Boyd

Goldberg:

Recently, my friend David Brooks wrote in the New York Times about how he thinks that many of the president's problems stem from the fact that conservatism is changing under his feet. "We're seeing a conservatism that emphasizes freedom give way to a conservatism that emphasizes authority," Brooks wrote. Ronald Reagan's conservatism aimed to free up individual initiative and beat back the forces of governmental "sclerosis." But times change, says Brooks, and today "the chief problem is not sclerosis but disorder." From immigration to terrorism to downsizing, people aren't afraid of bureaucrats anymore. They want bureaucrats to impose order and provide security, Rudy Giuliani style.

Please, please, please let this not be true. Although in my heart of hearts I think it is. People like being taken care of. Look at France. Politicians and bureaucrats have figured this out and have learned to sell themselves as the providers of this nirvana.

We are doomed.

TSG:

I have Knicks fans e-mailing me every day asking me if it's OK to root against their own team.

Start reading at 9:31.

That was astonishing last night when the Knicks picked. I was rolling on the floor. With the 20th pick in the 2006 NBA draft the Knicks got this guy who as a junior did this - 25.7 mpg/9.6 ppg/6.3 rpg/1.9 apg/1.3 bpg/1.7 spg.

I never would have believed that in my lifetime the Clippers would become pretty good and get in the playoffs and the Knicks would become the Clippers. It's inexplicable. If you were legitimately attempting to destroy a team, would you do it any differently than Isiah and Dolan?

Update: NYP:

Balkman was such an unknown that he wasn't in the media draft guide. A Knicks PR official came into the press room at their Westchester facility with a DVD highlight tape of the dreadlocked Balkman.

Nordlinger:

Reading about Barack Obama, I got rather worried. According to the AP — the report is here — he “chastised fellow Democrats for failing to ‘acknowledge the power of faith in the lives of the American people,’ and said the party must compete for the support of evangelicals and other churchgoing Americans.”

The telegenic Illinois senator said, “Not every mention of God in public is a breach to the wall of separation. Context matters. It is doubtful that children reciting the Pledge of Allegiance feel oppressed or brainwashed as a consequence of muttering the phrase ‘under God.’” And “having voluntary student prayer groups using school property to meet should not be a threat, any more than its use by the High School Republicans should threaten Democrats.”

Oh my gosh: a sane and understanding Democrat? If this catches on, we could be in trouble.

Then again, it would be good — very good — for the country.

It all comes down to who's screwing and who's getting screwed, now doesn't it?

Think we need protection from corporations and greedy capitalists, the line forms there for the Democrats.

Think we need protection from government and power hungry bureaucrats, the line forms there for the Republicans.

Think everyone is out to get you? Join the club.

Tom Spano: ...
Mahmoud Abbas: ...
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TS: Want to go for a ride in my car?
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Schramm:

Smith's great revelation was that political freedom would most likely emerge and persist under conditions of economic freedom, what we now call capitalism. Our democratic system as defined in our Constitution incorporated respect for this economic system.

Like Smith's invisible hand in the market, the Framers saw an invisible hand in our politics. They believed that, if allowed to work freely, these hands together would shape America into the land where invention, creativity and entrepreneurial activity would flourish.

There would be no danger of an aristocracy of wealth because the instruments of financial success were available to every person.

Maybe we should have sent McKinsey & Co. to Iraq instead of the Marines.

Let's see, what's it make you if you are the entourage of the entourage that is emulating the Entourage on TV?

The friends of the dissed come to the aid of Tom and the boys. How shall I put this? They lived down to expectations. Caught me while I was away without a laptop, so unfortunately there was no back and forth.

However, let's glean what we can from their responses, shall we?

Hot Ass says:

Never mind. Nothing interesting.

M&M says:

...these guys are amazing people who would never hurt a fly.

Well, M&M, I'm not worried about them going on a crime spree.

I’d just like to say your probably going to hell your a judge mental low life!

For the love of God, it's 'you're' not 'your.' As in, 'You are going to hell.'

Boys I think your amazing Steve your not Fat in fact your pretty hot and you can dress nice, Brian your not funny looking your hot also, Greg you don’t look old...

Inspiring defense there M&M. Outdid yourself. 'Brian your not funny looking...' Yeah, Brian, you're not losing your hair either.

FF says:

You obviously do not know or will never truly know the sacrafices and hardships that these 4 men have faced throughout their lives.

Hardships? They running for the Horatio Alger Award after they lock up the Entourage contest?

Anon 3 says:

I bet you are on of those loosers that have no life...

and...

Tom, Steve, Greg &Brian are one of my very good friends and they are nothing like you or the other looser from News &Records trying to present them.

