actions of the crowd and the speakers at the Paul Wellstone memorial service, becuase the things that were said and done there came from grief. I agree those who planned the memorial probably weren't cynically using the occasion for political purposes. I don't have a problem with her criticism of Kersten, although reading her criticism inclines me to think she missed the point of Kersten's column. On the rest, I beg to differ.

The people who harassed Governor Ventura, who booed the Republicans who came to pay their respects, the folks who snubbed the Vice President knew what they were doing. Likewise, the people who wrote the speeches knew what they were writing, and what they were saying. They meant what they were saying. The fact the speeches weren't vetted doesn't change that. These are the same sort of people who demanded Trent Lott's head for what probably was an attempt to flatter a fellow Senator on his 100th birthday. The same people who mercilessly roast conservatives over the coals for mistatements and nastiness but give their fellow DFLers a pass for saying egregious falsehoods about conservatives and GOPers. So I think they should continue to reap the whirlwind of their words and actions, until this political controversy dies its own natural death. May it happen soon.

I just want to draw attention to this Cathy Young post about abortion and men's reproductive rights (or actually lack of same). Also see this one from her as well.

To those that would say that if men don't want to be fathers "they should keep their pants on", I have one question: why shouldn't the same standard apply to the ladies?

Another Day, Another

non-sequitor of an editorial in the Star Tribune. The editors have chosen the Lewis Libby indictment as an occasion to print another "Bush lied" editorial. But first, they start out with a hefty dose of hypocrisy:

Lewis Libby, Vice President Dick Cheney's chief of staff, stands indicted for lying to a grand jury and obstructing investigators probing the outing of an undercover CIA operative. These are serious charges brought by a serious prosecutor. They are not, as some would have it, "technicalities." You can't have justice unless people cooperate with criminal investigations and tell the truth when they have sworn an oath to do so.

Certainly if Libby lied to the grand jury he should be appropriately punished. The Star Tribune's endorsement of the idea that one should be punished for perjury comes rather late, as they were rather cool to the idea when the liar was President Clinton. Then, it was "only about sex" and thus unimportant.

The rest of the editorial is an attempt to cast a policy disagreement as a crime. The usual allegation of taking the country to war in Iraq on shaky intelligence is made, without mentioning that most of the world's intellegence services agreed that Hussein's Iraq was working on or had possession of WMDs. It also ignores the other arguments made in favor or removing Hussein, implying the only reason for the invasion was WMDs.

The editorial accuses the administration of "smearing" Joseph Wilson while ignoring the fact that what the administration said about Wilson was in the main correct , and omitting the fact that Wilson's version of events as reported in the New York Times was not what Wilson reported to the CIA (as noted by the Senate's investigation of the intelligence failures in Iraq).

To the Strib's partisan clowns - where's the thousand crimes?

A little car-blogging

I thought I'd try my hand at a little car blogging today. If it's good enough for Kaus and the Instapundit.... .

A week ago Friday I had the chance to test drive a 2006 Ford Fusion. My car was at the dealership for some routine maintenance, and while I was killing time in the lot a salesman even more bored than I was tried selling me on a small SUV.

I told him his time would be better spent with someone who actually was interested in buying a car, but apparently those people were in short supply that day as well. He was good enough at what he does to find out from me what kind of car I'd be looking at if I actually was buying one, and I found myself agreeing to a test drive.

The Fusion is the replacement for Ford's Taurus. The car I drove was the SEL model with a 3.0L V6 rated at 221 horsepower - about 50 more than my current seven year old Contour and almost as much as the 5.0L '89 Mustang I used to own. The car accelerates decently (at least compared to my '98)and got down the freeway on-ramps with power to spare. The 6-speed automatic took some getting used to - it just seemed busy when accelerating from a stop. The car rides well if a bit firmly, and it went where I pointed it without any fuss. Cornering at speed - I can't say, since I wanted to be careful with a car that wasn't mine (I mean, they know who I am there). The milage looks like it would be a bit less (21/29 vs. 22/30 for the old car) and the thing had more gadgets than I knew what to do with. I guess when you keep cars a long time the natural march of technology just makes the standard load of gadgets more impressive.

Inside, the car was done in leather (I'm one of those people who prefer cloth, what can I say?) and the color scheme was basic black, with not much chrome or anything else to distract. Compared to my Contour, it's very quiet, and the 6 disc CD changer was rather nice. All in all, if I was actually in the market, I might consider one.

Alas, one thing hasn't changed: new car smell + me = asthma attack. Annoying on a daily basis, which probably provides a neat excuse for buying used cars all the time (besides my natural cheapness, of course...).

Oil for Food, coming to

a local company near you... . Of the estimated 2200 companies implicated by a UN report on the OFF program for paying kickbacks to Saddam Hussein, KARE-11 TV reports 2 of them are based here in Minnesota. Yep, Cargill and St. Jude Medical were fingered for kickbacks, Cargill to the tune of $81,000 and St. Jude Medical for about $650,000.

It sure doesn't do much for that squeaky-clean Minnesota image....

Just Because

Here is an image from the Galaxy Evolution Explorer (GALEX), a view of galaxy Centaurus A, taken with UV, Infrared and X-ray cameras.



The photo is linked gallery of images from GALEX.

Deja Vu, Anyone?

I found this article at NASA's website discussing the vehicles that will be taking us back to the moon. Here's an artist's conception of what the lunar vehicles will look like. Deja vu, anybody?

I guess after 35 years I was hoping we could come up with something better.

So George, didn't

you notice the noose (pdf file) on the end of the rope Norm Coleman was handing you?

