Obsidian Wings

The Return Of The Repressed

From the Washington Post:

"Following through on a promise he has made repeatedly since his victory in November, President Bush yesterday renominated 12 candidates for federal appeals court seats whose confirmations were blocked by Senate Democrats during his first term.

The renomination of the judicial candidates promises to once again ignite an intense partisan battle with Senate Democrats. They have vowed to thwart Bush's nominees, whom they consider too conservative. (...)

Among the most controversial nominees are Terrence W. Boyle, a federal district judge in North Carolina and nominee for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit, whom Democrats have criticized for his stances in civil rights cases; Texas Supreme Court Justice Priscilla Richman Owen, a nominee for the 5th Circuit, whose jurisprudence in abortion, civil rights and environmental cases has been criticized; California Supreme Court Justice Janice Rogers Brown, nominated to a seat on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, who Democrats say has referred to the New Deal as a "socialist revolution"; and William J. Haynes II, who served as Pentagon general counsel when controversial detainee policies were set that allowed enemy combatants to be held indefinitely without charges and access to counsel. He was again nominated for the 4th Circuit."

I'd like to explain why I think that two of these nominees should be rejected. (I don't know enough about the others to say.)

Slacktivist Has A Plan!

Fred Clark at Slacktivist has been musing on the following problem: America is devoted to democracy and human rights, and we would like to share these ideals with the rest of the world. He notes our recent attempts to spread freedom by force, but thinks this is likely to be counterproductive. What to do? My original proposal was to really try to do Afghanistan right: provide security and serious reconstruction money, rebuild the country, and then turn it over to the Afghans with no strings attached. I still think that this would have done a lot more to change attitudes in the region than hiring Madison Avenue executives to start Arabic language radio stations. But Clark has an equally good idea:

"Here is my plan: To create a model outpost of democracy, freedom and human rights at the very gates of tyranny and despotism.

This outpost -- a little piece of America -- would create a clear demonstration of the contrast between our values and the values of antidemocratic societies.

Ideally, to make this contrast as clear and stark as possible, this City on a Hill should be directly adjacent to one of the countries that persists as an opponent of American values. We would want this beachhead of democracy to stand in contrast to the tyrannical regime alone, uncomplicated by cluttering comparisons to other neighboring countries in the area.

The best situation, then, would be an island nation, preferably one nearby, where democracy and human rights were routinely denied. Our model American outpost could be established on a small part of that same island -- some distinct cove or bay. And there our model outpost could demonstrate in microcosm who we really are and what we really stand for.

To multiply the impact of this bold example, we could find people from all over the world -- especially people from places where tyranny is rampant and democracy is only a vague, foreign word -- and invite them to come and live for a time in our model island outpost. There our guests would see and experience our American values firsthand.

Word of this experience would spread to their countrymen and their homelands: This is what America is really like. This is what America is all about. No amount of rhetoric on behalf of freedom and democracy could compete with the message such an outpost would provide. Our ordinary rendition of democracy and freedom is powerful, but this model, this extraordinary rendition, would be even more powerful.

If only we could find such a place."

If only.

His ongoing series on the Left Behind books is also really good, if you're interested in reading an evangelical Christian's explanation of the appalling theology and ethics the Left Behind series presents as Christian.

Caveat Blogger

Via just about everybody at this point comes this addressed to Tulsa-based blogger Michael at Bates Line from a local newspaper:

I am writing on behalf of World Publishing Company, publisher of the Tulsa World. We have recently learned that your website, www.Batesline.com, has reproduced (in whole or in part) articles and/or editorials from the Tulsa World newspaper or has inappropriately linked your website to Tulsa World content.

The Tulsa World copyrights its entire newspaper and specifically each of the articles and/or editorials at issue. The reproduction of any articles and/or editorials (in whole or in part) on your website or linking your website to Tulsa World content is without the permission of the Tulsa World and constitutes an intentional infringement of the Tulsa World's copyright and other rights to the exclusive use and distribution of the copyrighted materials.

Therefore, we hereby demand that you immediately remove any Tulsa World material from your website, to include unauthorized links to our website, and cease and desist from any further use or dissemination of our copyrighted content. If you desire to use (in whole or in part) any of the content of our newspaper, you must first obtain written permission before that use. If you fail to comply with his demand, the Tulsa World will take whatever legal action is necessary to assure compliance, Additionally, we will pursue all other legal remedies, including seeking damages that may have resulted as a result of this infringement.

