Around The Sphere October 1, 2007
Our linkfest offering readers links to blogposts from websites of many different viewpoints. Linked posts do NOT necessarily reflect the opinion of TMV or its writers.
IT’S DISGRACEFUL ATTACKING GENERALS FOX NEWS SUGGESTS but seems like they’re doing it (it depends on the political position of the general — if you agree with him, he can’t be attacked, if you don’t welllllll…).
P.U. TO THE DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES AND TO THE REPUBLICANS, TOO: Steven Green, aka Vodka Pundit, has two fascinating posts up at PJ Media on the two parties’ candidates. Green first gives thumbs down to the Democrats with perhaps the best lead of the year: “Not even Mike Gravel is crazy enough to vote for Mike Gravel.” (Steve: Don’t bet on it..) And then he gives thumbs down to the Republicans and doesn’t mince words. His best zinger: “Just what is Mitt Romney selling, apart from Mitt Romney?”
Green is a true original — and an independent thinker. He’s actually a libertarian. His blog has lots of short posts but he will let-er-rip with a long one and when he does his posts are as good — or better — than op-ed columns in major newspapers. He doesn’t puke up stuff from what he heard from talk show hosts and he wastes little time attacking other blogs or bloggers. He can be searingly sarcastic but is always witty. I had the GREAT pleasure of meeting him in Colorado a few years ago and he is as witty, stylish and idea-packed as how he comes across on his blog. He also has a superb radio voice. His two posts are MUST-READING (even if you hate what he writes).
IS HILLARY CLINTON INEVITABLE? Perhaps… but some tidbits from Iowa suggest..not quite.
Media Matters Has Attacked Bill O’Reilly And Rush Limbaugh and can you guess who some say is really to blame? Did you guess?
BUT SOME SEE ANOTHER EXPLANATION — that there is a larger issue at play.
CONTROVERSIAL REPORTER SY HERSH REPORTS THE WHITE HOUSE ASKED MILITARY TO REVISE IRAN ATTACK PLANS and downsize them from bigger bombing attacks on things such as nuclear facilities and instead prepare plans for surgical bombing of the Revolutionary Guard Corps facilities in Tehran. Hersh says it’s partially due to administration war leak trial balloons flopping with the American public. Phil Carter, one of the finest and most serious analysts of foreign affairs and military affairs in the blogworld has a MUST-READ post. Here is part of it:
Holy bat guano — what the hell are they thinking? That’s my basic reaction. Hopefully, it’s yours too. I agree with retired Gen. John Abizaid that we all need to have a little bit of strategic patience here. We may not like the prospect of a nuclear Iran, anymore than we once didn’t like the prospect of a nuclear Soviet Union. But the prospect of waging another preventive war in the Middle East, against a regional power like Iran, given our Iraq experience and the state of American global power today, is absolutely bat—- insane.
…..Our senior military leaders may influence the decision, offer advice which contradicts the decision, or even resign if they disagree with the decision. But the decision to take this nation to war rests with its political leadership — primarily the president, although in theory, Congress has a role too. Which is why I’m a bit concerned. This administration doesn’t have a great track record of listening to military advice and exercising strategic patience.
Read it all.
Rep. John Murtha Must Testify In A Defamation Case Brought Against Him and the case could be precedent-setting.
DON’T WRITE FORMER ACTOR FRED THOMPSON OFF YET since he’s pulling ahead of the GOP pack in North Carolina.
He’s Baaaaaaaaaaaack: No, not Michael Richards in a comedy club near you but (perhaps a little less scary) Taliban bigwig Mullah Omar — invited for talks with Afghanistan’s President. The All Spin Zone has details and writes:
Winter is approaching quickly around the Khyber Pass, and with the change of season, any opportunity to mount an offensive on the Afghan front of the Bush regime’s endless war on whatever. Speaking of which, I’m wondering how the U.S. government is going to respond to the mayor of Kabul’s offer.
How is the mess that Bush created ever going to be cleaned up?
This is a story to watch. If the Taliban in essence move back into positions of power it stands to reason that at the very least behind the scenes they will help Al Qaeda re-establish some footholds in Afghanistan as well.
A State-By-State Elect-ability Roundup is posted by Nicholas Beaudrot on Ezra Klein’s site. He offers five conclusions. Here are the first two (written from a Democrat’s standpoint):
First off, we should all be praying for an John Edwards-Mitt Romney matchup, which at first blush would appear to put the entire country into play, though that may be partially due to Romney’s low name recognition.
Second, Rudy Giuliani is far and away the most electable Republican.
Read the rest yourself..
Will Globalization Destroy Black America? Booker Rising looks at the issue and provides some perspective.
South Carolina Leads The Nation In Single-Sex Education Programs and now there’s some research. Feministe looks at the data, the ACLU’s complaint challenging the approach, and the Bush administration’s encouragement of it under No Child Left Behind. Zuzu looks at the released data and writes:
Boys like action; girls like relationships and cosmetics. Boys do things; girls talk about things. Boys are tough and active; girls are sensitive and emotional. Sounds like somebody decided that what middle-school kids really needed was a good dose of gender-role conformity. Which is pretty much what you get when you get public schools instituting single-sex curricula.
MARRIAGE IS GRAND, DIVORCE IS 20 GRAND: It isn’t getting much publicity, but divorces are down.
Is Newt stupid or does he just think we’re stupid? asks Betsy Newmark. She notes that Gingrich suggested he was thinking of running but there were several important signs that he was never truly serious. She writes:
Newt Gingrich has interesting ideas and defends his positions well. However, his days as a politician are over. Fairly or unfairly, he has way too many negatives to be a viable candidate. For me, it was downhill from the Crybaby headlines. Add in his cheating on his wife during the impeachment proceedings and I lost all interest in him as a leader. As a commentator, perhaps, but he always seems to have ulterior motivations in the way he’s so ready to criticize Republicans and cozy up to Democrats as if by so doing he can win his way back into the affections of the Washington elites.
Doesn’t he realize he has all sorts of forks in him to testify to how done and over with he is? For a man who prides himself on looking towards the future, the irony is that his political fortunes are so 20th century.
Clearly, she’s one Republican who feels he would have been a disaster if he was ever nominated (which would have not likely happened). And that’s precisely why Democrats were praying that he’d enter the race and get the nomination.
CONTROVERSY AT THE EPA: Is it doing its job under President George Bush, or not? Jim Satterfield looks at a news story and concludes:
The counter-argument cites some statistics to prove that current policies are really very effective. But given what this Administration has done in terms of the environment and scientific research in other areas I’d really like to see a serious outside investigation before deciding whether things aren’t as bad as the Post article makes them look or if in fact it might be worse.
Personal note: I know and have talked with some people who are well-connected with environmental groups and on a writing project surfed environmental group websites. Most environmental groups are highly critical of the administration. But in evaluating issues these days, it’s important to try to separate the rage/anger from the actual situation. It’s not impossible that the administration’s record is not as bad as some insist. (But you can bet your house, car and kids in Vegas that George Bush will not go down in history as The Environmental President).
See you next time in “Blogtopia” (this guy invented that word…)!
