Blisk Fack!
Now Playing: glitchy-gloomy
In responding to this satellite photo of an Iranian nuclear site, Duncan Black writes:

Joking aside, I suppose it's necessary that just because I mock the inevitable rhetoric on Iran from the Bush administration and the wingnutosphere doesn't mean that I don't think a nuclear Iran thing would be a less than desirable development.

If you feel you might have to explain to people that you really aren't on the side of Iranian psychopaths ---and then to not even do a good job of it once the burden becomes incumbent--- certain others might have to reconsider whether you are really worth the money.

But Iran Talk has nothing to do with what we're going to about that, Iran Talk is entirely about domestic politics. There's a difference between Talking and Doing, even if words have consequences, and the Iran PR campaign is more about domestic politics than actually doing anything about the problem.

I don't know what this means. Perhaps Black is dismissing the importance of even a strong rhetorical response from the Democrats, knowing that in the War against Islamofascism, his party is built to lose to the vastly more coherent and disciplined pro-war Republicans. There's no way, once the inevitability of a showdown over a nuclearized Iran becomes apparent to the American people, that they are going to turn to the Democratic Party to solve the problem. That's why 2006 will be another hugely disappointing election for the Democrats: because Iran is almost certainly going to dominate the world's focus this year. That's a loser for the party of whistleblowers, leakers, and sympathizers.

But, as for how we got here let's remember that George Bush helped kill whatever reformist movement there was in Iran by referring to Iran as part of the "axis of Evil," thus making it easy to paint any Iranian reformer as "objectively pro-American."

Yes. Just as Reagan erred in calling the Soviet Union the "evil empire." Look at how quickly our country fell apart after that! But this is just nonsense. Saying that Bush the Younger's rhetoric is what's kept the Iranians from advancing reform is to confess one's credulity in the fairness and openness of Iranian politics. Did Black's supposed reformers ever stand a dark horse's chance in the rigged elections last year?

Much as I don't like the Bush administration I'm not actually hoping that France invades to liberate us and I imagine most Iranians feel much the same way.

Right, because the Bush Administration is morally equivalent to the mullahcracy in Iran.

The Bush administrations "isolate no matter what" tough talk certainly gives Iran a lot of incentive to get a nuke as quickly as possible.

This, of course, is where Black lays down the anti-war/anti-Bush rationale to beat all: if Iran goes nuclear, it will be because Bush forced them into it. Does strategic analysis get more fucked up than that? Is it really possible that a grown man would publicly state that he blames the Bush Administration for incentivizing the nuclearization of the Islamofascist regime in Teheran?

And, of course, our great Iraqi adventure has made things like air strikes a wee bit difficult. The people in our new pet democracy/Iranian client state probably won't be too thrilled about that.

Who's talking about airstrikes? Does this mean that Black's given up on the very best of European diplomacy? You know: the anti-American ingrates who have accomplished approximately nothing over the past two years?

So if there is a weapons development site to be taken out our hands are rather more tied on that account than they would have otherwise been.

Other things that tie our hands are a deranged opposition party in this country that has betrayed its own anti-totalitarian past, misinformed liberal Leftists who value hypothetical arguments more than actual moral clarity, and a dysfunctional media that works only to undermine our progress in democratizing former terrorist countries.

I'll admit I worry less about a nuclear Iran than some. State sponsored nuclear terrorism/war would require a completely irrational actor, one even more irrational than North Korea's Dear Leader. Nuclear proliferation is a concern, but state proliferation less than the general wandering nuke issue...

One must wonder why Black is ignoring Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's obvious psychopathy. Not worried that the president of a giant Muslim country is constantly preparing for the final judgement? Not worried about a government that would abide daily eruptions of Jew-hatred not seen since the days of Nazi Germany? I don't trust Duncan Black's judgement. Nor do most Americans trust the judgement of people like him.

Hotlinking Jackasses
Mood:  irritated
I wish certain prickbastards would stop hotlinking to the pictures of hot babes I post here. I stole those pix fair and square ---and now you jackasses are wasting my bandwidth.

Begone!

The Weekly Wish
Mood:  chatty
Charles Johnson links to this report from ABC News which quotes Pakistani military sources as saying that Ayman al-Zawahiri may have been killed in an apparent US airstrike.

The attack took place early this morning Pakistan time in a small village a few miles from the border with Afghanistan.

Villagers described seeing an unmanned plane circling the area for the last few days and then bombs falling in the early morning darkness.

Eighteen people were killed, according to the villagers who said women and children were among the fatalities.

But Pakistani officials tell ABC News that five of those killed were high-level al Qaeda figures, and their bodies are now undergoing forensic tests for positive identification.

