Okay, no matter what your political orientation, ya gotta admit it, this Susan and Dave Konig article on P.C. Halloween costumes is funny. I've gotten really tired of PC jokes, but these still worked for me. %-) This one really got me:

The Elder Statesmen (formerly "Scary Mummies"):
Long forgotten ancient mummies rise from their dark lairs to raise evil spirits (and property taxes, income taxes, sales taxes, capital gains taxes....). Now available in Minnesota and New Jersey.

While I'm at it I might as well note that this old Jonah Goldberg piece is pretty good too.

First: I've been wondering for the last three days who would be the first conspiracy wacko to suggest that Republicans had Paul Wellstone killed. Today on Fox News they report that Ted Rall gets this honor, but can anyone else verify that story?

Second: Every few years we have a news cycle that seems to become dominated by someone with a cool and unusual name. Like Joey Buttafuoco, John Wayne Bobbit, Wolf Blitzer, Kato Kaelin, and so on.

In this news cycle I believe we have our cool name-to-remember-things-by: Hans Blix.

Anyone want to second the nomination? :-)

Colby Cosh and others have a really excellent discussion of the problems of the Islamic faith, and Western views of it, here. I recommend following all the links from Cosh's article. (Stolen from Andrea Harris.)

10. Guaranteed to get at least a little something in the sack.

9. If you get tired, wait 10 minutes and go at it again.

8. The Uglier you look, the easier it is to get some.

7. You don't have to compliment the person who gave you candy.

6. It's OK when the person you're with fantasizes you're someone else, because you ARE someone else.

5. 40 years from now, you'll still enjoy candy.

4. If you don't get what you want, you can always go next door.

3. Doesn't matter if kids hear you moaning and groaning.

2. Less guilt the next morning.

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While complaining that those evil Republicans were attacking Mondale's record before the family has had a chance to grieve, the Democrats were preparing possible legal challenges--should Mondale lose.

Minnesota state officials laid out the rules for absentee voting in the race. If absentee voters have already cast ballots for Coleman, they need do nothing more, according to the officials; those votes will count. But if absentee voters have already cast ballots for Wellstone, those ballots will not be counted. The voters will, instead, have to request another ballot or show up at the polls on Election Day.

Guess what that means? Let's say it together: DISENFRANCHISED VOTERS! Not just any voters but Democrat voters.

It appears that Minnesota has a law on the books that covers late ballot changes.

If Coleman wins - expect that law to be tested in court.

There is now one week to Election Day in most of the country and it is the responsibility of every citizen to educate themselves on the candidates and issues. The most valuable resource for making an informed decision is the League of Women Voters.

Their Democracy Net provides a valuable link to your candidates and their positions. Enter your zip code and read the candidates answers to the League’s questionnaire.

Read all the responses. See if you can decipher which of the candidates actually answered the questions themselves and who had their staff fill in the blanks. Who answers in a direct manner and who dodges and obfuscates. For example, I couldn’t believe how much muck I had to wade through to discover my senator's position on the diversion of Great Lakes water and I’m still not sure I know!

Apparently, I’m running for Congress...

Although it hasn't gotten much mainstream press attention, there was a coup in Qatar recently. This will seem like minor news to most people, but those of us who watch the War on Terror like a hawk found it unsurprising--indeed, almost predictable.

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Check it out! My funk-soul brother Jerry Kindall is famous!

He's also scaring me. :-(

(By the way, yes, it's the cool Jerry Kindall, and not that dorky baseball player.)

All I want to know is who gave him the money for the house?

They are the stuff of TV dramas and the fictional nemesis of Hannibal Lecter. They are the profilers, detectives skilled in the art of psychological portraiture. They track down serial killers and thrill us with their acumen when the perp is finally revealed to match the sketch they drew for us. So enamored of their skill are we that anyone with a working knowledge of criminal psychology can join the Legion of Talking Heads in the 24 hr. news cycle.

That is until last week’s arrest of the two suspects in the DC area sniper case…

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The way Russia spells it caused 117 Dead, 150 in intensive care, and 45 in grave condition.

The Russian Special Forces ended the 2-day takeover before dawn Saturday with a raid on the theater shortly before the hostage-takers, rebels from Russia's embattled Chechnya region, had threatened to begin killing their more than 800 captives.

