[star]The American Mind[star]

November 30, 2005

Rummy's Word Games

Donald Rumsfeld is a great Secretary of Defense. Not perfect. But still great. His press conferences will go down as some of the most lively and forceful in D.C. history. Still, he gets goofy like when he refuses to call Iraqi insurgents "insurgents:"

"I've thought about it. And, over the weekend, I thought to myself, you know, that gives them a greater legitimacy than they seem to merit," Rumsfeld said.

Rumsfeld instead referred to the guerrillas in Iraq as "the terrorists" and "the enemies of the government." U.S. military statements also have referred to insurgents as "anti-Iraqi forces."

...

During the briefing, the top U.S. military officer, Marine Corps Gen. Peter Pace, slipped up twice and said "insurgent." With Rumsfeld standing at his side, Pace told reporters, "I have to use the word 'insurgent' because I can't think of a better word right now."

"'Enemies of the legitimate Iraqi government' -- how's that?" Rumsfeld told Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

Moments later, Pace again referred to "the insurgents," then told his boss, "Sorry, sir. I'm not trainable today."


Eloquent? No. Silly? Yes.

Rumfeld is also remembered for this wordy mess (which actually makes sense):

that say that something hasn't happened are always interesting to me, because as we know, there are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns — the ones we don't know we don't know.

"Don't Call It an '': Rumsfeld"

"News Briefing with Secretary of Defense and Gen. Peter Pace"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 01:16 PM | Comments (15)

JimK the High Podcaster

If you don't listen to the Starkcast, you should. If your a weblogger you must listen to JimK strung out on Ambien yammering about odd sexual proclivities as well as ripping on .

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 01:10 PM | Comments (0)

CotB Submissions

Leaning Blue will host this week's Carnival of the Badger. Get your posts in by 8 pm tonight.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 01:03 PM | Comments (0)

Police Shut Down Mobile Strip Club

What's with Tampa? A few weeks ago, Renee Thomas and Angela Keathley got busy in a Tampa bar bathroom. Now, last Sunday police shut down a mobile strip club outside Raymond James Stadium.

"Officers Bust Mobile At Bucs Game"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 01:41 AM | Comments (2)

Charlie's Show Prep #6

Here are some stories Charlie Sykes should talk about on his show today:


  • ticket prices will go up. Any effect on attendence will depend on what acts come. $15 is still a great value.
  • might be the wave of the future for business.
  • The , IL airport threw "Chicago" into its new name to draw passengers from the crowded O'Hare.
  • Liberal groups are having trouble getting solid support in stopping nomination.
  • Did Senate Minority Leader let out secret information about Osama bin Laden's demise? [via Betsy's Blog]
  • The Iranian president goes all Pat Robertson and thinks a light surrounded him when he spoke before the U.N. last September.
  • Sen. defends her Iraq War vote.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:57 AM | Comments (4)

November 29, 2005

A La Carte Cable

Instead of getting a set number of cable channels the FCC is about to urge cable companies to let consumers pick and choose what channels they want to pay for. Style, Nickelodeon, and Disney would immediately get the ax.

"Picking the Channel You Want" [via digg]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 10:50 PM | Comments (5)

It's Gorgeous

The first word to describe the Jordan Melo 5.5: Wow! It reminds me of the black Air Jordans I wore on the Hilbert High School basketball team. (Barely played though.) Nike's finally put out a basketball shoe that doesn't look like a boring hunk of leather. It looks great but not great enough for me to plunk down $125.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 10:37 PM | Comments (0)

"Cyber Monday" a Myth

I fell for online marketers' claims that the Monday after Thanksgiving is the big online shopping day:

So what's up with this Cyber Monday idea? A little bit of reality and a whole lot of savvy marketing. It turns out that Shop.org, an association for retailers that sell online, dreamed up the term just days before putting out a Nov. 21 press release touting Cyber Monday as "one of the biggest online shopping days of the year."

The idea was born when a few people at the organization were brainstorming about how to promote online shopping, says Shop.org Executive Director Scott Silverman, who answered his phone, "Happy Cyber Monday." They quickly discarded suggestions such as Black Monday (too much like Black Friday), Blue Monday (not very cheery), and Green Monday (too environmentalist), and settled on Cyber Monday. "It's not the biggest day," Silverman concedes. "But it was an opportunity to create some consumer excitement."

The genesis of the concept goes back even further. Shop.org member Shmuel Gniwisch, chief executive of the online jewelry site Ice.com, recalls getting an e-mail from Shop.org last year, suggesting that online retailers come up with their own marketing hook to match Black Friday. "The online guys got together and said, 'Let's give people something different,'" he says. "The reality is, we didn't notice anything special" on the Monday after Thanksgiving.


The biggest online shopping days are actually "around Dec. 5 and Dec. 15."

Bravo to Shop.org. There are some cleaver people there. Too bad for them I'll discount anything put out by them as pure spin. Like The Who "I won't be fooled again."

", Marketing Myth" [via digg]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 10:10 AM | Comments (13)

Return to Rivera Beach

In October, I wrote briefly about how city officials in Rivera Beach, FL want to kick out the lower and middle class residents to build high-end housing and marina. Today, the LA Times reports from the scene.

"An High Tide" [via California Yankee]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 10:05 AM | Comments (2)

Charlie's Show Prep #5

Here are some stories Charlie Sykes should talk about on his show today:


  • The Milwaukee drive is still $5.4 million short with only a few days to go. No surprise. With charity drives for tsunami and hurricane relief, many of us are tapped out. It also wouldn't hurt if the United Way would give to the Boy Scouts again.
  • A in Sheboygan? Sen. Joe Leibham is working on it. What would they do, launch bratwurst into space? And who knew there was a Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium that was the "Wisconsin arm of NASA?"
  • Virginia Governor and probable Presidential candidate sounds like a sane, reasonable Democrat for not wanting "an arbitrary deadline or specific date" to remove troops from Iraq. He went on to say, "This Democrat doesn't think we need to re-fight how we got into (the Iraq war). I think we need to focus more on how to finish it."
  • loss his Baseball Hall of Fame eligibility. has commentary.
  • Magazine publisher Mort Zuckerman has declared webloggers the "." That sounds better than "people in their pajamas."
  • may be preventing drugs administered via the posterior from entering the body. One problem: 50 people in a study doesn't mean much.

