When two males of the species are fond of each other, they insult and mock each other. The more rude and offensive their insults are, the closer their friendship is likely to be.

When two females of the species insult each other, they're pretty close to maiming if not killing.

Anyone who thinks I'm kidding is not very observant.

Okay, not really. But John and I are going at it pretty hot and heavy in the Dowdifying Scalia thread. Yet somehow, we haven't killed each other yet.

Think that's not interesting? Well, maybe not, until you discover that:

Dean thinks gay people are fools not to join the Republican Party!

John thinks Republican fundamentalists are dangerous!

John thinks States' Rights are a null concept!

Dean thinks 9th-amendment expansionists are flirting with tyranny in the name of civil rights!

All that and more awaits! To see the debate, search for "Jim Bennett" and his message about some new Republican silliness, and just start reading from there. I'm going to try my best to give John the last word though--if he wants it.

Anyone else should feel free to chime in, but only if you can keep it civil--and I hope anyone who does so will read what's there already before responding!

(This is one for our Best Discussions archive.)

David has recently published an interview with Kelly Blight. I hope he keeps up this weekly series (of which, yes, to flatter my ego, I was the first subject). I'm hoping that one day he'll do Sheila O'Malley, a blogger who's so much fun she's illegal in 12 states.

Contrary to the widespread myths, Republicans have long been far less dependent on wealthy fatcat contributors than Democrats.

For many years, Republicans have gotten far more money in small donations than Democrats. Democrats have been mostly dependent on the super-wealthy to keep them afloat. So, given that recent campaign laws make it tougher for the wealthy to donate money, it should surprise no one to learn that the non-partisan (but quite left-leaning) Center for Responsive Politics has recently reported that:

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I cannot believe I took so long to look into using Blogrolling.com for the Dean's World blogroll. Every blogger I talked to said it was worth it.

It was technically very simple, if annoying, to convert our current blogroll. They really ought to have an "import HTML" option. But once it was done, it was a snap to put into place. It's much easier to add and remove blogs from it than the old way.

You'll all notice now that the blogroll also lets you know when new content has appeared in the last 24 hours on any given blog. Nice, huh? I hope you all like it.

* Update * Any new MT bloggers who don't know how to set themselves up so their blogs show up as having new content, please let me know! It's very easy.

Peter Carlson has an amusing piece on young, hip witches that's a fun read. I especially liked the computer maintenance advice. At the end he's also got some comments on wealth inequality that should be answered but which, alas, I haven't the energy for right now. I'm sure some of you will in the comments, but I'm frankly more interested in the witches right now. ;-)

Bovious notes that there's one in every discussion group. I'm afraid he's right. Not that there aren't equally annoying people on the other side...

Well the more things change, the more they stay the same. France has a young Margaret Thatcher, only she's a hottie. Or so they say.

It makes me recall something that Thatcher herself once said: some political victories are never final, but must be won over and over again. The only question with this girl is, is she a flash in the pan, or is she the shape of things to come?

(So many people linked this I don't know who to credit.)

* Update * Matthew points us to a photo of her. Hmm!

I'd probably try to keep my dog away from this guy.

Sung to the tune of Dixie, check out Saddam's Land. Doesn't it put a tear in your eye?

It all started when Owen Strawn sent me a note asking why I didn't blogroll a certain well-known blogger. As sometimes happens to me, a minor inquiry provoked a storm of conflicting ideas in my head. Not emotional ones, just a mishmash of half-formed impressions.

Just before that, I'd gotten a note from a weblogger whose work I really liked. He'd started out strong, but then had gone dormant for a couple of months. I asked him why. He told me it was basically because the Instapundit was too dominant and if you weren't "in" with him you could never get a large audience. I didn't want to argue with him, but I was skeptical, since I had a steadily growing audience well before Instapundit noticed me. I knew that blogrolls were a big part of making that happen, although I couldn't quite say how.

Finally, a post by Mindles the other day on blogroll saturation made the ideas in my head gel. It was when he said this:

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Have you met Flame Turns Blue or Boots and Sabers yet? If not, maybe you should.

