Second-Guessing God

The female body should have a little indicator light on it—on one of the wrists, I believe—that glows green when she's pregnant. And maybe it should glow red when she's out of eggs.

Will someone work on this? Thanks.

So . . .

Is Goldstein a perv? Discuss.

(Extra credit: If he is, is that a bad thing?)

Charmaine on Paula Zahn Tonight

Charmaine will be on Paula Zahn's show tonight; she's taping at 6:00, and I guess it airs a few hours afterward. (The best guess is "around 8:30.")

Husband Jack has details on her altercation at the Supreme Court building, which as I understand it Rush discussed on his show this morning. Why can't he call me on my bat-phone before he discusses important blogging issues?

Charmaine has protest/counter-protest pics here.

[Explanation: as most of you know, I don't support parental-notification laws, though I do support most measures that break the momentum of abortion as a cultural imperative. Does that mean I think SCOTUS should reverse these laws, which are—after all—enacted because parents have natural concerns about their daughters seeking medical help behind their backs? Not just "no," but "hell, no."]

Western Civilization Ends

. . . in Britain.

Oh, well. Back to the old drawing board, then.

Okay, One More Link

. . . before I publicly de-link and denounce Beautiful Atrocities forever and ever.

And it's only because he has the scoop: an interview with one of the 72 virgins. This is the first documented description of what conditions are like in Jihadi Heaven. (Apparently, it's bad, but it would be worse if so many Islamofascists weren't a bit light on their loafers.)

Okay. We now return you to your regularly scheduled hate.

That's It.

I'm never going to Beautiful Atrocities again. How dare he nominate me in Beth's BadBlog Awards for the "Picks the Most Fights with Other Bloggers" Category?

Fuck you, Jeff. And don't you ever drop my site again, you fucking whore.

P.S. Fuck! Fuck! I hate Jeff!

Ah, Yes.

There are cultural minefields around the issue of GLBT blogs, aren't there? Take the Weblog Award Nominations: There are the straight guys who will nominate others for fun, and the gay homo guys who will do the same.

I should nominate myself. After all, I'm bisexual. The fact that I haven't acted on it since the mid 1980s is irrelevant. I'm sure I'd just kick the asses of Gay Patriot, Gay Orbit, BoiFromTroy, and Tammy Bruce.

So I'd better not enter; it just wouldn't be fair to the others.

It would be cool to find a nice TS/TV blog. After all, the bisexuals and transgendered individuals are just thrown into "LGBT" as a sort of afterthought. But I think there are stories to be told from the TS/TV crowd, and they should be heard.

Note to my SoCon readers: Please try not to freak out. Thanks.

Hat tip to Mr. Category All My Own.

Timetables vs. Checklists

Well, one of those telegraphs our intentions to the enemy, and encourages the insurgency to keep going because "help is on the way."

The other is a realistic, hardheaded way to foster Iraqi independence. Rightwing Nuthouse parses out an AP report that discusses a recent "shift" in administration rhetoric. The shift, of course, has to do with the fact that we'll be scaling back our presence in Iraq.

The reason is not Democratic pressure. The reason is that we've been successful.

Bruce Willis' New Project

As you've no doubt heard, Bruce Willis has been following Michael Yon's accounts of the fighting in Iraq—most especially the work of Deuce Four. He even attended an event in their honor recently in Seattle. And Willis would like to make a . . . um. That is, he'd like to make a commercial movie that would premiere in actual theatres, and . . .

Let's start again, shall we? The movie would be about the war in Iraq. And—

Who's reading this, by the way? Are you my friend? Do you know the secret handshake?

The movie will be pro-war. I mean, it will support the troops as in, supporting the troops, rather than supporting the troops by undercutting their mission "for their own good." (The "bring them home and fuck the Iraqis" option.)

Bloggers and blog-commenters are abuzz with the possibilities. There's some concern that the traditional studio system may be reluctant to finance a movie that is pro-war (other than the "kosher" ones such as the Revolutionary War, the Civil War, and WWII). This, of course, leads to speculation that Willis may have to find his own financing, like Mel Gibson did. (Some think Mel might go in with Willis on this venture, but I'm not sure as devout a Catholic as Mel is going to want to take part in a project that could be seen as advocating violence. At least, now that the Lethal Weapon series is over and he never has to make one of those again.)

Apparently when Willis went to the Deuce Four homecoming ball he took Stephen Eads with him; Eads did some work with him on Armageddon, The Sixth Sense, and other movies. If they're smart they'll talk to Lionel Chetwynd, who has plenty of experience going against Hollywood's grain.

And suddenly, of course, Chris Muir has something to say about all this.

Hat tips: Malkin, Dave Price of Dean's World, and the blog of the Liberty Film Festival (right here in the heart of L.A.), Libertas. Also: Insty refers us back to PJM, where there are links galore (including Roger L. Simon's take, natch).

Darleen's Hostess This Week!

She's got the new short-and-snappy version of the Cotillion Ball!

Go see what the smartest chicks in the 'sphere are writing these days.

The Fair Construction Amendment

It's an interesting notion: requiring that the Constitution be "interpreted" as it was written, without finding things in it that aren't there. It would essentially make judicial activism unconstitutional. One wonders whether such an amendment would even be enforceable, but it's certainly intriguing.

Karl Spence is a proponent, and his latest book focuses on the crime wave of the 1990s, explaining how the Fair Construction Amendment would augment the rule of law. If nothing else, his title is gutsy: Yo, Liberals! You Call This Progress?

This book, other books, and some background on the Fair Construction idea are available here.

Update on Hostages

Rusty has an exclusive: pictures of the peace hostages, a snippet of transcript, and the hostages' names.

I'd skip his comments section, but that's me: it's too early in the day for black humor. Personal thing.

Scandal in the Golden State

Some things, of course, aren't so much shocking as just sad.

Oh, Canada.

The Canadian government just collapsed; there will be new elections in January. I guess they'd like non-corrupt leaders for the new year, and who can blame them?

But it still feels shocking. Thank goodness, though, that there are ways to unseat corrupt leaders in Western democracies.

Here's an MSM summary; Insty has a few more links. And Kate McMillan live-blogged the live-blogging of the "no confidence" vote. I'll be checking in on her and Captain Ed a lot more in the coming weeks.

Wow.

It Does Sound Rather Like a Monty Python Skit

Pixy's covering my blogwar with Hugh Hewitt. Admittedly, my blog war with Hugh Hewitt has been less dramatic than many such conflicts, due to a few unavoidable facts: 1) Hugh doesn't know my blog exists, and 2) Hugh doesn't know I exist.

But, you know: I've been carrying on despite these minor obstacles.

On the other hand, at some point he will be forced to concede that Condi Rice exists, and that she's a stronger candidate for President than most of the boring white guys Hewitt seems interested in pushing (e.g., Frist).

Back to Plan A

Hang him upside down. Then file past him and spit on him. What's so hard about that? Jeez.

Why Is It So Important That the Child Die?

This is what I've never understood: women who not only want the child out of their bodies, but insist that something has gone terribly awry if he or she goes on to live.

Of course, this is not the kind of situation I dealt with when I had my abortion, which occurred at 10-12 weeks. But when it comes to late-term abortions, it remains difficult to understand why these babies cannot simply be adopted as "premies" and allowed to live.

