Monday, August 11. 2008
Massive artillery and air strikes, and maybe a naval blockade. Belmont: Cheney talks tough, but Russia wants regime change in Georgia now that they have taken South Ossetia. It's half-amusing to hear the Russians speak of Georgian attacks on the Russian "peacekeeping forces." Georgians ask: “Why won’t America and Nato help us? If they won’t help us now, why did we help them in Iraq?” Seems to me to be a complicated puzzle composed of South Ossetia's separatism, oil pipelines - "the West's jugular", and geopolitics. Related: Bobby Jindal on Georgia (h/t, Insty). Jindal basically says that Obama doesn't know what he is talking about. And a quote from EU Referendum: Ukraine has plenty to worry about, being the next on the shopping list. After all, former President, now Prime Minister, Putin has always made it clear that he intended to restore the Soviet geopolitical territory and, in particular, he was anxious to take back the two biggest ones that got away: Ukraine and Georgia. Obviously, he meant that, if necessary, it will be done by force.
Swedish Foreign Minister, Carl Bildt, has demanded a very strong response from the European Union. That will be a little hard to achieve with Germany being so dependent on Russian gas and with other West European states being more anxious "to stand up to America" than pay attention to what is going on next door to it. Well may Ukraine and the Balts worry.
And Strategy Page puts the whole mess in perspective.
Sunday, August 10. 2008
 Russia broadens conflict. Russia bombs Tbilisi.
It's not part of the Olympics - it's all about oil - and Russki domination. Belmont Club is on the job. Where's the outrage from the peaceniks? Where are the protests, except from McCain? John at Powerline ripped Obama's reaction, concluding with: It is often said that Obama is not ready to be President, but I don't think this is exactly right. It seems pretty obvious that Obama, given his temperament, his self-regard, his blithe ignorance of history and of the material conditions of life on this planet, will never be ready to be President. He is not unready: he is unsuited for, and inadequate to, the office.
As am I. Good point, John, but you spoke too soon. Obama has already changed his tune. I guess he changed his mind in 24 hours after hearing the reactions of others. He had said everybody should sit down and talk. About what? About Ludacris' talent? When nations and powers have strong interests at stake, they don't mess around. It's rough out there. Too rough for metrosexuals.
 This is your final warning. IowaHawk
Which is worse? An Insty poll. Do you want a "hospitalist" when you get sick? I want my own Doc. Or my Veterinarian. McCain's last frontier. Alaska NYC vs. London More fun with pomo prose: David Thompson Invasion of Georgia was a "3 AM moment. " Also, Is Russia returning to imperialism? Roger. Also, from Rick Moran, A Splendid Little War Mrs. Edwards was part of the cabal. Just like the Clintons. An effort to scare Repub donors. Michelle Do urban congestion taxes do any good? CSM  We're soooooo virtuous. Plus pygmie goats.
Why the poor are often happy. George McGovern wants to save the union secret ballot. Unions hate that secret ballot. Prof B: Hijacking Scholarly Organizations to Advance Left-Liberal Agendas What would FDR think of today's Social Security? LA: The most puritanical city on earth Lieberman on McCain short list Love and sex in Denmark. Dr. Helen From Tammy Bruce: This article was written by a Republican to bolster the McCain campaign. So there's an agenda here, but the points are worth knowing. They will eventually become an important factor in the election. How aware is the public that McCain has raised seven children? Or that he adopted his two oldest sons as small boys (children from his wife's prior marriage)? Or that he has raised a Bangladeshi girl with severe health problems adopted from Mother Theresa's orphanage? Or that his own sons have served in the military, including in Iraq?
Lower photo: Bush with Kerri Walsh. Where do you innocently touch a beautiful girl wearing underwear?
Saturday, August 9. 2008
Obama has Kenyan citizenship. OK. That clinches it. Now I am definitely voting for the guy. After all, we're enlightened and sophisticated internationalists, and it's about time for a Kenyan, right? An insider Chicago Machine pol community activist left-wing Kenyan with special real estate deals from now-indicted Rezko, of course. The kind of Kenyan that wants Crony Capitalism for himself, and Socialism for me. Same as all the limo Dems like Kennedy, who keeps his investments offshore unlike us regular folks who invest normally. Now back to my gardens if I can walk at all after my grueling tennis match in which I served far too many serves, on the most beautiful day of the year. We did win. We do not believe in losing, even if we have to win ugly with backspin drop shots and nasty angles. We could have easily beaten Mr. and Mrs. Obama with our tricksy ball control and our deep topspin slammers that bounce like crazy fiends.