Georgie isn't a big fish, but it's still good to see a blustering, sycophantic suckweasel to Saddam get the right kind of light shown on him. Let's see if he can crawl back under his rock as fast as he came out.

All in all, it couldn't have happenend to a nicer guy.

(via Harry's Place)

Howard Dean,

the gift that keeps on giving - to the GOP, that is...

"I'm tired of the ayatollahs of the right wing," Dean said. "We're fighting for freedom in Iraq. We're going to fight for freedom in America."

Well, at least he admits that it's freedom that our soldiers are fighting for in Iraq. Now if he could just figure out that Republicans are not ayatollahs.
(via Drudge).

I oppose the Miers nomination

I oppose the Miers nomination. (just in case the Ecosystem didn't pick it up from the title)
Not all that long ago, I wrote a post chiding John Podhoretz and other conservatives for what I felt was an unwarrented elitism running through their crticism of the Miers nomination. After further consideration, I feel compelled to oppose her nomination.

Why? Two reasons. The first is that she has just not impressed me as having the right abilities to be on the Court. Admittedly, there isn't much info out there to work with, but I do expect that a Justice be able to reason clearly and communicate that reasoning for a decision just as clearly. What little of her writing I've seen doesn't support the idea that she can. I admit to being a bit biased when I found out she is a supporter of race and gender based affimative action. I cannot understand how the Constitution (and the 14th amendment) can be read in a way that allows unequal treatment under the law based on race, but I digress. Obviously, I'm not a lawyer, so I may not be the best judge of her writings.

The second reason is even her supporters do not seem to know how to sell the nomination. She's presented as one thing to one group, another thing to another group. It's all very muddled. If her own supporters can't make a clear case for her being a justice (beyond the "trust the president on this" line), perhaps it's because they can't. If so, the president should find someone else.

This is probably a waste of effort, but I wrote a letter to Senator Norm Coleman today asking him why he voted against the Coburn amendments. I also expressed my disappointment in the GOP's inability to exercise the restraint on spending promised by them when they were campaigning for office. After all, if I wanted DFL-type spending from Congress, I would have voted Democratic.

I can't say I expect anything but a boilerplate response, but when/if I get a response I'll post it on the blog.

Is it possible

for the lefties in Berkeley to set aside their hostility to the military and to George W. Bush for even one day?

Apparently not.

(via Michelle Malkin)

Not even one hour, apparently. I just have one request for the Berkeley Veteran's Day organizing committee: Grow up. If you don't agree with the cause, you can at least have the good grace to honor the good faith and service of those who have answered the call, many of whom have died in our service. Not Bush's service. Not the "neocons" service. Service to the citizens and Constitution of the United States of America.

Please. Can't you drop the damn politics for just one damn hour?

Knowing your opponent

I was "leafing" through the archives of Dissent (an intellectual magazine of the Left) from 2002 (which covered the period of the 9/11 attacks and the aftermath), and I couldn't help but notice references to conservatives as the "authoritarian right" or hubristic statements like this:

Liberals and radicals are the only people in politics who can insist on closing the gap between America as the apotheosis of democratic strivings and the sordid realities of greed and arrogance that often betray it.

This, out of an otherwise interesting piece about patriotism and the Left, helps illustrate what I think is one of the great flaws of the American and European Left, however they are defined. The flaw is their inability or unwillingness to objectively evaluate their political opposition.

In the case of the American lefties, they seem to be unable to separate US conservatives from the images of brownshirted thugs. In so doing, they close themselves to the truth (or possibility if one prefers) that conservatives have cherished values, principles, and goals, with some of said goals and values being pretty similar to those of the Left - democracy, opportunity, liberty, stuff like that. Instead, we get Marxist class rhetoric and writing that basically writes off the other side as stupid, dishonest money-grubbing imperial oppressors and such.

Perhaps those intellectuals on the Left should read some Buckley, some Hayek, read though some National Reviews and Weekly Standards, rather than get their views on the Right filtered through the Nation, The New Republic or the New York Times. The Right is not primarily Limbaugh and Michael Savage, after all.

One other thing - could someone explain what the phrase "social justice" means? I see it used a lot in publications of the left, but no one ever bothers to explain what it means as if we are somehow born knowing it, even before we pick up little tricks like spoken language. Does "social justice " have a single defined meaning or is it one of those vague catch phrases that are used to bond without actually having a definite meaning?

A Gentleman's 'D'

I heard John Podhoretz's segment on the Hugh Hewitt show about the Harriet Miers nomination and I must confess to a certain disappointment. On this subject, he came across as rather a snob. One would think that Mr. Podhoretz could allow that 25 years experience practicing law might actually lead to some knowledge of it but apparently practicing law isn't anywhere near as valuable as writing about it, in his view. From his tone, one could get the idea that he considers himself a better choice for the Court than Miers.

Does he really think that extensive experience practicing law, managing a large law firm, serving as White House counsel are intellectually undemanding exercises? Could it be his patently unfair 'D' grade of Ms. Miers is partially due to his disappointment that a Luttig or Janice Rogers Brown wasn't picked this time? Perhaps he should get his head out of the ivory tower, instead.

Look. This post isn't a defense of the nomination. I'm certainly not a Constitutional scholar, nor am I an expert politician. But. The fact is that the criticisms that I have seen from conservatives seems to be along the lines of "we didn't get the person we wanted, this one must be incompetent". The one valid complaint I've seen is the nomination smacks of cronyism. Given her membership in Bush's inner circle, that one's got some traction. But that fact does not establish incompetence (or competence for that matter). At this point, the only accurate thing that can be said about her qualifactions is that she would not be the only Justice was not a constitutional lawyer, and that we don't really know how competent she would be. Hopefully the hearings will provide some insight into the issue. Until then, why not reserve judgement instead of trashing the lady before she has a chance to make a case?

