Wednesday, August 31, 2005
Doing The Wrong Thing (08:11 PM) - You might wake up tomorrow to what seems like price gouging at your local gas station. Today, as people waited in lines in New Jersey to purchase gas, the tall signs along the road were updated. As much as $.20…
Doing The Right Thing, II (08:01 PM) - The White House has made the decision to release United States oil reserves. The oil will be loaned to refiners whose capital was rendered inoperable by Hurricane Katrina. Crude oil will be available to these affected refiners as early as…
Yahoo! Publisher Network (07:42 PM) - I’ve been asked to beta test Yahoo’s blog-advertising system, appropriately called the Yahoo Publisher Network. The ads are right above, and are markedly Googlesque in their apperance. Hopefully Yahoo will be more transparent about the financial aspects of the program…
A.P.A. On Homosexuality As A Medical Condition (12:51 PM) - Niral Shah responds to this post via e-mail and presents the position of the American Psychological Association.In the 1970s the APA decided to remove homosexuality from its DSM catalogue of disorders. One of the main criteria for a condition being…
U.N. asks 9 agencies to pay Iraq oil-for-food funds (11:00 AM) - The United Nations discovered $40 million yesterday. The cash was inside the massively-corrupt Oil for Food program, and was supposed to have been spent on clean-up as the humanitarian program and graft circus was being shut down. The money came…
Tuesday, August 30, 2005
“You speak of Lord Byron and me—” (10:06 PM) - John Keats, writing to his brother and sister-in-law, explains that there was “a great difference” between his contemporary and he. “He describes what he sees—I describe what I imagine. Mine is the hardest task.” And so it is with the…
F-16s Strike Near The Syrian Border (07:03 PM) - After the initial invasion, the role of fighter jets has understandably decreased in Iraq. So it caught my attention when I read that F-16s launched airstrikes on the Syrian/Iraqi border- where significant terrorist importation facilities are located- this morning. Reportedly,…
The Second Try Is Just As Disappointing (05:54 PM) - Orin Kerr does a rather thorough job debunking the second contra John Roberts ad the Democrats have conjured….
Confirmed. (05:41 PM) - Director John Landis rarely mentions Dartmouth in conjunction with Animal House, but in a Washington Post online chat today, this exchange was had:North Hollywood, Calif.: There are people I’ve met who claim that a lot of “Animal House” was based…
Ask Not What Your University Can Do For You (04:10 PM) - I reported last week that influential inside-the-beltway and left-of-center magazine Washington Monthly had conducted its first-ever college rankings. Its free website published only the top 30 finishers, among which Dartmouth was nowhere to be found. The complete data has been…
Judy Woodruff to Teach Journalism at Harvard (04:06 PM) - I’m not sure how much this move will do for Harvard’s “intellectual diversity” but it is a heck of a step up for a CNN anchor….
That Other Russian Revolution (03:08 PM) - Edvard Radzinsky observes that, “All across the country, a plethora of beautiful girls has sprung up.” Except, unlike in other nations, these Hot Revolution Girls are finding ways (tennis, anyone?) to get out. They are no sign of impending liberalization….
A word of advice to Bill Maher and Jon Stewart (03:02 PM) - Ann Althouse offers it:You need to restock your audiences. It’s too packed with fans who are inflating your sense of how smart and funny you are. They may love you, but they are ruining you. And they are making you…
The Divine Right of Che (10:01 AM) - If it wasn’t immediately clear whether communism or capitalism won the great ideological debates of decades past, consider this: the iconic image of pillager, mercenary, and gay-killer Che Guevara (who was likely not a fan of Freud) has generated millions…
Sheehanarchy (08:29 AM) - I try not to pay attention to the War of the Worlds in Crawford, Texas. But in recent days it has become evident that this is one of the first major protests (or, if you buy the hype, “movements”) that…
The Courtesy Flush Goes Digital (07:26 AM) - The extremely-loud “Shinobu-chan” cell phone ringer is gaining popularity in Japan, by doing what previously only running water could do….
New York City Subway Flasher Update (07:12 AM) - The cell phone snap of a lewd straphanger has resulted in at least two dozen calls to the NYPD reporting the same name: Dan Hoyt, co-owner of two raw-food restaurants in New York. His profit margins must be staggering….
The Protests Are Anything But August (07:03 AM) - The profile of anti-war protests, which are generally joined by the same people each time they occur, and seem to occur all the time, war or not, has greatly risen over this summer and especially in August. “Yet,” Bruce Kesler…
Monday, August 29, 2005
Ban Analogies From The United States Senate (10:52 PM) - If no one can learn from their mistakes, we’re just going to have to scrap the whole damn rhetorical device….
New Orleans Hath Not Runneth Over (10:43 PM) - It appears that my earlier entreatment to calm was justified, according to these charts….
Live From New Orleans: Over-Anxious Reportage (01:16 PM) - There is nothing like a maelstrom to prompt strange events on live television. Exhibit ‘a’ is CNN meteorologist Chad Myers, who at 4:32a this morning lost it with anchor Carol Costello, who was pestering him as he attempted to give…
Rupert Murdoch, Hu Jintao, and Wen Jiabao (12:59 PM) - Time details News Corporation’s rocky relationship with the Communist Chinese government. Murdoch, despite his long partisan rap in the West, is a staunch defender of freedom, democracy, and free trade. He once declared in ringing terms how his and others’…
Beauty Is In The DNA Of The Beholder (10:14 AM) - The surveys are in, and you are looking at the most beautiful gal and the most handsome man in the world. Sadly, neither person exists. They are computer-generated composites. The girl is comprised of 64 females and the guy of…
Slip Me A Slug From That Wonderful Mug (08:30 AM) - Coffee is good for you. Rejoice!…
“Divine love, human love, parental love” (07:07 AM) - Sigmund Freud once said, “It is a great injustice to persecute homosexuality as a crime—-and a cruelty, too.” And he was brave and right to say that. But instead of man’s laws persecuting homosexuality as a crime, what about science…
Katrina Makes Landfall; Downgraded To Cat. 4 (07:02 AM) - Hopefully the slightly lessened winds will result is less-than-expected damage. The power at the Superdome, as expected, has failed. It occured at 5:02 a.m., provoking “groans” from the crowd….
Documentaries Are The New Opposite-Editorial! (01:24 AM) - The ACLU will soon be bringing you “brave new films” that sell its dangerously absolutist political views. Hey, it worked for Michael Moore, didn’t it?…
WWUS74 KLIX 282139 (12:34 AM) - Thanks to the simmering cauldron of speculation and deep linkage that is the blogosphere, this NOAA-NWS weather message has received significant echoing. It is positively biblical in its prognosis:…EXTREMELY DANGEROUS HURRICANE KATRINA CONTINUES TO APPROACH THE MISSISSIPPI RIVER DELTA… …DEVASTATING…
Sunday, August 28, 2005
Hurricane Katrina (07:12 PM) - An Associated Press dispatch went out earlier this evening saying that the hurricane could leave one million homeless. One wonders if aid from the international community and supernational organizations will be forthcoming should Katrina bear out to be the tragedy…
Notable Notes; Quotable Quotes (10:41 AM) - Jon Shea: “Enabling tabbed browsing seems to be my personal quixotic journey.” It really is quite the heavenly feature. And with those adorable 640x480 iMac screens, it is entirely necessary. Eric Scheie writes that the spectre of Colonel Kurtz is…
“Giving hope and encouragement to the enemy.” (07:49 AM) - That’s how at least one of the 1,500 pro-victory demonstrators in Crawford, Texas is describing the calls for surrender being made at Cindy Sheehan’s camp outside President Bush’s ranch. And there is really no way to challenge the veracity of…
I Hope It Doesn’t Run Windows (04:55 AM) - Autoblog reports that General Motors- riding its American Revolution wave to great profits and innovation- is set to introduce the world’s first self-driving car. The system will be installed as an option on the 2008 Opel Vectra. It will be…
“When Did Terrorism Become A Spectator Sport?” (04:38 AM) - I have no idea what this Lyndon LaRouche poster is supposed to mean, and what wonderful providence that is….
Complete Logical Disconnect (04:04 AM) - I was rather stunned by news from pollster of repute Scott Rasmussen that, “12% of Americans believe that withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq will stop terror attacks like the summer bombings in London.” Countrymen, gather 100 of your closest friends….