Charmaine tells the story of one woman who slipped through the cracks: The Girl Who Lived.

I'll Be at 150,000 Within Days.

Which isn't bad for a boutique blog.

Feel free to congratulate me by buying an ad (or sending me a tip). After all, my gobsmackingly vile bandwidth costs keep going up, and I need to keep bringing you money quotes. (And some of us don't even have beach houses: that's how oppressed we are.)

Seriously: I'm flying to D.C. in February, and you guys need to send me the money to do it. Rest assured that I'll be living on protein bars while I'm there. World's cheapest traveller, cross my heart and hope to die.

I Have to Admit It—

the idea of a few liberal "Rebublican" legislators in the Northeast undermining a project that will provide jobs in the West—and enhance U.S. energy supplies at the same time—really grinds my gears.

Particularly if they're being financed, in part, by the charming George Soros.

Something's rotten on Main Street.

Nominate Patterico!

Patterico would like to be nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize. I'd go further: go ahead and give him one. After all, he's killed fewer people than Yassir and Tookie put together! (Wait . . .)

We need a slogan: "give non-murderers a chance." Or something.

Also: we might want to Google-bait: let's have "Patterico" lead back to the "Peace" page at the Nobel Foundation. Like this: Patterico.) There we go.

Via Protein Wisdom.

Steyn on the Upside of Media Bias

In celebration of the StyenOnline's Third Anniversary, the site is highlighting classic Steyn articles from three years ago. This one discusses the damage the media's leftward tilt does to the Democratic Party, via the occasional obsession with dividing politics into "women's issues" and (presumably) "real people's issues."

Enjoy.

Ireland vs. Scandinavia: Fostering Economic Growth in Europe

From the Brussels Journal.

(Via Insty.)

The Blogger Tarot Deck

Laurence is working on it, and soliciting ideas.

Okay. I'm on the Mend.

It's gotten to the point where my snot is nearly solid. I'm wondering what sort of projects around the house I should tackle with it. Shame to let it go to waste, you know.

I think I could make bricks out of it.

(Whaaaaaaat?)

Patterico

. . . has the best summary of the Althouse-Goldstein dustup, and the one that illuminates the most troubling aspects about this whole affair. Yes: too much electronic "ink" has been spilled over this. But I'm afraid Althouse's reputation has taken a hit. She does appear to be willing to distort the timetable in order to make anyone who blogs for Pajamas Media look bad.

Hugh Hewitt

. . . joins the MSM in relegating Dr. Rice to "fantasy candidate" status. Lovely, just lovely. Results here.

(Via Insty.)

Over at Pillage Idiot,

Cousin Attila points out that the definition of "abstinence" may be changing.

"Inside Baseball" Indeed.

There are a lot of itchy trigger fingers out there.

I read the original thread over at Althouse's last night, and thought I was delirious from the flu.

The Black Exodus Continues.

And the Democrats are starting to sweat.

(h/t: Crystal)

Don't Tell the Writers at Boston Legal, But . . .

But 56% of Iraqis think things will be better there in six months. Max Boot discusses the impending defeat of the insurgents, economic growth, and the general upward trend.

No word yet from the politically airheaded Boston Legal creative team. Though hope springs eternal.

(h/t: Religion of Peace?)

Even If Zarqawi is Alive,

he's likely a little stressed out.

Michele Is Apparently

. . . on another hiatus. These things are rarely permanent, but one never knows.

At the moment, I'm thinking of having a big, dramatic end of my blogging career soon, but in my particular case I'd build up to a particular day—my "last day of blogging," and say my goodbyes at that time, and get all kinds of comments from people about how I shouldn't stop, etc etc.

The next day I'd start again just as usual.

Jeff of BA Gives Us

. . . a heartwarming story about love in the twilight years.

Remember . . .

if you're making cranberry sauce from scratch, tonight's the night to do it. Otherwise, it won't "jell" properly.

Also: tonight's a good night for making pie. Take me, for instance: I'm going to buy my pie from the Ralph's bakery tonight because I can't be bothered and have nothing to prove.

Sometimes It's Difficult

. . . to figure out exactly when people are being ironic. Part of the whole World Wide Web experience, I guess.

Well. I'm Definitely Sick.

It turns out that: housework + dust + meetings in hyperallergenic environments + seeing my mother when she has a cold + dry SoCal air + something dead under the house (that my husband cannot find, no matter how hard he looks) sending up a putrescent odor that increasingly pervades the living space

=

I have some sort of obnoxious virus. So, no Harry Potter movie today, but I did finish the Michael Connelly book.

And it looks like we'll have a bare-bones Thanksgiving dinner tomorrow, which is fine. I hate changing out of my pajamas on Thx day in any event.

I have a new business model, BTW: "Pajamas Cooks," a show for lazy people who like food. The twist is, instead of airing on HGTV it will be on the History Channel, since that's where the core audience is. It's aimed at those who want to make something really delicious—but quickly, before it's time to get back to their books and shows about guns (me), football (Attila the Hub), crime (me), or military history (both of us).

I envision it would have broad appeal to the "eccentric bookworm" demographic.

Hi. I Have a Sore Throat.

I'll be here until further notice.

If I feel well enough tomorrow, I'll go to see the latest Harry Potter movie.

If I feel well enough the next day, I'll roast a small turkey.

In any event, blogging will be light until I'm good and darned ready to surface.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Mark Steyn on politics and celebrity in the Golden State:

So now [Schwarzennegger's] being stalked by Warren Beatty. In the runup to election day, Beatty showed up everywhere Arnold did, as if he were the Actors' Equity-designated understudy for the role. If they're remaking 42nd Street, Arnold's Bebe Daniels and Warren's got the Ruby Keeler role as the plucky kid from the chorus who gets sent on stage with the stirring words, "You're going out there a youngster but you've got to come back a star!" Or in Warren's case: You're going out there a wrinkly woozy semi-has-been but you've got to come back a star!"

Will he do it? "I don't want to run for governor," he said the other day, making it sound like he's interested in the role but he won't audition. He's certainly in the right party: The Democrats have already taken on most of the characteristics of a bad Hollywood project—no ideas, script full of ancient cliches, but if you can get the right star to commit to it we just might make this thing fly. And, though he's never run for office before, Beatty has the crucial ingredient: name recognition. All over California, women are going: "Warren Beatty? Oh, yeah, right, now I remember. That guy I had sex with in the late '60s."

Read the whole thing, and thank me later.

Different Perspectives on Glasses

I must admit that all the fumbling around is inconvenient—particularly now that I'm in my 40s and have separate driving/computer vs. reading glasses.

But I love wearing glasses almost as much as Goldstein does. Both my pairs are unbelievably cute. In fact, even my supermarket sunglasses are unbelievably cute. Come to think of it, I'm pretty freaking unbelievably cute.

Of course, not everyone likes wearing glasses. Too bad, and somewhat incomprehensible to me. Of course, much of life is just like that.

I seem to remember waking up 20 years ago in a dorm room in Poughkeepsie to the exclamation, "look! It's snowing." So I looked.

And then I heard a somewhat wistful remark: "I wish I could do that."

"Do what?"

"Just look. Without having to do anything else."

Well. Now he can.

Team Condi on CNN Tonight!

The Condistas will be discussed, as I understand it, at 7:30 p.m. Eastern. Which would mean 4:30 here in God's Country.

First It's Mice. Now Rats.

