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December 31, 2005
Where have you gone, dancing Elmo?
If you think the culture war is a fabrication or a Bill O'Reilly fantasy, you may believe it's a-okay for your 5 year-old daughter (or son) to play with Bratz dolls. You probably also don't care for James Lileks, who writes:
Bratz are the main reason I do not keep a supply of bricks around the house, because everytime the commercials come on I wish to pitch something kiln-fired through the screen so hard it beans the toy exec who greenlighted these hootchie toys. The Baby Bratz are as bad as you can imagine: "Bottles with Bling." Judas on a stick, why not just refit the Bratz so they have Real Oozing Gonorreal Flow Action?
"They know how to flaunt it, and they're keeping it real in the crib."
What exactly is the penalty for failing to keep it real in the crib? Someone busts a cap in yo Pamper? I know I am old and so out of step it's a wonder I don't just appear as an indistinct smear, but was it really necessary to push the Age of Sultry Hussyism down to the infant stage? And who, exactly, are the Babyz flaunting it for? Are we going to see a commercial with Elmo in sunglasses, sitting with his legs sprawled, spanking some pliant Babyz with one hand while gumming down some mashed crack?
Yesterday, Kos ridiculed William Safire, saying "There are few better way to show your age than to whine about changes in language." Kos, being the numnut he is, would probably say the same about Lilek's Bratz commentary. Regardless, toddler dolls wearing thongs, whether thanks to mischief or MGA's design, slouches towards child pornography. And as the saying goes, a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged, so it's probably fair to wonder whether Kos, now that he's spawned, would dismiss Lileks' points as Safirian stodginess. For that matter, what does Code Pink, who ridiculously urged parents to avoid "war toys" this Christmas, think of the Bratz ho dolls? Preferable to GI Joe?
Posted by bill at 08:42 AM | Comments (0)
December 30, 2005
Same ole' Clintons
Hillary being Hillary? It certainly smells that way.
Posted by bill at 08:30 PM | Comments (0)
December 29, 2005
Mom...Dad...I did something really stupid.
At age 16 I spent many hours meandering in my 1979 Chevy Malibu around the Long Island suburbs. Mainly, I wore a path between my house and my girlfriend's, which was about 3 miles away. Once, I drove to Penn State - a 296 mile trip. The Cross Bronx Expressway was adventure enough, thanks very much, and afterwards I was content to be back home. At the time if I'd had to fly by myself, I would've expected a lollipop and captain's wings. Contrast that with Farris Hassan, who used Christmas vacation to travel, unbeknownst to anyone with brains enough to stop him, to....Iraq! Reports the AP:
Hassan's extra-mile attitude took him east through eight time zones, from Fort Lauderdale to Kuwait City. His plan was to take a taxi across the border and ultimately to Baghdad - an unconventional, expensive and utterly dangerous route.
It was in Kuwait City that he first called his parents to tell them of his plans - and that he was now in the Middle East.
This kid may be a lunatic, but I can't decide. Maybe we'll see him on Letterman.
Posted by bill at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)
A New Iron Curtain, 'Tween Minsk And Warsaw?
Compare and contrast: Poland and Belarus. Hot on the high heels of Alexander Lukashenko's embargo on non-Belarussian models comes a dour and lumbering autocratic attack on Johns Hopkins graduate student Iryna Vidanava's Student Thought, "perhaps the most edgy and professional publication left in Belarus:"
"We don't know why this issue became a target," Vidanava says, holding one of the few remaining copies of the magazine's most recent publication. The government claimed it was printed with "dangerous ink," she says, with a sardonic laugh. The cover story is about shoplifting and shows an attractive young woman with various purloined goods stuffed into the top of a pair of long, sexy stockings. It's a typical cover, and fairly racy for Belarus, where state media manage to be both dull and paranoid, and rarely deal with serious social issues. Vidanava assumes that the crackdown is election-related.
While Lukashenko's lumpen tyranny confronts dangerous ink, the Polish government faces up to other dangers:
"This is a very difficult decision," Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz told reporters, "but we take into consideration the fact that the mandate of U.N. stabilization forces has been extended to the whole of 2006 and, secondly, strong requests of Iraqi authorities that we stay there."
Will Lukashenko's regime leach its disordered illiberty across regional borders, poisoning Eastern Europe in the cradle of its freedom?
Posted by James G. Poulos at 08:58 PM | Comments (0)
A Kwanzaa wish: violence, Marxism and insanity
(Sing to "Jingle Bells")
Kwanzaa bells, dashikis sell
Whitey has to pay;
Burning, shooting, oh what fun
On this made-up holiday!
(H/T: RFDTH.)
Posted by bill at 03:50 PM | Comments (0)
A look forward: 2006
A year-end must read: "NRO's 2006 Crystal Ball," a symposium dedicated to what we will see in the 12 months ahead. (Note: Iambic pentameter totally accidental.)
FWIW, too MoveOn closes out 2005 with its 2006 strategy (emai text below the fold) and plenty of self-back-patting for another year's worth of the best subversive bevavior the left has to offer.
Text of MoveOn email (formatting not worth the effort)
Dear MoveOn member,I just finished writing a report to our Board about what we accomplished together this year. I wanted to share it with you—so we could all step back and take a look at the year that's ending.
It's remarkable how far we've come in the last twelve months. When the year began we were saddened by our losses. Onlookers and pundits thought our commitment might diminish. But it didn't. Even in dark times, you never lost sight of the free, fair, and just America that we're fighting for.
And your passion and commitment were contagious: in 2005, MoveOn grew to over 3.3 million members.
Change happens in fits and starts. Change pools quietly and then all of a sudden breaks down the dam and surges forward. It happened this year in big moments, like when Congressman and Marine veteran John Murtha stood on the House floor and declared that America had to begin its exit from Iraq. But it also happens in small moments—the phone calls from constituents that change a staff member's mind, a Congressman's meeting with a clear and passionate constituent.
I want to thank you for those moments—the moments when you dashed out a quick comment to your Congresswoman or made a phone call during lunch break or ponied up $25 for an ad—that, together, made a big difference in 2005.
You don't need to take my word for it. Here's a note Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid asked me to send on to all of you:
To the members of MoveOn: I know Congress can often seem very far away. But when you folks call, and write, and hold events that demonstrate how much you care about something we're doing, it really wakes people up. Your voices remind me and my colleagues that democracy works. I see the impact every day—you're forcing Congress to answer to the people, not the lobbyists or the White House. And I'm looking forward to fighting alongside you next year.
And here's what a Bush aide in the White House told a reporter for the conservative Weekly Standard: "Obviously the bombardment of . . . ads and the earned media by MoveOn et al. had an impact."
2006 is around the corner, and our battle to win back Congress begins in earnest in the New Year. The prospect of a big change is good—the political wind and the American people are behind us, pushing us forward.
But right now, what I'm most grateful for is your continued belief in democracy—in the impact we can all have together. Because when we believe we can make a difference together, we do.
Thanks, happy holidays, and here's to a great '06,
–Eli Pariser and the whole MoveOn '05 team: Wes, Joan, Carrie, Noah, Adam, Rosalyn, Nita, Justin, Laura, James, Erik, Marika, Micayla, Jennifer, Ben, Matt, Tanya, and Tom
P.S. MoveOn consists of two main organizations—MoveOn.org Political Action, where we run most of our advocacy campaigns and work toward electoral success, and MoveOn.org Civic Action, the non-partisan home of the Media Action program and the Hurricane Housing project last fall.
Since this is a Political Action email, I can't say too much about Civic Action, but MoveOn members did great work there, too. Over a million of us successfully pressured Congress to save NPR and PBS; we launched Media Action, our task force to hold the media accountable; and of course together through the Hurricane Housing website, MoveOn members and others helped house over 30,000 people stranded after Katrina. Thanks for all of that, too.
