Weekend Open Thread (with bonus Overton window redux)
A few items of potential interest:
- Geoengineering makes a comeback
(ht dKos) as interest in technology-driven solutions to global warming grows.
- 18 killed in Pakistan in spreading violence
triggered by Musharraf suspending a judge.
- US health care system provides faster access to new cancer drugs
than in Europe.
- Yankees decision to sign Clemens for approximately $1 million per game makes economic sense
.
- Schwarzenegger will appear
in upcoming Terminator movies after all -- sort of.
What's happening?
Edit: I'd like to compile a "top ten" for SC posts. The list would include, for example, Trevino's influential Overton window piece (which the online left was quick to appreciate
). Also something from Armando. What else? I'm not familiar with the earliest content -- anyone have favorites? What about more recent stuff, anything you'd put on the list? Thanks!
Submitted by Brendan on Sat, 2007-05-12 09:09
Tags:
Comments :
Why?
IN a reaction to the carnage of war, Julia Ward Howe wrote in 1870:
The Mother's Day Proclamation
Julia Ward Howe held strong beliefs and was considered a "feminist" in the sense that women bore a responsibility to help shape society with political participation.
It is the economy, stupid.
It is a happy hope
Maybe someday.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
Honor the Mothers
For Their Sacrifice and Their Tears
It is the economy, stupid.
And for raising
men (and women) who are willing to risk life and limb to protect what they believe in, so long as evil exists in the world.
If they did not, then every mother's child would be at risk, many against their will, as in Vietnam.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
Have a Laugh
and a good day.
Who has the power to leave Stephen Colbert speechless.
Guess Who
It is the economy, stupid.
That is laugh out loud funny (nt)
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
Pro-choice in a pro-life party
Doesn't Rudy understand that this, in essense, is the entire pro-choice argument and not some "pro-life lite" version?
http://www.unionleader.com/article.aspx?headline=Giuliani+tries+to+clari...
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
The base apparently understands it fine
Judging from what I've been reading on RS recently.
I think the pro-choice side needs to be more clear that "personally against abortion" or "in favor with restrictions" are exactly what pro-choice means. The pro-life side has had some success with the "pro-abortion" label, which I find frustrating.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
I am at
my girlfriend's which is why I am not posting much. Back tomorrow evening.
BTW, I am starting to work on SC2 - which will utilize the same, but updated software (which will mean no downtime and no data loss on an upgrade). I'll let everyone know when I get to a meaningful stage where your suggestions would be welcome... like on all the stuff I didn't/couldn't implement in this version.
"To discuss evil in a manner implying neutrality, is to sanction it." AR
Well, gosh
She'll just have to share you. . . does she know about all these other people in your life? hehehe
BTW, did we miss a subtle announcement or something? I thought maybe you might have said something in a prior comment, but I could have misinterpreted it.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
hehe
She is aware but barely and since she has no interest in politics it is tough to get her enthused when we spend time together. Perhaps I'll change that later :)
As for updating SC software, no, I did not announce it aside from sending an email to FPers. It's going to take a few weeks of playing around to get it to testing mode anyways, which is why nothing formal is needed for now. I have a test site on which I'll set it up.
"To discuss evil in a manner implying neutrality, is to sanction it." AR
Some diaries I've liked
in no particular order:
- This one
needs no introduction.
- America Needs Political Correctness
, by Specter
- Dancin' With the Devil
, by haystack, even though I disagree immensely with it.
- A Progressive's Art of War
, by Tlaloc
- Life on the Other Side
, by Ender
- Lessons for our time
, by Brendan (of course I'd have a soft spot for something like this.
This was an interesting exercise, by the way, wading through old diaries to see how much this community has changed over the past year or so. I didn't read more than a third of what's there (so if think you wrote a really excellent diary and I left it off the list, I promise I just didn't read them all!) One thing I noticed, if this wasn't already painfully obvious, is that we're actually much less diary writers than comment writers, and what we seem to do best with are short diaries that lay out one or two controversial points that then lead to long threads hashing them out more fully. I like that dynamic, but it also means that some of the "best" (most productive and - for us - important) diaries on here haven't been the best diaries in terms of depth, length, thoroughness, etc. That's not a bad thing - just made this an even more interesting walk through old stomping grounds.
Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited. - Ambrose Bierce
Thanks pico, very helpful
I also liked Leon's piece on Iraq
-- not sure if we want to include cross-posted work?
What about your stuff? It's always interesting to see what people like best about what they themselves wrote. I really enjoyed your tribute to Vonnegut
, but that sticks in my mind because it was recent.
