The Fear

clipped from instapundit.com Last month, I wrote about how our culture teaches children to fear men. Hundreds of men responded, many lamenting that they've now become fearful of children. It's true that men are far more likely than women to be sexual predators. But our society, while declining to profile by race or nationality when it comes to crime and terrorism, has become nonchalant about profiling men. Child advocates are advising parents never to hire male babysitters. Airlines are placing unaccompanied minors with female passengers. Child-welfare groups say these precautions minimize risks. But men's rights activists argue that our societal focus on "bad guys" has led to an overconfidence in women. (Children who die of physical abuse are more often victims of female perpetrators, usually mothers, according to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.) Similar bigotry regarding race wouldn't be tolerated. This, on the other hand, is embraced.

NSA On The Job

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com The terrorists arrested in Germany had a deadline for their attack on Ramstein Air Base and the Frankfurt airport, given to them by their al-Qaeda masters: September 15th. Why that date, rather than the more obvious 9/11 anniversary? AQ has more current politics in mind: Three suspected Islamist militants who were planning to attack U.S. installations in Germany had orders to act by Sept. 15 and knew police were hot on their trail before their arrest, a magazine said on Saturday. Congress set a deadline on September 15th as well -- the due date for a progress report on the Iraq War from President Bush. AQ wanted to replicate the Tet offensive, only not in Iraq but in Europe. A devastating attack before Bush delivered his report would tend to discredit the forward strategy pursued by the administration since the 9/11 attacks. Why attack Europe? Osama wants the US out of the Middle East, especially Iraq and Afghanistan. Chalk one up for the NSA. Nice work, folks.

But why do we insist reporting how they were caught? Dumb would be a charitable way to assess it...

Those "Superior" Conventional Subs

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com This is a critical mission for the toy. It helps the sub monitor a contact, without compromising the patrol mission of the sub, and with little risk of detection or confrontation with the eager to kill Iranian boat. Meanwhile, Hawaii might catch a whiff of another submarine lurking along the busy oil tanker routes in and out of the gulf. This is one reason why new US (and British) SSNs are so volumetrically large. They need the space to host these Unmanned and Remotely Operated Underwater Vehicles. And space is something in very short supply aboard the "superior" conventional submarines.

The Double O License To Lie

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com It was a virtuoso performance, all the more impressive because the arguments advanced were fundamentally wrong. Or rather they were mixtures of right and wrong that ultimately led to flawed conclusions. Tell me about it. I noticed long ago that a leftist mistakes winning an argument with solving a problem. They will use a half fact and twist it out of all recognition and, when called on it, simply go on arguing--move on to another point as if their "expert" credibility had not been affected. I'd say, "How you gonna solve the problem you care so much about if your 'facts' are screwed up?" I believe this habit of mind starts when they are 14 arguing with the other pimply nerds. By the time they are 24 and finished their law degree it's taken over what passes for their minds. Once they are "Credentialed" it's like they have a double O license to lie--just don't be too obvious about it.

It's Not Cool To Be Smart (Part 92366)

clipped from onecosmos.blogspot.com Many people reject religion on the basis of a fundamental misunderstanding of it, which is easy to do, given the ucool way religion is depicted by its enemies in the liberal media and by our profane culture at large. If that were my only exposure to religion, I too would surely reject it. It took me many years to undo this pernicious influence, and even now I struggle with it from time to time. I think one of the main reasons for this is that, just as, say, much of the Islamic world is a "shame culture," we in the United States have a "cool culture." To put it another way, we are terrified of appearing uncool. Uncoolness is a shameful state. There is no question that this is a powerful motivator. Indeed, many liberal stances can be comprehended on the basis that the adherent believes it would be uncool to believe otherwise. Gay marriage? Cool! The military? Uncool!! Environmentalism? Cool!!!

