tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83638562011-08-22T12:35:19.828-04:00Random thoughts on random topicsDaniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comBlogger5361100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-11170127249900109202011-08-02T16:02:00.005-04:002011-08-02T17:54:10.674-04:00

Dear Vice President Biden, These are terrorists: These are Tea Party supporters: Any questions?

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-6347564501930031912010-11-24T14:41:00.001-05:002010-11-24T14:50:59.595-05:00

There's been a lot of talk lately about the new TSA guidelines for inspecting air travelers.  (Briefly, submit to an invasive X-ray scan -- which has unknown risks for radiation exposure, and is known to produce de facto nude pictures, which the TSA have tried to keep off the Internet with limited success -- or submit to an invasive pat-down, which is apparently thorough enough to warrant an

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-38490174306828400452010-11-11T17:12:00.002-05:002010-11-11T18:24:08.688-05:00

Zombie has a great primer up on gerrymandering -- also known as the Congressional practice of making your district contain only (or nearly only) the voters who support you, even if your district winds up looking like a pretzel. (Or like a salamander... which is what Rep. Elbridge Gerry of Massachusetts did, nearly two hundred years ago; hence the name.  See here for more background, and the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-54463516183709926632010-11-03T07:48:00.002-04:002010-11-04T09:18:15.980-04:00

Good! Rats. With Congress firmly in Republican hands, and the Senate still controlled by the Democrats, we can expect some old-fashioned Capitol Hill gridlock -- which, to those of us who think the government has been doing all too much, is not a bad thing. It does mean that the Republicans won't have much of a chance of undoing President Obama's massive changes of the past two years --

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-71672462166087444002010-10-22T11:23:00.004-04:002010-10-22T11:26:43.601-04:00

(I wonder how many Google hits that headline will get...) Frank J., of imao.us fame, has outdone himself.  Here he predicts the outcome of next Tuesday's election, and explains why: Republicans Kind of Suck ... Which Is Why They Will Win Huge in November During the second term of the Bush presidency people just got fed up with Republicans. They were idiots, they were no good at the whole

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-15150146596099877252010-10-14T10:35:00.002-04:002010-10-14T12:07:46.459-04:00

From an article in Sunday's New York Times magazine, President Obama seems to think that, regardless of the outcome of the mid-term elections on November 2, Republicans will have to work harder with him: Obama expressed optimism to me that he could make common cause with Republicans after the midterm elections. “It may be that regardless of what happens after this election, they feel more

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-86112679146742062542010-10-11T23:16:00.003-04:002010-10-12T00:14:15.939-04:00

With thanks to Instapundit, this article at ChicagoBoyz.net has a lot to say about leftists and leftism:The single most dangerous thing about leftists is their capacity for self-delusion. Most leftists really do believe that they personally know what is best for everyone.Beyond their personal intellectual and moral hubris, leftists think they know best because they believe themselves to belong to

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-58575725748347637102010-09-30T22:23:00.008-04:002010-10-13T14:41:48.859-04:00

Thanks to this article at American Thinker, we find architectural renderings of the Park51 project, aka Cordoba House, aka the Ground Zero mosque. Thomas Lifson says that the motif, with Stars of David tumbling and melting into what looks like a pile of broken glass, reminds him of Kristallnacht. Fair enough. Personally, I wonder about the symbolism behind the name "Park51". (Does that evoke

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-90432944088281929402010-09-21T15:02:00.006-04:002010-10-22T12:03:24.795-04:00

Some random thoughts about Mohammed cartoons: 1. Why does this cartoon show up in the #3 slot for a Google search? (It's not even all that good. This one is much better.) 2. Why does it provoke such strong reactions? Here, from the comments: Xcuse me...hw dare u keep MOHAMMED (PBUH) picture......u r nt suppose 2 do dat...!!!jst remv it..!!! 04/09/2010, 07:04:24 AM Would you be happy If

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-57414911860871625062010-09-21T13:39:00.002-04:002010-09-21T13:56:56.200-04:00

Hey, long time no see!Sorry for the long hiatus... I have no idea if I'll return to these pages on a regular basis. But now and again, I'll have a thing or two I'd like to say, and this is the place where I can say them.- - - - -I found out this morning that Boston is contemplating a ban on the sale of sugared drinks in city buildings:Concerned about the girth of employees and visitors to

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-79000006334167964922009-12-15T09:23:00.004-05:002009-12-15T09:56:19.482-05:00

This is a very interesting development: a Deputy Foreign Minister of Israel, Danny Ayalon, has taken the unusual step of writing an open letter to the Arab world -- in Arabic -- and getting it published in Asharq Alawsat, described as one of the largest pan-Arab newspapers.I'm sure it will be met with great skepticism and cynicism in the Arab world (and elsewhere). Nonetheless, it's a very

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-12777130988494870482009-11-06T11:16:00.010-05:002009-11-13T11:28:05.153-05:00

A tragedy has happened.Almost 24 hours later, a good many details have become clearer. We now know that a U.S. Army psychiatrist, Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, opened fire at Ft. Hood, killing at least 13 people and wounding over 30 more. He himself was wounded in a belated exchange of fire. It is believed he was working alone. It is known that he is a devout Muslim, and that he shouted "Allahu

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-55576043760949768992009-10-30T09:48:00.004-04:002009-10-30T10:28:46.466-04:00

