Dohiyi Mir
In Which NTodd Says His Peace
But What About The Other Stuff?
CNN:
The Arab dailies Asharq Al-Awsat and Al-Hayat reported Monday that Dr. Iyad Allawi told them in interviews the former Iraqi leader admitted he invested stolen Iraqi money -- which the Iraqi Governing Council estimates at $40 billion -- in Switzerland, Japan and Germany, among others, under fictitious company names.
Allawi also told the papers that Saddam is giving the "names of people who know the location of hidden arsenals used in terrorist attacks against coalition forces and the Governing Council."
Allawi is quoted saying, "Saddam Hussein's trial would not be public since he could name countries and persons whom he gave money."
Hmm...what three little letters are missing? That's right: WMD.
Well, I'd take anything coming from the IGC with a grain of salt, anyway. I'm still not entirely convinced Saddam knows much of anything about the insurgency (despite the fact that I think there was a planned guerrilla campaign). And it's interesting that Allawi says Saddam's trial would not be public. Might we also learn something about US complicity when Saddam gassed his own people?
ntodd
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Why I'm Not A Democrat: Reasons #217 and #218
#217 from Atrios:
#218 is related, and is also from Atrios. He has a post and comment thread that really annoyed me. It's about Dean's recent statements, which are similar to what he's said in the past, about how he can't command his followers to line up and enthusiastically support another Dem candidate. Many people over at Eschaton are up in arms over that observation. I don't have time to go into it now, so just check out the thread and lemme know what you think.
Bottom-line for me: Dean is right, and all the hand-wringing is part of why I don't like parties in the first place. I'm suspicious of any group that espouses a pure faith.
ntodd
I Think This Is Good
CNN:
Israel announced Sunday it will evacuate four settlement outposts in the West Bank and ease restrictions on Palestinians in Gaza.
...
The Israeli Defense Ministry said Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz signed an order Sunday to evacuate four outposts in the West Bank -- Bat Eyin, Havat Shaked, Hazon David and Ginot Arieh.
I might be mistaken, but I think this is the farthest Israel has gone toward dismantling settlements. I think Sharon had made noise about doing this before, but backed down using Palestinian violence as an excuse. Unfortunately, I'm too lazy to look for sources confirming or denying that recollection right now.
ntodd
My Back Hurts
The 0.6 HP NTodd snow thrower isn't working so well. I hope I didn't burn out my back shoveling the few hundred cubic feet of heavy snow in front of my garage bay. Maybe if I had no back at all...
...seems to work for Sam.
And in the interest of equal time, here's some video of Cairo engaged in one of her favorite endeavors: ripping apart the stuffing from a freshly-gutted hedgehog. At least I feel better than that poor toy!
ntodd
Galactica
Stef and I watched the new Battlestar Galactica last night (Dad Tivoed it for us), and I just re-watched it tonight. Wow.
I thought they did a great job paying homage to the original series, excellent job updating and expanding the vision and story. I think they even made things more realistic--still had sound in space, which always annoys me, but a lot of nice attention to detail regarding how ships in space might function, and the use of projectiles instead of energy weapons is a nice touch and even made things more dramatic.
I also dig the female Starbuck and Boomer, and even #6. Hoo yeah.
ntodd
Marked Card
Over at alicublog there's a nice deconstruction of Orson Scott Card's laughable assertion that he's a Democrat:
[W]hat have we got? A guy who claims to be a Democrat, but whose main expressed belief is that Democrats are evil traitors for whom decent people should never vote.
(via StoutDemBlog.)
Why do I care what an SF writer thinks about politics? What bugs the crap out of me about Card is that he seems to claim he's a Dem just so he can sound "fair and balanced" as he takes a contrarian position against "his" party. His real purpose strikes me as merely giving wingers the opportunity to say "See, even a Democrat thinks XYZ."
I'm not a big fan of the Democratic Party (or any party), as faithful readers know, but I hate to see someone who is so clearly not a Dem say that he is. The combination of that "wolf in sheep's clothing" BS with Card's heavy reliance on strawmen and red herrings in his oft-quoted political writing is making me develop a healthy dislike of the man.
ntodd
Screwing The Pooch, American Style
ATimes:
Strike up a conversation and the cabbies will most likely tell you what seems to have become the conventional wisdom today: not even Saddam Hussein could have screwed up this badly.
Yup, the reconstruction of Iraq proceeds according to plan. Or maybe according to the genius of our non-plan. Eh, what's the difference?
One might ask the same question about comparing Iraq and Vietnam. Robert Kaiser does a good job of answering that in today's WaPo:
"History doesn't repeat itself, at best it rhymes," Mark Twain is credited with saying. This is a wise warning. A close examination of Iraq and Vietnam quickly makes clear the limits of any analogy. There are just too many differences to justify putting these two entanglements in the same category.
But it's easy to find the rhymes...Sometimes the rhymes ring like chimes. For example:
- Official optimism.
- American isolation on the ground.
- American isolation in the world.
- The primacy of American political considerations.
...
Vietnam undermined the U.S. economy, nearly destroyed the U.S. Army and contributed to a generation or more of public cynicism and distrust of government. There are no grounds today for predicting consequences as grave from the war in Iraq. Indeed, a successful outcome, including a new democratic Iraq, remains possible. But the rhymes should give us pause.
This hits exactly the right note. I, for one, never have claimed Iraq and Vietnam are identical, yet I find the analogy between the conflicts to be generally instructive. Just as our own tragic chapter in Vietnam's history was presaged by France's quagmire, previous interventions can inform us with regard to our involvement in Iraq. Many proponents of the war in Iraq desperately try to dash any comparison to Vietnam, with objections ranging from the fairly reasonable (e.g., the Iraqi resistance ain't the Viet Cong) to laughable strawmen (e.g., Iraq doesn't have any jungles). All of these really miss the wider lessons of Vietnam: an indigenous force will ultimately always defeat an occupier; not even a superpower can win a war in isolation; lying to gain support for a war is a dangerous propositon.
Of course, all analogies break down at some point. Take the appeasement argument that led LBJ to increase our involvement in Southeast Asia. Johnson felt we needed to stand up to North Vietnam, lest we reward the commies for their aggression. As Jeffrey Record observes in a Air War College paper:
[T]he differences between Hitler's Germany of the 1930s and 1940s and Ho Chi Minh's Democratic Republic of Vietnam of the 1960s were so profound as to make Munich an enemy of sound judgment by the United States on Vietnam.
Munich has been invoked regarding Iraq many times by the pro-war camp, ignoring the myriad differences between Hitler and Hussein just as they ignored the obvious differences between Hitler and Ho. Not surprising, given the binary worldview that only saw inaction or war as the two options in dealing with Saddam. Casting successful containment of Iraq as "appeasement" came naturally to them.
No matter what analogy you prefer, the tragedy in Iraq continues: Iraq blasts kill 2 U.S. soldiers, 2 Iraqi children. Since Saddam Hussein was captured, A couple dozen coalition troops have been killed, and who knows how many civilians.
And lest we forget our other botched exercise in nation building: Suicide bomber kills 5 in Kabul. Only a superpower like America has the ability to invade and screw up two countries simultaneously.
I have no idea how our two quagmires will turn out, but I know this: we need to stop sticking our feet into them. Howard Dean might fall into the same traps, and will definitely create rhymes of his own, but I'm very optimistic that his foreign policy will be more reasonable than Bush's, and will offer us the best chance to avoid such pitfalls because it won't be so reckless.
ntodd
[Update: I've made a few edits to fix a couple formatting things or other stuff that annoyed me.]
Sunday Reading
Check these out:
* Over at Collective Sigh, andante has found her Rep in a deck of GOP Playing Cards.
* At Open Source Politics, Joe Taylor tells us about Hunger and How to End It.
* edwardpig is skeptical of The Ownership Society that Bush will be pushing.
* Peter at Kick the Leftist tells us about Progress in Iraq.
* At BBWW, Mustang Bobby tells us why the GOP is really afraid of Dean.
* Scout of And Then... describes the latest Bush shell game.
* "But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites" sayeth Lambert at corrente.
* Steve Gilliard says it's time to take the gloves off.
* Allen Brill offers a Christmas Apology at The Right Christians.
Yup, still too lazy to provide editorial comments. Busy^3.
ntodd
''U.S. Power Decides Iraq's Economic Future''
PINR:
In the end, the Bush administration's decision to limit the contract bidding is important since it signifies the further erosion of current norms of world order and international law. In fact, the war began in much the same manner: foreign countries such as France and Russia that already had contracts in Iraq were told by the Bush administration that their contracts wouldn't be honored by the new U.S.-controlled Iraqi government unless these countries supported a United Nations Security Council resolution authorizing a U.S. invasion.
This establishes a dangerous precedent: if a state is powerful enough, it can invade another, install a puppet government -- whether interim or permanent -- and then decide that country's economic future and structure. Indeed, Wolfowitz admitted as much, asserting, "Limited competition for prime contracts will encourage the expansion of international cooperation in Iraq and in future efforts."
Wolfowitz's statements not only acted as an attempt to dangle an economic carrot in front of the world's eyes, but also foreshadowed possible U.S. interventions in the future that would be undertaken using similar methods, without the involvement of the United Nations or other international bodies.
In the Bush Doctrine we trust, all others pay cash.
ntodd
Blogging Resumes Soon
Okay, got the damn weather station PC working, and I'll get to some blogging soon. It's going to be light over the next several days because I need to: dig out my garage (damn nationwide snow thrower shortage), finish my damn book project (I got an extension), hang out with a couple important boys (nephews of a friend of mine from way back), spend New Year's with my best friends from college (and their spouses), and celebrate Stef's birthday (she already got an early vaporware present: a promise of an iPod, which we tried to buy at Circuit City yesterday only to discover there's a nationwide shortage). Whew!
ntodd
Aaargh!
I just spent a couple hours troubleshooting an old computer that I use for a weather station--I'll spare you the details. Suffice to say, things are not working as expected, so now I'm just surly and have no interest in blogging.
ntodd
Throwing Snow
Stef and I are going to get a snow thrower today, if we can find one. Home Despot only has really small ones or big 11 HP models in stock--all the midranges are gone. Given the size of the snow berm in front of my garage bay right now, that might be required. Anyway, we're going to enjoy a beautiful day and get a little shopping in as well. Back in a few hours.
ntodd
Agnew Lives
Okay, Atrios and Kos already have covered this, but...:
President Bush's campaign has settled on a plan to run against Howard Dean that would portray him as reckless, angry and pessimistic...
Yeah, that seems like a winning strategery. As I noted over at Eschaton, here are some words from Dean's recent foreign policy speech:
I believe that, with new leadership, and strengthened partnerships, America can turn around the situation in the Middle East and in the Persian Gulf. I believe we can defeat terrorism and advance peace and progress. I believe these things because I believe in America's promise. I believe in our capacity to come together as a people, and to act in the world with confidence, guided by our highest aspirations.
Does that sound like the words of a nattering nabob of negativism? Given the great damage Bush has wrought, this strikes me as the height of optimism.
ntodd
Cat Blogging Coincidentally On Friday
As faithful readers know, I cat blog whenever I damn well feel like it, so I don't owe Kevin Drum any royalties for FCB.
Christmas Day Truce is now over, and Saffron defends her favorite haunt: my laptop case.
The soon-to-be-emasculated Sam quickly became distracted with some ribbon over by the dining room table.
ntodd
[Update: special dog blogging addition:
This is for Jesse (and I guess Jeff, too, amongst others).]
Peace And Protest
Just got word of a new peace website set up by Mike Palecek in an e-mail:
Mike Palecek is an Iowa author, former federal prisoner for peace, seminarian, and newspaper reporter. He was the Iowa Democratic Party nominee for the U.S. House, 5th District, 2000 election.
Check it out!
ntodd
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Post NODWISH Blogaround
Brief:
* Lawrence of Cyberia covers the latest insanity from the IDF regarding conscientious objectors: "The Worst Of Criminals".
* Steve Gilliard has more than A few words about gun control.
* Stradiotto commits Heresy!
* Rook has a conversation going about his prediction that the GOP convention is going to be ugly.
* The Politburo Diktat has an interesting suggestion for finding Osama bin Missing.
ntodd
Christmas in Baghdad...
Baghdad Burning:
Explosions and bombing almost all day yesterday and deep into the night. At some points it gets hard to tell who is bombing who? Resistance or Americans? Tanks or mortars? Cluster bombs or IEDs? Nothing on the news...to see the reports on CNN, Abu Dhabi, and Al-Arabia you'd think there was nothing going on in Baghdad beyond the usual thumps and thuds. Yesterday was *very* unusual. Embassies, mines, residential areas and the Green Zone… and the sirens. I hate the sirens. I can stand the explosions, the rattling windows, the slamming doors, the planes, the helicopters… but I feel like my heart is wailing when I hear the sirens.
The explosions haven't really put anyone in a very festive spirit...
...
This year, the Christmas service was early and many people didn't go because they either didn't have gasoline, or just didn't feel safe driving around Baghdad in the evening. Many of them also couldn't join their families because of the security situation. Abu Josef's family have aunts and uncles in a little village north of Mosul. Every year, the extended relatives come down and stay in their house for a week to celebrate Christmas and New Year. This year they've decided to stay in their village because it just isn't safe to leave their home and head for Baghdad.
At one point during the evening, the house was dark and there was no electricity. We sat, gathered around on the ground, eating date-balls and watching Abu Josef's dog chew on the lowest branch of the tree. The living room was lit by the warm light radiating from the kerosene heater and a few Christmas candles set on the coffee table. Abu Josef's phone suddenly rang shrilly and Abu Josef ran to pick it up. It was his brother in Toronto and it was the perfect Christmas gift because it was the first time Abu Josef got an overseas call since the war- we were all amazed.
ntodd
Happy Tree Friends
OMG, this is some disgustingly funny animation (via Blah3). My wife says I'm a bad Quaker for enjoying stuff like this, but I call it catharsis.
ntodd
A Happy NODWISH
My folks left a little while ago after a very nice dinner and gift exchange. The animals are all zonked, having spent an exciting day ripping paper to shreds and chasing ribbons. A couple inches of fresh snow with more white stuff falling (8 inches by tomorrow, we're told), wonderful NODWISH music on VPR, flickering candles, a warm house, a full belly...a good day. Time for some good liberal guilt for being so lucky.
Peace,
ntodd
An Orange Christmas
Our Merry Orange Alert on this Christian holiday reminded me of something that most Christian of all Christians, Ann Coulter, said about Muslims right after 9/11:
We should invade their countries, kill their leaders and convert them to Christianity.
And that reminded me of one of my favorite songs from South Park, Merry F'ing Christmas1 (lyrics, mp3):
I heard there is no Christmas,
In the silly Middle East...
No Trees, no Snow, no Santa Claus,
They have Different Religious beliefs...
They Believe in Muhammad,
And not in our Holiday...
And so every December,
I go to the Middle East and say...
Hey there Mr Muslim, Merry F'ing Christmas
Put down that book 'The Koran'
and hear some holiday wishes
In case you haven't noticed,
it's Jesus's Birthday
So get off your heathen Muslim Ass
And f'ing celebrate.
Oh, that always makes me laugh.2 Does that mean I'm a bad person? And bringing it all full circle, here's a story from last week's Onion:
On almost every corner in Iraq's capital city, carolers are singing, trees are being trimmed, and shoppers are rushing home with their packages—all under the watchful eye of U.S. troops dedicated to bringing the magic of Christmas to Iraq by force.
I must be a bad person, because this makes me laugh, too.3 A thought occurs: maybe Ann Coulter was just engaging in satire back in 2001? Hmm...
ntodd
1 - Yes, I did some censoring. Guess which word.
2 - On a serious note, read this paper about addressing root causes.
3 - On another serious note, let's not forget that our soldiers are spending Christmas far from home: Troops kick off Christmas festivities in Saddam's former base. Come home soon.
[Update: realized I hadn't linked to Ann's article. Oversight corrected.]
All I Want For NODWISH
A new preznit.
My folks gave me what I wanted for NODWISH: a donation to the Dean campaign.
ntodd
PS--WaPo has a piece on web-based fundraising. Guess who gets most of the ink?
X-mas Present From The Court: Cleaner Air
NYTimes:
A federal appeals court on Wednesday at least temporarily blocked a Bush administration rule, due to take effect on Friday, that would have relaxed existing regulations and so allowed hundreds of aging power and industrial plants to make upgrades without installing modern pollution controls.
The order, by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, indicates that the court has substantial doubt about the White House's claims that it has authority to modify the Clean Air Act by regulation and that its changes would not hurt the environment.
...
The ruling on Wednesday essentially places a burden on the administration to justify a regulatory change that it has been unable to accomplish through the legislative process...
...
When [the Clean Air Act] was enacted, it exempted from its requirements for modern, expensive pollution controls those plants that were already in operation. Lawmakers assumed that these "grandfathered" plants would be replaced over time by new ones.
Instead of building new plants, though, some utilities upgraded the existing ones, avoiding the costs of the emissions controls while adding to capacity, and to pollution.
In response, Congress modified the law, requiring that upgrades were to be considered "new sources" of pollution and thus subject to the control requirements. Industry subsequently objected that what environmentalists and government frequently considered upgrades were in fact nothing more than routine maintenance, which the requirements did not cover.
The battle has raged ever since...
Ah, the sweet smell of victory. Well, the battle ain't over yet, but we can breathe a bit easier this holiday. Have a merry...
ntodd
Account Of A Visit From St. Nicholas
'Twas the night before Christmas,
when all through the house
Not a creature was stirring,
except for Sam (and the mice in the basement)...
Blogging will be light tomorrow, as will be the traffic, I suspect. If you're celebrating X-mas (or even if you're not), have a safe and happy day.
And now I have to go to bed: Santa's almost here!
Peace,
ntodd
NODWISH Lights
We made the annual pilgrimage to the light show at the old lady's house in Fairfax, about 6 miles from us (I should note that we pass by the house any time we go into town, and we try to stop to check out the display and chat with the folks). Her granddaughter gave us the tour this year, and as usual there were some new decorations added to the spectacle. Here's a sampling:
A panorama of the front yard. This is not the whole yard, but maybe only 30 feet less than the entire length.
An example of one of the windows on the house front. There are a total of 85 of these dolls throughout the display. Up from about 75 last year.
The Big Guy himself--a new addition since last year. He dances and sings "Santa Claus is Coming to Town." I didn't take any video.
There's more in the backyard, but I didn't shoot any pics. It's an awesome mixture of the sacred and profane, er...secular, with a certain method to the zoning. Many of the decorations are animated, and some play music, so there's a soundtrack as you walk the paths around the path.
They started putting the decorations up in July this year. In past years tour buses have come to see the sight, and there's been TV coverage--this year things have been a little more low key. The lights are on until 10PM each night, and they'll be shut down this Sunday, when the chore of tearing everything down begins.
ntodd
HaloScan Back Online
BlogSpeak comments moved to HaloScan (it's ugly, but they're there for continuity). BlogSpeak has been removed.
ntodd
Merry Christmas From Nader
WaPo:
Ralph Nader, whose 2000 campaign many Democrats believe cost former vice president Al Gore the presidency, has decided not to run for president next year as the candidate of the Green Party but is still contemplating a presidential race as an independent, a Nader associate said yesterday.
Well, one major victory in convincing Ralph "Ego" Nader not to run as a Green (I think the party itself wasn't too sure they wanted him). I doubt an indy run will be as scary, but I sure would like him to stay out altogether.
I hear tell the Greens are considering putting up a candidate in "safe states" only--not sure if that's a bright idea either, but maybe it will help them build their organization with minimal risk of helping elect Bush. I like that they're at least a) thinking about the larger ramifications of a Green candidate, and b) actually focusing on building the party slowly, rather than grabbing for the brass ring right away. Shows that maybe the party is maturing.
ntodd
Christmas Movies
My favorite movies at NODWISH time:
1) The Snowman - One of my favorite songs of all time is Walking in the Air--oddly enough, not the movie version as much as the one from Christmas with the Pops (I also like George Wintson's).
2) A Christmas Story - While I never wanted an Official Red Ryder carbine action BB gun with a compass in the stock and this thing that tells time, Ralphie's quest reminds me of my own myriad childhood Christmas obsessions.
3) It's a Wonderful Life - Donna Reed. Nuff said.
4) A Charlie Brown Christmas - Linus is my hero. Charlie Brown's pathetic tree, the true meaning of Christmas, and all that jazz.
5) Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer - I've always felt like I belonged on the Isle of Misfit Toys. "Eat, Papa, Eat!"
Watching these shows always puts me in the NODWISH spirit. What are your quintessential holiday movies?
ntodd
[Update: I was lazy and just copied 5 BlogSpeak comments into a single post in HaloScan. Hopefully it's not too much a pain in the ass to read. And c'mon, people! What are your favorite NODWISH movies? What, are you, like, interacting with family or something? That reminds me, Stef wants me to vacuum--my folks are coming over tomorrow.]
HaloSuck
Comments seem to be only half working: you can read 'em, but not add your own thoughts. Sigh.
ntodd
[Update: lots of folks have been complaining on the HS support forum, so maybe this will get fixed sometime before 2004. In the meantime, I'm going to try to set up a temp BlogSpeak comment section.]
Interesting WaPo-ABC Poll
WaPo:
Asked whether they would vote for Bush or an unnamed Democratic presidential nominee in 2004, 50 percent of those surveyed said Bush while 41 percent said the Democrat.
...
Asked to choose among the nine candidates for the Democratic nomination, 31 percent of registered Democrats said they favored Dean, up from 20 percent a week ago and 15 percent in October. No other Democrat reached double digits.
...
The Post-ABC poll suggests that Dean's recent surge has come disproportionately from Democrats who do not closely identify with their party. In mid-October, Dean claimed the support of one in six Democratic-leaning independents and an equal proportion of party rank and file. Today, he gets significantly more support from independent Democrats (35 percent) than he does from party faithful (26 percent).
As a candidate in the general election, Dean starts well behind Bush in the public's estimation. In an early test of strength, 55 percent of those surveyed said that if the election were held today, they would vote to reelect the president, and 37 percent said they would favor Dean. No other Democrat was tested against Bush in the Post-ABC poll.
A few interesting things:
1) Dean is polling about the same against Bush as he was for the past few months. Consistent, not losing any ground against the incumbent.
2) Dean is polling about the same as the unnamed Dem (MOE +/- 3%). Damn it, this is yet another poll that didn't match any other Dem against Bush. Regardless, Dean has been polling about the same as the other Dems in various polls, giving lie to the "unelectable" meme.
3) While lots of pundits focus on Dean's alleged weakness in foreign affairs, the most important issue for Dems is overwhelmingly the economy (51%), followed by health care and education (13%). Given other polling, I don't think that's too far from the American mainstream.
