"Why is Congress spending time trying to pass a resolution condemning the massacre of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire nearly a century ago?"

Thomas Sowell asks. His answer: "It is hard to avoid the conclusion that this resolution is just the latest in a series of Congressional efforts to sabotage the conduct of [the Iraq] war."

UPDATE: Retreat: "Almost a dozen lawmakers had shifted against the measure in a 24-hour period ending Tuesday night, accelerating a sudden exodus that has cast deep doubt over the measure’s prospects. "

The sunset, just now.

(This picture is straight out of the digital camera and unretouched.)

(Enlarge.)

Doing a photo walk with only an iPhone.

I left the house without putting my battery in my camera, so I had to resort to my iPhone. Via iPhone, things looked like this:







What is that iPhone look? It seems melancholy.

The AutoAdmit lawsuit seems to be going nowhere.

Remember the AutoAdmit lawsuit? Click on the tag below to see some of my old posts. Yale law students sued in federal court about injury to their reputation because of... oh, I'm not going to explain it again. The point is that the case was filed 4 months ago and they still haven't served the defendants. Dave Hoffman has the story.

Christopher Hitchens in Madison — giving the atheists hell.

Madison, home of the Freedom From Religion Foundation, starts off loving the surly atheist they've brought in, but then — who could have imagined? — he gives them a hard time:

Responding to a question from an audience member on what he said was the futility of killing Muslims in Iraq to end extremism, Hitchens parodied:

“‘How does killing them lessen their numbers?’ You must have meant something more intelligent. … We worry too much in America about our ‘right’ to be in Iraq.

“Make them worry. Make them run scared. … I’m going to fight these people and every other theocrat all the way. All the way. You should be ashamed sneering at the people guarding you as you sleep.”

But stop laughing at the Madisonians for getting theirs. Here's what Hitchens thinks of your Heaven:

He also told the crowd that heaven would be comparable to North Korea, as they both embody a totalitarianism of eternal gratitude.

Hitchens pointed to the “horrific pointlessness and misery” of having to thank a leader for everything when the leader was never asked for in the first place — which he said is intrinsic to both the concept of heaven and in North Korea.

“At least you can fucking die and get out of North Korea,” Hitchens added.

Have you heard the rumor about Mickey Kaus?

I read about it here (in the comments).

"When you say Wisconsin, people most often think of the Green Bay Packers, cheeseheads, beer and cold weather."

Does Wisconsin need rebranding? Apparently, the Wisconsin "brand" ranks 37th among states. States that rank higher: Kansas, Rhode Island, Minnesota, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Utah. New Jersey is 50th. (Even after "The Sopranos"?) California ranked first, of course.

How would you bolster the Wisconsin brand? And are all the states supposed to get into a big competition to have the most lustrous brand? I guess it's good federalism for the states to compete this way, by making you think well of them. Federalism and advertising — they go together under the heading "American" (even as Packers and beer go together under the heading "Wisconsin").

It's the victory of good over evil: Diwali!

Suddenly, we hear a boom. It's fireworks. What for? Is it for Eid? I don't know, but I grab my camera and run onto the terrace for the beautiful show.







When it's over we Google around for an answer. It's Diwali (also called Deepavali):

Known as the "Festival of Lights," it symbolizes the victory of good over evil, and lamps are lit as a sign of celebration and hope for humankind....

Hindus and Sikhs alike regard it as a celebration of life and use the occasion to strengthen family and social relationships. For Hindus it is one of the most important festivals, and beginning of the year in some Hindu calendars. There are several beliefs regarding the origin of the holiday. The most repeated version is that Hindus celebrate Diwali to mark the time when Lord Rama achieved victory over Ravana. Some also view it as the day Krishna defeated the demon Narakasura or in honor of the day Bali went to rule the nether-world, obeying the order of Vishnu. It is also a significant festival for the Sikh faith. In India, Diwali is now considered to be more of a national festival, and the aesthetic aspect of the festival is enjoyed by most Indians regardless of faith.

Excellent!

Not a tomato, but round and roseate.

The sun:

The Unacceptable Tomato.

Don't put that thing on that thing on the plate!

This was served in New York City. So you New Yorkers, if you find yourself out in Middle America at some roadside diner or suburban strip mall, don't be saying that they'd never serve that in New York City. They serve crap like this in New York City all the time. Even in places like DUMBO where people have plenty of money and show off their good taste.

That tomato is saying Screw you! We don't care and we don't mind making it obvious! You don't have to look any closer. You don't have to detect that the red onion is dried out, that the roasted potato is shriveled, that the poached egg is nearly hard cooked, and that part of the egg looks exactly like a thick piece of cotton string.

I won't mention that the "live jazz" they were playing was an overmiked crooner singing America's Most Loved Pop Songs — "My Girl," "What a Wonderful World," etc. — while a football game played right next to him with the sound on. At one point it sounded like bobby soxers squealing over Frank Sinatra, but the squealing came from cheerleaders at the football game and "Frank" was having a bad day.