Tom, Steve, Greg & Brian one entity then? Kind of a Hydra-like being, eh.

Also, it's 'loser.' If you want to insult someone, it looses its effect when you use the wrong word.

Also, Captain Tom weighs in with his own blog entry. Responds to Gate and me:

Steve and Brian are packaging engineers with major corporations in the area...

Translation - they put stuff in boxes for Target.

Do you know why? Cause at some point I'm going to spend three years watching it and catching up. It's like in college when I got a Nintendo 64 and one of my roommates and I played Mario for days on end. A week after we'd finished he came home and said someone asked what he did in March. His reply? "Saved the princess."

It's this very memory that prevents me from buying an Xbox or Playstation. As bad as I might want one and as longingly as I look at them when I go to Best Buy, I just can't take the chance on giving up the next decade. I imagine it's the same sort of choice a cleaned up heroin addict has to make when a few old pals come around wanting to party. Think Christophah and Julianna Margulies in that Sopranos episode where it all started with a bottle of cold medicine.

Anyway, here's a great round up of need-to-see-YouTube-clips. Just don't wander too far.

Highlights.

Nobu - Incredible. Exceeds the hype. Top five restaurant experience of my life. Make reservations a month in advance, put yourself in the hands of the chef, be dazzled. One interesting note is that Nobu Special Reserve beer tastes almost exactly like Red Oak. Talked to the waiter about it. He said Matsuhisa went to a brewery in Japan and personally developed this beer. I told him all he had to do was come to Greensboro.

Smith and Wollensky - Don't bother. May have been great once, not anymore. Tracy ordered filet. I ordered the bone-in strip. Both cooked unevenly and both very bland. This is a perfect example of a restaurant living off its reputation. The waiter claimed the steaks are prime, but I thought the flavor was about that of Golden Corral.

Union Square Cafe - Very good. Server was from Statesville. Her dad went to Elon. Food is terrific. However, the thing that gets me is how well Triad restaurants stand up against some of the more popular NYC spots. I wouldn't rate USC above Undercurrent and I'd rate it below Marisol.

The History Boys - Got tickets before all the Tonys. Good thing too. Hard to come by after. Cast is excellent. Use of video and music during set changes is very innovative. The accents take a bit of getting used to. Gayness among schoolboys and their teacher is one big theme in the play. So is the hypocrisy of the educational establishment and the cluelessness of a headmaster. Aside from these obvious motifs, the overall performance was fresh. Frances de la Tour stole the show. Delightful.

Lewis Nash at the Village Vanguard - I've tried to drag Tracy to the Village Vanguard a few times and failed. This time, however, I was determined. I pre-bought tickets so there was a monetary penalty for not going. Great club. I doubt it's changed since Coltrane and the rest played it. Tiny. Max occupancy is 123. Sound is tremendous - low ceilings, uneven walls. The band was incredible. The set they played was very old school - Monk and Ellington tunes among others. Jeremy Pelt on trumpet and Steve Wilson on sax were highlights. Tracy loved it and she's not into classic jazz.

Shinan:

The present generation of teenagers and youths in their twenties have been growing up under the cover of their parents' brooding wings. In the early years of their schooling, their parents escorted them to and from the school. When they enrolled at university, their parents accompanied them to the school, completed all the registration formalities for them and cleaned the dormitory, made the bed and put up mosquito net for them.

US teens? No! Chinese teens!

Kids everywhere are worthless, even the ones in the world's fastest growing economy.

Update: Regarding the mosquito net, softies. Back in Shinan's day, you think they had nets? Bah. And mosquitos the size of Pterydactyls.

TSG:

Third weirdest moment of the night: Seeing Jason Williams celebrate on the championship podium. It was like seeing Rob Schneider on stage at the Oscars. I can't wait to buy his ring on eBay in eight years.

Truthout:

During lengthy conversations with our sources over the past month, they reiterated that the substance of our report on May 13, 2006, was correct, and immediately following our report, Karl Rove's status in the CIA leak probe changed.

In other news, I am now reporting that I am the starting pitcher for the Detroit Tigers in this afternoon's game. Unless, of course, my status changes.

Reiland:

In California recently, President Bush, sticking to the same game plan, provided an insight into his method of policy-making. "I base a lot of my foreign policy decisions on some things that I think are true," he explained. "One, I believe there's an Almighty. And, secondly, I believe one of the gifts of the Almighty is the desire in everyone's soul, regardless of what you look like or where you live, to be free."

The problem, of course, is that al Qaeda uses precisely the same language to egg on its base, proclaiming that God is on their side in their fight "to be free" -- free of U.S. domination, free of an Israeli state and free of decadent Western influences.

