Crosblog

Iraq's election January 30 is getting a ton of press, of course, but what about the Palestinian election January 9? How's that going? More importantly, yeah, yeah, we all know Mahmoud Abbas is going to win the damn thing, but who's running against him?

Not a lot of details in the press about the contenders. Apparently the media only likes to stoke the fires of outsiders during American elections. Still, you do hear things. The Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine has endorsed Mustafa Barghouti, a distant cousin of convicted murderer Marwan. (The un-incarcerated Barghouti is referred to as a "human rights activist.")

The People's Party (the former Communist Party) is running a man named Bassam Al-Salhi. In what is apparently the Palestinian equivalent of a platform debate, shots were fired at his headquarters recently.

Remember when Marwan Barghouti was thinking of running from an Israeli prison? Good idea, according to Abdelhaleem Ashqar, who is running from the U.S., where he is currently confined to his home while awaiting trial on racketeering charges concerning alleged money laundering for Hamas. Ashqar considers his prosecution a badge of honor, and is hoping it will be worth a couple points.

Which is apparently isn't. Ashqar is at 0.7% in this poll, which has Abbas far in front with 42.5%, followed by Mustafa Barghouti at 14.6%, with no other candidate above 3%.

More info on the folks running can be found here.

Top ten movies I saw in 2004...

Honorable Mention - 50 First Dates - One of the dumbest premises ever, but Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore click really well together, so if you must sit through a chick flick, this wasn't nearly as bad as some others. (Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, I'm looking in your direction...)

10. Hellboy
9. Kill Bill, Volume 2.0
8. Team America: World Police
7. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
6. Shrek 2
5. Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story
4. Collateral
3. The Incredibles
2. Miracle
1. Spider-Man 2

As you can tell, I watched roughly zero independent movies this year. (About the only thing I saw that the art-house crowd would have liked was Super Size Me. It was fine.)

The worst movie of the year by a wide margin was Twisted. The climax didn't make sense, but at least getting there was boring.

I get it, I really do. You won the first count. You won the machine recount. Then, suddenly, knowing exactly how many votes they needed to change the result, a part of the state strongly controlled by the other side somehow magically found just enough votes to make it happen. Nobody with anything resembling a sense of fairness could blame you for wondering.

That said, there ain't gonna be a new election. Ukraine references are fun, but there, Yuschenko always had a substantial margin of victory. Your election ended in a tie. I don't mean an actual 50/50 split of the votes, but it was so close that reasonable people, (ignore the morons who still think Kerry won) won't be able to agree on who prevailed. Problem is, you can't both be governor. You gotta pick a place to just stop it all. Sure, stopping it after the first machine count would have been less suspicious, since I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that the folks who run King County are not so committed to democracy that they're willing to fire everyone whose incompetence called the election's validity into question.

I realize I'm in danger of forfeiting my parking pass at Vast Ring-Wing Conspiracy HQ, as well as my primo table by the Skee-Ball machine. (Oddly enough, Vast Ring-Wing Conspiracy HQ looks a lot like the midway at Dave & Buster's.) But look at it this way - there are two jobs available right now:

1. Governor of Washington - elected under questionable circumstances and devoid of any popular mandate, as troublesome opponents will make clear every time the Governor tries to take some controversial stance...

2. Heroic Martyr - The one who campaigned nobly, and certain he prevailed but knowing a perfect tally was unachieveable, accepted the results with dignity, allowing this great state to move forward...

Maria Cantwell is up in 2006. Surely you can find a way to pay the rent for the next two years.

One last piece of advice. Watch tapes of Al Gore after 2000. Do the opposite.

Jerry Orbach - the best thing that ever happened to Law and Order.

Broadway dimmed their lights in tribute - his song and dance days were before my time, but there's one great musical I'll always remember him from...

I have no use for the Confederate flag. As a new Southerer who loves it down here, the flag elevates the worst elements of Southern history at the expense of everything that makes this a great part of the country. And while well-meaning people may use the symbol down here, in Illinois where I grew up, there was only one reason someone would display the Confederate flag. The idea that there's a benign reason for it is something I still haven't gotten used to.

But whether you consider it a symbol of hate or of heritage, I truly hope we can all agree on one thing about the Confederate flag:

It makes for one bone-ugly prom dress.



Of course, the student who wore the dress wasn't allowed to wear it to her prom. Of course she's suing.

Kofi Annan is reminding us that we need the UN.

"The United States needs the United Nations and the United Nations needs the United States," the secretary-general said. "And we need to find a way of working together."

The knee-jerk reaction is to claim we do not in fact need the UN. But any thinking right-winger knows this to be untrue.

We need the UN. (By we, I mean "Republicans who wish to act unilaterally". If you are speaking of "people who honestly wish to advance the cause of human rights worldwide, even in situations where the US and Israel cannot be blamed for everything that goes wrong," then yes, those people do not need the UN. But writing about them gives so few opportunities for snark...) We need a corrupt, ineffective bureaucracy dedicated to pompous pronunciations whose arrogant self-righteousness borders on parody. We need to be lectured on our racist society by a body that can't bring itself to condemn anti-Semitism. We need a body willing to but Cuba, Libya, Iran, and the Sudan on a human rights committee. We need an organization completely devoid of credibility, so that we can do whatever the hell we want. And to make things perfect, we need defenders of this organization to occasionally speak of the need for reform, but never, you know, actually do anything about it.