I hope that this is this weekend's big story. But I want to see his mangled corpse before I start cheering.

"Selective Amnesia"
Now Playing: this time with feeling
Professor Reynolds directs our attention to this great article in The American Thinker regarding how the New York Times reported on the National Security Agency's massive surveillance program called Echelon back in May of 1999. You know: when things were so much more prosperous, peaceful, and Clintonian.

Today, of course, the NSA's eavesdropping on al-Qaedists and their sympathizers is described by the Times and other such propaganda organs of the anti-war Left to the American public as a sinister, Bill of Rights-destroying plot.

With Bush in office, though, it's ---you know---somehow worse.

I hope we are moving toward a time when all partisans realize that it simply won't do to accuse this President of "crimes" that his predecessor authorized and abided. It will do even less when they recognize that we are in a struggle against a real enemy who must really be stopped. But to pretend that History doesn't apply here is truly an insult to the intelligence of people who deserve better from their news resources.

It's just another casual ---almost imperceptible--- tilt into the mundane truth of these times when technology owns our asses and people we don't even know control the very substance of our knowledge of current events.

True Dat
Now Playing: "Range Life" by Pavement
You know what conservatives understand that liberals don't? They understand that most people are constitutionally indifferent to what liberals assume are the principles that would make a perfect society. Liberals figure that they know best and that "The People" should follow them when they make their bids for power. But most people ---most Americans--- understand that there is no perfect society and there are no invincible soldiers or universal coverage or inviolable rights.

The liberal Left are essentially children who never took a proper ass-whupping.

Joe Biden
Oh, I agree, Joe. It has to be depressing to know that your only role on the judiciary committee is to help Durbin and Kennedy sling shit at a decent man all week long on national television.

But at least you're calling for an up-or-down vote. I'll keep that in mind over the next several days.

Big Slab of Nothin'
Now Playing: black and white teevee
Loudmouth Matthews has got this NSA "whistleblower" on named Russ Tice ---and the guy is so lame that he's forcing Matthews to answer his own rhetorical questions from the perspective of the pro-war Right. Not a natural posture for Interruptor Maximus.

In fact, Tice is so fucking lame that I am almost tempted to believe that he is a plant of some kind. Not a potted plant, but one that shows up on anti-Bush cable news programs and draws out of the audience a renewed understanding of exactly what it is that this President has to do to protect our national security.

Oh, no! Bush might have to spy on young Muslim men from the Middle East? Cry me a river, mofo. And then shut that ass up.

Congratulations
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: "Lady Madonna" by the Beatles
Cox & Forkum have drawn for us the winner of Charles Johnson's 2005 Idiotarian of the Year Award, Cindy Sheehan.

She's a deserving winner, certainly. I voted for her in both rounds.

Congratulations, Mother Sheehan. You are a true embarrassment.

Ted Kennedy Is a Craphound
I've watched about as much of Day Three of the Alito hearings as I can stand, but I can give to you the gist of it: Ted Kennedy is a craphound. Yeah, Hairplug Biden and Dickhead Durbin are utterly wretched in their own miserable little ways, but Kennedy defines what it means to be a craphound.

For starters, Kennedy is a fucking rummy and an intellectual lightweight. He is endured by our political society for the simple reason that he is the sole surviving brother of two martyred Democratic icons. That is to say, he is a United States Senator for the same reason that Edward Windsor is the Duke of Earl or whatever the fuck he is. I'd be ashamed if all my money came from my Nazi-loving election-fixer of a father and all the pieces of ass I'd ever had could be attributed to my family connections. But not Kennedy: he's been cashing in on his name and phoning in all his bullshit for decades. He is not only a living rebuke to Jeffersonian meritocracy, he is the chattering sphincter of unearned privilege itself.

You can be sure that when Ted Kennedy speaks, especially in the context of a judiciary committee hearing, you are only hearing the overwrought words and the worthless thoughts of some staff member he's been trying to nail ever since he hired her. Kennedy represents some perverted segment of the Democratic Party where slurring one's intellectual and moral betters is the only form of entertainment that can still induce a hard-on. It's almost sad.

Kennedy has been a public figure my entire life and, yet, I cannot think of a single instance in which I was proud of him or impressed by him or interested in him as a thinker or a leader. The closest I can come to that sentiment is when I think of his eulogy for his brother Bobby in 1968. But, even there, I can never get past my disgust for him as an overprivileged clown.

When this irresponsible joke tried to condemn Sam Alito today by false associations and irrelevant nonsense, I was reminded again of why I despise him and what he represents. He thinks he's grilling Clarence Thomas again, but he's just roasting his own nuts. We don't need to hear from him again during this confirmation. Just hope he shuts up, fucks off, and casts the least surprising vote against Alito of all his colleagues.