Do They Teach This In J-School? (03:46 AM) - In the past, I’ve been critical of journalism school. This news doesn’t allay my concern:CARBONDALE, Ill. — Kodee Kennings’ story was pure gold. For nearly two years, the motherless 8-year-old spoke and wrote movingly of her struggle to deal with…
How Do We Use The Oil-Spot Strategy In Iraq? (03:04 AM) - David Brooks has an interesting column wherein a new strategy, that of retired lieutenant colonel Andrew Krepinevich, is discussed. It is called the oil-spot strategy, and it goes like this:Instead of trying to kill insurgents, Krepinevich argues, it’s more important…
“Impatience is the Enemy.” (02:17 AM) - Kerry Dupont is in Iraq. She notes the anxious impatience of Iraqis striving to keep their families safe until the terrorists are eradicated. And she notes the relatively more selfish impatience of Americans. In the end, she pleads, “Please, folks,…
Cell Phone Camera Saves The Day In NYC Subway (12:28 AM) - I didn’t know it, but New York is evidently suffering from a flashing epidemic on the subways. One intrepid straphanger was so bold as to snap a cell phone pic of the guy. Thao Nguyen gave it to the Daily…
Saturday, August 27, 2005
As If It Is News (02:18 PM) - The Associated Press is reporting that a Hamas terrorist has broadcast a video calling for the destruction of Israel….
Downloadable BBC (01:23 PM) - The Beeb has been excellent in opening its content up to the online world and in taking suggestions from its viewers. One more step is about to be taken, with entire programs being made downloadable. Sounds neat….
The International Red Cross (12:53 PM) - (Not the American Red Cross, mind you) has a lot to answer for….
“Preposterous.” (06:43 AM) - The official US cycling governing body is throwing its support behind Lance Armstrong, who is fighting snippy claims of “you cheated” from seemingly every corner of France.”Preposterous is a strong word, but it is warranted in this case,” said Gerard…
It’s Rudy (01:06 AM) - Respondants to Patrick Ruffini’s latest poll went strongly for the former mayor of New York….
Susan Estrich: Jonathan Klein Is A Hypocrite (12:51 AM) - With “When Stuck In Sinking Ground, Don’t Struggle,” I laid into CNN president Jon Klein for dramatically misreading the nature of today’s media beast. He thought he could sniggle into the pages of the New York Times, pop off a…
Friday, August 26, 2005
“Bill O’Reilly Is Losing It.” (07:24 PM) - On the one hand, I can understand Bill O’Reilly’s appeal. He’s a decently smart guy who argues well and sounds a lot like your grandfather giving you advice on something you never asked about but you’ve got to sit there…
I Wish I Had Written That (06:40 PM) - Scott Ott answers Cindy Sheehan’s question, “What ‘noble cause’ did my son die for?”…
It Totally Sucks (06:27 PM) - I suspect I am just about the only undergraduate very interested in maintaining a clean room, but such is college life. As back-to-school nears, I started putting together a shopping list and I, of course, listed a trusty Dust Buster….
“Congress Shall Make No Law” (12:51 PM) - Dartmouth’s Rockefeller Center has announced its calendar of events for the Fall of 2005. The slate looks wonderful, and I am especially looking forward to meeting Nathaniel Fick, Dartmouth ‘99, author of One Bullet Away, and former Captain of the…
Congratulations (12:49 PM) - Congratulations to Welton Chang and the 2005 BOLC II graduates….
MosNews: More Abortions Than Births in Russia (11:33 AM) - This terrible news isn’t exactly a ringing endorsement of “safe, legal, and rare.” When I was younger, I was, like most of my contemporaries, in favor of abortion. I defended this position with the two questions that keep a lot…
“Bush League” (03:35 AM) - The federal government pretty clearly did not take politics into consideration in BRAC 2005. For that, some Republicans are miffed:A Defense Department plan to close hundreds of facilities that it says are obsolete has infuriated prominent Republican lawmakers at a…
Natalie Portman Update: Mohican Edition (02:59 AM) - A friend recently advised me that the Natalie Portman updates ought to include more photos and less text. But he wasn’t expecting this. Via e-mail from reader Dana Skwirut, I see that Ms. Portman has adopted the signature coiffure of…
Thursday, August 25, 2005
Guzzle Guzzle Guzzle Guzzle Guzzle Guzzle Guzzle (07:18 PM) - AP: “Is President Bush America’s Biggest Gas Guzzler?” According to Associated Press writer Jennifer Loven, President Bush is an oil-thirsty hypocritical sod because, as president, he zips around from country to country in some unprecedentedly silly contraption (probably built by…
More New York Times Misrepresentation (04:07 PM) - One scientist is displeased with the way the Times reported his resignation from a Bush Administration committee, saying, “fortunately we now have blogs so that errors can be corrected.”…
Islamic Extremists: No Safe Harbor, No Tolerance (11:47 AM) - First England, now Australia:SYDNEY (AFP) - Muslims who want to live under Islamic Sharia law have been told to get out of Australia. A day after a group of mainstream Muslim leaders pledged loyalty to Australia at a special meeting…
Post-Kelo, New Londoners Charged Back Rent (11:03 AM) - Chutzpah, indeed. The Fairfield County Weekly reports:The U.S. Supreme Court recently found that the city’s original seizure of private property was constitutional under the principal of eminent domain, and now New London is claiming that the affected homeowners were living…
Justice Stevens Asks For Both Sides, Please (10:46 AM) - Supreme Court Justice Stevens isn’t saying Kelo v. New London, where he was in the majority, was wrongly decided. But he is now saying that the results of that decision aren’t right.In … the eminent domain case that became the…
Armstrong Goes on the Counterattack (10:28 AM) - The French are not particularly enthused with Lance Armstrong, because he is an American, he is from Texas, and he keeps winning their races. So the breathless accusations of drug use were to be expected, since they have been the…
Update: The Army Just Can’t Win With AP (10:12 AM) - Rip the byline and slug off of any AP or New York Times war dispatch and you won’t be able to tell its reporting from that of al-Jazeera. It is truly approaching that level of absurdity. Here’s what convinced me….
No Spin Zone (02:24 AM) - The President’s approval ratings are rather dismal. It reflects poorly on the White House (especially the communications team), but is one of the more superficial polls. Some Democratic politicos will undoubtedly use this as an indictment of the Iraq War,…
Wednesday, August 24, 2005
Eight Reasons Not To Support Rice For President (08:15 PM) - Right Wing News makes a few fair points against Condi….
Movin’ On Up (08:08 PM) - Dartmouth retained its #9 ranking in the US News & World Report competition, but the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth is now Forbes’ number one shop for an MBA….
“We ask what colleges are doing for the country.” (11:16 AM) - The Washington Monthly takes on the game of college rankings:The first question we asked was, what does America need from its universities? From this starting point, we came up with three central criteria: Universities should be engines of social mobility,…
New Jersey Loses Fort Monmouth (10:18 AM) - A nine-member commission reviewing four states’ appeals to the 2005 BRAC has decided to permit the recommended base closings in Georgia, New Jersey, Virginia and Michigan. New Jersey is losing Fort Monmouth in the Borough of Eatontown, which, as home…
How I Learned To Keep Worrying and Hate the pork (09:02 AM) - Professor Samwick linked to my posts on the New Jersey anti-terrorism funding scandal. In the comments there, Andrew McGuinness proposes a reasonable exculpation:I understand that the general pattern in the US is that urban areas tend to be more Democrat…
Another insurgency Story: Philippines, 1900 (08:45 AM) - I intended to link to this fascinating TigerHawk post twenty-four hours ago, but a hodgepodge of computer and network problems got in my way.The insurgency in the Philippines (1898 – 1901) understood and acted upon American presidential politics. The leader…
Free VoIP and Deep Search (08:34 AM) - There are some cool new Google toys out. If you aren’t a fan of the way the world’s largest search engine conducts itself, worry not. Google’s consumer software offerings are written by other people at other companies. They just didn’t…
Avoid The Cool Zones (08:31 AM) - Darren Rowse offers what seems to be some pretty sharp advice about how to place Ads on a website. I’m not going to follow them (yet) but I certainly learned something in reading the article….
A reassuring portrait of America’s Muslims (08:22 AM) - Today’s Wall Street Journal editorial, co-authored by Dartmouth ‘05 Joe Rago, paints a reassuring picture of American Muslims and Arabs. The news is not as bright for Western Europe….
