Some friends – specifically Greg and Lair, the Brothers Stene – have recently been pondering how, exactly, we’re going to win this war – and by “win” we’re talking about terms of resolution, not merely body count or square miles under technical control. Superior firepower notwithstanding, there comes a time when this turns into a streetfight, a door-to-door campaign through
Read moreThis little exchange occurred via e-mail. Recorded here for posterity. Lair Stene: Please give me a reality check: Somewhere between the cynical (we’re invading at the direction of a president who came to power in a coup, supported by an Administration made up of Texans, who want their own private Texas-sized oil well in the Middle East) and the naive
Read moreA roundtable between Jay DeFrank, Greg Stene, Denny Wilkins and myself. It begins with Matt Taibbi’s column in New York Press.com this morning: “Cleaning the Pool: The White House Press Corps politely grabs its ankles.” You really need to read this first. So Dr. Denny Wilkins, our friend and colleague at St. Bonaventure University (no connection to the basketball program,
Read moreTime for a quiz. Q1: You’re charged with murder. Who would rather have defending you? A: The best lawyer in town, the guy who graduated top of his class, nailed the bar exam first try, and can’t remember the last time he lost a case. B: The guy who partied all the time, was just barely bright enough to get
Read moreSometimes the important stuff goes down via e-mail. Greg Stene and I have been having a pretty good back forth over the pending war, and what you have below is one of the e-mail exchanges. I apologize that things are picking up in medias res, but you can sort of infer what has been said by who and when. Sam:
Read moreAnybody who knows me knows I’m not an anti-war type by design. As noted in my earlier piece, while war is a Bad Thing©, it is also occasionally necessary (see also, Harbor, Pearl). I do not, however, agree that the current “Showdown with Saddam” (“Hoedown with Hussein”?) presents us with a satisfactory case for the application of those principles. My
Read moreThis, on CNN.com this morning: Feds consider adding another terror risk level. According to the story, “U.S. government officials are discussing the current five-color terror threat alert system to determine whether a higher level of risk should be added before a possible war with Iraq.” “The debate is not over whether to add a new color, sources said.
Read moreAs I was telling a friend in an e-mail the other day, I started out being not terribly opposed to the forthcoming Operation Whaq Iraq, as there is no real case to be made against ushering Saddam directly to Hell. Do not pass Go, do not collect $200, etc. If ever a man needing killing, as we say back home,
Read moreAs I seem to note every year about this time, my “Best of” lists tend to suggest their own themes, and 2k2, despite some truly outstanding efforts from the US, UK, and the Commonwealth of Canadia, was clearly the year of the Swedish Invasion. Three bands from the Kingdom of Sverige – The Soundtrack of Our Lives, Kent, and The
Read moreI’m reading over a Federal Judge’s finding that the government can detain accused “dirty bomber” Jose Padilla indefinitely because the president “is authorized under the Constitution and by law to direct the military to detain enemy combatants.” And it brings me back to a question that has nagged at me ever since we declared war on terrorism after 9/11. For
Read moreA couple folks, responding to my last little missive on the whole church/state debacle, wrote to point out that the Framers never mentioned “separation of church and state” in the Constitution, and to explain that the now-hallowed phrase came from a letter Thomas Jefferson wrote to the Danbury Baptists in 1802. In that letter he stated that the Constitution created
Read moreIn a bit of satire over on the Daedalnexus, Brian Angliss tries desperately to make the case that “Rather than fight[ing] faith-based programs for the poor just because they’re faith-based, we should all be signing up!” Which is all in good fun, and makes a good point. But if you really wanted to have some fun with the faith-based bozos
Read moreYou know those news teasers they run during prime-time programming? “Coming up on ActionNews at 10 – can we expect more snow for your morning drive?” Or, “the Broncos cut a big name today – tune in to News5 after NYPD Blue to find out who’s looking for a new team.” These things annoy the hell out of me, and
Read moreI finally decided to thoroughly investigate Avril Lavigne’s CD. I had heard “Complicated” and “Sk8er Boi” (In fact, I had both tracks on network81, one of my MP3.com stations). While I liked the tuneage – hooky, catchy – and Lavigne herself was cute as a bug, I couldn’t help noticing the lingering scent of product. You know, the aroma of
Read moreI’ve known Jim Booth since August of 1975, when I walked into my freshman English class at Ledford High School and ran headlong into a teacher one of my friends had advised me to avoid (that’s the problem with being 14 – you don’t yet know that your friends are idiots). Booth was different – aggressively different – from any
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