Saturday, September 30, 2006
Significant Contributor to Global Warming
Drudge reports (Drudge changes his links, so the above link likely won't be good for long) Albert Gore as proclaiming:
Significant contributor. No doubt as are trans fats and voting Republican, all of which likely in his view should be banned.
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Cigarette smoking is a "significant contributor to global warming!"
Significant contributor. No doubt as are trans fats and voting Republican, all of which likely in his view should be banned.
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Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Bumper Sticker Foreign Policy
I have recently seen several cars with this bumper sticker:
"Yeehah! is not a foreign policy."
Neither is "Let's be nice to them, and maybe they won't hurt us as badly."
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"Yeehah! is not a foreign policy."
Neither is "Let's be nice to them, and maybe they won't hurt us as badly."
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Saturday, February 11, 2006
Cartoons Offensive to Islam
I'm not resuming regular blogging, but the cartoon imbroglio is too much to ignore. When I saw the following cartoon on Jim Treacher's site, I had to post:
First, the cartoon is genuinely funny, or at least I find it so. Second, those who routinely refer to Jews as the sons of pigs and apes have a lot of, to pick an apposite word, chutzpah to complain of others offending their religious sensibilities.
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First, the cartoon is genuinely funny, or at least I find it so. Second, those who routinely refer to Jews as the sons of pigs and apes have a lot of, to pick an apposite word, chutzpah to complain of others offending their religious sensibilities.
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Sunday, December 11, 2005
Suspension of Blog
I regret that I must suspend this blog. I do not know whether I will pick it back up some day, but I will not be posting in the near future. Thank you to those who have been regular readers.
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Tuesday, November 29, 2005
Benefits of Home Schooling
Shaunti Feldhahn writes in the Seattle Times how the home schooled children he has known have upset his preconceived notion that they would be maladjusted. Interesting, and what does this say about our educational system?
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Unattended Children Will be Given an Expresso and a Free Puppy
A sign I saw recently that I thought was amusing.
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Monday, November 28, 2005
Saddam's Complaints
Reuters gives an account of Saddam's complaints:
They brought me here to the door and I was handcuffed. They cannot bring in the defendant in handcuffs," Saddam rejoined.Where's the Geneva Convention when you need it? Handcuffs, stairs, and a lack of writing implements. All for killing a few thousand people. My, my, my.
. . .
Saddam complained he had had to walk up four flights of stairs because of a broken elevator in the courthouse.
. . .
Saddam then argued with the judge about his rights and his jailers' action in taking away his pen and paper.
The Butcher of Baghdad has lost his pen.To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
The Americans took it. Oh! What a sin!
They made the old coot walk up some stairs,
And the handcuffs impair putting on airs.
Boy, once a dictator has been deposed,
They shove the disgrace right up his nose.
He lectured the judge, demanding his rights;
He's still the President in his own sights.
But one day the piper will come with his bill,
And then Saddam's voice will start to get shrill.
The man may beg, he may even wheedle,
But the murderous old bastard will still get the needle.
Our Friends, the Spanish
Reports M&G News:
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Spain and Venezuela signed Monday a $2 billion arms deal in which Madrid agreed to supply Caracas with 12 transport planes and eight navy patrol boats.This is the Venezuela that is supporting guerrillas in neighboring countries, attempting to undermine democratic governments. Spain is selling them more tools. How would Spain like it if we sold amphibious assault craft to Morocco?
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Sunday, November 27, 2005
Patriotism and Dissent: Back to Basics
The subject of patriotism and dissent is much discussed and little understood. I think it useful to review a couple of precepts:
1. Dissenting in good faith from government policy, even a foreign war, is not unpatriotic. Further, if the dissenting view is strongly felt and well thought out, dissent is a citizen's duty.
2. Intentionally undermining your country's war effort to gain partisan political advantage is unpatriotic. Further even absent express intent, recklessly disregarding whether the war effort will be undermined is likewise unpatriotic.
Before dissenting, a patriot should take into account potential adverse effects of the dissent on the war effort and make a call whether dissent is worth the cost. As Americans we all have the legal right to dissent. And we all have the moral responsibility to weigh our actions.
We can't see inside war critics' heads, but we can form our own opinions of the motivations of many of them. In my opinion, some are in good faith and some are not. Some are so blinded by hate as to be incapable of weighing their actions. Witness Cindy Sheehan.
By no means should we conclude that dissent is necessarily unpatriotic. But neither should we be deceived by cynical manipulators ostentatiously displaying the First Amendment when their intent is to advance partisan interests, the interests of the country be damned. They are out there, and they are loud. We have no legal recourse against them, and we should not. But we are free to despise them.
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1. Dissenting in good faith from government policy, even a foreign war, is not unpatriotic. Further, if the dissenting view is strongly felt and well thought out, dissent is a citizen's duty.
2. Intentionally undermining your country's war effort to gain partisan political advantage is unpatriotic. Further even absent express intent, recklessly disregarding whether the war effort will be undermined is likewise unpatriotic.
Before dissenting, a patriot should take into account potential adverse effects of the dissent on the war effort and make a call whether dissent is worth the cost. As Americans we all have the legal right to dissent. And we all have the moral responsibility to weigh our actions.
We can't see inside war critics' heads, but we can form our own opinions of the motivations of many of them. In my opinion, some are in good faith and some are not. Some are so blinded by hate as to be incapable of weighing their actions. Witness Cindy Sheehan.
By no means should we conclude that dissent is necessarily unpatriotic. But neither should we be deceived by cynical manipulators ostentatiously displaying the First Amendment when their intent is to advance partisan interests, the interests of the country be damned. They are out there, and they are loud. We have no legal recourse against them, and we should not. But we are free to despise them.
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Saturday, November 26, 2005
Canadians Against Intergalactic War
From PRWeb:
Hat tip to Professor Bainbridge.
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[Former Canadian Defence Minister Paul] Hellyer warned, "The United States military are preparing weapons which could be used against the aliens, and they could get us into an intergalactic war without us ever having any warning. He stated, "The Bush administration has finally agreed to let the military build a forward base on the moon, which will put them in a better position to keep track of the goings and comings of the visitors from space, and to shoot at them, if they so decide."One of the most important problems facing our planet today. OK, I see the making of a deal. If they'll quit carping about our resistance to the Jihad against the West, we'll leave to them diplomatic relations with any aliens that drop by.
Hellyer’s speech ended with a standing ovation. He said, "The time has come to lift the veil of secrecy, and let the truth emerge, so there can be a real and informed debate, about one of the most important problems facing our planet today."