Annual Report: MoveOn.org Political Action in 2005
Executive Summary
We expected 2005 to be a tough year. Together, we faced an ascendant Republican Party which claimed a broad mandate to push American to the right. After the heartbreaking defeat in 2004, we assumed MoveOn members' energy and engagement would decline to normal levels.
In some respects, we were right: Republicans' ambitions were every bit as big as they appeared. But instead of shrinking, MoveOn grew. And when Republicans pushed to the right, MoveOn members pushed back and held their ground. Together, we're now on track for a change election in 2006.
Here's an overview of what happened at MoveOn in 2005:
We grew by 450,000 people. In 2005, MoveOn members enlisted nearly half a million folks to join the organization. We grew the way we always do: people told their friends, family, and colleagues about our campaigns, and they signed up.
We raised over $9 million for candidates and campaigns. We expected to raise around $5 million in 2005, after the blow-out year in 2004. We'd raised that much by June. As the year closes, nearly 125,000 people have contributed to a MoveOn campaign in 2005. The figure we're most proud of? Average donation: $45 (and not a single check for more than $5,000).
We've built a field program to do deeper, more local work than ever before. In January, we launched Operation Democracy, our new field program. It was a gamble: we'd never tried something so big and so focused on off-line organizing. But it worked, and there are now thousands of Operation Democracy leaders around the country who can bring local MoveOn members together, hold events, and capture the media's attention like never before.
We helped tip the balance in critical fights. MoveOn members helped swing opinion against President Bush's Social Security plan. With other groups, our pressure saved the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and stopped Patriot Act renewal until the bill is fixed. Thanks to an all-hands-on-deck push, the "Nuclear Option" failed. In a number of states, MoveOn members helped reform election laws to protect our elections. Perhaps most important, MoveOn members helped cause a sea change in public opinion and in Congress on Iraq—Democrats are now speaking out for a responsible exit plan.
We're on track for a change election in 2006. Winning back Congress is the next big step toward a progressive country, and it's within reach. Through Operation Democracy, we're working to shape the battlefield—especially in the local media. We're also focusing on making sure Democrats stand up and fight: giving them support when they do, and giving them negative feedback when they don't take principled stands. As 2006 continues, we'll also be giving MoveOn members an opportunity to directly affect target races—from wherever in the country they are.
It'll be a long, hard journey to win back Congress and start building a truly progressive America. But MoveOn members are active and engaged, the political climate is turning, and the course is clear. We're on the right path.
Manning the Barricades and Winning Victories
At MoveOn's foundation is the idea that all of us, together, are smarter and stronger than any one individual. So we listen carefully to where MoveOn members want to make an impact and focus our resources there.
In 2005, MoveOn members told us they wanted to work in four main categories: good government, peace and security, a middle-class America, and a sustainable future. Here's a far from comprehensive look at what we did together in these areas:
Good government: Building a strong democracy
Election reform:
We advocated nationally for paper records. Thousands of MoveOn members called Congress seeking to make sure every vote is recorded securely and accurately. Hundreds met with Congressional representatives face to face. Our efforts helped add 24 new co-sponsors to this crucial legislation, but it hasn't passed yet. We'll continue to put on pressure in 2006.
In North Carolina, Colorado, Hawaii, Connecticut, and California, we won legislation requiring electronic voting machines to print paper records. Phone calls by MoveOn members played a big role in these victories—showing legislators that the public was watching. This year, 19 more states required a paper record of every vote, bringing the total to 27. More than half the states now guarantee reliable voting machines.
In Connecticut, members helped pass the most sweeping campaign finance reform in the nation's history, setting a new standard for fighting corruption. We worked closely with groups like Public Campaign and Common Cause to add pressure at key moments.
In Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Virginia, members are successfully beating back Republican efforts to make voting harder for people of color, elderly, disabled, and low-income voters. Members have stopped provisions requiring every voter to have a photo ID and disenfranchising former prisoners who've served their time.
In Ohio, we supported investigations into voting machine discrepancies. Member donations funded legal action that dug up secret electronic voting machine records and paper documents to compare them to and supported a national voting machine expert in analyzing the data. This analysis is being used to fight for accountable voting machines for next time.Holding Tom DeLay accountable. Republican leader Tom DeLay, who is currently under indictment for money laundering, presides over one of the most corrupt Congresses ever. Throughout the year, we worked to hold him accountable for his corrupt behavior.
We helped make sure DeLay had to step down. Early in the year, Republicans tried to change Congressional rules to allow Tom DeLay to retain his leadership post—even if he was indicted for a felony. Members made lots of phone calls, and shortly afterwards the Republicans reversed themselves.
We petitioned members of Congress to return funds they received from
DeLay and delivered these petitions to their doorsteps. MoveOn members across the nation went in person to Republican representatives' offices—with the media in tow. A number of members of Congress have returned their money.We ran ads highlighting the "culture of corruption" on the Hill. One of our favorite ads all year was a print ad focusing on Tom DeLay and Bill Frist. The headline: "More interested in checks than balances."
Promoting a fair judicial process. As conservatives rallied to pack the courts with right-wing ideologues, we worked hard to make sure that America's courts—especially the Supreme Court—are fair and just.We fought like heck to stop the "Nuclear Option"—and won. In the spring, Republicans attempted a power grab to exclude Democrats from having any say over which judges are picked. MoveOn members wrote 59,645 letters to the editor, placed over 118,000 calls to Congress, held 1,539 house meetings, launched our famous "Save the Republic" Star Wars spoof ad, organized 192 simultaneous rallies, and delivered over 580,000 comments to Congress. In the end, the power grab failed and democracy won.
We worked to stop John Roberts and Harriet Miers. Although John Roberts was confirmed as Chief Justice, these campaigns were important—showing President Bush that he couldn't appoint a right-wing ideologue like Roberts without some opposition and setting the stage for the Alito nomination next year.
We mobilized quickly to stop Samuel Alito. In just the first week after Samuel Alito's nomination was announced, over 500,000 MoveOn members petitioned Congress to oppose his confirmation. We're gearing up now for a major fight in January, when the hearings are scheduled to start.
Drawing attention to the CIA leak scandal. In August, it became clear that Karl Rove was involved in the CIA leak scandal swirling around Valerie Plame. We worked hard to put the Bush administration on the spot about its claims regarding the case, and made sure the media was paying attention. Our rally was featured in Time and Newsweek, and tens of thousands of MoveOn members downloaded the "Loose Lips: Pink Slips" poster that emerged as the winner of our contest.
Peace and Security: Building a safer AmericaAmplifying the call for an exit plan in Iraq. In the spring of 2005, Republican Congressman Walter Jones—a staunch war supporter—and Democrats in Congress announced a plan for a responsible exit from Iraq that would conclude in 2006. MoveOn members endorsed it, and since then we've been pushing hard for a solution to the mess in Iraq that will bring our troops home and serve the Iraqis well.
Hundreds of thousands of us gathered in vigils to support Cindy Sheehan and to mourn the passing of the 2000th soldier. When Cindy Sheehan went to Crawford to demand that President Bush meet with her about the death of her son, MoveOn members gathered in thousands of locations across the country to show our support. Two months later, we gathered again in candlelight vigils to honor and mourn those who died in Iraq. The vigils were picked up by local media across the nation and sent a clear and emotional message: the public supports the troops but not an endless occupation.
We ran a series of ads to highlight growing public support for a change of course. Thanks to generous contributions from thousands of MoveOn members, we were able to run a number of ads at key moments in the debate over Iraq. After Nancy Pelosi came out in support of Rep. Murtha's plan for exit, we ran an ad in the districts of Murtha's attackers. Just after the elections in December, we highlighted the fact that most Iraqis want us out.