It's as automatic as gravity, baby; as thoughtless as an accident.

Should Be Some Great Arguments with Breyer
Now Playing: new world ordure, mofos
I managed to catch Sam Alito's surprisingly blunt remarks on the issue of whether the Supreme Court of the United States should be guided by the laws and decisions of other countries. So did John Hinderaker. He quotes the New York Times on this morning's hearings:

"I don't think it's appropriate or useful to look to foreign law in interpreting the provisions of our Constitution," Judge Alito said in response to questions from Senator Tom Coburn, Republican of Oklahoma, in the third day of the judge's confirmation hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"I think the Framers would be stunned by the idea that the Bill of Rights is to be interpreted by taking a poll of the countries of the world," Judge Alito said. "The purpose of the Bill of Rights was to give Americans rights that were recognized practically nowhere else in the world at the time. The Framers did not want Americans to have the rights of people in France or the rights of people in Russia or any of the other countries on the continent of Europe at the time; they wanted them to have the rights of Americans."

I love that.

(And be sure to have a look at this C-SPAN video of Antonin Scalia and Steven Breyer discussing this very issue last January. I can't help but to think that Scalia smiled when he heard Alito's response.)

Sour Grapes of Wrath
Now Playing: righteous, dude
I think Goose Gossage is right to be mad about not getting into the Baseball Hall of Fame when Bruce Sutter just did:

Gossage, a former Yankees' fireballer, seems angry that he failed to get into the Hall of Fame despite the fact that he has, among other things, more career saves, victories, and strikeouts (948) than Sutter.

"I just can't believe Sutter got in before me," Gossage added."He deserved it. I was hoping Sutter and I could go in together. ... I don't know if I ever will make it."

"You know what, I never hear from these guys who don't vote for me," Gossage said. "But I'll take on any writer, anywhere, on any show, and I will bury him."

That's righteous. Check out the whole report. Then tell me why great players from my childhood ---like Jim Rice, Andre Dawson, and Steve Garvey--- are still on the outside looking in. It's total crap.

Hydrophobia
With a tip of the hat to the lovely Michelle Malkin, have a look at this story about Senator Ted Kennedy's new children's book. Ha, ha:

NEW YORK - Meet the latest children's author, Sen. Ted Kennedy, and his Portuguese Water Dog, Splash, his co-protagonist in "My Senator and Me: A Dogs-Eye View of Washington, D.C."

Scholastic Inc. will release the book in May.

"I am very excited about the opportunity to create a book for young readers and their families that will deepen their understanding of how our American government works," Kennedy said in a statement Monday issued by Scholastic.

Splash? Kennedy's name for his dog is Splash?

I am a firm believer that the human brain records everything and that what we know is simply a matter of how adept our brains are at recalling it and that the unconscious mind is a constant companion whose influence on our conscious actions is as deep and strong as any current in any other context. Such as the waters off of Chappaquiddick Island.

Doubled Over
Now Playing: "Hell's Bells" by AC/DC
Got my gas bill in the mail today: $80! What the fuck?! That's more than double last month's bill! I can't imagine what I'd be shelling out if I lived up north.

And what's the excuse for the ten-cent rise in gasoline prices the past week or so? Usually, the plutocrats supply the media with a plausible story, but I don't know what it is this time. I guess it's supposed to matter that the Dow Jones hit 11K today, but I doubt it matters much to schlubs who drive for a living. Or to most people who have to simply drive somewhere to make a living. Or to do anything. It's a real pincher, man.

An Excess of Self-Regard
I saw a little bit of Howard Stern on Larry King's show this weekend ---and could not believe how egotistical the sorry bastard is. What a preposterously conceited man!

I dislike Stern. The last time I remember enjoying him was when he would show up on Letterman back in the late 80s. But I won't permit his freakophilic garbage in my home ---no matter how big his guests' tits are or how dishy he can get. Maybe that crap on E! will dry up now that he's moved to Sirius, but in any event, he is incredibly overrated and a real drag on the dignity of the radio culture in America.

Good Stuff
I only saw like five minutes of the Alito hearings today, but they happened to be with Senator John Cornyn of Texas as he read his statement. Cornyn mentioned that he wished the courts were as interested in protecting the right to religious expression as they are in defending the right to sell pornography. Well, I paraphrase, but that was the gist of his closing lines.

