Or, 7 Deadly Sins vs. Hillary Clinton and the Posse of Outrage*
Future scenes from the upcoming Congressional committee hearings into “Plamegate”
First Senator: “Uh huh. And this Joe Wilson fella is who again –?”* Second Senator: “—Hey, can he say ‘Wilson’? Because if not, I would like to register a strenuous objection to my esteemed colleague’s flagrant disregard for the national security of this great nation.”* **** Lots more here; and for additional Nadagate analysis, see Tom Maguire, Mark Kleiman, and The Daily Howler.
Policing the rubicon
Confederate Yankee addresses the second guessers (the majority of whom are non-British) of Operation Kratos, the London police policy of using head shots to kill suspected suicide bombers in an effort to save civilian lives—and he does so by detailing exactly how suicide bombings work, and why the London policy is more than simply appropriate, it is necessary: “Jihad for Dummies: A Non-technical primer” Personally, provided I’m convinced the police
From the “if Howard Dean didn’t exist, Republicans would be forced to invent him” file
From Townhall, this amusing bit from Howard Dean’s DNC Magic Misery Tour: After asking the students to donate money to the Democratic National Committee, [DNC Chair Howard] Dean said “one of the biggest problems in this culture of corruption that the Republicans brought to Washington, is they sold our government to the highest bidder. “If we want it back, we’ll have to buy it back,” Dean said. He also said
Why Rhetoric Matters, redux: a few closing thoughts
Will Femia of MSNBC’s Clicked links to my piece criticizing western leaders and media sources who provide rhetorical cover for terrorists, an argument prompted by London bomber Shehzad Tanweer’s purported admission to a cousin that “the abuse of Muslim prisoners in Guantanamo Bay” calls for “violent retaliation.” Muses Femia: Here at MSNBC.com we get letters about how talking about terrorists too much actually encourages them. Are terrorists (or anyone) really
My second brief conversation with the ghost of John Merrick
Merrick: “I AM NOT AN ANIMAL!” me: “So you said, yes.” Merrick: “I AM A HUMAN BEING!” me: “Right. No argument from me.” Merrick: “I AM NOT AN ANIMAL.” me: Merrick: me: Merrick: “I AM A HUMAN BEI –” me: “– Okay, now you’re just pissing me off, handsome.”
Has anyone else ever had that dream where Gene Wilder shows up in your bedroom in his Wonka hat and suit and warns you to submit to the will of Allah or else suffer the sword, then—to punctuate his point—slices off the head of a doped up Oompa Loompa and holds it aloft while his little friend Charlie hums “I Want It Now” and videotapes the whole thing…?
Or am I just reading too much WorldNetDaily before bed…?
Convinced that cracking down on embedded al Qaeda terror cells could get “a little too messy,” Jersey lawmakers concentrate on the REAL terrorists: people who smoke in their cars
From the AP: Ashtrays have been disappearing in cars like fins on Cadillacs, and so could smoking while driving in New Jersey, under a measure introduced in the Legislature. Although the measure faces long odds, it still has smokers incensed and arguing it’s a Big Brother intrusion that threatens to take away one of the few places they can enjoy their habit. “The day a politician wants to tell me
Kennedy on Roberts
From the WSJ (subscribers only, so I’ll quote at length): In his two years on the appeals bench, Supreme Court nominee John Roberts has authored about 40 opinions, but it’s a one-and-a-half page dissent that has Ted Kennedy fulminating. The Senator from Massachusetts is outraged about a Commerce Clause case called Rancho Viejo v. Norton, which, in the Kennedy legal interpretation, threatens “Social Security, Medicare, the minimum wage” and the
3 steps for understanding cognitive dissonance
1. First, re-read my original post on “Why Rhetoric Matters”. 2. Then, go here and read how that post is packaged and presented by a guardian of the “reality-based community.” Pay particular attention to how the author alters my terminology and, in a stunning display of intelletual ineptitude, manages to miss the entire thrust of the argument. 3. Return here, scratch head / weep for the country, and discuss. ****