UPDATE: The erected on Capitol Hill will be called a "Christmas" tree, not a "holiday" tree. Charlie's listeners will defintely react to this.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 02:11 AM | Comments (4)

Carnival of the Capitalists

Plenty of good econ/biz reading at Gill Blog who hosts this week's Carnival of the Capitalists.

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

How Nice of Them

How beholden to labor unions is the Democratic Party? Very.

The Democratic National Committee plans to hold a meeting of about 400 people in New Orleans early next year as a way to express confidence in the city's future after Hurricane Katrina, officials said.
...
The group usually uses only union hotels but got a special dispensation from labor officials to book the downtown Sheraton, he said. Dean said the Sheraton was the only full-service hotel that was reserving rooms and could handle a convention that large.

Other than in government, have been dying yet they still control the Democratic Party.

"Democrats to Hold Meeting in "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 12:48 AM | Comments (4)

November 28, 2005

PJMer Goes Overboard

Tim Blair's announcement that he's leaving the Editorial Board was a surprise. I didn't expect that. He writes, "PM needs people who can devote themselves full-time to rescuing the project after a launch that was, to say the least, problematic."

But I'm sure they had a good party.

[via Ann Althouse]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 03:05 PM | Comments (0)

Charlie's Show Prep #4

Here's what Charlie Sykes should talk about on his show today:

  • want to go statewide and build up a $1 million warchest. Good luck, but don't let your heads get to big. They seem to be swelling already. Chris Kliesmet said, "We don't feel we ever lose a recall" even when they did in the Town of Polk and Milwaukee.
  • In a case of "no duh" by the Journal Sentinel 's drunk driving arrest might play a role in the Attorney General's race. What will be an even more important issue is her mis-use of a state car.
  • A CNN operator was fired for defending the news network's "X" mistake as "free speech."
  • Let me repeat: Cindy Sheehan's 15 minutes are up.
  • Crime has gotten so bad in Baltimore thieves are stealing light poles.
  • The Monday after Thanksgiving has become a big online shopping day. It's become big enough to have a name: "." Shh! Don't tell the boss.
  • What's the point of as punishment when parents coddle them and let them have a vacation?
Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 02:08 AM | Comments (0)

Comment Philosophy

A lengthy discussion that started with my post on , M.D. not mentioning God in his Thanksgiving statement moved to how I don't actively engage commenters. Here's my response:

Thanks DJ. The family is doing fine.

Here's my approach to comments: I feel the need to respond to every one of them. Usually I stand by what I wrote in the post. I don't see the point of restating it in a comment. If I do develop a new argument I like to write a new post so it doesn't get buried in comments. (This post was just going to be a comment. It's become more deserving.)

I appreciate all serious comments and commenters. When I'm drafting a post I try to envision what the response will be. I think that strengthens my writing. Your responses are not ignored even though I don't respond.

The purpose of this weblog is for me to write. Its my running commentary about the weird, wild, wacky world around me. I allow comments to let others continue the discussion. (I'll hopefully get my Trackback problem fixed so that discussion can more easily be extended to other weblogs.) Like I wrote above, I won't respond to every comment. For me it's about adding value to the discussion. If I think a response is valuable I'll offer it; if not I won't.

I'll try to do a better job, but I make no promises. There's too many things to write about. The world is in constant flux. Something new always grabs my attention. I won't sacrifice good ideas for new posts to make the same point I made in my original post. To me that's a waste of pixels. There will be many points where we will have to agree to disagree.

P.S. Does having to write an almost meta-post like that mean TAM is evolving into a community even if a tiny one? I shudder at the thought.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 02:03 AM | Comments (4)

Her 15 Minutes are Up

What do you do when you hold an anti-war/Bush bashing rally and no one shows up? If your Cindy Sheehan you close up shop.

"It's Over"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Cindy Sheehan at 12:37 AM | Comments (1)

November 27, 2005

Another ESPN Failure

"Poetry Jam?" On Sports Center?

Yes, you heard it right. I just put up with Stuart Scott dishing out free verse on Sunday's games. Why? Why? Why? Isn't replaying sports highlights enough for the sports network? I don't turn into ESPN for culture. I want highlights.

Sports Center is losing me. ESPN has a problem when I prefer the second-tier guys on ESPNews to the fake press conferences and Stuart "Def Jam" Scott.

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

Racine School District Leaks Data

The Racine Unified School District handed out the personal information of about 500 of its employees to financial software firms bidding on work. How this happened no one knows, not even the district. I'm guessing the companies wanted data to demonstrate their products. That's why they invented dummy data.

What's even more galling is the personal data was released back in April. RealDebateWisconsin (who beat the Journal Sentinel by days) writes,

My oh my, how on Earth could they of been so busy back in April to make a mistake this monumentally stupid???? Oh yeah, they were busy scaring the students into getting their parents to the polls to overturn the no vote on their referendum increase.

And the district will soon be asking Racine taxpayers for even more money. I say no more until they fix the mismanagement.

"School District Accidentally Leaks Personal Information of 500 Employees"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 07:55 PM | Comments (0)

Missed Sunday Insight

Silly me got too busy reading news and weblogs that I forgot to watch Sunday Insight. I also forgot to TiVo it. Anyone have a copy they can easily send me a link for. I'd like a copy to save for posterity.