I like Cornyn and respect him. And I agree, although I am definitionally an atheist, that it is absurd that our culture will stand for gratuitous sex and violence, but not for voluntary prayer. Oh, people can get all worked up about Janet Jackson's prosthetic nipple, but that was just a media concoction, ready-made for [outrage]. The truth is that our culture is awash in vulgarity ---but, somehow, our moral senses are offended when young Christian men and women choose to express their gratitude to God (a four-letter word, according to Cornyn). There is no question that this is the essence of perversity.

As for Alito, it will be easier for Democrats to vote against him since he will not be the Chief Justice of the United States for the next quarter-century. He will also be more easily opposed because he is more obviously pro-life. But, in the end, Sam Alito will be confirmed and the Democrats can then go on the John Paul Stevens Death Watch.

No. 1
Now Playing: "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" by Queen
Just got back from seeing the UT Tower lit up with the number one. Went down to campus, drove around for a while, parked a block or so off the Drag and went walking around the Mall. There was a big crowd down by the Littlefield Fountain and lots of picture-taking. I didn't take a camera, though. Just soaked it all up. The only news team down there was KVUE's Melissa McGuire and her cameraman. She is a very pretty lady. What a face! It was great to see so many people from so many different walks of life just milling around, being goofy and happy, and taking pride in their local school.

As for Vince Young, I don't blame the young man one bit for going into the draft. I wish him well and look forward to many more years of enjoying his talents ---this time on Sundays.

Principle Applied
In societies where a man can see a woman's face and discern the shape of her body, there must be an evolutionary advantage at work there. This advantage is also derived from desegregated public places, employment, schooling, and business where men and women can interact as normal human beings do: freely and naturally. In such a society, the future generations benefit evolutionarily because love and baby-making are a consequence of chemical attractions and unconscious signals acted upon naturally and intrinsically. Healthy and fertile women in an open society are more able to give birth to healthier babies.

But in societies where women are physically and personally concealed and kept apart from prospective mates, this advantage is short-circuited. Tribalism certainly depends on this attitude towards females ---and that's why there's so much inbreeding in those societies. Maybe this explains the prevalence of mental illness and degeneracy in those peoples where unhealthy mothers are more likely to have the opportunity to give birth to martyrs (i.e., jihadists) than they would in normal societies where their wombs would rightly be left barren.

Soul Satisfying
Mood:  celebratory
Now Playing: i was four months old the last time my alma mater won the national championship
The Tower looks beautiful tonight.

Scotty's Mom
As you've heard by now, Carole Strayhorn is running for the Governorship of Texas as an independent. I guess that must mean that she can no longer be a Republican.

Anyway, Rick Perry's camp is correct in pointing out that Strayhorn is only doing this because she knows she cannot beat the money machine that Perry's going to crank up against his opponents.

But it may also be that she is doing herself and Perry both a favor. Going head to head with him in the primaries would have left both of them pretty bloodied.

Ideally, with Kinky Friedman and Strayhorn running as independents against Perry and whoever the Democratic sap is going to be, we might actually get an interesting race this time. Maybe events will lead to enough of a split to put one of the dark horses in.

As for me, I will not vote in the Republican primary so that I will be eligible to sign the petition to get Friedman's name on the ballot. I encourage my fellow Texans to do the same and preserve the viability of real choice in this state.

No, I'm not kidding.

Hypotheticosis
Now Playing: that goofy-assed bassline in any obnoxious conjunto song playing in the pick-up truck next to me at a light
Don't forget: it's the self-styled "reality-based community" that is more concerned with the hypothetical consequences to the wider application of warrantless searches than they are with the actual consequences of not focusing our intelligence-gathering apparati on those with whom we are at war. You know: the usual "slippery slope" nonsense that is meant to stop us all in our tracks for fear of treading upon Civil Liberties.

Well, whether you wanted to or not, you already signed away your rights to privacy a long time ago. How often must we enumerate the ways in which any normal American citizen is going to be known for his habits and expenses and income by dozens of different financial, governmental, commercial entities? With a few keystrokes, the most important facts of your life can be discovered by anyone anywhere. If you doubt that, you are an idiot.

Most of us don't realize that we are at war because we do not feel it in our everyday lives. But at war we are. And it's a new kind of war with stateless and heedless mass murderers lying in wait. Not just in the Muslim world but in our own cities. If this President instructs his intelligence services to try to catch Mo in the middle of his plots, then we should damn well applaud the decision and shut the hell up about how our Bill of Rights is being trashed.

It cannot be that the potential loss of our civil liberties is more important than preserving the society in which those liberties are enjoyed. I don't care what Benjamin Franklin said about those who would "give up essential liberty": the fact remains that we have entrusted our security to this President. How stupid must (some of us) be to now deny him the tools with which to do the job?