HELL LEMURS!!!!!

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Thanks to Amygdala one of the central mysteries of the universe is explained: to wit, why the heck somebody thought that guitar-playing, off-key singing spong-monkeys would be useful in selling (admittedly-tasty) hot submarine sandwiches. God, I really am getting old. I must concentrate on the fact that somebody called these things hell lemurs – which, … Read more

To everybody popping in from Googling crack Pax Romana…

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…the official link to the site’s here. I agree, it does looks highly addictive; I especially like the internal politics version of the game. Very interesting. Moe PS: Favorite Google hit so far: postmodern pirates of the Caribbean. The possibilities are nigh-endless.

Huh?

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Is there a story behind this CNN sign? (Via Yahoo AP Or is it just a random local issue? I’m genuinely curious: I wasn’t aware that the Democrats were having a problem with CNN.

Passing it along, Part II.

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I almost want this to pass without comment. Well, no I don’t: A woman charged with causing a fatal car crash in 1999 says that she couldn’t have been behind the wheel because she was performing a sex act on the driver at the time. . . . . Specyalski claims that Esposito was driving, … Read more

Round on both Ends, and “High” in the Middle

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On the Today Show, this morning, Tim Russert said that if, in the 2000 election, it was “Florida, Florida, Florida,” this time around it’s “Ohio, Ohio, Ohio.” Hailing from the Buckeye state myself (which I’m currently very upset with for its recent DOMA, I must admit), I’m perhaps more aware than most of what’s been … Read more

Credit where it’s due

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I’m a few days late, but let me applaud the Bush administration’s handling of the ongoing crisis in Haiti. It was right not to chose sides in a war with no good guys, right not to save Aristide, right not to deploy troops until the outcome was clear, and right to limit the mission at this time to certain clearly-identified goals. And I’m perfectly sanguine about it all, even if we “kidnapped” Aristide: He was no believer in democracy, and his departure averted a bloodbath.

Now, a personal note: a good friend’s father — an obstetrician* — is currently in Haiti doing good works and visiting his family. A brief thought or prayer on his behalf would be appreciated.

von

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Early night for me…

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…so you’ll have to do without my priceless input in assessing this USA Today article on the UN report purportedly*confirming David Kay’s conclusion that Iraq had no WMDs before its liberation last year. Have fun; it beats talking about Super Tuesday, at least. Moe *I say ‘purportedly’ only because I haven’t read the actual report … Read more

Yeah, it’s over.

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Kerry’s going to be the Democratic candidate. Sure, he lost Vermont* and will probably lose Georgia**, but other than that, it was all him. Edwards is apparently going to bow out gracefully tomorrow; when that happens, the arcane art that is Democratic delegate selection will virtually guarantee Kerry’s elevation to candidate. So, that’s the end … Read more

Hit counter and Syndication info added.

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Finally got around to adding Sitemeter; I’m keen to compare it to what the internal Typepad hitcounter is telling me. Also, upon the request of Jim Henley, here’s a XML syndication feed: http://obsidianwings.blogs.com/obsidian_wings/atom.xml It apparently works, so have fun with it. Otherwise, take this as an open blog technical thread. Opinions on whether I should … Read more

Gay rights and terrorism

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Andrew Sullivan points the way to an almost indescribably idiotic column by Dennis Prager in Town Hall Magazine.

America is engaged in two wars for the survival of its civilization. The war over same-sex marriage and the war against Islamic totalitarianism are actually two fronts in the same war — a war for the preservation of the unique American creation known as Judeo-Christian civilization.

So a radical faction of gay marriage activists have teamed up (perhaps in Vermont-style civil partnerships) to drive jet planes into skyscapers? Perhaps the right thing to do, then, is to declare gays “enemy combatants” and ship them off to Guantanamo.

Believe what you will about gay marriage: Although I generally favor allowing gay marriage, there are plenty of good folks on the other side. Even if there weren’t, though, I’d hardly think it apt to compare them to the 9-11 terrorists. Perhaps Prager has forgotten, but the 9-11 terrorists killed 3000 innocents in a day in pursuit of their cause. How many people have the proponents of gay marriage killed to block the FMA? How serious a threat is the Popular Front for the Red Brigades of al-HomoMarriagistas? Did I miss a memo?*

It is not often that idiocy is married to immorality with such aplomb. I suppose, Dennis Prager, that congratulations are in order.

von

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And three makes a trend.

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I have no idea how the average Iraqi feels about his situation, but Kevin Drum, David Adesnik, and Bird Dog at Tacitus all feel pretty darn good about our progress. Here’s a sentence I thought I’d never write: Drum, Adesnik, and Bird Dog are in agreement on Iraq. All three posted before today’s round of … Read more

The usual half-baked analysis.

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Over at dKos there’s a somewhat pessimistic thread about Democratic chances for Florida this election cycle. I’m not all that interested in discussing that, partially because it’s way too early to say that one state or another is or isn’t in play (shoot, Caesar’s latest map has Florida going blue and the election going to the Democrats), but mostly because I wanted to note something that I would have thought was obvious: to wit, that the only winning strategy is a fifty-state strategy.

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Super Tuesday. Whoop-de-doo.

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Exciting, this is not. As it stands, Edwards is apparently significantly behind just about everywhere, Dean and Clark are out, Sharpton’s a joke and Kuchinich’s… actually, Kuchinich is probably doing pretty good for himself with this Real Presidential Candidate routine, given that his voter demographic probably has the highest percentage of nubile college students. Nice … Read more

Who Are These Slackers?

