Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

This really is a full service blog.

Stand up, dammit!

I don’t recall signing up for living in a dystopian sci-fi novel.

Is it irresponsible to speculate? It is irresponsible not to.

They are lying in pursuit of an agenda.

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

Fuck these fucking interesting times.

The way to stop violence is to stop manufacturing the hatred that fuels it.

She burned that motherfucker down, and I am so here for it. Thank you, Caroline Kennedy.

The words do not have to be perfect.

… gradually, and then suddenly.

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Stamping your little feets and demanding that they see how important you are? Not working anymore.

Technically true, but collectively nonsense

A sufficient plurality of insane, greedy people can tank any democratic system ever devised, apparently.

If you are still in the gop, you are either an extremist yourself, or in bed with those who are.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

When I was faster i was always behind.

Something needs to be done about our bogus SCOTUS.

You come for women, you’re gonna get your ass kicked.

If rights aren’t universal, they are privilege, not rights.

If you’re gonna whine, it’s time to resign!

Prediction: the gop will rethink its strategy of boycotting future committees.

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Dope Floats

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I was doing my daily chores (reading Red State, Malkin, Hugh, etc.), when I came across something equal parts terrifying and intriguing:

From Old World sophistication to New World energy, South America is a balance of opposites. Life pulsates with remarkable diversity in South America – not only in its music, but in its widely contrasting landscapes, cultures and cuisines.

It is a land of stunning extremes – the world’s highest waterfall, longest mountain range, driest desert and largest rain forest. Stretching from the steaming Amazon basin to the bone-dry Atacama desert to the glacial peaks of the Andes, South America contains enough beauty and soul-searing diversity to quicken the pulse of the most experienced traveler.

Inclusions, Pricing & Details

* Per person fares begin at $6095 based on double occupancy.
12 Nights Aboard the All Suite – All Balcony Seven Seas Mariner
* $200 per suite Shipboard Credit
* Special Reduced Fare Economy Class Airfare Available
* Private Welcome Reception with Hugh & David
* Exclusive Seminars with Hugh and David
* Private Farewell Reception with Hugh and David
* Select Wine and Spirits & All Non- Alcoholic Beverages Anytime
* On Ship Gratuities Included
* New bookings only
* Certain restrictions apply
* Offer is capacity controlled, subject to availability
* Single Supplement applies
* Deposit of 10% due at time of booking.
* Final Payment is due by November 21, 2007.
* Rates do not include port charges of $323.00 per person, fuel surcharge may apply
* Remember you must book your cruise package through Sterling Travel, Inc. to attend the Hugh Hewitt exclusive events

We have to get someone on this ship, and I know who is perfect for this mission.

*** Update ***

Apparently, other cruises of comparable lengths cost only $3000. The other $3095 for this cruise must be the cost of stupid. Apparently Hugh is unaware we can get that for free when we read his website.

Photographic rendition of Cruising with Hugh, here.

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Jim Henley Hates America

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Watch as Jim Henley uses history to prove that he hates America:

Absent a terrorist assault on Turkish territory from within an American protectorate, the resolution would be merely galling. Barely 20 years before the 1915-17 ethnic cleansing of Turkey’s Armenians, the US was still wrapping up its own comprehensive forced march of its indigenous enemies. The spectacular arrogance of the Armenian genocide resolution would probably be a transitory offense, one more in a long example of America’s “do as we say, not as we do” pedagogy to the world. The bizarre notion that the American government has to render judgment on every historical event would still count as a warning, to pretty much everyone, but not necessarily a pressing one.

When will the leftist assaults on this country stop? I bet he only wrote that because he hates Bush.

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Things That Make You Say Geek

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Last night, while trying to fall asleep, I was thinking of a list of things that when I hear someone say them/reference them/joke about them, I immediately know I am dealing with a geek (not that there is anything wrong with that). So far:

1.) “These aren’t the droids you are looking for.”
2.) All your base are belong to us.
3.) Han Shot First.

Let’s expand this list. Consider this an open thread.

