War Reasons

Guess who said this:

Iraq repeatedly made false declarations about the weapons that it had left in its possession after the Gulf War. When UNSCOM would then uncover evidence that gave the lie to those declarations, Iraq would simply amend the reports. For example, Iraq revised its nuclear declarations four times within just 14 months, and it has submitted six different biological warfare declarations, each of which has been rejected by UNSCOM.
In 1995 Hussein Kamal, Saddam's son-in-law and the chief organizer of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction program, defected to Jordan. He revealed that Iraq was continuing to conceal weapons and missiles and the capacity to build many more. Then and only then did Iraq admit to developing numbers of weapons in significant quantities--and weapons stocks. Previously it had vehemently denied the very thing it just simply admitted once Saddam's son-in-law defected to Jordan and told the truth.

Now listen to this: What did it admit? It admitted, among other things, an offensive biological warfare capability, notably, 5,000 gallons of botulinum, which causes botulism; 2,000 gallons of anthrax; 25 biological-filled Scud warheads; and 157 aerial bombs. And I might say UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq has actually greatly understated its production. . . .

Next, throughout this entire process, Iraqi agents have undermined and undercut UNSCOM. They've harassed the inspectors, lied to them, disabled monitoring cameras, literally spirited evidence out of the back doors of suspect facilities as inspectors walked through the front door, and our people were there observing it and had the pictures to prove it. . . .

Over the past few months, as [the weapons inspectors] have come closer and closer to rooting out Iraq's remaining nuclear capacity, Saddam has undertaken yet another gambit to thwart their ambitions by imposing debilitating conditions on the inspectors and declaring key sites which have still not been inspected off limits, including, I might add, one palace in Baghdad more than 2,600 acres large. . . .

One of these presidential sites is about the size of Washington, D.C. . . .

It is obvious that there is an attempt here, based on the whole history of this operation since 1991, to protect whatever remains of his capacity to produce weapons of mass destruction, the missiles to deliver them, and the feed stocks necessary to produce them. The UNSCOM inspectors believe that Iraq still has stockpiles of chemical and biological munitions, a small force of Scud-type missiles, and the capacity to restart quickly its production program and build many, many more weapons. . . .

Now, let's imagine the future. What if he fails to comply and we fail to act, or we take some ambiguous third route, which gives him yet more opportunities to develop this program of weapons of mass destruction and continue to press for the release of the sanctions and continue to ignore the solemn commitments that he made? Well, he will conclude that the international community has lost its will. He will then conclude that he can go right on and do more to rebuild an arsenal of devastating destruction.

And some day, some way, I guarantee you he'll use the arsenal. . . . In the next century, the community of nations may see more and more of the very kind of threat Iraq poses now--a rogue state with weapons of mass destruction, ready to use them or provide them to terrorists, drug traffickers, or organized criminals who travel the world among us unnoticed.

If we fail to respond today, Saddam, and all those who would follow in his footsteps, will be emboldened tomorrow by the knowledge that they can act with impunity, even in the face of a clear message from the United Nations Security Council, and clear evidence of a weapons of mass destruction program.

The Weekly Standard then once again makes THE case for war in Iraq:

We have retold this long story for one simple reason: This is why George W. Bush and Tony Blair and Jose Maria Aznar led their governments and a host of others to war to remove the Saddam Hussein regime in March 2003. It was not, in the first instance, to democratize the Middle East, although we have always believed and still believe that the building of a democratic Iraq, if the United States succeeds in doing so, will have a positive impact on the Arab world. It was not to increase the chances of an Arab-Israeli peace, although we still believe that the removal of a dangerous radical tyrant like Saddam Hussein may make that difficult task somewhat easier. It was not because we believed Saddam Hussein had ordered the September 11 attack, although we believe the links between Saddam and al Qaeda are becoming clearer every day (see Stephen F. Hayes's article on page 33 of this issue). Nor did the United States and its allies go to war because we believed that some quantity of "yellowcake" was making its way from Niger to Iraq, or that Saddam was minutes away from launching a nuclear weapon against Chicago. We never believed the threat from Saddam was "imminent" in that sense.

