Decision ‘08 » 2005

Archive for November, 2005

Monday, November 28th, 2005

Whom Should We Trust Less: Russia or Iran?

I’ve been meaning to post, but have never got around to it, on the increasingly autocratic Russia under Putin. Corruption is rampant, and freedom is disappearing. Yet the IAEA, instead of referring Iran’s nuclear program to the Security Council, is letting Russia lead another round of negotiations.
The Wall Street Journal reminds us of […]

No Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

Monday, November 28th, 2005

My Faith in the Republic is Renewed

Try this on for size, Harry and Nancy:
Democrats fumed last week at Vice President Cheney’s suggestion that criticism of the administration’s war policies was itself becoming a hindrance to the war effort. But a new poll indicates most Americans are sympathetic to Cheney’s point.
Seventy percent of people surveyed said that criticism of the war by […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys, Iraq, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Sunday, November 27th, 2005

Post-Holiday RINO Sightings

Leave it to Don Surber to add a…well, a certain je ne sais quai to the time-honored holiday tradition of RINO Sightings…check it out, as always, lots of great stuff…

No Comments » - Posted in RINOs / Chillers by Mark

Sunday, November 27th, 2005

Fitzgerald Never Sleeps

It may be the holidays, but don’t tell that to Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald:
Viveca Novak, a reporter in Time’s Washington bureau, is cooperating with Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who is investigating the leak of CIA operative Valerie Plame’s identity in 2003, the magazine reported in its December 5 issue.
Novak specifically has been asked to testify […]

9 Comments » - Posted in PlameGate by Mark

Sunday, November 27th, 2005

Zakaria Nails It

In a nutshell, this is exactly what the current Iraq debate is about:
The rising clamor in Washington to get out of Iraq may be right or may be wrong, but one thing is certain: its timing has little to do with events in that country. Iraq today is no worse off than it was three […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Saturday, November 26th, 2005

Songs I Could Live Happily Without Ever Hearing Again

Number 1 in an occasional series:
“Aqualung”, Jethro Tull
Anything by Loggins & Messina
“Come Sail Away”, Styx (the Cartman version, that’s another story)

14 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing by Mark

Saturday, November 26th, 2005

Good News (If You’re A Republican)

Bob Novak has his latest hodgepodge of gossip up, and it contains this welcome tidbit:
Just as Democrats had envisioned the promised land with enhanced prospects for gaining control of the House in the 2006 elections, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) fund-raising hit a bump in the road.
The DCCC, which did well in September by […]

No Comments » - Posted in Donkeys by Mark

Saturday, November 26th, 2005

With McCain, There’s Plenty To Love And Hate

With the hat tip to Academic Elephant, here’s another good piece on John McCain, this time from Stephen Moore of the Wall Street Journal’s editorial board. Moore finds plenty to cheer with McCain, and plenty that makes him nervous. Indeed, it seems McCain is a bit of a chameleon; if you like him, […]

12 Comments » - Posted in John McCain, Republican Candidates by Mark

Friday, November 25th, 2005

The Nation on McCain

When I saw that hard-left magazine The Nation had a piece entitled ‘The Real McCain’, I guessed it was a typical hatchet job from the progressive rag. I was pleasantly surprised to see some pretty good analysis. I don’t need to agree with a piece 100%, or even 25%, to recommend it; all […]

7 Comments » - Posted in John McCain, Republican Candidates by Mark

Friday, November 25th, 2005

Another Hopeful Sign in Iraq

Various insurgency groups may be reaching the conclusion that failure to participate in the political process only serves to marginalize their views:
A senior aide to Iraq’s president said today that some insurgent groups had contacted him to discuss joining in the American-backed political process.
The official, Lt. Gen. Wafiq al-Samarraie, the security adviser to President Jalal […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Friday, November 25th, 2005

Warner ‘08 Gaining Traction

Longtime readers of this blog know that I have maintained from the beginning that Hillary Clinton is the Democrat to beat in 2008, and that any serious challenge against her would have to come from the center rather than the left - thus, Feingold, while exciting to the progressives, will be death warmed over for […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Mark Warner, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Friday, November 25th, 2005

Why Did Ariel Sharon Leave Likud?

Facts on the ground versus ideological purity:
“I would probably have beaten Netanyahu [in the Likud primary] and gone on to win the general election,” was Mr. Sharon’s own, likely correct, verdict on his political chances had he remained in the Likud.
So what was Mr. Sharon thinking? Note, first, that the original purpose of Likud was […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Elephants, Foreign Affairs by Mark

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

The Turkey That Laid A Golden Egg

That’s what the editorial board of Pajamas Media is calling this discussion on what went right and (mostly) wrong with the launch, and what can be done to get back on track…I thought that the comments from Glenn Reynolds, aka the Instapundit, were the most on target, unsurprisingly…
Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving - I’m […]

No Comments » - Posted in Pajamas Media, Uncategorized by Mark

Thursday, November 24th, 2005

Three Things to Do This Thanksgiving Day

1. Stop by Pajamas Media for the exciting play-by-play of the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade.
2. Wallow in white liberal collective guilt with UT Journalism Professor Robert Jensen.
3. Celebrate the ‘most distinctively American holiday’ with immigrant Christopher Hitchens.
UPDATE 9:30 a.m.: George Will adds a fourth: give thanks for William F. Buckley on his […]

No Comments » - Posted in Pajamas Media, Hitchens the Great, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

A Victory for the Sane People

Loud-mouth, egotistical, and filthy rich superstar Terrell Owens was a total loser in arbitration hearings; he will not be playing football this season, period. What a shame…oh, well, Terrell, for this Thanksgiving, you can reflect on why $7 million a year was not sufficient the year after you signed for it, why football is […]

No Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

Where Shall We Hide From A Global Threat?

That’s the question on the mind of the great Christopher Hitchens as he ponders the withdrawal from Iraq that is so much requested. But first, a preliminary bit of classic Hitchens snarkery:
…[T]he problem with the Iraq confrontation, as fought “at home,” is not its level of anger but its level of argument. After almost […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Hitchens the Great, Iraq by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

Looking at the 2008 Frontrunners

Charlie Cook, that is…although I would quibble with McCain being the Republican frontrunner (polls seem to indicate it’s Giuliani), there’s still lots of good info here:
The two presumptive favorites for 2008 presidential nominations each face enormous challenges, according to the new Cook Political Report/RT Strategies national poll. Indeed, their problems are almost mirror opposites of […]

16 Comments » - Posted in John McCain, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Polls, Republican Candidates, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

Who Else Was Concerned About Saddam’s WMDs?

Hosni Mubarak and King Abdullah II, that’s who…Viking Pundit has an unbelievably revealing excerpt from Tommy Franks’ autobiography that I highly recommend…

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

N.Z. Bear Announces New Policy: No Open Trackbacks for Ecosystem

You’ve seen them elsewhere…and I make no judgments on the rightness or wrongness of it…but the ‘open trackback’ concept to gain traction in the Ecosystem is now verbotten…
If the above makes no sense, not to worry: it’s blog shop-talk, but you can read about here…
James Joyner, a pioneer of the open trackback movement, supports it; […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Uncategorized by Mark

Wednesday, November 23rd, 2005

Trial of Saddam Resumes Monday

The details:
Barring another successful motion by the defense for a delay, the trial is expected to proceed uninterrupted for several days, with witnesses appearing in court for the first time under intense security restrictions.
It is not clear how long the trial will last, but some officials have estimated it could go on for several months. […]