It would be funnier if it didn’t happen to be so true. Resident [signifier] asks: I wonder why so many care so much about semantics I don’t know.  Why do people care so much about wingers calling it the “Democrat” party?  Why do people care whether it’s a “baby” or a “fetus”?  Why do people care if it’s (metaphorically speaking) a “landslide” or a “tsunami” or whether it is a

Here’s what the New York Times wanted its readers to know about on Monday: Panel to Weigh Overture by U.S. to Iran and Syria News Analysis: Chilling Echo for Lebanon, Mirror of Regional Tension Gilded Paychecks: Lure of Great Wealth Affects Career Choices Seattle Journal: City That Takes Rain in Stride Puts on Hip Boots Time Served: Zoning Laws That Bar Pedophiles Raise Concerns A G.O.P. Breed Loses Its Place

You may recall that some months ago Patterico hit on the brilliant device of pre- and post-condemnation of everything ever done or expressed by anyone with whom he might be associated somehow that caused, or was claimed to have caused, any pain to anyone at all.  I think, in the spirit of Tony Blair’s expression of sorrow for England’s historical involvement in slavery, that we can do them all one

From Michael at Innocent Bystanders: Yoko Ono has been doing some deep thinking about how to make the world a better place. John Lennon’s widow is calling for the anniversary of his death to become a day of worldwide healing. In a full-page advertisement appearing Sunday in The New York Times, Yoko Ono urges readers to mark the anniversary by apologizing to those who have suffered because of violence and

Dyn-O-Mite! TV Land lists catchphrases Sometimes it takes only a word, or just a few, to become immortalized in television history. The TV Land cable network has compiled a list of the 100 greatest catchphrases in TV, from the serious — Walter Cronkite’s nightly signoff “And that’s the way it is” — to the silly: “We are two wild and crazy guys!” The network will air a countdown special, “The

From Curt at Flopping Aces comes the news many of us quietly expected:  Centcom has confirmed that Capt. Jamil Hussein, the primary source for the recent kerosene mosque murder reports—and for a whole host of reports of Shia massacres recounted by the AP—is neither an employee of Iraq’s Ministry of Interior nor is he a police captain. In short, the AP has been relying on a bogus source for much

In today’s “Have Your Say”: Is Blair’s slave trade ‘sorrow’ enough? Will Prime Minister Tony Blair’s article in the New Nation newspaper suffice as an apology for the slavery? In anticipation of the bicentenary of the abolition of slavery Mr Blair expressed “deep sorrow” in his article while Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott is drafting a “statement of regret” for Britain’s involvement. The Church of England General Synod has voted

Sales of a controversial Turkish novel on a conspiracy to kill Pope Benedict XVI are on the rise ahead of the pontiff’s historical visit to Turkey beginning next Wednesday – his first to an overwhelmingly Muslim nation. ‘The Plot Against The Pope’ is a highly speculative potboiler narrating how the conservative Roman Catholic society Opus Dei, a subversive masonic lodge and the CIA collude to make the pontiff’s murder a

by other means.  JR Dunn at Real Clear Politics: The Iranians, in Dr. Kissinger’s words, believe that they are “in a position to challenge the entire world order.” They need to be persuaded otherwise, and that cannot be accomplished by negotiations, concessions, or even visits from Kofi Annan. The Iranians, as shown by every foul speech from Ahmadinejad, every threatening missile launch, every advanced, Iranian-designed bomb that goes off in

…Localized domestic terror?  Could be.  Lord knows Hillary and her pals have done their damnest to stoke the flames of anti-Wal-Mart sentiment, scapegoating a corporation that employs thousands upon thousands of people. However, the fact that the explosives were placed in the toy and pet aisles—and that the attacks happened during one of the heaviest weekends for Christmas shopping—gives me pause.  After all, domestic terrorists are generally savvy enough to