littlemissattila.new.mu.nu

November 17, 2006

U.S. Out of Europe!

Glenn riffs off of an article in Investor's Business Daily, and proposes that we cut and run from Germany, France, South Korea, et al.:

I'd like to see a timetable for getting troops out of Europe. It's time they took responsibility for their own security and stopped their childlike dependence upon / resentment of America.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:32 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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November 16, 2006

Survey: What Should I Do With My Life?

A. Concentrate on my children's book.
B. Prepare for the inevitable divorce proceedings, once my husband sees just how badly the murder mystery sucks.
C. Throw myself into my nonprofit work.
D. Try to get some short stories published.
E. Work on that memoir thingy.
F. Drink red wine, and eat salad made with butter lettuce.
G. Get a real job.

UPDATE: Alphabet now alphabetized.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:58 PM | Comments (14) | Add Comment
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Goodbye, Milton Friedman.

Thanks for undoing some of the damage inflicted by my beloved Bloomsbury Group.

Thanks for inspiring Reagan and Thatcher.

And, thanks . . . for all the fish.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:51 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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I Call Hog.

"I'd like to see you," I tell him. "Once I'm past these deadlines."

"Do you have a recent picture?" He asks.

"Nothing under a year old. And I've put on some weight since then."

"I'm kind of busy lately," he remarks. "Why don't I give you a Yahoo address, and you can write me there . . . ?"

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Chuck Schumer

jokes that anti-Semites vote Republican.

Hell of a glass house he lives in, huh? Of course, John Podhoretz has already made that point.

Via Beth Donovan.

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November 15, 2006

Insty

. . . quotes Dean Barnett, writing over at Hewitt's digs on the current kettle of fish: "Is it just me, or is it becoming increasingly apparent that the Republicans and Democrats are determined to engage in a two year dumb-off?"

Nope, Dean. It's not just you.

Glenn has more on GOP idiocy here, and there's plenty on his main page if you want to keep scrolling.

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The GOP Death Wish

Robert Bidinotto surveys the trainwreck that once was a grand old party.

I'm beyond wishing for a third party: if we got a third and fourth one we could replace the Republicans and the Democrats.

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November 14, 2006

Good Question. I've Wondered About It Myself.

B: "Am I self-centered, or is it just me?"

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Via Jeff Harrell

. . . a series of rules that strike me as well-meaning but entirely too restrictive.

Wait . . . all rules strike me that way.

Oh, Jeff, Jeff. Jeff.

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John Hawkins Has Landed

. . . his third interview with stud/god Mark Steyn:

I was real gung ho, you know, for making the accusations of American imperialism a little more literal, a little more merited in the days after 9-ll, but there were no takers [. . .] and one has to respect that. Nonetheless, the idea just this kind of essentially benign super power that lets the world go on its way—unless you fellas really re-think that, I think the American moment will end very quickly.

