Month: December 2003

Holiday Horror Story Thread

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It’s been a quiet day here – which would make sense, given that it’s the Sunday before Christmas and the middle of Hanukkah. Thankfully my Christmas shopping is essentially done and my travels don’t start for a couple of days – but somehow I get the feeling that I’m fairly unique in that regard. So, … Read more

Biscuit?

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I see that John Cole has commented on Kevin Drum’s noticing of a particular line in a Robert Novak article. Kind of cool, huh? – and pretty symbolic of our mutual hobby in general, yes?

Anyway, the sentence:

A footnote: Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz, once thought to be in line for the top job at either State or Defense in the second term, is reported to have lost favor at the White House.

has caused Kevin to speculate about why Wolfowitz would be on the outs, his commenters to chime in – and John to snort derisively over how the rumor that Wolfowitz is being passed over for this job is being spun. Tell you truthful, I’m pretty much with John – for a different reason.

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What The Net Is Good For…

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…Yes, besides porn. Anyhoo, via the getting-attacked-from-both-sides-at-once Marxists over at SIAW, we are given a link to the Museum of Hoaxes, which is an “almost daily weblog about hoaxes, pranks, and practical jokes”. The ones I’ve seen so far have been pretty good, especially the Man Will Never Fly Society, a group of largely ex-military … Read more

The Latest Crack for Gamers?

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Slate’s got an article up asking a burning question: why is there no video game version of the election process? (Via Hellblazer)

All of which leads to a question: The U.S. presidential campaign may be the first true election of the digital age, but it’s still missing one key ingredient. Where is the video-game version of Campaign 2004? Political simulations are practically ubiquitous in the gaming world, but you’re more likely to find a game that will let you stage a Spartacus-style slave revolt than one that will let you win the Iowa caucuses.

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From the “No, Really?” Department…

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… comes this amusing headline: Dean Seeks Halt to Attack Politics.

Now, note that I do not comment one way or the other about how deserved/undeserved these attacks would be; I merely note that as news goes it’s… well, not really news at all, is it? We already knew that Dean was being the subject of political attacks by fellow Democratic nominees: the fact that he objects to this sort of thing is only slightly more surprising than the revelation that most men quite loathe being kicked in the testicles. If he had said, “Bring it on, kiddies: I eat this stuff up! Without ketchup! It makes me grow chest hair and sweat pure sex-appeal!” – well, that would have been news.

Yes, yes, it’s a slow election news weekend. I grok. Still…

Moe

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A Question.

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Does anyone have an opinion about when an update to a post should become its own post? Frex, I wanted to note (via Matt Stinson, who deserves whatever little extra traffic I can throw his way) that Chait’s anti-Dean blog (mentioned here) has spawned an anti-Chait blog in its turn. This is a two day … Read more

(Pointing) Cow.*

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I know that I said that I was going for coffee, but this article from Dave Barry stopped me cold. I shall merely quote the passage that my long-suffering girlfriend quoted when she sent this to me:

“WISCONSIN –Weary National Guard troops continued to battle a rampaging herd of bacteria-enhanced Australian kangaroo cows that have been bounding around this heartland state, soaring over fences with moos of derision and punching their way into grain silos. ‘The worst thing,’ said one Guardsman, ‘is when they get airborne, and suddenly you’re facing a hailstorm of incoming meadow muffins. Although I have to say they don’t smell as bad as the local cows.’ ”

Also in the article… SUVs with machine guns! Somebody’s actually making them! It’ll be just like Car Wars! No, wait, that’s bad.

Anyway, read the whole thing, as He Who Almost No-One Is Neutral About would say.

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Novelty Value Saturday Blogs

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OK, in deference to the author (who apparently liked being a Flappy Bird in the Ecosystem), you can check out Letters of Marque via the Volokh entry that references it. The linked-to post is funny even to non-lawyers; the site likewise, especially the USB Menorah. I’d blogroll, but she’d probably hunt me down and throw … Read more

Do it for Wendell and Cass!