We helped turn the tide in Congress toward an exit plan. At the beginning of 2005, few members of Congress supported an exit from Iraq. Now, people from Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi to Senator Russ Feingold have come out for a responsible exit, and Republicans are moving in that direction, too. MoveOn members made tens of thousands of phone calls, pushing Congress to stand up to President Bush and demand a plan for exit. We delivered petition signatures to hundreds of congressional offices nation-wide, getting local media across the country. Thirty members of Congress announced that they were more supportive of an exit plan that week alone.
Winning a law against torture. Despite Vice President Cheney's best efforts, Democrats and Republicans came together to ban torture by the U.S. MoveOn members made thousands of calls to representatives who were on the fence.
Stopping the Patriot Act and protecting our civil liberties. The White House pushed to make the Patriot Act—which was originally passed just days after September 11th—permanent. MoveOn members rallied behind Senator Russ Feingold, other Senate Democrats, and a principled group of Republicans. So far, they've won the day: the bill has not passed yet, and the final version is likely to do a much better job of protecting our civil liberties.
A fair economy: Building a middle-class America
We pushed back against the plan to privatize Social Security—and won. In early 2004, President Bush made clear that privatizing Social Security was his number one domestic priority. He embarked on a three-month road-trip to make the sell. But MoveOn members fought back, and in the end President Bush dropped the plan. Here's a taste of the tactics we used:
Members attended Republican town hall meetings and asked tough questions—putting a number of members of Congress off their game.
Members made tens of thousands of phone calls to Congress—letting them know that the public was watching.We ran ads at key moments, which got picked up nationally in the news.
Together with our friends at Americans United to Protect Social Security, we made sure that everywhere President Bush went, people were organized to push back in the press.
We fought the "reverse Robin Hood" budget—making clear to the public whose side Republican leaders are on. After Hurricane Katrina, radical Republicans moved forward with a proposal to cut $50 billion in services for the poor—while at the same time cutting $70 billion in taxes for the rich. We called it the "reverse Robin Hood" budget—stealing from the poor to pay the rich. Members' pressure helped make sure that some of the worst cuts were dropped from the bill, and even convinced 5 Republicans in the Senate to vote against it. Although Republican leaders originally thought the bill would be a slam dunk, we've helped hold them off for months—the final vote just got bumped into 2006.
We took on Wal-Mart. We joined a coalition of hundreds of other progressive organizations and helped organize over 7,000 house parties to screen Robert Greenwald's new film, Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price. Wal-Mart was so concerned about the campaign that they hired a "war room" of public relations people to spin back. No dice: a Zogby poll showed that Americans don't approve of Wal-Mart's worker-unfriendly policies, and we helped make Wal-Mart a vivid example of what's wrong with a "sink or swim" economy.
The environment: Building a sustainable futureWe stopped Arctic drilling. For over 25 years, the oil industry has been lobbying Congress to approve drilling in the pristine Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. This year, Republicans believed they could finally pass the bill. But led by Senator Maria Cantwell, Democrats in Congress filibustered the stealth attack, and the Wildlife Refuge was saved. MoveOn members' pressure helped rally the troops around Cantwell.
Building toward 2006: Electoral work in 2005
In 2005, we started laying the groundwork for a change election in 2006.
We raised over $1.5 million directly for candidates, focusing on progressives and on key races in 2006. Our early money had a big impact: in a number of these races—candidates who were on shaky ground are now firmly in the lead.
Here's where members made a difference:
$168,000 for Bob Casey, Jr. (D-PA), who's running against radical Republican Rick Santorum in Pennsylvania. Right now, Casey has a double-digit lead in the polls over Santorum—a highly unusual (and promising) sign.
$832,000 for Senator Robert Byrd (D-WV), who at 87 was considering retiring from the Senate. MoveOn members contributed to his war chest, and recently he announced he's running for re-election. So far, no prominent West Virginia Republican has decided to take him on.
$164,000 for Nick Lampson (D-TX), the ex-congressman running against Rep. Tom DeLay. DeLay's approval rating in his home district is in the gutter, and Lampson stands a good chance of sweeping him from power even if DeLay isn't convicted.
$153,000 for Bill Nelson (D-FL), who faces a challenge from Katherine Harris (yes, that Katherine Harris). With a fundraising boost from MoveOn members, Nelson is looking good, and rumors are surfacing that Karl Rove is trying to get Harris out of the race.
After Senator Jeffords announced he wouldn't run for re-election,MoveOn Vermonters endorsed Rep. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) for Senate early. We hoped to scare top Republicans out of the race, and so far, the tactic has worked. Sanders, a true progressive, has a good chance of making it to the Senate.
When there were no candidates in the Ohio Senate race, we raised a contingency fund of over $177,000 for Paul Hackett (D-OH). Now there are two progressives running, Hackett and Rep. Sherrod Brown—either of whom stands a great chance of winning a Senate seat from Republican Senator Mike DeWine.
We also helped progressives win big in the 2005 elections. In states where important ballot initiatives were happening, we asked MoveOn members what positions we should endorse. Then we encouraged folks to get out and vote for those positions.
In California, we partnered with the California Courage Campaign, which ran an ad highlighting Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's conservative views. MoveOn members also volunteered to get out the vote, and in the end every single one of Schwarzenegger's initiatives was defeated.
In Virginia and New Jersey, MoveOn members helped get out the vote for new Governors Tim Kaine (VA) and Jon Corzine (NJ). Both won.
In Maine, Washington, and Colorado, MoveOn members helped win victories to end sexual discrimination, ban indoor smoking, and protect funds for education, health care, and roads.One sad note: Ohio voters rejected a broad set of initiatives called Reform Ohio Now which would have changed Ohio's election system. Luckily, there are important races next year for Governor and Secretary of State—which means there's still an opportunity to make sure what happened in 2004 doesn't happen in 2008.
Going Deeper: Operation Democracy Takes America
In 2004, we tried something new: a get-out-the-vote program in key battleground states we called Leave No Voter Behind. Over 70,000 MoveOn members participated, and our post-election analysis shows it was highly effective.
Now, through Operation Democracy, we've made the 2004 field campaign permanent. Across America, there are thousands of volunteers who spend hours each week taking MoveOn deeper into our communities.
In the spring and summer, Operation Democracy increased the number of MoveOn events being held across the country by 40%. Operation Democracy leaders held "Speak Outs" to oppose the Republican budget, organized vigils, delivered petitions on Iraq and Tom DeLay, and organized all night "citizens' filibusters" to stop the "Nuclear Option."
This fall we began focusing on getting progressive messages out through the media, and we added staff organizers and volunteer Regional Coordinators to train Operation Democracy members. This nearly quintupled the amount of media coverage local events received.
Having organizers and Regional Coordinators also helped us expand into places people don't normally associate with MoveOn: towns like Southaven, MS; Hays, KS; Kingsport, TN; Fayetteville, NC; Humble, TX; Starkville, MS; Walterboro, SC; Coeur d'Alene, ID; Norman, OK; and Martinsburg, WV.
MoveOn's Challenges: Name, Innovation, and Focus
As we go into 2006, we'll be especially attentive to three main challenges MoveOn faces as an organization:
Protecting the MoveOn name.
Right-wing operatives from Karl Rove on down have made MoveOn a target of their attacks. Their strategy: divide Democrats from MoveOn and their base. It's something to be proud of—it means we're having a real impact—but it's also something to watch.
The primary way we can fight back is by making our 3.3 million members the face of the organization—something we're doing more than ever with Operation Democracy. Our members look, act, and talk like real Americans because they are real Americans—and that's the best way we can demonstrate that MoveOn is a mainstream phenomenon.
Innovating in online organizing.
As MoveOn has grown, we've continued to take risks—trying out creative new ways of involving members in national politics. Sometimes these projects work, and sometimes they don't, but when they do they can help move the whole field forward.
