Oscar Jr. Was Here

Classic IMAO

Frank J. of IMAO has outdone himself this time with the best In My World post yet. Excerpt:

"Yeah, that place." Bush was given the phone. "This is the president! ...yeah, the one of the United States. Nuke Belgium! Nuke it to hell!"

Bush looked out the window, waiting for a big explosion where the crumbled fortress lay, but instead he saw one far off in the distance. "I think you missed it," Bush said into the phone, "No, I don't know what country you nuked, but you better find out who and send them a fruit basket. Belgium is more to the right... no, my right... yeah, I guess you don't know what my right is." Bush looked to Clancy. "Which direction are we flying?"

This one will be difficult to top.

Ouch!

For the Weekly Standard, P.J. O'Rourke reviews HRC's "Living History." Excerpt:

However, it says something unflattering about our era that prominent political figures--who used to write declarations of independence, preambles to constitutions, Gettysburg addresses, and such--now use the alphabet only to make primitive artifacts, like the letter-inscribed tablet that Charlemagne is said to have put under his pillow each night, in the hope he'd wake up literate. Conservatives, including most of the Founding Fathers, have always worried that the price of a democratic system would be a mediocre nation. But George Washington and William F. Buckley Jr. put together could not have foreseen, in their gloomiest moments, the rise of Clinton-style über-mediocrity--with its soaring commonplaces, its pumped trifling, its platinum-grade triviality. The Alpha-dork husband, the super-twerp wife, and the hyper-wonk vice president--together with all their mega-weenie water carriers, such as vicious pit gerbil George Stephanopoulos and Eastern diamondback rattleworm Sidney Blumenthal--spent eight years trying to make America nothing to brag about.

Good stuff.

Blogs around the U.S.A. Update III

Here's another update to the Blogs around the U.S.A. project. Thanks again to Bigwig and Jay Solo for spreading the word and speeding the discovery process. And thanks to all who sent suggestions.

For the recalling-their-governor state, I've added Pathetic Earthlings, Calblog,
California Insider, Molly's Musings, and PrestoPundit.

From the state with the motto "Nil sine Numine" ("Nothing without Providence" -- shouldn't this be Rhode Island's motto?), check out Off in the Tall Weeds (thanks, Bigwig), VodkaPundit and Right We Are!.

Representing the Prairie State are Random Act of Kindness and The Chicago Report.

The state tree of the home of From Behind the Wall of Sleep is the bald cypress.

From the birthplace of the first President Bush blogs the Viking Pundit.

From the current home of Lileks, you can read SCSU Scholars and Shot in the Dark.

In the state the name of which is "based on an Oto Indian word that means 'flat water'" is Regions of Mind.

From the birthplace of Franklin Pierce, check out BogieBlog and Weekend Pundit.

What does "Esse quam videri" mean? You might ask Silflay Hraka, EdCone.com, Tightly Wound, or Trojan Horseshoes. I'd like to know.

Ask Julie Neidlinger if she's ever seen a western meadowlark.

In the state the name of which means "friends" are Beth's Contradictory Brain, The Fire Ant Gazette, InSane Antonio, Jessica's Well, Rachel Lucas, and Rhetoric & Rhythm.

And in the state the very cool motto of which translates to "Thus Always to Tyrants," Jen Speaks.

I hope any reader will pay these fine sites a visit. And, as always, additional suggestions are sought via comment or email.

Weblog News

Thanks in part to kind links from Bigwig and Jay Solo, I've received lots of suggestions for the Blogs around the U.S.A. and Blogs around the World projects.

I haven't had time to look at all the suggested sites yet, but I expect to post a large update to the former and a small update to the latter this weekend. Thanks to everyone who submitted suggestions. As always, more are sought via comment or email.

In addition, Bigwig has an interesting Quantifying the Blogosphere post on average daily reading time for his and various other weblogs. As several readers pointed out in the comments, the Sitemeter statistic used is difficult to interpret.

Why do some of my visitors have visit lengths of 0:00?

That means the visitors are only staying to view a single page and then leaving. The only way that Site Meter knows how long someone is on a site is by the times of each page view. If they only look at a single page and then leave, we don't know how long they looked at the page. If they looked at two pages and left we would know they at least were on the site during the time of the first page view and the second page view. The difference between those two times would be the length of the visit.

