Archive for April, 2007

Monday, April 30th, 2007

We’ve Heard This Song Before…

…and the tune never was a good one.  How hard it is to keep one’s hopes up about Iraq when the predominantly Shiite government continually favors its own!
A department of the Iraqi prime minister’s office is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of […]

3 Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

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Sunday, April 29th, 2007

As A Public Service…

…I bring you an incredibly addictive weekend time waster.  Just get started on the Rotten Tomatoes countdown of the 100 worst-reviewed movies of all time, and watch the hours tick by!  I tell you, it hurts so good…and if you’re still in a movie mood, check out Kim Masters’ account of the $500 million movie […]

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

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Saturday, April 28th, 2007

Don’t Believe Everything You Read…

…and if it involves Europe, believe nothing you read. Typical of the coverage of the Paul Wolfowitz World Bank scandal is this from the Washington Post:
Paul Wolfowitz encountered stiffening opposition Saturday to staying on as World Bank president amid allegations he showed favoritism in arranging a promotion and pay package for his girlfriend.
European countries […]

5 Comments » - Posted in Iraq, Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Saturday, April 28th, 2007

“Even Bad Obama Beats Good Hillary”

One reader noted that, when I graded the Democrats’ performance in Thursday’s debate, I said Obama was pretty awful, yet still gave him a B+.  The consensus among most watchers was that Obama did indeed underperform, but yet, he’s still perceived as doing pretty well, all things considered.
Why?
Leave it to Mickey Kaus:
Several sophisticated commentators (e.g., […]

No Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates, Election 2008 by Mark

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Friday, April 27th, 2007

Crass Commercial Interlude

I’ve added a store, powered through Amazon.com (they handle the checkout, delivery, etc., so it’s totally safe, and I don’t get to see your credit-card info).  You can see it in the navigation links below the site logo above, by Archives, Links, Odds, etc. 
Why should you go there? Well, it’s true I make a very […]

4 Comments » - Posted in Navel-Gazing by Mark

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Thursday, April 26th, 2007

The First Debate: Grading The Democrats

General observations: the front-runners didn’t suffer any huge gaffes, but they were pretty unimpressive for the most part.
Mike Gravel: F-.  My God, what a nut…anyone who watched that debate and would still consider voting for Gravel must be a blood relative.  ‘Nuff said about this VERY marginal candidate.
Dennis Kucinich: B.  Kucinich is a blazing liberal and […]

31 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, John Edwards, Bill Richardson, Joe Biden, 2008 News, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, April 26th, 2007

Sorry For No Posting Yesterday…

…but I was, of course, in deep, deep mourning over the news Rosie is leaving The View.
In all seriousness (though this, too, may seem like a joke), the Democrats are debating(!) right now on MSNBC.  My thoughts later…

2 Comments » - Posted in Celebrities / Pop Culture / Sports, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Tuesday, April 24th, 2007

We Lost Another One Of The Good Guys, Yesterday

I’ve been too busy (nothing fun, I assure you) to comment on the blog much over the last few days, but I didn’t want to let the passing of Boris Yeltsin go by unobserved.  Yeltsin may not be the towering figure of his era that Reagan turned out to be, but compared to Putin, he’s […]

2 Comments » - Posted in Foreign Affairs by Mark

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Monday, April 23rd, 2007

A Huge Loss For The World Of Journalism

Very, very sad news from California, as one of the giants has died in a car crash. David Halberstam is the author of any number of extremely worthy books, including his Pulitzer-Prize-winning masterpiece The Best and the Brightest [correction - Halberstam did win his Pulitzer while reporting on Vietnam, but it was in 1964, while […]

4 Comments » - Posted in NY Times/Media Watch by Mark

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Monday, April 23rd, 2007

Obama’s Foreign Policy Speech: A Mixed Bag

Barack Obama spoke in front of the Chicago Council on Foreign Affairs today in an attempt to shore up his foreign policy bona fides, and for the most part, the speech suffered from the Obama tendency to spout rhetoric that soars at first glance, but reveals itself bereft of content when examined more carefully:
“America cannot […]

11 Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, 2008 News, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