When Stuck In Sinking Ground, Don’t Struggle (07:34 AM) - I recall that piece of advice from somewhere. Probably Indiana Jones. I now offer it to CNN president Jonathan Klein who, in a telephone interview with his friends at the New York Times, calls the news coverage of his competitor…
Tuesday, August 23, 2005
Russia and China: Apathetic Yet Active (11:41 AM) - The joint Russia-China war games are rightly causing some concern in the United States, among private citizens and public officials alike. Whatever basis there might be for conducting them in such a showy, high-profile fashion, some of the motivation is…
Robert A. Moog Dies At 71 (08:49 AM) - Auditory genius Robert Moog, inventor of the famous Moog (rhymes with rogue) synthesizer, died on Sunday in his home in Asheville, North Carolina, from an inoperable brain tumor. His invention, which combined oscillators and transistor circuitry to alter their sound,…
As Japanese Teenagers Adopt Cell Phones… (08:29 AM) - …they are giving up on cigarettes, according to a study commissioned by the Japanese government.Japanese teenagers are spending so much of their money on mobile-phone bills that they can’t afford to smoke, a new government report says. High school students…
“Help! I’m A Hollywood Republican!” (08:04 AM) - Emmy award winning writer Robert J. Avrech spins his yarn in the Jewish Press, and every last bit of it is worth reading….
Captain Scott J. Phillpott Confirms “Able Danger” (07:11 AM) - It really isn’t unreasonable for the Pentagon to continue asserting that it “cannot confirm” anything about Able Danger. But with another military professional coming out on the subject of Able Danger, the Pentagon’s secret intelligence operation that identified and tracked…
For The Record, Again (06:52 AM) - About four months ago I made a one-line post of utmost necessity: “Pat Robertson does not speak for the GOP.” I now would like to repeat that crucial message with respect to this. Pat Robertson does not speak for the…
International Freedom Center: Insult To Injury (12:27 AM) - Via e-mail from the Take Back the Memorial association (which is organizing a massive rally for September 10), I see that the New York Daily News has a scoop on the International Freedom Center, and is calling it “another insult…
How Many Starbucks Would Starbuck Buck? (12:00 AM) - Jeff Jarvis says that Texas is a whole other country, because he went running for 45 minutes without laying eyes upon the green-hooded spectre of Starbucks. But would you believe that Texas’ 525 Starbucks locations surpasses New York’s 349, even…
Monday, August 22, 2005
From POP3 To MT (09:10 PM) - Courtesy of the excellent script crafter Scott Fallin, I am now posting via a simple e-mail to the Dartblog server. Pretty neat….
Hoping For Failure At The Constitutional Assembly (05:54 PM) - I hope his views aren’t indicative of Democrats at large in this tenuous time. Or of the farther-left campers in Crawford, for that matter. No one wins if the convention in Iraq fails….
Massive Invasion of Frogs in French Countryside (10:37 AM) - Posted without comment….
It’s Good To Be In D.C. (10:10 AM) - I just watched this excellent animation for the first time since election day. Oh, the days of battle and strife!…
Privatized Highways And Byways In New Jersey? (09:41 AM) - According to a report issued by Merrill Lynch, the great state of New Jersey stands to reap $30 billion if it sold the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike (the state’s sliver of I-95) on the open market….
Peaceniks and The Public Transportation System (07:55 AM) - The newsmedia is on board the steadily-thumping anti-war tram conducted by Cindy Sheehan and her political handlers. Tram, because I’m not sure this “movement” deserves the locomotive appellation often given to strong and forthright endeavors. Cindy’s circus, after all, is…
The Culture Of The Intelligence Wall (07:50 AM) - A former intelligence operative writes Ed Morrisey about the culture of the intelligence wall, which was borne not only of Jamie Gorelick’s infamous memo but of an environment imbued in the community by the Clinton administration:From 1984 until 2002, I…
Aide: Powell WMD speech ‘lowest point in my life’ (07:50 AM) - Claims like these, courtesy of CNN’s ear for non-news, strike me as opportunistic. (CNN) — A former top aide to Colin Powell says his involvement in the former secretary of state’s presentation to the United Nations on Iraq’s weapons of…
John Roberts On Reinventing The Wheel (07:16 AM) - During the Reagan years, a House Democrat attempted to “veto” actions taken by the chief executive. When the Supreme Court struck down Elliott H. Levitas’ strange request- using the rare You Just Can’t Do That doctrine- Levitas proposed that the…
Arnold Schwarzenegger on The Rolling Stones (07:00 AM) - A match made in heaven? Mick Jagger wasn’t too impressed:Jagger made a joking reference to the presence at the show of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who was reported to have been soliciting wealthy political donors to join him in one…
The Usual Slew Of Bulleted Opinions (05:02 AM) - Mick Jagger explains his song Sweet Neo-Con, which is a thorough study of foreign policy and modern political theory. Or just Daily Kos set to music. You decide….
Congratulations To Todd Zywicki (12:07 AM) - The Volokh Conspirator and recently-inducted Dartmouth trustee has a new Zywicki….
Sunday, August 21, 2005
Good people sleep peaceably in their beds at night (03:36 PM) - …only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf. So said George Orwell, reflecting what was once an axiom accepted by a nation in selfless faith. That pillar of modesty now seems an adulterated relic. Sometimes the…
More: The New Jersey Homeland Security Scandal (11:12 AM) - In response to this post, on the growing New Jersey scandal involving 93% of state-controlled anti-terrorism funds behing doled out to Democratic districts, and the omnipotent and corrupt NJ Democrat party that allows it to happen, Professor Samwick of Vox…
The John Roberts Opening (10:40 AM) - The New York Times isn’t the only outlet exploring the many-paged John Roberts document drop. You can, too….
“Be Sure Not To Irritate Osama bin Laden’s Beard” (10:13 AM) - I heard this tidbit related by Mark Levin or one of the other WABC talkers, but I was never able to find it online, so I decided against posting it. But now I find a page on the blog The…
London police foil gas attack on House of Commons (09:46 AM) - Good news from the Times:SCOTLAND YARD believes it has thwarted an Al-Qaeda gas attack aimed at ministers and MPs in parliament. The plot, hatched last year, is understood to have been discovered in coded e-mails on computers seized from terror…
A Sean Penn College Cocaine Controversy (03:12 AM) - I have it via e-mail from nineteenth-hand sources that Sean Penn, the new Middle East correspondent of the San Francisco Chronicle, delved into Dartmouth’s coke channels via frat basements when he last sojourned to Hanover for a film-related event. No…
Roberts At Harvard, And Inapt Usage of Past Tense (02:37 AM) - Via Michael Belinsky, I discover a New York Times piece on Supreme Court nominee John Roberts’ Harvard years, which begins with this pining establisher:John G. Roberts Jr. arrived at Harvard in the fall of 1973, a nascent conservative from a…
Saturday, August 20, 2005
Historic Ship Shunned In San Francisco (08:16 PM) - The USS Iowa fires a full broadside in July of 1984. [Dept. of Defense photo]The spectre of ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ is now extending beyond the operational military, through college recruitment practices, and into Naval history. This is perhaps the…
“A Woman Named Ann Althouse” (03:01 PM) - Professor Althouse, methinks, does Atrios and Think Progress too much of a favor by responding to their misaimed tripe. Here, though, is what I liked about her post:Why does it irk me that TP referred to me as “a woman…
Harry Reid Suffered Minor Stroke This Week (07:23 AM) - He has not been hospitalized and doctors are calling it minor, but my best wishes for a quick recovery to Harry Reid, who experienced a “transient ischemic attack” on Tuesday….
Glenn Reynolds: Neo-Con Hater Of Martians (03:57 AM) - A mass e-mail compaign (“You are smearing honorable Americans like Jamie Gorelick!”) has been launched against conservative blogs and a mass call-in campaign has been launched against right-wing radio shows. (“I used to be a Republican but now I just…
Portman Update: “Terrorism Is A nuisance” Edition (02:36 AM) - In her never-ending quest to disabuse me of my Natalie Portman infatuation, Lauren found an article discussing the bonny trouper’s newest movie. A small controversy has surrounded the film’s political themes, specifically addressing totalitarianism and terrorism. Jason Apuzzo of Townhall,…
Undergraduate Research Depot (01:12 AM) - Peter Noteboom, a recent Dartmouth graduate, e-mails in:I’m writing because some Dartmouth friends and I made a non-profit, online database for undergraduate research over the summer. The purpose of the website is to create a comprehensive database of undergraduate theses…
Friday, August 19, 2005
US News and World Report 2006 College Rankings (09:44 AM) - The new edition of US News’ long-running America’s Best Colleges series was released this morning. Only the basic list of the 120 top schools is available to the public online (although a one-time fee of $14.95 grants you access to…
No Man Hath Ever Writ In Earnest A Love For August (08:46 AM) - There is something about this month that produces a star-crossed hodgepodge of extremely bad, dull, or harebrained news items. WaPo: John Roberts is a misogynist caveman because he doesn’t believe in forcing companies to pay women higher wages because they…
Fox On Top Again, Courtesy of Jennifer Griffin (08:03 AM) - One of the ways a young news outlet gets on top is by procuring energetic young reporters who can also produce engaging, emotional, and smart reports. Understandably, that combination is scarce. But on Wednesday Fox aired magnificent reports from field…
On The Other Hand (07:58 AM) - Maybe Sean Penn was just high the whole time….
