Month: July 2006

There are ad hominem attacks, and then there are ad hominem attacks. And I am fascinated by the latest, full-blown all-out assault launched by the free leftist Philadelphia Weekly against local talk show host Michael Smerconish. Here’s the cover: Because of my penchant for analyzing things, I always want to know what is going on,…

This is very disturbing news: BAGHDAD, Iraq – Thousands of Iraqis demonstrated in Baghdad on Friday praising the leader of Lebanon?s Hezbollah group and denouncing Israel and the United States for attacks against Lebanon. Some protesters said they were ready to fight the Israelis. The Iraqi protests came as Israeli warplanes struck the Lebanese capital…

These days, we live in a world of missing links. I’ve become quite used to it. But I don’t like it when links are missing because they have been deliberately pulled under duress — like this. Nor do I like it when links are deliberately omitted when those links present the other side of the…

Unless Arin.net gave me a false reading, it looks like this ISP took down a site run by a blogger called “snarkybastards.com” (70.84.99.146 — and cached here) because Glenn Reynolds linked to him! According to Glenn, that’s what his email says: I got this email: This morning you linked to a post by Conor Friedersdorf…

Yes, that was what a lead headline at Raw Story read as I went to bed last night. But this morning, they’ve dropped the “Beirut burns” portion, which severs the classical allusion to Nero. I liked last night’s version better, and because I liked it so much, I fiddled around and saved a screen shot…

The Mohammadan conquest of India is probably the bloodiest story in history. It is a discouraging tale, for its evident moral is that civilization is a precarious thing, whose delicate complex of order and liberty, culture and peace may at any time be overthrown by barbarians invading from without or multiplying within. — Will Durant,…

Sometimes I feel like a nitpicking asshole. I mean, I try to look at the big picture of things (and ask the broader questions) but every time I do that, it seems the smaller, more mundane details just creep up on me and get in my way, hit me in the face. Or even spill…

If my effort at satire in the earlier post seems tacky, perhaps it’s getting harder and harder for me to make fun of ad hominem attacks, outbreaks of trollish agent provocateurism, and bad logic — all while keeping a straight face. . . But honest, folks, I’m trying to be funny! God forbid I might…

While writing about rhetorical hyperbole, I discovered that war has broken out: MARJAYOUN, Lebanon (Reuters) – Hizbollah guerrillas captured two Israeli soldiers and killed up to seven Israelis in violence on either side of the Lebanese border on Wednesday, further inflaming Middle East tensions. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert described the Hizbollah attacks as an…

Glenn Greenwald thinks the Deb Frisch debate (discussed infra) really ought to be about Misha, for saying the following: Five ropes, five robes, five trees. Some assembly required. This is at least as old as the T shirt. Well, let’s assume that “five robes” refers to the five justices wearing them. While Misha didn’t mention…

A couple of local criminals pleaded guilty to murder recently. While that’s hardly earthshaking news, a disturbing detail caught my attention: David and Carlos Carmichael are mentally retarded and illiterate despite graduating from Philadelphia high schools, their attorneys contend. Both have strong employment histories in food service. If it is true that Philadelphia high schools…

What is freedom of religion? Americans often make kneejerk assumptions about these things, and simply think you have the right to believe in whatever you want, and the right to freely exercise (or not exercise) that belief. In reply to an email I received earlier about the Saudi madrassa, I asked sarcastically whether freedom of…

A short article in today’s Inquirer reminded me that the problem of mentally ill criminals is not limited to the New York subway system. Notwithstanding all their protection and security measures, even the courts aren’t safe: YORK, Pa. – The county sheriff has apologized for what he called an “embarrassing and egregious” security breakdown after…

When I started writing this post, I had intended it as a lead-in to this week’s RINO Sightings Carnival, which is hosted by BloodSpite at Technography. It’s a great carnival, artistically and poetically presented, and I highly recommend it. Lots of good rhino pictures, too, and the pictures served as a poignant reminder that the…

The Saudi madrassa I’ve written about in a number of posts seems to be receiving national attention. The following comes from an email I just received, from which I’ve removed the headers: For Immediate Release Residents Protest Expansion Of Islamic Center in PA ? Venue For Young Muslim “Jihad Camps” July 10, 2006 Philadelphia, PA…

I’m thinking more unthinkable thoughts. Via Glenn Reynolds, I found myself walking down memory lane with this reflection on a newly resurrected Pardongate case by Captain Ed: One can ask for no clearer indication that the Clinton administration had a fire sale on presidential pardons, and made sure that the money stayed in the family.…

Links at the top of the Drudge Report point to two preliminary stories: WNBC and Breitbart. There’s nothing on the local news in Philadelphia save a feed on CBS 3 from a chopper showing billowing smoke, but this is done picture-in-picture while the regular program continues. Details are few and sketchy (from WNBC): A three-story…

Speaking of friendship as treason (and groups with “G.D.” as an acronym) Glenn Reynolds links David Kopel’s post which asks a good question about Green Day: If a person likes Green Day’s sound, but not their politics, what other bands might the person enjoy? I’m too old to keep track of the competition, but I…

If there’s one thing I hate, it’s when I’m forced to review book reviews of books I haven’t read! But review the review I will, because I have a responsibility to live up to the blogger’s creed of speed, volume, and vehemence. In my defense, I should say that it is possible to agree or…

I wanted to point you toward a truly rewarding blog today, a most excellent blog, a blog guaranteed not to make you feel despairing of, or disgusted with, the damned human race. It’s the creation of Clotilde Desoulier, and she calls it Chocolate and Zucchini. If you enjoy food (not necessarily a sure assumption, I’ve…