Red and Blue

Zogby shows how the show isn't over yet:
see the report

Reuters | Latest Financial News / Full News Coverage: "Front-Runner Kerry Denies Report of Affair "

M Novak: on Kerry and the Intern
For a brief moment, a quote from Michael Novak appeared on The Corner. They quickly took it down, but I think it's absolutely spot on:

TWO TOWERS FALL AGAIN [Michael Novak]

I was overseas on September 11, 2001, and when I saw the first plane coast quietly into the World Trade Center, I thought it was a freak accident. When the second plane hit, I knew instantly it was war.

When I saw Howard Dean suddenly implode on a clear day, I knew it was from dirty tricks, in the usual run of things, plus his babbling mouth. When I see the second tower suddenly implode, John Kerry, I wonder who could be behind these TWO 'assassinations.' Who could be clearing the way for whom?

Suppose it had suddenly become clear that Bush COULD be beaten this year. Who then would want to get into the race, if only the way were not blocked?

Gore as Howard Dean

An you thought Dean's rebel yell was something. Wait until you hear Al Gore.

click here

Ramesh is right

Ponnuru: Isn't the Democratic message on these two issues going to be a little self-contradictory? Democrats want to say that the administration should have acted on even the slightest hint of the 9/11 atrocities. But at the same time, an intelligence report that says a dictator might "possibly" have or "probably" has WMD is no reason for rash action. How do you spend the election season making both of these cases?

Interest in Kerry
Fantastic article by Brooks today in the NYT.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/02/07/opinion/07BROO.html?pagewanted=print&position=

Kinsley: Love that Liberal

You gotta hand it to Kinsley. His article in the Post today is fantastic. Here's my favorite part:

Some Democrats cheated and looked into their hearts, where they found Howard Dean. But he was so appealing that he scared them. This is no moment to vote for a guy just because he inspires you, they thought. If he inspires me, there must be something wrong with him. So Democrats looked around and rediscovered John Kerry. He'd been there all along, inspiring almost no one.

Goldberg: Dean as a Headless Chicken

Jonah Goldberg today on CNN noted about Dean that even chickens run around a bit after they've been beheaded... so Jonah, in your honor:

Periphreal Effects of Going After Iraq

VDH on NRO today makes some excellent remarks that I hadn't considered about the positive effects of going after Iraq on the peripheries:

WMD deterrence. So it turns out that the emphasis on weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, and the subsequent effort to take out Saddam Hussein have had a powerful effect on such arsenals far beyond Baghdad. Without the removal of the Baathists, Libya would never have confessed to its nuclear roguery. Without the recent war, Iran would never have professed a desire to follow international protocols. Without the recent conflict, Pakistan would never have investigated its own outlaw scientists.

If we look at the side effects of going after Iraq, that alone may justify the war, albeit in hindsight.

A Real Dog

In case you were wondering. Yes, I have a real dog. Here is Nephi, next to my smallest kiddie, Kaden (10 mos old).

Doggy Time

Jonah Goldberg will love this piece. By the way Jonah: Time for another dog show column by my recollection:

Dark Whisperings Shake Dog Show Circuit

Joyce Mann, this year's Crufts Best of Show judge and wife of its chairman Peter, had been targeted by a fax campaign to highlight her mass breeding of Yorkshire Terriers in the 1960s -- puppy farming -- a practice common at the time, but now considered unethical.

My favorite Jonah line from one of this famed columns about the dog show circuit (this one from 2002):

As you can see, this "dog," named Surrey Spice Girl, looks like it was made by dipping a large rat in glue and running it underneath a refrigerator until it collected all the dirt, lint, and dust-bunnies it could manage.

Ann Coulter is the Alexander Pope of our day. Today's dig is classic:

Former front-runner Howard Dean sat out this week's primaries, but still managed to make news by ridiculing the FCC's plan to investigate MTV's halftime show at the Super Bowl. Dean pronounced the proposed investigation "silly." He explained that, as a doctor, a naked breast is "not exactly an unusual phenomenon for me."

That's an interesting standard. Presumably a primetime exhibition of Janet Jackson having a full pelvic exam and pap smear would not be "exactly an unusual phenomenon" for Dean either. Let's just be grateful Dean's not a proctologist.

An End to Evil, Iraqi Freedom, Learnings from Poland

Right now, I am thoroughly enjoying Frum and Perle's An End to Evil. (Although the voice talent for the audio book is a bit overboard - too affected methinks)

One interesting aside. They rightly point out that there has been a definate lack of support for the Iraqi people from US sources over the years. They compare this with the notable and generous dealings that Eastern European countries received from their US contacts. These efforts eventually helped to topple the communist regimes.

One key difference however between the two scenarios. The Soviet satellite states had a decent semblance of "native" support in the states. For example, the largest population of Poles outside of Warsaw is in Chicago. Many of the "under-the-table" efforts to overthrow the politburo puppets came from "helping-hand" packages sent through the Catholic church and family relations on the mainland (packages masked as clothing, embedded with short-wave radios, American literature, monies...).

Unfortunately, there is (was) no Iraqi equivilent. Middle-eastern blending into American life is far and few between: not unhead of... but certainly rarer than 3rd generation Polish Americans. F & M are correct: American support for Iraqi independence has been lacking on a grassroots level... but that can hardly be expected from a country with precious little "melting" of Arab influences.

Welcome to Right Side Redux. Here you can find a host of posts that may make you scream... but will definately keep you thinking.

Justin Hart