Krugman Revisits The Revisiting Of Bush V. Gore (07:25 AM) - In today’s column, Paul Krugman is allowed to publish a demonstrable lie:Two different news media consortiums reviewed Florida’s ballots; both found that a full manual recount would have given the election to Mr. Gore.Krugman, who is a former Enron advisor,…
iTunes Woes (07:23 AM) - For some inexplicable reason, iTunes on my notebook cannot access podcasts or the iTunes store. The same versions of iTunes on other computers in my house (connected via the internet through the same pipe) have no trouble doing this, and…
Thursday, August 18, 2005
Because of Cindy Sheehan And her loony toons… (11:37 PM) - Scott Randolph became a Republican….
Most Democratic, Not Most Liberal (07:09 PM) - TigerHawk writes that New Jersey may be the most Democratic state in the country, and makes a convincing argument for the incompetence of the NJGOP. Incidentally, I think it could be argued that New Jersey is also one of the…
Note To The Manager Of My Local Chili’s (06:50 PM) - When I go to pick up food at the “to go” counter, I will not tip whoever happens to hand me the bag and run my credit card. Don’t ask me, whether in jar form or receipt form….
In A World Where Solipsism Reigns, One Man… (05:26 PM) - A filmic depiction of the epic English poem Beowulf is in the works, as AICN reports. And, oddly enough, Angelina Jolie will star. Part of the impetus behind this film must be Seamus Heaney’s excellent 2001 translation, which gave more…
Because Actors Are Smarter Than Everyone Else (04:37 PM) - Remember Sean Penn? He’s the angry looking fellow with awesome dark glasses and an etched scowl on his Oscar-nominated face. The very-public guy who, when someone disagrees with him in a public way, sends them a letter offering “a sincere…
Russia and China in Joint Military Exercises (11:25 AM) - Just about no one is happy about these war games, I suspect….
Russell Feingold (D-WI) Calls For Surrender In Iraq (11:03 AM) - The Washington Post and various wire services are reporting that Senator Russell Feingold of Wisconsin has called on the White House to announce a timetable for the withdrawl of United States troops in Iraq, despite their mission being incomplete and…
93% Of Jersey’s DHS Funds Go To Democrat Districts (08:22 AM) - This brewing scandal, in which it has been revealed that 93% of the funds that New Jersey- always and forever one of a handful of first-strike targets for anyone wishing to inflict harm on the United States- received post-9/11 from…
Tick, Tock (07:58 AM) - It has been a full 17 days since George Bush appointed John Bolton to the UN ambassadorship, and the world organization has not yet crumbled to the ground. In fact, there hasn’t been a single complaint, and I hear Kofi…
“Never dishonor them by giving in.” (07:51 AM) - The father of a fallen Iraq War soldier says that Cindy Sheehan does not speak for him….
What Do You Mean, “Record”? (07:07 AM) - The New York Times has a frightful amount of power. The Old Gray Lady’s real puissance is demonstrated in its unique ability to sell an entire (and quite partisan) worldview. The Times can actually tailor its headlines, articles, and front…
The biggest terrorist in the world is George Bush (12:52 AM) - So spoke Cindy Sheehan, at a San Francisco State University marching rally. She no longer merits coverage, whether in the blogosphere or in the mainstream media, and I suspect the press’ role as bullhorn will quickly fade, commensurate with her…
John Roberts: Vox Clamantis In Deserto (12:09 AM) - Increasingly uncontested Supreme Court nominee John Roberts once wrote a memo to President Reagan’s staffers in an attempt to dissuade them from writing adulatory letters Michael Jackson in the President’s name, which evidently seemed like a good idea at the…
Iowa Loves Condoleezza Rice (12:02 AM) - In other three-years-from-now news, Secretary of State Rice is “a surprising top choice” among Iowa Republicans who plan on attending caucuses….
Wednesday, August 17, 2005
Don’t Run, Ralph…Don’t Run, Ed…Don’t Run, John (11:50 PM) - Sean Barret at Vatican of Liberalism (that would be Hah-vahd) points out some intra-GOP contention in the New York senatorial race, where two good conservatives are still fighting Jeanine Pirro for the nomination, nearly denying her that rallying charge her…
Let’s say there is this couple… (11:08 PM) - Tom Temple lays out his argument for choosing the sex of one’s baby. (Although Tom, inexplicably, uses the word gender!) In light of recent news that English couples may soon have the right to do just that, this will be…
You Paid For Anti-Israel Propaganda Stickers (07:19 PM) - I find it reprehensible that the United Nations paid for Middle East-bound bumper stickers which not only cheerlead the Palestinians’ bloody crusade against Jewish people and their holy city- one faught largely by terrorist organizations, which the United Nations purports…
The 2-Variable Intuition Test (06:55 PM) - I enjoyed taking this test, although I shant reveal the results. (…via TigerHawk-the-empath)…
NYC Firefighters Condemn Int’l Freedom Center (06:26 PM) - Is it all over for the “everything is relative, even 9/11” spinsters behind New York’s incipient International Freedom Center? It is worth a bet at this point, now that New York’s bravest have come out against the de facto anti-America…
Hello There. (05:22 PM) - How were you? I’m back, after three days down the shore, where the sand shimmers like a thousand points of light, the frozen custard flows with a great sucking sound, and luminescent kites wage a shock and awe campaign against…
Monday, August 15, 2005
Blogging update (11:46 AM) - Joe sends his regards from sunny (and quite hot) Long Beach Island, NJ. He will return sometime Wednesday afternoon and undoubtedly resume blogging quite shortly thereafer. -Lauren (the individual to whom the “girlfriend posts” are directed)…
Sunday, August 14, 2005
I Feel Terrible For Cindy Sheehan (08:46 AM) - She is calling for Israel to leave Palestine. She wants George Bush impeached. She is refusing to pay her taxes, and is demanding a second meeting with the President. She is praising the internet (soon to be a trademark of…
United Against Terrorism (08:16 AM) - Sunnis and Shiites take up arms to battle Iraq terrorists. Vigilantism shouldn’t be encouraged, of course, but this comradeship is to be expected, especially as Iraqis drive toward union under a constitution….
No, Thanks (05:30 AM) - AP: “TSA May Loosen Ban on Razorblades, Knives” UPDATE: Although the thought did occur to me on my last plane flight that, post-9/11, it seems almost impossible for a group of terrorists to hold a plane hostage with anything; box…
New York Times Denounces NARAL AD (05:19 AM) - Its old, gray, and weathered finger was in the wind for one day too long, because the Times looks awfully silly denouncing the outrageous NARAL anti-Roberts ad after the abortion organization made the decision to pull it….
The United States Army Just Can’t Win With AP (04:46 AM) - After lamenting (via colorful verbiage, of course) the perceived deficit of body armor in Iraq, the Associated Press is spinning the Pentagon’s new program to upgrade armor as some sort of concession:WASHINGTON (AP) — For the second time since the…
Alliteration Fans Only (04:11 AM) - Kofi Annan, father of Kojo, has a brother. His name is Kobina, and he is the Ghanaian ambassador to Morocco. What’s more: he’s now been drawn into the massive Oil-for-Food scandal as well. The scandal has much more import to…
Gerhard Schroeder Attacking U.S. For Polypoints (03:58 AM) - TigerHawk: “We need to make Gerhard Schroeder understand that if he continues to undermine the United States in its confrontation with Iran he will be doing irreparable harm to Germany’s relationship with the United States.”…
Special Rights, Not Equal Rights (01:46 AM) - In this post, I linked to Alfonso Trujillo’s argument that gay marriage isn’t about equal rights, but instead about special rights. Alfonso said this:Currently everybody already has the same rights with regard to marriage. You, homosexuals, heterosexuals, and me are…
Blog Great, Even Late (01:37 AM) - Overnight shift again at the radio station. I just played the Rolling Stones’ “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” and was tempted to mention “Sweet Neo-Con”, which has inexplicably netted Dartblog thousands of Google-borne hits, but I decided against it….
Impressions From Fort Benning (12:27 AM) - Welton Chang, whose blog The MI Guy by he and his girlfriend is a great read and a useful look into military life from a guy fresh out of college, e-mails in some initial impressions on the Army as he…
Saturday, August 13, 2005
New Jersey Photoblogging - Shore Birds (03:10 PM) -
You Know You’re Wrong When… (07:37 AM) - …you are a liberal, the Washington Post abandons your position, and you are forced to refer to its editorial board as an arm of the Bush Administration….