In short, we need the UN. And we need a man like Kofi Annan to run it.

I don't know. And if you're being honest, neither do you. Any election is going to have a margin of error, and sometimes, the margin of victory falls well within said margin. Take Washington. Did one guy win by 261? 42? Did the other person win by 8? Is there really enough certainty to know? We're talking about a state with over six million people in it.

At some point, you have to accept that the count has been done as best it can be, and declare the winner and move on. When that point is reached is usually "when my guy's ahead", although no one will admit that. But, as a rule, if you think the other guy should concede when you have an eight vote lead, but a 130,000+ vote lead for the other party is still in dispute, you're not "counting every vote," you're "counting 'em till we win." Which is your right as an American citizen to advocate, but we need to be clear that your committment to democracy and making sure the voice of the people is heard is simply rhetorical horseplop, and not some kind of big principle you have.

I gotta admit, it looks fishy, and I understand why people are calling fraud, and even suggesting re-running the election. I gotta admit, personally, Rossi's original 262 vote margin doesn't inspire a ton of confidence in me. He very may well be the man the people of Washington chose, but honestly, Gregoire may very well have gotten more votes.

I don't know how to pick a governor that everyone will believe in. I do know, however, that anyone in Washington truly committed to democracy should be loudly advocating and working for the immediate firing of everyone responsible for running elections in King County.

Any free country should welcome visitors, whether those folks are tourists or are coming in to try and advance some agenda or other, right? And so thought Japan, which figured, hey, if the former President of Taiwan wanted to come by, see some hot springs, pump a few yen into the local economy, sure, why not? Sure, realistically, he may want to talk politics with someone, but who gives a crap? Free country, right?

Yeah, well, when dealing with Taiwan, China is still cranky when you don't ask permission.

"The Chinese government expresses strong dissatisfaction and again demands the Japanese side rectify this wrong."

The political aim of Lee's tour is obviously to find people to back his bid for "Taiwan independence" and create external conditions for his separatism, said Liu, noting Japan clearly knows the point.

Why diplomacy sucks - Jun Koizumi cannot say the following:

"Listen, pinheads. Anyone who's not going to kill anyone or skip out on his bar bill is welcome to visit. The fact that they don't want to be ruled by you has caused a giant stick to wedge up your ass does not obligate me to stick anything up mine."

And Koizumi's got kind of a rebel edge to him, so you know he's thinking it...

Israel is training troops who will enforce the evacuation of Gaza Strip settlements.

Remember, this is land to which many Israelis feel they have a legitimate right. They have the military might to hold onto this land if they wanted. And the eviction of settlers will cause an incredible amount of internal strife within Israel.

I'd like to believe that those who are convinced that Israel is responsible for everything bad said about or done to Jews anywhere in the world would recognize what Israel is preparing to go through in an effort to achieve peace.

Of course, I'd also like to believe that 2005 will end with me back to my college weight.

The Washington Post has a couple of excellent articles up the last few days dealing with a surprising fact - the #1 cause of death for expectant women is homicide. The series continues here, and addresses the aftermath of these crimes here.

Tip - Tapped, which includes the obligatory shot at Laci and Conner's law, because pro-lifers never have virtuous motives for anything, you know. Still, when you're right, you're right, and they're right this merits reading.

..."Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince" goes on sale July 16.

"...I do not think it means what you think it means." - Inigo Montoya.

Turkmenistan refers to its elections as "democratic".

"Voters didn't hurry to leave the polling stations as in many places artists gave performances and sang songs in honour of the motherland, our great leader and the Rukhnama" -- a "spiritual guide" penned by Niyazov, the newspaper said.

That reminds me - let's make election day a national holiday here in the U.S. And what were people running on in Turkmenistan?

The more than 130 candidates who vied for 50 seats in the Medzhlis legislature yesterday promised in their pamphlets love and loyalty for Niyazov, who has ruled the gas-rich Central Asian state since 1985.

The candidates are running on who can cram their nose the farthest up Turkmenbashi's butt. Replace "Niyazov" with "Bush", and that's pretty much how Moveon.org saw our elections, isn't it?

...shave your feet.

I knew there was a reason voyuerism wasn't a problem among hobbits.

Or so I suspect we'll be hearing from the guy accused of driving too fast for conditions and causing an 80 car collision and eight hour delay on the interstate.

"I'll be home for Christmas...if only in my dreams!"

Denny Crane (William Shatner) on Boston Legal: "It's a good feeling to shoot a bad guy -- something you Democrats would never understand."

As for public disappointment about Rex's secret on Desperate Housewives: I don't think the guy who plays Mike would have looked as good in the stilettos.

San Antonio has voted to require strippers to wear license badges while on stage. Someone needs to check and see if the city did any "research" on the need for this with city money.

If so, let the recall petitions flow...

...but I can't see how the European Union getting involved is going to convince anyone to call off the execution of a serial rapist/murderer, even if we are talking about Connecticut.