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Non-genius Matt Singer says it better than I can: The American Family Association, an organization I would never let anywhere near my family, has a poll up asking for opinions on gay marriage. They say they’ll submit the results to Congress. It’s an online poll on their own website, so the results are unlikely to … Read more

Peace on earth, good will to gay penguins

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Hanukkah began tonight, it’s less than a week till Christmas, and President Bush sent out his traditional Kwanzaa press release this morning. So in the spirit of the season, rather than tear into this National Review article on gay marriage–as others have done very effectively–I will instead post the heartwarming story of two penguins who … Read more

Continuing on my negotiable affection for blogroll links…

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Pratchett reference. Anyway, via Pejmanesque we see a just-happened report that our old friend and supervillian wannabe Gadhafi is giving up his WMD program, thanks to the efforts of Cowboy Bush and Poodle Blair: WASHINGTON – Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, after secret negotiations with the United States and Britain, agreed to halt his nation’s drive … Read more

Dept of Really, What Harm is There in Trying?

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From the blog Just One Minute we see this USA Today article about Hussein’s capture, which notes in passing that Tim Russert happened to have a dream about said capture the night before it happened (something shrugged off as a coincidence).

The author, who alas does not put his or her name on the site, asks a question:

OK, we all know enough not to take this seriously. But my question is, does Osama bin Laden know enough not to take this seriously?

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At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers

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From CNN, a taste of things to come:

A Chinese court has ordered an online video game company to return hard-won virtual property, including a make-believe stockpile of bio-chemical weapons, to a player whose game account was looted by a hacker.

We’ve (probably) all heard of various virtual castles, equipment, and whatnot that have been auctioned for real dollars on E-bay. This, however, is the first time that I’ve heard of a Court awarding recompense for stolen virtual property. The line between the real and the virtual is getting cloudier. So is the line between the real and the imaginary.

Blogs are part of it. I’m convinced that I know Tacitus, Andrew Sullivan, David Neiwert, Kevin Drum, The Commissar, Charles Johnson, Glenn Reynolds, Paul Cella, Josh Marshall, the folks at Talk Left, the conspirators at Volokh, Misha and his imperial lackies, Jeanne D’Arc, Mr. DuToit, Lt. Smash, Kos, Matt Yglesias, Fafnir (and cohorts The Medium Lobster and Giblets), Ubaid, et al. I have opinions about them. I think that some of them are sharp, witty, and incisive. And I think that some are stupid, dull, and dangerous — and wonder how a few can sleep at night. (You may be surprised who I put into which category.)

At base, though, I’m reacting to a virtual persona that’s being put forth. People are different — more accommodating and friendlier, usually — in person. Words can’t convey the whole. They convey only a part, and only a chosen part at that, and only that chosen part poorly.

But we already know all that, right? Postmodernism, the confluence among technology, life, and the law — it’s all soooo Kool & the Gang (I hear you saying).

A Chinese Court case awarding virtual WMDs to an online gamer, however, is something new. What, I just don’t know. But, in the quiet of my office right now — with the door closed — I remember the conclusion of Salman Rushdie’s short story, “At the Auction of the Ruby Slippers.” All manner of real and imaginary persons, creatures, and things are bidding on the very Ruby Slippers of yore in a Byzantian double-blind auction. Huge sums of money are being exchanged, but no one is sure if the slippers are real, or if they’ll perform as advertised.

Everyone, however, knows the slippers’ promise: They’ll take you home.

von

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VRWC Cognitive Dissonance

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I’m starting to get seriously annoyed at Socialism in an Age of Waiting: I keep waiting for them to start saying something, anything, that I can moderately disagree with. But no, it’s all either serious disagreement (for example, that a Marxist state is both unavoidable and desirable*) or no disagreement at all. They’re sound on the UN, sound on the antiwar movement, sound on Jim Treacher, fer crying out loud (needs to be on the blogroll, that one, if only for this post)… I can see why Michael Totten’s half-wondering whether these guys are part of the VRWC after all.

All of this was necessary to give some context to my guarded agreement that Ann Clwyd’s talents are wasted in her present position, although I am not convinced that Foreign Secretary is the natural next step for her. I don’t agree with all of her beliefs, either – but her and Indict’s work is going to be very useful in Saddam’s war crimes trial, and such largely unsung toil should be given its proper due.

