i think i love Christopher Hitchens.

Posted by: annika at 04:50 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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Why should we care about what happened in London? Or in Madrid, for that matter? Those terrorists had nothing to do with 9/11. And remember, Great Britain was at one time very bad bad bad, back when they were an empire. A Brit invented the internal combustion engine, remember? Okay, so it was a Swiss guy, but still, they drive on the wrong side of the road. And they have -- gasp -- a national religion! And it's a Christian religion too! Bad bad bad people. Which reminds me, the English were big in the Crusades, weren't they? Okay so there. They deserved it. Plus, Halliburton sounds like an English name to me. Richard Burton was English wasn't he? Welsh? Really? Whatever.

Plus, assuming that the bomb making materials were purchased in British shops, then we should always remember that the British armed those terrorists! And of course, capturing the terrorists who are responsible and putting them in jail might be used as a recruiting tool by other terrorists. Therefore if we go after them, we could end up creating more terrorists!

Anyways, why should we care? The U.N. is on the case now and they will take care of everything. Don't worry. The all-powerful U.N. and their fearless leader Kofi Annan, is on the case! Three cheers for the U.N.!

Just hours after a series of explosions in London, the U.N. Security Council voted unanimously Thursday to condemn the terrorist attacks and vowed to bring those responsible to justice.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan echoed that sentiment.

'These vicious acts have cut us all to the core, for they are an attack on humanity itself,' Annan said in a statement. 'Today, the world stands shoulder to shoulder with the British people.'

A resolution approved by the council condemned 'without reservation the terrorist attacks in London . . .

. . . and regards any act of terrorism as a threat to peace and security.' It urged all states to cooperate in finding and bringing to justice the perpetrators and expressed the council's 'utmost determination to combat terrorism.'

[Oops, sorry, i guess my liberal hat fell off there for a second.]

Yay U.N.!

i am also pleased to hear that the great and powerful U.N. has also condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the assassination of the Egyptian ambassador to Iraq. Wow, those boys over at the U.N. have been keeping busy. But that's what they're there for, and i for one am so glad that we can look to the U.N. for this sort of protection whenever terrorists strike.

Posted by: annika at 03:56 PM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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England will save herself by her exertions, and Europe by her example.

―William Pitt

When i lived in London, i used the tube so much that i was unable to get around on the surface. i knew directions only by looking at the tube map. i lived in the West End (this was my flat) and took either the District Line or the Picadilly Line twice a day. Although there was still some residual danger of IRA terrorism, i never encountered any problems. i think there was only one bombing while i was there, and i doubt anyone was killed. Interestingly enough, if i'm not mistaken, i think it occurred up by Edgware Road, too.

During the first London Blitz of August 1940 to May 1941 over 43,000 civilians died and 139,000 were injured. The picture below was taken on December 29, 1940, at the height of the blitz. During the V-weapon blitzes of 1944, about 8800 civilians died. One might think that the British people will be strong now, as they were during WWII. But they were united then, and now i'm not so sure. They have a sense that this is America's war, and seem to forget that we once thought of WWII was their war. Until we fought side-by-side with them to victory.

Almost sixty-five years ago to the day, Winston Churchill said these words:

We await undismayed the impending assault. Perhaps it will never come. We must show ourselves equally capable of meeting a sudden violent shock or what is perhaps a harder task, a prolonged vigil. But be the ordeal sharp or long, or both, we shall seek no terms, we shall tolerate no parley, we may show mercy--we ask none.

Much as i love Tony Blair, i wonder if he could ever show the same toughness as Churchill. The terrorists are calling this World War III. When will we? When our president said "Bring 'em on," he was pilloried. Yet he spoke the only language tyrants and would-be tyrants understand.

Britain was once a great empire. They bowed to no one. (Except when they fought us.) Now what are they? Half the country embraces moral relativism, but in the pubs, you still can hear the voice of the working class. They're anti-Europe, proud of their heritage as well as their football teams, and i'll bet they're pissed tonight. (In the American sense of the word, if not the British.) Britain's soul is in a state of flux, and i hope the side that understands the epigram i chose for this post will win out. Perhaps today's attack will wake them up.

i woke up to the news of the bombings on the radio, and immediately switched on CNN, who i believe is still the best at covering breaking news, especially international. However, after i criticized Fox News only a few days ago, i have to say that Fox's coverage was superior, at least this morning. That's probably because they relied on a feed from Sky News.

i'm so exasperated by the left that i don't even have the stomach to read about their predictably defeatist attitude toward these attacks. i don't have the energy to rant about them right now. It should suffice to say that the only acceptable reaction to the bombings is, i believe, anger. The only acceptable response is to seek vengeance on those responsible and their sympathizers. i believe the time for a measured and proportionate response is long past, if it ever existed.

Michael Savage, whom i dislike by the way, did have an interesting opening to his show today. He played audio from a jihadist "rally" that took place in London only two months ago. The crowd was led in various chants that were chillingly prescient. "Death to America." "Death to Tony Blair." "George Bush you will die." etc. etc. etc. This was another unheeded warning. Unheeded because of political correctness.

