Everyone gets tired now and then.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:57 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Read the whole thing; I'm quoting his conclusion, which I hate to do—but in this case it's a terrific encapsulation of his argument:

It's hardly necessary for me to point out that the United States did not receive national health care in return for its acquiescence in the murder of tens of thousands of European civilians. But perhaps that is the least of it. Were I to be asked if Sen. Clinton has ever lost any sleep over those heaps of casualties, I have the distinct feeling that I could guess the answer. She has no tears for anyone but herself. In the end, and over her strenuous objections, the United States and its allies did rescue our honor and did put an end to Slobodan Milosevic and his state-supported terrorism. Yet instead of preserving a polite reticence about this, or at least an appropriate reserve, Sen. Clinton now has the obscene urge to claim the raped and slaughtered people of Bosnia as if their misery and death were somehow to be credited to her account! Words begin to fail one at this point. Is there no such thing as shame? Is there no decency at last? Let the memory of the truth, and the exposure of the lie, at least make us resolve that no Clinton ever sees the inside of the White House again.

I know, I know: Hitch is a Marxist Athiest. He drinks too much whiskey. He has a funny accent. He imagines that he is funnier than he really is. But I like him; he does call matters as he sees them.

And that is cool.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:46 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I couldn't even get through that "Obama bowling" thread. Is this why no one pays attention to Scarborough Country?

Why, why . . . it's machismogate!

What a tool Scarborough is. And I don't mean a hammer. I mean, like, maybe a foam hair roller or something like that.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:30 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"You and your anti-Semitic friend . . . ."

Via Insty, via Frank J., who remarks, "Being a They Might be Giants fan, I can't believe I didn't think of this song myself as soon as the Wright scandal popped up."

A lot of us were asleep at the switch.

I'm laughing so I don't cry.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:52 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Writing in The Atlantic:

Peirce's film is certainly not animated by disdain for the troops. Rather, she seems to think of her subjects as overgrown children, complicated and tragic, yes, but not ready to withstand the rigors of adult decision-making. It's easy to imagine that she wants the adolescents in the audience to identify with her characters, and maybe even to think twice before accepting a military recruiter's pitch. This is a fundamentally protective instinct that is admirable in its own way.
It's worth reflecting on the fact that during the Second World War, America's conscript army was full of terrified young men, only 15 to 25 percent of whom ever fired their weapons in combat. A remarkable number were maimed, killed, or felled by disease, and a far higher number were paralyzed by sheer terror and dread while on the battlefield. Though the volunteer army seems less egalitarian, it is undoubtedly far more effective and in its own way far more humane. One wonders about the kind of film Peirce would have made about the poor grunts sent off to fight Hirohito and Hitler, most of whom were subject to physical regimens that would be understood as abuse in our own time. Would she have made a stirring film dedicated to the cause of draft resistance? Well, no.

No. Read the whole thing.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:14 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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"John McCain still needs to address this, and stop getting his health-policy advice from Don Imus."

Posted by: Attila Girl at 01:02 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Racism! I tell you.

Yup. I buy it: any time anyone uses the term "American" in a seemingly Pro-American fashion, they're using code language. They are anti-black, or anti-Semitic, or anti-funny-name or anti-Whatever-It-Is-That-You-the-Voter-Are.

Even if one of the candidates has a spouse who's putting this country down every chance she gets.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:16 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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" . . . your own churches."

Via Captain Ed at Hot Air.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:54 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Karl at Protein Wisdom points out that the superdelegates are going to have to sing for their supper this time around:

While Cost (and I agree) that Clinton remains a long shot, the spate of media stories reminding us of this should be read in light of the fact that Obama, like Clinton, stands little to no chance of winning the nomination based on elected delegates. Many superdelegates may wish for a deus ex machina, but it is not forthcoming.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 02:17 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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I believe the translation is, "fuck you, hard and fast. No vaseline."

She's pretty hardy, for a hot-house flower.

Yeah, yeah: I know Bill and Hillary spent hours around the dinner table insulting her so she'd grow a tough hide. I also know that a memo came down from the division head at a prominent animation company here in L.A.--circa 1994--that said, "make fun of any public figure you want, except Chelsea Clinton."

So, either management overreacted to that infamous (and brutal, and uncalled-for) Saturday Night Live skit, or Hillary Clinton called every single contact she had in the entertainment industry, and--surprise!--they took the call from the First Lady, and created a sort of media blackout around Chelsea.