Hat tip to Professor Bainbridge.
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American Indians: Myths and Reality
In a more detailed discussion than my post below on American atrocities, Victor Davis Hanson calls for balance in viewing what American Indians were and are. He attacks several popular myths and then notes:
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Moreover, reducing the European contact with American Indians to a therapeutic melodrama of good and evil ultimately dehumanizes both sides. Loading the Indian with our mythic obsessions does nothing, of course, to change the past, and actively distracts us from solving the very real problems that too many American Indians face today, none of whom are served by our Golden-Age daydreams. No Indian benefits from Ward Churchill’s fake Indian identity, one that worked because it traded on the myths that have been enshrined in university Indian studies programs. No Indian benefits from the NCAA’s attempt to punish schools with Indian mascots — an act of monumental hypocrisy, by the way, given that the NCAA is an organization making billions from black athletes admitted to universities they are unqualified for and can’t graduate from. No Indian benefits when business projects that could bring economic benefits to a region are stalled because they might offend some Indian religious belief that in many cases is very likely a modern invention.Read the whole thing.
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Alas, I Have the Same Problem
Quoting from the Arab News, The Religious Policeman reports on a Saudi women who imposed an unsual requirement on competing suitors:
In my case, I'm often told to buy, for example, a 10 ounce can of something. When I find that the cans come only in eight ounce and 12 ounce sizes, I better call for instructions or wish I did. In the days before cell phones, if I had a long list I could run through a stack of quarters clarifying instructions.The difference between the smaller and larger would often be less than 25 cents, but there would be grief aplenty were I to come home with the wrong size.
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A woman demanded from a man who asked her hand in marriage to memorize the holy Qur’an as a condition of accepting to marry him, Al-Watan reported. The 21-year-old woman said that she is not interested in money as much as she is interested in a good religious husband. The woman said that she would hold a test in which she will ask them to recite the Qur’an without a mistake.He then repeats his own wife's complaint that he can't even remember a shopping list, much less the Qu'ran. Now there's a requirement I can identify with, and one I often don't meet well myself.
In my case, I'm often told to buy, for example, a 10 ounce can of something. When I find that the cans come only in eight ounce and 12 ounce sizes, I better call for instructions or wish I did. In the days before cell phones, if I had a long list I could run through a stack of quarters clarifying instructions.The difference between the smaller and larger would often be less than 25 cents, but there would be grief aplenty were I to come home with the wrong size.
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Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Thanksgiving and American Atrocities
On the occasion of Thanksgiving, Robert Jensen writes on Alternet of the iniquity of America and white Americans. Expounding on what he characterizes of a genocide of indigenous peoples, he ties in what happened to American Indians with the Iraq war.
What happened to American Indians is a national disgrace. The more I have learned of it, the less I see to defend. Indeed our forefathers had feet of clay. We must come to terms with the brutality of the subjugation of the Indians.
But to say that we must come to terms with it is not to say there is nothing to celebrate about America or that we cannot take pride in our forebearers' accomplishments. That is true of more subjects than just the Indians. At least two and perhaps more of my great-great grandfathers were Confederate soldiers. I am under no illusion that this country would be better had the South prevailed. I know what my great-great grandfathers did was wrong, but I do not despise them for doing what they saw as right.
We must recall and learn from what has gone wrong in this country, but we must also recall and celebrate what is good. This country was founded on the premise of certain "self-evident" truths: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have not always lived up to that standard, but we have generally tried and progressively moved closer and closer to it over time. What more can be asked of human endeavor?
This Thanksgiving, we can all be thankful that this country set out on its voyage to a just and free society and has continued on that voyage to this day.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
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What happened to American Indians is a national disgrace. The more I have learned of it, the less I see to defend. Indeed our forefathers had feet of clay. We must come to terms with the brutality of the subjugation of the Indians.
But to say that we must come to terms with it is not to say there is nothing to celebrate about America or that we cannot take pride in our forebearers' accomplishments. That is true of more subjects than just the Indians. At least two and perhaps more of my great-great grandfathers were Confederate soldiers. I am under no illusion that this country would be better had the South prevailed. I know what my great-great grandfathers did was wrong, but I do not despise them for doing what they saw as right.
We must recall and learn from what has gone wrong in this country, but we must also recall and celebrate what is good. This country was founded on the premise of certain "self-evident" truths: that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. We have not always lived up to that standard, but we have generally tried and progressively moved closer and closer to it over time. What more can be asked of human endeavor?
This Thanksgiving, we can all be thankful that this country set out on its voyage to a just and free society and has continued on that voyage to this day.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
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Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Althouse on Scalia on the 200 Election
Scalia is quoted as saying:
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"The issue was whether Florida's Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court [would decide the election.] What did you expect us to do? Turn the case down because it wasn't important enough?"Ann Althouse observes:
I wonder if Scalia approves of the bracked language! I should think he'd want something more like "The issue was whether Florida's Supreme Court or the United States Supreme Court [would resolve the legal questions raised by Gore's challenge]." He's right, isn't he? Once the Florida courts started interpreting their way toward upsetting the result, the Supreme Court couldn't sit by passively.She's right.
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Heat is Not the Antithesis of Light But Rather the Source of It
Christopher Hitchens is disgusted with the quality of the debate over Iraq:
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For a while, it seemed possible that the sheer reality of battle in Iraq—a keystone state in which we would try the issue of democracy and federalism vs. fascism and jihadism—would simply winnow out the unserious arguments. Those who had jeered at the president for "trying to vindicate his daddy" would blush to recall what they had said, and those who spoke of imminent mushroom clouds would calm down a bit. Those who had fetishized the United Nations would have the grace to see that it had been corrupted and shamed, and those who pointed out that it had been corrupted and shamed would demand that it be reformed rather than overridden. Those who had wanted to lift the punitive sanctions on Iraq because they were so damaging to Iraqis could have allowed that the departure of Saddam was the price they would have to pay for the sanctions to be removed. Those in power who had once supported and armed Saddam might have had the decency to admit it. Those who said that it was impossible, by definition, to have an alliance between Saddamists and fundamentalists might care to notice what they had utterly failed to foresee.He eloquently notes, however, none of these things came to pass. Instead the sides talk past each other. From my perspective, many on the Left seem to prefer to count coup against Bush instead of confronting realistically what our national interest requires. And our national interest is intertwined with Iraq. As Hitchens explains:
A globe-spanning war, declared and prosecuted against all Americans, all apostates, all Christians, all secularists, all Jews, all Hindus, and most Shiites, is not to be fought by first ceding Iraq and then seeing what happens "over the horizon." But to name the powerful enemies of jihad I have just mentioned is also to spell out some of the reasons why the barbarians will—and must—be defeated. If you prefer, of course, you can be bound in a nutshell and count yourself a king of infinite space and reduce this to the historic struggle between Lewis Libby and—was it Valerie Plame? The word "isolationist" at least used to describe something real, even "realistic." The current exit babble is illusory and comprehends neither of the above.Yes, what he said.