It seems to me that if our enemy is bold enough to profess their wish to kill us openly, and we do nothing about it, we should not be surprised when they do kill large numbers of us. Savage is an extremist and he gives conservatives a bad name, but when he predicts that the day is coming when all European Muslims will be rounded up and interned, i wonder if he's right. Or, if he's not right, i wonder if he should be right.

And how could such a disturbing pogrom be averted? Not by pulling troops out of the Middle East. Not by abandoning Israel to the wolves. No, not even by signing the Kyoto treaty. It can only be averted by creating Democracy in the center of the storm. A stable and democratic Iraq is the best hope for the survival of Western Civilization.

One other London observation just came to mind. When i was there, i never understood the romantic fascination a lot of people had with "arab men." Especially the British women. They talked about them like we sometimes do about latin men over here, like they were these incredible lovers. More than once in a pub, i heard stories about rich arab men who came in and offered women like a million dollars to go back to Saudi Arabia to be one of their wives. i didn't get it. Chicks talked about it like they almost wished it would happen to them. The thought disgusts me.

Posted by: annika at 03:39 PM | Comments (19) | Add Comment
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UporDownVote.com predicts a ten step plan for Democratic opposition to whomever is announced as President Bush's choice to replace Justice O'Connor.

1. Before a vacancy is announced – whip your membership into a frenzy with overblown rhetoric...

2. Â…while preparing for battle.

3. Once a nominee is named, immediately announce that the nominee’s record “raises more questions than it answers.” (Note: there will never be enough documents released, proof provided, or enough questions answered in order to satisfy the Left.)

4. Plead for a slower pace.

5. If the nominee is rated highly qualified by the ABA, dismiss this as a prerequisite for the job. If the nominee receives anything less than the highest qualifications, express outrage.

6. Force the nominee to pledge allegiance to a liberal ideology.

7. Ah-HAAAA!!! – The Left’s research will reveal a few “alarming” findings or “smoking guns.”

8. Previously released findings re-released as “research” and distributed by the media.

9. Liberal Hollywood Celebrities make an 11th hour appearance.

10. FINALLY, official opposition is coordinated and announced in a drip-drip fashion.

Since we all know that the liberals will vehemently oppose anybody Bush picks (Why wouldn't they? Today's liberal leadership haven't an ounce of principle.) Bush has an incredible opportunity that he should not pass up. He should appoint an in-your-face conservative to replace the moderate O'Connor.

Loyalty and friendship should not factor into Bush's decision. He should absolutely not nominate Alberto Gonzalez, for instance. Now, i don't know whether the rap on Berto is true or false. But i do know that he is perceived as squishy, and that is enough. Nominating Gonzalez would be a signal of capitulation and would squander the great opportunity i mentioned above.

Since everybody expects the liberals to dump on the nominee, if Bush appoints a true ideological conservative, people may be naturally skeptical of any attacks against the nominee. This is the same effect we saw in the recent presidential election, when the outrageous slanders against Bush from Hollywood et al. reached a critical mass. Middle America rejected the slurs, and the polls reflected their rejection.

Senators read polls too, even lilly-livered Republican Senators. What i'd like to see is Bush appoint a staunch conservative with a well documented paper trail to prove it. Then i'd like to see Dr. Frist grow a fucking spine and do his job. i know Bush will back his nominee to the bitter end, he's proven that. If the nominee is willing to absorb the baseless, hypocritical attacks (like Thomas did) and stick it out, i think we might have a good chance to restore some sanity to the Supreme Court.
_______________

* And never forget who the chief accomplice was in the effort to assassinate Schwarzenegger's character during the recall election: The Los Angeles Times. Now that the election is over, one wonders why the Times has completely abandoned pursuit of all those groping accusations that once warranted front page coverage.

** If you really think that the Democrats' opposition to Bolton is based on principle, ask yourself whether they would have given two shits about Bolton's personality if he had been appointed by a Democratic president. Then you might want to talk to a few ex DiFi staffers, and see how they liked working for her. Not to mention Hillary staffers.

Posted by: annika at 06:30 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Check out what the girls of the Cotillion are doing at this week's Ball.

Dance over to the following sites:

The Anchoress
Little Miss Attila
Charmaine at Reasoned Audacity
Jody at Steal The Bandwagon

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DMC at Ridgecrest Blog has a couple of really good Tour de France updates.

The first is something Tour fans already know. Lance Armstrong is a class act.

Today Lance Armstrong showed up for the big roll out wearing his normal Discovery Channel jersey, not the yellow jersey of the race leader that he was entitiled to wear.

. . .

After the rollout the race referees told Lance that he would have to wear the yellow or risk being disqualified from the race. So Armstong is racing with the yellow jersey pulled on over his discovery jerset. Let's hope it doesn't get hot today.

So there you go, in a day of overpaid, over egoed proffesional athletes we have one here that tries to take the high road and do the right thing and the race officials have to get involved and drag him back into the muck.

