Wednesday, April 30, 2003
'Second to nobody': Mickey Kaus is beating the crap out of John Kerry again. ... And so is William Saletan.
Et tu, Luxemburg?: There used to be a time when talk of a military alliance between France and Germany would strike fear across the continent and world (scroll down if need be). ...
‘The true agenda of the moratorium crowd’: There are so many exciting things happening in urban education these days: Improving test scores, rising school attendance, increasing interest in and commitment to neighborhood schools in general, etc. My favorite example: Beacon Hill residents rallying and lobbying hard for a public school in their affluent neighborhood. Their request was recently rejected, but they haven't given up the long-term fight. They want their children in public schools. Bottom-line: We’re a long, long way from the ‘Common Ground’ days of public school meltdown. Charter schools have played an important role, albeit a sometimes distant and hard to measure role, in this trend -- providing choice, offering competition, promoting creativity and experimentation, encouraging parental involvement and enthusiasm. Charters don’t suck a dime from the public school system because they’re part of the public school system -- unlike the throw-in-the-towel and walk-away vouchers concept. ... Scot Lehigh and Marc Kenen tackle the latest effort by the Massachusetts Teachers Association to strangle change in the crib, using the budget crisis as a convenient excuse. ...
‘Six-month suspension with an apology’: One of the more frequently asked questions Hub Blog gets is this: Why don’t/haven’t you covered the Judge Maria I. Lopez controversy? Don’t know. Hasn’t hit a nerve. Too many others are opining about the subject. Bad decisions are made every day by otherwise smart people. Inherent distrust of prosecutors’ courtroom antics and tactics. She’s also a hubba-hubba looking babe who I’d ask out on a date if she wasn’t already married to a local media barron who could theoretically throw a wrench in my career if he put his anti-Hub Blog mind to it. Etc., etc., etc. But look at the words used to describe Lopez’s actions (all of them unrelated to the actual sentencing): “cover up,” “misrepresented facts,” “misled the public,” “testified with less than candor,” “distract.” ... She’s getting off light.
‘His solution: Open new supermarkets’: I really liked this column by Tom Keane. A lot. Say what you will about Mayor Menino, he definitely has a feel for what makes a neighborhood work on a more intimate level: reliable city services, safety, smart sidewalk designs, ground-floor retail shops, jobs, clean streets and parks. Add to this: supermarkets that ‘hold neighborhoods together.’ Of all obvious things. ... Were supermarkets on the Great Society’s official TTD list?
Update -- Speaking of good food and grocery stores, some other readers have suggested that Hub Blog could increase its traffic by including, oh, recipes and Page 3 girls. Since I don’t know how to slap photos on the site (though my new super-duper Blogger Pro technically gives me the ability), I shall now provide my first recipe to readers. My mother and father tried this one last night -- and they went gaga over it, even calling me up afterward to sing its praise. Very simple and quick. Got this from a TV show and modified it. Ready? Here goes:
Hub Blog’s Steak and Balsamic Onions and Mushrooms
Ingredients: Steaks of your choice, steak seasoning of choice (McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning-Spicy highly recommended -- salt and pepper will work fine), one large sliced yellow onion, 4-8 ounces of sliced mushrooms, Balsamic Vinegar, olive oil, S & P.
Instructions (and try to time it so steaks and onions/mushrooms are done at same time):
I. In skillet with olive oil, cook onions until soft but not all the way done; add mushrooms and cook for one minute; add about a quarter cup of Balsamic vinegar (more or less), with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another few minutes or so, until bitter taste of vinegar is diminished. Goal: Droopy, semi-drippy onions and mushrooms.
II. In separate and simultaneous operation, sprinkle seasoning on steaks (no marinades) and cook anyway you want -- grill, broil or sauté.
III. Bring together, slapping onions and mushrooms on top of steaks. Viola!
Serving size: Two. Hub Blog suggests serving the concoction with steamed broccoli, also smothered in portions of onions and mushrooms.
Notes: A.) You can use just onions or mushrooms -- Hub Blog’s mom went with only mushrooms and thought they were the star of the show. B.) You can use more or less onions and mushrooms as desired -- leftovers taste great on salads etc. C.) Live it up with the olive oil. D.) The true star of the show is the Balsamic factor; Hub Blog’s mom just went with a few tablespoons and added a bit more as she went along, cooking off the distant bitter taste until that desired, minimal-vapor level.
There. A Hub Blog first. Try it. Write back to me if you liked it. Real, real easy and fast. Next up: Hub Blog’s Chicken/Veal Marsala, courtesy of my favorite bartendress, who's very upset, it should be noted, with next week’s new restaurant/bar smoking ban.
Update -- Speaking of good food and grocery stores, some other readers have suggested that Hub Blog could increase its traffic by including, oh, recipes and Page 3 girls. Since I don’t know how to slap photos on the site (though my new super-duper Blogger Pro technically gives me the ability), I shall now provide my first recipe to readers. My mother and father tried this one last night -- and they went gaga over it, even calling me up afterward to sing its praise. Very simple and quick. Got this from a TV show and modified it. Ready? Here goes:
Hub Blog’s Steak and Balsamic Onions and Mushrooms
Ingredients: Steaks of your choice, steak seasoning of choice (McCormick’s Montreal Steak Seasoning-Spicy highly recommended -- salt and pepper will work fine), one large sliced yellow onion, 4-8 ounces of sliced mushrooms, Balsamic Vinegar, olive oil, S & P.
Instructions (and try to time it so steaks and onions/mushrooms are done at same time):
I. In skillet with olive oil, cook onions until soft but not all the way done; add mushrooms and cook for one minute; add about a quarter cup of Balsamic vinegar (more or less), with salt and pepper to taste. Cook for another few minutes or so, until bitter taste of vinegar is diminished. Goal: Droopy, semi-drippy onions and mushrooms.
II. In separate and simultaneous operation, sprinkle seasoning on steaks (no marinades) and cook anyway you want -- grill, broil or sauté.
III. Bring together, slapping onions and mushrooms on top of steaks. Viola!
Serving size: Two. Hub Blog suggests serving the concoction with steamed broccoli, also smothered in portions of onions and mushrooms.
Notes: A.) You can use just onions or mushrooms -- Hub Blog’s mom went with only mushrooms and thought they were the star of the show. B.) You can use more or less onions and mushrooms as desired -- leftovers taste great on salads etc. C.) Live it up with the olive oil. D.) The true star of the show is the Balsamic factor; Hub Blog’s mom just went with a few tablespoons and added a bit more as she went along, cooking off the distant bitter taste until that desired, minimal-vapor level.
There. A Hub Blog first. Try it. Write back to me if you liked it. Real, real easy and fast. Next up: Hub Blog’s Chicken/Veal Marsala, courtesy of my favorite bartendress, who's very upset, it should be noted, with next week’s new restaurant/bar smoking ban.
Manor House Update: To my surprise and delight, the second installment of PBS’ Manor House was on last night. Saw the first installment the night before. FYI: The Downstairs ‘revolt’ was brutally crushed, despite later meddlesome efforts of Edwardian socialists who crashed a charity event and tried to rally the servants. You have to watch the show to know what I’m talking about.
Tuesday, April 29, 2003
Jerry Williams, rabble-rouser: Will McDonough. Michael Kelly. Now Jerry Williams. And once again, Dan Kennedy has a terrific remembrance that I won't try to improve upon. Which leads me to think: A.) Dan is either one hell of a writer and reporter or B.) He has a CNN file of pre-written obits or C.) a combination of the two. Great piece. ... I was out in Illinois when Jerry reached his rabble-rousing peak. A friend used to send me clips from the Boston newspapers every now and then. Jerry was at the eye of almost every Beacon Hill storm. I remember thinking: 'Jerry's flipped out in a cool sort of way.' He must have been mugged by reality somewhere during his career.
‘We won't always have the strongest military’: Sounds like a pretty obvious and innocuous quote by Howard Dean, right? The fact is we won’t always have the strongest military in the future -- nor possess a strong military option in every situation we confront today. So we’ll have to rely on deft diplomacy. But don’t tell that to Senator John Kerry, who voted for the UN authorization bill against Iraq, who later criticized the Bush administration for its lack of diplomatic skills when it ultimately went with the ‘second-to-noboby’ military option, and who, not surprisingly, is having it both ways by going after both Bush and Dean.
All or nothing?: Generally, Hub Blog likes the idea of slapping an entire reform/restructuring package down on the table and forcing lawmakers, on the record, to either pass or reject it, under the ‘all-or-nothing’ Article 87 provision. The Herald thinks so, too. But I’d like to make one suggestion: Make sure they’re the best, most sensible reforms. Many of Mitt’s original restructuring ideas were, well, flawed and/or would give lawmakers too easy an excuse to reject them. Some reforms/restructuring that should be included: the Pacheco bill, bumping rights, court reform, the Bechtel Turnpike Authority, the Quinn Bill, Billy’s job, the health-care revamping etc. I’d leave out a few of the other ideas, such as the non-Billy higher ed reforms, where there are legitimate non-power-politics beefs involved. Some will say any Article 87 vote (or votes) would be partisan in nature, but, as Mayor Daley once said, good government is good politics. No need to juice up a reform package by trying to ‘embarrass’ Dems. Just include reforms people want -- and deserve. ...
... Speaking of Billy, read this Herald editorial from the other day about the utter cynicism of Bulger, who lambasted Mitt for slashing higher-ed funds but who’s now content with the deeper and more ‘honest’ House cuts. Hmmm. Wonder why. ...Both the Herald and the Globe are going after the Quinn Bill. The Globe has a legitimate and inescapable point: Mitt isn’t supporting the Quinn reforms. He should. And they should be slipped into any Article 87 package.
... Speaking of Billy, read this Herald editorial from the other day about the utter cynicism of Bulger, who lambasted Mitt for slashing higher-ed funds but who’s now content with the deeper and more ‘honest’ House cuts. Hmmm. Wonder why. ...Both the Herald and the Globe are going after the Quinn Bill. The Globe has a legitimate and inescapable point: Mitt isn’t supporting the Quinn reforms. He should. And they should be slipped into any Article 87 package.
‘The assault on freedom of speech’: You know, this is a rather brave column by Joan Vennochi. She’s taking on the critics of Rick Santorum, Trent Lott, etc. -- while still criticizing the views expressed by Santorum and Lott. Hub Blog can’t emphasize this enough: Santorum and Lott are morons -- and they deserve criticism. Yet, I’m also skeptical of anything that smacks of an Orchestrated Indignation Campaign. It’s the opinion-media’s version of pack journalism. Everyone feels compelled to get in on the act. ... Not sure about the use of the words ‘assault’ and ‘muzzle’ by Joan. I’d reserve those words for genuine government/McCarthy-like crackdown tactics. But I get her drift -- and agree. ... As for the Dixie Chicks and Hollywood types, they live by popularity, they die by popularity. They want to have it both ways.
Manor House: Can I make a recommendation? If you can, catch the ongoing episodes of PBS’ ‘Manor House,’ the upscale reality show that re-creates the Upstairs-Downstairs life within an early-20th Century Edwardian country manor. I was utterly mesmerized by the history, the interaction of the masters and workers, the grueling tensions and long hours of the servants, how some people are motivated by pride of work while others scheme, etc. I couldn’t stop watching it. A total surprise. Can’t wait for the upcoming Downstairs ‘revolt’ as promised in the promos.
Light bloggin’ and France is freaking insane, Part II: Got a surprising number of emails about the post directly below. ... One of them asked me how I square my support for taxes (as long as they’re accompanied by true reforms) with my sarcastic criticism of the authors of this op-ed as mentioned in the post. My response: Well, I was being a little sarcastic and flippant. But I wasn’t being that sarcastic and flippant. The authors’ description of taxes being ‘the least damaging’ alternative in a budget crisis struck me as absurd, anti-common-sense, ideological posturing. The fact is both cuts and taxes are damaging. One uses them in conjunction with each other. The authors were clearly promoting one alternative over another. ... Another reader gently chided me for taking on the august authors, Peter R. Orszag and Joseph E. Stiglitz, who respectively are a Brookings Institute scholar and a Nobel laureate. Hub Blog is no scholar and certainly no Nobel laureate. But I’m sure a scholar from the American Enterprise Institute and another Nobel laureate could be found to rebut their views. ...
FYI: No one wrote in about my closet Francophile dilemma!
FYI: No one wrote in about my closet Francophile dilemma!
Monday, April 28, 2003
Light bloggin’ and France is freaking insane: I was so intellectually devastated by this article (via Dan Kennedy) that I couldn’t blog yesterday. After much soul searching, I’ve come to this conclusion: We should never again reduce government spending as long as we can raise taxes during a recession. Isn’t that the impeccable reverse logic of the authors’ arguments? It is. So, no more spending reductions, no more reforms and restructuring since that would reduce spending, etc. etc. ...
... Licking my deep intellectual wounds, I sought solace by searching for a story that would rationalize why I’m a closet Francophile. I found this article on the NYC smoking ban, and I was overwhelmed with fond memories of sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes in the utterly free cafes of Paris. Then I stumbled upon this encouraging article about how area American and French scientists are putting their countries’ political differences aside in the name of academic freedom, and I was overwhelmed with the blissful thought about how an influx of French into Boston might lead to a partial lifting of the smoking ban and higher quality baguettes. ... Then I read this article about how France is trying to organize a new military alliance to ‘balance’ and confront the United States, scuttling NATO and achieving France’s ‘long-standing goal of unhitching’ the United States from European defense. France is talking to Germany and Russia about the idea. Hey, why not China and Iran? I guess rapprochement is dead. ...
... I am left demoralized. So bloggin’ has been and will remain light as I try to right my world.
... Licking my deep intellectual wounds, I sought solace by searching for a story that would rationalize why I’m a closet Francophile. I found this article on the NYC smoking ban, and I was overwhelmed with fond memories of sipping coffee and smoking cigarettes in the utterly free cafes of Paris. Then I stumbled upon this encouraging article about how area American and French scientists are putting their countries’ political differences aside in the name of academic freedom, and I was overwhelmed with the blissful thought about how an influx of French into Boston might lead to a partial lifting of the smoking ban and higher quality baguettes. ... Then I read this article about how France is trying to organize a new military alliance to ‘balance’ and confront the United States, scuttling NATO and achieving France’s ‘long-standing goal of unhitching’ the United States from European defense. France is talking to Germany and Russia about the idea. Hey, why not China and Iran? I guess rapprochement is dead. ...
... I am left demoralized. So bloggin’ has been and will remain light as I try to right my world.
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Recognizing Kevin White, Part II: Brighton Reader writes in re this earlier post:
“The unveiling of the two statues of James Michael Curley that are opposite city hall during White's last term inspired his budget director, Ed Sullivan, to make a tongue in cheek suggestion for a memorial for his boss. Rather than a mere two statues, there would be three: Kevin White shaking hands with Kevin White while the third one applauds.
“Like him or not, you knew when he was in the room. Kevin White had charisma.
“Boston politics has gotten a lot more boring since KHW left the scene. Mayoral races were once titantic battles where people felt a lot was at stake. Now we have token opponents and small voter turnouts.
“He was the last incumbent Boston mayor to make a serious run for higher office, losing to Frank Sargeant in 1970.”
“The unveiling of the two statues of James Michael Curley that are opposite city hall during White's last term inspired his budget director, Ed Sullivan, to make a tongue in cheek suggestion for a memorial for his boss. Rather than a mere two statues, there would be three: Kevin White shaking hands with Kevin White while the third one applauds.
“Like him or not, you knew when he was in the room. Kevin White had charisma.
“Boston politics has gotten a lot more boring since KHW left the scene. Mayoral races were once titantic battles where people felt a lot was at stake. Now we have token opponents and small voter turnouts.
“He was the last incumbent Boston mayor to make a serious run for higher office, losing to Frank Sargeant in 1970.”
‘They can save money ...’: Day 4: Reforms held hostage. No, wait, the Globe has actually run a budget editorial that not only mentions the word ‘reform,’ but is about reforms. The big news: It praises them without snide references about how they're really worthless twaddle beloved by Talk Radio hooligans. The Globe: “They (reforms) can save money that might otherwise have to come from direct services, and they increase credibility in the budget process, eventually enhancing public trust.” ...
The sad part about this is that it’s come so late and grudgingly. Can you imagine how many other reforms might have been squeezed out of Beacon Hill had the Globe put its foot down earlier and campaigned for better government? Still, the budget fight is far from over, and the Globe just articulated why it should be pushing harder for reforms as the budget ax falls on state services, not to mention on taxpayers. It might even enhance the public's trust in the Globe as a credible advocate in the budget process.
The sad part about this is that it’s come so late and grudgingly. Can you imagine how many other reforms might have been squeezed out of Beacon Hill had the Globe put its foot down earlier and campaigned for better government? Still, the budget fight is far from over, and the Globe just articulated why it should be pushing harder for reforms as the budget ax falls on state services, not to mention on taxpayers. It might even enhance the public's trust in the Globe as a credible advocate in the budget process.
‘Mawkish clichés’: William M. Fowler Jr. goes after the insipid designs for the Wharf District after the Central Artery is torn down. William: “If as a community we cannot come to agreement perhaps the best alternative is to do nothing. Plant grass and leave it to a future, hopefully wiser, generation to solve.” ... Hub Blog announces a new Adopt a Reform program and is assigning the Globe its first homework/hatchet-job test: Reform and/or abolish the Bechtel Turnkpike Authority. The BTA wasted hundreds of millions of dollars by not recouping cost overruns from Bechtel, as the Globe’s Spotlight Team exposed; and now the BTA is screwing up another aspect of the Big Dig by submitting ‘mawkish clichés’ for future post-artery parks. The Globe has been a pitbull on both issues, and so logic dictates. ... Extra bonus points to the Globe if it crosses a line and refers to Matthew Amorello as ‘Fat Matt.' ...
Friday, April 25, 2003
Jules Crittenden fires back: The Herald’s Jules Crittenden explains his souvenirs problem at Customs: “Note to colleagues: It was with great surprise that I learned that images of Saddam Hussein and assorted military equipment, collected as battlefield souvenirs, might be considered part of Iraq's valued cultural heritage.” ... He adds that media coverage of the incident was ‘not of high caliber.’ ... He got nabbed for Hussein images and military equipment? Jeezus. I would have come home with a little more than that. Hope this puts to rest the Great Jules Controversy. ... Wait. It doesn’t: What about the jezails, Jules? What about the jezails? ...
Update -- 4-26-03 -- Cosmo is admirably riding to the defense of his Herald colleague, swatting off the heads of the armchair infidel ethicists.
Update -- 4-26-03 -- Cosmo is admirably riding to the defense of his Herald colleague, swatting off the heads of the armchair infidel ethicists.
Bandwagon Hub Blogger: Yep, that’s me up there on the Celts bandwagon. Don’t think they’ll go far, but it’s good to see a second season in a row with some real playoff excitement. ...
Update -- 4-26-03 - Don't forget the Pats. Big draft coming up. Hope they trade up to at least get Johnathan Sullivan. Maybe even swipe away Dewayne Robertson from the Jets.
Update -- 4-26-03 - Don't forget the Pats. Big draft coming up. Hope they trade up to at least get Johnathan Sullivan. Maybe even swipe away Dewayne Robertson from the Jets.
Is the budget battle fundamentally over?: A reader brought my attention to yesterday’s Boston Herald editorial endorsing Finneran’s budget and all but saying it was good enough -- baby-step reforms and all. ... Meanwhile, Scot Lehigh is praising the House’s reforms, saying they’re logical and a good start. ... Oh, sure, there’s skirmishing between Tommy and Mitt over the silly $100 million Emerging Technology Fund, another one of those ‘public-private partnership’ relics that so many pols seem to adore. But the fact is: A House budget has been presented, it includes some (but not many) reforms and no tax major increases. Everyone’s behaving as though the budget battle is drawing to a close. ...
So the logical question is: Is the budget battle fundamentally over? Reading Tom Keane this morning, I thought he was about to pronounce winners and losers, such as when he wrote: “Yet to a remarkable degree, the House budget builds on Romney's submission. For the governor, this is a big win.” ... Hmmmmm. True. Mitt should be looking happy these days. But then Tom adds: “It's important to remember, however, that for Finneran this is a position grounded in tactics, not philosophy. He followed Romney's lead only because he figures legislators won't support a tax increase. But that could change.” ... And there’s the key line: But that could change. My betting is it will. Tommy is still Tommy. The Senate hasn’t weighed in yet. The public hasn’t had time to digest the spending cuts. The public-sector unions and professional activists are only now clearing their indignant throats. I don’t think the battle is over. Act 4 of the drama (voting on an actual budget) has yet to occur. That's why Hub Blog is sticking to my mantra: No reforms, no new taxes. The reforms on the table are small in number. Many are temporary. And they can easily disappear in final conference committees. Mitt has indeed set the agenda and deserves credit. The House indeed produced a budget and deserves credit for at least addressing reforms. But when those House tax ideas are whipped out, as I think they will be later this spring or summer, Mitt better have his reform list ready, too. ...
... Steve Bailey on putting the budget into perspective: “We will need to manage our way through the hard times, and that is why we hired Mitt Romney, a manager, not a politician. The rookie governor has made his mistakes -- his foolish boast of finding $2 billion in fraud, waste, and abuse was a whopper for which he is still paying -- but he has stayed true to his mandate: reform, not taxes.” ... Again, notice how Steve is writing in the past tense. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too cynical. I smell a rat. ... Did Mitt really refer to Beacon Hill as ‘Bacon Hill’? ...
Day 3: Reform held hostage. The Globe is out of it. Someone pass it some smelling salts. Day 3 of running a budget editorial without one mention of the word ‘reform.’ What budget debate are they following? Maine's? Vermont's?
So the logical question is: Is the budget battle fundamentally over? Reading Tom Keane this morning, I thought he was about to pronounce winners and losers, such as when he wrote: “Yet to a remarkable degree, the House budget builds on Romney's submission. For the governor, this is a big win.” ... Hmmmmm. True. Mitt should be looking happy these days. But then Tom adds: “It's important to remember, however, that for Finneran this is a position grounded in tactics, not philosophy. He followed Romney's lead only because he figures legislators won't support a tax increase. But that could change.” ... And there’s the key line: But that could change. My betting is it will. Tommy is still Tommy. The Senate hasn’t weighed in yet. The public hasn’t had time to digest the spending cuts. The public-sector unions and professional activists are only now clearing their indignant throats. I don’t think the battle is over. Act 4 of the drama (voting on an actual budget) has yet to occur. That's why Hub Blog is sticking to my mantra: No reforms, no new taxes. The reforms on the table are small in number. Many are temporary. And they can easily disappear in final conference committees. Mitt has indeed set the agenda and deserves credit. The House indeed produced a budget and deserves credit for at least addressing reforms. But when those House tax ideas are whipped out, as I think they will be later this spring or summer, Mitt better have his reform list ready, too. ...
... Steve Bailey on putting the budget into perspective: “We will need to manage our way through the hard times, and that is why we hired Mitt Romney, a manager, not a politician. The rookie governor has made his mistakes -- his foolish boast of finding $2 billion in fraud, waste, and abuse was a whopper for which he is still paying -- but he has stayed true to his mandate: reform, not taxes.” ... Again, notice how Steve is writing in the past tense. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just too cynical. I smell a rat. ... Did Mitt really refer to Beacon Hill as ‘Bacon Hill’? ...
Day 3: Reform held hostage. The Globe is out of it. Someone pass it some smelling salts. Day 3 of running a budget editorial without one mention of the word ‘reform.’ What budget debate are they following? Maine's? Vermont's?
‘The Quinn Bill is entrenched in the system’: Here’s why both taxes and more reforms (or no reforms) are not off the table yet. Sen. Robert O'Leary, who’s fighting to kill the Quinn Bill: “After people see what we do up here this year in terms of the programs we're going to be cutting and the kind of pain that's going to be inflicted across the board, they'll be more likely to sit down and look at a program a lot of people have problems with.” ... So the Let ‘Em Howl for Taxes scenario is still out there, but it’s a double-edged sword: People are starting to link taxes and reform together -- or at least one lawmaker thinks they will. Good. ...Mitt: Keep that reform list handy.
Recognizing Kevin White: Don’t know what prompted Brian McGrory to write this column, but he’s right about recognizing the good deeds of Kevin White ... White was no angel. McGrory mentions all the good people who got their start in government under White, but he neglected to point out some of the other characters surrounding Kev, such as, oh, The Trav, the former Eastie foot soldier. ... Still, time has healed most psychic wounds leftover from White’s last cynical years in office. All in all, he was truly a great mayor. So we now have two people who deserve a memorial of some sort: Fred Salvucci and Kevin White.
Attention all you tormented Fracophiles, Part II: In an editorial, the Globe is urging a rapprochement with France, saying there are signs “that President Jacques Chirac does not want to repeat in the postwar period the prewar clashes that tore apart the UN Security Council.” ... Oh, really? Has Chirac abandoned his 19th Century ‘balance of power’ philosophy on foreign policy? Has the United States suddenly shed some pounds on the balance of power scale? I’m all for mending fences. Time to cool down the rhetoric about ‘punishment’ etc. But I’m not about to let down my guard with the cynical French elite.
What’s next for the neocons?: Boy, the word ‘neoconservative’ seems so outdated already, an ancient phrase used during those ancient times before the war in Iraq. Still, the CSM is tackling the issue in this editorial and in this op-ed piece, both roughly concluding that President Bush is (and should be) easing up on the neocon crusade. ... Still not enthralled with the neocons. They’re too gung-ho and moralistic for my tastes. I despise the thought of an ‘American Empire.’ But they have been proven right on a lot of issues lately. Gotta give ‘em that. ... Mentioned it before, but I’ll mention it again: I’m going to start judging Middle East matters, in particular, on a more case-by-case basis. I was proved right on a lot of issues regarding the war in Iraq. But I was also proved wrong on a lot issues. Hub Blog is kind of in a humble mood these days. ... Still want to see that WMD evidence.
Thursday, April 24, 2003
Oh, just another old-boy scandal in Boston: Now which board did Cashman serve on during those idyllic pre-reform, give-us-more-taxes, no-credible-case-for-patronage days? And which former head of the Mass Film office is now (or was) in a witness-protection-like program because of these old boy networks? ... Oh, gee, the name "James 'Whitey' Bulger" keeps popping up. Again. ... It should go without saying: No reforms, no new taxes. ... Please, no but-Republican-governors-supported-him/reforms-won't-balance-the-budget excuses. ... Book-of-the-month suggestion: Read 'Black Mass.' ... And reread it if it hasn't sunk in. Think: UMass president. Think: Tommy.
Update -- Here’s the Globe version of the Cashman story. The description of Cashman once being a ‘Beacon Hill kingmaker’ is quite apt, and the political culture that let him prosper remains.
Update -- Here’s the Globe version of the Cashman story. The description of Cashman once being a ‘Beacon Hill kingmaker’ is quite apt, and the political culture that let him prosper remains.
More trouble for George Galloway, courtesy of CSM: The Boston-based Christian Science Monitor has a big, big scoop, saying it has obtained documents detailing possible “multimillion dollar payments to an outspoken British member of parliament, George Galloway.”
... Not $350,000 as previously reported. But millions. The documents were found in the house of Saddam’s son, Qusay, another one of those darling little Hussein boys. From the story by Philip Smucker:
"The most recent - and possibly most revealing - documents were obtained earlier this week by the Monitor. The papers include direct orders from the Hussein regime to issue Mr. Galloway six individual payments, starting in July 1992 and ending in January 2003. ...
"The leadership of Hussein's special security section and accountants of the President's secretive Republican Guard signed the papers and authorized payments totaling more than $10 million.
"The three most recent payment authorizations, beginning on April 4, 2000, and ending on January 14, 2003 are for $3 million each. All three authorizations include statements that show the Iraqi leadership's strong political motivation in paying Galloway for his vociferous opposition to US and British plans to invade Iraq.
"The Jan. 14, 2003, document, written on Republican Guard stationary with its Iraqi eagle and 'Trust in Allah,' calls for the 'Manager of the security department, in the name of President Saddam Hussein, to order a gratuity to be issued to Mr. George Galloway of British nationality in the amount of three million dollars only.' "
P.S. Needless to say, the Christian Science Monitor is just a great newspaper, a real asset to Boston and Boston journalism. Their reporters are having a great time over there rummaging through the Baghdad mansions, trash and files.
Update -- The full CSM story is online now. Here it is and I've inserted a link above, too. The entire UN food-for-oil deal was nothing but a scam. A full scam. With a lot of shameless players involved.
... Not $350,000 as previously reported. But millions. The documents were found in the house of Saddam’s son, Qusay, another one of those darling little Hussein boys. From the story by Philip Smucker:
"The most recent - and possibly most revealing - documents were obtained earlier this week by the Monitor. The papers include direct orders from the Hussein regime to issue Mr. Galloway six individual payments, starting in July 1992 and ending in January 2003. ...