Now that we're a more established part of the progressive movement, it'd be easy to become more conservative—taking fewer risks and sticking to what we know because there are more people watching.
We're committed to keep trying new things: We serve MoveOn members best through constant innovation.
Focusing on the most important fights.
While we will focus more and more in 2006 on winning a change election in Congress, our work to pass good laws and stop bad ones won't stop. Since we're a multi-issue group, we'll be asked to join many fights—partners in the movement know that MoveOn members' pressure can make a real impact. But we have to make sure we don't get spread too thin.
We'll work to stay focused on the fights where we can make the biggest difference—either by weighing in to change the balance in Congress, or by telling a story about what's going on that helps set the terms for the elections in November. And, of course, the first and last question we'll ask ourselves before engaging is, "Is this a service to MoveOn members?"
The Year Ahead: Winning Back Congress in 2006
In 2005, we've been preparing for the November election, and in 2006 our campaign will commence in earnest. Here are some of the elements of our strategy:Encouraging Democrats to "Stand Up and Fight." In December, Democrats led filibusters of the Patriot Act and a defense bill that would have allowed drilling in the Arctic. It's the kind of strong leadership that we believe will lead to victory in '06—if they keep it up. So, we'll work to support leaders who stand up and fight. And when folks like Joe Lieberman don't stand strong with their colleagues, we'll let them know how disappointed we are. We'll work to make sure the Democratic Party is united around progressive ideals as we head into the election season.
Raising money for progressive candidates. MoveOn members, together, are one of the largest single sources of money for progressive candidates. By giving, we can help keep them accountable to real Americans—not lobbyists, CEOs, and special interests. We'll highlight opportunities to give to some of the best candidates over the course of 2006.
Framing the election: Quagmire in Iraq, and Republicans who are out for themselves—not the country. Through ads and local events that attract media attention, we'll work to make sure that as folks go to vote in 2006, they're reminded of Republican corruption. We won't let voters forget who's responsible for the mess in Iraq. And we'll work to highlight the numerous bills in which Republicans help their rich friends—at everyone else's expense.
Helping on the ground. As in 2004, we have big plans for getting out the vote in 2006. Stay tuned for more details—we can't publicly reveal them yet.
Posted by bill at 01:58 PM | Comments (0)
For NYC readers only
Warning to non-NYC readers: This post may strike you as irrelevant.
Light has begun to shine on the TWU's ill-got deal, and as the NY Post points out, it ain't pretty for the rest of us. Around half of the illegal strikers, fines or not, will be comfortably in the black when they receive pension refunds between $7,000 and $20,000. Altogether, says bus driver John Paul, "It's a very good deal." Indeed. Granted, transit workers now find themselves contributing to health care costs, which the serpentine Mssr. Toussaint claims was a significant concession. (Many of us in the post-GED sector of the workforce disagree.) But we don't need the Manhattan Institute to realize the strike was "worth it" for the TWU - and the threat of a repeat performance a bludgeon in the union's arsenal come the next round of negotiations, in January 2009. And, by the way, there's a real possibility any fines were negotiated into oblivion, which will make John Paul and his cohorts giddy.
Black or white, thuggery lives. The NYP points out the pension raid is illegal, but then what's the difference? So was the strike, and neither New York's Incredible Disappearing Governor nor the legislature will be interested in enforcing the prohibition. And Elliot Spitzer is too busy shaking down Wall Street.
Posted by bill at 10:20 AM | Comments (0)
December 28, 2005
Hillary Clinton: She's a fighter
For giggles, I subscribed a while ago to Hillary Clinton's email list. Her emails are usually amusing and to me, make the woman seem all the more preposterous. Today I was treated to a message from Bill himself, saying he's "so proud of Hillary and her work in the Senate" blah blah blah blah blah blah and asking for donations. (It's all below the fold.) I didn't donate, but I enjoyed this line: "And I know something else: Hillary is a fighter."
Sure you do, Bill. She threw a lamp at you. Or maybe you heard about her assault on her limo driver. Or that her temper "terrified" staffers.
Dear Friend,
As Hillary's 2006 campaign prepares for a critical December 31st fundraising deadline, I'm writing to urge you to send a special year-end donation.
I am so proud of Hillary and her work in the Senate. Now I'm asking you to be sure she will be able to continue, and that she'll have the support she needs in the year ahead.
https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com
I've known from our 30 years together that Hillary has the ability to be a real leader. But even I've been impressed at how much she has done since she was elected: her hard work, her effectiveness, and her constant advocacy for the values we share.
Whether speaking out on the Senate floor about why this latest Congressional budget is so wrong for our country, calling for a new energy policy to move us closer to energy independence, or traveling to New Orleans to meet with families still waiting for homes - and hope - Hillary is a beacon of strength, intelligence, and generosity of spirit.
And I know something else: Hillary is a fighter. In the Senate, she is fighting to get this country going in a different direction. And she is prepared to fight back in next year's campaign. It's up to us to make sure she has the resources to do just that.
https://contribute.hillaryclinton.com
Please join me in giving Hillary the support she needs to win an important Democratic victory in New York next November.
Sincerely,
Bill Clinton
Posted by bill at 07:58 PM | Comments (1)
A loss for words
Today Craig Jenness, a United Nations official, discussed the recent elections in Iraq, saying..................aww crap, who am I kidding? Who cares what the UN says about Iraq?
Posted by bill at 04:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Stop the ACLU
Sure, sending Christmas cards to the ACLU was entertaining enough. But you can sign here to stop the ACLU, or at least its taxpayer funding. H/T: Stop the ACLU.
Posted by bill at 09:24 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 27, 2005
Idiotarian Bloviation
No doubt John Kerry would've been way more deliberative than W when it comes to wiretaps, to the heartfelt applause of folks like Eugene Robinson. Robinson's view of things doesn't, of course, tackle the legal issues, except for the usual bleating over the rule of law he treasures so.
Robinson reminds me of two freshman wrestlers recruited by my high school coach in 1991 when he realized the 98-pound spot was empty. Neither had any experience but they were exceedingly scrawny and hence on the roster, and before the first match they scrimmaged. Despite their sporadic effort over the preceding week or so, within 15 seconds it became clear neither of them knew a thing about wrestling. We knew this because at the opening whistle the two 98-pounders ran toward each other, vaguely, and began hissing and fighting like two 12 year-old girls. It was pure entertainment, but it wasn't "wrestling." Which brings me back to Eugene Robinson, who like many on his side of the aisle seems determined to funnel liberalism down the intellectual sewer. Sure, there are reasonable arguments to be made against Bush's wiretapping, but no liberals to make them.
And no, I wasn't one of those 98 pound kids.
Posted by bill at 04:25 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
One year after the tsunami
It may seem empty-headed of me to link to one Mark Steyn's article after another. You may be thinking, for example, "Bill, I can just go to Steyn's website if I want to read his articles. Get a life, regurgiblogger." Fair enough. Nonetheless, don't miss Steyn's piece today on Tsunami relief efforts. "How come no one is interested in what happened to those billions of dollars?" he asks. "Within 24 hours of Hurricane Katrina making landfall, the media demanded investigations into what, by historical standards, was a better-than-average federal performance. With the tsunami, who cares? The glow of moral virtue in chipping in your donation is so bright the fact that it accomplishes nothing is unimportant."
Suitably Flip has a roundup of tsunami-related posts.
Posted by bill at 02:47 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
December 26, 2005
Marketing Guerilla Or Capitalist Sellout? How About Both?