Peggy Noonan, once a speechwriter for President Reagan and now a Wall Street Journal columnist, has been slipping for some time. I remember when she took a leave of absence from her job at WSJ in 2004, to campaign for the re-election of George W. Bush; she felt that having him at the helm was more important than her job. By 2008, though, she had become increasingly disillusioned with the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-18176885657443804122009-10-27T10:06:00.004-04:002009-10-27T10:29:52.729-04:00

Thanks to Instapundit, I just saw this well-written post, with a lovely "photo" to go with it:Okay, it’s time to finally admit it: Barack Obama hates businessmen. Not just certain businessmen, mind you, but the entire profession.Obama has demonized just about every business sector in America. Through the 2008 campaign to the present, he has gone after credit card companies, the coal industry,

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-15618846694566467992009-10-26T10:49:00.004-04:002009-10-26T15:25:36.604-04:00

Carol Gould of Pajamas Media notes that, in a recent list of Nobel Prize winners in the Guardian, the Israeli names -- Menachem Begin, Yitzhak Rabin, and Shimon Peres -- were somehow omitted.Coincidence? Accident? One might be naive enough to think so, if it wasn't part of a consistent pattern. As she points out, her occasional pro-Israel reader comments are deleted from the Website... while

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-23486615297660790242009-10-23T08:36:00.005-04:002009-11-05T11:40:49.122-05:00

Remember discussions of "character" during the 2008 Presidential elections? A point made by supporters of Sen. McCain, time and time again, was that character matters -- your character, your sense of honor, your track record how you deal with friends and opponents (and how you distinguish the two), all these strongly influence the decisions you will make as an executive.The point was then made

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-65146691001873000142009-10-21T09:43:00.002-04:002009-10-21T12:26:57.288-04:00

It would appear so, at least according to GfK Custom Research:NEW YORK – October 5, 2009 – Brand America is now ranked #1 by global citizens, according to the GfK Roper Public Affairs & Media, a division of GfK Custom Research North America. Results from the 2009 Anholt-GfK Roper Nation Brands Index(NBI), which measures the global image of 50 countries, show the United States taking the top spot

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-50649790341954391602009-10-13T09:38:00.004-04:002009-10-30T10:27:51.256-04:00

Maybe I should watch the Sunday-morning news shows... they seem to be getting more and more entertaining:Attacking the news media is a time-honored White House tactic but to an unusual degree, the Obama administration has narrowed its sights to one specific organization, the Fox News Channel, calling it, in essence, part of the political opposition.“We’re going to treat them the way we would

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-35837801651793835502009-10-09T08:29:00.007-04:002009-10-14T12:55:49.346-04:00

My thoughts exactly.I heard on the radio this morning, on my way to work, that President Obama had been named as this year's winner of the Nobel Peace Prize. Apparently even he was astonished.You know, I remember when the Nobel Peace Prize was supposed to reward people who'd spent their lifetimes working for world peace... ideally, people who had actually accomplished something for all their

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-53104806651741071092009-10-05T11:44:00.004-04:002009-10-06T10:22:44.407-04:00

That's a chapter heading from the book "The Jewish Connection", pointing up the fact that Jews, and Jewish connections, can show up in the most unlikely times and places.For example, Adolf Hitler's paternal grandfather is unknown; given that, by Hitler's standards, one Jewish grandparent was enough to send you to the concentration camps, he tried strenuously -- without success -- to get to the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-41326820238505222762009-10-01T11:07:00.004-04:002009-10-01T12:15:15.783-04:00

..or the lack of such a need...Here's an interesting article, by a breast-cancer specialist and cosmetic surgeon from California, on her experiences with people who chose not to have health insurance (and were occasionally quite vehement about it).Although she doesn't connect all the dots, her point is unmistakable: that many people would rather pay for any number of luxuries and not pay for

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-91686561323549561832009-09-30T14:52:00.006-04:002009-10-01T12:29:54.458-04:00

Sometimes the news from Israel is encouraging. For example, I was delighted when Prime Minister Netanyahu spoke at the UN:UN Photo/Marco CastroYesterday, the man who calls the Holocaust a lie spoke from this podium. To those who refused to come here and to those who left this room in protest, I commend you. You stood up for moral clarity and you brought honor to your countries.But to those who

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-30557723259524872232009-09-25T09:11:00.002-04:002009-09-25T09:28:29.257-04:00

Some interesting links, all courtesy of Instapundit:From the Washington Post:Democratic political committees have seen a decline in their fundraising fortunes this year, a result of complacency among their rank-and-file donors and a de facto boycott by many of their wealthiest givers, who have been put off by the party's harsh rhetoric about big business.And from the L.A. Times:Now, the guns of

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-90204084377004727982009-09-22T11:51:00.003-04:002009-09-22T12:41:05.960-04:00

What do you call a person who redefines a word to suit himself -- and who, when called on it with a precise dictionary definition, complains that using a dictionary was unreasonable?For now, you could call such a person President of the United States.Mr. Obama: "No, but—but, George, you—you can't just make up that language and decide that that's called a tax increase.""I don't think I'm making it

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-81081820460744416922009-09-17T13:52:00.005-04:002009-09-17T16:02:38.546-04:00

Neo-neocon has an interesting discussion going on the subject of 'racers'. (Her use of the word, and her perception of the need for it, are interesting. First we had the 9/11 'truthers', who were convinced of a Bush Administration complicity in 9/11; then we had the Obama 'birthers', who believe President Obama may not have been born in the United States, and thus should have been disqualified

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-6730529254033743282009-09-16T08:22:00.006-04:002009-09-25T10:47:47.265-04:00