To Bjarne Riis, you made a tough call ordering the team to ride on withour Zabriskie. But was it the right call? YOu should have left a rider behind to help him. To bad you don't respect the yellow jersey as much as the guy who was wearing it and the man today who is reluctantly wearing it today.

Posted by: annika at 10:10 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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In honor of Independence Day, here's Robert Frost's famous history lesson. This is a long poem, but i found that by following the iambic pentameter, it's easier to read. In general, that means that every other syllable is emphasized, starting with the second syllable of each line.

For John F. Kennedy His Inauguration

Gift outright of "The Gift Outright"

(With some preliminary history in rhyme)

Summoning artists to participate
In the august occasions of the state
Seems something artists ought to celebrate.
Today is for my cause a day of days.
And his be poetry's old-fashioned praise
Who was the first to think of such a thing.
This verse that in acknowledgement I bring
Goes back to the beginning of the end
Of what had been for centuries the trend;
A turning point in modern history.
Colonial had been the thing to be
As long as the great issue was to see
What country'd be the one to dominate
By character, by tongue, by native trait,
The new world Christopher Columbus found.
The French, the Spanish, and the Dutch were downed
And counted out. Heroic deeds were done.
Elizabeth the First and England won.
Now came on a new order of the ages
That in the Latin of our founding sages
(Is it not written on the dollar bill
We carry in our purse and pocket still?)
God nodded his approval of as good.
So much those heroes knew and understood,
I mean the great four, Washington,
John Adams, Jefferson, and Madison
So much they saw as consecrated seers
They must have seen ahead what not appears,
They would bring empires down about our ears
And by the example of our Declaration
Make everybody want to be a nation.
And this is no aristocratic joke
At the expense of negligible folk.
We see how seriously the races swarm
In their attempts at sovereignty and form.
They are our wards we think to some extent
For the time being and with their consent,
To teach them how Democracy is meant.
"New order of the ages" did they say?
If it looks none too orderly today,
'Tis a confusion it was ours to start
So in it have to take courageous part.
No one of honest feeling would approve
A ruler who pretended not to love
A turbulence he had the better of.
Everyone knows the glory of the twain
Who gave America the aeroplane
To ride the whirlwind and the hurricane.
Some poor fool has been saying in his heart
Glory is out of date in life and art.
Our venture in revolution and outlawry
Has justified itself in freedom's story
Right down to now in glory upon glory.
Come fresh from an election like the last,
The greatest vote a people ever cast,
So close yet sure to be abided by,
It is no miracle our mood is high.
Courage is in the air in bracing whiffs
Better than all the stalemate an's and ifs.
There was the book of profile tales declaring
For the emboldened politicians daring
To break with followers when in the wrong,
A healthy independence of the throng,
A democratic form of right devine
To rule first answerable to high design.
There is a call to life a little sterner,
And braver for the earner, learner, yearner.
Less criticism of the field and court
And more preoccupation with the sport.
It makes the prophet in us all presage
The glory of a next Augustan age
Of a power leading from its strength and pride,
Of young amibition eager to be tried,
Firm in our free beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.
A golden age of poetry and power
Of which this noonday's the beginning hour.

To me, the last few lines seem especially relevant to today's overly partisan atmosphere.

There is a call to life a little sterner,
And braver for the earner, learner, yearner.
Less criticism of the field and court
And more preoccupation with the sport.

The following lines are the best, and worth reading again slowly.

It makes the prophet in us all presage
The glory of a next Augustan age
Of a power leading from its strength and pride,
Of young amibition eager to be tried,
Firm in our free beliefs without dismay,
In any game the nations want to play.

Thanks again to the scary-smart Matt for the source material.

Posted by: annika at 06:53 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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i did my own Consumer Confidence Survey last month, and then promptly forgot about it. i asked you to describe the American economy in one word. Sixteen people participated. Here's the results.

Stupendus
Fine
Jake
robust
healthy
Healthy
Better than Europe's
in transition
Good
growing steadily
boring
duct-taped
Fine
strong
OK
pretty fucked

That means that readers of annika's journal are mostly optimistic about the economy.

i should note that the Conference Board's most recent Consumer Confidence Survey of 5000 U.S. households showed a rise in the index last month. In fact the index is at a three year high.

i know next to nothing about economics. i took one class in it and got a B. But i do know my visitors, and the Conference Board Survey simply proves once again that i have the smartest visitors in the blogosphere.

Posted by: annika at 10:16 PM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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1 Economics is pretty simple Annika. Just remember. 1)Private property creates. 2)Public property costs. 3)High marginal taxes destroy. 4)Trade is good. 5)Intellectual property is important. 6)A small amount of socialism is necessary (like an innoculation, so you dont get the full blown thing). 7) if you tax or regulate something you get less of it if you subsidise something you get more of it. Thats about it, all you really need to know. /damm, I am a great teacher.

