January 26, 2003
Paper Champions
Congrats to the Buccaneers. Lee Flowers was unavailable for comment.
Some notes:
- The Raiders just sucked up the joint, and they had no chance against the Bucs defense tonight.
34-21 Bucs. What I get for posting that in the third quarter.
- Halftime shows are almost as stupid as having cheerleaders. As my momo always tells them, go do something to make someone want to cheer for you.
- The Ram Tough choking commercial was awful.
- The Willie Nelson H&R; Block commercial was great.
- Raider nation will probably riot tonight.
*** Update **
It is over now. Ugly.
Charles Moose
I have blogged about Moose before, and I think this book/movie deal would be widely popular. Congratulations.
Fiscal Conservatives, My Ass
Instapundit links to this article:
Addressing the delegates more than two years ago at the Republican National Convention, President Bush invoked a line that had become a sort of mantra.
"Big government is not the answer," he said.
Now, just past the midway point of his first term in office, Bush is presiding over the largest, most expensive -- and, some would say, most intrusive -- federal government in history.
The GOP, the responsible adults. Some more snippets:
- In the past five years, while median household income has grown by about 16 percent, the federal government's spending has increased by 45 percent.
- After a four-year period ending in 1997 that saw fairly stable spending management -- Congress' budget authority grew from $509 billion to $511 billion -- a spike began in 1998, when federal spending got an $18 billion boost to $529 billion. Spending in 2003 could top $750 billion.
Why? Because the Republicans held the House from 1994 on, and there was no spending proposed by Clinton that they would approve. basically, that was helpful, despite being petty. The real problem lies with the Senate Republicans, although if they this week had not managed to have 25 party line votes and finally showed some discipline, Kennedy, Byrd, and Daschle would have blown the budget entirely to hell and back, while the Democrat contenders for 2004 would be carping qabout the deficit.
This is a problem- and it has nothing to do with the problem of getting Bush re-elected. The problem is that they are pissing away my our money. I should have just ripped up my voter registration after the Lott affair. These people don't represent me anymore than the Democrats.
*** Update ***
Read Zell Miller in the Opinion Journal.
Superbowl Prediction: Raiders Win
Here is my prediction:
Raiders win, 37-17.
And here is why I am rooting for the Raiders:
Jerry Porter, West Virginia University. An old fling used to live next door to him, so I got to know him, and I spent a number of nights knocking back beers with him at a local bar. I hope he is MVP.
Afghan Attack
Does anyone know anything else about this:
KABUL (Reuters) - Afghan intelligence officers said Sunday they had foiled a plan to launch rocket attacks on the U.S. Embassy, international peacekeepers and Kabul airport at the weekend.
Engineer Amin, head of intelligence for Kabul, told Reuters his men had found 30 BM-21 rockets in the Tara Khail area near Bagrami on the eastern outskirts of Kabul Saturday morning.
He said five were primed to fire while the rest lay ready nearby.
He said a map found at the scene identified three targets -- the U.S. embassy, the headquarters of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) for Kabul and Kabul airport.
All the locations would be within operational range of the BM-21, a rocket designed in the former Soviet Union.
Campaign Politics
MyDD has the goods on a brewing feud between Dean and Kerry:
"Now they're trying to say, "We tried to constrain the president," Dean told reporters in the leadoff primary state. "Nonsense. They all voted to give the president a blank check.''
Kerry better hope his bet on Bush Iraq invasion pans out. His contention that "I believe leaving this man (Saddam Hussein) unfettered with nuclear weapons is unacceptable,'' states as factual, something not even claimed by the Bush warmongers.
Kerry is stating that his views have remained "exactly consistent" from his vote against Bush the elder's multilateral War in Kuwait against Iraq, to supporting Bush the younger's unilateral Invasion of Iraq; and is now giving it further nuance.
Let's put the laughable contention of consistency aside, does anyone see a guiding principle here for Kerry? Dean doesn't.
Let the fun begin. Not haviong to deal with messy primaries is such an advantage for incumbents, but in the Democrats case, a messy primary where they figure out what they stand for is the best thing that can happen to them.
Live from Kuala Lumpur
Don McArthur, aka the Misanthropyst, is blogging live from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, while on vacation.
P.C. Madness
Lawsuit Would Ban Raiders Logo from Super Bowl
(2003-01-24) -- A coalition of one-eyed persons filed a class-action lawsuit today to stop the Oakland Raiders from displaying their logo during Sunday's Super Bowl game.
The plaintiffs allege that the logo -- the head of a man wearing an eye-patch in front of crossed swords under the word 'Raiders'--gives the impression that one-eyed persons are "thugs and criminals."
