February 9, 2007

Althouse coffeehouse.

I've got to run over to the radio station to do the "Week In Review," so I don't have time to put up any more posts for another hour and a half. So why don't you folks get the conversation started here?

UPDATE: Okay, I'm back. Well, the coffee served up at Wisconsin Public Radio was super-strong. I got a little passionate somewhere in there around 8:30, when the discussion of the war went on a little long and a caller referred to me as "the Lady who likes the war" and then the other guest -- after chiding me for interrupting her -- started interrupting me. Yikes! Normally, I prefer the back and forth, with cutting in, so I never start the "let me finish" business, but if someone is going to block me with the "let me finish" thing, when it's my turn, I'm going to be the "let me finish" type myself. Yikes! See what I mean? I'm in a café now, but not with my usual latte. I'm drinking All Natural Nantucket Nectars 100% Juice Pomegranate Cherry. On the speakers: "It's All Too Much." And, yeah, it is.

Now, what have you kids been talking about?

64 comments:

Simon said...

Everyone got a cup of something Kenyan? Alrighty.

MadisonMan said...

No coffee for me today (I had some yesterday though), but I'll probably have peppermint tea later.

Something I've thought about in the past couple days. If, in the year 2040, I was writing a screenplay about the year 2007, and it included cocktail party talk (think Robert Altman and Gosford Park), I think a good source would be a blog such as this one. You get an accurate range of opinions such as you might find at a party. And the players are all identified.

Who owns the words put down here? Ann? Blogger? The commenter? Go to a recent comment thread and imagine it all being said in a movie. It works.

The Drill SGT said...

Cass was a lot better performer than Anna Nicole. But then again so was Janis Joplin. I thought that Cass had a heart attack, rather than drugs. I think Janis would be a better analogy than Cass.

Janis used lots of illegal substances and had that "burn the candle at both ends" lifestyle that Anna seemed to subscribe to.

hdhouse said...

ahhh David...

Ann suggested coffee not a mind altering cocktail.

Please don't drink heavily so early in the morning. makes you write like a moron.

Simon said...

*Sigh* Duerst-Lahti managed to get in her distaste for the Bush administration and her view on the war within the first two questions, neither of which were about the war. LOL.

Simon said...

On the other hand, I was quite impressed that she put the partisanship aside (sort of) to talk about the Senate procedural issue.

Ron said...

mmm...coffee...where is mine? What? I have to make it...damn, I'm a slug.

I find it a bit sad when the talking heads on various shows last aren't really all that surprised that Anna Nicole augered in yesterday...seems like a fully mature cynicism has come to flower there.

Anna Nicole is the Song of Roland of Tabloidness; each twist and turn of her life was Epic, and not always in a good way! Too good for a mere biopic, she needs a Gone With The Wind sized version of Mildred Pearce to do her justice.

Laura Reynolds said...

Folgers. Having worked in the oil patch for a few years, the only requirement is caffeine.

Simon said...

Excellent slapdown there, Ann.

Simon said...

Heh heh. I like it when she gets mad. ;)

Simon said...

Hahaha... I loved that Duerst-Lahti tried to counter my point that Roosevelt never served in the military by saying that he had. But he was secretary of the navy, Georgia! That isn't serving in the military! By that standard, Dick Cheney has military experience! lol

Simon said...

I've got to grab some coffee and go slow my heart rate a little. ;)

The Drill SGT said...

Simon,

though I agree, he was not SECNAV.

President Wilson appointed him Assistant Secretary of the Navy.

that in today's structure is one of several 3rd tier civilians

SECNAV
DEPSECNAV
several ASN's

Swifty Quick said...

Is Johnny Sutton in the process of being Knifonged?

Simon said...

Sarge,
Yeah... I realized that after we finished the call. I emailed her to congratulate her on an absolutely masterful rhetorical move -- and I take my hat off to her, she thought fast to realize she needed to defend the caller's point and to pull something even halfway-plausible out of her hat -- and it very nearly worked. She would have totally undercut my point had I not had Roosevelt's bio sitting in front of me to call her on it.

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
The Drill SGT said...

Simon,

what call?

Simon said...

Sarge - I called in to the show that opened this particular coffeehouse. Just to make trouble, mainly. ;)

Ann Althouse said...

So, Simon, that was you? Fascinating!

The Drill SGT said...

I'm going to correct myself before somebody catches it.

The second guy in the Navy Pyramid is the Under Secretary, not Deputy

so it is

SECNAV
Under Secretary of the Navy
several ASN's

while the DoD as a whole has a taller and more convoluted pyramid

SECDEF
DEPSECDEF
several Under Secretary's
many assistant Secretary's, who I think outrank the
Many Deputy Under Secretary's
and at the bottom
multitudes of Deputy Asst Secs of Defense

Meade said...

