Funmurphys: the Blog

Not-Hillary's Kitchen Sink

If these are Muslims for Peace, one wonders what Muslims for War would look like. Anyway, Prime Minster Anders Fogh Rasmussen (and any Dane, for that matter) is always welcome at the funHouse.

Everybody's linking to David Mamet's essay Why I Am No Longer a 'Brain-Dead Liberal' for good reason. Did you ever think you would read:

I began reading not only the economics of Thomas Sowell (our greatest contemporary philosopher) but Milton Friedman, Paul Johnson, and Shelby Steele, and a host of conservative writers, and found that I agreed with them: a free-market understanding of the world meshes more perfectly with my experience than that idealistic vision I called liberalism.

Eamonn Fitzgerald writes about his visit to an exhibit in Venice:

Overall, it is well worth seeing, especially if you think history repeats itself and particularly if the weather is bad.

Do the rich get richer and the poor get poorer? According to Carpe Diem, the Brookings Institute's research says the college educated are getting richer. Good news to my mind as the wife and daughter are about to imbark on a weeklong trip to visit colleges over spring break.

Tom Maguire is a master at lthe ong and the short form blog post; this time I'm linking a masterful short post. Bonus, it's a shooting Krugman in a barrel. Not much sport, but plenty of enjoyment.

Steve Boriss reports on differing standards in journalism between the US and the mother country: "Are you really that acquiescent in the United States?" I guess we'll have to recall all those "Don't Tread On Me" flags and replace them with "Go Ahead and Tread on Me" flags.

Monday Roundup

Matt Homann presents his manifesto for law students. Just to give a taste:

10. Experienced lawyers work with clients. Young lawyers work with paper. You like working with paper, right?

12. Except for prosecutors and public defenders, nobody tries cases anymore. Especially not second year associates.

Walter Williams provides me an amnesty and pardon. Thanks man, now I just need you to get Jesse and Al to sign it too. [via Mark Perry)

Here's something that confirms a nagging fear: Aid to palestinians correlates with murders the following year. If money pours in, bodies pour out, and vice versa. While correlation does not equal causation, tell me again, why do we send even a nickle to them?

More evidence of the imbalance between horses and their hind ends: single men using the family bathroom. One more hazard of travel - selfish jerks.

My daughter, for reasons best known to herself, loves America's Next Top Model (my reasons should be obvious). Tom McMahon actually tracked down the blog of one the contestants where we discover that all is not as it seems on the show.

The Narita Family

If you enjoy photography and/or scale models, check out the Narita Family. Simply beautiful work.

Pygmy, Giant, Shoulders

And now for something you'll really like:

WWII Squadron Patches. H/T Tom McMahon

Badges? We don't need no stinking badges gringo.

Order of the Science Scouts of Examplary Repute and Above Average Physique. The title says it all. H/T Mark Ciocco

Sadly, not once did he mention "Kevin".

The searchable Calvin and Hobbes. Remember when the comics used to be funny and smart? H/T Joe Carter

It's only a movie.

Brian reviews Joe's review. I stopped paying attention to Joe Williams when he thought JFK was a documentary. At least, that's the way he reviewed it.

Why can't we all just get along?

Blog To America: A dialogue between America and the rest of the world. H/T David Weinberger

Around the Web

Don Surber covers Tennis. AJ Strata covers hardball.

Mark puts girl scout cookies to the taste test.

McQ runs with a great idea: benchmark government.
My addition: benchmark foreign aid (althought I now that answer to that one - it makes things worse).
My outside the box: benchmark pundits. Include both accuracy of claimed facts, how often they leave out info that conflicts with their claim, and how often their prognostications are correct.

David Adesnik at Oxblog looks at an exchange between Mike Huckabee and Tim Russert to examine the intersection of politics and religion, and then asks a great question:
"In contrast, advocates of separation faith from policy have to answer the question that conservatives love to ask: Was it wrong for Martin Luther King Jr. to draw on his Christian faith to inspire the civil rights movement?"

Caroline Glick notices that the Palestinian state already exists, and it "is a terror state and an economic basket case fully funded by the international community." See that note above about how foreign aid leaves recipient worse off. Speaking of thinking outside the box, maybe we should focus on actually improving one of the existing states of the two state solution and lay off trying to force the other state to cough up more territory. Just a thought.

Eamonn Fitzgerald reports on John Naisbitt's views on, among other things, global warming and newspapers. Naturally, we like them because they coincide with ours.

Patterico looks at evidence that prison doesn't deter crime and discovers that by careful design of a study to select just the right sample group you can prove anything you want.

Since I've Been Gone

I missed the State of the Union Address. I missed National Sanctity of Life Day. I missed the Scooter Libby Trial (I think I can join in progress, though) - although I've read enough in the morning paper to wonder what planet the press reports on. I even missed two Beauty and the Geek's in a row. But I did manage to catch some paint and fabric for the dining room though.

Other things I missed: The F-Word Controversy.

Any positive news reports on Iraq.

China's latest (and most absurd) censorship.

Somebody I wish I could miss: Jimmy Carter.

Smarter People Than Me

What were the 6 imams in Minneapolis really up to? McQ investigates and decides it wasn't anything good.

Does a new Swift write a blog? Eammon Fitzgerald thinks so, and his candidate Mahmood Al-Yousef has had his blog banned in his native Bahrain (always a leg up in the Swift competition).

How come I never get any payola? It's not like I'd have to change my position on Global Warming. (Please don't mention my traffic stats, it HAS to be some other reason).

Tim at Random Overservations really liked The Nativity Story. I'm waiting for when I have a couple of moments to rub together to go see it.

Jeff at Think Sink has the newest version of Frosty the Snowman.

Fjordman at Brussels Journal looks at how the West was Lost. It has w modern Hollywood Happy ending - the west loses.

Lemonade

Sometimes I sits and thinks, and sometimes I just sits.

I never thought the Episcopalians had this much fire in the belly until I met Chris.

Coming to a Hospital Near You Soon. Or not.

Charles has resurfaced. Welcome back.

Reading time, just one minute.

Why he's worth reading.

Dreamers.

It's amazing what a big buble will do for your self esteem I thought I was Mr. Super Investor (bet you did too).

Culture of Death?

Timing is everything.

Now that's a mandate.

A Miscellainy of Sites

Are you a fan of Fantasy & Science Fiction? Me too. You should check out the Great Science Fiction and Fantasy Works site.

My father's family was big into railroads, so here is the Central Pacific Railroad Photographic History Museum. The Central Pacific was the western part of the transcontinental railroad.

I admit it, I like castles. Guess what, there is a Castle of the Day site.

I'm proud to be from Missouri. So you should visit Jo Schaper's Missouri World.

Interested in Christian charity? How about Compassion International, or World Vision, or you could try The Assyrian Christians, and let's not forget The Salvation Army. Those are just a few.

Cool Map Sites

I've always loved maps. When I was a kid we had this Encyclopedia Britannica atlas that was simply beautiful, although the paper was so stiff it gave you wicked paper cuts. But on the web, you don't have to worry about paper cuts.

So if you've gotten tired of Mapquest or Google maps, it's time to move on to the maps at The Global Distribution of Poverty.

When you're done there, you can check out all the maps NASA's Hurricane Data Portal.

Maybe you would be interested in a map of early modern London. Maybe not.

If you are into real estate, how about Trulia or Zillow

Want to make your own map? Try Frappr.

Want to find out where all the historical markers are? Then use The Historical Marker Database, or course.

Or how about USGS?

Or how about the the Library of Congress Map Vault?

Or how about a site whose name says it all, Worldmap.org. If you can't find it there, can you find it anywhere? OK, it's concerned with Christian missions so you can find maps dealing with Christianity there.

Oddities Abound

If you think I'm obsessed with oddities today, you need to check this guy out, who links to a toilet seat museum and an MIT report on the effectiveness of tin foil hats. Indeed.

Good Stuff

I'm just getting around to reading some of my regular blogs, so if these posts are bit old, think of them as timeless classics:

Craig at Lead and Gold examines how Hollywood's cultural blinder hurt their bottom line. Hmm, I wonder if Larry the Cable Guy will ever be asked to host the Oscars?

Rand Simberg points out this Mark Styn article about just how warlike primitive man's life was. Think mass slaughter, all the time.

Tom Maguire still manages to get blood out of the turnip, I mean great posts out of the ongoing Plame-Wilson fiasco. And just for the record, I do applaud the Wilson civil suit, and hope the televise it just like the OJ trial. I comfort myself at taking pleasure in such a spectacle with the thought that nobody got hurt (unlike OJ's trial).

Jeff at Think Sink clearly has been smitten, or he-man that he is he would never write a post like this one.

Michael Spencer has a thought provoking essay claiming that American Evangelicals have set up success as an idol."

Cori at Ranting Profs discovers, as is her wont, an underreported story.