The reason for war, in the first instance, was always the strategic threat posed by Saddam because of his proven record of aggression and barbarity, his admitted possession of weapons of mass destruction, and the certain knowledge of his programs to build more. It was the threat he posed to his region, to our allies, and to core U.S. interests that justified going to war this past spring, just as it also would have justified a Clinton administration decision to go to war in 1998. It was why Bill Clinton, Madeleine Albright, William Cohen, and many other top officials had concluded in the late 1990s that Saddam Hussein was an intolerable menace to his neighbors, to American allies, and ultimately to the United States itself, and therefore had eventually to be removed. It was also why a large number of Democrats, including John Kerry and General Wesley Clark, expressed support for the war last year, before Howard Dean and his roaring left wing of the Democratic party made support for "Bush's war" untenable for Democratic candidates.

"Why We Went to War"

Carnival of the Capitalists

The first ever edition of the Carnival of the Capitalists is now at Business Pundit. If you want to read business, finance, and economics posts the CotC is your thing.

Carnival of the Capitalists

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 02:23 AM | Comments (0)

The Second Superpower Scares Me

I'm finally getting my post-BloggerCon thoughts written down, but it's still a ways away from completion. To let you know what I'm contemplating I'll link to Jim Moore's essay on how the Internet is the catalyst for the creation of a movement the rivals the U.S. But it could threaten liberty. Listening to Moore at BloggerCon [webcast is here] gave me an eery feeling that I was listening to a 21th Century Robespierre. After reading his essay, my fear has only been strengthened. Moore is calling for his "Second Superpower" to transend the nation-state. This reeks of transnational progressivism.

"The Second Superpower Rears its Beautiful Head"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 02:16 AM | Comments (0)

October 12, 2003

Fans Rail on Linebacker

Ohio State fans are ticked at linebacker Robert Reynolds for what appeared to be a choke hold on Badgers QB Jim Sorgi. On a Buckeye's fan board, on person wrote:

I'm terribly ashamed to be a Buckeye fan today. Not for the loss so much as for the actions of Robert Reynolds. Had we won, it would have been scarred and shameful. To beat them by choking their quarterback . . . no.

If I'm Tressel and I see what happened after reviewing the films, I'd bench him for several games, if not the entire season. Hell, maybe he deserves a few nights in jail.

"Buckeyes' Fans Pile on Linebacker"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 10:19 PM | Comments (0)

A Beating in Beantown

I don't remember a sports rivarly this nasty since that Packer defensive lineman Charles Martin grabbed the Chicago Bears' QB Jim McMahon and slammed him into the turf.

"Book Details Bears-Packers Rivalry"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 02:01 AM | Comments (0)

Badgers Win!

Despite a cheap shot (or choke) by a Buckeye defender, the Wisconsin Badgers pull off the program's biggest win since the 2000 Rose Bowl. After Badger QB Jim Sorgi left the game with an injured throat, Ohio State figured Wisconsin wouldn't use the pass with second-stringer Matt Schabert running the show. But Schabert showed everyone he had nerves of steel by running for important first downs and completing a beautiful throw to wide receiver Lee Evans in the fourth quarter to regain the lead.

Now, everybody sing along: "On Wisconsin! On Wisconsin!..."

Or we could dance if the badger song site was up.

"Singing in the Showers"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 01:11 AM | Comments (1)

October 11, 2003

Revolutionary Thoughts

Jeff Jarvis is having a good post-BloggerCon conversation with Jay Rosen. Rosen came away with a similar feeling that I did:

Well, I would be cautious about proclaiming any revolution. That was the one thing in the Harvard conference I found unwise and unnecessary. The weblog is an exciting form, the Internet holds many marvels, and the more I think about it, the more different the emerging pattern seems — compared to what we’re used to with The Media. But it’s a big leap from, “wow, this is way different” to “the revolution is upon us.”

I promise in a day or two I'll post something on my BloggerCon experience. I will touch on the same revolutionary feeling Rosen talks about as well as why I was the token conservative there.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:00 AM | Comments (3)

Chaplain Charged

Capt. James Yee has been charged with two counts of failing to obey a lawful order. He hasn't been charged with espionage even though he was found in possession of classified materials. In the same AP story it mentions that a translator who worked at Guantanamo, Senior Airman Ahmed I. al-Halabi, is accused of gathering information to send to Syria. Yee studied Islam in Syria. Coincidence? It looks like Syria has connections with prisoners at Guantanamo (including al-Qaeda?), or else why would they bother running a spy ring?