Friday, August 8. 2008
 Peggy Noonan, in Political Cycles:
For the first time the idea began to take hold that John McCain can win this thing. You saw the USA Today-Gallup poll this week, with Mr. McCain gaining six points since late June among those Gallup dubbed likely voters. Mr. McCain took the lead, 49% to 45%.
The new McCain ad contrasts regular folks with Obama's Chardonnay-land. Finally proves he's not gay. The final chapter of the Edwards story. Can't trust the MSM to be honest about Dems. Lefties leap to his defence. Who cares? We always knew he was a phony scumbag. A surprise in Turkey. Good news. The Brits' shame in Basra "Blight" is in the eye of the beholder. Same as pine "barrens." Your barrens are my fine wilderness. Via Tim Blair ...the best way to reduce carbon emissions is to kill as many rich Westerners as possible. Beginning with Al Gore, presumably.
How about reciprocity for concealed carry permits? Enough with our militarized police. I agree. Baha'i Moslems persecuted in Iran Krugman thinks you're stupid Paternalism or fascism? What's the difference? A quote from Anchoress: You remember Bush, right? The guy who goes to Asia and tells China to free her people, while the press jeers, the guy who, while in Asia also meets with Democracy Activists in Burma and gets ignored for it, the guy who drew enormous and supportive crowds in Korea, while the American press yawned?
Sure, you remember Bush! He’s the guy whose life was threatened along with Barack Obama’s but only the threat to Obama was newsworthy for a very long time at CNN. Bush? You mean the creepy moron who will be charged with war crimes and crimes against humanity as soon as congress can figure out how to do that without exposing itself or having to put some of its own members under oath? Yeah, that guy! The guy who does more than just talk about freedom and progress. The guy who has brought real hope and change to people all over the world, and yes, here in America. But you don’t want to hear it. It’s the wrong and inconvenient narrative, the embargoed one.
Why can't we all just get along? Russian tanks invade Georgia. Where's the UN? Where's love, peace and hope? Guess what? For better or worse, the world is not populated with Oregon hippie-dippie moonbats. We do not live in a fairy tale. McCain already has a comment.
A typical Obama supporter asks everybody to leave Barack alone. h/t, Classical Values. Good grief.
 Larrey Anderson visits the Oregon Country Fair, and reports at Am. Thinker.
If these nice folks grew up and quit smoking pot, they might have half a chance to get real.
 "Skinny" is racist. Everybody knows that: it's the phantom subtext.
Beware the Kinder Eggs. If the mechanical monkeys don't kill you, the Kinder Eggs will. Shoreditch Theater finally found. Hillary is playing hardball. As far as I know, that's all she has ever done. No accomplishments I am aware of. Who has done less with their careers: Obama or Hillary? Related: Hillary emerges from the shadows. "Digger" Dowling died. Brave man, great book, wonderful movie. Arctic sea ice won't go away. We're all gonna freeze to death. Funny how CNN edited out half of the story. Good news from Iraq? Then let's focus on Afghanistan instead. Maybe it's a quagmire? I happen to like quagmires: they are good challenges. Random House scared out of their wits by Moslems. Our brave and bold publishers. How come the corporate world doesn't have more assassinations? A big zero? At first, I thought our friend at Moderate Voice was waxing satirical: This Obama view isn’t just a policy, however. It’s a vision of a new way to do things for a new century, a new millenium, a new world economic order. A way that uses the “live” energy of sun, wind, water and the earth itself to replace the long “dead” and buried energy we have depended on for so many years.
I was wrong. He was being serious. Moderate Voice lost me there. I will not drink that "transformative" Kool Aid. I might be young, but I've been around long enough to see through that kind of BS. Honestly, I used that kind of line on girls when I was in college and it only worked on the dumb ones. "America is no longer what it once was"? What the hell is he talking about? We never do Rush, but just this once (h/t, Hot Air): Photo on top: a fairly big burger from In-N-Out
Thursday, August 7. 2008
 Our Dylanologist is back from his European travels. He asked a passer-by in a Paris park to take this photo of him, on right.