What is this guy's fixation with rodents all about?

Now This Is a Femme Fatale.

And a stunningly beautiful atrocity.

Battle Gossip and Gun Porn

Rusty has the scuttlebutt on tactics and tools in Iraq, some interesting tactical observations and reviews on firearms. (Teaser: the 9mm sidearm is not as popular as the .45. Can you believe it?)

Fun fact: Captured enemy have apparently marveled at the marksmanship of our guys and how hard they fight. They are apparently told in Jihad school that the Americans rely solely on technology, and can be easily beaten in close quarters combat for their lack of toughness. Let's just say they know better now.

It's Cotillion Time Again!

Over at The Gray Tie this week!

Goldstein Excerpts Cheney's Latest Speech,

and comments on the Administration's rhetorical/informational offensive:

Clearly, the important administration arguments are beginning to coalesce: 1) Criticism of the war is not by itself unpatriotic 2) Similarly, answering anti-war critics is not challenging their patriotism 3) But opportunistic and cynical anti-war critics who are trying to walk back their own votes and level spurious charges at the Administration (they lied to take is into war) are themselves lying 4) These lies are hurting the country and the troops. 5) The burden of proof, in a post 911 world, was on Saddam Hussein to prove he’d disarmed; we could not wait for the threat to become imminent before acting 6) The cause the troops are fighting for is just and right 7) Iraq is moving toward freedom; and things on the ground are improving daily, regardless of what the MSM and prominent Dems would have us believe.

These points, taken together, form an easy, concise, and—most importantly—a factually correct counter-narrative to the Dem / MSM narrative that has preached confusion, failure, quagmire, American criminality (torture, WP), and the relentlessness of an insurgency whose battleground savvy and knowledge of the Arab world are thwarting the plans of our confused military leaders and civilian war commanders. Oh. But we LOVE THE TROOPS!

The text of the speech is here, at the White House blog (you know: the one that won't call itself a blog). I'm reminded, by the way, of Ronald Reagan's habit, when he was thwarted by Congress and the media, of going "over the heads" of the legislators and reporters by speaking directly to the American people. This Administration has finally begun to do exactly that.

Free advice to the White House Press Office: break it up a little, okay? Throw in some personal anecdotes, the occasional cartoon, recipes, and pictures of cats. And don't be afraid to start a fight with another blog: your traffic will soar.

Fundraising, CPAC

The last several times I've attended an event on behalf of this blog, my household has managed to absorb the cost, but there is no way I can attend CPAC this coming February without your help. I'm therefore seeking contributions from my readers to ensure I'll be able to provide you with up-do-date info—and my own unique take—as the country gears up for the 2006/2008 election seasons.

New media is in a critical phase right now, and it deserves your support. Think about the money you saved by letting your newspaper and magazine subscriptions lapse: send it to those who are providing you with your best links/insight/analysis. A lot of the bigger blogs are established, now: you'll get the most bang for your buck by sending your money to medium-sized and boutique blogs. Naturally, I think it should go to mine.

Thanks.

It Is Amazing

. . . when bloggers get together in real life. I know that's been one of the most enjoyable aspects about being in the Bear Flag League: the occasional chance to get together with—and work on special projects with—some of the sharpest writers on the internet.

And, no—after the first few moments at that initial brunch Justene organized in Marina del Rey (that five minutes wherein we were trying to figure out how this all works)—we've never been at a loss for words.

Of course, our spouses have to learn not just one name, but two names for everyone, so being the husband or wife of a blogger is double the challenge. But they all manage, somehow.

(h/t: Reynolds.)

Important Enough to Plug Twice!

Read the interview with the Women of the Cotillion over at Basil's Blog. We very clearly spell out our plans for world domination, there, and five years from now you'll wish you'd read it so you might have seen the Estrogen Juggernaut coming.

I'm Really Enjoying

. . . the Blog Ad Swap program, which I first saw mentioned over at John Hawkin's digs. It costs nothing, and I get a little more exposure. It's also hella fun to watch the parade of participants show up on my sidebar. *

* Yes. I always alliterate at 6:30 in the morning, if I'm awake to do it. Though, admittedly, that's rare unless I've been up all night. Then I believe ten impossible things. After that, it's breakfast time.

A Little Insight

. . . into the lives of writers/producers—not to mention runners.

OSM: The Definitive FAQ

Iowahawk clarifies what this new venture will mean—both to the readers he seems to regard as a necessary evil, and to the OSM bloggers who appear to be rolling [or hoping to roll] in the long green.

Michelle Has Had Enough

A frank and courageous post by a woman who takes a lot of shit from racist liberals. I disagree with her a fair amount, but she's incredibly intelligent, and she works tirelessly, acting as a sort of right-wing informational clearinghouse. And in the areas where we disagree, she helps me to sharpen my thinking. Beyond that, of course, I get a lot of traffic just by virtue of being on her blogroll.

I wish people would leave everyone's families alone. I voted for Clinton in 1992, and I remember being thrilled that he and his wife leaned on the entertainment industry to keep Chelsea out of the spotlight. Was anyone ever so naive?—I truly thought that a precedent would be set, and First Families would at long last get some privacy.

Of course, when they left the White House, the leaning stopped—and it was open season on families once more. But by then I'd seen what was going on, and had started voting with the GOP.

Just from the shit I get here I can't even imagine what it would be like to be in Michelle's shoes. It really pisses people off when a woman is both attractive and intelligent. Particularly if she disagrees with them. (And, no—I will not break it down by gender: I've seen vicious/sexist stuff from men and women. There's always a temptation to think women will know better, but that only works when and if they want to.)

UPDATE: Audio of the straw that broke the camel's back, over at Ed Cone. I'm still amused at the idea that Malkin's husband writes her columns. He must, dammit! Chicks can't write!

[Via Reynolds.]

Belles of the Ball

There's an interview of the Cotillion Babes over at Basil's Blog. It's like a puzzle, of course: you get to try to guess which Bloggin' Babe goes with which image. And of course we're all as witty as can be.

K Discusses

post-hurricane plant rescue, down Florida way. She should come out here and water my inside plants, which I keep forgetting about till they have brown marks on the edges of their leaves. Very bad.

And now, unrecovered from the last two hurricanes, she and her spouse get ready for just an "ordinary" storm. I can't imagine how they're putting up with it. Of course, my husband has friends in the New Orleans area who have been living like gypsies for months—hopping from state to state as the threat levels change around.

An Argument Against Twelve-Step Groups

They very often meet in church rec rooms or nonprofit centers. There is, invariably, at least one ancient third-hand couch there that was stored in someone's garage for some time and is loaded down with dust. Even if you avoid sitting on any of these couches, every time someone else does plumes of dust will waft into the air.

If you have allergies, it makes life interesting.

Let's say you spent Friday night in one of these rooms at a regular meeting, of . . . oh, something like Debtors Anonymous. The following morning you were at a community center for upward of four hours, serving on a local board and "Intergroup" problem-solving committee in a room with five (5) such couches. That same Saturday, you landed in another church schoolroom, with its token Dust Belching Couch, speaking about your putative recovery from financial issues, and that evening after the runny nose and the red eyes and all of that you look down at your skin to discover that half of your body (okay: hands, elbows, and neck) is covered in an obnoxious red rash.

Wouldn't you be tempted to conclude that hand-me-down couches are the work of the Devil?

