*

... I've simply been posting stupid jokes, IM conversations and link round-ups, but it's summer, and I've lost the will to blog.

Hopefully the muse (for the serious/long stuff) will come back before the leaves turn. No guarantees. I mean, how many different ways can you splice and analyze politics and the media? After about the year mark or so, it's about as repetitive as folding laundry.

*** Some wiseguy figured out the RIGHT way to get blogrolled.

*** And through the magic of photoshop, Dorkafork has fulfilled my dream.

It's hard to see the monitor through my wistful tears.

UPDATE: Publius Nexus (the original offending site) has re-engineered - better, faster, stronger!

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I just received the following curt instruction from "Publius Nexus:"

Date: 7/27/2005 13:32:23 -0500 From: "Publius Nexus" To: bill@indcjournal.com Subject: Add My Blog

Please add my blog to your blogroll.

The Political Writings of Publius Nexus
http://publiusnexus.blogspot.com/

A commentary on the United States of America by a political moderate and future politician.

The kicker being the fact that not only does Publius Nexus not have INDC Journal listed on his blogroll ... he doesn't even have a blogroll.

I wish this fellow luck with his "future politician" ambition.

UPDATE: I guess I killed his blog.

*** Is recycling bad for the environment?

*** Analyzing the badness of Kevin Costner.

*** Kiddie (a) Clockwork Orange. I wonder how a school instructs a 12 year-old to play-act a rape scene ...

*** After a dodgy start (in an event outside his typical repertoire), Michael Phelps returns to dominating the pool.

He's good. "Lance Armstrong" good.

This week's RINO Sightings is up at Countertop Chronicles.

*** Politicking at a funeral? Atrocious.

*** The WaPo has pretty good coverage of Lance Armstrong's seventh and final Tour win, including a stage-by-stage photo gallery.

*** The NY Times has the details of the mistaken shooting on the London Metro ... but let Stephen Green sort it out for you.

*** QandO highlights "The Georgia Tin Foil Brigade." John Cole has more.

*** And Florida Cracker spots a worthy editorial in the Arab News.

Muslims protest against terrorism in California. In Qayarrah, Iraq. In Hillah, Iraq.

As Reynolds notes, why doesn't this get any national coverage?

UPDATE: And TallDave and Dean ask why there's no coverage of the new Iraqi Bill of Rights?

proteinwisdom: Can I tell you a secret?
INDCBill: sure
INDCBill: if it's that you’re attracted to me
INDCBill: I had a feeling
proteinwisdom: No.
proteinwisdom: John Merrick and I really DO speak.
INDCBill: oh
proteinwisdom: And the apple. I speak to the apple, too.
proteinwisdom: The scissors is bullshit, though.
proteinwisdom: But the rest? All true.
INDCBill: i guess i could tell. always hated the scissors
INDCBill: what about Robert Byrd's kleagle hood?
proteinwisdom: Well, not the Kleagle hood.
proteinwisdom: I have to kinda fudge that by talking to my own.

SkyNews:

Police have shot a suspected suicide bomber at a tube station in south London.

Armed officers opened fire up to six times on the suspect as he hurdled a ticket barrier and raced along a platform at Stockwell station.
...
If the suspect is confirmed to be a suicide bomber, it would mark the fifth attempted terrorist attack on London in less than a day.

Those details are fairly murky, I guess we'll have to wait and see if he indeed had explosives.

(Via Dean)

UPDATE: The man was not connected to the bombings. Uh oh.

(Via WWR)

It's early and I don't have much to say, but Ace has an open thread and Command Post is all over the story, as per usual.

The NY Sun's Pia Catton tackles the weighty issue of SCOTUS nominee John Roberts' appeal:

Young, Fit, and Not Bald
...
More than anyone on the Supreme Court, he’s got the look of a strapping American good guy.

"More than anyone on the Supreme Court[?]" Even John Paul Stevens? More than Ruthie B?

This assessment will only fuel the jealous ravings of a questionably heterosexual Hubris, suffering from acute alma matter envy:

"JOHN ROBERTS IS TOO COMELY FOR AMERICA"

Who really wants to talk about "stare decis" and all that gibberish, anyway? I'm sticking with the Otto angle.

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*** Like, whoa. What about ALF?

*** Riots in Yemen.

*** Winnie Cooper: all growed up. (And a math whiz/actress/ad hoc lingerie model)

(Via James Joyner)

*** Looks like the Pakistanis may have nailed the planner of the London attacks.

Via Wizbang, which, along with most media outlets, employs the hated term "mastermind" to describe this guy. Let's be honest - does mixing explosives and telling the fellows to synchronize watches and walk to the metro really make someone a diabolical "mastermind," connoting sophisticate of evil genius?

Just one of my pet peeves, closely related to Cable News' constant assertion that the "terrorists are getting highly sophisticated," just because they've learned how to work both a video camera and the internet.

UPDATE: CNN reports that Pakistan claims to have no one in custody who is associated with the London attacks.

?