Steve at Hog On Ice solves the mystery of why people want outside funding for their blog -- they aren't making money and they want to get paid. No word, however, on why anyone would give (or loan) them money.

I'm glad my ancestors left the old country - Cronaca reports on anti-sword feeling in Scotland. What is the matter with people over there - if you kill a criminal invading your castle, you don't drag him back inside yours, you take him to his and pretend to be a criminal.

Gateway Pundit reports on a genocide you don't hear much about.

Kevin Looks At Some Blogs

Don Surber has a story of a female narcissist who instead of pining away while staring at her own reflection was fired for staring at her own reflection -- or reflections in this case.

In honor of the Listless Lawyer who needs some special superglue, I offer this joke:
A man doesn't know what true happiness is until he gets married - and then it's too late. It's a joke people! Or how about this one: A married man should forget his mistakes - his wife will remind him whenever he needs it. OK, I'll end this with a quote from Mignon McLaughlin before I get in trouble: "A successful marriage requires falling in love many times, always with the same person. "

I went backwards up the blogroll, so I read Chris Johnson's excerpt of Lileks first:

The alternative worldview postulated in “The Da Vinci Code” does not exactly give us anything transcendent and wonderful, friend; the most “sacred ritual” described consists of some old French grandfather, nagoy and panhandled, moaning under some grindy-hipped fleshy woman “with long silver hair,” while observers – yes, observers! – stand around in masks holding orbs, chanting. I met her in the grotto and she sheathed my sword, da doo ron ron, da doo ron ron. This may be why the interminable Latin mass became popular: absolutely zero chance of seeing Granny get it on in front of the bridge club.

Doctors said sexually transmitted diseases among senior citizens are running rampant at a popular Central Florida retirement community, according to a Local 6 News report.
A gynecologist at The Villages community near Orlando, Fla., said she treats more cases of herpes and the human papilloma virus in the retirement community than she did in the city of Miami.

Will New Orleans go the way of Atlantis?

Speaking of New Orleans, the Army Corps of Engineers has a mammoth report out on Katrina and surprise, surprise, surprise, concludes that "The hurricane protection in New Orleans and Southeast Louisiana was a system in name only." Oh really, I hadn't noticed.

Iran continues to be off in cloud cuckoo land, and I mean more than their negotiating style, I mean their claims of fusion research. Maybe they got their hands on Stanley Pons.

Speaking of disfunctional countries, Brad and Angelina got to seal off a resort in Namibia for the birth of their child. No word from Amnesty International yet on this flagrant offense against human rights.

And speaking of flagrant offenses against human rights, which I would be against except that it's too funny, you can view the winners of Fark's photoshop Al Gore's inconvenient truths contest.

Kevin Looks At The News

I'm scanning Google News just in case the left's dream comes true. Nothing on the Fitz Front, but plenty of other interesting stuff:

The UN Comittee Against Torture called on the US to close its detention facility in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. And while we're at it, "The state party should take immediate measures to eradicate all forms of torture and ill-treatment of detainees by its military or civilian personnel, in any territory under its jurisdiction". The U.S delegation noted that there have been about 800 investigations into allegations of mistreatment in Afghanistan and Iraq, and the Defense Department found misconduct and took action against more than 250 service personnel; there have been 103 courts martial and 89 service members were convicted, of whom 19 received sentences of one year or more. No word on any calls for Cuba to stop torturing its own people or how many Cuban prison guards have been disciplined.

Symantec is suing Microsoft to stop the release of Vista over licensing issues. I wonder which will move faster - the courts in ruling, or Microsoft in releasing Vista. Both move at a glacial creep.

Lawsuits are all the rage, so Apple is countersuing Creative Labs claiming that Creative has infringed on Apple patents -- Creative sued Apple for the very same thing (different patents, of course). I should have become a lawyer, because no matter the outcome of any suit, the lawyers always win. Always.

And I was shocked, shocked to read that Gen. Hayden thinks that the NSA's programs to eavesdrop on international calls or collecting phone call records is legal. I think they are, but what did the headline writer think the Gen. was going to say, lock me up now before I break the law at the CIA?

I wonder at this headline at Reuters: Tensions rise after Hamas aide caught with cash. Um, weren't they already shooting at each other?. And some guy smuggling money is the culprit for "rising tensions". Maybe we ought to let go all the headline writers so we can get some new cliches.

Congress is upset that the Oil companies are taking American's hard earned money -- that's their job. So they've decided to put the oil companies to work for them to the tune of 10 billion dollars.

And once again Congress has decided that their are more important things than energy for America. Take it away, Gateway Pundit.

Scientists have no idea if multivitamins do any good. I say they're a lot easier to take than cod liver oil (yes, I've was forced to take cod liver oil briefly as a child).

The reviews of the Da Vinci Code movie aren't good. I read the book and enjoyed it as a mystery, although despite the authors claims that it is based on fact, it is fantasy start to finish. A note to Hollywood - exciting trash sells, dull trash languishes. Real scholars are happy that at least people are interested in their arcane fields, even if the facts are wrong.

And finally, here's a headline I never thought I'd read in Forbes: Britney Spears Stumbles, Nearly Drops Baby. Now there's an important news story. Just think of the coverage if she acutally had dropped the little nipper.

Around The Web

Steyn on Europe:

It’s true that no other G8 member runs its democracy according to a document from the quill pen era. On the Continent, you’re hard pressed to find anything pre-Day-Glo Hi-Liter. The US Constitution is not only older than the French, German, Italian, Belgian and Spanish constitutions, it’s older than all of them put together. In political terms, the “Old World” and “New World” labels are misapplied. Americans are brash noisy novelty junkies when it comes to going into Starbucks and ordering a decaf hazelnut-pepperoni-Eurasian-milfoil macchiato, but not when it comes to the organizing principles of the state. Europeans have some fetching oil cathedrals and cobbled streets, but when it comes to political order they’re the novelty junkies with ADD.

Will Hutton insists that “all western democracies subscribe to a broad family of ideas that are liberal or leftist”. Given that New Hampshire, for example, has been a continuous democracy for two centuries longer than Germany, this seems a doubtful proposition. It would be more accurate to say that almost all European nations subscribe to a broad family of ideas that are statist. Or, as Hutton has it, “the European tradition is much more mindful that men and women are social animals and that individual liberty is only one of a spectrum of values that generate a good society.” Precisely. And it’s the willingness to subordinate individual liberty to what Hutton calls “the primacy of society” that’s blighted the Continent for over a century: Statism – or “the primacy of society” - is what Fascism, Nazism, Communism and European Union all have in common. The curse of the Continent is big ideas, each wacky notion a response to the last flop: the pre-war German middle classes put their hopes in Hitler as a bulwark against the Bolsheviks; likewise, the post-war German middle classes put their faith in European integration as a bulwark against a resurgence of Nazism.

McQ on drilling for oil:

The fact that Cuba has leased 59 areas within the Florida straits should finally drive home the fact that the policies we have followed since the 1980s are self-defeating. It is possible, given advances in technology, to safely drill offshore. If Katrina taught us nothing else, it should taught us that. And with Cuba planning on drilling in the Florida straits it should become equally clear that if we don't safely exploit those resources, someone will (and perhaps in not as environmentally friendly way as we might).

Jim Kouri on Patrick Kennedy:

This particular scandal has more to do with whom a story involving drug abuse is about. If the "perp" is a conservative -- such as Rush Limbaugh -- the ladies and gentlemen of the press have a million questions about Limbaugh's drug use and exposure to arrest and prosecution. If the "perp" is a liberal, then the story becomes the effects of Ambian, the types of drugs not to mix with Ambian, and should Americans beware of using prescription sleep medications such as Ambian.

Dirty Harry of Libertas on Hollywood's Politics -- It's Only Courageous When It's Liberal:

Again, that may well be true, but when other stars make fools of themselves and make divisive statements, I don’t recall this being blamed on any subsequent box office woes. They trash America, conservatives, and Christians with zeal and no one calls them heartless. So, why is Cruise being singled out? Simple: his religion.

Jeff Goldstein on Patrick Fitzgerald:

Personally, I’m not following along as closely as I should be—and I’ve been derelict in my reading of Tom Maguire’s recent posts on the subject—but then, I have trouble with the indictment of a man for charges stemming from an alleged lie (some insist it is but a failure of memory) that is meant to cover for the failure of a prolonged investigation to find evidence of the original accusations: that Ms Plame was “outed” by the White House to punish Joe Wilson for, uh, lying about what he told reporters (a fact that would soon be exposed, and one that falls under the category of inevitable discovery, as far as I’m concerned). Call it an avoidance response brought about by despair.

Finally, Al Qaida on Iraq:

At the same time, the Americans and the Government were able to absorb our painful blows, sustain them, compensate their losses with new replacements, and follow strategic plans which allowed them in the past few years to take control of Baghdad as well as other areas one after the other. That is why every year is worse than the previous year as far as the Mujahidin’s control and influence over Baghdad.