"So How Is Your Mother Doing?" My Father Asks.

"Well, she's settling in," I reply. "It was a big move from the Bay Area to L.A., but she certainly has more space where she's living now, which is a good thing."

"Has she found a church down here?"

"Well," I respond, "I know she went to her local Unity church; I'm not sure whether she liked that as much as the one in the Bay Area."

"Why doesn't she go back to her old church in Santa Monica—the Unitarian one?"

"I dunno, Dad. I think the Unitarian church is a bit conservative for my mother."

Then I told him my favorite Unitarian jokes. If you're really nice I'll share them with you sometime, too.

The Dalai Lama on War

Dave Price has an interesting digest over at Dean's World of his perspectives on WWII, the Korean War, Afghanistan, and the War in Iraq.

Unspeakable Crimes

A Mom and Her Blog, who has a righteous passion for justice when it comes to children, has a story about an important conviction of a child murderer.

This is the kind of event that sets us all back on our heels: we find ourselves desperate for justice in cases like this, and become convinced that if we don't get it, we'll never eat or sleep again.

The hardest thing I do, as a crime writer, is reading accounts of the evil that men and women do—especially those that steal people's lives. Especially those that steal children's innocence.

But I don't let myself cry about it. I cry about war, but I don't cry about crime.

In the case of war, I don't feel qualified to do anything concrete about it (except to publicize that it's going on, and that we have a lot at stake).

In the case of crime, I have the power to raise public awareness on a more concrete level, and to underscore—in every piece of extended fiction I write—that there is such a thing as right and wrong, and that the former is worth fighting for.

Many assume that people like me are merely making idle puzzles out of people's grief. Not so. We are reminding people what the face of evil looks like when it's still on a human scale—in Stalin's terms, not statistics yet, but only tragedy—and underscoring what our warriors fight for overseas: a society in which those who lose their children get to face the murderers in court, and see justice done.

It's not satisfactory in the least, but it's critically important.

Go read the post. Share my disdain for the cultists that surround every successful killer. And hook up with civilization.

Mark Steyn at the Churchill Dinner

If you live anywhere west of the Mississippi, please consider attending this event. I mean, we're talkin' Mark-freaking-Steyn, here. When in your life will you ever get another chance? Also, the Beverly Wilshire Hotel is a beautiful place; my husband won his first Emmy there.

Mark Steyn to speak at The Claremont Institute’s Annual Churchill Dinner

On December 2, 2005, the Claremont Institute for the Study of Statesmanship & Political Philosophy will honor Mark Steyn at its annual Churchill dinner in Beverly Hills, California.

Speaker: Mark Steyn, author and columnist

Date: Friday, December 2, 2005

Time: 6:00 p.m. Reception; 7:00 p.m. Dinner

Place: Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, Beverly Hills, California

Mark Steyn is one of the world’s premiere writers on politics and culture, whose witty and satirical style has won him fans across the globe. Mr. Steyn is author of the forthcoming America Alone: Our Country’s Future as a Lone Warrior (Regnery), and his previous books include Mark Steyn From Head To Toe: An Anatomical Anthology and The Face of the Tiger (Stockade). His articles and columns appear in newspapers worldwide, including the Wall Street Journal, Atlantic Monthly, Daily Telegraph, Jerusalem Post, National Review, The Spectator, Chicago Sun-Times, Toronto Globe & Mail, Irish Times, and The New Criterion.

The Claremont Institute was founded in 1979 to restore the principles of the American Founding to their rightful, preeminent authority in our national life. The Institute publishes the quarterly Claremont Review of Books, and sponsors fellowships to study the American Founding. We also administer a variety of public-policy programs that apply our founding principles to the critical issues of our day. Our scholarship ranges from strategic to literary studies, from Plato and Aristotle to John Locke and Thomas Jefferson—in short, to all those subjects upon which free men must draw to preserve and perfect their liberty.

The reception begins at 6PM and dinner will commence at 7PM. Individual tickets are available at the price of $250.00 and can be purchased online at www.claremont.org.

For more information regarding the Institute, our mission, and our annual Churchill Dinner, please call 909.621.6825.

(As a special bonus, you'll get to rub elbows with the high-powered bloggers at the Bear Flag League—including the 1-2 non-attorneys in the group, and at least one person not named "Jeff" or "Kevin.")

The Defections Continue

Black people continue to leave the "liberal plantation." One NAACP leader in Orange County, Florida, is remarkably honest about his motives: economic development of the black community, starting with his own business.

That sounds crass until you contemplate the fact that people like Jesse Jackson, and (worse) Al Sharpton never admit that they're out to make a buck.

Remarks one of my good friends, who defected to the GOP quite some time ago: "I ain't pickin' nobody's cotton." But which he means that he has no intention of letting the black victocrats tell him what to think.

[hat tip to Crystal at AFR.]

I Write About Moral Reprobates

. . . too often. I'm starting to get looks in my writer's group. People blink a lot and gently suggest that I'm starting to lose the readers' sympathies. By which they mean that I've lost theirs.

Hm. I happen to find my monsters lovable as all get out. Second only to Maurice Sendak's.

Everyone's just mad that my characters have more sex than theirs. Hey! Could there be a song in that?

You Can Have My World Wide Web

. . . when you pry it from my cold, dead hands.

We Are Continuing Our Research

. . . into baby furniture and small layette items. Today we looked at cribs and changing tables.

We're starting to get an idea of what we want: it's just a question of finding it at the right price. Simple styling; sturdy and safe. Natural wood finish. Converts to a toddler bed.

With respect to things like onesies and diapers, I'll proably get a few of everything, but keep the receipts so everything can be exchanged if we get a one-year-old rather than a newborn, for instance.

But I'm flummoxed on bottles. Eventually I'll need a lot of them, since I probably won't attempt breatfeeding.

Plain old bottles, or one of those systems (e.g., Playtex) that keeps the baby from swallowing so much air? I'll make myself a sampler pack, I guess, and see what works.

Um, Mr. Fitzgerald?

It's over. You should pack up your things and go home now.

Nice.

God hates shrimp.

Gays, He's easy-going about. (See "prostitutes, hanging out with.")

Shrimp, He hates.

Via Reynolds.

Dean

. . . is discussing table condiments such as ketchup, mustard, and salsa. High points: the comment thread under "Ketchup Fiends," and the referenced article regarding "Ketchup Evolution " by the always-absorbing intellectual strip-tease artist Malcolm Gladwell.

The Future

. . . began today. Kind of exciting, huh?

Oh, Thank God.

He's back for real. Boy, is he back.

The Spades Suit Is Open.

Personally, I was hoping Aaron would devote this suit to the Conservative Brotherhood, but probably only because I figured it would make a lot of people really mad.

I'm a brat; I know.

I would nominate the bluntest guy I know in the 'sphere, but he doesn't like awards and contests and whatnot. And since he got me a beautiful martini set for my last birthday, I don't want to piss him off.

So I'll go with Patterico.

Dear President Saleh,

We have our eyes on Jane. She's protected. We don't talk about it much, but a lot of us know people in the government, industry and the mainstream media. If anything happened to Jane a scream would go up that you would hear loudly on every continent.

So be careful. Do not mess with us.

Love,

The Blogosphere

P.S. How about a little free speech over there? With democracy for dessert? Yum.

