Dean's World

My goodness. I'm starting to really regret simply asserting that Larry Thurlow's credibility was shot. I simply accepted the Washington Post's assertions. But if you go to the Swiftfets site, because they apparently take this very seriously, they've appended a bunch of responses right below the ad.

Thurlow's sticking to his guns, and saying that this is consistent with his version of events, as are Van Odell and Jack Chenowith, all of whom were there (or are lying and weren't there, I guess).

By any reasonable standard, what I think this tells us (again) is that the big media is now being bypassed with greater and greater frequency--and we have less reason than ever to simply accept their version of events.

The Queen is holding a beauty contest.

All of this Swift Boat/Cambodia stuff may well help John Kerry be elected. He may be able to make everyday voters righteously angry in his defense. So what? Yes I like Bush better than Kerry, and yes I am still mad at Democrats (for now). That's all a side issue. My world doesn't end if I watch John Kerry be sworn in as our 44th President.

The big story is, the universe recently changed when no one was looking. That cartoon really says it: Everybody who watches politics is talking about a story the mainstream press is choosing to either completely ignore, or to dismissively sniff at.

As Mark Noonan points out here, I may, due to my own willingness to just take the Washington Post's word on something, have wrongly dismissed Larry Thurlow. Maybe, maybe not, but I simply bought it without thinking. So what does that say about me, and maybe other people, and the willingness to just accept what we're told by the news media?

More to the point: The possible future President of the United States is working himself up into a lather today, angrily denouncing a story that everybody in the mainstream press was and still is trying to dismiss. The current President of the United States is trying to duck the story, even as he is being called upon to denounce a small-time political group with a few measley hundred thousand dollars, simply because they have a story that everybody in the mainstream press is still trying to dismiss.

And you cannot point to any single source for this. Not Instapundit, not Roger Simon, not me, and not even to the Swifties themselves. Just to the wild collective mass that is the blogosphere.

Don't tell me the world hasn't changed, and that the way that news junkies get their information hasn't fundamentally changed. It quite obviously has.

Roger Simon has more.

* Update * Wow. We know now how The New York Times will respond.

Has anyone checked out the game Frontrunner? Obviously they're an advertiser but I've never seen the game. It kind of looks fun, has anyone tried it?

Look. I swear like a muleskinner and I cut my kid's hair into a mohawk (well, my wife did, anyway, and I applauded). It's not like I'm Mr. Straight Laced.

But Jesus Christ on a pogo stick, WHAT THE HELL IS THIS?!?!?!

I admit it, I giggled for two seconds... and then thought about it harder.

(Via the eminently reasonable Joe Gandelman.)

This is a truly hilarious site: Baby's Named A Bad, Bad Thing.

It's not the names so much as the comments on them. The Queen and I will be keeping some of the site's owner's advice to heart, although some of it's just too snarky. You'd think she hates anyone who isn't named "Joe" "Cindy" or "Susan."

(Thanks, Kacie.)

Time to get U.S. troops out of places where they don't belong!

Hey, wait a minute....

Please tell me this is a joke. The people running the web site for the games this year want you to agree to terms and conditions before you can link their site?

Who do they think they're kidding?

(Via An Englishman's Castle.)

Impressive. I hadn't heard about this. Apparently, using materials from an extracted tooth and a sliver of jawbone, some blind people can now have their sight restored.

(Thanks to Rhianna for sending this fascinating story. I'll have to search the medical journals for more details on this!)

* Update * Willow Tree has more technical details on the surgery. Fascinating.

If you're a weblogger who has served in the military, or is currently serving, Jeff Quinton wants to know about you.

Well, Operation Give is getting some press on the Atlas Shipping fiasco. That and a hired team of lawyers may see us through things.

In any case, toys continue to be shipped. That's the important part.

It looks like one of the Swift Boat Vets has has developed a credibility problem.

I always thought talking about the medals was probably a bad move, even if they do have sworn affidavits that you can use in court.

Rather fascinating that the regular reporting press hasn't brought up Christmas in Cambodia yet, though, or the war crimes accusations, and that the AP sees fit to mention that Thurlow doesn't want to release his records but doesn't mention that Kerry doesn't want to either.