INDCBill: Boy, LaShawn is sure taking one on the chin from that Slublog
proteinwisdom: Ouch
proteinwisdom: She probably thinks I attacked her.
proteinwisdom: Because of the Jesus Skittle
INDCBill: i doubt she saw it
proteinwisdom: but I meant that.
proteinwisdom: I really DID think I'd found Jesus.
proteinwisdom: Because of the beard and sandals the Skittle was wearing
proteinwisdom: Plus, it turned water to wine and raised one of the hampsters I buried in the backyard from the dead.
proteinwisdom: Which, that creeped me out.
proteinwisdom: So I ate it.
proteinwisdom: Like a fruity, plump, communion wafer
proteinwisdom:.
INDCBill: do you think they'll let you IM me from Hell?

UPDATE:

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... don't hold your breath for substantial posting.

Quick take on Roberts: while I confess that I'd never heard of him before, I'm amazed at how moderate the reaction to the announcement has been from the left, considering his conservative and Roman Catholic credentials. It's remarkable that (apparently) being a genuinely nice person and displaying impeccable scholarship and intellect can still buy a bit of civility and respect in today's political environment. Heartening, even. I think Bush scored.

Bonus in-depth legal analysis: Andy at World Wide Rant is correct - Roberts does resemble Otto, the inflatable autopilot from "Airplane!"

Otto's more of a "penumbra" type. Also believes in great liberty ... with his hands.

Bonus in-depth political analysis: Plumbing the depths of the Daily Kos so you don't have to, Slublog presents the worst of the Kossack reaction in a comment at AoS:

Did You Catch His Wife (none / 1)

When Roberts thanked his family, he mentioned his son, Jack...Roberts' wife's face fell. It was like a poker tell. I think we should research Jack.

by mayan on Tue Jul 19th, 2005 at 13:13:01 PDT

Nice. Surprisingly, much of the commenting over there was (relatively) sedate and glum at the announcement. Relatively.

UPDATE: Conservative Yankee points out the fact that Roberts' son is of kindergarten-age.

So?

Tell us, Conservative Yankee-dog, does he put away his toys? Sass his parents? Does he have a paste-eating habit?

Does he have a Tinky-Winky lunch-box, Conservative Yanqui?!

Does he support Bush's illegal war in Iraq and sanction shackling the women of Amerikkka in patriarchal chains of reproductive oppression?!

Just what exactly does Jack Roberts have to hide?!

UPDATE: Then again, perhaps the left's early moderation was merely surprise (see updates to this post). I still get the feeling that partisan hostility from Washington insiders will be moderated by the guy's reputation. We'll see.

UPDATE: Jeff's got a good round-up going.

Now my mailbox isn't working. Anyone that's sent me an e-mail in the last day or two, please assume that I didn't receive it and hit me at wardolino at hotmail dot com. Thanks.

UPDATE: The regular address is working again.

*** The US Military: "Obedient, robot-like killers[?] ... Slaves who will take it any way their superiors decide to give it to them[?] ... Go off on suicide missions, murder civilians by the hundred, even abuse and kill their own[?]"

What a pleasant fellow.

*** China shoots for the stars. In the name of science.

*** Jay Tea makes some interesting points about the assumption that intertwined economies will prevent war.

*** And sorry ladies - Dennis Kucinich is off the market.

(Via evolution)

Comments are back. Trackbacks? I have no idea. Someone do me a favor and try to ping this post. Thanks.

UPDATE: Something is wrong with Typekey, so I've opened unregistered comments for now. And you can't even see the trackback pop-up page. Damn.

UPDATE: Mysteriously, now you can see the trackback pop-up page. Moveable Type Gremlins, you vex me.

INDCBill: hey jeff
proteinwisdom: Yes.
INDCBill: sometimes when im working out
INDCBill: at the gym
INDCBill: on the elliptical trainer?
INDCBill: I scream at the top of my lungs, "FEEL THE BURN!"
INDCBill: and then I grunt
INDCBill: like real loud
INDCBill: like "UUUUUUUUUUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNHHHHHHHHHHHH!"
INDCBill: "OOOH - MEEEEEEH-heh-heh!"
INDCBill: "Unh-UHN!"
INDCBill: and the thing is
INDCBill: people will look at you funny, you know
INDCBill: but it's like
INDCBill: it's good for you to do that
INDCBill: to let that CHI out
INDCBill: so fuck 'em
INDCBill: you know?
proteinwisdom: No.

Stephen Green skewers Andrew Sullivan's mythological nostalgia by invoking "The Jacksonian Tradition:"

Sullivan, despite the many things as we agree on, only knows being an American in his brain. In his gut, he's still the British whiz kid, more concerned with the niceties of decency, rather than the sometimes-brutal application of it. If we want to maintain a civil - a decent - society here at home, then we cannot be decent with our enemies abroad who consider decency to be a weakness.

Comments have been closed while I figure out how to deal with a spam attack.

Andy at WWR is hosting this week's RINO Sightings.