The mysterious gas Russian forces pumped into a theater to end a hostage crisis was an opiate — a chemical related to morphine.

CNN reports on the anger felt by the Russian people because officials wouldn't tell the doctors what kind of gas was used.

"Alexei Arbatov, head of the Russian parliament's defence committee, told CNN: I blame the authorities for not providing the doctors with antidotes and instructions on how to use them. "

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Those who blame Colin Powell for failing to push on to Baghdad during the First Gulf War need to read Kevin Baker’s piece in this month’s American Heritage.

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The buzz out of Minnesota is that the Democrats will almost certainly try to replace the late Senator Paul Wellstone with none other than Walter "Fritz" Mondale. Mondale served as a Senator from Minnesota for 12 years, then served four years as Vice President under Jimmy Carter. He later became the Democratic nominee for President in 1984. (He was also the first man for whom I cast a vote for President. I'm sure he'll be thrilled to hear the news.)

An interesting thing most people don't know is that the Veep also serves as President of the Senate. He technically acts as moderator, and casts the deciding vote when there are ties. If you ever hear snippets of Senators addressing arguments to "Mr. President," now you'll know what's going on. They are not arguing with the President of the United States, they're simply addressing their moderator: the President of the Senate, i.e. the Vice President of the United States.

Anyway, if Mondale should win the election in Minnesota next week (and he probably will), he will be only the third Senator to become Vice President and then later return to the Senate. For 2 million Trivia Geek Points, either of the other men to do that.

1 additional point if you can name the state he was from.

I have read many thousands of books since I was a child. I count The Autobiography of Malcom X as among the very best. Of the many biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs I've read, only David Horowitz' Radical Son comes close to matching its startling force, unflinching personal honesty, fierce intellectual integrity, and deep historical significance. Love the man or hate him, I don't see how anyone could come away with his worldview unchanged after reading that book.

One thing that's long bothered me is that very few people who talk about Malcolm X ever bother to note the most riveting part of his story:

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Forget the Freemasons, forget the Illuminati, forget the Learned Elders of Zion! I have uncovered a far more insidious cabal bent on world domination— the Canadians !

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The Governor's race is heating up here in Michigan. I talk to a lot of people about politics. Anyone who'll listen, actually. I've been told I'm a bit of a Svengali.

So, I do what I can to raise the awareness of the democrats, ummm, I mean politically unsavvy within my reach.

Recently, I was explaining the Pros of Posthumus and the Cons of Granholm to union members that obviously NEVER watch the news or read, I discovered something that gave me pause.

I found that most of the union guys/gals I spoke with hate Granholm - too many reasons to name. Great a vote for Dick! Not sure we like him either was the response. I felt a little deflated. So I asked...

Why????

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I was pleased to see that America's #1 hate-mongering demagogue got a taste of his own medicine this week, when a group of black barbers demanded an apology and threatened to sue him, according to CNN.

What CNN doesn't mention is that the real reason America's favorite racist and general hate-monger attacked the movie in question was because they directly criticize him in the film--with a four-letter anglo-saxon expletive no less. It was when he demanded that the "offensive" parts be stripped from the DVD issue of the movie that the crapola hit the fan. And it's all flying back in his face, apparently.

Looks good on him, too.

When contemplating Wellstone's heartbreaking demise (see below), you might want to contemplate this: when we mourn political figures, we sometimes forget people who are every bit as important, but who never make it into the national news at all.

The news media gives us a distorted world view sometimes. It really does.

Minnesota Senator Paul Wellstone has died in a plane crash--which is something of an occupational hazard for politicians, who spend a lot more time in planes than most of us.

It is universally agreed that, while he was a committed and unwavering far-left partisan, he was also universally liked and respected for his honesty and his consistency. He was one of those politicians who reliably said what he meant and meant what he said--which is more common than some people think, but is always highly praiseworthy in a career that encourages cynicism. He was also a supporter of term limits--although, like many politicians, found it hard to live up to that belief once he was faced with the prospect of voluntarily stepping down.