Nonetheless, it seems to me that if readers behave consistently across weblogs, the statistic is still interesting. For what it's worth, this site averages 3.15 hours of (measured) reader time per day.

Fast (Food) Thoughts

Frank J. of IMAO is wise beyond his years:

Nothing says freedom like a drawer at work full of unused ketchup and hot sauce packets.

Meanwhile, McDonald's is often blamed for the destruction of rainforests:

How the rainforest is destroyed It's a simple concept really. McDonalds sells beef. Many beef suppliers get their beef from Central and South American countries. These cattle farms are usually placed on rainforest land that had been cut and cleared. The poor soil of the rainforest can only sustain life (grain for the cattle to fed upon) for up to a decade (although the mean is 2 years). The beef suppliers must move their farms every few years and consequently destroy more rainforest. Rarely does the forest regrow, even if replanted (which is even more rare).

On the same subject, Jonah Goldberg has the funniest post of the day:

EAT MEAT: SAVE THE RAINFORESTS [Jonah Goldberg ]

The Brazil[]ian rainforest is being destroyed to make room for rapidly expanding soy farms. Damn those vegans.

From the linked article:

"It's clear that the soy boom is an important element of this in the southern Amazon and if ways are not found to minimize the impact of the inevitable spread of soy farming, it is difficult to see these figures falling in coming years," he said.

Here's the International Vegetarian Union's take:

Hamburger chains frequently get blamed for deforestation in Latin America. This isn't really true, and saying it over and over just makes us look bad, since knowledgable carnivores can just refute it.

The situation is this: in Brazil in particular, but throughout the region, governments, attempting to repay crippling foreign loans, sell/give away land to 'developers' at fire sale prices as long as they do something to 'develop' the land.
The cheapest way to do this is to clear cut and use the land for cattle pasture.

Thus cattle grazing is a main cause of deforestation.
The problems w/going from this to blaming the Whopper are: as the knowledgable meat-eater will tell you, most Latin American cattle have hoof and mouth disease and just waste land for the sake of wasting land because they can't be sold for beef.

As a result, the Amazon is a net beef importer, and second, rainforest land is so poor that it's only suitable for grazing for a few years.
An excellent book on this and other rainforest issues is _The_Fate_of_the_Forest_ by Susana Hecht and Alexander Cockburn.

Other sources indicate that, while South America IS a net importer of cattle (ignoring the huge quantities of processed meat product exported from Argentina and Brazil to the U.S.), central america does export live cattle to the U.S.
These cows are labeled as U.S. when they cross the country line.

Another important aspect to this is that soya cattle feed, grown on rain forest plots, is exported in huge quantities to feed the cattle in other countries.
It is not possible to say that the beef burgers in the U.S. are not directly or indirectly responsible for the destruction of the rain forest.
It is not possible to say that the U.S. imports NO beef from the rain forest.

Even if the cow herself has not been on rain forest land, the food that she has eaten most likely has.

(Emphasis added.)

Weblog Comment Hall of Fame

I don't receive many comments here. To date, there have been 231 comments on 223 posts, testament, no doubt, to the quality of my writing and the general interest in my chosen subject matter.

Later tonight, Tim Blair will bemoan the wretched humourlessness of the leftists who comment on his site. Excerpt:

It’s usually little trouble to locate a counter-stereotype; a black nerd, say, or a spendthrift Scot. A lazy Chinese student. A polite English shop assistant. A charismatic Belgian, a warlike Frenchman, a quiet Italian - they’re all out there.

But can someone please find me a leftist with a [] working sense of humour and direct this unique being to my comment boards? The current lefty voices here are almost parodies of the modern “don’t run with scissors” socialist.

While probably not universally true, it's a phenomenon I've noticed on many other sites.

In response, in a comment tomorrow morning, an apparent non-leftist will type:

There aren't any hard left-wingers with a sense of humor because you can't not take yourself too seriously while laboring under the weight of a towering delusion of moral superiority. This is a rule of nature.

Chuckle. There should be some way to honor the best commenters around the Blogosphere, those that truly add to the weblog-reading experience by sharing their knowledge, perspective and/or humor. As there are weblog awards bestowed (none, to my knowledge, particularly link-worthy), perhaps there should be a Commenter Hall of Fame or Comment Award Ceremony or something.