"We've spent years trying to escape the pirate image," said a spokesman, "And now, millions of people around the world will watch the game on Sunday and come away with one lasting impression: 'Beware of the one-eyed!'"
The Post Gets It
The whole editorial is worthy, but here is an important snippet:
The French and Germans are right about war: It is always terrible, it can have unpredictable results, and democracies can embrace it only as a last resort. Yet their posturing, combined with the waffling of Mr. Blix, has made war more rather than less likely. Saddam Hussein can draw only one message from the current debate: that the Security Council no more has the will to force disarmament on him now than it did in the 1990s. Mr. Blix's report and the European reactions will encourage him to cooperate not more, but less. He might be contained for a while, but in the post-Sept. 11, 2001, world, another failure by the world's powers to enforce Iraqi disarmament would be a disaster even worse than war: It would touch off a rush by rogue states for nuclear weapons. Consequently, the absence of firmness by the council will only force the Bush administration to conclude that it has no choice other than to bypass the United Nations and lead a "coalition of the willing" into Iraq. That coalition likely would include half or more of the members of the NATO alliance; France and Germany, more than the United States, would risk isolation.
One more time now- appeasement and weakness is a recipe for disaster. Go read the rest.
*** Update ***
From the comments, we find this excellent link to the Tocqueville Connection stating that when push comes to shove, the French will be with us.
Stupid Is As Stupid Does
Via Atrios (who found this on TalkLeft), we find the most useless waste of government money this year will be anti-drug ads run during the Superbowl.
Meanwhile, we are spending only 3 million to investigate 9/11.
Priorities, anyone?
Gary Hart
Am I the only one who thinks that right now Gary Hart is the only credible threat to Bush in 2004? Talk amongst yourselves.
They Pay Her?
Q: What do Donald Rumsfeld, military affairs, foreign diplomacy, men, and football have in common?
A: Maureen Dowd doesn't understand any of them.
At least she adds to the Axis of Weasel meme, although inaccurately attributing it to the NY Post.
*** Update ***
Robert Musil comments.
Islam, The Religion of Peace
At the Shariah court of appeals here this morning, the chief judge presiding over the case of Amina Lawal, the peasant woman sentenced to death by stoning for having slept with a man who was not her husband, refused to comment on the guilt or innocence of the defendant before him.
It is "sub juris" — still pending — the judge explained, relying on the Latin he had learned in law school.
But his opinion on the matter of fornication was unambiguous. "The best deterrent is the death sentence, for people to see what happens to a fornicator," said Grand Khadi Aminu Ibrahim Katsina, the judge. "They watch you be stoned to death. They wouldn't want it to happen to them. So it definitely would be a deterrent."
Whether Ms. Lawal will meet such a fate is yet to be decided. Seeking justice, she had come this morning to the grand khadi's courtroom, the highest Islamic court in the land. But justice, as it often is in courts of a more conventional sort, was put off for another day. After less than 10 minutes of legal niceties, the five-man panel of judges adjourned the case for another two months.
For Ms. Lawal, 30 — illiterate, unemployed and rocking Wasila, the 1-year-old product of her adulterous union, in her arms — death was no more near or far.
The verdict, when it does come, holds enormous significance, not for Ms. Lawal alone but for the future of Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation, which is on the verge of tearing apart along Muslim-Christian lines.
Even though Nigeria is technically a secular democracy, Shariah, or Islamic law, has swept through its northern, largely Muslim states over the last three years. It has emerged as a bellwether issue in the elections approaching in April.
Swines. I hope that doesn't upset CAIR.
Seriously- they are stoning to death a woman who was raped, while women in the United States are developing cures for cancer.
January 25, 2003
The Fearsome French
Bigwig has an amusing post on French military history (and yes, pedants, I am sure he is exxagerating some things, simplifying others, and forgetting some things). It is still damn amusing:
You can hardly blame the French. France is example number one when comes to natural selection of a nation's character.
Gallic Wars - Lost. In a war whose ending foreshadows the next 2000 years of French history, France is conquered by of all things, an Italian.
Hundred Years War - Mostly lost, saved at last by female schizophrenic who inadvertently creates The First Rule of French Warfare; "France's armies are victorious only when not led by a Frenchman."
Italian Wars - Lost. France becomes the first and only country to ever lose two wars when fighting Italians.
Wars of Religion - France goes 0-5-4 against the Huguenots
Thirty Years War - France is technically not a participant, but manages to get invaded anyway. Claims a tie on the basis that eventually the other participants started ignoring her.
War of Devolution - Tied. Frenchmen take to wearing red flowerpots as chapeaux.