The letters the EU sent to the Governor and the Chairman of the Board of Pardons and Paroles make no mention of Ross' crimes or victims, which is kind of odd. The idea that one can discuss what constitutes a just punishment without discussing the gravity of the crime or the level of suffering caused (or the fact that his guilt is unquestioned, beyond any doubt, reasonable or otherwise) is arrogant, insensitive, or ignorant. (Or possibly some combination of the above.) To quote one of Connecticut's elected representatives:

"The involvement of the EU in this issue just underscores the fact that this is a much bigger issue than just Michael Ross," (State Senator Andrew) McDonald (D-Stamford) said. "And I think it's a mistake to have this debate in the context of whether Michael Ross is a good person or a bad person."

Whether? You're not sure?

Also - props to Kirby's Reports for emailing me some info on the legal issues surrounding the Ross execution. Kirby covers Connecticut law, and has linked several stories on the Ross issue.

Recently back from the groomer, Koshka, Otchki, and Mishka sense something in the air...



And in the "My wife is one hell of a photographer" department - we present Koshka, looking reflective.



Today's dog blogging is in honor of this story, which gives you an idea of the effect dogs can have on people.

So, who gets credit for George Bush's re-election? Bush himself? Karl Rove? The dimwit in Kerry's campaign who thought dropping Mary Cheney's name would turn off the Jesus freaks?

Nope, nope, and nope. The key - none other than Moammar Ghadafi, who thinks giving up his quest for the bomb helped push Captain Unilateral over the top.

He's probably just pushing for tickets to one of the good inaugural balls.

Proseuctors aren't allowed to mock defendants?

Some people just try to suck all the fun out of your job.

Hubs and Spokes, who culled his blogroll and I made the cut.

...uh, and also has many enlightening and interesting things to say on matters of substance, which is why you should check it out. The other reason would imply vanity on my part, and that's just silly.

OK, I'm sure it would be bad and destabilizing or something, when Osama Bin Laden threatens to bring down the Saudi royal family, doesn't at least part of you want him to go ahead an try?

Regardless of who wins, wouldn't that at least reduce the world's supply of dangerous assholes?

I've taken a couple of shots at Mark Geragos, and I still think he underperformed in the Peterson case. His opening statement set a bar he failed to clear, and he didn't rise to the occasion when the prosecution got rolling and started connecting dots. In the penalty phase, all his witnesses made it clear that their evaluation of Peterson's fitness to live included their belief that he wasn't a murderer, which, not surprisingly, didn't carry a lot of weight with a jury that found him guilty.

But I asked hypothetically if he'd ever won a high-profile case, and it turns out he has. I knew about Susan MacDougal, although I didn't know Geragos represented her, and I knew nothing about him getting a huge settlement for Armenian genocide victims, which is certainly a commendable piece of work.

So, whatever could be said about his defense of Peterson, the man's reputation was certainly well-earned.

One Presidential daughter took a big money job for a consulting firm.

Another plans to teach low-income students at a D.C. public school.

Just kind of interesting how kids grow up...

Sen. Joe Lieberman has declined to be Homeland Security Director or Ambassador to the U.N.

Now, I am all for any and all involvement from Joe Lieberman at as high a level as we can stick him at. (Especially since the job he should have had - Democratic nominee for President - didn't pan out.) But let's not kid ourselves. A good bit of the appeal for giving Lieberman a Cabinet position comes from the fact that Connecticut has a Republican governor, who would presumably appoint a Republican to replace Lieberman. I very much like Joe Lieberman, but if a Democratic governor loomed to appoint a Chris Dodd clone, would his name be in the mix?

It was a cheap stunt when the Democrats were talking about doing it, and it's a cheap stunt now, at least if we insist on pretending that swiping another Senate seat isn't a big factor in the decision. If it's not, then perhaps before suggesting a name, there be an agreement between Democrats and Republicans as to who gets appointed to the replacement slot. If the Democrats agree to whoever is replacing Lieberman, that might provide enough Joe-Mentum to persuade him to accept the job. Remember, whoever got appointed would have to run for election in 2006 anyway. Steal the seat then.

...well, first off, I'm not 35, so I'm not eligible. (Anyone who knows what I look like who says they're not surprised is in a world of trouble...)

Second of all, I probably couldn't give certain problems the maturity they require. Like, for instance, North Korea acting a petulant six year old. (Again) Since Japan's all P.O.'ed about the Norks lying about returning the remains of an allegedly dead kidnap victim, there are discussions in Japan about applying sanctions. The North is dealing with this with all the wisdom you might expect:

North Korea has warned Japan that it would treat economic sanctions against the nation as a "declaration of war" as a row brews over the remains of abductees.

A spokesman for North Korea's Foreign Ministry said on Wednesday Pyongyang would react to such moves by "an effective physical method," without elaborating what that might be.

I'm really not sure I have the temperament to just ignore wind of that nature. With North Korea, everything that doesn't go their way is potentially a declaration of war. Grownups try to recognize that just because someone is asking for an asskicking doesn't automatically make it a good idea for you to go ahead and try to give it to him. After the first few threats, the phrase "You wanna play the game? We play the game," would be uttered, and I'm pretty sure that doesn't appear in any diplomatic handbook. Not even the ones in the Bush White House.

Rachel Lucas is now the Blue Eyed Infidel.

Well, maybe she always was.

Lucy Ricardo


What classic sitcom character are you?
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Tip - Dave.