"Army Charges Chaplain at Guantanamo Bay"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 12:56 AM | Comments (1)

October 10, 2003

Clarke at Bush Fundraiser

Milwaukee County Sheriff and Milwaukee city mayoral candidate David Clarke was at a President Bush fundraiser last week. In last year's sheriff's race, Clarke ran as a Democrat. This appearance as well as his many conversations on local talk radio reinforce the impression that he is a Republican.

"That Old Milwaukee Feeling for Bush May Be Waning"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 03:18 AM | Comments (0)

Krispy Kreme Invades England

My how marketing is different when an American sweet goes British. Krispy Kreme opened its first store in England at Harrod's. In the U.S. one of these golden glazed goodies (the crack cocaine of junk food) goes for about $0.75 cents. Across the pond, the tactic is to make these donuts into a Starbucks-type gourmet item with an upscale price. Each donut there sells for $1.49.

"Krispy Kreme Tempts British Sweet Tooth"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 02:53 AM | Comments (0)

Bo Black is Finished

Bo Black's almost 20-year reign running Summerfest is over. She stepped down three months before her contract expires. Entertainment director Bob Babisch takes her place until a permanent replacement is found.

"Summerfest's Black Steps Down Before Contract Expires"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Music at 02:30 AM | Comments (1)

Arnold's Win Isn't Revolutionary

Greg Easterbrook backs me up that Arnold's victory doesn't change the political make-up of California or the country:

In the last generation California has swung from super-liberal to ultra-conservative to establishment Republican to supposed Democratic permanent lock (political analysts were saying this just one year ago!) to, now, the first cybernetic governor--who does not represent any vast, sweeping shift either. He represents only what he is: a popular guy who won a gimmicky event at a time voters were ticked off. Remember how recently Jesse Ventura was supposed to totally, utterly transform state politics?

In most of what political commentators pronounce as earth-shaking astonishing mega-enormous transformations, the marginal difference between candidates is a few percentage points. Schwarzenegger won with 54 percent (on the recall, the essence of the vote), meaning less than a five percent shift in sentiment among those who voted--about 335,000 people changing their minds, in a state with 15.3 million registered voters--would have caused the recall to be seen as a huge, vast, sweeping reaffirmation of the Democratic Party.

It's like the scare that came from Le Pen's second place win in France's Presidential primary last year. He only got 17% of the vote, was later crushed by Jaques Chirac in the general election, and people freaked out. Such bad instant analysis may be ok to fill up some spare time, but it's valueless compared to perspective.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 02:10 AM | Comments (2)

New Politics on the Left Coast

This writer isn't the type to declare the political tides have shifted after on election, and one strange one at that. Unlike Roger Simon, I won't say the two-party system is receding. But Joel Kotkin's demographic analysis of the California recall hints at a new California politics. If true, expect the two parties to adjust their messages and approach new constituencies. Don't expect one or both of them to dry up and blow away.

"Baseless"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 01:57 AM | Comments (0)

Rush Drug Update

A reporter from the National Enquirer (I know, oxymoron.) was on a talk radio show in L.A. adding to the Rush Limbaugh drug story. Mike Walker, the reporter, said Rush was taking up to 30 OxyCotin a day, and that may have caused his deafness. Boston yapper Howie Carr put it bluntly last week when he said Rush is a junkie. People who hate Rush are salivating and can't get the word "hypocrite" out of their mouths fast enough. We should extend compassion to him even if he didn't extend it toward others. Rush fans (like myself) have to hope the police do a thorough investigation, and the prosecutors don't treat him more harshly just because he's a celebrity.

"Limbaugh News"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 01:33 AM | Comments (0)

Battle of the Weblogs

John Cole covers a magazine weblog spat where Tapped's Richard Just calls a private school's ad in National Review racist. Jonah Goldberg responds.

Maybe Tapped writers should go back to posting anonymously.

"The Corner V. Tapped"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 01:14 AM | Comments (0)

October 09, 2003

Neil Postman R.I.P.