The second problem, even if one believes that the Almighty is setting the agenda at the Pentagon, is that this administration hasn't exactly done a bang-up job of implementing the kind of down-to-earth strategies that are required for a successful outcome.

Freedom stands on its on merits. There's no need to pit God against God or favored interpreter of God's will against favored interpreter of God's will.

Besides, Reiland is right, if God is really and truly on our side, He'd give us more competent bureaucrats.

Hernando de Soto via Tom Bethell:

Ownership once represented by dogs, fences, and armed guards is now represented by records, titles and shares. The moment Westerners were able to focus on the title of a house and not just the house itself, they achieved a huge advantage over the rest of humanity. With titles, shares and property laws, people could suddenly go beyond looking at their assets as they are (houses used for shelter) to thinking about what they could be (security for credit to start or expand a business). Through widespread, integrated property systems, Western nations inadvertently created a staircase that allowed their citizens to climb out of the grubby basement of the material world into the realm where capital is created.

Via Althouse. Brit Hume on Fox News Sunday:

Can you imagine how frustrating it must be to be a Democratic leader, and these Republicans are involved with all these investigations, and you've got the crooked lobbyist with the black hat and the black raincoat coming out of the courthouse being played on television over and over again, and then one of your guys turns up with 90 grand in the freezer? I mean, it just ruined the whole thing.

I hate to be cynical all the time, but if you believe replacing Republicans with Democrats will lead to the end of corruption, which do you want to take a look at first, the bridge or the swampland?

It's a game and we're getting played. When you've got all incumbents being sent back at a 98% rate, it's obvious that these guys aren't interested in too much more than business as usual. Republicans and Democrats. May as well be shirts and skins.

TSG:

Yeah, I still think about him.

Sometimes I see red. That's the color of Maryland's uniform when Lenny Bias won me over for good, the February day he tossed the Terrapins on his back and toppled the No. 1-ranked Tar Heels by himself. Given that my team (the Celtics) was holding a potential top-five pick in the '86 draft that summer, I almost broke an ankle hurling myself onto the Bias Bandwagon. There was one play when Bias drained a 15-footer, then came flying back in to steal the inbounds pass and dunk the ball behind his head, fluidly, all in one motion. I can't even really describe it. When somebody makes The Leap right before your eyes in sports ... well, you remember. You always remember.

I remember that game. All of us around here probably do. Didn't really matter how big of a Tar Heel fan you were or even if you were much of a basketball fan at all, you had to admit that that night was magical.

Funny how Bias's death has stuck with us all these years. Maybe it's all that potential wasted so meaninglessly. Maybe it's that the whole thing summed up the excesses of the eighties so well. But more than that, he was one of those cats with intangibles. On and off the court. And those kinds of folks stay with us.

Moreau and Yousafzai:

"I'm not afraid of getting my nose and ears cut off," she said, all dressed up in a long purple dress and headscarf. "I want to keep studying."

The Afghan Taliban has decided they'll attempt to keep girls from going to school. Cutting off the nose and ears of coeds is one method of accomplishing this goal.

Used to be one of my favorite shows. Last night it turned my stomach because it reminded me of the bozos in the preceding post. Joe thinks I'm angry. Eh. However, every time I think I was too hard on them, I look at their site and see that dumb ass volleyball picture at the apartment complex. Then I think I was too easy. However, I understand now that either way, I'm not being helpful. Even though they're old enough to know better, they don't. Hence allow me to be constructive.

We'll keep this simple for obvious reasons.

Four letters.

WWVD. That's it fellas. What Would Vince Do. That's all you need to know. Learn it. Live it.

First lesson. Would Vince enter this contest?

Enough said.

See you at the laundry mat.

Our very own celebrities. Virtual and in person.

Get ready. I'm going to hate on them for a while.

You might want to read the article first so you can keep up.

I'll wait.

Done?

Good.

For those of you who lied and didn't read it, I'll sum it up. Four guys, one of whom is some kind of former Toughskins model, are trying to win a contest by emulating the characters on Entourage. Entourage is the HBO show based loosely on the exploits of Mark Wahlberg and his hanger-on buddies in Hollywood. Think of it like this - lions and hyenas. The lion goes out, makes a kill, eats what he wants, goes to sleep, hyenas fight over the scraps.

Got it? Let's get started.

We'll ignore the drunk driving thing. However, you better not kill anyone fellas, else this story is going haunt you forever. You'll be blubbering on the stand like a baby while the prosecutor uses the article to bludgeon you. And don't front, you know that's how it would go down. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't know what I was doing. I was young and irresponsible. Please, please give me another chance." Cry, cry, cry, whine, whine, whine, blubber, blubber, blubber. Give me a break guys. You know the deal. If it happens, take your punishment like men.