Dragging Their Corpses

clipped from www.commentarymagazine.com We have seen in the last decade the decline of the American government and the weaknesses of the American solider, who is ready to wage cold wars and unprepared to fight long wars. This was proven in Beirut when the Marines fled after two explosions. It also proves they can run in less than twenty-four hours, and this was also repeated in Somalia. . . . [Our] youth were surprised at the low morale of the American soldiers. . . . After a few blows, they ran in defeat. . . . They forgot about being the world leader and the leader of the new world order. [They] left, dragging their corpses and their shameful defeat. Let’s lay out the logic for Mr. Rauch in an easy-to-follow manner: If jihadists have declared Iraq to be the central front in the larger war we are engaged in—as they have—and if we retreat because we have been bloodied in Iraq—as leading Democrats want—then it’s reasonable to assume that a precipitous American withdrawal, led by Democrats, will embolden the jihadists.

The Sound Of Silence

clipped from corner.nationalreview.com That is a taboo subject. But despite the acrimony over the failed intelligence in Iraq, there is an irony that in 2000 the 4 autocracies thought by the Clinton administration most likely to be stockpiling either chemical weapons or infrastructure for future nuclear weapons development were Iran, Iraq, Libya and North Korea. Whatever the circumstances, it may prove true that by 2008, 3 of the 4 do not any longer have such capability, and the 4th—Iran—is the focus now of near world efforts to ensure that it doesn't—more encouraging at least than the fact of Pakistan's nuclear acquisition in the 1990s.

Of Guilt And Surveys

clipped from neoneocon.com Here’s another chart that graphically illustrates this fact. There were close to 300,000 men inducted every year during the late 60s, with 1966 featuring a high of about 382,000. In 1970 there’s an abrupt shift to about 162,700, followed by 94,000 in 1971, 49,000 in 1972, and a mere 646 in the year the draft ended, 1973. This cannot help but be part of the reason interest fell off in what was actually happening in that far-off place. Of course, some who wrote about those times would have had an interest—then, and now—in making it seem as though things were going very badly indeed. As I’ve written at some length here, if one abandons an ally, it’s best to think that nothing could have been done anyway to have saved the situation. This certainly lessens the feelings of guilt and responsibility. Unfortunately, the facts of that second half of the war remain a relative blank in the knowledge and memories of many people Do your own informal survey. I’d be extremely curious to hear the results

Troof Hurts

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com There’s a bad craziness loose in the nation, and a new Zogby poll commissioned by Troofers shows that 42% of Democrats think Bush either caused 9/11 or let it happen.

Look on the bright side. Last I checked it was 51%!!!

Dyeing Young

clipped from littlegreenfootballs.com Robert Spencer has an explanation for bin Laden’s dye job: Jihad Watch: Only his hairdresser knows for sure. The Shafi’i school of Islamic jurisprudence forbids men and women to dye their hair black “except when the intention is jihad...as a show of strength to unbelievers” (’Umdat al-Salik e.4.4). Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradawi, in his The Lawful and the Prohibited in Islam, says essentially the same thing: “Some of the early Muslims, including some sahabah [companions of Muhammad] such as Sa’d ibn Abi Waqqas, ‘Uqbah ibn ‘Amr, al-Hassan, al-Hussein, Jarir, and others permitted the use of black dye. Some scholars, on the other hand, do not consider the use of black dye as permissible except during time of war, when the enemy might be impressed by the fact that all the soldiers of the Muslim army look young.”

An Unfair Compare

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com Said Tony Thompson: That’s not surprising. No. 1, Walter has been a longtime supporter of Republican causes. No. 2, he knows my dad. My dad, he and my mother have a decent relationship. Freddie Thompson seems to keep his exes happy. Lorrie Morgan, Georgie Mosbacher and Margaret Carlson all showed support when talking to the Times of London. That says a lot about a man. Reminds me of that old 1950s song, “Sitting in the Backseat”: Keep you mind on your drivin’ Keep you hands on the wheel Keep your snoopy eyes on the road ahead We’re havin’ fun sittin’ in the back seat kissin’ and a’huggin with Fred. Sigh. Comment du jour: “Compare and contrast with ‘the Clintons ruined my life,’ a statement which can be attributed to any number of women.” OUCH.