Let's hear it for playing politics with the death of Sen. Ted Kennedy.Mind you, I'm not a big fan of the man, for a variety of reasons. But if it's wrong to exploit his death for cynical political purposes, then it's equally wrong for Democrats as for Republicans.Yet now there's a bill before the Massachusetts Legislature, which would give the Governor (Deval Patrick, Democrat) the right to

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-5084039607499984982009-08-20T16:04:00.002-04:002009-08-20T16:31:08.398-04:00

Joe Huffman, a blogger and self-professed Second Amendment activist, has a brief essay on an interesting way to look at government regulation -- what he calls the "Jews In The Attic" test:Will this law make it difficult or impossible to protect innocent life from a government intent on their imprisonment or death? [...] I told them I called this test my "Jews In The Attic Test". Furthermore

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-44926276879601658882009-08-20T15:57:00.002-04:002009-08-20T16:03:34.115-04:00

This is according to the CDC:U.S. life expectancy reached nearly 78 years (77.9), and the age-adjusted death rate dropped to 760.3 deaths per 100,000 population, both records, according to the latest mortality statistics from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).The report, “Deaths: Preliminary Data for 2007,” was issued today by CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics. The

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-6166356209855585172009-08-18T14:47:00.003-04:002009-08-19T15:39:00.820-04:00

A number of interesting articles have been posted in re the much-maligned and heavily-underestimated Sarah Palin -- who was in the news recently for lambasting ObamaCare's prospective "death panels". This caused widespread condemnation, up to and including President Obama himself, who went out of his way to ridicule the idea that the government "would pull the plug on Grandma". (We also saw

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-89648428699841948392009-08-13T12:08:00.014-04:002009-09-18T15:29:02.501-04:00

As seen in Instapundit -- Yale is planning to publish a scholarly work on the infamous twelve Mohammed cartoons... and is deliberately omitting the cartoons.If this isn't ridiculous, I don't know what is. By way of analogy: would you want to see a scholarly work researching the history of antisemitic cartoons, without reprinting the cartoons themselves? (I wouldn't. It's an important issue,

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-27038056514882499212009-08-10T10:47:00.004-04:002009-09-18T15:38:59.184-04:00

I used to see lots of bumper stickers like that (and other stuff) that, back when George W. Bush was President -- along with "Question Authority" and similar sentiments. I don't see too many of them these days.Could it be that dissent is, somehow, no longer patriotic? Glenn Reynolds suggests this, comparing the increasingly vocal "town meeting" attendees (who oppose ObamaCare, and are publicly

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-2067123304766283012009-08-04T11:28:00.004-04:002009-08-18T15:20:49.874-04:00

As my friend Sol says, there's nothing brief about this legal brief. (I'll add that whoever chose the fonts should be demoted immediately.)Beyond that, it's an extremely detailed report on Israel's December 2008 - January 2009 incursion into the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and well worth a look. The executive summary alone runs to 14 paragraphs, including such details as these:3. The Paper

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-34189805357655177032009-07-29T14:05:00.008-04:002009-09-30T15:41:39.078-04:00

I've enjoyed Michael Totten's writing for some time. I don't always agree with him, to be sure, but even when don't, he explains himself well enough to make me re-examine my own positions.In his latest Commentary editorial (reprinted in part at his own site), Mr. Totten points out something that should be obvious and unmistakable -- fighting a war against Israel with rockets doesn't work.

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-78919955267211086582009-07-23T18:05:00.002-04:002009-07-23T18:17:46.668-04:00

I note on HotAir.com (a site I only recently started checking again) that the issue of President Obama's birth certificate has come up again.As I understand it, President Obama must authorize the release of his birth certificate from the Hawaii authorities, and he's never done so. (No big surprise here; he hasn't authorized the release of his Columbia student transcript either, along with a lot

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-60876277507347311972009-06-26T13:51:00.003-04:002009-06-26T16:05:53.353-04:00

This dates from before he was even sworn in:HJ 5 IH111th CONGRESS1st SessionH. J. RES. 5Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States to repeal the twenty-second article of amendment, thereby removing the limitation on the number of terms an individual may serve as President.IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVESJanuary 6, 2009Mr. SERRANO introduced the following joint resolution;

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-61273754134521165752009-06-25T15:38:00.009-04:002009-06-29T12:00:50.727-04:00

As seen in Ha'aretz (with a tip o'the hat to the Huffington Post): European diplomatic sources said Thursday that kidnapped Israel Defense Forces soldier Gilad Shalit will be transferred to Egypt in the coming hours or coming days.This information has yet to be confirmed by Israeli officials.According to the European sources, Shalit's transfer is the first stage of an agreement between the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-57067990349307203482009-06-25T10:27:00.004-04:002009-06-29T11:53:39.695-04:00

A lot of people were upset yesterday, when ABC News spent an entire day at the White House, devoting the day's coverage to President Obama's health-care reform proposals. It was seen as an unpaid infomercial for the President -- which is no doubt what it was intended to be, and what in many ways it was. A lot of angry ink was devoted to the need for an impartial press -- one that will make the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-69666444053134970832009-06-19T11:28:00.004-04:002009-06-19T14:36:23.072-04:00

I notice that Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak has an editorial in today's Wall Street Journal. It's long-winded, clearly aimed at a Western audience, and full of pleasant-sounding phrases. But it can be summarized thus: President Obama's Cairo speech opens a new opportunity to push forward for Middle East peace, in particular for the Palestinians, and Egypt stands ready to take its place in

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-89817587602060847042009-06-15T16:30:00.004-04:002009-06-15T16:55:39.155-04:00