"Now, what have you kids been talking about?"

Where's our nanny?!

Simon's been a troublemaker and sgt. has been spreading disinformation.

You need to put them in timeout or take away their elitist coffee drink privileges or something.

Simon said...

Ann - The one and only. Didn't you detect the Scalian influence in the way I handled Georgia's attempted counterpoint? ;)

(Of course, it isn't a perfect copy - I doubt that Scalia finds himself shaking like a leaf when he takes to the bench, and hopes it doesn't show in his voice).

Naturally, I was pleased with your answer. :p

Maxine Weiss said...

Assertion: The NYT is not a reliable source.

Repeat: The NYT is not a reliable source.

So why are they constantly being venerated and heralded on the Althouse blog?

Peace, Maxine

vbspurs said...

I'm drinking All Natural Nantucket Nectars 100% Juice Pomegranate Cherry.

Hippy.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Ethiopian Harrar for me.

If we're doing Fourbucks, Arabian Mocha Sanani for me.

Or the Sulawesi.

And RIP New Zealand Peaberry.

Talk about girls gone wild now we have women gone wild.

LOL!

Cheers,
Victoria

The Drill SGT said...

While I wait for the Ann and Simon show to show up as it were, I was listening to Joy do her Thursday Mark Steyn interview.

Am I crazy or do peace activist types have a syntax and speech pattern all their own?

I was struck by both of the "why can't we all just get along callers" whose main message seemed to be that "violence never solves anything".

Go ask the city fathers of Carthage or Warsaw about that.

The basic problem in their philosophy is that it takes two empowered parties willing to honestly sit down and try to reach accommodation in order to achieve peace. It only takes one side to achieve war.

vbspurs said...

Ann - The one and only. Didn't you detect the Scalian influence in the way I handled Georgia's attempted counterpoint? ;)

Ann and Simon on the same show and I missed it?? Aww man.

Maybe we can all call the Diane Rehm show one day, and make trouble!

Cheers,
Victoria

Simon said...

Victoria - not only that but also... you missed Ann eviscerating a caller, and then completely blowing her stack at Georgia (correctly, as well). That was frickin' hilarious, and absolutely right on. It's worth catching the archive version just for that.

Palladian said...

I couldn't get through when I called! It would have been like Attack of the Living Althouse Commenters if I had.

Yemen Mocha (which does not have chocolate in it, btw) for me.

Ann Althouse said...

Victoria: I'll have a link for streaming the recording soon.

I'm eager to hear it myself. Do I sound like I'm going postal... I mean, going astronaut?

Simon said...

Ann - LMAO. And either way, yes. I mean, not in a ranting and raving kind of way, more of a... Well, you've been to Scalia speeches (or at least heard oral arguments) where someone asks him question that lights his fuse and they don't stand back fast enough. ;)

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Anthony said...

Man, it sucks for us west-coasters, everything has already happened by the time we even get up.

I'm having a post-workout giganto-Diet Coke from Jack-in-the-Box, btw. Soon to be followed by a grande mocha (Seattle, donchaknow). Sadly, my espresso place isn't one of these.

eelpout said...

So while I'm pounding this Guatemalan, naturally I thought of Steyn. Were there any neo-hobbit nuggets of wisdom today? I'm guessing it bombs falling on someone, and begging Europe to start having sex?

*pulls up chair next to Palladian*

Ann Althouse said...

You can listen to the show now here.

Ann Althouse said...

Oh, I missed talking to Palladian!

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ann Althouse said...

I just listened to the passionate part and it sounds very controlled compared to how it felt.

vbspurs said...

You can listen to the show now here.

*clicks*

Wow, Joy Cardeen she pronounces her name? I had Pierre Cardin in mind.

This lady sounds a lot like Julia Sweeney of SNL and It's Pat! fame.

Ann sounds great. No hems-and-haws so far. Just fluid and logical sentences. Ooh, do I sense a little nervous flutter in the voice just then?

*continues listening*

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Victoria - not only that but also... you missed Ann eviscerating a caller, and then completely blowing her stack at Georgia (correctly, as well). That was frickin' hilarious, and absolutely right on. It's worth catching the archive version just for that.

I can't wait, Simon and Ann!

Especially for your role in the proceedings, Simon, not knowing what a hubba-hubba Hoosier accent sounds like, one is naturally intrigued.

Cheers,
Victoria

Simon said...