We look forward to your immediate response and cooperation in this matter. Please acknowledge your compliance by signing below and returning to me.

Sincerely,

(signed)
John R. Bair
Vice-President [sic]
Tulsa World

Apparently, for bloggers, this is going to come up again and again, so it's probably time to work toward an agreement. But what is the law? Here's how Fair Use is currently interpreted by the US Copyright Office's website:

Opportunism or Secret Intelligence

The Bush administration has pounced on the assassination of Lebanon's ex-Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri in Beirut yesterday to publicly highlight its annoyance with Syria. The timing, however, raises the question of whether this move is opportunistic or suggests secret intelligence about who's behind the murder.

The United States has recalled its ambassador to Syria amid rising tensions over the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri of Lebanon.   

Before departing, U.S. Ambassador Margaret Scobey delivered a stern note, called a demarche in diplomatic parlance, to the Syrian government, said an official who discussed the situation only on grounds of anonymity.

State Department spokesman Richard Boucher, announcing the move, said it reflected the Bush administration's "profound outrage" over Hariri's assassination.

This gesture of "profound outrage" seems a bit mysterious chronologically speaking. Before it's publicly known who committed the crime (and Syria has denied it of course), the US is essentially telling the world we suspect Syria is responsible by withdrawing our ambassador while at the same time telling the world that's not what we're telling them:

Thomas E. Woods, Jr.

After writing my piece on Ward Churchill both here and at Redstate.org, one of the commenters here issued the commonly used "look over there" response, asking why I wasn't "outraged" about Thomas E. Woods, Jr., mistakenly assuming that "outrage" was what caused me to write on the faux-Indian America-hating Marxist professor in the first place. I would've passed on looking more into Woods since I'd never before heard of the guy. Then the commenter went and said this: "But I'll bet the entire contents of my 401k that you won't spend a single minute writing lengthy posts investigating and condemning Wood." Well, now that there's money on the table and, curious about whether this person will honor the bet, my interest is piqued, so here goes.

What Does Compassion without Funding Get You?

Former Special Assistant to the president and Deputy Director of Bush's Faith-Based Initiative David Kuo today blasted Congress and his former boss for not living up to the President's compassionate conservative promises to make a real difference in the lives of poor and desperate Americans by funding faith-based charities. Kuo has some strong, bitter words for all concerned:

[Democrats:] The moment the president announced the faith-based effort, Democratic opposition was frenzied. Hackneyed church-state scare rhetoric made the rounds; this was "radical" and "dangerous" and merely an "attempt to fund Bob Jones University." One Democratic African-American congressman came to the White House to back the president but was threatened by influential liberal groups that they would withhold funding if he didn't denounce the President. The next day he was forced to retract his statement. All of this came despite the fact that former Vice President Al Gore had endorsed virtually identical faith-based measures during the 2000 campaign. [...]

[Republicans:] Congressional Republicans matched Democratic hostility with snoring indifference. Sen. Rick Santorum spent endless hours alone lobbying Senate Leadership to give some floor time, any floor time to get a bill to help charities and the poor - even after 9/11 when charities were going out of business because of a decline in giving. He was stiff-armed by his own party.

At the end of the day, both parties played to stereotype -- Republicans were indifferent to the poor and the Democrats were allergic to faith.

[And the White House:] Capitol Hill gridlock could have been smashed by minimal West Wing effort. No administration since LBJ's has had a more successful legislative track record than this one. From tax cuts to Medicare, the White House gets what the White House really wants. It never really wanted the "poor people stuff."

The Poor Man Is On Fire Tonight

This is more or less an open thread, whose pitiful excuse for existence is that, as the title says, the Poor Man is so funny that I have to quote him (them?) here. First, while I have resisted the temptation to post about Jeff Gannon -- easy to do, since the temptation in question is hard to detect even with very powerful instruments -- the Poor Man succumbs:

"Everyone is still missing the point of the story. The story is not, as nitwits like Howie Kurtz maintain, that people are being mean to someone just because he's conservative. The story is not that Gannon is a hypocrite for promoting an anti-gay agenda. The story is not even that the White House gave such access to a reporter for a dummy news service operating under an assumed name, and may have used him to expose Valerie Plame. This is not the story.