Last week I outlined the general reasons why, despite its immense traffic numbers, the Daily Kos is a politically ineffective site that merely serves to poison the internet with nasty discourse. On the same wavelength, Dean Barnett of the Daily Standard supplies a more thorough analysis:

Theories abound for why the Daily Kos has left the right-wing blogosphere so far in the dust. One plausible explanation is that the Daily Kos has engendered a tremendous sense of community amongst it audience/contributors. While conservative blogs remain for the most part virtual op-ed columns (with the notable exception of Charles Johnson's Little Green Footballs), the Daily Kos has become a virtual family which allows readers to write their own blogs-within-the-blog (called diaries) and to engage in limitless amounts of commenting. Whatever the reason, there is nothing like the Daily Kos on the web--it is a phenomenon and the unquestioned leader of the blogs.

IN THEORY, THIS SHOULD BE A POSITIVE DEVELOPMENT for Democrats. The Daily Kos should provide the party's most devoted adherents with a constructive outlet for their energy; indeed it does. The site has raised bundles of money for Democratic politicians and its patrons certainly have a surfeit of passion that they're willing to bring to any political conversation.
...

While Moulitsas recognizes that the left-wing blogosphere is a world unto itself, if establishment Democrats have any awareness of that fact they have yet to betray it. Where Trudeau feels bloggers are a bunch of shut-in half-wits, the Democratic party seems to be under the impression that bloggers are an enormous, important constituency--and that it must go to whatever lengths necessary to win the hearts and minds of this virtual community.

THIS SEEMS LIKE A MAJOR MISCALCULATION, because the politics of the left-wing blogs are far out of the American mainstream. Where most of the 120 million Americans who voted in the last election bear a benign indifference to political matters, the left half of the blogosphere seethes with hatred for George W. Bush and his supporters. What's more, the blogs take numerous positions that would strike all but the most passionate Democratic partisans as patently preposterous. For example, several of the left-wing blogs recently ran an advertisement that referred to West Virginia Senator and former Ku Klux Klan Kleagle Robert Byrd as an "American Hero."

Also, the level of discourse on the Daily Kos and other prominent liberal blogs is not something that would be attractive to the majority of the American public. The writings are often obscene and usually relentlessly hostile and negative. Crude personal attacks, whether aimed at right-wing bloggers or politicians, are the order of the day.

A typical example came on July 4 in response to a humorous piece by the internet satirist "Iowahawk", which purported to be written by Abu Masab Al- Zarqawi and was titled, "Stop Questioning My Patriotism." This relatively benign and (and extremely funny) essay elicited the following response from regular Kos contributor "Armando:" "Fucking pricks. You goosestepping McCarthyites. Now go cry to momma. You yellow-bellied elephants."

And yet mainstream Democratic politicians are desperately trying to ingratiate themselves with Kos and his audience. A Who's Who of top tier Democrats have written "diaries" for the site, including Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, and Ted Kennedy. The above listed politicians, and their less mainstream colleagues (think the John Conyers/Louise Slaughter variety), are constantly romancing the Kossacks.

More ominously--and more to the party's detriment--its leaders have adopted the blog's hysterically shrill style as their own. For instance, Ted Kennedy's diary for the Daily Kos adamantly demanded "accountability" for Iraq. When you've entered a realm where Ted Kennedy is a straight-faced champion of accountability, you know for sure you're in "a different world."

Talk about hitting the nail on the head.

Read the whole thing.

Matthew Heidt attends a memorial service for the SEALS recently lost in Afghanistan.

After careful consideration, I'm announcing my endorsements for Bush's two impending SCOTUS nominations. Now, I know that some of you might consider my choices "[Un]principl[ed]" and reflective of shallow legal scholarship and philosophy, but ... ... they just feel right.

Jane from the blog Armies of Liberation shines a light on the anti-Democracy tactics of the Yemeni government:

Summary of events: A security guard employed by the Yemeni government took over the PFU (opposition political party) building at gunpoint. Then he took over the building of its newspaper, al-Shoura. The Yemen govt then recognized him, their own gunman, as the new leader of the party.

Nifty way to silence the oppositon, huh?

Read the whole thing to learn how repressive governments work.

INDCBill: jeff do you feel oppressed?
INDCBill: as a minority who's a conservative?
proteinwisdom: I often fight back the urge to contact La Shawn for guidance
INDCBill: hmmm
INDCBill: think she'd be sympathetic though?
proteinwisdom: If I found Christ
proteinwisdom: Which, I thought I did, once, but it was just a Skittle
proteinwisdom: lodged between the sofa cushions.

Dark liberal pot bemoans the unbearable blackness of conservative kettles.

Paul Krugman:

What Mr. Rove understood, long before the rest of us, is that we're not living in the America of the past, where even partisans sometimes changed their views when faced with the facts. Instead, we're living in a country in which there is no longer such a thing as nonpolitical truth. In particular, there are now few, if any, limits to what conservative politicians can get away with: the faithful will follow the twists and turns of the party line with a loyalty that would have pleased the Comintern.

Ah, that mythic "America of the past."

This critique from a man whose catalogue of contorted economic posits in service of partisan political goals resembles an unexpurgated copy of the Kama Sutra.

(Hat tip: Val)

(Even) light(er) posting notice. In the meantime, here's your must-read of the week.