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Thomas Barnett On Iraq

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If you don’t know about it, the annual TED talks program has a vaguely creepy Ayn Rand/Mensa club-of-supergeniuses vibe to it, but I have to admit that the eclectic speakers list includes some truly excellent talks. For example, this 2005 presentation by military strategist Thomas Barnett covers the same ground that us blogs have hashed over for years, yet somehow he packs in three four major ideas that hadn’t occurred to me before, or at least not as clearly. And it’s funny. Give it a listen and see whether you agree.

Also – Al Gore speaking in 2006. Guess the topic!

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Frost, Continued

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I guess I really am a card-carrying liberal now, because I think Paul Krugman gets it exactly right in this perfect summation of the last week:

Soon after the radio address, right-wing bloggers began insisting that the Frosts must be affluent because Graeme and his sister attend private schools (they’re on scholarship), because they have a house in a neighborhood where some houses are now expensive (the Frosts bought their house for $55,000 in 1990 when the neighborhood was rundown and considered dangerous) and because Mr. Frost owns a business (it was dissolved in 1999).

You might be tempted to say that bloggers make unfounded accusations all the time. But we’re not talking about some obscure fringe. The charge was led by Michelle Malkin, who according to Technorati has the most-trafficked right-wing blog on the Internet, and in addition to blogging has a nationally syndicated column, writes for National Review and is a frequent guest on Fox News.

The attack on Graeme’s family was also quickly picked up by Rush Limbaugh, who is so important a player in the right-wing universe that he has had multiple exclusive interviews with Vice President Dick Cheney.

And G.O.P. politicians were eager to join in the smear. The New York Times reported that Republicans in Congress “were gearing up to use Graeme as evidence that Democrats have overexpanded the health program to include families wealthy enough to afford private insurance” but had “backed off” as the case fell apart.

In fact, however, Republicans had already made their first move: an e-mail message from the office of Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, sent to reporters and obtained by the Web site Think Progress, repeated the smears against the Frosts and asked: “Could the Dems really have done that bad of a job vetting this family?”

And the attempt to spin the media worked, to some extent: despite reporting that has thoroughly debunked the smears, a CNN report yesterday suggested that the Democrats had made “a tactical error in holding up Graeme as their poster child,” and closely echoed the language of the e-mail from Mr. McConnell’s office.

All in all, the Graeme Frost case is a perfect illustration of the modern right-wing political machine at work, and in particular its routine reliance on character assassination in place of honest debate. If service members oppose a Republican war, they’re “phony soldiers”; if Michael J. Fox opposes Bush policy on stem cells, he’s faking his Parkinson’s symptoms; if an injured 12-year-old child makes the case for a government health insurance program, he’s a fraud.

He even addresses the ‘choices’ bullshit that had me ready to scream all week:

I don’t know about you, but I think American children who need medical care should get it, period. Even if you think adults have made bad choices — a baseless smear in the case of the Frosts, but put that on one side — only a truly vicious political movement would respond by punishing their injured children.

Not in the “compassionate conservative” crowd. They are too busy proving to each other what good Christians they are by getting all worked up about gay marriage.

E.J. Dionne lets loose, too.

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Take Your Long walks on the Beach and Stuff It

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So I was reading this piece by Joan Walsh (on the Frost bit, of course), and I decided to see if this is Joan Walsh who occasionally appears on hardball and other shows. So, I clicked on the about Joan tab:

I’ve written for everyone from the Los Angeles Times and Washington Post to Vogue and the Nation. I love baseball, Bruce Springsteen, Stephen Colbert and long walks on the beach. I live in San Francisco with my daughter, Nora, the best teenager ever.

Am I the only person who couldn’t care less for long walks on the beach? Sand in my toes, the option of either grit in my shoes or flip-flops or having to carry them, etc. Screw that. I would rather be in the damned water. Am I alone in that I would rather be drinking fruity drinks or nursing the inevitable beach vacation hangover before eating lots of seafood at the raw bar?

In fairness, she may just be joking as that is such a cliche.

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