"News" Archives
Among his other accomplishments, he was a terrific writer, one of the best. My favorite Snow-ism, from a commencement address he gave:
Wherever you are and whatever you do, never forget at this moment, and every moment forward, you have a precious blessing. You've got the breath of life. No matter how lousy things may seem, you've got the breath of life. And while God doesn't promise tomorrow, he does promise eternity.
The big news, on most channels at some point or another today: Supreme Court affirms 2nd Amendment protects an individual right.
Not going to make the news: four US Supreme Court justices are functionally illiterate.
Tim Russert dies of heart attack
That sucks.
On the whole, I'm no fan of journalists, but I liked Tim Russert. He seemed like a really decent and serious guy.
Much more here.
Also sucking: this leaves poltroons like Keith Olbermann as leaders in the (MS)NBC stable.
I heard on the news today that Senator Kennedy had gone under the knife for the recently diagnosed tumor. Best of luck to him with that. I don't like his politics at all, but in this I can do naught but wish him well.
Of course, he's not going to need too much luck. He had the best neurosurgeon in the world.
I should know. He was my neurosurgeon, too.
Via Instapundit: Mars Reconnaisance Orbiter Captures Images of Phoenix Lander's Descent. Follow the link, and check out that photo.
Way, way cool.
But as I was looking at the full-sized photo, I noticed something else the MRO had caught in the frame. If you look very closely at about the two o'clock position near the center of the crater, you'll be as stunned as I was. You should be able to just make out my startling discovery below the fold.
Ted Kennedy Diagnosed With Brain Tumor.
As much as I oppose pretty much every thing he stands for, I can't help but wish him and his family well in this time of trouble. This goes way beyond politics.
I know it entirely too well from my own recent experience: brain problems purely suck.
Another one from Hot Air (the headlines, this time):
Six-Year-Old to Have Half Her Brain Removed Next Month Tuesday, May 20, 2008A 6-year-old girl suffering from a rare disorder will have half her brain removed next month at Johns Hopkins Children's Center in Baltimore.
. . .
She suffers from Rasmussen's encephalitis, a rare illness that eats away at the brain and plagues its sufferers with seizures and reduced mobility.
Having been in the reduced-mobility camp, I can sympathize. In my own case I was prepared, a year ago, for any number of possible diagnoses, but I never imagined anything as horrible as this.
In most cases, he said, the healthy side of the brain will take over the tasks of the missing side of the brain. Some paralysis and other side effects are expected, but the seizures will stop, the Web site reported. Johns Hopkins does about a dozen of these surgeries a year. [Emphasis mine.]
I guess now we know why we only use that often-cited 15% of our brain. "Fearfully and wonderfully made," indeed.
It is California, after all.
In other decisions released today, the California Supreme Court has ruled that π (pi) is equal to exactly 3.00, and that God (a.k.a. "Jehovah") can be sued by European Americans for damages suffered by their ancestors during the Black Death plague of the 14th century.
While covering the news last night on FNC's Red Eye (you are DVRing it nightly, are you not?) Fox Business Network reporter Tracy Byrnes defended cheerleading as a "sport."
Utter nonsense.
Cheerleading, Ice Dancing, and Synchronized Swimming may all be competitive endeavours requiring athletic ability, but they aren't sports.
Here are two simple rules of thumb by which you can tell if the activity in which you are engaged is a sport, when victory is determined by your score:
- If a score is awarded based on judges' arbitrary opinion of the quality of your performance, it's not a sport.
- If the score is determined solely by the completion of a specific task, it is a sport.
Discuss.
Next time someone here in the U.S. says an election was "stolen" (and you know there are people who will never give up on that belief) you can point them to this example of what a stolen election really looks like.
Film legend and past NRA president Charlton Heston has died.
Though he was best known for his iconic roles in such films as Ben Hur, The Ten Commandments and Planet of the Apes, the lesser-known El Cid
I can't imagine Hollywood these days making an epic-scale movie about a hero fighting the Muslims. Pity. If you haven't seen El Cid, rent it. Heston is great, and Sophia Loren provides some tasty eye-candy.
One day back in the early '80s, while I was home on a break from college, our family got dressed up "spiffy casual" and drove down to L.A. to see a show. We'd done so many times previously, and this particular time we were off to see "Nicholas Nickleby."
I remember nothing about the play itself... but I remember that the Hestons were sitting in front of us, and I remember that Mr. Heston was very gracious to those few people who dared to approach him.
He was a legend, while pretty much all we have these days are over-hyped "stars." They don't make many like Heston any more.
Herb Peterson, McDonald's franchisee and inventor of the Egg McMuffin, passed away Tuesday at his home in Santa Barbara. He was 89.
Take a moment to reflect on what he did for the average commuter. He basically invented the fast-food breakfast, giving people on their way to work the opportunity to have something more than a cup of coffee first thing in the morning.
I'm just young enough to not know if anyone did fast-food grab-and-go breakfasts before McDonald's did, but surely they all do it now.
I intend to have a McMuffin in his honor... even (because of my hours) if I have to make it from scratch myself.
[Heavily updated to correct errors. So sue me.]
Prime marriage fodder, I am.
Women, Want a Healthy Marriage? Marry Man Uglier Than You, Study SaysMonday, March 24, 2008
The best marriages are those where women marry men who are less attractive than themselves, research has found.