And go wish Dean Esmay a happy birthday.

proteinwisdom: Have you seen Million Dollar Baby?
INDCBill: no
proteinwisdom: Me neither.
proteinwisdom: Just bought it.
INDCBill: i refuse to watch a movie that celebrates the CULTURE OF DEATH
proteinwisdom: I don't know what it's about, so shut up.
proteinwisdom: Like Rocky, only with a chick, right?
INDCBill: eh
proteinwisdom: Eye of the Tigress?
proteinwisdom: I pity the fool?
INDCBill: all I know is that the National Review's Kathryn Jean Lopez didn't like it, and THAT'S GOOD ENOUGH FOR ME
proteinwisdom: ?
INDCBill: DEATH MERCHANT

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... to my readers that Christmas is right around the corner and I've been a very good boy.

** hint hint **

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*** 25 years for the 63 year-old Ebbers, huh? That's no joke.

*** More Kansas Creationist hijinks. No State Board of Education statements on the evils of Harry Potter, though ... yet. Topeka and Riyahd - getting closer all the time.

*** New Monty Python show! Of course, not content with the announcement of highly anticipated fresh material from comedic legends, James Joyner weighs in with some critique about the program being subsidized with tax dollars.

To which I say, "Ecky-ecky-ecky-ecky-pikang-zoop-boing-goodem-zoo-owli-zhiv!"

Now find me a shrubbery, Joyner.

*** Item: "Revenue Surge Shrinks Deficit." At this news, Ronald Reagan's avatar rose from the grave, said, "No kidding. Now cut spending," popped a jellybean (purple), slapped his son Ron in the back of the head and dissipated into a fine golden mist, a faint clarion of french horns ringing in the distance.

Why buy the Granny, when you can get the Werther's Originals for free?

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Townhall's Mary Katharine Ham dabbles in a little amateur moonbat research. One quibble with the analysis - her enthusiastic identification of the "wrinkled brow of moral indignation" on one of her subjects may in fact merely be a "boy, it's friggin' bright out here." Rookie mistake.

Q: Now, what does this Protester's expression say to you?

A. "EXXPOSE EXXON!"

B. "Daddy, please love me. Why won't you love me? Please?"

C. "My friends say that I look just like my dog, 'Princess!' She doesn't want to live in a polluted world either."

Princess

D. "I really, really, really need to use the bathroom, but I refuse to utilize the facilities of this evil gas station, local outpost of the sinister Exxon corporation and purveyor of noxious Gaia-raping filth. Plus, it's like really gross in there - I think some bum peed all over the seat."

Answer below the fold:

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Inside the mind of a terrorist:

A Muslim extremist accused of the murder of the Dutch film-maker Theo van Gogh confessed his guilt yesterday and said he would do the same again if he were ever released.

Mohammed Bouyeri, a baby-faced 27-year-old with dual Dutch-Moroccan nationality, broke his vow not to co-operate with the Amsterdam court by admitting shooting and stabbing his victim last November.

"I take complete responsibility for my actions. I acted purely in the name of my religion," he told its three-strong panel of judges.

"I can assure you that one day, should I be set free, I would do the same, exactly the same." Earlier, Bouyeri had insisted that he did not recognise the authority of any non-Islamic court and forbade his lawyer to mount a defence.

Spectators in the maximum security courthouse in western Amsterdam gasped as Bouyeri then turned to the victim's mother, Anneke, in the public gallery, and told her he felt nothing for her. Mrs van Gogh watched as he read out from what appeared to be a statement: "I don't feel your pain. I have to admit that I don't have any sympathy for you. I can't feel for you because you're a non-believer."

An added quote from the NYT account:

He added his actions were based on "the law that instructs me to chop off the head of everyone who insults Allah or the prophet."

A clip from Van Gogh's offending film can be seen here. I'd think that between Bouyeri's murderous quotes and the classically feminist condemnation of domestic abuse in the victim's film, that somehow, somewhere, a silly leftist's head might just explode whilst ironically nattering about self-referential "root causes" of terrorism.

Nope, nothing.

Hmmmm. Maybe ...

Naw.

...

...

Hey! Did you hear that the Pope hates Harry Potter?

"It is good, that you enlighten people about Harry Potter, because those are subtle seductions, which act unnoticed and by this deeply distort Christianity in the soul, before it can grow properly," wrote Cardinal Ratzinger.

Curse you, Potter!

The Pope's condemnation is especially surprising in light of the series' popularity with Catholic priests, many of whom are known to own a great deal of Harry Potter novels, coloring books, toys, themed candy and children's sleeping bags.

Supplemental zaniness: "Harry Potter: Witchcraft Repackaged - Making Evil Look Innocent"

INDCBill: jeff
proteinwisdom: Yeah?
INDCBill: were you outraged when I lost the wizbang awards?
proteinwisdom: To Geraghty? Yes, actually
INDCBill: did you rage against the injustice of it all? shaking your fist and crying into the night?
INDCBill: because honestly, you ought to have
proteinwisdom: I think I said, "bummer" and then made a sandwich. But for me, that was really EMOTING

Time: "How the Shepherd Saved the SEAL:"

A crackle in the brush. That's the sound the Afghan herder recalls hearing as he walked alone through a pine forest last month. When he looked up, he saw an American commando, his legs and shoulder bloodied. The commando pointed his gun at the Afghan. "Maybe he thought I was a Taliban," says the shepherd, Gulab. "I remembered hearing that if an American sticks up his thumb, it is a friendly gesture. So that's what I did." To make sure the message was clear, Gulab lifted his tunic to show the American he wasn't hiding a weapon. He then propped up the wounded commando, and together the pair hobbled down the steep mountain trail to Sabari-Minah, a cluster of adobe-and-wood homes--crossing, for the time being, to safety.