Those Angry Lefties

clipped from instapundit.com "Pentagon officials and the White House had predicted that U.S. casualties would rise, especially since the U.S. forces had launched major offensives in Diyala province, north of Baghdad, and Babil province, to the south," the response said. "One of the most recent restatements of that premise came in the White House's July 12 assessment of progress in Iraq on Pages 3 and 4. "So what happened?" Seibel wrote. "Not what had been predicted. U.S. deaths caused by enemy action peaked at 120 in May, before the surge reached full strength or Operation Phantom Thunder was launched. Combat casualties then fell consistently for the next three months, reaching a low of 56 in August. That's the lowest number of combat casualties all year. You have to go back to July 2006 to find combat casualties at that level." The result? Angry emails from lefties. It's like they want the news to be bad. (Via Newsbeat1).

I'm So Damned Tired Of This...

clipped from instapundit.com The U.S. Navy wants a business owned by the family of Rep. Paul E. Kanjorski to hand over a piece of high-tech equipment bought with some of the $9.25 million in taxpayer funds Kanjorski steered to the company. Except no one seems to know where to find the equipment — a high-pressure pump. The mystery of the missing pump, combined with newly unearthed evidence that federal investigators probed Kanjorski’s connections to the company, Cornerstone Technologies, has given new life to a story that seems unlikely to go away. . . . In 1998, with the help of Rep. John P. Murtha, a fellow Pennsylvanian and the top Democrat on the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, Rep. Kanjorski earmarked $3.5 million for the research through the Navy. Sounds like a culture of corruption to me.

... sh*t I could just puke. Please explain to me again why the U.S. Congress has any right to criticize the Iraqi government for failing to get the job done?

The Once And Future Enemas

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com Make no mistake -- allies do not test each other's air defenses. If the Russians want to act like enemies, then they have de facto declared themselves to be enemies. It's time that Western governments explain that to Putin, and have Putin look into their eyes and see the seriousness of the situation.

DeNoamimg Democracy

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com ABC News has the transcript of Osama bin Laden's newest video, and as Hot Air notes, it blasts Democrats for not following through on their promises of dhimmitude: “People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven’t made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there.” Osama has a couple of options for Americans to completely surrender to al-Qaeda and stop the terrorism against our people: “The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against you.” The second is to do away with the American democratic system of government.

Today's Iran Shocka

clipped from www.telegraph.co.uk British forces in southern Iraq have been fighting a "proxy war" against Iran, the commander of the troops who withdrew from Basra Palace has said. While the Army has frequently accused Iran of stirring violence across southern Iraq by arming Shia militias, no officer has been as blunt as Lt Col Patrick Sanders, commander of 4th Battalion The Rifles.   British forces leave central Basra He told the BBC that 5,500 British soldiers still based at Basra Airport could return to the city if called upon by Iraq's newly trained security forces. This may happen if Iraq's army needs help against Basra's Shia militias – who Britain accuses Iran of arming and training. "We are engaged, or we have been engaged, effectively in a proxy war with Iran and if that resumes then they (Iraq's security forces) will need us to help," Lt Col Sanders said.

The Mythic Military

clipped from www.nytimes.com IT has become conventional wisdom that the decision to disband Saddam Hussein’s army was a mistake, was contrary to American prewar planning and was a decision I made on my own. In fact the policy was carefully considered by top civilian and military members of the American government. And it was the right decision. By the time Baghdad fell on April 9, 2003, the Iraqi Army had simply dissolved. On April 17 Gen. John Abizaid, the deputy commander of the Army’s Central Command, reported in a video briefing to officials in Washington that “there are no organized Iraqi military units left.” The disappearance of Saddam Hussein’s old army rendered irrelevant any prewar plans to use that army. So the question was whether the Coalition Provisional Authority should try to recall it or to build a new one open to both vetted members of the old army and new recruits. General Abizaid favored the second approach.