I'm also encouraged by the fact that Dean is motivating more independent Dems. Shows that he's striking a chord with people who will be very important in the general election. Really, extremely positive results for a challenger 11 months from the election. Still lots of work to do, so let's get to it!
ntodd
Al Qaeda Targets Small Towns?
MSGOP:
[N]ew intelligence indicated that bin Laden himself had approved the most recent plan for major attacks, along with Ayman al-Zawahiri, his deputy.
U.S. officials and terrorism experts said that while some of the potential targets might seem unusual, there was a method to al-Qaida's plot.
For example, the officials said, al-Qaida seems particularly interested in Tappahannock, Va., a tiny town of 2,016 people with no military base or major infrastructure. Such an attack would be intended to generate widespread fear that no one was safe, even in small rural towns, they said.
Since 9/11 I've often speculated about the efficacy of attacking a rural community in Vermont or other states*. I've always rejected the notion, maybe because I live in a small place and hope that will protect me, but I also wonder how much terror such an attack would really cause. The death toll and economic damage would be horrific, though it wouldn't be as significant as another attack on an urban center, so would that really terrorize Americans as much? I'm not so sure.
While the underlying principle of terrorism might be to demonstrate that anybody can be struck down at any time, anywhere, I think they would have to focus on places where they'd have the highest degree of success and impact. Crashing a plane into the tallest building in Burlington certainly isn't as devastating in any sense as destroying the WTC, no matter how you look at it, and I think more difficult to carry out--low return for higher work factor.
On the other hand, Tappahannock might not have a lot infrastructure or importance per se, but it is near places that do, in addition to being rural. A small town in VA, a couple hours from DC, might make an ideal target given its proximity to the seat of government, large airports, etc.
Alternately, all this "chatter" could just be bullshit. Certainly a cheap way to instill fear and make us waste resources without any risk to al Qaeda. Here's hoping...
ntodd
* [Update: When I went to St. Louis for the first time back in '99, visiting some of Stef's relatives, we went to the Arch. While I was taking pics, I saw a TWA plane getting ready to land--looked like it was flying under the Arch--and I wondered what would happen if a terrorist crashed a plane into such a landmark. After I learned that the Arch was designed to withstand earthquakes and super high winds, I rejected the idea. Shows how prescient I am.]
Gaaah
The hed is a direct quote from my wife, who brought this VPR story to my attention:
Wal-Mart has unveiled plans to build its largest store in the state. The facility will be located in Saint Albans town. Governor Jim Douglas says the proposal may be the first of several new Wal-Marts planned for Vermont.
The new store, which will be located just north of Saint Albans City, will be 35 percent larger than any other existing Wal-Mart in the state. Officials say the facility will employ roughly 400 people and about 300 of these jobs would be full-time positions.
400 jobs is significant in Vermont, accounting for 0.1% in our employment stats. Still, I have a hard time accepting that another Wal-Mart is our salvation, especially since many of the jobs we've lost are well-paid IBM positions. Wal-Mart also has a tendency to drive down wages in surrounding stores--we saw that when the first came to Williston, VT, several years ago--and destroy the character of our small towns. I really like Gov Douglas*, but I'm not happy about this news.
ntodd
* Jim's a Republican, and I've voted for him when he's run for lower constitutional offices--I think he's generally a good steward. I did not vote for him last election, for fear of GOP-domination of the State, possibly threatening civil unions and our environmental protection laws, amongst other things.
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OSP Reading
3 posts at Open Source Politics you might be interested in:
* Was Saddam Actually Captured On December 13? - N. Todd Pritsky takes a look at the nuanced world reaction, particularly in the Middle East, to Saddam Hussein's capture on 13 December, 2003.
* Republican Plot Uncovered - Kenneth Quinnell discovers the secret Bush plan for domination of the White House.
* Judge Upholds Eliminating Snowmobiles in Yellowstone - When the Bush gang puts profits and cronyism before the environment, that's business as usual. But when a judge publicly nails the US Resident for it, that's news. Loren Webster has the story.
We're finally going to see ROTK in just a couple hours. Woohoo!
ntodd
Body And Soul On The Quake
Jeanne on her fam's experience:
My daughter was a bit scared (first earthquake), but she got under the kitchen table and held onto the leg just like she learned in kindergarten. Her big brother tried to explain to her why there are earthquakes but I don't think she appreciated the part about California breaking off and falling into the ocean.
(hat tip to faithful reader, Steve Bates, in comments below)
Jeanne's family is OK.
I used to teach quite a bit in CA, and always wondered if there'd be a quake before I could get home to the more stable ground of Vermont. Never happened. I'll take snowstorms any day.
ntodd
Hack's Christmas Wish
SFTT:
As we enjoy our holidays in our comfortable homes, our over-committed defenders are stretched around the globe to the breaking point and beyond. This Christmas, almost half a million U.S. soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are defending freedom in places the average American can't even locate on a map...
It's a no-brainer that we should all support our warriors, who are paying such a high price on our behalf this year. But with that support comes the responsibility of thinking citizens to ask hard questions, such as:
Why are our forces defending other countries' borders while ours remain vulnerable? Why, for example, is our own homeland virtually undefended while we have almost 200,000 regular, Guard and Reserve troops securing Japan, South Korea and Germany - strong, prosperous counties that at this point would have no problem protecting themselves?
And how long can our badly stretched defense team continue carrying this senseless heavy burden? And what's going to happen next year in Iraq when 250,000 soldiers and Marines rotate in and out of that tar pit in one of the largest unit swaps in U.S. military history?
Hopefully, our Christmas 2004 stocking will be stuffed with a smarter, more rational redistribution of our most precious assets - our men and women in uniform.
What do I want for Christmas dinner next year? A lame duck. Then maybe we'll get a more rational foreign policy altogether.
ntodd
The Bush Tax
I don't know why I never got around to posting about this Dean site, The Bush Tax:
[O]ur children and grandchildren will be paying the Bush Tax. Bush promised, "I came to this office to solve problems and not pass them on to future presidents and future generations." Yet as a direct consequence of his tax policy, over six years an American family of four will take on $52,000 more in its share of the national debt. That's the Bush Tax.
Some tax cut, eh?
ntodd
Sharing A Moment
Cairo and Sam are getting along much better these days.
In fact, moments after this pic was taken, they fell asleep,
head-to-head.
ntodd
Al Qaeda Strikes CA
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge revealed today that the international terrorist organization, al Qaeda, has acquired a secret seismic weapon called Project Destiny. A day after Mr Ridge announced the US terror alert level had been raised to Orange, al Qaeda apparently has struck with this terrible new weapon, unleashing a magnitude 6.5 earthquake in central California*.
Speaking to reporters about the stunning development, President Bush cautioned people to not panic. "Everything is under control, and we're...uh, Secretary Ridge has my full confidence, my full expectation that he will prevent future attacks of this kind, of this nature." When asked about the threat that al Qaeda could stop the earth's inner core from rotating, thus causing the electromagnetic field to collapse and rendering most of our military technology useless, Mr Bush said, "They can do that?"
The Defense Department had apparently speculated about this very potential. A memo from Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld that was leaked to the press indicated that many in Pentagon saw this as an opportunity to develop special nuclear devices that would penetrate to the center of the earth and detonate, presumably reactivating the core and saving the world from total destruction. Mr Rumsfeld declined to comment on the memo, but a senior DoD official did say that not only has the military budgeted for developing this new brand of nukes, but it also is working on an American version of the seismic weapon, code named Project Big One.
In response to today's attack, Secretary Ridge raised the terror alert level to Blood Red and asked that Americans continue to go about their holiday shopping. "I think it's very, very important to send a message to the terrorists of goodwill and resolve," Ridge said.
ntodd
* Sorry for making light of the quake, but I couldn't resist tackling the coincidence. I hope the initial reports of minimal damage and injuries hold true. Be well.
[Update: added a couple links, and the Ridge quote at the end.]
[Another update: looks like 2 people were killed by the quake. My sincere condolences.]
I Have Some Christian Friends
The Corner's John Derbyshire:
Yesterday, off to a third-night-of-Hanukkah party given by some Jewish friends.
Do you really need to say "Jewish friends"? I know non-Jews might throw such a party, but does their religious affiliation matter in either case? Seems you could easily say "third-night-of-Hanukkah party given by some friends."
I guess it's not a big deal, but somehow that stuck in my craw. I mean, heck, Saturday night we went to a Christmas party thrown by some friends. Do you need any qualifiers about said friends to understand that we went to a party?
Oh, and this annoyed me too:
I came away wiser and more respectful, and vowing never to speak lightly of Hanukkah again. It's not just an excuse for Jews to party at Christmastime, it's a real festival with a serious message to it. And some TERRIFIC food.
I'm pleased he's now enlightened (pun intended) and no longer will dismiss somebody else's holiday. Wonder how John feels about things like
ntodd
* [Update: I probably should've said Eid, not Ramadan, given the next sentence. Or maybe using Ramadan as the example is more ironic?]
The Unconquered Sun
Today will be 8 hours, 48 minutes long in our neck of the woods, and it only gets better from here. Happy Solstice!
ntodd
Speaking Of Getting Married
Atrios brought this to my attention:
Terrence McNally, the playwright, and Thomas Joseph Kirdahy, a public-interest lawyer, affirmed their partnership last evening at the Inn at Sawmill Farm in West Dover, Vt. Millicent B. Atkin, a justice of the peace for Dover, Vt., performed the civil union ceremony.
I know this ain't exactly the same as marriage, but I'm just damn glad I live in a state that was able to muster the will to pass civil unions given the political climate of the day, let alone the current environment.
Before passage, Vermonters were against even civil unions by more than a 2 to 1 margin (70% con, IIRC), and many towns had informal referenda, and there were lots of public hearings with all sorts of hand wringing. We got a flier in our mailbox telling us that if the bill passed, fags would flock to Vermont, bringing AIDS, turning our beaches into depraved places of nude frolic, and making our kids gay. One Rep gave a speech in the House telling us that God's wrath would literally come down upon our State. I do not exaggerate any of this.
In the face of intense opposition, the Legislature did the right thing and passed the civil unions bill, which did protect gay couples' civil rights at the state level, though it does nothing for them from the Fed POV. Gov Dean signed the law privately, which many decried. I have no problems with his decision--this was a divisive issue, and I see no value in his rubbing the victory in people's faces.
As it was, the GOP took control of the House as a result of the ensuing backlash--many GOP candidates campaigned on the issue and promised to repeal the abomination. In the wake of the CU law, the Take Back Vermont movement was born*. Fortunately the Dems held the Senate, effectively preventing any reversal, and Dean also won a very close three-way election, assailed on both the Right and Left.
The CU concept isn't perfect, and I know some people want universal marriage rights. I'm cool with gay marriage, but I'm also pragmatic about all this: if we can make progress and create an institution that does actually guarantee all the same civil rights as marriage, I don't give a rat's ass what we call it. I've been told I'm immoral for supporting gay rights, and I've also been condemned for being an incrementalist. Such is life in the middle--maybe that's why I admire Dean so much.
Apropos of nothing, my wife and I were married on this date by a local JP who conducts civil union ceremonies. We deliberately chose her because of that.
Anyway, congratulations and best wishes to McNally and Kirdahy. Hopefully some day people won't have to come to Vermont to celebrate their unions, and will enjoy their fundamental rights no matter where they live. I look forward to the day that this isn't news.
Peace,
ntodd
* [Update: I should note that the current owner of the takebackvermont.com domain is not associated with the original movement. We still see "Take Back Vermont" signs, usually in front of homes in Vermont's so-called Northeast Kingdom, where we have a camp (cottage or cabin to you folks outside of New England). The whole point of the movement was to "take back Vermont" from, uh...I'm not sure who exactly. Apparently bad people in Montpelier who ignore the will of The People, or something.]
Peace On Earth
The menagerie peacefully shares a bit of tuna fish as a special Solstice treat*.
ntodd
* The Winter Solstice is actually at 02:04 tomorrow, but none of us will be awake then. And yes, it is our "first second" anniversary: on the Winter Solstice, 12/21/2001, we were married in a private civil ceremony by a JP, with Cairo as our only witness. Our public wedding was 9/23/2002 (we celebrated our "second first" anniversary in September).
[Update: yes, Sam at 14 weeks is roughly the same size as Saffron, who we estimate is 16 years old. They both are about 5.5 lbs. Saffy was the runt of her litter and has always been scrawny.]
Time Person Of The Year: The American Soldier
Concur 100%. Our troops were indeed the most newsworthy this year, and they deserve recognition and respect from all of us.
ntodd
Wonder If DHS Will Hire Me?
The Department of Homeland Security clearly needs a webmaster who is on the ball. CNN:
The United States raised its terror threat level from yellow (elevated) to orange (high) on Sunday, citing a "substantial increase" in intelligence pointing to threats during the holidays season that are "perhaps greater now than at any point" since 9/11.
Yet this is what shows up on the DHS website:
So, Secretary Ridge, will you give me a job to keep your site updated?
ntodd
[Update: Seriously, this is just a stupid, stupid system. I still don't know what the hell I'm supposed to do in response to the Orange level. Is this when I have to get out the plastic sheeting and duct tape? Should I turn in swarthy people to the local authorities? Dunno. Yesterday's Boondocks says it all for me:
What confuses me is that we're safer now that Saddam was captured, right? So why the elevation? What's that you say? We're not? Ah. so Howard Dean wasn't crazy afterall. And apparently most of us are on board with him:
Dean has said that while he applauds the U.S.' capture of Saddam, it will not make the U.S. any safer, and most voters agree. 85 percent of Democratic primary voters think the threat to the U.S. will either rise or stay just as it is following Saddam's capture -- a feeling shared by 78 percent of all voters nationwide.
Happy Holidays from the DOD and DHS.]
[Update, 12/22, sometime this afternoon the DHS finally updated their website:
Now I feel more secure.]
Brief Humor Blogaround
I found these posts to be excellent:
* The Politburo Diktat's Gandalf the Unilateral.
* Collective Sigh's "Axis of Evil" Mourns Libya's Loss.
ntodd
Hopefully BushCo Won't Crack The Code
Frank Rich at the NYTimes gets it:
I am not a partisan of Dr. Dean or any other Democratic candidate. I don't know what will happen on Election Day 2004. But I do know this: the rise of Howard Dean is not your typical political Cinderella story. The constant comparisons made between him and George McGovern and Barry Goldwater — each of whom rode a wave of anger within his party to his doomed nomination — are facile...
The elusive piece of this phenomenon is cultural: the Internet. Rather than compare Dr. Dean to McGovern or Goldwater, it may make more sense to recall Franklin Roosevelt and John Kennedy. It was not until F.D.R.'s fireside chats on radio in 1933 that a medium in mass use for years became a political force. J.F.K. did the same for television, not only by vanquishing the camera-challenged Richard Nixon during the 1960 debates but by replacing the Eisenhower White House's prerecorded TV news conferences (which could be cleaned up with editing) with live broadcasts. Until Kennedy proved otherwise, most of Washington's wise men thought, as The New York Times columnist James Reston wrote in 1961, that a spontaneous televised press conference was "the goofiest idea since the Hula Hoop."
...
[J]ust as anything can happen in politics, anything can happen on the Internet. The music industry thought tough talk, hard-knuckle litigation and lobbying Congress could stop the forces unleashed by Shawn Fanning, the teenager behind Napster. Today the record business is in meltdown, and more Americans use file-sharing software than voted for Mr. Bush in the last presidential election. The luckiest thing that could happen to the Dean campaign is that its opponents remain oblivious to recent digital history and keep focusing on analog analogies to McGovern and Goldwater instead.
(via corrente)
There's more to Dean than the Internet, of course, but the way his campaign has used the medium is nothing short of extraordinary. Or rather, it is extraordinary how the medium and the grassroots have enveloped his campaign, and Howie has been centered enough to allow that to happen instead of trying to lock down this phenomenon. As we Deanies like to say: Dean is the messenger. We are the message.
When you think about Seti@Home and all the other examples of distributed computing using the Internet, the Dean movement is nothing more than another application of the same idea: you slice off a bit of power from the central processing system (the campaign), empower the distributed processors (the people), and let them take a big job (getting Dean elected) and do small parts of it (convincing other voters) in parallel.
The title of Rich's article is "Napster Runs for President in '04". That's a great headline because the Dean campaign is also very much a peer-to-peer application. Just look at the letter writing activities at MeetUps that happen all over the country: regular people getting together across the nation to explain to people in Iowa why they like Dean. People are making connections with other people, engaging each other through an interactive combination of new and age-old technologies. It's the public square writ large.
Can this defeat Bush's $200,000,000? I believed it in July, and I'm even more convinced now. This is not a campaign, it is a growing movement that can be a powerful force for positive change in this country. As more people become aware that there are real alternatives to BushCo's destructive policies and politics, the more support this movement builds.
Anything can still happen between now and November 2004, and there's a real uphill climb for whoever the Democratic nominee is. But remember, anything can happen when people join forces. And anything can happen when you have a network as vast as Dean's.
ntodd
Dean Interview In Newsweek
Nice interview by Jonathan Alter and Richard Wolffe:
Joe Lieberman says you're retreating from the agenda that Democrats have made advances on since 1992.
Bill Clinton was an extraordinary, exceptionally gifted president. I don't think anybody in this race has anything close to the talent Bill Clinton had. I don't think anybody in our generation will have that talent. The last person who had it in the White House was Franklin Roosevelt, in my view. But times are different. The country has moved further and further to the right. What we really need is somebody who is going to move it back to the center. That's what I'm going to try to do.
ntodd
At Murdoch's Mercy
NYTimes:
The Federal Communications Commission yesterday conditionally approved the News Corporation's acquisition of control of Hughes Electronics and its DirecTV subsidiary from General Motors.
The approval, by a vote of 3 to 2, removes the final obstacle to a $6.6 billion media megamerger that will combine the DirecTV satellite television service with News Corporation's Fox studios, pay television networks like Fox News and Speed, its Fox broadcast channel and 35 local stations. News Corporation, which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, will become the only media conglomerate with such broad offerings and national reach. Time Warner also combines studios, cable and broadcast networks and cable systems, but it does not own local stations and its cable systems reach only certain parts of the country. The deal is expected to close within days.
Super. We're a DirecTV customer, and now Rupert Murdoch has even more control over what we can see. Although now that I think about it, I seem to be watching very little (American) TV lately--could it be because there's nothing on?
ntodd
[Update: did some digging in the archives, and found this from 11/26:
Rupert Murdoch yesterday hailed a compromise between the White House and Senate Republicans on how many TV stations companies like his News Corp. could own.
...
The provision would allow a company to own local television stations reaching 39 percent of the nation's TV homes, a level just above what Fox parent News Corp. and CBS parent Viacom already own.
That would be lower than the 45-percent limit the Federal Communications Commission adopted in June but higher than the old 35-percent cap that negotiators for the House and Senate had agreed in conference to restore.
As I said back then: "It might only be 4%, but it's one more little attempt to chip away at our democracy." And that's just it: these teeny things accumulate to be a threat. Little demands submitted in installments to the vanquished.
I mentioned a couple things in comments that I'll bring to your attention here. First, something Howard Dean said on his appearance on Hardball a couple weeks ago:
I would say that there is too much penetration by single corporations in media markets all over this country. We need locally-owned radio stations. There are only two or three radio stations left in the state of Vermont where you can get local news anymore. The rest of it is read and ripped from the AP.
...
[I]f the state has an interest, which it does, in preserving democracy, then there has to be a limitation on how deeply the media companies can penetrate every single community. To the extent of even having two or three or four outlets in a single community, that kind of information control is not compatible with democracy.
And please read all of Bill Moyers' excellent Essay on the Media and Democracy:
I keep coming back to the subject of media conglomeration because it can take the oxygen out of democracy. The founders of this country believed a free and rambunctious press was essential to the protection of our freedoms. They couldn't envision the rise of giant megamedia conglomerates whose interests converge with state power to produce a conspiracy against the people. I think they would be aghast at how this union of media and government has produced the very kind of imperial power against which they rebelled...[T]his is the most important story of all, the one that determines what other stories get told - and how.
Unfettered access to information is the oxygen of democracy. I'd like to avoid asphyxiation, thank you.]
Poker Night!
Last poker night of 2003. Your poker trivia for today, hand rankings for three card poker (from the rec.gambling.poker FAQ):
straight flush = 48 combinations
trips = 52 combinations
straight = 720 combinations
flush = 1096 combinations
pair = 3744 combinations
I love three card hi/low, although last poker night I got screwed a couple times: somebody held trips when I had a straight, and another player had an inside straight and drew the middle card when I had a flush. Tonight I hope my luck is better. Until tomorrow...
ntodd
[Update - 12/20, 230AM: I was up 7 bucks, down 3, and ended the long night exactly even after some adequate play and decent hands. We had 2 tables going again, which was cool. Slow drive home, but not too bad. A fox scurried across the road not too far ahead of me--no incident. Now I'm tired and wired.]
Special "I Should Be Writing Security Material" Blogaround
I'm so far behind on my book project that I've taken an almost fatalistic view of it. Anyway, I'm feeling really spacey and not in any fit state to write coherent stuff about encrypting e-mail (which doesn't bode well for poker night), so here's a blogaround in honor of my lameness, submitted without editorial comments:
* The Fulcrum: The Wrights and Me
* BBWW: Church and State
* Stradiotto: The parable of the good liberal
* How to Save the World: THE BOYCOTT LIST
* Pacific Views: Bush's America
* Hunky Dory Carnivorous Puppy Tower: THAT WAS THEN, THIS IS NOW...
* The Politburo Diktat: Dean's Separation Fence
Now, will somebody please write my chapter?
ntodd
Speaking Of Sam
Here's a brief video (712K QuickTime) of Sam the Action Kitten behaving like a Democrat. No, it has nothing to do with the previous post.
ntodd
Cat Blogging I Hope You'll Never See Here
Netscape:
A group of hungry cats began to eat their 86-year-old owner after she suffered an apparent stroke and couldn't get up for nearly a week, officials said Thursday.
Mae Lowrie, who lives with seven cats, was discovered unconscious and riddled with bite marks Wednesday night at her Panorama City apartment, Fire Department and hospital officials said.
She was listed in fair condition at Kaiser Permanente Medical Center, said hospital spokeswoman Lisa Kort.
"The cats were trying to survive in the conditions that they were in, faced with the outcome they had. They did what they had to do to survive,'' animal control Officer Ernesto Poblano told KABC-TV. "The cats were all emaciated, very, very emaciated.''
...
The cats, apparently without food for that time, also tried to eat Lowrie's small dog...