America's fastest dying cities. Creative destruction? The Repub protest continues in the House. The cost of PC academic majors. Mankiw The hedgies are hurting. But it's a great time of opportunity for them too: cheap credits and loans that will pay off in a while. What's a "book town"? Rove: What McCain should do now. Good advice. I want my culturally-appropriate health care too. Is Obama's tire gauge like Jimmy Carter's sweater? Related: First presidential campaign plane in history to have all American flags removed. Related: pundits begin to worry about Obama. One quote: The bottom line: liberal pundits — following months of analysis by their conservative counterparts — had figured out that despite the best possible terrain for the Democrats to recapture the White House, the Democrats (with a whole lot of cheerleading from the mainstream media) have chosen a thinly experienced, irresolute, underachieving and obnoxious standard bearer. And his excuse-mongering just makes it all the more irritating. It is not clear what provoked the soul-searching or why reality didn’t dawn on the pundits sooner. After all, they knew all along that he had virtually no experience and that he often sounded bizarrely confident about his nonexistent credentials.
Nice wrapping paper, but is there anything in the box? Also related, via Belmont, Alinsky's Ten Rules for Radicals and how Obama is breaking the rules: RULE 1:”Power is not only what you have, but what the enemy thinks you have.” Power is derived from 2 main sources - money and people. “Have-Nots” must build power from flesh and blood. RULE 2: “Never go outside the expertise of your people.” RULE 3: “Whenever possible, go outside the expertise of the enemy.” RULE 4: “Make the enemy live up to its own book of rules.” RULE 5: “Ridicule is man’s most potent weapon.” RULE 6: “A good tactic is one your people enjoy.” RULE 7: “A tactic that drags on too long becomes a drag.” RULE 8: “Keep the pressure on. Never let up.” RULE 9: “The threat is usually more terrifying than the thing itself.” RULE 10: “If you push a negative hard enough, it will push through and become a positive.”
Wednesday, August 6. 2008
 I have to be down in NYC early tomorrow, so I will leave you dear readers with these excellent links:
The Bush 41 grocery scanner myth Is time an illusion? And what's an illusion anyway? Parody no longer acceptable in academia. It's all so stupid, from supposedly bright people. TigerHawk wants to see this happen. Me too. I hate it when this happens: Cougar comes into house, kills family dog. Can't we all just get along? Parallel lives: Orwell and Waugh. They are two of my favorites. Obama's big donors. But I thought... Related: Jonah Goldberg notes postmodernism on the left Related: The Nation warns Obama about moving to far to the right (!?!?) Russia: "If we had no sexual harassment we would have no children," the judge ruled. Ain't that the truth. Most people can ignore prostate cancer. That's good news. I will. Dogs and cats and Moslems don't mix. It's their loss. Still no recession. Why are people grouchy? Maybe they aren't. The anniversary of Little Boy. Still a moral puzzle. And August 4th was the one good day of the French Revolution Morgan Stanley freezing home equity withdrawals. Ouch. Guns and violent crime in VA Rather amusing: John Edwards with his love child. Yes, it's a dumb story - but what if he were a Repub? Doubling down on dumb. Dino Abuse of the Red Cross symbol in Colombia. They do have a point. On the other hand, all's fair in war... Cops need training in sensitivity to transexuals, or whatever they are. First things first, right? Studying boredom Bill Clinton's plea for African monogamy. Good grief. World's smallest snake discovered, and why snakes can't come any smaller (h/t, YARGB)  Maggots and the National Health Service. And rats in French jails.
From Coyote, one quote: I generally have a bet I make for new light (and heavy) commuter rail systems. I bet that for the amount the system cost to build, every single daily rider could have instead been given a Prius to drive for the same money; and, with the operating losses and/or subsidy the system requires each year, every one of those Prius drivers could be given enough gas to make their daily commute. And still have money left over.
