Well, y'all, I'll be heading out of town for the weekend within the next few hours, so there won't be an update 'til probably Sunday mid-afternoon. And I apologize for the sparse posting, I had two major tests on Wednesday that wore the heck out of me.

RIP

Mister Rogers died today at the age of 74. His program was perhaps one of my favorite programs to watch when I was a li'l'un (that's Southern for "little one").

Very interesting...

Karl Rove cancels a speaking engagement in New Hampshire scheduled for the 12th of March.

Comments

Haloscan says that it's working on its servers, which they have apparently been doing for some time. This means that my comments aren't showing up on a regular basis. Ya know, if I had wanted a commenting service that cut out on me regularly, I would have stuck with YACCS.

Yet Another Test

Take the test, by Emily.

Moby

Everybody's favorite bald-headed vegan DJ, Moby, is starting to question in his online journal some of the thinking (and I use the term loosely) of the "give inspections a chance" crowd:

ok, one last practical question about disarmament...
suppose the arms inspectors continue in iraq and suppose they have extra u.n troops helping them and suppose they make sure that iraq has no weapons of mass destruction.
then what?
then they leave, right?
and, here's the very serious question, then what?
in a couple of years the arms inspectors leave and what's then to stop saddam hussein from re-building his arsenal of weapons of mass destruction?
just a practical question that is worth addressing right now.
i think it's safe to say that saddam's logic might be:
'ok, we put off our weapons programs for a few years. we accomodate the un and get them to lift sanctions. and then in a few years we have no sanctions, tons of money from renewed oil contracts with france and russia, and the ability to build a brand new arsenal of weapons of mass destruction.'

I have to say that's a pretty dang good way to frame the situation in Iraq. If it weren't for the e.e. cummings approach Moby adopts, you would think Victor Davis Hanson wrote that.

i'm not advocating war, but i do think it's naive to think that saddam hussein wouldn't build weapons of mass destruction once the inspectors leave.
and does the un really plan on having a permanent and extensive and diligent cadre of weapons inspectors in iraq for the next 100 years?
if we're going to be pacifists we can't be naive pacifists. we can't see this situation in naive and unrealistic and short-sighted terms. saddam hussein has had extensive systems of weapons of mass destruction ever since he came to power in the early 80's. do you really think that he wouldn't re-build weapons of mass destructions once the inspectors leave?
how are the u.n (and france and germany and russia) prepared to deal with this issue in the long term?

I do wonder what Moby would advocate instead of war to rid the Iraqi people of Saddam. Hussein has made it clear that he has no intention in relinquishing power any time soon, so what other way is there to ensure that the Butcher of Baghdad doesn't use his WMD's and develop more of 'em?

Parodies of Ready.gov

Owen Courreges has a hilarious parody of Ready.gov. Inspired by my fellow blogger, I have a parody of my own.

Today's Howler

From the South African Daily Dispatch Online "Namibian President Sam Nujoma yesterday urged reconciliation between Zimbabwe and its main critic, Britain, and said he knew of no human rights abuses under Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe."

Theme Song for Anti-War Folks



by Marshall Ramsey of the Clarion-Ledger.

A Ray of Bitter Sunshine

Debbie Dawkins, Democratic State Senator from south MS, avers to the world, "I can't be a prissy, country club b---h when I represent a 33 percent African-American district,"

To quote the Church Lady, "Well, isn't that special?"

BTW: I stole the title of this post from the slogan of the Dilbert Newsletter written by Scott Adams

MS AG Declines to Run for Re-election

Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, who spearheaded the effort to sue The Evil and All-Powerful Tobacco Companies during the 90's, has officially announced that he will not seek re-election to the office that he has served in for 16 years. The Magnolia Report has the announcement online and lists possible contenders for the open post.