And btw, don't remember what you did the night before from drinking too much? Here's a site you might be interested in. I know you don't have much time, what with all the eighteen year-old girls to seduce and champagne to drink, but there's no excuse not to be original. Oh, wait, you're emulating characters on a TV show. Never mind.

Speaking of cliches, sisters kissing, huh? Didn't want to go all the way to twins? On second thought, good thinking. It's always better to hold back a little. You don't want to peak too early.

Quote of the story:

"That's a $200 bottle of champagne," Spano says, pointing to another picture. "We had four of those last night. We're still trying to figure out who paid for it."

Uh-huh. It was you, wasn't it, Tom? Go ahead, you can tell the truth. We're all friends here. It went down like AJ Soprano getting stuck with the check, didn't it. You remember, the one where AJ has to keep buying his 'friends' rounds so they'll hang out with him. But it's cool. It's not really a problem until you have to start selling your stuff to pay your credit card bills. Little tip though, before it gets to that point - just buy the Cristal for the first round. No one knows they're drinking Korbel after that.

Let's talk about your name - The G-Spot Entourage. G-Spot Entourage. G-Spot. Is that G-Spot as in Greensboro-Spot or is that G-Spot as in what we're left with when our $200 champagne has been drunk and our eighteen year-old prospects have hurried home to meet their curfew? Just between you and me, Tom, is that really all it's cracked up to be. Wait, don't tell me. You need to buy me a drink first.

So, don't like to talk about your job in the furniture industry, Tom? Why not? The stories you could tell I'm sure. You know all those big houses you get to see when you take them their new sofa. How cool is that? Hard on the back though. Better start planning your future. That's a young man's game.

Tom, I'm going to stop talking to you for a moment. I'm going to talk to Steve now. Steve's the fat one, right? Good. Steve, every entourage needs a Turtle. You know, the guy to do the heavy lifting - driving, scoring blow, picking up the check when your leader's credit card is maxed. You are the backbone of the group, man. Without you it couldn't exist. And just think of the benefits. Where else would you hear first hand reports on how the girls in the club behave behind closed doors. If it wasn't for your buddies, you'd have to sit in the corner and try to remember the progressions in that last Penthouse Forum. Stick with it man. Don't give up the dream. Someday one of those girls Tom is getting with is going to bring her husky friend to the club and then it'll be on.

So let's see, where's that leave us? Greg and Brian. You guys aren't claiming to be Eric and Drama, I gather. That's no fun. If you're going to copy someone's life (ed. note - correction, TV show characters' lives), you may as well go all the way. Brian, you are Eric. Small, kind of awkward, a little funny looking. I bet you're the witty one, aren't you? Hey, I've got to give it to you though, the hyenas definitely eat well because of the lion. Scraps from the master's plate are sometimes better than what the stable boy can prepare himself.

Well, I guess that leaves you Drama, I mean Greg. If I'm on my game, I'm betting that you are second only to Tom in the group. Slightly older, but definitely better looking than Steve and Brian and on certain nights, maybe when he hasn't had enough rest, you give Tom a run for his money, doncha? Thought so. If he wasn't a big movie star and everything, it'd be all about you. You know it's true. This is no time for modesty. Just because Elm Street blew up five years later than it should have shouldn't be held against you. Holla.

OK. That's the end of the article. Seemed like there was more substance there when I got started. Oh well. Good luck with the competition. Hope you win the Xbox. Be careful about dropping a couch on your toe, Tom. A limp will hinder auditions.

Peace.

The new number one. Readers of this site got a sneak peek earlier this week.

Looks young, doesn't he? Kind of a deer-in-the-headlights thing going on too.

Abu: Nah, really guys, I appreciate it and all, but...

I couldn't care less about regular season hockey. However, the playoffs are a different matter. There is no more constantly intense sport.

I was ready for the first ever professional sports championship by a North Carolina team last night. However, I don't mind the chance of a game seven. The drama is the thing.

Page Six:

Paris Hilton is so upset that Lindsay Lohan has been seeing her ex, Greek playboy Stavros Niarchos, she screamed insults at Lohan at Butter on Monday night. Witnesses report Hilton went up to Lohan and shouted, "I can't believe you and Stavros! You are ridiculous!" After taking more insults and curses, Lohan said, "That's how you say hello? I don't need to respond to you." Lohan promptly left. A rep for Lohan said, "Correct. Paris tried to pick a fight with her and started screaming at her, but Lindsay took the high road." After Lohan left, Hilton did a striptease for N.Y. Knick David Lee, Eli Manning and a bunch of other N.Y. Giants.

Let's see. What did I do on Monday night? Hmmm. Oh, yeah, went to Cub Scouts and watched the kids play Steal the Bacon. No Giants players or stripteases to be found.