(via one of my favorite Atrios commenters, w00t)
Saffron is too picky probably to eat us, but Sam eats just about anything...[shudder]...I don't think Cairo would let him try to eat her, however.
ntodd
Ethnic/Civil War Brewing In Iraq?
This is what I said on Sunday when Saddam was captured:
[What] of civil/ethnic violence? [Free] from the fear that Saddam will return, will tensions explode? If so, our troops would be caught in the middle of an ugly situation.
We're starting to see hints of this, as this KRT story from Weds indicates:
Saddam's capture seems to have heightened ethnic violence. Since the 1930s there have been clashes on the bridge over the Tigris River that separates Kadhimiya from Sunni-dominated Adhimiya. Residents from each neighborhood have crossed the bridge to cause trouble or defend perceived slights against their honor.
The day after Saddam's capture was announced, Shiites from Kadhimiya crossed the bridge and started dancing in the street in Adhimiya. Sunni residents in Adhimiya went out in the street to reply, and before the night was over, more than a dozen people were dead.
(via Juan Cole)
Further, here's what I read in Arabic News today:
One U.S. soldier was killed and other 4 wounded in different operations carried out by the Iraqi resistance yesterday, at a time when reciprocated assassination operations took place between the Sunni and the Shiite, and raised fears of revenge operations in various parts of Iraq between the supporters of the former regime and its opponents.
Gunmen killed the official in the Higher Council For the Islamic Revolution in Iraq Muhannad al-Hakim near his house in Baghdad on Wednesday evening, according to the spokesman for the council, Adel Abdul Mahdi...
Muhannad al-Hakim, who was the security official at the ministry of education, was hit by three bullets in his head in al-Baya quarters, when unidentified persons opened fire at him from a car which was running speedily near his house. Abdul Mahdi blamed the killing operation on "partisans of the former regime."
It seems a toxic brew: daily we're seeing 22 attacks on US troops, 3 attacks on the US-sponsored security apparatus, and revenge killings between ethnic groups. Forgive me for not being sufficiently enthusiastic about Saddam's capture, or Iraqi schoolkids getting pencils. All of that is good news, but hardly balances the ugly situation on the ground, and how much nastier it just might get.
I reiterate my call to get the hell out of Dodge and let the Iraqis and their Arab neighbors solve their problems. I am not, of course, advocating that we abandon Iraq; rather, I suggest our troops are inherently incapable of providing security and stability in this environment, and are only going to be caught in the middle of a growing maelstrom. Only 15% of Iraqis surveyed in November view our troops as liberators, down from 43% in April, and as this occupation drags on, I suspect these numbers will only grow smaller.
Bring our soldiers home, stop laying contracts on BushCo cronies, and give the Iraqis aid in rebuilding their country themselves. You know, the idea's crazy enough that it just might work.
ntodd
Ooh, Pretty!
The Elephant's Trunk Nebula, taken by NASA's new Spitzer Space Telescope.
Space.com:
NASA announced the formal name of its newest space telescope today and released the first science pictures. The images support a promise that the orbiting observatory, now called the Spitzer Space Telescope, will provide top-notch science and entertainment on par the Hubble Space Telescope.
...
Initially called the Space Infrared Telescope Facility (SIRTF), the observatory is now named after the late Lyman Spitzer, Jr., who in the 1940s first proposed putting telescopes in space to overcome the limiting effects of Earth's atmosphere.
...
Spitzer, as the telescope is sure to be informally known, launched Aug. 25 and spent its first weeks in space undergoing instrument checkout...
The new photographs illustrate Spitzer's range of targets and capabilities. They provide fresh details of a nearby galaxy, a peek at star formation inside a corner of our own galaxy, an updated view of a planet-forming disk around a nearby star, and new details of a comet and a pair of asteroids. The telescope also discovered water for first time in a galaxy so far away that it is observed at a time when life was just developing on Earth, Spitzer scientists said.
...
The telescope gathers infrared light, an invisible form of electromagnetic radiation associated with heat. It allows astronomers to see through layers of dust, which block visible light, and detect heat emitted by deeply embedded dust around myriad cosmic objects.
So, this 'scope is like, way better than my 4.5" Newtonian. Cool.
ntodd
Ayn's Now A Paleobiologist
Ayn Clouter:
They were the most terrible monsters ever known -- the DEMOSAURS. Long extinct, they were genetically recreated to be the star attractions at this new theme park, based on comments found on right wing web sites. Now they've broken free. Read about the danger we face from creatures such as the DEANRANOSAURUS, the CLENISAURUS, and the most deadly ones of all -- the HILLARAPTORS.
I disagree with her about the HILLARAPTORS: I think the DEANRANOSAURUS REXES are still the most deadly, but I've always liked them.
ntodd
OSP Selections By Yours Truly
First, there's the ever-important chess match, with my second move. Yes, we're changing Open Source Politics, one chess move at a time.
There should also be a piece of mine on global reaction to Saddam's capture, particularly focusing on the Middle East--news, analysis and perspective you might not have seen amidst all the hoopla in the US. A glitch prevented it from getting published last night, but look for it maybe later today in the World View section.
ntodd
Cabin Fever
This scene from our front yard illustrates why our power went out this AM. We only got about 4 or 5 inches of snow, but it was very wet and heavy, and bent almost all the trees over, and even thick branches on larger trees. Small wonder so many lines went down all over the area.
Maybe it's a little early for cabin fever to set in, but Sam was in rare form tonight. He started attacking Stef's leg in earnest, and she tried lifting it to discourage him. It didn't work.
ntodd
I'm Not Sure How I Feel About This
CNN:
He may have beaten Saddam Hussein, but President George W. Bush got clobbered by slinky socialite Paris Hilton when her television show got higher ratings than Bush's exclusive ABC interview Tuesday night.
Is Bush's stagecraft presidency now nothing more than another entertainment option? Is "reality TV" more real than the President? Should Bush choose Hilton for Veep instead of Cheney? That would really help his ratings...er, standings in the polls.
ntodd
I'm Suing Fox
Faithful reader timshel alerted me to this graphic, shown on Fox & Friends this morning:
I'll observe that I came up with the whole QE meets Saddam thing with my Queer Eye for the Deposed Guy on Sunday. Since Fox clearly is trying to blur the lines between their organization and mine, I'm getting the ball rolling for a lawsuit. If anybody wants to donate to the legal fund, I'd greatly appreciate it.
Some might say I'm just tilting at windmills here. And they'd be right. I'm taking this big risk and going up against this giant corporation because I believe in something extremely important: milking Fox dry. I might not win, but I'll be standing for a principle that made this country great. Thanks for your support.
ntodd
[Update: restored the graphic. Thanks to Richard Silverstein for the headsup.]
Back On The Air
WDHM was knocked offline at 540AM by a power phone outage caused by snow-laden trees taking out ower lines. As of 1203PM, electricity was restored and we're back on the air. Our phone was also knocked out apparently because the remote terminal that serves our area had no go juice. Thank goodness for cell phones.
Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging. Sorta. We have to get ready to go to my company NODWISH gathering. It's an afternoon/evening dealio, so I'll be back to my old tricks in a few hours. Alas, no review of LOTR: ROTK, since we ended up not going due to weather.
In the meantime, check out Guy's second move in our chess battle. The wily bastage is trying to pressure the center.
ntodd
Orson Scott Is A Card
I've seen Orson Scott Card's inane comments about Iraq and the Democrats floating around the blogosphere of late. A commenter named Kilroi is copying and pasting them over at blogAmY (scroll down to "But What Does It Mean, Really?" Amy, get permalinks.), for example. I was stunned to also find his words lovingly quoted by fellow Coalition member Chris at Tao of Dowingba. Please people, let's save a young mind, and help counteract the kool aid Chris might have accidentally ingested before it's too late!
ntodd
Bush Soft On National Security
CBS:
For the first time, the chairman of the independent commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks is saying publicly that 9/11 could have and should have been prevented, reports CBS News Correspondent Randall Pinkston.
...
"As you read the report, you're going to have a pretty clear idea what wasn't done and what should have been done," [Chairman Thomas Kean] said. "This was not something that had to happen.
Appointed by the Bush administration, Kean, a former Republican governor of New Jersey, is now pointing fingers inside the administration and laying blame. "
Can we finally nail the incompetent fools who ignored Clinton's warnings? Can we finally put to rest the notion that Bush is somehow strong on national security? Can the victims' families finally get closure and see justice is done?
On the political side, will we see Bush's "Saddam Bounce" become a "9/11 Freefall"? I'd say this trumps capturing an insignificant old man hiding in a hole (friendly reminder: Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 9/11).
Before any winger complains about liberals "politicizing" that tragic day, let me further remind everybody that Bush evokes "the lessons of September the 11th, 2001" in answer to almost every question in his faux press conferences, and the GOP cynically chose New York City for its convention, mere days before the nation's painful anniversary. It is you who have politicized 9/11, using it to bludgeon your opponents, using it to question our patriotism, using it as an excuse to erode our civil liberties and wage war.
Your political games might just come back to haunt you. As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
ntodd
Toot Toot
If I had a nickel for every visitor, I'd have $1250.05 more in the bank. Somebody clicking through from my friend Patrick Taylor's blog, The Poison Kitchen, was the 25,000th visitor to DM since June 14th. Welcome, and thanks to you and all the folks who have helped this site grow!
ntodd
I Hope He's Joking
I'm a Dean backer, and I think he's got a real shot at winning the nomination and maybe the '04 election. But Ted Rall is either forgetting his sarcasm tags, or needs to put down the pipe:
What if the other Democratic candidates came together at a joint press conference to announce that they were dropping out of the race to endorse Dean? If nothing else, cash-starved states would love it--the average primary costs taxpayers $7 million. More to the point, it would save Dean roughly $75 million--enough to close the money gap with Bush.
A more ephemeral but bigger benefit would be the message that a unified Democratic party could send to the electorate.
...
The outcome of the Democratic primaries is now a foregone conclusion.
...
Just this once, let's pull the left together. We can go back to tearing each other apart in December '04. I promise.
How 'bout we cast a few votes first? Nothing is inevitable in a democracy, polls do not determine winners, and trading our franchise to save a few bucks is anathema to our republic.
ntodd
Lots Of Work Left To Do
CNN:
Among poll respondents interviewed Monday and Tuesday, 63 percent said they approved of Bush's job performance, while 34 percent disapproved. The approval rating is Bush's highest since June and is a significant gain over his rating of 50 percent a month ago.
By contrast, in a poll done Thursday to Saturday, before news of the capture broke, Bush's approval was 54 percent, with 43 percent expressing disapproval.
The margin of error is plus or minus 3 percentage points for the most recent survey.
...
Dean...trails Bush head-to-head among registered voters.
Bush leads 60 percent to 37 percent, with a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points, the survey found. In polling directly before Saddam's capture, Bush was ahead of Dean 52 percent to 44 percent.
The new poll also showed retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark, another Democratic hopeful, running better against the president than Dean. Bush is still ahead of Clark among registered voters, 56 percent to 40 percent, the survey said.
This is ugly, but I stand by my earlier analysis: short-term, Saddam provides a bounce for Bush; long-term, Dean and the Dems can take him on, especially once the general election campaign begins in earnest. It will be hard work beating an incumbent in this time of great trepidation, but certainly not impossible.
ntodd
ROTK Eve Cat Blogging
Sam watching the snow on Monday...
...and taking a brief break from kitten mode this morning.
ntodd
TTLB Showcase Vote
Belief Seeking Understanding. And interesting mix: "Thoughts on the Bible, technology and higher education, not necessarily in that order." Check it out.
ntodd
Flight Of The Turkey
Speaking at the 100th anniversary celebration of the Wright Brothers' first powered flight in Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina, President Bush said, "This day...is one for recalling a heroic event in the history of our nation and the history of the world."
Dressed in the historic flight suit worn by Wilbur on his inaugural flight, Mr Bush continued, "We remember one small machine, and we honor the giants who flew it." Immediately following his speech, the President was scheduled to fly a replica of the Wright's flying machine, which he painstakingly built over many months in the White House garage.
"I'm sure glad I didn't have to take this thing to Baghdad in the middle of the night," Bush quipped.
ntodd
Argh, I Can't Wait!
Ebert liked Return of the King a lot. Alas, with holiday parties, my stupid running-behind book project, and other obligations, we're not going to be able to see it until next week. It's driving me nuts.
ntodd
Your Move, Punk
The epic Blogger's Chess match against Rook (aka Guy Andrew Hall) continues with my stunning first move, along with a little clowning and a healthy dose of history and strategy. Check it out.
ntodd
The Eye Of Sauron Is On Me
More gummint snoops visiting:
Domain Name usdoj.gov ? (United States Government)
IP Address 149.101.1.# (Various Registries)
I've had lots of DOD and other Fed types visit over the past 6 months, but I always get especially nervous when I see the DOJ pop up. No referring URL, either--have they bookmarked DM? Regardless, thanks for dropping by, Mr. Ashcroft. Watch out for those calico cats we have strategically placed around the neighborhood. I believe in security in depth...
ntodd
Inky Visitors
If you've come here because of today's Philadelphia Inquirer article, my Queer Eye for the Deposed Guy post can be found below. Thanks for dropping by!
ntodd
UCE: The Other White Meat
Okay, I can honestly name one thing I like about George W. Bush (which explains my 7% affinity for him in the SelectSmart.com thingy):
President Bush signed legislation Tuesday meant to stem the flood of unwanted e-mail pitches that irritate Internet users and drain the economy.
"Spam, or unsolicited e-mails, are annoying to consumers and costly to our economy," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said after Bush signed the bill. "This will help address the problems associated with the rapid growth and abuse of spam by establishing a framework of technological, administrative civil and criminal tools, and by providing consumers with options to reduce the volume of unwanted e-mail."
I hate "unsolicited commercial e-mail" (UCE, aka "spam"). I actually like the meat product.
And in related news, this meathead is in trouble for spamming:
Virginia authorities Thursday charged two Triangle men with the first-ever felony counts for flooding the world's e-mail in boxes with unwanted solicitations.
Jeremy D. Jaynes, 29, of Raleigh was arrested on four counts of using fraudulent means to transmit unwanted bulk e-mail, also known as spam, the Virginia attorney general said. Jaynes, ranked as the world's eighth-biggest spammer by a spam- monitoring group, was released from the Wake County jail Thursday afternoon after posting $100,000 bail.
Richard Rutowski of Cary was named a co-conspirator and charged with four identical felony counts, said Tim Murtaugh, a spokesman for the attorney general. Officials issued a warrant for his arrest, Murtaugh said.
Virginia law enforcement, aided by Internet service providers including America Online, began investigating the men in August, a month after a tough antispamming law took effect in the state.
There are some other meat jokes screaming to be free, given the subjects of much of the spam I receive (but totally do not need); however tempting, I won't go there.
ntodd
Unofficial "Bash for Cash" Fundraiser
And Then... proposes the following:
I am sick of dirty politics, I am sick of in-party mud slinging. It is this crap that keeps voters away from the booths on election day, it's what keeps decent people out of politics. It's what keeps fresh ideas and intelligence from being communicated in the media.
So here is what I propose: I am going to keep an eye out for one week, to be announced later, for any new attacks from any of the candidates for the Democratic Nomination. For every new attack, I am going to donate $.50 cents to the Dean campaign. If I get 50 other people to join me, that means $25.00 for every new attack on Howard Dean. If we can get 100 to join, that means $50.00 for every new attack.
I'm in for 4 bits/attack. How about you? Go read the whole post and lend your support...
(Note: this was x-posted on the Coalition's community blog)
ntodd
What A Shocker
According to the SelectSmart.com presidential preference poll:
1. Your ideal theoretical candidate. (100%)
2. Dean, Gov. Howard, VT - Democrat (81%)
3. Sharpton, Reverend Al - Democrat (79%) Click here for info
4. Clark, Retired General Wesley K., AR - Democrat (77%)
5. Socialist Candidate (76%)
6. Kucinich, Rep. Dennis, OH - Democrat (69%)
7. Moseley-Braun, Former Senator Carol, IL - Democrat (66%)
8. Edwards, Senator John, NC - Democrat (64%)
9. LaRouche, Lyndon H. Jr. - Democrat (56%)
10. Kerry, Senator John, MA - Democrat (56%)
(via too many damned bloggers to give credit to one)
I'm obviously not really surprised by the Dean thing, but I was shocked to see that Sharpton comes in higher than Clark (I consider him my #2). And I would've expected a greater match with Kucinich. I laugh heartily at the idea that Lyndon LaRouche is as dear to my heart as John Kerry, and beats out
I was surprised to see that Atrios commenter, Scooter, wasn't on the list. Check out his platform.
ntodd
Hanging Chads In The Showcase
Not really, though this week's New Blog Showcase was not without contoversy. No matter. Some hearty congratulations are in order:
Congratulations to In the Shadow of Mt. Hollywood, It's Craptastic!, and the Liberal Coalition for winning the week.
Coaliltion member, It's Craptastic!, won a squeaker in the political category with What is the Point?. We also dominated the sponsorship contest for the second week in a row with 84.0% participation, compared to the 2nd place Alliance of Free Blogs' 55.8%. Just like Howard Dean, we energize our base.
Great job, everybody!
ntodd
Let Slip The Blogs Of War
Cry havoc! The epic Blogger's Chess battle between yours truly and Rook has begun at OSP. Watch and learn.
ntodd
Long Live The Blogger Revolution
The Commissar has a helpful post describing a taxonomy of the blogscape: bloggers, blogmasters, and blog-states. A must read for any revolutionary.
ntodd
Saddam's Doubles
Faithful reader adante (of collective sigh) has gotten a hold of a secret document listing all of Saddam's doubles, with visual aids for ID purposes. Be on the lookout for these people--they might know where the missing nonexistent Iraqi WMD isn't hidden.
ntodd
Fame And Fortune Await
The Philadelphia Inquirer (affectionately called the Inky by the likes of Atrios, Lambert, and faithful reader queen crab), did a roundup of the blogosphere's take on Saddam's capture. Guess who got noticed:
In a post headlined "Queer Eye for the Deposed Guy," blogger NTodd, who calls himself a quasi-anarcho-libertarian Quaker, mocked the dictator's post-capture makeover at blog Dohiyi Mir (dohiyimir.blogspot.com). Spoofing the popular television series in which five gay guys remodel a straight man, NTodd described Kyan the grooming guru discussing nose hair clippers with Saddam, and Jai the culture vulture teaching him to tap dance at his trial for crimes against humanity.
Someday maybe a newspaper will actually call me for an interview. Bow before me.
ntodd
OSP Reading Room
Check out these posts over at Open Source Politics:
* Guess Who's Mad as a Hatter? - If Bush and Co. are to be believed, mercury pollution is no big deal. As Loren Webster reports, they are not to be believed -- in fact, the Bush Administration seems to have flipped its lid.
* John's Religion Tour - OSP Newcomer John Isbell takes us on a religious tour.
* Is academic freedom under threat? - Laura Poyneer reviews a report of the American Association of University Professors on academic freedom and finds some worrying signs.
ntodd
It Ain't Over Until It's Over
Gallup:
Despite the public's willingness to agree that Hussein's capture is a major achievement for the United States, the Sunday poll shows no immediate evidence that there will be a substantial increase in the percentage of Americans who agree with the basic premise of the war.
...
[M]ost Americans say the capture won't affect their vote: 45% of those interviewed said they were planning on voting for Bush even before the capture, while almost as many, 43% said they were planning not to vote for Bush and that the capture would not change their opinion. That leaves just 3% of Americans* whose immediate reaction was to admit that they have become more likely to vote for Bush as a direct result of the capture of Hussein.
[T]he fact that there is no immediate self-awareness of a change in position on Bush suggests the need for caution in assumptions that Sunday's events are going to recast the election in any substantial way.
Gee, I'd hate to ponder the electoral ramifications, but if I did, I would probably caution people against writing political obits for Dean and the Dems. This poll seems to bolster any speculation I might have engaged in, if I had been inclined to do so.
ntodd
* 8% had no opinion, and 1% said they weren't going to vote.
Magical Saddam
NRO:
Al Gore must be thinking life is pretty unfair about now. After dominating the news by endorsing Howard Dean, thereby making a play for the pro-Saddam wing of the Democratic party, he is unceremoniously swept aside by the news that U.S. soldiers have captured Saddam Hussein. Oh well. Unless your approach to investing is to buy high, sell low, and make up the difference in volume, you probably shouldn't take financial advice from the guy who recently asserted that the war in Iraq is a "quagmire" and the worst foreign-policy mistake in the history of the United States.
Apparently Saddam was a superpowerful being that made Iraq into a quagmire. Now that he's gone: poof! The quagmire vanishes. Magical thinking at its finest...
ntodd
Job Market Recovery
CNN:
IBM Corp. plans to move up to several thousand skilled software jobs from the United States to India, China and other countries, which could amount to one of the biggest such actions yet in the technology industry.
IBM documents obtained by The Wall Street Journal said about 4,700 programming jobs could be shifted overseas to save costs, a growing high-tech industry trend known as "offshoring."
The Bush Economic Engine: 1 gear forward, 5 gears in reverse.
ntodd
[Update: skippy received a note from ODub that is germane:
i came upon this analysis by morgan stanley's stephen roach, and i think you'd do well to take a look at it:
"it turns out that fully 84% of the total increase in nonfarm payrolls over the august to november period is traceable to hiring in four segments of the labor market -- the temporary staffing industry, health, education, and government -- where combined jobs have increased by 68,000 per month.
in other words, the bulk of the so-called hiring turnaround since august has been concentrated in either the contingent workforce (temps) or in those industry groupings that are least exposed to global competition.
this hardly speaks of a us business sector that has consciously made an important transition from downsizing to expansion. it merely reflects the fact that scale is increasing in the most sheltered and least productive segments of the economy."
The issue of temp labor keeps cropping up. Back in June, the Fed had a study that said:
The increase in job opportunities for temporary and part-time workers makes it easier for some people to enter the labor force or change jobs and allows workers to have more flexible schedules. Overtime offers workers the opportunity to earn additional income. But the evidence suggests that people often work overtime more because they fear losing their jobs if they refuse than because they want to earn additional income. Similarly, most workers are being driven into temporary and part-time jobs because they cannot find full-time, hopefully more permanent, work. Because temporary and part-time jobs offer less job stability, lower pay, and fewer benefits, their greater prevalence in recoveries could inhibit consumption growth and thus help perpetuate the joblessness of a recovery.
Yup, this jobless or jobloss recovery is still going strong.]
Meeting The Security Challenges of the New Century
Dean's foreign policy address today:
The next President will...have to attack the roots of terror. He will have to lead and win the struggle of ideas.