The Thursday Report

Geitner Simmons has a series of fascinating maps of religions in America. The Bible belt really isn't a belt as much as a tie - running north-south through the midsection of the country instead of east west, and cuts across most major denominations.

Reason 1 to hate the press: they lie.

I think the average American citizen should be able to carry a concealed weapon as part of our right to self defense. And when such laws are passed (as Missouri did a few years ago), the streets don't run with blood from shootouts over nothing. But that doesn't mean I don't think there is something wrong with John Lott or his research.

Reason 2 to hate the press: they slant.

Maybe the Duke lacross team isn't the most important rape story out there.

Reason 3 to hate the press: good reporters have bad motives.

Autism is a real problem. Fortunately, autism may not be a growing problem, let alone brought on by mercury in vaccines.

Reason 4 to hate the press: Their focus is one the wrong people, places, and things.

Tom McMahon is having fun with hats (don't forget to check out his own picture). Maybe Tom will help me out with this photo, which was my winning entry in the Studmuffins of Conservatism at the Evangelical Outpost. And yes, that is an old photo of me, but I've only grown more handsome in the interval.

Reason 5 to hate the press: they want to set the agenda.

How can you go wrong with a post entitled "The Prehistory of Python? You can't, especially since the python is of the Monty variety.

Reason 6 to hate the press: they are in denial about their problems.

I'm number 10 when searching for "I love Wal-Mart". I'm still waiting for the HDTV.

Reason 7 to hate the press: they fall for anything if it fits in with their agenda.

Have you read your Michael Totten today? You should.

How about your Michael Yon? He's in Afganistan now.

And to wrap up, something quick of my own. The problem isn't a nuclear Iran, the problem is a nuclear power run be Islamofascist nutjobs - like the one's ruling Iran at the moment.

The Sap Is Flowing

Shelley has a beautiful photo essay about spring. Enjoy.

Friday Links Are Back

Today's Post-Dispatch had an article about a St. Louis man walking across the country to lose weight -- you can read his online journal. Good luck, Gary and Cheryl, I hope all goes well.

Jeff Harrell makes a great pitch for a great charity. Yes, I know, the shortage isn't in the worthwile charities.

Mark Kleiman is dazzled that somebody has invented a pocket sized device that can tell when other people bored or annoyed with you. It was invented for autistic people; I don't need one because I have a wife to tell me when I'm boring or annoying.

It's with much guilt that I present the following link to the Politburo Diktat: THE PUBLICITY HOUND DIVA PUNCH-OUT!!! Yes, tasteless can be funny.

Shelly at Burningbird has a great post about the pitfalls of passion:

But I find that every time I get passionate about something, my ability to work with my team and my effectiveness to the team decreases as the passion increases. I have a hypothesis as to why: the rushing of blood to my head drowns out what other people are trying to say. The only thing I can hear, then, are the folks who are echoing my words.

The funWife and I saw Failure to Launch (a romantic comedy of middling quality) while on vacation, so I was mildly surprised there is a real basis to the film. Thankfully, Cassandra explains why more young men are living with their parents.

Scott Ott reminds us that there is no such thing as a double blind study for God.

Joshua Claybourn tackles gambling from a Christian perspective.

Jason points out a significant development in Iraqi Army capabilities.

Danger Will Robinson! Exploading Mammary Enhancers!

And I leave you with: Bing Crosby singing Yellow Submarine. Why you ask? Because I can.

Blogging Kevins

I think it was Kevin Drum who started it, and then Kevin Aylward and Kevin McGhee picked it up, and after several years I figured I might as well give Blogging Kevins a try. Only one problem - there are a lot more bloggers out there now, Kevins included, so if I left you off, sorry.

This Kevin examines switchgrass as an alternative energy source because someone whispered it in his ear.

This Kevin reports that the United Farm Workers is a scam in the post Cesar Chavez era (without mentioning the quote about how every American crusade turns into a racket).
This Kevin reads a lot of books and reviews a pair of books about finance for the younger and the older crowd.

This Kevin explains why he doesn't bother watching the State of the Union Address.

This Kevin addresses the current Danish Cartoon Controversy.

This Kevin discovers why GM is hemorrhaging money.

This Kevin examines DRM in the UK.

This Kevin wonders what if people were run like large businesses?

This Kevin doesn't think highly of ethanol as an alternative fuel.

This Kevin looks at the final frontier of digital connectedness.

This Kevin responds to the response to the State of the Union Address.

This Kevin is back in the blog saddle again.

This Kevin finds a different Islamic reaction to the Danish cartoons.

This Kevin runs the Carnival of Trackbacks.

This Kevin still has a photoblog.

This Kevin looks at the gender distribution of the new President of Chile's cabinet.

This Kevin laments he spends too much time with work and not enough with his wife.

This Kevin wishes us all a Happy Hannakwanzaramadamas from Las Vegas.

This Kevin looks at another alternative fuel use of grass.

This Kevin describes communicating concepts through comics.

This Kevin wonders why congress doesn't provide a tax deduction for HDTV as long as they are mandating an end to analog.

This Kevin wonders if anyone is reading Infinite Crisis?.

This Kevin tells us what the State Department really said about those Danish cartoons.

This Kevin reviews everything he buys, including bread, burgers, and smokes.

This Kevin has the latest Tetris DS images.

This Kevin alerts us to a drink mix site just in time for the Superbowl.

This Kevin stresses the importance of silence.

This Kevin writes about communities, journalists, and stories and isn't surprised traditional journalism is losing its audience.

This Kevin is convinced that Flash is your friend in Web 2.0.

This Kevin wakes up and decides that with all that's happened he doesn't want to get out of bed.

This Kevin reports the EFF (Electronic Frontier Foundation) is suing AT&T for cooperating with the NSA.

This Kevin thinks his candid blog is more compelling than if he self censored to avoid conflicts of interest.

This Kevin thinks American Idol may have gone a little too far for him.

This Kevin loves the guitar he bought on ebay.

This Kevin reports on the the removal of Cindy Sheehan from the gallery before the State of the Union Address.

This Kevin reports that iTunes isn't just for music and video anymore, it's for learning too.

This Kevin lists his great moments in the war on idiotism.

This Kevin is mad as hell and not going to take it anymore.

This Kevin quotes Lord Baden-Powell, founder of the Boyscouts.

This Kevin let's us know how to handle medical receptionists.

Yes, we are more eclectic than ever.

Link O Rama

First off, congratulations to Heather and Brian Noggle on the their good news. Your lives are about to change, but in a good way.

Tim at Random Observations continues to splain a few things to clueless - this time it's Adam Gopnik on C.S. Lewis. The dead are easy to pick on because they can't fight back - unless, of course, you bother to read them.

Tom McMahon looks at gays, the Catholic Church, and the Boy Scouts - one of which is near and dear to my heart. I have to admit I laughed out loud at a letter in the Post the other day:

I find it surprising that there is a lot of consternation about the Catholic Church not wanting practicing homosexuals in the clergy. The church also has not wanted practicing heterosexuals in the clergy for centuries. Seems like equality to me.

A.J. Greenbank
Quincy, Ill.

Yes, I've sworn off the Wilson Plame embroglio, but Tom Maguire sure hasn't. So if you're still interested, he has the latest twists and turns. OK, I link only because he beats up the NYTs (again).

Michael Totten's doing reporting as serious as a heart attack in Lebanon, and he has lots of pictures to go with the text in this one making it well worth a look as well as a read.

Jeff Harrell looks at the National Strategy to win in Iraq and concludes (in the introduction no less):

"The subtext is pretty clear, and infinitely amusing to your humble narrator: ”We did tell you our strategy three years ago; 48 percent of y’all were just too stupid to wrap your ‘American Idol’-softened noodles around it. So we’re gonna tell you all again, and again, and if necessary again until you get what we’ve been saying all along.“

Hee hee. That’s bad ass."

Cori Dauber looks at the Washington Post and doesn't like what she sees. Who should the Post believe, murdering thugs or the US military? You know that answer, but the Post gets the answer wrong.

Maybe Busymom has the explanation for why there are so many divurging views of what should be the same reality. We can't even agree on the meaning of "Get in the car, it's time to go."

Bill in DC has the best take on the latest non-story in the press.

Tim Blair has joined the defeatests and proclaimers of quagmire. I never thought I'd write that, but , well, it's the truth.

If you thought I couldn't top the last link, there's this sign of utter crazyness: Two women were fired for their refusal to satisfy a gorillas' nipple fetish by displaying theirs. I never though I'd write that either, but, hey, if it's in the paper, it must be true.

I better stop now before I even try to top the last link.

A Trio From Ed

Ed Driscoll combines a couple of good observations from others to arrive at his own: "For the left, what matters far more than America's success is who will get the credit for it."