CGHill and Bigwig are prolific commenters (and bloggers). They are frequently insightful and amusing. And, perhaps unsurprisingly, they were the first to comment on this humble site. Among bloggers, I would nominate both of them.

Perhaps because it receives so many comments, LGF is the source of many of my favorites. Frequent commenter (and now blogger) E. Nough is legendary therein. (Or is it thereon?)

In a single post today, LGF features these two laugh-out-loud comments by Glen Wishard and this one by Iowahawk. Both are fairly representative of their input in general. Frequent commenter Donna V. (at LGF and elsewhere) would also get a nomination from me.

Daily Pundit also receives a large number of enjoyable comments. Of the writers, the first I would nominate is the knowledgeable professor John© (a/k/a John@).

This is by no means a complete list of my favorites, just the first handful of names that came to mind. If any reader is interested enough to submit nominations (no self-nominations here, please), maybe I'll turn this into another Crazy Oscar Jr. Blog-Project.™

There may be a poll involved.

Blogs around the U.S.A. Update II

Here's another update to the Blogs around the U.S.A. project.

For California, I've added L.A. Observed and damnum absque injuria.

For Colorado, check out Walter in Denver.

Here's another Florida weblog, Lines in the Sand.

From Georgia blogs the Grouchy Old Cripple.

Posting from Massachusetts is the The Angry Cyclist.

For occasional news from Minnesota and all-around great blogging, visit the Power Line blog.

In Montana, Davidmsc now finds Better Living Through Blogging.

Here are some more good blogs from Ohio: Interested-Participant, Cincinnati Blog, Queen City Soapbox and Sardonic Views.

Based, I think, in South Carolina is The Wyeth Wire.

Pay a visit to South Dakota Politics.

For Vermont, I've added Alphecca.

Ohio is now tied with Alabama at six entries. I still have no entries for many states and territories, but will be adding blogs as time allows. Suggestions are eagerly sought via email or comment.

In any event, I hope any readers of this humble site will pay these a visit.

Blogs around the World Update VIII

Here's yet another small update to the Blogs around the World project.

A week or so ago, I added the excellent An Unsealed Room, a weblog from Israel, to the post.

Suggested by John of Iberian Notes, I've added The Puerta del Sol Blog, another weblog from, obviously, Spain.

From Italy, I've added Cose Turche, introduced on LGF today.

For Iran, I've added Diaries of a Steppenwolf and View from Iran.

From New Zealand, I've added Kiwi Pundit, KiwiPete and Circling Apollo.

Finally, from Australia, I've added Slattsnews and View from the Right.

I hope any readers will pay a visit to these sites and the others on the ever-growing list. And suggested additions are always sought.

What's Up?

To anyone who noticed, I apologize for the lack of posting the last few days. I've been traveling and haven't had time to read or post.

I'll be back tonight or tomorrow with another medium-sized update to the Blogs around the U.S.A. project and, possibly, a smaller update to the Blogs around the World project.

In any event, thanks for visiting. I hope you'll return.

How to Not Get Published

Armavirumque, the weblog of The New Criterion, has four good examples.

Thanks, too, to the site for linking. I do, however, think it's too early for a donation drive. I'd give it another week.

Jim Henley's post on the debut of Armavirumque is pretty funny, too.

Ledeen on Iran

On NRO, Michael Ledeen writes, once again, on developments in Iran. Excerpt:

On the other side of the barricades, the pro-democracy forces seem to have passed the point of no return. They know that if they stop now, many of them will be subjected to terrible tortures and summary execution. Kamenei and Rafsanjani are not likely to embark on a domestic peace process. Just as they have sensed the rot within the regime, the mullahs are desperately sniffing the air for similar odors from the university areas and the homes and offices of the other leaders of the insurrection.

As usual, President Bush has been letter perfect in his praise for the freedom fighters and his condemnation of the repression in Iran. And the State Department spoke in similar terms through its spokesman, Richard Boucher. It would be good if Secretary Powell and his deputy, Richard Armitage, threw their prestige openly behind democracy (and hence regime change) in the next few days. There has been considerable criticism — which I have joined — of the administration's lack of a formal Iran policy, but it seems that the president himself has clearly formulated it. He should now ensure that the whole choir is chanting from his hymnal.