Psychologists who studied newlyweds found men who were better-looking than their wives were more likely to be unhappy and have negative feelings about their marriage.
In couples where the wife is more attractive, both partners tended to be very content.
This goes a long way towards explaining my brother's almost twenty years of marital bliss.
And for the record: I am available.
I had a bad burrito once, but it was not like this.
Almost, but not quite.
Eliot Spitzer announced his resignation today, his wife by his side. Surprise, surprise.
What is it about politicians' wives that compels them to stand by their men, regardless of their betrayals? We see it over and over. Remember Jim McGreevy (D-NJ), who famously resigned his governorship after a gay affair was discovered? Even his wife stood by his side while he announced that he was a "Gay-American" and had carried on with a male employee. Now, of course, the McGreeveys are separated and on their way to a divorce.
More to my liking is the mental image conjured up by something Dick Armey (R-TX) said during the Clinton/Lewinsky scandal:
If I were in the President's place I would not have gotten a chance to resign. I would be lying in a pool of my own blood, hearing Mrs. Armey standing over me saying, "How do I reload this damn thing?"
If only more politicians' wives were like that — there would undoubtedly be less misbehavior.
Update: Heh.
Governor Eliot Spitzer (D-NY), who was lauded by the press as a Robin Hood sort of guy for his actions as New York's Attorney General, is in a huge dang load of trouble.
I always thought he seemed pretty slimy. His pursuits as AG seemed to me to be geared expressly to get him into the Governor's office, and as a springboard to national office.
Turns out he was a different sort of Robin Hood — taking from the rich and giving to the whores.
(Via Hot Air... again. They have all the good stuff.)
Update: Let's play Guess The Party!
The current version (at 3:45pm) of the New York Times' online story doesn't mention Spitzer's party affiliation until the 15th paragraph. If he'd been a Republican, they'd have mentioned the GOP in the headline, in the lede, and in every subsequent paragraph.
My niece has lately taken to regaling me with her favorite Chuck Norris facts. (My favorite: There is no chin under Chuck Norris' Beard. There is only another fist.)
Now here's one for her: Chuck Norris the only WMD in Iraq.
Currently in Iraq, I'm sure they meant to say.
(Via Hot Air.)
William F. Buckley Jr., R.I.P.
More, with must-see video, at Hot Air.
I don't like John McCain a whole lot, but an unverified and unsourced NYT smear-job might just get me to support him. If they don't like him, there must be something worthwhile about his candidacy — the enemy of my enemy, etc., etc. I'm only surprised they didn't figure out how to hold the story until the Friday before the general election.
Just wondering... has anyone seen Dan Rather or Mary Mapes recently?
Right now on Fox:
Breaking News >> Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro Retires From Presidency
I can't wait to see what Val and the rest of the crew at Babalu have to say.
Before I forget to say it: good riddance.
This is a step in the right direction for Cuba. Only one step — Raul Castro will probably move in where Fidel leaves off — but the longest journey, as they say, begins with that one step.
Update 3:01am: headline now reads "Cuban Dictator Fidel Castro Steps Down As President And Commander." No article online yet.
3:08am: CNN has a story up — Castro resigns as president, state-run paper reports
3:11: Ah, Fox does have the story, linked off the headline on the front page (rather than listed with their other stories.)
3:15: CNN — "Fidel Castro captured the world's attention and imagination at 32 when the bearded revolutionary led a band of guerillas that overthrew a corrupt dictatorship -- and then became an irritating thorn in Washington's paw by embracing communism and cozying up to the Soviet Union."
I guess that's about as worshipful as they were prepared to be at this hour of the morning. No doubt the lauds will come later.
[Later...] As predictable as a sunset... CNN: Be kind to castro
I guess there's an upside to working nights... I get to see all the stories that break in the wee hours of the morning. This would be maybe the second such in three years.
Envy — Whoever gets to kick Ted Rall's ass for this, I envy.
Lust — Someone really really likes fire... in an entirely inappropriate way. Pity we don't use firing squads to deal with such.
Gluttony — They always want more, and they won't rest until they get it.
Greed — Illegals demand: "Gimme gimme gimme!"
Sloth — Too lazy to do due diligence in their reporting, TNR gets pwned by Bob Owens.
Wrath — Code Pink is mad... mad, as in "insane."
Pride — "I'm a reporter! Respect me!" Um... no. That syllogism just doesn't work.
Michelle Malkin has the details.
As for me, I'll just say this: I was fresh out of the Army and going to school in LA when the OJ murder trial took place. I had (and to some degree still have to this day) the mindset that said "facts are facts and any reasonable person can put aside their prejudices and judge a case purely on the facts."
Mheh. I guess they didn't bother to try to find 12 reasonable people for the jury last time OJ was on trial.
On a personal level what disturbed me most about that entire episode was that several of my classmates readily admitted that on the facts OJ was guilty as sin, but they were still glad he got off because he was a "brutha."
Ya, right. OJ had as much in common with my classmates as I do a native tribesman in the Amazon. But because of his skin color, they were literally willing to let him get away with murder. Indeed, they vocally rejoiced when he was acquitted.