Not content with that, Mr. Driscoll also has an excerpt from Amir Taheri that sums up:"What matters, however, is that it is up to the people of Iraq and its coalition allies to decide the moment an the modalities of the withdrawal It is a judgment that no outsider could make .. Those who opposed the liberation and those who have done all they could to undo it have no moral right to join that debate."

The other day when The Amazing Race was preempted for the Country Music Awards, the Murphy Family had a free night. And we had a coupon for a free video on demand. So we carefully considered the hundreds of available movies, and narrowed down our choices to Robots, which we hadn't seen before but which I had heard bad reviews, The Great Race, which I hadn't seen since I was a kid, and Phantom of the Opera, which we had seen before. That was it. That is simply pathetic. Hundreds of possibilities, three tepid choices. Since my wife really wanted to see Phantom again and old movies are a tough sell with the rest of the family, we watched it again. I have to say I enjoyed it much more the second time. But it is sad to think how difficult it is to see a good family (and by that I mean something the whole family will like, not just kids) because Hollywood makes so few of them. And that's my looooong introduction to the last link from Ed Driscoll, which examines how political correctness/leftwing sensibilities are strangling Hollywood storytelling.

Friday Links, Part Deux III

Because its Friday, that's why.

I use to do lists at work, mainly because if I don't I forget to do a lot of stuff, even important stuff. Since I'm a happily married man, I have no need for a home to do list, except for the stuff I don't want her to know about -- like Christmas presents for her. But I don't recall ever putting this on my to do list before. Hopefully, Listless isn't keeping that from his wife (Are you sure he's married? No, and I'm not even sure he's a man except he keeps a to do list).

I'm not a big fan of Bill Moyers - who strikes me as the perfect embodyment of the characature of a Christian as mean, humorless, and holier-than-thou. Tim at Random Observations, who strikes me as none of those things, sets Mr. Moyers straight on the teachings of Jesus. Keep reading, because he also sets Jimmy Carter straight, and Glenn Reynolds too for good measure.

Jim Hoft does what the Bush administration should be doing: Letting us know what's really happening in Iraq, and why we shouldn't pull out now. Scott Ott does something similar, but in his own style. Oh wait, Centcom does put out the word, but the press somehow never has time for such information.

Archpundit relays Stephan Chapman's take on the "morning after" or "Plan B" pill and makes me think:

But it turns out the reputation is groundless. The best scientific evidence we have indicates that the morning-after pill serves to block fertilization, while having no effect on implantation. That makes it contraception, not abortion.

As a longtime pro-lifer, I think anti-abortion groups had solid grounds to oppose the morning-after pill when its function was unclear--as I did. But given what we now know, it's a grave mistake to keep opposing it. In fact, there are grounds for celebration: A drug once believed to produce abortion is found to prevent abortion.

He also gets in a dig at the Bush adminstration, but not only is that to be expected, it may be the right thing.

Yesterday I wrote how in theory Christians, Jews, and Moslems all worship the same God -- although all three are different religions. David Opderbeck puts a lot more meat on the bones of that idea. He concludes contra Joe Carter that all three groups do in fact worship the same God.

Pajama's Media finally launched, there was a big party that the right people were invited to (Yes, that means I wasn't), they changed their name to Open Source Media and trademarked it (whether the irony was intended I don't know) and the world changed. Or maybe not. I'm with Jeff Harrell-- I'm not sure what it is they are trying to do. But with 3.5 million in financing, they can take awhile to figure it out.

Children on Love - because we all need a laugh, and as you know, children say the darnedest things.

The last word on the White Phosphorus is a chemical weapon nonsense.

The last word on why Funmurphys won't ever have advertising. And no, it's not any objection to making money on my part, it's the lack of focus. I consider it a feature, but people who spend advertising dollars consider it a bug.

Want to know more about Paris Hilton? Me neither, but she shops for lingerie with a monkey. Why? Because she can.

Is Google really going to take over the world? Beats me (OK, if I said yes, this would the last you ever heard of this blog), but Crooked Timber looks at one attempt.

Snack

It's not Friday, but I'm even more busy than usual so here come your links.

Tom McMahon recounts a funny joke of the French kind which I'm going to be sure to tell my daughter. She already loves my wacky pronounciation of ill-informed attempts to translate English words into French.

Steve Verdon looks at Simpson's Paradox. I thought at first he was examining a new twist on Zeno's paradox, namely that month after month every magazine in the checkout lane at the supermarket proclaims that Jessica and Nick are divorcing, but somehow they never actually divorce. The other night I happened to notice that one magazine cover had Nick begging Jessica not to leave him, while the one next to it had Nick serving Jessica with divorce papers personally. But as intriguing as that paradox is, that isn't what Steve was referring to, but one that is even more of a head scratcher: the reversal of trends from several separate groups when combined into one larger group.

When my son asked me what I wanted for Christmas, I said an iPod. He and my daugther both laughed. I have Ciocco envy.

Random Acts of Linkagery

Today is Friday, and that means Links!

But before we get to any, I just have to mention a referrer log result (isn't that what bloggers write about when they don't have anything to say?). I'm used to getting the occasional weird or unpleasant one, and I've gotten used to the whole armpit thing (you'd be amazed at just how international that particular fetish is based on my referrer logs), but I got a hit the other day from a search for "Maureen Dowd Sexy Feet". Yes, I get the "Maureen Dowd Sexy" searches all the time, but one thing up with which I will not put is two fetishes in one. So to the next person who hits this site with that search and gets this post, you need help. MD isn't sexy, right down to her toes, so please consult a mental health professional before you google again.

OK, now that that's out of the way, on with the rest of the show!

Tom McMahon asks a good question: Why can't the bring back the Apple Newton?

Sexy, oops, I mean Busy Mom has some reading advice: Confessions of Super Mom". My wife never mentioned she was writing a book.

The Other Kevin Murphy warns us of a pretty sophisticated phishing (um, why isn't it spelled the normal way? And if you're going to do wierdly, why not ghoti-ing?) attack. Be careful out there!

Here's a study sure to piss off everyone - researchers in Britain have discovered that men are smarter than women (that's half the people upset) but men are lazy and don't make full use of their intellegence (there's the other half).

Here's an extended review of Apple's new Mighty Mouse. I think you could safely say he gives it two scroll wheels up.

The New York Times, the grey lady of American journalism, the head of the press pack, right? Sure, especially since they have a tendency to write what they want, and their own sources be damned.

Are all whistleblowers created equal? Umm, no, according to Craig Henry. Oddly enough, certain whistleblowers are more equal than others.

I may not have made the cut at Burning Bird, but I still love Shelley's pictures.

Another symphony from Wretchard, with Donald Sensing performing the solo.

The Listless Lawyer has some results from the Barna Group's latest religous survey in America. Missouri was number one in a couple of categories, but you'll have to go there to find out which ones.

The Plame Wilson Rove thing must be officially dead, since Tom Maguire is all Able Danger all the time now. Even with Tom's magnificent work, the Able Danger story is as murky as this morning's fog.

QandO has advice for bloggers. And when Jon Henke speaks, I listen. You should too.

The King of Fools has some observations on TV violence. No, not like Monty Pythons observation about Sex on the Telly.

That's All, Folks!

A Link Here And A Link There

It's that time again for Friday links.

Ed Driscoll has a great post that looks at suicide bombers.

Chris Johnson looks at the conservative response to the liberal destruction of orthodox Anglicism and says the time for words has passed.

Freesoiler John Hilton uses Gov. Matt Blunt's war chest as proxy for popularity. While I don't think the Governor inherited a state government "in total disarray", he did get handed a budget deficit due to a referendum that Archpundit, no friend of Blunt's, said would make the governorship "a booby prize". So we've been treated to a succession of stories about how Blunt is cutting services with attendent outrage by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch without the reminder that these cuts are not because the Gov likes to cut, but because the people of the Missouri voted by an overwhelming margin to have all gasoline tax money be spent on roads instead of a portion going to services as they had in the past. I don't think the stories are finding much resonance beyond the usual suspects, though, with the exception of the cuts to medicaid.

Shelly Powers delivers another great photo essay. Beauty is a joy forever.

The Listless Lawyer provides his own "Best Of". Maybe I'll do that when I actually have an entry I'd be willing to include.

Cam Edwards writes about a column by Mark Yost and the response to it. It seems Mr. Yost doesn't like the media's reporting, and they don't like Mr. Yost. Via Bill In DC.

Arthur Chrenkoff has a post entitled "Charles the Hammer Made Them Do It<"/a>. With a name like that, how can you resist?

OK, I couldn't resist ScrappleFace's take on L'affaire Plame.

Somehow the guys at In The Agora exhaustively examine France without once mentioning the words "leather bustier". (I admit it, I mentioned them just for the hits).

Bill Roggio at Winds of Change examines the support for Al Qaida and finds it slipping through their Governor Tarquinesq fingers.