The corporate turn to "street" or, worse, "guerilla" marketing figures both an exhaustion and a transcendence of the old mass-market sales pitch, which could thrive in industrial societies where difference and change were not the reigning totem-idols. Now they are. The godheads are deviance and authenticity: yes, the real freak (opposite of our hallmark, the "real fake"), the guy or girl who is as "street" as they are "savvy." This is what McDonald's wants -- the genuine hipster who will sell out for a year's salary from pinkie finger-liftin'-good chicken sandwich ads. Read Mike Musgrove at WaPo ("What Looks Like Graffiti Could Really Be an Ad"):
In major cities such as San Francisco, Miami and New York, Sony has paid building owners to use wall space for the campaign, and the images have become a familiar sight. It's the latest effort by a big corporation to capitalize on the hot world of street art to reach an urban market that has learned to tune out traditional advertising.
Posted by James G. Poulos at 11:43 AM | Comments (0)
December 23, 2005
I am shocked and chagrined
A week ago I was given the Seinfeld season 1 DVD as a Christmas gift. Now, I'm not an aficionado and didn't even watch the show until the mid 1990s. But I watch re-runs all the time, enough so that I was mystified when I learned that for years I'd missed one episode entirely. I am no statistician, either, but given the amount of time I've spent watching Seinfeld, mine was no small feat. (The episode is titled, "The Apartment.")
Posted by bill at 05:27 PM | Comments (0)
December 22, 2005
Heed the Market, End the Shortage
In a September report by the National Taxpayers Union the travesty of uniform salary schedules for all teachers is highlighted, and the overwhelming idiocy of the call for higher teacher salaries is brought to light. School boards need only heed the market to determine which candidates deserve higher starting salaries. And they need only be honest with themselves to determine which teachers have earned merit pay.
Government is expensive, but it can be less so if we are willing to educate the NEA about the cold objectivity of the market.
Posted by Audi Partem Alteram at 10:14 PM | Comments (0)
Yesteryear
As RFDTH notes, life ain't so simple anymore:
Man with a gun.
Kid with a gun.
Kid in a trunk.
Puppy in a trunk.
Dog has no hearing protection.
Man and boy both too white.
Hunting is a blood sport. (Call PETA!)
Posted by bill at 08:15 PM | Comments (0)
Strike's over: Sung to the tune of "Joy to the world"
Joy to the world, the strike is done.
Now where's my God-damn train
The subway cars may run
But shopping's far from done.
And now the lines will swell
My week's been shot to hell,
Thank you union, Touss-aint, burn in hell.
I still can't believe, the balls they have
Those lazy, nasty slobs
Retire with 25
Free health care, can't be fired
And still they went on strike
And still they went on strike
Transit workers, Toussaint, may you burn in hell
Come next week, no walk to work
Who knew bunions bleed
I'll work till I die
No pension, won't retire
And they make more than me
With a night school GED
Transit workers, Toussaint, may you burn in hell
Fa la la. Merry holidays.
Posted by bill at 04:56 PM | Comments (1)
Getting around NYC: a guide for corporate fatcats etc.
Suitably Flip, who I constant remind is a CJ alum, has done a magnificent job with his snarky, timely coverage of the NYC transit strike, which, sweet molasses, Joy to the World, etc., may end today. Flip's latest is a collaborative effort with GOP in the City, a NFT ("Not for Tourists") Guide to the transit strike. Outstanding.
As to the possible settlement, the Man adds, "The TWU members may be heading back to work but our work has just begun. The strikers need to be held accountable for their actions to prevent another union from making another mess next time there are negotiations. I will hold Bloomberg responsible for making sure the TWU is fined and fined again."
Posted by bill at 01:09 PM | Comments (1)
Outward hostility
It's almost refreshing to me when the left's media whores abandon any pretense of objectivity and instead, indulge in gluttonous displays of outward disguist for the Bush administration. Let's be real, they sometimes seem to acknowledge. Today's example is this piece in the Wa Post ridiculing Scott McLellan for being (gasp!) an effective mouthpiece for the White House, by which Mark Leibovich of course means Andrew Card and Karl Rove - Bush's puppetmasters.
NOTICE: I will donate $100 to any reader who can point me to any MSM "news" piece taking this tack in writing about any of the several Clinton Press Secretaries. Email to: wlalor at citizen dash journal dot net.
Posted by bill at 12:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 21, 2005
Tough call
I can't tell which is more absurd: Al Sharpton starring in a sit-com, or Al Sharpton running for President.
Posted by bill at 10:14 PM | Comments (1)
What's that stench?
Why it's New York politics. From the NY Sun editorial page comes a good question for New York Attorney General Elliot Spitzer: Why no interest in cleaning up the MTA/transit strike mess? It's only a rhetorical question, of course. The answer is that Spitzer is running for Governor and needs votes. And Albany's current biggest, emptiest suit, George Pataki, doesn't fare much better. As the Sun points out, Big Ack spent the run-up to this criminal sabotage in not-NY, campaigning for a presidency that will never, ever be his, at least until inaction (Ground Zero anyone?) and boring the shit out of people are considered political assets.
Posted by bill at 10:43 AM | Comments (2)
December 20, 2005
Debating NSA Surveillance
Once again conservatives are demonstrating they are far more capable of serious debate - especially among themselves - than liberals. This time it's NSA Domestic Surveillance. Orrin Kerr offers an analysis and introduces the issues (the kind only the blogosphere can give the reach it deserves):
Was the secret NSA surveillance program legal? Was it constitutional? Did it violate federal statutory law? It turns out these are hard questions, but I wanted to try my best to answer them. My answer is pretty tentative, but here it goes: Although it hinges somewhat on technical details we don't know, it seems that the program was probably constitutional but probably violated the federal law known as the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. My answer is extra-cautious for two reasons. First, there is some wiggle room in FISA, depending on technical details we don't know of how the surveillance was done. Second, there is at least a colorable argument - if, I think in the end, an unpersuasive one - that the surveillance was authorized by the Authorization to Use Miltary Force
Read the whole thing. George Will weighs in, balancing government's wartime needed "capacity for swift and nimble action" and the "inescapable corollary," "the danger of arbitrary power." He decides Bush's action was a mistake, though only "on the assumption that Congress or a court would have been cooperative in September 2001, and that the cooperation could have kept necessary actions clearly lawful without conferring any benefit on the nation's enemies."
John Hinderaker's in lawyer mode, too, deciding that "as we understand the facts" "intercepts outside the United States that coincidentally sweep in messages sent from America would seem to be obviously within the President's inherent Article II powers."
Even Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter agreed.
The WSJ which asks Senators to "please stop stripping the Presidency of its Constitutional authority to defend America." Atlas Shrugs says, "The left counts on an America that does not pay attention." Newsbusters asks the NY Times to get its NSA stories straight.
Meantime, Arab News and Democrats seem to be on the same page. And the MSM is working itself into a another brainless tizzy. More leftard brainlessness here, as always.
Posted by bill at 08:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Congrats Joe Paterno
It's official: Paterno is the Coach of the Year.
My favorite:
So much for critics who said the game had passed him by.
"The only thing I wanted to do is try to get us back to where we were a good football team and we could be very competitive and make some plays we hadn't made," he said. "We got that done, and I feel good about that."
Posted by bill at 06:06 PM | Comments (0)
Transit strike - what's next?
The NY Sun makes an important point, one I hadn't yet seen:
If the MTA moves even a scintilla toward the union's negotiating position as the result of this strike, it would reward the union's illegal behavior and send to the dozens of other unions who do business with the state, the city, and the public authorities a message of appeasement - that if you want a better contract, go on strike, even if it is against the law. That may be how things work in Latin America or Paris, or how they used to work in the New York of the 1960s and 1970s, but it is not a way to run a successful city in the competitive global economy. It's a recipe for making New York's state and local tax burden, already among the nation's heaviest, even worse. The right move for the MTA now - the only move, if it is going to avoid a strike every time a contract is up for renegotiation - is to take an extremely hard line with the Transport Workers Union Local 100.