P.S. Was TAM mentioned? Seeing the spike on my Site Meter I think it was.

UPDATE: Patrick at Badger Blogger has a complete recap. Owen Robinson gives us his on-the-scene report.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 11:10 AM | Comments (2)

November 26, 2005

Catching up on Your PJM Reading

When not consuming mass quantities of turkey or staring one's Christmas shopping, many have been talking about Pajamas Media. Here's some stuffing sure to fill you up (or make you sick of the whole topic):


  • There's a . I picked May 12, 2006 for the company's demise.

  • Some members of the PJM Editorial Advisary Board yapped about the company's problems. I'm amazed venture capitalists put in $3.5 million before this discussion happened.

  • Jeff Jarvis gives the PJMers a project:
    Finish this sentence in no more than 10 words: Pajamas Media is _________________.

    Of course, this should have been done before Roger Simon flipped the switch.

  • Over at Baldilocks, Ann Althouse, John Cole, and Jeff Goldstein are just going at it over Ann's reaction to PJM's lame coverage of Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. None of them look good in the verbal battle.

  • Laurence Simon is doing constructive and set up a discussion forum for PJMers and outsiders looking in.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 12:26 AM | Comments (2)

November 25, 2005

Who is Dean Giving Thanks to?

, M.D.'s Thanksgiving statement is short so I'll quote it in full:

Today Americans across the country gather together with their families and loved ones to celebrate the tradition of Thanksgiving and to give thanks for the many blessings and gifts we have received throughout the year. As a nation, we also join together in sending our thoughts and prayers to our troops and their families, as we express our thanks for their brave service and the sacrifices they continue to make on our behalf.

As we give thanks, today is also a day to remember those who are less fortunate. In the aftermath of the recent hurricanes, we saw and continue to see tremendous acts of courage and heroism, of people coming together, opening their hearts and reaching out to help one another. That is our American community at its best. Today is also an opportunity for each one of us to reflect and to renew our commitment to helping those who are in need in whatever way we can.

Today, in the spirit of Thanksgiving, we also celebrate our nation's diversity along with the belief that every American has the right to freedom, opportunity, and a chance to achieve the American Dream. On this day my family and I wish you a happy Thanksgiving and a wonderful holiday season.


Notice anything missing? Here are some portions from President Bush's Thanksgiving proclamation (emphasis mine):
We give thanks for the love of family and friends, and we ask God to continue to watch over America.

...

We ask God's special blessings on those who have lost loved ones in the line of duty.

...

May God bless and guide the United States of America as we move forward.


Dr. Dean doesn't mention God once. A 2003 Harris Interactive poll found 90% of Americans believed in God. A Newsweek poll last year found 82% believed Jesus Christ was the Son of God. Belief in God is ingrained in the American psyche. Earlier this year, Dr. Dean told Democrats, "We are definitely going to do religious outreach. Even in my campaign I was interested in reaching out to evangelicals." He's fumbled this pledge just like his Presidential campaign. Only without an embarassing .

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Howard the Duck at 05:39 AM | Comments (54)

November 24, 2005

No German Troops in Iraq

In Brussels, Chancellor Merkel said German troops wouldn't be going to Iraq. She said, "We made clear that we will continue not to take part in training inside Iraq, but continue training in neighbouring countries." It's disappointing but not surprising. She has to hold together a grand coalition with former chancellor Gerhard Schroeder's Social Democrats. Still I see her election as improving U.S.-German relations.

"Merkel to Keep Troops out of "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 10:26 PM | Comments (0)

Giving Thanks

What am I thankful for?

  • Living in a free nation with brave men and women risking their lives to keep it that way.
  • An economic system with so much material blessings a major problem is obesity.
  • Magical science and technology that allows you to read these words and for you to reply back.
  • Family and friends who enrich my life.
  • A loving God for without Him nothing is possible.
Have a great and filling Thanksgivings.

""

"Giving "

UPDATE: I just got home from my aunt's and uncle's great (as always) dinner. One more thing I'm thankful for is not eating until I burst.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Miscellaneous at 11:05 AM | Comments (1)

Hugh Hewitt's Presidential Straw Poll

We're not even to the 2006 mid-term elections but Hugh Hewitt is running a Presidential straw poll. Vote so we can see who TAM readers are leaning toward.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 12:31 AM | Comments (0)

Sunday Insight Preview

Wendy at Boots & Sabers gives us a little taste of the weblog edition of Sunday Insight.

"Owen Takes off his Pajamas..."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 12:17 AM | Comments (0)

November 23, 2005

Gaffney is Right

Steve Clemons goes after Frank Gaffney for saying exactly what I did: al-Jazeera could be a legitimate military target. Gaffney told a reporter,

We're talking about a news organization, so called, that is promoting bin Laden, that is promoting Zawahiri, that is promoting Zarqawi, that is promoting beheadings, that is promoting suicide bombers, that is other ways enabling the propaganda aspects of this war to be fought by our enemies, and I think that puts it squarely in the target category.

Clemons now wants a whole host of Bush administration officials to distance themselves from Gaffney's opinion. If pressed Condi Rice, Stephen Hadley, and other will do so...publically. It doesn't look good for the MSM to tell the world "Bush Administration Supports Bombing Media." Their moral relativism will prevent them from addressing what al-Jazeera does. They'll simply consider the network an Arab version of the BBC. Privately I hope administration officials see the importance the media plays in the Iraq War. An overt bombing run would be a mistake, but having al-Jazeera's satellite antenna malfunction or their web servers go down wouldn't be bad.

"Frank Gaffney: Bomb the Bad Media. . .If the Shoe Fits, Bomb " [via memorandum]

UPDATE: Glenn Reynolds adds, "[S]ince is a CIA front operation we'd never bomb it. Duh."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 12:44 PM | Comments (4)

And Many Wonder about Media Bias

CNN's X over Vice President Cheney may have been a technical glitch but an operator taking calls for the network decided to call it freedom of speech. Some interesting quotes of his include:

"Maam, it was just a comment or opinion of someone watching the speech."