Personally, I think that should be the rule for underage children of Presidents, Vice Presidents, and Senators. But Amy Carter might see the issue differently.

And there is the fact that Chelsea enjoyed a lot of exotic Grand Tours on the public dime; furthermore, her starting salary right out of college was $100K annually. Which I don't begrudge her, but as a manager in a small publishing company, I pulled down $16K when a subsistence salary was closer to $27K.

This involved a lot of microwaved macaroni and cheese lunches, and a teary confrontation with the cleaning lady when she accidentally threw my mac 'n' cheese out on a Friday night; I'd counted on eating it the following day.

So, yeah. Chelsea looks hot, and poised. She should. I doubt the cleaning lady has thrown out her lunch too many times lately. Protein and a good colorist will do that for just about anyone.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:36 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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Too much time on the road, Buddy. Way too much time on the road.

Though Senator Clinton has certainly been taking charisma lessons from . . . someone. Hm. Wonder who . . . someone with a lot of charm, who's a good liar.

Also: Blogosphere APB! Will someone check on Stacy's wife and child? I want to make sure they really exist. I mean, I can see that he's sincere about this . . . not like a Bosnia kind of thing. But I just get concerned about ol' Stacy's perceptions on these things.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 07:30 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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please.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 03:39 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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. . . against sugary breakfast cereals.

Grainist.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 10:56 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Yeah.

The fact is—much as it pains me to say it—I agree with the Huckster on this. I definitely think Wright should be granted more latitude than if he were saying equivalent things from some sort of Klanlike, white-supremacist point of view.

What I can't do is condone the fact that Obama entered public life without distancing himself from this man in some way. Even if it meant that his wife and kids went to one church, while he attended another (or didn't go at all), it would satisfy me.

I guess I'm proclaiming that thing I always get cranky at other people for saying: in certain arenas, the standards have to be higher for public servants. I'm sorry, but they do. If we don't expect a United States Senator to distance himself in a concrete way from rank bigotry, how can we expect to move forward? Even if that bigotry is less rank than it would be if Wright were white?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 09:48 PM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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And my birthday is almost five months away.

Thank you, Johnnie!

Via Insty.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:40 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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thinking about what Nancy Reagan wants. Wondering, hoping. Imagining that if only I could get her opinion on a given issue, I might start to see it clearly.

Okay, I'm done with the snark. I think. But the fact is, the only position Nancy has held that has interested me at all was that on stem-cell research, because of the beauty in it: her stance was at odds to that of a beloved conservative icon whom she was married to for decades—but her views were motivated, at least in part, by her love for that crazy and amazing man.

Hackbarth suggests that the N. Reagan endorsement could be played to McCain's advantage, by drawing the obvious parallels between the War on Terror and the Cold War. Maybe. But I doubt that Nancy would go along with the idea.

I'm not sure, of course, that I'm big on endorsements in the first place. Even if I like someone, shouldn't I be thinking for myself? Or is that an eccentric view?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:28 PM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Or is it swing voters McCain needs to connect with?

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:33 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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I just don't want to talk about it.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:05 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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The short version of his post at the Weekly Standard blog: if Obama takes the nomination, McCain should grab Hillary's voters:

McCain wins by being acceptable to the independents and white Democrats who will inevitably, over time, crumble off Obama's imperfect reality. He loses if he becomes caught in a partisan base versus base contest with the Democrats. The job for Team McCain is not to tear down Obama, it is to give those who will become increasingly disenchanted from him (Hillary voting blue-collars, Jews, moderates) a reason to see McCain as acceptable. This means McCain should return to his roots and run as the different kind of Republican he truly is. The GOP base will not enjoy this, but they--sorry AM radio crowd--will not control the outcome of this election. Ticket-splitters and swing voters will.

Yeah. That sounds about right.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 12:34 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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"God, I'm loving this. This is the best election in years. I think there could very well be violence at the Democratic National Convention. Best of all, it's in Denver. Does anyone deserve to have the meltdown than that hive of liberal hippy wannabes ... (no offense meant to the decent people of Denver).

Barack has no clue the extent to which Hill and Bill will go to get the nomination. He's like a little lambie. I would feel sorry for him if I didn't think he was the devil."

Schadenfreude is a dish best served with a dollop of sour cream and a bit of cilantro.

Posted by: Attila Girl at 08:42 PM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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