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8 Responses to “Thursday open thread”

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1. steveegg says:

   January 24, 2008 at 3:33 pm

   Humor break of the day – Tom McMahon presents the mental health map of the USA.

   Unfortunately, I’m in the sole red state of depression.
2. Mwalimu Daudi says:

   January 25, 2008 at 12:34 am

   An interesting editorial by Jonathan Rauch over at The Atlantic.

   Rauch is not exactly fountain of truth and wisdom, and this article is no exception. But it does represent the dishonest, often contradictory thinking that dominates the MSM.

   In his editorial Rauch complains about partisan bickering over the Iraq War – and then compares Republicans to the Nazi Party in Germany after WWI:

   So begins the narrative of betrayal: the “stab in the back” narrative, as its historical precedents (most famously in interwar Germany) have been called. “We never really lost” goes this narrative. “We defeated ourselves.” Or, in the really toxic version: “Some of us defeated the rest.” This kind of narrative, if it develops a popular following, can poison politics for a generation.

   Then Rauch unloads this gem:

   The fact that Republican presidents and a Democratic Congress took the United States out of Vietnam did much to draw the sting from that defeat.

   This is a lie. The US defeat was not caused by troop withdrawals, but by the deliberate decision of a hyper-partisan Democrat-controlled Congress (with the backing of the MSM of the time) to cut off the South Vietnamese government when it was being attacked by imperialist North Vietnam. Because of the genocide that followed and the rise of the Soviet meddling in Central America that resulted from this defeat, Democrats got – and deserved – the black eye that still shows today.

   Near the end of the article there is this:

   Yet if the Democrats were to rush for the exit with Republicans unified against them, they would be blamed by Republicans for whatever subsequent disasters befell Iraq and, for that matter, the whole disaster-prone Middle East. For years, they would face charges of having “cut and run” which could reinvigorate the debilitating stereotype of Democratic weakness. On the other hand, a policy with significant two-party support would be less contentious, more sustainable, and thus more likely to succeed.

   Here is what I think is Raunch’s core concern. Raunch is worried that a future Democrat administration and Congress might not have the political “bipartisan” cover they will desperately need if Iraq becomes another al Qaeda redoubt because of their decision to cut and run. The fact that genocide might also ensue does not seem to concern Rauch.

   Rauch is also wrong about something else. American politics is already poisoned by the Iraq War. The poisoning was done by the MSM and the Democrat Party that pursued defeat at any price as a way at striking back at George Bush. Rauch’s sneering at the remarkable progress in Iraq since the surge began only reinforces this. Truth is always the first casualty in war, and Rauch’s bizarre piece is a good demonstration of that truism.
3. Lorica says:

   January 25, 2008 at 12:29 pm

   But, but, but….. Dingy Harry told us the war was lost??
   Iraq ready for “final” battle with al Qaeda: PM

   LINK
4. Severian says:

   January 25, 2008 at 4:02 pm

   Double Amputee Walks on Bluetooth Legs

   Really cool, new state of the art artificial legs that communicate with each other to stay in sync using bluetooth.
5. NC Cop says:

   January 26, 2008 at 2:42 pm

   Great story, Sev!! And one near and dear to my heart!
6. Severian says:

   January 26, 2008 at 3:25 pm

   I thought about you when I read that NC Cop.

   6 million dollar man territory eh? Soooo sexy, I love it when technology can do these kinds of things.
7. Great White Rat says:

   January 27, 2008 at 12:09 am

   Saturday night fun web site. A little late for Thursday, but the thread’s still active, so…

   HEMA is a Dutch department store chain. Last year I believe they were sold to a British investment group.

   Anyway, this is their product page. It’s all in Dutch, and you can’t order anything, but just wait a couple of seconds after the page loads and watch what happens. This company has a sense of humor and a fantastic web page developer.
8. Severian says:

   January 27, 2008 at 3:57 am

   Outstanding! Great web designer indeed!

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