Michael Totten has an article in Commentary Magazine that's so good, I'm having difficulty excerpting it because there's nothing I'm willing to cut out.Here's the opener:The Islamic Republic regime in Iran is vividly revealing itself as an enemy of the entire world.“Supreme Guide” Ali Khamenei’s police and the Basij militia are using violence and terror to suppress the Iranian people at home. His

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-90938934386508793442009-06-12T10:11:00.003-04:002009-06-19T15:26:33.047-04:00

From ABC News:Rev. Wright: I Meant to Say “Zionists” Are Keeping Me from Talking to President Obama -- Not JewsGee, thanks, Reverend... that makes me feel a whole lot better.You're a little behind the times, I'm afraid. That excuse -- "I'm not anti-Jew, I'm anti-Zionist" -- was old hat in the eighties. Besides, if the reason for your backtracking is to claim that you're not antisemitic, let's

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-27825244574325236722009-06-08T14:10:00.002-04:002009-06-08T14:27:50.535-04:00

Hard to believe, isn't it? When was the last time a sovereign country outlawed marriages to citizens of another sovereign country?“This is an historic ruling,” al-Wahsh said to reporters after the ruling. “Egyptians married to Israelis are dangerous to Egypt’s national security, acting in ways that contradict the constitution of their country and Islamic laws,” he said. As Solomonia points out,

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-7806554274926371162009-06-05T08:54:00.006-04:002009-08-10T11:44:38.392-04:00

Well, I wasn't expecting this...As Professor Glenn puts it: "They told me that if I voted for McCain, we’d get a President whose speeches on Islam were praised at Hot Air and criticized at the HuffPo. And they were right!"I think the Huffington Post is getting increasingly disillusioned with the President not living up to the expectations set in his campaign. (That's natural; I doubt anybody

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-88529986602848972572009-06-04T08:45:00.009-04:002009-06-04T09:47:45.151-04:00

Power Line cites one of President Obama's recent malapropisms: "And one of the points I want to make is, is that if you actually took the number of Muslim Americans, we’d be one of the largest Muslim countries in the world".At first I didn't think it was that serious a misstatement, unless you see it as part of a bigger pattern. (I didn't think it was a big deal when he implied that America had

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-73819687770764507232009-06-03T08:40:00.007-04:002009-06-26T15:04:05.077-04:00

Unbelievable:Seven times the question was posed - a question that could be answered “yes” or “no” (and that in fact has only one appropriate answer) - and seven times the spokesman declined to answer whether the administration stood by the explicit commitments given to Israel when it turned over Gaza to advance the “peace process.” Now the administration wants Israel to commit, in advance of

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-19985289739232604362009-05-06T14:46:00.004-04:002009-06-26T16:05:10.161-04:00

This puts things rather concisely, doesn't it?Sure, it's simplistic... but so is the criticism of Israel for not handing the Palestinians the world on a silver platter.Put it this way: on the Israeli side, the extremists are the ones -- such as Bibi Netanyahu and Avigdor Lieberman -- advocating a two-state solution (even if they don't call it by that name) and declaring that Israel does not want

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-57880610254835018022009-04-09T10:54:00.006-04:002009-04-14T11:03:08.812-04:00

From yesterday's Wall Street Journal:President Obama surprised the world yesterday with an unannounced visit to Baghdad, where he met Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and praised the courage and perseverance of America's troops. But the most pleasant surprise has been Mr. Obama's near-about face on Iraq since becoming President.Speaking to GIs in one of Saddam Hussein's old palaces, Mr. Obama

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-89541350262423689822009-04-07T13:35:00.005-04:002009-04-10T14:51:05.885-04:00

A rather chilling observation:“My administration is the only thing between you and the pitchforks,” Barack Obama told the CEOs of the world’s most powerful financial institutions on March 27, when they cited competition for talent in an international market as justification for paying higher salaries to their employees.Arrayed around a long mahogany table in the White House state dining room, the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-88299445362930182592009-04-03T14:51:00.005-04:002009-04-06T16:00:49.476-04:00

If you get mad when people refer to "the TelePromTer President", you probably don't want to click the link above. If you take umbrage when people say that President Obama is less than articulate without a script, or that the American press is all too eager to cover for him when he trips, then this link is not for you.If, however, you're a little tired of the Obama adulation and rock-star status

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-79106834496449438712009-04-03T10:03:00.009-04:002009-06-26T15:48:40.910-04:00

Israel's new foreign minister, Avigdor Lieberman of the Yisra'el Beiteinu party ("Israel is our home"), gave his first speech yesterday -- and it seems to have attracted quite a bit of attention.Daniel Pipes calls it "Avigdor Lieberman's Brilliant Debut". The BBC cheerfully chooses to emphasize the negative, remembering him as the "hard-liner" who told Hosni Mubarak to "go to hell"... and then

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-85780538758177762272009-04-02T09:20:00.010-04:002009-06-26T15:43:59.920-04:00

So says an exclusive interview in The Atlantic. I must say, it sounds good to me.On the other hand, the headline is a bit misleading; nowhere in the article is Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu actually quoted as saying that. It's not even a paraphrase; Mr. Netanyahu never talks about Israel attacking Iran at all. He simply describes the dangers of a nuclear Iran, in great detail, and

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-30917941527972147022009-03-04T14:11:00.010-05:002009-06-26T15:41:29.432-04:00

