A short recon of what’s out there that might draw your attention, updated throughout the day...so check back often.
On the Web:
The Belmont Club: Pakistan — it’s not Iraq - When faced with a particularly hard problem it is sometimes easier to imagine a solution and work your way backwards, traveling the goal back to the starting point. Imagine that that the US wanted to mount a “Surge” in the Afghanistan/Pakistan theater, who would the Surge be built around? If walking the cat back from that solution sounds too hard; let’s try something easier. Imagine that the US expanded the war in Afghanistan to include Pakistan — who would be there to greet US troops in the same way they were greeted upon entering Baghdad — who would our allies be? Maybe the problem begins with terminology itself. Christopher Hitchens notes that “The very name Pakistan inscribes the nature of the problem. It is not a real country or nation but an acronym devised in the 1930s by a Muslim propagandist for partition named Chaudhary Rahmat Ali. It stands for Punjab, Afghania, Kashmir, and Indus-Sind. The stan suffix merely means ‘land.’” (READ MORE)
John Hawkins: The National Organization For Women Endorses... - A simple question: is the National Organization of Women, which claims to represent all women, more interested in pushing liberalism or in advances for all women? I think this definitively answers that question in exactly the way you'd expect it to be answered, “According to NPR, NOW is endorsing Obama today because the organization believes that American women should not be deceived by the addition of Sarah Palin to the Republican ticket. Senator Obama, they argue, is promoting policies and positions that support a woman's right to bodily integrity and bolster the success of working-class women who deserve a government that is responsive to their concerns.” Whether you're talking about NOW, the NAACP, or all the liberal Jewish, Christian, and Hispanic groups out there, you should never forget that they exist to promote liberalism and anything they do for the group they're supposed to be representing is largely incidental. (READ MORE)
Van Helsing: Politics Over Strategy and the Welfare of Our Troops - Since Obama has no experience that it's safe for him to share with us, we're asked to vote for him based on the hope that he will show good judgment. This hope is unfounded. How's this for judgment from a potential commander in chief: “While campaigning in public for a speedy withdrawal of US troops from Iraq, Sen. Barack Obama has tried in private to persuade Iraqi leaders to delay an agreement on a draw-down of the American military presence. According to Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Obama made his demand for delay a key theme of his discussions with Iraqi leaders in Baghdad in July.” Now why would he want to delay a resolution to this supposedly unjust and illegal war? Doesn't he realize American troops are in harm's way? Sure he does. But the important thing isn't how many Americans get killed, any more that it is the strategic interests of the USA or the future of Iraq. What matters is that The One can tell his worshipers that he brought the troops home. (READ MORE)
The Tygrrrr Express: My Interview With Armstrong Williams - At the 2008 Republican Convention in Minnesota, I interviewed radio personality Armstrong Williams. Some would describe Armstrong Williams as a black conservative, but that is not how the Republican Party works. He is a conservative that happens to be black. He is fun, brash, and most importantly, right. I became a fan of his 15 years ago when he was debating Bob Beckel on the CNN show Crossfire. They were arguing about affirmative action, and Beckel seemed stunned when Armstrong said, “I don’t need your help. I’m not inferior. My kids will beat your kids fair and square. We don’t need your help.” (READ MORE)
Harmless Beyond a Reasonable Doubt: What? Media Agenda? No? Really? - I will probably get really sick of the Presidential election before it’s finally over. Well, maybe. For some reason being able to rant about it on this blog has helped me stay interested. But I will tell you that like many others, I’m already heartily sick of the perfidy of the media. I’ve not trusted the media for some time, that lack of trust was why I started reading blogs in the first place. I wanted to know what was really happening in the war zone, so I looked for information from people who were really there. I know that a lot of blogs are just like mine, and reflect their writer’s opinions; not first-person facts. But we all know that. The problem with the established media is that they pass off their opinions as fact (or allow their opinion to skew their objectivity) without the intellectual honesty to disclose their agenda or biases. (READ MORE)