It's a good, mildly optimistic, read.

A.N.S.W.E.R., The Movie

Via LGF, I see that Protest Warrior infiltrated an International A.N.S.W.E.R. worldwide conference in New York. Watch the video, see the anti-Americanism of these "most important people in America" in action.

They're planning protests on July 4 (in Philadelphia) and September 27 (the anniversary of the second intifada). Don't miss the speaker who calls the U.S. government "terrorist."

"The Stand"

On AMCGLTD, Scott takes a stand, one I fully support. Excerpt:

I say these things to everyone so they may all understand. I am just one man among an ocean of men, a sea of women, living in a country of our own making with our own blood and treasure. I look across half the world and find in a region as old as time itself only one small nation that looks like mine. Unique in that region, its government is of its people, by its people, and for its people, and I am willing to do whatever I can to ensure it does not perish from this earth. True, I am just one man, standing up for what I believe in.

But I do not stand alone.

Very good stuff.

An Ethical Dilemma

Would it be wrong for me to sell short the shares in this weblog?

I could really use the money...

Blogs around the U.S.A. Update

Here's a medium-sized update to the Blogs around the U.S.A. post below. (I'm working on an update of the related Blogs around the World post, but need a break.)

Thanks to Bert for suggesting Florida Blog. Via that site, I also found Florida Politics.

Thanks to James Rummel for suggesting Kevin Holtsberry's A Nickel's Worth of Free Advice for Ohio.

I've added Mr. Rummel's Hell in a Handbasket (for Ohio), Jay Solo's Verbosity (for Massachusetts) and Ravenwolf's Anomaly (for New York) with the hope that they will occasionally post on state and/or local news.

Thanks to Terry Oglesby (of Possumblog) for suggesting, among others, Redneckin, PoliBlog, A Minority of One and Compleat Redneck for Alabama. For the moment, Alabama leads with six entries.

I also added Bill Dennis's The Peoria Pundit.

Thanks to everyone who provided suggestions. More are sought via comment or email. I hope any reader will visit some of these sites.

Update: And Horologium for Washington.

Blogs around the U.S.A.

As a companion project to my Blogs around the World post, I think I'll compile a list of U.S. blogs by state (or territory). Again, I seek reasonable sites that at least occasionally post on state and local news. I'll likely start with the sites on my blogroll, but submissions via comment or email are eagerly sought. And, again, it's a work (just) in progress.

Alabama:
Compleat Redneck
A Minority of One
PoliBlog
Possumblog
Redneckin
War Liberal

Alaska:

American Samoa:

Arizona:
El Gringo
Useful Fools
Zonitics

Arkansas:

California:
Calblog
California Insider
Daily Pundit
damnum absque injuria
e-Claire
L.A. Examiner
L.A. Observed
The Lopsided Poopdeck
Molly's Musings
Pathetic Earthlings
PrestoPundit

Colorado:
Colorado Conservative
Off in the Tall Weeds
ResurrectionSong
Right We Are!
View from a Height
VodkaPundit
Walter in Denver

Connecticut:

D.C.

Delaware:
Sneaking Suspicions

Federated States of Micronesia:

Florida:
Florida Blog
Lines in the Sand
Florida Politics

Georgia:
Grouchy Old Cripple
Gut Rumbles
PhotoDude

Guam:
Latitude 13

Hawaii:
Sgt. Hook

Idaho:

Indiana:
Greeblie Blog 2K3

Iowa
Cornfield Commentary
An Iowa Libertarian

Kansas:
Wichi Dude

Kentucky:
Limestone Make Horse Blood Strong!

llinois:
The Chicago Report
The Peoria Pundit
Random Act of Kindness

Louisiana:
Ei Baa Hashne'
From behind the Wall of Sleep
Timshel

Maine:

Marshall Islands

Maryland:

Massachusetts:
The Angry Cyclist
Jay Solo's Verbosity
Viking Pundit

Michigan:
Occam's Toothbrush

Midway Islands

Minnesota:
Power Line
SCSU Scholars
Shot in the Dark

Mississippi:
The Ole Miss Conservative

Missouri:

Montana:
Better Living Through Blogging
billingsblog
mtpolitics

Nebraska:
Regions of Mind

Nevada:
Notorious B.L.O.G.