Anne Applebaum had a very good column this week on bad bipartisanship and lousy Medicare reform. It's worth reading, if only to illustrate a point: the whole idea that "bipartisan" means "good and reasonable" really ought to be questioned more often.

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The Federal government has established a national Do Not Call list for telemarketers. Some telemarketers such as banks and airlines are, oddly enough, exempted from the law, and if you register now you won't actually get on the list until October. Still, this seems like a step in the right direction.

Now, why can't the law define spam in much the same way it defines telemarketing calls, and set up a similar list for email? It would, of course, never stop all spam. But it would sure stop a lot of it.

From The Militant:

"I want to go to Cuba because I’ve heard a lot about Cuba as a socialist country, and I want to see for myself and understand how communism contributes to a better way of life," said Sol Porras, the president of the MEChA chapter at California State University Northridge.

Smart boy, that Sol. Think he's read this? Nah, it's probably just propaganda anyway.

Daniel Weintraub wonders if they'll be talking to a recently-released dissident. I'm hoping they get a tour of the prisons, so they can see how thought criminals are cured by the Castro regime. No tour of the glorious worker's paradise is complete without it!

(Thanks to Bob Arne for the links.)

In issuing his (quite thoughtful and reasonable) dissent on yesterday's ruling on sodomy laws, it appears that Antonin Scalia was Dowdified. He was quoted several places as saying "I have nothing against homosexuals," which makes it sound like he was being defensive. But what he actually said was, "Let me be clear that I have nothing against homosexuals, or any other group, promoting their agenda through normal democratic means."

In other words, he was taking the quite reasonable position that this was not a Constitutional matter, and should be dealt with democratically. Now, why is it that I suspect he will continue to be pilloried as a horrible backward mean-spirited jerk, and that few corrections and retractions will be issued?

(Source: Best of the Web.)

Have you ever noticed that John Kusch has really hairy feet? I wasn't sure I liked him until I found that out.

Also, I liked what he said about the flag.

To what am I referring? Why, the Michigan Blog Party, of course!



Saturday, July 19th, we invite bloggers and blog-readers to visit the Esmay abode for a party. It will coincide roughly with Dean's 37th birthday. It will be an outdoor/indoor affair, largely BYOB although snacks will be provided.

Anyone interested in attending? We live quite near Detroit Metro airport, betweeen Detroit and Ann Arbor.

If you think you want to come, please feel free to leave a comment here. If you need directions, drop a note to "dean" here at deanesmay.com. Shoot us a note and we'll drop you our phone number. We'd love to have you.

Am I the only one who suspected that Strom Thurmond would die this year? When you've defined your whole life by your career, it's almost certain that you'll die not long after your career ends. Still, it's an astonishing thing: Strom Thurmond actually remembered World War I!

He reminds me of my own Congressman, a nasty old fart named John Dingell. He defined his whole existence by mouthing whatever platitudes would keep him in office. So why be surprised that once he was out of office, he could find no further reason to exist?

I have no love for this man. Indeed, if I had my druthers we would limit Senators to two or, at most, three terms, so phenomena like him would not be a part of our Republic. But, "if wishes were fishes we'd never need food." He was a big part of American history, and deserves the dignity of being saluted for his service to our nation.

Farewell, Strom Thurmond. You did many awful things as a politician, but you also did some noble and commendable things. We know your like (cf: Mauren Dowd) are still with us, but on the whole, you served your nation with distinction. You were a part of our history, and we thank you for that.

Well. Now that Maureen Dowd has come out of the closet as a vicious hatemongering racist, you have to ask yourself a simple question: why do you still read her column? I know I don't anymore, and I hope you stop too.

Why does the New York Times employ hateful racists like this? I mean, seriously, why not just run a weekly column by a KKK Grand Dragon?

(I'd give a nod to the guy who first pointed out this odious bit of hurtful hatred to me, but I lost his email.)

Andrew's Dodgeblogium has joined the 'former BlogSpotters' collective. Please make a point of visiting his site and welcoming him aboard.