Media critic Neil Postman died last Sunday. For a medium so in tune with the workings of media, I would have expected to have known about this sooner. My exposure to Postman was Technopoly. It was a good criticism of the need to use new technology for its own sake instead of trying to fit it into a full human life. Jay Rosen, a BloggerCon attendee, was a student of Postman and has posted some thoughts.

Godspeed, Neil.

"Neil Postman (1931-2003): Some Recollections"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Books at 02:28 PM | Comments (0)

E-Mail Troubles

One way to cut down on e-mail (solicited and unsolicited) is to have your e-mail alias shut down. Anyone who's been trying to send e-mail to shackbar--at--free-market(dot)net probably has had it bounce back. Free-market.net has come under some money troubles and has rolled out a new encrypted e-mail service. After briefly looking at the specs I don't know if it provides a basic alias. So, until further notice, send any e-mail to sean--at--theamericanmind(dot)com or shackbar--at--yahoo(dot)com.

[UPDATE: I went through my member settings at Free-market.net and again activated my alias. I don't know if that will work. If it does, FMN will be getting a nice donation. If not, then I'll be up late tonight switching over a lot of e-mail lists.]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 01:51 PM | Comments (0)

The Immigrant Contribution

One thing we can take away from Arnold Schwarzenegger's victory is how America has been richly blessed by the contributions of immigrants. It's cliche to say the U.S. is an immigrant nation, but that doesn't make it any less true. Think about it: it takes tremendous courage to give up the place of your birth, travel thousands of miles, and start a new life in a new world. Millions have done it because the promise of America was so appealing. We see in immigrants' lives hope, promise, fear, and frustration. It's human evolution within a lifetime.

You can get a glimpse of the immigrants' experience from Madhu's post on remembering an Indian broadsheet.

"Diasporama"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 03:32 AM | Comments (1)

Dems Think Arnold's an Empty Suit

If Schwarzenegger is to fix California government's problems he's going to need the help of a Democratic-controlled legislature. From State Senator Sheila Kuehl's comments that doesn't look promising. The Dems don't respect the governor-elect at all:

He will be received civilly. We have received everyone civilly. I don’t know if everybody is going to go to the State of the State (speech). Because frankly I don’t think there is going to be a lot of content that anyone’s interested in. What’s this guy got to say to us about the state of the state? Nothing.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 03:16 AM | Comments (0)

More on the Myth

Cold Spring Shops responded to my post on the 50% divorce rate myth. That got me to dig out my copy of Thomas Sowell's The Vision of the Annointed where I first encountered the myth's refutation.

In a given year, the number of divorces may well be half as large as the number of marriages that year, but this is comparing apples and oranges. The marriages being counted are only those marriages taking place within the given year, while the divorces that year are from marriages that took place over a period of decades. To say that half of all marriages end in diveroce, based on such statistics, would be like saying that half the population died last year if deaths were half as large as births. Just as most people were neither born nor died last year, so most marriages did not begin or end last year.

Sowell then uses some actual (though now dated) data to find out what portion of the population has been divorced:

According to census data for 1992, 11 percent of all adults who had ever been married were currently in the status of divorced persons. If 50 percent overstates the divorce rate, 11 percent does not include people who had been divorced but were now remarried, or those who were never married. However, these census statistics are relevant to the claim that traditional marriages are disappearing, for remarriages are still marriages. Married couples outnumbered unmarried couples by about 54 million to 3 million. (p. 59)

I still wonder if there is a longitudinal study going on where we can have some idea of what percentage of marriages in a given timeframe end in divorce.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 03:06 AM | Comments (0)

Nobel Prize in Economics

Two statistical whiz-bangs won the Nobel in economics. I am not a statistical whiz-bang so I will withhold judgement.

"Press Release: The Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel 2003" [via Steve Verdon]

UPDATE: Tyler Cowen has some links on the winners' work. He writes, "Very good picks, economists use their contributions all the time, note that their work is of less interest to the general public than is usually the case." Quite the understatement. [via The Knowledge Problem]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 02:19 AM | Comments (0)

Kimball on Intellectuals

Bernard Chapin has a lively review of Roger Kimball's Lives of the Mind. In the review, Chapin quotes Kimball's definition of conservatism from a National Review article:

What, after all, is a conservative? He is someone who acknowledges the fragility of civilization, who seeks to conserve the manners and morals, the habits and prejudices that have enlivened society, preserved liberty, and opposed tyranny.