Byron York: On Sex-Ed Ad, McCain Is Right - In recent days, a consensus has developed among the Obama campaign and commentators in the press that John McCain has decided to lie his way to the White House. Exhibit A in this new consensus is McCain’s ad, released last week, claiming that Barack Obama’s “one accomplishment” in the field of education was “legislation to teach ‘comprehensive sex education’ to kindergartners.” Within moments of the ad’s appearance, the Obama campaign called it “shameful and downright perverse.” The legislation in question, a bill in the Illinois State Senate that was supported but not sponsored by Obama, was, according to Obama campaign spokesman Bill Burton, “written to protect young children from sexual predators” and had nothing to do with comprehensive sex education for kindergartners. In a stinging final shot, Burton added, “Last week, John McCain told Time magazine he couldn’t define what honor was. Now we know why.” (READ MORE)
This Ain't Hell: Racism, Radicalism, Religion and Sheffield, Massachusetts - For a history department chair, this woman ain’t so bright. Roughly as bright as a black hole and as sharp as a nerf basketball, I refer, of course, to Catherine McNicol Stock. Ms Malkin brought to my attention this execrable opinion piece by the Connecticut College History Department Chair. It starts out well enough: “Despite her efforts to portray herself as an average, small-town, ‘folksy’ American, Sarah Palin’s political views - ardently pro-gun, pro-censorship, antichoice and antigay - make John McCain’s conservative credentials pale in comparison. What few observers have said, however, is these beliefs are not just extreme - they are radical, and even bear a comparison with some of the most notorious ‘rural radicals’ of our time.” She’s ardently pro-gun, joining the vast majority of Americans who live outside the enclave of upper crust New Haven intellectualism. She’s pro-censorship but never banned any books. (READ MORE)
Bill Jempty: The Knucklehead of the Day award - Today's winner is Dr. Wendy Doniger, a professor of History of Religions at the University of Chicago. She gets the award for writing the following about Sarah Palin at the Washington Post website- “Her greatest hypocrisy is in her pretense that she is a woman. The Republican party's cynical calculation that because she has a womb and makes lots and lots of babies (and drives them to school! wow!) she speaks for the women of America, and will capture their hearts and their votes, has driven thousands of real women to take to their computers in outrage. She does not speak for women; she has no sympathy for the problems of other women, particularly working class women.” What a load of misogynistic bullcrap. Read that first sentence, Palin is a hypocrite for being a woman. Are the billions of women on this planet the same, or just the ones who hold the same views of Dr. Doniger. Jay wrote a excellent post here on this very topic. If you haven't read it all already, I suggest you go back and do so. I'll quote just a little bit of what Jay had to say. (READ MORE)
Jay Tea: The Voice Of Ignorance - When it comes to economics, I am woefully ignorant, both on a macro and a micro scale. I make no pretenses to even be an amateur scholar of such things, and all anyone has to do to prove me an ignoramus is to look at my bank account, tax returns, and credit rating. But I do remember some things, and can occasionally piece them together. I have no grand unified theory that explains the collapse of the subprime mortgage industry, no overarching explanation for the events that led to the collapses that have shaken Wall Street to its very core this week (if that is what happened -- I'm not even up enough to know how much of the hysteria is hype), but I do recall certain things that seemed to me, at the time, bad ideas that would lead to major problems. (READ MORE)
Eugene Volokh: A Brief Note on Symbolic Expression During the Framing Era - Before I get to my specifically legal argument about symbolic expression and the original meaning of the First Amendment, I wanted to say a bit about the kinds of symbolic expression that were commonplace in England and especially America of that time. Of course, the common nature of such symbolic expression doesn’t by itself prove that such expression is constitutionally protected; but it helps show why the evidence that I have come up with makes sense in light of the Framing era’s actual practice of using symbolic expression interchangeably with words. Plus some of the items are quite a bit of fun. To begin with, one of the leading English holidays, Guy Fawkes Day (called Pope Day in the colonies), revolved around processions and burning effigies. (READ MORE)
The Sundries Shack: The Latest Palin Outrage is a Doozy! - Oh my dear, merciful Heaven! What sort of maniac would do this? Sarah Palin brought one unusual accessory to the Alaska Governor’s mansion after moving in last year: A tanning bed. Umm…okay. And? Did I suddenly have a stroke and wake up in a world where owning a tanning bed is a mortal political sin? Is Sarah Palin doomed to walk the earth in paleness considering that she lives in a state not exactly known for its abundant sunshine? Where’s the transgression here? She paid for it with her own money, so it’s not like she bilked the taxpayers out of a couple thousand dollars. Maybe the real story that the Politico forgot to mention is how she got a sweetheart deal for that tanning bed from one of her well-connected friends at Costco. I mean, it’s not like she bought a house from an influence-peddling money man who ended up in jail for his felonious activities or anything. (READ MORE)