Posted by: Kyle at July 06, 2005 05:36 AM (7Re84)

2 We owe our wisdom to you, Annika. Everything that is worth knowing we learned from reading your blog (and Kyle's comments).

Posted by: Jake at July 06, 2005 07:08 AM (r/5D/)

3 yer damn right.

Posted by: annika at July 06, 2005 07:14 AM (tybPM)

4 To get a slight elaboration on Kyle's comments, I'd always recommend Henry Haizlitt's Economics in One Lesson. I'm not an economist by any stretch of the imagination and I hate math, but that's exactly the sort of readership it's written for.

Posted by: Dave J at July 06, 2005 10:04 AM (TPPlj)

5 As Dave J suggested, Henry Hazlitt published a brief, good book on basic econ. Many of Thomas Sowell's columns (found at Townhall.com) and books deal with economics. Sowell even has a book entitled "Basic Economics" although I have not read it. Also check out: F. A. Hayek, The Road to Serfdom Hernando de Soto, The Mystery of Capital Milton Friedman, Capitalism and Freedom

Posted by: Mark at July 06, 2005 02:52 PM (zUdJY)

6 Some people can't follow directions. It was supposed to be one-word answers.

Posted by: ginger at July 06, 2005 04:54 PM (jK/kA)

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We're a week away from the All-Star break, and i'm sure everybody's wondering how annika's A's are doing in annika's own fantasy baseball league, MLBloggers.

i suck.

Every other owner has been in first at least once. i've set a record for being in last place the most consecutive weeks.

Yep, pretty much all of them.

i drafted poorly. i built my team around Eric Gagné, who went on the DL almost immediately, came back briefly, and is out again. i got no runners except for Podsednik, with his sub-par offensive stats.

But that's only for starters.

i'm in the bottom three in the following stats: runs, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases, batting average, on base percentage, wins, saves, strikeouts, earned run average and walk+hit ratio.

Yep, pretty much all of them.

i'm even behind Ted, who doesn't even like baseball. i'm way behind gcotharn, and he's never played fantasy baseball before. (In fact, gcotharn is in first place!)

Victor and Matt tried to help me out with some very generous trades, and yet i still suck. While Dawn and The Maximum Leader never make a roster change and they're beating me.

i'm losing to Paul, who apparently gave up his blog so he could devote more time to kicking my ass!

Even a Geek knows more about baseball than i do.

It's hard to believe, but i'm even losing to a bunch of Zombies and Rats.

Yes, as Charlie Brown said: Rats.

Posted by: annika at 09:25 PM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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Tony Pierce on Jack Kerouac:

first of all if i get called a hipster again im going to move out of los feliz. i dont drink coffee i dont wear man purses, yes im intentionally bald but only because the girls love it. i dont wear white belts. ive worn the same pair of shoes every day for three years. i dont listen to my bloody valentine radiohead coldplay or sleater kinney outside of bars talking about new order. fuck mac fuck jamba juice fuck coffee bean and fuck the nu art. fuck cinespace fuck silverlake fuck vice fuck piercings fuck the return of cocaine and fuck vinyl.

so definately fuck jack fucking kerouac

the pretty facade of the beats. who didnt have the genius of ginsberg, the creativity of ferlinghetti, or the muscle of burroughs.

simply put keourac is the simple plan of pop, hes the costas of broadcasting, hes the jay leno of late night. popular but empty. soft and spineless.

every time that someone compares on the road to huck finn mark twain gets to travel to hell and poke jack kerouac in the fucking eye.

his stories arent sexy theyre not funny theyre not enlightening theyre not innovative and history has not been kind to him.

howl alone dwarfs the entire kerouac catalogue, justly, and hollywood has yet to fully exploit burroughs, so wheres that leave your boy? in history books solely. one hit wonder. lucky to be there. neal cassadys buddy. period.

charles bukowski singlehandedly could take on a army of jack kerouacs, and he provided likeable characters. when you put all your eggs in one basket, that of making yourself the main character, you better hope that people will like you and will be rooting for you. sal paradise? give me henry chinaski and an ugly girl.

i read On The Road years ago and for a few weeks it almost changed my life. Almost. i love Bukowski, but he never had that effect on me. Still, Kerouac never made me laugh like Buk can. i didn't know which side to take in this controversy until i read this:

on the road makes me so happy that i was not on the road with jack kerouac. i first read it when i was riding couchettes through europe as i was turning 21. it was a gift because thats what people give twenty year olds as they head across the pond for the first time. alone.

the second time i read it aloud to prisoners at gitmo who then flushed themselves down the toilet.

people read jack keroac because theyve never read william carlos williams's white mule or hems garden of eden.

its the same reason they listened to pearl jam.

Posted by: annika at 07:54 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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For what it's worth, here is the text of an e-mail i got from Harold Ickes today. more...

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Here's a quote from Steve Jobs' speech at this year's Stanford commencement ceremony.

[Y]ou can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something - your gut, destiny, life, karma, whatever. This approach has never let me down, and it has made all the difference in my life.

