The Crows Nest
Crow's Nest Mostly Unmanned
Yes, I know the Crow's Nest has mostly been moribund since the site's relaunch. I do plan on using it more often in the future, I promise. I'll be spending a little more time on these posts as a way to link out to the blogosphere. Keep an eye on this space.
Also, please note that I've put the Amazon search bar on the main page, in the right sidebar. If you want to do some shopping at Amazon -- and who doesn't? -- be sure to shop through Captain's Quarters. Amazon does pay a small percentage of the sale to me, and it helps pay for a few sundries related to the blog. Much appreciated!
OpenCongress Web Widget
Ever wanted to announce your support or opposition to Congressional legislation? OpenCongress now has a web widget that allows bloggers to do exactly that. Take a look at this, and check out how easily you can build your own.
Maybe They're Flotation Devices?
The Australian Navy foots the bill for breast augmentations. The Labour Party would like to know why, and probably so would most of the voters in Australia.
The Thinking Blogger
Congrats to Fausta, who won a Thinking Blogger award. She thanks me for my friendship, but the truth is that Fausta makes it easy to be her friend. She's always positive and energetic, and she epitomizes the notion of a thinking blogger. Make sure to put her on your must-read list!
Ensign Calls For Return Of MoveOn Money
NRSC chair Senator John Ensign calls for Democrats to return all campaign funds donated by MoveOn, after their despicable New York Times ad today accusing David Petraeus of treason. "If Senate Democrats are serious about moving our country forward, they will denounce this outrageous ad and return the campaign funds MoveOn.org has lavished on them as well as the donations made through MoveOn.org -- the choice is theirs." Ensign's right, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for the refund ...
Support The Al-Dura Petition
Roger Simon at Pajamas Media is circulating a petition to demand accountability for the discredited al-Dura report from France's Channel 2. This is, as Roger calls it, the "Father of all Fauxtography," and C-2 has never acknowledged its fault in airing the supposed murder of a Palestinian child. He wants C-2 to show all of the unedited footage of the incident in order to show that C-2 faked the murder. If they're resisting the demand, I'd say they have something to hide ....
There Goes The Undefeated Season
Notre Dame managed to get its first loss out of the way as soon as possible -- and as badly as possible. Georgia Tech came to South Bend and stomped the Irish, 33-3, in the worst home opener loss in school history. The offense fumbled twice and allowed seven sacks on Evan Sharpley, who must have longed to have Brady Quinn back on the field instead. If Charlie Weis doesn't turn this debacle around fast, he may want to start asking Ty Willingham for some career counseling ....
Would Early Primaries Allow More Donations?
Jim Geraghty at The Campaign Spot believes that candidates will benefit if primaries and caucuses get pushed into 2007. A loophole in campaign finance regulation appears to allow an extra $2,300 per donor for candidates if those elections are held this year. Be sure to check out Jim's analysis, and the surprising candidate that may benefit the most.
When Tom Met Jeralyn
One of the interesting aspects of politics is finding out that opponents are people, too. Jeralyn Merritt of TalkLeft met Rep. Tom Tancredo backstage at NBC's studios, and found him more likable than she had anticipated. Perhaps it was their mutual interest in Dog, The Bounty Hunter ...
Joe Lieberman A Right-Wing Nut?
That's what CAIR says, according to Joe Kaufman. He has a link to a CAIR official's blog post that calls Lieberman, along with John Bolton, former CIA director James Woolsey, and the Heritage Foundation's Peter Brookes as "extremists". Affad Shaikh also calls Dick Cheney a "fat bastard of a liar," apparently not meant as a pop-culture reference to the Austin Powers movies. (via Let Freedom Ring)
Broadband Homelessness
The Japanese have made homelessness more efficient, and more Net-friendly, too. Their Internet cafés have become homeless shelters for the struggling manual-labor sector. The problem has grown into such a problem that government intervention will shortly become a political priority.
Found My Law Firm
Power Line links twice to this story regarding an attorney at Faegre & Benson who refused to become a victim and helped capture a very dangerous man. Keith Radtke is a partner in the firm as is Power Line's John Hinderaker. Radtke is listed in satisfactory condition after getting shot in the back, but that didn't keep him from locking up his attacker in a wrestling grip until police could arrive. I don't know about you, but that's the kind of man I'd want as my counsel ....
Don't Click That YouTube E-mail
The latest in spam seems to be redirections from YouTube links in e-mail to IP addresses without domain names. They attempt to entice people by making it seem that they have been inadvertently YouTubed. I'm sure most people can see through this scam, but just in case, you've been warned ....
Rick Moran Escapes The Floods
Rick Moran has kept us up to date on his travails along the Algonquin River. Yesterday, the police showed up to get him evacuated before the river flooded his home -- but today, Rick finds that a minor miracle has taken place, and that his house survives ... at least for now. Keep Rick in your prayers, and keep checking in at Right Wing Nut House for updates.
Rule 1: Drag The Corpse On Over First
If I've learned anything in four years of blogging, don't try to be out in front of the death rumors, especially with the villains of the world. Saddam died a hundred deaths before we caught him alive in his spider hole, and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi almost as many before his demise last year. Osama may or may not be alive, but everyone's avoided speculating on his fate for a while now. Maybe Val at Babalu Blog will get luckier with his "Castro Is Dead" story. We all hope so. I'll wait for the announcement ....
Comments (9)
Posted by John Wilson | October 21, 2007 4:07 PM
I missed it. What happened to the fellow?
Posted by Carol Herman | October 21, 2007 4:35 PM
I love this guy.
And, Captain, your blog is just dynamite! Beautiful page. Easy loading.