"Book Review: Lives of the Mind"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Books at 01:57 AM | Comments (0)

I'm Blushing

Here's a compliment from Fire of The Chapin Nation:

Sophisticated endeavor to be sure. I think you'll like it. This guy has done a good job. We could learn from him.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:37 AM | Comments (0)

October 08, 2003

Go to Carnival

Carnival of the Vanities #55 is available for your reading and linking pleasure. [via OTB]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 02:22 PM | Comments (0)

FBI Looking for Illegal Jordanians

Here's a blockbuster story from Milwaukee. An Arab businessman who used to run Arabian Fest (now called Arab World Fest) has been charged with illegally obtaining visas for Jordanians. Out of twelve people who remain in the U.S. because of the visas 5 live in the Milwaukee area, but 7 are missing. Mhammad Abu-Shawish used his position as Arabian Fest president and executive director to send official letters to Jordanians who took them to the U.S. Embassy to get visas. But the letter recipients came to the U.S. after Arabian Fest was held (usually in early September). FBI informants heard Abu-Shawish obtained sums as high as $10,000 for the letters.

Along with the fraudulent visa scam, Abu-Shawish is also accused of misusing a $75,000 federal block grant. He's accused Milwaukee alderman Robert Donovan of knowing about this scam. That makes Donovan the fourth alderman that we know who has been investigated by federal investigators in the last 1 1/2 years.

"Ex-Arab Fest Head Charged in Jordanians' Illegal Entry to U.S."

"As Allegations Unfold, Alderman Finds Himself Mired in FBI Investigation"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 01:40 PM | Comments (0)

Flame On!

The newest Bonfire of the Vanities is up. This week, Kevin has added a twist. Readers can vote on the post that should be recalled.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 04:42 AM | Comments (0)

How Clarke Can Win

Charlie Sykes looks at how Milwaukee could elect conservative David Clarke as the city's first black mayor.

"White Voters, Black Candidates"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 03:40 AM | Comments (0)

Getting Freaky

My latest Freaks of the Week column is up on SportsBlog.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 03:26 AM | Comments (0)

Weblog Politics

Oliver Willis on candidate weblogs:

If you expect the candidates to be blogging, you need to get out more. Especially for Bush, quite frankly if the leader of the free world is spending his time blogging in front of the fricking computer I'll introduce the articles of impeachment myself.

I'd help Oliver make it a bi-partisan issue if said President didn't add TAM to his blogroll.

"Candidate Blogging"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 12:38 AM | Comments (0)

Hasta La Vista Davis

After Arnold ever gets around to speaking, I'll be popping the only movie political watchers should be watching, Total Recall.

"Davis Loses; Schwarzenegger Wins"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 12:32 AM | Comments (0)

October 07, 2003

NFL Joke Voting

Here's a reason why fans shouldn't vote for NFL rookie of the week. Jacksonville's QB Byron Leftwich threw for 336 yards and 2 touchdowns. That's a great performance even for a seasoned veteran. Yet he's down in the voting because hoards of Packers fans (including me) have stuffed the ballot for linebacker Nick Barnett. He had 12 tackles and one sack, but even I think Leftwich had a better week.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 10:34 PM | Comments (0)

GW's Campaign Weblog

At BloggerCon there was a session on Presidential campaign weblogs. All the panelists were Democrats because Bush-Cheney 2004 didn't have one. I even mentioned that I was dissappointed so far with Bush-Cheney's Internet efforts. That's surprising since Patrick Ruffini, the campaign's webmaster, used the weblog medium to great effect.

But I spoke too soon Saturday. In my inbox was a link to the campaign's new weblog. For a new weblog it's not bad. I'm happy to know that it isn't being used to repackage press releases. There's only one post on a campaign event. The rest are links to news stories and opinion pieces the support the Bush-Cheney agenda. The weblog doesn't accept comments. It might not be that the campaign doesn't care about supporters' feedback so much as they've seen the Duck weblog and don't know how to handle a conversation that large. (At BC, the chief weblogger for the Duck said they were getting 2000 comments a day.) So it's being used as another way to get their message out (there is even a RSS feed!) instead of as a community organizer.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 08:37 PM | Comments (2)

The "Half of All Marriages End in Divorce" Myth

Blog of the Moderate Left continues the myth that 50% of all marriages end in divorce. This claim comes from a superficial glance at some data. According to the National Center for Health Statistics via The World Almanac in 2001, there were 8.4 marriages per 1000 population. There were 4.0 divorces per 1000 population. All that tells us is that in sheer numbers there were about twice as many marriages in 2001 than divorces. That doesn't tell us that half of all marriages formed in 2001 will end in divorce. Simple data like this doesn't allow us to make a conclusion either way. To do that we'd need to track a large sample of marriages.

