Tomorrowism Blog

Kerry's Mandate

Matt Welch closed out reason's Democratic Convention Blog with a nice post about Presidential hopeful John Kerry's potential mandate. The post, which I copied in extended comments, included some troubling questions unanswered and the best reason I've seen to vote for Kerry.

There are some policy issues that the Democratic Converntion did not address. I have reformatted Mr. Welch's words here:

• Should America help democratize the Middle East, and if so, how?
  
• What happens when the Taliban continues to increase strength in Afghanistan and Pakistan?
  
• How does "no blood for oil" translate into dealing with Iran and North Korea?
  
• Free Trade or Fair Trade?
  
• Is it cool to lock up hundreds of thousands of disproportionately poor and non-white Americans for trivial drug possession?
  
• Should Affirmative Action be mended, ended, or extended?
  
• Is the federal government really going to be there "winter, spring, summer or fall," or can the private sector pitch in for a few weeks here and there?
  

That these questions were not addressed indicates that our system of government has critical flaws. I maintain that it is in need of fundamental reform.

Mr. Welch does have me thinking about voting for Kerry. He believes that if Kerry wins, "the hot political story in 2006 and 2008 will be about how the governing coalition is in disarray while the Republicans are newly unified against the haughty, chin-secreting liberal." Further, "if John Kerry presides over a divided government, backed by a bickering party that doesn't have George Bush to kick around anymore, then we will see endless new variations on the concept of "gridlock." "

What Mr. Welch largely ignores in this post is the threat from putatively Islamic terrorists. Bush Senior upset conservatives and gave way to Bill Clinton. President Clinton habitually took the easier, softer path; withdrawing from Somalia in 1993, blowing up $100 tents with $10,000,000 missles, and watching inspectors leave Baghdad. I would expect President Kerry to be just as soft on terrorists, paving the way for another attack.

President Clinton took power in the extended wake of the Reagan Revolution. Hillary Care's overreach in 1993 lead to the Gingrich Revolution in 1994. With this revolution came the Contract With America, a novel concept that politicians actually make and keep concrete promises. They also made public votes on discharge petitions, making it more difficult for political leadership to stifle popular reforms. In late 1995, the maverick members of the House of Representatives shut down government in an attempt to reign in government spending. President Clinton chose to have sex (as some would define it) instead of working with the our nation's elected legislature. The reformers got beat down and the reformist zeal has since waned.

So if Kerry got elected, could we expect another Contract with America? Would we be electing as Vice President another charismatic politician who would smile for the camera and undercut real reform? And, of course, would we be ceding the War on Terror?
Alan on 07.31.04 @ 03:29 PM CT [more..]

ChronicalsChronicles of Narnia

Whilst spellchecking chronicals, I came across a website for an upcoming Narnia movie. Like Lord of the Rings, it is to be filmed in New Zealand. It looks promising.
Alan on 07.30.04 @ 06:57 PM CT [link]

Saddam's Torture Logged

Via Kurdistan Blog, The Iraqi Holocost chronicles abuses under Saddam.

It's too bad that Protest Warrior includes racist literature (they unfairly link blacks to crime); this is an excellent poster.
Alan on 07.30.04 @ 06:49 PM CT [link]

Partisan Nickname

In an attempt to be funny, let me share this brainstorm of a nickname I came up with whilst talking to some liberal friends.

Obama sin laden.

That is all. Hope you didn't bother worrying about whether or not you'd spit out a mouthful of coffee in spasms of unbridled laughter.
Alan on 07.30.04 @ 05:52 PM CT [link]

Rumors of Captured Terrorists

Command Post reports a rumor that the top Iraqi terrorist Zarqawi was captured. A comment link led me to Hammorabi, who reported in comments on rumors that bin Laden has been captured.

Great news, if true.
Alan on 07.29.04 @ 06:06 PM CT [link]

Construction ahead? Please merge late.

I've been meaning to blog about a long time problem and a serious pet peave. I recall an article by The Detroit News' Tom Greenwood with which I strongly disagreed; I could not find a link. I did find a link supporting his contention that drivers should merge early. I also found a more recent link from him that supports my contention.

Neither linked article mentions an important point. (Another Tom Greenwood article included responses which mentioned this, link unfound.) Every lane of traffic can hold so many cars. It is reasonable to think that one mile of two lanes of traffic can hold about as many cars as two miles of one lane of traffic. Call the amount of traffic two lane miles.