And, maybe, I should say this, because you know I'm not a conservative. I give you so much credit! This is the way people get drawn together.
Thanks for making this all so easy.
By the way, I was at InstaPundit. Where there's a link to DEAN'S WORLD. That produces an article of Pat Buchanan's. Just ran as a lead editorial in the Washington Times.
Please read this. See if there isn't more room available to follow up with what's obviously going on behind the scenes, in DC. CAROL HERMAN
WRITTEN BY PAT BUCHANAN. Came here through a link TO: DEAN'S WORLD, at InstaPundit. Ended up at this, written by Buchanan, for TOWN HALL. Explains a lot of stuff. For me, even explains WHY Pelosi went to Assad, this summer. To assure him that Bush's Baker Plan, where Assad falls, and Syria becomes a piece of the Saudi dynasty doesn't come to pass. Also explains why Olmert just went to Russia. To visit Putin. Oh, the plans of mice and men ... See if you can figure it out, from this piece. My point? I've just drawn conclusions beyond Buchanan's excellent observations. Whose gonna answer the questions? CAROL HERMAN
"Putin's Hostile Course," the lead editorial in The Washington Times of Oct. 18, began thus:
"Russian President Vladimir Putin's invitation to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad to visit Moscow is just the latest sign that, more than 16 years after the collapse of Soviet communism, Moscow is gravitating toward Cold War behavior. The old Soviet obsession -- fighting American imperialism -- remains undiluted. ...
Russia's President Vladimir Putin attends a televised question-and-answer session in Moscow October 18, 2007. More than a million Russians have applied to quiz Putin in the live session on Thursday that he holds annually to show he is in touch with the nation, the organisers said. REUTERS/RIA-Novosti/Kremlin (RUSSIA)
"(A)t virtually every turn, Mr. Putin and the Russian leadership appear to be doing their best in ways large and small to marginalize and embarrass the United States and undercut U.S. foreign policy interests."
The Times pointed to Putin's snub of Robert Gates and Condi Rice by having them cool their heels for 40 minutes before a meeting. Then came a press briefing where Putin implied Russia may renounce the Reagan-Gorbachev INF treaty, which removed all U.S. and Soviet medium-range missiles from Europe, and threatened to pull out of the Conventional Forces in Europe Treaty, whereby Russia moved its tanks and troops far from the borders of Eastern Europe.
On and on the Times indictment went. Russia was blocking new sanctions on Iran. Russia was selling anti-aircraft missiles to Iran. Russia was selling weapons to Syria that found their way to Hezbollah and Hamas. Russia and Iran were talking up an OPEC-style natural gas cartel. All this, said the Times, calls to mind "Soviet-era behavior."
Missing from the prosecution's case, however, was the motive. Why has Putin's Russia turned hostile? Why is Putin mending fences with China, Iran and Syria? Why is Putin sending Bear bombers to the edge of American airspace? Why has Russia turned against America? For Putin's approval rating is three times that of George Bush. Who restarted the Cold War?
To answer that question, let us go back those 16 years.
What happened in 1991 and 1992?
Well, Russia let the Berlin Wall be torn down and its satellite states be voted or thrown out of power across Eastern Europe. Russia agreed to pull the Red Army all the way back inside its border. Russia agreed to let the Soviet Union dissolve into 15 nations. The Communist Party agreed to share power and let itself be voted out. Russia embraced freedom and American-style capitalism, and invited Americans in to show them how it was done.
Russia did not use its veto in the Security Council to block the U.S. war to drive Saddam Hussein, an ally, out of Kuwait. When 9-11 struck, Putin gave his blessing to U.S. troops using former republics as bases for the U.S. invasion.
Posted by AW1 Tim | October 21, 2007 5:42 PM
Capt,
More than ever, I can give my respect to Chris over the loss of his sister. One of my own sisters was recently diagnosed with cancer and given less than a year to live.
There are many things that I am angry at, but when it comes down to it, seeing the end in sight is so very focusing. We talk about fighting the good fight, battling to the very end, but knowing that time is finite, that the end will be coming much sooner than expected, is very sobering.
We all owe God a death, but we never expect the bill to be presented so soon. We always expect there to be another course, another tomorrow, one more good day.
Thank you, Chris, for giving us all a little pleasure during your own time of sorrow. It is the mark of a man that he can still think of others when his own world is so frought with sadness.
Respects,
Posted by heather | October 21, 2007 7:07 PM
Day by Day is one of the most splendid things on the net. I tune in every day to follow the stories of each and every character.
Thanks for all the fun you are providing me, Chris. And my sympathy for your loss. I know this has been going on for a long time now, and my best wishes for your future.
And, I don't know what a jello shot is... darn.
Posted by gahrie | October 21, 2007 8:20 PM
Heather...think jello in shot glasses made with alcohol instead of water.....
Posted by njcommuter | October 21, 2007 9:01 PM
Many thanks to Chris Muir for a wonderful daily read. Chris, it's great to have you back.
Posted by Chris Muir | October 21, 2007 9:32 PM
Thank you all, and the Captain for having me back.
Posted by heather | October 21, 2007 10:52 PM
Gahrie: thanks for the definition of a "jello shot". I think I'll make some of that for the coming holiday season.
Isn't this world a wonderful place!
Posted by F | October 21, 2007 11:33 PM
Chris:
Great to have you back. I look for your strip every day. And condolences on the loss. I lost my sister to the big C 15 years ago -- held her in my arms as her lungs filled with fluid that finally drowned her. There is really nothing to say at such a time. But 15 years later, can I say time heals? Or at least dulls? Have patience. F