The Dutch War - Tied
War of the Augsburg League/King William's War/French and Indian War - Lost, but claimed as a tie. Three ties in a row induces deluded Frogophiles the world over to label the period as the height of French military power.
Go read the whole thing.
Auf Wiedersehen
Goodbye, Gerhard, and good riddance.
Support for Germany's ruling Social Democrats dropped to an historic low yesterday in a clear signal to chancellor Gerhard Schröder of popular frustration at the government's broken election promises and perceived drift.
Advertisement
With two important regional elections next month, the German leader had tried to use opposition to war against Iraq at a rally this week to boost his flagging support.
But his ploy, which worked so well in the German elections last September, has failed to impress a public growing impatient for structural changes to revive the economy.
A new opinion poll showed backing for the chancellor's SPD had fallen to 25 per cent - the lowest figure in the 26 years the poll has been conducted.
I looked through the recent Pew survey, and could not find what I was looking for, but I thnk the German opinion of Bush might be higher than it is for Gerhard. Who knows- the question has probably not been asked in that manner, so there is no way to tell. One thing is clear- blatant anti-Americanism pays only when you keep your other promises. When you lie about everything, then you are just screwed. Unless you are French.
The Greatest Female Athlete Ever?
Not since Mildred "Babe" Didrikson Zaharias or Althea Gibson has there been a female this dominant and this talented- in any sport- and her sister, Venus, is just as talented. Plus, they are attractive. Really attractive.
And for you out there carping about her sitting on the flag- lighten up. I was in the military for ten years and I know that this is not how you are supposed to treat the flag, but so what? This was no intentional slight- she isn't burning it like some people, and there is no doubt in my mind she is proud to be an American. This is the face of the meritocracy people claim to want- this is the face of America.
*** Update ***
Before I get 500 emails, I am not implying that anyone who is mad at Serena for sitting on the flag is racist. That is how the left thinks- everything is about race. My point was that this is an innocent flap, a nothing in the big picture of things. I am sure if she knew how much it upset people (yes, I am channeling Serena), she would probably not do it again. My point about meritocracy was that given an equal opportunity- the best succeed- because they are the best. I can't think of a better face to represent the U.S.
Grand Re-Opening
Welcome to the newly re--designed and relocated Balloon Juice. I want to first thank Kathy Kinsley and MommaBear, who spent an ungodly amount of time getting this thing up and running. Kathy handled the transition and the design, while Momma Bear handled the graphics. ABig thanks to Rev. Markle and Rev. Chapin, who set up the server for me.
In other words, I am a bleeding idiot who doesn't know how to put anything together, and I was lucky enough to have these decent people to help me.
If you find a bug or a problem, please note it in the comments below. Also, I intend to re-work the links to the left, and if you are not there and should be or if your link is not working or is outdated, please let me know so I can fix it.
If you use buttons for links, here is one:
Thanks, and Welcome.
Axis of Stupid
Instapundit, Spoons, The Rev. Chapin, and LGF all link to this amazing story:
Earlier there were unexplained incidents at the U.N.'s Baghdad compound when two men -- one carrying three knives, the other a notebook and shouting "Save me!" -- tried to enter the base.
Both men were apprehended and turned over to Iraqi authorities, U.N. officials reported. It was unclear whether the two incidents were related.
On the two incidents, U.N. officials said that one man approached the hotel's security gate with a metal instrument, before Iraqi guards wrestled him to the ground. He was later found to have three knives, the U.N. said.
About 40 minutes later, another Iraqi man stopped a U.N. vehicle outside the headquarters pleading "Save me! Save me!" in Arabic, according to the U.N. The man, apparently unarmed, forced his way into the driver's seat of the stopped vehicle, as an Iraqi guard struggled to pull him out, while an unfazed U.N. inspector watched from the passenger seat.
It gets better. Rather than attempting to find out what is going on, or what may be in the NOTEBOOK, our intrepid Clouseau's allow this to happen:
Appearing agitated and frightened, the young man, with a closely trimmed beard and mustache, sat inside the white U.N.-marked utility vehicle for 10 minutes, AP reported. At first, an inspection team leader sought help from nearby Iraqi soldiers, but the man refused to leave the vehicle as the uniformed men pulled on his sleeve and collar.
"I am unjustly treated!" he shouted.
Then U.N. security men arrived, and they and Iraqi police carried the man by his feet and arms into the fenced compound, journalists said. The man was turned over to Iraqi authorities at a government office adjacent to the compound, U.N. officials said.
Iraqi officials said they had no information on the incidents.
The Instapundit wants to know if the inspectors can be charged with "material breach." I would recommend accessory to murder.
*** Update ***
Go read the idiots at Metafilter.