I have to admit, I'm getting a bit tired of hearing our elected representatives discuss our national budget, and the multiple bailout plans -- how many of them are there by now? -- and stimulus packages, using the term "trillion" casually.That's one heck of a big number: 1,000,000,000,000. It's the number of seconds in 31,688 years; go back that far and you'd see Cro-Magnon Senators and

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-39629892326367704352009-01-23T15:33:00.007-05:002009-04-09T11:14:05.696-04:00

Remember when then-Senator Obama refused to answer questions on the campaign trail, because he was busy eating his waffle?I wondered, before the inauguration, if we'd see a better attitude from Mr. Obama once he became President.No such luck, I guess: President Obama made a surprise visit to the White House press corps Thursday night, but got agitated when he was faced with a substantive question

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-48624682169825374342008-12-03T09:24:00.004-05:002008-12-03T10:51:28.334-05:00

Courtesy of Instapundit, the following piece on Kausfiles seems well worth quoting:Here's a Saturday Belfast Telegraph story about Sebastian D'Souza, the photographer who took a now-famous photograph of one of the Mumbai terrorists in the process of gunning people down in a train station: But what angered Mr D'Souza almost as much were the masses of armed police hiding in the area who simply

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-36086984746826830482008-12-02T13:05:00.004-05:002008-12-04T13:01:47.593-05:00

This is ridiculous to the point that I have difficulty believing it. But apparently, yes, MSNBC news anchor Alex Witt was truly expecting terrorists to lay off the attacks for awhile, as part of the universal joy that attended the election of Barack Obama:ALEX WITT: You know, John, and it’s interesting because there are many who had such an optimstic and hopeful opinion of things, and you

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-35575936621942036872008-12-01T12:34:00.005-05:002008-12-05T09:29:36.510-05:00

This past weekend, in the United States, was Thanksgiving, traditionally celebrated with turkey and stuffing, time off from work, and department-store holiday sales.The real news over this weekend, however, was the horrifying drawn-out drama of hostage-taking in Mumbai, India.Personally, I find it horrifying on several levels. Out of a city of 20 million people, the terrorists chose a Chabad

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-43352348693544687742008-11-26T11:37:00.002-05:002008-11-26T11:55:40.167-05:00

It's a good question. And, according to Jack Goldsmith and Eric Posner, writing in yesterday's Wall Street Journal, the answer is interesting:Many of President-elect Barack Obama's supporters hope he will scrap the Bush administration's skeptical attitude toward international law and take a more European approach. This is presumably to bring us in line with what these supporters regard as more

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-80772239322342400242008-11-25T11:38:00.004-05:002008-11-25T23:54:33.645-05:00

Understatement can be a powerful thing. (Just ask the British, who are famous for it.)On the other hand, it's clear that the British don't have a monopoly on this. What would you call it when 30 American Marines, tired out from a long day of patrolling, are ambushed by a force of 250 insurgents -- and fights them off, in the insurgents' own backyard, inflicting over 50 casualties with no

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-40242337215034284642008-11-11T14:27:00.001-05:002008-11-11T14:28:34.799-05:00

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-83288757678071028842008-11-11T11:47:00.005-05:002009-06-26T15:24:05.367-04:00

President-elect Obama is seen by many as a fresh face in Washington; indeed, he campaigned on that basis, describing himself as "post-partisan", calling for an end to "politics as usual" and presenting himself as the agent for Hope and Change.I, and many others, will be watching and waiting eagerly to see if he can live up to the spirit of the change he promised, if not all of the actual details.

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-5126770833324394742008-11-10T13:14:00.002-05:002008-11-10T13:27:06.949-05:00

The audacity of this piece, by Philadelphia Daily News senior writer Will Bunch, just takes my breath away:It was living proof of my personal belief that the greatest role for journalists is not to make sure that every story has 50 percent of one side and 50 percent of the other side – but that the vital function for reporters is to preserve democracy and the freedom of the press, because without

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-51814125512225528332008-11-10T10:54:00.004-05:002008-11-10T17:43:00.506-05:00

It sounds ludicrous -- getting elected President is, by far, the biggest thing the man has ever accomplished. But according to the Topeka City Journal, we shouldn't even wait for the man to be inaugurated (and, you know, actually do something):Plans are being made to promote a national holiday for Barack Obama, who will become the nation's 44th president when he takes the oath of office Jan. 20.

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-1076625489838790522008-11-07T09:44:00.002-05:002008-11-07T10:11:07.721-05:00

Sol at solomonia.com quotes with approval from Byron York, in a lengthy essay about Sen. John McCain and the good job he did under exceptionally trying circumstances. In the process, Sol has quite a bit to say himself.I agree completely. For all of McCain's faults -- which he has, just like the rest of us -- he ran a hard campaign, kept his dignity and his honor intact, and did much better than

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-61420045911109022352008-11-07T08:53:00.005-05:002008-11-10T10:47:18.596-05:00

President Kennedy had a year and a half to govern before having to face down Russia in the Cuban Missile Crisis. It looks as though the Russians aren't even waiting for President-elect Obama to be sworn in:MOSCOW - President Dmitry Medvedev said Wednesday that Russia will deploy missiles in territory near NATO member Poland in response to U.S. missile defense plans.He did not say whether the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-79188378203039599282008-11-06T09:17:00.005-05:002008-11-08T16:59:40.824-05:00

Glenn Reynolds is keeping track of "now they tell us" post-election moments, as are several others... and it seems like a fun idea to me.I saw this yesterday, for example:According to the six-year narrative of the press and political class, the Bush Administration's counterterrorism policies fall somewhere between the Spanish Inquisition and the Ministry of Love in "1984." So it was something of

