Read this PJM article on rail travel in America, and tell me what you think.

We'll have a nice rational discussion about it tonight and tomorrow morning.

Don't pull your punches, just because you know that I have a rail-travel fetish.

h/t: Glenn.

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. . . for reminding me of this great clip:

Thanks, Z!

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He had to pull strings.

All my mom had to do was get on the waiting list, wait for a bit of a break on same, and exercise that white-haired little-old-lady charm that she's been resorting to in the last couple of decades. (It's her best chance for manipulating people since she chopped her breasts off a while back to ease up on her back problems. As a matter of fact, I think the white hair might work better than the breasts did. After all, my mother always gets her way, and I don't always get mine. Perhaps I ought to dye my hair white.)

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"In a minute there is time for decisions and revisions that a minute will reverse.

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Like, in that Dr. Amalfi way from The Sopranos.

Apparently, she's getting hot in that other way, too—as in, mad. Apparently, it's tiresome to watch the economy of one's state get screwed over so that dictators can become more powerful and one's own nation can be weakened.

Who knew?

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It's time:

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we could go grab the oil out from under the tundra, and the prairies and the plains and the water and the continental shelves that aren't controlled by dictatorships, while we develop alternatives to burning "petrol."

And then the dictators could go . . . pound sand.

How many times do I have to reiterate that alternative fuels and producing more here in North America are not either/or propositions?

h/t: Insty.

Gotta go, now: I'm picking out my next car: maybe a hydrogen-powered Honda? Who knows?

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1 Six hundred bucks a month for a lease seems a little steep to me. Then again I'm used to purchasing vehicles with most of the initial depreciation already worn off.

Posted by: Desert Cat at June 24, 2008 12:29 PM (6go9w)

2 The more fuel-efficient cars they sell new, the bigger the selection you and I have after they're "broken in."

Posted by: Attila Girl at June 24, 2008 01:06 PM (1q/ac)

3 That won't be working out so well with the Priuses. By the time they're "broken in", the expected battery lifespan will be about exhausted, and then their value will drop like a lead albatross. IIRC the replacement cost is around $5k, and that includes a Toyota subsidy. Ironically it is the Tercel (manual transmission version) that is/should be the real "green" choice in the Toyota fleet.

Posted by: Desert Cat at June 24, 2008 03:03 PM (6go9w)

4 Ok, a little more research shows me that is probably outdated price info. As long as the car is still under warranty, the worst that happens is being stranded by a suddenly dead battery. Still...a Tercel can be good for 250k miles. Calling the "lifespan of the car" only 100k is saying something about the true longevity of these vehicles.

Posted by: Desert Cat at June 24, 2008 04:42 PM (6go9w)

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as long as it's other people's kids who are keeping us free."

Bill Kristol in today's The New York Times:

The people at MoveOn.org have a new Iraq ad that is, if they do say so themselves, their most effective ever. Then again, for the group that brought us the “General Petraeus or General Betray Us?” ad last September, that might not be saying much.

Nevertheless, the organization boasts on its Web site, “This isn’t your average political ad — it lays out the truth about McCain’s Iraq policy in a personal and compelling way.” MoveOn also claims, “We just got the results back and polling shows that voters found it to be more persuasive than any other ad we’ve tested before.”

Yeah, well, again: this is MoveOn.org, the set of activists who formed in response to an assault on the Chief Executive's God-given right to get blowjobs from young girls in the Oval Office.

Kristol again:

The ad is simple. A mother speaks as she holds her baby boy:

“Hi, John McCain. This is Alex. And he’s my first. So far his talents include trying any new food and chasing after our dog. That, and making my heart pound every time I look at him. And so, John McCain, when you say you would stay in Iraq for 100 years, were you counting on Alex? Because if you were, you can’t have him.”

Take that, warmonger!

Now it might be pedantic to point out that John McCain isnÂ’t counting on Alex to serve in Iraq, because little Alex will only be 9 years old when President McCain leaves office after two terms.