When I started Dean's World, I had one rule for myself. In the comments, and even in submitted articles, one overarching rule would apply: almost any point of view is acceptable, including heated remarks. But personal attacks and vicious invective for the sole purpose of being inflammatory and hurtful are simply not acceptable. Not that we don't all fall down such goals at one time or another, because I know I have. But "defending the liberal tradition," to me, means trying your best to keep discourse civil even when discussing very contentious issues.

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Sheila Astray's Redheaded Ramblings has escaped from Blogspot!

Sheila's one of my very favorites. Please be sure to check her out!

The Supreme Court struck down a Texas sodomy law today. I'm glad to see the law gone, but I'm sorry about the decision anyway. Democratic freedoms are still being regularly eroded by the Supreme Court, and this is just another example of it.

In the 1980s, the Supreme Court declared that states have a right to have such laws. That decision was correct, in my view. The Supreme Court is not supposed to be in the business of deciding whether it "likes" or "agrees with" a law. The Justices are not supposed to decide that their commute is too long and rule speed limits unConstitutional. There are all kinds of laws I don't like, but I'd be horrified if the Supreme Court simply started throwing them out on my behalf.

As James Taranto's "Best of the Web" notes, in 1986, when the Supreme Court ruled that such laws were not unConstitutional, 24 states had them. Today, only 13 do. In other words, we were already on track on dealing with this issue via democratic means. When it comes to contentious social issues, it strikes me as particularly sad that we increasingly expect the courts to "do what's right for us," rather than go about the messy work of the legislative process.

Ah well. A bad law's gone, as are several like it. I just want to add my voice to those who note that it's sad when we celebrate democracy being trampled once again by the courts.

I was pleased to see that Sarah Saga is free. So when I asked last week why the Bush administration was not acting, it appears that my question was wrong: they were acting, and had been all along. Although not without pressure from people like Dan Burton, the Wall Street Journal, and (shudder) WorldNet Daily.

However, I have to admit that Wendy McElroy makes some good points about why this was such a thorny issue, and remains such a thorny issue. Unless we were prepared to simply declare war on the Sauds, or do something likely to provoke one (along with more bogus charges of "imperialism"), dealing with this issue was going to be very difficult from day one. And it's going to remain a difficult issue, too.

Ben's a Conservative who's disturbed by guns. I hope you'll all let him know what you think....

In the following essay, Jon Yom-Tov writes that those who supported Saddam Hussein's forceful ouster ought not discount the words of noted anti-war ideologue Noam Chomsky.

-- Tim Machesney

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Hey, Walter Olson's excellent Overlawyered site is now a real weblog. Same fact-packed, fun info, great new format. Check it out!

Oh. My. Goodness.

I've sat thinking about this article for a long time. I was even afraid to post it at first. Some people I love may not like it. Even my wife may not like it. It flies in the face of things I've said in the past about these sorts of things. Yet, a part of me is singing inside and thinking, "Yes. Yes yes yes. This is me. This is me!"

Yes. I can't even believe it. I may often disagree with Dawkins, but he's right on this one.

I'll come out of the closet and just say it: I am a Bright.

Wow.

(Via He Who Must Not Be Named.)

Apparently, bureaucratic hassles = police state. Well, who am I to argue? Too bad she saved anything that looked like a decent point to the very end.

Why doesn't Ashcroft send in the goon squads and have her arrested for disloyalty, now that she's one of us?

Oh yeah. Because he can't do that. Stupid Constitution!

First Bill O'Reilly. Now Matt Drudge.

I remember briefly meeting Matt Drudge at an AOL conference while I was doing some work for them.

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Robert Prather does a pretty good job of arguing down a troll who believes that the European Union will challenge the United States for world dominance. I believe Robert has it correct; the hyper-regulated, hyper-taxed, centrally planned, heavily welfare-laden European economic policies slow down economic growth to a far greater degree than the benefits of better free trade and a unified currency alone can overcome. As Andrea puts it so well, the world is not a pie.

Here's the real operant paradigm: wild, free, liberal America, vs. stodgy, paternalistic control-freak Europe. I'll always bet on the liberal mavericks, how about you?

