On Love...

In honor of St. Valentine's Day, here's a wonderful piece on love by the normally curmudgeonly John Derbyshire. Even to those that are single, it makes your heart glow a little bit.

Here you go.

Classic Clinton

It's as disgusting as it is predictable: when you're in trouble in your campaign, simply feign indignation and play the victim.

No one does it better than the Clintons. They've made it an artform.

Whether it's decrying the existence of a mythical "vast, right-wing conspiracy," complaining that your opponents are only attacking you because you're a women (it couldn't be because you're the front-runner, could it?), or castigating anyone for claiming your conventienly timed crocodile tears weren't politically inspired (as you send your underlings on television to use those tears to political advantage), it's the same play from the same playbook.

What I will never understand is why people continue to fall for it.

In search of cool...

I don't actually understand the point of this site, other than they gather together "the coolest" things around the US and UK.

These include a sweet outdoor theater in an LA mansion, the extravagent Hotel Stoli, and a giant statue of a woman made out of 24,000 peaches....

Check it out here.

The irrational nature of climate change solutions...

Here's an interesting column by George Will about biofuels, the folly of ethanol, and climate change. It does a great job of highlighting the unintended consequences of government policy undertaking.

Sample quote:

"To avoid drilling for oil in ANWR's moonscape, the planet savers evidently prefer destroying forests, even though they absorb greenhouse gases. Will ethanol prevent more carbon-dioxide emissions than would have been absorbed by the trees cut down to clear land for the production of crops for ethanol? Be that as it may, governments mandating the use of biofuels are one reason for the global rise in food prices, which is driving demand for more arable land. That demand is driving the destruction of forests—and animal habitats. In Indonesia alone, 44 million acres have been razed to make way for production of palm oil."

Berkeley bravely fighting baby-killers...

Or at least I'm guessing that's their rationale.

The city of Berkeley has attempted to ban Marine recruiters from the city, calling them "unwanted intruders." Following the uproar, two of the saner (that being relative, naturally) city council members are requesting that the city re-think it's policies.

Meanwhile, Greg Gutfeld does what he does best: make fun of idiots.

Allow myself to introduce....myself...

...to a new blog: Curriculum Vitae.

Ignoring the pretentious title, and the insufferably pedantic writing, it's actually occasionally worth reading.

How's that for a glowing recommendation? Actually, it's an excellent blog from a friend and worth checking out.

Hope you do so by clicking here.

Revamped site...

Well, after a year, I suppose it's about time to renew my blogging efforts.

New Year. New Blog. Coming Soon!

Quote of the Day

“If revolution there is to be, let us rather undertake it than undergo it.” --Otto Von Bismarck

Heading for dire straits (and I only wish I meant the band)

Until then...here's some Krauthammer to tide you over...

Blogpromise...

I hope to offer some brief thoughts on Iran tomorrow...

Now that I've said it, I guess that means I'm committed. =)

Bypassing Baltimore...

I've grown to admire John Derbyshire's writing. He's a right-brained, anti-religous, devoutly science-centric, ex-pat Brit American citizen. I don't agree with him that love is merely chemical or that religion is for attention-deprived fools. But I love reading his stuff.

Here's a thoughtful piece on the notion of life, death, and suicide.

Liberals in Outer Space

Here's a piece that is ascerbic, simplistic, and downright entertaining. The authors point is actually legitimate in my mind. I doubt he'd ever change many minds since liberals would be off-put by his humor, but I enjoyed reading it (heartless conservative as I am).

Giving Thanks...

I can't resist one last post today in honor of Thanksgiving. Here's the wonderful satirist Greg Gutfeld (the only person worth reading in the Huffington Post) listing the things that he is thankful for.

Brilliant sample quote:

"THANK YOU, PESTICIDES
If fruits and vegetables were people, we would call what insects do to them "rape." Pesticides are nature's "rape whistles." Conclusion: People who hate pesticides are probably rapists."

Brilliant!

Oh yeah...

I've neglected to mention today...


HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY WFB!

In case you were unaware, National Review marked its 50th anniversary this year. Founder (of the magazine, and modern American conservatism more generally) William F. Buckley is also celebrating his birthday today.

With birthday wishes in mind to one of the most influential writers of the last century, here is a link to George Will's column on Mr. Buckley (Free sub. req'd, I think).

Artist of the Week

I highly recommend checking out Amos Lee, whom I only recently learned of.

It's hard to catalogue his sound, but his mixes everything from soul to folk to rock, channeling it into a wonderfully unique sound.

The Best Iraq War Reporting

To begin, I'd like to pass along a link to an exceptional reporter.

Michael Yon is an independent reporter who has lived the past year in Iraq. His reporting is by far the best I've seen.

Moving out with soldiers and Iraqi policeman at the front lines, his reports describe in detail the immediacy of battle -- complete with descriptions of bullets flying over his head -- while never losing sight of the bigger picture of our efforts.

In a very real sense, his perspective is that of a front line soldier; yet he is armed with a camera, not a rifle.

If you want to get a feel for what our Soldiers go through, how successful (or not successful) or operations are, and wish to understand the nature of the enemy up close, I can't more highly recommend his site.

Lastly, Michael Yon's efforts are entirely financed out his own pocket. If you like what you see and wish to support him, you can donate money to his efforts via his website.

To access Michael Yon's webpage, click here.

Beginning anew...

Well...I'm back.

It's been a long hiatus as I've struggled to find the time to do as much writing as I've wanted in the last long while.

But I'm going to try and start up again. I'll do my best to post as often as I'm able, and I'll try to figure out a consistent schedule. Hopefully in time I'll rebuild the readership that I once enjoyed.

Negotiations are underway to try and add the row of contributors to this site. So stay tuned...

To those of you who have stopped back in: Thanks for stopping by. I'll do my best to consistently make it worth your while...

All the best,
Ian