And it might be picky to remark that when McCain was asked whether U.S. troops might have to remain in Iraq for as long as 50 years, he replied, “Maybe 100” — explaining, “As long as Americans are not being injured or harmed or wounded or killed, it’s fine with me, and I hope it would be fine with you if we maintain a presence in a very volatile part of the world. ...”

In other words, McCain is open to an extended military presence in Iraq, similar to ones weÂ’ve had in Germany, Japan or Kuwait. He does not wish for, nor does he anticipate, a 100-year war in Iraq.

But it is surely relevant to point out that the United States has an all-volunteer Army. Alex wonÂ’t be drafted, and his mommy canÂ’t enlist him. He can decide when heÂ’s an adult whether he wants to serve. And, of course, McCain supports the volunteer army.

All of this is pretty much par for the course in political advertising. And IÂ’m of the latitudinarian school when it comes to campaign discourse; politics is supposed to be rough and ready. So, why, I wondered after first seeing the MoveOn ad, did I find it so ... creepy?

He finds his answer over at Blue Star Beth's site:

I wonder about the actress (I doubt sheÂ’s really the mother of the baby because sheÂ’s obviously acting) saying that John McCain canÂ’t have her son. Does that mean sheÂ’d rather her son live in a terrorist state or under the constant threat of acts of terrorism? Does that mean that she wants other peopleÂ’s sons to keep the wolves at bay so that her son can live a life of complete narcissism? What is it she thinks happens in the world?

Actually, I can relate to what she’s saying. I can’t imagine my son being off in a foreign land being shot at by people who are trying to kill him. Its horrific to even contemplate. Its a reality that many of us have to live with day in and day out as our sons do their duty for the country. Its an unimaginable and untenable thing … to have your son ‘over there’ and to know that at any moment something horrible can happen. You don’t go for a second not knowing that. Not for a second for the entire time he’s deployed.

But what would this little actress, or moveon.org, have us do? As a mother, I have learned that I have to let my children grow up and make their choices in life, just as I made mine. I respect the choices my children have made and I support them 100%. I am proud of my son. His deployment changed him, but mostly in good ways. He is definitely a man now. He has a self-confidence and personal strength he never had before. That doesnÂ’t mean I wanted him to go to Iraq. It just means that I understand that at some point a mother has to stand aside and allow her son to become a man.

I would rather do it than send my son to do it, but thatÂ’s not how it works. People like moveon.org would rather we surrender and appease than stand up to danger. By doing that, they put our sons in more danger.

Someone has to stand between our society and danger. If not my son, then who? If not little Alex then someone else will have to stand and deliver. SomeoneÂ’s son, somewhere. This commercial makes me angry. What she is saying is that she is not willing to do her part. SheÂ’ll put us all in more danger to hide herself and her child in a corner. I love my son as much as she loves hers. I held him in my lap when he was a baby. I watched him take his first steps and go to school for the first time. I sat with him when he was sick and listened to him when he was confused. I waited in terror the first time he took the car out for a drive by himself.

The hardest thing I have ever done is spend 15 months knowing that he was in imminent danger half-way around the world and there was absolutely nothing I could do about it.

This woman should get used to it. ThatÂ’s what its like to raise kids.

And Kristol concludes:

Unless we enter a world without enemies and without war, we will need young men and women willing to risk their lives for our nation. And weÂ’re not entering any such world.

We do, however, live in a free country with a volunteer army. In the United States, individuals can choose to serve in the military or not. The choice not to serve should carry no taint, nor should it be viewed with the least prejudice. If Alex chooses to pursue other opportunities, he wonÂ’t be criticized by John McCain or anyone else.

But thatÂ’s not at all the message of the MoveOn ad.

The MoveOn ad is unapologetic in its selfishness, and barely disguised in its disdain for those who have chosen to serve — and its contempt for those parents who might be proud of sons and daughters who are serving. The ad boldly embraces a vision of a selfish and infantilized America, suggesting that military service and sacrifice are unnecessary and deplorable relics of the past.