The unmentioned advantage to merging late occurs when there is an exit one and a half miles before the construction merge point. Only if traffic merges late can traffic exit without having to wait for construction delays. Further, late merging traffic doesn't have to stress about "cheaters" that merge late.
Alan on 07.27.04 @ 08:56 PM CT [link]

Ann Arbor Art Fair

Got back in town last night from spending the weekend in Ann Arbor. No, not all people that grew up in Ann Arbor are rabid left wing radicals. Yes, there are many such people there.

Every year at the end of July, Ann Arbor hosts four different Art Fairs. Thousands (300,000?) of people come to visit; many residents leave for the weekend. The art fair has one street reserved for non profit organizations. There were many Democratic and left leaning organizations. The other side of the is not so well represented.

Anyway, my favorite poster was on a light pole one block South of the non-profits, at the Northwest corner of Fourth and Liberty. It said, "Stop the vicious spread of wealth creation, vote Green and let's all be poor and miserable equally. www.protestwarrior.com."
Alan on 07.27.04 @ 07:48 PM CT [link]

Smart Alec Responses

Some pretty good (and mean) smart alec comments from rec.humor.reruns in extended comments. There are too many good ones to excerpt. I did replace one f word for another in Smart Comment number 1.
Alan on 07.22.04 @ 02:48 PM CT [more..]

War on Terror Prisoner Abuse

Via Drudge, an AP report that the U.S. military reported to congress that it found 94 cases of confirmed or alleged prisoner abuse by U.S. soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq. They say that there were no systematic violations.

Sounds like me that they are trying to bury this under the avalanch of coverage of the 911 report.
Alan on 07.22.04 @ 01:45 PM CT [link]

911 Report Released

The 911 report has been released, available everywhere. Fox News has President Bush's reaction. The Fox News Story also has a link to the executive summary.

The first bit of fallout has hit, probably leaked by someone who read the report before the rest of us. "Richard Clarke Leak Cost Chance At Bin Laden".

Let the spin begin.
Alan on 07.22.04 @ 12:59 PM CT [link]

Iranian Nuclear Ambitions Delayed

Via Command Post, Reuters reports that:

Israeli estimates of when Iran will be able to build a nuclear bomb have been shifted two more years to 2007, an intelligence report said on Wednesday and analysts credited the delay to international scrutiny of Tehran.

So Middle Eastern mullahcracies wait until no one is watching to develop thier WMDs. I wonder if the same is true of deposed Middle Eastern dictators?
Alan on 07.21.04 @ 07:18 PM CT [link]

Censorship

From The Best of the Web, 'Meanwhile, the Toronto Globe and Mail reports that Arafat has issued "a warning to Palestinian journalists to cease all coverage of the kind of street protests that rocked the Gaza Strip and some West Bank cities last weekend".'

Are there any recent examples of the U.S. government practicing this type of censorship?
Alan on 07.21.04 @ 03:19 PM CT [link]

Gratuitous swipe of the day

There is a problem with the July 21 Day by Day cartoon. The characters involved are never at the work place shown.
Alan on 07.21.04 @ 02:58 PM CT [link]

Expensive Gas Prediction

Buy gas now. There may be market turmoil soon.
Alan on 07.20.04 @ 04:36 PM CT [link]

Pretentious Government

Via Drudge, a Boston Globe report that locals are upset that Boston police ordered the removal of sidewalk trash cans.

I don't blame residents for being upset; where else are they to discard waste? They've developed responsible habits which involve the now missing trash cans. Neither do I blame Boston police for ordering the removal of the trash cans; such trash cans are snazzy hiding places for bombs.

But the Police order didn't solve the problem. People are still throwing trash into the metal trash can frames; without the now absent liners, it is harder for Boston workers to load that trash into trucks. And all that trash now stting in the trash can frames once again make ideal hiding places for bombs.