Yechh.

I had the misfortune of spending about 20 minutes listening to the Mike Malloy program on our local Air America affiliate this evening. It was an unexpectedly difficult exercise, but I did learn some things from it:

First, that Mr. Malloy seems to think that invective and personal attacks are the equivalent of making an argument. In the time I listened, I was treated to a nasty description of Newt Gingrich's sex life, informed that Republicans want to destroy America. Why? He doesn't say. In the whole block of time, he did not make a single statement in support of his assertion.

Second, if Malloy's off-air personality is similar to the on-air one he appears to be a narrow, intolerant, contemptible excuse for a human being.

Third, if he qualifies as one of Air America's stars, they've sure defined down the term 'star'.

If this is how the left defines the equivalent of conservative talk radio, they need to think again. The only right-wing talker I know of even close to being this obnoxious is the reactionary Michael Savage. The others at least can make an argument.

Jeff Jarvis Endorses "Fake but Accurate"

Jeff Jarvis writes a post criticizing Tim Russert for asking pointed questionsof Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard about his false story of how the Feds being responsible for the death of a 92 year old woman in a Louisiana nursing home during Hurricane Katrina. Money graf:

Too much of journalism is turning this way today: If we nitpick the facts and follow some rules some committee wrote up, we’ll be safe; we’re doing our jobs. No, sir, our job is to get more than the facts. Anybody can get facts. Facts are the commodity. The truth is harder to find. Justice is harder to fight for. Lessons are what we’re after.

Mr Jarvis fails to comprehend that facts in many cases are not so easy to get. Many of the controversial issues of the day are controversial (at least in part) because we are unable to agree what the facts are. Abortion is an example, becuase we are still unable to determine when life begins.

Facts are the building blocks of truth, as logic and reason is the mortar. You can't have truth without them and those who misuse and abuse facts should be called on it, even when you agree with them.

Metrodome Matrimony

This Saturday I had the opportunity to attend my first baseball wedding. Two friends chose to tie the knot at the Metrodome with 82 other couples. 'Twas an interesting experience especially for the Twins and WCCO, methinks. It had bit of a disorganized feel to it, the feel of something that neither organization had tried before.

Unsurprisingly the ceremony was a civil service, since unless you're Rev. Sung Yung Moon it's pretty hard to put together a religious ceremony that would be appropriate for this sizeable group. (The diverse part would have daunted even him.) I was surprised at the mention of God in the ceremony though. The fellow officiating did manage to avoid the use of phrasing like "Do you [state your name] take this...", thus avoiding at least on opportunity for jokes. In any case the ceremony went off pretty well and I didn't even screw up my part holding up a piece of heart in the card section.

Congratulations Laurel and Kevin, and may your lives together be long and happy ones.

And yes, the Twins beat the White Sox 5-0, with Johan Santana fanning 13 Sox along the way.

Why I ignore TV critics

Neal Justin has decided the press are true heroes of Katrina. Why, because they got mad (at President Bush, of course). I guess the requirements of heroism are perfect hair, a microphone, a cameraman and a rescue effort to complain about. Apparently carping at the inevitable errors, foul-ups, and fog of confusion that is part and parcel of responding to a catastrophe is heroic. I do have a couple of questions for Mr. Justin, however.

1. How many people did the press save? Say, as compared to the Red Cross, the United States Armed Forces, the National Guard, and all of the other first responders in the Gulf Coast states hit by Katrina?

2. How well did any of the people mentioned in your column explain the process by which federal assistance is provided to states and smaller locales in the event of a natural disaster. Did they mention that the Department of Defense was able to get resources moving towards LA in half the time required to do so in 1992 for Hurricane Andrew? Did the Times-Picayune read their own stories about the poor preparedness of the city of New Orleans and the State of Louisiana before writing their open letter criticizing the feds? How often did the people Justin holds up as models report on the efforts of the US Coast Guard, rescuing people along the Gulf coast as early as the day after Katrina struck?

3. Mr. Justin, in what way is the government (which government, by the way? there is more than one level involved in the relief effort) intimidating the press? How many reporters have been put in jail for reporting on the relief effort? Does criticism of press reporting by government officials qualify as intimidation? I hope the press is sufficiently thick-skinned as to be able to accept criticism, but maybe our brave guardians of freedom find it just too intimidating. What a shame. In what way is the goverment turning the public against the press? I thought the press' declining reputation has a lot to do with lousy, sloppy, and occasionally biased reporting, not the nonexistent PSAs from Uncle Sam warning us against the evil press. Silly me.

A Moment of Reflectlion

for those who died 4 years ago today. For those who were on the planes, and those who dared fire and rubble to aid those caught in the Towers and the Pentagon.

A moment of sympathy for those who lost loved ones on that fall day turned bleak, four years ago today.

For the hijacker/murderers, nothing but contempt. For them and for all they thought they stood for. For what they stood for, a reserved spot in the ash heap of history.

Katrina Relief

I've been away on vacation and getting the house insulated (yep, even in this climate builders didn't always choose to insulate), so no blogging of late.. Nor will there be much until after Labor Day. Today, just a word about Katrina.

What has happened along our Gulf Coast is almost too appalling for words. Rather than bloviate about it, I just want to direct attention to organizations that are trying to do good down there and could use a bit of your money. I'll start with :

The American Red Cross

I see that Instapundit has already compiled quite a list of links to relief organizations, so check it out.