An odd thing happened a month or so after the acquittal. I went to work after class each day, and it was one of my duties to take the daily deposits down the block to the bank. One of the other bank customers I saw most days was from the local Jaguar dealership. One day, he showed me one of the checks he was depositing — a check for over $70,000, written by Johnnie Cochran. Two people dead, OJ acquitted, and Cochran driving a brand-new Jaguar out of the deal.
And people wonder why I hate trial lawyers.
What does it say about you if someone "brave, honorable, and true" is a problem for you?
In order to keep my Real Man bona fides current — disability being no excuse — yesterday I crutched my way out to the garage and used a power tool (Porter Cable circular saw
[Insert grunting noises here.]
Now disposed of: the crate in which my lathe
About the Vick dog-fighting/cruelty case: almost everything I might have to say, I said three years ago, with one addendum.
This is as clear an example as one might wish of what can happen when people are coddled and unceasingly told "you can do no wrong" simply because they have athletic ability.
In most cases, it merely leads to an inflated ego.
Sometimes, though, it creates a sociopath.
A modicum of sanity in Oregon, where charges of felonious butt-swatting against two 13-year-old boys have been dropped. I don't care who you are, butt-swatting when a 13-year-old should in no way mark you as a sex offender for life. Indeed, I can't think of too many things a 13-year-old can do that ought to label them for life. Are you the same person now that you were when you were 13?
Steve H. prognosticates. He may be on to something there. Me, I think we're looking at a major redefinition of the term "boob-tube."
Garofalo to join cast of "24." Fonzie to jump shark.
Louisiana Democrats attack Bobby Jindal's religion. (Isn't Louisiana a heavily Catholic state?) They once tried a whisper campaign about his ethnicity, so this really comes as no surprise. That they have to take his words out of context is not only unsurprising, it's pretty much the standard modus operandi for Democrats these days.
John Edwards: not so bright. Less bright: the people who ever voted for him for anything.
Breaking and entering? Illegal. Squatting? Not so much.
LOL, cat.
Dan Riehl points out what ought to be — what once used to be — blindingly obvious:
I've no desire to insult the victim or her family and no one should. But the sad reality is that Jessie Davis was either the victim of poor self, or impulse control and poor decision-making, perhaps both, long before she became a murder victim. And to suggest that one isn't in any way related to another only endorses the notion that values don't matter. They do. And while Ms. Davis certainly isn't in any way directly responsible for her own death, had she been a bit more responsible with her life, it likely wouldn't have ended in such a tragic crime. [Emphasis mine.]
[Link via Misha, who adds his own particular flavor of invective — the language is not for the sensitive, but the sentiment is dead-on.]
It should come as no surprise that a man who cheats on his wife — twice, three times, maybe more — might not be the ideal man on whom to pin your hopes for future happiness, or to be your baby's daddy.
Jessie Davis had to learn the hard way, and too late, that poor choices and irresponsible behavior can indeed have horrible consequences. Yet, if someone somewhere along the line had gotten through to her with the message that adulterous affairs are a bad idea, she might be alive today.
Similarly, Bobby Cutts might have learned at some point that cheating on your wife is wrong, and that murder is not only as wrong as can be, but certainly isn't going to make things any easier.
Simple things, one would think.
I hope that somewhere, someone sees the 24-hour news cycle coverage of what happened in Ohio and avoids making a tragic mistake in his or her own life.
If you need a DNA test to determine who your baby's father is, you're a whore.
[Rape victims excepted, of course.]
Still no word on the MRI results. The longer I wait, the more nervous I get.
Nonetheless, I am constantly reminded that whatever my problems are, they are as a hill of beans when compared to some other peoples' problems.
Like Tony Snow, for instance.
Man, that just plain sucks. Good luck, Tony.
From the BBC:
Viagra used to save baby's lifeViagra has been used by doctors on Tyneside as a last resort to save the life of a premature baby.
Lewis Goodfellow was born at 24 weeks weighing just 1lb 8oz. One of his lungs had failed and not enough oxygen was able to get into his bloodstream.
Doctors at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary then tried Sildenafil, also known under the trade name of Viagra, and Lewis is now home with his parents.
The drug opened up tiny blood vessels in the baby's lungs.
Plus, all the girl babies followed him home from the maternity ward.
I'm glad to see that an other-than-expected beneficial use was found for Viagra. It gives me hope to think that perhaps, maybe someday, a miraculous medical use might be found for single malt scotch whisky.
I never thought Anna Nicole Smith was terribly attractive. Some people might find silicone-filled Hefty bags appealing. Not I... but I'm inclined to think it matters more to whom they are connected.
Smith reminded me of a piranha — toothy, opportunistic and predatory. Add to the mix the bovine physique and... well, piranhas and cows don't mix well, as every travelogue ever made about the Amazon River was sure to point out.
Had she lived to a ripe old age, she might have become known as the most successful prostitute since the Byzantine Empress Theodora. Now, though, she'll be remembered — if at all — as a self-destructive gold-digger who thought she was Marilyn Monroe.
I do feel sorry for the baby, though. That kid has no chance whatsoever of having a normal life.
Despite the fact that it's less than 20 miles up the road from me and could be considered "local news," I haven't written anything about the Duke lacrosse rape case, primarily because I have nothing to add to the public discussion.
However, for those who hear about the case only from the 30-second evening news blurbs, there's a source of information not to be missed. Brooklyn College and CUNY Graduate Center professor K. C. Johnson, a Duke alum, has been following the case almost from the outset at his remarkably thorough site Durham in Wonderland.