The problem I see is that the Boston Police did not work with the populace. They did not explain that bombs are a concern. They did not ask for the public's assistance. Had they done so, they might of found a better way to dispense with trash. They probably would have done a better way of eliminating hiding places for bombs. This is not a Boston problem. This is an aloof public sector problem.
Alan on 07.20.04 @ 04:25 PM CT [link]

Sandy Berger, Thief

The gall is amazing. Wretchard quotes an AP report that reports that Sandy Berger "[removed] highly classified terrorism documents ... from a secure reading room..." "Berger and his lawyer said Monday night he knowingly removed handwritten notes he had made while reading classified anti-terror documents at the archives by sticking them in his jacket and pants."

And from the New York Times (registration required):

Berger is the second high-level Clinton-era official to face controversy over taking classified information home. Former CIA Director John Deutch was pardoned by Clinton just hours before Clinton left office in 2001 for taking home classified information and keeping it on unsecured computers at his home during his time at the CIA and Pentagon. Deutch was about to enter into a plea agreement for a misdemeanor charge of mishandling government secrets when the pardon was granted

I maintain that one of the fundamental requirements of good government is honest government. Here is another example of a Clinton appointee practicing decidedly unclean practices. Criminy, he stuck the documents in his pants. This is not a case where he just doesn't get it. It's a case where he gets it, and he is dirty.

At least President Clinton cannot abuse executive privilege on Sandy Berger's behalf. I wonder if The Clintons ever got President Bush's secret FBI files?
Alan on 07.19.04 @ 11:47 PM CT [link]

Long Distance Drive Thru

Via Dr. Tabarrok, a Cape Giradeau, MO, McDonald's is using a call center in Colorado to take drive through orders. Already fast order taking has improved 32 percent, with fewer errors. Dr. Tabarrok notes that this is "an interesting illustration of why a decentralized, capitalist system furthers innovation", and that "It's from small improvements like this that a productivity miracle is born."
Alan on 07.19.04 @ 11:18 AM CT [link]

Good News From Iraq

Via a href="http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110005370">Command Post, an Opinion Journal piece from blogger Arthur Chrenkoff.

My favorite datum:

On the city streets, more evidence of the returning normalcy: "Inspector Adnan Kadhum of the Baghdad traffic police says he noticed the change about 10 days ago: The city's notoriously unruly drivers suddenly started obeying his commands. They stopped when he signaled for them to stop; they went when he signaled for them to go. 'Before, you found hardly anyone listening to you,' the 27-year police force veteran says. Kadhum, 48, spent his days flailing around in 105-degree heat, sometimes waving his pistol in a futile attempt to make motorists follow his commands. 'Now, by barely moving my hand, I get respect.' "

that is, common Iraqis are willing to sacrifice short term goals (getting through the intersection right now)because they trust that civil authority.

Mr. Chrenkoff's bullet points include Iraqi society, the economy, reconstruction, coalition troops, and security.
Alan on 07.19.04 @ 10:20 AM CT [link]

Tayshaun Fix

To sate the basketball jones: Tayshaun Prince went 5/5 for 15 points to open a game against UNC. Amazing 7MB wmv clip.
Alan on 07.18.04 @ 10:09 PM CT [link]

UM cited in Checks-For-Degrees Scam

Once upon a time, Michael Moore's blog described The Onion as a News Source. Since then, he's taken that portion of his blog down and stopped blogging.

Anyway, gratuitous swipes aside, the Onion has a piece about worthless college degrees:

"We have strong evidence that the University of Michigan granted academic degrees to students in exchange for hefty payments, often totaling tens of thousands of dollars," Deputy Attorney General James B. Comey said. "In the process, thousands of graduates have emerged with degrees, but few or no skills applicable to everyday life. And many are as unprepared to enter the job market as they were when they first enrolled."

I heard after college that the real value of the college degree was that employers knew that college graduates were willing to put up with a bunch of hooey because that's what they were supposed to do.
Alan on 07.17.04 @ 05:58 PM CT [link]

Science vs. Money and Saving the Children

Today's Think Again quote, from Iranian scholar Abu Arrayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni:

Once a sage asked why scholars always flock to the doors of the rich, whilst the rich are not inclined to call at the doors of scholars. "The scholars" he answered, "are well aware of the use of money, but the rich are ignorant of the nobility of science."

My first instinct is to say that some rich people are aware of the value of science. There is much private research and development. Bell Labs (now Lucent Technologies) is famous example.

