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...
Neo-neocon is inspired by He Who Walks On Water and wants to dialog with our enemies, to quote herself on the subject of useless and potentially dangerous talk:
…even therapists must acknowledge that there are times when talking does no good, when therapy is inappropriate, and when the tools of the trade (”the talking cure”) not only don’t work but can be harmful. But Pelosi and Lantos and so many others seem to think of dialogue as something magical and universally appropriate:
…however objectionable, unfair, and inaccurate many of [Ahmadinejad’s] statements are, it is important that we have a dialogue with him.
Why? Why is it important? In order to feel that we are peaceful and good people? In order to empower him to think that we are fools? In order to allow him to buy time while he develops his nuclear weaponry? In order to give him greater prestige in the eyes of the world? In order to afford him propaganda opportunities and photo ops?
You know, the subject of talking actually being dangerous makes me think about the whole WMD argument with Iraq. There are so many people in my face, now that our incumbent President has an approval rating down in the teens somewhere, sneering at me that “IRAQ HAD NO WMD!!!!111!!!!ELEVENTY!!!”
And time after time, all I have to do is calmly ask them just how much time Iraq had to get rid of any WMD they might’ve had lying around, and I get back this deer in the headlights stare. Every time.
It’s like asking someone with a “family history” of supposedly unavoidable obesity, what her grocery shopping list looks like. Or what she had for dinner last night. OOPS. One question. Changes everything.
In Iraq’s case, the answer — presuming Saddam Hussein was a chronic procrastinator, and even that does not seem to be the case — is one hundred eighty-six days. That’s the length of time between President Bush’s “You Guys Are Teetering On The Brink Of Absolute Uselessness” speech to the United Nations, and the actual invasion.
In the space of time between those two events, you know what we did?
We talked.
It ended with France imposing a hard-line veto on the Security Council. America got a bum rap for not “listening” to “allies,” but Saddam got plenty enough time to flush his weed when the cops came a-knockin’ because we made the mistake of doing exactly that. We participated in a dialog. France refused to participate, and for that, I don’t recall France getting a bum rap at all.
That’s the thing about useless talk. It tends to be more than useless; it tends to be dangerous.
And that’s the thing about dialog, compromise, negotiation. The people who insist everyone else is supposed to do it, tend to be the ones who bring it to a screeching halt. And nobody notices.
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We had a similar conversation at Rottie’s place a week or so ago.
http://www.nicedoggie.net/2008/?p=349
At one point I tried to explain to DJ Allyn that a treaty signed by a liar is useless. others tried as well, but I doubt he even read the responses.
- Tom The Impaler | 03/02/2008 @ 14:20