Although I have the feeling that all the Kerry camp is doing is waiting until October, and will then execute a document dump, under the assumption that it'll take weeks for anyone to go through. That's probably their best strategy if they think there's something to hide.

I see that a group of left-wing hate-freaks calling themselves the "Black Hat Hackers Bloc" is pledging to bring down any Republican site they can during the Republican National Convention.

Meanwhile, while some have urged protestors to practice peaceful civil protests, others have angrily refused to renounce violence, and openly say they plan to do whatever they can to make the police look bad.

I fully expect Dean's World to be one of the attacked sites during the Republican convention, since we're one of the blogs covering the convention. We've been attacked by thugs who didn't like what we had to say before, so it'll be nothing new. I'll just have to talk to the Powerblogs folks to make sure they're prepared for the worst.

All you other RNC bloggers should do the same thing: write to your hosting provider and warn them that this threat is out there. I'm sure the folks at Hosting Matters, Verve, Bloghosts, Powerblogs, etc. can make at least some preparations.

And if the cowards chicken out, so much the better.

AnotherFred, in the comments right here, notes that the FBI once questioned him and a group of fellow activists who went to a political event to protest Al Gore during election season.

So what happened? What always happens. The FBI filmed them, asked some polite questions, and then left them alone.

Oh the cruel fascist police state we live in, where officers of the law are allowed to speak to citizens and ask them questions! They probably run around accosting old women and saying "Ni!" to them as well.

These are dark days indeed my friends.

(Only one question, Fred: you sure they weren't Secret Service? Not that it makes any real difference.)

Heh.

(Via Anticipatory Retaliation.)

The latest Carnival of the Vanities--the 100th!--is available at Fringeblog.

Interestingly, a researcher says she's figured out what makes some names sexier than others.

Her methodology looks pretty sound to me. Although someone should try duplicating her results of course.

I remember that growing up I hated the name "Dean" but as I've gotten older I've learned to appreciate having a distinctive name.

I keep forgetting to link this: apparently, there's a group running a reality show about illegal immigrants, with the "winners" in the show getting the services of immigration lawyers.

I'm all for liberalized immigration laws (sorry righties, just deal with it. And don't tell me I don't know anything about it, I get tired of hearing that. I'm from Texas and have had family working in immigration enforcement for decades), but this seems terribly exploitive to me. Although there's some possibility that the show will just raise sympathy for illegals, this just doesn't seem right.

How's this for cutting edge? Two well-known Iraqi bloggers are running for the national assembly.

The world's changing in amazing ways.

(Via Babalu Blog.)

I got an email from a group called Democrats For America's Future (who I assume are the arch-enemies of Democrats Against America's Future) telling me that, like Nixon, Bush is using the FBI to harass his political opponents. I was quite concerned about this until I read their article carefully.

Twease out the hyperbole and the silly Watergate comparisons, and all you've got here is the FBI visiting a few people and telling them they had better not be violent.

Considering that we know for a fact that some on the hard left are planning violence and dangerously disruptive behavior in New York, I am relieved to know that the FBI is watching these folks and letting them know that protest is fine but they'll be watched carefully for any sign of violence.

The presumption that a law enforcement officer just talking to you is somehow illegal or immoral is just plain silly.

NASA reports that the Cassini-Huygens probe has found two new moons around Saturn.

Well, new to us. I'm sure they've been there a while. ;-)

The journal Nature has a piece about two researchers who have determined that the body makes less effcient use of protein than carbs for fuel. They found that more energy is released as waste heat when the body metabolizes protein than when it metabolizes carbs. Thus the notion that "a calorie is a calorie" is in their view quite mistaken.

I honestly don't know why this is a surprise. To utilize carbs or protein for fuel, the body has to convert it to glucose. Carbs are closer to glucose than protein, and the conversion is generally pretty fast, even for so-called "complex" carbs. To convert protein to glucose, a process called gluconeogenesis, requires more steps. We should therefore expect more energy waste in the process.