Speaking of which, Joshua Muravchik had a good piece debunking the American declinists that dovetails pretty nicely with Prather's piece. Yes, yes, America's headed for a fall, it's all going to collapse around our ears because we're arrogant, optimistic, not sufficiently controlled and planned, everyone hates us, yadda yadda. We've heard that tune before, it's an old, old refrain...

Why do Colin Powell's kids deserve special consideration that mine do not? Furthermore, why does my son's best friend, who lives 10 doors down and goes to the same school, deserve special consideration that my son does not, just because my son's not black and his best friend is?

---

By my count I've asked it over a half-dozen times in the last six months. No one who defends Affirmative Action programs will address it squarely. Most don't even acknowledge that I've asked it. The very few who do address it only obliquely and with vague comments about the system not being perfect.

I'd also like to clarify something: Comparing Affirmative Action to segregated lunch counters is not hyperbole so far as I'm concerned. It starts with a racist assumption: black people are so crippled just by virtue of their blackness, they all need a head start. All of them. No matter how rich, no matter how priviledged, no matter how smart: if you're black, you need a handout because you're a crippled victim for life. Or at least until you graduate college, and maybe even some more after that, we'll get back to you.

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The latest Carnival of the Vanities is being hosted by Single Southern Guy.

Well, I knew that when he weighed in, it would be good. John Rosenberg notes, surprisingly, that we may now have to simply accept that "diversity" is now a Constitutional principle, thanks to the gutless work of the Bush administration and the unprincipled Sandra Day O'Connor. Yesterday's devastating body blow to the cause of ending institutionalized racial discrimination should be accepted: Discrimination is okay in the name of diversity, and is now an established Constitutional principle. Alas, he may be right.

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The Journal editorial staff gets every word of it correct today:

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Unlearned Hand and I have something in common. He's a card-carrying member of the ACLU and the National Rifle Association. I used to be a card-carrying member of both. He's a man of the Left, and I'm not really one anymore. But our hearts are obviously in the same place on a lot of issues.

I think his criticisms of deficiencies in the ACLU agenda are spot on, and are probably pointing him in similar directions that left me disenchanted with the ACLU. The problem I found was that, for all their high-minded rhetoric about civil rights and the Constitution, in truth they often failed to protect civil rights, and sometimes actively opposed parts of the Bill of Rights that they didn't like. I just don't respect them anymore, although I still support some of what they do.

I do, on the other hand, hugely respect The Institute for Justice. In terms of civil liberties, these guys are all over the issues where the ACLU is either falling flat or on the wrong side. They do good work. I'm a huge fan, and I think you all should be too.

Anyway, Unlearned Hand's discussion on 2nd amendment jurisprudence is really worth reading. They've got some good minds conversing over on that weblog. Makes me want to go to law school. If only I could afford it, ya know?

Michele has started a wonderful new site for adult fans of comic books: Four-Color Hell. I'm envious. I've never stopped loving comic books--ever--but at some point, my wallet and my time were squeezed too much, something had to give, and comics were it. Oh, but one day baby, I'll be back.

In the meantime, she's also looking for contributors, so you might want to drop by and see what she's up to.

Well, well, well. Can you believe it? The Supreme Court has finally come out against the segregated lunch counter policies of the University of Michigan's undergraduate program. Giving special points to kids based solely on race is no longer allowed. Amazingly, I can now hope that my son will be judged on the same criteria as his classmates and friends when it's time for him to go to college. Who would have thought that in 2003 I was still worried about such things?

Unfortunately, reliably authoritarian-statist, hard-line Justices like Ginsberg were able to save some vestiges of the deplorably racist policies at U of M: the graduate school is still allowed to discriminate on the basis of race.

Well, from what I've read about it, the law school's policies, while still clearly racist, are far more morally ambiguous. Their undergrad race-based point system was an outright moral abomination. Call it one small step for U of M, one giant leap for America.

It's still despicable that in the year 2003, we have state-run systems that discriminate on the basis of race. Well, the hard-line, old-school racial reactionaries will probably keep such racist policies alive a little bit longer. But I truly believe that we shall overcome someday--someday soon. America is not the kind of place to put up with racist policies just because they go under soothing names like "Affirmative Action."