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So The Pew Internet and American Life Project suggest that the majority of bloggers are somewhat casual about the whole thing. “The impression out there is that a lot of the blog activity is very feverish,” said Lee Rainie, the Pew project’s director. “That’s not the case. For most bloggers, it’s not an all-consuming, all-the-time … Read more

Another Canadian Tortured in Syria

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I’m just passing this along without comment–what is there to say, really?–except to note that the U.S. doesn’t seem to have been involved this time: Yesterday, another Canadian citizen — this one of Iraqi descent — met reporters to tell his story of torture at the hands of the Syrians. And here, too, the information … Read more

A trend?

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Matthew Stinson (righteously) reminded me in comments below that he’s blogging from China, no less. This is his latest China-related entry: he’s a good blogger and posting from a fairly complicated place, so I heartily recommend that you check him out. Err. Assuming that you don’t already. Moe PS: We’re raising the bar after this: … Read more

Tie a broom to your car, Peter…

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…because that was a clean sweep, baby. Moe PS: No tuxedo: bad suit. No haircut; wild mane of hair. No bow tie; carelessly tied real tie. Top shirt button unbuttoned. Something that looked suspiciously like a Trek insignia on one lapel. Thanked everybody from New Zealand to JRR Tolkien in the speeches. Best of all, … Read more

I see a woman in a red scarf…

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A telepathy charge is quickly gaining ground around here and Tacitus.org lately. Every time someone suggests the Bush Administration has some unexpressed motive as the only way to rationalize seemingly contradictory or otherwise inexplicable evidence, Bird Dog starts handing out his coveted Carnak Awards, and Slartibartfast virtually hurls the Tarot Cards from the card table. … Read more

Duelling Reports.

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The AP is reporting that President Aristide has left Haiti. PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti – President Jean-Bertrand Aristide left Haiti on Sunday, bowing to pressure from a rebellion at home and governments abroad, his Cabinet minister and close adviser Leslie Voltaire told The Associated Press. At least three other sources confirmed the information, including diplomats and a … Read more

Instalanchy

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Link to a couple of Tacitus posts and all of a sudden every site referral comes from there. I will therefore take it as a sign for… hmm, a poem seems appropriate, although I canna say why.

Thus, I give you a commemorative poem from my past blogging activity:

Instalanchy
(With apologies to… come on, everybody knows the poem I butchered.)

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Well, it’s official…

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…blogging has become a part of the mainstream. Why do I say that? Easy: because somebody’s written a book telling us how to get rich from this hobby. While the Commissar has demonstrated his ability to succinctly both review the book and give his own, honest-to-Historical-Imperative* way to enrich his readers, I’d just like to … Read more

Travelblogging.

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Well, seeing as all the cool kids over at Tacitus.org are posting from the road* (Tac’s in the Middle East and Mac’s in Prague), I thought that I’d do the same. ‘Course, in my case it’s a bit less glamourous, as I’m posting from my girlfriend‘s grandmother’s house… just outside of Pittsburgh, PA. An added … Read more

Baghdad Journal

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Steve Mumford, an artist I know, has now made at least three trips to Iraq to document the war. He’s very good at mixing with our troops, and more and more he’s getting up close to some serious conflict. He’s also very good at getting Iraqi’s to share their experiences with him. The last time … Read more

When they came for me…

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Andrew Sullivan (who doesn’t have a comments function on his blog) has been posting letters from folks alarmed by the President’s announcement about the FMA. This one from a Republican Lawyer suggests there’s a much larger objective than stopping gay marriage behind it. Pertinent paragraphs: Under the Constitution of the United States there is no … Read more

Somebody Said Somewhere…

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… that it’s a bad thing to blog just to give your readers something to read. I dunno if that’s true or not, but it’s been a busy week for me (had to actually concentrate on work for a change; oh, the horror), so here’s an open thread. If you’re strapped for a comment, I … Read more

Legal meme analysis while you wait.

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Sasha and Eugene Volokh have put up a couple of interesting posts about the limits of Congress’ ability to strip the Supreme Court of jurisdiction in a particular area. Well worth checking out. BTW, ‘interesting’ in this context translates to ‘I understood what the heck they were talking about’. You’ve no doubt noticed that I … Read more

Thanks for sharing.

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I’ve been meaning to blogroll QandO for a bit, now, so I’ll introduce him with this post about Representative Corrine Brown. I’ll be honest: I couldn’t believe at first that any Congressperson could be enough of a fool to say “You all look alike to me” in public, but apparently she did. Brown has since … Read more

Would Castro just die already?

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My first, very partisan response to seeing this: Bush Tightens Rules on Travel to Cuba was “He’s such a whore!” What other voter block is he going to throw a meaningless bone to? Then, I stopped and thought, well, what if he’s right. What if “Fidel Castro government [really] has taken steps to destabilize relations … Read more

An unexpected death – and expected reaction.

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While I agree with John Cole that this article draws an incorrect conclusion from a tragic event – it’s about that poor woman who died of a heart attack while watching Gibson’s new film – I’m actually surprised that John might have expected anything like a different spin on events. I’d normally be unpacking a … Read more

Something for everybody…

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Tbogg and Wonkette are, between the two of them*, collecting campaign slogans: tbogg’s covering the mean-to-Bush ones and Wonkette’s got the mean-to-Kerrys. Here’s your chance to realize your dreams… …well, maybe not, but some of the ones so far are funny. Moe *Yet independently.