'Spiced with fist-pounding and invectives'
An unelected board overseeing the state's largest public works project is trying to make itself more unaccountable. ... I didn't think they'd be brazen enough to do it, but this is Massachusetts. ... But wait: Howie says it's over for Matt. We'll see. As he notes, the legislature is in session today. ...  ¶ 7:31 AM

'The essence of cool ...'
Hold this date: July 19, Red Bones, a Rex Trailer and Boomtown reunion. ... Check out this video. Incredible. And there's a two-hour DVD too. ... I never made it on Boomtown. So I would have been psychologically scarred for life if it wasn't for the fact Rex twice visited our home. Once he came on a motorcyle when we held a neighborhood Carnival to Fight Muscular Dystrophy (that's what they were called -- right?). Another time he came with Pablo. Repeat: Pablo. At my home. With Rex. ... P.S. - I thought the Boomtown theme song began "Huff beats, huff beats, huff beats, riding across the prairie wide ..." But the video proves me wrong. Via Hub Arts.

Update -- An alert reader remembers the lyrics I cite, but says they were "Hoof beats, hoof beats" and only sounded like "huff" -- and the taped song was played at the beginning of shows. ... I remember it well, accompanied with clips of Rex riding Goldrush over sand dunes at a Weston gravel pit.  ¶ 7:47 AM

The Chris Gabrieli factor
Patrick is soaring, Reilly is sinking and ... Chris Gabrieli is already within striking distance in the latest Dem gubernatorial poll? Pretty impressive. Didn't see that one coming. And Chris is also the most formidable Dem when matched up against Kerry Healey. I'm not saying Chris is going to be the man to beat. But he's now a factor -- and he's probably sucking votes in the Dem race primarily from Reilly, who, needless to say, blundered big time by honking off Gabrieli. ... Hub Politics makes good points about Healey's low numbers, with Dems getting all the attention of late. But her unfavorable ratings are high and there's still the Christy Mihos factor. If Mihos drops out, she'll benefit. If he doesn't ... Polls via BMG. ... .08 Acres has more analysis. ...  ¶ 6:56 AM

'Feel the trust'
Warning: Hub Blog, who has a very spotty record assessing trades and drafts, is writing about the Celts' trades and drafts last night. Here goes: What the f-*k? More guards? Giving away next year's protected No. 1 draft pick? And still talk of Allen Iverson? ... Danny's strategic plan: 'I don't think you can have too many [point guards]. We feel like speed is the way the game is going now. You see in Chicago and you see in Dallas all those teams playing multiple point guards at one time.' ... Hmmm. Chicago and Dallas. Didn't Miami just win the championship with a really big guy under the net? Just asking. ...

... Peter Gammons sports tidbits tribute update: Peter is doing well after an operation. The best news of the night. ...

... Bruce is almost apologetic about Dan not writing about Pedro before last night's game. Gotta admit, it deflated the fun a bit. But, Bruce, it was still a brilliant idea. Simply brilliant. Quickly scanning the top entries, I liked 'He's back' and 'Heartbreak Hotel.' Combine them together, with the Poltergeist lead and stuffed metaphors, and you get something like, well, this (with the Poltergeist-like reference in the middle). ... All in good fun, Dan.  ¶ 6:23 AM

'The revered ESPN baseball analyst'
Peter Gammons is in a class all his own -- and I hope he's back ASAP, healthy and writing up a storm. Stories here and here about his terrible illness. ... In recognition of Peter's great tidbits columns, I offer up my own lame, but respectful, sports tidbits post for today. ... Good to see Pedro receiving a warm welcome at Fenway yesterday. ... Bruce isn't backing away from his Be Dan constest, despite Dan not writing about Pedro. Do you think Dan knows what's coming and refusing to step into the blogger trap? Actually, Dan's most recent column was quite good. ... The Celts are engaged in some very weird pre-draft maneuvering. I don't like it. ... The Bruins: They're cratering. ...