(I sure hope John Rosenberg weighs in soon.)

* Update * Rumor has it that Congress is considering passing legislation that would make it illegal for corporations, government agencies, or government-funded enterprises to discriminate on the basis of race, creed, color, or national origin. I dunno, do you think the country's ready for such a thing? Hey, we can hope!

EDITOR'S NOTE: RECENTLY, Valentin Prieto sent us a very moving short story about a Cuban-American father and his young son, and we're very pleased to publish it on Dean's World.

We think the message imparted in the story speaks for itself, so there is no need for us to comment on it -- other than to say that we sincerely hope Valentin keeps writing when his muse inspires him. We think you'll see he has a good eye for what makes a story work.

-- Tim Machesney

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David over at Sketches of Strain knows how to give someone the ultimate compliment: ask him for an interview. He's starting a new series of weekly interviews, and guess who he picked for his very first subject?

By complete coincidence (really, I swear) one of the questions he asked me was about Cuba, and it got the lengthiest response by far. As today is Cuba Day here on Dean's World, that makes a lovely coincidence, don't you think?

Summary of the last seven days

* Twelve agents who infiltrated groups of dissidents and independent journalists in Cuba offer their testimonies in The Dissidents, a book circulating in Havana. A collection of accusations principally directed against opposition leaders who remain out of prison, such as Elizardo Sanchez and Oswaldo Paya, the book is dedicated to the people who "watch from the shadows, inside and outside of Cuba, so that the light never falters." (El Pais, Spain, June 16)

* According to Oswaldo Paya, the leader of the Varela Project: "The Dissidents, 227 pages of lies, is an act of desperation to distract attention from the fundamental contradiction between the regime and the people. They have to publish this book because they are afraid of the dissidents' ideals." (El Pais, Madrid, June 20)

* Fidel Castro exploded with obscenities in response to a joke by two Miami radio commentators who tricked him into believing he was speaking with Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez. One of the commentators answered Castro's foul language saying: "Fidel, all of Miami is listening." The recording has been distributed throughout the Spanish speaking world. (El Nuevo Herald, June 15)

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This New York Times piece on transcranial magnetic stimulation was about the most fascinating thing I've read all year. My gut tells me that Allan Snyder's probably on to something big. It matches up well with several things I've read about how humans can do complex tasks when they shut down parts of their brains and concentrate.

I've even had experiences like that, where I was learning something very difficult, where my whole entire concentration was on that one subject and everything else in the world almost disappeared for me. While this isn't quite what Dr. Synder's talking about doing, intuitively it seems like there's probably a link. Obviously, lots more study would have to be done, and there'll be controversy over it. But if I were a young brain researcher, I think I'd be trying to find ways to wangle a placement at the University of Sydney.

(Via Jerry Kindall.)

I have an older Macintosh 21" monitor, one that uses three BNC connectors. Such monitors can also be found in used computer stores, flea markets, clearances sales from universities, and so on. I'm wondering if a way exists, currently, to adapt these for use on AGP-based PCs? The one I have, for example, still has a nice picture and would be perfectly usable except that I no longer have a Mac that needs it.

Anyone know of an easy way to make an adaptation to PC for these monitors? I contacted Redmond Cable, who used to be good at this sort of thing, and they said it can't really be done. I find that hard to believe.

As Sunday is the holy day for almost two billion Christians worldwide, it seems appropriate to speak about that great, noble, compassionate faith--one which has clearly done far more good than harm in its 2,000 year history.

As I have mentioned before, I do not really consider myself a Christian. However, many people I love are Christians. I respect the faith and its adherants.

In places like Africa, China, Vietnam, North Korea, and Cuba, violent harassment, brutal repression, and even mass murder of Christians are still appallingly common. Quite often, these things happen to them while they're feeding the starving, giving medical aide to the ill or injured, or teaching. Sometimes, it happens to them just because they've been caught praying or reading a Bible.