Posted by bill at 02:37 PM | Comments (0)
Greetings from the left and right
For Our Democratic Friends:
Please accept with no obligation, implied or implicit, our best wishes for an environmentally conscious, socially responsible, low-stress, non-addictive, gender-neutral celebration of the winter solstice holiday, practiced within the most enjoyable traditions of the religious persuasion of your choice, or secular practices of your choice, with respect for the religious/secular persuasion and/or traditions of others, or their choice not to practice religious or secular traditions at all. We also wish you a fiscally successful, personally fulfilling and medically uncomplicated recognition of the onset of the generally accepted calendar year 2006, but not without due respect for the calendars of choice of other cultures whose contributions to society have helped make America great. Not to imply that Americais necessarily greater than any other country nor the only Americain the Western Hemisphere. And without regard to the race, creed, color, age, physical ability, religious faith or sexual preference of the wishee. By accepting these greetings you are accepting these terms. This greeting is subject to clarification or withdrawal. It is freely transferable with no alteration to the original greeting. It implies no promise by the wisher to actually implement any of the wishes for herself or himself or others, and is void where prohibited by law and is revocable at the sole discretion of the wisher. This wish is warranted to perform as expected within the usual application of good tidings for a period of one year or until the issuance of a subsequent holiday greeting, whichever comes first, and warranty is limited to replacement of this wish or issuance of a new wish at the sole discretion of the wisher.
For Our Republican Friends:
Here's wishing all of You a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Posted by bill at 10:40 AM | Comments (0)
Unions to NYC: Drop dead!
The NYC transit strike is on. My commute wasn't awful but it took 90 minutes from lower Manhattan to midtown. I don't know whether PATH altered routes but from the World Trade Center, we went to Jersey City, then (local) into Manhattan to 33rd Street. The service stunk, and the delays were abysmal by ordinary standards, but judging by what I've heard about the b&t commute, I won't be bitching too loudly.
I hear the city was in court today seeking a court order that the strike end immediately. I wonder whether Roger Toussaint, whose ego isn't helping things, would respond to a court order as his predecessor Mike Quill did in 1980 when he said of the judge, "May he drop dead in his black robes...I'll rot in jail...I won't appeal...I don't give a damn." We can hope.
It's hard, always, to side with the corrupt MTA but I have no sympathy for the TWATWU, and here's my thinking: Say you're 18 years old and go to college, and say you're caucasian so you and/or your parents have to pay tuition. Four years; let's say $80,000. Say again you bust your stones through an accounting degree, take the CPA exam, and pass. Congratulations! You're now approaching average salary for a NYC transit employee. You work 60 hour weeks for years, take little vacation, contribute $80-$100/month for health care (far more once you have a family) and have no pension. Your annual raise may average 7-8%, depending on how much revenue you generate. There's no tenure or security, ever, and you'll retire, if you're lucky and if you save (a lot), after 40 or so years, at age 65. Have kids? Hope they're brilliant, or a favored minority, otherwise you're on course to work until you die.
Now that MTA employees have announced things aren't profitable enough for them, fire them all, and let them work in the private sector and justify a salary.
UPDATE: Karol at Alarming News (another NYC blogger) posts similar thoughts.
Posted by bill at 10:21 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 19, 2005
Dems - Boxed in
Is W back? The President's message on Iraq is finally getting through, thanks to straight talk and his recent acknowledgements that war is costly, he knows it, he appreciates the consequences of his decisions, and that he wouldn't change very much of what he's done.
Bravo to the White House for turning the debate on the Democrats; John Podhoretz puts it best: "President Bush graciously gave his critics their proper due -- even as he was putting them in a strategic and ideological box from which they will not be able to escape." Today Bush stayed on message, sticking it to Dems who fillibustered the Patriot Act and the phony wiretap "scandal." Writes CJ alum Flip Pidot: "what impressed me about the back-and-forth was Bush's ability (and willingness) to smack down or sidestep all the flawed premises, poisoned wells, and loaded questions that saturated the press corps' barrage."
Word. Bush sounds more like the President I voted for - compassionate but unapologetic; the Dems sound more and more like the ACLU.
Posted by bill at 08:24 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bush recap
Miss W's speech last night? So did I. Luckily we don't have to rely on CNN's interpretation of things. Instead, watch the video at The Political Teen; Michelle Malkin has oodles of reax; and Captain Ed live-blogged it.
The President will hold a press conference at 10:30 this morning (live feed will be at Fox). These tend to be trials for the President, but let's hope he keeps the Mo.
Posted by bill at 09:15 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Thanks Joe Klein
Give Joe Klein credit for this, which is sure to draw the ire of collegues and Kos alike. It's about time someone show some humility. Klein cites Teddy Roosevelt's famous "It's not the critic who counts" speech, writing:
there's no getting around the reality of column writing: I am "the critic," and it is all too easy to dwell on those who don't strive valiantly, spend themselves for a worthy cause or dare greatly. At year's end, however, and especially at the end of a year as horrible as this one, it is appropriate to pay homage to those who have taken risky stands on principle, even when I have disagreed with them.
Posted by bill at 08:08 AM | Comments (0)
December 16, 2005
PATRIOT Axed: Genuflection & Rejection On Senate Floor
By 52-74 the Senate rejects extension of the PATRIOT Act, once so lovingly instated in ALL CAPITAL LETTERS. Key information? "Feingold, Craig and other critics said that wasn't enough, and have called for the law to be extended in its present form so they can continue to try and add more civil liberties safeguards. But Bush, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Speaker Dennis Hastert have said they won't accept a short-term extension of the law."
Choose, armchair Congressmen, one of two absolutisms: eternal death for the Act or eternal life. Which is the condemnation? Why not short-term extensions, reviewed annually or even semiannually? The questions, and reason, are left dangling in the breeze.
Posted by James G. Poulos at 04:10 PM | Comments (0)
Perfect recreation for a Friday afternoon
The inimitable Jib-Jab strikes again.
Posted by bill at 02:55 PM | Comments (0)
Another non-scandal
It's always entertaining to see the NY Times report what they clearly perceive as scandalous, but which clearly is not. The latest is their report today that in the wake of 9/11, the NSA "has monitored the international telephone calls and international e-mail messages of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of people inside the United States without warrants over the past three years in an effort to track possible "dirty numbers" linked to Al Qaeda."
Good.
Posted by bill at 09:15 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Don't Choose Sides, Choose Bigotry
Upset that Ford Motor Company is not acting sufficiently craven, the Chairman of The American Family Association, Donald Wildmon, recently complained about his organization's inability to enforce bigotry. Wildmon has claimed: "All we wanted was for Ford to refrain from choosing sides in the cultural war, and supporting groups [that] promote same-sex marriage is not remaining neutral". However, the AFA sought much more than that. In fact, what the AFA has sought is effectively a media blackout on the issue of sexuality.
Gay people buy cars. Ford is a car company that desperately needs to convince more people to buy its product. Gay people (the same ones that buy cars) read gay publications. Hence, Ford, as a for-profit entity run for the benefit of shareholders and not the conservative religious community, does nothing more by advertising in gay publications and sponsoring gay organizations than try to reach potential customers.
The AFA should keep in mind a truly cherished American value: capitalism.
Posted by Audi Partem Alteram at 02:48 AM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2005
Penn State: de facto national champion, 1994
I was a junior at Penn State in 1994, when Penn State, undefeated but also Big Ten champs, found themselves locked into the Rose Bowl playing the Oregon Ducks, while Nebraska, also undefeated thanks to a D-II type schedule listing the likes of Baylor, played Miami in the Orange Bowl. I won't rehash the injustice other than to note Penn State was ultimately voted the #2 team, with Tom Osbourne, Lawrence Phillips et al. ahead of us. It was an abysmal result, one Penn State fans like me have never really swallowed. Nonetheless, 2005 brings a dollup of satisfaction since ESPN, now that they're polling fans about the "10 all-time great teams," lists the 1994 Penn State team but not, you know, the one from Nebraska. Not. even. on. the. ballot. (Maybe a background check is required.)
