"This was the voice of moderation until 13 Sept, 2025"
Andrew by Andrew I don’t read much of Glenn Greenwald. Not because I have anything against him (or for him), but because by the time he showed up I had already settled into a pretty regular routine of the blogs I read and, as long as I’m deployed, I can’t read BlogSpot blogs because military servers … Read more
by Andrew Inspired by Bob, who has some comments well worth your perusal in an earlier thread. So we’re all dog-faces. We’re all very very different. But, there is one thing we all have in common. We were all stupid enough to enlist in the army. W’re mutants. There’s something wrong with us. Something very … Read more
by Andrew "You can’t handle the truth! Son, we live in a world that has walls. And those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. Who’s gonna do it? You? You, Lt. Weinberg? I have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for Santiago and you curse the Marines. You … Read more
by Andrew Because we haven’t had an open thread in a while, and because I’m currently acting battalion commander and I’m not going to have a lot of time for other activities while that’s the case, and because someone asked, I’ll post a few notes on some of my favorite tunes. I’ll start with the … Read more
by Andrew The rumblings can be heard on K Street. Steely-eyed men who put their money on the line are shifting where that money goes. Yes, Democrats are welcome again on K Street, a very good sign businesses think Congress’s power base will be shifting in November. And if the Democrats are in power, or … Read more
by Andrew [Y]ou may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, pulverize it and wipe it clean of life–but if you desire to defend it, protect it, and keep it for civilization, you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men in … Read more
by Andrew This is depressing. (via Unqualified Offerings) While Americans tend to disagree with the notion that Muslims living in the United States are sympathetic to al-Qaeda, a significant 34% believe they do back al-Qaeda. And fewer than half — 49% — believe U.S. Muslims are loyal to the United States.Almost four in ten, 39%, … Read more
by Andrew "[W]e cannot help him.""Then he will stand alone.""At the end, Captain, we all stand alone." Delenn and Captain Elizabeth Lochley, Babylon 5 How do we determine what we should believe? Part of the reason debates about politics get so heated is that we are often debating the what rather than the how. When … Read more
by Andrew "I didn’t do anything." "I don’t care." Harrison Ford and Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive Since I appear to have struck a nerve with my declaration I don’t particularly like either party, this seems a good opportunity to further stir up the commentariat. Or, perhaps, a chance for me to expand somewhat on … Read more
by Andrew The straw offensive continues apace. In the wake of the news that Scotland Yard successfully broke up a scheme to attack planes flying from the UK to the U.S., Cliff May has this to offer in The Corner: Who is for aggressive and secret initiatives to monitor terrorist groups and suspects, trace their … Read more
by Andrew So Joementum, which wasn’t enough to carry Senator Joe Lieberman to the Democratic nomination in 2004, turns out to not even have enough power to win the Senator his party’s nomination for his Senate seat. Lieberman conceded about 11pm EDT last night, vowing to run as an independent. Personally, I’m always glad when … Read more
by Andrew Having enjoyed a little ‘Leon Time,’ I thought I’d take a look at one of the issues hilzoy raised last week: the vulnerability of the U.S. Army in Iraq to having its supplies cut off. In particular I’ll be looking at Billmon’s Losing an Army and Patrick Lang’s piece on U.S. supply lines … Read more
by Andrew [In which I throw out ideas guaranteed to bring down the wrath of the ObWi comment horde down upon me.] Health care is a growing problem in the United States. Ironically, the problem is a result of health care’s great successes of the 20th century. Life expectancy and quality of life shot upwards … Read more
by Andrew "Ahhh…arrogance and stupidity, all in the same package. How efficient of you." Ambassador Londo Mollari, Babylon 5 So the House leadership decided to pass a reduction of the estate tax and a minimum wage increase all in the same bill, presumably in the hopes they can get something they want in exchange for … Read more
by Andrew Because, as Michael Garibaldi wisely observed, not every conversation has to be life and death, here is my list of my ten favorite movies of all time. I fully expect that such a discussion will be heated and heartfelt…but at least it will be about something that doesn’t really matter. A few notes … Read more
by Andrew And who will have wonWhen the soldiers have gone? From the lebanon Human League, "Lebanon" The purpose of war is to accrue certain benefits to your side. It’s not to kill people or to secure territory, although these activities are normally associated with wars. But wars are not generally started strictly for the … Read more
by Andrew I suppose the administration’s latest request of Congress was to be expected. Alberto Gonzales wants Congress to give American personnel special protection against the War Crimes Act of 1996. It turns out that Congress made it a criminal offense for soldiers to violate the Geneva Conventions, including the potential use of the death … Read more
by Andrew Left-wingers all hate America, want to eliminate personal freedom in order to impose their own egalitarian ideas, drink lattes, are atheists who want to force everyone else to be atheists as well, and are Communist-wanna-bes. Right-wingers all hate gays, want to keep women subservient to men, worship an ignorant and bigoted God, watch … Read more
Just because it gives me a chance to post another B5 reference. Open thread while I attempt to digest everything y’all talked about over the weekend. Ye gods, 300+ comments on Greenwald? Madness, utter madness. Update: I excised a comment that was intended strictly in jest, because it can easily be taken the wrong way. … Read more
by Andrew Open thread, for those who’d like to discuss something other than what we’re offering on sale today. And presumably a much easier quote for this one.
