Inside and out

Inside and out, originally uploaded by tedcompton.

Bush auditions for a job with the Dixie Chicks

Speaking before the Knesset, Bush said that “some people” believe the United States “should negotiate with terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along."

"We have heard this foolish delusion before," Bush said. "As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: 'Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.' We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history."

[From The Crypt: Biden: Bush's comments were 'bullshit' - Politico.com]

That explains it then

"Edwards is a prominent Democrat who speaks on behalf of lunch bucket-carrying, hard hat-wearing, Dunkin' Donut-eating Democrats,'' said Chris Lehane, a Democratic strategist who worked on Gore's 2000 presidential campaign.

[From

Bloomberg.com:

Politics]

Wait a minute. Who worked for Al Gore? Oh.

The Democratic Party would be a whole lot better off if they quit listening to "experts" who think of real people as "lunch bucket-carrying, hard hat-wearing, Dunkin' Donut-eating Democrats," is what I think.

After rain

After rain, originally uploaded by tedcompton.

"Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue..."

Chapter V, Section II.

The Encouragement of Literature, etc.

Wisdom, and knowledge, as well as virtue, diffused generally among the body of the people, being necessary for the preservation of their rights and liberties; and as these depend on spreading the opportunities and advantages of education in the various parts of the country, and among the different orders of the people, it shall be the duty of legislatures and magistrates, in all future periods of this commonwealth, to cherish the interests of literature and the sciences, and all seminaries of them; especially the university at Cambridge, public schools and grammar schools in the towns; to encourage private societies and public institutions, rewards and immunities, for the promotion of agriculture, arts, sciences, commerce, trades, manufactures, and a natural history of the country; to countenance and inculcate the principles of humanity and general benevolence, public and private charity, industry and frugality, honesty and punctuality in their dealings; sincerity, good humor, and all social affections, and generous sentiments among the people.

[From Massachusetts Constitution]

—John Adams

And who, after all, would you trust more as "reformers" than Republicans?

The better strategy [for Republican candidates] is to offer a reform agenda of their own...

[From The Republican Panic - WSJ.com]

Fair warning

Vegetarians will be saying “Give Peas a Chance” as they march through Greenwich Village Sunday during the first Veggie Pride Parade.

[From ‘Give Peas a Chance,’ Veggie Priders Will Say | The New York Sun]

McCain leaks Iraq war plan

In a speech he's about to give shortly at the Greater Columbus Convention Center in Ohio, Sen. John McCain, the presumptive Republican presidential nominee, will for the first time talk about a specific date for when he envisions direct American military involvement to be over in Iraq.

It's January 2013.

[From Breaking News: McCain sees Iraq combat over, U.S. troops home before 2013 : Top of the Ticket : Los Angeles Times]

Nice going, John. Now all they have to do is wait us out.

And I thought I had everything

You may think you're supporting the troops. But you're not really giving our men and women in uniform the respect they deserve, until you're drinking Cokes or beers from a military-themed soda machine.



"No matter your branch of service, a military themed soda machine makes great addition to a home, office suite, or veteran gather place [sic]," reads a press release from Denver-based American Soda Machines.

[From Drink in Freedom with Camo-Covered Soda Machines | Danger Room from Wired.com]

One seedy vice!

For all of conservatism's evident virtues, it can have one furtive, seedy vice: A justified suspicion of government can degenerate into an anti-government ideology -- rigid, stingy and indifferent to human suffering.

[From Michael Gerson - Moral Scales in the Senate - washingtonpost.com]

Well there ya go then, Bunky. That must be it. I don't know where the furtive comes from but the seedy is right there. Who knew?

Oh oh - get out the elitemeter

CHICAGO: Foie gras, run out of town with great fanfare two years ago, is being allowed back.

On Wednesday, Chicago's aldermen voted, 37 to 6, to repeal their ban on sales of the controversial delicacy, the fattened livers of ducks and geese. Since 2006, when Chicago became the first major city in the United States to enact such a ban, it had been mocked by critics, including Mayor Richard Daley, who wondered whether aldermen should really be devoting precious time to telling Chicagoans what to eat.

[From Chicago repeals ban on sales of foie gras - International Herald Tribune]

Tell us, oh blabberwockies, is it elitist to ban foie gras or to serve it? The fate of the nation may ride on this. This is bigger than Obama's bowling score.

Voting is OK but it's just sooooo much trouble

Voters will have to check in, receive their ballots, fill out the ballots, then take ballots to a scanner. If there's an error on the ballot, the scanner will question the voter's intentions - another step that can take time.

[From Broward Politics | Sun-Sentinel Blogs | Get ready for a pile of paper when you vote this summer and fall]

(H/T The Brad Blog)

A sunny afternoon

A sunny afternoon, originally uploaded by tedcompton.

A rare double-horsepucky performance

Hillary Clinton is this close to becoming “the Al Sharpton of white people,” per Chris Matthews...

[From CJR: Camp Clinton, As Cast By MSNBC]

OK maybe not so rare, given the artiste, but certainly a well-above-average blabber.

What a guy, huh?

US President George W. Bush said in an interview out Tuesday that he quit playing golf in 2003 out of respect for the families of US soldiers killed in the conflict in Iraq, now in its sixth year.

"I think playing golf during a war just sends the wrong signal," he said in an interview for Internet hub Yahoo! and Politico magazine.

[From The Raw Story | Bush: I quit golf over Iraq war]

How did we ever manage before TV?

In March we saw a CNN anchor swapping his pinstripe suit for a ten gallon hat and horse to better cover, apparently, the Texas primary (authentic Texas costume=authentic Texas coverage). This week, MSNBC — working hard to help viewers really understand West Virginia and its residents — can’t quit playing John Denver’s song, Take Me Home, Country Roads.

[From CJR: Take Me Home, Beltway Roads]

Ooops

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico: The Pentagon has dropped charges against a Saudi at Guantánamo who was alleged to have been "the 20th hijacker" in the Sept. 11 attacks, his U.S. military defense lawyer said

[From U.S. drops charges against '20th hijacker' - International Herald Tribune]

The military will proceed to try five others for, among other things, war crimes.

How long can 12 weeks be?

Too long to go without Doonesbury in the morning. Trudeau deserves his break, but even so. Seems like forever already, and still a month to go.

Springtime for Mr. Big

Springtime for Mr. Big, originally uploaded by tedcompton.