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American Revolutionary Battle Flags
The Washington Times reports:
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Four rare battle flags captured during the American War of Independence by a British officer have been returned after more than two centuries to be auctioned.Col. Tarleton was portrayed as the heavy in Mel Gibson's The Patriot.
The regimental colors seized in 1779 and 1780 by Lt. Col. Banastre Tarleton, who remains one of the conflict's most controversial figures, have already aroused huge interest among American military historians. They are expected to fetch between $4 million and $10 million at Sotheby's in New York next year.
Until recently the flags had hung in the Hampshire, England, home of Capt. Christopher Tarleton Fagan, the great-great-great-great nephew of Col. Tarleton.
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Another Anecdote for the "All Cultures Are Equal" Department
The Telegraph reports:
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A village council in Pakistan has decreed that five young women should be abducted, raped or killed for refusing to honour childhood "marriages".I understand that the Council had its reasons. Jack the Ripper no doubt had his reasons, too. Reasons are not excuses, and this aspect of Pakistani culture is loathsome. That not all Pakistanis support this is to their credit, but the resulting violence shows the gulf between such cultures and the modern world:
The case is becoming a cause célèbre in Pakistan, pitting tribal mores against a group of modern-minded, educated women. Amna Niazi, the eldest of the five at 22, is taking a degree in English literature, while both her sisters want to attend university.Among the many things for which I can be grateful is that my daughters have grown up in American culture.
Their fathers are supporting them and have refused to hand them over, leading to a resumption of the blood feud, with two relatives shot recently and 20 people arrested, while promises of further retribution and murder abound.
In addition to the sentence on the women, the village council has sentenced to death Jehan Khan Niazi, the father of three of the women, and the fathers of the other two for failing to honour the supposed bond with men whose identities they are not even certain of.
The women have said they will commit suicide if their fathers obey the council.
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Sunday, November 20, 2005
Ding! Dong! Zarqawi's Dead?
Instapundit points to a report that we may have nailed Zarqawi:
Instapundit is right that it is too early to celebrate. Let's wait for verification, but we can hope in the meantime. And we can speculate what impact the death would have on domestic U.S. politics. The Left will play it down or argue we should have risked more American lives to prevent him from killing himself, or both. Will that be justified?
No. Zarqawi is a major leader. He could and would be replaced, although I am not well enough informed to speculate on the identity or quality of likely successors. But Zarqawi's death would necessarily be an important blow to the Jihadis. It would also be a blow to American naysayers who proclaim we are losing the war. That neither group would acknowledge the blow would not lessen its effect.
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The Elaph Arab media website reported on Sunday that Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the head of the al-Qaida in Iraq terror group, may have been killed in Iraq on Sunday afternoon when eight terrorists blew themselves up in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul.Committing suicide when surrounded is not an implausible end for Zarqawi.
The unconfirmed report claimed that the explosions occurred while coalition forces surrounded the house in which al-Zarqawi was hiding. American and Iraqi forces are looking into the report.
Instapundit is right that it is too early to celebrate. Let's wait for verification, but we can hope in the meantime. And we can speculate what impact the death would have on domestic U.S. politics. The Left will play it down or argue we should have risked more American lives to prevent him from killing himself, or both. Will that be justified?
No. Zarqawi is a major leader. He could and would be replaced, although I am not well enough informed to speculate on the identity or quality of likely successors. But Zarqawi's death would necessarily be an important blow to the Jihadis. It would also be a blow to American naysayers who proclaim we are losing the war. That neither group would acknowledge the blow would not lessen its effect.
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Thursday, November 17, 2005
Feingold on Capitulating to the Jihad
Senator Russell Feingold argues that the hotel bombing in Amman, Jordan is at least indirectly connected to American operations in Iraq:
Well, yes there is a connection and fighting back against the Jihadis will make them mad(der). If we're going to fight the Jihadis, we can reasonably expect them to fight back. If you're not willing to fight the Jihadis, cut to the chase by converting and buying a burkha for your wife. And short sell pork futures.
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In an interview with ABC News, Sen. Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., said the deadly attacks on hotels in Amman are "the whirlwind that we are reaping if we don't end the extreme ground involvement that we have in Iraq."So now we know that not only does Russell Feingold not believe in the First Amendment (witness McCain-Feingold) but he doesn't want to resist the Islamist Jihad for fear the Jihadis will really get mad.
Well, yes there is a connection and fighting back against the Jihadis will make them mad(der). If we're going to fight the Jihadis, we can reasonably expect them to fight back. If you're not willing to fight the Jihadis, cut to the chase by converting and buying a burkha for your wife. And short sell pork futures.
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Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Breeches of Diplomacy
The Washington Post, writing about a British "kiss and tell book, headlines the article "Shocking Breeches of Diplomacy." A "breach" can be, among other things, a failure to adhere to accepted norms. A "breech," on the other hand, is the end of a gun barrel in which the round is inserted.
I suppose Clauswitz would approve the juxtaposition of the words "diplomacy" and "breech." I found them incongruous.
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I suppose Clauswitz would approve the juxtaposition of the words "diplomacy" and "breech." I found them incongruous.
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Scooter Doodle Dandy Doggerel
Scooter Libby got it wrong,
And now he’s been indicted.
The wrap could maybe take him down;
The Dems are so excited.
Pat Fitzgerald, mind your step,
So Scooter’s not acquitted.
It would be bad for all to see
That you had been outwitted.
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And now he’s been indicted.
The wrap could maybe take him down;
The Dems are so excited.
Pat Fitzgerald, mind your step,
So Scooter’s not acquitted.
It would be bad for all to see
That you had been outwitted.
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Tuesday, November 15, 2005
Just Whose Pants Are on Fire, Anyway?
Doggerel time:
Bush lied, and people died, we hear the Left proclaim.To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
They chant the mantra endlessly, because they have no shame.
They want us all now to think that they have been deceived,
But if they are a bunch of chumps, why should they be reprieved?