"Jesse Layeth the Smack Down"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 08:11 PM | Comments (2)

Global Flash Mob

They don't have any cultural and/or political significance but it's interesting watching this phenomenon just to see the birth, growth, and quick death of a fad. The high point for FMs might be 10.25. That's when there will be a Global Flash Mob. So, if you stumble upon a group of people flailing away like they're at a Grateful Dead concert but without the music. They might not be high on illegal drugs just flash mob kool-aid.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Culture at 07:43 PM | Comments (1)

Gehry's Real Innovation

Frank Gehry's may be horrendous from an artistic perspective, but his company has made some innovations in how buildings get built. Gehry' encourages close contact with the builders before construction takes place. He said in a BusinessWeek article linked by Virginia Postrel,

We spend a lot more time with the subcontractors so when we get to the final drawings, we solve most of the technical problems. You know where you are going before you start construction, so you minimize the surprise from the owner's standpoint. You get all the bad news up front.

"Aesthetics is the Killer App"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 06:53 PM | Comments (0)

New Republican Party

Daniel Weintraub posted a picture of Arnold Schwarzenegger and Dee Snider at an Arnold rally. He entitled the post, "The New Republican Party?" On a certain level it is. Arnold, Snider (or even Ted Nugent) aren't your stereotypical, staid Republican. Personally, I don't subscribe to the cliche GOP look. This picture is not what comes into your mind when you think of a conservative Republican. [Yes, I did the Hot or Not thing. That dirty laundry is now out in the open.] Back in college there were a few years where I, at most, got two haircuts in a year. (Eye, can you confirm that?) So with the long hair and the goatee I called myself the Human Hairball. Thankfully, there are no pictures of those years floating around the Net, but with this mention that will change. At College Republican state conventions (college politicos' excuse to satisfy their politics addictions while getting drunk at the same time) I took it as a badge of honor to be one of the few CRs with an earring. I thought (and still think) that too many members of the party are too straight-laced. Of the two major parties, the GOP is the freedom party. Even in the last decade I've noticed a greater live and let live tolerance from party folk.

Unlike the Democrats, we openly discuss the abortion issue at meetings. The GOP is more accepting of heterodox opinions. In my case, I oppose the death penalty and tried to remove pro-death penalty resolutions from CR platforms. (Again, the Eye can confirm.) I was a distinct minority, yet tolerated. So from the standpoint of issues, the GOP is accomdating. Yet when it comes to personal appearance they take the subdued approach.

If the allegations against Schwarzenegger that he's a serial groper are true, do Republicans want that in a party leader? Is the New GOP such a big tent that even sexual assaulters have a place at the table? (Boy, would Sen. Bob Packwood be mad. He was a few years too early.) It's not good for the GOP to accept that attitude of a California Republican woman who said, "In the '70s, if I wasn't groped, I was offended!" It sure looks hypocritical to accept Arnold's wandering hands while condeming President Clinton's "unique" use of a cigar.

On this I'm in agreement with Tom McClintock. If it's true Arnold did violate the rights of women as recently as 2000, then he has no business as California governor. He can still be a Republican and work to get Republicans elected, but the GOP has no use for a person who habitually ignores the equal freedom of others.

"The New Republican Party?"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 03:50 AM | Comments (3)

Weblogs: The Next TheGlobe.com

Home sweet home. You'd think that sitting around for a few hours wouldn't drain you, but that's what travel does. At least I flew Midwest which has two-across seating so you aren't forced to know what perfume your neighbor is wearing. Midwest's baked-on-the-plane chocolate chip cookies are a plus too.