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1 A Conservative Plan for Iraq Anyone who questions the lack of a realistic and comprehensive Iraq strategy is labeled a friend of fascism by the Republican leadership. House Majority Leader John Boehner (R-OH) recently said, Â“I wonder if [Democrats] are more interested in protecting the terrorists than protecting the American people.Â” Republicans are paralyzed with the fear of being thought ineffective on national security and the war. Meanwhile, the Democratic leadership cannot seem to accept thatÂ—regardless of how we got thereÂ—we are in Iraq. They have not made a convincing case that an arbitrary phased or date-certain troop withdrawal is in the best long-term interest of the United States. Rather, they seem to think that withdrawal will undo the decision to have gone to war. Rubbing President BushÂ’s nose in IraqÂ’s difficulties is also a priority. This political food fight is stifling the desperately needed public discussion about a meaningful resolution to the fire fight. Most Americans know Iraq is going badly. And they know the best path lies somewhere between Â“stay the courseÂ” and Â“get out nowÂ”. Some Truths 1) Iraq is having a civil war between the Sunnis and Shiites. The Kurds will certainly join, if attacked. It may not look like a civil war, because they donÂ’t have tanks, helicopters, and infantry; but they are fighting with what they have. 2) Vast oil revenues are a significant factor behind the fighting. Yes, there are religious and cultural differencesÂ—but concerns about how the oil revenue will be split among the three groups make the problem worse. 3) Most Iraqis support partitioning Iraq into Shiite, Sunni, and Kurdish regions. (Their current arrangement resulted from a pen stroke during the British occupation, not some organic alignment.) 4) Most citizens of the Middle East who support groups that kill and terrorize civiliansÂ—such as Hezbollah, Hamas, or al QaedaÂ—in part because of their aggressive stance against Israel and the United States, but also because they provide much needed social services, such as building schools. 5) Both Republican and Democratic administrations have spent decades doing business with the tyrants who run the Middle East in exchange for oil and cheap labor. This has been the one of the rallying calls of Bin Laden and HezbollahÂ—that we support tyrants who abuse people for profits. In fact, our latest trade deals with Oman and Jordan actually promote child and slave labor; itÂ’s so bad the State Department had to issue warnings about rampant child trafficking in those countries. 6) Iran is using the instability in Iraq to enhance its political stature in the region. Leaving Iraq without a government that can stand up to Iran would be very destabilizing to the region and the world. From the U.S. perspective, this is all mostly about energy. As things stand, a serious oil supply disruption would devastate our economy, threaten our security, and jeopardize our ability to provide for our children. New Directions Success in Iraq and the Middle East in general requires us to work in three areas simultaneously: (1) fostering a more stable Middle East region, including Iraq, (2) pursuing alternative sources of oil, and (3) developing alternatives to oil. To these ends we must: 1) Insure that the oil revenues are fairly and transparently split among all three groups: Shiite, Sunni, and Kurds based on population. 2) Allow each group to have a much stronger role in self government by creating three virtually-autonomous regions. Forcing a united Iraq down their throats is not working. Our military would then be there in support a solution that people want, rather than one they are resisting. 3) Become a genuine force for positive change, thus denying extremist groups much of their leverage. Driving a fair two-state solution to the Israeli/Palestinian problem should be our first priority. We should also engage in projects that both help the average Middle Easterner and Americans, such as supporting schools that are an alternative to the ones that teach hate and recruit terrorists. We should also stop participating in trade deals that promote child and slave labor by insisting on deals that include livable wages and basic labor rights. 4) Declare a Marshal Plan to end our Middle Eastern energy dependency with a compromise between exploring for new sources, reducing consumption, and developing of alternative energies. For example, we should re-establish normal relations with Cuba so we can beat China to CubaÂ’s off-shore oil. We should also redirect existing tax breaks for Big Oil into loan guarantees for alternative energy companies. Once we no longer need so much oil from the Middle East, we can begin winning over its people by using our oil purchases to reward positive and peaceful behavior from their leaders. This would ultimately reduce tensions and encourage prosperity in the region. We will have to live with the threat of Islamic radical terrorism forever; but these solutions are a start to reducing the threat. Both parties have to put politics aside and put together an honest and reasonable plan that the American understand.

Posted by: John Konop at November 14, 2006 01:59 AM (LuO/f)

2 How about drilling in ANWR? Building nuclear power plants?

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 14, 2006 03:07 AM (LEEsJ)

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November 13, 2006

Rudy's In.

I'm going to ask my so-con readers if they could bring themselves to vote for him in '08. (Please keep in mind that one of the other guys who's going to try for this goes by the name "McCain." That's short for "McCain, the Constitution Shredder.")

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1 Rudy isn't fond of guns. So he might be a 2nd Amendment shredder. If the war literally hits home many of us social conservatives might want a tough-as-nails President to kick some Islamist ass.

Posted by: Sean Hackbarth at November 14, 2006 10:35 AM (4N9K6)

2 So you're thinking Condi, huh?

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 14, 2006 11:51 AM (LEEsJ)

3 There's a big N-O there, from either the SoCon or libertarian sides. He is not conservative at all. He is a liberal Republican, which translates to liberal in my lexicon. There has to be someone else. Don't we have a few former governors with solid conservative track records?

Posted by: Desert Cat at November 14, 2006 03:14 PM (B2X7i)

4 I'm for Rudy

Posted by: chuck at November 15, 2006 05:40 AM (GrExI)

5 I'm a very partisan guy, especially given what the Democrats look like these days and the fact not one of the Great Third-Party Hope outfits has ever done more than serve as a spoiler in any major election. So I would vote for Giuliani if he were nominated. I can't say the same about the Constitution Shredder. Not sure I'd go so far as to vote Democrat if McCain were the nominee, but...

Posted by: McGehee at November 15, 2006 06:16 AM (lAOTn)

6 Yeah. I won't vote for McCain, no matter what. I'd stay home if I had to. Or go vote for every office but President, to make it clear that "voter turnout" wasn't the issue--but that a lot of us simply couldn't vote McCain.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 15, 2006 07:43 AM (LEEsJ)