Here we should have a decisive edge. Osama bin Laden and his allies have nothing to offer except deceit, destruction, and death. There is a global struggle underway between peace-loving Muslims and this radical minority that seeks to hijack Islam for selfish and violent aims, that exploits resentment to persuade that murder is martyrdom, and hatred is somehow God's will. The tragedy is that, by its actions, its unilateralism, and its ill-considered war in Iraq, this Administration has empowered radicals, weakened moderates, and made it easier for the terrorists to add to their ranks.
The next President will have to work with our friends and partners, including in the Muslim world, to persuade people everywhere that terrorism is wholly unacceptable, just as they are persuaded that slavery and genocide are unacceptable.
He must convince Muslims that America neither threatens nor is threatened by Islam, to which millions of our own citizens adhere.
And he must show by words and deeds that America seeks security for itself through strengthening the rule of law, not to dominate others by becoming a law unto itself.
What America does, and how America is perceived, will have a direct bearing on how successful we are in mobilizing the world against the dangers that threaten us, and in promoting the values that sustain us.
Bingo.
I only watched briefly on MSGOP, but Dean was introduced by Warren Christopher. Before the speech started, Pat Buchanan of all people was gushing about how great Dean's just-announced team of foreign policy and national security advisors was. Looks like he's surrounded himself with some big guns.
ntodd
Yay Me!
So I vaguely knew the 2003 Koufax Awards were happening over at Wampum. I'd seen people mention it on their blogs a bit, but quite honestly, I've been so focused on work, finishing my damn book project, and launching the Liberal Coalition that I just hadn't thought much about it.
So imagine my surprise when I got an e-mail telling me I'd been nominated in the category of Best New Blog (apparently there's no Best Quaker Blog option yet)! Thanks to reader Penny for submitting Dohiyi Mir. That was really nice.
They're putting up posts highlighting the work of the various nominees, and I was asked to submit a link. I hemmed and hawed and eventually sent them Queer Eye For The Deposed Guy.
Check out all the other nominees over at Wampum--there's some stiff competition. Me? I'm just happy to be unexpectedly nominated...
ntodd
In Case You Missed It
One of our allies in the "war on terror", General Pervez Musharraf, was the target of an assassination attempt yesterday:
The head of Pakistan's main Islamic political alliance on Monday urged General Pervez Musharraf, the country's military ruler, to allow more democracy as an essential step towards curbing militancy.
The remarks from Qazi Hussain Ahmed, leader of the Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), came amid a country-wide search for suspects following Sunday night's bomb attack aimed at Gen Musharraf in the city of Rawalpindi. Mr Ahmed warned the government against a fresh campaign aimed at Islamic groups, responding to speculation that Islamic activists were high on the list of potential suspects.
"When you adopt non-democratic methods, you encourage militancy because people don't have the space to express themselves freely," he said, calling on Gen Musharraf to step down as chief of the military - a position he holds alongside the presidency - and give more authority to elected members of parliament.
Wise words from Ahmed.
[insert obligatory snark about US alliances with dictators]
ntodd
One More Snow Update
22 inches of new snow thus far, with the drift in front of our garage topping out at over 3 feet (up to my hips). Cairo and I went snowshoeing about the yard so I could brush the snow of the sat dishes. As we walked, she all but disappeared in the snow, only to reappear like a dolphin bursting from the sea.
Once again the weather is messing up our evening plans. Sadly, we are cancelling sushi night with some friends, including the one whose birthday party we bailed on during the last storm! Hopefully we'll be able to see people before May...
ntodd
Double Plus Ungood
The Evangelical Outpost doesn't like that the Left has considered the political ramifications of Saddam's capture. Apparently political discourse is a bad thing these days. Now where'd I put that orange jumpsuit...
ntodd
Back To Our Regularly Scheduled Reality
We learn from Jesse over at The Gotham City 13 that the Saddam hangover has already begun in Iraq: Iraqis' joy at Saddam arrest quickly fades. He's not surprised, and neither am I. Ah well, the euphoria was nice while it lasted.
ntodd
Snow Update
We've got about 8-10 inches already, and it's coming down harder than the last storm. Whee!
Stef's cautiously heading home--got a call from the Mobil station about 1/3 of the way here. Unclear what the road conditions are on the major roads, but it's pretty poor here. Take easy, babe...
ntodd
Blogroll Addition
I've been having a nice, interesting e-mail discussion with hln over at angelweave, thus I've added her to my blogroll. Anybody who knows the difference between "affect" and "effect" should be on your list of must reads.
ntodd
Queer Eye For The Deposed Guy
The Fab Five visited the world's most famous arrestee, Saddam Hussein, before he was apprehended on December 14th. Here's a preview of Monday's show:
Upon greeting Mr. Hussein, Kyan the Grooming Guru immediately exclaims, "There's no excuse for nose hair. Ever!" He proceeds to have a frank talk with Saddam about the best nose hair clippers and other grooming tools. Saddam very quickly learns to shave with the grain of his beard, which greatly impresses Kyan.
"Iraq has a very ancient culture that we bombed the crap out of!" observes Jai, the Culture Vulture. He continues, "And while Saddam might've been Donald Rumsfeld's dance partner in the 80s, we still have a lot of work to do." After Jai's lessons, Mr. Hussein will be able to tap dance around how the US armed him before the Gulf War during his testimony in his trial for crimes against humanity. A must see!
Thom the Design Doctor's response when he sees Saddam's spider hole: "Oh my god, it's horrrrrrrrible!" He adds, "That makeshift ventilator shaft is fine for former regime members on the run from the 4ID, but that's so not going to work for entertaining at a Ba'ath party. We're going shopping for a lava lamp, some Led Zepp posters and black lights, and a magic carpet." Wait 'til you see how cozy Saddam's hole is after Thom weaves his magic.
Ted and Carson also add their own gay, witty comments in this episode. What do they say? Well, you'll just have to tune in to Bravo tomorrow to find out! Five gay men, out to make over the world — one fugitive at a time...
ntodd
No Exit Redux
I quoted this line Inez says in Sartre's (damn Frenchman) No Exit in a July post on the Governing Council and exit strategy:
One always dies too soon - or too late. And yet one's whole life is complete at that moment, with a line drawn neatly under it, ready for the summing up. You are - your life, and nothing else.
Something Saddam Hussein is confronting right now (I suspect in the end, George Bush will as well). This also reminds me of another line Garcin utters a little closer to the end of the play:
So this is hell. I'd never have believed it. You remember all we were told about the torture-chambers, the fire and brimstone, the "burning marl." Old wives' tales! There's no need for red-hot pokers. Hell is - other people!
And now Saddam's hell will be his impending trial by his people. Well, well, let's get on with it...
ntodd
The Day After
I posted about this before, but today it seems germane yet again. Check out Foreign Policy's The Day After:
The disarray in post-Saddam Iraq offers a sharp reminder that ridding a country of a despotic regime is a lot easier than figuring out who or what comes after. In that spirit, FOREIGN POLICY speculates on the Day After in several oppressed nations. From Fidel Castro’s Cuba to Robert Mugabe’s Zimbabwe, what groups are likely to come out on top when the Big Man goes down? Which are most likely to embrace democracy and pursue economic reform? What role will each nation’s diaspora have in rebuilding and reengineering its society? Sadly, almost all of our contributors note that any sudden regime change will first yield only chaos and greater hardship. But by identifying the forces most likely to shape these countries’ futures, our authors also open the possibility of transcending the tragedies of the past.
An interesting read.
ntodd
Let It Snow!
The latest storm is just starting. Last week we got about 24 inches (up at our camp we got 30!), and this promises to be about 20. I normally love snow storms, although Stef is at VPR tonight and things are supposed to get dicey for her commute home. She's fully prepared to spend the night at the station, but where's the fun in that?
ntodd
Iraki Preznit Giv Me Turkee
Oy, I'm already sick of the Saddam coverage. Here's what I saw in the farmer's field about a mile and a half down the road:
We see these turkeys pretty much every day. [Insert clever joke about Bush's fake Thanskgiving turkey here.]
ntodd
All Saddam, All The Time
In case you missed it in all the hubbub, the violence in Iraq does indeed go on:
Twenty people have been killed and 32 wounded by a car bomb outside an Iraqi police station west of Baghdad, an Iraqi police officer told CNN.
Sixteen policemen were among those killed in Sunday's explosion at Khaldiyah, 80 kilometers (50 miles) from the Iraqi capital, the officer added.
...
"About 8:30 (a.m.), a car bomb was detonated at Khaldiyah police station. We have some indication that it's a suicide bomber. But it's too early to give a final judgment," The Associated Press quoted Lt. Col. Jeff Swisher of the U.S. military as saying.
This has no relationship to Saddam's capture, but I wonder if there will be a spike of attacks like we saw after Uday and Qusay were killed. Probably not against our troops since the insurgents are focusing on softer targets now, but that doesn't minimize the long-term danger. The continued lack of stability and security is only going to make matters worse for everybody.
ntodd
Tears Of Joy
An Iraqi journalist shouts out and cries at a news conference following the arrest of ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein in Baghdad December 14, 2003.
I hope the healing can truly begin for all the people Saddam brutalized.
ntodd
Hopeful Words From Bremer
The viceroy speaks*:
Now is the time for all Iraqis—Arabs and Kurds, Sunnis, Shias, Christians and Turkomen-- to build a prosperous, democratic Iraq at peace with itself and with its neighbors.
Amen.
ntodd
* Obligatory snark: this is translated from the original Arabic.
Truth With A Side Of Lies
Bush spoke this afternoon about Saddam's capture. I was startled to hear the truth:
The capture of Saddam Hussein does not mean the end of violence in Iraq.
I was not startled to hear this:
We still face terrorists who would rather go on killing the innocent than accept the rise of liberty in the heart of the Middle East. Such men are a direct threat to the American people, and they will be defeated.
The bad guys attacking our soldiers are not terrorists--they are guerrillas, engaged in an insurgency. Nor are they a direct threat to the American people--or is this an admission that the neo-con's beloved "flypaper strategy" is a failure? I'll further note that we created the current violent environment in Iraq through an illegal invasion and inept occupation.
Regardless, these statements are proof positive that Bush offers only fear to the American people.
ntodd
[Update: reader hln takes issue with my hed and my statement about guerrillas. I disagree, but check out the good, thoughtful response over at angelweave.]
From The Archives
CENTCOM has just announced a startlingly innovative new effort to catch Saddam Hussein. US military officials tell Dohiyi Mir that they are putting photos of the missing dictator, who once gassed his own people with weapons we provided him, on milk cartons all over Iraq. The digitally-altered pictures show Saddam as he might look today, based on darn good intelligence. It is hoped that since Iraqis still have no clean water, they will be drinking huge quantities of milk and thus this will be the best way to distribute the pictures. Some officials privately expressed concern that Iraqis might not want to buy milk because continued lack of electricity makes refrigeration impossible, but Viceroy L. Paul Bremer III has indicated this only helps the effort...
I attribute Saddam's capture to this brilliant strategy, which began in August. Read the rest in the archives.
ntodd
Dean Statement On Saddam
From BFA:
This is a great day for the Iraqi people, the US, and the international community.
Our troops are to be congratulated on carrying out this mission with the skill and dedication we have come to know of them.
This development provides an enormous opportunity to set a new course and take the American label off the war. We must do everything possible to bring the UN, NATO, and other members of the international community back into this effort.
Now that the dictator is captured, we must also accelerate the transition from occupation to full Iraqi sovereignty.
Damn straight.
ntodd
So Now What?
I've been thinking about Saddam's capture from the political POV, and am deliberately separating that discussion from the mere announcement of the news below. Getting Saddam is an unvarnished Good Thing as far as I'm concerned, but now I want to consider what impact this could have on our Presidential election.
I first observe that this is happening 11 months before the general election. Anything can happen between now and then, and single events today do nothing but maybe tweak poll numbers in the immediate future.
That said, obviously this is a big deal for Bush. He finally got his man*. The killing of Uday and Qusay did give Bush a temporary bounce, but as the insurgency continued and worsened, his poll numbers dropped again. In fact, the downward trend their deaths stalled hasn't abated since that initial uptick.
Capturing Saddam is another deal entirely. When somebody's dead, there's a fleeting sense of justice and people move on. There aren't any show trials that can keep things in the spotlight and allow Bush to point to the success every day. So clearly getting the Ace of Spades buys him way more political bragging rights.
I often speculated that we would not capture Saddam alive. Depending on how any war crimes trial (or whatever) plays out, it could prove to be an embarassment to the United States. Imagine testimony coming out about how we sold chemical weapons to the man who "gassed his own people!" That's just one thing most Americans don't know about, and it could further undermine BushCo's rationale for the war. So I figured that he would be killed in a shoot out to prevent such developments.
But now I'm guessing that the trial would be set up so damning testimony won't see the light of day. Is that possible? Perhaps, given that we still control Iraq and thus the environment in which the trial will take place. But it looks like the Iraqis, including Chalabi and Sistani, want the Iraqis to be in charge of this process, so who knows?
Regardless, I'm sure our compliant media will cover the trial with breathless glee. We'll probably hear lots about mass graves and such, and probably nothing about the fact that the vast majority of those graves are from the period when we actively supported Saddam, in the days before the Gulf War when we spanked him for threatening our oil. However, I'm not sure that it will be a showy enough event to keep the public's interest engaged, particularly as the casualties mount.
And that brings me to an important point: I think Saddam's demise will have little or no bearing on the insurgency. It does not appear that he has been directing these attacks. If we are to believe that foreign fighters are a part of the violence, then his influence is further reduced. Plus that would ignore the simple fact that more and more Iraqis were joining the resistance because our occupation is growing increasingly unpopular.
There has been a lot written about how people still acted with fear because they thought maybe Saddam could come back. Without that stifling worry, could people feel more free to rid themselves of the occupiers? Perhaps Iraqis determined that if the US were kicked out, Saddam might be able to reassert his rule, so it was better to keep us around. With that threat gone, maybe now it's safer to push us out of their country. Pure speculation on my part, and maybe violates rules of parsimony, but possible given what I've read.**
And what of civil/ethnic violence? Again, free from the fear that Saddam will return, will tensions explode? If so, our troops would be caught in the middle of an ugly situation.
Anyway, on the face of it, capturing Saddam gives Bush a tangible success and makes it simple for him to say progress is being made in Iraq. However, given how the euphoria faded quickly after the fall of Baghdad, and after the deaths of the Hussein boys, that success might be fleeting. This could only be the beginning of an even more difficult period for our troops.
I'm not convinced the war is over any more than I'm convinced the economy is truly improving. We've had some positive signs, but we've seen similar indicators before. We're not out of the woods yet by any means, and even if we are, it's way too early to write off 2004.
If the Dems are smart (that's a big "if"), they can point out: our arrest of Saddam was the most expensive in history, both in terms of lives and dollars; Osama bin Laden, the guy who's responsible for 9/11, is still at large; we are actually less secure because we've created a new reason for jihad, and we've wasted money that could've been spent on securing our ports and other such things at home; our military is stretched too thin; while we fiddled with Iraq, problems with budding nuclear powers such as Iran and North Korea have increased. It might be a harder sell, but if the Dems nominate a thoughtful, articulate, passionate candidate, I think they can do it.
[Update: one further thought. Could this backfire on Bush? If capturing Saddam raises American expectations, and the insurgency and casualties continue, will that create a backlash?]
So don't write the political obits for Dean or anybody just yet. Bush's freefall in the polls might be interrupted, but he's still got 11 months to continue screwing up. And really, I have a bit more faith in the American public than a lot of people do. I think they'll see that a couple of good things in a sea of crap doesn't make Bush a good leader. It's up to us to get the message out that there are constructive alternatives to all the damage Bush has done. We have the power.
ntodd
* Yup, Bush himself went to Tikrit under cover of darkness, face painted black, wearing special ops gear, and captured Saddam personally. "Payback's a bitch, Saddam, and you're coming with me!"
** [Update: Juan Cole's wife seems to agree with me:
My wife, Shahin Cole, suggested to me an ironic possibility with regard to the Shiites. She said that many Shiites in East Baghdad, Basra, and elsewhere may have been timid about opposing the US presence, because they feared the return of Saddam. Saddam was in their nightmares, and the reprisals of the Fedayee Saddam are still a factor in Iraqi politics. Now that it is perfectly clear that he is finished, she suggested, the Shiites may be emboldened. Those who dislike US policies or who are opposed to the idea of occupation no longer need be apprehensive that the US will suddenly leave and allow Saddam to come back to power. They may therefore now gradually throw off their political timidity, and come out more forcefully into the streets when they disagree with the US. As with many of her insights, this one seems to me likely correct.
Mayhaps I wasn't so off-base...]
[Update: Other bloggers have posted their thoughts as well:
Any others? Lemme know in comments. Thx.]
[Further update: NZBear has compiled a good list of blog coverage at TTLB. But if any of my faithful readers have posts of their own, please do let me know so I can post links here.]
Credit Where Credit's Due
One tyrant down:
American forces captured a bearded Saddam Hussein, hiding in a hole in a farmhouse cellar near his hometown of Tikrit, the U.S. military announced Sunday. The arrest was carried out without a shot fired and was a victory for the U.S.-led coalition eight months after the fall of Baghdad.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we got him," U.S. administrator L. Paul Bremer told a news conference. "The tyrant is a prisoner," Bremer said.
Bremer said that Saddam was captured Saturday at 8:30 p.m. in a cellar in the town of Adwar, 10 miles from Tikrit, ending one of the most intense manhunts in history.
(via BBWW)
That's great news. I was convinced they wouldn't take him alive--a war crimes trial could prove to be embarassing, but I suppose they could rig it so none of our complicity in arming Saddam comes to light anyway. I sincerely hope this helps squelch the insurgency and allows security and stability to return to Iraq.
ntodd
|
Dean Picking Up Steam In The South
CNN:
Challenging his critics' view that he lacks appeal in the South, Howard Dean won the endorsement Saturday of the Congressional Black Caucus chairman as well as the backing of more than a dozen state and local lawmakers in Georgia in his bid for the Democratic presidential nomination.
U.S. Rep. Elijah Cummings of Maryland said the endorsement was his own and not representative of the 39-member caucus he leads, telling Dean supporters at a private campaign stop in Atlanta that the former Vermont governor brings a much-needed influx of new energy to the Democratic Party.
"We cannot win this race by doing the same things we've been doing," Cummings said. "I thank Howard Dean for making my little girl's dream -- and my dream -- his dream."
...
Critics have said Dean will have a difficult time winning the South.
...
Cummings' endorsement -- and that of the gathered Georgia lawmakers -- followed Tuesday's high-profile endorsement of another key Southerner, former Vice President Al Gore.
"We're the answer to the question of whether Howard Dean can campaign in the South," said state Rep. Nan Orrock of Georgia. "This is the South. We're Southerners. We're for Howard Dean."
Excellent. Every time the punditocracy says "he can't do it," Dean ignores them and goes after the prize, full steam ahead.
ntodd
A Pick Me Up
Sorry, folks, I just felt like posting some Sam pics.
Sam was in the middle of the living room, playing with his favorite string and the mouse Grandma gave him before his narcolepsy kicked in..
I can't believe it's comfortable to be stretched between the couch and the window sill, but Sam seems perfectly capable of sleeping there.
Stef got me a couple shirts from
I'll get back to rational Bush-bashing soon...
ntodd
Pack Your Bags, Honey: We're Going To Gitmo!
WaPo:
[T]he FBI, unhindered by the restrictions of the past, will conduct many more searches and wiretaps that are subject to oversight by a secret intelligence court rather than regular criminal courts, officials said. Civil liberties groups and defense lawyers predict that more innocent people will be the targets of clandestine surveillance.
The new strategy -- launched in early summer and finalized in a classified directive issued to FBI field offices in October -- goes further than has been publicly discussed by FBI officials in the past and marks the final step in tearing down the legal wall that had separated criminal and intelligence investigations since the spying scandals of the 1970s, authorities said.
Ah, secret courts...the foundation of a free society. Don't worry: people who have done nothing wrong have nothing to fear.
ntodd
Is Dean Doomed?
Howard Kurtz pulls off an impressive feat: he manages to propagate some old, silly memes, get a few non sequitur cheap shots in, and all the while actually produce what for him is a balanced view of Howard Dean's chances against Bush in November. In his own backhanded way, Kurtz actually gives some positive coverage things about Dean that many people probably haven't realized. Dean's a skilled politician, not easy to pigeonhole, and could very well win next year.
ntodd
The War On Iraqi Civilians
Brookings:
The Iraq Index [PDF] is a statistical compilation of economic and security data. This resource will provide updated information on various criteria, including crime, telephone and water service, troop fatalities, unemployment, Iraqi security forces, oil production, and coalition troop strength.
The index is designed to quantify the rebuilding efforts and offer an objective set of criteria for benchmarking performance. It is the first in-depth, non-partisan assessment of American efforts in Iraq, and is based primarily on U.S. government information. Although measurements of progress in any nation-building effort can never be reduced to purely quantitative data, a comprehensive compilation of such information can provide a clearer picture and contribute to a healthier and better informed debate.
Here are some snippets from the index:
- Civilians in Baghdad killed in questionable circumstances by U.S. troops - 12/01/2003:
- May: 11
- June: 24
- July: 20
- August: 27
- September: 12
- Month Annualized homicide rate in Baghdad per 100,000 citizens (For comparison Washington DC rate: 45.82) - 12/01/2003:
- May: 100
- June: 135
- July: 160
- August: 190
- September: 190
- October: 190
- November: 190
- December: 180
- Baghdad Public Opinion - Early Fall:
- Is Iraq better off now than it was before the invasion? Better off: 33%; Worse off: 47%
- Have you been afraid at times to go outside your home during the day within the past four weeks? Yes: 86%; No: N/A
- Is Baghdad a more dangerous place now than before the invasion? Yes: 94%; No: N/A
My peeps at the American Friends Service Committee, give us this report on the human cost and relief efforts in Iraq:
The social safety net and protective housing laws that were in place before the war have crashed, leaving an ever greater number of families vulnerable.
In Baghdad alone, more than 54,000 people have been identified as homeless, and the numbers increase daily. Many more people remain in their homes but live there in dire poverty. Jobs have not materialized in post-war Iraq, resulting in an unemployment rate of more than 50 percent. The housing shortage stands at 1.4 million.
...
As winter approaches, AFSC is bringing material aid to 840 Iraqi families—nearly 4,000 people—forced to live in abandoned lands and buildings at the squatters' camps of Al Salam, Al Gazalia, and Al Huda in Baghdad. In partnership with Mennonite Central Committee and CARE, AFSC distributed hygiene buckets to each family. In addition, AFSC has purchased canisters of much needed cooking fuel (propane), which will be distributed to the families over the next couple of weeks through a local implementing partnership with the Organization for Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI).