And the sole responsibility of others.

Well, you know: that is at the end of the day, all the military is to those who benefit from their vigilance: a pair of dirty hands.

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. . . would be from Florida, of all places?

(Yeah: I know there was only one Ronald Reagan. But for the next set of economic and national security challenges, we can do even better. Lt. Col. West is a true-blue conservative with crossover appeal—someone who can be popular without having to resort to populism or pandering. Whether he wins or loses this immediate, upcoming contest, watch that man.)

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so goes the nation?

Infrastructure is a big problem—both in terms of the Interstate system/local roadways, which we need, and in terms of better use of rail—which we also need.

Get America Moving Again: The Alliance for Improving America's Infrastructure
FHA's Site
The History Channel on How We Got Here
The Economist Talks About the Issue Last Summer, after the Minneapolis Bridge Collapse

Matt Eden link via Insty.

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. . . comes from Reynolds, re: the Canadian Kangaroo Court and its case against Mark Steyn/Maclean's—which the Canadian populace finds too silly to take terribly seriously: "When the stormtroopers wear clown shoes instead of jackboots, it's easy to forget that they're still stormtroopers."

Yup.

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Last night, heart failure. He was only 71.

And, of course, he helped to popularize Doc, Grumpy, Sleepy, Sneezy, Happy, Bashful, and Dopey.

No, wait: it was lust, gluttony, greed, envy, sloth, wrath, and pride.

Vaya con Dios, my friend. And . . . . mother fucker.

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. . . . family cars of the future?

Pretty good, for a vehicle that doesn't fly. It's supposed to fly, you know.

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Iowahawk in ghey Paree:

"So vhat are you doink here? Are you artist or writers or zomesink?" laughs Fille un.

The Doctor and the Professor point at me. "He's a writer."

"Really?" they ask, enthusiastically. "Novels? Screenplays? Have we heard of you?"

I'm still looking around trying to figure out who they were pointing at.

"He's a blogger," offers Professor Jonathan. "He's . . . well, sort of known."

The three filles react to this as if they had learned I wrote school lunch menus or lawnmower warning stickers. Despite his revealed association with blogospheric scum, the filles continue their flirtation with Dr. Carlos, who deftly extracts a party invite for Saturday night.

Apparently, that Burge Magic doesn't quite work across the Atlantic. Which is cool, because that means that the Chicks of the Americas have him all to ourselves.

I mean, I know that I'm married, and all—but it's nice to have that Dove Bar in the freezer you know you'll never eat.

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You've been wondering what to get me for my birthday, which is coming up on July 9th. Me too! (Though I'm thinking of chocolate croissants.)

Here are some suggestions:

• Hit my tip jar! (left sidebar)

• Send me a lead on some copyediting, proofreading, or line-editing work.

• Send me something from my Amazon wish list.

• Ship me out some pinot grigio (I'm in a white wine phase right now).

• A Pier One gift certificate is always great for a chick who just moved.

• Buy an ad from me!

• Tell me what a genius I am, and how reading my material has changed your life for the better.

(And let me know if you need my business address for the gift certificate or the wine.)

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:25 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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It turns out, Barack Obama is black. No, really. He is.

I was skeptical, too, but Cassandra dug up the proof:

Turns out, he's just as black as a . . . as a person who's black. Why didn't this come out earlier? Shouldn't his tax returns have shown low expenditures on sunblock?

I definitely suspect a coverup. Cassie goes on:

I don't know. Could you work the words "fear", "afraid", "scary", and "black" in there just a few more times, Barry? Because I'm "afraid" voters might miss the point.

You know, that you're... like, totally ... black. And the bad, scary Republicans want us to be afraid of you. Because you're so ... black. Even though you're half white. Which we're not supposed to talk about, because that would be focusing on race and you were so hoping we could get beyond that, I know. Damned Republicans. If only they'd quit bringing up the fact.