"The point is, tell them to stop lying."

"Tell your President to stop lying."

"If you don't like it don't watch."


The tape may be a hoax. Even if it's real the operator was just a Lefty schlub. It doesn't mean it was anything more than a mistake. Dan McKenzie's work proves it was some technical graphic. But suppose a director knew it was there and decided to slyly state his opinion. Hmm...

" Employees A Bit Touchy About The Cheney 'X'"

"CNN Employee On Tape: Is 'Freedom of Speech' - 'Tell Bush And Cheney To Stop Lying'"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 11:39 AM | Comments (4)

Hatcher Sues Tabloid

The lovely Teri Hatcher is suing a British tabloid for libel:

London law firm Schillings said Hatcher, 40, had instructed them to begin libel proceedings against the Daily Sport over articles that she says "falsely alleged that she engages in sex romps on a regular basis with a series of men in a VW van parked outside her L.A. home for this purpose."

Why would she go outside of her house for a "sex romp" unless she wanted to get caught? It's obvious the Daily Sport didn't use any common sense. Not that we'd expect any from a Brit tabloid.

" Sues Tabloid Over Sex Story"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 11:09 AM | Comments (0)

Weblogging Featured Next Sunday

The next Sunday Insight hosted by Charlie Sykes will discuss weblogs and the internet. Webloggers on the show include Jessica McBride, Professor John McAdams, and Owen Robinson. I hope they mention TAM often. ;-)

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 10:50 AM | Comments (2)

Ooo Pretty!

Colored bubbles.

"The 11-Year Quest to Create Disappearing " [via Gizmodo]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 10:43 AM | Comments (0)

Matthews: Selectively Quoted

responds to the story about his moral relativism. In fact he wants Islamists hunted down and killed:

I told the students that my way to deal with terrorists was to do what Golda Meir did after the killing of Israeli athletes at the Olympics: track them down and kill them one by one and be rough about it.
I don't know why the reporter chose to ignore my clear statement was the appropriate response to terorism, why he chose to skip to my strong belief that we need to get behind this massive hatred we're facing in the Muslim world.

Check with the University for confirmation. I was invited by the political science students. I'm pretty sure they taped it because that had an audi-visual person there putting on my microphone.

Anyway there were many witnesses who can recall what I said if somebody asks.

Chris Matthews


While the response is good he doesn't deny or explain what he meant when he said, " The person on the other side is not evil -- they just have a different perspective." Does Matthews believe in evil?

[via Mark Klimer]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 10:27 AM | Comments (1)

Charlie's Show Prep #3

Here's what Charlie Sykes should talk about on this morning's show:


  • The Washington Post runs with the Mirror's "Bush wanted to bomb al-Jazeera" story. They report the CIA considered infiltrating it but not bombing it.
  • left the Likud party he co-founded and leads in polls for next year's election.
  • The Journal Sentinel writes about the hoopla. If you haven't gotten one already you're out of luck "unless you are willing to spend two grand on eBay." Note a girl was second in line at a Gamestop. Video games are transcending geeky guys.
  • For only $145 you can get to January's in Washington, D.C.
  • Bill Ford is freaking out. While begging for government help he went the economic nationalism route. He even disparaged foreign car companies with plants in the U.S. but ignoring the fact three new Ford cars are built in Mexico.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 01:13 AM | Comments (2)

November 22, 2005

PJM Advice

Shouldn't a weblog porter resemble a weblog? That's a huge design error with Pajamas Media. Get rid of the cold whiteness. Be inspired by the nice Blogjam logo. Then actually make yourself a weblog portal by sucking in content from your associates. I thought that was one reason you wanted them to join. Or if you were really smart you'd buy Memorandum.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 09:50 PM | Comments (0)

I Should Have Stood in Line

Some fool paid $1700 on eBay for an .

[via Professor Bainbridge]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 08:45 PM | Comments (1)

The Intelligence War

What I divine out of the Murray Waas' story is that the battle of the White House and Pentagon vs. the CIA went on from the moment of the Sep. 11 attacks. Waas reports on the Pentagon intelligence unit set up by Douglas Feith:

The Pentagon unit also routinely second-guessed the CIA's highly classified assessments. Regarding one report titled "Iraq and al-Qaeda: Interpreting a Murky Relationship," one of the Naval Reserve officers wrote: "The report provides evidence from numerous intelligence sources over the course of a decade on interactions between Iraq and al-Qaida. In this regard, the report is excellent. Then in its interpretation of this information, CIA attempts to discredit, dismiss, or downgrade much of this reporting, resulting in inconsistent conclusions in many instances. Therefore, the CIA report should be read for content only-and CIA's interpretation ought to be ignored."

Which makes me wonder why President Bush didn't fire George Tenent much, much sooner. Was Bush afraid he's start talking? And about what exactly?

Waas then ties in Valarie Plame:

The Plame affair was not so much a reflection of any personal animus toward Wilson or Plame, says one former senior administration official who knows most of the principals involved, but rather the direct result of long-standing antipathy toward the CIA by Cheney, Libby, and others involved. They viewed Wilson's outspoken criticism of the Bush administration as an indirect attack by the spy agency.

What we have now are government bodies caring more about who gets blamed in the media and Congress than how to win the war. What the hell is Porter Goss doing in Langley? John Negroponte as National Intelligence Chief hasn't done much either. Last time I heard we're all on the same side. The goal is to defeat the enemy not worrying about who'll win the Washington insider ego game.

