Alarming News: I like Morgan Freeberg. A lot.
American Digest: And I like this from "The Blog That Nobody Reads", because it is -- mostly -- about me. What can I say? I'm on an ego trip today. It won't last.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: We were following a trackback and thinking "hmmm... this is a bloody excellent post!", and then we realized that it was just part III of, well, three...Damn. I wish I'd written those.
Anti-Idiotarian Rottweiler: ...I just remembered that I found a new blog a short while ago, House of Eratosthenes, that I really like. I like his common sense approach and his curiosity when it comes to why people believe what they believe rather than just what they believe.
Brutally Honest: Morgan Freeberg is brilliant.
Dr. Melissa Clouthier: Morgan Freeberg at House of Eratosthenes (pftthats a mouthful) honors big boned women in skimpy clothing. The picture there is priceless--keep scrolling down.
Exile in Portales: Via Gerard: Morgan Freeberg, a guy with a lot to say. And he speaks The Truth...and it's fascinating stuff. Worth a read, or three. Or six.
Just Muttering: Two nice pieces at House of Eratosthenes, one about a perhaps unintended effect of the Enron mess, and one on the Gore-y environ-movie.
Mein Blogovault: Make "the Blog that No One Reads" one of your daily reads.
The Virginian: I know this post will offend some people, but the author makes some good points.
Poetic Justice: Cletus! Ah gots a laiv one fer yew...
Contradiction
James Taranto’s professional blog at the Wall Street Journal, Best of the Web, is uber-cool. He has a tendency to spot meaningful things that should be obvious, but nevertheless pass under the radar of most of us, which we try to do here as well…except he isn’t as tedious. This time, regarding Congressman and U.S. Marine Col. Jack Murtha’s slandering of fellow Marines, his point is brilliant, obscure, and simple.
The Pentagon is investigating whether U.S. Marines committed war crimes in a November incident in which 15 Iraqi civilians were killed in Haditha, Iraq. NBC News reports that Rep. John Murtha, who voted for the war in Iraq, claims to have advance knowledge of the investigation’s outcome:
Murtha, a vocal opponent of the war in Iraq, said at a news conference Wednesday that sources within the military have told him that an internal investigation will show that “there was no firefight, there was no IED (improvised explosive device) that killed these innocent people. Our troops overreacted because of the pressure on them, and they killed innocent civilians in cold blood.”
What happened in Haditha we know not, but we can tell you that Murtha’s description is false, for the simple reason that it is self-contradictory. If the Marines “overreacted,” then the killings were not premeditated. They could not have killed both in the heat of the moment and in cold blood. Murtha therefore either is slandering the Marines by exaggerating their guilt or making excuses for horrific war crimes.
The best thing you can say about Congressman Murtha’s comments is that granting him the benefit of every doubt, and uncertainty as well, he could be right. If that’s the case, he is simply making a lucky guess. That’s no different a situation than the stopped clock that tells the correct time if you simply wait long enough, right?
Now, how much does that reek?
Disregarding that for the time being, let’s go to Taranto’s point. How do you kill someone in cold blood, after you bust your gasket? It’s pre-meditated murder or else it isn’t. Can’t be both. Before we engage in a debate about whether Murtha’s comments are appropriate while the investigation is ongoing, it seems we will first have to figure out what he’s trying to say.
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