Posted by: annika at 03:45 PM | Comments (10) | Add Comment
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i'd like to take this opportunity to thank Fox News for their 72 hour round-the-clock coverage of the Aruba and Montana abduction stories. i wonder when they will change their name to the "Freako Crime News Network?"

i don't know what is more scintillating television, the panel discussions where "journalists" psychoanalyze the freako perpetrators ad nauseam, or the remote updates from the van der Sloot compound every fifteen minutes.

It's not like there might be some other things going on in the world right now. i mean, come on. i had to watch CNN! i will watch CNN if i have to, but i never feel good about doing it.

MSNBC is out of the question. But Atlas is right. Fox News is becoming unwatchable.

Posted by: annika at 07:11 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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A salute to Milbloggers.

Throughout our nation's great history, patriotic ladies on the homefront have always stood behind our fighting men (and now women) 110%. From Betsy Ross and Clara Barton to Rosie the Riveter and the Gold Star Moms, American women have felt pride in each victory and grieved each tragic loss as our nation's military stood guard over our freedoms.

Here on the blogosphere, the ladies of The Cotillion are no different. For this year's July 4th celebration, we are highlighting some of the great Milbloggers, current and former military men and women, who have kept us all so well informed in this age of media bias.

euphoricReality

euphoricReality’s tagline is “Because truth is more important than popularity,” which is a fitting motto for any milblogger.

The four bloggers who run this site are Kit Jarrell, an Air Force veteran who served in Bosnia; KitÂ’s husband Corey "The Marine," who served three years in the USMCÂ’s elite Marine Security Guard Battalion; former Army Airborne veteran and history buff Heidi Theiss; and finally guest writer Andi (who has her own blog), a veteran of the storied 2nd Armored Division.

euphoricReality does a great service by regularly highlighting some of our American Heroes like Gunnery Sergeant Nick Popaditch, for whom we should all give thanks.

Today, Heidi has posted a 4th of July Tribute featuring some beautiful songs of patriotism that mean a lot to her. They may bring a tear to your eye. And so may Kit Jarrell's update on the missing Recon team in Afghanistan. The media has reported their loss so matter-of-factly, that we tend to forget how much we owe to men like these. Kit names them, and reminds us not to forget them:

As you enjoy your holiday today, take a moment to remember these men and their sacrifice. DonÂ’t just say you will and forget as soon as you get out to your patio. Really stop. Think about what they gave so you can throw some fat steaks on your grill, hoist a beer, and spend time with family and friends.

When youÂ’re done doing that, say a prayer for the families of these men. Their barbecues and family reunions will never be complete again.

Stryker Brigade News

The Stryker Brigade News blog is a site run by a group of volunteers, all of whom have friends or family serving in the Army's Stryker Brigade Combat Teams. As you all know, the Stryker is a wheeled armored combat vehicle, and this blog contains a great many Stryker related photographs, some very artistic.

Last October, one of Stryker Brigade News' contributors became personally acquainted with the price of war. Mike Oreskovic's son Michael was severely injured in a car bomb attack only a week before he was scheduled to come home. The blog has continued to update regularly on Mike's recovery since then. Most recently Mike was featured in a Washington Post article as one of several veterans who attended this weekend's reenactment of the Battle of Gettysburg. The full article is very much worth reading.

Brain Shavings

Representing the United States Coast Guard in the ranks of Milbloggers is Puddle Pirate of Brain Shavings. The Pirate has a novel idea on how property owners can insulate themselves from eminent domain seizures in the post-Kelo era.

Let's say that you own some attractive real estate that your local government wants to take from you through eminent domain. To foil their plans you enter into a contract with the state government, where in exchange for a fee, the state automatically takes title to your property if your municipal or county government ever attempts to condemn it, and you get to live on the land. Perhaps it could be set up as a trust with the state as trustee.

Anyway, since a local government doesn't have the authority to condemn state property, they lose all incentive to condemn your property once you tell them about your new arrangement. If the condemnation would be for a true public use (as we used to understand it) like building a highway or a bridge, you can always put a clause in the contract that exempts such true public uses from triggering the passage of title to the state.

doubleplusgood infotainment

doubleplusgood infotainment has been a long time fixture on my own blogroll. Its proprietor, JCrue, is a retired Marine who blogs from Reno, Nevada. i like his tagline: "Freedom of speech makes it much easier to spot the idiots."

Being from Nevada and all, JCrue has a special incentive to keep an eye on the disgrace that is our Senate Minority leader. He pulls no punches either.

Screw you, Harry. I saw what Carter did to our nation and I saw what Clinton refused to do for our country and I have to say, you and your fellow party members are at least dedicated to the same cowardice those two were.

When the troops begin to believe the (D) party supports them and no longer hears your party's words on al-Jazerra as evidence of dissent and used as anti-American propaganda, then maybe, just maybe, I will start to believe what you have to say. But only when the men and women serving overseas believe without reservation and are confident in their daily tasks that you, the (D) party, and the entire nation stands behind them, your words sound hollow.