Bush did not lie; he spoke the truth as best as he could tell,
But rather than acknowledge that, the Left would bake in Hell.
We tell the Left what all believed, but that provokes hysteria.
What will they do if we find out that gas was sent to Syria?
Drones Defending Convoys in Iraq
The World Tribune has an interesting report of increased use of drones by American forces to defend convoys.
Drudge meanwhile reports that another sort of drone is being adapted by U.S. law enforcement to maintain surveillance.
U.S. military officials said the Air Force has honed the use of unmanned aerial vehicles to target and kill snipers and insurgency bombers in efforts to ambush U.S. military convoys and combat patrols.The drones are apparently used to spot and target ambushers. Anything that can give us an edge over the Jihadi SOB's is good by me.
"The use of UAVs has been critical in monitoring convoy routes for IEDs [improvised explosive devices] and their operators," an official said. "But with strike UAVs we will be able to hit them immediately. It's quite a deterrent."
Drudge meanwhile reports that another sort of drone is being adapted by U.S. law enforcement to maintain surveillance.
The device, a hovering robot carrying video cameras and other sensors, is being created and tested at HONEYWELL's Albuquerque, NM plant.To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
The first round of testing on the drone [MICRO AIR VEHICLE] has been completed, reports Bob Martin of CBS affiliate KRQE.
The battery powered craft can stay in the air for 50-60 minutes at a time, and moves around at up to 55 kilometers an hour.
The Micro Air Vehicle has flown more than 200 successful flights, including flying in a representative urban environment.
"If there is an emergency, you could provide "eyes" on whatever the emergency is, for police or Homeland Security," explains Vaughn Fulton of HONEYWELL.
The Ashes of the Socialist Workers' Paradise
In today's Wall Street Journal, Nicholas Eberstadt discusses the probable effects of the aging populations in several countries, some of them surprising to me. But one of the most surprising statistics was this:
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Russia's particular vulnerabilities pivot less on the size of nation's elderly population than on the exceptional frailties of the workforce that must support it. Russia has suffered an extraordinary long-term deterioration of public health: Life expectancy is lower today than 40 years ago, and Russia's mortality upswing is concentrated in the "working ages." For Russians between 30 and 60, for example, death rates have shot up by over 45% since 1970. Demographers have low expectations for future progress in health--the U.S. Census Bureau, for instance, projects that Russia's male life expectancy will remain lower than India's through 2025, and beyond.I knew things were bad in Russia, but I did not know they were that bad. For life expectancy to fall below that of India is shocking. And it is of course a direct consequence of the socialist workers' paradise that many of the Left wish for us in this country.
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Sunday, November 13, 2005
Now, If Only the Western Left Could See It, Too
Writing of how al Qaeda's slaughter of Muslims is eroding its good will in the Arab world, Austin Bay notes another positive factor:
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Arabs have also seen the Iraqi people’s struggle and their emerging political alternative to despotism and feudal autocracy.The Western Left seems to to care naught for Arabs, or at least not as much as they care for scoring domestic political points.
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Saturday, November 12, 2005
The Supreme Court as a Political Institution
Speaking to a group of law students, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas observed that the abortion issues has taken "hostage" the federal judicial appintment process.
Whether abortion should be freely available is a legitimate political issue, and had it been decided through the ordinary political process, it would not now be consuming the judicial confirmation process. But Roe v. Wade itself injected the Supreme Court into the political process by pretending that the constitution bears on abortion. In deciding the case as it did, the Supreme Court moved itself further into the political arena--lamentably. Now no one knows how to undo the damage, not that everyone wants it undone.
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Thomas, who went through heated confirmation hearings in 1991, said that the only thing the process does is "rats out the agenda of the people asking the questions."Indeed. If you reflect on the typical confirmation hearing, it's a parade of Senators trying to find out what the nominee will do with Roe v. Wade. Some are more direct than others, and some want the case reversed, while some want it upheld. But the constant is that Roe v. Wade is at the center. Even if you think abortion is so beneficial that coupons ought to come with breakfast cereal, surely you can see that this demonstrates that Roe v. Wade was poorly decided.
Whether abortion should be freely available is a legitimate political issue, and had it been decided through the ordinary political process, it would not now be consuming the judicial confirmation process. But Roe v. Wade itself injected the Supreme Court into the political process by pretending that the constitution bears on abortion. In deciding the case as it did, the Supreme Court moved itself further into the political arena--lamentably. Now no one knows how to undo the damage, not that everyone wants it undone.
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On Rathergate's Mary Mapes
Day by Day cartoon by Chris Muir
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Friday, November 11, 2005
The Trouble With Walmart
Instapundit offers an interesting insight:
There's a small, trendy hardware store near where I live. I like it, and I go there when I know what I'm buying is cheap enough that the price difference won't be material. But when I'm buying something pricier, I go to Lowes or Walmart, depending on what I need. I'm well aware that doesn't bode well for the future of the small store, but I don't see why I should be less well off so the small store can survive.
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I think there's a class issue: Wal-Mart is unavoidable evidence that the American working classes don't think, or live, the way the American thinking classes want to imagine. For this sin, Wal-Mart can never be forgiven.That's good. People prefer convenience and low prices to small-shop charm. I know I do.
There's a small, trendy hardware store near where I live. I like it, and I go there when I know what I'm buying is cheap enough that the price difference won't be material. But when I'm buying something pricier, I go to Lowes or Walmart, depending on what I need. I'm well aware that doesn't bode well for the future of the small store, but I don't see why I should be less well off so the small store can survive.
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Different Prescriptions
Two surviving World War I veterans, one 105 and the other 109, offer different prescriptions for a long and healthy life:
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Bill Stone is 105 and swears by clean living, a contented mind and trust in the Lord. Henry Allingham, on the other hand, attributes his 109 years to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women".We could wait to see who lives longer, or we could decide 109 is long enough. Hat tip to Andrew Stuttaford at The Corner.
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Wednesday, November 09, 2005
Pounding on Big Oil
Many people enjoy pounding on "Big Oil" under any circumstance, and now that prices and therefore profits are rising, the sport has become extremely popular. The problem is that it makes us look like a Third World Country, and if Congress is foolish enough to act on the hysteria, we might do more than look like one.
In a market economy, prices are signals. The current high oil prices do two things: (1) they encourage conservation and (2) they encourage investment in energy production. These two phenomena tend to decrease demand and increase supply until the two come into balance again. All Congress or any of the rest of us can do is mess this dynamic up.