Please consider a donation to AFSC or another organization to help the Iraqi people recover from 12 devastating years of war. Let's help win the hearts and minds, and do some real good at the same time.
Peace,
ntodd
Interesting Semi-Meaningless Poll
Here are the results of the Democratic Insiders Poll from the National Journal. It's a weekly survey of 50 "political professionals" on who they think to win the Dem nomination:
- Howard Dean - Points: 446 (46 first-place votes); Previous Week: 1 - 438 (40)
Having it all. "With Gore and union support combined with Meetups, Dean is both an insider and outsider," said one Insider. "The Gore endorsement gives him the 'winner' status that he wanted -- now watch the governors get on board," said another. "Money, unions -- he goes after everything everyone tells him he can't have," said a third. "They said he would never get establishment support, but he just got it. 'They' also say he can't beat Bush." - Dick Gephardt- 379 (0); Previous Week: 2 - 384 (5)
- Wesley Clark - 339 (2); Previous Week: 3 - 318 (3)
- John Edwards - 292 (2); Previous Week: 5 - 294 (2)
- John Kerry - 284 (0); Previous Week: 4 - 310 (0)
(via Michael D's dKos diary)
Here's how the scoring works:
Participants rank the nine announced Democratic presidential candidates from 9 to 1 -- assigning 9 to the contender who has the best chance of eventually winning the party's nomination, 8 to the candidate with the second-best chance, and on down to 1 for the least promising contender.
Interesting to note that Lieberman was in 6th, followed by the rest of the pack. I didn't feel like putting all the scores up, and it made me happy to leave
This doesn't reflect who these insiders want to win--they're just handicapping the horse race based on their professional judgement. Who are these insiders? People who have endorsed candidates, run their campaigns, etc. I guess it's sobering/telling to think that many believe that their own campaign isn't going to win.
So on the whole this seems to be more good news for Howie. It's not something that will help him achieve wider appeal like a big endorsement, but it's indicative of the emerging wisdom that he will win the nomination. While this makes me feel good about his chances, I am reminded of what one of my favorite philosophers, Bertrand Russell, said: Even when all the experts agree, they may well be mistaken.
We still have a lot of work to do, so let's stay vigilant. You have the power!
ntodd
* Sorry, a little guilty pleasure, but I'm still trying to keep my pledge to the best of my ability.
** One other aside about Lieberman: I heard him claim on NPR last night that Gore's endorsement has sparked his largest fundraising week ever, and that somehow magically it shows that Lieberman is The Alternative to Dean. How? Well, see, Howie's on the extreme left, there's a bunch of candidates being drawn more to the left, and then there's Joe courageously holding the center. Get it? Dean on one end, Lieberman on the other. QED.
Caption Contest Not Here
Nobidness at Harpy Funky Pumpkin Stogie Town is running another caption contest, this time with actual prizes (as opposed to the imaginary puppies he was giving away last time). Go there!
ntodd
Concert
Tonight's Baroque Christmas concert was very good. The Aulos Ensemble performed with Julianne Baird at St. Mike's College. Wonderful music, including 3 of my favorite traditional carols: Coventry Carol, Es ist ein Rose, and Sussex Carol. The Christmas season has finally begun for me.
ntodd
Fill 'er Up!
The AP tells us:
A Pentagon audit found [Vice President Dick] Cheney's former company may have overcharged the Army by $1.09 per gallon for nearly 57 million gallons of gasoline delivered to citizens in Iraq, senior defense officials say.
But don't worry, President Bush said, "if there's an overcharge, like we think there is, we expect that money be repaid." Why does this statement not comfort me? Oh yeah, because he also expected the Valerie Plame leaker(s) to be found. Too bad back in November the GOP-dominated Congress eliminated a provision in the Iraq spending bill that would've punished war profiteering:
The final version of the $87 billion spending bill for Iraq and Afghanistan is missing provisions the Senate had passed to penalize war profiteers who defraud American taxpayers. House negotiators on the package refused to accept the Senate provisions.
...
Leahy, Feinstein and Durbin will re-introduce the legislation again as a separate bill and will work to win its passage. But because criminal penalties cannot be made retroactive, the absence of penalties in this supplemental appropriations bill will hamper efforts to crack down on war profiteering that involves funds from this bill.
Okay, to be fair:
Auditors found potential overcharges of up to $61 million for gasoline that a Halliburton subsidiary delivered as part of its no-bid contract to help rebuild Iraq's oil industry.
But the company apparently didn't profit from the discrepancy, according to officials who briefed reporters Thursday on condition of anonymity. The problem, the officials said, was that Halliburton may have paid a Kuwaiti subcontractor too much for the gasoline in the first place.
So it's not necessarily profiteering, just stupidity. Ah, the joys of privatization, part of the BushCo corporatist agenda brought to you by Halliburton.
ntodd
Sari Nusseibeh
Lawrence of Cyberia has posted an interesting biography of Sari Nusseibeh:
Nusseibeh was born in Jerusalem in 1949, and grew up just a few blocks from the Green Line. You cannot help but notice how the experience of growing up in divided and later occupied Jerusalem manifests itself in his political initiatives. He remembers as a child walking down the street to the Green Line, stopping at the gate leading to West Jerusalem through which he could not pass, and wondering what it would be like to pass through the gate like Alice in Wonderland into another world. It is no coincidence that when he grows up and articulates how the two state solution might work, he has a vision of porous, permeable borders, and Jerusalem as an open city, where nobody has to stop at the gate and wonder about the strangers who live on the other side.
Go read and learn.
ntodd
Friday Blogaround
Go to these places, your life might just depend on it:
* Body and Soul - The Doctrine of American Infallibility (via Pen-Elayne)
* AND THEN... - In Defense of War Crimes
* Speedkill - A couple more gems from the Bozeman public
* MercuryX23's Fantabulous Blog - BUSHCO VS.NATURE
* The Gamer's Nook - Blogger == terrorist
* BBWW - But Those Were Republicans
* corrente - How right we were!!!!
* Tao of Dowinba - Acting my age
* The Invisible Library - Your Friendly Neighborhood Bookseller
* edwardpig - Cool (wiggy picture, man)
Sorry, I'm only going to give you the titles to go on. No time to write anything pithy or expository. Consider it a mystery grab bag and enjoy.
ntodd
Friday Not Cat Blogging
Sam the Action Kitten has been getting all the glory lately, and a canine-centric focus group has indicated that there should be more balanced critter blogging. Thus:
The other night, Cairo was bored and tried to guilt Mommy into playing a game of tug with an old hedgehog toy. We're such suckers.
A red squirrel gathers seeds that have fallen from the deck feeder. Sam (not pictured) was fascinated.
ntodd
One Reason To Not Elect Dean
We'll have fewer opportunities to make fun of former BushCo officials:
VP Dick Cheney practices for the inevitable moment when he's told: "Come out with your hands up!"
ntodd
Shorter Jonah Goldberg
I don't know what the word censorship really means, but I'll tell you what it is anyway.
ntodd
Circular Firing Squad
Okay, I'm getting a little sick of the term, but it gets the point across. Anyway, a couple things to note about the Dems. First, Charles2 over at the Coalition blog notes:
In today's New York Times, Bob Herbert lambastes the Democrats for wasting one opportunity after another to take the high ground against the Rethugs by sniping at each other. Several of us on this blog have griped about the Dems' penchant for taking shots at each other instead of attacking the Republicans where they are weak - and there are lots of weak spots right now.
Herbert's column is - as usual - incisive...
And I bring your attention to this from Jimmy Carter:
Carter hasn't endorsed a candidate and said he doesn't have "a real preference at this point." His son, Chip, is supporting and helping the Dean campaign.
...
Carter said he and the first lady met with him more than a year ago when Dean sought them out to share his plans to seek the Democratic nomination for president.
The one-term Democratic president said Dean asked "how we addressed the original launching of our campaign" and wanted to know how the Carter campaign judged the importance of Iowa, New Hampshire and other primaries.
Carter is similar to Dean in that he pursued the presidency as a relatively unknown, untested former governor. Carter had been governor of Georgia, and Dean was governor of Vermont.
"We shared our experiences with him, and we talked to two or three other candidates, as well. And I was impressed with him because of his enthusiasm but didn't think he had a chance, to be honest with you.
"And so his campaign has pretty well followed closely in the same track as mine did. With one exception. He's got enormous income from his Internet connections."
Carter was asked about fears among Democrats that Dean could suffer the same fate as George McGovern, the South Dakota Democrat who lost in a landslide to Richard Nixon in 1972.
"I don't have that fear."
Ah, nice to see there is another reasonable Dem out there. I'm still not joining, but maybe there's hope for the party yet.
ntodd
Howard Dean: The Vermont Years
Vermont Public Radio is running a series, The Home-State Record:
A special series on the home-state records of all nine Democratic presidential candidates produced by Vermont Public Radio in cooperation with seven public radio stations around the country. Each story is rich with archival sound and local perspective.
These are, I think, 4 minute dealios. So far they've run John Kerry, Dennis Kucinich, Joe Lieberman and Carol Moseley Braun. Since Dean is our favorite son, VPR has also produced a one hour special on his record in Vermont:
One of the recurring legends of American politics is about the candidate who comes from nowhere to grab the brass ring, to the astonishment of political experts. Abraham Lincoln and Harry Truman are the classic examples of men who rose from obscurity to the presidency. More recently Jimmy Carter and Bill Clinton rocketed off the improbable launch pads of small and rural states, to win it all.
How did Howard Dean move to the front of the pack in a Democratic Party nomination process initially dominated by better known names from bigger places?
He started by making a mark in Vermont. Vermont also made a mark on him, as his thinking evolved over twenty years in office, more than half of them as governor. In 1991, when Richard Snelling had a fatal heart attack, everything changed for Lieutenant Governor Dean.
It's a frank, balanced look at Dean, warts and all. I highly recommend checking out the transcript and/or the streaming audio.
ntodd
Vacation Begins!
But first, I have some work to finish up. I took Cairo to an urgent vet visit yesterday*, which threw off my afternoon. So this AM I have to catch up, and then I have a lunch appointment, then I can blog for a bit, then Stef and I are going to dinner and a baroque Christmas concert. Geesh, vacation is tiring.
ntodd
* For those of you who care, she's been throwing up for several days. The vet couldn't find anything overtly wrong, but suspected pancreatitis, or possibly that Cairo had ingested something bad in reaction to kitten-related stress. X-rays showed nothing wrong and we got a voice mail that the blood work came back negative for pancreatitis, but with an elevated white count. Have to talk to the vet today to see what her thoughts are.
Sigh No More, Elayne
Pen-Elayne revives the "Silly Site of the Day": A Long Time Ago, In A Galaxy Made of Typewriter Symbols...
ntodd
The Failure of Democracy
edwardpig has a nice post excerpt up on the Coalition community blog:
If the Bush administration really cared about bringing democracy to Iraq (a prerequisite of which is to get the country on its feet again), they wouldn't be excluding many major industrialized nations from bidding on reconstruction contracts, simply because they opposed the war. (For that matter, if they cared about the U.S. taxpayer, they'd open the bidding to everyone to insure we get the lowest price. Remember, those tax dollars are 'your money'). And if the excluded nations really cared, they wouldn't be threatening to withhold future funding, or refusing to cancel outstanding debts in retaliation.
He's stirred up a hornet's nest in the comments, so go read the thread. And don't forget to click through to his site for the whole thing--great stuff.
ntodd
Unelectable At Any Speed
CNN:
Consumer advocate Ralph Nader said Thursday he is leaning toward another independent run for the presidency and will make his decision public in January.
"We're testing the waters," Nader said in an interview with CNN. "It's a high probability but that is yet to be determined.
Don't come in, Ralph, the water's cold. Or full of sharks. Or something. Just stay the hell out of the water, you stupid bastage.
ntodd
Only 51 Reasons?
Cowboy Kahlil gives us 51 reasons to elect Howard Dean. That's the last Dean thing I post for a while. You know he's cool and kicking ass.
ntodd
Real Grassroots
500,000 bucks for President Gore's 500,000 vote margin of victory in 2000. Almost 6000 people have already thanked Al for his leadership, and real grassroots, over 500 thousand people strong, are responding to the GOP's astroturf. Join us!
ntodd
What We're Up Against
Here's what I got from the GOP today (I signed up at their website months ago to get intel):
[W]ealthy liberals "have plotted ways around the campaign finance law" to funnel millions in illegal soft money donations "to finance get-out-the-vote efforts and ads slamming Mr. Bush and Republicans."
One billionaire liberal, George Soros, has already pledged $25 million to get these efforts off the ground. Soros even said that President Bush reminds him of the Nazis.
Soros got another billionaire leftist, Peter Lewis, an ardent advocate of hard drugs, to promise $12 million as a down payment. Their goal is to raise over $400 million to defeat the President and they're halfway there.
To beat these billionaire liberals, we need your help today!
Gosh, those damned, dirty liberals are trying to (gasp!) get out the vote! That's a grave threat to our democracy. And they have the nerve to try to counter Bush's $200 million. Don't they know there's a war on? Traitors, all of them.
ntodd
Volleyball Season's Over
Fun night! We actually won our first match--smoked 'em--thus advancing in the playoffs. We clearly didn't have our wits about us the second match at 9 and didn't quite play our best, but we still did okay against one of the best teams in the league. That loss ended our season, but was enjoyable. I had some monster blocks and spikes that felt really good.
Anyway, done until January. Onward!
ntodd
This Ought To Give Everybody Confidence
The 2003 Federal Computer Security Report Card from the Committee On Government Reform:
"The Federal Government should be the standard bearer when it comes to information security. Unfortunately, today's report card indicates anything but that. The Federal Government – overall -- scored a D. While that's an improvement over last year's F, it's nothing to be proud of and much more must be done to secure our government computer networks," said Subcommittee Chairman Adam H. Putnam (R-Fl).
Why do I feel like Bart Simpson is heading our infosec efforts?
ntodd
Finally, A Little Blogaround
Whew! I hate the week before vacation: too much crap to do before I quit working until 2004. Apologies to my fellow Coalition members for not doing more to promote their blogs. Here's a down payment on what I owe:
* BBWW tells us that "Oops" Doesn't Cut It. Turns out, we're really good at killing kids in Afghanistan, who all would grow up to be Osama bin Missing anyway.
* And Then... weighs in on Al Gore's Dean Endorsement, with help from Kucinich and Sharpton.
* The Gamer's Nook reminds us that To the victor... go the spoils and all that. Remember, you're either with us or against us!
* The Fulcrum opines on The Cause of the Decline of American Morality. Hint: it has nothing to do with the Clenis™.
* Sooner Thought alerts us to the fact that You Can Vote Once Every 12 Hours! in the 2003 Weblog award contest. My sources in the Democratic Party tell me Alex is offering 20 bucks to each person who votes for him in the "Best Crawly Amphibians Ecosystem Level Blog" category.
* Rubber Hose is happy to report that David Brooks is back to his old tricks and pissing off upyernoz. Your Coalition Secret Decoder Ring is safe.
* blogAmY has some More on the topic of Dean (scroll down). She agrees with Molly Ivins. So do I.
* You should also check out two posts at OSP today: For Whom To Vote & Why, by Guy Andrew Hall; An effective leader, or a war criminal looking for a place to happen?, by Jack Cluth.
Oh, and if you want the most encyclopedic example ever of a blogaround, check out the farmer's over at corrente. With the size of that post, he could've maybe included 1537 links at least... ;-)
ntodd
Sobering Analysis
Two sobering reports from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, the folks Rummy sent to Iraq in July. First, from Four Wars and Counting (PDF):
Almost without sensing it, America has drifted into involvement in four separate and simultaneous conflicts. The most obvious war is Iraq. Former regime loyalists and violent Islamic extremists are fighting a low intensity conflict. American and other coalition soldiers die there every day, a US-led occupation force governs it, and it has the highest media and political profile. No matter how this conflict develops, there is little prospect of a stable Iraq over the next 5-10 years, or that Iraq will serve as an example that will transform the Middle East.
In the process, the second conflict - Afghanistan - has become the "not quite forgotten" war.
...
The third war, the broader global "war on terrorism," continues, but in an increasingly confused form.
...
The fourth war does not involve direct American use of troops, but rather the Arab and Islamic perception that the US is a cobelligerent with Israel.
...
[T]he moment one turns from a focus on the war that has the most current visibility to a broader consideration of all four wars and the other risks at hand, the clearer it is that the US will face major domestic political problems. The image of a quick and decisive victory was always a false one, but it is still the image many Americans want. One thousand or more dead in Iraq is hardly Vietnam, but it must be justified and explained, and explained honestly - not in terms of the ephemeral slogans President Bush has used to date. America may well have to spend another one percent of its GNP on sustained combat and international intervention overseas than any American politician is willing to admit.
America faces some very hard political choices, and they are going to take exceptional leadership and courage as the US enters an election year. They require bipartisanship of a kind that has faded since the Cold War, and neither neo-conservative nor neo-liberal ideology can help. Moreover, America's think tanks and media are going to have to move beyond sound bites and simple solutions, just as much as America's politicians and military planners. Put differently, it is going to be a very tough year. In fact, it is going to be a very tough decade.
Oy, what kind of a world are my (presumed, future) kids going to be born into? When I started becoming more aware of the world around me when I was a toddler, Vietnam was the dominant crisis, and it partially informs my worldview today. In 30 years, will my kids look back at the "war on terror", or even the Iraq war, the same way I look back at Vietnam? I hope not.
A few other observations from Iraq and Asymmetric Warfare (PDF):
- The US may be able to give Iraq significant new opportunities, but it will not be able to shape Iraq into a modern democracy or free market economy. The US will have to leave long before the political, economic, and energy issues in Iraq play out, and Iraq will then face years, if not a decade, of instability.
- Iraq will not become any near term example to the region of what a state should be, or of the US ability to create a democracy. There may be positives in Iraq over time, but they will be at least partially offset by negatives, while other Middle Eastern states will be driven by their own internal dynamics.
- Iraqis may tolerate the US if Iraq emerges from US and Coalition rule as a reasonably stable and secure state, but the US will not win the hearts, minds, or friendship of the Iraqi people. The war will generate as much anger as gratitude.
- The US will have removed a potential military threat to Israel, but the new post-US regime is unlikely to be any more sympathetic to Israel than any other Arab state.
- The situation in Iraq is far more likely to compound US problems with Islamic movements than reduce them, and will probably produce a significantly less secular regime over time.
Seems like the last bastion of justifications for this war--bringing peace, stability and democracy to the Middle East to enhance our security--has fallen. If only Bush had listened to the millions of people in the anti-war "focus groups" instead of his "objective" advisors.
I disagree with Howard Dean on the idea of staying in Iraq, but that seems to be par for the course when it comes to the candidates who have a realistic shot at beating Bush. At least he seems to be much more invested in returning to the community of nations as a member in good standing, which I think will help us get more allies on board. I'm still not convinced "internationalizing" the conflict with more Western troops is going to do much good--I think this is a problem for the Arab nations to work out.
Regardless, we have even greater issues that go beyond how we deal with Iraq. We've got a decade of fun ahead, and we're going to need a reasonable, thoughtful and strong leader who can work with our allies and address the root issues that allow terrorism to flourish. Bush is not that leader. Almost any of the Democrats can be (I won't cast aspersions at anyone in particular), and I think Dean is right up there.
It's going to be a long campaign leading up to next November, but that pales compared to the long campaign to bring prosperity and security to our nation and the world. Let's keep our eyes on the goal, keep the passion and energy flowing, and keep the faith as we struggle to shake off the GOP's domination of our government. We need to continue to get a substantive message out to compete with the pap coming from BushCo so Americans can make a truly informed choice and vote for realistic, compassionate and positive foreign policy, not one that's based on invoking 9/11 at ever opportunity. That's the way to save Iraq, as well as the US.
ntodd
Sympathy For The Dog
I don't have time for a substantive post right now, but you must give sympathy to Cairo. She's getting on in years, and yesterday she started favoring her left rear leg after we'd been outside for a play break. In addition to some drugs, we bundled her up with a heating pad to relieve the pain. Saffron likes warm seats:
I guess Saff added some extra heat to the treatment. This seemed to help a bit, though the pain clearly made Cairo a bit restless last night, thus I didn't get the best sleep myself (I'm sooo tired, but I'm not asking for sympathy because I think I've used my quota this month). Stef appears to have slept just fine.
ntodd
When, Oh When Will The Silliness End?
Tonight's Dem debate:
KOPPEL: I would like all of you up here, including you, Governor Dean, to raise your hand if you believe that Governor Dean can beat George W. Bush.
(LAUGHTER)
(APPLAUSE)
...
Congressman Gephardt, you didn't raise your hand...None of you did.
Are you serious? First: Dumbest. Question. Ever. Second: as Atrios said, "you should be willing to say that a SLUG could beat Bush." Reason #512 I am not a Democrat. You people are absolutely clueless.
Here's how
I'll tell you why I didn't raise my hand in response to that question: This campaign for the Democratic nomination is fundamentally a referendum within our party about whether we're going to build on the Clinton transformation in our party in 1992 that reassured people we were strong on defense, we were fiscally responsible, we cared about values, we were interested in cutting taxes for the middle class and working with business to create jobs.
Howard Dean -- and now Al Gore, I guess -- are on the wrong side of each of those issues.
Nice, Joe. And how exactly are you strong on defense, because you voted for a quagmire? And have you been as fiscally responsible as the Good Doctor? By values, do you mean "gay rights"? Do you think that the bogus Bush tax cuts you support, and that Dean rejects, really go to the middle class? Can't you campaign without spreading lies about Dean and now your former running mate? Did you ever consider that Al gave his endorsement because Ho-Ho is on the right side of the issues? No?
Dean's response:
Let me just say a couple of things.
First of all, I think John Edwards is right, the people will decide, not Al Gore or anybody else.
Secondly, I'm going to give an invitation which I have not yet given, but I am going to do it now. If you guys are upset that Al Gore is endorsing me, attack me, don't attack Al Gore.
Al Gore worked too hard in 2000...He got 500,000 votes more than George Bush. And I don't think he deserves to be attacked by anybody up here. He doesn't -- he's not a boss**.
(APPLAUSE)
He's a fundamentally decent human being. We share a lot of values.
...
I think Al Gore deserves credit for being the kind of moral leader in this country that we have lost since the last election.
I agree with Dean. I wasn't thrilled with Gore in 2000, but I voted for him because I thought he was at least 5,000,000 votes better than Bush. Ever since his MoveOn speech, I've been thrilled with him, and lament that he didn't run a better campaign. Today he proved just how thoughtful and forward-thinking he really is.