Screwed

From this story in Tuesday's Star Tribune, we learn that Medica spent two and a half million dollars defending itself against our camera-loving Attorney General, Mike Hatch. I hope this embarrasses him, since the citizens of Minnesota are going to get screwed both ways - 2.5 million of costs Medica will pass on to its customers, and the 100,000 spent by Hatch's office paid in taxes levied on those same customers and the rest of Minnesota taxpayers. Wonderful.

Pat Robertson, Idiot

Pat Robertson demonstrates once again indulges in his penchant for saying idiot things by advocating the assassination of Hugo Chavez. Just as the Democrats have to suffer Howard Dean and Barbara Boxer, the GOP has its Pat. The difference is the Republicans don't make their wackos DNC chairman or elect them to Congress.

I wonder whose idiot remarks will get more criticism from the MSM, Robertson's or Cindy Sheehan's?

Nick Coleman, Twit

Nick Coleman, current holder of the Most Hateful Star Tribune Columnist Award, wrote a snide piece (I'll link it when I can access the Strib's website) in Wednesday's Strib about his dislike of the University of North Dakota's efforts to keep its team nickname, the Fighting Sioux. UND had the termerity to actually object to the new NCAA policy banning Indian logos, mascots, and nicknames at NCAA post-season games. Just the kind of politically correct garbage favored by people of Nick's political persuasion. The University president, Charles Kupchella, wrote an open letter to the NCAA detailing the University's objections to the policy.

Rather than actually evaluate President Kupchella's arguments, Coleman spends several hundred words calling him a toady to a dead guy. That's our Nick - never make a reasoned argument when there is an ad hominem to hand.

Do us a favor, Nick. Get a job in Berkeley. We'll both be more comfotable with you there.

Things as they should be

I did a couple of Google searches to see what kind of reaction there would be to the news that Coleen Rowley and Becky Loury were making a pilgrimage to Crawford in support of Cindy Sheehan. Some of the lefty blogs seem to be efflusively praising it, but nothing from the righty blogs. That seems appropriate. Why is it news, after all, when politicians act like politicians?

Note: Ms. Rowley is presently running for the US House seat presently held by John Kline. That makes her a politician. Exploiting a dead soldier for political gain seals it. Any denials of political motives by her are laughable.

Syl Jones Writes, Syl Jones Wrong

The Strib's second most hateful writer (only because Nick Coleman writes more often), Syl Jones gives us this piece of reasoned, thoughtful prose in today's Star Tribune.

The point of it, (if he actually has one) is that there is no leadership in this country and what leadership exists is morally corrupt. His "proof" is to give a laundry list of complaints that are pretty much the MoveOn type-laundry list:

• Tim Pawlenty's "No New Taxes" pledge (as if MoveOn actually even notices MN)
  
• Bush "lied" about WMDs in Iraq (Not proven. Best conclusion from the facts, he listened to intel folks - not just ours - who believed they were there.)
  
• We liberated the peoples of Iraq and Afghanistan
  
• Bush gave the press the middle finger (disproven in this video from The Political Teen, as long as one can tell the diffence between a middle and index finger. Maybe Syl can't.)
  
• Donald Rumsfeld told an unpleasant truth about war in general - "you go to war with the army you have and not the Army you want".
  
• Bob Novak "outed" Valerie Plame. (Scare quotes because it apparently was common knowledge among the press that Plame worked at CIA, and Novak apparently cooperated with the investigation sparked by his column. Hardly the act of a "prince of darkness".)

This looks a lot more like a litany of complaints about an administration he dislikes than evidence of moral decay. He didn't seem to think that moral decay involved oral sex in the Oval Office, so I have trouble understanding what standard other than a partisan one Syl is using. He doesn't mention such insignificant items as kickbacks and bribery in the Oil for Food program, for example. Is it just because it was administered by the UN, thus making corruption moral?

He complains the current administration is vulgar. This after referring to Karl Rove as a "Turd Blossom" and Ann Coulter as a "skank". Even so if the administration does have a "vulgar" edge, where would GWB get good taste instruction, Syl? From Howard Dean and Sid Blumenthal?

Did I mention the Star Tribune could improve its quality by an order of magnitude simply by firing Syl Jones and Nick Coleman (Like Janet Robert did, in Nick's case?) Not that it would improve the rest of the paper, just that it would provide the Strib less exposure to ridicule.

See, Not Everything French is Bad

Via Winds of Change and the New York Times, evidence that good things can come out of France, just in case we need reminding. One can get lost in all the frog-bashing sometimes (yes, even if a lot of it is justified). Also a reminder that lifesavers don't always have to be complicated and expensive.

I wonder if Cindy Sheehan has given even a moment's thought to what her son Casey might think of her activities since his death. I don't presume to know what he would think, but the fact that he did volunteer to serve in the armed forces suggests that he might have looked on the war in Iraq differently than his mother does.

If that did happen to be the case, is it right for her to use his memory to score political points against a president she dislikes? Maybe not... . Note that her family has asked her to stop.

This Makes Me Tired, Again

This item from Marc Cooper isn't at all bad, but he tosses off a meme that just annoys the hell out of me. It's in this line:

It doesn’t matter, it seems, that Cohen supports the war because he actually believes it is consistent with his liberal views on human rights; no. must just must be some sort of a right-winger. Too often the instinct on the Left is to discredit and dishonor your antagonist by suggesting there is something more sinister in play.

Note the part about right-wingers. Sorry, Marc, but the majority of people on the Right believe in the classical liberal ideals of human (read individual) rights, too. It's the kind of casual, thoughtless smear that convinces me those of the Left are every bit as intolerant, bigoted and ignorant as they regularly claim conservatives are. The inability to even consider the possibility that those on the right can have principles, too. When you can't argue ideas, attack your opponent's motives and ethics instead. A shame Cooper only recognizes the Left's tactics only when used against other lefties.