"The leadership of Hussein's special security section and accountants of the President's secretive Republican Guard signed the papers and authorized payments totaling more than $10 million.
"The three most recent payment authorizations, beginning on April 4, 2000, and ending on January 14, 2003 are for $3 million each. All three authorizations include statements that show the Iraqi leadership's strong political motivation in paying Galloway for his vociferous opposition to US and British plans to invade Iraq.
"The Jan. 14, 2003, document, written on Republican Guard stationary with its Iraqi eagle and 'Trust in Allah,' calls for the 'Manager of the security department, in the name of President Saddam Hussein, to order a gratuity to be issued to Mr. George Galloway of British nationality in the amount of three million dollars only.' "
P.S. Needless to say, the Christian Science Monitor is just a great newspaper, a real asset to Boston and Boston journalism. Their reporters are having a great time over there rummaging through the Baghdad mansions, trash and files.
Update -- The full CSM story is online now. Here it is and I've inserted a link above, too. The entire UN food-for-oil deal was nothing but a scam. A full scam. With a lot of shameless players involved.
‘Unilaterally created for himself a parallel journalistic universe’: More on the Denis Horgan affair over at Editor and Publisher (via Dave Winer). Classic quote from Courant editor Brian Toolan: “(Horgan) has unilaterally created for himself a parallel journalistic universe where he'll do commentary on the institutions that the paper has to cover without any editing oversight by the Courant. ... There are 325 other people here who could create similar [Web sites] for themselves." ... Can’t have that! ... Betcha within, oh, one to three years the Courant will have some sort of Parallel Journalistic Universe project under way.
P.S. -- Cosmo and Hub Blog covered the Horgan issue yesterday. A Hub Blog reader and journalism friend wrote in to say she liked both of our observations and sites -- and asked how she could start her own blog. I’ll keep ya informed if and when she launches one. P.S.P.S. She doesn’t work at the Courant. Obviously.
Update -- Jeff Jarvis has some interesting thoughts on blogging and the media. From Jeff: “Many other media companies -- newspaper, magazine, TV, radio, online -- will need to start looking at the world in this way: from the other side, from the perspective of the audience, the audience as publisher.” ... Hartford Courant, take note.
... Speaking of Jeff Jarvis, checked out MassLive, an Advance-owned site, and stumbled across one of the funniest blogs around: ‘The dullest blog in the world.' Exciting subjects include: ‘Putting down my cup for a minute or two,’ ‘Making a small noise’ and ‘Turning my head to the right.’ ...Oh, man. Almost lost it when I read it. ... They’re having a lot of fun with Parallel Journalistic Universes out there in western Mass. ... Hartford Courant, take note.
P.S. -- Cosmo and Hub Blog covered the Horgan issue yesterday. A Hub Blog reader and journalism friend wrote in to say she liked both of our observations and sites -- and asked how she could start her own blog. I’ll keep ya informed if and when she launches one. P.S.P.S. She doesn’t work at the Courant. Obviously.
Update -- Jeff Jarvis has some interesting thoughts on blogging and the media. From Jeff: “Many other media companies -- newspaper, magazine, TV, radio, online -- will need to start looking at the world in this way: from the other side, from the perspective of the audience, the audience as publisher.” ... Hartford Courant, take note.
... Speaking of Jeff Jarvis, checked out MassLive, an Advance-owned site, and stumbled across one of the funniest blogs around: ‘The dullest blog in the world.' Exciting subjects include: ‘Putting down my cup for a minute or two,’ ‘Making a small noise’ and ‘Turning my head to the right.’ ...Oh, man. Almost lost it when I read it. ... They’re having a lot of fun with Parallel Journalistic Universes out there in western Mass. ... Hartford Courant, take note.
‘Hitler’s Forgotten Library’: I read this article on ‘Hitler’s Forgotten Library’ a few weeks ago in the print edition of the Boston-based Atlantic Monthly. Now it’s online. Definitely for history buffs. ... The part about Hitler’s "art of reading" says so much about the disciplined, closed mind of a totalitarian ideologue merely confirming and reconfirming what he already wants to know.
‘Absolutely everything about Uday was abnormal’: More sick Uday tales. One explanation for his sadistic behavior: “His father would avoid him.” ... And, to my knowledge, he wasn’t a middle child. ... The CSM also takes a peek at Uday’s digs, as well as the abodes of other Saddam thugs. ...
If you haven’t seen it already, I posted an item late yesterday ('Hammering hard at their bones’) about the torture and death of up to 300,000 Shiites at the hands of Saddam’s goons. I point this out because of this morning’s smug drivel by Brendan O’Neill, who ends his op-ed by asking: “Is that really liberation?” Yes, Brendan, it’s really called "liberation" if you bother to look at it from a different angle.
If you haven’t seen it already, I posted an item late yesterday ('Hammering hard at their bones’) about the torture and death of up to 300,000 Shiites at the hands of Saddam’s goons. I point this out because of this morning’s smug drivel by Brendan O’Neill, who ends his op-ed by asking: “Is that really liberation?” Yes, Brendan, it’s really called "liberation" if you bother to look at it from a different angle.
More on those war souvenirs: The Herald has a roundup piece on embeds and others caught trying to smuggle goodies out of Iraq and into the country. The story mentions the Jules Critteden incident. Says Herald publisher Patrick Purcell, ``I am very proud of the job Jules Crittenden has done covering the front lines of the war. I hope this incident won't overshadow the great work he's done. His reporting was superb.'' ... In my book, it won’t and shouldn’t overshadow his superb reporting. He was nabbed doing something we all would have done under similar circumstances: Collecting war souvenirs. He declared them. He didn’t try to hide anything. He appeared genuinely surprised -- and embarrassed -- that he had crossed a non-criminal-charge line. ...
By the way, I write this as I proudly gaze upon a beautiful, um, er, well, let’s just say I’m the proud owner of a very fond memory from Africa. ... Hmmmmm. How would I have gotten out one of those jezails? I’ve actually given it some thought. ...
By the way, I write this as I proudly gaze upon a beautiful, um, er, well, let’s just say I’m the proud owner of a very fond memory from Africa. ... Hmmmmm. How would I have gotten out one of those jezails? I’ve actually given it some thought. ...
‘The three Rs of budget debate’: Good piece by Joan Vennochi, who jumps out of the starting gate with: ‘Somewhere between the need for reform and the need for revenue, there must be room for reason.’ ... Don’t agree with her criteria for protecting certain services. I mean, I can’t argue with saving people’s lives etc. But her no-cut stipulations are too sweeping and would leave room for about $2 in spending cuts. Disappointed, too, she didn’t list her favorite reforms she’d like passed. Still, she’s right on target: A reasonable compromise is needed. ... Hub Blog’s long-standing reasonable compromise offer: Split the difference. Tax, borrow, refinance the debt etc. to cover half of the deficit, reform and reduce spending for the rest. ...
Day 2 of the Globe running an editorial on the budget, Day 2 of not mentioning reform. Talk about a 'state of denial.' The concept simply doesn’t compute in their minds. They’re mentally blocking out reform as everyone else is at least debating the subject. ... Oh, Adrian.
Day 2 of the Globe running an editorial on the budget, Day 2 of not mentioning reform. Talk about a 'state of denial.' The concept simply doesn’t compute in their minds. They’re mentally blocking out reform as everyone else is at least debating the subject. ... Oh, Adrian.
The land that time forgot: Lawmakers just love Tecce's and Anthony's Pier 4. Why? Is it the Cheese Whiz and crackers? ... Didn’t know this: They now have professional fund-raising outfits. Sort of like wedding planners, I suppose.
Attention all you tormented Francophiles: Simon over at To The Point alerted me that he’s now translating French newspaper editorials about the war in Iraq -- and the “soul-searching and (somewhat) self-flagellation of the liberal-left French media” for having not done enough to oust Saddam ... Maybe Brendan O’Neill will take the time to read the translations.
Update -- William Safire analyzes the French elite's latest UN shenanigans.
Update -- William Safire analyzes the French elite's latest UN shenanigans.
Boston Marathon Shame, Part II: More on everything you didn’t need to know about the Boston Marathon. ... Here’s Part I.
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
‘I suppose I might screw up someday ...’: Cosmo Macero has a fascinating item about the dangers of being a mainstream journalist and blogger at the same time. ... Why the danger? Because so many mainstream journalists who try to blog end up getting a gun pointed at their heads by media outlets: Give up the blog or else. Just happened to the Hartford Courant’s Denis Horgan. ... Anyway, Cosmo seems a bit defensive (no offense, Cosmo) about the Herald’s own pay-to-view policy and the Horgan case. Here’s Cosmo (followed by my random thoughts and comments):
“I may not see blogging as the new media revolution that others do, but at the very least it's an exciting forum for global conversation and, therefore, not a bad tool for old media expansion. The promotional value of having newspaper writers interact with people in a more relaxed online format seems promising. More so since many of the blog readers may not subscribe to the newspaper in question. In fact, the blog universe appears to be populated by a mass of interested, interesting world-conscious people who by the busload are rejecting traditional news sources. What better constituency to try and build a dialogue with?”
Random thoughts from Hub Blog:
Haven’t read Horgan’s columns (nor his blog) in the past, but I think the evidence is piling up that mainstream media outlets can and will tolerate blogging columnists (Cosmo, Lileks etc.), but not blogging reporters and editors. I.e. reporters and editors’ ‘opinions’ might give the game away that they actually have strong opinions on issues. So much for ‘objectivity.’ Gotta hide that reality! ... Horgan seems to have fallen into that gray area of reporter/editor/columnist -- or at least in the eyes of his editors. ... Love the phrase ‘promotional value.’ It’s very accurate. As applied to the Herald, the frustrating part/tragedy of the Herald’s pay-to-view policy is that blogging was just starting to get its columnists well-deserved attention -- attention not only on a local level (i.e. suburban) but on an occasionally national and even international level. But the Herald cut off their strong marketing appeal just as they were picking up steam. How many CNN and Fox interviews etc. have their columnists not gotten because of this policy? For what? All for a lousy couple thousand pay-to-view bucks, at most. ... Agree that blogging isn’t the revolution that some bloggers think. It’s an absurd notion. Could bloggers pool their money together to send over 600 embed reporters to cover the war in Iraq -- let alone one Jules Crittenden? Case closed. ... Then again, blogging is revolutionary in the sense that columnists like Tom Friedman now respond to bloggers who kick the shit out of them. Mainstream journalists are paying attention to bloggers. Close attention. The days of the old ‘letters to the editor’ clout/non-clout are over. That’s a revolution.
“I may not see blogging as the new media revolution that others do, but at the very least it's an exciting forum for global conversation and, therefore, not a bad tool for old media expansion. The promotional value of having newspaper writers interact with people in a more relaxed online format seems promising. More so since many of the blog readers may not subscribe to the newspaper in question. In fact, the blog universe appears to be populated by a mass of interested, interesting world-conscious people who by the busload are rejecting traditional news sources. What better constituency to try and build a dialogue with?”
Random thoughts from Hub Blog:
Haven’t read Horgan’s columns (nor his blog) in the past, but I think the evidence is piling up that mainstream media outlets can and will tolerate blogging columnists (Cosmo, Lileks etc.), but not blogging reporters and editors. I.e. reporters and editors’ ‘opinions’ might give the game away that they actually have strong opinions on issues. So much for ‘objectivity.’ Gotta hide that reality! ... Horgan seems to have fallen into that gray area of reporter/editor/columnist -- or at least in the eyes of his editors. ... Love the phrase ‘promotional value.’ It’s very accurate. As applied to the Herald, the frustrating part/tragedy of the Herald’s pay-to-view policy is that blogging was just starting to get its columnists well-deserved attention -- attention not only on a local level (i.e. suburban) but on an occasionally national and even international level. But the Herald cut off their strong marketing appeal just as they were picking up steam. How many CNN and Fox interviews etc. have their columnists not gotten because of this policy? For what? All for a lousy couple thousand pay-to-view bucks, at most. ... Agree that blogging isn’t the revolution that some bloggers think. It’s an absurd notion. Could bloggers pool their money together to send over 600 embed reporters to cover the war in Iraq -- let alone one Jules Crittenden? Case closed. ... Then again, blogging is revolutionary in the sense that columnists like Tom Friedman now respond to bloggers who kick the shit out of them. Mainstream journalists are paying attention to bloggers. Close attention. The days of the old ‘letters to the editor’ clout/non-clout are over. That’s a revolution.
‘Hammering hard on their bones’: As Western reporters write about Shiites protesting across Iraq and how hard it will be to build a democracy there, they might want to consider this story in the Christian Science Monitor about Saddam’s fascist methods of control. ... Up to 300,000 Shiites murdered and tortured under Saddam, using methods as described in this item’s slug. ... Some of the documents recovered by the CSM remind me of Stalin’s hand-written notes of ‘Beat him!’ and ‘Shoot him!’ discovered in Soviet purge archives. ... Still waiting for the WMD evidence, but this evidence is, well, an individualized form of WMD. ... What was Stalin’s quote about one victim being a tragedy and one million being a statistic?
Christopher Lydon and the Redhead Wore Crimson: FYI: Christopher Lydon has a blog via Dave Winer’s blog project at Harvard. ... Some lively discussion going on (check out the comment section) on Lydon’s post about Iraq, the looting of the national museum in Baghdad etc. Put it this way: Chris is no fan of Rummy. ... Also, there’s a list of the top Harvard blogs. My favorite (if only for the name) is The Redhead Wore Crimson.
What was he thinking?: He went for a lousy painting when he could have gotten one of those flintlock jezails? What was Jules thinking? (Via Dan Kennedy.)
Update -- 4-24-03 -- Glenn Reynolds is all over the journalists' souvenirs issue. ... Know it's wrong, but I can't get too worked up about it. C'mon. Admit it. Raise your hand if you've ever snuck a little suspect booty into the country after a trip. That's what I thought. OK, so you didn't bring in paintings from a former dictator's palace. But you get the idea. ...
Update -- 4-24-03 -- Glenn Reynolds is all over the journalists' souvenirs issue. ... Know it's wrong, but I can't get too worked up about it. C'mon. Admit it. Raise your hand if you've ever snuck a little suspect booty into the country after a trip. That's what I thought. OK, so you didn't bring in paintings from a former dictator's palace. But you get the idea. ...
‘More and more ordinary people are lashing out’: The Christian Science Monitor has a good story today on how French public opinion is turning against President Chirac’s opposition to the war in Iraq, now that they’ve seen clips of jubilant Iraqis celebrating and partaking in their new freedoms. Interesting graf: “To be sure, the French media are still largely defending Chirac's position. But more and more ordinary people are lashing out at (Chirac) for what they now see as a political faux pas.” ... Once again, the ‘more and more ordinary people’ are expressing their doubts about the French elite and its detached manner and actions. ...
Speaking of Iraqi freedoms, ‘sprout’ and ‘sprouting’ seem to be the words of the day to describe formation of new political parties in Iraq. Good stories by CSM and the Globe.
Postscript: A confirmed Francophile, Hub Blog just finished reading ‘France Under The Germans,’ by Philippe Burrin, a European historian and former visiting scholar at Harvard University. Excellent book. Much, much better than Ernest May’s ‘Strange Victory,’ which really was nothing more than a long-winded excuse for France’s appeasement of Hitler before WWII. Burrin’s view of pre-war France is more in line with William Shirer’s, to wit: France was a deeply divided country that was paralyzed at almost every level going into the war. Burrin treats the French fairly and honestly, noting that the vast majority of Frenchmen -- one might describe them as the ‘ordinary people’ -- opposed Vichy’s official policy of ‘collaboration’ with the Germans during the occupation. The problem was (and remains): The French elite -- both on the left and right -- were hopelessly out of step with their own people.
Update -- A reader sent in this nice Newsweek column about what it's like being a Frenchmen in America these days. Though I love bashing France when it deserves it, I've never bought into the They're Cowards Theory about the French. The author has an excellent point when he notes: More than a million ordinary and non-ordinary French soldiers died in WWI, more than America has lost in all of its wars combined.
Speaking of Iraqi freedoms, ‘sprout’ and ‘sprouting’ seem to be the words of the day to describe formation of new political parties in Iraq. Good stories by CSM and the Globe.
Postscript: A confirmed Francophile, Hub Blog just finished reading ‘France Under The Germans,’ by Philippe Burrin, a European historian and former visiting scholar at Harvard University. Excellent book. Much, much better than Ernest May’s ‘Strange Victory,’ which really was nothing more than a long-winded excuse for France’s appeasement of Hitler before WWII. Burrin’s view of pre-war France is more in line with William Shirer’s, to wit: France was a deeply divided country that was paralyzed at almost every level going into the war. Burrin treats the French fairly and honestly, noting that the vast majority of Frenchmen -- one might describe them as the ‘ordinary people’ -- opposed Vichy’s official policy of ‘collaboration’ with the Germans during the occupation. The problem was (and remains): The French elite -- both on the left and right -- were hopelessly out of step with their own people.
Update -- A reader sent in this nice Newsweek column about what it's like being a Frenchmen in America these days. Though I love bashing France when it deserves it, I've never bought into the They're Cowards Theory about the French. The author has an excellent point when he notes: More than a million ordinary and non-ordinary French soldiers died in WWI, more than America has lost in all of its wars combined.
‘He looks French’: Who’s John Kerry? He’s French. Or so says the White House. Admire Kerry’s ability to laugh at the lame insult. ... Fellow New Englanders: Whether you like Kerry or not, be prepared for a Republican onslaught next year against everything New England.
‘Boston Marathon shame’: This tells me more than I ever wanted to know about the Boston Marathon. ... God, they sound so prudish.
Act III, Scene 3 -- Propose draconian budget cuts: Act 1 had Mitt unveiling his budget and Tommy saying lawmakers would work with the governor. Act 2 entailed the House throwing scraps of reforms onto the floor. Act 3 occurred yesterday, with the House outlining its draconian budget cuts in order to make the masses howl. Act 4 comes later this spring, when the House whips out its handy-dandy list of taxes. ...
Actually, there were aspects of the House plan that were quite sound, such as refinancing the state’s debt and asserting that there’s no such thing as ‘free’ health care. ... But the ‘pothole accounts’? Tommy’s making a grab for executive spending powers, by the look of it. Typical. King Tommy. ... Oh, there’s $700 million in fees, charges, closing of tax loopholes etc. But, nah, no taxes. Nope. Not yet. ... Oh, the House is going to ‘experiment’ with loosening up the Pacheco law. Guess who gets to ‘experiment’ with the newfound authority to dish out contracts? Billy. He apparently ‘volunteered’ for the ‘experiment.’ ...
... The Herald is all over the reform angle. It has an editorial on ‘another of those wee steps’ toward reform, i.e. the Pacheco law. It has another editorial about the ‘baby steps’ toward court reform. And it has another on the ‘free-care pool.’ ...
And the Globe? It’s beating the tax drums. No mention of reforms. Listen, I know reforms won’t close the budget gap. I also believe new taxes are necessary and inevitable. But why is it so hard for the Globe -- and other ‘progressive’ institutions and figures -- to embrace the concept of reforms? Every dollar saved with reforms means one less dollar that will have to be cut from state services and/or slapped on taxpayers. It’s a good fight. And the long-term benefits are impossible to measure: The right people in the right jobs, wiser and more creative decisions, intelligent use of tax dollars, etc. etc. But, nope, it all comes down to taxes. ... The Hack Progressive Alliance: It exists.
A reader responds: "Not to sound like a carping pedant, but shouldn't it be Act before Scene, along the lines of Shakespeare? So Act III Scene III?" ...
No one will ever believe me, but I was actually wondering about that. So I just changed them around in the above post. But I'm not changing the earlier post with Scene before Act. Must not tinker too much with blog-item history. Too lazy, too. (Obviously, Hub Blog has never acted before, unless you count the time I appeared in a press Gridiron in Illinois. Practically fainted from stage fright, but managed to belt out my lines.)
Actually, there were aspects of the House plan that were quite sound, such as refinancing the state’s debt and asserting that there’s no such thing as ‘free’ health care. ... But the ‘pothole accounts’? Tommy’s making a grab for executive spending powers, by the look of it. Typical. King Tommy. ... Oh, there’s $700 million in fees, charges, closing of tax loopholes etc. But, nah, no taxes. Nope. Not yet. ... Oh, the House is going to ‘experiment’ with loosening up the Pacheco law. Guess who gets to ‘experiment’ with the newfound authority to dish out contracts? Billy. He apparently ‘volunteered’ for the ‘experiment.’ ...
... The Herald is all over the reform angle. It has an editorial on ‘another of those wee steps’ toward reform, i.e. the Pacheco law. It has another editorial about the ‘baby steps’ toward court reform. And it has another on the ‘free-care pool.’ ...
And the Globe? It’s beating the tax drums. No mention of reforms. Listen, I know reforms won’t close the budget gap. I also believe new taxes are necessary and inevitable. But why is it so hard for the Globe -- and other ‘progressive’ institutions and figures -- to embrace the concept of reforms? Every dollar saved with reforms means one less dollar that will have to be cut from state services and/or slapped on taxpayers. It’s a good fight. And the long-term benefits are impossible to measure: The right people in the right jobs, wiser and more creative decisions, intelligent use of tax dollars, etc. etc. But, nope, it all comes down to taxes. ... The Hack Progressive Alliance: It exists.
A reader responds: "Not to sound like a carping pedant, but shouldn't it be Act before Scene, along the lines of Shakespeare? So Act III Scene III?" ...
No one will ever believe me, but I was actually wondering about that. So I just changed them around in the above post. But I'm not changing the earlier post with Scene before Act. Must not tinker too much with blog-item history. Too lazy, too. (Obviously, Hub Blog has never acted before, unless you count the time I appeared in a press Gridiron in Illinois. Practically fainted from stage fright, but managed to belt out my lines.)
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
‘No ‘credible evidence’ of a patronage problem’: Hub Blog was all excited when I read this Globe story with a lead that started out: ‘Responding to the clamor for government reform ...’ Of course, lawmakers are merely going through the court-reform motions, while increasing funding and maintaining their grip on the purse strings. Still, the House Dems’ court ‘concessions’ were mildly encouraging. Until I read this Herald story. Here’s the key passage: “House Ways and Means Chairman John H. Rogers said there is no ‘credible evidence’ of a patronage problem. ‘The governor seems to be playing on a myth,’ Rogers (D-Norwood) said.” ... I’m sure Howie Carr can provide more prosecutorial ‘credible evidence’ if you need it, John. For moi, this will always remain Exhibit A. ...
... Next up: Reform and/or abolishment of the Bechtal Turnpike Authority. Joan Vennochi makes a good case for it, without really making a specific case for it. Instead, she floats a really grand idea: Haul Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift before a hearing, swear them in, and ask the big question about the Big Dig’s buried $14 billion sticker price: What did you know and when did you know it? ... We’ll turn Joan into a fire-breathing reformer yet! ...
Wayne Woodlief appears intrigued about an actual two-party system (pay to view).
... Next up: Reform and/or abolishment of the Bechtal Turnpike Authority. Joan Vennochi makes a good case for it, without really making a specific case for it. Instead, she floats a really grand idea: Haul Bill Weld, Paul Cellucci and Jane Swift before a hearing, swear them in, and ask the big question about the Big Dig’s buried $14 billion sticker price: What did you know and when did you know it? ... We’ll turn Joan into a fire-breathing reformer yet! ...
Wayne Woodlief appears intrigued about an actual two-party system (pay to view).
State property and the housing crisis: Not sure about rushing off to sell state land for $180 million and dumping funds into a flawed, bloated pension system. But I like the concept of using the land for housing. ... If you want to see smart and creative use of state land for housing, stroll on over to the Saltonstall building near City Hall. ... Personally, Hub Blog prefers the new Bowdoin Street townhouses over the more futuristic Cambridge Street designs. But it’s housing. On state land. On a puny tract of state land.
Why didn’t they do this sooner?: Amtrak is finally lowering the cost of the Acela Express in order to increase its ridership market share. Why they pegged Acela prices to the price of Boston-NYC shuttle flights, I don’t know. They should have been undercutting prices all along, not matching them. ...
While Amtrak tries to expand rail ridership, the obnoxious MBTA GM Mike Mulhern, carrying on the long tradition of the T’s bias against rail, is gloating over the Silver Line’s glorified bus service and figuring out ways to quash the masses’ bias for rail: “In some quarters, there's a real bias against bus service. ... Will we ever silence all the critics? I don't think so. But will we convince the vast majority of people that we're able to run a high-quality, bus rapid transit system? I think the answer to that is quite clear. We've almost doubled ridership (along Washington Street) in one year.” ... Need more proof about the T’s institutional bias against rail and for buses?
While Amtrak tries to expand rail ridership, the obnoxious MBTA GM Mike Mulhern, carrying on the long tradition of the T’s bias against rail, is gloating over the Silver Line’s glorified bus service and figuring out ways to quash the masses’ bias for rail: “In some quarters, there's a real bias against bus service. ... Will we ever silence all the critics? I don't think so. But will we convince the vast majority of people that we're able to run a high-quality, bus rapid transit system? I think the answer to that is quite clear. We've almost doubled ridership (along Washington Street) in one year.” ... Need more proof about the T’s institutional bias against rail and for buses?
‘I helped them in the battle’: Add Scott Bernard Nelson to the list of embeds who made tough life-or-death decisions during the war in Iraq. Nelson isn’t exactly taking the Jules Crittenden ‘Screw them’ attitude toward potential critics. But after the obligatory nod to armchair journalism ethicists, one can sense Nelson has few qualms about what he did. Nor should he. ...
The consensus seems to be that the embed system worked. And it did. Think of it this way: Would journalists (and readers and viewers) like to return to the Gulf War I days of spoon-fed briefings in tents and media centers?
The consensus seems to be that the embed system worked. And it did. Think of it this way: Would journalists (and readers and viewers) like to return to the Gulf War I days of spoon-fed briefings in tents and media centers?
Monday, April 21, 2003
Happy Patriots Day, New Englanders: Giving myself a light blogging break this weekend and perhaps through the rest of the week. Isn’t it glorious? Easter, Passover, Patriots Day, all on the same beautiful spring weekend? Hope you’re enjoying your weekend, too. The Patriots Day holiday, in particular, has such a distinct, non-commercial New England feel to it. A springtime version of Thanksgiving. Appreciated. Unspoiled. Simple. ...
But I do have one other blog item to unload today. Here it is below (and please read it, especially Brighton Reader’s fascinating and timely history lesson on stolen art). ...
But I do have one other blog item to unload today. Here it is below (and please read it, especially Brighton Reader’s fascinating and timely history lesson on stolen art). ...
‘The Monument Men’ and a semi-correction correction: No, I’m not pulling a Jo Moore, i.e. dumping bad news on a weird day so nobody notices. But I do want to quickly point out a few things that recently came to my attention:
‘The Monument Men’:
The other day, Hub Blog blogged about a Herald editorial, which went after the critics of the U.S.’s failure to protect historic artifacts during the fall of Baghdad. I was (and remain) furious with the obnoxious assertion that we’re somehow uncivilized ruffians who deliberately allowed the tragic thefts. There was an elitist, cheap-shot nature to the harshest of criticism -- criticism that often and typically went well beyond justified lament. Still, I think we deserve some criticism for not anticipating the lootings and organized thefts. This article and then this article in the Globe show that the tragedy was far more widespread than originally believed. But Brighton Reader really put the tragedy into historical perspective for me. From Brighton Reader:
“The looting of Iraqi museums and libraries was awful, tragic and not unprecedented. Both the Globe and Herald editorials were simplistic. ...
“Preserving and recovering cultural artifacts is not new to the American military. During World War II, a special section of the US army was detailed to recover art stolen by the Nazis. All through the battles from Italy to the German surrender they worked to locate and protect paintings, sculpture and other important cultural artifacts. Known as the ‘Monument Men,’ they were not always successful, faced with hostility from commanders and with few resources, they persevered. Among the items recovered were the relics of Charlemagne, paintings by Caravaggio and sculpture by Michelangelo. One member of this operation, Walker Hancock, later designed the inauguration medal for his former commander, President Eisenhower. Hancock lived for many years on Cape Ann, where I met him and first learned about this largely unknown effort. A great book, ‘The Rape of Europa,’ describes the Nazi looting spree and the Allied recovery efforts.
“Given our ability to win wars in an incredibly short time, I think we are going to have to figure out how to get the countries where we fight functioning quickly. Basic police protection, emergency medical care, and yes, protecting the higher arts of civilization. It seems we can fight and win with fewer troops, but can we keep order, too?”
Wow. Interesting historical perspective.