Live, From Sardinia . . .

it's the Cotillion Ball—European edition!

Et tu, Kofi?

I think I'm going to cry.

More Comments!

Get to it, maggots!

Well?

Answer the question, Mr. Reynolds.

A General Announcement to My Liberal Friends

I mean, everyone fought hard and all that. And you'll probably always make more money than I do—not to mention being taller and less absent-minded. So you have that to keep.

But it's over. Karl Rove has a blog.

Nice while it all lasted, though. I'll send you a bottle of Dewar's; keep a stiff upper lip.

Oh, Well.

I didn't get any fewer votes than Wonkette. That's what matters. And I still have a five-point bonus coming.

Armies of Liberation on Al-Jazeera!

The one and only Jane—who never tires of advocating on behalf of the Yemeni people—was on al-Jazeera, and has an update on the experience here. It's a sleep-deprived, dead-honest account of what it's like to be thrust onto television when you aren't used to it. But she makes her point there—just like she did on A-J—that the Yemenis deserve basic human rights.

A New Dispatch!

Over at Michael Yon's site.

Who's Afraid of a Gang of Chinese Olympic Games Mascots?

Jeff Harrell is. Me, I think they're kind of cute.

Condi's Birthday is Today!

Stop by the Americans for Rice website and catch up on the news! Buy their new bumper sticker while you're there.

Okay. Forget the Pose of Detachment.

Hop over to Aaron's place and vote for me now: I want to maintain the fiction that I don't care, but not at the expense of a respectable showing. And the Hearts suit contest is over at the end of the day on Monday. (Keep in mind that, IIRC, the Jack and King of the suit are reserved for dudes who get along well with the ladies. Which means Hubris, Beautiful Atrocities, or possibly Goldstein, if you ask me.)

If you're a regular reader and you don't vote for me, then you have to send me money this winter to underwrite my trip to Washington in February for CPAC. Fair's fair, after all.

UPDATE: I take it back, in my charming-yet-flaky way. I love Michelle Malkin—and she gives me a lot of traffic—but it looks like The Anchoress is pulling even with her, and I'd love to see the deep, meditative chick win. After all, that rarely happens in real life. So vote for her now, and send me money in December/Janurary to support my trip to the East Coast. I'm deadly serious, by the way.

Darleen

. . . lays it on the line.

"Once Again," I Say, "Our Sources of Information Appear To Be Completely Disjoint."

"Well, mine are newspapers like the Los Angeles Times, the Washington Post, and The New York Times. You know," he replies. "Respected media sources."

Respected by whom? I wonder. Other members of the media? I know those people. I have dinner with them every month. They are just as shallow and intellectually lazy as anyone else.

Out loud, I simply remark that I don't trust them.

"Who do you trust?" he asks me. "Right-wing blogs?"

Well, yes. I trust people I know to be whip-smart and honest. People who correct themselves when they're wrong.

And, by the way: that's whom.

Lileks on the War of the Discounters

His insight? Target can be beat. His proposals: remarkably specific.

Via Insty.

Baby Preparations.

"We're guaranteed to get a baby placed with us soon," my husband insists. "After all, we're broke."

He has a point. We need a crib, and a few obvious items: bottles, diapers, onesies. I'm shopping hard, and won't spend a dime more than I have to (beyond ensuring safety issues, of course).

We're gravitating toward an Ocean/Underwater theme, though the Night Sky is still a possibility. (Pale pink and blue are icky anyway, and some of the pastels in many nurseries give me the creeps. Duckies will be acceptable; bunnies are under review.)

As a style snob I do have guilty pleasures, of course: in my personal life it's Mary Englebreit, and with respect to my baby it could turn out to be "classic Pooh" items based on the original Ernest Shepard drawings for the real A.A. Milne books. Those are colorized in pastel shades, and might not fit with the oceanic theme. We'll see.

But here's my real baby furniture/layette question for the night, directed at the parents out there: Are my husband and I supposed to share a diaper bag? Do I get a reasonably masculine one in black or denim blue or some such, and whoever has the baby for the afternoon takes that along? Or will we each have a diaper bag preference? Can I get one for myself that's more colorful than the average guy would carry around?

I guess the answer depends on that whole singleton vs. twins question. I've been suspecting lately that we might have to settle for a singleton, but Attila the Hub is correct: we're broke. Which would make twins a good deal more likely, if you accept that the Universe/God has an excellent sense of humor.

The idea of how much money the first year of parenthood is going to cost makes me crazy—especially after all the infertility treatments, and the adoption fees themselves. But any project can be approached with a spending plan, and I shall simply have to make one up, and find the money to get what we need.

For some reason, I feel it's going to happen in the spring, though there's simply no way to tell at all.

Condi's Birthday on Monday!

It's not too late to have an impromptu party! A lot of Condistas throughout the country will be doing just that.

If you're starting your own local Condi club, there's lots to talk about:

• Parallels between the "draft Condi" movement and the Eisenhower candidacy.

• Dick Morris' new book on the potential showdown ("inevitable," in his mind) between Condi and Hillary. Does he overstate the case? And/or does he have a point about the GOP needing to go after the Democrats' demographics?

• Dr. Rice's career to date: could it be considered the ideal apprenticeship for the Presidency? Which pivotal heads of State is she getting to know right now?

• If the Secretary accepts our charge and runs, at what point should she declare her candidacy? Later is better in terms of keeping her popularity as strong as it is now, but at some point she will have to commit. Would it be inappropriate for her to continue in her present postion? Would Bush have to appoint a new interim Secretary as Condi campaigns?

• To what extent would having two female candidates neutralize gender as an issue in 2008?

• The people whose names have been suggested as potential candidates are not as strong as Condi is. Would any of them help to balance the ticket, however? Would the base support a Rice/Giuliani candidacy, for instance?

• Would those be the funnest debates in the history of the country, or what?

Don't forget to raise funds, and keep apprised of current events via the Americans for Rice. Because AFR is a 527, it's appropriate to send money to help them raise awareness and persuade Dr. Rice that her duty lies in the White House.

No. I Mean Really Cold.

It was freezing here in the hills near Pasadena last night. And by “freezing,� I mean “55 degrees.�

It’s almost too cold to drink gin and tonics. Almost. I may have to switch to dry mini-Manhattans alternated with room-temp water. I like gin and tonics because I can make ginless tonics as well . . . hm. I could always try some sort of scotch and soda variation with cheaper whiskey and room-temp soda. I’ll see.

Or I could just drink hot Tension Tamer tea with five or six valiums dissolved into it.

[Honey, whaaaaaaaaaaaat?]

Okay. I Wasn't Going to Buy Into This Contest Dealybopper.

After all, it’s beyond “inside the blogs.� It’s inside inside the blogs.

But Aaron was sweet enough to nominate me for the heart suit in his bloggy deck of cards, so go vote for one of the fine ladies who light up the right. (The actual poll for voting is on his left sidebar.)

I wasn’t willing to waste a vote on myself. I agonized, wanting to vote for Ith, Sissy Willis of Sisu, and the Anchoress all at the same time. Finally I settled on Jane at Armies of Liberation, because she gets results in the Real World: she takes heat from groups that sport ties to AQ. She gets prisoners released from Yemeni jails. She makes dictatorships nervous.

For many of us, blogging can be (at its worst) mental masturbation. Jane’s blog is mental sex.*

* I stole that line. Can you figure out from whom? If you can, you should definitely go vote for me.