Fortunately for you, dear readers I have provided a quick summary:

1.) Thanks all those that have supported him during the years.
2.) Thanks his hard-working, dedicated staff members
3.) a.) Highlights his "accomplishments" especially bringing The Evil and All-Powerful Tobacco Companies to there knees which will
b.) Help The Children live longer and healthier lives.
4.) States that he misses spending time with his family
5.) Lists a few of the chartiable organizations he'll be involved with
6.) Leaves the door open to run again for political office (say, Senate in 2006 or 2008?)

...you know, the typical stuff.

"...no matter how the political winds blow in Washington...one thing always remains constant: Sen. Lott's hair." --Lt. Governor Amy Tuck

Among other barbs delivered at the roast, Lt. Governor Tuck also quipped that the hairspray bottle is "liquid concrete in a can."

Links and Musings

Bad news for the "Girls Gone Wild" people.

One of Saddam's henchmen, Iraqi PM Tariq Aziz, refuses to answer a question from an Israeli journalist. At a press conference in Rome, Israeli newspaper reporter Menachem Gantz asked, "Are you considering any kind of attack as a possibility against Israel in case of an American attack?" "When I came to this press conference it was not in my agenda to answer questions by the Israeli media. Sorry," replied Hussein's lackey. Yea, it's a pain when those pesky Zionists show up and have the unmitigating audacity is ask you a question. Man, what is this world coming to?

"Iraq relinquishes disarm panel chair": Iraq today stated that it will not take its turn in the rotating presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, declining to replace Iran which had also bowed out. The presidency rotation is based on alphabetical order, leaving Ireland to assume control, ironically on St. Patrick's Day.

I'm going to really mad when the Sci-Fi Channel decides to stop running 4 reruns of Stargate SG-1 on Monday nights.

Bill Whalen details the recall effort against California Governor Gray Davis and its ramifications. At least Davis can claim that he has united a wide range of people from business leaders, soccer moms, union thugs, to activists of all stripes. Unfortunately for him, they all want to throw him out.

John Nowacki sets the record straight on Bush nominee to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Miguel Estrada. Perhaps TAPPED should take a gander.

Speaking of the Estrada battle, doesn't it seem that Senate Democrats are trying to make two contradictory points about why they are holding up the nomination? They say that he hasn't answered their questions about his judicial philosophy and, therefore, they don't know enough about him to vote for him. But, simultaneously, they aver that he is a radical right-wing idealogue unsuited for the benched. If you don't know enough about him, how can you declare he's too conservative?

VH-1 needs to remember that it's supposed to play music videos, not movies.

Does This Really Surprise Anyone?

Poetry

Lee Ann Morawski comments on the White House poetry cancellation and the state of modern poetry.

Those That Don't Know History...

TAPPED, the blog of the Leftist publication The American Prospect, makes a rather impolite, even for its standards, remark toward conservatives:

DON'T RUN, HILLARY. For months, Tapped has watched, with some amusement, conservatives feverishly speculate about Hillary Clinton running for president. For us, the booming market in Hillary-gossip perfectly illustrates the way extra-chromosome righties have become practically co-dependent on the Clintons.

emphasis mine

"Extra-chromosome righties"? If that phrase sounds very familiar, it should. In the 1994 Virginia Senate race then-VP Al Gore addressed a campaign rally for incumbent Democrat Chuck Robb where he called Republican challenger Oliver North's supporters, "the extreme right wing, the extra chromosome right wing." Unbeknowst to Gore (and I am being charitable here), those with extra chromosomes suffer from Downs Syndrome. After this was pointed out in the press, Algore ended up writing a letter of apology for the comment.

It seems that the hacks folks at TAPPED, like Gore at the time, know that throwing "extra chromosomes" in front of a noun is an insult, but aren't aware of what having a surplus of chromosomes actually means. If I were in a cynical mood, I would believe both Gore and TAPPED full well knew what the term meant, but didn't think anybody would call them out on it.

Of course, it isn't hard to predict how it would phrase its apology.

As Heard on Leno

"Well, it's now February, the shortest month of the year. Especially if your name is Saddam."