Every undercover narcotics cop I know has been asked this question at least once. Usually they deny it (popular answer - "No, are you?"), but once in a while, a more sarcastic officer will say "Yep, I'm a cop. My sergeant is listening to this whole conversation in that car over there." Pause. Laughter, then the drug deal continues as planned. Of course, undercover cops are not required to admit being cops if asked. That would be stupid. It would get cops killed.

So I hope Michelle Malkin is missing some important information when she reports on a dress code for U.S. air marshalls, which is apparently referred to as the "kill me first" dress code.

Anyone remember how Wesley Snipes dressed in Passenger 57?

A mentally ill teenage girl who was sold to pimps is facing execution in Iran for prostitution.

The article doesn't say what happened to the pimps, (or the people who purchased the right to rape this girl), but based on what I know about Iran, I'm going to take "squat" in the Justice Pool.

Tip - Sullivan.

...Dion Coleman? He was convicted of murder in a case that got a lot of attention, not because anyone cared about Coleman, or Walter Holley, his victim, but because a famous person sat on the jury.

In a story that made a lot less news, the twenty seven year old Coleman was sentenced to 45 years in prison.

Guess whose name was in the headline.

Hint - it wasn't Coleman or Holley's.

Too often forgotten when Japan celebrated the return of five citizens kidnapped by North Korea was the fact that North Korea had at least eight other Japanese citizens. (Throw in citizens of other nations, and Japanese abductees not admitted by North Korea, and the number may run into the hundreds.) As to the eight admitted victims, North Korea claims they are dead, but has been unable to provide anything that would remotely resemble a satisfactory explanation. They have provided some human remains, but DNA testing has revealed they are not the people the North claims they are. North Korea, for its part, says Japan is the one who's full of it here - feel free to draw your own conclusions about who's full of what. Personally, I'd sooner bet on Steven Seagal's Oscar chances than the word of the North Korean government, your mileage may vary.

Why would the Norks try and hold back, given the abductees are a huge issue in Japan, and a major sticking point for the Japanese regarding desperately needed economic aid? Well, people familiar with the issue think the missing abductees were used to instruct spies on Japanese culture and language, and might know too much to be returned alive. While they might have tried to rely on the long time they've had to force the abductees to see things their way, they can't help but note that Charles Jenkins wasn't out of North Korea for 10 minutes with his daughters before he went off on what a craphole the place was. As for why not just kill her and be done with it, if the Norks think they can still get some use out of her, why bother? It's not like anyone in North Korea is going to see her on the street and call Japan's Most Wanted.

Japan's refusal to let this go, even though international diplomacy would be so much simpler if they'd quit harping on this, is one of the more admirable things I've seen. Hopefully the U.S. won't make this stance any harder than it already is.

...this thing.

...Jury recommends death for Scott Peterson.

I think the fact that his entire slate of penalty phase witnesses refused to even imagine the possibility that he committed the crime hurt him. What the defense needed to explain to the jury was why the killer of Laci and Conner Peterson should be spared. Instead, they talked about this Scott Peterson that bore no resemblance to the man the jury heard about. I'm pretty sure a hardworking, devoted, loyal family man who'd give you the shirt off his back deserves to live too, but we're talking about a lying adulterous weasel who murdered his wife and unborn son here. Someone had to make the case for saving his life, and it doesn't seem like anyone did.

Another notch in the stellar repuation of Mark Geragos.

Here's what I don't get. The Ukraine holds a Presidential election - widely believed to be fraudlent. (Heck, someone may have even poisoned the challenger) People take to the streets - protests are massive, yet peaceful, and here's the thing - they worked. The questionable election is going to be re-run at the end of the month. And the cool thing for the US is, we actually helped. (Of course, if you're on the side of the guy who supposedly stole the election - "helped" maybe isn't the word you'd use, at least not where we're concerned - it's only "help" when it comes from Putin.)

So, with democracy getting a boost, and getting it through nonviolent means is beloved and celebrated by one and all, right? Well, not exactly. Neither the Nation nor the Guardian are particularly thrilled about it. What's the problem? Well...

The decision to protest appears to depend mainly on realpolitik and whether the challengers or the incumbent are considered more "pro-western" or "pro-market"

Maybe if we helped supporters of Hugo Chavez or Robert Mugabe, then you could trust our commitment to democracy. Or, maybe it's jealously that Ukranians felt strongly enough to protest their election and Americans didn't.

Sound application of pressure and good P.R. is going to get the Ukraine a new election, and they did it without the government sending in the tanks.

But, you know, George Bush was involved, so...you know..evil.

...this detailed list of Dawn Summers' favorite TV characters - or the fact that as I read it, I kept coming up with names of people she unjustly overlooks:

Bull from Night Court
Xander from Buffy
B.A. Baracus from the A-Team (I mean, seriously, leave him off, you are a fool, who merits pity)

PLO Chairman Abbas apologizes to Kuwait for taking Saddam's side in 1990.

Abbas, if elected, promises to do more research prior to backing dictators.

Saw Blade - Trinity over the weekend. Looking forward to Parker Posey explaining to all her indy film friends why she had to make a movie where most of her screen time is spent with Triple H and the dude from Two Guys, a Girl, and a Pizza Place.