Posted by bill at 03:32 PM | Comments (1)
Antics & Semantics In Hill Budget "Cuts"
Long irritating ladies and gentlemen who wish to cut federal spending has been the riotous success of those opposed in getting the country to adopt "cut" as the slang terminology for "decrease the increase in the rate of spending." The rout of words' meaning what they indicate is so complete that major newspapers will not bother teasing out the difference between a real cut and a smaller-than-advocated increase ("Health and Education Measure Narrowly Approved by House").
The point goes beyond the political: you cannot, as a factual matter, decry a shrinkage in the expansion of, say, the food stamp program based on the vulgar implication that current recipients are having their nourishment stolen away. Of course, there is the matter of next year's recipients, lining up for their turn. They have a claim to their food stamps, or prescription drugs, or what have you. They have a possible claim to imminent entitlements. But a pre-claim? To unbudgeted, unvoted, unreal entitlements? How early can one start being beholden to future need interests? How early must one be?
Posted by James G. Poulos at 03:26 PM | Comments (0)
The problem with thinking too much
...is that you might end up believing this, i.e., that since King Kong involves a big, black gorilla who (worse yet) is in love with a white woman, the film must be an homage to latent societal racism. Such are the musings of "societal psychiatrist" Kwame McKenzie, who concludes that "...if censors look at violence, sex, and sexual violence when giving a certificate why do they not look at negative racial stereotypes?"
Instead, how about a warning on McKenzie's tripe:
Warning: Black man linking blacks to monkeys.
Warning: Societal psychiatrist attempting to justify existence.
Warning: Sociologist flailing!
Warning: Unreasonable inferences.
Warning: uber-sensitivity ahead.
Or, for the movie:
Warning: There are no white monkeys in this movie.
Warning: Hollywood black-as-softspoken-hero not endorsed.
Warning: This movie is from the 1930's.
Warning: Latent racism.
Warning (whites only): Severe guilt trip ahead.
UPDATE: James Pinkerton's take. (H/T: Rob from down the hall.)
UPDATE II: CJ contributor James Poulos asks, "Have we come nowhere?":
how can King Kong not be "racist" (which the clever reader will guess is altogether different from racist)? How else to tell a story that gets a handful of dashing New Yorkers out of Depression-era Manhattan and back, only with the world's largest Ape in tow? Not very dramatically: you'd have to start by civilizing the natives, which would raise the same hackles bristling now over the decision to leave them crude and warlike. But let's say you did -- make them noble, indigenous peoples. Now the locus of your drama must shift -- the drama that causes Our Girl to be taken captive in the first place, launching not just Act Two but the so-cherished Ape-Broad relationship that transcends the world's pettiness and exploitation.
Posted by bill at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)
Imagine: Bill Clinton, socialist
It's easy if you try. (H/T: Tom L.)
Posted by bill at 09:32 AM | Comments (0)
Iraq's challenge, and its promise
Zalmay Khalilzad, the US Ambassador to Iraq, discusses what today means for Iraq, and what Iraq means to us. In short, "It is a linchpin in the needed transformation of the broader Middle East, which is the defining challenge of our time."
Rolling updates here and here but not here or here.
Posted by bill at 08:48 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 14, 2005
Merry Holidays!
Why people like me don't teach. That, and the constant swearing. Maybe the bigger laugh is the administration's response:
The district announced that the offending teacher had heard from Santa Claus himself — who assurred the teacher that "the spirit of the holidays is alive and well." And Santa asked the teacher to pass that message along to students.
Huh? So first you tell kids there's no Santa. Then you tell the ones who used to believe in Santa that there is a Santa but there's no Christmas. Lovely.
Posted by bill at 10:29 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"The Truth on the Ground"
Ben Connable is a USMC Major. His piece today in the Wash Post, "The Truth on the Ground," talks about what the military sees in Iraq, slapping around the white flag cancer that's spreading among the left:
...it is not a simple thing to ignore genuine optimism from mid-grade, junior and noncommissioned officers who have spent much of the past three years in Iraq.
We know the streets, the people and the insurgents far better than any armchair academic or talking head. As military professionals, we are trained to gauge the chances of success and failure, to calculate risk and reward. We have little to gain from our optimism and quite a bit to lose as we leave our families over and over again to face danger and deprivation for an increasingly unpopular cause. We know that there are no guarantees in war, and that we may well fail in the long run. We also know that if we follow our current plan we can, over time, leave behind a stable and unified country that might help to anchor a better future for the Middle East.
It is difficult for most Americans to rationalize this optimism in the face of the horrific images and depressing stories that have come to symbolize the war in Iraq. Most of the violent news is true; the death and destruction are very real. But experienced military officers know that the horror stories, however dramatic, do not represent the broader conditions there or the chances for future success. For every vividly portrayed suicide bombing, there are hundreds of thousands of people living quiet, if often uncertain, lives. For every depressing story of unrest and instability there is an untold story of potential and hope. The impression of Iraq as an unfathomable quagmire is false and dangerously misleading.
Bravo!
Posted by bill at 08:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 13, 2005
Hail to the Lions
Congrats to Penn State DL Tamba Hali and Linebacker Paul Posluszny, who were named today to the AP All-American team. Poz is a junior linebacker who last weekend won the Dick Butkus award, given to the nation's best linebacker. On the second team were OT Levi Brown, and senior CB Alan Zemaitis. Even better: both Poz and Levi Brown plan to return for the 2006 season.
Posted by bill at 10:37 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
A window into the MSM soul: Christianity as boobism
President Bush took a few shots at Brian Williams in this interview but I was more struck by this comment by Williams, to the President:
I know you have a crucifix in your study that's kind of a talisman for you. You're surrounded by symbols of the fact that, as we speak, our men and women are on the battlefield.
Talisman, aye? Err, not quite, Mr. Mainstream.
Let's consider two possible explanations: first Williams misused the word "talisman"; or second that Williams' agrees with the Matt Taibbi definition of "Christianity" (paraphrasing) "superstition, boobism, and living the intellectual life of farm animals" or "the phenomenon of grown men and women believing in devils and witches and angels" or living one's live "in perpetual fear of the devil [rather] than listen to ten minutes of common sense."
Posted by bill at 02:45 PM | Comments (0)
Transit miscreants
In the main New Yorkers don't take the MTA seriously. This year the MTA even earned the distinction of becoming the NY Press' "Best Corrupt Agency":
It's been hard to keep track over the past few years of what they're claiming from one week to the next-they're billions in debt, they need to lay off hundreds of workers, they need to raise fares-but oh! They're going to start computerizing their trains and cutting deals with local developers and-whoops! Turns out they just found a spare $800 million under a bathmat in the employee's lounge!
But no, it doesn't mean they'll be keeping any jobs or rolling back those fare hikes, because they need that money to build a shed. And what second set of books are you referring to? There was never any second set of books! And we need a couple billion more for security improvements, even though we're gonna lay off 1,000 conductors, and, you know, we really should get down to work on that Second Avenue line one of these days and...
Well, you see what we mean. Our hats are off to them, actually. We realize that keeping the city's trains and buses running is an impossibly complex task, but Jesus Christ. Any agency that can operate this way for so long, and only have people complain about it but do nothing else, deserves a little respect.
That's all very funny, but I'll be among the non-amused if much of the MTA ingrates decide to go on an illegal strike. Setting aside the weather, the Christmas season, the kids, doctors, nurses, hourly workers and tourists who'll be stranded, the city-wide economic cost will be staggering. It'll be a devastating hit to the city.