Powerline does some of their best work by bringing us beach volley ball pictures.

Finally, a post at Pandagon I can agree with. (Except for that part about watching dating shows and having a boyfriend.)

Of all the stuff on QandO, I chose to link to this? Well, he is the most dangerous pundit on the face of the planet afterall.

Michael Totten wonders about our memory. Apparently there's a hole in it that swallows things like prior reporting on links between, oh, ah, I forget, so go read the darn thing yourself.

For Your Consideration

Joe Carter explains why he's a reluctant Republican that makes a lot of sense. So much sense that for I don't consider myself a Republican at all, just someone who often votes for Republican candidates. I've voted for Democrats, Libertarians, Independents - in short, who I thought the best candidate was in that election. And in doing so, Joe brings up a good point about Pat Robertson, namely, Pat doesn't represent me as an evangelical. The media is constantly turning to people like Pat to represent particular groups, and typically they pick the person who best represents the caraciture they have of that group, which is why a bozo like Robertson is draped around the vangelical neck.

Dodd has two good posts - one comparing the sex life and the overall health of Democrats and Republicans and the other about the continuing misrepresentation of comments about Judge Owen by Judge Gonzales by those elite newspapers, the NYT and the WaPo.

Speaking of elite newspapers, the St. Louis Post Dispatch had a fun front page this morning, what with the old fraud Bill Moyers foaming that mouth over the right wing with statements like:"That's because the one thing they loath more than liberals is the truth. And the quickest way to be damned by them as liberal is to tell the truth." I call Mr. Moyers a fraud because he claims to be a journalist telling the truth but he's really just a left wing activists who lies pretending to be a journalist. He was speaking at an event here in St. Louis call the Conference for Media Reform, and seeing as how he received several standing O's according to the article, I doubt the conference will have any positive effects.

But next to that article was one where NEWSWEEK admits that, so sorry, they just don't have a shred of support for their claim that interrogators at Gitmo desecrated Korans. Somedays the Post is priceless, in ways I doubt intended.

Monday Trio

Heard about Laura Bush's stand up routine at the White House Correspondent's Dinner? USA Today has a complete transcript.

Wondering about what's really happening in politics this very moment? Let Michael Barone (no relation to Ray) explain it to you.

Is old Media collapsing, or is it just going through a Gail Sheehy moment? Terry Eastland of The Weekly Standard has an essay in the Wilson Quarterly sorting it out.

Let's Give Them Something To Think About

The ChicagoBoyz take on reproductive freedom and marvel at the attempt in Illinois to restrict ultrasound so that pregnant women can't get an ultrasound without a doctor's permission because it's an effective tool in persuading women not to have an abortion (yes, I get letters from the local Crisis Pregnancy Resource Center requesting money to buy such machines because they are effective, so here's the proof that they really are). So much for "hands off my body".

Businessweek has discovered a story that's bound to get every blog in the country to link to them -- "Blogs Will Change Your Business ". With lines like "Go ahead and bellyache about blogs. But you cannot afford to close your eyes to them, because they're simply the most explosive outbreak in the information world since the Internet itself. And they're going to shake up just about every business -- including yours." how can any blogger resist linking? And they even do it in a traditional blog form, so we can't even ridicule them as clueless MSM. Insidious.

Armavirumque takes a look at the new pope's elevation in such an educated manner I'm not sure I followed. But I did understand his dig at Andrew Sullivan, even if it wasn't as graphic as Wizbang!'s: (how's that for some punctuation)

Cafe Hayek talks international trade in such a down to earth way I clearly understood it.

The Japanese have apologized, again, for all the really awful things they did in WWII. Will this smooth the waters over with China? Beats me, because while I think even the Chinese goverment is kinda hoping this dies down, they can't be seen as being soft on Japan.

Cronaca complains about the ongoing destruction of the Temple Mount at the hands of the Islamic Waqf, and wonders where the howls of outrage are. Me too, so according to Business Week I'm doing the most I can to help just by posting this.

Over at Professor Bainbridge's I discovered a readibility test and of course I plugged in the ol' web page. I'm not sure if the blog roll distorts the results, but here they are anyway:

Mary Madigan at Michael Totten's (that's the trouble with naming your blog after yourself -- hey, you could have used the word eponymous and kept the fifth graders at bay -- then invite other people to post) looks at love of Armaggedon amongst the fringe of the environmentalists.

President Bush keeps shaking things up -- now he's named a Marine as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (shouldn't that be Chief of the JCS?). No word on the Navy's reaction.

The Vodka Pundit's Sidekick writes about the biggest story you're not reading about: "And what a story! It's got corruption, Kennedys, secret informants, Clintons, even weird sexual allegations." Hey, I want to read about that!

In a move that should surprise nobody, the woman who claimed to have found a finger tip in a bowl of chilli at Wendy's was arrested today. I watch those shows on the food channel, (Unwrapped and The Secret Life Of -- both of which you ought to be watching too), so I know if somebody loses a finger anywhere near the chilli while being made, they stop the line and if they can't find the finger, they dump the chilli because that's a lot cheaper than paying a claim down the road when someone else finds the finger. And nobody, nobody, overlooks losing one and half inches of a finger.

Speaking of food, Tom Maguire links to a NYT article that tells us that contrary to what's been said in the past, that whole overweight thing, don't worry. A few extra pounds is actually a good thing, at least when it comes to life expectancy. Tying your shoes, well, that's a different problem. Now I can get back to ordering chilli from Wendy's with neither worry nor guilt. I remember my local paper, the St. Awful, doing front page articles and writing fulminating editorials when the CDC was telling us that obesity was the number 2 cause of death. I'm not holding my breath (because that would lead to death!) for them to run front page articles and write fulminating editorials about how parts of the CDC are trying to scare us to death, since that's pretty much the press's stock in trade.

Blognor Regnis provides reason 793 why I don't respect academics. I do respect people who, through no fault of their own, are academics.

Speaking of Chilli, the first census of gut bacteria was taken by a fellow Standford man and found 395 variety of microbe living in healthy guts. Just remember, bacteria in the human body outnumber human cells by a factor of 10, and counting the bacteria that live on the outside, people are really just a big bacteria trellis. And in the category of information I didn't want to know, the weight of a human turd is half bacteria. And in the category of information I can use, I can blame my weight on the efficiency of my gut bacteria. I'm not overweight, I'm improving my life expectancy through superior bacteria.

News Great and Small

Andrea Dworkin passed away. While I disagreed with her views about most everything, her firebrand should have burned for years more.

We may be planting trees too deeply. On trees that aren't pines, you should be able to see a flare just before the tree goes into the ground. If you can't, it's too deep and the roots (and therefore the entire tree) will suffer.

China and India are talking about resolving their long standing border disputes. This is big news, and may represent each country using the other as a counterwieght to the US. I think though that the trend of the US and India growing closer is too big to stop as it's fed by the growing similarities in the two countries. Now if China would also throw of the political shackles as well as the economic ones, we'd be getting somewhere.

A team at the University of Liepzig claims that they can isolate "embryonic quality" stem cells from adult blood. They use the stretchiness of stem cells to isolate them from the rest of the blood cells and they use a drug called G-CSF to fill the blood with stem cells from bone marrow so there are enough to harvest in the first place.

Scores are being settled with John Bolton in his confirmation hearings as old foes are complaining bitterly about him. I had to laugh when Joe Biden, who's not a bad Senator, said that anytime a senior official calls in a lower-level one "and reams him a new one that's just not acceptable." Somehow I think Joe has reamed a few new ones himself, but I doubt the press will be out looking for current or ex subordinates who've been so reamed. I don't know that much about Bolton, but the idea that the UN needs a sympathetic nudge to get back on track is just ludicrous - it needs a few swats with a two by four to get it's attention and then a series of hefty kicks in the pants to get it pointed in the right direction. Non metaphorically, it needs major structural change that isn't going to happen without strong and unrelenting accountability.

Nick Krisof has discovered that the American people don't trust the news media. Tom Maguire discovers one set of error's Nick makes, and Pendagon discovers a whole nuther set. See Nick, this is how the newsroom you want works - same story, two viewpoints.

Vladimir Putin says he won't seek a third term in office in 2008. Well, a nice democratic change in leadership would be a sign of growing maturity in the democratic process and help acustom Russia to the practice of democracy. Davids Medienkritik has more on Putin's trip to Germany.

Wisconsin is seriously considering a feral cat hunting season. I think they don't have enough Asian restaurants is all. (It was just a joke people.)

Apple has announced that Tiger, or OS X 10.4 (yes, I know the X and 10 are redundant, but Apple doesn't) will ship April 29. This is the first OS upgrade I've ever planned on buying , let alone actually buying. Hopefully it won't break any of my favorite games.

Omaha is home to a military anti-terrorism think tank. Good. Maybe Geitner could led them a hand.