More here. Thanks to Cone for Chris Nolan's take. She nails it.

Once everyone else moves on to the next big thing and Nolan's perspective becomes the conventional wisdom, the backlash against the folks who think getting 1500 folks together in Vegas signifies something important is going to be swift and severe.

Kos ain't doing nothing but trying to set himself up as a kingmaker. As admirable as this may be, let's not pretend he's some new species. At this point, he's a Chihuahua sniping at the heels of the establishment German Shepherd. And he's still a dog.

Here. Why do people continue to insist on wearing blazers/jackets with jeans?

Flashback. May 13. Truthout:

Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald spent more than half a day Friday at the offices of Patton Boggs, the law firm representing Karl Rove.

During the course of that meeting, Fitzgerald served attorneys for former Deputy White House Chief of Staff Karl Rove with an indictment charging the embattled White House official with perjury and lying to investigators related to his role in the CIA leak case, and instructed one of the attorneys to tell Rove that he has 24 business hours to get his affairs in order, high level sources with direct knowledge of the meeting said Saturday morning.

Present day. CNN:

White House senior adviser Karl Rove has been told by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald that he will not be charged in the CIA leak case, according to Robert Luskin, Rove's lawyer.

Ah, well, you know, nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Reuters:

Al Qaeda in Iraq named a successor following the killing of the group's leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, according to an Internet statement on Monday.

"The shura council of al Qaeda in Iraq unanimously agreed on Sheikh Abu Hamza al-Muhajir, to be a successor to Sheikh Abu Musab al-Zarqawi," said a statement signed by al Qaeda and posted on a Web site frequently used by Islamist militants.

Muhajir: Uh, guys.
Council Leader: Yes?
M: Thank you for this wonderful honor, it's just that I don't know that I'm worthy.
CL: Don't be silly Abu, we have all decided. You are the most qualified for this prestigious role. Praise be to Allah.
M: Praise Allah. Thank you again for this confidence. I'm not sure what I've done to deserve it. Yesterday, I was sweeping up. Today I am the supreme leader.
CL: Allah works in mysterious ways.
M: Yes, that's true. But what do I do?
CL: Do not worry. We have it all planned for you. You are to be the new face of al Qaeda. You will sit in your hut and read statements that we will write for you. You know, all infidels this and infidels that. The usual. We will videotape the performances and release them periodically to the Western media where you will become the second most reviled man in the world just behind brother Osama.
M: Well, about that.
CL: Is there a problem?
M: People have always kind of liked me. You know, 'Call Abu to clean the loo.' That sort of thing.
CL: Ah, do not worry. After our PR people get done with you, you will be a bloodthirsty, homicidal maniac. Or at least appear to be one. Ever sawed someone's head off?
M: Uh, no.
CL: No matter. We'll have one of those Western pacifist types picked up for you to practice on.
M: ...
CL: There's not much to it really. Kind of messy and a bit tiring, but better than working.
M: Will you be there to help?
CL: My role is more behind the scenes. In fact, the whole council's role is behind the scenes. We are here to help you succeed, Abu. We want you to be the best terrorist you can possibly be.
M: ...
CL: It is a great responsibility you are taking on, brother. A wonderful honor it is to have been chosen. The council are but humble servants deserving in no way of any publicity. Really, none at all. You may have all the glory. Praise Allah.

Wilson and Glater:

Some critics of the case wonder why Mr. Nifong has taken it so far. Some think it was political: Mr. Nifong, a 27-year prosecutor who was appointed district attorney last year, was running in his first election campaign when the case surfaced. He narrowly won election to a new four-year term in May. Mr. Osborn and Mr. Conner accused him of "zeal to make national headlines and win a hotly contested primary."

Several lawyers who know Mr. Nifong say he is no showboat and is a highly ethical prosecutor. But other lawyers said he was too rigid, too inflexible. Julian Mack, a lawyer in Durham who represented a member of the lacrosse team who was not charged, said: "He jumps to conclusions, makes up his mind, and that's it. His personality is that he's very stubborn."

Mr. Vann said Mr. Nifong could drop the case, but the political price would be high. "He'd have hell to pay from the African-American community," he said. "They'd say, 'Give her her day in court. What do you have to lose? If you lose, at least the jury made the decision.' So he's kind of stuck."

We still don't know what happened, but this case is getting more and more troubling. 'What do you have to lose?' Come on. How about your integrity.

TSG:

Two Florida teachers have resigned after middle school students observed them having sex in a locked classroom.

If the teachers aren't seducing the students, they're going at it with each other. Is it just me or does there seem to be a lot more sex going on in middle school than there used to be?

After initially denying to an investigator that they were having sex in school, Sepulveda, a foreign language teacher, and Wilburn, a gym instructor, admitted to the assignations.