Happy Birthday, President Reagan!

Today is the 92nd birthday of Ronald Reagan, 40th President of these United States. He basted Mr. Peanut, slashed taxes, defeated the Soviet Union, and kicked the crud out of some Commies in Grenada (the Caribbean island, not the mid-Mississippi city).

Good job, Gipper!

"Anti-war = pro-Saddam?"

Yep.

OpinionJournal's Best of the Web points out a section of the interview given to Saddam Hussein by BritLefty Tony Benn:

BENN: There are tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of people in Britain and America, in Europe and worldwide, who want to see a peaceful outcome to this problem, and they are the real Americans in my opinion, the real British, the real French, the real Germans, because they think of the world in terms of their children.

I have ten grandchildren and in my family there is English, Scottish, American, French, Irish, Jewish and Indian blood, and for me politics is about their future, their survival. And I wonder whether you could say something yourself directly through this interview to the peace movement of the world that might help to advance the cause they have in mind?

SADDAM: First of all we admire the development of the peace movement around the world in the last few years. We pray to God to empower all those working against war and for the cause of peace and security based on just peace for all.

10 More

Ten eastern European countries are planning to support President Bush's stance against the Hussein regime.

For those keeping score at home, there are now 18 European nations that support removing Saddam's thugocracy. And let's not forget Australia (who's sending its special forces), Qatar, Kuwait, and Turkey (all three allowing troops to be stationed there). At least 22 countries now "got our back;" kinda puts a dent in the whole "Bush is an unilateralist cowboy" mantra. Of course, that won't keep the Unwashed Left from repeating it.

An Annoyance

Haloscan, the service I use for my comments on this blog, is apparently down for the time being. So if there is anything that you wish to share with me, please feel free to e-mail to me.

Welcome to the 21st Century



Dude!

Letterman's Top Ten List

The MRC highlights the Top Ten List from Letterman's Monday show. Sailors aboard the USS John C. Stennis, a Mississippi Senator, read the list. I especially liked #7.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Christopher Hitchens says in Doublethink, a quarterly conservative magazine, that he would vote for George W. Bush if the election were held today. And he lambasted Senator John "Millionaire Trial Lawyer" Edwards' Champion of the Everyman® routine: "Oh, that's all [bleep]. . . . Spare us the false populism."

But to get fully in my good graces, Hitchens needs to lay off Mother Theresa attacks and the whole anti-Christianity schtick.

From the "Would You Like Some Cheese With That Whine?" Dept.

Todd Gitlin decries how Fox News is, horror of horrors, excelling. Mr. Gitlin makes the typical liberal arguments;
1.) Fox News is gaudy in graphics and raucous in attitude, unlike the noble newscasters of yore such as that dreamy Walter Cronkite.
2.) CNN and et. al. aren't liberal enough.
3.) There needs to be a "liberal Fox News"
4.) Alan Colmes is Sean Hannity's patsy.
5.) Conservatives can get away with anything, why? (see #2)

New Map Time!

Yugoslavia will now be known has Serbia and Montenegro, with the two constituent parts forming a loose union. In an arrangement enacted by the now defunct Yugoslav parliament, both republics will have the right to vote for independence in 3 years time. Also, in a move to be more inclusive and modern, Montenegro will change its name to Monteafricanamerican.

Okay, I made that last part up.

Must Read

Dean Esmay points out this article from the New Yorker, hardly a bastion of blood-thirsty neoconservative warmongers, that deals with the intellegence community and how it now suspects links between al-Qaeda and Saddam Hussein.