Right Wing Nut House: OBAMA THROWS ‘HOPE AND CHANGE’ UNDER THE BUS - It had to happen sooner or later. Once the emptiness of Obama’s “Hope and Change” campaign was realized by the voters, the Democratic candidate for president had precious little substance to fall back on. Political attacks only resonate if the voter perceives a kernel of truth in them. And the way John McCain has been pounding away at Obama’s non-existent plans for what exactly he would like to accomplish as president, it was bound to have an effect on the polls. It has. Abandoning all pretense of being a candidate who can unite the country by reaching across the aisle to Republicans and reforming Washington, Obama has dramatically shifted his campaign rhetoric to the Bill Clinton strategy of telling voters “I feel your pain:” (READ MORE)
Reverse Spin: NY Times sets Alaskans straight - One of the great advantages John McCain has in the presidential race is that his enemies—Democrats and the liberal press—have no idea how much they are helping him. In its desperation to destroy Sarah Palin before she takes hold as a feminist busting role model, the New York Times today runs a lengthy front page profile on her that barely is more journalistically sound than an extended comment on a liberal blog. Titled, “Once elected, Palin hired friends and lashed foes,” the story is one that could be written on exactly every major public official. All it takes is to find a few critics, shake the words around and voila—another serious piece of journalism from the world’s greatest newspaper. This one took a little more work from the Times because Palin has fewer enemies than most. (READ MORE)
McQ: Rangel should step down ... - On Nov. 14, 2006, Nancy Pelosi wrote an op-ed outlining what the new Democratic House would accomplish. Among the laundry list of promises was this: “They called for greater integrity in Washington, and Democrats pledge to make this the most honest, ethical, and open Congress in history.” She now has an opportunity to make good on at least this promise by demanding that the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee step down until an investigation into his admitted tax problems can be investigated. Rep. Charles Rangel should step down. As this story continues to unfold, it becomes clear that there is more to it than just the initial problem which came to light: “Mr. Rangel, a 19-term congressman, has been rattled by an assortment of ethics questions since July, when The New York Times reported that a prominent developer had allowed him to lease rent-stabilized apartments, including one that he used as a fund-raising office, in violation of state regulations.” (READ MORE)
Ed Morrissey: Palin fires back in Troopergate, releases memos showing insubordination - Sarah Palin issued a response to the Troopergate investigation yesterday by releasing internal memoranda that show Walt Monegan got fired for insubordination on budget matters and not because of his refusal to fire Palin’s former brother-in-law. Monegan went behind Palin’s back to attempt to revive a project Palin had vetoed, which “stunned” the Office of Management and Budget Director. On another occasion, Monegan held a press conference with Hollis French to dissent from Palin’s budget priorities — the same Hollis French pushing the ethics complaint against Palin: “Walt Monegan lost his job as public safety director because he resisted Gov. Sarah Palin’s budget policies and showed ‘outright insubordination,’ say papers the governor’s lawyer filed Monday with the state Personnel Board.” (READ MORE)
Jules Crittenden: Obamathink - It’s not all just panic and desperation … some of it is also delusional. Latest Obamathought roundup: Poli Sci Prof Peter Dreier at the Nation: Youth vote will be Obama’s salvation. It’s different this year. Young people really, really care. They have iPods, and they care. Obama is electrifying, and is making young people care. There’s youth careage out there. Lots of it … electrified youth careage all over the place. WPost’s E.J. Dionne: Playing the elitist card … it’s the oldest elitist trick in the book. McCain-Palin camp cynically tries to paint Obama as an elitist. Palin as “country and western hero” … ha ha ha! Sleazy McCain campaign of lies will fool no one. (Discussion topic: does the elitist scribbler perpetrate a sleazy lie by failing to address whether Obama has played the elitist card, told any sleazy lies?) (READ MORE)
William Teach: Bob Hebert Wants No Radical Agenda’s - Bob Hebert has written a standard liberal missive about how McCain is bad, in this case, McCain’s health care plan, which attempts to put the choice of choosing an insurance plan in the hands of the workers, not the government or employer. Choice. Responsibility. Humorously, he actually writes in the column: “There is nothing secret about Senator McCain’s far-reaching proposals, but they haven’t gotten much attention because the chatter in this campaign has mostly been about nonsense — lipstick, celebrities and ‘Drill, baby, drill!’” It’s apparently nonsense in the Manhattan cocktail party circuit to talk about going and getting our own energy. Then they get in their limo’s. But, anyhow, Bob, Barry Obama’s main focal point in attacking McCain is multiple commercials saying that McCain=Bush. (READ MORE)