The Temporary Thing

clipped from www.strategypage.com Britain had to re-occupy Iraq during World War II, because the Sunni Arab dominated government (not the king) tried to ally itself with the Nazis. At the time, many Arabs admired Nazism. Many still do. The Brits again conquered country, using three divisions and taking three weeks to do it. The Brits found another bunch of Sunni Arab notables and told them they could run things if they stayed away from the Nazis. That lasted for about a decade, until the Sunni Arab politicians and generals decided that this democracy stuff wasn't working for them. The royal family was massacred and parliament purged of "disloyal" elements. The Sunni Arabs were back in absolute charge, via a series of dictators, until Saddam Hussein was deposed in 2003. Now, this is the critical thing that many Americans don't understand, or even know. When Saddam was deposed in 2003, most (well, many) Sunni Arabs believed they would only be out of power temporarily.

Shukran!

clipped from www.indcjournal.com Through a local interpreter, we talked about their changing opinion of Americans, Iraq's prospects, the misery of living under al Qaeda, the joys of kabob and favorite soccer teams. Their open and friendly nature is hard to reconcile with the violent history of American-Iraqi interaction in Fallujah, and many of them charitably chalk it up to a "misunderstanding." Towards the end of a long conversation with one group, I said, "Well, I wish you luck. And I want you to know, besides the marines and soldiers that you meet here in the city, there are many civilians back in America who hope for Fallujah's success." The afternoon's joking died down as the interpreter translated and each of them earnestly told me "shukran" ("thank you"). And one young guy blurted out in halting English, "We like you!" Backatcha, buddy. Now I'm off to hit that kabob.

Our So-Called Saviours

clipped from biz.yahoo.com "Housing is not a problem...housing is fine...housing is a little softer...housing is weaker than we thought...housing is a lot weaker than we thought...but it won't affect the economy...housing is affecting the economy but won't hurt the overall economy...well...maybe the housing is affecting the economy." "Subprime lending is good for the economy...subprime is fine...subprime numbers weakening but not worried...subprime just a small part of economy...subprime a little worse than we thought...subprime issues worse than expected...subprime will not affect other areas...subprime affects other areas." "Housing is stabilizing...housing is stabilizing and bottoming...housing is bottoming...housing is bottoming...oops...housing worse than we thought...housing much worse than we thought but will not affect overall economy...ooops!" You get the hint. The so-called saviors have been wrong at every instance.

Before The Door

clipped from www.pajamasmedia.com Finally, a successful campaign against the Islamic Republic would require internalizing the lessons of the last four years of war, especially those gained of its recent successes in Anbar. It would imply the repair of US human intelligence capability, reportedly so poor that agent networks in Iran were rolled up shortly after they were deployed. America has to learn how to mobilize all the resources of its national power if it is to confidently confront the Islamic Republic. In summary Iran may well be “the greatest strategic challenge to U.S. interests in the Middle East in a generation”, in the words of Barack Obama. It might even be, as Michael Ledeen says “the key to this war” which if turned will cause “the world [to] change overnight”. But it presents a formidable challenge; one which America must be ready to face before it turns the key to meet whatever lies beyond the door.

Ships, Rats and Democrats

clipped from blogs.dailymail.com I won’t do the rats fleeing the sinking ship line. Why insult rats? Democrats were swept into power by the election of Blue Dog conservatives. Rather than follow that up with reasonable legislation, Pelosi and Reid made opposing the Iraq War their sole issue going 24/7 on it. They misread the public, the military and their own members. Which is why this may be a long September for the Democratic Congress. Oh and yes, the No. 3 Democrat in the House, James Clyburn, was absolutely right when he said good news from Iraq would be “a very real problem for us.” Nice corner Pelosi and company painted the Democrats in. UPDATE: Instapundit linked. Thanks.