I unwound tonight with the Boston-A's game and the Indianapolis Colts' amazing comeback. But you don't read TAM to get the highlights of my day (or maybe you do). I know you guys are waiting with baited breath for my take on BloggerCon 2003. Don't fret, it's coming. I'll post some pictures I took too. Dan Bricklin was going photo-crazy at BC and caught Glenn Reynolds, Esther Dyson, and me in one. I have pictures with each individually. Lucky me!

To give you a taste of what thoughts are floating in my head, here's Oliver Willis' take on BC participants' wild-eyed view of weblogs:

Blogs are transformative tools, they're doing amazing things and they are enabling wonderful advances. On a personal level, if it weren't for blogs I wouldn't have improved as a writer (debatable, I guess) and there is certainly no way little old me would have made it on the front page of the Boston Globe. That's great for me on a personal level, but it ain't changing the world.

So as blogs increase in stature and importance - and they will - we must also maintain a sense of proportion about the whole thing. For every Meetup enabled via the web and blogging, we should also take note of the racial and sexual skew of the people attending and think: how can I use my blog to fix this, because its a problem. We "have the power" to do these things, but if we buy into our own hype too early we run the risk of becoming the next bit of web roadkill.

I want to let it be known that one of the highlights of BC for me was meeting Oliver. He and I disagree politically, but he's smart, can write, and knows his football.

"Deflating The Blog Bubble"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:51 AM | Comments (0)

October 06, 2003

Odds and Ends

I'm still in an undisclosed location in the heart of the People's Republic of Cambridge. BloggerCon continued today with a number of different discussions and the event was opened up to more people. From meeting so many interesting people, hearing lots of provocative opinions, and coming away with some observations it will take me a little while to process it all. One quick observation is that I felt like the token Bush backer there. Sure, Glenn Reynolds, Eugene Volokh, and Jeff Jarvis (pro-war liberal) were there, but the place was filled with Duck devotees and Bush-bashers.

BC was a great way to spend my birthday (Saturday, 10.04). Now, I'll get to go home and celebrate with my family. My fun just won't stop.

---

The first Milwaukee flash mob took place on Wednesday. Doing a quick Google news search found zero media coverage so I'll reprint the discription of the mob from the Brew City Mob Yahoo Group:

The first (is it the first?) MFM was a success. Today at exactly 5:30, a crowd of approximately 40 people converged on the Starbucks at Farwell and Brady. We'd been instructed to act like tourists, calling our friends and telling them we were "in Milwaukee, at Starbucks!" We'd been instructed to act surprised about there being a Starbucks in Milwaukee.

The crowd just fit the place, and completely filled it. The barristas were bewildered.

Everyone left promptly at 5:35, as instructed.

So, the experiment seemed to work! I think we can do better, though; and we will. Stay tuned!

Surprisingly (and thankfully) I didn't hear any mention of flash mobs at BC. To me, these little vignettes of cyberspace-meatspace community are a flash in the pan (pun intended) and only a fad.

UPDATE: Saturday night, I chatted with Kevin. He turned the conversation into a good post as to how I felt a little like a part of a circus freak show.

"BloggerCon (Job) Day 1 Update"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:40 AM | Comments (1)

October 05, 2003

A Reason to Vote

Here's why Tobacco Road Fogey (thanks for the link) will vote:

I intend to make the leftists dig up at least one more homeless person to bribe and drive back and forth to the polls. The FogeyWife feels the same way, so that doubles the cost to the Democrats to cancel our votes.

Since the marginal value of a vote is close to zero, less economicaly rational reasons are needed. Making the opposition work that much harder sounds good to me.

"The Letter of the Day is P..."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 11:50 PM | Comments (1)

Michele Knows Football

This post is one reason Michele's my favorite NY weblogger. If she weren't happily married I'd kiss her. Us weblogging Packers fans must stick together.

"On the Offensive"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 11:08 PM | Comments (4)

October 04, 2003

Dummy Corp Outed

I'll see about posting my thoughts from the first day of BloggerCon later. But because of the spotty Net connection in my hotel and me being beat from a stimulating day among webloggers I'll just make a brief comment about Valarie Plame's dummy company that got outed with her.

If she was under such secret cover why didn't she donate $1000 to AlGore in 1999? That left a trail for foreign governments and investigative reporters to find. This story is just too strange. It certainly wouldn't make for much of a spy novel.