"Key Bush Briefing Kept From Hill Panel"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 08:12 PM | Comments (1)

Not A Crazy Idea

About the idea of bombing al-Jazeera, whether the report is true or not, it is not as absurd as Bush bashers would want you to believe. Journalists don't have the protection groups like the Red Cross or Red Crescent have. Aiding the enemy makes one a military target. If al-Jazeera is helping the Islamists in Iraq kill our troops and destablizing Iraq then they're fair game. Back in 2003 an al-Jazeera reporter was "Spain as a member of al Qaeda." They are not at all like CNN, CBS, or Fox News.

One would think the anti-war Left would be furious with al-Jazeera. Their actions are helping more of our brave men and women get killed. But in their world only the U.S. can do wrong in Iraq. The Islamists and al-Jazeera are just the effect of an arrogant, bullying, cowboy President.

If Bush thought al-Jazeera was aiding the enemy then they're a legitimate target. Flying over Qatar and dropping bombs doesn't seem like the most sensible method of knocking off a television network. Black ops would be more subtle.

Another point, since President Bush is human many ideas pop into his mind. All of us have some "interesting" ideas (like say, building a commercial company out of a weblog portal) that are more thinking out loud than anything. Some ideas are more sensible than others. He may have spouted out something like dropping a nuke on Fallujah to really send a signal to the Islamists. Would that make him a warmonger? No. Like the rest of us he must be judged on his actions. Al-Jazeera still stands. Which means he took the advice of Tony Blair and others and considered the consequences of his actions.

"Exclusive: Bush Plot to His Arab Ally"

"Bush 'Plot' Dismissed"

"Bombing ? Not a Bad Idea"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 07:10 PM | Comments (8)

No Pajamas

President Bush is accused of wanting to bomb al-Jazeera and OSM Pajamas Media (a dumb name but without the tinge of theft) has nothing on it. Instead they have a post about an ugly dog. Changing the name was good, but it's the content what will ultimately decide the new company's fate.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 06:27 PM | Comments (0)

Standing in Line for an XBox 360

After closing the store last night I drove my two Best Buys to see how many crazies took on a cold Wisconsin November night just to be in line for an . In Wauwatosa I saw 30-40 people at 11:00 pm all bundled up in coats. At the Menominee Falls store there were about 20. One smart person had their truck running so people could jump in to stay warm. Two guys were tossing a football around in the parking lot. At the Wal-Mart in West Bend I arrived at midnight to see if the maddness has begun. Everything was calm. All the store's consoles were already in lay-away. People arrived as early as 6:00 am Monday morning to wait for their gaming machine.

"Best Buy Opens Their Doors - Mayhem Starts"

"It's Here!"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 05:16 AM | Comments (6)

Charlie's Show Prep #2

Here are some good items for Charlie Sykes' show this morning:

  • The Iraq government wants a timetable for the withdrawal of foreign forces. This is good news. Iraqi input is key. The whole point of the war was to kick out Saddam and install a regime of liberty. Having anti-Bush Democrats decide when troops should leave didn't make sense. The Iraqi government knows better how well its internal security is. This is a sign the new government is confident it can stand on its own--which was the whole point of a continued U.S. presence.
  • will become the first female German chancellor, but the the unstable coalition she had to build won't make her a continental version of Margaret Thatcher.
  • Some people who care too much about how a bird feels are willing to pay through the nose for . Do they care as much about the unborn?
  • High taxes and unions are forcing to take its manufacturing out of the state. What's the point of economic plans to create new businesses if the state's business climate drives them away?
  • Rep. J.D. Hayworth will call for more pro-war votes if the Democrats keep harping.
That should be plenty to get you started, Charlie.
Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 03:45 AM | Comments (0)

X Marks the Spot

Conservatives went wild when an X appeared in an instant on VP Dick Cheney during a speech broadcast on CNN. The Political Teen (who else?) has the video. Dan McKenzie did a little wizbang computer stuff to support CNN's claim that the X was a "." A glich, not a conspiracy.

"CNN's ...Update: It was Just a Glitch"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Media at 02:50 AM | Comments (1)

Matthews' Memory Loss

Power Line's Paul Mirengoff takes aim at Chris Matthews' historical forgetfulness:

Matthews also asserts that "the period between 9-11 and [invading] Iraq was not a good time for America." Well, the aftermath of a deadly attack on the homeland is never going to be a "good time," but the period had its moments. We liberated Afghanistan from the Taliban, killed or captured hundreds if not thousands of terrorists, and passed the Patriot Act which enhanced our ability to combat domestic terrorism. It is quite possible that the actions we took during this period prevented one or more attacks of the scope of 9/11.

During this period, we also decided to go to war in Iraq, and it's this decision from which Matthews' bitterness derives. But here again, Matthews argues foolishly. He claims that we went to war because of the Bush father-son relationship, a push from the Israelis, and/or Bush's desire to do something big. Matthews provides no evidence for any of his theories. (People far more knowledgeable than Matthews about the administration's decision-making tell me that Israel was not particularly gung-ho about a U.S. war with Iraq). And Matthews fails even to entertain the possibility that the view of our intelligence community, and every other respectable one, that Saddam possessed WMD contributed to decision to remove Saddam.

Matthews' enemy is the Bush administration, and he clearly doesn't understand its point of view.

" in Canada"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 02:35 AM | Comments (0)

November 21, 2005

Armitage Under the Microscope

Is Richard Armitage Bob Woodward's Deep Throat II? Tom Maguire has the analysis.

"Sources of Confusion"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Politics at 02:24 PM | Comments (0)

Matthews' Moral Relativism

We're at war. Just like Pearl Harbor dragged the U.S. into World War II Sep. 11, 2001 dragged us into the Islamist War. And just like our enemy was the evil German Nazis and Imperial Japanese our enemy today are Islamists hell bent on killing as many Americans as they can. But Leftists like Chris Matthews don't understand that. He doesn't even think the enemy is evil. About Islamists he told a Canadian audience, "If we stop trying to figure out the other side, we've given up. The person on the other side is not evil -- they just have a different perspective." Osama bin Laden isn't evil? Al-Zarqawi isn't evil? Saddam the Butcher isn't evil? How about those monsters who behead people? I've figured them out. They're barbaric thugs who have to be killed before they kill us.