As for the movie itself, it's different than the first two. More comic, thanks mainly to Reynolds, who's pretty funny. Triple H's Pomeranian steals a few scenes as well. I imagine hardly anyone is familiar with the character of Hannibal King, so you probably won't mind that Reynolds' version bears pretty much no resemblance to the Hannibal of the comic books.

I'm a huge fan of vampire movies, so I liked it, but this is a fairly conventional action/comedy movie, so pretty much anyone can shut your brain off and enjoy it. On the vampire movie scale, however, it falls in the middle.

1. Interview with the Vampire
2. Blade
3. Shadow of the Vampire
4. Blade: Trinity
5. Buffy, the Vampire Slayer (the TV show was great, the movie a bit cheesy)
6. Bram Stoker's Dracula
7. Blade II
8. Queen of the Damned
9. Being stabbed in the eye with a fork
10. John Carpenter's Vampires.

Is it because we have a lot of crime? No, it's because criminals, by and large, are morons.

For example, the people who called the police to report that someone broke into their home and stole their marijuana.

I guarantee these people are going to be horribly offended at the idea that they will go to jail for this, and will insist to their lawyer that they are the victim here.

If that lawyer didn't drink before, he'll start then.

Remember when Roman Polanski wanted to Vanity Fair UK for libel, because it's wrong to let someone get away with libel, but not have to go to Britain to do it, because getting away with statutory rape is a basic human right?

Someone took notes. Gary Condit was hoping to sue author Dominick Dunne for libel, but needed a judge to explain to him that doing so would require him to answer questions about the stuff Dunne was writing about.

Condit claims Dunne's article led millions of people to believe he was involved in Levy's death.

Fortunately, the open, prompt, and forthrightness Condit displayed throughout the investigation quickly reassured us all.

...if your client's murder defense depends on him coming off as trustworthy when he testifies, is this the kind of exchange you want to have with him?

"You've told many boastful stories in your life, haven't you?" the defense lawyer asked.

"Yes, I have," Pelosi said.

"You are a bullshitter, right?" Shargel said.

"Absolutely," Pelosi said.

I'm just saying - I don't think admitting your client is a lying sack of guano is necessarily the way to go, if his life depends on the jury believing him.

Vermont college students fight for right to walk around buck naked on campus.

Is there something in the water up there, or what?

Harry Reid finds the jurisprudence of Clarence Thomas "embarrassing". Sen. Reid did not offer, and Tim Russert did not ask, for any specific examples, and while I'm sure that's just an oversight that Sen. Reid will soon correct with a press release, more cynical pundits doubt that the good Senator really has a working knowledge of Justice Thomas' opinions.

Here's what I know about the quality of Thomas' opinions. Shortly after I took Con Law, the decision in United States vs. Lopez came out. It came out too recently to affect my class, but just in time for my wife, a year behind me. First year Con Law, at least at the schools we went to, dealt largely with issues relating to the Commerce Clause, which Lopez affected directly. The missus did not have what one would call diligent study habits, if diligent study habits require class attendance and reading cases. She did neither, but she did show up to a review session, where she got the idea that Lopez might be worth perusing. She did, and she uncovered Justice Thomas' concurrence, which contained a detailed discussion of the Commerce Clause that turned out to be pretty much the only thing she read on the subject. She got an A. (My school didn't use A-B-C grading, but it's a safe conclusion that my non-Clarence Thomas influenced score was lower.)

Given that a single opinion of his was apparently an effective substitute for a textbook and regular class attendance, I must respectfully dissent from the opinion of the Senate Minority Leader.

My wife grudgingly concurs.

...says Tapped in defense of liberals accused of whitewashing the U.N. And, in the process, they misstate the problem:

If all Goldberg meant to say was that many liberals think the United States' first UN-related goal should be to reform the body, not dissolve it, then he's absolutely right. But if he was alluding to the supposed great majority of liberals who think the UN is just fine as it is, he's just setting up another straw man to distract from the fact that a witch hunt against Annan is entirely separate from actual solutions to the organization's problems (which he admits).

"Many liberals" think our first UN-related goal should be to reform the body? Maybe I'm reading the wrong magazines, because most liberal writings on the UN I've read think our first UN-related goal should be to pay them more respect. The thought that the UN had maybe squandered some of its credibility, and we were entitled to them taking steps to earn our trust is really more of a Weekly Standard idea then a Nation idea. And that election we just held? Where the more liberal of the two candidates ran on a platform that sounded to many people that what needed doing was restoring their faith in us, and not the other way around.

I think their point is - "Oh, we know there are problems with the UN." Which some liberals on Tapped's very website have acknowledged, and acknowledged that there isn't a clear liberal point of view on the UN. Or, if there is, someone needs to communicate it to the Democrats, what with them not being able to make up their mind on how far back Kofi Annan needs to step.

I'm just saying, if corruption at the U.N. is a real problem for liberals, then there's a plan to address it somewhere among prominent liberals, and there's probably a good explanation for the fact that nobody knows what it is.

How come no one else figured this out before? The University of California at Berkeley, the capital of Blue America, has the inside track to a BCS game, specifically, the Rose Bowl, the historical destination of the Pac-10, only to be passed at the last minute (because of some computer calculations, probably using Diebold source code), by none other than the University of Texas, alma mater of none other than Jenna Bush.