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Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly remains imprisoned by the government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. As Amnesty International reports:

Father Thadeus Nguyen Van Ly prepared to celebrate Mass on the morning of May 17, 2001, hundreds of police officers appeared at his church and arrested him... A long-time, outspoken advocate for religious freedom in Vietnam, Father Ly was sentenced to 15 years in prison for peacefully exercising his right to freedom of expression and religion.

To support the release of Father Thadeus, please click here.

I hope you're having a good Sunday.

Jared Myers, a Maryland High School student, claims that his Principal and vice-Principal physically attacked a student for carrying a Confederate flag. If true, this should make national news. I frankly hope that it does.

Reverend Brill runs an interesting site called The Right Christians that you may want to check out. Much of it is dedicated to criticism of conservative Christians. I disagree with much of what I find on Reverend Brill's site, but I think many of you will find it worth a visit.

* Update! * Trivia Master's Wife has informed the Trivia Master that Ara is wrong! Bob Dole did commercials for Visa, and not for American Express! About which he believes she is quite correct.

Ara loses his extra points, but keeps his initial points. Trivia Master loses triple points for being so stupid all the way around.

Jonah Goldberg says that it's Time to face facts: Gays have won. He is only half-right.

Gay people have gained widespread social acceptance. This is a good thing, because it's not acceptable (to me) to have a society where you throw people in jail, fire them from their jobs, or beat them up for what they do in the bedroom.

The average gay person in America is out of the closet, holds a steady job, has a wide circle of friends, and can go almost (almost) anywhere without fear of being attacked. Indeed, marketing statistics show that the average gay person makes more money than the average straight person, and has more disposable income. Gays are now considered a highly valuable marketing demographic. That is not something you can say about a brutally repressed group of people.

However, Goldberg is declaring victory prematurely.

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Have you ever seen a web site based totally on hatred? Hatred beyond human reason, hatred beyond compassion, hatred beyond human decency in any form?

I've seen many such sites. Web sites run by the Klu Klux Klan. Web site run by Skinheads and Neo-Nazis. Web sites run by Black Muslims who hate all white people. Web sites run by atheists who hate all religious believers. Web sites run by Christians who hate all non-believers. Web sites by women who think that having a penis makes you evil-by-definition. Web sites run by Jews who believe that any critic of the modern state of Israel is an anti-semite.

Imagine this: a web site showing black people with enormous lips, gigantic feet and hands, sucking on watermelons and fried chickens and dancing a happy tune to jungle drums to a beat set by a whip-holding slavemaster. Sound horrible? I agree. So tell me what's different between that and the vicious hate-mongering portrayed by the Landover Baptist Church web site. If you can.

Quite seriously, have you ever seen a site run by more hateful and intolerant people? A site run by more prejudiced and ignorant bigots, by people who stereotype and de-humanize with almost no shame or compassion or humanity? Because, quite honestly, I can't think of one.

They make me want to vomit. They really do.

Daniel over at Reason of Voice has some thoughts on the politics in Israel, and he'd like to hear your comments on them.

Here are the latest seven to join the Exodus:

Jeff Quinton
Sugar White Sand
Drumwaster's Rants
Innocents Abroad
Daryl Cobranchi
Sheep's Clothing
Michael Williams

You'll notice I've updated my Blogroll. Just look over on the right and scroll down. Everyone who's been part of the Exodus is now in a special section. A couple of people, like Paul's Agitprop and Silflay Hraka, did it without much help from me. But I like listing them there, because they, too, are recent Blogspot Refugees.

Pretty lengthy list, ain't it?

* Update * I forgot Ghost of a Flea and Seth D. Michaels. If I forgot anyone else, please let me know.

Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi was recently criticized by the French for his decision to meet with the Israeli Prime Minister on his trip to the region, but without meeting with any of the Palestinian leaders.

Berlusconi's response to his French critics? "They missed a good opportunity to shut up."

Tres Bien.

(Via lovely Sasha.)

I have begun to despair that this nation will never do the sensible thing when it comes to marijuana. Andrew has a good rant on the topic. The cruelty and willful ignorance of those who oppose its legalization for medicinal purposes is staggering.