President Bush Agrees To Meet With Sheehan (07:35 AM) - Story here. Except it happened last year….
Did You Know You Aren’t Miserable? (01:33 AM) - The Wall Street Journal reports that the economy is, you know, good. The front pages of the big national newspapers don’t cover economics extremely well, but the one broad topic they usually seem to find time to report on is…
Friday, August 12, 2005
9/11 Audio Released By City of New York (11:07 AM) - For a sample of what was released- including the very first radio transmissions from emergency personnel- go here. UPDATE: Horrible, just horrible….
Constructing the Great Intelligence Wall (10:42 AM) - Dug from the archives, here is Jamie Gorelick’s 1995 memo on “Instructions on Separation of Certain Foreign Counterintelligence and Criminal Investigations.”…
Support The Troops: Send Them Home Improvement (10:29 AM) - Fallujah, evidently, is a rather boring place. And suffering from a deficit of TV show DVDs….
What’s In A [University] Name? (09:17 AM) - Michael Belinsky e-mails a link to this interesting New York Times piece on name-shifting colleges who find that they attract more and better students with a new image. Recent examples: From Beaver College to Arcadia University, Western Maryland College to…
State Department: No Bloggers At Our Pressers (08:33 AM) - Left-wing blogger Michael Petrelis tried to gain access to a State Department press briefing, but was rebuffed when a representative from State left him a voice mail saying, “right now our policy is that the general public cannot attend press…
Rogers Makes Plea Bargain; 9 Months In Jail (08:01 AM) - The Tennessean is reporting that Pamela Rogers, the 28-year-old gym teacher charged with sexual battery for having sex with a 13-year-old student, made a deal with prosecutors:Rogers, 28, was sentenced to 270 days in the Warren County jail and will…
It Is unbelievable (07:58 AM) - …how many people have been Googling “sweet neo con” in the past 48 hours. It’s a song by the Rolling Stones (who have gathered much moss) that is now supposedly not about George Bush. Paul Wolfowitz, perhaps?…
Thursday, August 11, 2005
“I will now describe the shopping experience at CompUSA.” (11:15 PM) - Under sundry moons and fettered in the throes of multifarious rage-states I have contemplated writing what Jeff Harrell just wrote, concluding each time that the process of reliving- if only in the mind’s eye- the retail hell of CompUSA and…
NARAL Pulls John Roberts Abortion Ad (10:06 PM) - It took a week of backlash from all concerned, and NARAL is still blaming everyone but themselves:WASHINGTON (AP) — After a week of protests by conservatives, an abortion rights group said Thursday night it is withdrawing a television advertisement linking…
The Dichotomous September 11th Commission (08:57 PM) - I think the 9/11 Commission was two things. Thing Number One: A pathetic political machination where copious mudslinging occured under the banner of Bipartisan Gospel. An opportunity for Democrats to campaign for John Kerry, for Jamie Gorelick to assail the…
Virginia’s Pledge law sustained (05:08 PM) - Another atheist suit against “under God” has been struck down, and Virginian students will go on pledging allegiance to their flag and to their land for another year….
“Court decision could cut education funding” (04:27 PM) - That’s the headline of a limpidly advocatory news article in The Dartmouth this morning. If you’d like to learn about the case of FAIR vs. Rumsfeld, your college newspaper is not the place to do it. Try this, for starters….
NYSDC Produces Personal Attack Ad On Pirro (04:01 PM) - The New York State Democrat Committee has wasted no time. Here, in Quicktime format, is an ad purportedly now confirmed produced by them, which attempts to impugn the intelligence and integrity of District Attorney and senatorial candidate Jeanine Pirro only…
al Qaeda’s Religious Steward Caught (03:58 PM) - A radical Muslim cleric described as Osama bin Laden’s “spiritual ambassador in Europe” has been captured in England. And the bobbies continue their dazzling show of investigative acumen….
CNN Employees: Don’t Date Rush Limbaugh (03:04 PM) - What’s Happening At CNN? This:It is being whispered at CNN/Atlanta that Daryn Kagan has been passed over for any and all promotion due to her relationship with Limbaugh. If she has a job at the end of the year at…
A Sheehan Family Feud On The Public Stage (02:43 PM) - I thought Cindy Sheehan was acting shamefully and irresponsibly when she politicized her son’s heroic war death in order to score high-profile points against President Bush. And I thought it was a symptom of the disease when Democrats- suddenly flush…
Jeanine Pirro, What Did You Do? (01:21 PM) - You introduced the dreaded specter of competition into the New York political scene! An overnight poll, conducted between Jeanine Pirro’s announcement of intention to run for New York senator and yesterday evening, has shown some remarkable changes in the dynamics…
Deportation Pending (12:38 PM) - England is standing by to shut the door on ten foreign nationals who have evidently played a role in inciting terrorism and have therefore been deemed threats to national security….
How Low Can The Bar Go? (09:29 AM) - It was base enough that John Roberts’ adoptions were being investigated by our rabid press. It was inane enough that his membership in the Federalist Society has been made an issue. But how much lower can the bar possibly be…
Pork: The Other Green Meat (07:38 AM) - It appears that there is not much left to say on the President’s $286 billion highway bill. It is an embarrassing leave of basic conservative principles, although the sheer number of pet projects- 6,371 by the Washington Post’s count- could…
Wednesday, August 10, 2005
Advocacy (11:01 PM) - I certainly didn’t expect anyone to act on my mention earlier this week that in the midst of Hugh Hewitt’s redesign, the blogroll category in which Dartblog appeared was erased, but I was pleased to hear from readers who e-mailed…
ABC News Issues Story Against NARAL TV Spot (10:54 PM) - The insidious NARAL television ad which CNN recently agreed to air is being essentially denounced by ABC News, in a news analysis piece that comes to the conclusion that the spot is misleading….
What Do You Call Bread Made By A Bison? (08:41 PM) - A buffaloaf. Courtesy of Lauren’s ice pop….
Why Is Fox News Successful? (08:33 PM) - One theory is that the 50% of America that leans right made a clean switch in or around 1996, when the conservative station launched amid a sea of liberal ones. The more thoughtful conclusion is that Fox’s reportage, reporters, formatting,…
“Gay Marriage Is Not About Equal Rights” (05:49 PM) - …it is about special rights. Or so argues Alfonso Trujillo….
NJ Gov: Corzine Leads Forrester 50-40 (01:54 PM) - According to the latest Quinnipiac University poll. But, in brighter news, independents are split 42-43. Full results here….
Paging Jamie Gorelick (01:06 PM) - “Able Danger”, which appears to be a now-defunct extra-CIA intelligence unit (and there are many) evidently identified 9/11 hijacker Mohammed Atta as an al Qaeda associate as early as 2000, more than a year before the 9/11 attacks. But it…
Stop, Thief! (12:58 PM) - Right now, I am stealing wi-fi from the third floor of a McDonalds in Manhattan. Have not yet been arrested….
Sympathy For The Devil (09:26 AM) - Maureen Dowd is back with what appears to be an omnibus “I Still Hate The President” reminder column. At least, that is what it looks like. I don’t know. Maureen Dowd makes me sad….
We Get Mail: Spitzer versus Hot 97 Edition (06:49 AM) - Matthew Weinberg takes issue with this post, in which I thanked (semi-sincerely) Eliot Spitzer for his beginning work on Air America, but simultaneously chided him for working on another case of far less import.I write this blog response with all…
AP: Iran to Break U.N. Seals on Nuke Equipment (06:40 AM) - If this is permitted to happen- and Olde Europe certainly doesn’t seem willing to threaten force to prevent it- the most immediate and devastating result might not be an Iranian Bomb, but a global and complete undermining of our and…
WaPo: NARAL Roberts Spot A Stunning Success (06:35 AM) - Alright, the Newspaper of the Other Record didn’t quite say that, but reporter Jo Becker may as well have. The lead article on John Roberts this morning begins this way: Thrown on the defensive by recent revelations about Supreme Court…
Tuesday, August 09, 2005
A Slight Matter Of Timing (11:27 PM) - It appears that NARAL, the always-eager pro-choice group, has crafted an ad that actually ties Supreme Court Nominee John Roberts to the fanatic abortion clinic bombers who gruesomely kill innocent men, women, and children. (Known in modern parlance as “insurgents”.)…
Question (07:12 PM) - Can anyone even tangentially involved in politics still say “springs into action” non-sarcastically?…
What Do These Iranian Weapons Prove? (04:29 PM) - The subject of Iranian weapons is much in the news today, with mounting evidence that that nation is fueling Islamic radicalism in the most literal sense: by supplying weapons and advanced explosives to terrorists. Some liberals are trumpeting this news…
Eliot Spitzer, Shush (03:35 PM) - It is very nice of Eliot Spitzer to unleash his Naderesque cadre of consumer advocates upon the grafters at Air America, but when he is simultaneously prosecuting useless junk like this just to get some good publicity and make a…
“There’s poop everywhere, and we don’t know why.” (01:49 PM) - “I just want it to stop.” Posted without comment….