Let's leave well enough alone.
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In a market economy, prices are signals. The current high oil prices do two things: (1) they encourage conservation and (2) they encourage investment in energy production. These two phenomena tend to decrease demand and increase supply until the two come into balance again. All Congress or any of the rest of us can do is mess this dynamic up.
Let's leave well enough alone.
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Playing Capture the Flag
Canada and Denmark have a dispute over Hans Island, which about one kilometer in diameter and is located between Canada's Ellesmere Island and Denmark's Greenland. Both countries claim sovereignty over the island.
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Canadian soldiers captured two Danish flags during their recent mission to Hans Island as a demonstration of Canada's sovereignty over the barren Arctic rock, according to previously classified military documents.When I was a Boy Scout, playing "Capture the Flag" was great sport. But this exercise by the Canadian military seems not to be much more serious than what my troop members and I did more than 40 years ago.
The flags were first taken to a Canadian military base in Yellowknife and then at least one of them was hand-delivered to Denmark's ambassador in Ottawa three weeks later. The next day, the ambassador personally repatriated it to Copenhagen, according to Danish officials.
"The first foreign items to be located on Hans Island were two Danish flags. One flag was flying on a flagpole and the other was located in a barrel near the flagpole," says a post-mission report obtained by the National Post under the Access to Information Act.
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So What Would Happen to the Turkeys Then?
Shirley Jones, erstwhile of the "Partridge Family," has issued a plea on behalf of PETA asking that people eat vegetarian Thanksgiving meals and spare the turkeys. What does she think would happen if a significant number of people paid attention to what she says?
The nations turkey farmers have raised a crop of turkeys to mature around Thanksgiving. If they can't sell the turkeys for food, the farmers aren't going to keep feeding them. The farmers are likewise unlikely to give the turkeys their "freedom," which itself would merely be a bonanza to the country's coyotes and other predators. What would really happen? Fertilizer is a possibility, but that's probably not what Shirley Jones has in mind.
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The nations turkey farmers have raised a crop of turkeys to mature around Thanksgiving. If they can't sell the turkeys for food, the farmers aren't going to keep feeding them. The farmers are likewise unlikely to give the turkeys their "freedom," which itself would merely be a bonanza to the country's coyotes and other predators. What would really happen? Fertilizer is a possibility, but that's probably not what Shirley Jones has in mind.
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Tuesday, November 08, 2005
Curious Connections
A French Muslim youth complains of police harassment:
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"You wear these clothes, with this color skin and you're automatically a target for police," said Ahmed, 18, pointing to his mates in Izod polo shirts, Nike sneakers and San Antonio Spurs T-shirts.I did a double-take on the reference to San Antonio Spurs T-shirts. In many respects, the world is quite small.
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African-French Just Doesn't Sound Right
James Taranto points to a transcript of a discussion of the French riots. CNN anchor Carol Lin observes:
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Hard to say because it's been 11 days since two African- American teenagers were killed, electrocuted during a police chase, which prompted all of this.African-American? No wonder the French police were after them. But why are the French Muslims upset?
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Monday, November 07, 2005
Parallels Between the Iraq Insurgency and the Muslim Uprising in France?
Today I read a blog that cracked a joke to the effect that, on current trends, Baghdad would soon be as safe as Paris. To my chagrin, I have lost the link, but the joke got me thinking.
Despite the pervasive pessimism of the Left generally and the MSM in particular, most of our losses in Iraq seem to be from bombs instead of fire fights. One need not have much strength or financial capacity to continue to inflict casualties with booby-trap bombs, and yet it seems to be just those losses that sustain the pessimism. It doesn't take too much imagination to wonder if the strife in France might deteriorate into such a war of attrition. I don't know that it will, but it hardly seems impossible.
For the sake of argument, suppose that happens. The constant losses in Iraq are said to justify cutting and running, the critics impliedly stating we cannot possibly be expected to sustain such casualties over time. What will their advice be to France? Should the French cut and run? To where?
We may be moving into an era in which booby-trap bombs become a fact of life in many corners of the Western world, perhaps in America itself. When that happens, (almost) all will see that the resulting losses are not unsustainable. Rather they are a regrettable necessity. And the more successful we are in setting back the Islamist cause in Iraq, the less likely it will be that we have to endure such attacks at home.
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Despite the pervasive pessimism of the Left generally and the MSM in particular, most of our losses in Iraq seem to be from bombs instead of fire fights. One need not have much strength or financial capacity to continue to inflict casualties with booby-trap bombs, and yet it seems to be just those losses that sustain the pessimism. It doesn't take too much imagination to wonder if the strife in France might deteriorate into such a war of attrition. I don't know that it will, but it hardly seems impossible.
For the sake of argument, suppose that happens. The constant losses in Iraq are said to justify cutting and running, the critics impliedly stating we cannot possibly be expected to sustain such casualties over time. What will their advice be to France? Should the French cut and run? To where?
We may be moving into an era in which booby-trap bombs become a fact of life in many corners of the Western world, perhaps in America itself. When that happens, (almost) all will see that the resulting losses are not unsustainable. Rather they are a regrettable necessity. And the more successful we are in setting back the Islamist cause in Iraq, the less likely it will be that we have to endure such attacks at home.
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Thursday, November 03, 2005
Bork on Alito
Robert Bork has written an article giving his take on the Smauel Alito nomination. He makes favorable observations and concludes:
Still, we do not know how the new chief justice and Justice-to-be Alito will rule on Roe and other liberal constitutional travesties of the past. Why, then, should conservatives support them? Because we can at least be sure that they will not start inventing yet new and previously unheard of constitutional rights. That would in itself be a vast improvement over the imperialistic Court majority’s drive to remake American culture and morality. That it will take at least one more justice of the Roberts-Scalia-Thomas-Alito stripe to return the Court to jurisprudential respectability is no reason not to support Judge Alito to the full. Let us rejoice in what we have gained.To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
Wednesday, November 02, 2005
Paul McCartney is soon to be 64
So do you still love him? As far as feeding goes, I'll bet the royalties on that one song alone keep him in bangers and mash.
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Government Mandates and Economic Laws
In an exchange of office emails relating to proposed, mandated energy efficiency standards for housing, I received a copy of the following:
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What is the likelihood that an "energy efficiency ordinance" would be developed and implemented??? Of course I can already hear the whining about what it would cost to implement in new construction, etc, etc..... Heaven forbid one 1/2 cent of profit (actual or anticipated) be lost...............If such standards are mandated, I would not assume profits will be lost. New opportunities for profits may well arise, but costs will go up. As costs rise, people at the bottom margin will no longer be able to afford homes. Ardent supporters of mandates would rather talk about the spurious issue of profits than the real issue of how many people are being excluded from the market.