Contradictions

This column at Jewish World Review by Ruben Navarette Jr. puzzles me somewhat. Mostly becuase I don't quite understand what he wants. The column is about immigrant workers and the all-to0-often deplorable conditions that they work under (in this column, farm workers in CA). He agrees with President Bush's description of the jobs they do - "jobs that Americans won't do." He dismisses the idea of Americans doing the work for the right price (implying that strict immigration enforcement is what he has in mind, but at the same time deplores the "guest worker" plans proposed by Republicans. Why? Because it makes it too easy for employers to get more low-wage workers. His solution? Don't legally recognize them as having a right to work here, but treat them as if they do. Chaos!

Wouldn't it be better to figure out what we should allow, instead? Either allow guest workers or not, and if one does subject their employers to the same rules that apply to citizen workers. Don't mess around with this half-in, half out nonsense.

One other thing. There are large parts of the country that do not have lots of illegal immigrant labor, and the dirty jobs there get done - by Americans. Perhaps part of the problem is the willingness of some people near the borders to use the presence of illegal workers to drive down wages? Hmm?

Good Luck, Discovery

I just wanted to wish the crew of Discovery Godspeed and good luck for their return to Earth on Monday morning.




Update: Ok so make it Tuesday. Anyway, welcome home!

This Makes Me Tired

This is a typical example of the kind letter appearing on a regular basis in the Star Tribune (this from Saturday's):

Though it may be more neoconservative spin than substance, it's been refreshing to learn recently that Supreme Court nominee John Roberts may have somewhat balanced views and a softer, more compassionate side ("High court nominee helped with a key gay-rights case," Aug. 4).

This is a startling anomaly compared to the typical automatons we've come to expect from the Bush/Rove administration.

Now if we could only find out something like this about John Bolton.

Apparently the quality of compassion is a surprise when found in a conservative. I guess they aren't human or something. I'm so tired of this crap.

Of Traffic and Networking...

I haven't been blogging much of late, which undoubtably has improved the traffic numbers for this place. It's pretty tough to tell the difference between really unnoticed and merely very unnoticed, but in the name of masochism we endeavor to do so . If nothing else, the words just written can be filler while I actually think up something worth saying.

I haven't been following the news much in the past week because of the problems I've been encountering while switching to the new PC. I recently decided to augment the old PII here at the manor with a new generation, and it has left me with the problem of moving the old data that I still want to from the old to the new one. The old machine was built before CD burners, and the price of SCSI CD burners managed to dissuade me from putting one in the old box. That left networking them together so I could copy the data I wanted to save to the new machine. Should be easy for a computer guy, right?

Both machines are set up as dual-boot (Windows/Linux). Setting up Windows file sharing between the two actually went pretty well, as Windows XP generated a floppy that set up the old Win98 machine with only modest tweaking. (Did I mention that I don't know anything about networking PCs?) A few grudging points to Microsoft, there. The linux part, to put it euphemistically, was rather more of an adventure. I managed to turn a five minute job for someone who knows what they are doing into a week's comedy of trial and error involving dhcp, nfs, shorewall, and a host of configuration files. The end result is that they talk to each other, but I'm pretty sure I did it wrong... . I now know what is meant by "expert friendly".

I Love Hate New York

Via Norman Gera's Normblog, comes this pseudo-serious piece of punditry. Ms Decca Aitkenhead is having a problem reconciling her and her friends' anti-Americanism ("a legitimate response to the current political climate") with the attitude held by many of the same anti-America types that New York City is somehow different and exempt from the rest of the hated Bushland. Her contention is that NYC is just like the Red States she apparently despises.

She goes on for several paragraphs about the perceived flaws of New York and psychoanalyzes New Yorkers. In her world, people from Idaho are "lard-arsed inbreds", New York is no different from any other major city in the world (except worse), New Yorkers are lacking in self-confidence, and that the "I (heart) NY" campaign is a response to 9/11. A great many words, even greater ignorance. She has the tone of someone who visits the USA, then comes home to proclaim how superior she is compared to the proles she saw on vacation. Lileks would handily deal with this kind of stuff, but since his site is currently a mess I'll take a shot at it.

She doesn't like our political climate. What a damn shame. I don't like hers. And we don't care. I suppose she would be happier spending money here if we had elected President who sends a cop to serve a warrant in Kabul instead of sending the armed forces to liberate it. And permanently shutting down the torture chambers in Baghdad being thrown into the bargain. Bitching about us is easier than going to Tehran or Pyongyang and registering her displeasure with the mullahs or Lil' Kim, I suppose.

She thinks New Yorkers are delusional in thinking they are different from other Americans. Guess what, dearie! All the regions of the USA think they are different from all the others. We also are pretty proud of the differences. Some silly idea about variety being interesting or something. We are composed of fifty sovereign states, and if you think all Americans have the same attitudes and opinions you haven't visited many of them. Ask a Southerner what they think of Yankees, if you want a quick lesson.

New Yorkers brag because they have no self-confidence, she says. Hey, it takes considerable self-confidence to shout "Ours is the Best!" to the whole world. It takes confidence to rebuild even higher after what happened there on 9/11/2001. It takes confidence to build the greatest city in the world. Yep, we who don't live there do make jokes about New Yorkers, but they (and their city) are ours. Despite the differences. Despite their voting Democratic. Despite their brusqeness (not rudeness, not really).