GM’s $5,000 minivan that gets 43 miles per gallon (01:42 PM) - General Motors is going like gangbusters in China, as Vox Baby reports….
The New York Senate Race Can Be A Losing Win (12:42 PM) - I love Conventional Wisdom. It’s like speculation, only professionally fabricated and globally broadcast. Right now, C.W. is fiming up among Republican strategists. And some say that Hillary Clinton will only stay in the 2006 Senate campaign as long as it’s…
In The Minor Leagues (12:21 PM) - This is Commerce Bank Ballpark in Somerset, New Jersey:It provides wholesome entertainment for thousands of New Jersey families every night, with the Patriots (who play in the Atlantic League) and even a circus every now and then. It was built…
The President They Wish We’d Had (09:41 AM) - E-mailer: I just watched the oddest TV program on Bravo. It was a documentary of the White House administration from the West Wing TV show, but it treated everything as if it was real. In other words, the program acted…
How To Stop Hillary (09:18 AM) - I believe that a loss for Hillary in her 2006 re-election bid is well-nigh the only way to discourage her presidential run. So I was delighted to learn that Republican and district attorney Jeanine F. Pirro (whose name you may…
His Sweet Neo-Con? (09:14 AM) - With intellectual powerhouses like Mick Jagger of the Rolling Stones behind it, the 2006-2008 manifestation of the anti-Bush celebrity bandwagon is destined to be just as successful as its 2004 forebear….
Monday, August 08, 2005
Sandstorm in Baghdad (05:09 PM) - Work on the constitution is delayed, AP reports….
Recipe For Slow Blogging (05:04 PM) - One cup August. Two tablespoons of Monday. A dash of 24-hour mini-flu. A daylong dusting of NJ bar Character and Fitness work. Two Sudafed pills….
Someone With A Bright Future Behind Him (04:56 PM) - I hate being downright mean, and catty, in these cyberspatial endeavors. But I learn via OxBlog that there is a Rhodes Scholar e-mail list, where these young mossy minds (superior to mine, of course, but oft-described with the title of…
WaPo: “Rich liberals vow to fund think tanks” (08:04 AM) - TigerHawk: Aren’t these called universities? Why yes, they are. And one is called Dartmouth, where 38 “gender scholars” are confabulating right now….
Space Shuttle Discovery Not Home Yet (07:49 AM) - I question whether it is really bad weather that is causing this delay. After seemingly falling victim to the same sort of problem twice in a row - with millions of dollars in between - NASA executed a surgical fix…
Iraqi Politico: There isn’t any resistance in Iraq (07:19 AM) - The Middle East Media Research Institute looks at foreign TV broadcasts and culls together the information on Iraq and elsewhere that you just can’t get on Fox, CNN, or MSNBC. That outfit recently reported on an interview with Iraqi politician…
Goodbye, Peter (07:15 AM) - Sad news: Peter Jennings, as the newsmedia he helped to mold are reporting far and wide today, is dead at 67….
Benon Sevan Quits (07:07 AM) - Mr. Sevan, former Oil-for-Food graft manager and current It Doesn’t End Here guy, has quit the United Nations. Except there, it’s called “voluntary discontinuance of association.” And the boss can make you do it when The Heat gets too close….
Brought To You By Viewers Like Who? (06:58 AM) - John Stossel says that taxpayers should stop funding PBS. Well, yeah. But add NPR to that list. Imagine: getting major charitable donations from the world’s largest philanthropic organizations, hiring low-wage foreigners for grunt work, selling advertising time to dozens of…
Looking for “any possible legal irregularities” (06:44 AM) - This story just gets worse and worse for the New York Times which, it seems, cannot just report news, but must instead make it through the “gotcha” game, which in this case extends to conniving to get access to the…
Sunday, August 07, 2005
The President Let bin Laden Get Away (06:08 PM) - Newsweek is trumpeting an “exclusive report” that Osama bin Laden was within grasp of the American Justice System- and the Administration blew it over politics. You might think that this must be the story of the Spring and Summer of…
More on the Al Qaeda Standard (04:57 PM) - A week ago, I celebrated the seemingly-dwindling ability of al Qaeda, saying:This was London. It was supposed to be a big one. We don’t know all of the strategic background just yet, but it appears as if there were two…
Aswat Deported To Britain; Treason Charges (04:53 PM) - Progress continues unabated in the newly invigorated British War on Terror. English Muslims who voice support for terror may face charges of treason, including, specifically, the Sheikh I wrote of earlier today who called the 7/7 attackers “the fantastic four.”…
Was A Beltway Story, Now A Left-Lane-Only Story (03:35 PM) - I’ve been counting. On any given day of the week, there are, on average, 39 news stories that, when linked and analyzed by liberal bloggers, are found to contain “major breakthroughs” in the Plame case. By an amazing coincidence, all…
Erased! (03:20 PM) - I’ve been zapped out of Hugh Hewitt’s blogroll during his website’s re-design. Is there no room for a green blog amid Hugh’s crimson tide?…
“The Fantastic Four” (02:48 PM) - A different band of unusuals. Not the mutated heros of comic book lore, but the four terrorists who lit London with fear on 7/7: that Fantastic Four. But who would limn those animals with such an adulatory name? Terrorist recruiters…
Terror is Terror - Another Paper [Almost] Folds (02:02 PM) - In early July, the Dallas Morning News renounced its use of the word ‘insurgent’, identifying its wirespread application to the enemy in Iraq as the politically correct lingual smog it is. I appluaded the Morning News. Today, the notoriously left-leaning…
“We are not saying that Judge Roberts is gay” (11:45 AM) - Not that there’s anything wrong with that. “But even if he is, the Conservative Bloggers Who Support the Gay Justice Roberts still support him.”…
No War for Oil! (11:41 AM) - If you were ever curious where the gasoline at your gas station comes from or upon which countries the United States has become dependent for oil (hint: they aren’t in the middle east), here is a useful government website with…
Internships Everywhere (11:36 AM) - Friend Taylor Buley over at Fresh Politics shares data on a variety of political or news-based internships for the college set….
All 7 Aboard Russian Submarine Rescued (11:29 AM) - A happy ending to a harrowing incident, grace a the Brits, whose unmanned vehicle was first on the scene and sawed the steel cable by remote control….
Window Flag = Anti-War? (10:55 AM) - That’s a little like the co-optation of the Victory sign….
Saturday, August 06, 2005
Photoblogging: Childs Park, Pennsylvania (06:01 PM) - Sometimes (but only sometimes) Saturdays are not for blogging. At Lauren’s behest, we rambled to the George W. Childs Park in Pennsylvania. It was the perfect day. After loading up the car with Quik Chek sandwiches and Poland Spring bottles,…
Blogging Update (06:00 AM) - I am en route to some strange waterfall area in Pennsylvania. Back in the evening with hopefully a good photo or two….
Worst [Technical] Headline of the Day (12:34 AM) - AP: “Novak Apologizes for Swearing on CNN Air” Actually, he swore on CNN coax….
Condemnation Where Condemnation Is Due (12:21 AM) - Ariel Sharon is responding to Jewish terrorism the right way….
Friday, August 05, 2005
De Gustibus (06:02 PM) - In the Wall Street Journal’s weekend Taste section, recent Dartmouth Review editor Joe Rago, now an intern with the paper’s editorial department, discusses the foundation and professionalization of the great pastime of broke adolescents everywhere: miniature golf. Fascinating stuff, though…
The World’s Sexiest Leader (05:51 PM) - This is most definitely Friday-blogging material. And I must say, in light of today’s bold proclamation, I am thinking more highly of Tony Blair….
An Annual Explication (05:38 PM) - Near as I can tell, every year on this date at least one media outlet issues a sorrowful account of history’s only two atomic bombs detonated with intent to kill, and the country that dropped them. And every year at…
A Man By Any Other Name Would Drive An S.U.V. (03:08 PM) - Robb Willer is a doctoral candidate at Cornell University. I learned of his research on masculinity from this press release put out by Cornell. His study produced the headline, “Men overcompensate when their masculinity is threatened.” ITHACA, N.Y. — Threaten…
Virii For Windows Vista: Already (01:45 PM) - I think there is some truth to the idea that Windows seems less secure because virus-writers target it far more than its competitors. Case in point: the unreleased Windows Vista already has a virus….