New Hampshire
BogieBlog
Weekend Pundit

New Jersey:
Parkway Rest Stop

New Mexico:

New York:
Anomaly
Insignificant Thoughts
A Small Victory
You Big Mouth, You!

North Carolina:
Betsy's Page
EdCone.com
Newmark's Door
Silflay Hraka
Tightly Wound
Trojan Horseshoes

North Dakota:
Julie Neidlinger

Northern Mariana Islands:

Ohio:
The Beagle Express
Cincinnati Blog
Hell in a Handbasket
Interested-Participant
Musings from the Imperial Senate
A Nickel's Worth of Free Advice
Pork Chop Express
Queen City Soapbox
Sardonic Views
Spiced Sass

Oklahoma:
Cam Edwards
Dustbury
Okiedoke
OkiePundit
WylieBlog

Oregon:
Jack Bog's Blog
Just Some Poor Schmuck

Pennsylvania:

Puerto Rico:

Rhode Island:
JimSpot
Rhode Island Web Log

South Carolina:
Backcountry Conservative
The Wyeth Wire

South Dakota:
South Dakota Politics

Tennessee:
HobbsOnline
South Knox Bubba

Texas:
Amish Tech Support
Beth's Contradictory Brain
The Fire Ant Gazette
InSane Antonio
Jessica's Well
Rachel Lucas
Rhetoric & Rhythm

U.S. Virgin Islands:

Utah:

Vermont:
Alphecca

Virginia:
Jen Speaks

Washington:
Horologium
Shark Blog

West Virginia

Wisconsin:
The American Mind
Boots and Sabers

Wyoming:
A Coyote at the Dog Show

Happy reading.

21 Months Later

On OpinionJournal, Peggy Noonan writes on the changes wrought by 9/11 from the perspective of of the present. She also finds some things that have not changed:

New Yorkers themselves have returned to fighting with each other. There's been plenty to fight over, from the new taxes to the mayor's new antismoking laws, which are not so much a policy as a non sequitur--New York is in crisis, let's ban smoking! And there is the declaration of the organizations of World Trade Center families-of-victims that there should not be a statue of the firemen at the WTC memorial site. Three hundred forty-three of them died that day, but to commemorate their sacrifice would be "hierarchical." They want it clear that no one was better than anyone else, that all alike were helpless, victims.

But that is not true; it is the opposite of the truth. The men and women
working in the towers were there that morning, and died. The firemen and
rescue workers--they weren't there, they went there. They didn't run from
the fire, they ran into the fire. They didn't run down the staircase, they
ran up the staircase. They didn't lose their lives, they gave them.

This is an important disagreement, because memorials teach. They teach the
young what we, as a society, celebrate, hold high, honor. A statue of a man
is an assertion: It asserts that his behavior is worthy of emulation. To
leave a heroic statue of the firemen out of a WTC memorial would be as
dishonest as it would be ungenerous, and would yield a memorial that is
primarily about victimization. Which is not what that day was about, as so
much subsequent history attests.

But go tell some New Yorkers. They're all arguing. September 11 didn't
change everything.

I wasn't aware of this debate.

A Plea for Iran

On NRO, Pooya Dayanim issues a Ledeenian plea for active Bush administration support for freedom in Iran. Excerpt:

If we are worried about a nuclear Islamic Republic; if we are worried about Iran becoming the new operations base for al Qaeda; if we are worried about terrorist groups destroying any chance of peace in the Middle East; if we are gong to have American justice for the brave soldiers who died in the Khobbar towers; if we truly want to get rid of this evil regime and have the Iranian people enjoy a life free of tyranny, then the time to act is now.

In Frank's World

Today, Frank J. publishes a Rumsfeld "press conference." Excerpt:

"I have a question about finding WMD's in Iraq," said a reporter as he stepped forward while cautiously eyeing Chomps.

"Let's me you save you your breath," Rumsfeld answered, "I don't give a
rat's ass."

"But people are concerned that this war was done for false reasons."

"What people? Bad people are dead, people are free from tyranny. No
American would be concerned about the reasons for attacking. Sounds
to me more like something Europeans would be worried about." Rumsfeld
grinded his teeth. "I hate Europeans!"

As usual, it's good stuff.

Blog Names

The Moxie war continues.