Brooklyn — alive and not alive.

"What politics has become requires a level of tolerance for triviality and artifice and nonsense that I have found in short supply."

Let's talk about this quote. There are so many subtopics here. Let me delineate a few:

1. First, to understand this quote, you need to realize that the speaker means "that I have found in short supply" in myself. What sort of person talks like this when making a point like this?

2. What sort of person decides to make this particular point when addressing the subject of whether he belongs in politics?

3. Did you have any trouble guessing who said this?

4. Does politics today involve all that much triviality and artifice?

5. Was there some earlier Golden Age, when politics did not involve so much triviality and artifice?

6. What sort of person admires someone precisely for being the kind of person who makes that point and talks like that?

7. Who do you like better: a. Someone who says things like that quote, b. Someone who admires someone who says things like that quote, c. Someone who would only accidentally talk like that and would immediately mock himself for doing so, d. Someone who prefers to look for people who say things like that or admire people who say things like that and then to immediately mock them in writing and provide a place for you to join the mockery?

8. Why is the love I bear for Al Gore so conflicted?

9. Did #8 make you think of Manbearpig?

10. Who does 9 questions? There must be 10.

I saw your nanny... if that was your nanny.

Here's a NYT article about a blog — I Saw Your Nanny — that collects and displays reports about things nannies are doing with children. It's not all that clear when you're looking at strangers whether the woman with a child is a hired caregiver or not. It's a judgment call, often based on race. Or do you think you can tell whether there is love? But some nannies love the children they take care of, and some mothers are brusque and cold.

How about a blog called I Saw You With Your Child? Recently, I saw a woman — I think with her own child — pushing her child in a stroller on 4th Street in Greenwich Village. The child, who was about 2, was clearly unhappy about sitting strapped into a stroller, with no exercise or human interaction. He was whining and writhing, reaching toward the area in back of the stroller where he could hear his mother talking on the cell phone with someone. The mother's response was to talk about the child — "I've got a cranky one here" — insulting him to the back of his head and expressing irritation at him for thinking that his presence, in person in the real world, should matter more to his mother than the people who are off somewhere else.

"He's typing and drinking and threatening to 'shave Paul Krugman with a broken bottle.'"

Maureen Dowd invites Stephen Colbert into her lair at the New York Times.

"Fading memory has helped some to forget about the Clintons, their political machine and their ruthlessness."

"A rising black politician in the Democratic party is a threat to them and their power over blacks. So they are doing what they can to crush him, and punish any Democrat who associates with him."

That's from Andrew Sullivan.

ADDED: Here's a NYT article about black voters deciding between Hillary and Obama:

Most polls here [in South Carolina] show Mrs. Clinton leading and Mr. Obama second...

... Mr. Obama appears to have a big lead over Mrs. Clinton among black men, said Adolphus G. Belk Jr., a political scientist at Winthrop University who co-directed a recent study of black voters. Black women, Dr. Belk said, are divided equally between Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton, and significantly, perhaps a third are undecided.

“They stand at the intersection of race, class and gender,” he said. “Black men say to them, ‘Sister, are you with us?’ and at the same time white women say, ‘Sister, are you with us?’”

The article also quotes one woman who says: "We always love Hillary because we love her husband" and "A man is supposed to be the head. I feel like the Lord has put man first, and I believe in the Bible." So, do black women support Hillary because she's a woman or in spite of the fact that she's a woman and because they really love Bill?

That's a lot of love for Bill if it can override Barack even when Bill is not the candidate. Why isn't there more love for Obama? The article makes much of various comments by black women that Obama would be in physical danger as President. We're told that's "maternal" of them.

I'm vaguely horrified by this discussion of black female political thought. As the NYT article tells it, it seems that black women vote based on whether they feel more like a mother or a sexual partner to the candidate (or the candidate's spouse) — with a dollop of religious inanity stirred in.

"Si te gusta el sexo oral, vote por Caragol por consejal."

("If you like oral sex, vote Caragol for council.") Just some political slogan in Hialeah, Florida, which the Miami Herald informs us is "no laughing matter." The Miami Herald isn't going to tell me when to laugh.

"People want to give it a negative interpretation, but anyone who knows me and my way of being knows that I didn't mean for the comment to degrade or offend anyone,'' [Jose "Pepe" Caragol told The Miami Herald.

"My way of being" — I love that. I'm going to use that. Anyone who knows my way of being knows....

Caragol's opponent, Mercy Dominguez, wants us to know "that as a mother and a woman she finds the phrase offensive."

Caragol is quick to note that Dominguez did not point out the rest of the zingers he dished out at the Seguro Que Yes! taping.

''I also said that I was the only V-I-P councilman appointed to the board,'' Caragol said. "Viejo, impotente, y presumido -- old, impotent, and vain.''

For now, Caragol says he'll be sticking to a new campaign slogan -- "Olvídese del colesterol, y vote por Caragol'' -- "Forget the cholesterol and vote for Caragol.''

The man is an irrepressible poet. The woman is a dreary scold. Life goes on.