The Obama administration’s foreign policy seems to be floundering, as reality disconfirms the naive thought that making apologetic, appeasing noises to the world’s dictators will turn them into bunny rabbits. I’m sympathetic with John Hinderaker‘s thought that the floundering is partly by design: But it is strange to be governed by officials who, as a matter of policy, are deliberately undermining our sovereignty and weakening … Continue reading Foreign Floundering
Michael Caine captures an essential but easily forgotten point when interviewed about his latest movie, Harry Brown: AVC: It has drawn criticism for presenting what some have called a “Daily Mail take” on things—that it’s tabloid fear-mongering. MC: That was exactly the reaction. Because one of the things is that if you’re a Socialist newspaper, well, the Socialists have been in power for 12 years, and these … Continue reading Socialism in a Nutshell
Today has been “Everybody Draw Mohammed Day”—a day that prompted Pakistan to block Facebook. It also prompted some interesting ethical discussions. As if to illustrate the threat to freedom of expression, Facebook has taken down the page, but it is cached here. I will cut the Gordian knot of these philosophical debates with my own portrait of Mohammed (with a nod to John Cage): UPDATE: … Continue reading Everybody Draw Mohammed Day
Here we go again. First large-scale formal quantitative test confirms Darwin’s theory of universal common ancestry. … Until now, the theory that makes ladybugs, oak trees, champagne yeast and humans distant relatives has remained beyond the scope of a formal test. Now, a Brandeis biochemist reports in Nature the results of the first large scale, quantitative test of the famous theory that underpins modern evolutionary … Continue reading Uh oh! Darwin was right?!
These were posted anonymously in a comment at Works and Days: The liberals are asking us to give Obama time. We agree – and think 25 to life would be appropriate. (Jay Leno) Q: Have you heard about McDonald’s’ new Obama Value Meal? A: Order anything you like and the guy behind you has to pay for it. (Conan O’Brian) Q: What does Barack Obama call … Continue reading Jokes for the Day
Which is more cringe inducing? Sadly, this spectacle makes Philo’s point about our so-called war on terror even more depressing: we aren’t even pursuing the flunkies in any way that is coherent. The Taliban knows who there their enemy is, and will advertise to one and all who the enemy is. We glance nervously around and knit our brows and courageously refuse to impugn a … Continue reading Incompetence on Trial
Richard Fernandez has two fascinating posts this week which, when put together, paint a frightening picture of the future of terrorism. The first describes a policy. initiated by the Bush administration but continued under Obama, of targeting people whose lives exhibit patterns associated with terrorist activity. This implicitly requires a system of persistent surveillance which can track Person A through his life; notes whether he … Continue reading The Future of Terrorism
Its been a tough week, lots of work. I saw this Weds and it cracked me up. I used to be pretty good with a yo-yo, but not this good. From DeadSpin.com … and I love his get-up … A strange, strange man has been showing up on morning shows throughout the Midwest, claiming to be a yo-yo trick champion. He is not. He is … Continue reading Fake Yo Yo champ fools local TV news, hilarity ensues
The new healthcare law has more or less fallen of the radar screen lately. Here are two stories that give me a warm fuzzy feeling about it. First from Politico, health care is going to cost more than previously thought: Congressional Budget Office estimates released Tuesday predict the health care overhaul will likely cost about $115 billion more in discretionary spending over ten years than … Continue reading Healthcare headlines
It seems like yesterday that the Obama campaign was mocking [disabled war hero victim of torture] Senator John McCain for not being able to use a keyboard. And it seems like just a few minutes ago, the first crisis the Secret Service had to handle was when BO dropped his Bubble-Busting Blackberry. Well, all that too-cool-for-you cutting edge techno savvy networking is soooo 2009. The … Continue reading That’s with a “T”, not an “L”
The View from Alexandria 