Low-carb diets work very well for some people, and not so well for others. I continue to fail to see why they're so controversial. I mean, I've seen people actually get angry over them. What's the point in that? The low-carb dieters I've known who've been successful have all reported the same thing: low-fat, high carb diets made them miserable and hungry all the time. On low-carbing they sometimes had cravings but were otherwise quite happy and no longer hungry all the time.

What's the big deal? Do what works for you.

Joe Gandelman notes the train wreck that is Alan Keyes.

Ya think he's so berzerk because the ad is strongly influencing independent voters?

Gotta wonder.

Xavier Cortez is planning to cycle from coast to coast, Los Angeles to Savannah, in order to raise money for the children of fallen service members. May I suggest that you visit his site and perhaps leave a donation?

(Via Branching.)

Some schmuck keeps trying to register here with an account of "bigdick."

Over and over he keeps trying.

No thanks, dork. Give me a real name and working email address and we'll talk. Otherwise, please go away.

Have you seen the Liberating Iraq weblog?

It's cool. And a recent blogroll addition.

Blogger Kevin Drum thinks that Bush-hatred is not as terrible as Clinton-hatred was. Steve Verdon takes him to task rather effectively.

Yet somehow, while mentioning the "Bush AWOL" bullshit (which Kevin Drum himself was personally responsible for), Steve forgets to mention the Halliburton bullshit, the Harken Energy bullshit, and the "Bush lied about WMDs" bullshit, and doesn't even bring up George Soros and his millions. Not to mention the flush-with-cash MoveOn.Org, which is even now trying to spin the Swift Boat Veterans For Truth as a Bush-run enterprise even though legally Bush can't even talk to those people. Nor does he mention the people on the left are calling Bush a "fundamentalist extremist" because he's moderately pro-life and thinks that religious organizations should be allowed to compete with secular organizations for Federal dollars.

Yeah, there's no such thing as extremism on the left.

Question for Kevin Drum: will America and Planet Earth survive if Bush is re-elected? Just curious.

* Update * Alan Blue has more.

The latest Toast-O-Meter is available for political junkies' reading pleasure.

Peter Bagge has a most excellent comic on Modern Art that you should all read.

By the way, after reading it, may I suggest that you visit the Art Renewal Center?

(Thanks, Gerund.)

Scott Harris makes a terrifically good point about why political partisanship is okay and low voter turnout is a non-issue. Read it here.

Although I'm fortunate enough to have rarely encountered a FAX spam, I understand that this phenomenon does exist. Others call it "blast FAX," and I kind of like that appellation.

In any case, Tony Woodlief (who is always, always, always worth reading) recently received one, and you should read about it.

Heh. I'm still chuckling.

Fred Schoenman thinks you should.

Andrew's band now has merchandise.

I ought to do that one of these days....

I got an email recently from the folks at MoveOn.Org, asking me and President Bush to condemn this ad.

I won't. Here's why.

First we had (gasp!) Jews for George, an utterly unthinkable concept. Yet now we have Muslims for Bush.

I'm so confused. What is this world coming to?

(Via Armies of Liberation, recently added to the blogroll.)

Sometimes I think he's crazy, and sometimes he annoys me, but Arnold Harris left his best comment ever right here.

Mind you, I have issues with the concept of America as an Empire. That said, I salute you, you salty old Objectivist.

It appears that both major parties are working hard to make sure that every possible vote is found.

Most interesting to me is the assertion that Isralis put Bush over the top in 2000. But why should that be a surprise?

Funny thing is? I'm not sure this stuff will make that much difference this year.

Sharp As A Marble has some useful suggestions.

The latest Carnival of the Capitalists is available for your reading pleasure.

Some regular readers have complained that they hate having to remember a user name and password. Honestly, I'm very sorry for this, but seriously gang: there are thousands of you checking in to this site every day. In the last year and a half, we've had three lawsuit threats, a death threat, and at least one hacker attempt to take this site down. Not to mention tens of thousands of spam-comment attempts, and a whole host of lefty (and some righty) commenters who've made it their sole mission to say vicious, nasty, hateful things about me, my lovely wife, and even (no, I kid you not) my incredibly cool son.