ARMOR GEDDON

ARMOR GEDDON is a fabulous blog, run by Neil Prakash who is currently stationed in Germany after a tour in Iraq commanding an M1 Abrams tank. It's a relatively new blog, which he started at the urging of his friend Sarah of Trying to Grok. (Sarah's husband served alongside Neil in Iraq.)

Neil's blog contains some of the best war writing of any Milblogger around. Seriously. He's funny, he explains things well, and he has a great eye for the details of a tanker's life. You really get an insight into both day-to-day life and the exhilaration of combat. Neil's posts about the battles of Fallujah and Baqubah are worth reading from beginning to end. He should think about contacting a literary agent someday.

Not to be missed are ARMOR GEDDON's collection of video clips from Iraq. His latest is a montage of footage related to a few IEDs his platoon found on Election Day in Iraq. It's a mini-movie, complete with explanatory footnotes in this post. Great stuff, if you have broadband. Even if you don't, it's totally worth waiting for on dial-up. Trust me. Turn up the volume and enjoy the fun.

So, from annika's journal a very special Thank You goes out to all Milbloggers and every member and veteran of our armed services: Army, Navy, Air Force, Marines and Coast Guard. Thank you for watching our backs on this Fourth of July and on every day of the year. We owe you a great debt, and we'll keep you all in our prayers.

Please also go check out the other Milblogger tributes filed by the wonderful ladies of the Cotillion.

Happy Fourth!

Posted by: annika at 12:08 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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You ever listen to those early morning CSPAN call-in shows? What a bunch of freaking idiots.

It's like this:

Hello? Is this CSPAN?

Well, I liked that Sander Day O'Conner 'cuz she seemed like she was fair and all. And I think Bush needs to pick someone who's not all for the corporate America with all the Halliburton things and stuff.

She was just another right wing fascist who selected Bush and wants to roll back Medicare and Social Security with all his fascist crony corporate America and Halliburton things and stuff.

The right wing callers are no better:

Bush needs to pick somebody who's a mainstream American, like someone who hates them despicable homosexual things and stuff.

In my attempt to remedy the ignorance of these people, i've prepared a pocket guide to the Supreme Court for any such CSPAN watchers who may have made it over to my blog and read this far down the page.

My handy pocket guide contains a picture of each Supreme Court justice, their name, and then a short bio. You can print it out if you'd like and refer to it whenever you want to express an opinion out loud about the Supreme Court. more...

Posted by: annika at 08:25 AM | Comments (15) | Add Comment
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1 LMFAO!!! BRILLIANT!!!!

Posted by: Casca at July 02, 2005 02:08 PM (qBTBH)

2 Absolutely classic! I feel so much better now! thank you

Posted by: jeff at July 02, 2005 02:37 PM (Zq5kW)

3 Excellent!

Posted by: The Angle of Repose at July 02, 2005 04:20 PM (bIimw)

4 I just figured it out..Ann Coulter in drag...LOL

Posted by: Fletch at July 02, 2005 04:26 PM (pO1tP)

5 You're too funny.

Posted by: d-rod at July 02, 2005 06:02 PM (xmskQ)

6 why do david suitor & david breyer look so much alike? or is it, why does david suitor look like david breyer, and not david suitor? scalia....good? what the hell is wrong with a bowtie

Posted by: louielouie at July 02, 2005 06:07 PM (xKfMm)

7 Only little fagot wannabes wear bowties; e.g. Tucker Carlson.

Posted by: Casca at July 02, 2005 07:04 PM (qBTBH)

8 You rock. Hilarious post.

Posted by: JohnL at July 02, 2005 08:59 PM (gplif)

9 Ok, now THAT was funny.

Posted by: Christopher Cross at July 02, 2005 10:56 PM (DaqTr)

10 "Suitor" and "Breyer" DO look the same. From exactly what planet did Ruth Ginsburg come from? Has NASA ever identified it? Cal Tech? You can't spell "party" without "arty."

Posted by: Mark at July 02, 2005 11:41 PM (jvdsg)

11 Shouldn't Scalia's "perfect score" be 22?

Posted by: Victor at July 03, 2005 08:16 AM (IBRcA)

12 I was thinking Scalia's ABA rating should be Lawful Good. Kevin

Posted by: Kevin Kim at July 04, 2005 03:20 AM (1PcL3)

13 Annie, you are a genius. Kevin's right, though: you HAVE to be Lawful Good to be a Paladin (even under 3rd Edition rules). Uh, or so I'm told.

Posted by: Dave J at July 04, 2005 08:59 AM (CYpG7)

14 Nice legs! Let's see a lot more! Hilery after next year's astounding defeat!

Posted by: Radical Redneck at July 04, 2005 08:40 PM (7XTy8)

15 Freakin' Idiots

Posted by: tyler at September 22, 2005 12:11 PM (BtNfK)

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Another "journalist" proves that journalists are freaking idiots.

Thank you Brian Williams, for showing how ignorant you are.