Stealing an election wasn't enough for these people. They had to steal the Rose Bowl, too.

Is nothing sacred?

You have to be a little concerned when your wife figures out how to access your PokerStars account. You know how she is with money in normal circumstances, and here...

1. It's play money, and

2. It's not even her play money.

Don't bet on her playing conservatively, is apparently the lesson that should be taken from here.

I don't have to replace my furnace. Apparently, not all heating and cooling professionals are created equal. My wife, who's as smart as she is sexy and wrong about politics, called for a second opinion. I wasn't there for the first guy, but I got to talk to the second guy. The exchange went something like this...

2nd guy: You need a new motor, but that furnace is good for another 10 years.

My wife: The first guy said he could tell there was a crack because of how the flame moved.

2nd guy: That's bullcrap. I looked all over that furnace, no crack. And your flame is fine.

He would go on to complain about con artists trying to take advantage of people for the next ten minutes. (Should you live in the metro Atlanta area and need heating and cooling - he works for Wilson Air Conditioning Service).

So, the problem will be fixed, later this week or early next, and it will cost (when you factor in the service calls) about 1/6 of what we had originally thought.

So any of you who may be a little nervous about joining the homeowners club, it doesn't hurt as much as you think.

Except the part where they make you a Republican. That stings a little.

...of course, to get the math to work out, they have to smuggle their career sex offenders down here.

Tip - Southern Appeal

Charles Krauthammer is not sympathetic to either Sunni wishes to have Iraqi elections postponed:

There has been much talk that if the Iraqi election is held and some Sunni Arab provinces (perhaps three of the 18) do not participate, the election will be illegitimate. Nonsense. The election should be held. It should be open to everyone. If Iraq's Sunni Arabs - barely 20% of the population - decide that they cannot abide giving up their 80 years of minority rule, which ended with 30 years of Saddam Hussein's atrocious tyranny, then tough luck. They forfeit their chance to shape and to participate in the new Iraq.

Depending on how one views the insurgents, one could agree. If the insurgents are mainly Sunni Iraqis, then to hell with 'em. They don't want an election (not a real one at any rate), now, in six months, or ever. They sit out and try to wreck the process, and end up with no say in the government, hey, them's the breaks.

Tip - Corner.

Mike at Rambling's Journal has the poster for the 2005 Batman movie. Like any good comic book geek, I'm hyped - Christopher Nolan and Christian Bale are exactly the kind of guys who can get Batman right, and Ken Watanabe as Ra's Al Ghul (along with Cilian Murphy as the Scarecrow) is just way too cool.

This is going to be a big next few years if you like comic book movies as Marvel tries to cram pretty much everyone who's ever had their own title into a film and DC does it level best to screw things up. (A no-name soap star as Superman? Jack F'n Black as Green Lantern?) Here are some of the ideas in development that I'm pushing for - (and this doesn't include stuff already filming or filmed, like Elektra or Fantastic Four, or stuff we all know is coming out, like Spider-Man 3).

5. Barbarella - Drew Barrymore owns the rights to this, and there's a script - but apparently issues over who owns the character are going to kill this one. Too bad, Drew would have looked good, and that whole not being a traitor thing could have only helped.

4. Black Panther - Wesley Snipes, who made a boatload of money off a superhero way more obscure than the Black Panther - owns this one, and either wants to play the role, or just wants to produce, depending on when you ask. The only potential risk - Snipes trying to pull off an African accent. (My advice - Wesley, just produce, and hire Djimon Hounsou to play T'Challa. And hire me to write it - I have a political thriller in mind for this one.)

3. Luke Cage - I like John Singleton as a director, but imaging Tyrese as the badass hero for hire requires more imagination than I have. What happened to LL Cool J?

2. Wonder Woman - I can't find any links, but a few years ago, Wonder Woman had some famously stupid script ideas floating around. (Note to Hollywood - I swear I have a $200 million idea for this one - call me.) That, and the names being kicked around don't really strike me as the Amazon type. (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie King, Charisma Carpenter) My suggestion is Kristianna Loken, but first whoever owns the rights needs to read a comic book or two.

1. Iron Man - Boy, did the nerds wet their pants back when Joss Whedon was attached. (He's doing the Firefly movie (Serenity), which you should see opening weekend, 'cause I'm not optimistic there'll be a second one.) Talk of who should play Tony Stark has included Nic Cage (now doing Ghost Rider), Rob Lowe, and Tom Cruise, who would actually be pretty good. (Allow me to suggest George Clooney if you need a fallback.) The plan is for this one to be huge.

So far as I know, no Howard the Duck sequel in mind.

Big story in baseball is the floodgate opened by Jason Giambi on the issue of steroids, followed by Barry Bonds "admitting" that he accidentally used them himself. Steve does not believe Barry, and, frankly, I'm inclined to wonder myself, given that Barry went from this...



...to this...


...and had no idea steroids may have played a role. Apparently Bonds was under the impression that he hit puberty at age 35.

I think someone should ask Bonds to consider retiring now, before he breaks Hank Aaron's record and any more of baseball's holy grails have question marks next to them.

Of course, given that steroids can be reasonably safe when used under a doctor's supervision, not everyone is terribly put out by professional athletes using same.