I listened to most of it live so I immodestly skipped to the one bit that I didn't get to hear before. Hah! I didn't quite manage the booming Rehnquist baritone I try to affect. ;)

Simon said...

Victoria - you're going to be surprised. ;)

vbspurs said...

(Stream-of-consciousness reactions to show)

LOL @ the 'larger breasts' reference, Ann.

This Georgia Duerst-Lahti lady sounds resentful, and not very articulate, "hanging on to the arm of the old guy". She even got in a Joseph Campbell reference, in a Dakota Fanning-Michiko Kakatani way.

Ann counters with an excellent point (which comes off as hyper-rational after the rank judgementalism about ANS' life by Prof. D-L), about how people enjoyed the break of watching her life unfold, after the realities of recent times.

Ann talks in crisp bullet points, whilst D-L continues her longwinded pontifications about the Scooter Libby trial. Mind you, Ann is by force, more media savvy, but it strikes me that she's always been like that...

(As an aside, I hadn't realised how much Senator Harry Reid sounds like Noam Chomsky. The things you hear on the radio, that you don't pick up on on TV, huh?)

D-L, "Well a preponderence of experts in the area suggest that..." (Zzzzz).

Wow, is this how I sound like on the radio? Like this professor, just all over the place, and not really saying anything. Or just on Althouse. :)

Man, I just want to get to Simon's bit, so I'll skip forward.

*continues in a sec*

Simon said...

Victoria - don't do that! lol. You need to listen from about 22:00 through to about 34:00 to hear the setup, the pitch, the swing and the hit for Ann's going astronaut. ;)

vbspurs said...

Wow, what a dick of a caller, "Pat". Suggesting that the "War Lady" and others enjoy having people killed.

A simply insular viewpoint about "Iran/Iraq -- it's their part of the world", as if to suggest, "what's it got to do with us?".

Hello, Mr. Isolationism, get a clue.

I don't understand why people put on someone like G-DL on the radio. My mind glazes over when she speaks.

I now see during this, why Ann is called conservative by some.

She has the conservative personality (some might call it conceit) of wanting practical solutions to problems, not just to talk of miasmic ideological underpinnings.

You can't get anywhere positive in concrete terms, with people like this.

It becomes a war blame game without an exit strategy.

I'm at minute 30 now. Where is SIMON!

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

"You all MIGHT recall that Karl Rove...it's beyond Wag the Dog".

I love the way the Beloit College Professor goes all conspiratorial when she starts the sentence half-whispering about Karl Rove.

Oh, my God, Ann is getting astronaut! Awesome. This is great!

Laura Reynolds said...

I guess I'm SOL, the link to listen is busy or otehrwise does not work and I'm not wanting to wait 24 hours to become a WPR member so I can download.

Sounds like fun

vbspurs said...

Smoking in Politics?

Barack Time Can't Touch This! Doo doo doo, doo doo. Doo.

Oh, I loooove the little fussy schoolmarm "hmm" Professor D-L starts off to counter Professor Althouse's "glamourous" smoking remark.

Heh, Ann's little "Wow" sounded very 1970s.

Look, Ann is reading this, so you can laugh and point to my presentation of apple to teacher, but don't people hear how NORMAL, UPBEAT and WINSOME Ann sounds, just on her own, but definitely in comparison to Georgia D-L?

Duerst-Lahti is saying she was once a smoker, but she hates smoking now in taverns.

Ahhh. The phenomenon of 'when the rake becomes a prude'. Such fun for all.

LOL! "One interesting part of this, might be what defines a tavern".

She didn't just say that. It sounds like an intro to one of her freshman lectures.

Simon! HUBBA HUBBA! HOOSIER?? No baby! He's one of us!

(And with the same incursions into his accent, as I have now, but that's okay, he has a BEAUTIFUL pitch of voice)

LOL! Totally dissed Georgia. Loved it Simon. :)

(And Ann's laugh just then was deliciously naughty)

"Flip-floppers". Lady, a caller just slapped you, and this is your reaction?

Great point about Hillary, Ann.

D-L on Hillary: "I would never suggest she doesn't have challenges, but she has star power" (What?).

Okay, this new caller is talking about whales and the environment. I shall finish the last minutes a bit later, as I'm outtie to do chores.

That was MOST enjoyable, Ann! Thanks.

And Simon, 1-800-CALL-ME. Rrrrrr.

Cheers,
Victoria

MadisonMan said...

That professor from Beloit had very annoying vocal mannerisms. From saying "Ex - Cettera" to the sing-song flip-flopping comment. Listening to her in class would be "soooo" (as she might say it) very annoying.

