CONTENTION OF THE DAY – HNY
So a New Year’s Eve prediction: If we stay on the course set the past year, the next decade will make the 2000s look like the end of the golden age. Happy New Year, ya bunch of shambling stiffs!
Monthly Archives: December 2009
Re: He is risen?
In the absence of useful public polling on the Massachusetts race, Sean Trende performs an analysis based on comparative election results and some thoughtful guesstimation. His conclusion: So at the end of the day, you can still place me pretty … Continue reading
Tagged 2010 Elections, Obamacare, Scott Brown
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CONTENTION OF THE DAY – Sometimes even the president of the United States…
[W]e have a president whose benign—and therefore desirable—blackness exempted him from the political individuation process that makes for strong, clear-headed leaders. He has not had to gamble his popularity on his principles, and it is impossible to know one’s true … Continue reading
Posted in Writing
Tagged Barack Obama, Contention of the Day, It's alright, Obama, Racism, Shelby Steele
34 Comments
I persist in viewing Obama as…
…a narcissistic political “prodigy” who rode that perfect storm of financial crisis, race neurosis and war exhaustion into office. To call him an anti-Semite seems, ironically, to attribute to him something approaching a genuine principle. I doubt he’s held a … Continue reading
Tagged Say What?
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He is risen?
When Ronald Reagan invoked JFK on behalf of tax cuts, it used to drive liberals, Teddy perhaps above all, into self-righteous fits. Over the years the invocation has lost its edge, but the following campaign ad by the Republican contender … Continue reading
Seen in 2009
Inner ear hair cells. Colored scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of sensory hair cells from the organ of corti, in the cochlea of the inner ear. These cells are surrounded by a fluid called the endolymph. As sound enters the ear … Continue reading
Posted in Science
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Who's for waterboarding Abdulmuttalab – before it's too late? – UPDATE: Poll added
Michael Goldfarb points to a question posed by an e-mailer that I suspect has occurred to many observers: Given the capture of an apparent Al Qaeda operative who claims knowledge of a planned campaign of attacks, how many people would … Continue reading
Tagged Terrorist Attacks
27 Comments
Who's for waterboarding Abdulmutallab? – Update: Poll Added
Michael Goldfarb points to a question posed by an e-mailer that I suspect has occurred to many observers: Given the capture of an apparent Al Qaeda operative who claims knowledge of a planned campaign of attacks, how many people would … Continue reading
Posted in War
Tagged Abdulmutallab, Detainee Treatment, Enhanced Interrogation, War, Waterboarding
70 Comments
…the Iran section…
…could have been worse… but “bearing witness” is not a policy. It’s easy to bear witness. I’m witnessing from the comfort of my office right now. I don’t expect a great display of gratitude anytime soon from… anyone, and I … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
3 Comments
No teleprompter…
Posted in Politics
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Obama speaketh…
…first reaction: no tie = “still on vacation” – yet at the same time also suggests hurried, not completely prepared response…
Posted in Politics
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Obama scheduled to speak on Terror, Iran at Noon PST (10 minutes from now)
This morning, soon after 10:00 a.m. HST, the President will address the public on the attempted terrorist attack on Christmas Day. He will describe the immediate steps the government has taken to ensure the safety of the traveling public. He … Continue reading
Posted in Politics
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CONTENTION OF THE DAY – chaotic and in constant flux
[12:53AM Tehran Time] Confirmed: Multiple reports of protesters clashing with special security forces in front of IRIB, one of the regime’s state broadcasting channels. Unconfirmed: Special regime forces trying to disperse the crowd in front of the IRIB building, but … Continue reading
Reading "Dave Barry's year in review: 2009"…
…may be more fun even than contemplation of genocide and war! For example: Political news continues to dominate in . . . JULY . . . when Sarah Palin unexpectedly announces that she will not complete her term as elected … Continue reading
Posted in History
Tagged A Rod, ACORN, Afghanistan, AIG, American Idol, Balloon Boy, Beer Summit, Biden, Blago, Bush, California, Cash for Clunkers, Chrysler, Congress, Copenhagen, Dancing with the Stars, G-20, Geithner, Gibbs, GM, Hadron Collider, Health Care, Hiking the Appalachians, Holder, Inauguration, journalism, Kanye West, Kardashian, Letterman, Madoff, Manny Ramirez, Mark Sanford, Media, Michael Jackson, North Korea, Obama, Octomom, Olympics, Palin, Phelps, Polanski, Salahis, Scare Force One, Somali Pirates, Sotomayor, Steelers, Stimulus, Sullenberger, Swine Flu, Tea Party, Tiger Woods, Town Hall, TurboTax, tweeting, Twitter, U.S. Dollar, Unemployment, Windows 7, You Lie
19 Comments
Stopping Iran's nuclear program, more on the current thinking…
“How to Stop Iran” is the title of a column by Olivier Debouzy that appeared in the WSJ 10 day ago. Debouzy is apparently a very well-connected French defense intellectual. It’s worth reading his entire article to absorb his reasoning, … Continue reading