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-49960636766930734552008-11-05T11:59:00.002-05:002008-11-05T12:25:07.023-05:00

Other political races, I mean. (Behave yourself, people!)I'll admit that I'm disappointed in the way Campaign 2008 turned out in general. Yes, John Hinderaker points out that this was not a landslide. Nonetheless, John Kerry was reelected (with 66% of the vote). In spite of everything, Barney Frank was reelected (with 68% of the vote); in spite of everything, Frank Murtha was reelected (with

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-88084895754964669822008-11-05T08:12:00.009-05:002008-11-05T11:52:24.277-05:00

Well, the results were in last night -- and, contrary to my expectations and hopes, Sen. Obama ruled the polls, and it wasn't even all that close.Let me start by saying congratulations to the man who will be 44th President of the United States, our first black President, the first Democrat to win a majority of the popular vote since 1976. Congratulations, President-elect Obama!I do not like the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-38384371954699237302008-03-13T14:37:00.003-04:002008-03-13T15:33:18.071-04:00

Something weird is going on at Google Maps... particularly pertaining to their coverage of the Middle East.It's been pointed out before that Google Maps happily displays the names "West Bank" and "Gaza Strip" before the name "Israel" is large enough to show up.But this is more interesting. Look up Israel on Google Maps, and see this:Notice anything interesting? Let's zoom in a bit more:Hmm.

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-45283621570097434072008-02-28T16:23:00.002-05:002008-02-28T16:29:40.070-05:00

Thanks to Instapundit, we see this on Drudge: PRINCE HARRY FIGHTS ON FRONTLINES IN AFGHANISTAN; 3 MONTH TOURThu Feb 28 2008 11:01:34 ETThey're calling him "Harry the Hero!"British Royal Prince Harry has been fighting in Afghanistan since late December -- and has been directly involved in gun battle, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.The prince, a junior officer in the Blues and Royals, and third in

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-63991167939326081392008-02-28T11:57:00.004-05:002008-03-03T15:28:15.039-05:00

Well, some people in Hollywood do, anyway:Los Angeles is proving to indeed be a "city of angels’". A host of Hollywood stars, including Paula Abdul, Sylvester Stallone and Jon Voight, will be participating Tuesday in a charity and solidarity concert for the rocket-battered town of Sderot in Beverly Hills.Ynetnews.com also covered the event itself:Dozens of Hollywood stars attended Tuesday the "

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-84504389854149818282008-02-26T10:42:00.006-05:002008-02-26T16:13:51.509-05:00

Okay, I'll admit it -- I've long been a fan of the Indiana Jones franchise. And, as such, I'm looking forward to the latest installment: Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.I can't help wondering, though -- where did that idea come from?According to a plot synopsis on Wikipedia, an older Indiana Jones battles Soviet agents (aha!) for the Crystal Skull, apparently a South American

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-84094284679530535112007-12-03T17:58:00.000-05:002007-12-03T18:29:27.690-05:00

When I first saw this Day By Day cartoon, I thought it was just a joke:Yep, that was my reaction too -- hostages? In Hillary's campaign offices?!?But it turns out to have been real:Aides said Clinton was home Friday afternoon, getting ready to deliver a partisan speech in Virginia to the Democratic National Committee, when she was told three workers in her Rochester, N.H., headquarters had been

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-44038105645526066312007-11-02T08:44:00.000-04:002007-11-02T10:02:10.631-04:00

As seen on Instapundit:There are times when we all get in high dudgeon. We ought to be reasonable about this... I think there are probably very few people in this room -- or in America -- who would say that torture should never, ever be used, particularly if thousands of lives are at stake.Take the hypothetical: if we knew that there was a nuclear bomb, hidden in an American city, and we

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-21913235137306917582007-10-30T23:03:00.000-04:002007-10-30T23:33:09.267-04:00

Have you noticed that a fair number of comedians just aren't funny anymore? I'm thinking, for example, of Janeanne Garofalo, Garry Trudeau, Rosie O'Donnell, and Garrison Keillor. (I sometimes date myself by saying "I can remember when Doonesbury used to be funny".)The common denominator seems to be politics, I'm sorry to say. All these people are so angry about politics, just about all the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-25482407236033174412007-10-22T08:55:00.000-04:002007-11-01T20:49:10.824-04:00

Yeeowch! America, meet Hillary Clinton.As the indefatiguable Zombietime points out, the Hillary-for-President campaign has every right to promote a positive image of their candidate... but the media is going out of its way to help. So Zombie has collected unflattering pictures of Hillary, on the assumption that they will be hard to find. (And yes, contributions are welcomed, it seems!)These

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-53515581918401065232007-10-18T11:01:00.000-04:002007-10-19T15:16:32.516-04:00

From Monday's New York Post: 'WIRE' LAW FAILED LOST GI October 15, 2007 -- WASHINGTON - U.S. intelligence officials got mired for nearly 10 hours seeking approval to use wiretaps against al Qaeda terrorists suspected of kidnapping Queens soldier Alex Jimenez in Iraq earlier this year, The Post has learned.[. . .]In the early hours of May 12, seven U.S. soldiers - including Spc. Jimenez - were

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-63297033211196062492007-10-16T15:26:00.000-04:002007-10-16T15:37:58.419-04:00

As seen at BobKrumm.com, here's comment #20 to a recent post, in its entirety:The Left is fond of saying that the majority of Americans don’t support the war. I guess then that as a supporter of the war that makes me a dissenter. And remember - dissent is the highest form of patriotism.Oh, man, that smarts!!(Hat tip: Instapundit. I added the link; it seemed appropriate.)Also seen at the same

