Saturday, August 13, 2005

In for the long haul

PGL’s comments at Angry Bear are triggered by today’s Washington Post story from Robin Wright and Ellen Knickmeyer about the lowering of expectations on what can be done in Iraq:

While I marched in support of bringing our brave soldiers home during the early 1970’s, I’m sort of a Howard Dean type on the Iraq disaster. Before the stupid, stupid, stupid decision on March 19, 2003 - I was very opposed to invading Iraq as I listened to our generals who were trying to convince President Bush that invading Iraq was a gift to bin Laden.

Since the fall of the tyrant known as Saddam Hussein (who had zip to do with 9/11), Howard Dean has argued we must finish what we started - or else give a bigger gift to bin Laden. President Bush done in Crawford seemed to be saying he agreed with this sentiment. But Bush has two habits: (1) say one thing and then another; and (2) do whatever is politically expedient at the time regardless of the horrific long-term consequences to the interests of the American people.

“Declare Victory and Come Home” was one of my favorite blurbs some 35 years ago. Today, it would be an incredibly stupid thing to do…

I wasn’t opposed when we went in. I believed the president and argued with friends who did not. It turned out he was wrong and most likely manipulated facts to get support for us to go in.

If we leave the country in the lurch to placate a disaffected public the damage done, and bin Laden’s gift, will be even greater.

Whoring

A passel of blogs I read and like and admire got their tails in a tizzy this week because a fellow Georgia blogger (in nearby Macon no less) called Cindy Sheehan a “media whore” at RedState.org.

Well, that’s not precisely right. Armando at Kos, Steve Gilliard at The News Blog, Jerome Armstrong at MyDD, Oliver Willis at Oliver Willis “Like Kryptonite to Stupid” and Duncan Black at Atrios (in a post that otherwise makes a good point) got all outraged, indignant and upset because attorney and political consultant Erick Erickson called Cindy a “whore.”

But he didn’t call her a whore, even if he did apologize before coming out swinging again. He called her a “media whore” and not a one of my liberal compatriots put quotes around that. Rather, it was just whore. He called her a whore!

Dare I say that common wisdom, as reflected in this Wikipedia entry and this one, makes a clear definitional distinction between “media whore” and “whore?” I have loads of disagreements with Erick and RedState and I don’t think Cindy Sheehan is a media whore, but Erick does (or did, now she’s a moonbat) and Neal Boortz does too.

There’s plenty to criticize in what they wrote. That criticism is undermined somewhat I’d say by the technically accurate but ultimately deceptive omission.

SEE ALSO: For an analysis of the impact of Sheehan’s antiwar protest, check out Joe Gandelman’s High Noon For George Bush And Cindy Sheehan.

Comment problems continue

So now I find that the sign in is giving folks trouble! Evidently it’s not always working as it should. I’m trying to find a solution. I’ve turned off MTBlacklist, which very well may have an update or an answer to my problems, if only I had time to track it down.

I just tried this:

I set Moveble Type to require comment registration, then rebuilt the site. All posts up to that time require registration. Next, I turned off the comment registration requirement and did NOT rebuild the site, hoping that means all posts going forward will not require registration, while old ones will.

If this works, and assuming the large majority of spam comes to old posts, I can repeat the procedure weekly. Keep your fingers crossed. Or make a suggestion of something better if you can!

UPDATE: It’s working… comments welcome again! A stopgap, but a welcome one. Now it’s on to Trackback spam.

ANOTHER UPDATE: The solution is buggy. I’ll have to find another.

A nightingale sings

I’m guest posting over at Basil’s Blog. And I just proclaimed myself a nightingale singing...