What Gulab did not know is that the commando he encountered was part of a team of Navy SEALs that had been missing for four days after being ambushed by Taliban insurgents during a reconnaissance mission in northeastern Afghanistan.

...

After taking the SEAL to Sabari-Minah, Gulab called a village council and explained that the American needed protection from Taliban hunters. It was the SEAL's good fortune that the villagers were Pashtun, who are honor-bound never to refuse sanctuary to a stranger. By then, said Gulab, "the American understood that we were trying to save him, and he relaxed a bit."

The Taliban was not so agreeable. That night the fighters sent a message to the villagers: "We want this infidel." A firm reply from the village chief, Shinah, shot back. "The American is our guest, and we won't give him up as long as there's a man or a woman left alive in our village."

An interesting report: "Communicating with Congress: How Capitol Hill is Coping with the Surge in Citizen Advocacy."

The Internet and e-mail have made it easier and cheaper than ever before for citizens to communicate with their Members of Congress. In 2004, Congress received 200 million communications, four times more than in 1995 -- the direct result of Internet-based communications. This increased citizen participation in the legislative process has had both positive and negative effects. Nearly 80% of congressional staff surveyed believe that the Internet has made it easier for constituents to become involved in public policy. However, neither the senders nor the receivers of congressional communications have learned how to use the new tools that the Internet has provided truly effectively. This report is the first of a four part Communicating with Congress series, which aims to provide information and guidance that will lead to better and more meaningful communications between Members of Congress and those they represent.

A bulleted summary of the key findings is here.

RINO Sightings III: Revenge of the RINO

Short note: I lived in Florida for 25 years, and while I was fortunate enough to never suffer a devastating hit by a major hurricane, and last season was indeed unusually terrible, I'm also aware that the national media hypes whatever damage they can find after these storms. A reporter on CNN just giddily swooned with excitement (no, literally - swooned) over a twisted metal sign. There's something annoying and unsavory about that.

But topping the unsavory list has to be Drudge, putting up an infrared image of the storm with the gleeful headline "HELL FROM THE SEA." Give us a break, bloodsucking tabloid dork.

Appropriately sarcastic commentary here.

In other news, the muse, she is a-fickle today, so busy yourself by checking out the Llamabutchers' exciting new site design. Surprisingly, Robert the Llamabutcher is depicted as Michael ... and we all know that he's more of a Fredo or Connie.

Video of Hitch smacking around Ron Reagan.

Goldstein's coverage of the London bombings is a tour de force. Update 19 is particularly good.

And I can't say that I disagree with a word of Ace's analysis of the potential to fill three vacant Supreme Court slots. Well, except for his derisive reference to "underground monkey sodomy-slavery ring[s]," perhaps. Anyone worth their salt knows that the freedom to run an "underground monkey sodomy-slavery ring" in the privacy of one's own domicile is a cornerstone litmus test for libertarian legal thought.

Must-read.

Personally, Kos gained my everlasting enmity when he wrote his infamous "Screw them" line about the American contractors murdered in Iraq. It still amazes me that so many people consider his site a respectable mainstream blog, including Democratic politicians.

It does amuse me that a google search for Daily Kos turns up "Daily Kos: TANG Typewriter Follies; Wingnuts Wrong," as the number two result. Oops.

Between that embarrassingly wrong assertion, the fact that Kos's vaunted fundraising efforts were 0 for 15 during the last election, and the fact that the Daily Kos consistently fails to come close to matching the efforts of conservative blogs in driving stories into the mainstream and setting the national debate, I'd rate the site as a perennial loser, despite its exorbidant traffic numbers. Zuniga himself grows rich and personally influential by running an online asylum for the angry left-wing, while barely making a practical dent in the political landscape.

But while comparatively impotent, the site's nasty discourse still poisons the atmosphere. Stick with someone like Kevin Drum for (typically) reasonable left-wing punditry. A Washington Monthly sample post from yesterday:

A WISH....If I could have one small wish for today, it would be for the blogosphere on both left and right to refrain from political point scoring over the London attacks. Just for a day. Isn't tomorrow soon enough to return to our usual arguments?

Agree or disagree with Drum's sentiment, can you even imagine a Kossack writing a similar post? I always envision the authorship of the Kos diaries as all manic tapping and squinting through the murk of a spittle-covered computer monitor.

UPDATE: John Cole:

If you are a Republican, and you want to know what the other side is thinking, you should be reading the Daily Kos, and not just dismissing it as evil leftist trope.

Sorry John, I don't care if you used to play on Zuniga's nerf football team at the ol' 2001 blogosphere barbeques - his site, most of the diarists, his analysis and his judgment are terrible. And yes, I "question his patriotism."