‘A Semi-correction Correction’:
Also the other day, Hub Blog blogged on the Eason Jordan/CNN affair, bringing up the issue of whether Eason et gang didn’t report on the death of a Kuwaiti woman during the first Gulf War twelve years ago. In the postscript, I neglected to add this sentence to the paragraph from Eason’s original op-ed piece: “Then there were the events that were not unreported that nonetheless still haunt me.” My eyes just glazed over the double-negative “not unreported” and I wanted to cut quickly into the heart of the paragraph. So I omitted it. But a mistake is still a mistake, and I stand corrected and fall on the sword. I assume “not unreported” means just what it says: the event was reported. My apologies -- and my apologies to any and all who picked up this item on Hub Blog. I blew it. ... But, ah, why call it a ‘semi-correction correction’? Because A.) I won’t back down from my overall criticism of CNN’s behavior, 99 percent of which derives from other facts, and B.) I’m still scratching my head over “not unreported.” ...
... Have a great Patriots Day, New Englanders!
‘The Monument Men’:
The other day, Hub Blog blogged about a Herald editorial, which went after the critics of the U.S.’s failure to protect historic artifacts during the fall of Baghdad. I was (and remain) furious with the obnoxious assertion that we’re somehow uncivilized ruffians who deliberately allowed the tragic thefts. There was an elitist, cheap-shot nature to the harshest of criticism -- criticism that often and typically went well beyond justified lament. Still, I think we deserve some criticism for not anticipating the lootings and organized thefts. This article and then this article in the Globe show that the tragedy was far more widespread than originally believed. But Brighton Reader really put the tragedy into historical perspective for me. From Brighton Reader:
“The looting of Iraqi museums and libraries was awful, tragic and not unprecedented. Both the Globe and Herald editorials were simplistic. ...
“Preserving and recovering cultural artifacts is not new to the American military. During World War II, a special section of the US army was detailed to recover art stolen by the Nazis. All through the battles from Italy to the German surrender they worked to locate and protect paintings, sculpture and other important cultural artifacts. Known as the ‘Monument Men,’ they were not always successful, faced with hostility from commanders and with few resources, they persevered. Among the items recovered were the relics of Charlemagne, paintings by Caravaggio and sculpture by Michelangelo. One member of this operation, Walker Hancock, later designed the inauguration medal for his former commander, President Eisenhower. Hancock lived for many years on Cape Ann, where I met him and first learned about this largely unknown effort. A great book, ‘The Rape of Europa,’ describes the Nazi looting spree and the Allied recovery efforts.
“Given our ability to win wars in an incredibly short time, I think we are going to have to figure out how to get the countries where we fight functioning quickly. Basic police protection, emergency medical care, and yes, protecting the higher arts of civilization. It seems we can fight and win with fewer troops, but can we keep order, too?”
Wow. Interesting historical perspective.
‘A Semi-correction Correction’:
Also the other day, Hub Blog blogged on the Eason Jordan/CNN affair, bringing up the issue of whether Eason et gang didn’t report on the death of a Kuwaiti woman during the first Gulf War twelve years ago. In the postscript, I neglected to add this sentence to the paragraph from Eason’s original op-ed piece: “Then there were the events that were not unreported that nonetheless still haunt me.” My eyes just glazed over the double-negative “not unreported” and I wanted to cut quickly into the heart of the paragraph. So I omitted it. But a mistake is still a mistake, and I stand corrected and fall on the sword. I assume “not unreported” means just what it says: the event was reported. My apologies -- and my apologies to any and all who picked up this item on Hub Blog. I blew it. ... But, ah, why call it a ‘semi-correction correction’? Because A.) I won’t back down from my overall criticism of CNN’s behavior, 99 percent of which derives from other facts, and B.) I’m still scratching my head over “not unreported.” ...
... Have a great Patriots Day, New Englanders!
Saturday, April 19, 2003
‘The seeds are being sown now’: I love this. Reform and a two-party system. ... Can’t believe Mitt was/is honestly thinking of signing the pay-raise bill. If he does sign it, it’s game, set, match point, Finneran. Mitt will have lost all credibility, most of his support, and any emotional leverage with voters to carry on the reform fight after this budget cycle. ... Do you hear it? Members of the Progressive Hack Alliance are ‘emboldened’ by recent poll numbers showing the public will favor tax increases to soften the blow of budget cuts. Where’s the news here? Hub Blog favors the same thing. The catch is to force lawmakers to accept reforms into the packages -- some of which will soften the blow of both service cuts and tax increases. ... Notice how anti-reformers (hacks) and/or luke-warm supporters of reform ('progressives') never want to soften the blow of tax increases. Oh, they tut-tut, reforms won't 'solve' the budget crisis or they're 'too small in savings.' etc. etc. ... The Progressive Hack Alliance: It exists.
Michael Widmer, God of Impartiality, speaks: “While the fiscal crisis is requiring painful spending cuts across all of state government, it also provides a singular opportunity to curb longstanding spending abuses and eliminate inefficiencies that have been tolerated in more prosperous times. In the urgency of crisis, state leaders have the rare chance to overcome the always loud but usually narrow-based political resistance to eliminating the favored treatment, special deals, and wasteful protectionism that government tends to accumulate over the years.” ...
‘A major reform of yet another Beacon Hill sacred cow’: Just another ‘small saving’ that will lessen the blow of both service cuts and tax increases. ... Herald’s conclusion: “And who said a fiscal crisis was a bad thing?”
Our reputation as a civilized people, restored: So it was a well-planned inside heist, complete with sophisticated glass cutters, knowledge of fake and real antiquities, museum catalogs, keys to vaults, indications the ‘looting’ started weeks before the Americans were in Baghdad and even before the war started, the likely role of ‘outsiders’ etc. ... Herald takes a swipe at the Blame America First Club and the Globe. ... Reread the column by Paul Zimansky and Elizabeth C. Stone contained in this post. Notice how much time they spend attacking the U.S. and how “American forces deliberately engineered that breakdown without having allocated adequate resources to put something in its place.” ... Deliberately engineered that breakdown. Pathetic. They’ll never admit they were wrong. Not even partially wrong.
Mother Nature is sending us a signal: Ah, the $1.2 billion Silver Line. The most expensive bus line in history.
Friday, April 18, 2003
Borrowing to get out of debt: No major philosophical objections to this borrowing plan. The timing is tricky, though. Not sure if Wall Street will go along with it at this time. ... No matter what happens on the borrowing front (say it’s $500 million for the next fiscal year), it still leaves a $2.5 billion hole in the budget. No reforms, no borrowing?
‘Is that a breeze of reform?’: Yes, it’s a breeze. But only a breeze. ... More ‘concessions’ from Dems. The more the merrier. But lots, lots more are required to make us truly merry and to justify a tax increase. There’s still: the Pacheco bill, bumping rights, court reform, the Quinn bill, Billy, the Bechtal Turnpike Authority, pension shenanigans, a Rutan anti-patronage executive order if Mitt would ever sign one, pay raises to deep six, agencies to be eliminated and/or consolidated, shady land deals, democracy in the House, the Governor’s Council, no-bid consulting contracts, nepotism, tort reform, etc. etc. ... Sorry, the MDC, health-services consolidation, Medicaid cuts are not enough. They don’t go to the heart of how Beacon Hill operates. Not even close. They’re bones.
Update -- The Herald is doing a jig over the possible/probable demise of the MDC. Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. The MDC has been pronounced dead before. The Herald rightly adds: "As Finneran and Rogers put the final touches on their budget blueprint, they should make room for more reform. The times demand it."
Update -- The Herald is doing a jig over the possible/probable demise of the MDC. Personally, I'll believe it when I see it. The MDC has been pronounced dead before. The Herald rightly adds: "As Finneran and Rogers put the final touches on their budget blueprint, they should make room for more reform. The times demand it."
Playing proxy footsie with Al Qaeda?: The Christian Science Monitor is rummaging through the trash -- in a good sort of way -- and coming up with documents in Baghdad that show an African terrorist group with links to Al Qaeda was in frequent contact with Iraqi ‘chargé d'affaires’ in ... in Nairobi, Kenya. Wasn’t an embassy blown up there? ... The links between Iraq, Al Qaeda and the group, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF) of Uganda, are tenuous, as the CSM report notes, though some ADF forces did apparently train in Osama’s camps in Afghanistan. ...
Fighting a war you can’t win: Ever wonder what it was like to be an Iraqi soldier and commander fighting the Americans? Scott Peterson and Peter Ford have the scoop in interviews with top Iraqi officers. ... It’s almost sad. No, it is sad. Profoundly sad. Hundreds and hundreds and hundreds died from Allied air attacks. ... Saddam’s Stalin-Hitler-like vision of himself as a great commander led to blunders of incredible magnitude. ... The psy-ops campaign had mixed result: The leaflets were all scooped up by Ba’athist fanatics, but the faxes and e-mails to commanders had a "big impact.”
Red light ... green light! Red light ... green light!: It’s starting to sound like a kids game. Doug Foy dumps on commuter rails in general, suggesting they contribute to sprawl, turning on its head the conventional wisdom that commuter rails help alleviate one of the major problems of already existing sprawl: Traffic congestion. ... Then Mitt goes to the South Shore yesterday and says the Greenbush line isn’t dead. Well, sort of not. Maybe. He’ll have to check the back of his envelope. ... Oh, we’ve only spent $100 million so far on Greenbush. ... Suggested compromise: A.) push ahead with Greenbush. B.) put Fall River-New Bedford on the deep back burner C.) insist Doug starts focusing on the real cause of sprawl: Z-O-N-I-N-G.
Jim Kelly, he’s back: He sure doesn't sound like he’s mellowed. ... I can’t figure out this line: ‘A 244,000-square-foot vacant Cambridge Street parcel is valued at $54.8 million.’ What are they talking about? What vacant parcel? Does anyone have an idea? ...
Thursday, April 17, 2003
Michael Kelly’s last column: It’s over at The Atlantic, via Instapundit. We’re going to miss this guy.
'The moon will run crimson with the blood of the Boston infidels ...': You got to read this. Jim Caple has former Iraqi information minister Mohammad Saeed Al-Sahhaf calling a Yankees-Red Sox game from Yankee Stadium. ...
Thanks to John Farrell for the email link. You made my day, John.
Thanks to John Farrell for the email link. You made my day, John.
‘Protesters should pay for their illegal actions’: Reader Rich sends this note in about an earlier post on street protesters:
“I respectfully have to disagree with your statement ‘We all know the idea to charge protesters to protest is wrong.’ ... As I understand it, the bill would tag anybody (not just protesters) with a fine for blocking traffic. I see nothing whatsoever wrong with that. The courts have long recognized that 'time, manner, place' restrictions on speech are valid (i.e. content-neutral restrictions). There's no 1st Amendment right to sit outside someone's house with a bullhorn at 2:00am. Similarly, I see no 1A right to block traffic on public ways. The 'protesters' should pay for their illegal actions. They want it both ways -- (and unfortunately you're buying into their act in this case) -- they want to be seen as committing civil disobedience but they want to escape all the consequences of their actions. It doesn't work that way.”
Hub Blog’s response: Respectfully disagree. Here’s why: Besides Tom Keane’s astute point about the correlation between marches and cleaner streets, I’m beginning to think they should be encouraged, begged, required and even paid to protest for another obvious reason, to wit: Whenever protesters put on their Mardi Gras outfits and hold ‘die ins’ and shout ‘Hey! Ho! ...,’ they become distracted from serious argument, they embarrass serious thinkers on their side trying to engage in serious argument, their elitist costumes and antics alienate everyone else, support for their causes invariably sinks -- and the rest of us win! ... Personally, Hub Blog thinks we should establish a secret slush fund to bribe ANSWER into protesting on behalf of Tommy and the Trav. Extra bonus bribes if they can do ‘die ins’ in front of Mitt’s office, hold anti-reform rallies outside for the cameras, block traffic etc. ... A winning strategy!
“I respectfully have to disagree with your statement ‘We all know the idea to charge protesters to protest is wrong.’ ... As I understand it, the bill would tag anybody (not just protesters) with a fine for blocking traffic. I see nothing whatsoever wrong with that. The courts have long recognized that 'time, manner, place' restrictions on speech are valid (i.e. content-neutral restrictions). There's no 1st Amendment right to sit outside someone's house with a bullhorn at 2:00am. Similarly, I see no 1A right to block traffic on public ways. The 'protesters' should pay for their illegal actions. They want it both ways -- (and unfortunately you're buying into their act in this case) -- they want to be seen as committing civil disobedience but they want to escape all the consequences of their actions. It doesn't work that way.”
Hub Blog’s response: Respectfully disagree. Here’s why: Besides Tom Keane’s astute point about the correlation between marches and cleaner streets, I’m beginning to think they should be encouraged, begged, required and even paid to protest for another obvious reason, to wit: Whenever protesters put on their Mardi Gras outfits and hold ‘die ins’ and shout ‘Hey! Ho! ...,’ they become distracted from serious argument, they embarrass serious thinkers on their side trying to engage in serious argument, their elitist costumes and antics alienate everyone else, support for their causes invariably sinks -- and the rest of us win! ... Personally, Hub Blog thinks we should establish a secret slush fund to bribe ANSWER into protesting on behalf of Tommy and the Trav. Extra bonus bribes if they can do ‘die ins’ in front of Mitt’s office, hold anti-reform rallies outside for the cameras, block traffic etc. ... A winning strategy!
Scene 2, Act IV -- Throw reform bones at plebeians: The reform ‘concessions’ the House is now offering up are part of the script: Cut services until people beg for taxes, throw in a couple reform bones to keep the howling masses happy. Superb acting, guys. Bravo! ...
... Mitt better veto Tommy’s pay-raise scam if he wants to extract more concessions -- and maintain his reputation as a reformer. Here are the three best arguments I’ve seen for taking on Tommy, especially now that he’s offering up ‘concessions,’ perhaps calculating the ‘concessions’ will lull Mitt into being a nice guy about the pay raises. From the Globe:
“First, Romney has earned the label of reformer. But all his proposals for government reorganization will look pale if he winks at so blatant a power grab.
“Second, Romney must indeed work with the Legislature and its leadership, but he must also show he is a player. If he lies down on this fight, he can expect to be steamrolled by the legislators all year.
“Third, he might win. The 50 votes opposed to Finneran's proposal were tantalizingly close to enough to sustain a veto. If the same people voted, only one vote would need to change.”
This line needs repeating: “If he lies down on this fight, he can expect to be steamrolled by the legislators all year.” ... And steamrolled by angry voters, too. ... From the MetroWest Daily News: “ ... the Legislature seems intent on rejecting Romney's reforms, not improving on them. In the last two weeks, task forces appointed by House Speaker Thomas Finneran have recommended against restructuring public higher education, closing under-utilized district courts, reforming the inequitable system of funding court budgets and making state employees pay more for health insurance.”
... Mitt better veto Tommy’s pay-raise scam if he wants to extract more concessions -- and maintain his reputation as a reformer. Here are the three best arguments I’ve seen for taking on Tommy, especially now that he’s offering up ‘concessions,’ perhaps calculating the ‘concessions’ will lull Mitt into being a nice guy about the pay raises. From the Globe:
“First, Romney has earned the label of reformer. But all his proposals for government reorganization will look pale if he winks at so blatant a power grab.
“Second, Romney must indeed work with the Legislature and its leadership, but he must also show he is a player. If he lies down on this fight, he can expect to be steamrolled by the legislators all year.
“Third, he might win. The 50 votes opposed to Finneran's proposal were tantalizingly close to enough to sustain a veto. If the same people voted, only one vote would need to change.”
This line needs repeating: “If he lies down on this fight, he can expect to be steamrolled by the legislators all year.” ... And steamrolled by angry voters, too. ... From the MetroWest Daily News: “ ... the Legislature seems intent on rejecting Romney's reforms, not improving on them. In the last two weeks, task forces appointed by House Speaker Thomas Finneran have recommended against restructuring public higher education, closing under-utilized district courts, reforming the inequitable system of funding court budgets and making state employees pay more for health insurance.”
‘Let Greenbush roll, save South Shore’: The Herald is coming out against the administration’s decision to kill off the Greenbush line (no mention of the New Bedford-Fall River line, though). Good points are raised: 1.) Greenbush won’t cause sprawl -- as Doug Foy seems to be saying about all commuter rail lines -- because the South Shore is already densely built up. 2.) Killing Greenbush will only encourage rail opponents to litigate and drive up costs on other projects. ...
Speaking of litigation, MBTA general manager Matthew H. Mulhern is practically inviting opposition to restoring trolley service along the Arborway in Jamaica Plain: ''If the MBTA was faced with overwhelming opposition to the project in the very community it was meant to be servicing, we'd have to take a step back.'' ... The good old MBTA. Deep down, you just know they hate rail and love those Silver Line buses.
Reader No Nickname responds:
“I have to jump in on the article about putting the trolley back in JP. This is a nice idea that simply won't work in that space. The gist of the project is to replace the former Green line that ran down S. Huntington and Centre St. in JP (not the Arborway as the article suggests). The first problem is that this area is already within walking distance (b/w 4 - 6 blocks of the Orange Line) of the T, and how many people will really want to take the a 15-20 stop Green Line train downtown over
the 8-10 stop Orange Line. Plus the admittedly unspectacular, but serviceable 39 bus already serves that route. (So people who want mass transit in the area already have it.)
“The second problem is that Centre Street is already too congested. ... Trolleys will occupy the entire available driving lane, blocking traffic and be blocked by traffic. I defy anyone to drive this route at 5 PM on a weekday and explain how the trolley will solve any problems.
“Lastly, in an age of scarce budgetary funds, does it really make sense to spend tens of millions of dollars on a project that will only provide incremental improvements in transit service for a neighborhood that already has subway access and multiple T bus routes?”
Hub Blog’s response: OK. You got me. Concede the argument for the sake of argument. Don't know JP as well as you. I’m just angry in general about all the rail setbacks in recent days, weeks and months. Particularly the Greenbush fiasco. ... And there is a MBTA bias against rail and for buses.
Speaking of litigation, MBTA general manager Matthew H. Mulhern is practically inviting opposition to restoring trolley service along the Arborway in Jamaica Plain: ''If the MBTA was faced with overwhelming opposition to the project in the very community it was meant to be servicing, we'd have to take a step back.'' ... The good old MBTA. Deep down, you just know they hate rail and love those Silver Line buses.
Reader No Nickname responds:
“I have to jump in on the article about putting the trolley back in JP. This is a nice idea that simply won't work in that space. The gist of the project is to replace the former Green line that ran down S. Huntington and Centre St. in JP (not the Arborway as the article suggests). The first problem is that this area is already within walking distance (b/w 4 - 6 blocks of the Orange Line) of the T, and how many people will really want to take the a 15-20 stop Green Line train downtown over
the 8-10 stop Orange Line. Plus the admittedly unspectacular, but serviceable 39 bus already serves that route. (So people who want mass transit in the area already have it.)
“The second problem is that Centre Street is already too congested. ... Trolleys will occupy the entire available driving lane, blocking traffic and be blocked by traffic. I defy anyone to drive this route at 5 PM on a weekday and explain how the trolley will solve any problems.
“Lastly, in an age of scarce budgetary funds, does it really make sense to spend tens of millions of dollars on a project that will only provide incremental improvements in transit service for a neighborhood that already has subway access and multiple T bus routes?”
Hub Blog’s response: OK. You got me. Concede the argument for the sake of argument. Don't know JP as well as you. I’m just angry in general about all the rail setbacks in recent days, weeks and months. Particularly the Greenbush fiasco. ... And there is a MBTA bias against rail and for buses.
MCAS criticism hits a new low, Part II: Joan Vennochi on the great Snow Day Essay Controversy. ....%$#$@*&)B&6)T ... ^%$B7*&TV)*& ...*YbB(*&^&BVYyt65#@bv8!UCR ... Sorry. That was my head banging against the keyboard again. ... P.S.: Thank God they didn’t ask kids what their favorite candy was. We’d have people lecturing us about how some kids can’t afford candy and how there’s a Type B Diabetes epidemic among children today.
Jeff, Dante and Ellen on the CNN scandal: Jeff Jacoby is on this issue. So is Dante Chinni. And so is Ellen Goodman. Overall thought on all three: They make good points: past coverage of the PLO (Jeff), off-the-record journalism rules (Dante), coverage of wars in general (Ellen). ... But they all seem to miss the important, salient point: CNN knew people were being killed and tortured for their association with -- and inaction by -- a specific media company seeking access. ... Doesn’t this cross some sort of unique journalistic line? ... Sadly, all three op-eds veer away from this point and drift into tangential pet-peeve arguments about journalism in general.
The ‘wizard’ is revealed: I knew about Billy using the endowment fund as his personal Defense Fund. Didn’t know that public tax dollars are used to prop up the endowment fund.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Morphing into a neoconservative, Part II: Reader John on Syria:
“ ... Definitely. I think a little note to these guys that we could smart-bomb one or two of their more obvious training camps might get the message across.”
Hub Blog’s anti-ideological ideological response: We’re there. Deal with the reality on the ground, not some Bob Kuttner lament about how we got there. Syria is a problem. ... If the French can be ‘pragmatic,’ so can we.
“ ... Definitely. I think a little note to these guys that we could smart-bomb one or two of their more obvious training camps might get the message across.”
Hub Blog’s anti-ideological ideological response: We’re there. Deal with the reality on the ground, not some Bob Kuttner lament about how we got there. Syria is a problem. ... If the French can be ‘pragmatic,’ so can we.
A Reform-O-Meter for post-Saddam Iraq and Beacon Hill: Reader BK has a splendid, splendid idea! From Reader BK:
"Which will come sooner -- an independent Iraqi Authority (notice, I didn't say complete constitutional governement with nationwide elections, just an independent, reforming authority made up of Iraqis), or the reforms that Romney is proposing to Hub Blog's beloved and favorite state legislature?
"Hub Blog should devise a running Reform-O-Meter to keep track of this comparison -- a board that both Hub Blog and Hub Blog's many readers can submit their odds to on a daily or weekly basis."
Hub Blog's response: I shall accept the challenge. Do readers have any suggestions on how to set up a Reform-O-Meter? Any and all ideas welcome.
"Which will come sooner -- an independent Iraqi Authority (notice, I didn't say complete constitutional governement with nationwide elections, just an independent, reforming authority made up of Iraqis), or the reforms that Romney is proposing to Hub Blog's beloved and favorite state legislature?
"Hub Blog should devise a running Reform-O-Meter to keep track of this comparison -- a board that both Hub Blog and Hub Blog's many readers can submit their odds to on a daily or weekly basis."
Hub Blog's response: I shall accept the challenge. Do readers have any suggestions on how to set up a Reform-O-Meter? Any and all ideas welcome.
Strange days indeed, most peculiar, mama: The trend evidence keeps piling up: A Concord dad taking out a contract on the wife, a Boston University professor found floating in the Charles River, a Harvard grad student stabs and kills an 18-year-old cook, MGH doctor murdered at work, suburban girl attacked while walking home, etc. ... Eerie events are unfolding in suburbia, academia and combos of the two. ... Hub Blog was going to post something on this mysterious trend, but Eileen McNamara took the dive first. ... Court TV should open a bureau here. On average, our murders and unsolved mysteries aren’t as sensational as the grisly fodder routinely coming out of LA, but we seem to have an irresistible Upstairs Downstairs component that LA lacks.
'That's not to say the protests were worthless’: OK. We all know the idea to charge protesters to protest is wrong, unfortunately. But what is it about the professional antiwar lefties that instills such a visceral contempt for them? I think it has something to do with their immature snootiness. ...
... Tom Keane has his own theories about the antiwar protesters and movement. But he has a surprising conclusion: "That's not to say the protests were worthless. Two weeks ago, in anticipation of Boston's demonstration, the city towed cars and, seeing an opportunity, also cleaned the streets of sand and salt left over from the winter. Mine was one of those streets. So from a purely selfish perspective, a good march at the beginning of every spring would be welcome." ... Hmmmmmm. "Dear ANSWER: How about a march down Anderson Street, ending at the White Hen on Cambridge Street? Thank you. Sincerely, Hub Blog."
... Tom Keane has his own theories about the antiwar protesters and movement. But he has a surprising conclusion: "That's not to say the protests were worthless. Two weeks ago, in anticipation of Boston's demonstration, the city towed cars and, seeing an opportunity, also cleaned the streets of sand and salt left over from the winter. Mine was one of those streets. So from a purely selfish perspective, a good march at the beginning of every spring would be welcome." ... Hmmmmmm. "Dear ANSWER: How about a march down Anderson Street, ending at the White Hen on Cambridge Street? Thank you. Sincerely, Hub Blog."
‘Veto the pay raise, fight for reform’: Veto it, Mitt. Finneran has declared war on you. Declare war back.
MCAS criticism hits a new low: Fourth-graders will have to retake their MCAS tests because of this controversial essay subject: "Write a story about a snow day off from school that you remember.'' ... %$#43t88vch8821y5886^$v765%4088bv&^&%0pp([yf ... Sorry. That was my head banging into my keyboard.
We’ve lost the war, lost the peace, lost our enlightened reputation: Yes, it’s true. Paul Zimansky and Elizabeth C. Stone cover the ‘stain on our reputation as enlightened and civilized people’ angle. ... Robert Kuttner rehashes the ‘Rumsfeld's war-on-the-cheap’ and ‘squandered’ angle. ...
... Scot Lehigh must be taking lessons from Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf because Scot sees things so differently: “The joyous celebrations that broke out in Iraqi cities, the dancing and the chanting, the victory signs, the thumbs up and the thank-yous, the handshakes and the hugs and the horn-honking, the cheers and the chanting, the sheer exuberant delight of a people finally free to express themselves, have given the lie to that claim more vividly than words ever could.” ... Scot, Scot. It’s over. We lost. We’ve squandered everything. ... And Richard Hottelet, stop writing about how the “US has no better ambassadors than the GIs when their instinctive amiable generosity is given free rein.” ... It’s over, Rich. Gone. Squandered.
... Scot Lehigh must be taking lessons from Mohammed Saeed al-Sahaf because Scot sees things so differently: “The joyous celebrations that broke out in Iraqi cities, the dancing and the chanting, the victory signs, the thumbs up and the thank-yous, the handshakes and the hugs and the horn-honking, the cheers and the chanting, the sheer exuberant delight of a people finally free to express themselves, have given the lie to that claim more vividly than words ever could.” ... Scot, Scot. It’s over. We lost. We’ve squandered everything. ... And Richard Hottelet, stop writing about how the “US has no better ambassadors than the GIs when their instinctive amiable generosity is given free rein.” ... It’s over, Rich. Gone. Squandered.
‘Every country had better take note’: The Russian Army seems impressed with our victory. Darn it. Meant to say ‘squandered endeavor.’ ...Anyway, says one Russian: "The Americans have rewritten the (military) textbook, and every country had better take note." ...
Does that mean Syria should take note? Hub Blog must be morphing into a neoconservative, for I found this Christian Science Monitor editorial on Syria both realistic and appealing: “...If Arab suicide bombers are entering Iraq through Syria to strike at US forces, then Damascus must realize it is a party to an act of war.” ... Exactly. Not saying we should go to war. But we’re there in Iraq -- and if Syria (or Iran) seriously think they can get away with killing GIs with truck bombs etc., as they did in Lebanon in the ‘80s, they can and should be crushed. ... The Globe also has an editorial on Syria, rightly asserting we need to rebuild Iraq first while keeping a wary eye on Syria, but the editorial is a little to limp for me. ... Again, I must be morphing into a neoconservative, but you gotta deal with the realities you’re up against. Syria is a nasty reality.
Does that mean Syria should take note? Hub Blog must be morphing into a neoconservative, for I found this Christian Science Monitor editorial on Syria both realistic and appealing: “...If Arab suicide bombers are entering Iraq through Syria to strike at US forces, then Damascus must realize it is a party to an act of war.” ... Exactly. Not saying we should go to war. But we’re there in Iraq -- and if Syria (or Iran) seriously think they can get away with killing GIs with truck bombs etc., as they did in Lebanon in the ‘80s, they can and should be crushed. ... The Globe also has an editorial on Syria, rightly asserting we need to rebuild Iraq first while keeping a wary eye on Syria, but the editorial is a little to limp for me. ... Again, I must be morphing into a neoconservative, but you gotta deal with the realities you’re up against. Syria is a nasty reality.
‘This is my favorite phase of the war’: Jules Crittenden may have returned home, but Globe emeds Brian MacQuarrie and David Filipov are still reporting away. MacQuarrie’s story is great, following the GI ‘ghost chasers’ as they check out the latest horror reports and evidence about Saddam’s reign of terror. Says one officer: “This is my favorite phase of the war.” The officer is obviously a history buff. And so is MacQuarrie for riding along. ... Reading the ‘ghost chasers’ story, I couldn’t help but think of David Remnick’s “Lenin’s Tomb.”
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Eason Jordan defends CNN in letter to Dan Kennedy: Eason Jordan has written a long letter to Dan Kennedy, defending CNN's actions. I was so infuriated reading the letter, I was set to fisk the damn thing. But Dan does a great job demolishing Jordan's arguments at the end. No need for a fisking. Eason just doesn't get it.
