Tuesday, February 17, 2004
BLOGOSPHERE ROUND-UP
JAMES LILEKS READS THE 1992 PAPERS and finds many continuities.
ANDREW SULLIVAN links to a WaPo story about the front lines of democratizing Iraq (free registration required)
JOHN ROSENBERG follows the College Republicans at Roger Williams University as they push the envelope on affirmative action.
PATRICK NIELSEN HAYDEN notes that much of the rhetoric of neoconservatives sounds vaguely familiar. Actually, he notes a note of a note that notes . . . . aw forget it. This is the blogosphere, you know the drill.
THE MYSTERIOUS ATRIOS (who claims he isn?t Sidney Blumenthal but seems to like to talk about the guy whenever possible) sides with Larry Flynt.
CONRAD notes what Singapore's efforts to combat falling birthrates: Introducing Dr. Love Superbaby Making Show.
GLENN INSTAPUNDIT REYNOLDS cries foul on AP coverage of President Bush
I agree that the lead paragraph in this story
MICKEY KAUS channels a message from the media to Howard Dean: "We want Dean gone tomorrow."
WONKETTE discusses the farce that is the White House Press Conference (and links to some good Daily Show clips on the subject). I actually listened to the press conference in question on C-SPAN (the joys of a 1+ hour commute). My conclusion was that if the Bush team really has nothing to hide then Scott McClellan is the most incompetent press secretary on the planet. The entire press conference was nothing but an maddeningly endless parade of evasive prevarications.
AND FINALLY, ENJOY THE 1000 FIGHTING STYLES OF DON RUMSFELD. Thanks to Tim Blair for the link.
JAMES LILEKS READS THE 1992 PAPERS and finds many continuities.
You want to know why we invaded Iraq in 2003? Go back and read the papers in 1992. And you'll find this quote:
"If they're such whizzes at foreign policy, why is Saddam Hussein thumbing his nose at the rest of the world?"
Albert. Gore. Junior.
In the same paper: "Fundamentalist rebels attacked Kabul with rockets in an assault that killed at least 100 people and wounded hundreds more. As the shelling intensified, a United Nations agency said it was removing its staff from Kabul."
Nice to know some things never change
ANDREW SULLIVAN links to a WaPo story about the front lines of democratizing Iraq (free registration required)
With about a month of planning -- at a cost of about $600 each -- Bradley organized back-to-back elections this past week in Chebayish and Fuhud, towns of dirt roads, stagnant puddles and cinder-block huts that border the resurrected marshes Hussein sought to drain in the 1990s. Banners in Fuhud that called voting "a moral, religious and national duty" competed with Hussein-era slogans still painted on walls of the one-story girls' school. "Down with the Jews," one intoned.
Hundreds lined up outside the school, carrying the sometimes smudged, creased or torn ration cards issued to their families, plus one other form of identification. In this election, each family was allowed two votes -- one for a man, one for a woman. Ration cards were marked with two stamps, and voters then sat at battered school desks, choosing between five and 10 names from a list of 44 candidates.
"One at a time, one at a time, organization is beautiful," shouted one of the judges running the voting, Kamil Rashad Fleih.
JOHN ROSENBERG follows the College Republicans at Roger Williams University as they push the envelope on affirmative action.
College Republicans at Roger Williams University are offering a $50 scholarship "for a student of non-color." (Link requires free registration)Does this trouble you (it does me)? If so, does it trouble you more than a similar scholarship for minorities? Why or why not? Does this stunt have anything meaningful to say about affirmative action in college admissions? Why or why not? Talk amongst yourselves.
"In 100 words or less," the application states, "write why you are proud of your white heritage and explain what being white means to you." In addition, it adds, "Must attach recent picture to confirm whiteness. Evidence of bleaching will disqualify applicants."
PATRICK NIELSEN HAYDEN notes that much of the rhetoric of neoconservatives sounds vaguely familiar. Actually, he notes a note of a note that notes . . . . aw forget it. This is the blogosphere, you know the drill.
As both Lind and Martens observe, many of these calls for America to spread "global democratic revolution" at gunpoint read like manifestos of the Fourth International with a few of the proper nouns changed.
THE MYSTERIOUS ATRIOS (who claims he isn?t Sidney Blumenthal but seems to like to talk about the guy whenever possible) sides with Larry Flynt.
I'd also like the media to consider one thing - compare Flynt's batting average with Drudge's. While the media will jump to condemn Flynt, they should recognize that Flynt has higher journalistic standards than any of them for this kind of thing. He doesn't run with things until he has multiple sources. This story may or may not be true, but frankly I have a lot more faith in the accuracy of Flynt's reporting than I do in a lot of the mainstream press. The recent week has only re-confirmed that.
CONRAD notes what Singapore's efforts to combat falling birthrates: Introducing Dr. Love Superbaby Making Show.
GLENN INSTAPUNDIT REYNOLDS cries foul on AP coverage of President Bush
I agree that the lead paragraph in this story
After trying to quell stories about his Vietnam-era military record, President Bush (news - web sites) is seeking to move beyond it by meeting with National Guard members in Louisiana.does not appear to have any substantiation in the article itself. There is no discussion as to why the reporter, a Scott Lindlaw, concluded that the visit to Fort Polk was an attempt to "move beyond" questions about Bush?s National Guard service rather than a Commander-in-Chief's routine and expected visit to troops during wartime. There may be reason to conclude the way Lindlaw does, but he doesn't bother to tell the reader why.
MICKEY KAUS channels a message from the media to Howard Dean: "We want Dean gone tomorrow."
WONKETTE discusses the farce that is the White House Press Conference (and links to some good Daily Show clips on the subject). I actually listened to the press conference in question on C-SPAN (the joys of a 1+ hour commute). My conclusion was that if the Bush team really has nothing to hide then Scott McClellan is the most incompetent press secretary on the planet. The entire press conference was nothing but an maddeningly endless parade of evasive prevarications.
AND FINALLY, ENJOY THE 1000 FIGHTING STYLES OF DON RUMSFELD. Thanks to Tim Blair for the link.