7 Newsweek just published a poll for November 2006 showing Condi at 24%. She was listed in a tie with Rudy and McCain in October's poll by AP/AOL. On Monday, Nov 13, Condi delayed her flight too the Asian Pacific Economic Summit for a White House meeting with the Iraqi Study Group in the early morning. At 10 AM DC-time, she stood beside President Bush at the dedication of the Martin Luther King memorial. Since Condi is in the line of succession to become president, that makes her the only person who can be called the heir apparent. That eliminates any Senator getting that term, no Senator inherits the nomination to run for president. This is a huge constitutional feather in her bonnet, and now we just have to wait to see if she will accept the nomination from the activists in the Republican party who want her to run. Come on Condi. You know we are behind you and your strong foreign polciy experience. And if Bush 43 decides you are his legacy, it will help clear the less worthy candidates from the table (like Hagel, Brownback, Frist, and Tancredo)

Posted by: Debbie Watson at November 15, 2006 10:34 AM (MzDZK)

8 There's a lot to be said for Condi, but I don't believe she's presidential material. I saw her at the beginning of the recent unpleasantness with Hezbollah - and she looked frazzled, way too obviously frazzled. I don't think you should hold a high decisionmaking office, especially not commander-in-chief, if you can get publicly frazzled. There's plenty of room in government for smart people who haven't got the right kind of nerve to sit in the decisionmaker's seat. That's why we have advisors, committee staff, law clerks, and so forth (part of me wants to add "staff officers" to that list - I know many of them have to do command time themselves; but there are still natural staff guys and natural command guys; and Condi is "natural staff"). I know that many republicans drool at the idea of having the black female candidate, imagining they'd get droves of black and female votes. It's a cruel self-deception. Go for quality; let the enemy play the "identity" game.

Posted by: Alberich at November 15, 2006 03:07 PM (5f5DF)

9 Rereading myself, "right kind of nerve" was a poor choice of words - I had in mind "right combination of attributes, personal ones included, charisma included, nerve included."

Posted by: Alberich at November 15, 2006 03:11 PM (5f5DF)

10 I dunno about all that. Didyou see her in the 9/11 Commission Hearings? And I'm not sure we can exclude people from positions of leadership on the basis of one awkward public appearance. That would pretty much block everyone.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 15, 2006 07:08 PM (ZpLqH)

11 Granted. But she has a reputation for "brittleness" and what I saw fit the reputation. Committee hearings aren't as good a gauge as crises because you get to sleep and prepare - a commander, and a commander-in-chief, needs huge reserves of calm for the things that come up unexpectedly.

Posted by: Alberich at November 16, 2006 06:41 AM (5f5DF)

12 Brittleness? I think there is a NY Senator who fits that term, but not Condi. She was interviewed by a CNN reporter during her Asian tour last month and Condi came on tough against N Korea for counterfeiting US money, justifiying economic sanctions in addition to the UN Security Council strong vote against N Korea. This woman knows her stuff and is no wimp. Frazzled? If you went by a picture of her brushing her hair from her forehead, then you seem to have fallen into the NY Times trap. Condi is an absolutist on 2nd Amendment while Rudy is for gun control. NO NRA support will be coming his way if he wants to win the nomination. Do you all know Ted Nugent? He supports Condi because of her strong stand on gun rights. She has one more year to go and if the polls keep showing strong support for her, then Condi just might be running in 2008.

Posted by: Debbie Watson at November 17, 2006 10:24 AM (MzDZK)

13 I am voting for McCain. Rudy would make a great vp.

Posted by: dale drew at November 17, 2006 06:48 PM (o1/GR)

14 We could achieve the desired results much more quickly by simply destroying all copies of the Bill of Rights--starting with the original one in Washington, D.C. Then we wouldn't need to elect "Mr. McCain-Finegold" in the first place.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 19, 2006 05:49 PM (LEEsJ)

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So, Down at the Alano Club

I'm hanging out with young R, and his friend the college student. R mentions that he's got a crush on a 35-year-old woman, and his friend remarks, "you can learn a lot from these older women."

I try not to smile.

He turns to me and starts, "you know, speaking of which—" and then catches sight of my left hand. "You're married. Say, do you happen to have a daughter?"

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Memo to the Western World

From a man who knows:

Stop asking what you have done wrong. Stop it! They're slaughtering you like sheep and you still look within. You criticize your history, your institutions, your churches. Why can't you realize that it has nothing to do with what you have done?

h/t: Insty.

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Day 2, Liberty Film Festival

Benjamin Wilbanks is an American Indie filmmaker in Austin, Texas who gave up a lucrative career as an editor at CBS to accompany his uncle to Iraq. The trip was part of a missionary project to help set up a printing press for a Kurdish Christian group, but included a week-long stopover in Jordan, wherein Mr. Wilbanks and his uncle got to know some of the work being done there by Christians among the Iraqi refugees.

The result? A Journey to Iraq. It's an intimate and beautiful portrait of Iraqis who want freedom, seen through the lens of Christian outreach.

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Whatever Gets You Through the Night . . .

