Month: March 2002

Handwriting’s on the wall for Riordan

— The Times of Los Angeles says the White House is hedging its bets in the Cal. gov. race (White House Begins Reaching Out to Simon) After months of quietly working to boost Richard Riordan’s campaign, the White House is now hedging its position by reaching out through intermediaries to Bill Simon Jr. It seems … Continue reading “Handwriting’s on the wall for Riordan”

— The Times of Los Angeles says the White House is hedging its bets in the Cal. gov. race (White House Begins Reaching Out to Simon)

After months of quietly working to boost Richard Riordan’s campaign, the White House is now hedging its position by reaching out through intermediaries to Bill Simon Jr.

It seems to us unlikely that Simon could win in November due to his anti-abortion stance. Bill Quick says Simon has promised to downplay it; I can assure you that Davis won’t go along with that strategy.

Dell’s side of the story

A relative who works for Dell Computer has this to say about the Sierra Times fiasco: The export compliance lawyers and administrators at Dell [are] at a heightened state of alert. The US government told Dell and other computer manufacturers that if they sold computers to those who they shouldn’t “like terrorist corporations, bad countries … Continue reading “Dell’s side of the story”

A relative who works for Dell Computer has this to say about the Sierra Times fiasco:


The export compliance lawyers and administrators at Dell [are] at a heightened
state of alert. The US government told Dell and other computer
manufacturers that if they sold computers to those who they shouldn’t “like
terrorist corporations, bad countries and such” that Dell would be fined a
Million Dollars a day.

The people on the phone taking orders are just that… order takers with a
script they have to follow. Many of them are contactors hoping that Dell
will hire them one day, scared to make any mistake. They were told to be
careful selling anything to anyone that might be on the bad guys list. I am
sure this is just one of these people that did not understand any more
detail then that. Kind of like going to Wal-Mart and trying to get help
from the sales people behind the counter. The service is less than you
would expect many times.


We were told in England you have to sign a document that says you will not
use the computer for terrorist activities!

Bureaucrats!

Make of it what you will; we report you decide.

Sullivan’s curious obsession with Krugman

is the subject of this piece by Jonathon Chait (The New Republic Online: Sullivan v. The New York Times) Sullivan first condemned Krugman January 18, then continued on for days, posting twelve items. After that massive output, he wrote, “No more Krugman, I promise.” Alas, he failed to keep the promise, mentioning Krugman in 22 … Continue reading “Sullivan’s curious obsession with Krugman”

is the subject of this piece by Jonathon Chait (The New Republic Online: Sullivan v. The New York Times)

Sullivan first condemned Krugman January 18, then continued on for days, posting twelve items. After that massive output, he wrote, “No more Krugman, I promise.” Alas, he failed to keep the promise, mentioning Krugman in 22 more items before once again promising, “I’m gonna lay off (unless I can’t help myself.).” Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t help himself and has since gone after Krugman in 17 subsequent items.

The use of the numerical method fits this case neatly. I commented on the obession some days ago, both here and elsewhere because it was so blatant. Joshua Marshall had an “All Enron, All the Time” theme for a while himself, though not nearly as severe as Sullivan’s. I pointed this out to Marshall, and he sent me a civil reply and cleaned-up his act. Sullivan’s response to a similar pointer was to send no reply and continue on his merry way. I used to respect Sullivan, despite his quirky ways, but I have to wonder when his behavior is so crude in comparison with that of a man whose politics I don’t even agree with. Intelligence knows no ideology, apparently, nor does boorishness.

Daily Meta-Blog

Thursday’s line score in the battle of the Blogs: VodkaPundit 33, Instapundit 28 Reynolds upped the ante a bit, returning to his old form after a couple of days of slacking-off, but Stephen is in the Zone and will not be denied. Insta tried to catch the Newbie in the death-grip of mutual admiration by … Continue reading “Daily Meta-Blog”

Thursday’s line score in the battle of the Blogs: VodkaPundit 33, Instapundit 28

Reynolds upped the ante a bit, returning to his old form after a couple of days of slacking-off, but Stephen is in the Zone and will not be denied. Insta tried to catch the Newbie in the death-grip of mutual admiration by sucking-up to one of his posts, but it didn’t work.

Take heart, Professor — even Steve Austin couldn’t be champ forever.

Meanwhile, back at the Fox News ranch, pundits Breen and Jacobs discuss Andrea Yates. Breen says killer mom’s a loon, and Jacobs says it’s the man’s fault.


Megan McArdle says get your red hot videotapes right here:

Daniel Pearl Videotape


R Kelly Videotape

This made my day

— Random Jottings sez: NewsMax reports a Field Poll, which not only puts Conservative Republican Bill Simon ahead of Liberal Republican Riordan, but also ahead of Governor Davis! Could it be so? Truly remarkable. Bill Quick has been saying that Simon has a 50-50 chance to beat Davis in November, and I’ve been shaking my … Continue reading “This made my day”

— Random Jottings sez:

NewsMax reports a Field Poll, which not only puts Conservative Republican Bill Simon ahead of Liberal Republican Riordan, but also ahead of Governor Davis! Could it be so?

Truly remarkable. Bill Quick has been saying that Simon has a 50-50 chance to beat Davis in November, and I’ve been shaking my head. I’d love to be proved wrong, just this once.