Short version: the good professor is no fan of Durham District Attorney Mike Nifong.
The Wall Street Journal's Dorothy Rabinowitz, who did stellar (i.e., Pulitzer-winning) work on the unjust prosecutions of daycare providers for wholly imaginary sexual assaults (based on false memories planted in very young childrens' minds by investigators with agendas) offers up her take on the matter today. Well worth reading.
In honor of the final event of Saddam's life, I'd like to offer this song.
[Lyrics here.]
I should have worn a necktie to work today. Dang it.
11pm update: good riddance to bad rubbish.
Other commentary:
Outside the Beltway
Confederate Yankee
Captain's Quarters
Hot Air
Back in my days in the Silicon Valley, when I was an officer of the LUG out there, I used to have a passing acquaintance with a brilliant software developer named Hans. . .
. . .who I just learned was arrested a week or so ago on suspicion of murdering his wife.
Police: Books, Bloody Sleeping Bag Led To Reiser Arrest
Hans Reiser Charged With MurderPOSTED: 6:57 am PDT October 12, 2006
OAKLAND, Calif. -- The Alameda County District Attorney's Office charged Hans Reiser with one count of murder Thursday, NBC11 News reported.
Reiser was handcuffed and wore a red jail jumpsuit during his 2 p.m. Thursday court appearance in Oakland. Well-known defense attorney Daniel Horowitz appeared with Reiser as did attorney Bill Dubois.
Whoa.
It was half a dozen years ago, and I didn't actually know the guy at all except to say "hi" to — on the geek continuum, he was as far above me as I am above my cat — but I'm still pretty sure I could have gone rather a long time without needing to hear news like this.
I don't know anything about the case other than what's been published in the papers, but for some reason, the notion of an Alpha Geek (which Hans unquestionably was and is) committing a violent crime against a spouse just doesn't seem real. I'm not saying he did or didn't do it — "don't know" means don't know — just that it's counter to every geek stereotype you care to name.
Just to get you started: how many übergeeks have wives?
Oh, no. Not again:
Explosion Reported At Apex EQ Plant
No Plans To Close Area SchoolsAPEX, N.C. -- Apex authorities have received multiple reports of an explosion at the site of the Environmental Quality Industrial Services, which caught fire nearly two weeks ago.
A white plume of smoke could be seen above the remains of the facility. There were also reports of a pungent odor in the air.
Apex Police Capt. Ann Stephens told WRAL that the explosion was a small fire in a 55-gallon barrel that cleanup crews were working with, but that the fire had been contained.
"All indications are that it will be localized to that one drum of material," Apex Mayor Keith Weatherly said.
OK, looks like no big deal.
Most people like to see a big to-do made about their home towns.
But, not like this:
Apex Plant Fire, Explosions Lead To EvacuationsPOSTED: 10:47 pm EDT October 5, 2006
UPDATED: 1:20 am EDT October 6, 2006APEX, N.C. -- Town officials declared a state of emergency early Friday and evacuated about half of the town after a cloud containing chlorine gas spewed from a volatile industrial fire.
Apex Town Manager Bruce Radford said a leak at the EQ North Carolina plant on Investment Boulevard sent several large plumes of chlorine gas into the air around 9 p.m. A large fire broke out at the plant afterward, with multiple explosions heard nearby.
"This is the worst possible hazardous materials incident you could have," Radford said.
Swell. Just damn superb.
I heard about this while driving home from work in a brief snippet on the radio, before the station returned to the NC State "Wolfpack" football post-game coverage. Great programming decision, guys.
I called my brother in California, and asked him to go to Google News. While I drove, he read the news to me over the phone, and I realized that — whew — my home is as far from the incident as it can be while still within the town of Apex. The prevailing winds work in my favor.
I see now on the local news that there's an evacuation center at an elementary school that's a mile closer to the site of the incident than I am. If there was any hazard here, that school wouldn't be used as a shelter.
But I have friends who live in the area affected by the evacuation order. I hope they're OK. I hope they know they can knock on my door if they need to do so.
I still don't know who won the State game.
Update, 4:30am: Yeah, pride. I've had the local news on most of the time. People are behaving well, there's a minimum of complaining, many evacuees are bringing their own supplies... people are acting like adults.
Best of all, I haven't heard of any injuries. Let's hope it stays that way.
I'm normally a heavy sleeper. Minor things — light, noise, and so on — can keep me awake, but once I'm asleep, a grenade under the bed wouldn't be enough to wake me up.
Certainly, a house exploding half a mile away didn't wake me.
When I was sick last week, one of the reasons I felt like complete crap was a lack of sleep. I'd woken up in the predawn hours last week Thursday to stagger to the little sergeant's room, but was unable to get back to sleep due to the noise of a number of helicopters which were flying around the neighborhood.
I thought it was the Marines, who often fly through the area, though I'd never noted them to do so at such hours. Usually, though, they just fly past on their way to or from Cherry Point, but these birds were loitering in the area.
I finally managed to fall asleep again an hour or so later; the sun was coming up. [I have blackout shades, so the sunlight wasn't a problem.] I don't remember, but I presume the choppers had left. When I finally awoke later in the day, I felt like warmed-over dog crap, so I called in sick and went back to bed for the day.