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Diogenes' Search . . .
For an honest journalist!
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Where's Alfred E. Newman When We Need Him?
Cindy Sheehan for pres? The only qualification the Republican candidate would need to win would be the ability to fog a mirror.
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A Really Tough Call
Baldilocks asks:
If Joseph Wilson and Cindy Sheehan had to fight for a single spot in front of a camera, who would win?To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Of Asterisks and Judges
In criticizing Bush's nomination of Samuel Alito, the Journal-Sentinel makes an observation that should not pass without comment:
Clarence Thomas is an intellectually honest man who calls the shots as he sees them, as any judge should. That's all we should ask of any judge. That so many fail to understand that is profoundly disturbing.
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In losing a woman, the court with Alito would feature seven white men, one white woman and a black man, who deserves an asterisk because he arguably does not represent the views of mainstream black America.That's what the editors of the Journal-Sentinel think the Supreme Court is? Some sort of body that represents groups? Would a white man who, in the eyes of the Journal-Sentinel staff, represented "the views of mainstream black America" deserve an asterisk? The suggestion is offensive, but no more so than the suggestion about Clarence Thomas.
Clarence Thomas is an intellectually honest man who calls the shots as he sees them, as any judge should. That's all we should ask of any judge. That so many fail to understand that is profoundly disturbing.
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Allah's Position on Soccer
You may be surprised to know Allah has a position on soccer, but he does, at least according to a fatwah recently published in the Saudi newspaper al Watan. Several points are of interest, some more than others:
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International terminology that heretics use, such as "foul," "penalty", "corner," "goal", "out" and others, should be abandoned and not said. Whoever says them should be punished and ejected from the game.Who knew simple terminology had religious overtones? If they invent Islamic terms for game events, will they have to publish a cross-reference to show what terms refer to what events? Will the cross-reference itself be un-Islamic?
Do not call "foul" and stop the game if someone falls and sprains a hand or foot or the ball touches his hand, and do not give a yellow or red card to whoever was responsible for the injury or tackle. Instead, it should be adjudicated according to Sharia rulings concerning broken bones and injuries.I confess to knowing little about Sharia, but I have to wonder how appropriate its religious penalties are for a ball game.
If you have fulfilled these conditions and intend to play soccer, play to strengthen the body in order better to struggle in the way of God on high and to prepare the body for when it is called to jihad. Soccer is not for passing time or the thrill of so-called victory.Interesting. The crowd that's always allaying Westerm fears with assurances Islam is a religion of peace tells us that Jihad doesn't really mean religious war; it merely refers to an inner struggle to be a better person. If it's an inner struggle, how does being in good physical shape help?
Do not play in two halves. Rather, play in one half or three halves in order to completely differentiate yourselves from the heretics, the corrupted and the disobedient.Islamic apologists are fond of reminding us the Arab world gave us algebra. True enough, as I understand it, but here's an Imam in need of remedial arithmetic. One half? Three halves? Most grade school kids know better than that.
You should use two posts instead of three pieces of wood or steel that you erect in order to put the ball between them, meaning that you should remove the crossbar in order not to imitate the heretics and in order to be entirely distinct from the soccer system's despotic international rules.This is just one of several rules I have skipped prescribing how the game is to be played. By the time all these special rules are put into effect, I don't know what game the players will be playing, but it won't be soccer.
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Samuel Alito
From the many reports of him I have read in the last couple days, he seems a man of moderate disposition and immoderate talent and intelligence. All credible indications I have seen are that he would be a valuable addition to the Supreme Court.
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Halloween Rooted in Terrorism?
Breitbart.com reports:
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President Hugo Chavez cautioned Venezuelan parents to protect their children from Halloween with a spooky warning that the US tradition is rooted in "terrorism."Were someone of the right to utter such ahistorical nonsense, he would be the laughingstock of the Left. As it is, don't expect to see or hear much more of this.
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Monday, October 31, 2005
Any Parent Will Understand
Cox and Forkum cartoon
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How to Fix a Problem Market . . .
Depending on what you mean by "fix."
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confronts a problem with Iran's stock market:
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Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confronts a problem with Iran's stock market:
Iran’s ultra-Islamist President first sent jitters through the country’s markets when he said on the eve of the presidential elections in June that “stock exchange activities are a kind of gambling and we are against them”. Gambling is banned in Islam.And here's his proposed solution:
Nervous investors have been transferring their capital to other countries, and Dubai has benefited palpably from the flight of capital from Iran. The Tehran Stock Exchange has lost 20 percent of its value in the past four months.
Frustrated with the inability of his economic advisers and experts to come up with any solution, Ahmadinejad told them that the only way out of the current stock exchange and financial market problems was to “frighten” speculators by hanging two or three of them.By golly! That will get results. Not necessarily good ones, but definitive ones. Let's hope he gets on with it. The sooner he drives Iran's economy into the toilet, the sooner his regime will disintegrate.
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Sunday, October 30, 2005
"Excessive" Oil Profits
Instapundit points to a TaxProfBlog post reporting that which the government would prefer you not know about gasoline taxes:
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Since 1977, governments collected more than $1.34 trillion, after adjusting for inflation, in gasoline tax revenues—more than twice the amount of domestic profits earned by major U.S. oil companies during the same periodSo those who call for a windfall profits tax on oil companies might do better to call for a windfall tax collection rebate from government. Fat chance.
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Understanding the Second Amendment
Glenn Reynolds, a law professor and Instapundit, is the author of "A Critical Guide to the Second Amendment." Written in 1995, the article first appeared in the Tennessee Law Review. If you want an understanding of the Second Amendment, this is a great place to start.
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Saturday, October 29, 2005
The Second Amendment and Supreme Court Nominees
I like Alex Kozinski's take:
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All too many of the other great tragedies of history— Stalin’s atrocities, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Holocaust, to name but a few—were perpetrated by armed troops against unarmed populations. Many could well have been avoided or mitigated, had the perpetrators known their intended victims were equipped with a rifle and twenty bullets apiece, as the Militia Act required here. See Kleinfeld Dissent at 5997-99. If a few hundred Jewish fighters in the Warsaw Ghetto could hold off the Wehrmacht for almost a month with only a handful of weapons, six million Jews armed with rifles could not so easily have been herded into cattle cars. My excellent colleagues have forgotten these bitter lessons of history.Ultimately, that is what the Second Amendment is all about. Protection from criminals is important, and I like to hunt as much as the next guy, but the real issue is the ability to resist oppression.