Yeah, it's comment-driven around here, nothing wrong with that, but there's still quite a few good diaries to choose from. Maybe the thing to do would be to pick the top few in a set of categories (foreign policy, economics, social issues, politics) -- that way the list could be a little longer but still easier to access.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
Much appreciated -
of my own stuff, I'm not sure what I've liked best, although I do think that most of my work has been - to put it politely - mediocre. There was that one piece
that was picked up by another blog (if you remember), but I certainly don't think it was one of my best.
Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited. - Ambrose Bierce
A recommendation
I'd recommend Quaoar's We Can Win in Iraq diary. He lays out in detail what a war really is and what winning a war really means.
The "nice war" ideology of the Bush Administration is a philosophical fantasy, as is the related idea that we can bomb the people of Iran and expect a beneficial outcome. War means killing innocent people and taking absolute control afterwards. If we are not prepared to do what needs to be done "to win", then we should not start.
http://www.swordscrossed.org/node/1163
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
I was reading clammyc's Redstate post
and came across this comment
, indicative of the "we need to be more ruthless" argument from the right (although advocating killing al Sadr instead of incorporating his militias).
I liked quaoar's post too, I think it's a fair point to make. I still think that hearts-and-minds stuff can slowly work *if* there is stability, which requires security (=US troops, at this point) and infrastructure.
But anyway, thanks for the tip -- I'm slowly pulling together a list =)
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
P.S.
By the way, I quite liked your global climate change
diary too -- a fresh perspective on a much-discussed topic.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
It generated a lot of discussion
and I tend to agree with Pico on this -- sometimes it is the commentary that makes the diary.
I was trying to find some with good examples of effective partisan bickering but it's slow going through the old diaries. The number of comments is set to zero on the older ones and you have to open each of them to see how big the discussions got.
"Perplexity is the beginning of knowledge" -- Kahlil Gibran
Ah, I skimmed pico's point too quickly
Yeah, there many some cases in which the comments add significantly to the value of the original post.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
Updated the blogroll with recent posts
Lots of good stuff; my top three are the interview from My Left Wing with one of the fired attorneys, the analysis of a recent case involving child custody for a lesbian parent from the Volokh Conspiracy, and Michael Totten's discussion of the Israel/Lebanon conflict.
Come, my friends. 'Tis not too late to seek a newer world -- Tennyson
Senior Taliban commander killed
This guy was a bad dude. Congratulations to our forces for taking him out.
Link
qui tacet consentire
B ... bu ... but ...
<snark>
We aren't even IN Afghanistan. We sent everyone to Iraq so that we wouldn't never ever catch Osama. I know this because the liberals tell me this like every other day ... and they wouldn't never ever lie about something like that, right?
</snark>
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
This would be funnier
1. if the Afghani government weren't trying to get rid of us
, 2. if this weren't the sum total of our years spent there, and 3. if we were actually hunting bin Laden.
Unfortunately, what you intend as snark is close to the truth.
Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited. - Ambrose Bierce
Thanks.
Right on cue.
Republican Maverick at Large
-4:Strongly Disagree; 0:Meh; +4:Strongly Agree
Spectacular
Huge success.
Well... Not as great a success as securing Afghanistan's number 1 in the world opium producer status - but still a great success.
Sic semper tyrannis
A Writer on Iraq
Borzou Daragahi
A charming and straight forward Iranian born journalist working for the LA Times, spent four and a half years covering Iraq. He steeped himself in the culture was well as the battle.
Citing with ironic amusement that Iraq is the only place where the good guys wear ski masks, the Iraqi and American security forces both cover their faces so as to remain unrecognized.
Here is a snippet describing his last flight out of Baghdad.
He will be writing a book not so much about the war, but about the cool, weird cultural aspects of life in Iraq these days, the human side of things, like beauty shops and satellite TV's.
He is being reassigned to Beirut.
It is the economy, stupid.
Excellent read -
thanks for the link!
Saint, n. A dead sinner revised and edited. - Ambrose Bierce
People like this man
give me hope.
Like you mentioned in your Vonnegut post....... he tells the human side of the story.
I think things would improve if we can remember that those this land is far away there is a human element that connects us all.
He was there right after "mission accomplished" and mentioned the flood of artisans and artists long surpressed that were thrilled to finally be out in the open and were flourishing. Then everything changed. People don't even attend school there any more. It is just too dangerous.......!
The US has not produced in Iraq. It is am embarassment for the US and the Iraqi people and their historic culture are deeply humiliated and lost their pride. It is very sad.
It is the economy, stupid.
Stupidest Headline Ever
From the St. Petersburg Times
http://www.sptimes.com/2007/05/13/State/Clinton__Giuliani_lea.shtml
It is the economy, stupid.