In October of 2002, when Bob Graham was the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, [CIA Director George] Tenet wrote to him, explaining the C.I.A.'s understanding of the Iraq-Al Qaeda connection. It is a curious letter, which begins with a statement that "Baghdad for now appears to be drawing a line short of conducting terrorist attacks with conventional or CBW"—chemical and biological weapons—"against the United States." At the same time, Tenet said, Iraq has "provided training to Al Qaeda members in the areas of poisons and gases and making conventional bombs." Tenet added, "Credible information indicates that Iraq and Al Qaeda have discussed safe haven and reciprocal non-aggression," and he suggested that, even without an American attack on Iraq, "Baghdad's links to terrorists will increase."

Yet Another Quiz




What cartoon dog are you?

Brought to you by the good folks at sacwriters.com.

It's down right eerie how accurate these quizzes can be.

Via Mark Byron

New Blogs (To Me, At Least) Alert

I'm adding Michael Borland's blog and Jawsblog to my blogroll. Good stuff, good people.

Jawsblog points out this from CNN. No wonder I prefer my news fair and balanced.

Fun wit' Referral Logs

Google Search: conservative ignorant redneck

Number 1, baby!

Ole Miss Students Protested War




Last Wednesday, a group of students called the University of Mississippi Actvist Coalition, protested in front of the Student Union against going to war with Saddam. As you can see, it's a mighty throng. And what do these noble protestors have to say?

"I think our sanctions have done enough damage to the Iraqi people, and I don't think war is the answer," first-year graduate student and UMAC member Josie Tracy said. "I'd like to see more money go to social programs, domestically and internationally, then go to bombs."

And so what do you propose we do? If we lift the sanctions on Iraq freely selling oil, Saddam is definitely going to invest nearly all of the revenues on a wide assortment of nasty weapons. But if we get rid of Hussein, the people of Iraq will no longer have to live in fear of a brutal despot and there will be one less madman running around threating US security.

Unfortunately, there's gonna to be more to these people Feb 15 at the Oxford Square as "peace" groups from across Mississippi participate in a nationwide protest against the war against Saddam.

[Yes, yes, I know this is a few days old...]

Having Fun At The Expense of Nigerian E-mail Schemers

I received this e-mail over the week-end which I present "as is":

FROM: THE DESK OF ORIRI MICHEALS
DIRECTOR, CREDIT CONTROL,
UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC. UNION BANK OF NIGERIA
TEL: 234 802 3088979 BIG, STRONG, RELIABLE
PRIVATE EMAIL: oriri1@netscape.net

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL

I KNOW THIS PROPOSAL WILL COME TO YOU AS A SURPRISE EXPECIALLY WHEN YOU DO NOT KNOW THE WRITER,CONDSIDERING THE HUGE SUM OF MONEY INVOLVED WHICH COULD MAKE ANY APPREHENSIVE.

LET ME START BY INTRODUCING MYSELF TO YOU, I AM ORIRI MICHEALS I DIRECTOR CREDIT CONTROL, UNION BANK OF NIGERIA PLC. LAGOS. I SAW YOUR CONTACT DURING MY PRIVATE SEARCH AT THE INFORMATION CENTRE HERE IN NIGERIA CHAMBER OF COMMENCE AND INDUSTRY AND I WANT TO BELIEVE THAT YOU WILL BE VERY HONEST, COMMITTED AND CAPABLE OF ASSISTING IN THIS BUSINESS VENTURE.

FIRSTLY, LET ME EXPLAIN THE SOURCE OF THIS FUNDS AND WHAT YOU ARE EXPECTED TO DO. A FORIGNER LATE ENGINEER THEOPHILUS BAKER, AN OIL MERCHANT/CONTRACTOR WITH THE GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA, UNTIL HIS DEATH, OVER A YEAR AGO, WAS A VICTIM OFA KENYA AIRWAYS: BUS
(A310-300) FLIGHT KQ430 PLANE CRASH. THE DECEASED, ENGNIEER THEOPILIUS BAKER, BANKED WITH US AND HAS A CLOSING BALANCE AS A JULY 2000 WORTH $4.5M (FOUR MILLION FIVE HUNDRED THOSAND USD). WHICH MY BANK, NOW EXPECTES A NEXT-OF-KIN TO CLAIM AS THE BENEFICIARY OF THE FUNDS, EFFORTS HAS BEEN MADE BY UNION BANK OF NIGERIA TO GET IN TOUCH WITH THE BAKER'S FAMILY OR RELATIVE BUT TO NO SUCCESS.