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Scooter Libby
If he did the crime, he should do the time (although the 30 years I'm hearing bandied about seems excessive).
Perjury is no joke. It wasn't when Clinton did it, and it's not now. Clinton perjured himself in an unsuccessful effort to mitigate political scandal. Libby allegedly perjured himself to thwart an investigation of that which itself was not a crime (Valerie Plame had not been undercover within the last five years). I don't see one perjury as being any worse than the other. Clinton skated, but skating for perjury is not a precedent we should extend.
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Perjury is no joke. It wasn't when Clinton did it, and it's not now. Clinton perjured himself in an unsuccessful effort to mitigate political scandal. Libby allegedly perjured himself to thwart an investigation of that which itself was not a crime (Valerie Plame had not been undercover within the last five years). I don't see one perjury as being any worse than the other. Clinton skated, but skating for perjury is not a precedent we should extend.
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Thursday, October 27, 2005
Remote Controlling People
If wife ever gets hold of this . . .
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The Cost of Anti-War Protests
However genuine one's opposition to a war may be, public opposition has a cost. That fact doesn't mean one should never oppose a war, but it means one should reflect on whether one's opposition is as principled and prudent as it ought to be. Alicia Colon writes:
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It has taken decades for the truth about the Vietnam War to be uncovered, and that message has still not penetrated the public conscience, because those responsible for the coverup refuse to admit their guilt. In fact, with their selective and deceitful coverage of the war on terrorism,the mainstream press and some broadcast journalists are attempting to repeat what they consider their coup over the American military establishment.Relentlessly negative spin and relentlessly negative opposition to policies that by objective measures are bearing fruit need careful consideration. There ought to be a special place in Hell for those who would rather see Bush humiliated than see the Iraqi people free.
It was after the most trusted man in America — Walter Cronkite — declared the Vietnam War a “stalemate” in his February 27, 1968, broadcast that support for the war began to erode. He completely misled the public about the Tet Offensive, during which the Vietcong suffered considerable damage. In his memoir, “Following Ho Chi Minh: Memoirs of a North Vietnamese Colonel,” Bui Tin confirms that the North Vietnamese suffered a devastating defeat in the Tet Offensive in 1968. Their forces in the South were nearly wiped out, but they had achieved a political advantage because support for the war in America was waning. “Every day our leadership would listen to world news over the radio at 9 a.m. to follow the growth of the anti-war movement,” he wrote.The North Vietnamese were elated by visits from Jane Fonda, Ramsey Clark, and others, because it gave them the confidence to hold on during battlefield losses, he wrote.
The Tet Offensive took place in 1968, but the war dragged on until 1973, taking the lives of thousands of American soldiers. It’s highly unlikely that the protesters back then will now admit any responsibility for prolonging a conflict that might have had different results if America had been a nation undivided in its mission. The author of “Radical Son: A Generational Odyssey,” David Horowitz, is one of the very few.
What is happening today in Iraq is nothing short of phenomenal, but that’s not the impression being relayed by the press.Yes,brave soldiers are dying every day, and it really doesn’t help to insist that these numbers are much smaller than in any other war. It doesn’t stop the pain of the Cindy Sheehans and other families who’ve lost loved ones. I would only ask that they consider the increase in the so-called insurgents since their protests began. How much easier has it become to recruit and import “insurgents”to an Islamic jihad buoyed by the protests of Americans at home?
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Texas Proposition 2: The Anti-Gay Marriage Amendment
Texas voters are being asked to pass on several constitutional amendments. Among them is Proposition 2, which reads as follows:
It is the business of churches and synagogues to sanctify relationships. It is the business of the state to prescribe the legal rights and obligations attendant to them. If we were able to strip away the concept of sanctification of homosexual relationships, I think the opposition to formalization and accordance legal rights and responsibilities would be far less strong.
My thoughts will not satisfy partisans on either side, but the debate makes me wonder why the state should be perceived as according moral status to its citizens. Should not the state focus on establishing the legal rights and obligations of domestic partners? If domestic partners wish to sanctify their relationship, they can enter into it according to the tenets of a church or synagogue. Religious leaders would then be those deciding whether gays can "marry," but the state would let them have the legal rights and obligations of domestic partners without moral judgment.
Of course many churches would permit gays to marry, but why isn't that properly a question for the leaders and members of those churches? I fail to see why the state should have anything to do with it. Involving the state seems to me to intertwine the state and religion.
There. Now I've made both sides mad. Maybe that's an indication I'm on to something. Maybe not.
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BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:When driving home from work this evening, I heard part of a discussion on NPR. A rabbi, opposing the proposal, posed the question why should not a gay couple in a monogamous, long-term, committed relationship be permitted to sanctify that relationship. His use of the word "sanctify" hit exactly on what bothers me about this issue.
SECTION 1. Article I, Texas Constitution, is amended by adding Section 32 to read as follows:
Sec. 32. (a) Marriage in this state shall consist only of the union of one man and one woman.
(b) This state or a political subdivision of this state may not create or recognize any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
SECTION 2. This state recognizes that through the designation of guardians, the appointment of agents, and the use of private contracts, persons may adequately and properly appoint guardians and arrange rights relating to hospital visitation, property, and the entitlement to proceeds of life insurance policies without the existence of any legal status identical or similar to marriage.
SECTION 3. This proposed constitutional amendment shall be submitted to the voters at an election to be held November 8, 2005. The ballot shall be printed to permit voting for or against the proposition: "The constitutional amendment providing that marriage in this state consists only of the union of one man and one woman and prohibiting this state or a political subdivision of this state from creating or recognizing any legal status identical or similar to marriage."
It is the business of churches and synagogues to sanctify relationships. It is the business of the state to prescribe the legal rights and obligations attendant to them. If we were able to strip away the concept of sanctification of homosexual relationships, I think the opposition to formalization and accordance legal rights and responsibilities would be far less strong.
My thoughts will not satisfy partisans on either side, but the debate makes me wonder why the state should be perceived as according moral status to its citizens. Should not the state focus on establishing the legal rights and obligations of domestic partners? If domestic partners wish to sanctify their relationship, they can enter into it according to the tenets of a church or synagogue. Religious leaders would then be those deciding whether gays can "marry," but the state would let them have the legal rights and obligations of domestic partners without moral judgment.
