NY Times starts to wake up

Surprisingly sober editorial in the New York Times today: Disarming Iraq The only way short of war to get Saddam Hussein to reverse course at this late hour is to make clear that the Security Council is united in its determination to disarm him and is now ready to call in the cavalry to get … Continue reading “NY Times starts to wake up”

Surprisingly sober editorial in the New York Times today: Disarming Iraq

The only way short of war to get Saddam Hussein to reverse course at this late hour is to make clear that the Security Council is united in its determination to disarm him and is now ready to call in the cavalry to get the job done. America and Britain are prepared to take that step. The time has come for the others to quit pretending that inspections alone are the solution.

I fail to see how anyone who saw the UN session Friday can’t be prepared to go to war with Iraq (and with France, China, and Russia if need be, the weasels).

What’s happening is clear: all of these countries want Iraq to disarm, but they don’t want to get stuck with the tab, so they hide behind the pretence of waiting for inspections to force Saddam to disarm. They know that the US and the UK and our allies will at some point blow off the UN and go do the dirty work, allowing them to enjoy the benefits of a world without Saddam without paying the price financially, militarily, or politically. That’s the mindset of politicians of the welfare state.

My letter to Babs

Dear Senator Boxer, As a sometime Sacramento lobbyist who’s been invited to testify at legislative hearings by members of both parties, I’m thoroughly familiar with your history, and the fact that you sit where you do as a result of the most amazing run of dumb luck in the history of California politics. Were it … Continue reading “My letter to Babs”

Dear Senator Boxer,

As a sometime Sacramento lobbyist who’s been invited to testify at legislative hearings by members of both parties, I’m thoroughly familiar with your history, and the fact that you sit where you do as a result of the most amazing run of dumb luck in the history of California politics. Were it not for Phil Burton’s looking out for his little brother by creating a district a dead Democrat could win, and were it not for John’s cocaine problem, and were it not for Sonny Bono’s ambitions, and were it not for Matt Fong’s stupidity, you’d be hot-tubbing in Marin instead of embarrassing the people of California with your participation in the anti-democratic filibuster of Miguel Estrada.

The sad thing about this exercise, Mrs. Boxer, is that you’re obviously driven to it by your fanatical devotion to a single issue, abortion, which just happens to be completely unimportant to Californians. Not that we don’t care about abortion law, mind you, because we do, but the plain facts are that abortion was legal in California before Roe v. Wade, and if the courts reversed Roe tomorrow, abortion would still be legal here, so your single issue has no impact whatsoever on our lives.

Your Senate career, then, is of no importance whatsoever unless and until you can develop an interest in some other issue and leave this fanaticism behind you.

The voters of this country elected a Republican majority to the Senate, and a Republican president. It is the prerogative of the Senate majority to exercise their advise and consent capacity without a shrill and unprincipled minority gumming up the works with this narcissistic filibuster. If Democrats want to have the power of the majority, they’re obligated to convince the voters that they deserve it, and they’re not entitled to seize the majority power like a bunch of anarcho-terrorists and exploit an arcane Senate rule to frustrate democracy.

As a radical feminist, you’re obviously not interested in democracy, only in exercising power and control over the lives of decent, hard-working, moral Americans, so you aren’t going to change your ways. But please refrain from embarrassing Californians by adding racism to the list of your sins.

Sincerely,

Richard Bennett

Calling her a racist is certainly harsh, and some folks claim the Democratic filibuster isn’t about race, it’s about ideology. While it is on its face about ideology, it seems rather curious that Democrats seem to concentrate their ideological rage on conservatives of the minority persuasion, such as Clarence Thomas and Estrada. It’s not just a matter of ideology, it’s a question of punishing minorities who stray off the liberal plantation. Democrats understand that without 90% of the black vote and 70% of the Hispanic vote, their goose is cooked.

Now that’s just plain mean

OpinionJournal – Best of the Web Today points out another unique employment opportunity: Passionate Liberalism Here’s a joke that writes itself: The Clinton Presidential Center is looking for interns. Atop the application brochure (link in PDF form) is a quote from a former intern–no, not the portly pepperpot but one Jean-Paul Tremblay, who boasts of … Continue reading “Now that’s just plain mean”

OpinionJournal – Best of the Web Today points out another unique employment opportunity:

Passionate Liberalism
Here’s a joke that writes itself: The Clinton Presidential Center is looking for interns. Atop the application brochure (link in PDF form) is a quote from a former intern–no, not the portly pepperpot but one Jean-Paul Tremblay, who boasts of his “passionate interest in making a difference.” The brochure also promises prospective interns “a unique opportunity for . . . meaningful service” and quotes the center’s director of operations, Hannah Richert, as saying: “In this environment, each intern is vitally important.”