Postscript: Read the paragraph below from Jordan's original NYT op-ed. See if you notice anything. Here's the paragraph:
"A 31-year-old Kuwaiti woman, Asrar Qabandi, was captured by Iraqi secret police occupying her country in 1990 for 'crimes,' one of which included speaking with CNN on the phone. They beat her daily for two months, forcing her father to watch. In January 1991, on the eve of the American-led offensive, they smashed her skull and tore her body apart limb by limb. A plastic bag containing her body parts was left on the doorstep of her family's home."
Notice it? See the word 'Kuwaiti'? See the words 'occupying her country'? Did this happen in Kuwait? A different country. Kuwait was liberated 12 years ago. Jordan couldn't tell this story until now? Never mind the danger Iraqi employees, sources and family members faced by having any association with CNN in Iraq. We're talking about Kuwait. ... They sold their souls for access.
Postscript: Read the paragraph below from Jordan's original NYT op-ed. See if you notice anything. Here's the paragraph:
"A 31-year-old Kuwaiti woman, Asrar Qabandi, was captured by Iraqi secret police occupying her country in 1990 for 'crimes,' one of which included speaking with CNN on the phone. They beat her daily for two months, forcing her father to watch. In January 1991, on the eve of the American-led offensive, they smashed her skull and tore her body apart limb by limb. A plastic bag containing her body parts was left on the doorstep of her family's home."
Notice it? See the word 'Kuwaiti'? See the words 'occupying her country'? Did this happen in Kuwait? A different country. Kuwait was liberated 12 years ago. Jordan couldn't tell this story until now? Never mind the danger Iraqi employees, sources and family members faced by having any association with CNN in Iraq. We're talking about Kuwait. ... They sold their souls for access.
'Wave the white flag on mass transit's future': Continue to get emails on my post about the cancellation/postponement of the Greenbush and New Bedford Fall River commuter rails, in addition to this morning's post from Brighton Reader. Not only is it a bad decision, but Foy's logic is flat-out anti-commuter rail, under any circumstances. Anyway, a sampling from Savin Hill:
"Could not agree more with you regarding cancellation of the Greenbush line and the general mass transit mess in Mass. To throw away this idea now is to wave the white flag on mass transit's future for ... well, probably decades. You correctly tie the issue to a type of effette snobbery of all things suburban emanating from the earthy-crunchy types. ..."
Another letter, this one from John:
"Good stuff on your blasting Romney for the decision to bag the commuter rail. Far as I'm concerned, local Bloggers should start beating up on Hingham the way national blogs are bashing France."
"Could not agree more with you regarding cancellation of the Greenbush line and the general mass transit mess in Mass. To throw away this idea now is to wave the white flag on mass transit's future for ... well, probably decades. You correctly tie the issue to a type of effette snobbery of all things suburban emanating from the earthy-crunchy types. ..."
Another letter, this one from John:
"Good stuff on your blasting Romney for the decision to bag the commuter rail. Far as I'm concerned, local Bloggers should start beating up on Hingham the way national blogs are bashing France."
Surviving the war and now HBS?: First Lieutenant Joe Finnigan, who's deployed with the Third Battalion of the Fifth Marine Regiment in Iraq and who conducted an application interview via satellite phone during a sandstorm in Kuwait, has been accepted into the Harvard Business School. He doesn't know it yet. They're having trouble getting hold of him, understandably. Here's hoping he gets home safely and has a happy celebration.
Update -- Here’s why we should pray for the Boston College grad's safe return: Saddam’s Fedayeen are launching deliberate attacks in Baghdad against civilians, trying to pin blame for them on Americans and disrupting the peace. The Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Petersen actually interviews one of the Fedayeen, who's confronted by a cleric: " 'You were not forced,' the cleric spat out. 'You fedayeen are hypocrites. Fedayeen is a missionary job; you are misrepresenting the faith, and slaves of wealth. You've lost all your respect for human life.' " ... Nope, we haven't done one iota of good in Iraq. Not one iota.
Update -- Here’s why we should pray for the Boston College grad's safe return: Saddam’s Fedayeen are launching deliberate attacks in Baghdad against civilians, trying to pin blame for them on Americans and disrupting the peace. The Christian Science Monitor’s Scott Petersen actually interviews one of the Fedayeen, who's confronted by a cleric: " 'You were not forced,' the cleric spat out. 'You fedayeen are hypocrites. Fedayeen is a missionary job; you are misrepresenting the faith, and slaves of wealth. You've lost all your respect for human life.' " ... Nope, we haven't done one iota of good in Iraq. Not one iota.
Deep cuts and House pay raises: You can’t make this up: House Dems are pushing ahead with plans for deep cuts in order to make the public scream for taxes -- while Tommy and Trav orchestrate pay hikes for members, most of whom just voted to turn down pay hikes in order to ‘share the pain’ with the people. ... The cynicism is so par for these guys, it barely registers a blip on the outrage detector. ... Is there or is there not a voter-approved constitutional provision establishing how and when lawmakers should get pay raises? Not that voters and the constitution matter to these guys. ... Still: Not a peep from the ‘progressive’ community, as one reform after another gets shot down. They’ll feign outrage after they get the taxes -- when the leverage is conveniently gone.
Plato, Socrates, Jefferson, Locke, Marx etc. -- all rolled into one: Here’s a quick profile of Harvard professor Brian Palmer, who teaches "Globalization and Human Values: Envisioning World Community." ... That covers about everything, right? History, economics, philosophy, ethics, the future of the world, etc.
Hub Blog’s headache over humanitarian assistance in Iraq: Hub Blog goes back and forth on this issue, causing dizziness, disorientation and throbbing headaches. Here’s why: Sarah Kenyon Lischer, a specialist in humanitarian aid and a research fellow at Harvard University, makes some good points about the expertise of professional do-gooders in these matters. And then she bashes the military. ... Of course, you can’t bash the military too much as long as they’re hiring committed people like Michael Iacobacci, a civilian contractor for the Army in Iraq. ... But, whoa! The former head of the Big Dig is overseeing U.S. development efforts in Iraq. ... But, wait, the antiwar movement now wants a say in rebuilding Iraq. ... See my dilemma? ...
... Favorite quote from antiwar ‘activist’ Katharine Preston of Lincoln, Mass.: "People who turn to antiwar protesters and say, 'You must have been wrong,' don't understand where we're coming from.” ... You’re wrong, Katharine. We know exactly where you’re coming from, even though the media routinely doesn’t tell us where you're coming from in stories about the antiwar movement. ... Second favorite quote from an antiwar ‘activist’: "There's not one iota of proof yet that what the US has done there has helped anyone." Remember: Not one iota.
Update -- Here's one iota -- besides the freeing of millions from a tryrant -- Hub Blog would like to see happen in Iraq: The capture of Saddam. The Brits are reporting he's still alive.
... Favorite quote from antiwar ‘activist’ Katharine Preston of Lincoln, Mass.: "People who turn to antiwar protesters and say, 'You must have been wrong,' don't understand where we're coming from.” ... You’re wrong, Katharine. We know exactly where you’re coming from, even though the media routinely doesn’t tell us where you're coming from in stories about the antiwar movement. ... Second favorite quote from an antiwar ‘activist’: "There's not one iota of proof yet that what the US has done there has helped anyone." Remember: Not one iota.
Update -- Here's one iota -- besides the freeing of millions from a tryrant -- Hub Blog would like to see happen in Iraq: The capture of Saddam. The Brits are reporting he's still alive.
The devil wants the Angels: Frank McCourt is a finalist to buy the World Series champion Anaheim Angels. ... Are those ugly surface parking lots near Fort Point Channel still ugly surface parking lots, Frank? Or are you still trying to throw wrenches into others’ development plans in order to maximize the value of your parking lots? ... Believe me, Frank is a kook. I’ve met him. I’ve listened to him. He’s a kook. Hope he buys the Angels. Improves the Sox’s odds.
‘Doug’s DisneyWorld’: The war is over -- and Brighton Reader is back! Anyway, Brighton Reader takes aim at Doug Foy and the decision to kill the Greenbush and New Bedford/Fall River commuter lines. From Brighton Reader:
“What is this guy thinking? Commuter rail is not going to cause sprawl. If zoning regulations stay the same, there are still going to be big subdivisions of oversized houses no matter what you do about public transportation. Provide some real incentives to communities to allow multi-family housing, smaller lot sizes and houses that are not enormous, and thus hopefully more affordable. One of the main reasons people keep pushing out to 495 and beyond is the hunt for a home they can afford. Foy also overlooks the economic benefits that commuter rail brings. The New Bedford/Fall River area has always had one of the higher unemployment rates in the state. They will benefit from having more people living in the area, spending the money they earn in Boston.
“And people really like commuter rail! It is popular!
“Totally agree with you about the message it sends about litigating projects to death, and also puts the administration on the side of elitists who want to keep their towns isolated Pleasantvilles.”
Hub Blog's response: This is one of those issues that will leave a negative mark on Mitt's record for years to come, if not decades. Frank Sargent killed an auto highway through the city -- and he's fondly remembered for it. Mitt killed commuter rail lines into the city -- and won't be fondly remembered for it. The difference is 'auto' and 'commuter rail.'
“What is this guy thinking? Commuter rail is not going to cause sprawl. If zoning regulations stay the same, there are still going to be big subdivisions of oversized houses no matter what you do about public transportation. Provide some real incentives to communities to allow multi-family housing, smaller lot sizes and houses that are not enormous, and thus hopefully more affordable. One of the main reasons people keep pushing out to 495 and beyond is the hunt for a home they can afford. Foy also overlooks the economic benefits that commuter rail brings. The New Bedford/Fall River area has always had one of the higher unemployment rates in the state. They will benefit from having more people living in the area, spending the money they earn in Boston.
“And people really like commuter rail! It is popular!
“Totally agree with you about the message it sends about litigating projects to death, and also puts the administration on the side of elitists who want to keep their towns isolated Pleasantvilles.”
Hub Blog's response: This is one of those issues that will leave a negative mark on Mitt's record for years to come, if not decades. Frank Sargent killed an auto highway through the city -- and he's fondly remembered for it. Mitt killed commuter rail lines into the city -- and won't be fondly remembered for it. The difference is 'auto' and 'commuter rail.'
‘The tax revolt will be something to watch’: The Herald had a nice editorial yesterday about efforts by the anti-reform 'Let ‘Em Beg for Taxes' Dems pushing a trial balloon to raise the auto excise tax. The Herald: “... on second thought, maybe they should let the plan go forward. The taxpayer revolt will be something to watch.” ... Indeed, let them go forward with it. It’s sure to further alienate Independent suburban voters. ...
... Instapundit is taking a swipe at the Herald’s pay-to-view policy on its columnists. Glenn: “Why in God's name is The Herald limiting its web content to subscribers?” ...
... Instapundit is taking a swipe at the Herald’s pay-to-view policy on its columnists. Glenn: “Why in God's name is The Herald limiting its web content to subscribers?” ...
Monday, April 14, 2003
'Kubler-Ross's stages of dying': A reader writes in to thank me for all my recent posts on Tom Keane’s Let ‘Em Beg For Taxes theory on the state budget, adding that I sound like I’m going through "Kubler-Ross's stages of dying: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance." ... Hey, I admit it. I see Finneran’s strategy unfolding before my eyes and I can’t believe people are falling for it. I’m scrambling for counter-measure tactics. ... FYI: Blogger’s permalinks don’t seem to be working today. Scroll down for numerous references to Tom’s column.
Cosmo takes a smack at CNN: More on Eason Jordan and Peter Arnett in Cosmo Macero’s column, which contends CNN is croaking itself. ...
... Dan Kennedy also has some thoughts on both CNN’s ‘ethics’ and Jules Crittenden’s classic ‘A mortal decision made’ column on the demise of objectivity in the face of enemy fire. Put another way: There are no atheists in foxholes -- and there ain’t no journalism objectivity either when someone’s firing RPGs at you. ... FYI: For the same Blogger-permalink reasons, you may have to scroll down below for my thoughts yesterday on Crittenden’s piece. ...
... Dan Kennedy also has some thoughts on both CNN’s ‘ethics’ and Jules Crittenden’s classic ‘A mortal decision made’ column on the demise of objectivity in the face of enemy fire. Put another way: There are no atheists in foxholes -- and there ain’t no journalism objectivity either when someone’s firing RPGs at you. ... FYI: For the same Blogger-permalink reasons, you may have to scroll down below for my thoughts yesterday on Crittenden’s piece. ...
Grab me one of those flintlock jezails, Jules: The Herald’s embed Jules Crittenden looks like he’s about to bid farewell to A Company, 4/64 Armor Battalion and head home, perhaps after he grabs himself and Hub Blog one of those souvenirs in Uday’s secret storeroom in Baghdad.
‘Prepared for a backlash’ over Doug’s World: The Romney administration says it’s ‘prepared for a backlash’ over its plan to kill the Greenbush and New Bedford-Fall River rail commuter lines. They better be prepared. Because the backlash starts right here: This is an awful, snob-motivated, non-reality-based decision that’s being driven less by transit finances, as the administration claims and fibs, and obviously more by Doug Foy’s fanciful, ideological, anti-sprawl, utopian vision for developing the Perfect Hobbit Villages. ...
... Ultimately, the new transit plan’s glaring flaw -- abandoning commuter rail expansion in favor of expanding the Blue, Green and Silver lines, as if the two are mutually exclusive -- rests on the fanstastic assumption that’s there’s only one way to fight sprawl: Doug Foy’s Happy Hobbits way. ... What does Doug expect? For corporations and people to suddenly pack up their belongings and move from the suburbs to Revere, Medford, Chelsea and other inner-city communities because Doug slaps a T stop in them? Yes, I can envisage it: Like in the old WWII newsreels from Europe, we’ll see refugees hauling their belongings in quaint horse-drawn carts as they’re pulled in the micro-managed direction Dougie is wishing them, leaving behind empty suburban homes, schools, churches, office parks and shopping malls, all of which one day can be plowed under and returned to nature. ... Questions to Doug: Are you going to have high-quality schools in place when the happy masses roll into your quaint Hobbit villages? Will you have quaint patisseries and butcher shops ready, too? When they arrive, can they do happy Peasant Dances around maypoles like in the movies Robin Hood and Braveheart? It will be so communal! How about organized Barn Raisings? Yeah, a Barn Raising! Oh, the masses can’t wait for their Perfect Hobbit Villages along the new Blue and Green line extensions! ...
... Back to harsh and depressing reality. ...
... Let me get this straight: The state has spent years and years planning the expansion of the Greenbush and New Bedford-Fall River lines -- buying up land, fighting anti-transit fanatics in Hingham, filing environmental reports, lining up funding, building consensus and hope. But now the state is going to abandon those projects and start anew with more years and years of planning on the Green, Blue, Urban Ring and Silver Line extensions etc., only to possibly later resurrect the Greenbush and New Bedford plans when we accept the reality that the suburbs won’t go away. Oh, this is great. ... The net result of this plan is going to be: No expansion of any rail transit lines for years and years and years and years, compounded, and sending a signal to mass transit opponents that you can kill future projects by driving up costs through litigation. Including future projects such as the Blue, Green and Siliver line extensions. ... Congrats, Mitt! ... Your first big mass-transit decision is to kill off doable mass transit projects in pursuit of Perfect Hobbit Villages. ...
... Hub Blog has nothing against the extension of the Blue Line to Lynn, the Green Line extension to Medford, and the Urban Ring, a fanciful and far-into-the-future vision of a rail-and-bus service circumventing Boston. In fact, Hub Blog LOVES the concepts. Let’s move forward on them. Except for the overrated Silver Line. But what I can’t stand about this new non-commuter-rail strategy is that it’s so flavor of the month, so utterly blind to the market reality that most high-tech companies and their workers etc. are now based in the suburbs and the suburbs aren’t going away, so dunderheaded that it doesn’t accept the REALITY that people LIKE living in quieter suburbs (just like you, Mitt) and commuting into the city via the Fitchburg commuter lines of the world (just like your Belmont neighbors, Mitt). ...
... Ah, but there are evil Sheriffs of Notingham out there who will destroy Doug’s dreams for Perfect Hobbit Villages for the masses ...
... From Bennet Heart, senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, on commuter rails vs. T lines: ''It doesn't need to be either/or. ... They should do everything they can to make the funding pie bigger for transit and rail.” ... Well, thank goodness the CLF hasn’t lost its marbles, unlike its former director who’s lost his now that he’s in state government. ...
... What the state needs is a reality-based INTEGRATED mass transit plan -- which requires both commuter rail for suburban travelers AND inner-city expansion of the T. ...
Hub Blog’s suggestion: Ram reforms down the T’s throat, pass a gax tax hike, fund what needs to be done: A fully INTEGRATED mass transit plan that deals with REALITY, not far-off Hobbit Villages. ... There are different and more realistic ways to approach sprawl, Doug.
... Ultimately, the new transit plan’s glaring flaw -- abandoning commuter rail expansion in favor of expanding the Blue, Green and Silver lines, as if the two are mutually exclusive -- rests on the fanstastic assumption that’s there’s only one way to fight sprawl: Doug Foy’s Happy Hobbits way. ... What does Doug expect? For corporations and people to suddenly pack up their belongings and move from the suburbs to Revere, Medford, Chelsea and other inner-city communities because Doug slaps a T stop in them? Yes, I can envisage it: Like in the old WWII newsreels from Europe, we’ll see refugees hauling their belongings in quaint horse-drawn carts as they’re pulled in the micro-managed direction Dougie is wishing them, leaving behind empty suburban homes, schools, churches, office parks and shopping malls, all of which one day can be plowed under and returned to nature. ... Questions to Doug: Are you going to have high-quality schools in place when the happy masses roll into your quaint Hobbit villages? Will you have quaint patisseries and butcher shops ready, too? When they arrive, can they do happy Peasant Dances around maypoles like in the movies Robin Hood and Braveheart? It will be so communal! How about organized Barn Raisings? Yeah, a Barn Raising! Oh, the masses can’t wait for their Perfect Hobbit Villages along the new Blue and Green line extensions! ...
... Back to harsh and depressing reality. ...
... Let me get this straight: The state has spent years and years planning the expansion of the Greenbush and New Bedford-Fall River lines -- buying up land, fighting anti-transit fanatics in Hingham, filing environmental reports, lining up funding, building consensus and hope. But now the state is going to abandon those projects and start anew with more years and years of planning on the Green, Blue, Urban Ring and Silver Line extensions etc., only to possibly later resurrect the Greenbush and New Bedford plans when we accept the reality that the suburbs won’t go away. Oh, this is great. ... The net result of this plan is going to be: No expansion of any rail transit lines for years and years and years and years, compounded, and sending a signal to mass transit opponents that you can kill future projects by driving up costs through litigation. Including future projects such as the Blue, Green and Siliver line extensions. ... Congrats, Mitt! ... Your first big mass-transit decision is to kill off doable mass transit projects in pursuit of Perfect Hobbit Villages. ...
... Hub Blog has nothing against the extension of the Blue Line to Lynn, the Green Line extension to Medford, and the Urban Ring, a fanciful and far-into-the-future vision of a rail-and-bus service circumventing Boston. In fact, Hub Blog LOVES the concepts. Let’s move forward on them. Except for the overrated Silver Line. But what I can’t stand about this new non-commuter-rail strategy is that it’s so flavor of the month, so utterly blind to the market reality that most high-tech companies and their workers etc. are now based in the suburbs and the suburbs aren’t going away, so dunderheaded that it doesn’t accept the REALITY that people LIKE living in quieter suburbs (just like you, Mitt) and commuting into the city via the Fitchburg commuter lines of the world (just like your Belmont neighbors, Mitt). ...
... Ah, but there are evil Sheriffs of Notingham out there who will destroy Doug’s dreams for Perfect Hobbit Villages for the masses ...
... From Bennet Heart, senior attorney at the Conservation Law Foundation, on commuter rails vs. T lines: ''It doesn't need to be either/or. ... They should do everything they can to make the funding pie bigger for transit and rail.” ... Well, thank goodness the CLF hasn’t lost its marbles, unlike its former director who’s lost his now that he’s in state government. ...
... What the state needs is a reality-based INTEGRATED mass transit plan -- which requires both commuter rail for suburban travelers AND inner-city expansion of the T. ...
Hub Blog’s suggestion: Ram reforms down the T’s throat, pass a gax tax hike, fund what needs to be done: A fully INTEGRATED mass transit plan that deals with REALITY, not far-off Hobbit Villages. ... There are different and more realistic ways to approach sprawl, Doug.
Sunday, April 13, 2003
‘A mortal decision made: Journalistic objectivity a casualty of firefight': Read this story. Now. Don’t put it off. It’s one of the most memorable and frank accounts of battle -- and journalism ethics -- I’ve ever read. Of course, it’s by the Herald’s embed Jules Crittenden, who openly admits to his spotting three enemy soldiers during a firefight and their subsequent deaths at the hands of machine-gun-firing GIs. From Jules:
“Some in our profession might think as a reporter and non-combatant, I was there only to observe. Now that I have assisted in the deaths of three human beings in the war I was sent to cover, I'm sure there are some people who will question my ethics, my objectivity, etc. I'll keep the argument short. Screw them, they weren't there. But they are welcome to join me next time if they care to test their professionalism.”
Hub Blog’s reaction: Now I understand why Jules mentioned the word ‘we’ in this post. I suspected this was the case. And I side with Jules 100 percent. ... As Jules says: Screw ‘em. ... Darwinian and moral question to fellow armchair journalists: What was Jules supposed to do? What would you do? Stay cool, calm and collected during a battle and let enemy soldiers fire off RPGs, allowing GIs and yourself to be killed in the process? Leave behind a widowed wife and fatherless children? It’s not even a close call. ... You shout ‘incoming!’ when you hear artillery coming in. You shout ‘grenade!’ when a grenade is lobbed in your midst. You shout ‘watch it!’ when an enemy takes aim at you and someone else. You push a person out of the way when a piano is falling from a tenth-floor window. ... Think of this honesty about a split-second, life-or-death decision during an intense battle and contrast it to CNN’s year-after-year, non-life-or-death, corporate-boardroom decision to cover up the truth in the name of network access. ...
“Some in our profession might think as a reporter and non-combatant, I was there only to observe. Now that I have assisted in the deaths of three human beings in the war I was sent to cover, I'm sure there are some people who will question my ethics, my objectivity, etc. I'll keep the argument short. Screw them, they weren't there. But they are welcome to join me next time if they care to test their professionalism.”
Hub Blog’s reaction: Now I understand why Jules mentioned the word ‘we’ in this post. I suspected this was the case. And I side with Jules 100 percent. ... As Jules says: Screw ‘em. ... Darwinian and moral question to fellow armchair journalists: What was Jules supposed to do? What would you do? Stay cool, calm and collected during a battle and let enemy soldiers fire off RPGs, allowing GIs and yourself to be killed in the process? Leave behind a widowed wife and fatherless children? It’s not even a close call. ... You shout ‘incoming!’ when you hear artillery coming in. You shout ‘grenade!’ when a grenade is lobbed in your midst. You shout ‘watch it!’ when an enemy takes aim at you and someone else. You push a person out of the way when a piano is falling from a tenth-floor window. ... Think of this honesty about a split-second, life-or-death decision during an intense battle and contrast it to CNN’s year-after-year, non-life-or-death, corporate-boardroom decision to cover up the truth in the name of network access. ...
Let ‘em Beg for Taxes: Yep, Tom Keane was right. They’re going for the more severe cuts and dumping Mitt’s reforms. ... Two things: 1.) Mitt’s undeniably sloppy numbers are being used as an excuse to cover up their nixing of reforms. Mitt clearly shot himself in the foot in this regard. 2. ) Mitt should strip down all his reform ideas, throwing away the ones he knows are bogus, package them together and then force lawmakers to take a constitutional up-or-down vote on them. Forget the budget numbers. Make it simple and clear: These guys oppose any and all reforms -- and they will shamefully tax people to the max and slash services to the bone in order to avoid altering the way their world works on Beacon Hill. ... Wonder if progressives see the cynical strategy unfolding in the House.
‘Let’s hear from Bulger’: From Eileen McNamara: “The last thing this town needs is more secrecy or more deference to those who would use their power to protect the most depraved among us.” ... What is the rationale for letting Bulger testify behind closed doors? National security? I’ll bet, if we dig into the rationale a bit more, we’ll find the FBI’s cover-it-up fingerprints somewhere, as well as others’ embarrassed cover-it-up fingerprints.
‘This block needs retail dialysis’: Don’t agree with turning Boylston Street into another Charles Street. But love the other ideas and overall vision for Boylston Street expressed in the piece. ... One quibble: Don’t bad mouth the past-their-prime retailers on Boylston who stuck with the street through thick and thin. They deserve praise, not ridicule. ... One other point: Another show-off-Boston boulevard we should be concentrating on is Cambridge Street, from the Charles Street T stop to City Hall Plaza. The state recently postponed a much-needed and long-planned street and sidewalk project for this neglected gateway into Boston from Cambridge. Let’s get it done before the 2004 Dem convention.
Postwar Iraq and the Kurds: Not a bad editorial in the Globe, which suggests the administration should ‘sheathe the sword,’ cool down the rhetoric and concentrate on rebuilding Iraq -- while also keeping a wary eye on Syria and Iraq. It even slaps around Russia, Germany and France. Hub Blog would have been tougher on Syria and Iraq -- and more than just slapped around the Coalition of the Clueless. But the editorial is fundamentally on target. ...
... Tom Oliphant writes a good piece on Turkey’s betrayal and the Kurds' loyalty. Tom: “It's bad enough that the Kurds are not receiving the proper affection and gratitude for all they have done to help topple Saddam. The kid glove treatment of a misbehaving alleged ally, Turkey, needs to stop now.”
... Tom Oliphant writes a good piece on Turkey’s betrayal and the Kurds' loyalty. Tom: “It's bad enough that the Kurds are not receiving the proper affection and gratitude for all they have done to help topple Saddam. The kid glove treatment of a misbehaving alleged ally, Turkey, needs to stop now.”
Building a democracy after totalitarianism: Smart piece by Paul Berman on the success rate of rebuilding a country and establishing democracy after a totalitarian government collapses. The comparisons between post-communist Poland and Yugoslavia etc. are important. ... The main problem we’re facing in Iraq in establishing democracy: Saddam appears to have wiped out any and all liberal opposition. No Havels, no Mandelas, no Karzais. One might emerge, but it’s not clear right now if any survived.
Saturday, April 12, 2003
A protest heard 'round the world: From the Globe wire services: "Even as the war with Iraq winds down, protesters in the United States and abroad continued their campaign against the conflict Saturday." ... As I've indicated before, they're not playing with a full deck. ...
The ultimate no-bid consulting contract: Let me get this straight: An $8,000 monthly retainer with a private-sector company to find public-sector contracts with the private-sector retainer paid for by public tax dollars since 1989. Not bad.
‘The House is more intent on protecting business as usual’: Mitt on rejection of his court reforms by a House committee: “The direction they may be heading is, `Give me taxes or give me cuts, but don't give me reform.’ ” ... Saw a snippet of Jon Keller’s interview with Speaker Finneran -- for Jon’s ‘At Large’ show tomorrow on Channel 56, 8: 30 a.m. -- in which Finneran vows to outdo Mitt in budget cuts. Maybe Tom Keane was right. Personally, I keep going back and forth on the Let ‘Em Beg For Taxes theory. ... No reforms, no new taxes.
‘These antiwar protesters are so hypocritical’: Perhaps the most awful great idea in the history of the Commonwealth: Charging antiwar protesters to pay the cost for their staged arrests. ... Says state Rep. Brian P. Lees, R-East Longmeadow: “These antiwar protesters are so hypocritical. They stand out there with their signs that say don't spend our money on war. They should add a line that says don't spend our money on war, but spend it on arresting me.” ... Alas, the idea is probably unconstitutional and therefore regrettably regrettable.
‘Coalition of the Clueless’: Am I the only one who thinks President Putin appeared embarrassed to be seen in the presence of his fellow ‘Coalition of the Clueless’ members, President Chirac and Chancellor Schroeder? ... Notice how Putin was the only one of the three to embrace the American idea of forgiving Iraq’s foreign debts. ... George Will thinks the UN should be involved in rebuilding Iraq, but only on a limited humanitarian and civil administrative basis: “This invitation should be extended for the same reason France was made a permanent member of the Security Council in 1945 -- as psychotherapy for a crisis of self-esteem brought on by bad behavior.”
‘Uday Hussein's Weapons Store’: A gold-plated AK-47, a gold-plated Walther pistol, a 200-year-old 5-foot-long Arab flintlock jezail (‘inlaid with mother-of-pearl’), Arabic swords, huge Braveheart-like broadswords, Winchester repeaters, Remington shotguns, more jezails, Baretta pistols, a gold-plated antique Mauser bolt-action rifle. And, oh, what appears to be one sound-proof torture chamber in the basement. Jules Crittenden has the embed goods. ... Hey, I know I'm a non-legitimate blogger low in the social hierarchy of the journalism world, but I would have grabbed one of the those flintlock jezails and scrammed.