Ms Aitkenhead is inadvertently right about one thing. New York is like America. What she doesn't understand is that America is so much more (and I think better) than she bothers to perceive. I'll make her an offer. If she can ever bear to bring herself back to the USA and go farther west than NYC, I'll be happy to bring her to Boise, where she can explain to the local folks what makes them "lard-arsed inbreds".

Shocked!

/end sarcasm.

As expected, President Bush took advantage of the current congressional recess to appoint John Bolton UN Ambassador. This was the trigger for two varieties of BS.

The first was the "I am shocked, just shocked" reaction from the Democrats. Guys, Claude Rains could pull that one off, but you all sure aren't Claude Rains. Grow up. This was an inevitable move ever since you chose to make this guy's nomination a political football for the sole purpose of embarassing the President.

Then we have some conservatives. I heard the fellow who was filling in for Hugh Hewitt today talking about how this recess appointment was a courageous move by the President. Spare me. Everyone knows this move was coming for months, no courage necessary. On the other hand, spare all of us this crap.

We have a disfunctional government in Washington right now, and I think it is due to two factors. First and foremost is the willingness of the Democratic Party to brazenly flout Senate convention in their efforts to block or otherwise obstruct everything the administration proposes, regardless of merit. Look you clowns, if you want to set policy win a damn election. If you intend to act like the majority party, it is very useful to actually, like, have a majority... .

Then we have a Republican Senate majority that doesn't know how to act like one because they are all too busy running for President. Earth to GOP: the election is 3 years away, do the damn job you've been elected todo for a change. The current manuvering just pisses people off. (Ok, maybe just me, but I think I've got company.)

Breweriana and Cars

Spent Saturday in Cold Spring, MN taking up my cousin's invitation to Hometown Pride Days, which among other things included a car show and breweriana show/swap meet, held fittingly enough at the Gluek Brewery.

I learned a few things while there, the biggest of which is that when going to a swap meet show up early to get a spot in the shade. Even here in the frozen tundra of Minnesota the July sun is not known for its mercy. Which leads to the next lesson, a refresher from the days on the farm which is: wear a damn hat next time. Yes, Virginia, UV penetrates hair if given enough time and I've got the sore scalp to prove it.

A less painful lesson is that at one time Minnesota was the home of a pretty large brewing industry, now mostly gone. Schmidt, Hamm's, North Star, White Star, Hauenstien, Schell's, and many others. Although most of the brewers are gone, some of their work remains in the form of old cans, signs, glasses, mirrors, posters, lights, and other items used to show pride in and advertise their brews. Brands like City Club, Royal Bohemian, Kiewel's, Cold Spring, and many others. The people showing (including cousin Mike) knew a hell of a lot about the history behind the stuff as well. For example, I learned that Pamela Anderson got her start advertising beer. By the way, she was much more fetching before plastic surgery and peroxide, but I digress.

The swap meet amply demonstrated the adage about one person's junk being another's treasure. Beer cans dug out of dumps and refuse piles were being sold from prices of 25 cents to over a hundred dollars for a single can (a Schell's Golden 16 oz can, I think). There has been at least one can auctioned at Ebay that sold for over $5,000. Amazing.

The car show had some gems as well, including a Shelby Mustang, various two seat Thunderbirds, a '59 DeSoto Firesweep, and some '50s vintage trucks tricked out to within an inch of their lives that I could only wish to have the money to own. All in all a well-spent day.

Here's a bonus link to a brief article about some of the family breweries of St. Paul.

Semi-Random Jottings

Now that government has completely entered summer's silly season, the one where the folks in Washington are so starved of anything important that they mistake stuff like John Roberts' membership/non-membership in the Federalist society for something that matters, it's time to look at some other stuff.

Like the incompetent bombers who are now being arrested in London after the failed attacks of 7/21. I hope they sing like canaries. If they are as good at resisting interrogation as they are at making bombs, the British security forces will learn quite a lot from these murderous, idiot fanatics.

The IRA officially giving up the idea (for now, at least) of armed struggle for their goals in Northern Ireland. That would seem to be a worthwhile development - giving up guns for politics. Maybe ol' Chairman Mao was wrong after all.

The Twins giving up hitting for the season. A novel approach to winning pennants, and it ain't workin'. Will there be a deal before the deadline? Only the Shadow (and Terry Ryan) knows... . In the meantime another sign that summer is passing too quickly - Vikings training camp is opening.

Or Hollywood's problems at the box office. Perhaps if the folks there making movies of late would quit making "remake" into a synonym for "original", things would improve. Oh, and leave the comic books alone for a while. Too much of a good thing and all that.

Well, off to the breweriana show tomorrow.

Unfounded Speculation from the Star Tribune

The Strib's editorial board in its unendinq quest to slime the current administration produced this piece of speculative fantasy, starring the Strib's favorite villain, Karl Rove. They paint a picture of St. Joe Wilson bravely exposing the evil deception of the Rove-controlled Bush Administration in getting us into war in Iraq.

I just want to remind people of some of the things the Strib left out. Like the fact that Wilson misrepresented the contents of his CIA report in his NY Times op-ed to imply the opposite of what he had actually reported. Like the way he hinted that he was sent by the vice-president's office when he was not. Moreover, he really was reccommended for the task by his wife. The fact that British Intelligence still stands by their claims about Hussein's government looking to buy uranium ore from African nations. The fact that the CIA director told the President it was a "slam dunk" that Saddam had weapons of mass destruction.

There's more! The demand of the press for an investigation into the Plame affair, even though the very same press already knows who gave the data to Novak. If it is so important, reveal the source of the leak instead of insisting on this current farce. Valerie Plame, the 'covert agent' who was well-known to the Washington press (ask Andrea Mitchell, for example). A person who goes to work at CIA headquarters five days a week.