How To Shoot Suicide Bombers (01:01 PM) - Terrorists who go out on suicide bombing missions, we can all agree, are better off dead now than dead in fulfillment of their goal. But how to bring about that end? The International Association of Chiefs of Police is advocating…
Left-wing Talk on PBS (12:38 PM) - Whodathunkit? Not me, when I heard the excellent David Brancaccio, previously of NPR’s Marketplace, was hosting the new PBS show “Now”. But evidently the show is not even worth it….
Russian Sub Trapped Mid-Sea; US Aid En Route (12:09 PM) - American and British unmanned water vehicles are attempting to reach a stranded crew on a Russian AS-28 mini submarine, mired in steel fishing net cables. It is currently on the Pacific floor, at a depth of roughly 625 feet. Low-end…
Advanced Explosives In Iraq (11:18 AM) - No surprise: they come from Iran, and “intelligence officials” are saying it could not happen on this scale without the consent of the Iranian government….
Sports Columnist Attacks Blogs (10:58 AM) - Nancy Clark, in her sports column for the Des Moines Register, authors an essay called, “Blog ‘reports’ lack media’s credibility”. Except the Register printed the headline as, “Clark: Blog ‘reports’ lack media’s credibility,” even though it was already clearly an…
Smog America and Choosing Your Battles (09:57 AM) - Michelle Malkin has, it seems, gone single-issue on her website, throwing down against Air America on every tidbit she sees. I don’t think that’s a good idea. I thought it was stupid to do with Plame and I think it…
Corzine: Cemented In Jersey Establishment (09:37 AM) - Lots of people hate “the establishment” in Washington and in their state and local political scenes for myriad reasons, good and bad. But in New Jersey, almost everyone hates the state establishment for one very good reason: it is criminally…
Regan Books Signs McGreevey To Book Deal (09:33 AM) - The Gay-American will be publishing his memoirs in due time….
We Want Wilkie, Mark II (09:12 AM) - Evidently, Franklin Roosevelt, in the 1940 Wilkie-led Republicans, had something George Bush does not: an opposition party that was helping him win the war both in deed and in the political realm….
Stand in the place where you are (09:02 AM) - It wasn’t long ago that Kos and his Kohorts were proclaiming from every mountain, sea, and shore that Iraq was The Issue for 2004. When the Iraq guy won (not just in America but, as it happened, all over the…
Bye-Bye, Babu (08:52 AM) - More and more, I get the feeling we aren’t alone in this anymore:LONDON — Foreigners who preach hatred, sponsor violence or belong to extremist groups could be deported from Britain under strict new measures that Prime Minister Tony Blair announced…
The Ancient Jewish Capital (08:39 AM) - I am rather terribly-versed in the ancient affairs of Judaism, but it seems to me that modern Israel will like this news:An Israeli archaeologist says she has uncovered in East Jerusalem what may be the fabled palace of the biblical…
Broached. (08:24 AM) - “Especially in media hothouses like New York City, issues develop fast. Usually. One amazing New York-centric story, however, has been rumbling along the last week or so like a Mack truck in first gear: A series of “loans” of more…
Fighting Infidels Is Thirsty Work (08:14 AM) - TigerHawk notices that al-Zawahri, commonly referred to as al-Qaeda’s number two even though, at this date, he could very well be number one, has been graying prematurely. Is it stress from fighting infidels? The pain of carrying the entire unfree…
I Mean, Really (07:16 AM) - Bob Novak isn’t exactly a young stallion of a pundit anymore, and he has been crucified in the ledes of a thousand newspaper articles, even though the fact that he isn’t in jail demonstrates rather conclusively that he is cooperating…
Heathen! (07:11 AM) - Jeff Harrell will be smote for this, I’m pretty sure, but in this post he informs us of some dubious month-naming….
Thursday, August 04, 2005
Blogging Update (06:47 PM) - Work, as well as other internet endeavors have kept me away from the Dartblog, but I hope to return later this evening to catch up on things….
“in order to move about freely, we have to be alive first” (03:38 PM) - I’m pretty sure this is right way to respond to today’s inane antics of the ACLU, Manhattan precinct….
Not Even For That Wonderful Healthcare? (03:23 PM) - The Associated Press breaks some major news: “Americans didn’t flock to Canada after Bush win.” In fact, AP dutifully reports, the number of Americans applying to Canadize themselves fell in the half-year after the 2004 elections. The article closes with…
Bombs, Lies, and Videotape (03:21 PM) - The BBC has posted clips of Ayman al-Zawahri’s video here….
Take That, Wi-Fi Moochers (01:22 PM) - My SSID is no longer broadcast. Ha….
What Gets Featured (09:24 AM) - Yesterday morning, a reader picked a nit with me over this post, “I Read the News Today, Oh Boy” which criticzed the mainstream media for ignoring research showing significant voter fraud on the part of the Democrats during the 2004…
Air America’s Carte Blanche (09:16 AM) - Investor’s Business Daily attacks the press for focusing on Rush Limbaugh’s painkiller addiction and ignoring the massive siphoning of charity funds away from poor chilren and Alzheimer’s patients into the maw of Air America….
Where Feminism Went Too Far (08:35 AM) - Iden Sinai, in The Dartmouth this morning:Anyone who watches television or movies can tell you that the one member of the American citizenry who remains a safe punchline (or punching bag, to be more accurate) is the American man. In…
al Qaeda Update: al-Zawahri Video (08:14 AM) - al Qaeda number two Ayman al-Zawahri has released a statement calling for more destruction in London and blaming Tony Blair for the terrorist attacks. That, presumably, because of the Prime Minister’s support for the infidel campaign against Babylon. No word…
Dispatches From Iraq (08:00 AM) - With the brutal murder of Steven Vincent by terrorists in Iraq, I suspect Michael Yon will be seeing a lot more interest in his work as independent Iraq reporter. Be sure to read his latest dispatch, which, in a photoessay,…
Shield Your Home (07:44 AM) - It contains mostly old news, but this USA Today article is useful in its summation of state efforts to counter Kelo v. New London with, you know, law. (I hear legislatures can still make law if they really try hard.)States…
Headline of the Day (07:42 AM) - NewsMax: “Hillary Clinton Presses Bush on Sex Offender Bill” It must have been intentional….
Grandfather Gingrich (07:31 AM) - Good old Newt Gingrich, who is undergoing a massive case of grandfather syndrome (“Let me tell you, boy!”) with a touch of God disease (“I created you; I can destroy you!”), is warning Republicans not to ignore the “implications” of…
120 Fewer Minutes Of Laugh Tracks (12:53 AM) - According to Forrester Research, Americans who have broadband internet access watch two whole hours fewer of television per week. Delightfully expanding upon the statistical demise of the idiot box, the report projects, “the number of broadband households in the U.S.,…
The al Qaeda Standard (12:13 AM) - There is something enjoyable in hearing the otherwise-frightening news that the terrorists who struck London on 7/7 used Common Household Items. It means, after all, that, try as they might to prevent it, the standards of al Qaeda (or whichever…
Na, Na, Na, Na, Hey, Hey, Hey (12:09 AM) - Say goodbye to SAVE- the “struggle against violent extremism” and welcome back GWoT- the “global war on terror.” The President has overruled Donald Rumsfeld, saying, “Make no mistake about it, we are at war.”…
Wednesday, August 03, 2005
Anything You Can Do, I Can Do Better (05:52 PM) - Microsoft is cloning just about everything Google has done. And, in some cases, such as the MSN Virtual Earth roadmap, it does a better job than the original. And Microsoft’s new start.com is elegant and simple to use (and great…
I Just Purchased My First Blog Ad (04:51 PM) - I’ve never advertised Dartblog before, but when I heard from Jeff Harrell that Kate of Electric Venom had had a nasty bike accident that left her front-toothless, I decided to buy an ad on her site to help out in…
“Chickens are inquisitive and interesting animals.” (03:33 PM) - That is just one of the many fun facts you’ll absorb at PETA’s new KentuckyFriedCruelty.com….