Equally tragic, his wife, daughter, and members of his campaign staff were killed, as were campaign workers and the crew. It was a small plane, flying in bad weather toward a campaign stop. Wellstone is survived by two sons and a host of grandchildren.

People shouldn't leave politics like this. It is inevitable, and completely unavoidable, that talk will turn soon to how this will effect the election, which is less than two weeks away. But for now, let's hope most commentators have the class just to note the tragedy, and allow the people in the back rooms to do the necessary bickering and maneuvering.

A Chilean study reports that drinking wine is less risky than drinking beer.

My advice: LIVE DANGEROUSLY!!!

In the meantime:

"I gotta go. I have a cocktail waiting for me."
--KATHRYN GANNON, the porn-star mistress of a former investment bank
chairman, to reporters after being sentenced to three months in prison for
trading on inside stock tips he gave her.

Maybe it’s just me, but every time I see msn’s new logo for Version 8 of their browser, the first word out of my mouth is “SPOON!!!”

I was never a big fan of poetry, or at least I thought so until Robert Pinsky came along.

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Salah Naseawi writing for the AP reports that Egyptian television has announced plans to broadcast a miniseries based on the perennial bestseller Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion.

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Like many allies after 9/11 some Australian commentators caught root rot.

What is root rot?

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"The very purpose of existence is to reconcile the glowing opinion we have of ourselves with the appalling things that other people think about us."
--Quentin Crisp

So, Iraq has opened the doors of its prisons and loosed the thousands into the streets— free at last .

But the question whispered in the streets and by the thousands of families of the imprisoned is: Where are they?

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I do my best to keep this a fresh and fun place to come and hang out. However, due to some critical professional and personal commitments, I'm going to be severely curtailing online activities for the rest of the week.

"NO!" I hear the masses scream. "The howling void in our souls will drive us mad, mad! How will we cope without Dean to tell us what to think, and to give purpose to our sad and meaningless existence?"

Fear not, my faithful minions. My leave will be short. To keep a flickering flutter of hope aflame in your otherwise dull and pointless lives, I have made suitable arrangements for the interim. My lovely wife Rosemary and my furry compatriot Paul Fallon have agreed to help keep you stimulated. They will provide the necessary methadone for your souls until I, your benevolent leader, make my return.

(Now try to play nice, kids!)

Is former president Jimmy Carter a lover of democracy, human rights activist and genteel southerner or is he the worst kind of hypocrite known to mankind?

According to Soviet Ambassador Anatoly Dobrynin's memoirs it's the latter.

NRO has an excellent piece on the dangerous game Carter played in an attempt to defeat Reagan during the 1980 election and it wasn't the first election he wanted Soviet help with...

John Weidner has a compelling piece on the same subject.

Both are definitely worth a read!

Crown Prince Abdullah who had nearly fought the Dragon of Angnor, who had nearly stood up to the vicious Chicken of Bristol, and who had personally wet himself at the Battle of Badon Hill, does a new dance according to Arab News.

You guessed it! He tells the youth of Saudi Arabia that Islam is a faith of moderation.

Moderation Good - Extremism Bad.

Crown Prince Abdullah: Welcome to the 21st Century! Glad you could join the rest of us...

The magazine Biblical Archeology Review has announced a major new discovery near Jerusalem. It's an empty ossuary -- an ancient burial box for bones -- bearing the inscription Yaakov bar Yosef a khui Yeshua ("James, son of Joseph, brother of Jesus").

This discovery has a lot of implications for many different faiths. Tell me what you think...

Here in Michigan, a rather typical race-resentment peddler by the name of Jennifer Granholm is running for governor, against a somewhat uninteresting, avuncular fellow with the unfortunate name of Dick Posthumus. Posthumus has recently been running ads pointing out her support for racist policies. She's responding not by denying most of the charges, but by accusing him of "playing the race card"--as if telling the simple truth is somehow a dirty trick.

Most believe the racist will beat the avuncular Posthumus, although polls show her lead narrowing. One way or the other, though, it's interesting that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Thomas Bray of the Detroit News has more on the story.

Astonishingly, most of the major news organs missed this today. Someone goofed I guess. If I hadn't been on C-SPAN I might have missed this.

