Archive for August, 2006

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

9th Planet Destroyed!

By decree, that is:
After a tumultuous week of clashing over the essence of the cosmos, the International Astronomical Union stripped Pluto of the planetary status it has held since its discovery in 1930. 
No word yet on whether the object ‘Markville’ will be allowed to take its place…

4 Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs by Mark

---

Thursday, August 24th, 2006

The Biden Plan On Iraq

Joe Biden thinks he knows a way to salvage Iraq:
Four months ago, in an opinion piece with Les Gelb, president emeritus of the Council on Foreign Relations, I laid out a detailed plan to keep Iraq together, protect America’s interests and bring our troops home. Many experts here and in Iraq embraced our ideas. Since […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Israel Hints About Iranian Strike

Off the record and possibly just random boasting, but significant, nonetheless:
Israel is carefully watching the world’s reaction to Iran’s continued refusal to suspend uranium enrichment, with some high-level officials arguing it is now clear that when it comes to stopping Iran, Israel “may have to go it alone,” The Jerusalem Post has learned.
One senior […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Israel, Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

John McIntyre: Analysis Of Polls Indicating Dissatisfaction With Iraq Doesn’t Include The Decision ‘08 Factor

Okay, he didn’t word it that way - but I think he makes a valid point here:
The Left-wing netroots crowd along with the NY Times is all atwitter about the latest polling suggesting the public’s negativity toward the war in Iraq is at an all time high. The number one story on BuzzTracker for much […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Elephants, Donkeys, Iraq, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Windows Vista Beta 2 Troubleshooting

Okay, my regular readers will forgive me, I hope, for going into Tech Support mode, but I have two tips for the poor souls who, like me, stupidly loaded Windows Vista Beta 2 on their main computer and have lived to regret it (sometimes Google searches land here, so I hope I help at least […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Strange Doings In Amsterdam

Well, I have to run out to meetings this afternoon, but there is a definite situation brewing in Amsterdam. 12 passengers were arrested after a flight was diverted back to the airport following ’suspicious’ activity. Could be something, could be nothing…

No Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Althouse Knocks One Out Of The Park

Ann Althouse has a piece in the New York Times that is not only delightfully dismissive of the Judge Taylor anti-eavesdropping decision, but also instructive on the point of ‘above the law’ versus testing the limits of the law:
So often, we’ve heard complaints about “activist” judges. They’re suspected of deciding what outcome they want, based […]

36 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, SCOTUS, POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT by Mark

---

Wednesday, August 23rd, 2006

Baby, I’m A Star…

…but perhaps not for long.  Tom Cruise, once considered the king of the box office (a title that now belongs to Johnny Depp), has been dropped by a hot potato by Paramount:
Citing Tom Cruise’s yearlong metamorphosis from pure box-office phenomenon to pop-culture punch line, Viacom’s chairman, Sumner M. Redstone, said Tuesday that Paramount Pictures […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Rudy Grabs Early Iowa Lead

Up 13(!!!) over John McCain.  Get the scoop at the Giuliani Blog…

9 Comments » - Posted in Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, 2008 Polls, Republican Candidates by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

A Most Worthy Cause

You see that new addition on the left? The one that says I remember Todd C. Weaver?  Well, with the hat tip to A.J., here’s a wonderful idea - 2,996 blogs (well, roughly - a few have multiple tributes assigned) are going to pay tribute, on September 11, 2006, to the 2,996 fallen of that […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Radical Islam / GWOT, In Praise Of by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

It’s Good News/Bad News/Good News

The good news, as we discussed earlier: two polls show Lieberman still leading Lamont.
The bad news: both show a statistically insignificant 2% lead.
The good news: Lamont has a terrible image problem with the undecideds, and most of them aren’t Democrats, anyway…
Advantage: Lieberman…

1 Comment » - Posted in Election 2006, Joe Lieberman, Democratic Candidates by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

And You Thought I Was Pessimistic…

Thomas Sowell:
It is hard to think of a time when a nation — and a whole civilization — has drifted more futilely toward a bigger catastrophe than that looming over the United States and western civilization today.
Nuclear weapons in the hands of Iran and North Korea mean that it is only a matter of […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, Israel, North Korea, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Lieberman Still Leads Lamont, But Not My Much

Two new polls show Joe Lieberman with a scant two-point lead over Ned Lamont (forgive the source, but Rasmussen has it hidden under Premium).  I’ve somewhat glibly predicted a big Lieberman victory in November, just as I somewhat glibly predicted Ned Lamont had ZERO chance of knocking off Lieberman in the primary - but here’s […]

10 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Joe Lieberman, Democratic Candidates by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

Soviet-Style Attempted Purge Of Lieberman Continues

What are these people so afraid of?
Critics of Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman’s independent run to keep his job attacked on two fronts Monday, with one group asking an elections official to throw him out of the Democratic Party and a former rival calling on state officials to keep his name off the November ballot. 
Does democracy […]

18 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Joe Lieberman, Democratic Candidates by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

The War With Hezbollah: A More Positive Take

Edward Luttlak, writing in the Jerusalem Post, says the critics such as myself are not taking the long view of latest war:
In the immediate aftermath of the 1973 October War, there was much joy in the Arab world because the myth of Israeli invincibility had been shattered by the surprise Egyptian crossing of the Suez […]

No Comments » - Posted in Israel, Radical Islam / GWOT, Foreign Affairs by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

A Welcome Bump In The Polls

We’ll take the good news where we can get it as this long, brutal summer continues:
The arrest of terror suspects in London has helped buoy President Bush to his highest approval rating in six months and dampen Democratic congressional prospects to their lowest in a year.
In a USA TODAY/Gallup Poll taken Friday through Sunday, […]

9 Comments » - Posted in POTUS, Joe Lieberman, Election 2006, Elephants, Donkeys, NY Times/Media Watch, Radical Islam / GWOT, Democratic Candidates by Mark

---

Tuesday, August 22nd, 2006

The Iranian Shell Game Continues

In just a very few minutes, Iran is scheduled to respond to the ultimatum that it suspend its nuclear program.  It will, of course, do no such thing.  We have seen the pattern, and news reports indicate we will see it again:
The Iranian government has told senior European officials that it will not accept the […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iran, Radical Islam / GWOT, UN/Oil-For-Food by Mark

---

Monday, August 21st, 2006

On Bush And Communications

John Fund says he’s not doing well getting the word out:
Everyone has long known the president is no Pericles. One of Mr. Bush’s friends cheerfully admitted to me once that “every morning George gets up and arm-wrestles the English language all day. He often loses.” Many bright people are inarticulate. Albert Einstein was dyslexic, and […]

13 Comments » - Posted in Joe Lieberman, POTUS, Iraq, Democratic Candidates by Mark

---

Monday, August 21st, 2006

Things I Hate, Part 87

The summer (of the 21 days in August thus far, we’ve topped 100 on 16 of them here in Austin)…as I’ve been reminded before, though, our troops are suffering from far worse. God bless you, guys and gals! Stay cool and safe…

2 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing by Mark

---

Monday, August 21st, 2006

You Call That A Recommendation?

Spike Lee’s “When The Levees Broke”, his four-hour documentary on Katrina, begins airing tonight on HBO. Spike is a sometimes brilliant filmmaker whose political opinions are, to say the least, borderline juvenile in their paranoia (to continue a discussion from another thread, Lee’s almost masterpiece “Do The Right Thing” is moral relativism at its […]

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

---

---

---