And why is it always the gym teachers? If you take one of those job aptitude tests what do you have to score to be recommended for a position in physical education?

"Well, Mr. Wilburn, we've got your results back. Seems you scored quite well on hedonism and bullying and you're off the charts on flirting with thirteen year-old girls in tee shirts and shorts. Your weaker areas are anything intellectual, anything requiring prolonged focus, anything requiring you to communicate with adults about any subject other than football and any activity requiring you to wear any fabric other than polyester.

So, how does a government job with summers off sound?"

Aljazeera on Zarqawi's demise:

But the timing of his killing was carefully chosen to have the maximum psychological effect on the American public; gradually losing hope and trust in their President.

See here's the thing, if you assume Bush and Co. have the wherewithal to conjure the killing of Zarqawi in order to restore faith in the administration, they probably wouldn't find themselves in the position of having to restore faith now would they.

Here. Find out what Zarqawi now thinks about the coveted virgins.

Bartender: What'll it be fellas.
Gate: We'll have a martini.
Bartender: Two martinis coming up.
Joe: Is not right.
Bartender: What's not right?
Joe: Two martinis. Is one martini.
Bartender: Oh, I see. Your friend said we'll have a martini. I thought you each wanted one, but you want to share.
Gate: No. We want a martini. We don't know what they want.
Bartender: Who?
Gate: Them.
Bartender: Them? There's no one here but us.
Gate: We can see that.
Bartender: Is he blind?
Gate: Who?
Joe: Who?
Bartender: Him?
Gate: Them?
Bartender: Look, buddy.
Joe: Hold on. Have figured out what is happening.
Bartender: Enlighten me.
Joe: (pointing) Have a martini.
Bartender: Him?
Gate: Us?
Joe: Is right.
Bartender: What'll you have?
Joe: Hmmm. Am unsure. What have?
Bartender: Martinis.
Joe: Is fine then.
Bartender: Two martinis coming up.
Gate: Here's to us.

I wear these. I like them. However, it wasn't a conscious decision. They just showed up in my drawer one day. "What new invention is this?" thought I. Deciding they were intended for me after considering their size and color and looking around to be sure no one else was staking a claim, I made the leap.

One of the more vastly underrated aspects of marriage is that as a man you no longer have to go to the store to buy underwear and socks. These things take care of themselves. And it is good. If she buys it, she won't criticize it.

Update: However, she might criticize you for getting fat and making her pretty clothes look dissimilar from how they looked on the model in the catalog.

Update II: Do not criticize back.

Surowiecki:

...over the past twenty-five years, the number of refineries in the U.S. has been cut in half, and although the remaining ones have expanded, they haven’t kept up with the growing demand for gasoline. But now, with voters furious about three-dollar-a-gallon gas, Washington has decided that this trend must change. Samuel Bodman, the Energy Secretary, has exhorted oil companies to use some of their hefty profits to expand refining capacity, and Congress is considering streamlining the environmental regulations that add to the expense of building new refineries. The hope is that, with a little push and pull, refiners will embark on a building spree to ease the pressure at the pump.

Unfortunately, the lack of capacity that Washington sees as a crisis looks like an ideal business model to oil refiners. There are so few refineries in the U.S. now that they are run tight to the bone, typically using about ninety per cent of their total capacity. The result is that refining—which, until recently, was a tough, low-margin business—has become tremendously lucrative.

Government ought to be in the business of reducing barriers to entry rather than erecting them. Otherwise the whole thing ends up looking suspiciously like a protection racket.

York at the Kos convention:

People see that we are bloggers, the fear goes, and that we’re on the left, and they think we’re nuts. “How do you avoid being seen as just a bunch of crazy bloggers?” asked one person. “Has the work ameliorated the stigma of the crazy leftist blogger?” asked another. And earlier Thursday, at a workshop run by the liberal think tank Center for American Progress, one leader urged the Kossacks not to let people “marginalize you as a blogger—they may think that you are nutty and kind of wild.”

That is the contrast of YearlyKos. On the one hand, Moulitsas speaks as if he has won the political game, while on the other side some of his followers worry that they’re not even in it.

WSJ:

Americans favor repealing the death tax not because they think it will help them directly. They're more principled than that. Two-thirds of the public wants to repeal it because they think taxing a lifetime of thrift due to the accident of death is unfair, and even immoral. They also understand that the really rich won't pay the tax anyway because they hire lawyers to avoid it.

I told Cone yesterday that I didn't have any original thoughts on the estate tax. You either think it's unfair or you don't.

However, let me expand on this unfair business a bit, original or not. If you think it's OK for the government to take half of someone's property when they die, you're probably also OK with lots of other types of government meddling. This is more of a philosophical debate than it is a debate over the specifics of the tax.