That you're black. And we should fear you.

Cassandra concludes: "Obama: healing racial and partisan divides by accusing his opponents before they attack him!"

Juliette chimes in:

This is just pathetic.

[Quoting a news account that begins with Obama's own words] "[The Republicans are] going to try to make you afraid of me. 'He's young and inexperienced and he's got a funny name. And did I mention he's black?'

[SNIP]

That old stuff just divides us," he said.

Obama, born to a white mother from Kansas and a black father from Kenya, has cast himself as a candidate who can bridge divides within the country, including those involving race.

[And Baldilocks replies:]

Most people couldn't care less about your name and your color, Senator Obama. They fear being led by you because you have no substantive legislative record, you're a chronic liar, and, after explicitly stating that you choose your friends carefully, you have repeatedly and systematically made friends with people who hate this country.

You would "bridge the divide," Senator, by burning that bridge.

Folks, don't let this Sower of Discord shut you up.

I think Baldilocks is trying to make me afraid.

Back to Cassie, whose comments section on the above-linked post overflows with gems like the following, in her own words:

It has taken me a very long time to confront the Ugly Truth: as a person who was not raised in a multicultural environment I cannot look at Barack Obama without subconsciously seeing a cop killing gansta rapper (you know, something on the order of John Forbes Kerry). It's the tragic legacy of a lifetime of unearned white privilege. The menace just oozes from every polysyllabic word he utters in that mellifluous voice of his.

Perhaps therapy will help.

Nice Deb notes that he's just trying to innoculate the country against any negative information that might come out about him whatsoever:

Yeah, Republicans are so well known for their fear of blacks. That’s why the Republicans keep appointing them to ground breaking positions….to keep them “placated." [Editor's note: that's also why the GOP legislators voted for the Civil Rights Act in greater proportions than the Dems did. It was a trick!]

Never mind that McCain has made clear that he is not interested in doing any negative campaigning at all, not even when warranted.

Never mind that the only real race-baiting took place on the Democratic side during the Democrat primaries.

This is merely Obama’s way of tainting any attempts on the Republican side to bring up Obama’s genuinely scary radical and Commie associations as “racist” allegations. But a clear eyed look at the man’s biography is enough to send shivers down even a few “progressive’s” spines.

It’s also his way of preparing his followers for what lies ahead. (There will be scurrilous, ‘untrue’, nasty things said about him, and it will all be because he’s black).

Fausta's also got a crazy salad of Obamania, including some remarks about that weird-ass quasi-Presidential seal.

(Is anyone else obsessing about that James Thurber cartoon in the New Yorker? "Okay, okay—have it your way: you heard a seal bark!")

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Usually, when I write about my friends I use the "blog a clef" technique, and don't name them, but every once in a while I'll use real names if the story seems particularly interesting and the facts are all a matter of public record anyhow.

I did so the other day, and I sent a copy of such a story to my "friend" to make sure she was okay with the piece.

Well, she wasn't. She hit the roof and wrote me a scathing note accusing me of sabotaging her career, and making her look "self-promotional" at the same time. (A bit oxymoronic, but what the hell.)

Of course, I took the article down as quickly as I could, but I lost a day to a depression that that had to do partly with her cruelty, and partly with my own ambivalence about using my journalistic skills strictly for things that are perfectly unlikely to bring any renumeration in whatsoever.

You see the oddity, right: an old high-school chum behaves like a cunt, and I'm the one who wants to give up writing, and/or eat my gun; was anyone over the age of 17 ever this sensitive? Christ.

I know the solution, and I'll bet you do, too: start selling articles for Actual Money; get my books published, rather than let them molder away on my hard drive, and never again turn my back on people whom I can't really trust.

I'm indebted to this person in a moral sense, just as I'm morally indebted to the family practitioner in Tehachapi I see every year or so who likewise rags on me for what probably (also) amounts to being bright and good-looking—even in middle age. But at this stage in my life I'm not prepared to take unlimited amounts of shit from anyone.