"Hatred Blinds U.S. to Truth: Journalist"

UPDATE: Jonathan R. at GOP Bloggers writes sarcastically, "Osama bin Laden just has a different perspective? Yeah, he just hates all non-fundamentalist Sunni men and wants to enslave or kill them. He's not evil, just different."

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 11:25 AM | Comments (12)

Now We're Doomed

Imagine internet connectivity in everything: cars, stoves, clothes washers, even doorknobs. That's the future in a new ITU report:

Machines will overtake humans to become the biggest users of the Internet in a brave new world of electronic sensors, smart homes, and tags that track users’ movements and habits, the UN’s telecommunications agency predicted.

In a report entitled “”, the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) outlined the next stage in the technological revolution where humans, electronic devices, inanimate objects and databases are linked in real time by a radically transformed Internet.


Now, let's ratchet up the paranoia by imagining all these things talking to Google.

All you tin foil hat-wearing Terminator fans invest in a big supply of tranquilizers and work on stocking that fallout shelter if you haven't started already.

"Machines and Objects to Overtake Humans on the Internet" [via Ghost of a flea]

"Wireless: Creating Internet of 'Things'"

UPDATE: The future is already upon us. Wifi-enabled mosquito-catching machine will soon be available:

The coming smart magnet system harkens back to the early days of networked PCs, [American Biophysics CEO Devin] Hosea said, when people came up with the idea of "LAN-tastic," for a local-area network or a ring of network connectivity.

AmBio plans to create an electronic self-diagnosing network of magnets all communicating with one another through the 802.11b wireless standard. Centralized servers in the middle of the network, or what AmBio's chief technology officer calls "brain machines," will record and analyze data transmitted from the computerized magnets on air quality, humidity, wind direction and pollutants. The data is transmitted to AmBio and its client for remote administration.

If it's raining on a magnet-wired golf course, for example, the system will shut down to save power and propane. If the wind is coming out of the north, the south line magnets will shut down and let the mosquitoes blow by.

"Wi-Fi Mosquito Killer Coming to a Porch Near You" [via Engadget]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 10:44 AM | Comments (0)

When the Winners Lose and the Losers Win

The despised Kelo ruling from this past summer has not forced holdout New London, CT out of their homes.

"This lawsuit put a chill on the development of the whole 90 acres, no doubt in my mind," said Thomas J. Londregan, the city's director of law. "Any developer knew that whatever they did would most likely be appealed to the courts."

...

If any construction begins soon, it will happen away from the area where the holdouts remain, said Marty Jones, president of Corcoran Jennison, which has been under contract on the project since 1999.

"We need to have some positive things happening so that every lender and investor I go to doesn't say, 'I want to be 100 miles away from here,' " Ms. Jones said. "Eminent domain in Fort Trumbull has been on the front page of every newspaper in the country, and it has not put New London in the most positive light."

" Project at Standstill Despite Ruling" [via Althouse]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Law at 10:28 AM | Comments (0)

Charlie's Show Prep #1

Charlie Sykes is a busy man with his radio show, tv show, and writing gigs. It's time to give him a hand. Here are some stories I think will be good fodder for this morning's show*:

  • Sen. Joe Biden, who is running for President in 2008, will do "whatever they can to keep" Judge Alito off the court. Can you say, "?" Last week, said this would happen.
  • School officials at Bay View High School are walking around the neighborhood making sure kids are in class. Some local businesses are miffed.
  • The Midwest in general and Wisconsin in particular aren't noted for growing high-tech industries. The Chicago Fed sees more talking and networking as the answer. How about fixing Wisconsin's tax and regulatory policies? GOP legislators are on the right track with their ideas.
  • The Washington Post documents one family's . Nothing like the American version. This should wipe the smug grin off an arrogant Frenchman.
  • In China . Symbolic in a nation that doesn't respect religious freedom.
  • Add Sony to the list of big names taken down by webloggers.

UPDATE: Bryan Preston compares with Reagan's "Tear down this wall!" speech.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 02:34 AM | Comments (1)

The Google Internet

Robert Cringely spectulates on Google's big idea. Forget Google Base, G-Mail, or AdSense. That's all peripheral to something sitting in a parking garage:

There, in a secret area off-limits even to regular GoogleFolk, is a shipping container. But it isn't just any shipping container. This shipping container is a prototype data center. Google hired a pair of very bright industrial designers to figure out how to cram the greatest number of CPUs, the most storage, memory and power support into a 20- or 40-foot box. We're talking about 5000 Opteron processors and 3.5 petabytes of disk storage that can be dropped-off overnight by a tractor-trailer rig. The idea is to plant one of these puppies anywhere Google owns access to fiber, basically turning the entire Internet into a giant processing and storage grid.

While Google could put these containers anywhere, it makes the most sense to place them at Internet peering points, of which there are about 300 worldwide.

Two years ago Google had one data center. Today they are reported to have 64. Two years from now, they will have 300-plus. The advantage to having so many data centers goes beyond simple redundancy and fault tolerance. They get Google closer to users, reducing latency. They offer inter-datacenter communication and load-balancing using that no-longer-dark fiber Google owns. But most especially, they offer super-high bandwidth connections at all peering ISPs at little or no incremental cost to Google.

...

There will be the Internet, and then there will be the Google Internet, superimposed on top. We'll use it without even knowing. The Google Internet will be faster, safer, and cheaper. With the advent of widespread GoogleBase (again a bit-schlepping app that can be used in a thousand ways -- most of them not even envisioned by Google) there's suddenly a new kind of marketplace for data with everything a transaction in the most literal sense as Google takes over the role of trusted third-party info-escrow agent for all world business. That's the goal.