Where have all the Pangolins gone? No wonder I never see them around here. Beware the mechanical monkeys. Robert Samuelson: A tyranny of true believers. But do most people care all that much about public affairs? I doubt it. I was, maybe unfortunately, taught to care. Citizenship and all that. How our culture keeps kids out of the sciences. Does it, really? Maybe it self-selects...for IQ. A great Bush speech, Sept. 20, 2001. Video Toon from Don Singleton
The easy answer, at Moonbattery. By these criteria, you probably are one. I am.
 Happiness inequality in the US. Marginal Rev. Interesting, but still a wacky topic no matter how it is defined.
Best time in a decade to buy your second home. Go for it! You only live once. Childhood innocence is bourgeois? Mediocracy They have been found: Obama's lost years. Why the death of the daily paper is a bad thing. He is correct. Death.com? I think that Monster and Craig's List were two genius uses of these internets. Why not death notices too? Alaska Gov. Palin's polar bear lawsuit A quote from Obama, Shaman by Beran in City Journal: Unlike the English Whigs and the American Founders, the modern liberal regards suffering not as an unavoidable element of life but as an aberration to be corrected by up-to-date political, economic, and hygienic arrangements. Rather than acknowledge the limitations of our condition, the liberal continually contrives panaceas that will enable us to transcend it.
and Machiavelli’s prince was the first intimation of a modern charismatic type, the demiurge who used a demonic virtù to overcome divisive self-seeking in the name of social solidarity. Self-interest led to market capitalism and alienation; civic selflessness led to public-spirited communitarianism and happiness. The “Machiavellian vocabulary,” the historian J. G. A. Pocock argued in The Machiavellian Moment, became the “vehicle of a basically hostile perception of early modern capitalism.” Machiavelli rejected the commercial ethos (predicated on the pursuit of private interest) that the leading Anglo-American statesmen sought to encourage. In doing so, he anticipated modernity’s childish dream of an anodyne world. His communitarian state is the prototype of the workers’ paradises of Marx and Lenin and the Nordic Valhallas of Hitler and Houston Stewart Chamberlain. His influence is evident in both the enlightened despot celebrated by the Continental philosophes and the socialist wizard admired by intellectuals like Edmund Wilson, who hailed Marx as a mix of “Prometheus and Lucifer,” a heroically diabolic figure who could redeem the waste land of modern capitalism...
Photo by BD: I like the high rake of the bow on this 23'(?) center console skiff with a good bow rail by Seaway Boats. I want this.
Tuesday, August 5. 2008
From a stunning post at HuffPo: Dreams from My Father is a staggeringly beautiful book, lyrical, powerful and poetic. It is also the story of a man who has been many men, all named Barack Obama. In his own eyes, he is one race, but also another. He is an American, but also a Kenyan. He is from Hawaii and also the Kansas heartland. He is Harvard elite, then the Chicago streets. At times he decries the very clay from which he was made, only to remake himself again. At each place and stage, as Barack Obama chronicles the chapters of his life, he tells us how he has re-invented himself, becoming the role he inhabits, though not falsely or in-authentically, like Bill Clinton. He actually seems to transform himself, becoming what must be next. He has been called distant, aloof and somewhat unapproachable, perhaps because we cannot approach what he does not have, a solid core. His soul seems to be molten and made up of dreams, which is at once breathtakingly inspiring and forbiddingly indeterminate. When this young man with the flowing, passionate core, when this candidate without the solid-center changes positions and transforms himself as we watch, it leaves Americans much more in doubt about who he is and how he would lead us. It also reveals an Obama of unapproachable arrogance and inestimable self-regard: He appears confident voters will appreciate his superiority regardless of where he journeys or what he becomes to meet his political ambitions. John McCain is a complete and well-formed man. Barack Obama is completing himself. As he moves to fit what he perceives to be a right-of-center country, he distances himself from the simple and authentic passion of a young candidate who once pledged "Change We Can Believe In." This is the trap Barack Obama has made for himself, the one he cannot escape, the one Hillary Clinton foresaw, the one that may doom him. The Obama campaign knows it too. In fear the dream is being lost drop-by-drop, they are going negative on John McCain. Maybe the aliens should ask to meet McCain, as well.