And some people think I’m mean.

Tough challenge to UN

bq. Talking to sailors and other naval personnel here, Bush enumerated the countries and groups that have expressed support for military action against Iraq, and dared the U.N. Security Council to authorize military force or become an “ineffective, irrelevant debating society(tm).” bq. “I’m optimistic that free nations will show backbone and courage in the face … Continue reading “Tough challenge to UN”

bq. Talking to sailors and other naval personnel here, Bush enumerated the countries and groups that have expressed support for military action against Iraq, and dared the U.N. Security Council to authorize military force or become an “ineffective, irrelevant debating society(tm).”

bq. “I’m optimistic that free nations will show backbone and courage in the face of true threats to peace and freedom,” Bush said. “The decision is this for the United Nations: When you say something, does it mean anything? You’ve got to decide: If you lay down a resolution, does it mean anything?”

Bush Challenges U.N. to Confront Iraq

Kurds plead for liberation

This article by Barham A. Salih, co-prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Goverment in Iraq, is worth re-posting: Give Us a Chance to Build a Democratic Iraq The only way for Iraqis to escape their nightmare is for the international community to help us liberate Iraq and build a postwar democracy that is peaceful, stable … Continue reading “Kurds plead for liberation”

This article by Barham A. Salih, co-prime minister of the Kurdistan Regional Goverment in Iraq, is worth re-posting: Give Us a Chance to Build a Democratic Iraq

The only way for Iraqis to escape their nightmare is for the international community to help us liberate Iraq and build a postwar democracy that is peaceful, stable and based on the rule of law.

He says Iraqis will dance in the streets when liberated from Saddam.

Breaking the power law

Sifry’s Alerts: Breaking the (power) law deals with modifying the Technorati equations to filter out power law effects. It’s interesting, but I suggest a further refinement (in the comments) that will help us find blogs with high signal-to-noise ratios.

Sifry’s Alerts: Breaking the (power) law deals with modifying the Technorati equations to filter out power law effects. It’s interesting, but I suggest a further refinement (in the comments) that will help us find blogs with high signal-to-noise ratios.

Saddam’s illegal missiles

Experts Confirm New Iraq Missile Exceeds U.N. Limit Mr. Blix has already told the Council that the missiles, with a range of about 180 kilometers, or 114 miles, appeared to be a “prima facie” case of a violation by Iraq of the range limit of 150 kilometers, or about 90 miles, established by the Council. … Continue reading “Saddam’s illegal missiles”

Experts Confirm New Iraq Missile Exceeds U.N. Limit

Mr. Blix has already told the Council that the missiles, with a range of about 180 kilometers, or 114 miles, appeared to be a “prima facie” case of a violation by Iraq of the range limit of 150 kilometers, or about 90 miles, established by the Council. The missiles have already been given to the Iraqi armed forces, he said. The panel did not reach a conclusion about a second missile, Al Fatah, but said it required further study.

Any questions?

This retires the third canard of the pro-appeasement side of the Iraq argument, the claim that “the inspectors haven’t found anything.” The unilaterism argument was retired by the letters from the Wall St. Journal 8 and the Vilnius 10, and the pre-emption charge by the seventeen UN Security Council resolutions ordering Iraq to disarm. This leaves us with “I don’t trust the Bushies” and “eewww, it might cost some money” as the sole remaining arguments against the liberation of Iraq.

BBQ Spaghetti

storySouth / southern barbecue BBQ culture and foodways tells how to make BBQ spaghetti, more or less: But the curious highlight was the spaghetti, of which I was initially skeptical. Quite simply, this was large vermicelli, cooked well past al dente (but not mushy at all) and sauced with the Cozy Corner formula we’d enjoyed … Continue reading “BBQ Spaghetti”

storySouth / southern barbecue BBQ culture and foodways tells how to make BBQ spaghetti, more or less:

But the curious highlight was the spaghetti, of which I was initially skeptical. Quite simply, this was large vermicelli, cooked well past al dente (but not mushy at all) and sauced with the Cozy Corner formula we’d enjoyed on the ribs. I tasted out of pure curiosity, but I finished the cup with sincere fascination.

Don’t read if you’re hungry.