Decision ‘08 » 2006

Archive for November, 2006

Monday, November 20th, 2006

What’s Missing From Iraq: A Partner

Fareed Zakaria has been quite good on Iraq lately (of course, I would think that, as his thoughts have been echoing my own). For me, a turning point in Iraq was reached on the day that Maliki shut down our operation in Sadr City to find a missing soldier. The turning point was in my […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

You’re Speaking My Language

This is the kind of piece I love to see - from Donald Boudreaux in the Christian Science Monitor:
Everyone knows that a key to the Democrats’ big electoral win was their opposition to the Iraq war. But also, as the Wall Street Journal reported recently, “Democrats’ stances against free trade helped build the party’s success […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Election 2006, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Victory!

The O.J. book AND the TV specials have been cancelled!
I realize some of you don’t see this issue in the same light that I do…hey, that’s okay. It’s a free country. Let me just once more note that this was not a triumph of censorship: O.J. is free to confess to whomever he wants to, and […]

14 Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Another Poll, Another Huge Clinton Lead

Although the headline is the Incredible Shrinking Kerry Candidacy; from 12% support to 7% in the space of one month. Here are the Democratic standings according to CNN:
New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 33%
Illinois Sen. Barack Obama 15%
Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards 14%
Former Vice President Al Gore 14%
Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry 7%
Retired Gen. Wesley Clark […]

12 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John Kerry, Hillary Clinton, 2008 Polls, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Hitchens On O.J.

Actually, he considers that (’O.J.’) as being far too familiar, as we shall see shortly; nevertheless, if you think I’ll be able to resist when one of my favorite writers takes on one of the world’s most repellent slugs, you’re crackin’, to paraphrase Dean Martin (why do I feel like Dennis Miller all of a […]

No Comments » - Posted in Hitchens the Great, Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Go Big Or Go Home? No, Go Long

The big story of the day seems to be this Thomas Ricks piece in the Washington Post that reveals the Pentagon’s recommendation on Iraq: bolster troops temporarily to try to get control of security, then start switching to an advisory role.
The Pentagon’s closely guarded review of how to improve the situation in Iraq has outlined […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Lawrence Summers (Almost) Makes Amends

How influential was Milton Friedman? Lawrence Summers, former Harvard head honcho and Treasury Secretary during the Clinton Administration, tells us how influential:
IF John Maynard Keynes was the most influential economist of the first half of the 20th century, then Milton Friedman was the most influential economist of the second half.
Not so long ago, we […]

1 Comment » - Posted in Election 2006, Domestic Affairs, Donkeys by Mark

Monday, November 20th, 2006

Bomb Iran?

Joshua Muravchik of the American Enterprise Institute gets right to the point:
WE MUST bomb Iran.
Why now?
It has been four years since that country’s secret nuclear program was brought to light, and the path of diplomacy and sanctions has led nowhere.
First, we agreed to our allies’ requests that we offer Tehran a string of concessions, which […]

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

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

Safire Comes Up Short

The usually reliable word sleuth William Safire takes a look at the etymological origins of the term “netroots”…and curiously fails to follow the road to its logical conclusion…

No Comments » - Posted in Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

The Most Clueless Man In Washington

Is there even a close second?
Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry said Sunday he is still considering a second run for the White House in 2008, despite public criticism of what he has has called a “botched joke” about the Iraq war.
In an interview on “Fox News Sunday,” Kerry was asked he had given up […]

9 Comments » - Posted in John Kerry, NY Times/Media Watch, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

The Smartest Thing I’ve Read Today

From Mickey Kaus:
Doesn’t this [the Murtha debacle] limit Pelosi’s ability to replace Jane Harman with Alcee Hastings on the Intelligence Committee? If Murtha was strike one, and replacing Harman with Hastings is strike two, will Hoyer’s legions feel like waiting for strike three? The answer, of course, is that it would be highly embarrassing […]

No Comments » - Posted in Donkeys, Iraq by Mark

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

Sunday Fun: Damn Right I Got The Blues Edition

What can you say about this one? The incomparable Buddy Guy, tearin’ down the House with Muddy Water’s “She’s Nineteen Years Old”…great stuff!…

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

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

Pew Poll: Giuliani, McCain Neck And Neck

In the race for 2008, the latest Pew Poll finds John McCain leading narrowly among independents (32-30%), but Rudy G. has the lead among Republicans (27-26%). Condi again shows much stronger than I would have thought in 3rd place; I would think her ties to Bush would have just about dashed her 2008 hopes, but […]

No Comments » - Posted in Condoleezza Rice, Barack Obama, John Edwards, Rudy Giuliani, John McCain, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

Good Point By Fareed Zakaria On ABC’s “This Week” Today

Discussing Senator McCain’s conviction that more troops are needed (a convinction I share): it doesn’t matter how many troops we have as long as Maliki prevents us from taking on Sadr and the death squads; the political and military moves required for victory are being blocked by the Prime Minister.
Of course, we have a new […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq, John McCain, Republican Candidates by Mark

Sunday, November 19th, 2006

McCain’s Common-Sense Conservatism

Although I know the sentiment is not unanimous among my readers, I’ll have no problem supporting John McCain is he is the GOP nominee. Speeches like this are one reason why:
I am convinced that a majority of Americans still consider themselves conservatives or right of center. They still prefer common sense conservatism to the alternative. […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Elephants, John McCain, Republican Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

Timothy Noah: Dump Pelosi

Writing in Slate, Timothy Noah has already seen just about enough of Pelosi before she ever grabs the reins:
I’ll admit my timing could be better, since the incoming House Democrats, on a unanimous voice vote, just made Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., speaker of the House. But I think her party should give serious thought to dumping […]

7 Comments » - Posted in Donkeys by Mark

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

Signs Of Progress On Boycott Front

Public outrage over the upcoming O.J. Simpson ‘confession’ money grab has lead to some progress on halting the travesty. From the Washington Post:
Media companies that own Fox stations are mulling this weekend whether to direct their stations to run or to preempt the Simpson interview, scheduled to air on the final Monday and Wednesday of […]

8 Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports by Mark

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

Big Football Day…

…both for my Red Raiders, who try to finish the regular season at a semi-respectable 7-5 with a win over Oklahoma State, and, of course, for the Ohio State and Michigan fans. One of college football’s biggest rivalries is a lot bigger this year, with the death yesterday of Michigan coaching legend Bo Schembechler and […]

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

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

Friedman On Deficits

The Wall Street Journal has gathered a collection of quotes that appeared in articles for their publication by the recently deceased Milton Freidman. I highly recommend you read them all. One in particular struck me, though, as being appropriate for conservativism right now, considering how free-spending the recently deposed Republican Congress was:
…[D]eficits are bad–but not […]

No Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, Elephants by Mark

Saturday, November 18th, 2006

Rasmussen GOP 2008 Poll: Rudy Leads…

…with 24% of likley GOP voters, but Condi is a surprise #2 with 18%, followed by McCain at 17%.
In potential general election matchups, Rudy ties Hillary with 46% each, but leads Obama and Al Gore.
Full results here…