Month: April 2003

Turning the Tide?

Between the rescue of Pvt. Lynch (which seems an interesting comment on the Greenberg piece linked yesterday) and the advance of American forces to within 20 miles of Baghdad, we’ve gotten a recent spate of good news on the war front. But, as Terry Neal of the Washington Post notes, trouble is now brewing in the rest of the Arab world. And given both Saddam’s deliberate attempts to incite Muslim rage and the shocking, extremely graphic images of civilian carnage being broadcast on Al-Jazeera, it’s little wonder why. (I caught ’em via Week in Review, but the Al-Jazeera site seems to be down now.) Even if Saddam’s regime falls soon, and let’s hope it does, we have our work cut out for us in rebuilding the region’s faith in America. And, as I said before, it will take reservoirs of diplomacy and goodwill that the tone-deaf and heavy-handed Bushies have yet to manifest.

Stop me before I think again.

When times are this crazy, trust The Onion to come through in the clutch. “True patriots know that a price of freedom is periodic submission to the will of our leaders — especially when the liberties granted us by the Constitution are at stake. What good is our right to free speech if our soldiers are too demoralized to defend that right, thanks to disparaging remarks made about their commander-in-chief by the Dixie Chicks?” I should not be allowed to say the following things about America, especially during wartime.

Not that Complicated.

Good riddance, Nick and Norm. In what alcoholics commonly refer to as a “moment of clarity,” the ONDCP thankfully gives up on their controversial and often misleading drugs-and-terror ad campaign. Perhaps the admin’s drug warriors have figured out what Dubya can’t seem to recognize – some arguments have to be made without resort to 9-11. Or perhaps the ad gurus finally figured out the simple error in their twisted logic: No prohibition, no inflated drug profits. Not that complicated. Update: Medley offers a concise summary of recent developments – Instead of reducing ineffective spending, [ONDCP] is eliminating the research that shows its spending is ineffective. Brilliant.

Next Stop, Moynihan Station.

As Senator Moynihan is laid to rest in Arlington Cemetery, New Yorkers devise a fitting tribute for their fallen statesman: Moynihan Station, to be completed on the site of the Post Office atop Penn Station by 2008. Update: Here’s some computer generated mock-ups of the future station, by way of Do You Feel Loved? (Thanks for the kind words, by the way.)

Whisker in the Jar.

Enjoyed a new experience today – my first beard trim at the barber’s. At this point, the whole beard experiment is at a strange stage. I’m not sure if I really like the look (Despite the grad student thing, I just don’t feel like a beard guy), but, like a long relationship gone to seed, I’ve got so much invested at this point that I might as well keep it going. Besides, I do in fact look closer to my age now, which was part of the point, and I have gotten some very enthusiastic compliments from some corners – it’s like I now appeal to a completely different female demographic (although some cats now hate me.) At any rate I suppose I’ll keep it up at least until the warm weather sets in – and given that it’s currently snowing outside, that could be longer than it seems.