I’m sick, though I am the healthiest person in a house full of sick people. I ran this afternoon, however, just to get out of the house. My house is messy, I need to do the dishes, I ate too much hummus and I feel slightly ill–aside from the actual cold I’m battling, that is. I’m whining right now, but you still love me.
Here are some of the things that kept me occupied this afternoon while a four year old was hanging off of me (why do they always want mama when they’re sick? Not that I’m complaining).
VDH’s wonderful analysis of the Limbaugh vs. Frum controversy. Gently pointing out that Frum’s goals are transitory while Rush’s remain more, ah, substantial. Frum’s insistence that pettiness is a valid debate tactic is ridiculous as well, and since he seems hellbent on calling Rush “fatty fatterson” like some schoolyard bully, he’s more than welcome to stop by my CrossFit gym and we can play with Fran or Angie. 4pm, 5 days a week. It’s very easy to criticize others, especially from a distance.
I also enjoyed Jonah Goldberg’s article on Obama’s cynical fearmongering immensely. Not that this should come as a surprise, since Jonah is awesome.
Recall that not long ago, the first item on the bill of indictment against the Bush administration was that it was “exploiting” 9/11 to enact its agenda. Al Gore shrieked that President Bush “played on our fears” to get his way. In response to nearly every Bush initiative, from the Patriot Act to the toppling of Saddam Hussein, critics would caterwaul that Bush was taking advantage of the country’s fear of terrorism.
[. . .]
Well, now we have the president, along with his chief aides, admitting — boasting! — that they want to exploit a national emergency to further their preexisting agenda, and there’s no scandal. No one even calls it a gaffe. No, they call it leadership.
It’s not leadership. It’s fear mongering.
But that’s okay now that we have a leader who is pure and blameless, as blemish-free as freshly driven snow. You Obama folks are cuh-razy. Like, crackhead crazy.
This article from my favorite UK paper, the Daily Mail (best gossip section ever!), is quite possibly more nauseating than the article on those Muslim protesters I linked the other day.
[Firebrand preacher Anjem Choudary] said: ‘On 10th March 2009, 200 pathetic and cowardly British soldiers from the second battalion, of the Royal Anglian Regiment, pompously marched through Luton to demonstrate their skill at murdering and torturing thousands of innocent Muslim men, women and children [in Iraq] over a 24-month period.’
Choudary leads the controversial Islam For The UK organisation which wants Britain to be an Islamic state, ruled by Sharia law.
[. . .]
‘Non-Muslims in Britain must appreciate that the actions of the British soldiers must be condemned unreservedly; they are not heroes but closer to cowards who cannot fight, as their uncanny knack for death by “friendly fire” illustrates.’
That’s some foul shite. To quote Vinnie Jones’ character from Eurotrip, it sounds like this particular imam needs “a f***ing good kicking.”
Now that I’ve sorta-kinda challenged David Frum to a Fran-off and called for the asswhupping of a disgusting hatemonger, I think I’ll be off to bed. It’s been a full day. I think I’ll curl up with my new copy of Watchmen, a graphic novel I’ve been meaning to read for ages, and now must read before I watch the movie. I’ve got my problems with Alan Moore, but I love League of Extraordinary Gentlemen and From Hell. I could have lived without reading V for Vendetta, but whatever. I never did watch the movie, I hated that graphic novel so much.
Good night, good readers. Someday my Witchblade collection will show up in the mail and I will post on that as well.
BTW – the legacy of Ulster Loyalists in the USA is super strong. Heck they founded half of what is now American. You call them Scot(ch)-Irish BTW.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scotch-Irish_American
So maybe the 12th of July should be celebrated with orange flags and orange beer along with St Paddy’s Day (tomorrow!). After all, St Paddy was from Brythonic Cumbria (ZOMG he was BRITISH!!!) and was Bishop of Armagh. He belongs to North and South alike as well as the UK. Hehe – how confusing!