Moe

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Umm…

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OK. I’ve generally kept from making posts involving Howard Dean, as it feels to be somehow the ‘turf’ of the actual Dean supporter onsite and I have absolutely no desire to start a fight with Katherine over her candidate’s election prospects. It looks like we’ll find out the answer to that in November ’04.

With all that in mind, I have to ask myself: whatinhell is Jonathan Chait thinking?

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There’s good, and there’s evil, and there’s evil diguised as good.

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BREAKING NEWS UPDATE: The Ninth Circuit just ruled “that prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base (search) in Cuba should have access to lawyers and the American court system.” The opinion does not appear to be (yet) available online, but the The New York Times reports that the panel held that noncitizen enemy combatants have a Constitutional right to an attorney.

This would be an extremely significant ruling, and will almost certainly go to the Supreme Court. It also fits into the category of a von good thing (# 18 on the list). Also worth noting is that Senior Northern District of Illinois Judge Milton I. Shadur sat on the Ninth Circuit panel and voted in the 2-1 majority. Judge Shadur is a well-respected trial judge, and is not known for his judicial activism.*

Addendum: Via Glenn Renyolds, a link to the opinion. I haven’t read it yet, but Professor Bainbridge thinks the opinion, well, not good. He may be right on the legal merits — I called it a good thing solely on policy grounds. But Prof. Bainbridge’s reference to Justice Jackson’s remark that the Constitution is not a suicide pact is silly hyperbole — particularly coming from someone who hasn’t even read the Ninth Circuit’s opinion yet. C’mon kids: try to refrain from speaking before thinking.

Second Addendum: I’ve now skimmed the opinion, and I’m ready to (tentatively) say that I approve of it. A brief analysis is in the comments, in response to a point made by Clay Ranck. Understand, however, that (a) this is out of my area of practice and (b) I’m reserving the right to change my mind as I let the opinion sink further in.

In other news: Charles Johnson has one of his quote-and-disapprove posts up. He doesn’t explain why he disapproves, except to suggest that the Ninth Circuit is always, categorically wrong. Way to go, Charles! That took some deep thinking.

Professor Bainbridge has kindly responded to my note (above), and acknowledges that his original take on the opinion may have been too hasty. Professor, if you’re still reading, I’d be very interested in your (now) more considered opinion.

von

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Stuff about the ‘Stans…

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Winds of Change has done one of their excellent regional briefings on the Central Asia ‘stans. As some of you may remember, I blogged about Uzbekistan and Georgia last month, so this is of interest to me. The links to what is apparently being called Georgia’s Rose Revolution are well worth perusing, especially the interesting … Read more

9/11 Commission

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Loyal Reader rilkefan in comments below kindly points out to us a news article about Kean’s recent remarks concerning the preventability of 9/11. The chairman isn’t naming names – yet – but he’s certainly gearing up to start a world-class, Grade-A stink over the entire thing, especially with the public testimony scheduled for next year.

Good. Hammer ’em to the walls, Kean. I always liked you as Governor.

Also, I make several predictions:

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Follow up #2

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On a much lighter note, I would like to correct the following omissions to “Red Dawn of a Brighter Age“. Crionna reports that, “It wasn’t until 2010 that it was learned that in 2005’s “Operation Next Of Kin” George Bush snuck away from his ranch and went to New York to find the killers of … Read more

Follow up #1

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The attempt on Musharraf’s life sounds like it came even closer than I realized: The sophisticated bomb — initially estimated to contain 550 pounds of explosives — was believed to include both a remote control and a timing device to trigger it, two intelligence officials told AP. Jamming equipment in Musharraf’s limousine stopped the timer … Read more

Raw Meat.

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One way or the other. Either way, I really do suggest that it not be just ignored out of hand. (Via an amused Balloon Juice. Don’t just ignore that, either.)