Senate Democratic Majority leader Tom Daschle and Democratic National Committee chairman Terry McAuliffe held a joint press conference today to announce the selection of a new theme song for the Democratic Party. Their anthem has long been "Happy Days Are Here Again," but I must say this new song is an interesting choice:

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Not long ago, a friend to this weblog asked why we can't just eliminate Saddam Hussein. Why the necessity of crippling his military and dismantling his government? Here's part of the answer.

During the Chickenhawks discussion, someone mentioned that they anxiously await the day Hillary becomes president. I instinctively started to type a sardonic response.

Then, Gary's words rang in my head "this is not the right place for THAT discussion".

He was right.

So, I decided to create a place for that discussion.

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Tina Fey, on last night's Weekend Update on SNL:

So in conclusion, who should solve the North Korean problem? How about any country but us? France, you've got a lot of opinions. Go over there! You'll love North Korea, it's completely devoid of Jews!

I understand they don't have any McDonald's, either.

Daniel Henninger questions whether terrorists will destroy civilization in the October 18, 2002 Wall Street Journal. While reading it, I pondered whether war is simply a natural state of the human condition.

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On October 4th, the New York Times ran a report by Nicholas Kristof in which he relays how two young Iraqi women in Bagdad told him they hate America and will do whatever they can to repel American invaders. He sagely concludes that the President is deluded if he thinks Iraqis will welcome American soldiers.

Six paragraphs later, buried in the middle of the story, he notes that foreign correspondents such as himself are accompanied at all times by a representative of the Iraqi government.

He then notes that anyone caught speaking in a manner considered traitorous is legally subject to having his tongue cut out.

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The Council on Foreign Relations has released a report saying that a number of private and charity groups in Saudi Arabia supply considerable funds to terrroist groups, and that the Saudi government has habitually looked the other way.

Uhm. Yeah.

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Victor Davis Hanson remains the #1 reason to visit NRO:

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I have recently opted to include both Chickenhawks and Serial Killer Chic into our Best Discussions section. There's some great stuff in there, you should check it out some time.

(It's perma-linked over at the far right of this page, in case you've never noticed it. Right under the "Best of Dean's World" section.)

What Vice-President of the United States--while he was Vice-President--made history by angrily, and quite ostentatiously, flipping the bird to a gaggle of reporters, with cameras snapping?

Ara Rubyan is not allowed to answer this question. (Just kidding, Ara. [grin])

1) As Dean over at Just Cuz reports, it seems as if there's been a shameful lack of attention to the horror that took place in Bali. He links to the estimable Tim Blair, and I'd follow those links were I you.

2) Paul Fallon recently sent me an article which (once again) demonstrates something that far too few people in North America know:

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That familiar bell's been going off in my head--the one that tells me when I'm being told something wrong. I’ve heard it a lot lately, ringing out though the fog of words—hollow, shallow and misinformed. Saying, in effect that the war on terrorism is “unprecedented” and “the United States has no right to take out its moral outrage on a sovereign nation,” or “we should seek diplomatic solutions.” Tired sentiments, and dead wrong on all counts. The US has done it before, done it well, and done it largely alone in spite of lackluster support from Congress and no help from European “allies.”

The first time the American flag flew over foreign soil taken in battle came in a war against international terrorists. Unlike today’s brigands, they were not driven by ideology or religion, but by a baser and perhaps more honest lust: gold. But terrorists they were, and our war against them was fought long and hard, in somewhat unconventional but still very real ways. And it was long before all of us were born...

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Page Minder has written a highly entertaining essay on the value of journalism degrees. I don't have any college degree, although I'm currently a full-time student pursuing one. I have to admit that I was smirking when I read it.

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Bjørn Stærk recently reported on a story broadcast on Euronews that inspired me to try coining a new phrase.

As Bjørn's relays it, a reporter claimed that recent demonstrations in Iraq showed how beloved Saddam Hussein is of some Iraqis, and about how huge pro-Saddam rallies indicate that "although there's obviously quite a bit of propaganda involved, such staggering results reflect at least some of the reality in Iraq." (Note that Bjørn links to a perfectly reasonable CNN story, but it's the EuroNews story he saw broadcast that he's criticizing.)

There needs to be a word for this sort of report. I propose we call it a "Duranty." Why?