I'll visit Yglesias and Marshall when I "want to know what the other side is thinking."

Milblogger extraordinaire Blackfive will be interviewed on Pundit Review Radio this Sunday evening at 9pm EST. Catch it on local radio or streaming internet at WRKO.com, Boston.

Why is Blackfive one of my favorite blogs? Because he consistently features stories like this. Wow, just wow.

I can't round-up the news better than Reynolds, so I'll defer to him. Pay close attention to Tim Worstall's post. My condolences and support to the Brits; they've weathered the Blitz, they'll weather this.

UPDATE: Fly the Union Jack today:

(Via the Llamas)

There are layers of funny elements in this story - see if you can spot all of them.

It's merely one more swing in an ancient row, no doubt augmented by the instant karma of today's successful Olympic bid by the Brits.

And a second story about the food fight includes a baffling shot at American cuisine by Vladimir Putin:

"You can't trust people who cook as badly as that," he said of the British. "After Finland, it's the country with the worst food." At that point, Mr. Putin suggested that American hamburgers might rank the worst of bad food. "No, no," Mr. Chirac replied, "the hamburgers -- that's nothing in comparison."

As if Beef Stroganov is anything but fancy hamburger with sour cream on it ...

(Both links lifted from Florida Cracker, who is less than impressed with Jacques' diplomatic skill. But honestly, what does she know? She's just a bumpkin - probably eats boiled swamp rats with ding-dongs and ketchup packets from Tastee Freez.)

Fareed Zakaria takes a hard look at Iraq, outlining his vision of the good and the bad.

Part of an Intelligent Design curriculum coming to your town:

The Monkey Song, which the host describes as the "answer to the ridiculous theory of evolution." (mp3 file)

Kinda catchy, no?

(Via Dorkafork)

Bonus track for no apparent reason: Uhura singing the Star Trek theme.

Lacks commitment to interpret the Constitution as it was written, Yoda does!

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Checking the server logs, I noticed that a mainstream media web site actually linked INDC Journal as a reference in a piece. Aside from Howard Kurtz, this is perhaps only the second time that an MSM daily has actually provided a clickable link when referencing this blog, as opposed to merely writing out the URL or simply mentioning the name of the blog without hypertext. Looks like some folks in the news business may be getting the hang of this whole internet thing, though the link still only leads to my homepage and not the permalink of the post that's specifically relevant to their reference ...

The story itself is a local Seattle Times take on Bernard Goldberg's new book, 100 People Who Are Screwing Up America (and Al Franken Is # 37), which features Seattle Democratic congressman Jim McDermott at #38 (INDC is noted for "prepping the buzz"). The top ten list is interesting - Michael Moore, Arthur Sulzberger and Teddy K are one-two-three. I can't say that I disagree with those choices.

Conspicuously absent from the top of the list are any conservatives, and I'm still curious to see if Goldberg had the stuffing to bite the hand that feeds by pointing out some obvious right-wing targets (hint: cable news) that are also clearly degrading the political discourse in America.

UPDATE: Captain Ed has an extensive review. Sight unseen, I'll recommend the book. Why? Because Kos made the list.

Wish You Were Here

Comfortably Numb

(First link via IP)

Sandra Day O'Conner reflects on her retirement:

After smashing through every glass ceiling imaginable and climbing to the absolute summit of jurisprudence, I have to put up with every yahoo with a modem critiquing my opinions. Congratulations junior: You've learned how to form basic sentences (barely) in order to criticize me. I'll admit, possessing a powerful intellect, graduating number three from Stanford Law School in 1952, and deciding huge cases for decades hardly compares to your intensive study of "STOP THE ACTIVIST JUDGES" web sites and your unparalleled collection of porn jpeg files. Nevertheless, I've tried to do the best I can.

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Mark at Decision '08: "Yes, that's right, the 4th and RINOs...is there a more quintessentially American combo?"

Er, I guess not?

Enjoy a burger, some fireworks, a little Stars and Stripes Forever and oh yes, the fact that you live in the best damned country in the world. Reflect for a beer-sodden moment on how much ass America kicks, in so many ways, and ponder the manner by which you can help her continue to kick such totally righteous ass for generations and generations of further red, white and blue ass-kicking to come.

Here's my contribution, a quote from Ramez Naam's "More Than Human: Embracing the Promise of Biological Enhancement:"

Governments are instituted to secure individual rights, not to restrict them. This is an issue of both principle and good governance: recent history suggests that nations that embrace the freedoms of individuals thrive, whereas nations that limit individual rights fall behind and fail, often in monstrous ways.

In 1992, before the publication of his antibiotech treatise, Our Posthuman Future, Francis Fukuyama wrote a book titled The End of History. Fukuyama argued, as other historians have, that the twentieth century saw the victory of liberal democracy over totalitarian forms of government.

At the start of the twentieth century, political systems like Communism were formed around the belief that government could make better decisions for people than the people could for themselves. Democracies were founded more or less on the opposite principle - that individuals making decisions for themselves would produce, on the whole, better results for everyone than central control.