‘Unlovely and unloved’: Globe ran an editorial this morning on the latest effort to change the ‘unlovely and unloved’ City Hall Plaza. ... Hub Blog is all excited about the redevelopment and the forthcoming Sidewalk Superintendent ideas. My suggestion: Townhouses, with ground-floor retail, with really narrow streets and/or alleyways. At least along Cambridge Street. Townhouses would pay for other plaza improvements. Need to bring 24/7 life back to the area!
Friday, April 11, 2003
Cosmo, big media and blogging: Hey, Cosmo Macero’s blog is getting some backing and a plug, albeit a small plug (for now), over at the Herald’s web site. Go to this link, scroll to the right. See Cosmo’s handsome picture? Look right under it. See tiny ‘weblog’ reference. Click. ... OK, so it’s not such a big deal. But it’s another sign of the Big Media Blogging Convergence. FYI: There might also be some ‘guest blogging’ on Cosmo’s site ...
Postscript: On Cosmo’s site, I happened to notice this item about the blogging Agonist controversy and comments by Sean Kirby, who rightly notes the strengths of the big media and how blogging won’t eclipse it etc. All of which is absolutely true. But there was something sanctimonious and annoying about Sean's tone, such as how many bloggers are “excellent freelance journalists whose aspirations to be important participants in topics of importance outpace their actual pull in the social hierarchy of the journalism world." Or: “Bloggers shouldn't overstate their role in that dialogue or imagine that their traffic numbers equal legitimacy.”
Social hierarchy? Legitimacy? Geesh. ... Hey, you newsroom janitors! Get out of the way! The big dogs are walking through. ...
Postscript II: This on the day CNN’s Eason Jordan writes an op-ed that will probably go down in journalism history as one of the greatest and most shocking confessions of a journalist who sold his soul for access. ... Check out Dan Kennedy's reaction to CNN's social hierarchy, legitimacy and treatment of excellent freelance Iraqi employees who just didn't have enough pull.
Postscript: On Cosmo’s site, I happened to notice this item about the blogging Agonist controversy and comments by Sean Kirby, who rightly notes the strengths of the big media and how blogging won’t eclipse it etc. All of which is absolutely true. But there was something sanctimonious and annoying about Sean's tone, such as how many bloggers are “excellent freelance journalists whose aspirations to be important participants in topics of importance outpace their actual pull in the social hierarchy of the journalism world." Or: “Bloggers shouldn't overstate their role in that dialogue or imagine that their traffic numbers equal legitimacy.”
Social hierarchy? Legitimacy? Geesh. ... Hey, you newsroom janitors! Get out of the way! The big dogs are walking through. ...
Postscript II: This on the day CNN’s Eason Jordan writes an op-ed that will probably go down in journalism history as one of the greatest and most shocking confessions of a journalist who sold his soul for access. ... Check out Dan Kennedy's reaction to CNN's social hierarchy, legitimacy and treatment of excellent freelance Iraqi employees who just didn't have enough pull.
Mitt raises gas taxes: Yep, you read it right. Cosmo Macero has the scoop, though you’ll have to pay the Herald’s own online fee/tax to read the column (i.e. pay-to-view). The bottom line: The administration approved what amounts to a 2 cents per gallon tax hike through an obscure fund that pays for cleaning spills and underground leaks at gas stations. ...
Hub Blog’s view: Fine. Mitt’s no-new-taxes pledge applied to the deficit. He never ruled out other tax increases. Unless this gas tax money is diverted to other projects or agencies (and/or frees up money for other uses), he’s keeping within his pledge -- not that I agree with the pledge. ... Also: Hub Blog is boldly on record as advocating a gas tax hike to pay for expansion of rail service and other infrastructure improvements -- as long as it’s tied to reforms at reform-challenged agencies like the MBTA.
Hub Blog’s view: Fine. Mitt’s no-new-taxes pledge applied to the deficit. He never ruled out other tax increases. Unless this gas tax money is diverted to other projects or agencies (and/or frees up money for other uses), he’s keeping within his pledge -- not that I agree with the pledge. ... Also: Hub Blog is boldly on record as advocating a gas tax hike to pay for expansion of rail service and other infrastructure improvements -- as long as it’s tied to reforms at reform-challenged agencies like the MBTA.
They’re testing the tax waters: House leaders are tinkering with the idea of changing the way auto excise taxes are assessed in Massachusetts. Think suburban owners of a 2000 Mercedes S-Class are going to put up with paying $1,375 per year for the right to drive their car? Lawmakers are trying to frame the allegedly revenue-neutral move in progressive, soak-the-rich, class-warfare language, though they’re not quite phrasing it that way. ... Hub Blog can’t think of a better way for House Democrats to kiss away suburban votes in the next election. ...
... Kind of surprised the House has even broached the subject at this point. I thought the game plan was for House Democrats to first let citizens shriek over budget cuts -- then pull out the tax proposals. They don’t have the timing down, obviously. Or maybe Tom and Hub Blog were wrong about our Let ‘Em Beg For Taxes theory. ...
The Globe is pounding the drums again for a broad-based tax increase. No mention of reforms. ... Howie Carr is having a good guffaw at do-gooders’ expense. (Howie's column is pay-to-view.)
... Kind of surprised the House has even broached the subject at this point. I thought the game plan was for House Democrats to first let citizens shriek over budget cuts -- then pull out the tax proposals. They don’t have the timing down, obviously. Or maybe Tom and Hub Blog were wrong about our Let ‘Em Beg For Taxes theory. ...
The Globe is pounding the drums again for a broad-based tax increase. No mention of reforms. ... Howie Carr is having a good guffaw at do-gooders’ expense. (Howie's column is pay-to-view.)
Another reform bites the dust?: As the House floats its auto excise idea, other House members are belittling Mitt’s reform/restructuring plan for Massachusetts’ court system. The lede of the story says it all: “Defending their power to oversee the courts, members of a special House task force yesterday ...” ... You get the idea. ... These guys are like the Catholic hierarchy: They will never give up power without a fight. Never. Hub Blog is almost embarrassed for suggesting yesterday what I thought was a reasonable compromise: A tax increase in exchange for true reforms. How naive of me. (See above ‘Tom and Hub Blog’ link for details.) ...
... But there’s good (and surprising) news on the reform/budget front: A progressive organization, Common Cause Massachusetts, is actually backing Mitt’s court overhaul plan. I’m shocked. Guess I’ll have to tinker a bit more with my cutting-edge theory about the Progressive Hack Alliance -- though it doesn’t fundamentally change my belief that ‘progressives’ tend to look the other way when it comes to patronage/nepotism/corruption as long as they get their cherished tax hikes.
... But there’s good (and surprising) news on the reform/budget front: A progressive organization, Common Cause Massachusetts, is actually backing Mitt’s court overhaul plan. I’m shocked. Guess I’ll have to tinker a bit more with my cutting-edge theory about the Progressive Hack Alliance -- though it doesn’t fundamentally change my belief that ‘progressives’ tend to look the other way when it comes to patronage/nepotism/corruption as long as they get their cherished tax hikes.
One excellent reason to overhaul the courts: John ''Jackie'' Bulger, who pleaded guilty yesterday to lying under oath in the Whitey Bulger case, is a former court magistrate. ... Gee, wonder how he got his court job. ... Think it has anything to do with lawmakers “defending their power to oversee the courts”?
‘I don't know, sir, one palace don't need 50 fricking stereos’: I didn’t think it was possible, but the Herald’s Jules Crittenden has outdone himself in terms of superb embed reporting from Iraq. Most of his past stories -- particularly those involving combat and the dialogue of GIs -- have been incredibly vivid and telling. ... But this story, well, it’s different. He throws away the detached I’m Not Really Here language and starts referring to events in the personal “we” and “our” and “us” and “I,” as he tells tales of a chaotic Baghdad, GIs liberating stashes of Chivas Regal in Saddam’s palaces, soldiers bragging about wasting Iraqi soldiers. ... Jules just walks from one surreal moment to the next. Outstanding reporting. ...
The Globe’s Pulitzer and Kristen Lombardi’s reporting: Dan Kennedy has a nice piece about the Globe’s well-earned Pulitzer for its coverage of the sex-abuse scandal. ... Couldn’t agree more, as I indicated earlier this week. ... Still, the Phoenix’s Kristen Lombardi was one of the first to expose Cardinal Law’s “culpability in the matter,” as Dan puts it. ... The Globe indeed blew the lid off the scandal; Lombardi was among the first to notice there was a lid at all. So she also deserves credit -- and gratitude -- for helping expose and dismantle a local pedophile network.
Next up: Syria?: The Boston-based Christian Science Monitor is all over the Syria angle. There’s this CSM story about how some in the administration appear to have "pretty much decided to go after Syria.” ... Then there’s the story by CSM embed Ben Arnoldy about how Saddam’s forces brought in freelance Syrian fanatics to fight Americans, using local Iraqi civilians and their homes as shields. ... And here’s another CSM story about America’s future foreign policy. Says one expert: "Syria may be next. ... The Syrians consider it a given." ...
Hub Blog’s view? One can’t escape these facts: We’re in Iraq. We’ve taken it. We’re going to have to rebuild the country and, if at all possible, establish democracy there. If Syria and Iran try to undermine our rebuilding efforts by sending in terrorists and thugs, they’re playing with fire. Syria and Iran are simply realities we have to face now that we’re in Iraq. We need to deal with Syria and Iraq on a case-by-case basis, aggresively and militarily if necessary. ...
... However, what bothers me about this entire affair is how the Bush administration has yet to spell out to the American people what’s clearly emerging as a grander vision of the world and even of history, a vision that goes well beyond the war on terrorism: Belittling alliances, the UN, global economic institutions, NGOs overseeing AIDS programs etc. A lot of today's policies are indeed driven by a laudable desire to prevent the spread of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. No doubt. But there’s a deeper philosophy at work here: It’s about the fundamental permanency of American power and how it should be wielded well into the 21st century to shape the world in our image -- regardless of whether we smash terrorism and bottle up all the world’s WMD. ... And it’s not a vision of the world and history that Tony Blair shares, FYI. ... Hub Blog's new mantra: Assess events on a case-by-case basis.
Hub Blog’s view? One can’t escape these facts: We’re in Iraq. We’ve taken it. We’re going to have to rebuild the country and, if at all possible, establish democracy there. If Syria and Iran try to undermine our rebuilding efforts by sending in terrorists and thugs, they’re playing with fire. Syria and Iran are simply realities we have to face now that we’re in Iraq. We need to deal with Syria and Iraq on a case-by-case basis, aggresively and militarily if necessary. ...
... However, what bothers me about this entire affair is how the Bush administration has yet to spell out to the American people what’s clearly emerging as a grander vision of the world and even of history, a vision that goes well beyond the war on terrorism: Belittling alliances, the UN, global economic institutions, NGOs overseeing AIDS programs etc. A lot of today's policies are indeed driven by a laudable desire to prevent the spread of terrorism and weapons of mass destruction. No doubt. But there’s a deeper philosophy at work here: It’s about the fundamental permanency of American power and how it should be wielded well into the 21st century to shape the world in our image -- regardless of whether we smash terrorism and bottle up all the world’s WMD. ... And it’s not a vision of the world and history that Tony Blair shares, FYI. ... Hub Blog's new mantra: Assess events on a case-by-case basis.
Armchair Gen. Savin Hill on suicide attacks in Iraq: As noted above, the CSM is hammering away at the Syrians-are-in-Iraq angle. But let’s give Armchair Gen. Savin Hill, a loyal Hub Blog reader and contributor, a crack at roughly the same issue. From Savin Hill:
“Many reports (Thursday) on the news attributing suicide bomb attacks to Iraqi forces. I don't believe for a minute the suicide bombers are Iraqis or Fedayeen. The Fedayeen and and Baathist militia's weapons are AK-47s and RPGs, not plastic explosives, remote timing devices and an operational knowledge of bomb electronics. Suicide bombing is not something you decide over breakfast -- you need to recruit and train people for it.
“Note that in the largest concentration of militia and Fedayeen -- in Basra -- there were no suicide bomb attacks, just conventional weapons. And remember, these guys were fundamentally fighting for survival -- to keep their privileged place in a brutal regime. Fighting for survival by blowing yourself up is slightly inconsistent. ...
“Who carried out the most extensive suicide bombing wave in history last year? Hamas. Who trains, equips and even offers office space to Hamas in its capital? Syria. Would Syria be interested in waging a proxy war in Iraq -- to destabilize a new pro-US neighbor? I'll let you figure that out.”
“Many reports (Thursday) on the news attributing suicide bomb attacks to Iraqi forces. I don't believe for a minute the suicide bombers are Iraqis or Fedayeen. The Fedayeen and and Baathist militia's weapons are AK-47s and RPGs, not plastic explosives, remote timing devices and an operational knowledge of bomb electronics. Suicide bombing is not something you decide over breakfast -- you need to recruit and train people for it.
“Note that in the largest concentration of militia and Fedayeen -- in Basra -- there were no suicide bomb attacks, just conventional weapons. And remember, these guys were fundamentally fighting for survival -- to keep their privileged place in a brutal regime. Fighting for survival by blowing yourself up is slightly inconsistent. ...
“Who carried out the most extensive suicide bombing wave in history last year? Hamas. Who trains, equips and even offers office space to Hamas in its capital? Syria. Would Syria be interested in waging a proxy war in Iraq -- to destabilize a new pro-US neighbor? I'll let you figure that out.”
Thursday, April 10, 2003
George ‘They got it down!’ Bush: My favorite reaction to news of the fall of Baghdad? The excited reaction of the undeniable Man of the Hour: George Bush. As he watched the televised toppling of Saddam’s statue in Baghdad, the president reportedly exclaimed, ‘They got it down!’ ...
... Though the administration is trying to dampen down current euphoria, George Bush clearly deserves enormous praise. Forget past (and undoubtedly future) arguments over his diplomatic skills. What’s amazing about his leadership during the current military campaign and the military campaign in Afghanistan is that he simply made the right choices, despite warring factions within his administration and the Pentagon. He put boots on the ground in Afghanistan. He put boots, tanks, Bradleys, embeds, Special Forces, Marines, Brits on the ground in Iraq (not to mention smart bombs hurling from the air), wisely splitting the difference between competing military doctrines within his administration. This isn’t luck. This was his call. Two campaigns, two brilliant victories.
... I know, I know. The war isn’t over. It wasn’t over yesterday when Saddam’s Stalinist statue was yanked off its pedestal, as the Herald’s Jules Crittenden made clear. Even as adults and children chanted ‘Good, good, mister! Good, good, mister!’, GIs were rooting out Syrian Islamic extremists hiding in a neighborhood mosque. ... And the war won’t be over today or tomorrow, as the Globe’s Charlie Sennott and David Filipov make clear. Resistance in northern Iraq -- and resolving the Kurdish question -- is still far from over. ...
But, what the heck, let’s celebrate -- or better yet, let’s read about others’ celebrations. From an American officer in Baghdad, as quoted in this Globe embed story: ''The civilians all came out and were overjoyed to see us. I was surprised that a lot of them spoke English and had relatives in the United States. They were thanking us for our help and denouncing Saddam and the regime.'' ....
The Iraqis have relatives in the United States? OK, let’s switch over to them. From a local Iraqi woman as quoted in this Herald story: “It was the happiest moment in my life. It's a dream. It's my dream -- to see Saddam's statue toppled down.”
What a day.
Update - 10:20 a.m. -- So how long is The War Isn't Over Phase going to last? I don't know, but Kiruk just fell. ... And Turkey is none too happy about it.
... Though the administration is trying to dampen down current euphoria, George Bush clearly deserves enormous praise. Forget past (and undoubtedly future) arguments over his diplomatic skills. What’s amazing about his leadership during the current military campaign and the military campaign in Afghanistan is that he simply made the right choices, despite warring factions within his administration and the Pentagon. He put boots on the ground in Afghanistan. He put boots, tanks, Bradleys, embeds, Special Forces, Marines, Brits on the ground in Iraq (not to mention smart bombs hurling from the air), wisely splitting the difference between competing military doctrines within his administration. This isn’t luck. This was his call. Two campaigns, two brilliant victories.
... I know, I know. The war isn’t over. It wasn’t over yesterday when Saddam’s Stalinist statue was yanked off its pedestal, as the Herald’s Jules Crittenden made clear. Even as adults and children chanted ‘Good, good, mister! Good, good, mister!’, GIs were rooting out Syrian Islamic extremists hiding in a neighborhood mosque. ... And the war won’t be over today or tomorrow, as the Globe’s Charlie Sennott and David Filipov make clear. Resistance in northern Iraq -- and resolving the Kurdish question -- is still far from over. ...
But, what the heck, let’s celebrate -- or better yet, let’s read about others’ celebrations. From an American officer in Baghdad, as quoted in this Globe embed story: ''The civilians all came out and were overjoyed to see us. I was surprised that a lot of them spoke English and had relatives in the United States. They were thanking us for our help and denouncing Saddam and the regime.'' ....
The Iraqis have relatives in the United States? OK, let’s switch over to them. From a local Iraqi woman as quoted in this Herald story: “It was the happiest moment in my life. It's a dream. It's my dream -- to see Saddam's statue toppled down.”
What a day.
Update - 10:20 a.m. -- So how long is The War Isn't Over Phase going to last? I don't know, but Kiruk just fell. ... And Turkey is none too happy about it.
Best local lead on a Fall of Baghdad story: From the CSM: “One of the most brutal and entrenched tyrannies of the age fell Wednesday with a crack heard around the world.”
Best online street map of downtown Baghdad: Right here. Now, where was that cracked statue heard around the world?
Benjamin Franklin’s sad and dying legacy: Not quite sure why the fate of the Ben Franklin Institute of Technology has hit such a sad nerve in me. Maybe it’s the history. Not sure. .. But it’s clearly hit a sad nerve in Adrian Walker as well. Adrian: “Sad it is, both because the institute serves a population that depends on it and because this debacle might have been avoided.”
The unfolding scenario for a tax increase: Hub Blog was busy most of Wednesday, which accounts for the only one blog item yesterday. However, I did catch Tom Keane’s column about what he thinks will happen in the end as lawmakers cobble together a state budget package: Taxes will be raised after enough shrieking over budget cuts. Tom: “The scenario I describe is really just a variation on the strategy Finneran successfully employed last year, when he almost single-handedly pushed through a delay in planned income tax cuts. If it worked then, it very well may work now.”
... Tom is probably right. But the big questions are these: Will any reforms be passed? And what will Mitt do and say if lawmakers move to raise taxes without passage of any substantive restructuring and reforms? Mitt made three vows during the campaign (not two, as the Globe once asserted in an editorial): 1.) He will not raise taxes to balance the budget. 2.) He will not cut core services. 3.) He will clean up the mess on Beacon Hill. If lawmakers raise taxes to avoid cutting core services, will Mitt stand idly by as as lawmakers also gut most of his restructuring and reform ideas? He could indeed sit on the sidelines, taking shots at lawmakers and making them pay the price. But he might also come across as another ineffective Paul Cellucci or Jane Swift if he chooses that option. Tough call.
... Personally, I think he could also throw his grudging support behind a tax increase -- assuming it’s going to happen anyway -- as leverage to get his reforms. He’d break his no-taxes pledge by doing so, but I think he could explain to the public that he had no room to maneuver, that a tax increase was going to happen anyway, and that he went for a compromise in order to achieve at least some of his aims. ... Hey, what do I know? I’m not a politician. That’s just one scenario. But I do know this: Mitt’s day of pledges reckoning is fast arriving. He’s done a great job making reforms a top issue. What’s he willing to do to make some of them a reality? ... The chess match is far from over.
A reader responds: A reader writes in asking 'what's in it for legislators to cut a deal' with Mitt. ...I assume he's referring to a taxes-for-reforms deal. So the answer is: Mitt can give them cover. ... I hope that answers the question. And, again, it's only one scenario I'm throwing out there. Lawmakers could pass a budget on their own with a tax increase and just enough reforms in it to quiet the masses ... Or. ... Many other 'or' possibilities out there.
... Tom is probably right. But the big questions are these: Will any reforms be passed? And what will Mitt do and say if lawmakers move to raise taxes without passage of any substantive restructuring and reforms? Mitt made three vows during the campaign (not two, as the Globe once asserted in an editorial): 1.) He will not raise taxes to balance the budget. 2.) He will not cut core services. 3.) He will clean up the mess on Beacon Hill. If lawmakers raise taxes to avoid cutting core services, will Mitt stand idly by as as lawmakers also gut most of his restructuring and reform ideas? He could indeed sit on the sidelines, taking shots at lawmakers and making them pay the price. But he might also come across as another ineffective Paul Cellucci or Jane Swift if he chooses that option. Tough call.
... Personally, I think he could also throw his grudging support behind a tax increase -- assuming it’s going to happen anyway -- as leverage to get his reforms. He’d break his no-taxes pledge by doing so, but I think he could explain to the public that he had no room to maneuver, that a tax increase was going to happen anyway, and that he went for a compromise in order to achieve at least some of his aims. ... Hey, what do I know? I’m not a politician. That’s just one scenario. But I do know this: Mitt’s day of pledges reckoning is fast arriving. He’s done a great job making reforms a top issue. What’s he willing to do to make some of them a reality? ... The chess match is far from over.
A reader responds: A reader writes in asking 'what's in it for legislators to cut a deal' with Mitt. ...I assume he's referring to a taxes-for-reforms deal. So the answer is: Mitt can give them cover. ... I hope that answers the question. And, again, it's only one scenario I'm throwing out there. Lawmakers could pass a budget on their own with a tax increase and just enough reforms in it to quiet the masses ... Or. ... Many other 'or' possibilities out there.
Local leftovers from Wednesday: As I noted above, Hub Blog was busy on the Big Day in Baghdad -- and couldn’t blog as much as usual. But I did save some local stories of interest from Wednesday. Quickly, here they are in no particular order ...
Globe Special Forces Columnist Eileen McNamara -- obviously aware of possible Jo Moore church tricks during the war and obviously aware most of her Globe colleagues would be savagely hungover from all their well-earned Pulitzer parties -- nobly stood guard on the ramparts and caught Thailand Paul's church attorneys going after both a victim and a parent.
... The Herald reported that Billy will indeed be dragged before a Congressional hearing. Scot Lehigh praises Dan Burton -- yes, praises, and rightly so -- for not letting go of the Billy story. Scot also makes mention of ''Black Mass,'' by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. Hub Blog’s advice: If you haven’t already, read “Black Mass.” One of the three best books about modern Boston’s darker side. The two other books, of course, are “Common Ground” and “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.” ...
... On of all days, the Globe editorialized on Wednesday about Pentagon policies allowing single-parent GIs to serve in combat. An important issue, for sure. But editorializing on the subject as Baghdad was under siege and as the world’s attention was focused on more profound events unfolding in Iraq? Geesh. I don’t know. ... Robert Kuttner, showing no sense of timing, began his op-ed on Wednesday by sniping at Rummy’s military tactics in Iraq, citing Maureen Dowd as an authority. Believe it or not, I kept reading after the Dowd reference and learned that Bob is now stomping off to the next ideological argument. Bob, calm down. Take a day off. Enjoy the celebrations. A nasty regime just collapsed. ... Derrick Jackson was upset George Bush didn’t pray for Iraq during the war. Maybe he didn’t. But, Derrick, he did answer the prayers of a lot of Iraqis on Wednesday.
Globe Special Forces Columnist Eileen McNamara -- obviously aware of possible Jo Moore church tricks during the war and obviously aware most of her Globe colleagues would be savagely hungover from all their well-earned Pulitzer parties -- nobly stood guard on the ramparts and caught Thailand Paul's church attorneys going after both a victim and a parent.
... The Herald reported that Billy will indeed be dragged before a Congressional hearing. Scot Lehigh praises Dan Burton -- yes, praises, and rightly so -- for not letting go of the Billy story. Scot also makes mention of ''Black Mass,'' by Dick Lehr and Gerard O'Neill. Hub Blog’s advice: If you haven’t already, read “Black Mass.” One of the three best books about modern Boston’s darker side. The two other books, of course, are “Common Ground” and “The Friends of Eddie Coyle.” ...
... On of all days, the Globe editorialized on Wednesday about Pentagon policies allowing single-parent GIs to serve in combat. An important issue, for sure. But editorializing on the subject as Baghdad was under siege and as the world’s attention was focused on more profound events unfolding in Iraq? Geesh. I don’t know. ... Robert Kuttner, showing no sense of timing, began his op-ed on Wednesday by sniping at Rummy’s military tactics in Iraq, citing Maureen Dowd as an authority. Believe it or not, I kept reading after the Dowd reference and learned that Bob is now stomping off to the next ideological argument. Bob, calm down. Take a day off. Enjoy the celebrations. A nasty regime just collapsed. ... Derrick Jackson was upset George Bush didn’t pray for Iraq during the war. Maybe he didn’t. But, Derrick, he did answer the prayers of a lot of Iraqis on Wednesday.
Wednesday, April 09, 2003
A Herald embed’s account of the killing of 2 journalists: Talk about being on top of a highly controversial story -- and a highly controversial story involving journalists, reported by journalists and, if the action of the Committee to Protect Journalists is any indication, about some journalists taking a rather rash and double-standard side in the controversy. Setting the stage: Two reporters died yesterday when an American tank blasted a Baghdad hotel.
The Boston Herald’s Jules Crittenden is embedded with the U.S. brigade -- and, I believe, the very tank company -- that fired on the hotel. Excerpts from Jules’ story:
“It was later in the day, after the Assassins had taken their first combat casualties, that the tank company tried to stop RPG fire from across the Tigris River and kill a suspected Iraqi forward artillery observer.
“One tank opened fire, hitting the upper floors of the 17-story Palestine Hotel, killing two journalists and wounding at least three others. The tanker had seen RPG crews operating around the hotel, headquarters for hundreds of foreign journalists, and someone peering out an upper window with binoculars. ...
“The incident, which set off a furor in Arab-language media, came on the day one of the unit's tank commanders was seriously injured by a sniper ... The Army tanker, who was in serious condition but managed to walk to a medevac track, was shot through the shoulder by a sniper in a building as armed Iraqis in civilian clothing were pushed back to an intersection outside the palace complex.”
Now let’s switch to another story about the killings:
“Even if accidental, the two cases raised issues for the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, as did the US response.
“ ‘They (Pentagon officials) did not say what needed to be said: `We want to make sure our troops and fighters know this is wrong and we don't want to see it happen again,' said board member Michael Massing, who is monitoring the war from Doha. In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the committee said, ‘We believe these attacks violate the Geneva Conventions.’
“Even if fire was coming from the Palestine Hotel, ‘the evidence suggests that the response of US forces was disproportionate and therefore violated international humanitarian law,’ the letter said.”
Whoa! Hold on, Michael. I know you're upset. I am, too. But what’s with this ‘even if accidental’ and ‘even if fire was coming from the Palestine Hotel’ and ‘the attacks violate the Geneva Conventions’ and the ‘evidence suggests’ a ‘disproportionate’ force and therefore the U.S. is ‘violating international humanitarian law’?
Does Michael have any clue that the committee might have just crossed a line by sending that letter, by so quickly and so assertively proclaiming/suggesting violations of international laws without even a full day’s investigation of the facts? Did the committee bother to wait until it could interview its own colleagues -- embeds, such as the Herald’s Crittenden -- to get another perspective on the incident?
Does the Committee to Protect Journalists realize it’s opening itself up to possible charges of emotional bias and double-standards in the middle of a war? Has any such letter been sent to the Iraqi regime about ‘armed Iraqis in civilian clothing’ who are clearly hovering near the hotel (if not in it, as the committee acknowledges for the sake of argument) etc?
For a journalism advocacy group to so quickly make such serious charges -- in the middle of a war and while admitting the tragic hotel incident could have been an accident and at least more complicated than it appears -- is simply ludicrous and embarrassing.
Postscript: Maybe the committee should start investigating -- but refrain from firing off a letter concerning -- the death of two other journalists in Iraq: “On Monday, Christian Liebig of the German news weekly Focus and Julio Anguita Parrado of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo -- both embedded journalists -- were killed when an Iraqi rocket hit a US communications center on Baghdad's southern fringe.”
The Boston Herald’s Jules Crittenden is embedded with the U.S. brigade -- and, I believe, the very tank company -- that fired on the hotel. Excerpts from Jules’ story:
“It was later in the day, after the Assassins had taken their first combat casualties, that the tank company tried to stop RPG fire from across the Tigris River and kill a suspected Iraqi forward artillery observer.
“One tank opened fire, hitting the upper floors of the 17-story Palestine Hotel, killing two journalists and wounding at least three others. The tanker had seen RPG crews operating around the hotel, headquarters for hundreds of foreign journalists, and someone peering out an upper window with binoculars. ...
“The incident, which set off a furor in Arab-language media, came on the day one of the unit's tank commanders was seriously injured by a sniper ... The Army tanker, who was in serious condition but managed to walk to a medevac track, was shot through the shoulder by a sniper in a building as armed Iraqis in civilian clothing were pushed back to an intersection outside the palace complex.”