CNN:

Terrorist leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the most wanted man in Iraq, was killed in a coalition airstrike near Baquba, jubilant U.S. and Iraqi authorities announced Thursday.

Glorious day.

SI:

The Church of Scientology, the religion for which actor Tom Cruise crusades, will attempt to spread its "Ignite Your Potential" message into auto racing through sponsorship of a race car in one of NASCAR's lowest levels.

I swear to God that if all my buddies who are NASCAR fans start wanting to talk about Xenu and volcanoes, I'm going off on Tom Cruise. You better getter get some platform shoes, Maverick, because I'll be coming.

Last:

An older, contracting population is a harbinger of dark times. In the modern welfare state, the cost of caring for the elderly is largely shifted to the government. Combine an increasing population of seniors with an increasingly expensive state pension and health-care system, and you have a portion of the budget that must grow ever larger. The options: slash benefits, overhaul the system, or raise taxes. As Longman explains: "Younger workers, finding that not only does the economy require them to have far higher levels of education than did their parents, but that they must also pay far higher payroll taxes, are less able to afford children, and so have fewer of them, causing a new cycle of population aging."

In other words, the further the fertility rate falls, the greater the incentive for people to have fewer children.

Well, at least we can stop worrying about global warming or an asteroid crashing into the earth or Osama's minions.

2090

Osama minion: Death to America.
American: Put a sock in it.
OM: In the name of Allah, we will crush the infidels.
A: We've taken care of it for you.
OM: ...
A: All that's left are old people.
OM: ...
A: We're all seventy now.
OM: ...
A: Think about it this way. There are no more topless bars.
A: Well, at least none that you'd necessarily want to visit.
OM: Where shall we plan our follow-up attack to 9/11?
A: That's what I'm telling you. There's nothing left if you don't count the K&W.

N&R:

Don't cut housing programs for the poor. Don't eliminate information and reference jobs at the central library.

That's what Greensboro residents told City Council members Tuesday night as they spoke to oppose parts of a plan that would cut $8.7 million in city services and jobs.

As an alternative to a tax increase, the Greensboro City Council asks the City Manager to recommend programs to be cut. The City Manager comes back with eliminating housing for the poor and libraries.

Come on. You couldn't find some babies to starve?

Nai-keung:

One of the main themes of the 11th Five-Year Plan (2006-10) is indigenous innovation. Many have pointed out that so far, the main reason underlying China's continued rapid growth has been the increased application of factors of production. We invest more capital and use cheap and industrious labour, and therefore we have more output. The end result is that although we break our backs, pollute our environment and use up our precious natural resources, we only earn a penny by being the world's biggest OEM (original equipment manufacturer).

Not only is this unfair, it is also unsustainable. This is not efficient, and we do not enjoy limitless supplies of capital or labour. We have to add more value to our products and services by migrating from OEM to ODM (original design manufacturer) and OBM (original brand manufacturer). Indigenous innovation is the logical way forward.

If they have the chance, 1.5 billion people will likely be able to come up with a lot of cool stuff.

VDH:

...Europeans systematically expanded the welfare state. They welcomed in immigrants. Politicians slashed defense spending, lowered the retirement age and cut the workweek. Voters demanded trade barriers to protect the public from the ravages of globalization. Either to enjoy the good life or to save the planet, couples forswore children.

But instead of utopia, unintended consequences ensued. Unemployment soared. Dismal economic growth, shrinking populations and a scarier world outside their borders followed.

What's surprising is that anyone is surprised. What did we think would happen once India and China got started on the capitalist road?

The EU has 500 million people. China and India have 2500 million. Are Europeans inherently smarter? More productive? Of course not. Hence if you give a group that's five times the size of another the tools to participate in the global economy, they have to win. It's obvious. You're going to get more productivity and more innovation out of the 2500 million.

The only possible answer is to stay one step ahead by being leaner and more competitive. This means becoming more capitalistic rather than more socialistic. Continue with protectionism and entitlements and the EU is a sitting duck. They may be done anyway, but at least they can put up a fight.

Same goes for us.

Stein:

Iraq was a mistake. And it's turning out badly. We lack the national will to win this war. We had no good reason to be there in the first place. (Thank you, CIA.) We were supposed to not get into any more wars we did not absolutely need to be in. If we did get into them, we were supposed to go in with enough force to win. We screwed up every part of this and it's a mistake.

The administration deserves blame too as do many supporters for not thinking critically enough about the whole endeavor. Aside from there not being nuclear WMD, thinking we'd be greeted as liberators was the major failing. If the Iraqis had wanted us there, terrorists would have been relatively easy to root out, a new government would have been relatively easy to set up and the fact that we originally went in for WMD would be forgivable.