BASED ON THE PERCEIVED POSSIBILITY OF NOT BEING ABLE TO LOCATE ENGNIEER THEOPILUS'S NEXT-OF-KIN, THE MANAGEMENT UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF OUR CHAIRMAN AND THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS ARE MAKING ARRANGEMENTS FOR THE FUNDS TO BE DECLARED UNCLAIMED AND CHANNELED TO AN UNKNOWN ACCOUNT.IT IS BASED ON THIS THAT WE HAVE CONTACTED YOU TO STAND AS THE NEXT-OF-KIN OF LATE ENGR. THEOPILUS BAKER SO THAT THE FUNDS, WILL BE RELEASED AND PAID INTO YOUR ACCOUNT AS THE BENEFICIARY AND THE NEXT-OF-KIN TO THE DECEASED.

ALL DOCUMENTS, AND PROOF TO ENABLE YOU GET THE FUNDS HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY WORKED OUT AS WE HAVE SECURED FROM THE DIFFERENT OFFICES CONCERNED FOR THE SMOOTH TRANSFER OF THE FUND TO YOUR NOMINATED ACCOUNT.IT HAS BEEN AGREED THAT THE OWNER OF THE ACCOUNT WILL BE COMPENSATED WITH 20% OF THE REMITTED FUNDS, WHILE WE KEEP 75% AND 5% WILL BE SET ASIDE TO OFFSET EXPENSES BOTH LOCALLY AND INTERNATIONAL.

IF THIS PROPOSAL SATISFIES YOU, PLEASE REACH US ONLY BY MAIL OR PHONE, FOR MORE INFORMATION. IT MIGHT BE DIFFICULT TO GET THROUGH TO ME, BECAUSE OF POOR TELECOMUNICATION SYSTEM HERE. PLEASE KEEP TRYING YOU WILL DEFINITELY GET THROUGH. YOURS FAITHFULLY,

ORIRI MICHEALS

Considering the time and effort that went into this letter, I decided to respond in kind:

DEAR MR. MICHEALS:

WHY IT'S SO GOOD TO HEAR FROM YOU! I MUST SAY THAT'S AN INTERESTING NAME. MOST PEPLES I KNOW SPELL IT "MICHAELS"!

AND AS TOO YOUR LETTER...

STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL? I'M NOT SURE WHAT THAT MEANS. I ASKED MY FRIEND ROBBIE JO MCDUQUE AND HE DIDN’T KNOW AND I ASKED ASKED MY FRIEND BOBBIE JOE MCGILLDICUTTY AND HE DIDN'T KNOW. ACTUALLY I MUST HAVE TALKED TO A BUNCH OF MY FRIENDS AND ASKED THEM WHAT STRICTLY CONFIDENTIAL MEANS. BUT NOT OF THEM KNEW. OH WELL.

IM GLAD THAT YOU THINK THAT I AM SO HONEST COMMITTED AND CAPABLE OF HELPING YOU IN THIS VERY IMPORTANT MATTER OF MONEY! I LOVE MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! MONEY! IM HAPPY THATYOUARE GIVING ME ALL THAT SWEET, SWEET MONEY! IM SURE GLAD THAT MAN DIED AND HAD NO FAMILY! THAT MEANS THAT I GIT THE MONEY!