"Leak of Agent's Name Causes Exposure of CIA Front Firm" [via Brad DeLong]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 10:56 PM | Comments (0)

October 02, 2003

Another Nuclear Power

North Korea admits it's been processing spent nuclear rods to make nukes. While the U.S. has been busy with the Islamist War, NK took advantage of a stretched-thin U.S. military and may win concessions at the bargaining table. I put much (not all) of the blame on President Bill Clinton. He was the one who made the deal that supposedly shut down the NK nuclear program. Clinton is also the one who allowed the military to atrophy enough so the U.S. can't fight two wars simultaneously. Way to go Bill. You left the country you swore to protect vulnerable.

"North Korea Using Plutonium for Bomb Production"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Foreign Affairs at 03:26 AM | Comments (6)

Rush Resigns

By pandering to the race pimps (and Democratic Presidential candidates) I won't be bothering to turn on ESPN's NFL pre-game for the rest of the year. I accepted them dropping Sterling Sharpe and bringing in Rush Limbaugh, but the network couldn't take the heat from a comment of his that wasn't racist but used the word "black."

My suspicion is that his resignation isn't because of Sunday's McNabb remark but a report of a drug problem broke by Drudge.

Plenty can and should be written, but I'm getting ready to go to Boston today for a vacation and BloggerCon. I'd like to say I'll have a computer with me, but my new toy still hasn't arrived in the mail. If it shows up today I'm having it FedEx-ed so I can have it for Day 1 of BloggerCon.

"Limbaugh Resigns from NFL Show"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 03:20 AM | Comments (2)

Just Plain Weird

It's great to love a football team, but to go so far as to create a musical with a strange title like Packer Fans From Outer Space is just too much.

"Tickets Available For Packers Musical At Meyer Theatre"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 03:08 AM | Comments (0)

October 01, 2003

CotC

Jay Solo and BusinessPundit are starting the Carnival of the Capitalists that will be loaded with good economics and business posts.

I haven't found any stock weblogs. It should be a natural for this medium: it's geeky, there's a ton of info to wade through and filter, and people are interested in investing. CotC should help me discover some of these type of weblogs.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 11:07 PM | Comments (0)

New Hampshire or Bust

The Free State Project has decided what state to take over for libertarianism.

Drum roll please...

And the winner is...

New Hampshire!

Granite state realtors can't wait for all the new business.

"Libertarians Pick N.H. for 'Free State'" [via Hit & Run]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 10:59 PM | Comments (1)

And He Can't Count

Julian Sanchez on my favorite Democratic Presidential candidate:

The header on the website of longshot candidate Sen. Bob Graham (D-Fla.) is now referring to him as "the original blogger," which is an interesting way to describe his longstanding OCD habit of cataloging his every bowel movement for posterity in small notebooks. Does that make loons who've wandered the streets for years talking to voices in the air "the original cell phone users"?

"The Original Nutbag"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 10:54 PM | Comments (0)

Carnival 54 Where are You?

This week's Carnival of the Vanities is available for your reading pleasure.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 07:25 PM | Comments (1)

Pipes on the Guantanamo Spies

Plame/Wilson has taken attention from a very important story: the Islamist spies arrested for spying on Guantanomo Bay. Daniel Pipes was on The O'Reilly Factor to talk about the three arrests. Here's the essence of Pipes' point:

My view is that terrorism is a tactic, not an enemy. Terrorism is what the enemy uses against us. We're not really defining the enemy when we talk about terrorism. We have to go a step further and talk about the enemy himself. And that is, I would say, those who support militant Islam. And that would apply to Khomeini, that would apply to Bin Laden, to al Qaeda...
...
Because if you don't acknowledge that it's militant Islam, then you can't go looking for it. You're just looking for terrorists. Nobody says that the chaplain or the translators were terrorists. They were not people lobbing grenades. Nonetheless, they, in their own capacity, may have been part of the militant Islamic infrastructure. We don't know for sure. It's alleged. But should those allegations be true, it could be that they are part of the infrastructure.

"The Guantánamo Arrests – What Do They Mean?"

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Pipes also names at six other Islamists who have used the U.S. military as a means to attack America. Most notable is John Allen Muhammad, one of the DC snipers.

"Pentagon Jihadis"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Terrorism at 06:40 PM | Comments (0)

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