This is scaring the beejezus out of the geeks at digg. The days of geeks' crush on the company are numbered.

"-Mart"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Tech at 01:10 AM | Comments (1)

Probably Too Good to Be True

The White House doesn't think Zarqawi was killed in a gunfight in Mosul:

On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top al-Qaida operatives, possibly including al-Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city.

During the intense gunbattle that followed, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high-value target.

But Trent Duffy, a White House spokesman, said reports of al-Zarqawi's death were "highly unlikely and not credible."


Damn.

Debbie at In the Bullpen writes,

Some speculate whether King Abdullah of Jordan had a hand in the intelligence leading to eight dead al-Qaeda terrorists in Mosul, Iraq today. Or perhaps al Zarqawi’s family helped. It is interesting that today the family of al-Zarqawi (whose real name is Ahmed Fadheel Nazzal al-Khalayleh) in Jordan disowned him, saying, “We sever links with him until doomsday.”

"White House Doubts Among Dead"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 12:34 AM | Comments (0)

November 20, 2005

Sunday Night Pick-Me-Up

Dead Meat is a documentary that looks at the waiting, and waiting, and waiting...of the Canadian health care system. Unless you're a dog of course.

[via Dr. Helen]

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Economics at 10:41 PM | Comments (0)

Spam Attacks

Bad news. My web host has been informing me TAM has been using too much of its share of server resources. The main culprits are the files that handle trackbacks and comments. In other words, TAM is under spam attacks. I've turned off trackbacks and disabled the file to see if that helps. I don't want to close up comments unless I absolutely have to.

What I really have to do is upgrade my weblogging platform, something I've dreaded of doing. Moving from Blogger to MT had me yelling and spitting at my computer. I still have emotional scars.

If I decided to move to Movable Type 3.x could I just cut-and-paste my MT 2.6 templates with no trouble?

There's a nice list of for WordPress. That may be where I should go. However, I'm not thrilled with the UI. Or I could use one of the many weblog clients available. Oh, do I remember the old days when I used w.bloggar with Blogger.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 08:52 PM | Comments (4)

Al-Zarqawi May Be Dead

Keep your fingers crossed:

U.S. forces sealed off a house in the northern city of Mosul where eight suspected al-Qaida members died in a gunfight — some by their own hand to avoid capture. A U.S. official said Sunday that efforts were under way to determine if terror leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi was among the dead.

...

On Saturday, police Brig. Gen. Said Ahmed al-Jubouri said the raid was launched after a tip that top al-Qaida operatives, possibly including al-Zarqawi, were in the house in the northeastern part of the city.

During the intense gunbattle that followed, three insurgents detonated explosives and killed themselves to avoid capture, Iraqi officials said. Eleven Americans were wounded, the U.S. military said. Such intense resistance often suggests an attempt to defend a high-value target.


Even if al-Zarqawi isn't dead, he doesn't have family in Jordan anymore.

" May Be Among Dead in Iraq Fight"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 06:37 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

November 19, 2005

Golden Eagles Lose to Just Plain Eagles

Marquette lost in their own tournament to Winthrop 71-64. More at SportsBlog.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Sports at 11:27 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Roger Simon Strikes Back

He counters Kenton Kelly AKA Dennis the Peasant ceaseless OSM bashing with a calm, almost CEO-like response:

He is indeed correct that we had several discussions with him and one meeting in Los Angeles. After that nothing substantive occurred. No contracts were ever signed. No investment was made. Nothing happened. Communications dwindled to zero. It was like the many preliminary business conversations that peter out before fruition in most of our lives, certainly in mine and probably in yours. Then Charles and I developed a different approach to the business. We found investment elsewhere and Mr. Kelly, when he heard about it, turned into an online stalker. He has threatened to sue me on several occasions. I invite him to go ahead and do it. I look forward to the contents of his website being read aloud in court.

It's pretty good: factual, reserved, yet strong and stern. I too would love Kelly's weblog read in court. All business lawsuits should require humorous interludes.

Now, with Kelly responding we'll see if this turns into a juicy mano a mano weblog war.

"This is So High School"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 10:28 PM | Comments (6) | TrackBack

An OSM Positive

Pieter Dorsman, an OSMer makes some good point about the weblog start-up. First and most importantly, he mentions, "any content-based venture that is able to raise a significant amount of early stage financing in the post-internet boom world is pulling off a significant feat." People who are smart enough to have $3.5 million to invest in start-up aren't going to flush it down a toilet. [Like a Koran? --ed] OSM investors think there's money to be made in weblogs. Of course it's an educated guess, but putting one's money on the line forces people to think seriously. That doesn't mean OSM will succeed. Success is never guaranteed.

What venture capitalist bring to the table along with money is business accumen. That's what makes The flap with Chris Lymon's Open Source so puzzling. Presumably the VCs are on OSM board of directors. Did any of them advise Roger Simon and Charles Johnson that picking a similar name could bring up legal as well as PR headaches? The name issue is embarassing but not fatal to the enterprise. If the business plan was dependent on the name the I'd consider OSM the poster child for the new internet bubble. More important than a name is lining up advertisers and getting contributors to continue writing good material that increases their readership. That will be a tall order with highly-independent nature of webloggers.

My biggest fear of OSM is it will be the continuation of the disturbing pattern I've seen of A-list webloggers linking to other A-listers. The blogosphere has grown so much that it's harder for voice to stand out from the crowd. Someone like me who sees relative weblogging newbies with great amounts of readers hang out virtually with other high-traffic relative newbies is frustrating because I've toiled longer than probably any OSMer with no where near the success. While I haven't seen any evidence of OSM becoming a linking circle jerk there is always that potential. I will trust in the integrity of people like Glenn Reynolds and Dean Esmay. They're both good men so that's not asking a lot.