Now let’s switch to another story about the killings:
“Even if accidental, the two cases raised issues for the US-based Committee to Protect Journalists, as did the US response.
“ ‘They (Pentagon officials) did not say what needed to be said: `We want to make sure our troops and fighters know this is wrong and we don't want to see it happen again,' said board member Michael Massing, who is monitoring the war from Doha. In a letter to Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, the committee said, ‘We believe these attacks violate the Geneva Conventions.’
“Even if fire was coming from the Palestine Hotel, ‘the evidence suggests that the response of US forces was disproportionate and therefore violated international humanitarian law,’ the letter said.”
Whoa! Hold on, Michael. I know you're upset. I am, too. But what’s with this ‘even if accidental’ and ‘even if fire was coming from the Palestine Hotel’ and ‘the attacks violate the Geneva Conventions’ and the ‘evidence suggests’ a ‘disproportionate’ force and therefore the U.S. is ‘violating international humanitarian law’?
Does Michael have any clue that the committee might have just crossed a line by sending that letter, by so quickly and so assertively proclaiming/suggesting violations of international laws without even a full day’s investigation of the facts? Did the committee bother to wait until it could interview its own colleagues -- embeds, such as the Herald’s Crittenden -- to get another perspective on the incident?
Does the Committee to Protect Journalists realize it’s opening itself up to possible charges of emotional bias and double-standards in the middle of a war? Has any such letter been sent to the Iraqi regime about ‘armed Iraqis in civilian clothing’ who are clearly hovering near the hotel (if not in it, as the committee acknowledges for the sake of argument) etc?
For a journalism advocacy group to so quickly make such serious charges -- in the middle of a war and while admitting the tragic hotel incident could have been an accident and at least more complicated than it appears -- is simply ludicrous and embarrassing.
Postscript: Maybe the committee should start investigating -- but refrain from firing off a letter concerning -- the death of two other journalists in Iraq: “On Monday, Christian Liebig of the German news weekly Focus and Julio Anguita Parrado of the Spanish newspaper El Mundo -- both embedded journalists -- were killed when an Iraqi rocket hit a US communications center on Baghdad's southern fringe.”
Tuesday, April 08, 2003
‘It deserves the gratitude of Catholics everywhere’: Globe editor Marty Baron to his Globe staff on winning the Pulitzer for its coverage of the sex-abuse scandal: “You made history this past year.” ... And they absolutely did. They made history on so many levels, exposing a local and national pedophelia network, forcing a cardinal to resign in shame for taking part in that network, provoking Catholics to question the church, its leadership and its very logic and legitimacy, and changing the generational loyalty and dynamics of Catholics everywhere and forever. Spiritually, the scandal was an historic watershed -- and the church and its hierarchy will never fully recover from it. ... My favorite quote about the Globe came from an AP story: “ ‘The Globe deserves more than recognition from its journalistic peers. It deserves the gratitude of Catholics everywhere,’ said Barbara Blaine, president of Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests.” ... ‘Deserves the gratitude of Catholics everywhere.’ As a Catholic, I can’t think of a better accolade. ...
... The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune also won a Pulitzer for its coverage of the deaths of four boys who died in the icy waters of the Merrimack. ... And Winthrop’s Samantha Power, executive director of the Carr Center at Harvard, also won a Pulitzer for "'A Problem From Hell:' America and the Age of Genocide.” ...
All in all, a spectacular day for Boston reporters and writers.
... The Lawrence Eagle-Tribune also won a Pulitzer for its coverage of the deaths of four boys who died in the icy waters of the Merrimack. ... And Winthrop’s Samantha Power, executive director of the Carr Center at Harvard, also won a Pulitzer for "'A Problem From Hell:' America and the Age of Genocide.” ...
All in all, a spectacular day for Boston reporters and writers.
'I heard Madonna was protesting the war': Speaking of fine journalism (and as the war apparently winds down), here’s a good behind-the-scenes piece in the Christian Science Monitor about the military’s civil authorities who are tasked with winning the peace, which one officer described as “the exact opposite of the 'shock and awe' campaign.” ...
Meanwhile, another CSM embed reporter, Ann Scott Tyson, writes a melancholy piece about how badly American GIs want and need the support of the American people back home. Says one forlorn GI: “I heard Madonna was protesting the war.” ... Speaking of the Christian Science Monitor, Hub Blog has been negligent by not giving the same attention to the Monitor’s embed reporters as I’ve given to other local reporters. Ben Arnoldy, who wrote the first story above, and Tyson, who penned the second story, have done a stellar job in the Gulf, as have their embed colleagues at the Globe and Herald.
Meanwhile, another CSM embed reporter, Ann Scott Tyson, writes a melancholy piece about how badly American GIs want and need the support of the American people back home. Says one forlorn GI: “I heard Madonna was protesting the war.” ... Speaking of the Christian Science Monitor, Hub Blog has been negligent by not giving the same attention to the Monitor’s embed reporters as I’ve given to other local reporters. Ben Arnoldy, who wrote the first story above, and Tyson, who penned the second story, have done a stellar job in the Gulf, as have their embed colleagues at the Globe and Herald.
Now that the war is winding to an apparent close ...: The war wasn't going well last week -- and John Kerry was antiwar. The war is going well this week -- and John Kerry now wants to change the subject. Hmmmmmm. ... The Herald is now stalking poor John in Iowa and having a fun time.
Update -- Paul Krugman is rushing to John Kerry’s defense, framing the issue around the ‘right to criticize in times of war’ and ‘questioning one’s patriotism in times of war.’ Granted, as I’ve noted already, some dunderheaded right-wing hawks are indeed unfairly attacking Kerry on those fronts. ... But a lot of other non-right-wing people (including Tom Oliphant) see something different in Kerry’s words and deeds. It has something to do with Kerry’s constant backtracking and pandering to voters. Krugman conveniently doesn’t address this issue. And I'll leave it at that. (Krugman column via Dan Kennedy.)
Update -- Paul Krugman is rushing to John Kerry’s defense, framing the issue around the ‘right to criticize in times of war’ and ‘questioning one’s patriotism in times of war.’ Granted, as I’ve noted already, some dunderheaded right-wing hawks are indeed unfairly attacking Kerry on those fronts. ... But a lot of other non-right-wing people (including Tom Oliphant) see something different in Kerry’s words and deeds. It has something to do with Kerry’s constant backtracking and pandering to voters. Krugman conveniently doesn’t address this issue. And I'll leave it at that. (Krugman column via Dan Kennedy.)
The most questions ever asked in a column?: Or the most desperate column ever written? You decide, dear reader. The whole damn column is questions. Forty-one in all. Carroll is obviously reeling -- but I didn’t think reeling could get this bad. Ridiculous questions. Obvious questions. Leading questions. Contradictory questions. Questions, questions, questions! ... My question: Should I even bother clicking on his column in the future? I think 'the answer is no.' It’s getting to that point.
Update -- Instapundit is having a field day with questions, questions, questions! He even asks if there's a shortage of exclamation points in Boston! What a foolish question! I think 'the answer is no'! What do you think, James? Does Instapundit make good points? Is there a shortage of other punctuation marks in Boston? Is he right about open-ended questions? Tell him it isn't so!
Update -- Instapundit is having a field day with questions, questions, questions! He even asks if there's a shortage of exclamation points in Boston! What a foolish question! I think 'the answer is no'! What do you think, James? Does Instapundit make good points? Is there a shortage of other punctuation marks in Boston? Is he right about open-ended questions? Tell him it isn't so!
Gay marriages and gay GIs fighting for their country: A majority of Massachusetts citizens now support gay marriages. A slim majority, granted. But it’s a majority. Quick question: Do you think the Catholoic sex-abuse scandal has anything to do with this? I wonder. I suspect the scandal has factored into this shift, somewhere, somehow. Put it this way: When a priest or Bishop bellows from the pulpit about the evils of homosexuality, I know some church goers will nod their heads in agreement. I also know that more than a few parishioners will raise their eyebrows, look sideways at each other, stifle a mischievous grin and wonder, ‘Who the hell is he to lecture to us about homos in the wrong places?’ ... The sex-abuse scandal, more likely than not, will have a subtle and not-so-subtle impact on a wide range of political issues in Massachusetts, one of the most Catholic states in America.
And the war will have an impact, too, as Tom Oliphant notes in his column this morning on gays in the military. The hypocrisy we’re showing towards gays -- treating them as second-class citizens while asking them to fight and die for our country -- is glaring and will come to light after the war, when the first gay war hero is inevitably drummed out of service amid outrage among constituents and some straight GIs alike.
And the war will have an impact, too, as Tom Oliphant notes in his column this morning on gays in the military. The hypocrisy we’re showing towards gays -- treating them as second-class citizens while asking them to fight and die for our country -- is glaring and will come to light after the war, when the first gay war hero is inevitably drummed out of service amid outrage among constituents and some straight GIs alike.
Monday, April 07, 2003
A ‘vindication of the Rumsfeld doctine’?: Armchair Gen. Savin Hill writes in. My reaction before getting into the thrust of his arguments: A.) This isn’t exactly a pure form of the Rumsfeld Doctrine (as I’ve said before). B.) The Brits developed their own urban warfare tactics without Rummy’s help or influence C.) I still admire Armchair Gen. Savin Hill’s insightful, non-partisan, non-ideological analysis of the war. Lots of honest analysis. Armchair Gen. Savin Hill:
“Verdict: Operation Iraqi Freedom was (ok, ok, is) a vindication of the Rumsfeld doctrine of a ‘transformation’ military in action. People still seem to be confused over what this is, so let me lay out the main elements:
“ -- Multiple, simultaneous attacks using multiple strategies and force dispositions: At any one time, we were launching cruise missiles on the leadership, using air assets on the com grid, using armor against conventional forces, and using special forces and airborne to seize special objectives. The point is, this was all done at the SAME TIME. The Southern front was conventional division/ground assault. The Northern front was a light-infantry/special forces operation. Two entirely different force dispositions working at the same time in different fronts.
“ -- Enhanced, new ‘remote sensing’ technology gave an unprecedented and fully coordinated view of the battlefield, accessible to any ground commander. This was done with JSTARS overhead assimilating and disseminating real-time data from unmanned drones at high, medium and low (hundreds of feet) altitudes.
“ -- The emergence of UCAS: Never even heard of before last week, US forces have apparently worked out a system of Urban Close Air Support. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't get a chance to practice it much. Nonetheless -- it points to a new urban fighting doctrine with far-reaching consequences: You are not safe in a city -- even in your capital.
“ -- Victory over ‘irregular’ forces: Brits proved their mettle, again, as experts in fighting against guerrilla, ‘irregular’ forces. Conventional forces cordoned off hostile areas while special forces went in at night and killed/captured targets and gathered intel. Of course, the 3rd ID just rolled into Baghdad and blasted apart anybody who looked at them funny, and that appears to work well, too.
“ -- Intell wins the day: From the first minute, it was apparent we now have intel assets that could provide ‘eyes on target’ of the highest echelons of leadership. That's game, set and match in military terms. The message: You are not safe -- even in your leadership circle.
“Verdict: No future enemy force, conventional or irregular, should feel safe today. Hooah.”
“Verdict: Operation Iraqi Freedom was (ok, ok, is) a vindication of the Rumsfeld doctrine of a ‘transformation’ military in action. People still seem to be confused over what this is, so let me lay out the main elements:
“ -- Multiple, simultaneous attacks using multiple strategies and force dispositions: At any one time, we were launching cruise missiles on the leadership, using air assets on the com grid, using armor against conventional forces, and using special forces and airborne to seize special objectives. The point is, this was all done at the SAME TIME. The Southern front was conventional division/ground assault. The Northern front was a light-infantry/special forces operation. Two entirely different force dispositions working at the same time in different fronts.
“ -- Enhanced, new ‘remote sensing’ technology gave an unprecedented and fully coordinated view of the battlefield, accessible to any ground commander. This was done with JSTARS overhead assimilating and disseminating real-time data from unmanned drones at high, medium and low (hundreds of feet) altitudes.
“ -- The emergence of UCAS: Never even heard of before last week, US forces have apparently worked out a system of Urban Close Air Support. Unfortunately, it looks like we won't get a chance to practice it much. Nonetheless -- it points to a new urban fighting doctrine with far-reaching consequences: You are not safe in a city -- even in your capital.
“ -- Victory over ‘irregular’ forces: Brits proved their mettle, again, as experts in fighting against guerrilla, ‘irregular’ forces. Conventional forces cordoned off hostile areas while special forces went in at night and killed/captured targets and gathered intel. Of course, the 3rd ID just rolled into Baghdad and blasted apart anybody who looked at them funny, and that appears to work well, too.
“ -- Intell wins the day: From the first minute, it was apparent we now have intel assets that could provide ‘eyes on target’ of the highest echelons of leadership. That's game, set and match in military terms. The message: You are not safe -- even in your leadership circle.
“Verdict: No future enemy force, conventional or irregular, should feel safe today. Hooah.”
‘The price-gouging abounded’: In an editorial, the Globe jumps on a Hub Blog pet-peeve issue, to wit: The botched, monopolized, anti-competitive electricity deregulation in California -- and the lessons that might apply to what appears to be an increasingly monopolized and anti-competitive electricty industry here.
Sen. Having It Both Ways strikes yet again: This isn’t as big as the ‘regime change’ fiasco, but it’s yet another example of Kerry’s sorry antics. From the Herald:
“Kerry argued that the White House should restart a dialogue with (North Korea), even as it fights the war with Iraq.
“ ‘There are a lot of people in Washington and elsewhere who believe that one of the reasons the administration won't do that is that you need a boogeyman over there in order to be able to build a missile defense,’ he said.
“Asked about the comment, Kerry said some ‘serious policy people in Washington’ had made those assertions but said he did not agree with them.”
Notice how the senator is saying what he said wasn’t really what he meant but reflected what others said and so he said it. Translation: He’s having it both ways. Got it?
“Kerry argued that the White House should restart a dialogue with (North Korea), even as it fights the war with Iraq.
“ ‘There are a lot of people in Washington and elsewhere who believe that one of the reasons the administration won't do that is that you need a boogeyman over there in order to be able to build a missile defense,’ he said.
“Asked about the comment, Kerry said some ‘serious policy people in Washington’ had made those assertions but said he did not agree with them.”
Notice how the senator is saying what he said wasn’t really what he meant but reflected what others said and so he said it. Translation: He’s having it both ways. Got it?
Two embeds -- and an armchair journalistic critic of embeds: Two more good embed pieces from local reporters -- one by Brian MacQuarrie as U.S. troops try to bottle up Baghdad from the north and the other by Jules Crittenden about mopping up operations in the south. ...
... Meanwhile, an armchair academic criticizes embeds and media coverage of the war in general, saying they’re “constrained by’’ all those “institutions” and the “ideology of society,” all of which “not surprisingly produces a view of the world skewed toward the powerful.” The author of the Globe op-ed is Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream.” ... Gee, I wonder what Jensen’s ‘view of the world’ and ‘ideology’ might be -- and how he views the war with or without facts. I can’t imagine.
... Meanwhile, an armchair academic criticizes embeds and media coverage of the war in general, saying they’re “constrained by’’ all those “institutions” and the “ideology of society,” all of which “not surprisingly produces a view of the world skewed toward the powerful.” The author of the Globe op-ed is Robert Jensen, a journalism professor at the University of Texas at Austin and author of “Writing Dissent: Taking Radical Ideas from the Margins to the Mainstream.” ... Gee, I wonder what Jensen’s ‘view of the world’ and ‘ideology’ might be -- and how he views the war with or without facts. I can’t imagine.
They’re Botching It Again?: The Christian Science Monitor reports on the diplomatic wrangling over post-war Iraq. I’d love to say of the Bush administration: They’re botching it again! But I’m also dubious about the UN and France and Russia and China getting involved. So I give up. I’m throwing in the towel. ... Another possibility: Follow Tony Blair’s instincts on this one. The British prime minister has become an expert on sorting out the warring factions within the American administration.
Civil liberties in times of war: The CSM goes after the FBI over its handling of the six Buffalo-area men of Yemeni origin who were charged with ‘conspiracy and aiding a terrorist organization.’ All six of them had visited Al Qaeda terrorist training camps in Afghanistan, so I really don’t buy their arguments that, oh, you see, well, we became disillusioned and so we left -- and so leave us alone! .... But the FBI, well, it’s still the FBI. ... Instapundit says the FBI’s actions sound like ‘dirty pool’ tactics. ... Cathy Young is concerned about (and saddened by) tough anti-terrorist measures in the United States, but she’s not alarmed. Not yet. Mistaken Homeland Security measures do have a way of being democratically A.) blocked B.) exposed as folly and/or C.) corrected.
Sunday, April 06, 2003
Maureen Dowd on Michael Kelly: No Dowdisms. She's hurting inside. A straight-from-the-heart tribute.
‘John Kerry goofed in the middle of war last week’: And goofed is putting it mildly. The Herald’s Wayne Woodlief, in a subscriber/pay-to-view column, says John Kerry’s remarks last week showed “an appalling lack of judgment and a stunning political miscue” by Kerry. ... The MetroWest Daily News’ Tom Moroney asks: “What was he thinking? If this is how Sen. John Kerry plans to run the rest of his campaign for president, I have only one thing to say. It's going to be a lot more fun than I figured.” ...
But Tom Oliphant nails it pretty well, systematically taking apart Kerry’s comments as wrong, dumb and damaging at almost every level. Tom: “A more enduring point is that every serious candidate for president must survive at least one near-death experience. I doubt the Peterborough Pop-off qualifies, but it's close enough that Kerry should take care to learn from it.”
One last quote from Tom’s column:
“Kerry has had difficulty articulating his support as well as his reservations and criticisms without exposing himself to the suggestion that he wants to be for and against the war at the same time. In politics, clarity trumps fudge.” ... Which leads to. ...
But Tom Oliphant nails it pretty well, systematically taking apart Kerry’s comments as wrong, dumb and damaging at almost every level. Tom: “A more enduring point is that every serious candidate for president must survive at least one near-death experience. I doubt the Peterborough Pop-off qualifies, but it's close enough that Kerry should take care to learn from it.”
One last quote from Tom’s column:
“Kerry has had difficulty articulating his support as well as his reservations and criticisms without exposing himself to the suggestion that he wants to be for and against the war at the same time. In politics, clarity trumps fudge.” ... Which leads to. ...
JFK II can learn from Teddy K: Have you noticed the dignity Ted Kennedy has displayed since the outbreak of the war? Kennedy was hard-core antiwar before the war broke out, but he clearly meant what he said when he proclaimed once it started: “Our thoughts and our heartfelt prayers are also with our president. ... We join our president in pledging our commitment to victory, to disarm Saddam and to bring freedom and opportunity to all the people of Iraq.”
Here’s a portion of Kennedy’s statement yesterday on the death of Capt. Benjamin Sammis in Iraq: “I pray for a quick end to this conflict so no more Americans have to lose their lives in the fight for Iraqi freedom.”
Here’s what he said at a rally yesterday at Otis Air Foce Base: ``You already know the overwhelming support you have from the people of Massachusetts and people across the country at this critical time. ... We've always been proud of you, and we're prouder than ever now.''
What does this all add up to? Class. ... Can the same be said about JFK II?
Here’s a portion of Kennedy’s statement yesterday on the death of Capt. Benjamin Sammis in Iraq: “I pray for a quick end to this conflict so no more Americans have to lose their lives in the fight for Iraqi freedom.”
Here’s what he said at a rally yesterday at Otis Air Foce Base: ``You already know the overwhelming support you have from the people of Massachusetts and people across the country at this critical time. ... We've always been proud of you, and we're prouder than ever now.''
What does this all add up to? Class. ... Can the same be said about JFK II?
Mitt’s first 100 days -- three views: Three views on Mitt’s first 100 days in office:
1. The Globe’s piece is excellent, thoroughly and fairly analyzing the governor’s strengths, weaknesses, successes and setbacks.
2. The Herald’s piece is also fair and balanced, though it’s not as nuanced and thorough.
Best quote from Mitt (in Globe story): ''I'm not Pollyannaish enough to think everything I want to see happen will be accepted by the Legislature. ... But I want to move the ball forward. And for some cases I've gone for the long bomb, on others it will be three yards and a cloud of dust, and on others I'll probably be thrown for a loss.''
3. Hub Blog’s view: Oh, now here’s a fair and thorough and balanced and nuanced view. ... Hub Blog shall give Mitt an A - for setting the agenda. No small task for a Republican governor facing a Democratic-controlled Legislature in Massachusetts. He's kept lawmakers off balance and on the defensive. Lawmakers even acknowledge the need for 'reform,' even though we all know they despise the thought. ...But Mitt still gets only a C for execution -- partly because he doesn't have much room to maneuver (no veto threat to wield etc.), partly because he's made some classic rookie and Dudley Do-Right mistakes that are distinctly 'Mitt' in nature, partly because he assumed people wouldn't add up his budget numbers. ... The latter grade would have been a solid A+ if his ‘shock and awe’ strategy had initially worked to decapitate Billy. All other blunders would have been forgiven.
1. The Globe’s piece is excellent, thoroughly and fairly analyzing the governor’s strengths, weaknesses, successes and setbacks.
2. The Herald’s piece is also fair and balanced, though it’s not as nuanced and thorough.
Best quote from Mitt (in Globe story): ''I'm not Pollyannaish enough to think everything I want to see happen will be accepted by the Legislature. ... But I want to move the ball forward. And for some cases I've gone for the long bomb, on others it will be three yards and a cloud of dust, and on others I'll probably be thrown for a loss.''
3. Hub Blog’s view: Oh, now here’s a fair and thorough and balanced and nuanced view. ... Hub Blog shall give Mitt an A - for setting the agenda. No small task for a Republican governor facing a Democratic-controlled Legislature in Massachusetts. He's kept lawmakers off balance and on the defensive. Lawmakers even acknowledge the need for 'reform,' even though we all know they despise the thought. ...But Mitt still gets only a C for execution -- partly because he doesn't have much room to maneuver (no veto threat to wield etc.), partly because he's made some classic rookie and Dudley Do-Right mistakes that are distinctly 'Mitt' in nature, partly because he assumed people wouldn't add up his budget numbers. ... The latter grade would have been a solid A+ if his ‘shock and awe’ strategy had initially worked to decapitate Billy. All other blunders would have been forgiven.
It’s turned into a Story That Won’t Go Away: More on the Tip’s Tunnel/Liberty Tunnel flap. ... Jeff Jacoby is piling on in a partisan way. I didn't think it was possible, but he's managed to do it. ... Repeat: Hub Blog likes ‘Tip’s Tunnel,' primarily because I love the ring of it. It’s quaint, parochial, endearing. Sure to evoke questions 50 years from now like, ‘Why do they call it Tip’s Tunnel?’ It adds to local lore. ... The issue is settled! Hub Blog has made the decision! Now go away! ...
‘The history and ethics of military deceptions’: This Globe 'Ideas' piece comes dangerously close, in my mind, to moral relativism concerning the argument over/excuse for Saddam’s savage tactics in Iraq. Read it and see if you agree. ...
The ideological war over military tactics in the war: Terrific story by the Globe’s Bryan Bender and Robert Schlesinger on the battle over military tactics. ... Didn’t know that Rummy has a long, long pre-Wolfy/Perle history of supporting a lean-and-mean, high-tech machine. Also didn’t know this fact: Rummy used to drive Henry Kissinger up a wall when Rumsfeld served in the Pentagon in the ‘70s. File this under: New Respect. ...
... Here’s a key line in the article, though: “Since Sept. 11, 2001, Rumsfeld has tried to put the winds of history at his back.” ... Ding, ding, ding! ... Here’s where the debate over military strategy, which pre-dates the administration and even pre-dates Saddam's rise to power, starts to dovetail into today’s ideological debate within the administration. ... Clearly, Paul Wolfowitz and neoconservatives like William Kristol have glommed onto not only Sept. 11 but also to 'Invasion light' to push their Pax America vision of U.S. foreign policy. Iraq and ‘Invasion light’ happened to neatly fit into their ideological vision of American foreign policy and the wars they envision fighting. Rummy, who hired Wolfy, also is exploiting Sept. 11 to push what amounts to a combo military and ideological cause. ...
But does that mean those who oppose the Pax America/Rummy ideological agenda should oppose 'Invasion light' because it's been effectively hijacked by neoconservatives? Answer: No. As I said the other day, it's not as black and white as some ideologues on the left and right hope and/or want. We're probably going to need to maintain three military doctrines into the foreseeable future: 'Invasion light' (for campaigns like we saw in Afghanistan), the 'Powell Doctrine' (for conventional wars that may break out in such places as Korea) and a combination of the two (which we're seeing now in Iraq).
...Mickey Kaus is still hammering away at the ideological angle. I suspect Mickey’s merely trying to win an argument at this point.
... Here’s a key line in the article, though: “Since Sept. 11, 2001, Rumsfeld has tried to put the winds of history at his back.” ... Ding, ding, ding! ... Here’s where the debate over military strategy, which pre-dates the administration and even pre-dates Saddam's rise to power, starts to dovetail into today’s ideological debate within the administration. ... Clearly, Paul Wolfowitz and neoconservatives like William Kristol have glommed onto not only Sept. 11 but also to 'Invasion light' to push their Pax America vision of U.S. foreign policy. Iraq and ‘Invasion light’ happened to neatly fit into their ideological vision of American foreign policy and the wars they envision fighting. Rummy, who hired Wolfy, also is exploiting Sept. 11 to push what amounts to a combo military and ideological cause. ...
But does that mean those who oppose the Pax America/Rummy ideological agenda should oppose 'Invasion light' because it's been effectively hijacked by neoconservatives? Answer: No. As I said the other day, it's not as black and white as some ideologues on the left and right hope and/or want. We're probably going to need to maintain three military doctrines into the foreseeable future: 'Invasion light' (for campaigns like we saw in Afghanistan), the 'Powell Doctrine' (for conventional wars that may break out in such places as Korea) and a combination of the two (which we're seeing now in Iraq).
...Mickey Kaus is still hammering away at the ideological angle. I suspect Mickey’s merely trying to win an argument at this point.
Saturday, April 05, 2003
‘Free Iraq’ pins: A local reader of Hub Blog sends in this link in to get your very own ‘Free Iraq’ pin/logo. Check it out. And check out the moving words about the pin/logo. You don't have to be prowar or antiwar to appreciate the sentiments expressed.
NYT discovers politics in antiwar, prowar movements: This is a funny, funny story about the yawning political gap between college professors and students regarding the war in Iraq. The aging ‘60s professors seem stunned -- particularly at Amherst College -- that their students don’t see the world through their 30-year-old Vietnam-era prisms. Can you imagine? For the record, the NYT actually uses commonly used political phrases/terminology to describe where people are coming from! Here’s the tally from the NYT story:
Mention of the words ‘liberal’ or ‘liberals’ in the story: 3. As in ‘three’ mentions.
Mention of the words ‘left’ or ‘leftist’ or ‘left-wing’ or ‘radical’ etc.: 2. As in ‘two.’
Mention of the words ‘politics’ or ‘political’: 1. As in ‘one.’
Mention of the words ‘ideology’ or ‘ideological’: 0. As in ‘zero.’
Mention of any other politically related word commonly used in all other ‘political’ stories that might indicate where antiwar and prowar citizens might be coming from in terms of their ‘political’ identity: 3. As in ‘three.’
Of course, this still isn't very impressive, considering just about every time the story mentions ‘antiwar,’ the words ‘liberal’ or ‘left-wing’ could easily have replaced it. But it’s a hell of a lot better than the politically neutered antiwar stories we saw in the local press last weekend. Guess you can’t avoid a ‘political’ analysis when you can’t fall back on a ‘sociological analysis’ about the 'intellectual elite' and ‘more educated’ etc. But it’s a start!
Favorite quote in story: “ ‘Protesting is a niche activity,’ said Prof. Michael Kazin, co-author of "America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960's. ‘There are some people who do drama, some people who do protest, other people who drink too much.' ” (NYT story via Instapundit.)
Mention of the words ‘liberal’ or ‘liberals’ in the story: 3. As in ‘three’ mentions.
Mention of the words ‘left’ or ‘leftist’ or ‘left-wing’ or ‘radical’ etc.: 2. As in ‘two.’
Mention of the words ‘politics’ or ‘political’: 1. As in ‘one.’
Mention of the words ‘ideology’ or ‘ideological’: 0. As in ‘zero.’
Mention of any other politically related word commonly used in all other ‘political’ stories that might indicate where antiwar and prowar citizens might be coming from in terms of their ‘political’ identity: 3. As in ‘three.’
Of course, this still isn't very impressive, considering just about every time the story mentions ‘antiwar,’ the words ‘liberal’ or ‘left-wing’ could easily have replaced it. But it’s a hell of a lot better than the politically neutered antiwar stories we saw in the local press last weekend. Guess you can’t avoid a ‘political’ analysis when you can’t fall back on a ‘sociological analysis’ about the 'intellectual elite' and ‘more educated’ etc. But it’s a start!