Update -- Bruce has put up the top entries for the Be Dan Shaughnessey contest. ... Without reading it, I'm attracted to 'He's back.'  ¶ 6:20 AM

How about 'fundamentalist Trotskyists'?
Mister Goat and Shai Sachs report about pro-Palestinian types trying to disrupt yet another local Jewish gathering. But what I found equally interesting was Mr. Goat's objection, in Adam's comments section, about "tossing around terms like 'Nazi' casually." And he's right. It isn't clear exactly who disrupted the event, though Mister Goat suggests they were far-left Spartacists by linking to this article. It certainly would make sense if they came from the far left, considering the far left's recent obsession with Israel, Zionism and those cuddly Palistinian human bombs. I'll stand corrected if the chumps who disrupted the gathering were indeed actual brownshirt neo-Nazis. But it's important to point out that hate, fanaticism and anti-Semitism do exist on the left -- and it's flourishing these days. ... Mister Goat and Shai Sachs should have also called them leftists if they were indeed leftists. ... Their posts, BTW, via Adam, of course. ...  ¶ 5:38 AM

Media defense: We printed old news!
The brouhaha over the media's revelations about an anti-terrorism special bank surveillance program is getting curiouser and curiouser. Now there's a new report that says the program wasn't secret after all. If true, it kind of makes President Bush's 'disgraceful' comment seem silly, if not cynical. ... But it also makes the media look even sillier. Defending a news article by saying it isn't really news is not exactly a formidable journalistic line of defense. ... The media is now faced with two unattractive scenarios: A.) Defend the articles as news -- and face up to the consequence that outlets reported on what appears to be a lawful and effective program or B.) Admit the articles weren't news -- and face up to the consequence that the public now knows outlets didn't do basic pre-publication research. ... BTW: All you bloggers and non-administration pols frothing over the issue in recent days, be prepared to pretend this news cycle didn't occur. ...  ¶ 5:01 AM

'PleaseSellTheBruins.com'
A friend alerted me to this site after he recently noticed a bumper sticker. ... Just goes to prove there's no such thing as curses. Just bad ownership. ...  ¶ 9:44 PM

Where is Gidget?
Blue Mass. Group writes about Peter Blute's latest job with the GOP -- and it includes the famous photo of good old Gidget. Whatever happened to Gidget? Does anyone know? Please tell. ... BMG on the Blute hiring:

Look, does the GOP want to actually compete in anything other than the Governor's race, or is it just trying to generate off-color jokes on area blogs? It's certainly doing well with the latter.

Well put. Though it should be noted the state GOP was a generator of off-color jokes before blogs. ...  ¶ 3:09 PM

'The first reductions'
Pretty much as I suspected: Tentative plans are afoot for troop withdrawals starting this fall, before the elections, and into next year. ... Believe me, I'm not boasting about seeing this one coming. I've been dead wrong and beyond confused on so many other issues related to Iraq. I could be wrong again. But the death of Zarqawi and, far more importantly, the formation of an Iraqi government indeed started the clock ticking for withdrawals of some sort. ... Freebie tips to Dems: Do not try to 'distinguish' your position from the administration by moving further to the left on withdrawals. If you had stayed where you originally were just left of center, the American center would have shifted to you. Now you're caught out on a Kos left limb.

Update -- Josh Marshall, no Kos on the matter, isn't buying into the leaked pull-out proposal. OK, the leaks and the timing are suspicious. But why would you air a tentative proposal, thus setting yourself up for criticism if you don't even come close to hitting its broad guidelines? Everything points to a significant shift in war plans, as bogus as it appears to some. I also don't buy into the argument President Bush wants to dump the Iraq mess on a future president. ... Of course I could be wrong. But my gut says we're about to start a slow staged withdrawal. Might as well find out now how the Iraqi military holds up. Better than waiting till the last moment to find out. ...  ¶ 6:23 AM

'We raise our spoons'
Brigham's Ice Cream is throwing itself into the fluffernutter controversy. ... Fine. They're having fun. But sometimes I worry about Brigham's. It's a great local institution, but it's getting a little too cute for my tastes these days. As long as it doesn't mess with its chocolate chip and doesn't sell out to a conglomerate, I guess I can tolerate a little calculated goofiness if it helps Brighies in its battle against the completely overrated Ben & Jerry's. ...  ¶ 9:39 AM

'An epic production today'
Too much. ... Bruce's Be Dan Shaughnessy contest is a stroke of genius. But the Soxaholix's latest episode is also genius. I assume most local readers have already seen Hart's masterpiece. But it deserves widespread posts and links. ... BTW: Bruce says the contest submissions are of high quality. Can't wait. At least show us the top three, Bruce. ...

... On the rough subject of sports columnists, the Ozzie Guillen and Jay Mariotti feud is ugly. Guillen is part hothead and part showman, combining both into a tiresome schtick. But Mariotti has his own tiresome schtick -- and I simpy don't trust what he writes. Try this one from his latest braggadocio column in which he recounts an earlier Guillen slur:

Two New York-area columnists took offense, as they should have, and so did I -- the only writer in Chicago who did, which is often how it works in a town softer and more politically driven by the sports franchises than a genuinely tough, independent sports media town such as Boston.

