I'm not sure how relevant it is that Mr. Douthat is turning 30 this year and the content of the article quoted is interesting anyhow……SINCERITY as the final excuse for all the pain caused to so many innocent people………..Cheney meant well. He wants us to base our reactions to his policies on a quality we can't see– his intentions. I'll bet Madoff will try to use that. No, my best wish for both of them would be a trial similar to the one they gave to Saddam Hussein.

I believe that if the international courts are to have any validity at all they cannot only accuse the leaders of 3rd world countries of crimes against humanity. Many believe Bush and Cheney and others have committed crimes that meet that standard, and even if the USA decides to obscure the issue, the international community may not.

It would be fun to get a dossier on any given journalist before we took the time to read their articles, so you have tweaked my interest there. What are Mr. D’s takes on Catholics, voting blocks of evangelical people, and other issues of ethos, theocracy, and theology?

I would be curious to hear more about bloggers writing styles (as many as their are bloggers?) and if they can be reduced to formula.