Patent law was designed to harness the value of science. Ignore politics for a moment. Where a rich person and a scientist collaborate to create a new and improved product, those people are the only people allowed to produce and sell that product. As much as the scientist and the wealthy patron may benefit from such a discovery, they could not benefit if common people did not buy that product.

Of course, we can not ignore politics. Consider medicine. With our free market medical system, we are the leader creating new drugs. It is expensive to create new drugs. That is why our drugs are also the most expensive; we are ultimately the only consumers that pay for worthy medicinal research.

al-Biruni's thought is good, as far as it goes. But it ignores the ability of the educated to gain wealth and of the mobs to impose ignorance.
Alan on 07.17.04 @ 08:49 AM CT [link]

Inflated Iraqi Body Count

Via Natalie Solent, a 'detailed, link- and quote-filled post on "Iraq Body Count" from David Adesnik of Oxblog.' Street crime causes death? Coalition fault. Scuicide bomb in Kurdistan? Coalition fault. Among those quoting the inflated figures: "from IBC's own news clippings site [:] Newsweek, the Christian Science Monitor, the Financial Times, Reuters, and the BBC."

Alan on 07.16.04 @ 01:08 PM CT [link]

California Scuzbuckets Shun Vietnam veteran (and former POW) Admiral Jeremiah Denton

Via a Snopes report which refers to an email drawn from an official State of California post, California Democrats snubbed a Viet Nam vet in favor of a retiring L.A. Times reporter. The Viet Nam vet spent eight years as a P.O.W. and blinked out "torture" in Morse Code when stuck in front of a TV camera by his captors. Snopes reports that "news sources from both ends of the political spectrum have covered [the July Four incident] without reporting any contradictory information."

In an attempt to be clever, let me try to summarize these actions by the California Democrats in three words. Wrong.
Alan on 07.16.04 @ 12:49 PM CT [link]

Someone Finally Said Something

Via UBM, the Smoking Gun reports that someone finally caught a horrid 9//1 memorial typo. Today's spin is about the "truly astonishing [fact] that [the July, 2004 visitor is] the first person to have reported this mistake to The Port Authority. We sincerely appreciate [the visitor's] heartfelt note and the time [the visitor] took to report this mistake."

Just because you see a glaring error, don't be afraid to report it. 911 operators, for example, don't mind hearing more than one report of a car in a travel lane. Public information websites don't mind getting more than one e-note about a broken link. And, just like the above, you'd be suprised how often people just move on, letting someone else notify the authorities.
Alan on 07.16.04 @ 12:35 PM CT [link]

Terror in the Sky redux?

Via Lileks, a chilling tale, complete with a plausible mid air bombing and government bungling.

This is scary. I'd like to hear from anyone who thinks John Kerry would address the situation.
Addendum-----------------------------------------------------------------
It seems the suispicious characters were not preparing to build a bomb. Still, the authorities did not react well.
Alan on 07.16.04 @ 12:45 AM CT [link]

DVD prices fall

For the past month or so, decent quality low priced DVDs have hit the market. Circuit City has had some 2/$15 sales. Best Buy has had 3/$20. Walgreen's, of all places, has had some low end DVDs for $1.99 or 2/$3.00. Some of the DVDs at that price included four episodes of classic TV comedies such as Andy Griffith and Dick Van Dyke.

But the best price I've seen so far was at an Ann Arbor Meijers. At 3/$10, the highly rated Cyrano de Bergerac.

Anyway, if you've thought about building a DVD collection, this is a good time to start. Or, you can wait for the next generation of DVDs. After all, as DVDs get bigger, movies will be released with higher screen resolutions. Today's DVDs will seem grainy by comparison, just as DVDs make VHS look bad.
Alan on 07.15.04 @ 06:17 PM CT [link]

Honest, there are times when I really impress myself. Here is my recent post to rec.humor.d, a response to a post at rec.humor.funny.

Jonathan Ganz wrote:

> Have you heard of the NO-CARB Diet for 2004?
>
> NO C-heney
> NO A-shcroft
> NO R-umsfeld
> NO B-ush
>
> and absolutely NO RICE!
>
> [Note - submitted by many people - ed.]
>
That may be a fine diet for the short term, but one cannot live without CARBs in the long term. Energy and strength levels will suffer and eventually everything will shut down.