I hope my critical posts on OSM read better than petty jealousy. I admit I'm envious of the OSMers. They're on the path of becoming professional webloggers. Someone like me who's been writing his screeds for almost six years (before the blogosphere had a name) would love the opportunity to make a living through words and ideas. This is a character flaw I'm always working on. My readers should hold be accountable when it appears to be acting up.

Here's a challenge to OSM critics: write a post saying something positive about the new company. There has to be something good from this. Here's mine: OSM is giving writers I respect the possibility of earning money. That means they'll be able to spend more time on their writing and ideas. It may not change the world, but it will still be great.

" - Early Validation"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 07:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

More OSM Criticism

From Hog on Ice:

I made fun of OSM for failing to register their own domain name (back in the PJM days), "pajamamedia.com." That wasn't a booboo. That wasn't a slip. That was a monumental screwup worthy of monkeys. It was unbelievably stupid and irresponsible. In a real company, doing something that dumb would be a firing offense.

When I started Huffington's Toast, the FIRST thing I did, before I wrote a word, was to check the availability of the domain. Then I registered it. Then I bought huffingtontoast.com, without the "S," just in case people typed the domain name wrong. And I redirected it to huffingtonstoast.com.

Now, let me remind you. I'm not an embryonic media giant like PJM. I'm a forgetful, disorganized goof who was legendary at Blockbuster for failing to return videos on time. I've been on Ritalin, Cylert, Wellbutrin, Prozac, and even massive doses of coffee, and I'm STILL absent-minded. BUT I'M NOT A BIG ENOUGH DUMBASS TO FORGET TO REGISTER A DOMAIN.

I made fun of OSM for failing to register their first domain name, and then I made fun of them for failing to register their SECOND domain name, "opensourcemedia.com." That, I thought, was proof that this operation was basically a tail-chasing contest that would end in ruin.

Then a reader corrected me. It turned out "opensourcemedia.com" belonged to OSM's lawyer. So they got it right, right? I thought so. I posted an erratum. Well guess what? They got the domain name, but they didn't get the COMPANY NAME. Jeff Jarvis has the story. It almost hurts to read it.

I'm going to go to thesaurus.com and look for a word stronger than "stupid." Sometimes people say they're "at a loss for words," and then they come up with words anyway. I can't. "Stupid" seems so kind in this context. I don't know what to say.

Moxie does Pajama Club redux.

I don't want to be completely negative. If someone found a positive post on why OSM/Open Source Media will be a success let me know so I can link to it.

UPDATE: It's getting bad for OSM/Open Source Media when the CEO's wife has to quasi-anonymously defend him.

UPDATE II: Dean Esmay, OSM contributor, is returning fire to critics in his comments. Also, here's an earlier post by Dean.

I wish no ill will on Dean and the other OSM contributors. Making money is a beautiful thing. I hope this new start-up works out. However, I call things like I see them.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Weblogging at 03:59 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Vote Clutters Media Stream

One more thing about the House's Iraq vote: it's good politics for the simple reason that it adds another voice in the media swirl. Until the vote the anti-war Democrats were getting all the war attention. The House vote adds to the cacophony in D.C. Non-news junkies will simply see squabbling House members and think, "Same bickering as usual." Cynical? Yes, but better than leaving the debate only to your opponents.

"That Hawkish Democrat"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 02:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Arrested for Weblog Threats

A Jackson, WI man-child was arrested for making threats on his weblog:

On Thursday, Washington County Assistant District Attorney Holly Bunch charged [Anthony] Gregovich with unlawful use of computerized communications systems.

If convicted, Gregovich could be fined up to $1,000 and sentenced to 90 days in jail.

In his Web log entry, Gregovich suggested that the other student should "bring a gun to school and flash your piece out in the cafeteria," according to the complaint. He concluded by advising the person to fire the weapon, giving the woman "a few rounds upside her head."


Anyone know the URL to the weblog? Google is letting me down.

"Student Accused of Posting Threatening Message on Web"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 01:54 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Didion Wins National Book Award

Joan Didion's has received critical and popular acclaim. It's even selling well in Milwaukee, far away from her East Coast fan base. To top it off she won the non-fiction .

"Series of War Stories Wins "

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Books at 12:51 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

November 18, 2005

Iraq Retreat Resolution Fails in House

The House of Representatives voted on something similar to Congressman Murtha's call to get troops out of Iraq. It failed 403-3. Sure it was a stunt, but were the Republicans clever enough so the news survives the dreadful Saturday news cycle? For this stunt we have to thank .

"Lawmakers Reject Immediate Iraq Withdrawal"

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in War at 11:21 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Carnival of the Badger

Military Matters hosts this week's Carnival of the Badger, all the Wisconsin blogosphere posts you want if you're not sitting in a tree stand this weekend.

Posted by Sean Hackbarth in Wisconsin at 10:58 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Turkey Day in Crawford

Wacky Cindy Sheehan is a glutton for punishment. She'll be spending her Thanksgiving in Crawford, TX demanding the U.S. pulls out of Iraq. When she sets up camp again she'll be violating local law:

After President Bush and Sheehan left on Aug. 31, McLennan County Commissioners Court voted to ban parking on 23 miles of roadway near Bush's Prairie Chapel Ranch and prevent people from camping, eating, or placing portable bathrooms in ditches along all county roads.

Sheehan, the California mother of 24-year-old Army Spc. Casey Sheehan, who died during his first week in the Iraq war, plans to break at least one of the new laws Nov. 22, shortly after she arrives on the turf that made her famous.

The “civil disobedience” event is just the first of a series of spectacles she's planning as Bush spends the holiday at his ranch, including a small Iraqi meal for Thanksgiving dinner and an anti-war rally the following Sunday.


I don't like Sheehan and her ilk, but they have the right to spea