Allah Nails It.

Here, in this rather, um, rambunctious thread over at Protein Wisdom.

(Context: Goldstein's discussing the fact that Bush is finally standing up to his critics on the issue of WMD and how we got into the war.)

More on Wal-Mart

Glenn links to the trailer for Why Wal-Mart Works, and Why That Makes Some People Crazy.

I'm just as perplexed by the hostility. After all, the same people who complain about Wal-Mart very often make regular runs to Costco, where they buy a little more than they need to for the sake of getting the best per-unit price (storing the excess in their larger-than average homes).

People on restrictive budgets, of course, can't afford to do this. Apparently my anti-Wal-Mart friends would prefer that they live in (even greater) material deprivation, buying fewer products from overpriced local stores. Glenn:

I prefer Tarzhay myself for its more upscale ambience, but my discomfort with Wal-Mart is purely aesthetic, and I think it's odd that some people see it as evil incarnate. [ . . .] I think there's a class issue: Wal-Mart is unavoidable evidence that the American working classes don't think, or live, the way the American thinking classes want to imagine. For this sin, Wal-Mart can never be forgiven.

Gasoline Prices

We are being gouged. Michael Demmons proves it.

[h/t: Outside the Beltway.]

They've Arrived!

My Nancy Drew mysteries from eBay. Some liberry was getting rid of them until the nice lady in the northwest rescued them; they're marked "DISCARD"!

They are all the revised versions (the 20-chapter format) that were supposedly purged of racism/guns and "refined" in the 50s/60s. I'm pretty sure those are the editions I read as a child: in my day, all Nancy Drew books had yellow spines (these have violet spines).

So, eat your heart out, Hubris. I'll soon be re-reading:

The Mystery at Lilac Inn (1961)

The Clue of the Dancing Puppet (1962)

The Clue of the Velvet Mask (1953/1969)

The Hidden Window Mystery (1956/1975)

and The Mystery of the Brass Bound Trunk (1976)

Then I'll save them for my little girl, so she can have a warped notion of female identity and a fascination for All Things Criminal, too.

("Mom! Your work is so derivative! You can't decide whether you want to be Michael Connelly or Dorothy L. Sayers. I mean, at least get the hard-boiled/tea cozy distinction down. And all that gratuitous sex is just gross!)

ANWR

I'm sorry. Given that drilling for oil can be done in an environmentally sensitive fashion, and given the price that we pay for dependence on foreign oil, I just don't get it. I do not understand why we aren't using everything in the toolbox to break our dependence on outside energy.

Sure: conservation is part of the solution. New technologies are part of the solution. But we need to develop other options in the meantime. I don't understand the argument that "it won't solve the problem 100%, so it's not worth doing." We should be approaching this from a number of different angles.

Michelle Malkin reprinted this letter to Hastert from her reader Rick, whose blog is here (go to her site for many, many more letters from disappointed people):

I have a neighbor who is a single mother. She struggles, but she gets by with a combination of determination and hard work.

. . . .

Not too long ago she came to my wife in tears, humiliated by the need to borrow money from us; gasoline prices, you see, were high enough to break her meager budget. Thanks to your "leadership", they aren't likely to drop too far, are they?

I served in the Army as an Intelligence Analyst and served in Desert Shield/Desert Storm; I happen to know that dependence on foreign oil has a number of effects- It keeps the price higher; it makes us strategically weaker; it funnels money out of our economy; and it puts some of that money in the pockets of groups like Islamic Jihad, Hamas, and al-Qaeda.

So while the tundra of remote Alaskan coasts may not have a oil derrick, some of the money I spend on gas will be going to the creation of roadside bombs in
Iraq. So while Zarqawi may thanks you, I most emphatically do not.

People are dying because of the terrorism caused by oil money in the hands of despots and outlaw groups. While I understand that energy is essential to economic development—and development is making lives better and safer in the third world, not to mention here—I don't understand why we don't do what we can to ease the suffering just a little.

Drill ANWR. Build refineries. Now.

Michael Yon's Work

. . . is being used on the floor of the senate (link here at the magazine), and he'll be posting the text of Bruce Willis' speech soon. (I hope he got a picture, too!)

Light Blogging, Next Two Days

I'll be working at my occasional on-site job today and tomorrow (and very likely the first few days of this coming week).

This will have deleterious effects, on 1) my blog, and 2) my lifestyle of complete and absolute indolence.

Goldstein on the War

Not the war in Iraq: the war between the Bush Administration and the CIA. Jeff's got an extended quotation from the Journal Online, and some thoughts of his own on where to go from here.

There's clearly something fishy going on. Whether or not you think that Joe Wilson's trip to Niger was one of the CIA's attempts to embarass the President (Dorkafork at INDC* says no), the CIA does appear to be out of control—and more than a little incompetent.

Bush can't stand above the fray any more: he is the fray.

* Fixed to give credit where it's due. My apologies to Dorkafork; I just can't get used to the fact that some blogs more important than mine have additional writers even when the main blogger isn't on vacation.

Froggy Says

. . . don't even bother with Jarhead. The people who put it together are so ignorant of military matters that none of them even own clothing in shades of green (or blue).

The Commissar

. . . is celebrating two years of blogging and his millionth hit. In the spirit of celebration, he allowed Beth to "interrogate" him; it's a lovely interview. Drop by and add your congratulations!

And, seemingly in answer to my previous request for help in finding the secrets to Allied air superiority during World War II, he comes out of the closet with respect to his main site, Ace Pilots. Which is dedicated to the planes and pilots of that conflict.

I feel like it's Christmas, seven weeks early.

He's Back in the Saddle Again.

Jeff of Beautiful Atrocities is shooting smack blog entries, and has a stunning little example headlined: "SUPPORT THE INSURGENTS! DEFEND BORED YOUTH!"

But it's not like Jeff isn't willing to put his activism where his, um, html is. Au contraire:

Join us tonight in SF, where the usual spotty crowds of shiftless rabble will assemble with signs reading SARKOZY=HITLER, NO BLOOD FOR CREME BRULEE, & VOULEZ VOUS COUCHER AVEC MOI, then proceed to chant incoherently, torch Peugeots, make jackasses of ourselves, & hopefully get laid.

I love stories with happy endings; they make me cry, but in the good way. Be sure to wear that cute leather jacket, Jeff.

France in Flames

The Commissar links to a few folks who are pointing out that funky social policies, bad economic conditions, and racial segregation have a lot more to do with the French riots than Islam does.

It's a horrific situation; let's try to evaluate it objectively, rather than projecting our fear of Islamo-fascism onto that situation.

There's a Nice Little Roundup of BFL Blogging on the CA Special Election,

right here.

In a surprise development, my views on parental notification laws are in the minority within the Bear Flag League. Life does have its twists and turns, no?

Vote Tuesday, and we'll be golden. (Get it? Get it?)

Jihad in Trouble

The U.N. is, um, stiff competition.

Remember

The Soldiers' Angels fundraising effort to provide injured men and women with laptops continues; please give generously.

[Oh, gee. I guess that was the button for the Marine team. Well, there are Army, Navy, and Air Force teams. So there you go. We'll let the free market sort it out.]

Can Anyone Recommend

. . . a good book on tanks? I'd prefer an overview, but a WWII focus is fine.