I gave no more thought to the helicopters which had kept me awake. This weekend, though, a co-worker and I started chatting. He lives just down the road from me, and asked me what I thought about the explosion.
Explosion?
Yes, explosion.
I never heard it, but it explained why the helicopters were pestering me.
"Don't believe everything you read." We've all heard that.
OK, so don't believe everything... but maybe you can believe this, from a few weeks ago:
Taller people are smarter: studyAug 25, 2006 — NEW YORK (Reuters) - While researchers have long shown that tall people earn more than their shorter counterparts, it's not only social discrimination that accounts for this inequality — tall people are just smarter than their height-challenged peers, a new study finds.
I think it absolutely imperative that people pay attention to these researchers.
That I say so has nothing whatsoever to do with the fact that I'm 6'8" tall. Nothing at all.
And how tall are the researchers?They are both 5 feet 8 inches tall, well above the average height of 5 feet 4 inches for American women.
No, nothing at all.
Update: Not at all related. Not a bit.
Guess what I was going to have for dinner last night?
Yep — a big spinach salad.
I settled for coldcuts and cheese.
[This is a re-post, modified, from 9/11/2004]
One morning while working from home I turned on the TV in time to see one of the World Trade Towers burning. As I watched, an airliner slammed into the second tower; in that second, the world changed.
No, that's not right. The world didn't change — we all woke up.
As events unfolded, I could only think of the people trapped by the fire, and I wondered how the authorities would evacuate so many people. Helicopters on the roof, I figured.
Then the towers fell. A plane had crashed into the Pentagon, and everyone expected there would be more attacks.
Our "vacation from history" was over, and we were at war. Against whom didn't quite matter at that moment.
Remember the preliminary casualty estimates? Numbers upwards of 30,000 were cited that morning. The shock I felt could only have been the merest shade of the horror and despair felt by the families of the victims watching on TV, wondering if their loved ones had escaped... or wondering if the body falling from the tower was their family member.
Five years later, we count ourselves fortunate that "only" 3,000 died on 9/11.
From that day and in the years since, we have learned of acts of incredible courage and steadfastness, starting with Todd Beemer and his fellow passengers on Flight 93, continued by the people who stopped Richard Reid's potentially deadly shoe-bomb plot, carried on by men leaping into the darkness over Afghanistan, with leaders like GEN Tommy Franks, and continuing today with all our armed forces.
We are also fortunate that the man in the White House is a man of moral courage and intestinal fortitude, who knows that doing the right thing should not be subject to an opinion poll.
Since 9/11, the war on terrorists and terrorist states has gone very well overall, with few mistakes and a blessedly low casualty rate for our soldiers. We have also been lucky enough — and good enough — not to have suffered another attack approaching the magnitude of 9/11.
The lesson I take from all this is that we can never again allow ourselves to nap through history; it has a way of catching up with us, and when it does, it will take all our skill, intelligence and courage to face it down. The bad guys, present and future, may get lucky again some day, but real Americans are made of stern stuff. No matter the setbacks we may face in the future, we will ultimately win.
You've heard about the death of Australian zoologist Steve "Crocodile Hunter" Irwin by now, no doubt.
When those who willingly engage in inherently risky activities die, one often hears sentiments along the line of, "he went out the way he wanted to, doing what he loved." I suppose that might apply here, too, though I doubt Mr. Irwin meant it to happen while he was quite so young, with two young children.
Perhaps he ought to have placed the welfare of his family ahead of his own desire to get close to nature and to educate. No doubt his children will be well provided for... but I bet they would rather have a Dad.
Related: Jack M., guest-posting at Ace of Spades, has additional thoughts worth reading.
I find myself liking Steve's idea for speeding up airport screening.
Captain Ed explores the "knife/gunfight" paradigm.
Marcus Cole might put it differently:
It's like I've always said: You can get more with a kind word and a two-by-four than you can with just a kind word.
There's a time for diplomacy, yes, but sometimes you have to kick the other guy in the teeth to get his attention.
My dad used to enjoy telling us how, when he played football for San Francisco State back in the '50s, one of the approved-for-athletes courses he took was — I kid you not — Square-Dance Calling.
So, I just don't see how this story could really come as much of a surprise to anyone who's ever been exposed to college athletics.
The bigger question, I suppose, is: with all those former football player college-educated square-dance callers out in the job market, why is it that the guys you see doing it are always scrawny septugenarians?
Bad dog. Bad, bad dog.
Still, Ranger has a long way to go before Toonces will need to worry about the competition.
Following columnist Robert Novak's revelation earlier this week that the source for the "outing" of Valerie Plame was not in fact Vice President Cheney, Karl Rove, or any of the usual people lefties wish to see in handcuffs and shackles, Plame and her husband "Lying Joe" Wilson have filed a civil suit against those same people.
It seems that the very people who are not being prosecuted by the government for leaking are being sued for the damage their not-leaking may have done.
Suing people for damaging your reputation would be a legitimate thing to do, but in Joe Wilson's case, perhaps it might be best to disappear off the radar of publicity. The idea of such a suit is to gain back your reputation, but this case will almost certainly destroy Wilson's. If this suit ever goes to trial, old Joe is going to have his ass handed to him. There will undoubtedly be uncomfortable questions a-plenty.