Very entertaining. I will say that my daughter will likely get the HPV vaccine. HPV was the subject of Talk of the Nation on Friday -- and doctors target 6th graders because giving just to those at risk (i.e., the promiscuous Paris Hilton types) has been shown to be less effective. You can argue that the cost of the vaccine is pretty high. I'm not familiar enough with the cost of Cervical Cancers to discuss the cost-benefit ratios. Would it be better to provide free pap smears to everyone rather than inoculate 6th graders? (Hard luck to all those 8th graders who are headed for promiscuity).

Simon said...

Victoria - honorary Hoosier. ;) I don't usually tell people online about that part, because I find it privately hilarious when people call me a xenophobe for supporting controlling the border and opposing the use of foreign law in Constitutional interpretation.

As for Georgia - all true, but lookit: you've got to give her some credit. She executed a brilliant counter-attack. You've got to respect the skill of the player to pull out so duplicitous a point out of the air on the spot and interject it as a defense, to put her credibility on the line with so little factual support under it, in the hope that she wouldn't be called on it. That's gutsy. Not smart, but gutsy.

MadisonMan said...

I also appreciated Georgia's tactic -- saying FDR was in the military. Alas for her, Simon counterpunched very very effectively, and called her bluff. Nicely done.

eelpout said...

Simon,
I didn't know you were a Brit. I used to do ton of biz in the UK, and I was recently chatting some people from GB over beers at a bar near Disneyworld, and upon hearing my pronunciation of Warrington, they laughed hysterically .

Simon said...

MadisonMan - love or hate the game, you gotta respect the player. She played well. I'm still in awe. ;)

NL - well, I really don't think of myself as a Brit any more. I take the part of the citizenship oath which "entirely renounce[s] and abjure[s] all allegiance and fidelity" to one's former country every bit as seriously as I take the commitment to "support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic" (the latter, of course, says a lot about why I am far more concerned with fidelity to originalism than its practical consequences). And honestly, I look askance at immigrants who take that duty less seriously.

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
vbspurs said...

I couldn't help but hear "Duerst-Lahti" as "Der Slutty."

LOL!

Hold that thought though, Ruth Anne.

You will see Sundries' Sunday's blogpost on the topic of louche women, although I confess it wasn't influenced by the recent death of Mrs. Smith-Marshall-Stern.

But it ties in REAL well.

P.S.:

Duerst? Lahti? She's half-German, half-Finnish, or she's one of those newfangled feminist whippersnappers, who has cleaved her father's clan unto her husband's family name.

BTW, I've always wondered.

If a woman, who say is a feminist, has a kid, and that kid bears both of her parent's names, and then she goes out and marries a guy who has two names, do they then have a kid with four surnames?

Just so that no matrilineal side is slighted, you understand.

Inquiring, and slightly dotty minds, want to know.

Cheers,
Victoria

vbspurs said...

Cheeky monkey!

Well, Myers was (trying to do) doing a Scouse accent, not a Scots one, so maybe we should visualise Fat Bastard!

Maybe not.

Cheers,
Victoria

Simon said...

Ruth Anne - oh f*cking hell! LOL. Now I've got to find a pic that isn't horribly awful that I can post, just to dispel that idea. Frickin' Mike Miers! ;)

Simon said...

Ruth Anne - here you go. I hate all pictures of me, so I do this only under protest to counter that SNL thing. ;)

(You can also see my new powerbook, so it's a twofer).

vbspurs said...

Ruth Anne - here you go. I hate all pictures of me, so I do this only under protest to counter that SNL thing. ;)

(You can also see my new powerbook, so it's a twofer).


Lovely! Both of you! ;)

Actually, Simon you remind me of the really cute sitcom actor, Chris Barrie, of Brittas Empire and Red Dwarf fame.

And I could listen to that Rehnquist baritone all day.

P.S.: And the US Flag in the background melted my knickers off.

Cheers,
Victoria

Ruth Anne Adams said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Simon said...

Victoria- I love this country too, but your reaction to the flag might be taking patriotism a little far. ;)

Given the kind of character that Barrie has made his living playing, I'll assume that the comparison is purely physical, and construe it as a compliment. ;)

Ruth Anne:
"Isn't it funny that two folks from a little island might meet on this little blog?"

I think that Ann's attracted a retinue of interesting commenters from many places. :) I'd still be a reader even if comments were disabled, but there's a really good core of regular and supernumerary commenters here (modesty demands that I stress that I don't include myself in that) that help make it a twice-hourly read.

What's a "drarwing"? I'd otherwise assume that was a typo, but there's no drawing in the picture either.

MadisonMan said...

The SNL skit with Mike Myers, Simon started with a jingle that included the word drawering, pronounced drawring