Alas, inconvenient fact…

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…defeats another good conspiracy theory: Riverbend’s back online. Not that I actually thought that she was Saddam Hussein, but you have to admit that the timing was interesting. ‘Course, I’m still trying to figure out how somebody whose area has been without power for the last 72 hours could watch a television report about Saddam’s … Read more

Sorta a Note About a Contest

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Well, this started as a note that dKos is having a contest for a new logo. Some of you are – whatever the name is these days for people to the Left of me – and for all I know a couple of you are graphic artists who wouldn’t mind participating. I would’ve been fine … Read more

At the end of a rope, he lets down a tin pail. And you have to toss in fifteen cents and a nail.

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Rilkefan, apparently unsatisfied with our weak efforts at prose, suggests in comments that we add a recommended reading list. For most, the fascinating world of drying paint would be preferable. He asked for it, however. My currently recommended works of fiction are hidden below. A list of nonfiction works will follow in, oh, between two-to-thirty weeks.

Perhaps you (or cobloggers Moe Lane and Katherine) will offer your/their own list(s) . . . .

UPDATE: In comments, Rilkefan notes that he wasn’t refering to “what random books” people may like, but to “books referred to in blogly discussions.” Well, shoot. Maybe we can do that too.

von

p.s. None of these books are exactly new, ya hear?

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I hang my head in shame.

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The comment sections of a particular post here (and 1/3rd of a bottle of white wine) force me to a revelation; I am embarrassed to admit that I do not own any Johnny Cash records. (pause) Now that all y’all’s scorn has been justly visited upon me, what albums should I acquire to remedy this … Read more

Red Dawn of a Brighter Age

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THE DECADE IN REVIEW: Swayze Inspired Troops, Saved America

12/31/09—WASHINGTON, D.C. Senior Defense Department officials agree that the turning point in the War on Terror came in December of 2003, with the capture of Saddam Hussein in “Operation Red Dawn.” The arrest and trial of the former dictator helped sap the morale of Iraqi guerillas. But as important as Hussein’s arrest was in Iraq’s transition to democracy, the real key was the name, which came from a 1984 Patrick Swayze film about young Americans fighting a guerilla war against Soviet invaders.

“It was sort of a joke at first,” said Undersecretary of Operational Nomenclature Stephen O’Connell. “We saw one of the posters in the elevator for the monthly viewing of “Red Dawn” in Secretary Rumsfeld’s rumpus room, and thought, hey, it’s as good a name as any.”

“A month later, when we were tipped off on the sighting of Mullah Omar in Kandahar, we joked that the name might have been a good luck charm, so we decided to call that one ‘Operation Steel Dawn.’ And after that mission’s success, it just sort of took on a life of its own,” O’Connell said.

Al Qaeda leader Abu Yasir was captured in “Operation Road House” in November of 2004. The intelligence gained from his interrogation led troops to bin Laden lieutenant Abu Muzaham in “Operation Point Break” in January 2005. Muzaham, in turn, gave the military the information it needed for “Operation Dirty Dancing“, which led to Osama bin Laden’s arrest in the mountains of Aghanistan that March.

Bin Laden’s capture accompanied a profound change in the Bush administration’s political fortunes. When news of the mission’s success hit the airwaves, Vice President Cheney was on Capitol Hill, answering questions under subpoena about his role in the ’04 Halliburton Scandal. Congressional Democrats had even called for Cheney’s resignation. But those calls quickly ended when President Bush marched into the Senate, and, with a cry of “Nobody puts Baby in a corner!”, carried Cheney on his soldiers to a triumphant joint press conference.

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List O’Links

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Politics is raising my blood pressure too high today, so I give you these non-political links: 1. Kieran Healy of Crooked Timber has not read many good books this year. But I have not read more than him, so I am not smarter. 2. Slate has proof that the code name for the mission to … Read more

Forty-Foot Jesus In Tulsa!

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Actually, that’s just a line from – was it Sam Kinnison? Sounds like the sort of thing that he would have blurted out, rest his soul – anyway, that’s private code around Chez Lane for Moe’s About To Start Babbling. Yup, indeed. And what am I going to babble on about?

Why, the United Nations, of course. Hey, I’m a Right-winger: it was inevitable, no?

(pause)

And, yes, that thing that you thought was a hidden pun… is.

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