The guy beats his chest at the expense of his Windy City colleagues, and writes something blatantly untrue about the Boston sports media (tough, yes, but not independent, Jay). Gerry Callahan, a member of that tough Boston sports media, is right to call Mariotti "pathetic."  ¶ 8:30 AM

'How's that trade working out?'
Speaking of pathetic. ... Dan has been rightly asking the above question re Arroyo. But the Joe Thornton trade ranks up there as one of the more wretched moves in my lifetime of following Boston sports teams. OK, so it's the Bruins. But, man, what a blunder. ... FYI: Never trust Hub Blog's trade instincts. Both the Joe and Bronson trades didn't bother me at the time. I also initially didn't like the Nomar move. It's a quirk of mine. ...  ¶ 7:45 AM

'Spend an entire afternoon laughing,' Part III
I can't recall a trend that was so hyped before it became a trend. ... Armchair Gen. Savin Hill, I assume, is still eagerly looking forward to his first encounter with a Nordic Skipper. Here's my own offer: $25 to the first person who videotapes a local Nordic Skipper, puts it on YouTube and alerts the rest of us. ... I wonder if the future Nordic Walking crowd -- bored white-collar workers trying to prove they're really earthy country farmers at heart -- have a clue that the 'trend' and its 'studies' are being backed by the outdoor-gear industry. ... "Millions of folks here will be walking with poles soon"!!!  ¶ 5:59 AM

'Withdraw, take as many years as needed'
Here's a good summary of the Iraq withdrawal debate -- with the GOP once again outmaneuvering the Stopped Clocks of 1968 Party. ... Pulling out the Vietnam War props didn't work, John. ... Of course the GOP is also facing the laws of diminising returns when it comes to Iraq. The polls clearly show that withdrawal is on the minds of Americans. But with a big caveat that some Dems don't grasp: Americans still want to win the war -- or at least minimize the negatives. ... All Dems had to do was wait for the American people to come to them. But noooooo. They had to move and pander to the hard Kos left. Imbeciles. ...


Update -- For a second there, I thought this post was on the same topic. 'Ambushed & clueless.' There's a pattern here. ... Notice the post below that's indeed on the topic of Iraq and embraces the idea of reinstating the militry draft in order to start an 'honest debate.' Let me get this straight: Some Dems are now advocating a policy that's effectively a death warrant for possibly hundreds of unwilling citizens -- all to advance their cause. It's not 'honest.' It's not 'moral.' It's sick. ...

Update II -- Josh Marshall has tough words for Democrats -- and President Bush, who can't be criticized enough for the current mess in Iraq (via AS). ... FYI: I'm no fan of more troops. I'm not convinced that's the answer, though I'm open to arguments. I'd rather hold steady for a bit, propping up the Iraqi government while its army (hopefully) strengthens. Ideally, withdrawing troops will be done in stages, dictated by military events on the ground -- not political calendars in the U.S.  ¶ 5:36 AM

'Once you get people listening'
Local blogger and author John Farrell's new podnovel 'Doctor Janeway's Plague' is getting attention. ... Gotta start podcasting myself. ...  ¶ 9:04 AM

'See how quickly ...'
Calls to reinstate the draft are nothing more than a deliberate attempt to make divisiveness official U.S. policy. Do we really need that at this point? Do Americans like being divided? So is this smart politics for Dems? The answers: no, no and no. ... The issue of withdrawing troops from Iraq is a legitmate one. The formation of an elected Iraqi government logically and almost inevitably pushed the issue to the political forefront -- whether one likes it or not. It's not a preference to state this. It's simply stating a reality. But any withdrawal has to be done intelligently -- and it could take years. The stakes are very high. There are very real enemies in Iraq who will rush to fill any foolish void we leave them. So I'll take my political and military cues from Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad and Gen. George Casey. Not from John Kerry or Nancy Pelosi, thank you. ...  ¶ 6:34 AM

'Educators ...'
I know it may be hard for some Dems to grasp this, but a lot of people watch who teacher unions endorse and vote the opposite way. Deval will be helped in the Dem primary by the teacher unions' endorsement. But in a general election the endorsements are a turnoff for many Independents. ...  ¶ 7:01 AM