Mom-and-Pop Laundry Business Out; Condos In (12:30 PM) - What Kelo hath wrought:SAN DIEGO — The Alsco Laundry in San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood has been cleaning linens for the city’s top hotels and restaurants for more than 50 years. But now, says general manager Mike Scacco, they’re being…
The Price Of Being First (10:13 AM) - Tom Friedman wants to run for office on one pledge: “I promise, if elected, that within four years America will have cellphone service as good as Ghana’s.” It’s clever to point out that the world’s superpower has second-rate telecom, but…
A Story Of Misattribution (09:23 AM) - “You cannot strengthen the weak by weakening the strong.” That quote is often attributed to Abraham Lincoln, and I confess I have put those words in his mouth as well. I learn today- finally- that he never said such a…
I Read the News Today, Oh Boy (08:24 AM) - Did you see the New York Times front page? How about the Los Angeles Times? The Washington Post? The Boston Globe? Because, if you looked at any of those papers, you wouldn’t know of the massive vote fraud unearthed by…
Blogger Shot In Basra (06:45 AM) - Roger L. Simon breaks the sad news of Steven Vincent’s death at gunpoint by terrorists in Basra. Steven’s blog is here, and fans of his writing and reporting have been leaving digital condolences here. This is truly a tragedy. Steven’s…
Bush Pushes Intelligent Design (01:03 AM) - This is rather silly. I think TigerHawk deserves the last word: “Why, oh why, must our President, who is right about so many things, insist that idiocy is a form of intellect.” Read the whole thing, because it gets less…
John Roberts Documents Posted (12:46 AM) - The National Archives has posted this collection of PDFs of John Roberts’ key memos and letters….
A Curtain Is Sewn (12:38 AM) - I am no big fan of ABC News, but Putin’s banning of the network is absolutely intolerable….
Roberts Will “respect settled law.” (12:30 AM) - I don’t see that he specifically mentioned Roe v. Wade in this discussion, but John Roberts’ reiterated support for stare decisis seems to make it pretty easy to infer his vote on a potential Roe v. Wade-reversing case….
Tuesday, August 02, 2005
Tidal Shift? (11:57 PM) - I was under the impression that the Ohio election was a bellwether, and that, should Democrat Paul Hackett carry the day, it’d mean a tidal shift in Ohio politics, and a significant electoral ding in a battleground state for the…
Searching for a subway safety zone (09:45 PM) - Amanda Morris sends a link to this common-sensical Denis Hammil column in the Daily News. I think his personal narrative reflects the guarded thoughts of many tri-staters:Bloomberg and Kelly can never sanction ethnic profiling. But guess who is doing 24/7…
Rockin’ Robins (07:24 PM) - Check out some of Lauren’s photos of neat owls and such, from her job at the Raptor Trust….
Gates’ Rules Of Order (06:39 PM) - I just obtained a beta copy of Internet Explorer version 7 and, surprise surprise, it still doesn’t read CSS properly. The tabs are nice, as is the integrated RSS support, but then again Firefox users have been enjoying those features…
One Thumb Up For “Over There” (04:07 PM) - So far, this is the only positive review of Fox’s new show Over There that I’ve seen. Inasmuch as I’ve lambasted the program, I thought I’d give equal time. Key quote: “If the New York Times coverage of the war…
Update: First They Came For The DARPANet… (09:24 AM) - A few weeks ago I reported that the United Nations is sidling itself into controlling the internet. It is an outrageous co-optation of an American invention that has thrived and grown exponentially while managed by the private sector. Yesterday, Senator…
New York Assemblyman: Use Profiling on Subways (09:06 AM) - As a New Yorker recently said to me after disembarking from a flight into Washington, “I’m all about profiling.” So, evidently, is New York assemblyman Dov Hikind (D-Brooklyn). Ten days ago, the NYPD announced that it would conduct random bag…
Curiouser and Curiouser (08:58 AM) - Air America, the Boys and Girls Club, Al Franken, and a brain tumor….
Top policymakers, several administration officials, a U.S. source, and aides (08:51 AM) - No one seems to know who gave WaPo its information for this report, and, increasingly, people are learning to be wary of that lack of clarity….
The Dartmouth Brand Name (08:40 AM) - Ben O’Donnell takes a trenchant look at what it means to “drop the D-bomb.”…
Mexican Anti-Drug Militants Turn On U.S. Officials (08:12 AM) - Taylor Buley: “Hasn’t the government noticed yet that we always train the wrong people?” Heh….
Truth is the First Civilian Casualty (08:01 AM) - This piece from Rod Nordland at Newsweek has attracted little attention, partly because the magazine is not printing it but instead putting it solely online. Draw whatever conclusions you will from that, but note that it is a pro-military article…
The Reformers Are Trying (07:51 AM) - In Time magazine, Irshad Manji, an Islamic reformer who wrote The Trouble With Islam, writes of her experiences being interviewed by a student journalist at Oxford. Manji was stunned by how eager westerners are to misplace blame, and the pervasiveness…
Saddam’s trial to be on live television (07:44 AM) - Saddam is so adept at spinning the more liberal sects of western media around his finger that, I suspect, broadcasting his trial to the whole world is absolutely necessary….
Another Recess Story (06:52 AM) - In 1961, the thirty-fifth President of the United States, John F. Kennedy was at the very beginning of his term. But the reforms had already begun. State-sponsored segregation was under attack from not only the executive branch but also from…
Monday, August 01, 2005
“What Do You Think About That?” (10:09 PM) - In my old high school debate club, there was a rule against sermonizing in questions. They were, after all, supposed to be questions and not statements. The easy way around this- an eminently mockable one which nonetheless was used by…
Criticism: Playing Petty Politics With American Wallets (10:02 PM) - Lists usually impress me, so when reader Joran Elias sent me a list-based critique of this post in which I accused Democrats of playing partisan politics with free trade, I felt obliged to give him front page space. Also, his…
U.S. soldier’s aid to Iraqis earns him title of Sheik (09:43 PM) - A high honor, bestowed upon one of thousands of American servicemen in Iraq….
A Message From Al Gore (07:21 PM) - He has been running the numbers and is displeased with the non-splash his new Current.Tv cable television network has made among the hipster digirati demo to which his channel so clearly appeals. He notes downheartedly that Coca-Cola, an inert substance…
A Death Knell For Rob Lowe’s Acting Career (04:51 PM) - West Wing actor and Hollywood guy Rob Lowe had some unexpected things to say about the War on Terror while in London: “I’m not worried about working in London. I’ve brought my family over, my kids are going to school…
Are Republicans A “Community”? (04:45 PM) - If so, this is most likely a hate crime….
Our Man In Rahway (02:28 PM) - What is ex-New Jersey governor James McGreevey doing? Not much:Separated from the wife he betrayed, McGreevey lives modestly in a one-bedroom apartment. He takes his 3-year-old daughter out for bacon and eggs after Sunday church services, walks to a corner…
Who will take tomorrow’s front page photograph? (02:14 PM) - One of thousands of professional photogs or one of 6 billion amateurs? That is the question posed by Scoopt, who wants to represent you (and any other upstanding citizen) if you are able to get shots of extraordinary events and…
Bolton Reactions (01:59 PM) - Here are assorted reactions from notables to the new United States ambassador to the United Nations….
Welcome To The U.N., Mr. Bolton.
Check your conscience at the door. (10:11 AM) - President Bush will finally send a reform-minded diplomat to the bobbled and beleaguered United Nations today, appointing John Bolton while Congress, including obstructionist Democrats who are still clamoring for more and more “papers” (Do they eat paper, or something?), is…
“Don’t Die Here” (08:07 AM) - Wall Street Journal:Florida Governor Jeb Bush ought to send his counterpart in Connecticut, Republican Jodi Rell, a thank-you note with a box of chocolates and a ribbon tied around it. Last month Ms. Rell marked her first anniversary as Governor…
Two Links To The Metasphere (07:07 AM) - Blogebrity, the weird-but-sometimes-smart site that maintains the official A, B, and C-lists of online opinion writers, offers up some advice on gaining respect and the linkage that usually follows. The advice seems sound, although for me, the greatest boosts have…
Seven Virgins and a Mule (06:58 AM) - It’s hard to believe that Howard Dean (who, though it is impossible to tell by virtue of his actions, is chairman of the DNC) is actually attacking Republicans for Kelo v. New London and its consequent expansion of eminent domain,…
King Fahd Dead (06:51 AM) - At, they think, age 84….
Abuse of Process (06:40 AM) - Mere months ago there was a national brouhaha over whether the filibuster was being used fairly and responsibly by Senate Democrats, and over whether its intended uses included political obstructionism. Now, on the matter of John Bolton and his likelihood…
Embracing Failure (06:35 AM) - The British teacher’s associated which last week heard a proposal to replace the word “fail” with “deferred success” has rejected the idea, saying “We’ll be ridiculed.”…