Actually, same question on planes. I'd like to explore what gave us air superiority in the invasion on D-Day, but context/history is important.

Thanks! (I'm sorry: tanks!)

On Parental Notification

Oh, thank God! Another L.A. non-lefty sees the problems with parental notification. I'm not positive I agree with Cathy Siepp that all of Proposition 73's backers are operating in bad faith—but I do think the intuitive reaction parents have is "I wouldn't want my daughter to undergo an abortion without my input." And these parents really needn't worry: if your daughter has a sense that you will help her through a crisis, you're the first person she'll turn to if she makes a mistake or is the victim of abuse.

Of course, you're still likely to be concerned about the notion that "technically, she could sneak out and get an abortion." Good for you: I'm sure that is a creepy thought. But I don't think it's a realistic one.

Dysfunctional households, however, don't usually advertise their status with large lawn signs. Society has no way of knowing what goes on behind closed doors. Many people see "abuse" as only something physical, something that leaves scars behind. But there are emotionally abusive parents out there, and one thing that is likely to trigger this abusiveness is the news that their daughter is engaging in sexual activity. (Not so much sons: easy come, easy go. Play it as it lays. Damn the torpedoes; full speed ahead. What, me worry? Sons, of course, do not get pregnant.)

Cathy:

. . . An abortion is not like other medical procedures.

If a girl wants, say, a nose job, and can't get it because her parents say no, the alternative to getting the nose job is simply not getting the nose job; she remains free of a medical procedure, with its attendant risks her parents don't want her to have. And I agree that should be the parents' decision.

But if a girl wants an abortion as soon as she finds out she's pregnant, and her parents say no, or she can't work up the nerve to tell them, at least not right away, the alternative is not that she remains free of a situation requiring a medical procedure -- but that she is forced instead to endure others (staying pregnant, or having a later term abortion) that, whatever you think of embryos' rights, are certainly medically riskier to the girl, especially a young one.

Perhaps if the men and boys who get underage girls into these medical situations in the first place were legally required to notify the girls' parents before they did, Prop. 73 would make a certain amount of sense. As it stands now, however, it's just pandering to those whose real agenda is making even early term abortions more difficult, not helping parents know everything that goes on in their daughters' lives.

I'm not even convinced that Prop. 73 would cause noticably less abortions. I suspect the real effects would be more late term abortions instead of early ones, and more newborns dumped in trashcans by girls who find it hard to admit even to themselves they're pregnant, let alone their parents.

That's exactly what it will mean in the real world: more late-term abortions, more infanticide. More abuse of teenagers.

I'm sorry, but if your own child is scared of you, why should society trust you?

I, for one, do not. Sorry.

It's an Outrage!

I'm officially offended! Left out! By my own blog-nephew!

The horror!

(In actuality, it's a nice little roundup of Libertarian/Right Blogs That Are Way Better Known Than Mine. Go look, and see if you agree with Jon's assessments.)

UPDATE: Corrected to say what I really meant. I suspect this will happen more and more as I get older. My absent-mindedness is not lessening in middlle-age.

Joyner on the Military in Movies

Apparently, Jarhead is nearly as bad as a lot of us feared it would be. Very little verissimilitude for anyone who's ever served in the armed forces—much less a veteran of the first Gulf War such as Joyner. In the comments section, James is challenged to come up with military movies that are true to real-life experience in uniform. Naturally, Band of Brothers gets raves—but of course one of the reasons it's so successful is that it takes eight hours (or was it ten?) to tell its story. There's a lot of time to capture some of the varied experiences of the men in the 101st Airborne.

We need more people who have actually served writing stories about the military; as it is, what we're given is too far off the mark.

Mark Steyn on British/American Scandals

From an interview with Hugh Hewitt that actually focuses on the riots around Paris:

This guy, David Blunkett, he's the home secretary, which is like the interior minister, and I mainly know him, because he had a very celebrated affair with my publisher at the British Spectator. There were in one of these things, what they call a love child in the British tabloid press, and DNA testing, and all the rest of it. And I'm probably speaking out of turn here, but I mean the sex life...I hasten to add I'm not getting any action at the Spectator. But everyone else at that magazine seems to be. And I think this is just one of those curious scandals that won't impact on Tony Blair. I think the Bush thing is slightly different. That's a much more explicitly effort to in effect, criminalize American foreign policy, which I think it disgusting, but also rather absurd.

[h/t: Insty.]

X-posted at Dean's World

I Saw the Most Beautiful Spider Yesterday Evening.

It was weaving a web on my balcony, and I could see it from inside and across the room: a reddish-brown, perhaps 2 1/2 inches across (including legs). What a beautiful creature.

My brother had a pet tarantula when he was in college. But don't tarantulas move less gracefully than little spiders? And somehow the little ones look sleeker. And I love their webs.

Perhaps I should have a boy after all, and we can play with trains together. And trucks. And spiders. And sidearms.

Though buying clothes might be more fun with a little girl.

With my luck, though, my child—boy or girl—will like lizards. I'm afraid of lizards.

Is he a cutie, or what? Bachelor #1 here is a native of Mexico. I'll see if I can get a digital pic of one of my arachnid roommates (our brownish outdoor spider, or our blackish indoor spider, who tried to help me read last night).

Heartbreak.

When I woke up today I looked in the mirror and was delighted: my hair was so thoroughly mussed it was standing up in places. My lips were slightly chapped, and stained with blood around the edges. My teeth were covered with dried blood.

I looked far, far more like a vampire than I usually do—even when sleep deprivation aggravates the natural dark circles under my eyes.

I got up, preparing to creep up behind my husband and surprise him. But, tragically, he was out to breakfast with a mutual friend.

I should have trotted down to the local coffee shop where I assumed they were meeting, still in my robe, and loomed suddenly over their booth. But fear of arrest held me back.

I'll probably always regret this decision.

UPDATE: Attila the Hub thinks I was on the right track, but suggests it would have been better to run into the restaurant shrieking vs. trying the stealth route. He assures me that he and our friend Jack would have offered me a cup of coffee and a place at the table.

That's my honey.

The Unofficial Boston Legal Fan Site Linked Me.

The site's editors are getting a lot of mail about last Tuesday's egregious episode, which skipped over all the successes in Iraq to editorialize that our action there is a "disaster."

They link my cry for help, and report that the mail on "Witches of Mass Destruction" is running 50-50 pro/con. Apparently, however, a lot of the pro-war correspondents are being rude in their letters. I would like to remind war supporters that the stereotype of Republicans, conservative Democrats, and Libertarians is that we're less educated and thoughtful than the "intellectuals" who oppose us on this issue. Passion is fine, but if we want to persuade anyone we don't want to play into their preconceptions.

My recommendation for hawkish Boston Legal fans: When communicating with ABC or with those who run the fan site, concentrate on the fact that this show ignored our stunning successes in Iraq, and that any objective measurements demonstrate this success (the low civilian casualty rate, the fact of two elections with amazing turnout despite the citizenry taking great physical risk to vote, low Coalition casulties [particularly compared with Vietnam], the ratifying of the country's constitution, the diminishing insurgency, the progress in repairing Iraqi infrastructure, the accelerating rate of Sunni participation in the country's politics).