The story is that God exists.

Think about it: what are the chances that a media whore like Gannon would turn out to be an actual whore? It's impossible. It boggles the mind how infinitely unlikely this is. It's like if you found someone pirating CDs, and it turns out he actually had a peg leg and a parrot on his shoulder and sailed around the Caribbean saying "arrrrrr!" and plundering booty. You wouldn't believe it. But there it is: impossible, but true. Impossible truths are miracles, and only God can work miracles. Ergo, God exists. Q.E.D."

For the record, I agree with the Poor Man, and everyone else, that the story here has absolutely nothing to do with what what Howard Kurtz calls Gannon's "personal life" (and since when has prostitution been part of one's personal life? Last I heard, it was a profession), and everything to do with how on earth he got access to, for instance, the Valerie Plame memo. But I don't think this story is nearly as important as, oh, the deficit, Social Security, Iraq, North Korea, and the like. Humor, however, is as important as anything else in life, and so in addition I bring you part of a story called:

Falling Reentlistment Rates Among Right Wing Pundits Threaten War on Terror

Some pundits, however, continue to serve their cause, no matter the cost. We caught with the unit of PFC Jonah Goldberg during a pitched battle against some objectively pro-Saddam Bush-haters. Goldberg shouted over the sound of mouse clicks and key strokes exploding all around. “There’s just three of us here now,” he said. “That there’s K-Lo, and over here is Derbyshire, but we call him Jelly Roll.” Pvt. Derbyshire looked up from his hand with pupils like saucers, and a look on his face halfway between ecstasy and terror.

“I tell you what, guv’nah,” said Derbyshire, drawing closer. “I seen the afterlife. You know what I seen? I seen the afterlife, and I know what it’s like. It’s like, it’s like it’s ripped, man, but with bears. Bears, man. Don’t you see? It’s ripped with bears!” He fell back, sobbing, and then laughing, then totally silent.

“It’s like this,” said Goldberg said, grabbing a fistful of Cheetos from his pack. “I believed in this fight, and my country needed me. They needed able-bodied men – doughy, able to handle the rigors of sitting in a swivel chair for seven, eight hours at a time, and not afraid to put on a little TV make-up when the shit gets heavy. So I signed up.” He spit Cheetos-orange on the carpet. “Any man who won’t opinionate for his country and what he believes … well, I don’t call that a man at all.” At that he pulled up the sleeve on his regulation-issue Tommy Hilfiger powder-blue dress shirt to show me the tattoo on his meaty, girlish bicep. 'Born to Bloviate', it read, emblazoned on the bulging tummy of the Pillsbury Doughboy - the symbol of the feared 101st Fighting Keyboarders.”

Ruminations at In-N-Out on Valentine's Day

Tonight, for no apparent reason, I went to In-N-Out Burger.  It is the burger chain with excellent burgers and nothing else.  It isn't that the rest of their food is bad--they literally have no other options.  I've always known that my roommate had trouble making decisions.  He is the one that makes the waiter come back and ask if we need a few more minutes at least twice every time we go out.  But In-N-Out is different.  Their food menu consists of choosing how many patties you want, whether or not you want french fries, and whether or not you want a soda or a milkshake.  So his problem with decisions became very apparent when he had to wait a minute when the clerk asked him what he wanted.  I was already in that hypo-glycemic stage where everything will set you off if you don't get food.  I had to take a deep breath not to say:  "You always get a double-double!"  But realizing it was just that my discretionary man was hungry, I decided not to say anything.

As we were eating, I looked around at the couples dining for Valentine's Day.  In order to take your partner to In-N-Out for Valentine's Day you either have to be extremely secure in your relationship or extremely stupid.  There were examples of each and one example where I think both concepts may have been in play.  The strangest sight--and that which prompted me to write this post--was the late teenage couple I saw in line as I was about to leave.  They were standing next to each other talking on the phone.  At first I speculated that they were brother and sister, but then they started hugging each other tightly and stroking each other's lips.  Not so odd, I bet you think!  But they were pretty much making out with each other while still on their cell phones.  At that point I went outside, my roommates dog pleaded for food with his eyes, and we drove home. 