Satire Would Seem To Be An Understatement

clipped from www.classicalvalues.com A few years ago, Chomsky and his tax attorney (funny, I thought only rich Republicans had those) opened the Diane Chomsky Irrevocable Trust (named after his daughter) with the venerable Palmer and Dodge law firm. That fund now serves to protect his income from taxation, or as Chomsky would say, it's one of those "tax havens to shift the burden to the general population and away from the rich." "I don't apologize for putting aside money for my children and grandchildren," said Chomsky. When Chomsky exploits loopholes, he's just being a good father. When other people do it, they're trying to stick it to the poor. Hmmm... Maybe Chomsky has decided in his old age that he likes the bin Laden no-tax plan. But will he accept the bin Laden nomination? With reality like this, who needs satire?

The Stench Goes On

clipped from www.captainsquartersblog.com How many other people who flee their sentencing and get recaptured get granted bail? Does California routinely let people post bond after having run out on it before? The Times doesn't ask those questions, and neither does their West Coast counterpart, the Los Angeles Times. Investigative journalists interested in how Hsu got sprung from custody might want to start asking those questions as well as how Hsu got his $2 million bail bond in the first place -- because what bondsman would consider him an acceptable risk? Meanwhile, Hillary's keeping the bundled money that Hsu brought to her campaign: The Clinton campaign has said it will give $23,000 in direct donations from Hsu to charity, but keep the money he bundled. Wolfson declined to release the names of bundled donors. He said that the campaign had not been contacted by the FBI about Hsu's fundraising. I guess that Hillary and her campaign must really enjoy the stench attached to Hsu's cash, bundled or not.

The Grand Inquisitor Does Iraq

clipped from www.tnr.com Worse, the Inquisitor's dim view of human nature implies that the liberation of Iraq never had a fighting chance. Humans, he insists, instinctively yearn for "miracle, mystery, and authority." These are exactly the elements of Shiite Islam that Iraqis now rely on to escape the impossible expectation of building a civil society overnight. Miracle, mystery, and authority are all bound up in Shiite Islam's hidden imam, the spiritual guide who inexplicably disappeared hundreds of years ago and will return one day to rid the world of corruption and injustice. Why should mortals strive to create the conditions that only a Messiah can achieve? Far more rational to let chaos reign, precisely so that the Messiah will have an incentive to appear sooner. Still, is the Grand Inquisitor right about human beings? Is it inevitable that we are weak, fatalistic, and self-loathing? Enter Christianity's Messiah.

I don't think she has all the pieces together correctly on this, but I give her huge points for creativity and getting some of it at least warm. Cool.

The Deinsertion

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com How much funnier can the story get? Wait. It gets worse. "The Hong Kong native had not surrendered his passport to the court, not because he hadn't been asked to, but because he couldn't seem to find it." The New York Times reports: Mr. Brosnahan told reporters outside the courthouse in Redwood City that he had sent an assistant to Mr. Hsu’s apartment in New York on Tuesday to retrieve Mr. Hsu’s passport, but it could not be found. It's not quite clear from the NYT quote what couldn't be found. Mr. Hsu's passport, his apartment or New York City. Maybe all three were missing, as is Mr. Hsu. clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com I assume his spymaster in the Chinese Intelligence Agency deinserted him. The more important issue is whether anyone in law enforcement or the media in the US will follow up and see where the tracks lead.

And The Judge Who Allowed Bail ...

clipped from fallbackbelmont.blogspot.com After Hsu failed to appear this morning, Judge Robert Foiles revoked his bail and issued a warrant for his arrest. How about staking out the political fundraisers? Or dragging the bottom of the East River? It was once suggested that Norman Hsu didn't know he was wanted for a fifteen year old charge and was a fugitive through ignorance. Now Brosnahan suggests he may have simply forgotten the court appearance. "It could be a mistake, somehow, on his part. It could be something else," Brosnahan said as he left a Redwood City courtroom. "We don't know." The phrase "we don't know" appears too often in conjunction with Norman Hsu's name. In this context, however, it appears to mean "we know all too well." In an earlier post, I predicted that the FBI would have trouble getting to the bottom of the Hsu affair. Now, if they want to ask him questions, they are going to have to find him first, with any luck, in condition to answer questions.