Of course many churches would permit gays to marry, but why isn't that properly a question for the leaders and members of those churches? I fail to see why the state should have anything to do with it. Involving the state seems to me to intertwine the state and religion.
There. Now I've made both sides mad. Maybe that's an indication I'm on to something. Maybe not.
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Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Government Sanctioned Reporting
Jonah Goldbnerg makes an obvious but persistently overlooked point. If reporters are to have a special privilege against testifying under some circumstance, then the law must define who is a reporter. Otherwise virtually anyone could claim the privilege and that would be untenable.
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[F]ederal shield laws are the camel's nose under the tent of journalism licenses. If everybody can be a journalist simply by pecking away at a keyboard, then tens of millions of bloggers, newsletter writers and coupon-clipper weekly editors are journalists. If that's the case, then such a sweeping right is unenforceable and dangerous. If, on the other hand, only some people get to be called "journalists," then we've got the makings of a trade guild here.Once you need piece of paper from the feds before you can be a reporter, how long before they threaten to take the paper away if you are "irresponsible" in how you report, i.e., once you deviate from DNC talking points? But Goldberg's point about trade guilds is even more basic:
There's been some interesting economic research in recent years on the role of guilds (i.e., professional associations, including some unions, that work with the state to require licensing for people seeking similar occupations). Morris Kleiner, a University of Minnesota economist and visiting scholar at the Minneapolis Federal Reserve, recently summarized some of his findings in the Wall Street Journal. Apparently, even though guilds don't lead to better or safer service, they're on the rise. Why? Well, one reason is that guilds have been very successful at persuading the public they're better for the consumer even though much of the time they're really better only for the members of the guild themselves. In states where a license is required to become, say, a hairdresser, salaries are higher by some 10 to 20 percent. This is partly because the licensing — the fees, the extra training, etc. — becomes a barrier to entry to others seeking employment. In states where strict state licensing isn't required, job growth is 20 percent higher.From what I have observed as a business lawyer, most regulation of professions, while cloaked in high-sounding words about protecting the public, is anti-competitive in effect and intent. Viewed this way, it is clear that a shield law would likely lead to yet another conspiracy in restraint of trade. No wonder journalists seem so fond of the idea.
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Tuesday, October 25, 2005
A Kinder, Gentler Bond
Daniel Craig, the new James Bond, is reported to have said:
The strong have taken advantage of the weak throughout human history. Guns even the playing field to some extent and, to that extent, are valuable tools. A cliche of western movies when I was a child was that, while God made all men, Samuel Colt made all men equal. Cliche though it may have been, it contained a truth. If all guns could magically be removed from the Earth, the strong would still attack the weak, but the weak would be less well positioned to do something about it. Wishing that human nature were better than it is makes a poor basis for public policy.
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I hate handguns. Handguns are used to shoot people and as long as they are around, people will shoot each other.Well, yes, handguns are used to shoot people. That is their express function. And as long as they are available, people will no doubt use them for their intended purpose, but that's not always bad.
The strong have taken advantage of the weak throughout human history. Guns even the playing field to some extent and, to that extent, are valuable tools. A cliche of western movies when I was a child was that, while God made all men, Samuel Colt made all men equal. Cliche though it may have been, it contained a truth. If all guns could magically be removed from the Earth, the strong would still attack the weak, but the weak would be less well positioned to do something about it. Wishing that human nature were better than it is makes a poor basis for public policy.
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Spurious George
The Times Online reports a U.S. Senate Committee has concluded that British Member of Parliament George Galloway not only perjured himself in recent testimony but was also on the take in the oil-for-food scam.
GEORGE GALLOWAY faces possible criminal charges after a US Senate investigation tracked $150,000 (£85,000) in Iraqi oil money to his wife’s bank account in Jordan.Galloway's testimony was marked by his defiance of the Committee. It seems he had little to be defiant about.
The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations will refer the Respect Party MP for possible prosecution after concluding that he gave “false and misleading” testimony at his appearance before the panel in May.
The sub-committee claimed that, through intermediaries, Mr Galloway and the Mariam Appeal were granted eight allocations of Iraqi crude oil totalling 23 million barrels from 1999 to 2003.
Hey there, Galloway,To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
Spitting out venom at everyone,
Hiding graft from the light of the sun,
While telling lies to get your way.
Hey there, Galloway,
Think of how much more you could have got;
Damn those Puritans all to rot.
At least you got to make some hay.
Monday, October 24, 2005
Kofi Annan is to Integrity as . . .
Texas is to penguins. We don't have any except for what we keep around for show.
James Taranto notes Annan's promise to release in full the investigative report on Syria's role in the assassination of Lebanon's Rafik Hariri. As it happens, Annan lived up to that commitment, but only because his staff is incompetent with Microsoft Word. Follow the link to see the clumsy attempt to edit out information deemed too sensitive for the likes of you and me.
James Taranto notes Annan's promise to release in full the investigative report on Syria's role in the assassination of Lebanon's Rafik Hariri. As it happens, Annan lived up to that commitment, but only because his staff is incompetent with Microsoft Word. Follow the link to see the clumsy attempt to edit out information deemed too sensitive for the likes of you and me.
Kofi Annan gave us his word,To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.
But it turns out he's a phony.
He tried to hide embarrassing facts.
His word is ripe baloney.
Regulating Political Speech
A federal appeals court has ruled that the Federal Election Commission's campaign finance regulations are not stringent enough.
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Commissioner Michael Toner said Friday's order means the FEC must start drafting tougher rules on political donations, including how Internet activity will be regulated. The FEC could still appeal to the Supreme Court, but has not indicated whether it will do so.Hunker down, because free speech is even further at risk.
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Saturday, October 22, 2005
Was "Oil-for-Food" Money Diverted to al Qaeda?
Fox News raises the possibility:
Hat tip to Instapundit.
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It now appears that while doing business with the U.N., IHC had links both to Saddam Hussein’s old sanctions-busting networks, and to a Liechtenstein-based businessman, Engelbert Schreiber, Jr., known among other things for his ties to a figure designated by the U.N. itself as a financier of Al Qaeda.In the heat of current controversies, it's easy to forget how rotten was the previous state of affairs. And the Left's romanticized view of the United Nations as an authentic voice for the world's downtrodden is malarkey. Whatever turns out to be the case with this possible al Qaeda connection, the U.N. is a cesspool of corruption.
Hat tip to Instapundit.
To reply, email texthepontificator at yahoo dot com.