AP took a poll and discovered to their amazement that "Many Dread Preparing Taxes." No kidding. It sounds like the winning entry in a Wizbang most obvious headline contest. Soon they'll be running articles about how it gets hot in the summer.

It's official - humor is good for you. How long before Sienfeld is being prescribed as an anti-depressent?

Four For Tuesday

Steve Verdon takes an indepth look at Jeffrey Sachs proposal to end world poverty and is skeptical of the theory behind it. Me too, but Steve actually has equations to back it up.

Wizbang compares protests in Lebanon to those in America and finds a case where a third world country is much better than us. Oddly enough, it's the one Wizbang post today without a hot babe in it.

Back to economics - Tom Maguire has a lengthy excerpt of Niall Ferguson's outlook for the US dollar and the Asian central banks and finds things are gloomier for them than us, which is something I keep telling my mother when she brings it up as her latest doom and gloom prophecy.

Jenne defends the importance of special education for gifted kids with her own personal story. I can give the other side - the fruit of my loins have stayed engaged because of gifted education.

Double Your Pleasure

You scream, I scream, we all scream for links, so here's a Monday tradition: Linkagery. I've added a twist, see if you can figure it out.

Eamonn Fitzgerald leads us off with a fine post about the Copenhagen Consensus: "The inspiring thing about the Copenhagen Consensus is that it set priorities. Climate change was not ignored by the experts, but it was not regarded as critical to saving lives. Instead of reacting to the latest, trendy media-driven fads, the economists had to face the fact that no dollar can be spent twice. Our willingness to help may be unlimited, but our resources are not, in other words."

Not content with that, Eamonn follows up by explaining the Irish term GUBU, with a less than delightfull example.

Tom McMahon just took himself out of the running for President; I guess I'll just have to vote for Condi. A word of advice Tom -- notice how I never include myself in the pictures I post here unless they are really old and thus show me as a young man? Wink wink.

Tom also gives us the skinny on that eHarmony guy who's buying a lot of commercial time on TV (not that I watch TV!). OK, really it's National Review, but I'm trying to throw the lefties off the scent, or they'll figure out we do nothing but read and blog NRO.

Jenne has some questions and observations (did Jon Henke TM that?) that are worth a look. She also has some thoughts on Geeklog, so if you're thinking about new weblog software here's your chance to find out about Geeklog.

The Ombudsgod! has little trouble figuring out what Michael Getler, ombudsperson at the WAPO can't. Of course, TO never has trouble figuring out the conumdrums that stump Mr. Getler. And then he congratulates the press on the stringent safeguards on their stories, especially those that involve some guy called Gannon.

Dissecting Leftism notes that contra Chait, leftism is both dogmatic and has their pantheon of Saints. And he regularly has his own festival of links called Elsewhere.

My alter ego, the Interociter, has pretty much the same take on the Bush tapes I do: the big revelation is that if public George meets private George, they both can exist because they are pretty much the same. And he has a good question (and observation!) about China.

OK, I better let McQ at Questions and Obersavtions have a turn: an observation on British ingenuity as displayed by the response to the ban on fox hunting. But that's just warming up -- he has a very interesting look at research on al Qaeda members and discovers that it isn't poverty or religious fanaticism that is original motivation, but to find out what it is you'll have to follow the link.

Take Sir Charles' challange and name your 10 artistic or scientific achievements from 1950 to 2000 that will still matter two hundred years. He also notes the disconnect between the headline and the picture.

Jane Galt has the last word on the Larry Summers brouhaha (so I don't have to). And with that, I'm breaking the mold on this post.

Since You've Been Gone

You may have noticed, but I haven't been blogging too much recently. All kinds of stuff has been going on while I've been otherwise occupied.

Charles Austen is handing out Christmas wishes and once again I've been overlooked. That's OK, I'm used to it. And really, the list of fine bloggers is present enough, because, as I explained below, really I don't need anything I don't already have.

John Conyers, one of my favorite politicians, looks to have got caught sending turkeys meant for the poor to pals. Yeah, I know, isn't that really what politics is about?

I caught Don Luskin on the radio the other morning on my way to work. He was talking about ways to improve Social Security and I have to say he gives great radio. I was a little surprised because he was very calm, matter of fact, stuck with the facts, wouldn't let himself get diverted and politely stayed on topic when Smash (one of the hosts) tried to pull him off. I say surprised because he comes off more as an in your face kind of guy on his website.

Shelley (whose Burningbird I adore) reports on the firing of a St. Louis Post-Dispatch writer for what he wrote on his blog. I have to say, since I post under my own name I have no illusions that what I write here won't be used against me, so I write accordingly. Number one, nothing about work, and very little about the field I work in. I don't think my writing suffers because I don't dis my coworkers or employer here; it's not something I do (much) anyway and it would only be of interest to people I work with.

Kevin "Mr. Wizbang to You" responds to Corey Pein, the author of a piece in the CJR about Dan Rather and the blogosphere. Speaking of which, still no release of the big investigation report. Powerline has their own response. Me? Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

I'm told that Tom Brokaw retired. I have no idea if this is true as I haven't seen a network news broadcast in years. They say he's been replaced with Brian Williams, who always seemed a pleasant fellow on CNBC or MSNBC or whatever cable outfit I saw him on. Something odd about his eyes though.

The guys at Powerline are engaged in a pissing contest with a man who buys civit cat juice by the barrel. Good luck guys. Interestingly enough, McQ at QandO has a bone to pick with Powerline as well (thankfully he doesn't bring genitalia into his critique.

In an attempt to be Seinfeldesq, I'll note that Jon Henke of QandO has pointed out a wee bit of dead horse beating on the part of Dan Rather.

I know I'm late to the party on this one, but John Hawkins has the 40 Most Obnoxious Quotes of 2004

Da Goddess and son have a funny encounter with a Bush-hater. Although I agree with the lady that God doesn't vote Republican - God doesn't vote period (I'm a Deus Vult kind of guy), and IMHO takes far more interest in individuals than political parties.

Links Links Links Links

Winds of Change has a remarkable story about a young Kurdish woman and her fight for a free Iraq.

Q and O is all over the al-Qaqaa story. My own two cents is that it is much ado about nothing. There is nothing all that special about the explosives, or the amount, or the non-involvement of the Bush administration.

Consternations advises how Bush should respond to Kerry's handling of al-Qaqaa. Of course, Bush could have responded this way over several other issues.

In the wake of the latest caca, I've been thinking to myself that in any other line of work, Dan Rather would be off the air hoping his name would be cleared in the Ra^thergate fiasco, instead of on the air waiting for the fury to die down. So I'm with Rich and Dodd on boycotting CBS affiliates, and I can still watch my Survivor.

Sir Charles takes a look at the Heartland of America and thinks it can be trusted and invites your comments as to why.

Deroy Murdock takes a look at Saddam Hussein and terrorism. It isn't pretty. (via INDC Journal).

I hope you can stand one more al-Qaqaa link, because it's time for some humor to ease the pain. Blame Bush! gives the big picture response to the hype with verve and enthusiasm. I know it's no laughing matter, but it keeps the crying at bay.

Robert Musil looks at polls so you don't have to - and concludes with the wisdom of James Carville: "You know what they call a candidate who's counting on a lot of new voters? A loser."

JOHO the blog reports on a study that shows that people on the internet do come into contact with more points of view than people who aren't internet users (who is that anymore, I wonder).

Into the Sunset has already voted (I'd do that too if it meant I didn't see any more political ads) in Arizona, and tells us who and why. I'm with Brad on Bush -- on those issues where I'm disapointed (yes Virginia, Bush isn't perfect), Kerry has promised to be worse, and has the record to back it up.

Da Goddess has already voted too, only in California, and she too lays it all out for us.

The Interocitor, who I think is a wonderful guy, looks at what the lunar eclipse portends -- he thinks good news (except for that Red Sox thing). Years ago when America Online was my ISP, another Kevin Murphy IM me about how neat our name was. I replied I was happy for us both, and he replied with some profanity about how he thought it was a great name. He seemed a little young to me at the time. Hope that wasn't you, Interocitor.

The Belmont Club (can you really be a club with just one person?) looks at Arafat and his legacy. It, too, isn't pretty.

Dust in the Light responds to a letter to the editor about the separation of Church and State brought on by the Catholic Church's recent attempts to explain how their faith intersects with politics. I wonder if anybody responds to my letters to the editor?

OK, that's enough politics. Time for some beauty, so go check out Shelley Power's Tinfoil project for some gorgeous photos, mainly of scenery in and around St. Louis. Trust me, her pictures look better than the reality.

Carnivals of the Vanities

The 105^th installment of Carnival of the Vanities is up at the Eleven Day Empire. There is lots of good stuff, and I even entered a post. I have to admire all the hard work that goes into picking a theme, executing it well, and writing all the intros.

