Monday, August 01, 2005

The Recess Appointment   There is little doubt that if there was a secret vote on the nomination of John Bolton for UN ambassador, he would be lucky to get twenty votes.  He is manifestly a bully, and a man who has encouraged people to falsify intelligence on a regular basis, and a man who lied in his testimony to Congress.  He was at best ineffective in his role trying to contain the spread of WMDs, and it's probably more accurate to say that his misjudgments and provocative behavior did much to encourage their spread.  He has alienated allies and infuriated adversaries in the past, and has betrayed the national interest in an effort to favor individual corporations. The President plans to use a recess appointment to make this man the public face of the United States in the UN.  And what a face!  Surely even the picture of Dorian Gray would be more attractive. 7:04:05 PM    comment []

Quote for the Day, 8/1/2005   "Rhinoceros, your hide looks all undone, You do not take my fancy in the least; You have a horn where other brutes have none: Rhinoceros, you are an ugly beast."   -Hilaire Belloc, The Bad Child's Book of Beasts, "The Rhinoceros"   A couple times when I've met someone I took an instant dislike to, I claim that, I don't know why, but this quote suddenly popped into my head, and then say this. 4:35:43 PM    comment []

I very seldom post my poems here, because it's enough that I ask you to read my opinions, without inflicting verse.  But every once in a while the impulse overcomes me.     On Seeing Her First Love   She saw him walking down the street, and did not call out. Yes, he was her first love: that is supposed to conjure images of calves, of puppies, as if hurts taken then were nothing worse than skinned knees. Maybe so, but remember how skinned knees sting. And the only person she's ever talked to as much as she spoke to him those two years is her husband:  and when she talks to her husband, it's mostly about the weather. Not really, but it might as well be the weather:  their days at work, their schedules, who will drive the children; a life built of routine. She stays still that night in bed because she doesn't want her husband to ask, What's wrong? Of course, her first love didn't know who she was, in her secret self, any more than her husband does. But he knew who she dreamed of being, and that is how he remembers her. It is awfully hard when someone else is the only one who has held on to your dreams. 2:33:58 PM    comment []

The Borgia White House   Republican Senators John McCain, John Warner, and Lindsay Graham are leading the charge to make the government expressly prohibit torture.  The White House is opposing them, saying they don't want their hands tied by preventing the government from torturing people.  Information garnered by torture is worthless; under duress people will say anything.  They can tell the truth, but the information can't be regarded as remotely reliable.  There's no imaginable reason to conduct torture.  Well, there's one.  You never know when the President will need videotape of something to cheer him up. 12:01:59 PM    comment []

Immunity from Selling Guns to Criminals   The Senate passed a law that said that gun manufacturers should not be liable to lawsuits even when they do many many things that help make it easy for people to get hold of guns illegally.  They give retailers bonuses or prizes in return for selling large numbers of guns to individuals who then sell them illegally.  They make bullets designed to go right through bullet-proof vests, vests worn almost exclusively by police officers, hence the term "cop killer bullets".  They sell kits to let people turn guns into automatic weapons. I like guns.  I support regulation on guns because I live in a city, and to let everyone go around with concealed weapons in a city is somewhat imprudent.  But I might feel differently if I lived in a suburb, and I certainly would feel differently if I lived in a rural area.  But regardless of gun control laws, gun manufacturers have a responsibility, like any other company, to take precautions to make sure their product is used responsibly.  Under this law, there is no limit to the irresponsibility with which gun manufacturers can behave.  Short of actually conspiracy to murder, they are not vulnerable to suit.  I'm not entirely sure they’d be subject to a lawsuit then, either. 6:10:32 AM    comment []