What did you get in American History 101? Or did you have a Ward Churchill type professor, whose twisted version of history you accepted hook, line and sinker.

What would make you say something so completely indefesible as a supposedly educated person? As an American?

Via Michelle Malkin.

Posted by: annika at 08:11 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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And i don't mean idiot in the sense of a person with whom i have a disagreement.

i mean literally, an idiot, a person of subnormal intelligence, slow-witted, an imbecile, a moron, a cretin, affected by a profound mental retardation.

Stupid.

i want to post in full this exchange between Nancy Pulaski and a reporter, reprinted by The Corner, so i can refer back to it whenever i need a good laugh.

Reporter: Later this morning, many Members of the House Republican leadership, along with John Cornyn from the Senate, are holding a news conference on eminent domain, the decision of the Supreme Court the other day, and they are going to offer legislation that would restrict it, prohibiting federal funds from being used in such a manner.

Two questions. What was your reaction to the Supreme Court decision on this topic, and what do you think about legislation to, in the minds of opponents at least, remedy or changing it?

Ms. Pelosi: As a Member of Congress, and actually all of us and anyone who holds a public office in our country, we take an oath of office to uphold the Constitution of the United States. Very central to that in that Constitution is the separation of powers. I believe that whatever you think about a particular decision of the Supreme Court, and I certainly have been in disagreement with them on many occasions, it is not appropriate for the Congress to say we're going to withhold funds for the Court because we don't like a decision.

Reporter: Not on the Court, withhold funds from the eminent domain purchases that wouldn't involve public use. I apologize if I framed the question poorly. It wouldn't be withholding federal funds from the Court, but withhold Federal funds from eminent domain type purchases that are not just involved in public good.

Ms. Pelosi: Again, without focusing on the actual decision, just to say that when you withhold funds from enforcing a decision of the Supreme Court you are, in fact, nullifying a decision of the Supreme Court. This is in violation of the respect for separation of church -- powers in our Constitution, church and state as well. Sometimes the Republicans have a problem with that as well. But forgive my digression.

So the answer to your question is, I would oppose any legislation that says we would withhold funds for the enforcement of any decision of the Supreme Court no matter how opposed I am to that decision. And I'm not saying that I'm opposed to this decision, I'm just saying in general.

Reporter: Could you talk about this decision? What you think of it?

Ms. Pelosi: It is a decision of the Supreme Court. If Congress wants to change it, it will require legislation of a level of a constitutional amendment. So this is almost as if God has spoken. It's an elementary discussion now. They have made the decision.

Reporter: Do you think it is appropriate for municipalities to be able to use eminent domain to take land for economic development?

Ms. Pelosi: The Supreme Court has decided, knowing the particulars of this case, that that was appropriate, and so I would support that.

If i wasn't so disgusted by Pelosi, and the fact that the House Democrats consider her fit to be their leader, i would almost feel sorry for her. She's so completely in over her head, it's a joke.

Posted by: annika at 06:50 PM | Comments (11) | Add Comment
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The Maximum Leader has written off Scarborough Country for good, vowing never to watch the show again. That apparently leaves Joe Scarborough's mom as the only viewer left.

The reason cited by the Maximum Leader was an eyebrow raising statement by the former congressman, or mayor, or whatever, regarding the recent spate of shark attacks in Florida. He apparently implied that the source of these shark attacks was the difference between human and shark "cultures."

Perhaps he might consider interviewing Greg Norman for more insight into this theory, i don't know. Maybe Jerry Tarkanian is available for a remote, it's worth a try.

Freaking idiot.

Anyways, Maximum Leader had this to say in response:

Great jeezey chreezey. Somehow it is comforting to know that if only we would bother to translate the literature of the shark, we could avoid sharks attacking humans. We should feel guilty for not knowing the intricacies of shark interpretive dance. There would never be another shark on human attack if we could marvel at the splendor of the great underwater shark cities and grow to know their ancient history. Shark feeding frenzies off the beaches would be harmful only to baitfish if we could read the poetry of the shark Maya Angelou or ponder the profundity of the shark Plato.

Of course, it is partially the fault of the sharks. Have they bothered to understand our culture? Have they read Faulkner, Tolstoy, or Hardy? Do they know the tales of Hemmingway? (Okay, scratch Hemmingway...) Have they seen the pyramids?

. . .

Understand shark culture.... What a friggin' idiot.

[Oh btw, ML, i like how you've taken to using my subtle misspelling trick on Ernest Hemingway's name. Or perhaps you meant to type Herringway. ba-dum-bump.]

Posted by: annika at 06:49 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Cal's football team again starts the season highly ranked at number 15 in the Sporting News Poll. But while the Golden Bears' finish last season was less than heroic, their freshman offensive lineman Mike Tepper should be a hero in anyone's book.

A University of California, Berkeley, football player was seriously injured when authorities say he was allegedly intentionally struck by a car driven by a group of men leering at a female friend.

