|
|
11.3.2001 1:33 PM I'll use the cliche "politics makes strange bedfellows," because it fits in this case over the Republican energy bill in the Senate. The bill would allow oil drilling in Alaska's ANWR. The Teamsters are pushing very hard for the bill and think they have enough votes to stop a filibuster. That means they have enough Democratic votes to stop a filibuster. Teamsters and Republicans fighting side by side to boost oil production: a pleasant surprise. Most of the Teamsters support comes from the belief that the energy bill will create jobs that may boost Teamsters' ranks. But you can be sure some of the support is because the Democrats have treated the Teamsters so shabbily in the past. When Bill Clinton ran the party, they backed Ron Carey over current Teamsters' President James Hoffa. Democrats even helped funnel illegal campaign contributions for Carey's re-election. There's bad blood here. President Bush is also practicing good politics to bring the Teamsters' and his interests more in line. Pushing for tougher steel import restrictions made him more sympathetic with organized labor. There is also the fact that war brings groups together in ways that peace can't. If Bush plays this right, he could get the fast-track trade negotiation authority he want's and should get. "GOP Energy Bill Close to Busting Filibuster" Sean Hackbarth | 1:17 PM Although we may be unprepared for a contagious bio attack (think smallpox), John Pike of Globalsecurity.org remains more afraid of conventional attacks. "Americans Unprepared for 'Dark Winter'" Sean Hackbarth | 11.2.2001 11:38 PM Domestic terrorists strike (and I don't mean anthrax). "Federal Horse Corral Firebombed" [via InstaPundit] Sean Hackbarth | 10:38 PM In Thomas Madden's words, the Crusades were "in every way a defensive war." The Muslims won the Crusades and almost conquered Europe in the process. The reason the term "crusade" is such a pejorative is that they're looked at through a modern instead of a medieval prism. "Crusade Propaganda" Sean Hackbarth | 10:11 PM "The enemy won't rest during Ramadan and neither will we." Case closed. "Bush: Strikes won't stop for Ramadan" Sean Hackbarth | 11.1.2001 5:08 PM Jonathan Franzen: literary snob. The man is given the opportunity to show thousands of people his art by being picked for Oprah's book club. Is Franzen grateful? No, he starts complaining that Oprah's logo on the book cover somehow takes away from his work. Franzen is just too good for Oprah and her millions of fans. Being picked for the world's most popular reading list somehow takes away from "the high-art literary tradition." Franzen just doesn't appreciate the gift he's been given. It would be more understandable if Oprah's selection forced him to change parts of his book, but that's not the case. As Jonathan Yardley puts it, Franzen just shows how "snotty, self-absorbed and self-righteous" some writers can be. "The Story of O" Sean Hackbarth | 4:50 PM Radio shock jock, Erich "Mancow" Muller, wants to run for Illinois lieutenant governor. This just may be his verison of Howard Stern's NY governor run. Mancow is a self-described "conservative, Bible-thumping radical who curses." Obnoxious and juvenille, yes. But political material? Why not? Minnesota has a bald, populist ex-wrestler. A good thing about Mancow is that he's for limited government and isn't afraid to say so. "Chicago Conservative Shock-Jock Plans Political Run" Sean Hackbarth | 4:41 PM Scott Cunningham makes me laugh out loud with his take on independent book stores [DISCLAIMER: I work for one of the "evil" chains.]:
Sean Hackbarth | 4:21 PM Bill Kristol wants a new war strategy. It's only been seven weeks since the 9.11 attacks. No one said this would be a quick war. The Gulf War took months of preparation and weeks of airstrikes before ground troops moved in, yet Kristol wasn't complaining (publically) about the poor strategy President Bush I was using. With his tone, I'm pretty sure he would have been livid over FDR's "dawdling" in the months after Pearl Harbor. "The Wrong Strategy" Sean Hackbarth | 10.31.2001 4:15 AM Glenn Reynolds also wonders how George Tenet still has a job. Sean Hackbarth | 1:33 AM If Judge Judy just won't cut it for you, and Matlock is busy saving someone's ass, there's always The Law Office of Michael Alex Wasylik. Sean Hackbarth | 10.30.2001 11:57 PM Gibson was a college star at Wisconsin. If he could stay physically fit, he would be a steal off the waiver wires. Hey, Packers, are you listening? "Lions: Cut Aaron Gibson" Sean Hackbarth | 11:53 PM Anytime I have the chance, I travel on Midwest Express. They have comfy planes, and they have the best airline food (which may not say a lot). "Midwest Express Named No. 1 U.S. Airline" Sean Hackbarth | 10.29.2001 12:55 AM Wonder why the press is giving the Bush administration a hard time over the anthrax attacks? It's not because victory in Afghanistan isn't coming as quickly as all-news cable channels would like. (I'm sure MSNBC's Ashleigh Banfield would just love to get her sexy spectacles in front of a bombed Kabul background.) No, it's because the media were targets of the bio-attack. Remember, NBC, CBS, ABC, and the NY Post have all been hit with infections. Questions about officals "bumbling" became the story only after anthrax was found in a facility where White House mail is processed. The press corps freaked out during the press conference when Ari Fleischer released the news. He was bombarded with question after question to find out if it was a possiblity that anthrax got into the White House (and presumbably infected reporters). Then President Bush was questioned if he was tested for anthrax. Bush said he didn't have the bacteria--we must presume he was tested for him to say so. The press is understandably scared that they could be the next to get infected, but that's no reason to go berserk on the government. Yes, officals could have tested more people sooner, but that wouldn't guarantee that fewer people would be dead. Finally, let us remember that the mail is safe, and the attacks are localized in three areas (NYC, D.C., and Tampa, FL). If the press wants to blame the feds, the should also be honest in giving them some credit for minimizing some of the effects from this attack. "For Every Cool Head, a Thousand Overheated Mouths" Sean Hackbarth | 12:20 AM If Daniel Bloch is right when he writes, "America must know that the alternatives to Sharon are not Peres, Beilin, or Barak, but Binyamin Netanyahu," then Israel will not back down in its struggle with Palestinian violence no matter how the U.S.'s war on terrorism is going. "It Isn't Our Fault" [via Reductio] Sean Hackbarth | |
ABOUT When I'm not pondering the fate of the universe, I'm reading, writing, or selling books. Here you'll find comments on politics, culture, books, and music. Not necessarily in that order. MAILBOX sean--at--theamericanmind.com  Support democracy and human rights in Iraq! 
My Bloginality is INTP!!! WEBRINGS « LibertyLoggers » < ? wiscoblogs # > WEBLOGS WIRES AP International AP National AP Politics AP Sports UPI COLUMNISTS Buckley Goldberg Kudlow Novak Horowitz Noonan Reynolds Sowell Will NEWSPAPERS Ha'aretz LA Times Milwaukee Journal Sentinel NY Times Washington Post Washington Times MAGAZINES The American Prowler The Atlantic City Journal Commentary Enter Stage Right First Things FrontPage IntellectualConservative.com In the National Interest National Review New York Times Magazine Opinion Journal Reason Spintech The Weekly Standard NEWS 1stHeadlines ABCNews BBC CNN Cybercast News Service Drudge FoxNews MEMRI MSNBC BOOKS All Consuming The New Republic New York Times Town Hall Book Club Washington Post Weblog BookWatch TECH News.com Wired News HUMOR Mallard Fillmore The Onion ARCHIVE 
Comments by: YACCS template by HELQUIN
|