Memo to all you other candidates: learn from Gore 2000 and Gore 2003. He ran the campaign you're running now in 2000, and lost. He has spent the last 3 years reflecting on that, found his true voice and in 2003 has raised that voice for a new movement. Get over your hurt feelings. It's time to embrace this force, and focus on taking our government back and our nation forward.
ntodd
* I am upholding my pledge to the best of my ability.
** Sharpton said "The Republicans shut us up four years ago. Al Gore -- no Democrat should shut us up today. Let the people decide on the nominee. Bossism shouldn't happen. I know that Governor Dean and Al Gore love the Internet; www.bossism doesn't work on my computer." Funny quip at the end, but I call bullshit. See below for more on the "Gore destroyed democracy" meme.
The Latest Scoop
Deep deep background follow-up: apparently Clinton was originally going to be involved in today's event with Gore, but there's been some debate between WJC and HRC about the endorsement dealio. Still expect Big Dog to sign on with Dean. We'll see.
ntodd
Wow
Battlestar Galactica is pretty freaking cool. And I can totally get used to a female Starbuck. Oh yeah.
I can't watch the whole thing tonight, so Dad's Tivoing it for me. Looking forward to seeing the whole thing.
ntodd
Sam The Action Kitten Endorses Dean
Well, maybe not...
Sam tries to watch the birds over the snow on the deck.
Three of our roughly 8 bazillion chickadees on the deck feeder.
Mustang Bobby was right. Sam is boneless, but I can't take credit for inventing him. Al Gore did.
This Moment of Zen brought to you because I needed it.
ntodd
Dean/Gore Lovefest Coverage
I bestow the following awards for coverage of Al Gore's endorsement of Howard Dean:
* Worst. Column. Ever. - Stop This Train: Who decides this election—you or Al Gore? By William Saletan:
What was that again about counting every vote?
Three years ago, Al Gore, trailing in the Florida recount, urged the nation to wait until all the votes were tallied...Elections should be determined "by the votes cast by the people, not by politicians."
...
That was then. This is now.
Now the presidential candidate Gore prefers is ahead. Not in the vote count—the first votes haven't been cast yet—but in Democratic polls and money. In Iowa, Howard Dean leads his nearest competitor by eight points. In New Hampshire, he leads by 14 points to 25 points. Financially, he's blowing the field away. He has already renounced matching funds, allowing him to ignore the customary spending caps and outspend his opponents with impunity in the early primaries.
Should Democrats fight it out and see who wins? Not if Gore has his way.
* Best. Response. Ever. - Did Gore subvert the democratic process? By Kos:
Gore endorses Dean. Fans of the Vermont governor exhulted. Most everyone else recognized it as yet another major step toward a Dean nomination.
And a small group have loudly complained that Gore has somehow subverted the democratic process.
Which is, of course, ludicrous.
...
[I]t's true, no votes have been cast. But that doesn't mean we haven't seen democracy in action the past year. 2003 was a clinic in how technology could be used to build a movement, how bytes on a screen could be transformed into off-line activities in pursuit of a cause.
We have been seeing true participatory democracy. Some campaigns got it. Others did not. And yet others simply got in the game too late. Movements aren't built overnight.
I reject the notion that democracy isn't being served. At the end of the day, we'll still have elections to select delegates. Each candidate still has to get his (or her) supporters to the polls. Dean's nomination isn't a done deal. But he sure is in the best position to receive it.
* Funniest. Report. Ever. - Gore To Claim He Invented Dean, Says GOP. By Tom Burka:
Al Gore is set to claim today that he invented Howard Dean, according to GOP stalwarts.
"That guy's just a wacko who takes credit for everything," said Tod Wanksmen, aide to RNC chief Marc Racicot.
Soon-to-be-former Democratic candidates reacted to the announcement.
No further insight from NTodd required.
ntodd
Three Reasons I Hate Wolf
Things I heard Wolf Blitzer say just a few moments ago (paraphrase followed by translation):
* Heartbreaking news in the story that has had a grip on American's emotions - what, you expect us to report on dead black people?
* Could Gore's endorsement boomerang? - we've got to create a political crisis to report about somehow!
* "Hard news" - it's so hard to report this news stuff when you're pretending to be a journalist.
ntodd
QOTD
Democracy is a team sport. I want to do everything in my power to convince you to get behind Howard Dean... All of us need to get behind the strongest candidate. - President Al Gore on his successor, Howard Dean
ntodd
Doing My Duty
Just a quick note to direct your attention to Coalition member, It's Craptastic! See cloneclone's entry What is the point?, a very heartfelt post. If you're inclined to vote in the TTLB New Blog Showcase, you might consider casting your vote for this post as I have.
Speaking of craptastic, I have to redo some stuff I produced yesterday for work, so blogging will be light. Expect the usual lunchtime and evening routine, with a possible blog break here and there.
ntodd
PS--Have you heard? Gore is endorsing Dean. Heh. Check out Jay Bullock's rundown of Dean's Big Adventure over at OSP, which includes discussion of the endorsement and much, much more.
What A Day
I had a crappy day. I was tired after having gotten up at 430AM for no apparent reason, the work I did was of the lowest quality I think I've ever managed,and our volleyball team was shorthanded and got absolutely smoked in the playoffs.
But Dean gets a big boost, the full moon and the snow combined to make the drive home tonight really beautiful, and my family is safe and snug and protected from the subzero temps.
Still, I'll be glad to put the day behind me. Tomorrow promises to be busy as well, since I have to make up for the offal I produced today, but at least it's another day.
ntodd
Holy Toledo
AP:
Former Vice President Al Gore intends to endorse Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination, a dramatic move that could boost Dean's front-runner position.
Gore, who lost to President Bush in the disputed 2000 election, has agreed to endorse Dean in Harlem in New York City on Tuesday and then travel with the former Vermont governor to Iowa, sight of the Jan. 19 caucuses which kick off the nominating process, said a Democratic source close to Gore.
The source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Dean will return from Iowa in time for Tuesday night's Democratic debate in New Hampshire.
Dean's campaign declined to comment.
(thanks to ReachM High for the headsup e-mail, link from Political Wire)
[Update: Faithful reader MercuryX23 muses: "The real question is, if Gore gives Dean his nod, will the Big Dog be far behind?" Interestingly enough, I have heard a rumor that Clinton will in fact endorse Dean as well. That's on deep deep background (and it's not who you think). No joke. You heard it here first.]
ntodd
Time To Fire The Contractor
MSGOP:
Guerrillas killed a U.S. soldier with a roadside bomb in northern Iraq on Sunday, and a U.S. military commander said insurgent attacks might not abate even if American troops kill or capture Saddam Hussein.
...
The top commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, said attacks could surge ahead of a July 1 deadline for a transfer of authority from the U.S.-led coalition to a transitional Iraqi government.
"We expect to see an increase in violence as we move forward toward sovereignty at the end of June," Sanchez said. "The killing or capturing of Saddam Hussein will have an impact on the level of violence, but it will not end it," he said. "It won’t be the end-all solution."
"It’s a needle in a haystack," he said of the hunt for the ousted Iraqi leader. "Clearly we haven’t found the right haystack ... We are moving under the assumption that he is still in the country, that he is still operating."
At least somebody in charge is being realistic.
Saddam matters little, if at all, at this point on the ground. Of course nailing him would be a big political victory for Bush, a chance to parade Saddam's body (like his sons, BushCo ain't going to let him live to see a trial) around and distract people from Osama bin Missing, the ever-rising body count, etc. But from the POV of the insurgents, even if he has some hand in it, Saddam I think is fading in importance. It's the people themselves who are becoming more and more resistant to our occupation.
It's clear that BushCo is unclear about how to handle Iraq, now that our boots are firmly stuck in the sand. Juan Cole notes this about the occupation:
[W]e have three phases of American policy in Iraq and different analogies to other US imperial ventures, based on who was on top:
1. Jay Garner: Was planning to put Iraq on an even keel within 6 months and go home. This plan would have entailed putting Ahmad Chalabi and the Iraqi National Congress in charge of the Iraqi Army and bureaucracy (both would have been retained). It resembled the policy toward France after the US victory in 1945, where the government was handed over to the Free French. This policy was favored by Cheney and Rumsfeld.
2. Paul Bremer, First Phase: Bremer displaces Garner by mid-May. Intends to rule Iraq himself by fiat for two or three years. He disbands the Iraqi army altogether and puts off re-instituting the ministries. This is a Japan sort of plan, with Bremer playing MacArthur. He initially does not plan to have an Interim Governing Council or early elections. This plan was probably favored by Wolfowitz and some other neocons.
(Bremer first phase was modified July 13 when Bremer is forced to appoint an Interim Governing Council, because he simply did not have the legitimacy to rule Iraq by himself).
3. Paul Bremer, Second Phase: The Nov. 15 agreement is hastily hammered out calling for quick elections on a caucus basis, so that Bremer can hand over power to it by July 1, 2004. So, he would depart a year or two before scheduled. This is an Afghanistan model, complete with a US-invented Iraqi analogue to the manipulated Loya Jirga. Again, this model would be supported by Rumsfeld and Cheney and would raise anxieties among the neocons, who are dedicated to a Japan model of completely reshaping Iraq via direct US rule.
So, we've had three different models in less than 8 months, with the Washington infighting reinforced by the problem the US has had in getting control of the security situation.
I'm all for trying to adapt to realities on the ground, but let's face it: BushCo has not had a realistic vision from the start. That's why Phase I and Jay Garner failed so miserably, so quickly. They lost tempo as soon as we began occupying Iraq, and have been stuck reacting to events ever since. That's no way to win a war. You know it's a bad situation when even people on the Right assail Bush's strategy.
And this is what many of us anti-war types had warned about. This is why Bush I didn't want to go to Baghdad. Yeah, Saddam was bad, the world is better off without him in charge, blahblahblah. But on balance, I'm not convinced we have created a greater good.
We peaceniks were not and are not pro-Saddam, but rather pro-Peace. We want to find more constructive ways to deal with the issues at hand, not run headlong into a quagmire. We want to spend our immense resources on trying to be a positive force as a leader among the community of nations. We want to stop throwing away lives and treasure, and instead address the root causes that underlie our problems.
No matter who is President in 2005, he (apologies to Carol Moseley-Braun) is going to have a lot to fix both at home and abroad. I'm going to apply an analogy some have used before to argue why we must stay in Iraq. We hired a BushCo to "change the tone in Washington", to be a "compassionate conservative", and to act "humbl[y] in how we treat nations." Unfortunately, this contractor has gone over-budget, missed deadlines and is delivering an inferior product. It is time to find a new contractor to come in and undo the damage done.
ntodd
More Blogfoolery
Lots of changes to the blogroll: I gave up on the Main Blogroll and instead moved my Bloggers Parliament stuff up there, since it fits better. I mixed in most of the Main Blogroll sites into my Gitmo roll, which represents blogs I regularly read and/or people who regularly read DM. I also eliminated almost all the redundancy between blogrolls, 'cept for a few members in OSP who are on other rolls--I'm now relying a lot on blogrolls that I have little or no control over, so there will always be a bit of overlap. Life is full of compromises.
Big addition is the logo and automagic blogroll code for the Coalition. There's an annoying gap at the top of the list that I can't get rid of, but maybe if I bribe NZBear with green M&Ms he'll fix that. At least it simplifies my life, for which I'm eternally grateful.
Light blogging ahead until tonight. Lots of work (I hate it when real life intervenes) and volleyball post-season starts this evening (fortunately it's double-elimination). Talk amongst yourselves here, visit the Coaliltion and its member sites, and keep hitting reload just in case I post something (I have 3 things specifically in mind for blog breaks)!
Peace out,
ntodd
Dean Shoots, Scores
USNews:
If you were one of those in 900 Meetup locations listening to presidential hopeful Howard Dean last Wednesday and wondered what that horn was in the background, we've got the scoop. The leading Democrat flew home to watch his son's high school hockey game, and the period timer went off while the candidate was promoting his cause on his Meetup phone link.
Stef and I didn't go to our local event--conflicted with v-ball for me (which was moot since I hurt my back), and Stef was feeling under the weather. Next time. One of Stef's friends went to the Burlington Meetup and shot some photos (the 3
submitted by atk were taken by Stef's friend).
ntodd
For The Tolkien Geeks
This week's Sound & Spirit was a really good show on Tolkien:
Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings is "...a work that will either totally enthrall you or leave you stone cold," wrote WH Auden, "and, whichever your response, nothing and nobody will ever change it." Ellen Kushner explores how musicians, artists and writers have been inspired by Tolkien's masterwork - through music ranging from sweeping symphonies to sassy satire - and discover how Tolkien found his own inspiration in our world's mythic traditions.
You can listen to the hour-long program online.
(thanks Stef for calling home to let me know this was on)
ntodd
The Conservative Obsession With Size
As faithful reader lea-p notes, it ain't just George Bush:
This psychological condition must be something in the genetic makeup of conservatives.
ntodd
[Update: my webhost is flaking out, so these and other images might not load. Thanks for your patience. Can I borrow some?]
Andy Card Is A Moran [sic]
Salon:
Howard Dean is a good governor in Vermont who is no longer governor. So he would not be my choice for president of the United States.
WTF?
ntodd
PS--This was in an article about the WH criticizing John Kerry for saying "fuck" (tittertitter).
Whenever The Heck I Feel Like It Cat Blogging
Ghostbusters:
Dr. Peter Venkman: This city is headed for a disaster of biblical proportions.
Mayor: What do you mean, "biblical?"
Dr. Raymond Stantz: What he means is Old Testament, Mr. Mayor, real wrath-of-God type stuff. Fire and brimstone coming down from the sky. Rivers and seas boiling!
Dr. Egon Spengler: Forty years of darkness! Earthquakes, volcanoes...
Winston Zeddemore: The dead rising from the grave!
Dr. Peter Venkman: Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together - mass hysteria!
ntodd
And They Always Said I'd Never Amount To Anything
Which Historical Lunatic Are You?
From the fecund loins of Rum and Monkey.
(via MercuryX23)
ntodd
Why Kerry Can't Replace Bush
He has the same MO: make shit up. WaPo:
The polls have not been kind to erstwhile front-runner John Kerry, so the Democratic presidential candidate has settled on a novel solution: make 'em up.
"Let me tell you something," he said Thursday on the CBS "Early Show." "John McCain was 30 points behind Bush in New Hampshire at this point in time." The point was clear: Kerry, far behind Howard Dean in New Hampshire, would have a come-from-behind victory, just as McCain did over George W. Bush in 2000.
Well, not exactly. At this time four years ago, an American Research Group poll found McCain with a 37 percent to 30 percent lead over Bush in New Hampshire. And a Franklin Pierce College poll put McCain's lead at 15 points.
This is not the first time Kerry has cited fanciful polling. A month ago, Kerry was asked at a debate about polls showing Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-N.Y.) ahead of all the actual Democratic candidates. "I saw a poll the other day that showed me about 15 points ahead of her," Kerry replied. But his campaign could produce no such poll.
And that blooper came just a day after Kerry said on CNN's "Inside Politics," "I am not as far behind in New Hampshire today as Al Gore was to Bill Bradley four years ago." Hmm. In November 1999, a Dartmouth College poll gave Gore a 7-point lead and a Newsweek poll put Gore's advantage at 10 points.
Seems that with all that turnover at the Kerry campaign, the research department is getting a bit thin.
I love that snarky bit at the end.
ntodd
QOTD
[The] monolithic Democratic Party machine...can't even get themselves arrested. - Democratic consultant Tom Ochs.
Oh, this was in a Salon article entitled "Is Dean stoppable?" Heh.
ntodd
It's Worse Than We Thought
It ain't just us wacko liberals who are worried about the war:
The military has been hitting hard lately in Iraq, using overwhelming firepower to kill the enemy in operations with videogame names like Iron Hammer and Ivy Cyclone II. But behind the scenes, some military experts, including high-ranking officers in U.S. Special Forces (Army Green Berets, Navy SEALs and the like), are beginning to complain that America’s strategy in Iraq is wrongheaded.
"THIS IS WHAT Westmoreland was doing in Vietnam," says a top Special Forces commander, referring to the firepower-heavy tactics favored by the military’s senior commander in Vietnam, Gen. William Westmoreland, who lost sight of America’s essential mission in that lost war: winning the hearts and minds of the people.
...
Sitting in his office in downtown Washington, [former House speaker Newt Gingrich] searched on his computer for the Web site of the Coalition Provisional Authority, set up in Baghdad to oversee the reconstruction and democratization of Iraq. "I'm told over there that CPA stands for 'Can't Produce Anything'," says Gingrich. "Home page of the New Iraq," he quotes. Then: "The opening quote is, of course, by [CPA chief Paul] Bremer. Next quote is by Bush. Next quote is by U.S. Ambassador Steve Mann." He scrolls down. "Now this is a big breakthrough. They do have the new Iraqi ambassador to the U.S. On the front page. That is a breakthrough," he repeats, adding, sotto voce, "I have been beating the crap out of them for two weeks on this." His basic point: where are the Iraqi faces in the New Iraq?"“Americans can’t win in Iraq," he says. "Only Iraqis can win in Iraq."
What I've been sayin'.
ntodd
Why I'm Glad We Didn't Go Out Last Night
My mom informed me of this last night, after we'd made our decision to bail on our friend's party:
A Fairfax mother and daughter died and another person was critically injured in a weather-related accident Saturday as unexpectedly heavy snow from the first big storm of the winter walloped the state.
The victims were Emily Aja, 15, and Diane Aja, 46, both of Rocky Ridge Road, State Police in St. Albans said. The third person, a passenger in the Aja vehicle, was not identified. The accident took place about noon on Vermont 104A in Georgia.
Across Vermont, police and highway officials reported a rash of less serious accidents on snow-covered roads, but many people ignored the wintry weather and went about their Saturday errands and holiday shopping.
...
The fatal accident in Georgia occurred early in the snowstorm, but Christopher Gonyeau, a Georgia firefighter, said road conditions were treacherous. Gonyeau and a crew of firefighters were called out to the accident on Vermont 104A at 12:06 p.m.
"One vehicle lost control coming down a hill and was t-boned by another vehicle," Gonyeau said.
The car had been heading toward Georgia from Fairfax, while the truck in the accident was heading in the opposite direction.
No matter what kind of vehicle you have, no matter how careful you are, bad stuff can happen. No need to tempt fate if you can avoid it. Most likely we would have arrived at our destination okay, though given my tired state, who knows for sure. Anyway, winter snow is fun, but it's as deadly as a tornado or fire or flood.
To all my readers who were slammed by this storm, be well.
ntodd
My Goodness!
The Liberal Coalition has grown so much that we're engaging in a slowdown to make sure we don't become victims of our own success. We are now competing in the TTLB Showcase sponsorship dealio, and will be taking a bit of a breather on the recruitment side of things. But fret not! We're still interested in adding potential members. See our site for details on how to apply to join our merry band.
Our focus right now is on finding our voice and making decisions on how to pursue some opportunities that have fallen into our collective laps. More news to come. In the meantime, let's get blogging!
ntodd
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A Lot Of Snow
Last night, a couple hours after I'd driven out to check conditions. The tire tracks were half filled by this time.
The deck feeder. It's not an effective snow gauge, since it the peak can't get too high. The side steps are my measuring tool: we had 12-14 inches last night when we went out to shovel and play with the dog. There are 7 new inches on the steps this AM. And it's still snowing.
Layers of snow piled up against our sliding door.
It's snowing hard enough now to interrupt our satellite TV and Internet access. No fun being snowed in when you can't watch TV or surf at high speeds! Unfortunately, Stef has to be on air in a few hours--hopefully the snow will taper off as predicted.
To all my snowbound readers: don't drive unless you have to, be careful when you're shoveling, and stay warm.
ntodd
Speaking Of Shorter...
...what is it with Bush and this gesture:
It used to be fun to make jokes about his manhood or the impact of his economic policies when pictures like this cropped up, but they seem to happen all the time now. Maybe news photographers are involved in some kind of conspiracy to capture Bush doing this as often as possible. A small way to help evict him next year?
"Hey, Dubya, how much is that backdrop helping you?"
"About this much..."
ntodd
Shorter George Bush
Please believe me when I say my corporatist agenda magically created 57,000 jobs last month. Hopefully if I keep saying the economy's improving enough, you'll forget how many jobs I actually promised, and you'll ignore stuff like the 9 kids we killed in Afghanistan today, as well as the soldiers and civilians who continue to die in Iraq.
ntodd
Lame
We were supposed to go to my friend's birthday party tonight, but we're laming out. The snow's coming down about 3 inches an hour, which isn't super bad, but enough for me right now. I drove out to the mailbox to see how the conditions were on the main road, and it's pretty slick and the visibility is really low. With my back causing some sleepless nights, my reflexes are dreadful, so we decided it just wasn't safe for me to drive (and Stef has dreadful night vision).
So I feel like a schmuck. To balance the bad karma, I'm going to go outside with the dog and shovel the 8 inches of snow on our walkway. Cairo loves playing in the snow.
ntodd
Snowy Day
Some pics from our woods...
A teeny little tree, trying to keep its head above water, near the path that cuts through our wooded property to the back of the elementary school. I suspect it will become completely buried, though probably not after this storm.
[Update: I was wrong. It's totally buried. We've gotten a lot of snow.]
Cairo after digging her snout in the snow, looking for her stick.
Something in the woods caught her eye. At this point, my hands were fricking freezing, so we went back inside.
Stay safe and warm.
ntodd
DKos: Establishment Lining Up Behind Dean
Most of my readers have probably already seen it, but Kos has a really interesting analysis (and long comment thread--don't these people sleep?) about Dean's support by the party establishment:
[W]e're seeing most of the outright opposition to Dean evaporate, and this week proved the turning point. The latest NH, IA, and MA polls. The $50K for the Florida Democratic Party. The realization of what the SEIU and AFSCME endorsements meant, the realization that it would take a miracle to overtake Dean given his current advantages in support, money, and most important (and most often overlooked) -- his ground organization. Clark, the only guy left with a chance to catch Dean, trails in all three with just over a month left before the first ballots get cast.
Wow. I hope he's right.
ntodd
[Update: in comments, faithful reader Spine brought these two items to my attention:
* TPM:
I had lunch today with someone who is not a politician but a fairly prominent Washington Democrat -- certainly not someone from the party's liberal wing. And in the course of answering a question, I said "If it [i.e. the nominee] ends up being Dean ..." At which point, with the rest of my sentence still on deck down in my throat, my friend shot back : "It's Dean."