Alternatively, point out that we get saturation news coverage of all the so-called "setbacks" in the war, but virtual Heritage Media blackout on its stunning progress. The writers of Boston Legal assert that we're getting little or no news from Iraq, and that the war is garnering less attention than Vietnam did. That notion is simply laughable: what is meant is that those who penned Alan Shore's closing argument presume the American populace is ill-informed. Otherwise, more people would share their "enlightened" opinions.

This reflects the fact that the media and entertainment elites in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, Boston and all universities simply do not come into contact with smart people who don't see eye-to-eye with them. And when they do, these people—like me, and sometimes my husband—stay mute on the subject of politics. Because we're tired of losing jobs over it.

Memo to ABC: Hire some bright people who disagree with you. Or encourage those who are in the closet about their beliefs to come out. (Hint: they don't necessarily look like the ultra-vanilla Brad Chase, or the flamboyantly Old School Denny Crane.)

And you will stop losing viewers. Guaranteed. If you're at a loss, for crying out loud, e-mail me: I know the two funniest television writers out there— both them, of course, discreet about their GOP leanings.

Just because you jumped the shark doesn't mean you can't jump back. It can be done.

Ye Olde Crime Novel

I took the gauze out of my mouth long enough to read a few pages aloud at Writer's Group tonight. This was one of my "shocker" chapters, and people were . . . well, shocked. That might be good, but if I choose to keep that scene I have to throw in some hints that it might be coming, and consider carefully whether people will be as interested in the character if I continue along this path.

I'd like to keep it, though it definitely gives the tale an even darker turn. But I should consider nuking it. If I do that, I have to figure out how to find a substitute for the final reveal at the end, or whether that's even necessary. If I do my job right, the main plot twist might be enough.

It's been a year and a half, and none of these people has yet articulated what I long to hear: "there, there. That really sucks. You can't write. Why don't you burn this sorry excuse for a manuscript, go home, and take a hot bath? By the way—this isn't your fault. Most likely it's your mother's. Or your husband's. Or perhaps an ex-boyfriend's. Don't worry about it."

It's an Alito Jamboree!

See the Truth Laid Bear topic page on SCOTUS Sam.

(Also, link my Alito posts; I'm only #186 on the list of bloggers covering this topic, and I deserve to be higher on the list because . . . because the novacaine is wearing off . . . or because I'm cute . . . or because I'm so freaking smart . . . or BECAUSE OF THE GOLDSTEINIAN HYPOCRISY/PATRIARCHY . . . or, something).

[h/t: Insty.]

Actually if you want to read the definitive analyses of Alito's positions, you need to go to Patterico's place every day, and keep scrolling. (Here: this gateway post will probably take you there faster.)

My Advice to the Gay Community

Don't worry about facts: lock and load!

The Bleeding Has Slowed.

I've decided to take a walk on the wild side by going gauzeless for 30-60 minutes.

You know, when I was young I feared there would be fewer thrills available to me in middle age. But no!—setting the gauze aside for a short time after oral surgery. Does it get any better than that?

Well, That Was Refreshing.

I had my fourth/final wisdom tooth out this morning. I was too cheap to spring for general anesthesia (besides which, I thought I should remain awake to handle the challenging task of breathing through my nose).

Consequently, I'm just sitting here bored and hungry. Some questions come to mind:

1) Do they make "junior size" gauze squares that are less likely to constantly trigger my gag reflex?

2) How much blood can a person swallow before he/she gets nauseous?

3) How, exactly, am I supposed to eat with a big hole in my mouth? I mean, I get it that I'm supposed to go for stuff like yogurt and oatmeal, but how do I avoid getting food particles into that little canyon in the back of my mouth?

4) When they say, "use the Vicodin if the pain gets too strong," don't they really mean, "take a whole bunch of pills at once if you're so bored you can't stand it"? It kind of sounded like that to me.

I'll see if Ike can entertain me; it's going to be a long day.

The News from France

My heart just aches. I can't even be snarky. Not yet.

Shades of L.A. in 1992. Though our riots only lasted for three days, and these have gone on for eight.

Ironically, in L.A. it underscored the line between the decent and the indecent: despite the racial overtones to the rioting, when I waited in line at the supermarket alongside black people we still shared a camaraderie: we were part of the decent people who wanted to hunker down with our loved ones until the craziness stopped.

Over at Townhall,

Malkin shows the New York Times "dowdifying" a letter from a dead Marine in order to make him sound grimly resigned to his death, rather than willing to give his life to combat terrorism.

When the reporter was called on it by a reader, he resorted to the "chickenhawk" meme, asking the reader if he'd ever been to Iraq! Amazing.

Via Dean's World.

Here's an Interesting Study

regarding whether make-up enhances or mutes female beauty. I'm not so sure about the methodology of the first part of the study.

Makeup in my own case doesn't seem to have much effect on whether men find me attractive. I wear it because I don't like seeing my face in the mirror of the Nordstrom ladies' room unless I've done something about those ever-present circles under my eyes. And once I've gone that far, I usually throw some lipstick on; it's a privilege of middle age.

Makeup, like decent clothing, is for us alone. Jane Austen got the principle right.

What I'm Reading

Right now: Ambrose's condensed biography of Eisenhower (that is, the single volume subtitled "Soldier and President").

I'm fairly intrigued by the parallels between the good General and Dr. Rice. Speaking of which, the Americans for Rice website is once again being updated, and getting very serious about beefing up its Iowa activist groups—not to mention running more advertising in that state on the regrettable Commander in Chief television show. (I swear I tried to watch it, but after three episodes or so even the deliciously evil Donald Sutherland couldn't keep me coming back: the writing is just too lame.)

I Hate to Be the Bearer of Good News . . .

but we're still doing some great work in Afghanistan that the heritage media are ignoring.

More on Political Theater in the Senate

Joyner:

Juvenile grandstanding on the part of his opponents will only serve to help the President.

Wilma!

Holy shit.

Dear Abby,

I'm at a crossroad. Boston Legal is delightful, but I cannot stand the political stances the writers are taking. In a way, it gets worse when they pretend to be "even-handed," since their hearts clearly aren't in it. And who, exactly, would be the voice of patriotic reason in that series? The main ongoing Republican character is bigoted and befuddled, and a judge "stands up for the military" with a speech that begins by declaring the war in Iraq a "disaster."

Yet I find myself addicted to their fast cuts, sexiness, and moments of surrealism. Not to mention Candice Bergen and William Shatner.

They've really got a hold on me.

Can I talk the show's producers into knocking off the political material, or must I accept this weekly fix as a guilty pleasure, and my one real tie to popular culture? Or shall I begin attending SLAA meetings and shoot my television?

—Addicted to Law

UPDATE, 11/4/05: More ranting at ABC here, with a special plea for reasoned feedback from bright hawks.

Would Someone Get Reid Some Smelling Salts?

These people crack me up.

So, How Do We Ramp Up Vaccine Production?

There's an interesting discussion going on over at Two Babes and a Brain.

Me? I'm a market chick. I honestly do believe that vaccine production has plummeted because of price controls and the threat of lawsuits. So I think Bush's proposal is a step in the right direction.

The Cotillion Ball Is On, Baby!

Over at Portia Rediscovered.

Hubris is Still Without Power.

Keep him in your thoughts. Fortunately, it looks like his kids are safe with their mommy in another part of Florida where the storm didn't hit.

And he has some feedback on solitary activities in severe weather. I believe he recommends a pack of cards.