Personally, I'd rather like to hear his explanation of how he could report one set of Niger facts to congress, and then publicly use a contradictory set of facts (read: "lie") in the NY Times in an attempt to damage the President. Now that is something that ought to be lawsuit-worthy....
Joe Wilson seems determined to go down in history as the man who put the "ass" in "ambassador."
With the head having been cut off of al Qaeda in Iraq, how long will that chicken continue to run around before it dies? Or will it instead sprout a new head?
Many lower life forms are capable of regrowing damaged organs... and there aren't too many life forms lower than the jihadists.
Almost three years ago, I suggested that the Racketeering, Influence and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) statutes be used against the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, who line their pockets at our expense, for very little actual return.
Today at Captain's Quarters, Ed has some related news.
"McCarthyism" has a new definition today:
McCarthyism: efforts by members of a political opposition to subvert the policies of an elected government through the selective illegal release of classified or sensitive government information with the intent of affecting policy, swaying public opinion, damaging an administration, or creating scandal where none exists.*
New definition created in "honor" of Mary O. McCarthy, Democrat appointee at the CIA, fired for leaking classified information to the media.
Rope. Tree. Traitor. Some assembly required.
Coverage at:
Michelle Malkin
Protein Wisdom
Ace of Spades (with more here, here, and here)
Captain's Quarters
Powerline
Flopping Aces
And of course Emperor Misha I
* Yes, there's some redundancy in there. It's late, I'm tired, and the definition might undergo modification when I've had some sleep.
About those water cannon you're using: add some soap.
Seriously. Those are French students you're hosing down.
Employez le savon. Ils sentent terribles.
The Supreme Court today upheld the constitutionality of the Solomon Amendment, which requires educational institutions which take certain types of federal funding to allow military recruiters the same access that any other recruiters are granted.
Those suing to have the law stricken down were the Forum for Academic and Institutional Rights, a group of law school professors and administrators opposed to the military's "don't ask don't tell" policy, who wished to block recruiters' access [allegedly] on First Amendment grounds (though to be honest, I don't think I'm going too far out on a limb to suspect that they would grasp at any reason at all to oppose the military.)
Unanimously, the Supreme Court ruled against FAIR and in favor of the US government's position.
All of which begs the question: if the members of FAIR were so incredibly wrong — unanimously SCOTUS-ly wrong — on the meaning of the law and the applicability of the First Amendment, then what are they doing teaching Law in the first place?
These are the people producing bumper crops of lawyers every year. What else might they be wrong about? With what are they filling law students' heads?
And, is "SCOTUS-ly" a word?
Discussion and linkapalooza at Protein Wisdom.
"Long after we are gone ... our voices will linger in these walls for as long as this place remains." — G'Kar
Actor Andreas Katsulas passed away February 13th. For Babylon 5 fans, his unforgettable voice lingers.
Michelle Malkin notices certain people who won't stand — stand up for free speech, stand up against intimidation.
Of course, they aren't really Men in any meaningful sense, nor are they really of the West.
[Updates below.]
I see in your eyes the same fear that would take the heart of me.A day may come when the courage of men fails, when we forsake our friends and break all bonds of fellowship, but it is not this day. An hour of wolves and shattered shields, when the age of men comes crashing down, but it is not this day. This day we fight!
By all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you Stand, men of the West!
It is not a small matter to make oneself a potential target of the rage of a death-worshipping ideology bent on conquest. Any rational person might feel fear at the thought of being targeted by such a concentration of evil. We already know how the followers of evil react when their behavior is exposed.
Some people, perhaps many, will surrender to fear and threats. They do not realize we are all already targets.
But many more will not let their courage fail them. They know we are all already targets.
We are in the midst of an ongoing struggle, culture against culture, and there is no guarantee of victory. But fight we must, in big ways and small. Some of us can don a uniform; many of us have done so in the past. Most do other things, making their own individual stands right where they are, not surrendering to the ideologies of fear or tolerance of evil, but by living the lives of free men and women and exercising dearly held freedoms.
Including the freedom of speech.
In this, I don't care how you vote, nor does it matter what church you attend, or not. I don't care whether you're red state or blue, pink or green. If you value your freedom to make choices, to live your life as you see fit, respecting the rights of others, even though you disagree on some or many things... if you will not surrender your fundamental liberties merely to save your own skin, and will not submit to dhimmitude, then stand.
And to those of you who would tolerate the intolerable, who fear to give offense rather than speak the truth, who would strike a bargain with evil to save your miserable skins: begone. We have no use for you.
Updates, 4Jan06
1. Don't miss Jeff Goldstein's post, Identity Politics, Free Speech, and the Future of worldwide Liberalism, 2: a follow-up.
[If, as Lileks once said, Bill Whittle is the Kirk and Steven Den Beste the Spock of the blogosphere, then surely Jeff is the Scotty. His ability to dig into the nuts and bolts of issues, to get to the fundamentals, and then to deliver superbly-written analysis is top notch.]
2. The quote of the day is from Tim Blair, on the Danes vs. Muslims "clash of civilizations":
No; that would require two civilisations.
Update, 5Jan06
Wind Rider points out what is not meant by "stand."
Back in December of 2003, within a week of Saddam Hussein's capture, I wrote a little post about his eventual trial.
The trial has begun, so I thought it might be appropriate to repost the bulk of my thoughts on the matter.