'Brutal and calculatedly ugly'
Yesterday was the first time I ever witnessed a Boston bar crowd glued to the TV cheering on a socccer team -- in this case the U.S. soccer team against Italy. It was quite a game, though the Times of London hated it. ... The Italians aren't very happy with the results. Check out Google's translation tool for articles at La Repubblica. It's pretty crude but the words 'disappointment' and 'bitter' do show up. ... The tie reminds me of the famous headline after a Harvard-Yale game: 'Harvard wins 10-10!'  ¶ 6:10 AM

'Kerry is wrong on this one'
As I suspected, the death of Zarqawi and the formation of an Iraqi government is subtly changing the U.S. political dynamics regarding the war. The president's surprise visit to Iraq and yesterday's pathetic Congressional debate are signs of that shift. The issue now is how and when to start withdrawing U.S. troops. There's now a democratically elected government in place in Iraq. The opportunity/excuse for change is too good to pass up. ... But Wayne is right to say John Kerry is dead wrong about picking an arbitrary date for withdrawal. It's bad policy -- and bad politics. Even Kerry wouldn't back his own withdrawal amendment yesterday. Meanwhile, Joan, who favors withdrawal, is rightly skeptical of Kerry's motives after all his 'excruciating equivocations.' ... So that leaves us with having to trust the new and improved George. Only problem: He's lost a lot of trust. ... I'm looking for a pretty blatant pre-election pull out of some troops by this fall. But the real bulk withdrawals will probably start in the first half of next year. Other moves will have to be played by ear. There are indeed signs of improvement in Iraq (read the emailer's remarks, not Andrew's rant) that justify a smart withdrawal. The trick now is to find a pragmatic balance between domestic political pressures and progress on the ground in Iraq (or lack thereof). ...  ¶ 6:57 AM

'Confessions of a human bomb'
The New England Committee to Defend Palestine wants to protest the Combined Jewish Philanthropies' planned pro-Israel rally this weekend at City Hall Plaza. Sorry, Chuck Turner. But NECDP doesn't get an ounce of sympathy from me when it highlights and links to articles like this: 'Confessions of a human bomb from Palestine.' A sample of the deep love and thinking:

I see now that there are many ways of saving lives and that taking lives can be a part of the process of saving lives. That is where I am now, preparing to take lives in order to save my people.

Rough rule of thumb: Beware of those who refer to fellow human beings as 'my people.' It's a sure sign of megalomania at work. In this case it's lethal megalomania at work. ... P.S. - They're criticizing Noam Chomsky? Noam? Our Noam? I can't believe he said something I agree with. I want proof! ... Via Adam via Solomonia. ...  ¶ 6:30 AM

'At Risk'
Patricia Cornwell's latest novel 'At Risk' is getting panned at amazon.com. But the Hub Blog Mom is reading and loving the set-in-Massachusetts thriller. She also reminded me more than once Cornwell now lives in Massachusetts, so I think I'll rally around a fellow state resident and check out her book. ... Speaking of locals, Gen. George William Casey Jr., head of coalition forces in Iraq, is a graduate of Boston College High, the mom also points out. A homer done good. I knew I liked the guy. ... Man, what mothers know. ...  ¶ 6:28 PM

Ozzie and Harriet, meet Ozzie and Ozzie
Remember all the talk about how gay marriage would lead to Massachusetts becoming the queer capital of the country, overrun by decadent hordes of effeminate homos who would forever transform stodgy Boston? Chris has an absolutely fascinating post arguing (and bemoaning) that just the opposite has happened:

In Massachusetts, marriage seems to have exacerbated the rapid decline of the gay ghetto (the oldest extant drag bar in the country, Jacques, now has to shill for customers at hetero bridal fairs), has helped create a profusion of conservative gays, and has become a one-dimensional definer of the community and its political platform.

In other words, domesticated marriage life has made gay culture more boring. Ozzie and Harriet, meet Ozzie and Ozzie and Harriet and Harriet. ... One is tempted to say: You asked for it, you got it! ... FYI: I still vehemently oppose the way gay marriage was imposed via judicial fiat. But gay marriage itself was never a threat to mainstream society. If anything, it was more of a threat to gay society, if Chris's observations are correct. ... FYI II: If Domenico really wants to clean up the 'bondage, self-mutilation, open sexual activity, bigotry, and outright rage' in Provincetown, he might want to dispatch a small army of bible thumpers and justices of the peace to demand everyone get married. Hey, Provincetown might even go Republican one day. ...

