Blog

Neat article at BusinessWeek about how Dean’s collapse mirrors the dot-com bubble. Compare and contrast with this Washington Post article about how Dean’s campaign sidestepped the traditional organizational structure of the Democratic party. I guess you could substitute “sidestepped the traditional bricks-and-mortar retail structure” for that part, if you want to feel like it’s 1999 all over again.

Here’s a transcript of a GREAT interview with Mo’Nique.

However, to get to it, you’ll have to read a conversation with Christopher Hitchens about the invasion of Iraq, faulty intelligence, Mel Gibson’s historical anti-semitism, Bloomberg’s attempt at Disney-fying NYC, and more. Here’s a piece from Hitchens:

My allegiances have changed in the sense that I now find the noises made on the left–which are basically to the effect that we shouldn’t have intervened in Serbia, we shouldn’t have intervened in Afghanistan, we shouldn’t have intervened in Iraq–would have left us with Slobodan Milosevic in power, Bosnia ethnically cleansed, Kosovo part of Greater Serbia, Afghanistan under the Taliban, and Iraq the property of a psychopathic crime family. Now, I’m sorry to say, I’ve no patience with that leftist mentality anymore.

And here’s a piece from Mo’Nique:

And I love people. Yeah. You know why, though? Because for so long, we’ve been taught that big girls can’t be. We can’t be sexy, and we can’t be glamorous and gorgeous. We’ve been trained that we can’t do that. So, when Mo’Nique came and God said, “I need you to change it. I need to use you as a vessel and change it…” I know that I’m beautiful. So because I know it, you can’t help but to think it. When I walk in a room, I know you go, “Damn.” There it is. Right. Oh, Tavis, don’t do it, ’cause you know. Mm-hmm. In a minute. But I know that. So when people say, “How did you do that?” I don’t take any of the credit. You know, I just say thank God for using me for the vessel.

I keep meaning to write about the panel/debate on “Iraq & Beyond” that I attended last Friday evening, which featured Hitchens, Susan Powers, David Frum and Mark Danner. But I’ve been too lazy/tired during the evenings. Oh, well. Maybe I’ll find some time this weekend.

From the NY Observer‘s new article on Chris Rock:

A lot of Mr. Rock�s show is dedicated to the U.S. as he knows it in 2004. Saying that he loves rap but has grown tired of defending it, Mr. Rock said that “even the United States government hates rap. You know why I say that? Because they won’t arrest anybody that kills rappers.” After contending that more people saw Tupac Shakur’s killing — which took place on the Las Vegas Strip after a Mike Tyson fight — “than the last episode of Seinfeld,” he said: “You mean to tell me they can find Saddam Hussein in a fucking hole, but you can’t tell me who shot Tupac?”

So I was at Home Despot this evening, looking for a timer for my hall lamp and a spud bar. Because I lead an interesting life, alright?

Anyway, while looking for the timer, I noticed a display of carbon monoxide detectors. I thought, “Well, since I have that wood-burning stove in the new house, I should really get one of these detectors.”

I picked one up and saw it was $49.97. Immediately, I started looking at the other ones on display, to see if there was a cheaper model. Blame instinct, blame my parents, blame my cheap ethnic stereotype, etc.

And I thought, “Yeah, when it comes to an invisible, odorless gas that’ll kill you within minutes, it’s always smart to cut corners . . .”

Literary theory: “Most people outgrow it when they stop feeling insecure or threatened.”

Read on.

Yes, David Kay’s report on intelligence failures re: WMDs in Iraq is harsh. But it’s not as if mistakes like this are unheard of in the intelligence community. Anyone who wants to treat the whole issue as an opportunity to bash the White House ought to sit down and read Intelligence Wars, a collection of essays/reviews by Thomas Powers.

In particular, the chapter “Soviet Intentions and Capabilities” yields the following money quote:

“Our answer,” said Sherman Kent, [chairman of the CIA’s Board of National Estimates], “is to say nothing is going to happen in the foreseeable future, and say it in the most alarming way possible.”

The history of intel/cointel is a map of misreadings, to misapply Harold Bloom. Just because you think the president is an ignoramus doesn’t mean that this particular instance of misreading was malicious. After all, he did run on the least interventionist platform in 75 years.

A one-time gay porn actor blackballed from the Japanese leagues? Just read. My favorite part is that the player who gets quoted is named Grady Sizemore. Was Woody Everhard busy?

Gregg Easterbrook writes about the death of Captain Kangaroo much better than I ever could.

I’m off to Las Vegas for the Informex conference. If you need to find me, I’ll be staying at the obsidian pyramid that’s shooting a laser beam two miles into space.

I’ve had two Vegas trips so far, and they’ve left me with the belief that the city is actually an alien theme park of planet Earth. Which helps explain both the laser beam AND the proximity to Area 51.

While there, I’m hoping to take a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon. And maybe I’ll go catch this guy, too.