The European chattering classes, and UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, want Saddam put on trial in some nice neutral place, where the worst that will happen is that he be locked away for life in the latest equivalent of Spandau. I'm sure *spit* Jacques Chirac *spit* would no doubt like to see Saddam held in comfortable house arrest somewhere on the French Riviera, where perhaps they might sometime get together to reminisce about their arms deals and their hatred of Israel. Our Friends The Saudis, who had no qualms about setting up housekeeping for Idi Amin, might even be persuaded to take him in as a retired refugee.
Anything to spare the former dictator from that tres gauche oh-so-American punishment, the death penalty.
Wrong.
Deliberately or otherwise, the EU-UN-weenies miss the point.
Understand this: the purpose of Saddam's trial is not to prove innocence or guilt. Saddam is manifestly guilty. Rather, the purpose will be to lay out the extent of his crimes for all the world to see, to count and put names to the victims, and to show despots the world over what can (and, G-d willing, will) happen to them, too.
Only then will he be hanged, or shot, or beheaded, or stoned, or be thrown off a roof, or whatever other manner of execution might be gleaned from the records kept of his tyranny.
Seriously, does anyone think there is the slightest chance he'd get off on a technicality?
Saddam's guilt is not in question, and frankly, a trial is a courtesy we offer only because we are in fact better than he is. But the result cannot be in doubt, because it is no trial. It is merely the sentencing hearing, with the only thing in question being whether Saddam spends a lifetime in Spandau, or his own personal eternity dangling at the end of a rope.
[Or perhaps *spit* Chirac *spit* would rather he'd had a "Ceaucescu" done on him? That would at least have had the benefit, from the French perspective, of shutting Saddam's mouth.]
The Hague will never have to deign to endure the touch of Saddam's shoes, nor will the ground of Geneva be soiled thereby. The free people of Iraq deserve the privilege of dealing with the monster that ruled over them so bloodily for so long. And they will.
And now, almost two years later, they are.
Ace has more.
Did you see that news report of American Christians dancing in the streets, handing out candy, celebrating the destruction caused by the earthquake in Pakistan?
Did you hear Jerry Falwell saying that this disaster was "clearly God's hand smiting the heathen" during "their barbaric Ramadan" holidays?
Did you see the talking heads all pointing out with barely restrained glee that the Muslim nation "had it coming?"
No?
Neither did I.
In the aftermath of Katrina, one man decided to do something to help. He didn't just write a check. He loaded up a deuce-and-a-half truck and drove to Louisiana.
Read his incredible story.
(via Kim du Toit)
Gads.
As the days add up since Katrina's passage through the Gulf Coast, more of my customers are able to check on their stores. More of them are discovering nothing but a concrete slab, a pile of rubble, a flooded-out ruin.
And I end up with more disconnects to handle.
I can't help but think of the hundred or more jobs lost at each one of those sites... and so far, I've cleared five this afternoon and evening.
Recovering the economy of the Gulf Coast will likely be a far bigger task than cleaning up the physical wreckage.
The company at which I work provides network management services to a variety of companies here in the US and around the world. Our system here periodically checks the routers and switches that we manage. We can tell that a network interface has flapped, we can spot a T1 problem, we can tell that a router has crashed – usually before our customer knows about it. The system alerts us, we let the customer know about it, and then we fix it.
Sometimes, we get a special kind of alert due to a "disconnect." It's not an operational problem, it's just a case of the customer permanently shutting down a piece of equipment, usually to replace it with something bigger and better. We then have to remove said equipment from our monitoring system. Doing so is a fairly specialized piece of database jiggery-pokery, so it's bumped upstairs to my level, where we senior-ish folks handle it.
Usually, it's a good idea to verify that the equipment we're about to stop monitoring is really no longer in service — it'd be a bad idea to stop keeping an eye on hardware that's still in operation. So we look in the customer log file to verify that a Service Request to turn off our connection has been properly filed.
Since Katrina struck the Gulf Coast, it's been a bit difficult to verify some disconnects. In far too many cases, there have been no Service Requests at all; rather, there will be brief notes in the logs:
"Customer evacuated."
"Store flooded; will be permanently closed."
"Site no longer exists."
No longer exists. I've seen too many of those in the last week.
They're just routers, just networks... but every one of them represents jobs, aspirations, and lives ruined or destroyed.
I can see it now...
Bush Administration Ignoring Clean Air Standards
Scientists Predict Spike in Air Pollution LevelsThe destructive power of hurricane Katrina was seemingly diminished by comparison today when EPA Administrator and Bush crony Stephen L. Johnson unleashed his full fury on the environment.
Using the pretense of weather-induced shortages of oil and gas, Johnson – known to be in the pocket of Big Oil – today suspended critical life-saving standards for sulphur and volatility in diesel fuel and gasoline. The suspension is allegedly scheduled to last through the 15th of September, though trusted sources say the "temporary" suspension is an obvious prelude to the permanent dismantling of clean air standards.
In a response, the Center for Science in the Public Interest announced their prediction that air pollution levels would skyrocket, soaring by an estimated 0.0004 percent.
"The none-too-subtle machinations of the Halliburton-Enron-Cheney axis are finally bearing their poisoned fruit," said one scientist, who explained the tie-dyed ski-mask he wore by suggesting he might otherwise meet with an untimely accident. "This hurricane is clearly the biggest put-up job in all of recorded history."