Update - 6.11.06 -- Chris's post makes it into a news story about how mainstreaming in general has changed gay culture. ... Domenico, you're winning while you're losing.  ¶ 5:43 AM

'She gives great radio'
So I guess we can say Ann did Michael on air. ...  ¶ 6:33 AM

'Immediate political results'
The death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is already paying political dividends: The Iraqi Parliament approved the appointments of key defense and security personnel right after the al-Zarqawi announcement. ... U.S. Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad says al-Zarqawi's death is important but wisely adds: "There will be difficult days ahead." ... Dealing with reality and telling it like it is. That's all we ask for. Gen. George W. Casey Jr. and Khalilzad are the best things going for America in Iraq. ... One other political dynamic to this story: The clock started ticking as of today for eventual staged withdrawal of U.S. forces -- mission accomplished or not. The Iraq government is now in place. ...

Update -- Ted Kennedy sums it up well: "Zarqawi was a vicious terrorist organizer and murderer, and our troops and the Iraqi security forces both deserve great credit for tracking him down. We all hope his death marks the beginning of the end of the strength of the foreign terrorist network in Iraq that has caused so much death and destruction."  ¶ 8:08 AM

'Hunting for Big Bird'
Republicans, whose non-military spending orgies have made the Great Society era look frugal by comparison, are pandering again on yet another hot-button issue. ... It's for the handicapped kids. Right. ... Via Carpundit. ...  ¶ 7:32 AM

'Impassioned, tendentious, morally incoherent ...'
I guess the NYT reviewer didn't like James Carroll's 'House of War.' The review does note Carroll's 'occasional moments of sobriety,' so it can't be worse than his columns. ... Speaking of Carroll, I've often wondered whether he's finally gone through Boston's hoarded surplus of question marks. ...  ¶ 8:30 AM

'A fresh look ...'
Sean has redesigned and revamped Popular Thinking. ... I like it. But the jury is still out on New Hampshire's Sarah Silverman, whose latest audio/video/whatever is highlighted on Sean's site. She sounds pretty boring. Maybe she's an acquired taste, similar to Jim Carrey, whose one-dimensional Jerry Lewis facial acts I also find boring. ... Is there a modern superstar comedian out there today? I can't think of one. ...  ¶ 7:51 AM

'More than a stopgap'
The Sox lost. But Pauley won. ... More on Pauley's performance here and here. Via Bruce. ...  ¶ 7:17 AM

Good-bye, Bill
Bill Weld may be officially dropping out of the NY gubernatorial race today. But his campaign was unofficially over last December. ...

Update -- Confirmed: Out. ... He's been burnt out for a while now, seemingly going through the motions of his tired flippant act. ...  ¶ 10:51 AM

'Desperate to save his fading campaign ...' Part II
Sorry for missing out on the immediate post-Dem Convention observations. Family responsibilities etc. kept me busy over the weekend. ... Anyway, I went into the weekend thinking Dems couldn't possibly be so stupid as to keep Reilly and Gabrieli off the ballot -- and they weren't and aren't so stupid. Both made it. But Deval did win big and now has to be considered the Dems' gubernatorial frontrunner. John has some good observations. I agree the situation is fluid. Deval has defied the odds at every step so far -- and so pundits dismiss him at their peril. But Reader No. 1, in a running email exchange with me over the past week, thinks I'm overestimating the political value of his business background:

Personally, I don't know nor can I think of anybody other than the aforementioned Downtown Vault types who will consider his corporate background as relevant business experience - certainly not like Christy and Gabby - although his evident skill as a negotiator could have some value in some contexts.

To be fair - Deval has more corporate experience than Kerry Healy! But she does give off some vibe that she thinks of things from a real business/value creation perspective that he hasn't. ... I personally think (Deval's business background) is a neutral to a negative - on the latter see his response on employment decisions at the Keller debate a few weeks back as it shows that he thinks about these issues in political terms, not business or economic terms. That won't be a plus with most voters, who are not ideological about jobs.

As for my pre-convention rants against moonbat liberals committing possible hari-kari, Steve wrote in before the Worcester gala to object (and to prove he has a better gut instinct than I on Dem matters; see his pre-convention predictions strewn throughout):

... If the Democrats emerge from the weekend with only a single candidate left on their ballot (they won't, but since this is the premise of your latest post, let's go with that) it will not be the fault of 'out-of-control moonbats'. The blame lies squarely with three groups:

1) The DSC. They changed the rules last year -- over opposition from said moonbats -- to reduce the number of ballots from three to one. They also rejected the Dukakis-McGovern commission's 2004 recommendation to reduce the threshold from 15% to 12%. They tightened the ballot access, and now they're seeing the results of that. They also, inexplicibly, have a four month gap between when the delegates are chosen for the convention and the actual convention date. If the caucuses were in May, we'd not be having this conversation.

