Failure Watch Along the Right

This will make news on Monday in the blogosphere: William F. Buckley declares the US' adventure in Iraq a failure just one week after Francis F declared the death of neo-conservatism in the New York Times Magazine. It's a good time to be an anti-war neocon; your words will be hailed as brave and certain quarters of the media will welcome you with open arms.

Ah, a sensible conservative, who would have thought?. Like the character of The Good German in the WWII films of the 50s, liberals respect only those neocons who have turned against the liberation of Iraq. Would the editors of the NYT Magazine have given Richard Perle or William Kristol four pages to argue that we should stay the course? Of course not.

That said, WFB's piece is more important because it it published in his weekly column and on the National Review web site, the online arm of the journal he founded in 1950. He has yet to call for the withdrawal of troops but his words will mark a turning point in the argument of the war. In the way that fashion designers often create bold and unwearable items, the basic ideas often trickle down to the shoping mall months later: the height of the skirt, the cut of the shoulder, even the overall color scheme.

Likewise, WFB's ideas may signal a greenlight to neocons that the war is over and the mission unaccomplished.

More Unrest in Iraq?

As if we needed more bad news from Iraq, it seems the opening bell of the civil war has been rung. This week's bombing of the Shiite shrine -- a gorgeous structure -- may be the turning point of sending the liberated and struggling democracy towards utter chaos. Of course, un-cool heads have already blamed US forces and Israel for the attack because, after all, no rational Muslim would ever desecrate a holy place in the heart of Islam. Then again, these are the same folks who hate it when US forces chase insurgents into mosques only to find a cache of weapons in a house of worship.

So what do the US Army and Marines do if a full scale civil war does break out? Do they take a side or stay neutral and try to establish order? Is order even possible?

Let's hope so.

American of the Year

I now know whom every junior high school should be named after. Behold:

Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley says, 'We want to turn over the Port of Baltimore, the home of the Star Spangled Banner, to the United Arab Emirates? Not so long as I'm mayor and not so long as I have breath in my body.'"

Post Port-um Depression

What is the Bush White House smoking? I am Odd Man Out at work as the only employee who readily admits he voted for W. in '04 and wishes he cast the ballot for him in '00, although we have plenty of little old ladies who voted for Pat Buchanan to thank in the mean time.

But handing over the ports to the United Arab Emirates -- what the fork?! Do we really have to say outloud how awesomely bad this idea is? Sure, the fact that two of the 9/11 hijackers hail from the UAE does not mean that an entire nation can be painted with the same brush, but why are we leaving our ports in the hands of a people who may hire locals who harbor an interest in our absolute demise? It could be an American citizen but statistically speaking, the vast majority of people who wish us ill fit a certain profile.

And now John McCain is supporting President Bush, who promises to veto any legislation to overturn this rule. I had no idea that tone-deafness was contagious.

In all of this mess, one thing must be noted: The Left has discovered racial profiling. The same folks who fainted at the thought of passing a wand over Middle Eastern men between the ages of 20 and 45 at our airports now refuse to allow an Arab nation to oversee the ports of NY, NJ and Miami. Welcome to the real world, folks. It only took you four years.

Cheney of Fools

This has to be a pretty good week for the White House. Last week, White House officials were reportedly cringing about this week’s upcoming hearings on Hurricane Katrina and Condoleezza Rice’s testimony before a Senate sub-committee. Instead, the media has been chasing the minute-by-minute details of the Cheney hunting accident from the previous weekend. Ah, a perfect non-scandal. Meanwhile, Salon and other news agencies released photos of the alleged torture from the Abu Ghraib prison. Instead of discussing the photos -– and the dangers these images might put our soldiers in -– the media is chasing an embarrassing discharge of a shotgun on a Texas ranch. The heavy breathing on the Loony Left is limitless for one simple reason: Dick Cheney is evil and everything he says or touches must therefore be evil. Look at the photos that the local NY newspapers have chosen: all Cheney, all sneer. I can only hope that some clueless Democrats will demand hearings on the accident to discuss hunting and gun ownership in general. Maybe, if we are lucky, these hearings will be chaired by Joe Biden or Hillary Clinton and have testimony by folks from PETA and Rosie O’Donnell. Pennsylvania, Ohio and maybe even Florida will be Republican for a generation.

Last of a Dead Breed

Six days ago, Dell announced that it would no longer manufacturer its Dell DJ. My wife just asked why and I said "Everyone and their grandmother has an iPod."

Except me, of course. I have now joined the ranks of Corvair, Tucker and DeSoto drivers. Now, anyone know where I can get a can of New Coke?

Officers and Gentlemen

Just finished Officers and Gentlemen by Evelyn Waugh and it was fine. It's the second book of his 'Sword of Honour' trilogy about a Catholic officer serving in the second world war. Waugh has a sharp and unforgiving eye for the officers of old England who knew that this new war was very different from the first. One character remarks that unlike WWI, no one will write poetry about the battles they were fighting. No Sigfried Sassoon, Robert Graves and others.

If you've overdosed on Band of Brothers and Saving Private Ryan, read OaG as a tonic."