The Star Tribune should just give up their stupid fantasies of Bush administration skullduggery and just do something reasonable for once - wait for U.S. Attorney Fitzgerald to actually finish conducting his investigation before crowing about what its not-yet-reached conclusions are. If the administration broke the law, we'll find out then. Until then this is just partisan fantasizing and vitriol.

A Question for Jonathan Chait

Hey Jonathan - before you call the President an airhead, consider the following. He got elected President of the United States twice. You're a snarky, partisan political writer who is letting his hatred of the guy who was elected drive his writing towards Michael Moore territory. Who do you think has accomplished more in life?

Why Doesn't Amnesty International Complain about This?

Via Little Green Footballs and Dhimmi Watch, here's another example of the kind of thing that encourages Westerners to view the faith of Islam with suspicion. A money graf:

At this afternoon's meeting, IHEU representative David Littman attempted to deliver a prepared text in the joint names of three international NGOs: the Association for World Education, the Association of World Citizens, and IHEU, but was prevented from doing so by the intervention of Islamic members of the Sub-Commission. After repeated interruptions he was unable to complete his speech. The Islamic members of the Sub-Commission objected to the speech as an attack on Islam. The text however is a report on recent critical comment on Islamist extremism by a number of notable Muslim writers and is a call to the UN Human Rights Commission by the NGOs "to condemn calls to kill, to terrorise or to use violence in the name of God or any religion".

This is the kind of crap that gives Islam a black eye in the West, deserved or not. There is one thing about this stuff I truly don't understand: why aren't the cretins spewing this garbage being taken to school by the majority of Muslims who are not uncivilized barbarians? I mean, these murderous morons are a minority, yes? Why aren't they being shouted down by those who don't fly planes into buildings? Where are the imams issuing fatwas condemning the barbaric acts of that violent, murderous minority? There have been some, but not enough. Where are the people to join these brave souls in protest against murder in the name of God?

Please, don't let the fanatics be the voice of Islam... .

On Wings of Fire

Discovery flies again:



May their journey be safe and successful.




And while I'm at it - NASA, hurry up with the next generation!

Paul Scott, Diversity's Champion

Paul Scott's comment piece expresses his disapproval of new Metro columnist Katherine Kersten. He expresses some of his expectations this way:

When Star Tribune editor Anders Gyllenhaal introduced Katherine Kersten in May as the paper's new metro columnist, he described the résumé of a writer with broad experience in life. Readers of his glowing welcome might have expected to find the work of a curious, critical thinker. Anyone familiar with her previous op-ed work, a page where her opinions seem more well-suited, would be safe to assume her positions would lean to the right. Fair enough. Kersten herself hoped for her column to offer "a diversity of ideas ... a diversity of perspectives on the world." Even better.

Scott is then dismayed that Kersten expresses conservative views. Apparently one just doesn't do that if they have broad experience in life. She even had the temerity to disagree with the bishops when they publically demanded a tax increase. With "conservative boilerplate", even! Somehow the fact that columnists like Nick Coleman, Doug Grow and Kim Ode never express viewpoints other than the liberal ones escapes Mr. Scott. He characterizes the other Metro columnists thusly:

Nick Coleman is a writer in the mold of crusty big-city columnists everywhere: straight-talking, populist and nobody's fool. He may have taken on the conservative bloggers at Powerlineblog.com, but he appears to oppose their pompousness more than their politics. Doug Grow is hardly a Leninist mouthpiece -- he will hunt down inept bureaucrats and he is not above tarring all legislative power players with the same brush. CJ is a gossip columnist in a town with mostly news-anchors for celebrities, and Joe Kimball graciously keeps tabs on Grand Avenue and the Ordway.

It completely escapes him that Coleman and Grow have never been known to advocate any sort of conservative thought, which in Scott's view is OK, but heaven forbid the Strib have a local columnist who looks at things from a more conservative point of view. Coleman a populist? Sure, but only if the populism is that of the Left. He also suffers from a nasty habit of writing fact-challenged columns about people he doesn't like (check out Power Line's archives). Grow's criticism of bureaucrats is a good thing, but does not change the fact that he approaches political topics only from a liberal viewpoint. Has he ever said anything good about conservative political ideas? Not that I can remember. Why doesn't Scott write columns criticising them for their lack of diverse thinking? Because he wouldn't recognize diverse thinking if it walked up and hit him in the face with a creme pie.

Am I being Insensitive

when I refer to Lt. Governor Catherine Baker Knoll of Pennsylvania as a callous, self-absorbed, self-promoting, partisan political whore? To coin a phrase, we report (via GM's Corner) and you decide.

While I've Been Away

this place has evolved to Adorable Little Rodent Status in the Ecosystem. Since I haven't actually written anything for over a week, this suggests that the less I write, the better. Since I have the normal amount of vanity, I don't know whether to enjoy the elevation to rodent status or depressed by the fact that I have increased my traffic by not writing. I have to admit the notion does appeal to the lazy side of my nature. Cracking open an IPA is certainly easier than writing posts. With a route to successful blogging this easy, maybe I could franchise... .

The hasn't been much blogging here of late mostly due to computer problems of a not-so-bad kind. Got a new computer a little while ago and I have been trying to install Linux on it. Unfortunately, the success has been mixed. It works (sort of), but I can't get it to talk to the rest of the world, or get the sound system to work. It looks rather like the beginning of a long march here at the manor to get this working properly.

On a More Encouraging Note

This seems to be a positive development. Here's the headline:
"The Imam of al-Jabiriyah preached against the Americans and the Worshippers shouted 'O' Allah, make America stronger!",

From the Counterterrorism Blog.