So just deal with it. You have to register to comment here. I don't mind if you argue with me. I don't mind if you think I'm wrong about everything. I don't even mind if you think I'm a hypocrit. Just try to be moderately civil, okay?

YES I ADMIT IT: I am not always completely civil myself. If so, just call me on it. It's not like I think I'm perfect. You can argue with me all you want, just try not to be an asshole, okay?

As for the complaint that it's hard to remember your user name and password, I have a suggestion:

I have three user names ane passwords that I use for all web sites:

1) The simple, easy, not-important password. On sites like newspapers or blogs, I use the same exact password on all of them. It's simple, easy to remember, and the same on all of them.

2) A second user name and password for sites which might possibly have a commercial interest in me, even though they don't have any truly sensitive information.

3) A third password and user name I use on maybe three sites which have genuinely dangerous information: credit card info, banking info, etc.

More people should do it that way. Have one password you use for easy, non-important stuff (like logging in to the New York Times web site, or some random weblog like Dean's World), another for partially-sensitive sites, and a third for sites that may want genuinely critical information.

It's not that hard. It's an annoyance, but it's just what the world requires.

Some people's opinions spring from their partisan affliation.

Some people choose their partisan affiliation based on their opinions.

This bleeds a little around the edges, of course, because nothing is entirely black or white. But many heated political arguments take place because some people can't tell one type of person from the other, no?

Have you checked out Jews for George?

There are some interesting changes in the political dynamic this year, that's for sure.

Charlie Watts has cancer.

Grrrrrrr.

Old Stones aren't supposed to get mundane diseases. They're supposed to go out consorting with groupies or something.

It appears that Germans are upset to learn that the U.S. plans major base closings in Germany.

Some are saying that this is in part the reward Germany gets for being such selfish unilateralists during the runup to the Iraq liberation. I do suspect that's part of it, for they were certainly did a lot of damage to their relationship with us, for what turn out to have been mostly-selfish reasons. However, I must say that it seems like it's been about time to do this for a while anyway. There's just no need for massive American bases in Germany anymore.

So the Wall Street Journal has seen fit to notice Cambodiagate.

Hey. I just dubbed it Cambodiagate. Can I get a prize for that? Heh.

So, it's just the editorial page, but it's a big one. More to the point, Kerry has admitted it: he was nowhere near Cambodia on Christmas Eve and may never have been there at any other time. All admitted only tersely and by aides, in the apparent hopes of making this go away.

Kerry defenders will now try to say this doesn't matter. It's 30 years ago, what's it matter? They will also complain about "character assassination" and try to change the subject to Bush.

Sadly, these complaints will often be from people who told us Bush "lied" about Weapons of Mass Destruction, made snide remarks about Bush being "AWOL," who tried to tell us that Bush "outed an undercover agent for political revenge," and who snark about Harken and Halliburton as if these are serious issues.

Still, I would agree that such things shouldn't be the basis of our politics. But I remind them again that Kerry ran primarily on his Vietnam record, and is still trumpeting that in the political ads on television, and now one of the major allegations of the Swifties has proven true. So what else might be true that they're saying about this man--a man who would have us all think his Vietnam record is his biggest qualification to be Commander In Chief?

I will look forward to seeing Senator Kerry be put through a press conference just like this one, and weeks and weeks and weeks of headlines like these toward some of their other allegations, like his claim about massive war crimes.

I won't hold my breath, but....

Hey, a group of Canadians are trying for the X-Prize, and just had their first successful test launch.

No one was on board but they did make it into space and plan to try with people soon.

The more the merrier. Good luck guys. Let's hope someone wins this thing soon!

(Via Instapundit.)

The news in Iraq is, as it has been for some time, getting better all the time. Check out the latest Iraq news roundup and see for yourself.

P.J. O'Rourke had an exceptionally interesting discussion with Colin Powell not long ago. It was excerpted in Atlantic Monthly, but the complete transcript is online. It's an exceptionally interesting piece: meeting Elvis as a soldier, lecturing backward regimes on the need for democracy, bad economic experiments, being too afraid of terrorists in everyday life, and more. It's completely worth reading. Read it here.

(Via De Doc.)