2) Chris Gabrieli. I like the guy, but he knew the rules, made his choice, and got in late. Later than even Reich did in 2002. If he announced the day Reilly dropped him from the ticket, again, we wouldn't be having this conversation.

3) Tom Reilly. I like Reilly, too, but he had no excuse for getting trounced in the caucuses. Where he made an effort -- Boston, Lowell, Springfield -- he won a mess of delegates. The problem is, he didn't try anywhere else. Not even in Watertown, where the caucus was being held practically down the street from his house. ...

You can't blame Deval Patrick for trying to get people to vote for him. You might argue that if he can't win a three-way primary, then he won't win the general, but I'd counter that he'd save millions if the primary is over tomorrow. ...

Anyway, this doesn't much matter because barring a devestating lightning strike at the DCU center, Tom Reilly is going to get on the September primary ballot. As for Gabrieli, my gut tells me that he will squeak in, much as Reich did in 2002. I would not be surprised if he fell short, though -- near as I can tell even his campaign has little idea of where most of the delegates stand.

  ¶ 5:55 AM

'It could be a terrible precedent'
This is a very strange and ominous settlement. It's a backend payment for media sources, no matter how they legally rationalize it. ...  ¶ 6:41 AM

'Remarkably fresh retelling of the story'
Perhaps the best review yet for 'Mayflower.' As I noted earlier, prior reviews of the book were vaguely annoying for their cliche-like bashing of the Pilgrims. The bashing, in retrospect, seemed to border on political correctness, i.e. Indians good, Pilgrims bad. Etc. ... The above review doesn't fall into that trap. 'Mayflower' really is a refreshing, sweeping history that shows both the good and bad sides of the Pilgrims -- and Indians. ...  ¶ 6:26 AM

'This blog blows'
We've all been there. ... Actually, it's one of the best posts I've read this week. ...  ¶ 1:53 PM

'Desperate to save his fading campaign ...'
Democrats will decide this weekend whether to commit political hari-kari or not. I assume they can't be so stupid, so I assume either Reilly or Gabrieli will at the last minute nab the minimum 15 percent of delegates' endorsements. But if neither makes it, the gubernatorial election instantly swings toward a probable/likely/bank on it fifth-straight GOP gubernatorial win. ... Scot and Howie may not say it the same way, but they're saying the same thing: moonbat liberals are out of control again. ... The problem here is an imbalance within the Progressive-Hack Alliance -- with power distinctly tipping in favor of liberal activists. But fear not. The alliance is is still functioning. ... Diane and Trav. What a pair. They just reminded Independents what modern Massachusetts gubernatorial elections are all about. ...

Update -- In New York, Republicans dutifully perform a symbolic semi-hari-kari. ...  ¶ 6:38 AM

'A Tale of Two Toy Castles'
Carpundit has a fun post on weaning a young one from video games to more old-fasioned toys. ... May I, Carpundit, make a suggestion? Also give him a Risk game. My 6-year-old nephew -- yes, 6 years old -- loves the game. Might as well introduce them early to the age-old question of whether Australia or North America is the better base from which to conquer the world. ...  ¶ 7:50 AM

'Of trying talks ...'
As the old saying goes, it's better to jaw-jaw than war-war -- and so it can't hurt to engage Iran in direct talks at this point. ... Austin Bay has it about right. ... P.S. - Not to bring up the comments-or-not-to-comments issue again, but Austin makes an interesting point at the end of his post: "The spam swarm is not only theft of advertising space – and it is indeed that – but in my opinion it begins to infringe on rational discussion and hence free speech." ... OK, so I brought the issue up again. But it's a sound observation. ...  ¶ 7:33 AM

'Deval Patrick is really, really rich'
Am I in a minority by thinking Deval Patrick's wealth is a plus and not a negative? The biggest negative of his candidacy, as far as non-liberal Dems are concerned, is that he's seen as too liberal. But then you learn about his business background and his stock holdings and his mansions and you wonder, 'The guy can't be all that nutty. He obviously undestands something about business.' His wealth may not help him in the Dem primaries. But it could in the general election, if he gets that far. ... Can you hear the faint whispering campaign about his business accomplishments being the result of affirmative action? The fact critics (both Democrats and Republicans) are trying to discredit his private-sector experience says much about the appeal of his private-sector experience. ... FYI: I would have posted about this yesterday but Blogger was down.  ¶ 7:12 AM