I hope this guy doesn't accuse me of trademark dilution.

Can't we all just get along?

Then again, this ninth grader could be a real threat to me.

Bush Doctrine Exception

On NRO, Mark R. Levin discusses the Bush Doctrine in the War on Terror and it's apparent exception as applied to Israel. Excerpts:

When George W. Bush is good, he's very good. But when he's bad, he's very bad.

He's good on taxes, and bad on spending. He's good on judges, and bad on campaign-finance reform. He's a good wartime president, and a bad ally of Israel.

Yes, I said a bad ally of Israel.

and

As long as Israel remains the exception to the Bush Doctrine, the doctrine cannot succeed. And if the Bush Doctrine fails, terrorism cannot be defeated.

I think he's correct.

Update: Via David Frum, an explanation for the apparent "exception."

Ward Cleaver Moments

Lileks discusses The Line. Excerpt:

I’m your basic Democracy! Whiskey! Sexy! kind of guy. I curse. I’m about as prudish as a Medici pope. I’m a bad Lutheran. But: I know that there’s the private sphere of adults, and the public sphere of everyone, and stone me if you must but I think a certain amount of vestigial modesty and - gasp - hypocrisy should inform the latter. Even if it doesn’t prevail, it ought to be part of the argument, and not in the passing sense of noting how sophisticated we are that we can honor our hypocricies and ignore them simultaneously. I have a daughter, and I want her to keep a certain sense of innocence as long as possible. Let the world reveal itself gradually, over time. At this point I’m not asking that the culture make my job easier. I’m just asking it not to make my job harder.

Armavirumque

Armavirumque, The New Criterion's weblog, is now active.

On Colonialism

On OpinionJournal, read a very interesting essay by "Theodore Dalrymple" on colonialism and post-colonialism in Africa, After Empire (originally published in City Journal). Short excerpt from a long essay:

The young black doctors who earned the same salary as we whites could not achieve the same standard of living for a very simple reason: They had an immense number of social obligations to fulfill. They were expected to provide for an ever expanding circle of family members (some of whom may have invested in their education) and people from their village, tribe and province. An income that allowed a white to live like a lord because of a lack of such obligations scarcely raised a black above the level of his family. Mere equality of salary, therefore, was quite insufficient to procure for them the standard of living that they saw the whites had and that it was only human nature for them to desire--and believe themselves entitled to, on account of the superior talent that had allowed them to raise themselves above their fellows. In fact, a salary a thousand times as great would hardly have been sufficient to procure it: for their social obligations increased pari passu with their incomes.

More Blog Moves

In the ongoing effort to keep my blogroll up-to-date, I see that three sites on the Circle of Reciprocity have moved today:

Zombyboy's Resurrection Song blog is now here.

Jay Solo's Verbosity blog is now here. The link currently returns to his BlogSpot site, but I expect it won't for long.

And James Rummel's Hell in a Handbasket blog is now here.

The first and third of these moves are courtesy of Dean Esmay's Blogspot Jihad. Jay's move appears to be, perhaps naturally, a solo one.

Blogs around the World Update VII

Here's another small update to the Blogs around the World post. I've added four new links:

From the Philippines: The Belmont Club

From Iraq: G. in Baghdad (via Instapundit.)

From the United Kingdom: Conservative Commentary
and Airstrip One

As always, suggested additions are sought.

Blogs around the World Update VI

At last, the long-awaited (at least by me) update to the Blogs around the World post. I've added 21 new links (alas, not all of those included in the lost post).

Suggested by Aleks of All About Latvia:

From Iran (via Canada): Editor: Myself (English)

From Japan: hmmn: musings from the far east(erwood)

From Japan: Tawawa.org

From South Korea: Emptybottle

From France: The Radical

Suggested by John Olson:

From Nigeria: The Olson Five

Via Farrago:

From Senegal: An American in Dakar

From Albania: Electronic Democracy

From this handy site:

From Antarctica: 70 South

From Africa: African Imagery

From Botswana: Nathan's African Adventure

Other new additions:

From Europe: Cinderella Bloggerfeller

From the United Kingdom: The Lincoln PLAWG

From Belgium: Fainting in Coyles

From Lebanon: Skout

From Ecuador: Newley.com

From the United Arab Emirates: Desert Dame

From the Philippines: Philippine Commentary

From China: China Hand

From Sweden: Stefan Geens

I hope any readers will visit these sites (and the others on the list). I've found doing so a great way of gaining perspective and getting news.