by Andrew Inspired by Liberal Japonicus, I thought I’d take a look at the relative merits of international law intended to create broad guidelines vs. ad hoc coalitions brought together to address specific problems. To be precise, the question is how to best handle issues considered in our national security when working in the international … Read more
by Andrew "I shall represent the Narn Regime to the best of my ability, Ambassador!" "Just don’t give away the home world." Ambassador G’Kar giving negotiating instructions to his aide Ko’Dath, Babylon 5 It seems that Iran has asked the G8 not to refer the question of its nuclear program to the UN Security Council. … Read more
by Andrew Mark me down as in complete agreement with Kevin Drum about signing statements. He notes that the minority in Hamdan cited President Bush’s signing statement to buttress the dissent. For those unfamiliar with them, signing statements are legal documents the President attaches to legislation he signs that outline his interpretation of what he … Read more
by Andrew [Insert obligatory Flock of Seagulls reference here.] I noted the pointer to this RedState thread a few days ago, but withheld comment until I had a little more time to think about it. The basic thesis of the post is given in the post’s title: War Or Capitulation. This thesis rests on one … Read more
Open thread, because you deserve it. Bonus points to anyone who correctly identifies the source of the post title.
by Andrew It seems so futile to even bother writing about this war, given there seems to be little hope of it being resolved in our lifetimes. With what appear to be punitive strikes in the mix of Israel’s attacks on Lebanon, they are likely to stir up desires for revenge among the people of … Read more
by Andrew "Physics tells us that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. They hate us, we hate them, they hate us back. And so, here we are, victims of mathematics!" Ambassador Londo Mollari, Babylon 5 It’s hard not to wonder if that isn’t the problem as Israel continues its war against … Read more
by Andrew Vietnam was popular fodder for movies from the late 1970s to the mid-1980s. War pictures are thought to be good box office material, what with all the shooting and explosions and whatnot, and more highbrow directors could use Vietnam to tell more plot-oriented stories. Of the various films, the only one that really … Read more
by Andrew
One of the first comments to my first post asked whether or not I could elaborate a little on my military background. So I’m responding to that request here. But since I have no idea how significant the interest is in it, I’m keeping it below the fold so you can slip past it if you’re not interested.
I know…Israel’s at war, Iraq’s getting uglier by the day, and the new guy wants to talk about himself. What an ego.
by Andrew It’s nice to see that Congress is finally getting into the game, even if they are several years late. This is how our government is supposed to work, with each branch jealously guarding its turf from encroachments by the others. (I talked about why this doesn’t work a few months ago.) For the … Read more
by Andrew Iraq is an odd situation right now. We’re generally in agreement that the situation isn’t good. But when it comes to what to do next, suggestions on what to do next tend to draw a lot more fire than support. Pulling out runs into several significant obstacles: the Iraqis don’t want us to … Read more
by Andrew How could I entrust a Democratic lawmaker to stand up to al-Qaeda, Iran, North Korea or some other angry extremist, if he or she won’t stand up to Daily Kos? So asks Jim Geraghty in a column about the Connecticut senate race between Senator Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont. The column is actually … Read more
by Andrew First, as should be obvious, I’m the new poster hilzoy mentioned. I’m a Major in the United States Army Reserve. I served ten years on active duty before moving to the reserves, and I’ve been on active duty since January 2003. I’ve been blogging since October 2001 over at andrewolmsted.com, and it’s an … Read more