Exploding The “We Overreacted To 9/11″ Myth

Michael Chertoff, the Secretary of Homeland Security, has an absolutely essential piece in today’s Washington Post that takes on the foolish subset of (mostly liberal) Americans who somehow manage to come to the conclusion that there is no need for a war on terror:
As the rubble of the Twin Towers smoldered in 2001, no one […]

1 Comment » - Posted in POTUS, Radical Islam / GWOT, Iraq, Foreign Affairs, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

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Sunday, April 22nd, 2007

More On Iraq And Progress

In the post below, I stressed my belief that if real signs are progress are not made by late summer, the surge will have to be considered a failure, at least on a political level.  That brings up the quite real question of what ‘progress’ in such an environment is.  In this article from the […]

No Comments » - Posted in Iraq by Mark

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Saturday, April 21st, 2007

Is Partition The Answer?

There of those of us who still believe in the idea of a united, democratic Iraq, though our hopes have been dashed time and time again and the remnants are fading.  I never thought the idea of a partitioned Iraq was worth fighting and dying over.  You can understand, then, my disappointment that it has come […]

22 Comments » - Posted in Harry Reid, POTUS, Elephants, Donkeys, Iraq by Mark

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Friday, April 20th, 2007

Wow, This Campaign Really DID Start Early

I had to do a double-take when I saw this item - I had no clue that over the next two weeks, the debates (!!!!) will start - at a time when many candidates have yet to even declare:

While for many of us, the presidential campaign started months ago, the contest will truly kick off […]

No Comments » - Posted in Barack Obama, Rudy Giuliani, 2008 News, Republican Candidates, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Thursday, April 19th, 2007

The Last Stand Of Alberto Gonzales?

The White House officially stands by their man, but behind the scenes, the prognosis is grim:
White House insiders tell CNN that Attorney General Alberto Gonzales hurt himself during testimony before a Senate committee Thursday on the firing of eight U.S. attorneys.
The sources, involved in administration discussions about Gonzales, told White House correspondent Suzanne Malveaux that […]

6 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs, POTUS by Mark

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Thursday, April 19th, 2007

Rudy Loses Ground, McCain Stops The Bleeding

That’s the upshot of the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, which has Giuliani at 33 percent and McCain at 21 percent.  Thompson and Romney each clocked in at 9%.  Romney is not gaining appreciable ground, but Thompson is clearly cutting into Rudy’s support.  I had earlier speculated that Rudy’s support among Republicans seemed to hold […]

14 Comments » - Posted in Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Hillary Clinton, Republican Candidates, 2008 Polls, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Wednesday, April 18th, 2007

Just A Thought

I see people on both sides of the aisle, people whom I respect, and people that I don’t, trying to use the Virginia Tech killings to push one political agenda or another.
I also see all sorts of wild speculation going on.
My advice, though I’m aware no one asked for it: don’t go there.
It’s a tragedy.  […]

35 Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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Tuesday, April 17th, 2007

Kucinich To File Articles Of Impeachment Against Cheney

Sigh…it’s a good thing there’s not real work to be done in Congress:
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio), the most liberal of the Democratic presidential candidates in the primary field, declared in a letter sent to his Democratic House colleagues this morning that he plans to file articles of impeachment against Vice President Dick Cheney.
Kucinich has made […]

15 Comments » - Posted in Dick Cheney, Progressive Nonsense / Nutroots® by Mark

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Monday, April 16th, 2007

Very Cool Interactive Map…

…from the NY Times showing where the various candidates Q1 expenditures came from, by ZIP code.  The biggest recipient of Austin funds? One Hillary Clinton.  The only surprise is that it wasn’t Obama or Edwards…then again, I should have remembered that 99.7% of Austin progressives haven’t got two dimes to rub together…it’s the old school […]

1 Comment » - Posted in John Edwards, Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, Democratic Candidates by Mark

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Monday, April 16th, 2007

Wow, Really Bad News Here

I’ve been on the road all day, and just saw the terrible news from Virginia Tech.  As a former student at the University of Texas (and current Austin resident), I know how a mass killing on campus can reverberate for generations.  Thoughts and prayers to all affected.  Grim news, indeed…

No Comments » - Posted in Domestic Affairs by Mark

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