For those that doubt my skills, let me spell one word for you: S M R T.
Alan on 07.14.04 @ 11:37 PM CT [link]

Our quiver is full of death arrows

Via Command Post, a great Zarqawi quote; "our quiver, thank God, is full of death arrows" at Fox News. Zarqawi is a terrorist in Iraq; he promises to kill Iraq new Prime Minister, Iyad Allawi.
Alan on 07.14.04 @ 11:14 PM CT [link]

Oil For Food

Per Tim Blair, investigation into the largest scandal in the history of the world continues. Today's revelation: what he bought.
Alan on 07.14.04 @ 10:07 PM CT [link]

Insidious sexism? Lies, Dang Lies, and Stats.

Via a Think Again comment, a study about a 1973 Cal-Berkeley sex discrimination suit. Check the table at the very bottom. Of the six departments, each and every one admitted a higher percentage of female applicants than male applicants. Yet as a whole, the university admitted a lower percentage of female applicants than male applicants.

Such is the danger of lawsuits by statistics. If someone can think of a nice, pithy inference to draw, please add it to the comments.
Alan on 07.13.04 @ 03:35 PM CT [link]

Kerry ignorant on finer points of national security

Via Command Post, per Drudge. The Senator and would be President does not have time for a national security briefing.

Perhaps other details will emerge to exonerate him. But it seems mighty damning. If he doesn't have time to meet his previous commitments (vote in the senate), and doesn't have time to prepare for aspired commitments (the Presidency), what does he have time for (campaigning)?
Addendum--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fixed the Drudge link, sorry.
Alan on 07.09.04 @ 12:44 PM CT [link]

Bush National Guard records lost

Via Command Post, per AP:

Military payroll records that could more fully document President Bush’s whereabouts during his service in the Texas Air National Guard were inadvertently destroyed, according to the Pentagon.

In a letter responding to a freedom of information request by The Associated Press, the Defense Department said that microfilm containing the pertinent National Guard payroll records was damaged and could not be salvaged. The damaged material included payroll records for the first quarter of 1969 and the third quarter of 1972.

“President Bush’s payroll records for those two quarters were among the records destroyed,” wrote C.Y. Talbott, of the Pentagon’s Freedom of Information and Security Review section. “Searches for back-up paper copies of the missing records were unsuccessful.”

Who would do such a thing? If the record damned Bush, Bush supporters would. If the records exonerated Bush, Kerry supporters would. Either scenario seems possible to me.
Alan on 07.09.04 @ 12:39 PM CT [link]

Rock, Paper, Saddam

Well worth a look: Rock, Paper, Saddam. Thx to UBM and Iraq Now.

I can see why the guy is trying to recoup some of his bandwidth costs.
Alan on 07.09.04 @ 07:08 AM CT [link]

Democratic Dirty Tricks

Via Command Post, per Fox News, Ralph Nader is accusing Democrats of dirty tricks.

Frankly I don't think this means Republicans are good and Democrats are evil. And it's not just that I see the Democrats actions as above board (I do). Instead, it's that I don't see the Republicans as wanting to attack Nader; Nader draws voters from Kerry, not Bush. I'd expect Republicans to use dirty tactics against an independent Buchanan or McCain or even, had he so run, '76 Reagan.

Finding a clean campaign is much easier than finding a clean candidate. The first requires total group participation; the second requires one honest soul. For that reason, I expect all sides to be the targets of dirty tricks. For me, the important question is how high up the chain of command the dirty tricksters rise, and how the top echelons react to dirty tricks pulled on their behalf. That's not always heartening.
Alan on 07.09.04 @ 12:00 AM CT [link]

Heated Debate

Jane's debate over her aforementioned comment rages.

On the to-do list. Cull the comments; categorize each comment as to political affiliation, and rate each comment's level of levelheadedness and stickiness to the subject.

Or not. It all depends on my mood.
Alan on 07.08.04 @ 10:40 PM CT [link]

Environment Variables

I put up a simple little applet which tells you what your computer tells my server when you visit my website. For the technocurious.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 09:07 PM CT [link]

Moving on in The Middle East? Iraq vs. Iran?

In another excellent piece, Wretchard notes that Iran is trying to grab land along its border with Iraq. He also forwards the theory that Iran is bombing Shi'ite Iraqis.

The war on terror is entering a new phase. Stay tuned, more cliches to come.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 07:09 PM CT [link]

Do we need a higher level of political honesty?