* NYTimes Magazine:
The (mostly) young people behind Howard Dean's campaign — the brokenhearted, the techno-utopians, the formerly apolitical - come together because they like the candidate. But they also come together because they like one another.
That ought to lift faithful reader Mustang Bobby's spirits after Kristof's latest. He deconstructs the Democrats-Can't-Win meme at BBWW.]
Blogkeeping Note
With the rapid growth of the Liberal Coalition, my blogrolling situation has become even messier. You will notice some redundancy and other weirdness in the rolls for a while until I figure out exactly how I want to handle things.
And don't forget, you should become a member or join us on a guest basis. Come on, everybody's doing it! Drop an e-mail to coalition@pritsky.net if you're interested or have questions.
ntodd
Happy St. Nick's Day!
When I was about 6, my parents gave me a diary/almanac thingy. It was a big paperback with a page for each day of the year, and it provided a little factoid and backstory about each day, and had a space for you to write down what you did that day. My parents rue the day they gave it to me* because I learned about all sorts of neat holidays that I could use as an excuse for presents. St. Nick's Day was one, and we celebrate it even today.
And a good holiday it has been thus far. I took Sam to the vet and his feline leukemia test came back negative, so we're stylin'. He grew from 2 lbs, 3 oz to a beefy 4 lbs, 8 oz. I think when we take him in for his last shots/boosters in 3 weeks, he'll be heavier than Saffron, who has never topped 6 lbs and change. Maybe that's why she's been nicer to him lately.
And we're also getting nailed by the winter storm afterall. Not as bad as the Midwest and Mid-Atlantic states, but we should have a reasonable 12 inches by tomorrow. Yay!
Peace out,
ntodd
* They also rue the day my grandmother gave me the book "Jokes, Puns and Riddles". Somehow the tome mysteriously disappeared after a few months of my annoying them with all sorts of bad jokes.
End Of The World
Oh my this is funny, if you're into dark humor about the end of the world.
(via Collective Sigh)
ntodd
A Little Closer To Earth
So it'll be a full moon in a couple days, and I guess that's making everybody a little crazy. Bush is thinking about getting us back into the manned lunar exploration biz:
Aides to U.S. President George W. Bush say he is on the verge of calling for a return to the moon as part of a dramatic new mission for NASA.
Sources tell CNN the target for returning to the moon is about 15 years from now.
On the one hand, as a certified space geek, I love the idea. I've never been able to get behind the argument that it costs too much when so many people are starving in the world (or whatever), because I submit that cutting the military budget would more than pay for all our other needs. We need to explore because we are human, and not continuing our truncated mission starves our spirit.
But then I think: why the hell is Bush talking about going to the Moon? Is he trying to cloak himself in comparisons to JFK? Is he trying to distract us from Iraq? Domestic trouble? I'm sorry, but I'm so cynical at this point that I must consider "what political gain would Bush get from this?" I can't imagine any other reason for Bush to consider a renewed mission.
I guess on balance I should give him the same grudging credit for this as I did for his decision to drop the steel tariffs. It might not be for "the right reasons", but if in the end our blind squirrel finds the nut, so be it. I for one am excited about the prospect of getting back to shaking off the tether of LEO. I mean, the shuttle is cool and all, but it doesn't really go anywhere, and I'm not convinced of its utility (despite my being on the "pro" side of an elementary school debate about the merits of the shuttle program years before Columbia was built).
Other folks agree. According to Space.com:
A worldwide gathering of lunar experts has called for a sequence of technological, exploratory and commercial missions culminating in the establishment a human presence on the Moon.
I'd love that. One of my favorite episodes of HBO's "From the Earth to the Moon" is the 12th ("Le Voyage Dans La Lune"), which details Apollo 17, our final voyage. Jack Schmitt, the only actual scientist to go to the moon, is a sort of hero of mine partly for being the last person to step onto the moon. A bittersweet episode: we'd gotten so good at doing the moon thing with 19-freaking-60s technology, and then we stopped trying to improve what we could do. I once did a back-of-the-envelope calculation that we could fit a lunar module into the shuttle's cargo bay. Why not dust off the plans for the LM, build one, pop it into Atlantis, get it into Earth orbit and send it on its merry way (I'm only half serious)?
Anyway, I'd like to correct our error and get back on track. Here are some of my favorite books and movies about the early space program:
- The Right Stuff - underrated movie about the Mercury days, based on the excellent Tom Wolfe book.
- Gemini Steps to the Moon - not the most titillating book, but a fascinating look at all the stuff NASA had to work out before we could even think about going to the Moon.
- From the Earth to the Moon - the aforementioned HBO miniseries. Wonderful. Just wonderful. My only quibble: damn it, there's no sound in space! Oh, if only Kubrick could've smacked Tom Hanks around a little...
- A Man On The Moon - The magnum opus of Andrew Chaikin, who has a cameo in the above mini. Fantastic photos and stories.
- The Last Man on the Moon - okay, to be honest, this isn't technically a fave because I don't own it yet. It's on my wishlist (which someday I'll make public, per MercuryX23's suggestion).
To infinity and beyond!
ntodd
Geek Heaven
I can't wait for Battlestar Galactica next week. A great opportunity for this geeky adult to relive his geeky childhood, without the bullies.
ntodd
Scenes From A Feeder
The past 24 hours at one of our feeders out back:
One of our many red squirrel friends munches during the snow shower yesterday AM.
A little later, our nuthatch stopped by for some suet. If you look carefully at the other end of the feeder, you can see a chickadee's butt.
I think this is our female downy woodpecker dining on the suet this AM. And another chickadee.
ntodd
Jobs Are Just Around The Corner
Congrats to the 57,000 people who got jobs last month. Now, what about the other 2.something million who still need 'em? If I didn't have so much work to do (and why am I not doing it?), I would have written an analysis as insightful as MaxSpeak's. Really.
Okay, now I'm really behind on my work. If I don't shape up, I'll be a casualty in Bush's War on the Economy...
ntodd
Hey, This Dean Guy Is On A Roll
On Political Wire I see these 3 items:
* Dean Takes Lead In South Carolina
* Dean Leads In Close Florida Race
* Dean Gets Babbitt Endorsement
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas...buy me a present: a new President!
ntodd
Blogaround
I tire of reviewing test questions. Here are some things I discovered during a blog break:
* MercuryX23 wishes us all a Happy Merry NODWISH.
* The Fulcrum notes that the Bush administration has a diverse approach to communication, telling us Small Lies and Big.
* AF&O has some Electro-Shocking information: the Bush Administration is a pain merchant.
* Do Not Taunt Happy Fun Ball reveals the truth about Rummy (or should we call him Opie?).
* And Then... discusses Bush's bad week and gets down with the poli-sci lingo.
* Pen-Elayne is under the weather and needs some TLC.
* The Politburo Diktat does its usual thing and breaks a bolshoi story about Dean's 9/11 theories. If I keep linking to The Commissar's stuff, I might be able to make a lot of money selling grains of salt.
* How to Save the World will help you determine if you're a closet Canadian. Not that there's anything wrong with that.
* Warblogging updates us on the Prince of Darkness
Do I really have to review test questions? Ugh.
ntodd
OSP Selections For A Subzero Day
I've been remiss in highlighting posts over at Open Source Politics, as I have been in my blogarounds. That's what happens when the paying job gets in the way--it would be good work without all the work! :-)
Anyway, here are three things to check out:
* Kyoto Yo Yo - in which NTodd divines Vladimir Putin's true intent regarding the Kyoto Protocol.
* AnnThraxx Coulter and the Blog of Gloom - Tom Gevaert wonders if Ann Coulter knows anything.
* The Problem with Anti-Americanism - Joe Taylor takes a look at those who dislike or fear America for the power or change it represents.
Apropos of nothing, it was about -4F when I got up this morning. No wonder my back tightened up overnight. There's othing like curling up with a heating pad to read my morning OSP...
ntodd
Holiday Cheer
"When two are in love..."
Laura Bush stands next to her two favorite toy soldiers.
ntodd
Let's Not Jinx It
WaPo:
Dean is aggressively pursuing key House members -- black lawmakers in particular -- and promising to raise money for as many as 20 congressional candidates.
...
To be sure, Dean derives most of his support, energy and money from grass-roots activists, many of whom are new to politics. His cutting-edge Internet campaign is shattering expectations and revolutionizing presidential politics.
But Dean, a savvy strategist and tactician, knows that the road to the nomination and the presidency is much more treacherous if he continues to alienate lawmakers and party insiders the way he did early on, several supporters said.
Yup, he's damn smart. Or, as Bay Buchanan and Donna Brazile said on Inside Politics today:
WOODRUFF: ...The newspaper this morning tells us that Howard Dean is trying something different. He's reaching out to the insiders for a change in Washington. Is this smart?
BAY BUCHANAN, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN CAUSE: Smart, savvy political move on his part. Judy, it's clear, and he knows it. The only thing that can stop him now -- he's running very strong in the polls, he has all the money he needs to win this thing. The only thing that can stop him is if the establishment in the Democratic Party was to organize and unify against one candidate, such as a Gephardt. That could possibly derail this. He's making certain that that doesn't happen, or he's trying to make certain it does not happen and is not effective if they try.
WOODRUFF: But does he hurt himself with his grassroots supporters?
DONNA BRAZILE, FMR. GORE CAMPAIGN MANAGER: No. They know that Howard Dean is still the outsider. But look, he's the frontrunner. And Bay's right.
There are 795 super delegates, that's members of Congress, party officials and best friends of Terry McAuliffe, including myself. And Howard Dean needs the support of insiders in this party in order to capture that nomination. So he's doing the right thing and the timing is brilliant.
BUCHANAN: And Judy, you get the impression when you read the press that maybe he'll hurt himself, as you pointed out. But he won't, because you communicate at different levels. And his Internet people, you communicate directly through the Internet.
They're not watching the evening news. They're not upset if they find out that he's meeting with somebody. They want to know where he stands on these issues. He still remains an anti-establishment kind of figure when you look at his position on the issues.
Good god, I agree with Buchanan and Brazile? Welcome to Bizzaro World.
ntodd
New Blog On The Block
Well, it's not just a blog, it's a budding virtual community. At its heart are a number of my Gitmo-bound co-conspirators, who have noticed we've got a nice organic coalition of like-minded folks developing. So we've made it a little more formal and have founded The Liberal Coalition.
I for one encourage all the friends I've made over the last several months to consider joining us. I'm not sure where all this will head, but I'm sure we'll have some fun and do some good while we're figuring it all out.
There aren't too many membership rules, and it won't add a real burden to the busy lives I know all of you are leading, so check out our drafty mission/guidelines and think about signing on to the project. Quest. Thing. Whatever.
Peace out,
ntodd
PS--I'm also dropping out of the League of Liberals, to whom I owe a great debt. I will be maintaining links to the League and its members, although my blogroll will be rejiggered (again).
[Update: We've officially been added to the TTLB alliance roll. Fame and fortune are just around the corner!]
Blogroll Changes
Just wanted to note that I moved A Rational Animal, blogAmY and corrente to my Gitmo blogroll.
In the coming days and weeks I'll probably remove ARA and Fulcrum from Gitmo only because they're already on the OSP roll, over which I have no control. I hate redundancy.
My whole blogroll thing is slowly evolving, and I'm not sure what the role of the Main Blogroll in the top nav will ultimately be. It might disappear altogether, since it's not really helping me deal with right nav clutter. I'll keep it around as a legacy for now.
And look for at least one new link to the Gitmo roll soon. It's part of a brewing conspiracy that is starting to leak out. More to come...
ntodd
Operation Iraqi Partly Free
New Republic:
[E]ven under ideal circumstances (Spain, Portugal), it takes five to ten years to democratize a country fully. Russia (twelve years to get to "partly free") is an example of how long it can take when circumstances are less than ideal. Bush administration radicals intent on setting off a domino chain of democracy in the least democratic region of the world--the Middle East--should take careful note.
And we certainly are trying our damndest to make the circumstances less than ideal:
The practicality of national elections is now the subject of intense debate among Iraqi and American officials, who are trying to move forward on a plan to give Iraqis sovereignty next summer. As the American occupation officials rejected the plan to compile a voter roll rapidly, they also argued to the Governing Council that the lack of a voter roll meant national elections were impractical.
The American plan for Iraqi sovereignty proposes instead a series of caucus-style, indirect elections.
Some democracy we're creating, eh? But then, we all know that this war wasn't about democracy.
ntodd
Is Jonah Trying To Tell Us Something?
Goldberg:
It should come as no surprise to longtime readers of this column that in an emergency I can suck-out the contents of an entire Pillsbury raw-cookie-dough sausage with the tube from a disassembled ballpoint pen (I got the idea from that episode of M*A*S*H when Father Mulcahy performs a tracheotomy using a similar technique) But that's not important right now.
Whaaa?
ntodd
It's Stagecraft Redux
WaPo:
In the most widely published image from his Thanksgiving day trip to Baghdad, the beaming president is wearing an Army workout jacket and surrounded by soldiers as he cradles a huge platter laden with a golden-brown turkey.
The bird is so perfect it looks as if it came from a food magazine, with bunches of grapes and other trimmings completing a Norman Rockwell image that evokes bounty and security in one of the most dangerous parts of the world.
But as a small sign of the many ways the White House maximized the impact of the 21/2-hour stop at the Baghdad airport, administration officials said yesterday that Bush picked up a decoration, not a serving plate.
...
[T]he foray has opened new credibility questions for a White House that has dealt with issues as small as who placed the "Mission Accomplished" banner aboard the aircraft carrier Bush used to proclaim the end of major combat operations in Iraq, and as major as assertions about Saddam Hussein's arsenal of unconventional weapons and his ability to threaten the United States.
The White House has updated its account of an airborne conversation in which a British Airways pilot wondered into his radio if he had just seen Air Force One and was told that it was a Gulfstream 5, a much smaller plane. White House officials first said that the British Airways pilot had talked with the Air Force One pilot. Bush aides now say the conversation occurred between the British Airways pilot and an air traffic control worker.
...
British Airways said it has been unable to confirm the new version. "We've looked into it," a spokeswoman said from London. "It didn't happen."
White House officials do not deny that they craft elaborate events to showcase Bush, but they maintain that these events are designed to accurately dramatize his policies and to convey qualities about him that are real.
Go on, pull the other one.
ntodd
Winter Wonderland
Out my back door this morning:
Some big, lazy flakes. The bird feeder isn't piled as high with snow as it can get just yet.
ntodd
Back Almost Back
Significantly better than yesterday, but still a bogus back situation. Biggest problem now is lack of sleep from it all. On the road to recovery all the same. Speaking of roads, it's a winter wonderland again (more than yesterday), and I ain't driving anywhere.
ntodd
Dean's "Hidden" Record
BriVT over at dKos has the scoop on this stupid issue about Dean's sealed records from his tenure as Gov. The heart of the post is a column by a dude in our Seven Days indy newspaper.
ntodd
TTLB Showcase Vote
Our very own BBWW has a post in this week's Showcase: More on Moore, Who Is No More. Vote!
ntodd
The Geneva Initiative
What it is:
Contrary to many previous alleged "peace plans", the Geneva Initiative is not a declaration of principal, but a precise blueprint. It is not a "process" or "road map" but an end product of what real peace can look like. In the process, the negotiators have drawn out the precise demarcation line between Israel and a Palestinian state. The initiative provides that Israel will dismantle most of its settlements, including all those in Gaza, but will be able to retain some around Jerusalem and east of Tel Aviv. In exchange, Israel will cede some territory to enlarge the Gaza strip.
The old city of Jerusalem will be shared by both parties as the capital of the two respective states, with Israel controlling the Jewish quarter and the Temple wall and the Palestinians controlling the Christian and Muslim Quarters and the al-Aqsa mosque. An international force will be based in the city to oversee the agreement. Last but not least, both Israel and Palestine would recognize each other's legitimacy, with the Palestinians renouncing on the "right of return" in exchange for an appropriate compensation.
As it stands, the Geneva Initiative is a victory of reality. By giving up on the right of return, the Palestinians surrendered an intangible which stood no chance of ever seeing the light except through the eradication of the state of Israel. Conversely, by accepting the principal of compensation, the Israelis acknowledged that the Palestinians had indeed been wronged.
But more significantly, the Geneva Initiative has completely reversed what until now has been the accepted norm in international negotiation. While treaties were always negotiated at the top, the Geneva Initiative reversed the process. Confronted with the failure of authority to bring about peace, the initiative started as a down-up process aiming at creating a groundswell that will force peace.
And the groundswell has already started:
A public opinion survey sponsored and released last week by the Texas-based James Baker III Institute and Brussels-based International Crisis Group found that such a plan has majority support among both Palestinians and Israelis. In face-to-face interviews, 53.3 percent of Israelis said they would support such a proposal, while 43.9 percent said they opposed it. Among Palestinians, the proportion was 55.6 percent for and 38.5 percent against.
So to Ehud Olmert I say a hearty "STFD and STFU!"
ntodd
[Update: faithful reader Jeff has more detail on the Accord/Initiative over at Speedkill.]
Let's All Roll Down The Slippery Slope Together
CNN:
A lawyer for a Utah man with five wives argued Monday that his bigamy convictions should be thrown out following a Supreme Court decision decriminalizing gay sex.
The nation's high court in June struck down a Texas sodomy law, ruling that what gay men and women do in the privacy of their homes is no business of government.
It's no different for polygamists, argued Tom Green's attorney, John Bucher, to the Utah Supreme Court.
"It doesn't bother anyone, [and with] no compelling state interest in what you do in your own home with consenting adults, you should be allowed to do so," Bucher said.
This is, of course, exactly what the wingers said would happen. Once you legalize gay sex, the next thing you know the polygamists will use it as an excuse for their abhorrent lifestyles, then the dog Santorumizers will, and then Western civilization will collapse.
I happen to disagree with the slippery slope reasoning, except for one thing: I think this guy has a bit of a case, at least with the bigamy convictions (the child rape conviction should still stand). What the hell is the State doing regulating the definition of marriage? The same thing it was doing regulating sexual activity: overstepping its bounds. I don't believe in bigamy myself, but that's essentially a religious belief for Mormons*, and neither I nor the State have any compelling interest in their married lives.
And of course, the wingers like to conflate this with stuff like incest, child rape, etc, because they don't seem to get the issue of harm. When the welfare of a child is at stake, all bets are off and the State does have an interest in protecting the health and safety of that child. When you're talking about consenting adults, they have a right to love and practice religion any way they want without interference.
So I say let Mormon men have their multiple wives, and let Utah remain in the Union. Keep the State out of our bedrooms.
ntodd
* At least it was an official Mormon thing, until Utah succumbed to Federal blackmail in 1890.
Moment Of Zen
Just for those of you in warmer climes (and with high speed Internet connections): a 4 second QuickTime clip of what's happening outside my backdoor.
ntodd
Now This Is Fun
A little revisionist history:
After personally landing his jet fighter on the USS Buck Passer, President Bush gave an earthshattering speech. "Admiral Kelly, Captain Card, officers and sailors of the USS Buck Passer, my fellow 'muricans: a major FUBAR in Iraq has just begun. In the battle of Iraq, the United States and our allies have really fucked things up. (Applause.) And now our campaign donors are engaged in securing contracts and pretending to reconstruct that country while not getting too shot up."
Courtesy of Fresh Laundry (via Atrios)
Several different pictures to choose from. Create and post your own!*
ntodd
* Apparently it's a bit buggy, so either use IE to do this, or add a bunch of extra spaces at the end of your entered text to get rid of some extraneous characters that pop up.
Blogaround By The Back Transplant Candidate
Go to these places:
* BBWW applies some theater (or theatre) training to an analysis of Dean on the stump.
* Lawrence of Cyberia answers the question, What Would Jesus Buy?
* Modulator clues us in on the Two faces of Michael Powell.
* Jeebus, Gleeful Fuzzy Kitten Fiction Hour gets ALL SERIOUS AND SOLUTIONS-ORIENTED on us.
* The Right Christians tells us that some archbishops actually do focus on the right things.
ntodd
QOTD
'bout bloody time that MSGOP puts up the transcript from Dean's appearance on Hardball. And here's the Quote of the Day I'd been wanting to post for a while:
Capitalism is the greatest system that people have ever invented, because it takes advantage of bad traits, as well as our good traits, and turns them into productivity. But the essence of capitalism, which the right-wing never understands - it always baffles me - is, you got to have some rules. Imagine a hockey game with no rules...Nobody benefits. Nobody benefits. So you have got to have reasonable rules. And the rules have to protect everybody in the game.
Damn straight, Howie. And a reminder that "everybody" means "every person": humans have rights; corporations do not. NTodd's Corollary: the unfettered pursuit of wealth is as dangerous to democracy as the unfettered pursuit of power. All things in balance...
ntodd
Update On My Back
I know this is the real reason all y'all visit: to hear me complain about my ailments. Well my back is a smidge better, though it did stiffen up overnight. I know the limitations on my movement now, so I haven't had any breathtaking jolts of pain, but it's still very achy. I've got too much work on my plate to justify another sick day--at least I am telecommuting (I shudder at the thought of driving, snow or not).
Anyway, like today's snow showers, my blogging will be scattered and light throughout the day.
ntodd
Bad Lighting Special
Speaking of different photos of the same thing, here are some shots of the kids in all sorts of bad lighting.
Last night, Saff bivouacked in a shipping box that's ready to be recycled. It gave her only brief respite from Sam.
Cairo has a game we call "rawr rawr", where she rolls around making loud, scary noises. Sam is intrigued.
Dog and kitten now often sleep in close proximity. I think Cairo knows that a tired Sam can't attack her.
ntodd
The Pledge
We hold this truth to be self-evident: Having George W. Bush as President has been and will continue to be a disaster.
We will not let our partisanship* towards any particular candidate for President cause us to lose sight of this basic truth. As such, we pledge ourselves not to become enablers of any campaign designed to divide us in our struggle to remove Bush from power. We pledge that no more will we be:
- Tools of those who would disrupt the Anybody-But-Bush movement.
- Partisans who would rather bring down the other guy's candidate than find reason to elevate our own.
- Dupes who will automatically assume that anything negative about the other guy's candidate is more likely to be true than the negative things said about our guy.
- Fools who lose sight of the ultimate goal: the defeat of George W. Bush on November 2nd, 2004.
We will uphold this pledge to the best of our ability.
We will encourage others to do the same.
This we do solemnly swear.
(from Interesting Times, via corrente)
ntodd
* I'm not a partisan anyway, but I take this pledge in the spirit it was created.
How Dense Can You Get?
Ha'aretz:
[I]n unusually strong language regarding its traditional ally Washington, Israel slammed Secretary of State Powell for plans to meet Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, principal architects of the Geneva Accord.
...