Read the whole thing. The point is that Obama is not a man - he's a boy. He's an Icarus who bought his own hype. Thus his polling is weakening as the realities become clearer. Even the greedy sanctimonious Lefties are upset, even though they think they know he is really one of them. He is exploiting their innocent, childish mentalities. As Environmental Repub says, ...Sen. Barack Obama has proven to be an empty suit in spite of news coverage that would make the Pope blush. The Dem base is suffering from buyers remorse it seems.
Rick Moran considers these ideas at some length. And, as Moderate Voice sadly notes, John McCain has just begun to campaign, and he has some real pros working with him now.
That's a Theo gal, but looky here for the coolest machine ever, with photo. Within ten years, everybody might have their own home energy source. Martian soil is polluted. Obama wants "economic justice." My idea of economic justice is for me to keep my money and the money I inherit. Not that I ever will inherit any, though. On the other hand, perhaps economic justice might permit me to travel like this. Related: Sissy calls Obamamania what it is - another Children's Crusade. Related: Scarecrows and Bogeymen. Related: Is Obama's oil flip-flop too late? Related, a quote from the NYT: "We have to take health care out of the hands of insurance companies, BigPharma and overpaid doctors. We need to set a goal of building a social welfare system similar to the more civilized countries in Europe, like France and Germany."
Is that self-satire, or for real? Related, Hollywood takes on the Left. Related, a plea to closeted California Repubs to come out. Lots of gorillas out there in the jungle. The Royal Navy is sinking junk science. Related: Somebody wants to regulate blog speech about the AGW debate. Unbelievable. On the internets, it's still the Depression. Jihad takes on China. Bad idea. China has no ACLU. Dumped lesbian charges bigamy. Life in the monoculture. Driscoll. Outside the urban monoculture, however, old folks and bikers vote too. Also, old bikers. The messages in Merrill's misfortunes. A reader likes the sound of this new Nikon D90.
Sunday, August 3. 2008
Vegetarian sausages? How subjective is taste? Very. Look at Berlin. It's a mess. African infantryman of the year. Mr. Free Market. Good grief. If Obama loses, it proves America is racist.
Friday, August 1. 2008
 They went to Russia to build socialism.
Dems say they're OK with $10 gas. Hey, John! You can be a celeb too. Moderate Voice Why the growing Gulf dead zone? What if Iraq works out? VDH Monitoring the enemy's broadcasts. No Pasaran Some real numbers on PC in education. h/t, David Thompson
Politics is so complex, isn't it? No joke - apparently Obama promises his kids a puppy if he's elected. It's all about hope, kids. The News Junkie believes that Obama will give him a pony and a new, hopeful outlook on the communal paradise to come.
Definitely water on Mars. And oil on Saturn's moon Titan. Lots of it. Well, it's close to oil. Is it possible that oil is not a fossil fuel?
 Why everybody hates gas prices. Mankiw. Unlike yogurt, you watch the numbers click.
Corporate donations and the law. Bainbridge. I do not want any business I invest in making charitable donations with my money. I can do that myself. But I guess it's a sort of PR. Can Britain survive Multiculturalism? Definitely not. Related: The English flag is deemed unsafe. The American flag is not, happily. Here's a cheap house for ya. Sipp might not like it. The MSM rebels on the dumb Edwards story. Who cares? The guy is a joke. Big-time food fight. The bad guys are on the run. Where to? Hope you don't have any money in Legg-Mason value funds. Fun with Obama Update: Gaffe-o-matic. Also, you only get to play that race card once. Also, Arrogance Watch. Also, inflate those tires! Also, quit insulting my intelligence. Also, the preemptive racist smear. Fun with McCain update: Is he stupid? And Vanderleun's dream ticket: McCain-Clinton! Still can't see the sun in Beijing. The place is a polluted mess. What sort of college education should physicians have? My opinion? Rigorous arts and sciences, like everybody else. Larry Summers was right. But we already knew that. Every worker believes (from Kling): 1. I should have more autonomy.
2. I should be rewarded more for my own ideas that work.
3. I should be penalized less for my own ideas that fail.
4. Competition that is innovative or inexpensive is unfair.
Image: Yes, it's a Theo sailing pin-up
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