I KNOW THAT YOU WANTED ME TO CALL OR SENT A MAIL, BUT I COULDN'T. WHEN I TRY TO DIAL THE PHONE, I PUSH THE BUTTONS TOO FASTLY AND PUSH THE WRONG ONES BECAUSE IM SO EXCITED OVER GETTING ALL THAT MONEY! THE SAME THING HAPPENS WHEN I TRY A LETTER! I GET A PEACE OF PAPER AND A PENCIL AND I TRY TO WRITE, BUT I END UP SCRIBBLING BECAUSE I RIGHT TOO FAST BECAUSE IM SO EXCITEDLY TO GET THAT MONEY! MONEY! MONEY!

THANK YOU FOR LETTING ME GET THAT CURRENCY! THAT'S ANOTHER WORD FOR MONEY! I CAN NOW BUILD A LARGE TUB THAT I CAN FILL WITH DOLLARS AND TAKE SWIMS IN MY MONEY! BUT I CAN PUT IN COINS BECAUSE I MIGHT GET HURT WHEN I DIVE IN.

GOODBYE!

Ledeen Takes On Mandela

Micheal Ledeen pens a brief, yet powerful, critique of Nelson Mandela and his moronic remarks towards President Bush:

Most Americans rooted for South Africa under Mandela, and American businessmen poured into the country with offers of help. In the event, Mandela turned out to be a great inspirational speaker but a failed national leader. Instead of taking the opportunity to shut down the vast networks of corruption put in place by the white leaders of the country, he permitted his own cohorts from the Africa National Congress to wallow in the same troughs. Instead of insisting on the creation of a first-class educational system for all South Africans, he simply presided over the installation of a quota program that gave most of the slots in the best schools to the majority black population. Instead of taking the great influx of foreign aid to build adequate housing for the masses of poor people, that program sputtered along without ever taking off.

But foreign policy was his greatest failure. Mandela had a great opportunity to lead a democratic revolution in Africa, but he never even gave voice to cries for freedom for all Africans. Indeed, he lavished grotesque praise on many of the world's dictators, from Castro to Khadaffi, and repeatedly failed to intervene decisively at major potential turning points in countries like Zaire and Zimbabwe. Even now, an elderly retiree, he cannot bring himself to demand the removal of the mad tyrant Robert Mugabe, and he continues to genuflect before the dictators who supported the ANC in the bad old days.

Boxer Contenders

Barbara Boxer, that is, the Democratic senator from California who is up for re-election in 2004. Two popular radio talk show hosts, Dennis Prager and Michael Reagan, are rumored to be considering a challenge against the incumbent. Both of them would have a good shot at unseating Boxer, having honed public speaking skills, well-defined policy positions, and name recognition; though Boxer and her minions could easily dig up a quote from their shows use it out of context.

Idiotarian Watch

Tony Benn, a former British minister and member of the Labour Party, interviewed Saddam Hussein for a TV program yet to be aired. He won't discuss any of the answers provided by the Butcher of Baghdad until the show airs, but he did reveal a few questions he asked.

He told reporters he had asked Saddam whether Iraq possessed any weapons of mass destruction, and whether it had any links to the al-Qaeda network.

Wow, why didn't anybody think of this before! Just ask him if he has any WMD's and connections of al-Qaeda; no need to have the inspectators running around Iraq looking like Keystone Kops. I'm sure Saddam the Sadist (oops, I mean Saddam the Happiest!) will tell us the truth. Mr. Benn, I salute you and your brillance!

"Iraqis Call Shuttle Disaster God's Vengeance"

Wrong answer, y'all, wrong @#$@# answer.

Fun wit' Google!

Google Search: panamanian women wallpaper

I'm #17

A Day of Tragedy

The space shuttle Columbia disintegrated upon it's descent to Earth this morning. All seven crew members were lost. Please pray for the families and friends of these brave men and women along with all the NASA personnal who are perhaps one the worst days of there lives. Fox News has short profiles of the crew.

As you may know, this was the first space flight of Ilan Ramon, the first Israeli in space and who was a part of the Israeli bombing of Iraq's nuclear reaction in the early 1980s. He had remarked during orbit, "The world looks marvelous from up here, so peaceful, so wonderful and so fragile."