Favorite quote in story: “ ‘Protesting is a niche activity,’ said Prof. Michael Kazin, co-author of "America Divided: The Civil War of the 1960's. ‘There are some people who do drama, some people who do protest, other people who drink too much.' ” (NYT story via Instapundit.)
Entering Baghdad -- and the ideological war simmers down: Whew! American troops are entering Baghdad. And according to this AP report, they’re not probing -- they’re there to stay. A daring plan to forestall the possibility of Republican Guard troops regrouping and infiltrating back into the city? The opportunity was there, so the Americans took it? Who knows? ...
... On another war front, an ideological truce over the ideological arguments over military tactics apparently has been called -- an argument that had less to do with military tactics and more to do with scoring ideological points, left and right. To his credit, the conservative Andrew Sullivan says this column by the NYT’s liberal Bill Keller ‘brings closure, to my mind, to debate over the war-plan.’ Keller’s key point:
“The war we are watching is neither a pure old-fashioned, heavy-metal war nor a light and lean ‘transformational’ war. It is, as Mr. Thompson puts it, ‘a transitional war’ — with elements of both old and new.”
Which is a point I was making yesterday and which is a point Tom Oliphant has been making the last few weeks, in this column and in this column. (FYI: Oliphant’s excellent columns during the war have been an important element of the Globe’s superb ‘shock and awe’ war coverage. More later on how the media has covered the war. Until that greatly anticipated Hub Bloggian moment, check out Dan Kennedy’s assessment, again.)
... On another war front, an ideological truce over the ideological arguments over military tactics apparently has been called -- an argument that had less to do with military tactics and more to do with scoring ideological points, left and right. To his credit, the conservative Andrew Sullivan says this column by the NYT’s liberal Bill Keller ‘brings closure, to my mind, to debate over the war-plan.’ Keller’s key point:
“The war we are watching is neither a pure old-fashioned, heavy-metal war nor a light and lean ‘transformational’ war. It is, as Mr. Thompson puts it, ‘a transitional war’ — with elements of both old and new.”
Which is a point I was making yesterday and which is a point Tom Oliphant has been making the last few weeks, in this column and in this column. (FYI: Oliphant’s excellent columns during the war have been an important element of the Globe’s superb ‘shock and awe’ war coverage. More later on how the media has covered the war. Until that greatly anticipated Hub Bloggian moment, check out Dan Kennedy’s assessment, again.)
Sad Note: New England is seeing its first military fatalities in the war. Here’s the Herald story and the Globe story. ... The pre-war talk between Matthew Boule and his WWII vet grandfather was sad, brief but historically intriguing, especially if you’re a history buff. See Globe story to see what I’m talking about.
Michael Kelly, RIP -- Part II: More on the sad death of Michael Kelly. ... Often, the seemingly simple observations say so much about a person. From afar (having never met him), Kelly always struck me as a little kid with a great heart and mind. In other words, he was curious, enthusiastic, confident, full of child-like energy. Here’s what Michael’s wife told Mark Jurkowitz: ''He has two little boys that he loved very much and who love him very much. ... He was up for anything, just jumped into anything with his kids.'' And he jumped into a war when he got bored with office journalism. He was that type of guy, it seems. ... Here’s the Herald’s story. ...
... Mickey Kaus has a lot of links about Kelly, including this terrific piece by Peggy Noonan. ... Andrew Sullivan has more to say over at Salon.
... Mickey Kaus has a lot of links about Kelly, including this terrific piece by Peggy Noonan. ... Andrew Sullivan has more to say over at Salon.
Fast Company makes fast break to NYC: No surprise here: Boston-based Fast Company is indeed moving its operations to New York. The magazine’s owner, Gruner+Jahr USA, also moved Boston-based Inc. magazine to NYC last year. Can’t blame them. Makes sense to concentrate Gruner+Jahr USA’s growing North American holdings in one place. ... Another blow to Boston publishing? Definitely. But don’t cry too much. ... I’m beginning to think Boston perhaps is becoming a great incubator for new publications. My only problem: We don't seem to have anything in the entrepreneurial pipeline right now. Hub Blog (seriously) has some ideas for new publications, if any David Bradley types want to contact me about them. ... We still have the Atlantic Monthly and Christian Science Monitor!
Technical change to prep school: This is sad, but also not surprising. The Benjamin Franklin Institute has been struggling for a long time now. ...
Friday, April 04, 2003
Finneran uncorks on just about everyone: In an interview with the Dorchester Reporter, House Speaker Tom Finneran fires off volleys in every direction:
On the Bulger/Romney spat: "They'll be no defense of President Bulger simply because he's the former senate president and now has done a good job at the university. Nobody's going to be able to just sit back and relax. At the same time, I do take issue with somebody who just wants to drop-kick him around and impose a punishment because he was the former senate president."
On the Herald’s coverage of the spat: “The Herald really seems to be thirsting for this one, like it's Ali-Frazier or something. They want to see the heavyweights dance and hit each other."
On Romney’s first 90 days: “If there's a strategy there, I'm troubled by it because the strategy would seem to suggest that you're going to lead the public in a direction and, then, never really inform the public. It seems to me that the governor should either be less bold in his initial announcements or he owes a statement to the public.”
On opponents of his constitutional amendment requiring a mandatory reserve fund: "process liberals."
Fun stuff. Good points. Bad points. Check it out. P.S.: Hub Blog is wondering when Finneran et gang will endorse at least one of Mitt's reforms. Still waiting, Mr. Speaker.
Update -- A reader sends in an obvious observation that Mitt isn't going after Billy because he's a former Senate president. It has 'something to do,' the reader said, with 'taking the Fifth during a manhunt for a murderer.'
On the Bulger/Romney spat: "They'll be no defense of President Bulger simply because he's the former senate president and now has done a good job at the university. Nobody's going to be able to just sit back and relax. At the same time, I do take issue with somebody who just wants to drop-kick him around and impose a punishment because he was the former senate president."
On the Herald’s coverage of the spat: “The Herald really seems to be thirsting for this one, like it's Ali-Frazier or something. They want to see the heavyweights dance and hit each other."
On Romney’s first 90 days: “If there's a strategy there, I'm troubled by it because the strategy would seem to suggest that you're going to lead the public in a direction and, then, never really inform the public. It seems to me that the governor should either be less bold in his initial announcements or he owes a statement to the public.”
On opponents of his constitutional amendment requiring a mandatory reserve fund: "process liberals."
Fun stuff. Good points. Bad points. Check it out. P.S.: Hub Blog is wondering when Finneran et gang will endorse at least one of Mitt's reforms. Still waiting, Mr. Speaker.
Update -- A reader sends in an obvious observation that Mitt isn't going after Billy because he's a former Senate president. It has 'something to do,' the reader said, with 'taking the Fifth during a manhunt for a murderer.'
Michael Kelly, RIP: Returning from a luncheon meeting, I saw I had an email from Reader No. 1, slugged "Awful news!!!!!" Michael Kelly, former editor and current editor at large of the Boston-based Atlantic Monthy, has been killed in Iraq covering the war. Awful news indeed. Reader No. 1 also forwarded a link to Dan Kennedy's site, with this message about Dan's item, 'This is an awesome remembrance.' It surely is. Boy, Mike will be missed.
... Here's a statement from the Atlantic Monthy. Says David Bradley, chairman and owner of Atlantic Media: "This is the first friend and the best friend I made in journalism. In that quarter of the heart, he can't be touched." Says Cullen Murphy, managing editor: "He saw his profession not as a game but as a public service. I want Mike's boys Tom and Jack to know that their Dad was a hero. His loss is devastating to all of us." ... There are other comments and photos at the site.
Update -- Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit has more about Michael Kelly and some other links, one of which is so gross that, well, I'll let Glenn rebut it in his usually devastating fashion. I can't believe someone could sink so low.
... Here's a statement from the Atlantic Monthy. Says David Bradley, chairman and owner of Atlantic Media: "This is the first friend and the best friend I made in journalism. In that quarter of the heart, he can't be touched." Says Cullen Murphy, managing editor: "He saw his profession not as a game but as a public service. I want Mike's boys Tom and Jack to know that their Dad was a hero. His loss is devastating to all of us." ... There are other comments and photos at the site.
Update -- Glenn Reynolds over at Instapundit has more about Michael Kelly and some other links, one of which is so gross that, well, I'll let Glenn rebut it in his usually devastating fashion. I can't believe someone could sink so low.
Cable and local coverage of the war: John Ellis has a sharp piece over at the WSJ Opinion Journal about the cable news networks’ coverage of the war. John: “Wall Street remains insistent that companies hit their numbers come hell or high water. So we're fast approaching the point where one of these news operations is going to have to blink” and cut back on coverage. I’ll let John tell you who he thinks will blink first. ...
... Meanwhile, Dan Kennedy has a good column about the local media’s coverage of the war. Dan’s overall assessment: They’ve done a fine job. Couldn’t agree more. They’ve really been impressive.
... Meanwhile, Dan Kennedy has a good column about the local media’s coverage of the war. Dan’s overall assessment: They’ve done a fine job. Couldn’t agree more. They’ve really been impressive.
‘You should be shot in the head’ ... ‘Have you ever shot anyone?’: I loved these two stories, strategically placed next to each other in the Globe today, about a UMass prof getting arrested during a protest (if you can call it that) and Marine recruiters at Belmont High. ...
... As for the UMass-Boston story, the National Guard officer, who was on campus recruiting, certainly comes across as a jackass who should be disciplined for losing his cool, but so does the professor, as you read into the story. National Guard officer to prof: ''You should be shot in the head.'' Prof to National Guard officer: ''No. You should be shot in the head.'' Case closed. Both are jerks. ...
Notice how the UMass students are quoted throughout the piece, verifying the prof’s version of events even while they’re chanting ''Stop police brutality'' and ''Recruiters off our campus.'' And then like groupies being led by a Pied Piper Prof, the students all trudge off to the police station to show their support for our hero. ...
... Contrast those college students with the Belmont High School students, who surrounded an on-campus Marine recruiter and eagerly fired off these questions: ''Have you ever been in live combat?'' ''Have you ever shot anyone?'' ''What's your favorite weapon?'' They also did push-ups to get Marine T-shirts. ... Fear not: when the Professor Van Der Meers of higher ed get their hands on these kids, they’ll be shouting “Police brutality” and “Recruiters off our campus.” ... Interesting fact: Military recruitment isn’t really up in Massachusetts. But interest is.
... As for the UMass-Boston story, the National Guard officer, who was on campus recruiting, certainly comes across as a jackass who should be disciplined for losing his cool, but so does the professor, as you read into the story. National Guard officer to prof: ''You should be shot in the head.'' Prof to National Guard officer: ''No. You should be shot in the head.'' Case closed. Both are jerks. ...
Notice how the UMass students are quoted throughout the piece, verifying the prof’s version of events even while they’re chanting ''Stop police brutality'' and ''Recruiters off our campus.'' And then like groupies being led by a Pied Piper Prof, the students all trudge off to the police station to show their support for our hero. ...
... Contrast those college students with the Belmont High School students, who surrounded an on-campus Marine recruiter and eagerly fired off these questions: ''Have you ever been in live combat?'' ''Have you ever shot anyone?'' ''What's your favorite weapon?'' They also did push-ups to get Marine T-shirts. ... Fear not: when the Professor Van Der Meers of higher ed get their hands on these kids, they’ll be shouting “Police brutality” and “Recruiters off our campus.” ... Interesting fact: Military recruitment isn’t really up in Massachusetts. But interest is.
‘Sgt. Lustig just blew that guy's head off’: Another great embed piece by Jules Crittenden, whose best reporting comes when he simply lets the GIs do the talking. ...
One curious line in the story: “In the Bradley's rear cabin, we slapped magazines into the M-4 rifles in case we were forced out to fight in the road.” ... We? This wasn’t part of a quote.
One curious line in the story: “In the Bradley's rear cabin, we slapped magazines into the M-4 rifles in case we were forced out to fight in the road.” ... We? This wasn’t part of a quote.
Having it both ways on Sen. Having It Both Ways: Hub Blog is having it both ways with John Kerry. Yesterday, it was glee over his being tripped up; today, it’s glee over his tripping up Republican critics who know so much about proper military protocol in times of war, even though they’ve never served in the military in times of war. ... FYI: Kerry’s criticism of the president isn’t the issue. It’s his backtracking that’s the issue.
Not a public naming contest! Ahhhhhhh!: Admire the Globe for weighing in on the ‘Tip Tunnel vs. Liberty Tunnel’ spat. But we just held a truly stupid public contest to come up with the truly stupidest state motto. And now we should repeat that stupid process for naming the new I-93 tunnels? ... The suits are going to overrule anything the public suggests anyway. So let’s cut the charade about public input and go with ‘Tip’s Tunnel North’ and ‘Tip’s Tunnel South.’ ... And go with a ‘Salvucci Park’ and a ‘Conte Park,’ too.
Kill the bottle law?: Hub Blog has a soft spot for the bottle bill. You see, there’s this elderly Asian woman who, three times a week, goes through everyone’s trash on Beacon Hill, collecting beer and wine bottles for the deposits. She’s a little messy, tearing open trash bags etc. But she’s gotten better in recent months. And so. ... Well, Steve Bailey has some interesting arguments against expansion of the bottle bill. In fact, he wants to kill the bottle bill. Very persuasive, insightful arguments. But what about the Asian woman?
The new Green Monster: ‘The view is awesome’: Hub Blog likes it! Good job! ... Here’s a photo of the changes at Fenway. (Photo expires tomorrow.)
French anti-Semitism watch: From the Boston-based CSM: “The problem, as (French) Jewish activists see it, isn't necessarily the support for Palestinians. It's the rejection of Israel. ‘It's become acceptable to not want Israel to exist,’ says Levy.” ... FYI: Levy, a French leftist and a Jew, was severely beaten at a Paris antiwar rally when he came to the defense of another Jew being beaten. Their crimes: They were Jews.
Update -- A Hub Blog reader, noting there's indeed "something worthwhile from France," sent me a link to a new bilingual blog, The Dissident Frogman, apparently written by a Frenchmen who likes our policies. ...
... Of course, there's the legendary Merde in France, written by an American who lives in Paris and who's a blast to read.
Update -- A Hub Blog reader, noting there's indeed "something worthwhile from France," sent me a link to a new bilingual blog, The Dissident Frogman, apparently written by a Frenchmen who likes our policies. ...
... Of course, there's the legendary Merde in France, written by an American who lives in Paris and who's a blast to read.
Ideologues continue the argument over military tactics: It’s almost laughable: armchair general intellectuals arguing over the military strategies and tactics being used in Iraq. From the left: Discredit ‘Invasion Light’ -- and you discredit the pre-emptive/unilateralist foreign policy initiatives of neoconservatives. From the right: Prove the worth of ‘Invasion Light’ -- and you prove the credibility of pre-emptive/unilateralist foreign policy initiatives of neoconservatives. ...
... Andrew Sullivan is at the forefront of this obnoxious and toxic debate. Sadly, H.D.S. Greenway, who wrote some of the most insightful political columns before the war, allowed himself today to get sucked into the vortex: “The Pentagon's worst mistake may prove to have been abandoning the Colin Powell doctrine of overwhelming force. Instead the Pentagon chose to feed troops into the battle piecemeal in the so-called ‘rolling start’ strategy.” ... H.D.S. also brings up Vietnam, ‘hubris’ and ‘hopes for quick victory are receding’ etc. etc.
But these armchair generals, both left and right, should do one thing: Read this Tom Oliphant column from a few weeks ago. In fact, President Bush wisely split the difference between ‘Invasion light’ and the ‘Powell Docrtine,’ as Tom makes clear. What we’re seeing in Iraq today is a combination of the two doctrines, not a ‘pure’ form of either one, and it would have tilted more in the ‘Powell Doctrine’ direction if we could have gotten the 4th Armored Division on the ground in time. But we didn’t. ... Alas, that won’t stop ideologues from seeing things in black and white. ...
... FYI: I believe there is an ideological element to the fight within the administration over ‘Invasion light’ vs. the ‘Powell Docrtine.’ But also keep in mind: There’s been a huge, huge debate in the Pentagon, well before Rummy took office, about the future make-up of the military, with some generals arguing for a leaner-meaner military in the post-Cold War world, while others say we still need ‘an overwhelming force’ that’s the hallmark of the Powell Doctrine. Both are right. The campaign in Afghanistan cried out for a nimble, lean-and-mean strategy -- and it worked. But would the same doctrine work if North Korean forces all of a sudden started to cross the 38th parallel next week?
The worst possible outcome in this ideological debate is for one ideological side to prevail -- for then armchair intellectual generals will literally have blood on their hands if one doctrine is abandoned and later found to have been necessary for victory.
... Andrew Sullivan is at the forefront of this obnoxious and toxic debate. Sadly, H.D.S. Greenway, who wrote some of the most insightful political columns before the war, allowed himself today to get sucked into the vortex: “The Pentagon's worst mistake may prove to have been abandoning the Colin Powell doctrine of overwhelming force. Instead the Pentagon chose to feed troops into the battle piecemeal in the so-called ‘rolling start’ strategy.” ... H.D.S. also brings up Vietnam, ‘hubris’ and ‘hopes for quick victory are receding’ etc. etc.
But these armchair generals, both left and right, should do one thing: Read this Tom Oliphant column from a few weeks ago. In fact, President Bush wisely split the difference between ‘Invasion light’ and the ‘Powell Docrtine,’ as Tom makes clear. What we’re seeing in Iraq today is a combination of the two doctrines, not a ‘pure’ form of either one, and it would have tilted more in the ‘Powell Doctrine’ direction if we could have gotten the 4th Armored Division on the ground in time. But we didn’t. ... Alas, that won’t stop ideologues from seeing things in black and white. ...
... FYI: I believe there is an ideological element to the fight within the administration over ‘Invasion light’ vs. the ‘Powell Docrtine.’ But also keep in mind: There’s been a huge, huge debate in the Pentagon, well before Rummy took office, about the future make-up of the military, with some generals arguing for a leaner-meaner military in the post-Cold War world, while others say we still need ‘an overwhelming force’ that’s the hallmark of the Powell Doctrine. Both are right. The campaign in Afghanistan cried out for a nimble, lean-and-mean strategy -- and it worked. But would the same doctrine work if North Korean forces all of a sudden started to cross the 38th parallel next week?
The worst possible outcome in this ideological debate is for one ideological side to prevail -- for then armchair intellectual generals will literally have blood on their hands if one doctrine is abandoned and later found to have been necessary for victory.
Thursday, April 03, 2003
Have-It-Both-Ways Kerry strikes again ...and again. ... and again: Lost track of how many have-it-both-ways incidents/antics the Globe catches in this one article alone, based on one speech and one post-speech interview with John Kerry. Mickey Kaus is going to have a field day with this. Highlights from the Globe:
Exhibit A:
Kerry: '' ‘What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,’ Kerry said in a speech at the Peterborough (N.H.) Town Library.”
Kerry after being confronted by Globe: “It is possible that the word `regime change' is too harsh. Perhaps it is.”
Exhibit B:
“Despite pledging two weeks ago to cool his criticism of the administration once war began, Kerry unleashed a barrage of criticism as US troops fought within 25 miles of Baghdad.”
Exhibit C:
“By echoing the ‘regime change’ line popular with hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters who have demonstrated across the nation in recent weeks, the Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential contender seemed to be reaching out to a newly invigorated constituency as rival Howard Dean ...”
Exhibit D:
“The criticism appeared to contradict statements Kerry made on March 18, just a day before Bush authorized military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power.”
And on and on it goes. Oh, yeah, almost forgot. The article notes: “Finally, he said his overall criticism of the administration was part of ‘the healthy democracy of the United States of America’ and no different from some of the war critiques published on the front page of major newspapers. ‘Is that unpatriotic?’ he asked.”
Questions: Did the Globe reporter and/or someone else ask about your patriotism, John? Did the reporter and/or someone else question your patriotism, John? Why are you even bringing up the subject, John?
Which conveniently brings us to ...
Exhibit A:
Kerry: '' ‘What we need now is not just a regime change in Saddam Hussein and Iraq, but we need a regime change in the United States,’ Kerry said in a speech at the Peterborough (N.H.) Town Library.”
Kerry after being confronted by Globe: “It is possible that the word `regime change' is too harsh. Perhaps it is.”
Exhibit B:
“Despite pledging two weeks ago to cool his criticism of the administration once war began, Kerry unleashed a barrage of criticism as US troops fought within 25 miles of Baghdad.”
Exhibit C:
“By echoing the ‘regime change’ line popular with hundreds of thousands of antiwar protesters who have demonstrated across the nation in recent weeks, the Massachusetts senator and Democratic presidential contender seemed to be reaching out to a newly invigorated constituency as rival Howard Dean ...”
Exhibit D:
“The criticism appeared to contradict statements Kerry made on March 18, just a day before Bush authorized military action to remove Saddam Hussein from power.”
And on and on it goes. Oh, yeah, almost forgot. The article notes: “Finally, he said his overall criticism of the administration was part of ‘the healthy democracy of the United States of America’ and no different from some of the war critiques published on the front page of major newspapers. ‘Is that unpatriotic?’ he asked.”
Questions: Did the Globe reporter and/or someone else ask about your patriotism, John? Did the reporter and/or someone else question your patriotism, John? Why are you even bringing up the subject, John?
Which conveniently brings us to ...
The dreaded Debate Over Debate In Times of War: Bringing up the My-Patriotism-is-Being-Questioned line has now become the rhetorical shield du jour of those who want to criticize but can’t stand being criticized back. ... Kerry is obviously anticipating criticism of his criticism, so he pre-emptively pulled out the old My-Patriotism-is-Being-Questioned shield. Ugh. ...
Lots of other talk today (such as in this Globe editorial) about ‘dissent’ and ‘protest’ and ‘healthy democracy’ in times of war, a subject Hub Blog tackled way back when Tommy DeLay obnoxiously told Tom Daschle, ‘Fermez la bouche.’ Hub Blog repeats: Criticism in times of war is good. ...
But the opposite is true, too: Analytical criticism of the critics’ arguments is also good in a time of war.
Example: Joan Vennochi today rightly bashes Peter Arnett over the head (you gotta read how she levels him -- not once, but twice, in her column). I.e. She’s criticizing the appropriateness and timing of Arnett’s criticisms and antics. Fine. That’s her right: Analytical criticism of a critic’s arguments/antics in a time of war.
But then Joan attacks those who criticized the negative military analysis by armchair General Barry R. McCaffrey and non-armchair General William Wallace (who really didn’t criticize -- he just spoke a truth about what’s happening on the ground in Iraq). Joan asks: “Is unpleasant truth now treason?” ... Huh? Who said anything about “treason” in regards to McCaffrey and Wallace? Granted, Arnett definitely has been fatuously accused of ‘treason’ by some right-wing pundits. But McCaffrey and Wallace? I’ll stand corrected if they were indeed accused of ‘treason,’ but my reading of it is that their military arguments and assessments were being questioned and criticized, not their patriotism. No need for a My-Patriotism-is-Being-Questioned shield in those two instances, Joan.
God, I hate debates over debates.
Lots of other talk today (such as in this Globe editorial) about ‘dissent’ and ‘protest’ and ‘healthy democracy’ in times of war, a subject Hub Blog tackled way back when Tommy DeLay obnoxiously told Tom Daschle, ‘Fermez la bouche.’ Hub Blog repeats: Criticism in times of war is good. ...
But the opposite is true, too: Analytical criticism of the critics’ arguments is also good in a time of war.
Example: Joan Vennochi today rightly bashes Peter Arnett over the head (you gotta read how she levels him -- not once, but twice, in her column). I.e. She’s criticizing the appropriateness and timing of Arnett’s criticisms and antics. Fine. That’s her right: Analytical criticism of a critic’s arguments/antics in a time of war.
But then Joan attacks those who criticized the negative military analysis by armchair General Barry R. McCaffrey and non-armchair General William Wallace (who really didn’t criticize -- he just spoke a truth about what’s happening on the ground in Iraq). Joan asks: “Is unpleasant truth now treason?” ... Huh? Who said anything about “treason” in regards to McCaffrey and Wallace? Granted, Arnett definitely has been fatuously accused of ‘treason’ by some right-wing pundits. But McCaffrey and Wallace? I’ll stand corrected if they were indeed accused of ‘treason,’ but my reading of it is that their military arguments and assessments were being questioned and criticized, not their patriotism. No need for a My-Patriotism-is-Being-Questioned shield in those two instances, Joan.
God, I hate debates over debates.
Peewee hockey players booed by patriotic French Canadians: Speaking of the right to dissent in times of war, I hereby respectfully disagree with the behavior of the Quebec fans, players and citizens described in this article about how peewee hockey players from Massachusetts were received in Montreal. And, no, I’m not questioning the people of Quebec’s patriotism or accusing them of treason. From the story (via Instapundit):
“MONTREAL -- A peewee hockey tournament in Montreal became a trip into hostile territory for a busload of Americans who say they encountered such fierce anti-Americanism that they will think twice before returning.
“During a four-day visit, boys travelling with their Massachusetts hockey team witnessed the burning of the Stars and Stripes and the booing of the U.S. national anthem. When travelling in their bus emblazoned with a red-white-and-blue ‘Coach USA’ logo, they saw people on the street who extended their middle fingers or made other angry gestures.
“On the ice, the Canadian players told their visiting counterparts that ‘the U.S. sucks’ and dispensed other anti-American insults, the Americans said.”
Hub Blog’s response: What class. FYI: The Bay State team was from Brockton, methinks. Poor kids.
P.S. Quebec relies a lot on French TV for its international news coverage of the war. Wonder if there’s a connection?
P.S. P.S. Not that we, in turn, can’t act like idiots. Some in Congress want to ‘punish’ countries such as France and Turkey for not supporting us in the war. ... The Christian Science Monitor’s John Hughes is urging America to cool it with France. We’ll need each other after the war for rebuilding, he notes. And he’s right.
“MONTREAL -- A peewee hockey tournament in Montreal became a trip into hostile territory for a busload of Americans who say they encountered such fierce anti-Americanism that they will think twice before returning.
“During a four-day visit, boys travelling with their Massachusetts hockey team witnessed the burning of the Stars and Stripes and the booing of the U.S. national anthem. When travelling in their bus emblazoned with a red-white-and-blue ‘Coach USA’ logo, they saw people on the street who extended their middle fingers or made other angry gestures.
“On the ice, the Canadian players told their visiting counterparts that ‘the U.S. sucks’ and dispensed other anti-American insults, the Americans said.”
Hub Blog’s response: What class. FYI: The Bay State team was from Brockton, methinks. Poor kids.
P.S. Quebec relies a lot on French TV for its international news coverage of the war. Wonder if there’s a connection?
P.S. P.S. Not that we, in turn, can’t act like idiots. Some in Congress want to ‘punish’ countries such as France and Turkey for not supporting us in the war. ... The Christian Science Monitor’s John Hughes is urging America to cool it with France. We’ll need each other after the war for rebuilding, he notes. And he’s right.
‘It was like the liberation of Paris’: As French Canadians boo Bay State peewee hockey players, American GIs are being cheered in the streets of Najaf. From the Globe (via WaPo) story: “An enthusiastic welcome for US forces in Najaf turned jubilant yesterday, as several thousand Iraqis braved sporadic firefights for what one special forces officer described as ‘the Macy's Day parade,’ applauding a US patrol that pushed close to a religious shrine at the center of the city.”
A U.S. commander on the scene described the scene this way: “We waited about an hour and a half, and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. The crowd got bigger and bigger, so we pulled back out. But it was like the liberation of Paris.''
Can’t resist: ‘It was like the liberation of Paris.’ ... Wonder if they’ll cover/see it that way on French TV -- or in Montreal. ...
In other war news:
... The Herald has a good story that raises some doubt (but not entirely) about the connection between Ansar al-Islam and al-Qaeda in northern Iraq. The evidence is not quite conclusive, but, clearly, Saddam, if he wished, could have crushed Ansar al-Islam. He didn’t. And so ...
A U.S. commander on the scene described the scene this way: “We waited about an hour and a half, and the hair on the back of my neck began to stand up. The crowd got bigger and bigger, so we pulled back out. But it was like the liberation of Paris.''
Can’t resist: ‘It was like the liberation of Paris.’ ... Wonder if they’ll cover/see it that way on French TV -- or in Montreal. ...
In other war news:
... The Herald has a good story that raises some doubt (but not entirely) about the connection between Ansar al-Islam and al-Qaeda in northern Iraq. The evidence is not quite conclusive, but, clearly, Saddam, if he wished, could have crushed Ansar al-Islam. He didn’t. And so ...