Ack: why eat my gun when I can feed it (metaphorically speaking) to other people?

UPDATE, 6/24: Prof. P. assures me that KT is quite likely to read this someday, and take exception to the word "cunt." After all, she did conclude her note by saying that she recognized that I didn't mean to hurt her. What she did not specify, of course, was whether she'd intended to hurt me. And it appeared to me that she had intended to hurt me, and in no uncertain terms.

"Besides," I told him. "She won't ever read it. She doesn't believe in blogs."

"Bullshit," he responded. "You know she's going to be monitoring your site after you removed the offending article."

If she cared that much, I think she would have thanked me for taking the article down. Or perhaps even apologized for telling me that something I had meant in a nice way had been a "shock," and an "embarrassment" to her.

As for the "feeding other people my gun" line, that's simply my way of saying that whenever possible, I don't want to turn my anger inward, and contemplate "eating my gun" (that is to say, committing suicide). I've admitted my part in this: I need to get people's permission before I write about them without veiling their identities (or at least make an honest effort to do so).

The other party in this hasn't owned up to her part in the kerfuffle.

This is someone I see every four years or so. We can remain friends, or not. It makes no particular difference to me. I did something wrong. I made it right. I'm getting on with my life.

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1 Well, I'm glad you put "friend" in quotes; that was hardly a friend-like reaction! I'm also glad you're feeling better about it. I certainly can empathize with your reaction, since it's quite similar to how I often deal with things *sigh* Now, like you said, it's time to kick a** and take names! LOL

Posted by: Kat at June 22, 2008 07:23 AM (Cnodf)

2 Nothing is quite as cathartic as getting it out of your system. I think you did. ;-)

Posted by: Rightwingsparkle at June 22, 2008 08:03 AM (bJxMT)

3 Anyone who behaves that way doesn't deserve you as a friend. Fuck her. ;P

Posted by: Nicki at June 22, 2008 09:32 AM (JLOx7)

4 Give em hell. It always make you feel better - and empowered!

Posted by: beth at June 22, 2008 11:21 AM (awyCJ)

5 Well, I'm thinking that f*ing someone you don't actually like all that much is perhaps counterproductive, so I won't give you the same advice Nicki did. Of course, I'm a guy, which defines me as a person who would f* anything with two legs and at least one orifice, according to your US court systems (and the UK's headed in that direction as well, seemingly - the Malaysians mostly reserve their nuttiness to the political sphere - you decide if this is better or not). But perhaps sitting on your 'friend' would help. Did wonders for me back in the day...

Posted by: Gregory at June 26, 2008 03:07 AM (cjwF0)

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If you haven't read this Atlantiic article on the spike in crime in certain suburbs—and how they correlate to the redistribution of poor people via Section 8 Housing—it's one of the most important articles I've read in months. Maybe years.

If urban planners have decided that any given city's public housing projects breed crime, and should be dismantled or demolished, then it behooves them to figure out which members of "the projects" really want to escape the pathologies there, and give them the training, life skills, and support network they need to achieve a transformation, rather than simply depriving them of the only community they know.

As for those who plan to continue living crime-ridden, dysfunctional lives—or whose kids do—we might want to at least warn the police where they are being relocated to, so law enforcement officials can adapt—and plan around—the new patterns.

Otherwise, we're simply "busing" adults, believing that they will live according to middle-class values if they live next door to white people—just as black children were bound to learn more if they were sitting next to whilte students.

It's the power of white skin: superhuman, I tell you.

(X-posted to Right Wing News.)

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Very few of us in this country have anything to complain about.

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So blogging will be light for the rest of the day. Tomorrow, however, I'll have lots of bloggy goodness up here, and probably at Right Wing News as well.

As usual, we'll be focusing on energy issues: drilling on the coasts and in ANWR, and learning how to get more effective use out of oil shale.

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