The Softer Side Of Linkage

Happy Birthday to Busymom! The Big 40 is nothing to trifle with, youngster. I'd go out and buy a pair of those magnifying glasses for far-sightedness right now, because very soon you'll need them. And remember, you're only as old as you feel, so if you're feeling old, go out and feel something young. Works every time.

Fran Mason urges you to visit the Ozarks, and I have to second that sentiment. And by all means follow her link to the MSNBC story that extolls their virtue.

The Obvious? reports that Tom Peters, yes, THE Tom Peters who is the top management guru around, has a blog. A real blog.

Some simple advice for herself that works for me, and probably you too from Da Goddess.

I can't help myself, Tom McMahon tells an oldie but a goodie, and he discovers that a team of top flight doctors have concluded that The Red Baron was shot down because he was suffering impaired judgement as the result of a nasty headwound.

Justin Katz asserts that Truth must be conveyed honestly by looking at some attempts to convert Catholics by less than honest means.

Science Blog reports that volunteering is good not just for the soul but the health as well (no word on desert and floorwax effects). They also report that some smart person has figured out why some paintings have eyes that follow you around the room: "All it takes for the effect to work is to have the person in the painting, or photograph, look straight ahead. If a person in a painting is looking straight out, it will always appear that way, regardless of the angle at which it is viewed.'' And rounding out the trifecta, the FTC is considering offering bounties for spammers. I think $50 a head is about right.

Shelley Powers went to the balloon race here in Forest Park and has the pictures to print it. Poke around to discover more, lots more.

I must be watching the wrong TV shows, but I can't recall seeing one of the Miller High Life ads Brad Rolfe likes so much. Perhaps it's because I watch girly man shows (hey, Oprah is very informative), or perhaps I can't think of anything I like to watch less on TV than poker, except perhaps for golf. I do remember the cat fight ad, although for the life of me I couldn't tell you which Miller product they were pushing.

Eamonn Fitzgerald reports that Mel Gibson and John Boorman (the latest version of the odd couple?) are going to make best-seller The Professor and the Madman into a movie. The crazy thing is (no, not that I read and enjoyed the book) that the book was about the making of the first edition of the Oxford English Dictionary. Would that there were more people in Hollywood who can make movies that interest them.

I'm going to let Brian Tiemann handle that whole pirate thing, which I neither understand nor care about.

Are you ready for some football? Ben Domenech is.

I've heard of White Punks on Dope, but David at Cronaca warns about pigeons on dope.

Oh yeah, they handed out emmy's last night but frankly I couldn't care less about stupid award shows anymore. OK, I'm sure I'll watch the Oscars with my wife, but I don't enjoy it.

Thursday Link Fest

Happy Birthday Brad! And good luck with your classes.

Tim takes on Quixtar, again. Go Tim, go!

Next destination, Barsoom (according to one of my alter egos). I’m also a big fan of the Pellucidar novels.

I have to admit, Chrenkoff brought a smile to my lips with this post

Cori continues to watch over the media so we don’t have to. I’m shocked, shocked, to discover that the WaPo continues to bury any good news in Iraq.

Brian Tiemann doesn’t think Father of the Pride is going to be around very long – not funny enough for a comedy is his verdict on the pilot.

Chris Johnson revels in the insightfulness of Reuters’ news analysis.

Mark at Kaedrin Weblog reacts to Steven Den Beste’s blog retirement. Charles Austin announces his retirement, again. I suppose it’s the quantity, not the quality, in Charles’ opinion. I for one miss Charles.

Matt Hoy despairs of his own abilities and winning a Pulitzer after reading Maureen Dowd’s latest. Susanna Cornett cheerfully reads Maureen, although I’m hurt that she didn’t notice when I gave the same explanation of how to enjoy reading Ms. Marueen. Have I mentioned several people have found my blog after searching on "Maureen Dowd Sexy"? Do you wish I had just kept that little nugget to myself?

ScrappleFace has Osama’s reaction to the Republican convention.

Geitner Simmons has more about the Great Plains. When I was driving to Colorado and back, I noticed how all the roads I drove on in Kansas and Colorado pretty much followed the railroads.

The Ombudsgod is hoping his readers will buy him a Porsche Carrera GT. The spirit is willing, but the pocket isn’t deep enough.

Tom McMahon sums up the election -- you’ll have to read it, as it is a brief summary.

Tanya is looking ahead to the next one.

Eammon Fitzgerald is looking back to Munich, no not 1938, but 1972, sparked by Rudy Guiliani.

Toys 'R' Ze

Josea "Ze" Frank has a wild and varied collection of videos, documents, and some interactive toys on his site. Two that I liked best are Draw Toy and Build Your Own (separately or together):

• Draw Toy 2003


• Build Your Own (Kaleidascope)


• Draw Toy vs. Build Your Own (Kaleidascope)

Mo' Linkage

First up, we have a double header from Cronaca:
He links to an article about how bad female infanticide is in India, and some of the effects its having. How bad - worse than China!

On a lighter note, Cronaca provides the three hardest words in any language to translate. This item is provided in honor of my cousin Linda, who knows more languages than is humanly possible, and who we decided last night would be somebody (along with the rest of her family) we'd like to share a vacation home/condo with (not only is she a blast to be with, but she already has the perfect condo!). For those of you who can't wait, the winner is ilunga, a Bantu word that means a person ready to forgive any abuse the first time, tolerate it the second time, but never a third time.

We have a couple of items in the category of obvious:
Tanya reports that Mary-Kate Olsen has anorexia. I happen to like the Olsen twins (no, I'm not one of those people who were counting the days until they turned 18, I mean there work -- I've actually enjoyed most of the stuff I've seen them in watching with my daughter). How long before Ashley fesses up too?

Meryl Yourish links to a study that reports obese men can improve their sex lives by losing weight -- no word on what Jack Ryan can do.

Speaking of Jack!, Archpundit is wall to wall Jack!. And if you're going to comment at a lefty site, there's no better place than Archpundit.

I've had my share of Andrew Sullivan posts, so I have to let you know that Iowahawk has provided the last Sullivan post you'll ever have to read, entitled Two Minute Sully.

Just to alert the media, Busy Mom has redecorated her blog and it is all spiffy now.

And finally, it's posts like this one that keep me coming back to QandO.

Inconceivable, or Some People Write What I Think

It must be mind control or ESP or something, because I've come across some blog posts I could have written. If I had the time and talent, that is.

I know he's "the dean" of political pundits, but Geitner's title sums up my feelings: Broder, Slow On The Uptake.

The next post takes more than just the title, but it too sums up my take on a lot of NGOs, not just Amnesty International. Yep, according to AI, the US is the worst offender when it comes to undermining the rule of law and international relations.

I've said this before, I'll say it now and later -- I think the children, grown or not, of politicians should be off limits to attacks. Just because you don't like their parents doesn't mean you should go after the kids. Period. Left, Right, St. Looney-Up-The-Creek doesn't make any difference. Ted Barlow agrees with me. And as I would say about anybody else, if somebody says something stupid, mock the stupidity of the remark, not the person. Yeah, I know, I'm no fun.

Yes, we really do need a whole channel devoted to gays and lesbians, asJoe Carter points out. I mean, it's like gays and lesbians are currently invisible on TV, unlike honest businessmen.

Clayton Cramer solves a conundrum that bedevils some reporters: how does the crime rate fall while prison populations increase? For those of you who are puzzled as well, I'll let Mr. Cramer explain it to you.

A Link Trilogy

I just started John Stossel's book Give Me A Break and noticed he figured out at the start of his career that TV news is essentially high frequency noise - and he wanted to present the low frequency signal. Those of course aren't his words, but mine as an engineer. And that brings up my attempt to bring you some posts that are all signal.

First up is a sensible look by Into The Sunset at how we are doing in Iraq that measures success and failure against 6 goals.

Wretchard continues his excellent analysis at Belmont Club by taking a sober look at "News Coverage As A Weapon."

And Cronaca covers the intersection between Art and Politics in two posts in response to a response to the Israeli Ambassador's response to a despicable work in a Stockholm gallery.

Yes, We Have Links

Which party has the real smear machine asks Real Clear Politics. In one corner you have Move On's smear campaign and in the other you have ... more Democratic smears. Speaking of which, I'm still waiting for Hillary's explanation of how the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy managed to get Bill Clinton's pants off and his --okay, you get the idea. The story about Move On raises one of those clashes of virtues:

"The issue is complex. Some Republican attorneys who fought McCain/Feingold on free-speech grounds, such as James Bopp and Jan Baran, have criticized the RNC's challenge. Meanwhile, Lawrence Noble, executive director of the liberal-leaning Center for Responsive Politics, generally is supportive of the RNC position"

Jon Henke at QandO found a funny one -- an unapologetic feminist who on the one hand believes in "the social, political, and economic equality of the sexes" yet on the other thinks that the prisoner abuse in Iraq was caused by a lack of feminization in the military. As I point out in the comments, she (along with many of her sister feminists) apparently believes that women are morally superior to men. And speaking of superiority, is it fair that Dale Franks has joined QandO? I don't think so.