I'm wading through the comments to Megan aka Jane's rant, and came across this one:

Misleading half truths are punishable as securities fraud under the securities laws. If "Farenheit 911" were a stock prospectus, Michael Moore would be going to jail for securities fraud. His "legalistic" evasions - that what he said was literally true, would be of no avail: the omission of facts necessary to make the statement made not misleading constitutes fraud. Q.E.D.
Posted by: DBL on July 7, 2004 08:36 AM

Why not create a special class of statement? We could create some keywords such as "I swear this to be a special truth." A false statement so sworn would invoke perjury type penalties.

I'm sure there would be difficulties in defining and enforcing such a statute. But it would focus political debate on honesty. Who knows, it might even make political debate more honest.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 06:12 PM CT [link]

F9/11 Fact Checked

From a 11:40 pm response to Megan's aforementioned rant (one of many, btw), Dave Kopel fact checks Farenheit 9/11.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 05:37 PM CT [link]

The Federalist Papers

Ginny has a long post up at The Chicago Boyz which starts by praising the approach of the Federalist Papers and ends by ripping into the approach of Michael Moore.

Emotions matter. But they are not all that matter. When it comes to building a better government, logic matters more. Ginny writes:

I’ve begun (yes, quite belatedly) to read The Federalist Papers. I’m struck how in the introductory sections, Publius returns again and again to a definition of “human nature.” But these writers work with their heads, generalize, pursue what they consider truth. To reach that truth, the writers synthesize history, acknowledge experience, note traditions. Through history, they argue, this “works” and this does not. These writers understood that human emotions are powerful but their goal was to understand them, to become (and help us become) more conscious.

I almost didn't finish it; like I said, it has a lot of words. But I'm glad I did.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 05:09 PM CT [link]

Kerry's VP; All About the Benjamins?

Michelle Malkin notes in a post with six links that Edwards brings a lot of trial lawyer money to the Kerry team. Her post is about campaign finance; four links concern democratic donors, one link about Bush donors, with her final link to a watchdog blog post.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 05:02 PM CT [link]

Top ten reasons to vote against Bush?

This is an overly long response to a post on Uncensored Blog Madness.

10. Bush announced his economic success as the Dow dropped. Saw it on CNN for myself. Oh, the irony!
The Economy is returning.

9. It's the economy, stupid.
How many building do they have to blow up before you consider the war on terror to be important?

8. Kerry isn't dumb enough to promise all of America affordable health insurance.
Granted, he's no Hillary.

7. Kerry's wife has a successful business with tasty ketchup. Cheney's oil probably tastes like corrupt money.
Mrs. Kerry does not own Heinz. Halliburton is not crooked.

6. It's still the economy, stupid.
If I weren't so late for the door, I'd talk about Kerry's voting record; it's also about good government fundamentals.

5. Bush's previous business experiences failed. What makes you think he can handle Washington?
Three reasons: 2001, 2002, and 2003.

4. Edwards has the Dan Quayle Effect -- and knows how to spell! What more could you want?
Ethics. From The New York Times (registration required):

An examination of Mr. Edwards's legal career also opens a window onto the world of personal injury litigation. In building his career, Mr. Edwards underbid other lawyers to win promising clients, sifted through several dozen expert witnesses to find one who would attest to his claims, and opposed state legislation that would have helped all families with brain-damaged children and not just those few who win big malpractice awards.

3. Kerry would reward the troops with a real Thanksgiving turkey.
As did Bush.

2. We have a Bush, a Dick, and a Colin running our country.
Thank goodness for that.

1. How long will Cheney live? Find out next on Survivor: White House!
The Vice President's health is "very good", as if that should sway any votes.
Alan on 07.07.04 @ 02:33 PM CT [link]

Fisk endangers Iraqi judge

Via Natalie Solent, Black Triangle quotes a dead tree edition of The Independent about "The judge in charge of Saddam Hussein's trial" who is "in fear for his life today after his identity was revealed by a UK newspaper." It seems that "he was named by Robert Fisk".

Scuzbucket.
Alan on 07.06.04 @ 06:31 PM CT [link]

Political Dishonesty

Jane Galt has a fine little rant about political lying. In her mind, all politicians lie. She occassionally tells unintentioanl mistruths in her blog, but only because she's too lazy to research every little nit. She treats F9/11 rather harshly, because it misleads people on purpose.