‘How the peace movement blew it’: Hope I don’t get accused of questioning antiwar protesters’ patriotism by noting this op-ed in the CSM this morning. It’s by an antiwar activist who (don’t say it too loud) criticizes the antiwar movement’s criticisms and tactics. From the op-ed by Mark LeVine:
“(B)y focusing on the quantity of protesters rather than the quality of our discourse, we deluded ourselves into thinking that our protests were delaying the war. But Bush was just playing for time till all the men and materiel were in place for war.
“We should have responded: ‘You're right, Mr. President, Hussein is a criminal who should be removed and brought to justice. But so should almost every regime in the Middle East.”
He has other criticisms of the war critics, but we won’t get into that subject again, right?
“(B)y focusing on the quantity of protesters rather than the quality of our discourse, we deluded ourselves into thinking that our protests were delaying the war. But Bush was just playing for time till all the men and materiel were in place for war.
“We should have responded: ‘You're right, Mr. President, Hussein is a criminal who should be removed and brought to justice. But so should almost every regime in the Middle East.”
He has other criticisms of the war critics, but we won’t get into that subject again, right?
A ‘cooperative’ spin by a non-cooperative Bulger: Billy is now smiling, sounding like an angel who’s only oh-so happy to 'cooperate' with the feds trying to find the truth about his mass-murdering brother, etc. Small point: Billy’s being forced to cooperate. ... Question: How many ‘aides’ does Billy have spinning this bogus happy-to-cooperate spiel? Are we paying for them? Or are they being paid out of the non-profit UMass endowment fund Billy’s been trying to tap into? ... Mitt is quite confident Billy will ‘cooperate.’
Wednesday, April 02, 2003
Peter Arnett's sincerity problem ...: Dan Kennedy has the goods. Read until the end. ... And I was almost beginning to feel sorry for Peter.
‘Tip’s Tunnel’ and ‘Salvucci Park’: Hope the spat over ‘Liberty Tunnel vs. Tip’s Tunnel’ doesn’t turn into a Story That Won’t Go Away, ala ‘Who is John Kerry?’ Repeat: Name both tunnels after O’Neill -- so we can start referring to them as ‘Tip’s Tunnel North’ and ‘Tip’s Tunnel South’ -- and be done with it. ...
Ah, but that leaves the issue of recognizing one of the other great figures in the history of the Big Dig: Fred Salvucci. Hub Blog suggested last week that we should honor Fred by naming one of the surface parks after him. Don’t know if Scot Lehigh agrees, but he definitely gives Salvucci the credit he richly deserves.
P.S. Reader No Nickname wrote in a few days ago with this observation on Mitt’s renaming the north tunnel to ‘Liberty Tunnel’: “This is a stupid, bland, tone-deaf move that makes Romney look like an out-of-touch out-of-towner. Its not like there was a huge constituency out there pleased as punch about the name 'Liberty'. Take the low-hanging fruit when it’s offered to you.”
Ah, but that leaves the issue of recognizing one of the other great figures in the history of the Big Dig: Fred Salvucci. Hub Blog suggested last week that we should honor Fred by naming one of the surface parks after him. Don’t know if Scot Lehigh agrees, but he definitely gives Salvucci the credit he richly deserves.
P.S. Reader No Nickname wrote in a few days ago with this observation on Mitt’s renaming the north tunnel to ‘Liberty Tunnel’: “This is a stupid, bland, tone-deaf move that makes Romney look like an out-of-touch out-of-towner. Its not like there was a huge constituency out there pleased as punch about the name 'Liberty'. Take the low-hanging fruit when it’s offered to you.”
Did the California diocese hire a R.I. attorney?: You gotta wonder. This lawsuit -- by the California diocese against the Boston Archdiocese -- is crazy but wonderful at the same time. There must be a Rhode Island-attorney connection somewhere, somehow. ...
... The Globe is attacking Bishop Lennon’s decision not to accept funds from Voice of the Faithful. Eileen McNamara is attacking the decision, too. But Eileen is advising Voice of the Faithful: Declare victory and give it up. She’s probably right, unfortunately. The hierarchy will never give up power. Never.
... The Globe is attacking Bishop Lennon’s decision not to accept funds from Voice of the Faithful. Eileen McNamara is attacking the decision, too. But Eileen is advising Voice of the Faithful: Declare victory and give it up. She’s probably right, unfortunately. The hierarchy will never give up power. Never.
The comical sides of the Bulger saga: Hub Blog just loves it whenever “UMass President William Bulger” and “former New England Mafia boss Francis ‘Cadillac Frank’ Salemme” are mentioned in the same lede. It just seems so fitting, so right. ...
... Sounds like Mitt recognizes it’s time to give up the personal battle with Billy, but his staff just can’t/won't let go of it. Go with your gut instinct, Mitt. This is just small-time bickering that demeans the governorship. Worse, it's almost becoming comical. Meet Billy. It's inevitable. Get it over with. Smile for the cameras, shake his hand -- and then wash your hand with a hankie afterward, out of sight of the cameras, of course.
... Sounds like Mitt recognizes it’s time to give up the personal battle with Billy, but his staff just can’t/won't let go of it. Go with your gut instinct, Mitt. This is just small-time bickering that demeans the governorship. Worse, it's almost becoming comical. Meet Billy. It's inevitable. Get it over with. Smile for the cameras, shake his hand -- and then wash your hand with a hankie afterward, out of sight of the cameras, of course.
More evidence ‘embeds’ are working: Mark Jurkowitz has an excellent story about how the ‘embeds’ are keeping the Pentagon honest. ...
... Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden has an excellent ‘embed’ story that indirectly explains the WaPo article/incident that Jurkowitz writes about. Example: “In the bitter street fighting in the towns along the way to Baghdad, he (an intelligence officer) said, ‘We've seen them pull women and children into buildings so the Americans won't shoot. I witnessed this.’” ...
The ‘embeds’ have simply been a spectacular success. Yes, yes, yes. They only provide ‘slices’ of the war. But they’ve also consistently confirmed and/or refuted key assertions made by dolts from across the political/military spectrum.
... Meanwhile, Jules Crittenden has an excellent ‘embed’ story that indirectly explains the WaPo article/incident that Jurkowitz writes about. Example: “In the bitter street fighting in the towns along the way to Baghdad, he (an intelligence officer) said, ‘We've seen them pull women and children into buildings so the Americans won't shoot. I witnessed this.’” ...
The ‘embeds’ have simply been a spectacular success. Yes, yes, yes. They only provide ‘slices’ of the war. But they’ve also consistently confirmed and/or refuted key assertions made by dolts from across the political/military spectrum.
‘Get to know the term ‘Karbala Pass’: Thought of Armchair Gen. Savin Hill’s advice at the start of the war (‘Get to know the term ‘Karbala Pass’) when I read this Globe story this morning. The battle of Karbala Pass has indeed begun -- and it may already be over with now, for all I know. Events are moving very quickly on the ground. ... The noose around Baghdad tightens. Are we still talking in terms of months to finish the war? Or is it now coming down to a matter of days or weeks?
The ‘smoking gun’ linking Iraq with Al Qaeda and WMD?: It’s getting close, as this Globe story and this CSM story explain. ... I think they’ll need a couple more of these type of ‘smoking guns’ before anyone can definitely say the connection has been made, but a case is slowly being made, make no mistake. ... If and when we get into Baghdad, we’re going to have a lot of interesting files to sift through.
‘The shouting match about troop levels’: The ideological debate about our military tactics in Iraq -- i.e. did we pursue an ‘Invasion Light’ option because it fit into the long-term goals of the pre-emptive/unilateralist types within the administration? -- has been raging for a few days now. Josh Marshall, a moderate liberal, and Andrew Sullivan, a conservative and gung-ho backer of the war, are politely duking it out (scroll around for latest updates etc.).
But, once again, Tom Oliphant, a prowar liberal, is sorting through the muck and coming up with intelligent answers. Oliphant, whose column appeared yesterday but wasn’t posted by Hub Blog because of all the blogger problems, summarizes his thoughts thusly:
“The shouting match about troop levels and the war's pace is diverting but misses the point of overwhelming US and British superiority. This war's outcome is not in reasonable doubt; it is in the aftermath, not the planning and execution, that the conflict's worth will be judged.”
But, once again, Tom Oliphant, a prowar liberal, is sorting through the muck and coming up with intelligent answers. Oliphant, whose column appeared yesterday but wasn’t posted by Hub Blog because of all the blogger problems, summarizes his thoughts thusly:
“The shouting match about troop levels and the war's pace is diverting but misses the point of overwhelming US and British superiority. This war's outcome is not in reasonable doubt; it is in the aftermath, not the planning and execution, that the conflict's worth will be judged.”
‘The Time Magazine Syndrome’ of covering the antiwar movement?: Sad to say, even the Boston-based Christian Science Monitor has now succumbed to the ‘non-political political coverage’ of the antiwar movement. ...
... I recently had a conversation with a friend, who happens to be a fellow journalist, about this interesting phenomenon of the media not using normal political terms like ‘left’ and ‘left-wing’ and ‘liberal’ etc. to describe the clear, undeniable political make-up of the antiwar movement. Some of our explanations are old but still sadly valid: the press remains largely liberal (albeit, less liberal than a decade or so ago) and just can’t bring itself to state the obvious truth about the antiwar movement -- so it subjects stories to ‘obvious sanitation’ and a form of ‘self-censorship,’ as my friend put it; many reporters/editors are afraid of being accused of ‘McCarythism’ if they use accurate political phrases about the movement, blah, blah, blah. Both of these explanations, by themselves or combined, are partially true but still inadequate, in my mind. ...
So I told my friend about my exciting new ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ theory of modern journalism, i.e. how Time magazine, when selecting its Man/Person of the Year each December, has consistently wimped out and dodged controversy in recent years. Time named Albert Einstein, for instance, as ‘Person of the Century,’ even though we all knew it wasn’t true. The Time editors were playing it safe. They didn’t want to create controversy and rock the boat. They also didn’t want to come across as endorsing one particular person and/or his cause. So they went for the mushy, safe, non-controversial option, i.e. good old Albert. Time magazine did the same thing in 2001, when anyone with a brain on their shoulder would have picked Bush and/or Osama bin Laden as Man/Men of the Year in the post-Sept. 11 world. ...
... So could it be -- as I eagerly explained to my friend -- that the ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ has infected mainstream American journalism when it comes to covering politically sensitive topics like the political nature of the antiwar movement? Could it be that the press -- knowing if it accurately reported on the political nature of the antiwar movement, it would probably cause harm to the movement and unleash great controversy-- is dodging controversy and not trying to rock the boat? Huh?
.... Response of my friend: “Well, I’m sure that’s part of the reason but ...’ And then he went back to the bias angle. Hmmmmmm. I still think there’s something to the ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ theory. It doesn’t explain everything, but it does make some sense. ... I’ll keep working on it.
... I recently had a conversation with a friend, who happens to be a fellow journalist, about this interesting phenomenon of the media not using normal political terms like ‘left’ and ‘left-wing’ and ‘liberal’ etc. to describe the clear, undeniable political make-up of the antiwar movement. Some of our explanations are old but still sadly valid: the press remains largely liberal (albeit, less liberal than a decade or so ago) and just can’t bring itself to state the obvious truth about the antiwar movement -- so it subjects stories to ‘obvious sanitation’ and a form of ‘self-censorship,’ as my friend put it; many reporters/editors are afraid of being accused of ‘McCarythism’ if they use accurate political phrases about the movement, blah, blah, blah. Both of these explanations, by themselves or combined, are partially true but still inadequate, in my mind. ...
So I told my friend about my exciting new ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ theory of modern journalism, i.e. how Time magazine, when selecting its Man/Person of the Year each December, has consistently wimped out and dodged controversy in recent years. Time named Albert Einstein, for instance, as ‘Person of the Century,’ even though we all knew it wasn’t true. The Time editors were playing it safe. They didn’t want to create controversy and rock the boat. They also didn’t want to come across as endorsing one particular person and/or his cause. So they went for the mushy, safe, non-controversial option, i.e. good old Albert. Time magazine did the same thing in 2001, when anyone with a brain on their shoulder would have picked Bush and/or Osama bin Laden as Man/Men of the Year in the post-Sept. 11 world. ...
... So could it be -- as I eagerly explained to my friend -- that the ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ has infected mainstream American journalism when it comes to covering politically sensitive topics like the political nature of the antiwar movement? Could it be that the press -- knowing if it accurately reported on the political nature of the antiwar movement, it would probably cause harm to the movement and unleash great controversy-- is dodging controversy and not trying to rock the boat? Huh?
.... Response of my friend: “Well, I’m sure that’s part of the reason but ...’ And then he went back to the bias angle. Hmmmmmm. I still think there’s something to the ‘Time Magazine Syndrome’ theory. It doesn’t explain everything, but it does make some sense. ... I’ll keep working on it.
The French view of the war, Part II: More French bashing in the wake of my item yesterday and in the wake of disturbing events in France: From a Hub Blog reader:
“If there's any doubt people should make their homes into French-free zones, this (article in the Times of London) should dispel it. The money quote:
‘Relations will be further rent by a second poll, in Le Monde, showing that only a third of the French felt that they were on the same side as the Americans and British, and that another third desired outright Iraqi victory over ‘les anglo-saxons.’’
“It's one thing to think the war is a bad idea. It's another thing to be actually rooting for Hussein to win. What pathetic, amoral, disgusting, sick people. Well, at least we finally have proof of what the French's true colors are. Backstabbers who are never to be trusted. Ever.”
Hub Blog’s response: Understand the frustration. Believe me. I’m no fan of French anti-Americanism, France’s amoral Henry Kissinger-like geopolitical/balance-of-power foreign policy, and France’s neocolonial policies in west Africa etc.
However, what I find somewhat amazing about the French poll numbers -- and the polls vary widely, by the way, though they draw roughly similar pictures -- is that there are any French people rooting for the Brits and Americans, let alone 34 percent or 53 percent, depending on what poll you use. Look at what the average Frenchmen is up against: A so-called ‘intellectual elite’ with long ties to left-wing and right-wing anti-Americanism; a governmental elite who are all schooled and trained at the same damn elitist institutions; a press (often government financed, bribed or run, especially TV) that’s openly hostile to the war, etc. Despite all of this (and the fact there's a large Muslim population in France that the elites are busy appeasing when they're not ignoring them), there’s still large segments of French society that can cut through this top-down malarkey.
An interesting tale to show you what I mean: I was stuck, not too long ago, in an airport terminal in N’djamena, Chad. Struck up a conversation with a group of Frenchmen. Out of nowhere, one of them said, “You know, we are all from Normandy. Did you know that? We remember what America did. We’re not all anti-Americans in France.” I looked at the other Frenchmen, and they were all nodding their heads. They were not among the ‘intellectual elite’ or the ‘more educated,’ as the Globe might call them. They were construction workers and engineers working on some project in Chad.
Quickly, on the French poll numbers: There are a lot of them flying around. I got these poll numbers from a BBC article based on the Le Monde/TF1 poll: 34 percent support the US-led war; 25 percent support Iraq; 31 percent support neither side. As I noted in my blog item yesterday, I noticed/heard slightly different numbers from a French-Channel 2 poll: 53 hoping the US-led forces would win; 35 percent rooting for Saddam.
P.S.: Notice in the BBC article how many French politicians, some of whom made a virtual career out of American bashing, are now warning against anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. They made the connection -- not me.
“If there's any doubt people should make their homes into French-free zones, this (article in the Times of London) should dispel it. The money quote:
‘Relations will be further rent by a second poll, in Le Monde, showing that only a third of the French felt that they were on the same side as the Americans and British, and that another third desired outright Iraqi victory over ‘les anglo-saxons.’’
“It's one thing to think the war is a bad idea. It's another thing to be actually rooting for Hussein to win. What pathetic, amoral, disgusting, sick people. Well, at least we finally have proof of what the French's true colors are. Backstabbers who are never to be trusted. Ever.”
Hub Blog’s response: Understand the frustration. Believe me. I’m no fan of French anti-Americanism, France’s amoral Henry Kissinger-like geopolitical/balance-of-power foreign policy, and France’s neocolonial policies in west Africa etc.
However, what I find somewhat amazing about the French poll numbers -- and the polls vary widely, by the way, though they draw roughly similar pictures -- is that there are any French people rooting for the Brits and Americans, let alone 34 percent or 53 percent, depending on what poll you use. Look at what the average Frenchmen is up against: A so-called ‘intellectual elite’ with long ties to left-wing and right-wing anti-Americanism; a governmental elite who are all schooled and trained at the same damn elitist institutions; a press (often government financed, bribed or run, especially TV) that’s openly hostile to the war, etc. Despite all of this (and the fact there's a large Muslim population in France that the elites are busy appeasing when they're not ignoring them), there’s still large segments of French society that can cut through this top-down malarkey.
An interesting tale to show you what I mean: I was stuck, not too long ago, in an airport terminal in N’djamena, Chad. Struck up a conversation with a group of Frenchmen. Out of nowhere, one of them said, “You know, we are all from Normandy. Did you know that? We remember what America did. We’re not all anti-Americans in France.” I looked at the other Frenchmen, and they were all nodding their heads. They were not among the ‘intellectual elite’ or the ‘more educated,’ as the Globe might call them. They were construction workers and engineers working on some project in Chad.
Quickly, on the French poll numbers: There are a lot of them flying around. I got these poll numbers from a BBC article based on the Le Monde/TF1 poll: 34 percent support the US-led war; 25 percent support Iraq; 31 percent support neither side. As I noted in my blog item yesterday, I noticed/heard slightly different numbers from a French-Channel 2 poll: 53 hoping the US-led forces would win; 35 percent rooting for Saddam.
P.S.: Notice in the BBC article how many French politicians, some of whom made a virtual career out of American bashing, are now warning against anti-Americanism and anti-Semitism. They made the connection -- not me.
Tuesday, April 01, 2003
Sorry for the delay in posting today. Massive blogger problems all day. Just switched to Blogger Pro as a result. Here they are (I hope) ...
‘I got him! I got him! ... Shut up!’: The best local war reporting of the day goes to, without a doubt, the Herald’s Jules Crittenden, who sends in this utterly riveting story about his embedded A Company’s first day in combat:
“The shooting continued, answered by heavy volleys of M-4 fire and an M-203 grenade launcher.
“ ‘I think I got him!’ yelled the GI with the grenade launcher. When the shooting picked up again, Wolford ran ahead with his 9 mm pistol drawn, firing and yelling, ‘Anyone got a grenade? When you throw it, bound up on him while he's still stunned!’
“The GIs followed the captain's advice, shot one teenage Iraqi soldier in the head and pumped rounds at the other, who moaned but kept crawling.
“ ‘I got him! I got him! Stay down, (expletive!)’ a GI yelled. The Iraqi, bleeding from a shrapnel wound to his rump, had had enough. He moaned loudly.
“ ‘Shut up!'' the GIs yelled.
“ ‘How's that 203 round taste, (expletive!)’ the grenade shooter yelled. ‘That was me!’”
Read the entire story. Crittenden has the most amazing ear for GIs’ dialogue -- the ‘voice full of adrenaline, but sounding more like an excited kid than a killer,’ as he puts it at one point.
P.S. Here's a great Globe story on the northern Iraq front, which looks more and more like a mini-Afghanistan, without the Northern Alliance’s armored vehicles that can sweep down from the north. ... And here's another excellent Globe story about the mysterious western Iraq front.
‘I got him! I got him! ... Shut up!’: The best local war reporting of the day goes to, without a doubt, the Herald’s Jules Crittenden, who sends in this utterly riveting story about his embedded A Company’s first day in combat:
“The shooting continued, answered by heavy volleys of M-4 fire and an M-203 grenade launcher.
“ ‘I think I got him!’ yelled the GI with the grenade launcher. When the shooting picked up again, Wolford ran ahead with his 9 mm pistol drawn, firing and yelling, ‘Anyone got a grenade? When you throw it, bound up on him while he's still stunned!’
“The GIs followed the captain's advice, shot one teenage Iraqi soldier in the head and pumped rounds at the other, who moaned but kept crawling.
“ ‘I got him! I got him! Stay down, (expletive!)’ a GI yelled. The Iraqi, bleeding from a shrapnel wound to his rump, had had enough. He moaned loudly.
“ ‘Shut up!'' the GIs yelled.
“ ‘How's that 203 round taste, (expletive!)’ the grenade shooter yelled. ‘That was me!’”
Read the entire story. Crittenden has the most amazing ear for GIs’ dialogue -- the ‘voice full of adrenaline, but sounding more like an excited kid than a killer,’ as he puts it at one point.
P.S. Here's a great Globe story on the northern Iraq front, which looks more and more like a mini-Afghanistan, without the Northern Alliance’s armored vehicles that can sweep down from the north. ... And here's another excellent Globe story about the mysterious western Iraq front.
Finneran’s ‘Jo Moore’ pay-raise antics: Steve Bailey called it. They’re going for a pay hike as attention is focused on the war. ... Hub Blog had bet on them going after a stealth Jo Moore expansion of the Quinn bill to firefighters. I could still be proven right.
‘He is hunkered down and prepared to fight ...’: No, not another war story/item. Instead, this item’s slug is part of Joan Vennochi’s clever lead in her column about Billy Bulger fighting for his UMass job. Before getting into the meat of Joan’s column, you gotta read more of her lead: “A loyal cadre of followers is resisting all efforts to impose regime change. The battle to overthrow him now looks to be longer, meaner, and tougher than first presumed. University of Massachusetts President William M. Bulger is not going gently into that good night envisioned by Governor Mitt Romney.” ...
... Great writing. And the political analysis is even better, especially about the possible/probable role of Joe Malone holdovers pushing the grudge match against Bulger. ... Listen, I don’t like Bulger. I think he’s unfit to serve in public office as long as he refuses to assist public law enforcement in hunting down a public menace, i.e. an alleged mass-murderer. ... But Mitt ought to show more strategic flexibility, to carry the military metaphors a bit more, admit his ‘shock and awe’/‘tipping point’ strategy against Billy has failed and so bypass certain pockets of resistance and push on to other reform objectives. ... Like John Kerry, Joan is betting on a Bulger victory on this one. I am, too. Move on, Mitt. ...
... Wayne Woodlief agrees: “It's time for Gov. Mitt Romney to call a truce in his insulting - and probably unwinnable - battle with William M. ‘Billy’ Bulger.” ... Don’t know about the word ‘insulting,’ for Billy has been far more insulting and obnoxious in both his words and deeds. But the point is made: This is indeed ‘probably unwinnable’ for Mitt. .... (Woodlief’s full column is for paid subscribers/pay-to-view. For that reason, I didn’t read the whole thing, FYI.)
... Great writing. And the political analysis is even better, especially about the possible/probable role of Joe Malone holdovers pushing the grudge match against Bulger. ... Listen, I don’t like Bulger. I think he’s unfit to serve in public office as long as he refuses to assist public law enforcement in hunting down a public menace, i.e. an alleged mass-murderer. ... But Mitt ought to show more strategic flexibility, to carry the military metaphors a bit more, admit his ‘shock and awe’/‘tipping point’ strategy against Billy has failed and so bypass certain pockets of resistance and push on to other reform objectives. ... Like John Kerry, Joan is betting on a Bulger victory on this one. I am, too. Move on, Mitt. ...
... Wayne Woodlief agrees: “It's time for Gov. Mitt Romney to call a truce in his insulting - and probably unwinnable - battle with William M. ‘Billy’ Bulger.” ... Don’t know about the word ‘insulting,’ for Billy has been far more insulting and obnoxious in both his words and deeds. But the point is made: This is indeed ‘probably unwinnable’ for Mitt. .... (Woodlief’s full column is for paid subscribers/pay-to-view. For that reason, I didn’t read the whole thing, FYI.)
Gambling on gambling in Massachusetts: OK, do it. Get it out of the way. ‘Experiment’ with more gambling in Massachusetts. No moralistic opposition to it from this quarter. But two warnings: 1.) It won’t be ‘temporary’ and 2.) Keep an eye on the gambling industry’s lobbying/campaign financing/links with key politicos once it gets its industry snout in Massachusetts. ... Then again, it probably won't happen. Finneran will have his say.
It’s always been about ‘hierarchical power’: Ah, the Catholic church. In order to maintain its grip on power and control over the purse strings, it will not accept badly needed money from Voice of the Faithful to help the poor and vulnerable. ... But where’s the surprise? Wasn’t the sex-abuse scandal also about the hierarchy’s bid to maintain its grip on power and control over the purse strings despite the impact on the poor and vulnerable? ... Nothing has changed at the top. Nothing.
A French view of the war -- on local cable TV: If you have a chance, try to watch the French TV news shows playing on the International Channel (channel A35 on Boston's Comcast -- English subtitles and dubbing provided). Last night’s coverage of the war in Iraq was utterly mesmerizing -- and illuminating. The anchors and France-based reports were incredibly biased: Interviews with experts and politicians who blasted the war; generic video clips showing wounded Iraqi children; a Peter Arnett-like/softball interview of the Iraqi foreign minister in Baghdad, an interview that apparently was played on both French and Iraqi state television etc. ...
BUT two things blew me away: The French ‘embedded’ journalists with allied troops and a live studio interview with a panel guest who openly and angrily denounced French TV’s coverage of the war as “Saddam’s propaganda.”
On the French ‘embedded’ journalists:
Their embedded reports -- which were given minimal exposure in terms of on-air time devoted to the war -- were fair and balanced. They explained the allies’ military setbacks, interviewed GIs who were both scared and defiant; described the killing of civilians by Saddam’s forces and how Iraqi civilians were growing increasingly more confident about openly criticizing Saddam. The contrast between the ‘home-based’ anchors/analysts/reporters and the French ‘embedded’ journalists was stark.
On the in-studio guest who denounced French media coverage:
This interview was unbelievable. Don’t know who the guest was, though he was obviously French. Missed his identification. But he blasted the French media’s overall coverage of the war, saying it was not balanced and not giving enough attention to what was actually happening on the ground. The following exchange then ensued (emphasis from subtitles):
Interviewed guest: “Your news is really Saddam’s propaganda!”
Anchor: “Our job is about facts! ... We’re reporting facts ... Your comments on our work don’t reflect reality!”
Interviewed guest: “It’s all a matter of your editing!”
The anchor then reiterated his channel’s coverage (I think it was the state-run Channel 2 in France) was ‘all based on reality’ and then he angrily brought the interview to an end.
Yes, they’re arguing in France, too, about war coverage, but they’re coming at the media debate from a completely different angle. And, yes, like in America, the 'embedded' journalists are proving to be great checks against government/pundit spins back home.
FYI: My French is only so-so, and so I had to rely a lot on the subtitles for the above text. Will stand corrected if it turns out what I heard/scribbled down is a little off. But I’m 98 percent sure I got it largely right. ... Also FYI: I thought I heard polling figures that show 73 percent of the French people are against the war, but 53 percent are still rooting for the allies to win. That 53 percent isn’t exactly reassuring, especially since 35 percent were hoping we wouldn’t win the war. But the fact a majority was hoping for allied victory was, well, still significant and says a lot about the split and complex views/loyalties among the French.
BUT two things blew me away: The French ‘embedded’ journalists with allied troops and a live studio interview with a panel guest who openly and angrily denounced French TV’s coverage of the war as “Saddam’s propaganda.”
On the French ‘embedded’ journalists:
Their embedded reports -- which were given minimal exposure in terms of on-air time devoted to the war -- were fair and balanced. They explained the allies’ military setbacks, interviewed GIs who were both scared and defiant; described the killing of civilians by Saddam’s forces and how Iraqi civilians were growing increasingly more confident about openly criticizing Saddam. The contrast between the ‘home-based’ anchors/analysts/reporters and the French ‘embedded’ journalists was stark.
On the in-studio guest who denounced French media coverage:
This interview was unbelievable. Don’t know who the guest was, though he was obviously French. Missed his identification. But he blasted the French media’s overall coverage of the war, saying it was not balanced and not giving enough attention to what was actually happening on the ground. The following exchange then ensued (emphasis from subtitles):
Interviewed guest: “Your news is really Saddam’s propaganda!”
Anchor: “Our job is about facts! ... We’re reporting facts ... Your comments on our work don’t reflect reality!”
Interviewed guest: “It’s all a matter of your editing!”
The anchor then reiterated his channel’s coverage (I think it was the state-run Channel 2 in France) was ‘all based on reality’ and then he angrily brought the interview to an end.
Yes, they’re arguing in France, too, about war coverage, but they’re coming at the media debate from a completely different angle. And, yes, like in America, the 'embedded' journalists are proving to be great checks against government/pundit spins back home.
FYI: My French is only so-so, and so I had to rely a lot on the subtitles for the above text. Will stand corrected if it turns out what I heard/scribbled down is a little off. But I’m 98 percent sure I got it largely right. ... Also FYI: I thought I heard polling figures that show 73 percent of the French people are against the war, but 53 percent are still rooting for the allies to win. That 53 percent isn’t exactly reassuring, especially since 35 percent were hoping we wouldn’t win the war. But the fact a majority was hoping for allied victory was, well, still significant and says a lot about the split and complex views/loyalties among the French.