... should have "kick me, I'm a stupid, corrupt idiot" tattooed on his *ss.

The High Cost Of Psychopathy

clipped from pajamasmedia.com Psychopathic behaviors enter the picture when individuals, confronted by the painful truth about themselves, refuse to acknowledge and deal with that truth and are unable to see others except as extensions of their own wishes, feelings, or needs. A political agenda that embraces hate and racism and then projects that evil onto others, demonizing and dehumanizing them, is a psycho-pathological political agenda. We are living in an Age of Psychopathy when entire populations imagine that because they have certain beliefs and feelings, those beliefs and feelings are entirely appropriate and their consequences in the real world are perfectly acceptable, no matter how much death and destruction they might generate. The desire to ‘win’ in the political arena trumps everything else. Millions are to be subjected to tyranny and death because evil is given a free pass out of political expediency. Free nations will endure, The cost, however, will be high.

Unimportant My You-Know-What

clipped from www.powerlineblog.com Today, the U.S. military reported that it captured in Iraq an Iranian Revolutionary Guards Corps-Quds Force (IRGC-QF) member suspected of (in the words of our military) "coordinating. . .for the transportation of multiple Iraqis to Iran for terrorist training at IRGC-QF training camps," In response, Bill Kristol wonders why such training camps are off-limits to our forces. Kristol says he raised with a senior Bush administration official the issue of going after these Iranian camps. While not denying that such camps exist or that we know where they are, the official discounted their importance. Kristol was not satisfied this explanation. I find it hard to accept the concept of an unimportant terrorist training camp that's sending its graduates to Iraq. This is especially so when the camp is run by an outfit as formidable as the IRGC-QF and backed by the government of Iran.

Ghosts

clipped from www.nypost.com I'VE listed the key problems that may lie ahead, but this visit to Iraq further convinced me that we're on a promising track, security-wise: * Al Qaeda, America's enemy, has suffered a catastrophic strategic defeat and a humiliation - rejected by its own kind - that will resound in the Muslim world. * That hotbed of insurgency, Anbar Province, has largely come over to our side. * The surge strategy is bringing peaceful conditions to ever more Iraqi neighborhoods - and street-level Iraqis are grateful. They don't want us to leave. * Despite Iran's growing involvement, we've limited Tehran's effectiveness - thus far. Genuine support of our troops and their mission would be the greatest possible "combat multiplier." Instead, the campaign bellowing back home means that even our most-steadfast Iraqi partners feel compelled to prepare for two alternative futures - one if we stay, and another if we abandon them.

McCarthy On Ledeen On The Thugs

clipped from article.nationalreview.com Ledeen’s theme is as simple as it is incontestable: the theocratic regime ushered in by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini’s ascendancy in 1979 is not a conventional government motivated by and ruled in accordance with familiar interests and protocols. It is, instead, a revolutionary movement, It tames its increasingly unhappy subjects with a sophisticated brand of barbarity — unlike Nazi and Soviet torturers, the mullahs tend to furlough their victims back into the general population so all can bare witness to the wages of resistance. And, as tyrants must, it has its bogeymen — the United States, the West generally, and, of course, Israel — to fuel its revolutionary ardor despite a cratering economy and the oppression that hangs ever more heavily on its citizens, in particular, its women, who, in the model of Khomeini, a misogynist of the first order, are reduced to chadored chattel: subjected to official second-class status, child-marriages, polygamy, and systematic ignorance.