It is an excellent post which keeps me coming back. BTW, mine is response #21.
Alan on 07.06.04 @ 06:08 PM CT [link]

A Poll and a Caption Contest

Command Post has a Poll and Alex has a contest.

The Command Post ran a contest, calling for people to photoshop a picture of Saddam. The people responded. The Polls are open. As of this writing, the leading vote getters (all worthy entries) have 13, 11, 11, and 9 votes.

Since Alex hasn't been posting much lately, his traffic has likely dropped, so this might be a real slick way to earn a gmail invite.
Alan on 07.06.04 @ 12:07 PM CT [link]

The New and Improved John Kerry

But, via Command Post, "Boston Globe reports Kerry said he no longer supported the Northeast Dairy Compact...". The Northwest Dairy Compact raised prices on New England milk drinkers, "provided financial support to New England dairy farmers, [and] was strongly opposed in Wisconsin and dairy states elsewhere in the country."

The Globe piece quotes Kerry saying that, ”I plead guilty. I did vote for it, because I represented Massachusetts”. Apparently, Massachusets is composed of New England Dairy farmers, not Massachusetts milk drinkers. Having spent time in both Massachusetts and the midwest, I can attest that Massachusetts milk is expensive and low quality, though that may be a reflection of Massachussets retailers.

Anyway, please consider this. Via Alex, Sen. "Kerry shouldered a borrowed 12-gauge shotgun and picked off 17 out of 25 clay 'birds.' " Alex referred to the story's picture, which invites Vietnam references.

But Kerry is still Massachusett's junior Senator. I imagine that hitting 17 of 25 clay pigeons is somewhat of an accomplishment. Did he have to work at that? Did he spend time borrowing 12 guage rifles instead of casting votes in the senate? If elected president, can we expect him to spend his last year in office preparing for his next job?

As I said in a Command Post comment, I find Senator Kerry's candor refreshing. It lets us condemn him for who he is.
Alan on 07.05.04 @ 05:00 PM CT [link]

Field Guides

Via Blogchik, the mother of all fieldguides.
Alan on 07.05.04 @ 04:36 PM CT [link]

Unvaccinated

Via Dr. Cowen, "An outbreak of polio has hit children in the Nigerian state of Kano." Could Nigeria's failure to vaccinate be considered an act of war?
Alan on 07.05.04 @ 02:59 PM CT [link]

Alleged Clinton Book Signing

Via Tim Blair, an ostensively pro-Clinton book signing report. The opening image has a poster in the background, caption "From Rags to Bitches." The lengthy text has many amusing images.
Alan on 07.05.04 @ 02:47 PM CT [link]

Fireworks

The Third of July is important in Chicago; traditionally, Chicago holds their fireworks tonight, while the suburbs hold their celebrations on the Fourth.

I just had a thought that we are getting to be a bit complacent about terrorism. Would something awful happen tonight, the terrorists would celebrate. And they like to postpone their attacks until after we let our guard down.

Perhaps the biggest problem with playing politics in the war on terror is that it is to the short term political advantage of some to promote the idea that all is well; to promote the perhaps unsafe idea that it is ok to let our guard down. I deeply hope that my concerns are unwarranted. I am sure that many people are working quietly to protect us.

Nevertheless, this is also a good time to remember the words of Thomas Jefferson, that "Eternal vigilance is the price of freedom." Terrorists took control of four planes on 9/11/2001, only three hit their targets. It is the actions of common people, not government gunmen, that defeated the fourth terrorist effort. We do not know if another attack is imminent or what form it might take. We do want to apply the best combination of efforts, public and private, to stop any such attack. To do so, we would need to not be complacent. Further, we want terrorists to think that we are not complacent, that we have not let our guard down. This would make the terrorists feel less confident in their ability to succeed in whatever diabolical plans they may have and thus not attempt to carry them out.

Somehow, this bit of paranoia strikes me as appropriate for this holiday.
Alan on 07.03.04 @ 02:01 PM CT [link]

Saddam Photoshopped

As detestable his politics may be, Mr. X has put together a great animated gif of Saddam and U.S. leaders.
Alan on 07.01.04 @ 04:49 PM CT [link]