As it is, we've put the military in an impossible situation. They're quite good at killing people indiscriminately. However, when they must discriminate, their mission becomes impossible and we end up in this political netherworld hoping for a break instead of being in a position to create one.

It's all pretty simple, really. We gambled. We lost.

At my older son's baseball practice yesterday after the SS tried to make a tag instead of stepping on the bag.

Me: Shortstop and Pitcher come over here.
SS: ...
P: ...
Me: What are we doing?
SS: ...
P: ...
Me: We're trying to get better.
Me: ...
Me: What's the most important thing?
SS: To have fun!
Me: Besides that.
P: To do your best.
Me: Yeah, yeah. What's really the most important thing?
SS: ...
P: ...
Me: Winning.

Cline:

When Americans handed Republicans the reins of government, they thought they were getting a conservative regime, one that would be honest, frugal and competent. Instead, they got a big government regime that has been dishonest, profligate and incompetent.

VDH:

The more rational among our enemies know that they would lose either a nuclear or a no-holds-barred conventional struggle against the United States, so they seek to wage asymmetrical warfare. All such initiatives are based on the premise that America, in its wealth and leisure, is more concerned about suffering than inflicting losses, more worried about what others think of it than what it thinks of others.

I imagine that if we're ever really threatened we'll be quite concerned with inflicting losses. In the meantime, we have the luxury of keeping our brutality in check.

Speaking of global warming, I've noticed a fun new trend. Tracy and I went to Homearama in Charlotte earlier this week. Basically it's Showcase of Homes on steroids. The houses are 8000 to 10,000 square feet and are between $2 mil and $3.5 mil.

What's fun is how the builders and real estate agents all brag about how environmentally friendly the houses are. Does anybody believe this? Yeah, sure insulation is better than it used to be and all that, but when you don't need 5,000 square feet per person to exist can you really say you're doing the environment a favor?

Look, if you want a big house, buy a big house because you want a big house. But don't sit in said big house being all smug about what a good person and environmental steward you are.

Crook:

To crush their enemy in the propaganda war, the activists are shrewdly alarmist. Everything points to impending catastrophe, they imply. It is not enough that we have a problem that needs addressing. No, the planet is in mortal danger. Life as we know it is in peril. The tagline for Gore's movie is, "The most terrifying film you will ever see."

This assertion of impending global catastrophe makes it difficult to have a discussion about well-calibrated responses. It makes opposing the Kyoto Protocol on greenhouse gases look like a capitulation to ignorant inactivism — though that agreement was not, in fact, a good way to confront the problem, and ratifying it would not have been in America's interests. It makes the weighing of costs and benefits in different carbon-mitigation strategies look like quibbling over the cost of urgent life-or-death treatment. And it makes talk of adapting to climate change — which ought to be part of any sensible policy — look like reckless disregard of an impending existential danger.

So far as I know, there is little scientific dissent from the view that the planet is warming. There is also a strong consensus that man-made emissions of greenhouse gases are the main reason why. But there is no corresponding consensus on the costs and benefits of warming to date.

Gate wants to settle this thing once and for all. Go vote.

Jolie or Aniston?

Aniston or Jolie?

Which shall I consider now?

Answer? There's only one.

All of the Above!

Update: Of course, if you have to choose, it has to be Jolie. Although you do have to admire Aniston's spunk getting in the best shape of her life, doing a nude scene and dating a man's man in Vince Vaughn. All with Jolie all baby fatted up. Wonder if Brad has ever had a wistful thought?

Wow. This is such a win-win for all of us, isn't it.

Hey, you've still got Big Russ.

Nordlinger:

A curious phenomenon, as I've remarked over the years, is that liberals think George W. Bush is Genghis Khan, while conservatives think he's Elliot Richardson. I was reminded of this when I saw Al Gore's latest characterization of Bush and his folks: "renegade right-wing extremists." I know a lot of conservatives who're thinking, "I wish!"

Right on. Just wait until we find Goldwater's heir. Word on the street is that there are clues to his identity hidden in Warhol paintings. However, get too close and Eddie Vedder and Karl Rove come looking for you.

Brian finagled a mention about his bricks idea from Seth Godin.

This is never going to work. But then again I never thought he'd sell six. And again I never thought I'd buy one.

I am an idiot.

Shake it down. Shake it down now.

VDH:

...China and India are no longer inefficient socialists but breakneck capitalist competitors. Indeed, they have thrown down the gauntlet to the Europeans: "Beware! Workers of the world who labor harder, longer and smarter deserve the greater material rewards!" In this new heartless global arena, apparently few will abide by the niceties of the European Union.