The way I see it, should the strike happen, those 6,600 workers are no longer MTA employees, and one step closer to being the actual criminals so many of them seem to model themselves after. All props to train conductors and nasty, dumbass booth attendants but ultimately you're fungible, aye? If the MTA has any gumption whatsoever, they'll hold strikers to their position, which is that the MTA is not where they want to work. Best of luck, folks, finding jobs requiring you to put down the french fries and add some value to this world.
Posted by bill at 12:02 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
December 12, 2005
Picture page
Bob from Londonderry emails:
"You guys should use more pictures. I like pictures."
Thanks for the exquisite insight, Bob. Here's a picture for you:
Posted by bill at 09:35 PM | Comments (0)
Debating McCain, Part II
Powerline nails the McCain dilemma on the head. He's not quite a "hardcore" Democrat, writes Paul Mirengoff:
McCain wasn't hardcore when he joined the gang of 14, thus effectively sinking the prospects of several outstanding conservative nominees for the court of appeals. Nor, in my view, is he hardcore in the war on terror when he advocates blanket "anti-torture" policies that would limit the government's ability to obtain information from terrorists.
A more honest view of why conservatives might support McCain comes from another operative who says, "the national environment has gone to s—-t and Republicans are going to take a beating in 2006; McCain is the only guy out there with the credibility to maintain Republican control in Washington.” But "the only guy out there" covers a lot of territory. The "only Washington insider" might be a more accurate formulation.
Right on. My own starting point for these things is to look at the left's level of agitation. And while Nathan Newman might despise McCain, let's face it - this doesn't mean much. Then again, where might one find out what the mainstream left thinks of McCain? Where is the mainstream left, anyway? Let's... see...where...did...the...left...go?
Posted by bill at 09:26 PM | Comments (0)
Tookie's done
By the time the east coast wakes up tomorrow, we won't be hearing from this thug. Sorry, Tookie, that's how the Tookie crumbles. Don't cry for him, Los Angeles.
Posted by bill at 05:47 PM | Comments (2)
December 11, 2005
Code Pink: Transform America into a nation of pansies
I've been out of the loop since Thursday night, so this may be old news. Code Pink, a band of very ugly women who happen to hate President Bush, is recommending parents avoid "war toys" this Christmas:
Every holiday season manufactures prey on our children with pro-war propaganda disguised as innocent toys. Don't let your child be a victim of G.I. Joe! As you're out buying holiday gifts, make a point this year to show little ones that war is not game. Set an example for the children in your life and use the opportunity to teach them non-violence.
CP also urges followers to vandalize:
Place "surgeon general-type" warning labels on war toys in the stores. Simple mailing labels that you can print off at home are perfect for this action. Use the samples below or get creative and design your own.
They also provide downloadable .pdfs of labels:
So much to say. But I enjoyed this email on the topic, from a colleague of mine:
I do not buy my son "war toys." I do buy my son real guns and knives. He has a Red Ryder BB gun, a .22 Marlin rifle, a H&R 20 gauge single-shot shotgun, 3 Swiss Army knives, and a Leatherman tool. I think I'm getting him another clip-knife this year. He hasn't shot or stabbed anybody yet.
Posted by bill at 03:52 PM | Comments (0)
December 08, 2005
Iran's Mad Ahmadenijad A Magnet Of Antagonism
Having spurned Russia's nuclear charity, Ahmedenijad is not content with accumulating reactors, either: he proceeds to accumulate reactions. Taking the pariah nation to a new level, Iran's Rreactionary-in-Chief is now chief of Holocaust deniers as well. Or, sorry, "doubter".... Either way, the international embarrassment that Tehran has become and provoked has and is inexorably intensified. Watch world reaction stammer in on the Ha'aretz news ticker.
Posted by James G. Poulos at 02:07 PM | Comments (0)
Comments are back
After a long hiatus, comment posting is back. We ran into some serious problems with spamming, etc. but hope the problem is addressed now that TypeKey registration is required. So yes, you'll have to register in order to post but it's more or less standard practice these days. You also don't have to sign in every time you post a comment; TK lets you stay logged in for, I think, up to two weeks. Any questions, please email me at wlalor at citizen-journal dot net.
UPDATE: Comments are still off as to articles but often the articles will be mentioned in the weblog, so feel free to leave comments here. Also, keep in mind you can only post comments on stuff posted from here forward.
Posted by bill at 11:53 AM | Comments (1)
December 07, 2005
Infamy And Victory
On this still-living day, in 1941, the United States embarked on a path toward the unconditional surrender of those who had brought it war. The clarity of those days is over. It ended, indeed, less than half a decade later with the Korean War. And now, again, we experience the complications of limited war in Iraq, only within a culture that does not believe there is no substitute for victory. No wonder: the definition of victory itself has changed. For good and for ill, winning isn't what it used to be.
Posted by James G. Poulos at 10:38 AM | Comments (2)
December 06, 2005
Alito strategy: I'm not disappointed
For a while I wasn't sure what to make of E.J. Dionne's latest column. He makes the good pointthat for all the conservative chest-pounding over Alito and the big confrontation we wanted, the strategy seems to be a little less bold. But Dionne quotes only a White House statement and Alito's own words in support of his theme that "conservatives" are backing off, which isn't a fair leap. Sure, the WH is playing tactical games - their job, and Alito's, is to secure confirmation. It's thematic of W's approach to shy away from confrontation, and to fall many steps short of real conservatism. That's been disappointing, but if Republicans learned anything from Robert Bork it might be precisely that confrontations with the Senate Judiciary Committee aren't worth the gamble.
Posted by bill at 02:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Russia's No-Go NGOs
It is a classic technique of brickbat negotiation to announce an outrageous and unilateral measure and then allow oneself to be talked down from the precipice by partners whose panic is so complete that a few tiptoes' backpedaling is sufficient to win gasps and adulations of relief.
Though as yet the panicked register but a murmur ("For Liberal Parties, a Win of Sorts in Moscow"), Putin's anti-NGO plan in Russia, staked as it's been as far out on the scale of free society as one can get without dropping into closed society, is on the mannered retreat of staged compromise.
But in an eyebrow-raising parallel action, we learn from the Moscow Times of plans "in the works to set up a Washington-based think tank that would be funded with Russian money and combat the U.S. perception of Russia 'as a bad pupil.'" The Nixon center, contrary to rumor, is not involved in any such project. [Corrected in accordance with Dec. 5 press release.] Regardless, before we being hurling stones across time zones at state-sponsored private-sector advocacy, we should take care not to heft by accident evidence of our own public-private collusive absurdities -- state-enforced digital television...
Posted by James G. Poulos at 12:09 PM | Comments (0)
Media alert
My cousin Kieran Lalor and his self-acknowleged "face for radio" will be on Fox News Channel around 12:45 today, discussing issues raised in his recent NY Post article. Be sure to tune in if you're able.
Posted by bill at 10:55 AM | Comments (0)
December 05, 2005
Considering the BCS
Although ESPN's official take on January's BCS matchups is to puff them up, I don't particularly trust ESPN to report these things objectively. As a Penn State fan I would've liked to see a Penn State/Notre Dame matchup. Most seem to agree. Joe Paterno/Bobby Bowden has its charm, and Notre Dame/OSU will be intriguing (with any luck for the Irish), but the fact is the matchups, all around, pale next what we could've seen had a playoff had been in place (and h/t to my friend Mike from Chicago, who is a ND alum and partisan, for pointing this out):
Week one:
USC v. Miami
Texas v. Georgia
PSU v. ND
OSU v. Oregon
Second week:
USC/Miami v. OSU/Oregon
Texas/Georgia v. ND/PSU
Now that would be intriguing. As it stands, I'm hoping PSU waxes FSU, and that OSU waxes UND (sorry Mike). I just don't think UND belongs in that game.
Posted by bill at 09:41 PM | Comments (0)
Enemy propaganda?
Nope, just Democrats. Their message: You've effed everything up, now come home, you terrorist losers.
Posted by bill at