Menu for a Midnight Snack—and Beyond

• 2-3 ounces of red wine;
• Instant Blueberry Oatmeal;
• Butter-lettuce salad with Wishbone Balsamic Breeze spray-on dressing and a kiss of black pepper;
• bottled water, or "Earl of Africa" red tea (naturally decaffeinated);
• Top Ramen (oriental flavor) with a bit of sesame oil added in, and a tiny bit of chili-garlic paste;
• finish with a Prozac capsule for dessert.

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November 12, 2006

I'm So Proud

. . . of my blog-nephew:

If the Democrats move to limit their own power and to change the underlying incentives, they'll change the culture. If not, then they were never serious about getting rid of the corruption . . . they just wanted a piece of it.

h/t: Glenn

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:59 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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1 No worries. By July, they will be in full scale liberal mode. Trying to raise taxes, federal funding for abortion and embryonic stem cell research, non stop impeachment investigations, running from Iraq, etc.

Posted by: William Teach at November 12, 2006 06:41 AM (doAuV)

2 I wouldn't mind them wasting time and political capital farting around with impeachment if it meant them pushing 2nd amendment infringements to the back burner.

Posted by: Desert Cat at November 12, 2006 06:56 PM (xdX36)

3 They will, DC. I mean, I don't know if they'll try for impeachment (which worked really well for us, BTW), but I do believe the smart Democrats (both of them . . .) are realizing that gun-control is a polical loser issue for them.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 13, 2006 01:53 AM (LEEsJ)

4 Well from what I can gather, this election is causing a big short-term windfall for the gun and ammo dealers. A little panic stocking-up going on out there. I'm not wasting time either. I've found what appears to be a ganga deal on the rifle I want from a private party. The weekend after next he's bringing it to the range for me to try out. But I still need to ensure that I have a ready supply of the correct ammunition if I am to enjoy it target shooting and at competitions. There is rumor that 7.62x39 and similar ammo may be the target of a ban, similar to what Europe has done. Fat lotta good the gun will do in that case.

Posted by: Desert Cat at November 13, 2006 09:01 AM (B2X7i)

5 I just don't see it. This ain't the Clinton era any more: I really think the Dems got tired of alienating their blue-collar voters.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 13, 2006 09:17 AM (LEEsJ)

6 Hey I sure hope you're right. But the "assault weapons" ban was not nearly as unpopular as the attempts to grab handguns or infringe on hunters' arsenals. Most people can't figure why anyone would "need" one--nevermind the fact that "need" is not really supposed to be the issue. I know in California it's a moot point because they're still banned there.

Posted by: Desert Cat at November 13, 2006 04:44 PM (B2X7i)

7 Everything's banned here. And one cannot get a CC permit nearly anywhere in SoCal. And Los Angeles tracks all sales of ammo to such a ridiculous degree that one is forced to go elsewhere to buy it. It's just silly. The compulsion to track guns is so pervasive here that I know a handful of otherwise law-abiding gun owners who make sure that they have at least a few firearms that were bought off the record, as a hedge against the confiscation that we are always promised could NEVER happen (and, of course, always does). And yet, there are islands of sanity: I worked at the Guns and Ammo offices, and had the experience of wearing my sidearm openly for about a week, in order to test holsters out.

Posted by: Attila Girl at November 14, 2006 12:06 PM (LEEsJ)

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November 11, 2006

Steven Taylor

. . . on AQ propoganda regarding the Democratic victory, over at Outside the Beltway.

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Genius Entertainment,

distributor of the amazing In the Face of Eviland Michael & Me, is releasing an amazing film on immigration, Border War. This is the movie I've been waiting for to help clarify my thinking on the issue. It's a decent, humane documentary that is free on that unattractive xenophobia one so often catches a whiff of around the edges of the debate.

A wide variety of viewpoints are presented, and with no voiceover, the viewer can simply make up his/her own mind on the subject. Very thought-provoking.

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Day 1, Liberty Film Festival

In light of Rusty Shackleford's Townhall article about Jon Stewart's political influence, it was nice to see a right-tilting faux news show: entitled This Just In, it features newscasters and talking heads performing quasi-sketches. In one segment, for example, anchors and guests alike are mystified by just what exactly foiled conspirators in a aborted terrorist plot might have in common with one another. Very high-concept; very funny. Nicely done.
More, please.

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November 10, 2006

The Liberty Film Festival

. . . begins tonight. This is the event of the year for those who want a wider variety of viewpoints reflected in the entertainment industry, and all the heavyweights will be there: Ron Silver, David Zucker, David Horowitz, Michael Medved, and the always-inspiring Govindini Murty and Jason Apuzzo, who started the Festival several years ago, and are the force behind Libertas as well.

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