Knocking About in Madrid: Open Thread

Note: I did not see either the bombing or the big fire that occurred while I was in Spain's capital. A few lovely folks emailed to see if I was OK. Thanks for your emails. I was miles and miles from both events when they occurred.
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Strolling through a hilly part of Madrid with four friends after a long, well-wined lunch, we entered a small Plaza with five crooked streets radiating out sharply upward or downward. It was the sort of Medieval intersection you associate with commerce, history and intrigue. It lived up to that association, as upon entering the Plaza we were stopped in our tracks by a cinematic rush of excitement.

About two dozen young African immigrants, each carrying a bundle of knockoff goods wrapped in a blanket came running up the hill. "Here come the East Africans," said our friend Dr. I (an art historian whose father is Ethiopian and who's spent many years in Kenya, Somalia, Tanzania, etc.).

At first, in my inebriated haze, I took their energetic jaunt up the hill as a sign of good-natured ambition. They were "rushing off to sell their wares" was my first thought. That was quickly replaced by reality as the police emerged from every avenue. They had ambushed the young immigrants. Cars with lights flashing roared in from three of the streets, officers with dogs emerged from other alley ways, and within seconds a good number of the Africans were trapped. Others managed to escape.

Dr. I was initially ready to confront the cops. To tell them to leave the young men alone, but she realized she was in no position to assess the situation or render judgment so quickly. Still, she began telling us the story of these immigrants who scrape together everything their village can spare to "send them to university" in Spain, which is essentially a ruse. Upon entering the country they disappear into the underground, selling goods on the black market and avoiding the police. If caught, however, the police in their home country will beat them brutally after the Spaniards send them back. So these men were not running solely to avoid an unpleasant arrest or ticket.

We hung around the Plaza for a few minutes as the Police herded the men they caught up the hill. A few moments later a visibly shaken young man with his goods in tow entered the Plaza and was obviously trying to decide which way to go. Dr. I greeted him with an African lingua-franca salutation and asked where he was from. Somalia was his answer. She's very warm and approachable, Dr. I, so immediately the African seemed to trust her. She explained which way the cops had gone and we all jumped in to suggest he go the other way. He took our advice and headed away from the dragnet.

I don't have strong feelings about knock-off goods other than to be stunned by how quickly they end up on corners in the world's larger cities. The production processes their creators must have in place should be studied at our finer business schools. I do recognize that they represent theft and suppose if I were one of the manufacturers who lost money due to them I'd be more passionately opposed to the practice. In general, I don't think the sort of consumer who can afford to spend more than $1000 for a purse would decide not to buy an original because a knock-off was close enough, though, so I'm not sure what their real impact is. I do believe that when it comes to copyright issues, you must be seen to be actively fighting infringement to keep your copyright sometimes (Von, feel free to jump in here), and I suppose pressuring the cops to crack down on the knock-off makers and sellers falls into that. Clearly, it would be better if the young immigrants drafted into selling them were selling legally manufactured goods instead (although, here, too, I'm not sure that's why they police round them up...I believe it's more a matter of not having a vendor's permit, which brings into question more the issue of black markets versus open markets and their impact/morality).

Have I made it clear this issue is not something I'm well informed about?

So why share this anecdote? Because I'm way too partied out and jet-lagged to research the more important issues on my mind at the moment and I wanted to just say "Hi" to everyone. Feel more than free to discuss other things in this thread.

Peace Process News

This story (Officials: Abbas Fires Top Gaza Security Commanders, After Mortar Attack Threatens Cease-Fire) represents one of the most hopeful things I have seen come out of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in quite some time.

Palestinian Cabinet Secretary Hassan Abu Libdeh said Abbas took "punitive measures against officers who did not undertake their responsibilities, which led to the latest developments in Gaza," dismissing several commanders and accepting the resignations of others.

An official speaking on condition of anonymity said Abbas dismissed Brig. Gen. Abdel Razek Majaidie, chief of public security, police chief Saeb al-Ajed and three other senior commanders. Also, several lower-ranking officers lost their jobs, the official said.

Abbas is to go to Gaza on Friday to make it clear to the militants that he will not tolerate violations of the cease-fire, Abu Libdeh said.

One of the key problems in the conflict has always been that Arafat refused to crack down on groups which attacked Israel (chiefly because he was more interested in supporting them).  The fact that Abbas may be willing to crack down on them causes me to be cautiously hopeful--though it is too soon to be cautiously optimistic.