Mike Tepper, 19, was walking with the woman near campus during the weekend. The men began taunting the woman, a Cal volleyball player, and eventually cut the pair off with their car, police said.

When the men refused to leave the woman alone, the 6-foot-6, 312-pound lineman jumped between the car and the woman. The men allegedly then ran over Tepper twice, breaking his leg.

'My season's toast,' Tepper said Wednesday as he recuperated from surgery to repair a broken fibula and torn ankle ligaments. He had nine screws and one plate put in his leg and can't walk on it for eight weeks.

Police have arrested Johnny Ray Smith, 33, and Calvin Joe Kelley, 29, for violating terms of their probation or parole, authorities said. Officers also arrested a third man, but prosecutors declined to file charges against him because of scant evidence.

Police are investigating the incident as an assault with a deadly weapon.

Cal football coach Jeff Tedford said he was 'proud of the courage Mike showed Saturday night.'

Update: Mike's dad describes the incident here.

Mike was walking on Telegraph Saturday night. A good looking girl was on her way home just ahead of him and was trying to cross the street (I think at Dwight) and a car pulled up with 4 or 5 men in it. They started taunting the girl, making unwanted propositions. She said she wasn't interested and was trying to get by. As she started to walk ahead of the car to pass in front of it, they sped up and blocked her.

By this time, Mike caught up with the girl and told the guys she wasnt interested and together they walked behind the car to get by.

As they were crossing the street behind the car, the driver put the car into reverse and punched it, intentionally attempting to hit them. Mike immediately pushed the girl out of the way, but could not get out of the way himself. She landed across the street with scraped knees and a scraped up face.

Mike wasnt as lucky, the car hit him, he fell, then the car ran over mike's leg. Then, the idiots put the car in Drive and ran over him again (over the ankle again).

A police lieutenant witnessed the whole thing from about a block away. He was at Mike's side within seconds and called an ambulance. He took statements from 5 witnesses at the scene. The lieutenant put a turniquette on Mike's leg (he has a very deep gash), because it was bleeding fairly severely. The lieutenant also said that it was intentional.

At the hospital, they x-rayed Mike, and found he had a broken Fibula, and ligament damage. He also has a dislocated Tibia. They had to spend a little time trying to stop the bleeding.

He had an operation this morning, where they put a plate and two screws into the broken bones, and will repair the ligament damage. He will be in a cast for 6-8 weeks before they take the plate off. After that he will be able to jog lightly on it, but will not be in any condition to "play hard" at least until November at the earliest.

The lieutenant called for backup and had the guys arrested within 5 blocks of the incident as he came to Mike's aid. The driver was on parole, and another passenger was on probation.

The driver is going to be charged with assault with a deadly weapon, and both of those guys had had their paroles/probation revoked that night. They will both finish their earlier convictions behind bars, and are behind bars now.

. . .

Personally, I think Mike saved a life that night. Had he not been there, who knows what those scumbags would have done to that girl, the least of being run over by a car. I think he deserves a medal for what he did. I am proud of his behavior.... He is a great kid, and an outstanding citizen, and I am constantly reminding him of that.

In his meeting with the surgeon yesterday, he was told that he would heel 100%, and that 4 or 5 CAL players have had similar surgeries and have gone on to play in the "pros." That was great news, and we are looking to a speedy recovery and a fantastic year, next year. He will be working out with the team, but staying off the foot until such time he can play again.

Posted by: annika at 02:58 PM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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The Anchoress linked to this interesting NRO column by Mark Goldblatt. In it, he describes what happens when a writer reveals he supports Bush in a room full of poets.

But the most interesting part for me was Goldblatt's theory on why poets are so homogenously left wing. i find his reasoning persuasive:

How could a room full of published poets, wannabe poets, and poetry fans — in other words, people of average to slightly-below-average intelligence — turn out to be of a single mind on the subject of politics? Even in Manhattan, the mathematical odds against such a gathering would seem astronomical.

The answer, I suspect, has to do with groupthink and with the state of poetry in the United States. It is an absolute rule of aesthetics that as the formal constraints of a genre are cast aside, judgment within the genre becomes more and more subjective. Think of it this way: If I set out to write a Petrarchian sonnet and mess up the rhyme scheme, you can point out the error. But how can you tell if IÂ’ve screwed up free verse? As judgment becomes more and more subjective, recognition depends less and less on inspiration and technique. Brownnosing, rather than craft, becomes the poetÂ’s stock and trade. What is the common characteristic of the dozen most notable American poets today?

Their ability to work a room.

If youÂ’re a struggling poet, therefore, right-of-center politics is not an intellectual option; itÂ’s bad manners, a social faux pas. The propositions that George W. Bush is a miserable excuse for a president, that Republicans are evil money-grubbing bastards, that religious conservatives are actively seeking to establish a legislative theocracy . . . these function as conversational currency. If you cannot agree to them, you cannot shmooze; and if you cannot shmooze, you cannot gain entry into the brownnosing, pal-publishing, blurb-spewing universe of American poetry.

Posted by: annika at 09:57 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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