...Something I've been kicking around for awhile - and finally prompted to post on due to this Volokh-Brad DeLong dispute. Western debate on Israel typically follows a pre-determined course - Israel is debated, at some point the critic of Israel is called an anti-Semite, said critic then files accusation of trying to stifle dissent by equating any criticism of Israel (including, I suppose, a claim that their national rugby team underperforms at the international level), as anti-Semitic.

So, when does one cross the line? Well, there's one that's always struck me as a clear one - referring to Israel as the premier violator of international law, or some other such nonsense. Folks like to point out that Israel is in violation of many, many UN resolutions. And, if you can talk about all the resolutions Israel has violated without going into whether or not it's a little unusual that SIXTY PERCENT of UN Resolutions single out Israel, as opposed to North Korea, the Sudan, Cuba, Zimbabwe...if the possibility that Israel is being unfairly singled out never enters into the discussion...you might be an anti-Semite.

Please note, I said might. You also might be an idiot.

It sounds horrible - a man convicted of child pornography offenses has his sentence overturned because of what looks like a typo in the law. The law says anyone convicted may receive a fine, a sentence of no less than 10 years in prison, "and both." The appellate court found that the single word "and" made the provision nonsensical and remanded for resentencing.

Which sounds about right - it seems pretty clear that the judge wanted to send the guy to prison, but for a period less than 10 years, and only imposed the sentence because he believed it was required. And it also seems pretty clear that the sensible interpretation of the law is "or both", which gives the judge that option. (Note - the story makes it clear that this was a scriveners error, and "or both" is how the law was supposed to read, so you can keep your "Oh, suddenly the big bad conservative wants activist judges to change the law" comments to yourself, thank you very much.)

Tip - Corner - although they get the headline wrong. (Their words - Single Word Frees Child Pornographer.) He's not free. He'll go to prison. He'll get the sentence the judge thought the facts and the law should have warranted. System worked. Move along.)

As the January 30 date for Iraqi elections approaches, concern is rising over whether the elections should be postponed. Lakhdar Brahimi, the U.N.'s man in Iraq, puts the credibility of the U.N. behind the idea that elections cannot be held if the current level of violence holds. As Andrew Olmstead notes - if one were a.) violent, and b.) someone who didn't want elections held at all, and c.) able to take a hint..., well, you take your encouragement where you can find it.

President Bush, of course, wants the Jan. 30 date to hold, which is enough in some circles to make it forever a bad idea. However, the interim President, (and, more importantly, a Sunni) Ghazi al-Yawer is supporting the Jan. 30 date as well.

I think most people who want the U.S. to leave Iraq, but are unwilling to abandon the country, recognize that an election is a necessary first step. One thing I'd though but hadn't seen proposed anywhere - hold the elections on January 30 in every place they can be held, but announce a second round of elections, say for later in the year. That way, the Shiites will have the election they've been wanting since Saddam's removal actually made them a possibility, but if Sunni turnout is depressed due to violence in Sunni areas, there's a date not far in the future to rectify that.

And, of course, if "Gulf War Veterans for Truth" start appearing on Iraqi TV, that can only be a good sign.

Though the death penalty has been on the books for years, many in Connecticut were uneasy about actually putting it into effect, even for someone like serial rapist/murderer Michael Ross.

Well, the clock on saving his life has been started, as Governor Jodi Rell has declined to postpone his execution, giving the legislature just three weeks from their Jan. 5 start date to repeal the death penalty. (As far as three weeks being insufficient time, as Gov. Rell notes - this law has been debated for decades.)

The only real issue in the next three weeks is Ross himself - thumbs up, or thumbs down?

I don't really have a favorite college football team. I went to a I-AA undergrad school, and a Division III law school, so I kind of just wait for basketball season to kick off before I start caring about college sports. But there is one thing I do enjoy pulling for, and that's BCS anarchy. And I'm pleased to say that the world's most idiotic system for choosing a champion has not disappointed again. Five, count 'em, five teams finish the year undefeated. Three of them will not get to play for the title, although theoretically, Auburn might have a shot at the AP poll #1 spot. (I'm guessing Utah won't go any higher than #2 if Auburn loses, and Boise State, well...we love Boise State.)

And for this ridiculous system we have to actually watch the Texas Longhorns in the Rose Bowl. Note to college football - if you don't want to have a playoff, fine. But a system that doesn't really settle the championship issue isn't worth canning decades of tradition. I grew up in Big 10 Country, and I now live in SEC country, which means I shudder at the thought of Texas in Pasadena, and I'm going to have to live very close to Auburn fans, who probably won't let this go in my lifetime.

And speaking of college basketball (a sport that does give all its best teams a shot at the title), how about spousal alma mater Illinois taking the #1 spot in the poll? (As for my alma mater - wins over St. John's and Ole Miss ain't nothing to sneeze at.)

I know, I know, owning a home is the giant step into adulthood that makes you a full-fledged equity participant in this glorious society we call America, or whatever that load of horsecrap my real estate agent was shoveling.

What is left unsaid is that buying a house forfeits your ability to deal with repair issues by simply calling your landlord and saying "Hey, your piece of crap house is falling apart again. Get over here and fix it."

It really shouldn't be that big a deal. All I need to do is replace my furnace. And I live in Georgia, for Pete's sake, so how much do you really need a frickin' furnace anyway? I mean seriously, you call this cold?

