oldschool CxC

Tuesday, February 24, 2004

I change my prediction: Bush will lose because he's soft on Shintoism. Here's a sample: "Many Christians were undoubtedly innocently ignorant of George W. Bush’s liberal tendencies and so easily susceptible to his conservative rhetoric, but far too many were willfully blind to his bad fruit. "


A say: these shinto gates were what I was talking about for that bed design, Sony (annoying ass automatic sound alert)

Saturday, February 21, 2004

"He appeared to be pretty much intoxicated." Three pops with a stun gun to get him under control? I'd say.

A: he seent that (sprite?) commercial one time too many. I guess OT, but hey what we doing with Sadaam anyways?

Monday, February 16, 2004

This speech by Charles Krauthammer is the subject of much discussion and critique in the blogosphere. I think it is well worth reading, as it lays out what Rick might call a "neocon" vision of foreign policy -- one that may be very influential in the years to come if GW is elected to a second term. See for yourself by comparing to the now famous Whitehall speech, one of Bush's best (Bush has great speechwriters; his speeches come across much better on the writen page than while having to endure his verbal tics).

SHDemocratic Globalism just seems like a variation of Liberal Internationalism. Instead of reigning in the world via democratic international institutions, we are going to reign in the world by transforming contries that "count" into democracies. Same moral underpinning shined with a veener of practicality ("they will stop hating us"). What's missing from both is is a true cost benefit analysis. Why do we spend $1 trillion (so far) converting Iraq into whatever it currently is? In Iraq, the Realists and Liberal Internationalists have the better aproach, especially because building a democracy over there is an ontological endevor. Realist would've eliminated Saddam cheap and fast and just put a friendly thug in power or liberals and Geroge the Senior would've enlisted a coalition that would've actually paid for the effort (as opposed to us paying them, as we did with many "partners"). The man says we have a commercial empire, so lets make money like Bush Senior did. This unilateral nation buidling crap just costs way too much.


Saturday, February 14, 2004

In honor of Valentine's Day, what rhymes with 'love'?

Thursday, February 12, 2004

Glenn- Here's a nice analysis of our miltary's restructuring. The Stryker has held up well in its first month of deployment in Iraq.

A: 'minimal loss of life'

E: The wsj is printing a Marine's account of his time in Iraq, part four has a lot of buck buck.

Monday, February 09, 2004

All Against Bush - Whom should the Democrats nominate? By Christopher Hitchens: "I'm a single-issue person at present, and the single issue in case you are wondering is the tenacious and unapologetic defense of civilized societies against the intensifying menace of clerical barbarism."

I agree with this completely. He suggests Edwards/Kerry, and I could see voting for that ticket but not the other way around. Unfortunately the dems will probably nominate Kerry and he'll end up losing 55-45. Any one else for un/bold predictions?

SH: Like they say, I've got an asshole, so I must have an opinion (or something). Not that anything matters any more. As long as Bush spends like a drunken sailor, or FDR, that will keep the economy goosed and he will win in a landslide. For economic reasons, my own preference is anyone but him just so we can get back to comfortable deadlock; this congress and administration have rendered my beloved tax cuts into mere tax defferals with their WWII style budgets.

As much as I loathe the man, his worthless political career and his stupid ideas, I trust that Kerry would do a better job of rejecting Republican profligacy. In favor of his own spending ways, admittedly, but his own will suffer from a Republican Congress. So the Republican earmarks will be less than under Bush, and we will see no new entitlement program (first since since LBJ!!), because Kerry can't muster the votes that Bush did.

I disagree that he will be any worse than Bush on the interantional front and I think "security" has been so overblown by this administration that my convenience has been impinged and civil rights eroded. I am not afraid that Kerry will roll back CIA, FBI and Pentagon anti-terrorism initiatives. Most important of all, as far as Kerry is concerned, none of his stupid proposals will pass a Republican Congress.

E: What say you prediction-wise? Will Kerry be the nominee, and if so, who will win and by what margin of popular vote?

SH. Bush, handily. But, things are fluid and there's a lot of road to cover.

E: Yep, nine months is a long time. But what fun are predictions if you don't make them early and ill-informed? I'm just a little headstrong after calling Arnold so, so long ago...

Sunday, February 08, 2004

The Chair: "As a repository and sum of former posteriors that have dented its cushions, of previous elbows that have grazed the armrests, the chair offers not a weedy patina of desuetude but an apotheosis of its former occupant."

definition links compliments of A.

Saturday, February 07, 2004

This is one crazy arc - it almost looks like CGI.

From what I can tell, they are testing three 500KV disconnect switches at a substation and the front one doesn't want to give up the ghost. Pause it in the middle and check out the nutty loop-de-loop path of least resistance.