At the end of the twentieth century, Fukuyama wrote, it was clear that liberal democracy had won. There could no longer be any doubt that free societies, societies where individuals made most of the decisions for themselves, could outcompete centrally controlled societies economically, scientifically and technologically. Just as important, there could no longer be any doubt that individuals living in free societies were happier and better off than those living anywhere else in the world.

The triumph of democracy has its roots in two simple phenomena. Individuals generally want to improve their situation. They want to live longer, remain in good health, increase their capabilities, expand their options, increase the well-being of their children, and so on. Given the choice, they'll work in this direction. In addition, millions of individuals weighing costs and benefits have a greater collective intelligence, better collective judgment, than a small number of centralized regulators and controllers. People aren't perfect decision makers by any means - individuals make a tremendous number of mistakes - but on the whole the distributed decision-making power of the masses is more effective at moving a society toward greater welfare than the decisions made by a small elite.

Those two simple facts explain why a market economy driven by the often shallow desires of consumers nonetheless outcompetes and out-innovates a centrally controlled economy. They explain why political systems based on votes cast by a public with widely varying views are nonetheless more stable and more effective at preserving the rights of citizens than monarchies or dictatorships.

If the lessons of the twentieth century hold true into the twenty-first, the nations that attempt to maintain control over the minds and bodies of their peoples will fall behind, while nations that embrace human freedom to alter our own minds and bodies will thrive.

And some great Fourth of July News from Iraq:

Several Sunni Muslim clerics have prepared a decree calling on members of Iraq's disaffected Sunni Arab minority to vote in coming elections and participate in the writing of a new constitution, a prominent Sunni leader said Monday.

Democracy: bustin' out all over.

Alberto Gonzalez displeases ideologues of both the left and the right.

The right voices their displeasure with the codespeak of "he lack[s] ... open commitment to interpret the Constitution as it was written," yet essentially opposes him for SCOTUS because he's previously stated that Roe v. Wade is "the law of the land."

Many on the left disapprove because they associate him with post-911 counsel to the President that cast aspersions on the Geneva Conventions, impacting the rights of detainees in the War on Terror - nevermind their common mischaracterization of the fact that many of his criticisms about the antiquation of the treaties centered around paradigms that weren't applicable to a non-conventional war, like regulations governing requisite athletic uniforms for prisoners of standing armies.

Personally? I like the cut of his jib.

Regarding the looming fight overall, SMASH says it well towards the end of his comprehensive round-up:

Forget about missing teenagers, shark attacks, or Gitmo. This is going to be the summer of partisan slugfests over the future of the Supreme Court. If you thought America's political parties were structured around some agenda other than the ongoing culture war over abortion, you're about to find out just how wrong you were.

Frankly, I'm sick of it.

This one issue has distorted our national politics for far too long. Reasonable candidates are rejected, and total yahoos elected, on the sole basis of their position on abortion. Sometimes it simmers just below the surface, but it never, ever goes away. We have a national "litmus test," and nothing else seems to matter. Every once in a while, an event like 9/11 shakes people out of their complacency, and reminds them that there are other pressing issues to be concerned about -- but it never lasts for long.

What will it take to put this behind us?

A-freaking-men.

UPDATE: Let the games begin: first commenter has attacked my apparently prideful moderate posturing as lacking principle. Why? I like Alberto's jib. (UPDATE: And I haven't explained my detailed judicial rationale for my preference in this post) I'm just like Andrew Sullivan and John McCain - in love with being a moderate maverick, for its own sake.

Please love me and my moderation!

Please?

It's going to be a long summer.

Boy, I'd hate to get all excited, author a strident, long post making all sorts of epileptic declarations ...

Is the Secret Service REALLY going to let a man facing these accusations have access to the president of the United States in a time of war?

Come on MSM, ask the White House NOW if Karl Rove is still in the building, or if his clearances have been temporarily revoked.

... and fevered conspiratorial rantings ...

Also, a full investigation of Rove and the media, will of course come back to Jeff Gannon. Somebody in the inner-circle of the White House planted Jeff Gannon and with Jeff Gannon's relationship to the Plame Affair, we're going to see a lot more on this. Which could potentially even move the scandal into something beyond lying about treason.

... and then have the fundamental assumption not only turn out to be wrong, but also simply a failed test of Larry O'Donnell's basic reading comprehension skill. There's hot crow warming in the oven, now we just have to wait and see who's going to eat it.

UPDATE: O'Donnell doubles down. We'll see who here is the real maing, maing.

Commenter #1: Attaboy!

Commenter #2: You bet!

Commenter #3: Damn bastards!

Commenter #4: Hells yeah! WOOT!

Commenter #5: You've outdone yourself! Stick it to the mother&%$#@ers!

Commenter #6: BINGO!

Commenter #7: YES! KILL THE BASTARDS!

Commenter #8: And their little dogs too!

Commenter #9: I totally agree with your larger point, but might some of your implications be a bit sweeping? I mean, can we say with certainty that ALL of the lawmakers that supported the measure are really "Satan's advanced scouts prior to Hell's invasion, the ushers of a modern holocaust that will make the genocidal efforts of the Third Reich look like a delightful romantic comedy starring Hugh Grant?" Again, I see your larger point, but I'm not certain that such a characterization is totally fair.

