ushanka.us: December 2006

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Mission Accomplished!

Congratulations to the Iraqi People!

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Friday, December 29, 2006

Overheard in the Office

WMC: Do you think Saddam is pissed today that he is going to the gallows for one of his lesser crimes?

WML: No. I think he is pissed because Bush can do what he wants, but Saddam cannot. If Bush wants to take out a leader on the other side of the planet, he can. Saddam and other tyrants want that capability, but do not have it. If he is angry, that is the reason.

WMC: I agree that adds to it. But I have to believe he's upset he's being put to death for about 150 murders, when he's killed 5,000 in a day. It is like Clinton's defense when another girl would come up: "Puhlease. There are a dozen more where she came from." That would defuse the story and put things into perspective.

And how about the 30-day notice? In America, we give a 30-day notice to our condemned, and they kick back for 30 days. Saddam gets a 30-day notice, and the next day his cell opens and a guy says "Let's go". That part of the world is criticized for poor management of democracy, civil administration, ecetera, but they are efficient in at least one area.

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Thursday, December 28, 2006

Karl's Weekend Reading

While listening for the distant sound of a rope going taut, Karl will be reading the following:

Victor Davis Hanson reminds us of Iran's inherent weakness: "Iran’s Ahmadinejad Far Weaker Than He Lets On"

So, as Iranians worry that their nation is becoming an international pariah and perhaps heading down the path of bankruptcy in the process, now is not the time for America to give in by offering direct talks with Ahmadinejad. That propaganda victory would only help him reclaim the legitimacy and stature that he is losing with his own people at home.

Nancy French has some great 2006 flashbacks of Democrat mis-steps at NRO, "Blue State Blunders".

November: After months of therapy trying to “find himself,” Iraqi Jamil Hussein realizes he doesn’t exist after all — in spite of his frequent mentions in the Associated Press. A blogger uncovers the revelation that the AP used false sources and fabricated stories of war atrocities. James Frey doesn’t see what the big deal is, since a “higher truth” is being told.

Hugh Hewitt interviews Joseph Rago, who is 23 BTW!

Our response (below) to Mr. Rago's opinions of bloggers.

HH: Well, again, the chaos of the internet…let’s take another controversy from this year, the cartoons depicting Mohammed.

JR: Sure.

HH: Did any mainstream media outlet publish them?

JR: No, they didn’t.

HH: Were they published on the blogosphere?

JR: Yes.

HH: Who did the better job of providing information to the public?

JR: Well, the reason a lot of newspapers didn’t publish them is because they were in poor taste. And that’s an editorial judgment, of which you can agree or disagree.

HH: But the fact that none…no one in the mainstream media published them…by the way, I did not think it was wise to publish them, so I share the judgment of the mainstream media there. But the judgment of the mainstream media was uniform. What’s that tell you about it? It’s not journalism, Joe. It’s a club.

Labels: Weekend Reading

posted by Karl @ 11:13 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment

Wednesday, December 27, 2006

Latest MSM Iraq Milestone

James Taranto of "Best of the Web Today" picks up on a noticable trend - the MSM defining a major milestone in the Iraq war as the death toll exceeds the toll of 9/11:

We guess the idea of all these "milestones" is to remind Americans that the liberation of Iraq has been costly--and, if you're cynical about the motives of Torchia and other journalists, to dampen public support for the war effort. Liberating Iraq has cost as many lives as 9/11, we are supposed to conclude; therefore it hasn't been worth the cost. Are we then supposed to wish that 9/11 had claimed more lives?

Anyway, isn't there a qualitative difference between someone who goes to work in the morning and is murdered by terrorists, and someone who makes the ultimate sacrifice for his country after volunteering to take that risk? Or between a little girl murdered on a hijacked airplane and an adult man who dies in combat? In what sense are the body counts comparable?

By drawing an equivalence between soldiers and victims, Torchia is insulting the heroism of those who fight, and in some cases die, for America. By engaging in such mindless and meaningless score-keeping, he is insulting the intelligence of every one of his readers.

Thanks for the clarity, James.

posted by Karl @ 4:31 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment

Rest in Peace, Mr. President

Our sympathies to the Ford family.

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Monday, December 25, 2006

Merry Christmas

Our sincere thanks to President Bush and the US military for making this a peaceful and prosperous Christmas!

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Wednesday, December 20, 2006

Blog Criticism from the WSJ

I can understand the Dan Rathers of the MSM criticizing blogs. Their poor work is on display daily at Ushanka.us and other wonderful blogs.

But criticism from the assistant editor, Joseph Rago, of the Wall Street Journal? That is the only paper left that Karl reads, yet it is only a fraction of the news sources that Karl turns to. The others? The blogs listed to the left.

The blogs are not as significant as their self-endeared curators would like to think. Journalism requires journalists, who are at least fitfully confronting the digital age. The bloggers, for their part, produce minimal reportage. Instead, they ride along with the MSM like remora fish on the bellies of sharks, picking at the scraps.

So why do the MSM sharks all swim upside down along the surface? Maybe us bloggers should find a more evolved species to ride with, like a corporate HR representative, security guard, or an IT-Help Desk operator?

You can see this article, "The Blog Mob: Written by Fools to be Read by Imbeciles", posted at Opinion Journal, where one of the Karl's favorite blogs is posted - James Taranto's "Best of the Web Today".

Your Fool and Imbecile - Karl

posted by Karl @ 3:45 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment

Tuesday, December 19, 2006

Karl's Reading (Last Weekend)

Karl enjoyed some great articles this past weekend.

Finally, an objective and succinct summary of the Iraq Study Group, by the ever dependable Charles Krauthammer, "What did the Iraq Study Group Tell Us?"

Mike Adams shares his opinion of Karl's alma mater, Pepperdine University: "Colleges to Attend, Part 1"

And in the spirit of the latest MSM/Commie craze, Peggy Noonan provides a concise summary in the Wall Street Journal: "The Man from Nowhere: What does Barak Obama Believe In?"

Enjoy!

Labels: Weekend Reading

posted by Karl @ 8:16 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment

Truther 'Truthed'

Found at LGF and Hot Air. (Potty-Mouth Warning)

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Friday, December 08, 2006

LGF Feels Karl's Pain

Suzanne Malveaux from CNN has an opinion about US Presidents that drink Kool-Aid. Karl bets she won't say the same about the Russian President for one of the following reasons: 1) He is a fellow Commie, or 2) She is a coward.

posted by Karl @ 6:43 PM Permalink 0 comments Post a comment

Karl's Weekend Reading

So why is Karl so intriqued by the recent murders of three Russian journalists? Maybe because they are true professionals with investigative skills who are driven by freedom's ring? A bit different than US reporters, all striving to get the best Obama puff-piece into print 18 months before anyone cares...

The top reading suggestion for this weekend is the Wall Street Journal's frontpage story about journalism in Russia: "As Journalists Die, A Russian Paper Faces Grim Future".

Updated 12.10: Author Guy Chazan. Russian paper: (topic of article) Novaya Gazeta.

Charles Krauthammer: "If Putin Did It"

Oliver North's "State of War II"

Wall Street Journal Editorial: "Realism and Iran"

Labels: Weekend Reading