And, as always, suggested additions are sought.

The Old Game Is Up

On NRO, Victor Davis Hanson discusses the geopolitical changes triggered by September 11 and the election of President Bush. Excerpt:

Unfortunately, two strange events transpired that should not have, undoing all the old rules. On September 11, 2001, 3,000 Americans were murdered en masse at a time of peace — in our planes, in our most iconic buildings, and at the center of American military power. And worse still for terrorists, faux-allies, and triangulators, our president was a Texan inexperienced with the game's nuances — not a liberal Democrat who wanted to be liked abroad or a seasoned Republican congressional alumnus who wanted to preserve the old rules. Stranger still, President Bush surrounded himself with a different kind of person — the kind who, in a crisis, offers one reason why we should act, rather than 1,000 excuses why we should not.

And so, all bets are off. Bases, alliances, institutions, friendships, immigration policy, easily duped Americans — nothing can be taken for granted anymore.

The board has been abruptly wiped clean. The game's up.

Return to Normalcy

Ahhhhh. Now, I'm really back. The broadband connection is installed and seems to be working. Normal posting should resume tomorrow.

May was quite a month: five interstate trips, the brother's wedding, apartment hunting, the move from Manhattan... I'm hoping for a quieter June.

Thanks for visiting!

Daily Local News Scandal

Ken Layne admits to making up the "Daily Local News."

(Do read his fiction, though).

I expect the rabid-dog conservatives to add this non-scandal to the increasingly insane list of evidence against me and my tenure here at KenLayne.com.

I guess I might as well subscribe to the New York Times now.

Nah, I'll place my trust with ScrappleFace. As far as I know, he's neither admitted, nor been caught in, any "dishonesty" to date.

Oscar Jr. Gets Results!

In response to my post on International ANSWER "Coalition Co-Signer" Ian Harvey, Fun with Google: A Teacher with A.N.S.W.E.R., I received the following comment:

i'm not a marxist-leninist anymore.

ian harvey
naples, fl

Oscar Jr. gets results! (Okay, I'm sure it's just a coincidence.)

Seriously, though, that's good to hear. If you stop by my humble site again, Mr. Harvey (and I hope you will), I'm curious to know if you're still a supporter of International A.N.S.W.E.R.

Frankly, He's Funny

It's IMAO-proprietor Frank J.'s birthday today, and he's seeking comments of praise. Comment away!

I've already said that I think he is the funniest blogger, and I'll leave it at that.

Also, he's got a new In My World post up, so you'll want to visit anyway.

"When will it all end? Never."

Paul Johnson has a great essay in the current (June 9, 2003) issue of Forbes, "The U.S., Not the UN, Speaks for Humanity." Excerpt:

The U.S. is the nearest thing to a microcosm of world society, with every people represented in its vast democracy. This is why I regard anti-Americanism as racism; it, in effect, amounts to a hatred of humanity itself. No nation has more right to speak, and act, on behalf of the human race than the U.S. Its armed forces are, by their very nature, multiracial. They are as diverse in origin as a UN force but have none of the baggage of natural antagonisms that makes the UN so feeble and corrupt. And the American military has the huge advantage of working under a single directive.

What is not yet clear, however, is whether the American people are ready to take on this global task, which will certainly be arduous and more than likely unpopular. The debate must begin so that America's national will can emerge.

Recommended reading.

More News from Iraq

The Pollock article I linked below was optimistic regarding Iraq. Today, Mark Steyn practically recommends vacationing there (via InstaPundit). The Steyn article is a must-read, containing too much to excerpt.

Speaking of the InstaFeller, Mr. Reynolds posts an uncharacteristically long (and characteristically thoughtful) post-war post-mortem (a post-wartem?). It's all good.

Oscar Jr. News

Well, it's taken me a bit longer than planned to return to posting at a "normal" rate. In the new city, I'm stuck with a dial-up connection for a week or so. Thus, things may remain a little slow.

I had an extensive update of the Blogs around the World post (more than 20 new links) prepared, but a careless click o' the mouse killed it. It will probably take me a few days to reconstruct.

An adult beverage is demanded. Back soon.