Sláinte (tis Gaelic for cheers – pronouced ‘slansha’)
You should defo come and visit us! Then I can apologise for the long post …
<<>>
The rest of the UK (and in Eire) find the whole thing a pain in the arse to be honest. The reason why Ireland is not united often does not register especially to those overseas. It is Loyalists versus Nationalists – both from the same place for the last 400 years or so. Only people outside NI who care are those involved in Scottish football teams. No really.
This is a real bug-bear of mine because I am English and with Irish ancestry (Lancashire Irish like the Beatles, Burgess and Morrissey). Yet I have had conversations with many ‘Irish’ (usually American but some Aussies and Canadians too) who have lectured me on it blahblahblah – even though I am as Irish as Paul McCartney. :)
Yet – questioning their knowledge, some of them have NEVER even heard of the Orange order (sorry wiki was the quickest link). It’s The Troubles 101.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orange_Institution
It isn’t as simple as many believe. As far as I am aware, Ulster protestants or Loyalists make up the majority in the county and they consider themselves, on the whole, as British. They don’t want to be part of the Republic and that is their choice for now. So we have to go with it. Michael Collins knew it too.
Rose McGowan may need a lesson too – maaaan, she walked into a rifle range when she said she’d join the IRA. She will get knifed if she ever comes over here. The IRA used to put bombs or randomly shoot people in bars and hijack taxi drivers and torutre and murder them just because they were protestant. Laughable though it might be that a 100lb actress who used to date Marilyn Manson thinks she would join the provos.
Shame is the peace process really really appears to be working. It’s awesome how much has changed. Irish people are not treated with hatred and suspicion now – I remember it very strongly from when I grew up. Mainly because of this:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Warrington_bomb_attacks
So yeah – terrorism. Still not cool!
TW,
I can’t even imagine what it must be like for Britons who lived through the Troubles to see these assholes try to start shit up again. I’ve been meaning to write about it, since the Ireland/Northern Ireland/England conflict has always been a bit of an obsession of mine. I’m baffled by the complexity of it–on one hand, I believe Ireland should be united but I hate the IRA. If the North doesn’t want to leave England, I respect that as well. My data are old, but if I remember correctly, the standard of living in the North has historically been much better than living Ireland proper. Whatever; it’s a lot more complicated than Israel/Palestine. Sheesh.
The Mail made the Luton protest look much worse than it was, apparently. I know how much you dislike the doom-an-gloom, end-of-Britain stuff. ;) I’m a huge Anglophile, so I just want you guys to kick ass all the time and never give an inch to bastards. I need to actually get my ass over to the UK and spend some time there. I’d be so happy and maybe never come home. :)
Here there – how are you? Long time no see … :)
Just to say, did you actually see the Luton “protest”? It was only about, say, 7 guys in total. Not even a baker’s dozen. In the end the entire crowd of locals took exception to it and drowned them out and they had to be protected by police in order to prevent them from being ripped to shreads (literally). It was pretty poor form even for radical firebrands and a different kind of bomb(ed). Arf. I think the Phelps family make more impact in terms of numbers.
We are more concerned that the dissidents in the IRA factions are killing policemen and soldiers again rather than some idiots shouting at a parade. It’s really very worrying.
You’re a crack up! How you make such irritating and infuriating “news and commentary” a kick in the pants is a neat skill few can manage.
For one to respond to Mr. Choudray is to risk giving some credence to his distorted interpretation of events. Nevertheless, I would still venture to point out that it is Islamists in Iran that fueled and sustained the conflict, armed both Suni’s and Shia alike, encouraged the suicide bombing of Iraqi markets and thoroughfares, and have murdered and maimed countless Iraqi men, women and children, utterly indiscriminately and with no remorse for the loss of life inflicted on their muslim brethren. “It is Allah’s will” as they say.
My guess is it is just a whole lot more comfortable to blame the “infidel” who brought peace and stability to the Iraqi people than it would be to look in the mirror and regard one’s own role in the carnage of the conflict.
I imagine Angie and Fran make for a rough hour.