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-68294125983436040342007-10-12T09:52:00.000-04:002007-10-22T12:19:26.475-04:00

Remember Israel's Sept. 6, 2007 raid on northern Syria? The one that had Syria and Iran in a panic, the one that may have destroyed a North Korean-supplied Iranian-financed WMD facility? The one that Israel uncharacteristically acknowledged publicly? Well, Syria now claims it didn't happen.In a manner we've come to expect from dictatorships with government-controlled media, the Syrian story

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-64880947347951850242007-10-12T08:43:00.000-04:002007-11-02T13:55:40.295-04:00

Sorry for the long hiatus, folks. Let's see if we can get this beast moving again, possibly with some short pieces here and there.What caught my eye today, and inspired me to say something, was the news that former VP Al Gore has won the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize -- for his work spreading the gospel on global warming.(Pajamas Media has a comprehensive roundup of links.)Given that the science behind

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-5490281163905291652007-09-05T12:37:00.000-04:002007-09-05T13:54:01.096-04:00

Sorry for the hiatus; there may be more of those to come, as my non-virtual life stays busy. But this caught my eye this morning, and seemed worth a comment or two:Palestinians win battle to reroute West Bank barrier By Donald Macintyre in GazaPublished: 05 September 2007Israel's Supreme Court delivered a significant blow to the country's military establishment yesterday by

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-74846736721079650582007-06-22T11:44:00.000-04:002007-06-22T11:45:32.873-04:00

Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick has proposed a new gun-control restriction (don't we have enough already?) -- which he calls "H3991", but which the rest of us call "one gun or magazine purchase per month".This annoys me -- I can see the one-gun-per-month restriction as not being particularly onerous, I suppose (except to gun collectors). But magazines? Am I to understand that, if my local

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-89993343451845269362007-06-22T07:54:00.000-04:002007-06-22T12:14:16.611-04:00

NOTE: This post originally combined two topics -- recent events in Gaza, and gun control in Massachusetts. I've decided to split the two subjects into two separate posts. Sorry if this causes any confusion. --DiBApologies to both my regular readers; I've been busy with other things lately, without much time to blog.Frankly, I've also been demoralized by some of what I've been reading. The

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-79088130793425252842007-06-14T13:28:00.000-04:002007-06-14T13:57:07.369-04:00

It's a question that's been asked many times before, of course. But Dr. Pipes addresses this from an Israeli perspective, which people on this side of the Atlantic may find interesting:Barring a "catastrophic development," reports Middle East Newsline, George W. Bush has decided not to attack Iran. An administration source explains that Washington deems Iran's cooperation "needed for a

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-74114415831491789902007-06-13T10:38:00.000-04:002007-06-14T13:25:35.440-04:00

Hard to believe, isn't it?According to the BBC, Fatah leader Abbas warns that the violence in Gaza "is taking the region to the point of collapse":Armed members from the rival Hamas and Fatah factions have been battling in Gaza for control of key security posts.Five Palestinians were killed in an explosion in a tunnel under a security headquarters in Khan Younis.The fighting has spilled over into

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-39650742423618632582007-06-12T16:04:00.000-04:002007-06-12T19:12:09.833-04:00

Have a look at Israellycool's summary of the past day (or so) of fighting in Gaza:Things are happening at a bloodcurdling pace, and it is very hard sometimes to keep track of all the terrorist vs terrorist goings on. Thus as a special service for Israellycool readers, I have summarized today's events in an easy-to-follow manner. No thanks needed, I'm a giver.Hamas: Demanded that Fatah terrorists

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-6512044361968810862007-06-12T11:13:00.001-04:002007-06-14T13:17:18.363-04:00

Can you spot the subtle discrepancy in this CNN screen-shot?Yes, the violence in the Middle east is unending; and yes, it is Palestinians in their wretched refugee camps that seem to suffer the most. (Although even there, not all is as it seems; the Prime Minister of the Palestinian Authority, Ismail Haniyeh, lives in the Shati refugee camp in the Gaza Strip... so perhaps the camps aren't as

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-84839463977655924222007-06-11T11:37:00.000-04:002007-06-11T12:31:46.380-04:00

So it's come to this:Gunmen Fire At Two Palestinian Authority OfficialsJune 11, 2007 9:16 a.m. ESTLinda Young - AHN News WriterGaza City, Gaza Strip (AHN) - Gunmen on Monday fired on the home of Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh and the office of the Sports and Culture Minister Bassem Naim, both of the Hamas political party. The attack on Haniyeh came early on Monday morning and

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-2072549588044814732007-06-10T16:39:00.000-04:002007-06-10T17:11:56.076-04:00

To both of my regular readers: if vocal music interests you (and if you have a taste for the irreverent), please do check this out!The soprano is up-and-coming opera star Inna Dukach; her background singers are the GrooveBarbers (of Astelin fame), featuring Inna's husband Sean Altman (the tall guy in the middle).I guess Sean wasn't satisfied with merely combining do-wop and opera... so he got a

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-39478370140412970912007-06-08T09:47:00.000-04:002007-06-11T09:30:24.907-04:00

As seen this morning on CNN.com:To which I can only say: good!Admittedly, I'm no expert in these matters. I'll also admit that I haven't read the bill. But that's part of the problem right there -- it's a 326-page bill, and it was first made available on May 21st! Were we really expected to read, and fully understand, such a Frankenstein's Monster of a bill, in time to debate it and vote on it