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Mitch Albom observes that the sniper in Washington DC area is just the visible manifestation of our popular culture:

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Hey! I got my first Blogroach! I must be in the big time now, baby!

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Over the last year, I've seen a number of good people, like Scott Koenig, Bill Quick, Dr. Weevil, and others attacked as "chicken hawks" or "chicken bloggers." Their crime? They favor war, but haven't served in combat, and are ineligible for service now.

On the one hand, I respect the mentality which says that if you haven't experienced it, you shouldn't be quick to send others. But another part of me says that's too easy; what does the military exist for in a democracy, if not to fight when we need them? The thought of war makes me sick, but I would go myself if they would take me (too fat, too old). But that's easy for me to say, right?

I decided to to ask my old partner Gary Utter what he thinks. He is a truly civilized human being--he's a blunt, stubborn son of a bitch, mind you, but very civilized. That is something I don't say about everyone. I'd entrust my wife or my son's safety with him under almost any circumstances, and without reservation. There are, perhaps, two or three living people about whom I would say such a thing.

I don't like bugging veterans to talk about combat; in my experience, most of them don't like to discuss it. Still, these are serious times, and I wanted to know what he thought about "chickenhawks." He wrote me a response, for publication. One thing you'll note is that he didn't say whether or not he favored war with Iraq. I didn't ask that question, you see, and, being Gary, he therefore did not answer that question. ;-) But this is what he did say:

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It's funny how the fate of Christians in Palestine isn't much talked about. Isn't it?

Finland. Then, even more horrifying, Bali.

We know Indonesia has a large Muslim population. For a long time, I looked on that part of the world as proof that Islam wasn't the problem, it was the social problems of the Arab world that were perverting Islam. I hate myself for wondering now if Dean Bartkiw isn't right, and if I'm just naive. I don't want him to be right, I really don't.

Anyway, even though this wasn't in Australia, it's hard to conclude that it wasn't primarily Ozzie tourists they were looking for, y'know?

The next Great War? [shiver]

(Bjørn Stærk has some pretty good comments.)

So now the Finns are under attack. No word on the kid's name or background yet. No one wants to ask whether he was a Muslim. :-( He's a Finnish Chemistry student is all we know.

I don't know why I find this so upsetting. I'm more disturbed by it than I am about the demented sniper in Maryland.

I finally restored the last of the items from our system crash earlier in the week. The conversation in the More Iranian Rumbles thread has been restored. Dates on all posts are wrong--I can't fix that--but content is more or less as it originally appeared, in the order it appeared in. Good comments, and a worthy discussion. I found JimC and Trinity's part of the discussion all but made me superfluous. Give it a read if you like, and comment further if you so desire.

I don't know how many people have noticed it, but we have a pretty cool section here entitled "Best Discussions" where we collect some of the best discussions we've had here in Dean's World since it first opened. Any time folks post a series of terrific comments to an article, I stick it in that archive. The articles in there are also still open for further comments. Be sure to check it out some time!

From the New York Times:

U.S. Has a Plan to Occupy Iraq, Officials Report

I don't know why exactly, but I busted out laughing when I read that. I'm probably much too news-saturated, but all I could think was, "no s*** sherlock!"

Did anyone else have a vision of Tommy Franks pulling into downtown Bagdad, buying a map at a gas station, and saying, "So what do you think we should do now, boys?"

Very few of you know that, despite my incredible intelligence, I work in a very blue-collar bar in suburban Detroit.

I'm sure that it seems strange but I love it - mostly. I find it amusing to listen to the grumblings of the laborers that come in looking for a great burger and beer.

So, here is what's on tap (in terms of discussion) at Mason's Bar and Grille.

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I find this VERY interesting. Both of OUR Senators from Michigan voted "No"...

Wanna see where your Senator stands?

From The Associated Press

The 77-23 roll call by which the Senate voted Friday to authorize President Bush to use military force, if necessary, to disarm Iraq.




On this vote, a "yes" vote was a vote to pass the resolution and a "no" vote was a vote to defeat it.

Voting "yes" were 29 Democrats and 48 Republicans.

Voting "no" were 21 Democrats, one Republican and one independent.

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