"Come the revolution," noted another scientist, boldly clad in an coordinated ensemble of "No Nukes" apparel, "the clean air standards will be returned to their pre-Bush levels, then we will continue to extend them. CO2 must be reduced, and if millions, or perhaps billions of people have to stop breathing in order to meet our clean air goals, well, that's a small price to pay for saving Mother Gaia."
"What about Kyoto?" added a third scientist, delicately emphasizing the point by pounding one of her Birkenstocks on the table. "We must end the national and global obsession with this 'liquid crack,' and if we have to force people to do without, it's only because we know best."
Bush administration officials declined to comment.
In related news, the sky is falling.
Q: How do you know that an impending disaster is going to be really enormously catastrophically huge?
A: When you hear the phrase "when the dead begin to float" spoken as though it was the least of the survivors' worries.
Katrina is going to be a tough one. Good luck to the folks stuck in the Big Easy.
Pro athletes aren't always jerks:
Players rally around child after grandfather collapsesCINCINNATI - Cincinnati Reds players rallied around a 6-year-old boy after his grandfather collapsed in the stands.
"We just tried to make a bad situation a little better," said outfielder Ken Griffey Jr.
While paramedics were working on the grandfather, security officer Bill Summee took the boy to the Reds bullpen. The Reds did not release the name of the grandfather, who died Wednesday night of an apparent heart attack.
The boy, identified as Antonio Perez of Hamilton, sat with players for the last two innings of the game, and Griffey went and got him when the game ended. The boy participated in the Reds' high-fives celebrating their 8-5 victory over Atlanta, and he then joined the players in the clubhouse.
Clubhouse manager Rick Stowe said the Reds showered the boy with bats, wristbands, and autographed baseballs. Shortstop Felipe Lopez gave him the batting helmet, autographed, that Lopez wore in this year's All-Star game.
The players kept the boy distracted until his parents arrived.
A tough day for the kid, perhaps made a bit better by the kindness of strangers.
"We play a game," Griffey said. "What he was going through doesn't compare. It was important that the little guy not be by himself."
That is perspective. I'm glad to see it hasn't disappeared.
(via Fark)
A big jet airliner, 309 souls aboard, crashes on landing and there at no fatalities? None? Not one?
Thankfully, even the plane crashes in Canada are boring.
A major inspiration for a generation of engineers – yours truly included – has passed.
Scotty of 'Star Trek' Dead at 85James Doohan, the burly chief engineer of the Starship Enterprise in the original "Star Trek" TV series and motion pictures who responded to the command "Beam me up, Scotty," died early Wednesday. He was 85.
On the anniversary of the first Moon landing... it's fitting, somehow.
Less well known about Mr. Doohan is that he was a WW2 veteran:
At 19, James escaped the turmoil at home by joining the Canadian army, becoming a lieutenant in artillery. He was among the Canadian forces that landed on Juno Beach on D-Day. "The sea was rough," he recalled. "We were more afraid of drowning than the Germans."The Canadians crossed a minefield laid for tanks; the soldiers weren't heavy enough to detonate the bombs. At 11:30 that night, he was machine-gunned, taking six hits: one that took off his middle right finger (he managed to hide the missing finger on the screen), four in his leg and one in the chest. Fortunately the chest bullet was stopped by his silver cigarette case.
My favorite Scotty-ism: "Keyboard. How quaint."
So long, Scotty.
Democratic strategist Bob Beckel made an appearance on Fox News Live this morning to discuss Karl Rove and l'affair du Plame. Beckel seems to have divorced himself from reality.
Gregg Jarrett: Bob, the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committe said Joe Wilson embellished his role, invented some of his claims, and gave a version of events that were inaccurate, unsubstantiated and misleading. Isn't it a bit hypocritical of Wilson to be ranting about ethics?Bob Beckel: Well, first of all you've got to assume the description is accurate. [It is unclear from the context exactly what Beckel is referring to here, but I'm pretty sure he isn't talking about Wilson.] The fact of the matter is that what George Bush said in that State of the Union statement about the British intelligence on Niger and Saddam Hussein going after nuclear yellowcake was not true. Bottom line, not true. No matter whether Wilson reported that one way or another.
Jarrett: The British still stand by it. The British still stand by it.
Beckel: No wait, excuse me, the British do not stand by it. They've taken fifteen steps back and punted.
In Washington D.C., that is what passes for reasoned discourse. In the rest of the country we call Beckel's performance lying. Nothing he said there is true; I even doubt the veracity of his use of "and" and "the."
Just to make clear:
• Joe Wilson may have been an ambassador at some point in the past, but he is a liar now.
• Bush did not refer to Niger in his State of the Union speech, he referred to Africa as a whole. "The British government has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa." Those sixteen famous words were true.
• Per the report of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, Wilson's own report makes clear that the government of Niger believed that Saddam was seeking uranium ore, as opposed to Niger's other main exports: livestock, cowpeas, and onions.
• Last I heard, the British do still stand by their intelligence.
In an effort to make Karl Rove (and of course, the President) look bad, the Democrats are either willing to openly lie about the facts, or are so blinded by Bush-hatred that they refuse to see the facts for what they are.
One expects partisans of either side to look at facts, and to forcefully present and argue for their opinions about those facts. But no one, not even Bob Beckel, is entitled to his own set of facts.