Speaking of blogs that get far more traffic than me (not that anyone should measure their worth by how much traffic they get -- OK, who am I trying to kid with that one?), Glenn Reynolds has a rarity for him - original content beyond "heh". It's a succinct riff on why we are in Iraq, and a good one too.

The swiftboat vets made good on their promise and clobbered John Kerry. Now the question is how much coverage this will get. Tom Maguire delivers the goods and gets the link because I really like his title.

Tanya has me going one way talking about "Realm of Redheads" but finishes another way with a heartfelt post.

Corporate Taxes. Multinational Taxes. Still with me? Good. Head over to Regions of Mind to learn more. Personally, I think taxing companies on their profits odd because it destorts their economic incentives, and taxes on comanies are really just consumption taxes anyway - they pass them along to consumers. My solution - get rid of them or switch to just a small flat rate on revenue.

OK, back to heartfelt. Joe Carter has one about President Bush and about an honest emotional reaction. I have to agree with Joe - don't always agree with his policies, but respect him as a man.

Latin is a language Dead as dead can be First it killed the Romans Now its killing me

And don't miss the second Carnival of the Liberated - a round up of Iraq blogs.

Linkage Galore

Scientists are using (adult) stem cells to regrow your own teeth. Hopefully they'll have a workable human version by the time I need them.

The UN Oil-For-Food scandal keeps boiling along just below the threshold for the press to take much interest. I'm a fan of the ideal of the United Nations, but clearly the current implementation sucks. The question should be whether reform can work, or would it be better to start over with not just a fresh organization, but a better organized one. And by that I mean one that doesn't treat all governments as equals, because they're not; and one that draws its bureaucracy by and large from a stratum other than the current government kleptocracy. An organization that is supposed to represent the moral high ground needs to actually be moral; the failings of the UN are clearly moral failures.

The abuse of Iraqi prisoners is sickening, and needs to be punished fully and severly. And I'm kind of mystified at the claims it was due to MPs not given adequate guidelines. If you can't figure out that you shouldn't be sexually humilliating (and worse) prisoners, adequate guidelines aren't going to help. (yea, more moral failures).

Charles Austin continues his 70's music contest. It needs more Cowbell!

John Kerry is set to get an "unfit" evaluation from his fellow swift boat veterans tomorrow.

Ranger Rick retires and attends the same White House Correspondant's Dinner as Bryan Preston, although it seems that Bryan only attended a pre-dinner cocktail party thrown by National Review (did that hide my jealosy?). Rick (AKA Rich Galen) has returned from Iraq -- giving hope to all us Walter Mittys -- a lean mean fighting machine.

How long have you people known that Tony Woodlief is back writing his wonderful Sand In The Gears and didn't tell me?

My local newspaper ran an article over the weekend about Joe Wilson's new book. The odd thing is that it was exclusively about who he claims leaked his wife's name to the press. Consequently, it was a waste of space as it provided no information since Joe Wilson hasn't a clue as to who leaked his wife name - he just throws out names. Somehow, they forgot to mention that the book confirms that Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf, Iraq's then foreign minister, went to Niger sniffing after uranium. I guess that confirmation of British intellegence's assertion that Iraq tried to obtain uranium in Africa isn't newsworthy, since Joe told us before that they didn't get any from Niger. Oh yeah, Mohammed Saeed Sahhaf is better known as 'Baghdad Bob', and according to Eason Jordan's revelations of how CNN sat on news to keep access is not a clown, and not a nice guy at all.

Tim at Random Observations how capitalism can be moral through the life and philosophy of a moral capitalist, Charles A. Todd.

It's too bad that Dave Letterman didn't jump to ABC and bump off the air that vain, arrogant, big-headed SOB Ted Koppel.

Cori Dauber points out an example of why people hate the media -- the ghouls went to interview a family because their son was shot in Florida. Seems they got the wrong family, but they didn't realise that and told them their son was dead -- just so they could get their reaction on the air.

Oh yeah, something big was stopped in Jordan (like 80,000 deaths and the destruction of it's current government), but since the press isn't worried, I'm not either. Just because it features

Yes, We've Got Links

A sober look at a real intellegence problem prior to 9/11. Hat Tip Instapundit

Another Baghdad Journal installment from Steve Mumford. Hat Tip Kaedrin Weblog -- make sure you check out all the Mumford articles collected by Mark.

Bryan Preston documents the madness of Richard Clarke -- and the bureaucratic wet dream that increased meetings at the top result in noticable improvements at the bottom.

A serious look at a deliciously funny movie. Hat tip to Paul Cella. Someday I'd like to do the same for the Talented Mr. Ripley, which wasn't funny, but is the best illustration that if virtue is its own reward, vice is its own punishment on film.

Kevin Holtsberry provides another example of why he isn't a liberal. I couldn't agree with you more, and it isn't because of the first name.

Mark Byron edifies with his edifier du Jour. Warning - Christian thought.

If you're a St. Louisan, you know who Bill Haas is. If you're not, there is no easy descripton other than local color. If you've ever wanted to meet him, Archpundit let's you know how. I won't be there -- my common sense overpowers my sense of humor.

A Pygmy on the Shoulders of Giants

It time for one of those posts, inspired by bloggers like J Bowen and Tom McMahon.

Our first one is via J Bowen, and documents the original product development team's titanic struggle.

Next up we have courtesy of Tom McMahon a truly non-obvious and penetrating insight into marketing at The Sharper Image.

If you are a scientist with luxuriant flowing hair, there is a club especially for you, and only for you. Please note that this isn't a club for scientists who want luxuriant flowing hair, but for those who already have it.

Check out the official Rube Goldberg website.

Scientists with entirely too much time on their hands have discovered that cockroaches suffer from physical age related debilitation much like humans. No word if aging takes a toll on the mental capacity of roaches. (And don't even mention viagra).

I had no idea Megan had a disease named after her , but there is what sounds like a very common disease with a newly discovered cure - a can of soda. From the article:

"People with McArdle’s disease – a condition marked by low tolerance for exercise and high risk of activity-related muscle injury – can dramatically improve their exercise tolerance by consuming a soft drink or equivalent before physical activity, investigators have discovered."

Cream of the Crop, Tip of the Top

Now that I've had a chance to catch up on my blog reading, I can see why my traffic numbers go up when I don't post. So here is what you should be reading instead of me.

Scott at Scrappleface has insightful reporting about Turkeygate.

And while we're on the subject of Turkeygate, why does Dana Milbank still have a job as a reporter? He distorts, he misquotes, he's smug, he's arrogant, and he elevates the trivial and buries the important; all in all, he's the best example of what's wrong with reporters today. Harsh? Read this snarkfest about nothing and then decide. OK, I snuck some of my own stuff in, hoping you woudn't notice.

And back to Scott, who nails reporters with this gem:

"When informed that he had won the award today, Mr. Rumsfeld said, "I want to thank all the news organizations that ran the story about this award. Because we know there are real news stories; important things folks should know. We also know there are unreal news stories; that is to say we know that an unnamed source planted a made-up story with an unwitting reporter. But there are also unreal non-news stories -- which is what professional journalists write while they're waiting to be hand-fed another insignificant leaked memo by an unnamed know-nothing nobody."

Kind of like Mr. Millbank's story above.

Geitner Simmons is blogging about a nation of regions -- it isn't fair, he get's to go to really neat conferences -- and the pictures alone are worth the price of admission (if he charged any). As always, great, thought provoking stuff at Regions of Mind.

OK, back to the press: Cori at Ranting Profs could ask "are they really this stupid?", but being polite, doesn't. I, ill mannered lout that I am, ask it.

Perhaps it was my lack of manners that cost me victory, but here is a caption contest I lost. Apparently the Sophorist went with quality over quantity.

Check out what Michael Chrichton has to say about enviromentalistism as the new urban religion. If anything, I think he's a little harsh on religion. (Found at the Sophorist)

If you aren't reading Rich Galen's dispatches from Iraq, you ought to be. I laugh, I cry, and then I have to blow my nose loudly. I suppose I just enjoy reading somebody on the web who is both older and fatter than I - no mean feat.

We reverse the normal order, and go from the sublime to the ridiculous: more than 13 million viewers tuned into the debut of The Simple Life and thus got to see Paris Hilton wear her jeans so low that her crack had to be fuzzed out, along with Nicole's mouth when she said naughty words. All I can say is, I feel sorry for the people who they are staying with and I hope they got a lot of money to put up with the two gals. The number of viewers went up with the second show, which illustrates some pithy saying about how you won't go broke underestimating the intellengence of the American TV watcher.

Woven Web #2

Heather at Angelweave has been all over the web finding great links for your viewing pleasure.