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-64447433585970127872007-06-07T13:47:00.000-04:002007-06-07T14:58:55.343-04:00

This week is the forty-year anniversary of the Six-Day War, a military victory for Israel of almost unprecedented scope.The victory is all the more impressive, given that hardly anybody outside of Israel thought she would survive the war at all. As Michael Oren writes in Powerline:People don't realize, or remember, how close Israel was to being wiped off the map 40 years ago. On the one hand, it

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-44546993110343760282007-06-01T12:52:00.000-04:002007-06-03T17:52:46.513-04:00

Just when it seemed nothing was making sense...Watching the pundits discuss our historic meeting with Iran, you would have mostly heard despair at the notion that we have no leverage in these talks, and so therefor why would Iran give on anything? Why would they stop waging war against us in iraq if they have nothing to fear? To all the experts in the media, the whole thing seemed like some grand

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-22316916957255948892007-06-01T10:01:00.001-04:002007-06-01T13:04:37.949-04:00

Sometimes it doesn't seem that anyone remembers how to keep a secret anymore...WASHINGTON (AP) -- Detailed plans for the new U.S. Embassy now under construction in Baghdad appeared online in a major breach of the tight security surrounding the sensitive project that will be America's largest diplomatic mission abroad.Computer-generated projections of the nearly completed heavily fortified

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-31670614036775699632007-05-30T15:17:00.000-04:002007-05-30T15:53:22.646-04:00

I continue to wonder, and worry, what will happen vis-a-vis Iran. Is President Bush simply too tired to confront Iran, as some have suggested? Have the appeasers in Washington won?Norman Podhoretz wonders this too. And he clearly has not forgotten what is at stake:The Iranians, of course, never cease denying that they intend to build a nuclear arsenal, and yet in the same breath they openly

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-64942948743890139202007-05-29T08:14:00.000-04:002007-05-29T09:21:50.313-04:00

I believe that it does. All my life I've believed, without proof, that being kind to others, by default, was the right way for me to live.(Please note that I said "by default". Knowing nothing about a person, my initial tendency is to treat them kindly. If they respond otherwise, I feel no obligation to continue being kind. "Turn the other cheek" has never appealed to me.)In general, I've

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-55777107829059386662007-05-29T07:49:00.000-04:002007-05-29T12:21:08.783-04:00

From LGF, this morning:BAGHDAD - The United States and Iran broke a 27-year diplomatic freeze Monday with a four-hour meeting about Iraqi security. The American envoy said there was broad policy agreement, but that Iran must stop arming and financing militants who are attacking U.S. and Iraqi forces.Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi told The Associated Press that the two sides would meet

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-57801617501135326092007-05-28T09:35:00.000-04:002007-05-28T09:55:02.205-04:00

As seen at Extreme Mortman:Ron Paul, who was born with a duck, raised taxes while invading Grenada. Ron Paul does not know what habeus corpus abuse is, but is pretty sure it is not one of Baskin Robbins 31 flavors and is therefore against it. Ron Paul has never actually been wrong, except for one time when he thought he was, but he really wasn’t. Ron Paul also likes Hot Pockets.Many thanks to

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-43075010277677706682007-05-25T13:30:00.000-04:002007-05-25T13:56:09.217-04:00

The Anchoress suggests, in all seriousness, that if people really want to impeach President Bush, they should go ahead and do it.She sums up the arguments far better than I could. By all means, have a look.(hat tip: Prof. Glenn)And while you're there, please don't miss an unforgettable letter from a Black Hawk pilot in the Iowa National Guard: "Hello media, you are killing us".

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-34713461328546344362007-05-24T16:28:00.000-04:002007-05-24T16:49:38.287-04:00

Courtesy of Michael Totten -- who freely admits that he almost wishes the United States would withdraw from the mess that is Iraq -- here is the article that forces him to reconsider:From time to time, nations face fundamental tests of character. Forced to choose between painful but wise options, and irresponsible ones that offer only temporary relief from pain, a people must decide what price

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-65416200792661517942007-05-21T12:21:00.000-04:002007-05-24T16:27:10.356-04:00

May 19, 2007: Carter says the Bush Administration is the 'worst in history':Asked by BBC Radio how he would judge Blair's support of Bush, Carter said: "Abominable. Loyal. Blind. Apparently subservient. And I think the almost undeviating support by Great Britain for the ill-advised policies of President Bush in Iraq have been a major tragedy for the world."In his interview with the

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-28839514079675431732007-05-21T10:02:00.000-04:002007-05-22T10:39:41.168-04:00

I caught the tail end of an interesting segment on the Mike Gallagher radio show this morning; Mike was interviewing Gov. Mitt Romney. (I seem to have missed some of the more interesting stuff, unfortunately.)As I tuned in, Romney was answering questions about his Mormon faith, and to what extent it should be a factor in Americans deciding whether or not to vote for him. Romney's answer, I

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8363856.post-37370702418326285042007-05-15T21:43:00.000-04:002007-05-15T21:56:50.827-04:00

As seen on LGF:Al-Qaeda group threatens attacks in France DUBAI, May 15, 2007 (AFP) - An Al-Qaeda front group in Europe threatened on Tuesday to launch bloody attacks in France in response to the election of "crusader and Zionist" Nicolas Sarkozy as president. "As you have chosen the crusader and Zionist Sarkozy as a leader ... we in the Abu Hafs al-Masri Brigades warn you that the coming days

Daniel in Brooklinehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16296850357629131645noreply@blogger.com