Big Dog: The Fundamentals Of Our Economy Are Strong - I know our economy is fundamentally strong but I also realize there are bumps in the road. But maybe we should look to Obama as a bellwether. Obama took in $66 million in August which breaks his own single month fund raising record. Yesterday, after bashing McCain for his remarks on the fundamentals of our economy and asking what economy McCain was talking about, Obama went to a fund raiser where it cost each person $28,500 to attend. Obama is expected to raise $9 million dollars from the event. This means that about 300 people attended (assuming some of the money went to overhead). If Obama can raise $66 million dollars in August and have around 300 people pay $28,500 each to attend a function then that is a pretty good indication that the economy is fundamentally strong. Of course this does not take into account the amount of money Obama has been taking from illegal donors in Hamas and from other overseas locations but a reasonably large amount of the money is coming from donors here at home. (READ MORE)
Crazy Politico: Boring Economic Stuff - Phil Gramm, former Senator from Texas and Mike Solon, the founder of Capital Logistics have a good primer about economics in today's Wall Street Journal. DO NOT READ IT if you are a fan of Barack Obama, it contains facts about taxes, and who's actually going to get hit the hardest by raising them on the top 1% of income earners. Gramm and Solon take a look at 6 states, the three biggest economic winners in the last decade and the three biggest losers. Arizona, Texas, Florida are the winners. Illinois, Michigan, and Ohio are the biggest losers. Unlike the NBC TV show, being the biggest loser economically is bad. What they find is even though the populations of the biggest winners are expanding at double the national rate, the real income of their residents went up by over 21%, double the national average. The losers? The real income in those states only went up by 58% of the national average. (READ MORE)
Dr. Sanity: NOT ALL HUMOR IS CREATED EQUAL - I have to admit I have a soft spot in my heart for those who gently mock the left; and no one does it better than Greg Gutfield... AND he does it on their own territory, the vastly overinflated HuffPo: Gutfield skewers the entire mind-set that has joyfully embraced 'scandal' after supposed 'scandal' involving the Republican VP nominee, and exposes it for the nonstop neurotic nonsense it is. Mockery is a form of ridicule, contempt, or derision. When effectively combined with gentle blend of humor it can be very funny. When focused on a specific indivuals it can be cruel, vicious, sadistic and painfully insulting (think of the over-the top portrayals of Bush as Hitler or a terrorist in 'cartoons' and print, for example). For some--usually at the mental level of a 6 or 7 year old, this kind of humor may also be funny. From a psychological perspective, not all humor is created equal. (READ MORE)
ShrinkWrapped: “Of course, you know, this means war!” - The Presidential campaign has already been interminable and still has 7 weeks to go. Last Friday, for the nthtime, the Barack Obama campaign announced their intention to "get tough" with John McCain. Considering how the left leaning media, blogs, snf the campaign itself have been savaging Sarah Palin and John McCain, such an announcement of imminent toughness would seem to be a redundancy. Just as in a military conflict, most Presidential campaigns appear to believe that dehumanizing the opponent is a winning strategy. This is often referred to as defining the opponent. If McCain can successfully caricaturize Obama as a "tax-and-spend" liberal, or an "appeaser", he will have gone far toward assuring his victory in November. At the same time, Obama needs to define McCain in terms unflattering and uncongenial to enough people to warrant McCain's rejection as our next President. (READ MORE)
Cassandra: We Have Met The Enemy - ...and they is us. Ann Althouse looks at the latest Obama ad, which seems to have taken the low road: “‘What's happened to John McCain? He's running the sleaziest ads ever. Truly vile.’ ‘Dishonest smears that he repeats, even after it's been exposed as a lie. Truth be damned. A disgraceful, dishonorable campaign... It seems deception is all he has left.’” The ad is an unsettling pastiche of cut and paste smears taken from various unseen sources, in many cases using only a word or two. There is no context, no proof, and no defined accusation one can directly refute. Just a litany of slurs: faceless, anonymous, and very, very ugly. Althouse comments: “It seems likely that the viewer is just supposed to accept the assertion that there have been sleaziest ads, smears, and a lie, mainly because the names of newspapers appear on screen next to quotes. ... I think quite a few voters, like me, will feel very skeptical about generic assertions and quotes taken out of context. We American voters are competent ad watchers, and I don't think this will work on us.” (READ MORE)
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