Without A Clue II -- A Great Country

clipped from www.americanthinker.com But Hillary and Bill seem to be surprised by so much that the rest of us are not. I bet they don't know that Harold Ickes their longtime buddy and fundraiser, was at the center of the Teamstergate fundraising scandal; or that he regularly compromised U.S. security while collecting record amounts of soft money for them, often  "cutting deals with Chinese intelligence agents eager to loosen up U.S. export controls on military technology." it probably never occurred to her that Ickes was known to have put together the Soros-funded 527 Shadow Party, including America Coming Together whose illegal collection and disbursement of soft money to the Democrats just earned it a $775,000 fine, the largest ever levied by the FEC. So, she's happy to keep him on as "adviser to her campaign manager" as she campaigns for "transparent government." Is this a great country, or what?

Without A Clue

clipped from www.americanthinker.com A man (Mr. Norman Hsu) can be a convicted felon on the lam for 15 years from a guilty plea (which warrants as much as a three year jail term), have his name and face appear in countless news articles as a key fundraiser with no end of prominent Democrats including Hillary Clinton and Eliot Spitzer, and no one charged with enforcing the bench warrant knew where he was. After going on the lam, he could leave this country and return and still remain under the radar. In fact, even though his ex-wife is an Alameda, CA probation office employee, no one had a clue where he was. The guilty plea was entered in a San Mateo County courthouse and yet the Democrat politicians in next door San Francisco took his money with no idea that he was an admitted felon. In fact to this day no one can find a visible means of  Hsu's support whatsoever,

Leisure Day?

clipped from www.americanthinker.com Now listen to the experience of Lance Rakow, general manager of an INX International plant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that makes specialty inks.  He hires production workers at $13.50 an hour.  Felons?  Not a problem. "If only he could get people to show up, or at least call when they don't. Last autumn and winter, he says, he lost nine guys -- one star opted for Bible college, and the rest were fired, mainly because they accumulated too many unexcused, unexplained absences." Is it possible that the good old North American working stiff is losing his appetite for work and his willingness to submit to factory discipline? It may be significant that the nation that leads the world in number of hours worked per year is South Korea. Mexican workers are ranked #3 in the world at 1,980 hours per year, right after South Korea and Poland. Maybe it's just as well that lots of hard-working Koreans and Mexicans are coming to the United States. Otherwise we might have to rename Labor Day as Leisure Day.

Success All Around?

clipped from www.weeklystandard.com When I asked him why conservative blogs don't do the same thing as the Netroots, Johnson responded, "None of us purports to lead a movement, and we're working for a living." Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit, the most widely read center-right blogger, amplifies Johnson's point. "Different needs produce different approaches," he says. "People on the right think their political machine works, but that the media is out to get them. Hence rightish blogging is more about punditry and reporting, and they've succeeded--note the paucity of lefty bloggers embedding in Iraq, while the number on the right is extensive enough that I can no longer name them all. People on the left, on the other hand, know the media is basically on their side, but feel that their political machine stinks, so they've focused on building a new one. And they've succeeded, too."

High On The Hog

clipped from www.strategypage.com While newly equipped A-10s are showing up this year,  it will take five years to upgrade all 350 aircraft in service. Beyond that, the air force is upgrading the engines and structures of the 1970s era aircraft. All the upgrades will cost about $13 million per aircraft. The air force has been trying to retire the ugly, and elderly, aircraft for over a decade. But the A-10s are just too damn effective, and popular, when there's actually a war on.

Lomborg: Taking On Hysterical Climate Innumeracy

clipped from article.nationalreview.com While Lomborg is quite attuned to the pathologies of the climate-policy debate, he pays little attention to the pathologies of climate policymaking. To be sure, spending billions on alternative energy R&D could result in significant technological breakthroughs, but it is not as if governments have not tried this for years. The problem is that government subsidies are doled out according to political criteria, not the advice of technical experts like Lomborg. Given the power of the corn lobby, millions of taxpayer dollars go to ethanol in the name of environmental protection, but the environment is hardly better off. Despite these flaws, Cool It is a highly valuable contribution to the climate-policy literature. In clear and concise prose, Lomborg diagnoses the problems plaguing contemporary climate policy, injecting a needed tonic of realism and common sense into the climate debate. And for that very reason, it is sure to make Lomborg’s critics hot-under-the-collar.