Kersten vs. Keillor

In the last few weeks the Star Tribune has brought on two new commentators. One is new Metro columnist Katherine Kersten, who seems to be a partisan but reasonable conservative. The other is the partisan and unreasonable (but nasty) Old Scout himself, Garrison Keillor of "Prairie Home Companion" fame, who writes on Sundays. I wonder who will draw the most complaints about bias?

Question for Jeremy Iggers

Hey Jeremy, is this the standard to be followed for wry, witty political commentary? I hope not. Here's a sample:

And that is why the Brethren of the Foursquare Gospel of Christ the Republican are intending to spend upwards of $18 million to win confirmation of the president's anointed nominee, and, one assumes, their pagan Visigoth foes will spend almost as much in opposition.

This was not always the case, children. There was a time when nominees posed for a photo with the Pres, sat for an afternoon of genteel questioning by the Senate Judiciary Committee, were confirmed handily and fitted for their robes and given a key to the Supreme restroom, without any mass mailings or newspaper ads. Just as the pope selects cardinals without Catholics massing in St. Peter's Square and waving placards, so the president once chose justices.

Knowing this president as we now do, the man who proposed John Bolton as ambassador to the U.N., one assumes he is considering nominating Dr. James Dobson. Nothing in the Constitution stipulates that a justice must have any legal training -- they have clerks to take care of that stuff. One imagines the president on his knees in the Rectangular Bedroom, asking for the Lord's guidance in the matter, and the Lord guiding him toward Dr. James Dobson.

The president protests: "But Lord -- he is a bully. His mind is rusted shut. He would institute a state religion in America and that would be the end of the Christian faith as we know it. Laura loathes the sight of him. He reeks of cheap cologne." The Lord insists that nobody but Dobson will do. "But Lord, this is going to be an ugly uphill fight in the Senate. I have only 45 or 48 senators who are fully programmed. The others exercise their own judgment and are unreliable."

Anyway, I'd like to address a few remarks to Mr. Keillor while I'm at it, if he ever deigns to stop by this establishment.

Dear Mr. Keillor:

May I call you Garrison? Thanks.

Garrison, might I suggest some context here? You sort of failed to mention the bad faith on your side of the aisle, as exhibited here by Chuck Schumer, who promised a "war" over the President's nominee to the Supreme Court, whomever that person is.

I would also like to point out, Gar, the recent trend of nasty judicial confirmation battles is a legacy of your party. Remember Robert Bork? Clarence Thomas' name ring a bell? Keep in mind that President Clinton's nominees did not face the kind of treatment Democrats have been dishing out to President Bush's nominees. As an example, Ruth Bader Ginsburg was confimed on a 96-3 vote, even though her judicial views are far more liberal than conservatives would approve of. The DFL on the other hand filibusters the nominations of competent judges.

Then there is the basic mean-spiritedness of your remarks. For someone who claims to hold the idea of tolerance in high regard being a liberal and all, you sure seem to get great enjoyment out of mocking the religious beliefs of the President and of a whole lot of Christians. Where did that liberal tolerance for the views of others get to? Did you leave it in the pockets of your other pair of pants or something? It just doesn't sound like the sort of thing a good Lutheran from Minnesota would be saying. As for the idea of nominating Dr. Dobson, are you just fantasizing about your own favorite nightmares or what? Don't worry about it. The most likely outcome is the President will nominate a nice competent judge who believes the Constitution actually means what it says. Nothing to worry about here.

Regards,
Million Monkeys Typing

To Our Friends in the UK

I wish for just one day I could be eloquent, but once again words seem to fail me. I just want to offer my condolences and prayers for those killed and injured by today's act of jihadi barbarism in London, as well as the their families and the people of the UK. I've been to London more than once, and am saddened by what has happened to the people of one of the greatest cities of the world.

I think most Americans recognize and value the relationship we have with the UK, and this American will stand with you. We will expect our government to stand with you as well and provide whatever assistance we can, if requested.

I don't pretend to understand what motivates the people who commit these kinds of acts, acts so vile as to be beyond the word criminal. How they can choose to deliberately murder the innocent, the defenseless, people just trying to live their daily lives is beyond my ken. So is the idea that God will praise them for it. I think the rat bastards who did this will find Allah's reaction to their acts a bit disappointing when the reckoning comes due, but I digress. There is a disease in the body Islamic right now, and I think it will be a long time before it burns itself out. We here of the west cannot cure the spiritual sickness manifesting itself in a great religion, that can only be done by the Muslim majority who do not think it appropriate to plant bombs in subways and fly airplanes into buildings. We will however have to learn how to cope with the phenomenon until it burns itself out in futility and failure.

On Kelo

As an aside on the Kelo decision, I just want to make this observation on Molly Ivins' column on the subject. (link via the Fraters') I too find myself in the strange position of being in agreement with Ivins, and disagreeing with John Hinderaker at Power Line. It feels strange, rather like having too much to drink ( minus the booze ). Anyhow, I couldn't help but notice after reading her column that although she couldn't help taking a cheap shot or two at the president, she was unable to note which wing of the court supported the decision she's complaining about. Well Molly, for the record it was Ginsberg, Souter, Kennedy, Stevens, and Breyer who voted in favor of this decision you so abhor. It was the court's conservatives who joined with O'Connor. You know, the guys you love to hate - Rehnquist, Scalia, Thomas, are the justices defending the little guy.

Something to consider, yes?

Deep Impact

Here's a photo of Deep Impact's impactor being run over by comet Tempel 1.



Click thumbnail for a larger image and a caption. The mission site is here.