Powell "is making a mistake," said acting prime minister Ehud Olmert, who often enunciates policy for Prime Minister Ariel Sharon. "I think that he is not being useful to the process."
Yeah, because all the other approaches thus far have been so damned successful that we wouldn't want to even entertain other ideas. I hope the Israeli public gets on the clue train about their winger government that is only destroying their chances for stability, security and peace. They seem to be as slow on the uptake as we are, but the truth will out.
ntodd
Quote Of The Day
So I'm watching Smoke (to be honest, I've never seen in its entirety, today being no exception). One of my favorite lines just came up, and it feels like the QOTD.
Forgive me, but it requires a little setup. William Hurt and Harvey Keitel are looking at some pictures taken by the latter, when Hurt observes that they're all of the same street corner, all 4000 of them. Keitel:
They're all the same, but each one is different from every other one. You've got your bright mornings and your dark mornings. You've got your summer light and your autumn light. You've got your weekdays and your weekends. You've got your people in overcoats and galoshes, and you've got your people in shorts and T-shirts. Sometimes the same people, sometimes different ones. And sometimes the different ones become the same, and the same ones disappear. The earth revolves around the sun, and every day the light from the sun hits the earth at a different angle.
Faithful readers should feel fortunate I don't literally do the same thing as Keitel and force upon all y'all, but that's sort of what I endeavor to do with many of the pics I take. I like to record the differences in the same subjects over time, and try to look at things anew. The results aren't always successful in terms of some objective measure of quality of composition, lighting, color, or whatever. But it's my record, and if I don't take those pictures, a lot of unique moments are lost.
That said, I'm also practicing to not be the annoying dad who has to record every freaking moment of his children's lives. I still have some work to do in that regard. I appreciate your indulgence as I learn.
ntodd
Okay, So Iraq IS Like Vietnam
PINR:
American officials have gone to great lengths to make sure the American people understand that the American military cannot possibly be defeated in Iraq.
...
[T]he attacks launched against U.S. forces in Iraq are not the type required or intended to defeat the United States militarily. But...Washington is not operating in a military vacuum. The strength of the U.S. military means little when faced with an increasingly skeptical U.S. public who has the potential to force Washington to pull U.S. troops out of Iraq. In addition, while Washington cannot be overwhelmed by sheer force, there is no evidence that the guerrilla fighters in Iraq can be defeated that way either.
...
In Vietnam, Washington faced a similar predicament. There was an increasingly organized and brash guerrilla force preventing the U.S. from bringing stability to South Vietnam. Due to the massive technology gap, Vietnamese guerrillas and the North Vietnamese Army stood little chance of defeating the U.S. militarily. Just the same, however, Washington stood little chance of defeating the Vietnamese guerrilla movement militarily.
...
Whether or not Washington is able to bring stability to Iraq before the U.S. public becomes disenchanted with U.S. objectives there largely depends on the size and capacity of the guerrilla movement. General Abizaid claimed on November 13 that the insurgency against the U.S. occupation "does not exceed 5,000." Yet, at the same time, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) released a report, titled "appraisal of situation," written by the CIA station chief in Baghdad, which contradicted Abizaid's claims, warning that the insurgency could contain 50,000 guerrillas.
Furthermore, the CIA report concluded that more and more ordinary Iraqis were siding with the insurgency due to their disillusionment with the U.S. occupation and because of the instability plaguing the country since the fall of Saddam Hussein's hold on power. These assessments indicate that the U.S. occupation in Iraq is becoming increasingly precarious, and it is not yet clear how the U.S. public will respond to deadlier and bolder attacks launched on U.S. forces.
This was written a few days before Sunday's firefight. Now that "bodycount" has re-entered the lexicon, I'd say Iraq has become Vietnam Redux. Like there was any doubt before.
Just how is the public responding? According to Gallup, "54 percent of Americans disapproved of the way the post-war situation was being handled."
More importantly, how are the Iraqis responding to our occupation? Not well:
In the poll of more than 3,000 homes across Iraq, 79% said they had no confidence in US and UK forces - and 73% had no faith in the Coalition Provision Authority. Just 8% said they trusted US and UK troops.
Oh dear.
ntodd
Blogger Flaky
Looks like your humble blogger and Blogger are both a bit flaky today. Hopefully the server at least will be mended soon...
ntodd
My Back
Still killing me. I went back to bed for a few hours, but that didn't seem to help. I've had some food, coffee, and more Vitamin I in the hopes that things will loosen up. I'll try a hot shower, and maybe a heating pad in a bit. If I sit just so, like I am right now while typing this, it's only a dull ache, but if I try and sideways movement or bend down or anything else, I lose my breath as a sharp contraction shoots across my entire middle back. This is not good, and I have no idea how it happened.
So I think I'm going to take the day off. Quite frankly, I'm totally not motivated to do grunt work if I'm going to experience this crap all day. I'd rather read, blog, and not be bothered with boring tasks.
Painfully yours,
ntodd
Some Perspective On The Samarra Firefight
Faithful reader Diane and I were wondering yesterday about the conflicting accounts of Sunday's big firefight/ambush in Samarra. Juan Cole has been puzzled as well, and received a note about the incident:
Military historian Tom Collier, a former Green Beret, sent me the following and permitted me to share it here with the proviso that I noted that it is pure speculation.
"I think there's something fishy about the several firefights reported at Samarra in yesterday's and today's news. Do you see anything unusual about it? All that follows is just speculation based on suspicions.
...
The official account includes an enemy body count for the first time since when? Vietnam? Some oddities: -- the body count shifted from 46 to 54 dead, w/o explanation. Are we back to kiting body counts? Are we back to "If it's dead and it's gook, it's VC"?
...
How many of the dead were actually civilians, and how do we tell the difference?...How come no civilians were reported killed or wounded in firefights outside downtown banks?...only 6 friendlies were wounded, which is not surprising for an armored forces, and the official account makes clear that their wounds were "not life threatening." Meaning what?
...
Rubble and bodies were strewn around the scene according to the official account, but no reporters actually saw the bodies.
...
One of the cable channels called it "a massive American offensive," which brings to mind the Meuse-Argonne or maybe the Normandy breakout & pursuit. One of these days we may find out what really happened. Don't count on it.
So it's not just us--other people think something's rotten in Samarra.
ntodd
[Update: one of Hack's sources provides some interesting info on the incident:
Hack, most of the casualties were civilians, not insurgents or criminals as being reported. During the ambushes the tanks, brads and armored HUMVEES hosed down houses, buildings, and cars while using reflexive fire against the attackers. One of the precepts of "Iron Hammer" is to use an Iron Fist when dealing with the insurgents. As the division spokesman is telling the press, we are responding with overwhelming firepower and are taking the fight to the enemy. The response to these well coordinated ambushes was as a one would expect. The convoy continued to move, shooting at ANY target that appeared to be a threat. RPG fire from a house, the tank destroys the house with main gun fire and hoses the area down with 7.62 and 50cal MG fire. Rifle fire from an alley, the brads fire up the alley and fire up the surrounding buildings with 7.62mm and 25mm HE rounds. This was actually a rolling firefight through the entire town.
...
As one would expect from using our overwhelming firepower, much of Samarra is fairly well shot up. The tanks and brads rolled over parked cars and fired up buildings where we believed the enemy was. This must be expected considering the field of vision is limited in an armored vehicle and while the crews are protected, they also will use recon by fire to suppress the enemy. Not all the people in this town were hostile, but we did see many people firing from rooftops or alleys that looked like average civilians, not the Feddayeen reported in the press. I even saw Iraqi people throwing stones at us, I told my soldiers to hold their fire unless they could indentfy a real weapon, but I still can't understand why somebody would throw a stone at a tank, in the middle of a firefight.
Since we did not stick around to find out, I am very concerned in the coming days we will find we killed many civilians as well as Iraqi irregular fighters. I would feel great if all the people we killed were all enemy guerrillas, but I can't say that. We are probably turning many Iraqi against us and I am afraid instead of climbing out of the hole, we are digging ourselves in deeper.
(via Atrios)
Take with the proverbial grain of salt again, but this seems to buttress the skepticism many of us share.]
Some Perspective On Bush's Stunt
Heather, USAF 1991-1997:
First, let me say these little photo opportunities do nothing in raising the morale level. The people who Bush dined with were most assuredly hand selected. Most likely known by their peers as brown-nosers.
Here is how it goes. Commander to First Sergeant, "I need five bodies from our unit to dine with a VIP." First Sergeant goes to the other senior enlisted and selects only those individuals that are as gung-ho enough. Did you hear the "whoops" as Bush was addressing the troops? These people never had low morale to begin with. Most likely, they are selected from career soldiers or people who just reenlisted.
Now, did you notice their uniforms? Everyone looked they just got it back from the dry cleaners. Not your average Joe who has been turning a wrench on a Hum-Vee the past 12 hours. Also, everyone had their sleeves pulled down. After all, we want everyone to look the same for the photo. I can't tell you how many times we had VIPs visit in Las Vegas and we all had to have our sleeves down. It did not matter if it was 120 degrees, and believe me it often was.
You also did not see people who looked like they may be pushing their max weight restriction. That does not make for good photos either. Nobody wants the president taking pictures with a big, fat slob.
As the morale for the others who were not selected... not so good. While these folks are eating turkey with Bush, you get something a little less palatable. Since the work does not go away, you have to perform their job too while they are munching away.
(grafs broken up for easier reading, via Scott Rosenberg)
I've always wondered how this type of thing works, particularly the impact on morale for those who don't get to chat up the Prez. I don't know if this Heather person's for real or not, but what she says sure sounds right.
ntodd
OSP Reading
You should read Jay Bullock's post, Creation Science by any other name still stinks. It's a really good discussion of "Intelligent Design" and how it's creeping into our schools.
Expect a few more posts in the Knowledge section this week as well. After a long drought, we've now got a cornucopia of articles to publish. Wahoo!
ntodd
A Hurt Democracy Is Worse Than A Hurt Back
For some reason, I woke up with some major back pain at 3:41 this AM, so I got up in the hopes that sitting might help. It's not working yet, but I've got some Vitamin I (ibuprofen) in me and hopefully that will kick in sometime. Meanwhile, I certainly don't feel like reviewing test questions, so I might as well blog.
And what do I find in the NYTimes, but this gem from the ever shrill* Krugman:
Georgia - where Republicans scored spectacular upset victories in the 2002 midterm elections - relies exclusively on Diebold machines. To be clear, though there were many anomalies in that 2002 vote, there is no evidence that the machines miscounted. But there is also no evidence that the machines counted correctly. You see, Diebold machines leave no paper trail.
Representative Rush Holt of New Jersey, who has introduced a bill requiring that digital voting machines leave a paper trail and that their software be available for public inspection, is occasionally told that systems lacking these safeguards haven't caused problems. "How do you know?" he asks.
Yeah, how do we know? As I've discussed before, it's unconscionable that there's no paper trail with these voting machines to backup our precious franchise. Krugman does an excellent job here, particularly tying this issue to the recent theft of Democratic files from a server.
The scariest point he makes is that the mainstream press is treating the whole thing as a technology story, not as something political. I'd wager that most people upon reading a headline about "computer voting" will turn the page to read Mallard Fillmore and miss just how important this story really is.
Without printed ballots, how do we know there are no problems with these machines? It is extremely worrisome that there is resistance on the part of Diebold to open up its code to public scrutiny. One of the maxims in the cryptography world is "don't trust a secret encryption algorithm." It's simple: you want to make sure your code is hackproof, you release it into the wild so the hackers, and security professionals, and everybody can take their best shot at breaking it.
Further, democracy relies on transparency. When a company tells us we don't have the right to inspect that which forms the basis of our voting franchise, you should be troubled to the core. This has the potential to mortally wound our democracy. I'm glad the word is starting to get out, but is it too little, too late?
ntodd
* Apologies to Atrios.
If I Had A Nickel
For every visitor, I'd have $1005.80. Crossed 20,000 visits last night. Thanks to all for dropping by! Unless you're a crazed wacko, an Anarchist for Bush, or a troll. Hmm...maybe that's redundant.
ntodd
Anarchists For Bush
Okay, now it's starting to make some sense. The phone calls I got earlier today were replicated just now. This time I was able to hear the caller a bit better, another female voice who indicated she was from "Anarchists For Bush" and asked yet again, "are you interested?" I declined once more.
I did a little online research and found little info, 'cept tidbits like this from 2000:
I participated in an impromptu action called the "Coalition of Anarchists for Bush", the idea of which was taken from some Eugene anarchists who campaigned for the worst mayoral candidate on the ballot, in hopes of creating a greater anti-authoritarian backlash.
I would recommend, however, that for the next event, groups like these do more to make themselves known.
I guess the phone calls are part of their efforts to make themselves known. Next time they call I hope that a) they don't do it after 10:30PM Eastern (got that?), b) they will use a better phone (jeebus, even anarchists should be able to spring for a better phone at Staples), and c) I will have my wits to engage them a bit more (hint: if I can hear you and I'm not sleepy, I'm more likely to be able to engage and be interested).
My wife answered the phone this time, and they asked for me by name, which is a bit creepy. Likely more fodder for my anonymity and identity chapter of the Handbook of Information Security. Damn it, I hate being my own case study. And I think Stef should make sure she knows where her shotgun shells are, just in case (she ain't a Quaker, and a damn good shot)...
ntodd
Doing The Santorum
President Bush is very happy to see First Dog, Barney. First Lump-in-the-Bed is nowhere to be seen.
ntodd
|
And The Winner Is...
Rummy!
A comment last year by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on the hunt for Iraq's weapons of mass destruction was awarded the "Foot in Mouth" prize Monday by Britain's Plain English Campaign.
Rumsfeld, renowned for his uncompromising tough talking, received the prize for the most baffling comment by a public figure.
"Reports that say something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know," Rumsfeld told a news briefing.
"We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns -- the ones we don't know we don't know."
John Lister, spokesman for the campaign, which strives to have public information delivered in clear, straightforward English, said: "We think we know what he means. But we don't know if we really know."
That's one of my all-time fave Rummy sayings. The big guy's had a pretty tough year, so I'm glad he's picked up this award. It should salvage 2003 for him.
I was disappointed that the article didn't mention any of the Rummy caption contests we've held here, let alone the winners and all the great captions submitted, and completely ignored my Rummy poetry. Ah well, I guess there's more work to be done...
ntodd
Weird Phone Calls From Bush?
I just got two very odd phone calls. The first one was a female voice that I simply could not understand. Very low volume, and speaking very fast. She kept saying "hellooo?" but didn't seem to hear me, so I told her I thought she might have the wrong number, apologized and hung up.
Almost immediately the phone rang again, this time a male voice, or at least male-sounding, but it was just like one of those voice disguiser things. I still couldn't understand everything, but it sounded like he said he was from the Bush campaign, and he asked "are you interested?"
I asked "why should I be?" to which he replied, "why shouldn't you be?" I then told him "I think I'll be going now" and hung up.
So either it was a crank, a failed experiment in voice-activated AI, or the DoJ starting to harass me. Or maybe Bush can't even buy decent help with $200,000,000.00.
ntodd
Lighting A Virtual Candle For World AIDS Day
I really can't add much to the discussion about AIDS, except to say that I wish we'd focus our society's energy and money on addressing the real threat posed by this dreadful disease than attacking sovereign nations that are no threat. For more thoughtful and meaningful posts, check out Subversive harmony and All Facts and Opinions today.
Peace,
ntodd
I Have The Power!
My power supply is at last feeding sweet, sweet electricity into my laptop again. No more ergonomic keyboard and software set to Stef's preferences. Ahh...
ntodd
Bush Does The Right Thing
Sure it took a spanking by the WTO, but Bush is dropping his steel tariffs, thereby doing the right thing. This spares Florida from retaliatory sanctions threatened by Europe, but could hurt Bush in the Rust Belt. That's what you get when you do something so obviously cynical and politically-motivated.
ntodd
Legal Fiction
FindLaw:
Visit the official U.S. Navy website for Guantanamo Bay and the first thing you'll see is a picture of a gigantic American flag planted firmly on Cuban soil. The picture confirms the obvious: that this forty-five square mile chunk of territory, geographically part of Cuba, is under direct and exclusive American control.
...
In the current litigation over the fate of the hundreds of detainees held on Guantanamo, the government's position is premised on the fact that Guantanamo is technically foreign soil. Because Guantanamo is part of Cuba, argues the government, it is beyond the reach of American courts.
What is most dismaying about these formalistic discussions of Guantanamo's legal status is not simply that they disregard the practical reality of U.S. control over the territory. They also, quite mistakenly, ignore the U.S. government's deliberate decision to place the detainees there.
The Right excoriated Gore over such things as "no controlling legal authority". They impeached Clinton for some linguistic twists and turns about sex. And here is a rightwing administration inventing convenient legal fictions of their own that have great impact on human rights.
Where's the outrage on the part of the oppo party?
ntodd
[Update: TalkLeft has more. (Via Atrios.)]
What? Stunts Aren't Enough?
Apparently you actually have to do something to appear like you're doing something, if I read McPaper correctly:
A triumphant trip to Baghdad doesn't guarantee President Bush soaring poll ratings, the permanent defanging of his opponents or an end to his problems.
Bush's stealthy visit to spend Thanksgiving with U.S. troops generated front-page headlines and positive reviews...
But by Sunday, the afterglow had started to fade. The news from Iraq was grim. Two U.S. soldiers were killed. A total of 79 Americans died in combat in Iraq in November, making it the bloodiest month of the war. Criticism resumed.
(via Lunaville)
Eventually maybe BushCo will learn that PR stunts and photo ops are not the way to solve our problems. Backdrops that say "JOBS" and turkey dinners in Baghdad only go so far. If they highlighted effective policy, that would be one thing, but this stagecraft-obsessed administration has failed to back up their events with tangible, positive results. And the American public is starting to clue into that.
All I want for Christmas is a real President.
ntodd
Out With A Bang
CNN:
U.S. troops fought off two simultaneous attacks on military convoys Sunday in northern Iraq, killing 54 attackers, wounding 18 and capturing eight others, military officials said.
...
"This was a coordinated, simultaneous attack," [4ID spokeman, Master Sgt.] Cargie said, with one convoy being attacked on the east side of the city and the other coming under fire while in the west side of Samarra.
...
Five U.S. soldiers were wounded in the simultaneous ambushes, which took place about 1:30 p.m. Sunday (5:30 a.m. EST). Three were hospitalized, but none suffered life-threatening wounds.
Are we falling back on the bodycount metric? Hope not. And while this attack wasn't successful militarily (I guess), it sure shows a good amount of sophistication it would seem and doesn't bode well for December, January, February...the countless remaining months our troops will be in Iraq. What a way to end the bloodiest month yet.
Not to be gruesome, but I just got to thinking: is wounding a soldier still the most effective way to cause an army to lose strength? It certainly was in previous wars, because it requires much more in terms of resources to care for wounded soldiers than to handle those killed in action.
I wonder if that's even more true today, given how effective our battlefield medicine has become. So we might always come out on top in the bodycount battle, but we'll still be ground down anyway. Chilling thought.
ntodd
[Update: I heard on NPR, and now see in an AP report that local residents dispute the US account:
Many residents said Saddam loyalists attacked the Americans, but that when U.S. forces began firing at random, many civilians got their guns and joined the fight. Many said residents were bitter about recent U.S. raids in the night.
...
Many residents said the Americans opened fire at random when they came under attack, and targeted civilian installations. Six destroyed vehicles sat in front of the hospital, where witnesses said U.S. tanks shelled people dropping off the injured. A kindergarten was damaged, apparently by tank shells. No children were hurt.
"Luckily, we evacuated the children five minutes before we came under attack," said Ibrahim Jassim, a 40-year-old guard at the kindergarten. "Why did they attack randomly? Why did they shoot a kindergarten with tank shells?"
Of course, with Samarra being in the so-called "Sunni Triangle", I'm sure we need to take residents' comments with the proverbial grain of salt. Same goes for the US account, as well. No matter what, this ain't good. Wonder when something like this will boil over into a My Lai type incident...]
Ego Post
Too cool for school:
This month there were roughly 6700 visits to DM, an increase of about 1000 over last month's record-shattering performance. That means there are a lot of people with repetitive stress injuries hitting reload several times a day. Many thanks for your continued readership. To keep you coming back, I'll endeavor to continue posting whatever it is you're interested in, interspersed with boring stuff I like that nobody comments about--I'm also exploring a health plan to help treat your carpal tunnel symptoms.
Rock on,
ntodd
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Shorter Friedman
The British anti-war demonstrators shouldn't have protested the people who got them involved in a war which killed their people that very same day. Instead, when Bush hands them a lemon, they should make lemonade*.
ntodd
* One of my e-mail sig lines: When life hands you lemons, throw them back at life's head screaming, "I don't want your damn lemons!"
More Kudzu
I was going to write something about this myself, but why bother when Josh Marshall does such a good job:
The greatest deceit perpetrated by the architects of the war turns out to have had nothing to do with weapons of mass destruction or ties between Saddam and al Qaida. The profoundest deception was the claim that the IGC was designed to be a transitional governing authority when in fact, as is now becoming clear, its true purpose was to provide a sort of dark, Falstaffian comic relief to balance out the ominous backdrop of postwar Iraq.
Much of the jockeying we're now seeing involves efforts by the IGC to perpetuate its power into post-occupation Iraq even though -- with the exception of the Kurdish faction leaders -- few of its members have any serious base of political support in the country or, to put it bluntly, any armies on hand for when things really get fun next fall.
So, while the real players jockey for position and await our departure, these boneheads are trying to use the paper power we've given them against us in order to hold on to authority even after we leave.
(via Atrios)
Law of unintended consquences, which I've been calling "kudzu" for some time now. And all this reminds me of the dose of reality from the CSIS a few weeks ago.
File under: no duh. Cross-reference: wish we'd been wrong.
ntodd
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Blogaround On A Snowy Day
Just a brief blogaround today:
* Stradiotto posts a magnum opus on morality and democracy.
* Folkbum rambles and rants about electoral math.
* The Self Made Pundit thoughtfully compares JFK and W.
ntodd
Durak No More
Sorry, Steve, but one more meta-blogging note. The Commissar has added DM to his Map of Blogosphere. I noted this development in his confessions thread:
Tovarisch, our entire kolkhoz is extremely pleased with your addition of Dohiyi Mir to your glorious map, and in the appropriate Soviet republic...er, sovereign nation* as well. Molodyets!
I take back calling The Wise Commissar a poopy head and durak, while reserving the right to call him such names in the future if I'm feeling peeved or snarky or just want to have a little fun.
ntodd
* DM has been placed in Ukraine, which as my faithful readers know, is where part of my family hails from.