(Brief pause for conversation with wife)

OK, apparently the furnace is a must-get kind of thing. It could be worse, I suppose. This could have been one of those do-it-yourself things. And I can still feel pity for the do-it-yourselfers.

Apparently there is a lawsuit underway to block Ayaan Hirsi Ali's plan to do a sequel to Submission.

Pessimist Andrew Stuttaford sounds digusted.

Of course, if one were more inclined to optimism, one could compare this to what happened with the first film, and call it a small step forward.

Michael Ross raped and strangled a 14 year old girl in front of her best friend. He then strangled the friend. These are only two of the brutal murders he's been convicted of, and a smaller fraction of the killings to which he has confessed. In my neck of the woods, the only thing remarkable about Ross' presence on death row would be the fact that his sentence has yet to be carried out. But Ross killed in Connecticut, which hasn't carried out a death sentence since 1960. Connecticut's governor doesn't have the power to commute a death sentence outright, but she can delay an execution until the legislature has had a chance to review their death penalty laws.

Usual arguments are being made in unusual circumstances:

“This litigation addresses ... whether Connecticut's entire death penalty system is racially discriminatory because those who, like Mr. Ross, have allegedly killed white victims are significantly more likely to be charged with capital felony and to receive death sentences than those who have allegedly killed victims of other racial and ethnic groups,” the motion said.

That's right - a case with a white killer and white victims has racial overtones. And speaking of victims, stopping Ross' execution is, of course, in their best interest:

Death-penalty opponents say the potential execution is only drawing out the suffering of his victims' families, and giving Ross the public attention he seeks.

“If it weren't for the death penalty,” Lawlor said, “Michael Ross would not have had his picture on the front page of The New York Times and no one would know his name. The better punishment would be life in prison without the possibility of release, and total anonymity, and that appears to be the fate Michael Ross fears the most.”

That's speaking of victims, of course. Speaking to victims would leave you with the sense that this help is not appreciated.

Edwin Shelley's daughter Leslie and her best friend April Brunais were Michael Ross's youngest victims. The fourteen-year-olds were together when Ross raped and murdered them.

"It's like having a broken leg and just as it gets mended, somebody breaks it again," says Shelley.

That is how Edwin Shelley describes the continual attempts to keep Ross alive. He says the past 21 years have been, in a word, "Hell."

Death penalty laws have been in place in many Northeastern states since the 1976 Supreme Court ruling reinstating the death penalty, but they have yet to be used in New England. Now, with an execution currently scheduled for January 26, Connecticut finally has to confront an issue that has long been skirted - is the death penalty - something supported in principle, something they support enough to actually go through with, or do they oppose it enough to change the rules in time to save a man like Michael Ross, a poster child for execution if there ever was one?

...but Sen. Norm Coleman is severely over-medicated if he thinks the U.N. is going to change the toilet paper in the men's room, let alone it's Secretary-General, because of how a U.S. Republican feels about their willingness to openly investigate their own potential corruption. Call me cynical, but I don't think American outrage carries much weight with the Global Stability Caucus, although I remain hopeful that one day, when we have that discussion on the "root causes" of American mistrust of the U.N., that the issue may one day resurface.

After all, much of the world is confident in Annan's ability to fairly and openly address allegations of corruption. It would be unfair to wonder why Annan inspires so much confidence among nations implicated in bribery scandals themselves, or why nobody seems overly concerned about Annan's impartiality, given that his son may have been involved as well. Annan is just that impartial and open of a guy.

OK, that may be overstating it, but it's Weblog Award time, and even if you weren't inclined to go through the whole thing, perhaps you'd consider hitting a few of the high points with some nominees who deserve consideration...

For Best Humor Blog - The funny-only-if-he's-kidding BlameBush.

For Best Conservative Blog - My fellow Mabletonian at Rambling's Journal.

For Best Blog - 100-250 - The lovely and talented Karol at Spot On, which is now officially "Alarming News" but is listed as Spot On, so that's who you should vote for.

The above nominees are endorsed solely because of the high quality of their content, and not because they link to me and I can bask in their reflected glory if they win.

(But if it happened, it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world, right?)

Update 12-3-04 - One more endorsement - Best Blog 5000-6750 - Of the Mind, who is also lovely and talented, and an Atlantan to boot.

What life is like for women in Egypt.

Almost 86% of the women surveyed thought husbands were justified in hitting their wives sometimes, and a large majority said a refusal to have sex was sufficient grounds for beating.

So...rape is OK, then?

Violent husbands can generally avoid prosecution on religious grounds, because the Egyptian penal code excludes acts committed "in good faith, pursuant to a right determined by virtue of the Shari'a" (Islamic law).

Egyptian law also allows men - literally - to get away with murder. If a husband kills his wife in the act of committing adultery, it's only a misdemeanour but if a wife kills her husband for the same reason, then of course that's murder.

Something to remember next time we hear the human rights problem in the Middle East is Israel.

Jerry Orbach undergoing prostate cancer treatment.

My wife: George Bush is the guy who uses the phrase, "Git-R-Done", right?

Me: (Stunned silence)

My wife: (Even after she knows she's wrong) - I swear he's used that phrase before.

Of course, as any red-stater could tell you, Git-R-Done is the trademark of this guy.