Doonesbury Goes to War : News : RollingStone.com
Garry Trudeau gives a rare interview to Rolling Stone magazine. Worth reading for the descriptions of life for soldiers in the amputee ward alone, but also gives an interesting description of life at Yale with George W. Bush.
The Price Of Labor's Decline (washingtonpost.com)
David Broder opines that the shift to the right in American politics is a result of the decline in the unionization of the American labor force (from 1/4 of the labor force in the 1970's to barely 1/8 today). Today, Labor is no longer the political factor that it was even a decade or two ago, with severe consequences for wages and benefits, workplace safety, education, housing, and civil rights.
I look at it as a timely reminder that Thomas Geoghegan's
Christopher Hitchens, whom I like and respect more and more as I read his stories, quotes Bernard Spencer on the meaning of 1,000 dead. While it is unclear exactly to what context Spencer referred, Hitchens obviously has Iraq in mind:
I read of a thousand killed.
And am glad because the scrounging imperial paw
Was there so bitten:
As a man at elections is thrilled
When the results pour in, and the North goes with him
And the West breaks in the thaw.(That fighting was a long way off.)
Forgetting therefore an election
Being fought with votes and lies and catch-cries
And orator's frowns and flowers and posters' noise
Is paid for with cheques and toys:
Wars the most glorious
Victory-winged and steeple-uproarious
... With the lives, burned-off,
Of young men and boys.
Hitchens points out that there is no magic in the number 1,000: in reality, 999 or 1,001 is just as appalling. Something about round numbers makes one stop and think, however.
Fitness Over Thinness for Hearts (washingtonpost.com)
Being fit appears to be far more important than being thin for decreasing the risk of heart disease, while the opposite seems to be the case for diabetes, according to two new studies in women.
So far I am making some progress on getting thinner: the concierge at our building actually mentioned today that I appeared to be losing weight. My next goal is to get enough sleep, so that I can get up in the morning and do a little bit of exercise before leaving for work. If I can build a little muscle mass, it will have the added bonus of elevating my metabolism and helping me lose weight.
Top News Article | Reuters.com
POPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (Reuters) - President Bush offered an unexpected reason on Monday for cracking down on frivolous medical lawsuits: "Too many OB-GYNs aren't able to practice their love with women all across this country."
Boston.com / News / Nation / Bush fell short on duty at Guard
In February, when the White House made public hundreds of pages of President Bush's military records, White House officials repeatedly insisted that the records prove that Bush fulfilled his military commitment in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War.
But Bush fell well short of meeting his military obligation, a Globe reexamination of the records shows.
Particularly interesting is that Bush spokesman Dan Bartlett admits that he was not correct about Bush's fulfilling his National Guard commitments in Boston. Once again, the White House does not let the truth get in the way of a good (war) story.
LONDON (AP) -- Archaeologists in northwestern England have found a burial site of six Viking men and women, complete with swords, spears, jewelry, fire-making materials and riding equipment, officials said Monday.
The sagas I read recently told quite a bit about Vikings serving in the Court's of various English kings (as well as raiding in England). It is therefore gratifying, but in a sense not surprising, to learn of the discovery of a Viking burial ground in England.
Wanna test your box? Check out Hacker Watch. Stop hackers before they stop you!
Hit Me With Your Best Shot - Which vodka is the best? By Alex Abramovich
Slate concludes that despite being made primarily of water and alcohol, not all vodkas are created equal:
But if all vodkas tasted alike, there'd be no reason to favor a $30 bottle of Armadale over a $12 magnum of Fleischmann's. In fact, all vodkas are not alike. Vodka can be distilled in a good many ways, from a great many substances, including wheat, rye, beets, corn, potatoes, and sugar cane. (In Russia, the Yukos oil conglomerate recently made headlines for marketing a vodka distilled from hemp seeds.) As a result, each brand has a distinct smell, flavor, aftertaste, and burn (i.e., the burning sensation vodka creates as it goes down your gullet). The grain-based vodkas, which are the most popular, tend to be smooth and can even taste fruity. Vegetable-based vodkas are often (and often unfairly) dismissed as being harsh and medicinal.
My Russian neighbor prefers Absolut, which was rated surprisingly low. Second place, however, went to a Scottish vodka, Armadale, distilled on the Isle of Skye.
I have upgraded the site to Movable Type 3.11. I already like the new user interface, I am looking forward to the performance improvements, and I hope that the new anti-spam features work!
I just got home after a late night filing, fueled by four Krispy Kreme donuts — almost a thousand calories in one fell swoop.
www.AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish
Then you see Zell Miller, his face rigid with anger, his eyes blazing with years of frustration as his Dixiecrat vision became slowly eclipsed among the Democrats. Remember who this man is: once a proud supporter of racial segregation, a man who lambasted LBJ for selling his soul to the negroes. His speech tonight was in this vein, a classic Dixiecrat speech, jammed with bald lies, straw men, and hateful rhetoric.
A wicked piece by the Times about World Trade Center waiters who, having survived the attack on 9/11, are forced to silently serve self-satisified Republicans from the hinterlands who think 9/11 is all about them.
MoorishGirl: Enjoying the Hospitality
And so I've been gorging myself on couscous, pastilla, rghaif, mechouis, escargot, all sorts of fish, and drinking glass after glass of mint tea.
My mouth waters just thinking of it. When am I going back to Morocco?
Michael Moore Joins the Press -- And Gets Some (washingtonpost.com)
When Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) called him "a disingenuous filmmaker" during his speech, Moore said, "Thank you, John McCain."
No offense taken. Only dollar signs.
"Hey, the film's doing $120 million right now," Moore said. "When McCain mentions it, I have a chance to do $150 million. It just creates more interest, more excitement."
ABCNEWS.com : Michael Moore Draws Boos at Convention
Moore seemed to relish the attention, thrusting his arms over his head, laughing and saying, "Two more months."
Asked about McCain's remarks, Moore said, "I can't believe they're dumb enough to bring up the film and help its box office."
The Big Backslide (washingtonpost.com)
Call it diet fatigue, burnout or simply boredom.
Losing the weight is only half the battle. Keeping it off is the really hard part. In my personal battle, I'm down to 167.4 pounds.
And while Kerry may be worried about veterans' support in America, Sinh said he would vote any day for his former enemy over President Bush. In the veteran's opinion, Kerry's experience along these rivers fighting Viet Cong might keep him from sending other young Americans to invade countries.
A more mature perspective in the White House on sending young Americans to die in Quixotic foreign military ventures would be a welcome change. The article does not mention one of the other lessons of Vietnam, namely that a war based on lies to the American public will not retain the public's long term support.
Democratic Senator Zell Miller of Georgia has proven himself to be a Republican in Democrat's clothing with his anticipated keynote address at the Republican Convention. Let him know what you think of his turning his coat at zellout.com
RPO -- Andrew Marvell : To his Coy Mistress
21 But at my back I always hear
22 Time's winged chariot hurrying near;
23 And yonder all before us lie
24 Deserts of vast eternity.