Commenter #1: Troll!

Commenter #2: Get lost troll!

Commenter #3: Damn troll bastard!

Commenter #4: Don't feed the troll!

Commenter #5: Mother&%$#@ing troll!

Commenter #6: That dude is out of ConTroll!

Commenter #7: YES! KILL THE TROLL!

Commenter #8: And his little dog too!

Previous: Part One

During an otherwise arguable point about Republican senators overzealously blaming the media's negative coverage for recruitment shortfalls, John Cole drops the following:

Pretending that this would not be an issue if only the media had covered more school openings or spent more time talking about the free chapstick, toothbrushes, and playing cards our soldiers will get is simply idiotic. Sure, I would like more positive news coverage out of Iraq. I would also like more positive news.

Presumably, John's been so busy channeling outrage at wingnut hijinks that he's just too darn busy to read Chrenkoff's massive good news updates.

But pinning this all on bad war coverage is a non-starter, as the members of the media are just doing their job when they report casualties.

That's like defending a police force that arrests murderers, while failing to mention that they let every single other class of criminal roam free. The MSM coverage of Iraq paints a picture of US military personnel sitting around like targets and periodically getting killed, rather than making progress on a massive undertaking to rebuild a country and ensure the stability of a nascent Democracy, marked by a government that's shown remarkable compromise and initiative as they've embraced hitherto alien political freedoms. There is a spectrum of coverage between whitewashed depictions of D-Day and today's cynically non-contextual bleeding updates by CNN.

I learn more about what it's like in Iraq from The Carnival of the Liberated, Michael Yon, Chrenkoff, Zeyad and Blackfive than I do from all of the major dailies and cable news outlets put together. The fact that a handful of bloggers provide a more complete picture of the war (positive and negative) than a legion of professional media outlets legitimizes outright scorn for the efforts and prioritizations of the MSM's Iraq coverage, as well as its practical impact on this country's will to remain engaged.

Contextually, the media is most definitely not "doing [it's] job."

UPDATE: In his response, John drives at a salient point with (what I believe to be) gravely-flawed supporting details:

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Pulled from the real world: Under my post highlighting Dean Esmay's idealistic yet eminently reasonable critique of the UN, commenter "Ill Non Carb" left a 30,000 word treatise that begins with the following paragraph:

Well, Dean makes a good point... except that it's completely fallacious and utterly without merit, that is. Either Dean has a total lack of understanding about the way international politics works (which, having read his blog for quite a while, I seriously doubt) or he's being deliberately obtuse, or some third explanation that I can't even begin to fathom.

At which point my eyes glazed over, my left leg started twitching, and I lapsed into acute pompous hyperbolic shock, rendering me unable to read another word.

UPDATE: gurgle ** twitch ** gurgle

Blogger/Commenter #1: "I like the color blue."

Blogger/Commenter #2: "The culor blue? Are you a DUMBASS?! The colorr blue has an inherinently loower albedo than lighter colors - like a nice light chartrooose - and thus absorbs more heat, you retard. Blue is tottally stifling. Anyone that likes the color blue is clearly an idiot."

Blogger/Commenter #1: "Well, that may be your opinion, but you don't have to be such a raving ass about it. Besides, who was talking about properties of heat absorption? I like it because it brings out my eyes. Nice spelling, by the way."

Blogger/Commenter #2: "'ASS?!' WHY ARE YOU ATTACKING ME?! RESORTING TO AD HOMINEM IS THE SIGN OF A WEAK ARGUMENT!

HOW DARE YOU ATTACK ME?!!!"

Also: 20 Things Online Debate Has Taught Me

At the beginning of the month, I cast skepticism on an Aljazeera.com report that declared that John Kerry would seek impeachment proceedings for President Bush, despite the fact that the article contained no direct quote backing such an assertion:

John Kerry to call for President Bush's impeachment? Well, Al Jazeera thinks so.

Though, I'm not sure how much I trust an analysis that relies on Michael Moore's web site and the Democratic Underground for mainstream sources of internet intelligence. Also, this makes it sound like they have an inordinantly expansive interpretation of a John Kerry statement of resolve[.]

Steve Ely also noticed the claim's dubiousness.

But despite the questionable sourcing and lack of a direct quote, several right-wing bloggers and media outlets uncritically parroted the headline that Kerry would seek impeachment, probably because the story presented too fun a partisan target for healthy equivocation. It's nearly a month later, and no impeachment.* Also, no retractions or clarifications from the outlets that trumpeted the headline.**

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Dean critiques the purpose of the United Nations and the entry bid of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference:

The old thinking on the UN boils down to is this: "War is bad, the worst thing imaginable. So, you can butcher as many children as you want, torture as many people as you like, crush as many minorities as you please, treat your women like chattel, lobotomize and execute your homosexuals, grind every religious minority into the dirt, break as many bones and chop off as many limbs as you see fit, and obliterate every human freedom that annoys you: just don't bother your neigbors."

Many on today's left will fail to recognize Dean's negative assessment for the unrepentantly classically liberal viewpoint that it is.