I Watched, As Instructed

And nothing happened. We didn’t get a single thunderclap, and no rain. At all. We need rain, badly. The WX Channel eventually updated the Severe Thunderstorm Watch message on the crawl to state “until 9:00 p.m. MST.” Thanks, guys. Timely info is what we all crave, ya know.

I like Newt Gringrich. Here he is in the WaPo writing in rebuttal to a critical Post Op-Ed on the recently-delivered Quadrennial Defense Review. Sample graf:

Finally, The Post seems upset that some new weapons systems have not been entirely eliminated. The F-22, for example, has been cut from 380 aircraft to 180, reflecting the low likelihood of major air battles against a large and modern adversary. Yet there may come a morning when -- facing a challenge in Iran, North Korea or potentially with China in the Taiwan Straits -- the F-22 will prove its worth. The issue with next-generation aircraft is not, as The Post asserts, a question of air superiority but of survivability against antiaircraft missiles when Russia's and other countries are prepared to sell their best systems to a range of countries that oppose the United States.

Yep! I think I’d vote for Newt if he ran for president. Can’t you just imagine Kofi Annan introducing him in front of the UN General Assembly? “Ladies and Gentlemen, I am honored to present the President of the United States (pause) (pause) The Honorable NEWT? Gingrich!” I’d love to see that…

Gained some, not a lot, but some, respect for Jon Stewart. I know he’s All The Rage and has been for the past two years or so, but I personally cannot stand his condescending, raised-eyebrow, arch brand of humor. And I have tried to watch The Daily Show, numerous times. My opinions aside, here’s an excerpt from a Daniel Henninger Op-Ed in the WSJ:

And so it came to pass on these still waters that I discovered Jon Stewart seated across the table from Larry King. Mr. Stewart is the host of "The Daily Show," Comedy Central's satirical TV news program. This looked like a wave worth waiting for, and it was. The subject was Washington.

Larry King suggested to Jon Stewart that the current low ebb of the Democrats and Republicans was good for Mr. Stewart's business.

King: So, in a sense you're happy over this.

Stewart: No.

King: This gives you fodder.

Mr. Stewart replied that if government "began to solve problems in a rational way rather than just a way that involved political dividends, we would be the happiest people in the world to turn our attention to idiots like, you know, media people, no offense."

King: So, you don't want it to be bad?

Stewart: Did you really just ask me if I want it to be bad?

King: Yes because you--

Stewart: What are you--I have kids. What do you think? I want things to corrode to the point where we're all living in huts?

King: You don't want Medicare to fail?

Stewart: Are you insane?

Henninger uses this bit of dialog to set up the rest of the Op-Ed, titled “Has Washington Gone Insane?” An excellent read.

Speaking of insane… I’ve watched a few shows on C-SPAN today that made me raise an eyebrow not once or twice, but many times. So much so that Mom’s admonishment to “don’t DO that, your face will stay that way!” just may come true. Consider this:

Huey: Spirit of the Panther
David Hilliard

Description: In "Huey" David Hilliard profiles Huey Newton, the founder of the Black Panther Party. The author, who is chief of staff of the party, explains that the party was founded in Oakland, California in 1966 to fight social oppression and encourage blacks to take control of their own lives. David Hilliard is joined by Huey Newton's widow, Fredrika Newton, to discuss his role as a family man and the personal struggles he dealt with during the last days of his life. This event was hosted by Barnes & Noble Booksellers in Oakland.

That’s the official C-SPAN description. The reality is tigers (and Panthers) can’t change their stripes; once a radical, always a radical. This was nothing more than massive rationalization of the BP movement, with a little romanticizing thrown in for spice. Mr. Hilliard’s presentation wasn’t the worst of it, I’ll reserve that judgment for the simpering people in the audience who fawned all over Hilliard in his presence, and Newton, in his absence. I was appalled.

And then there was the four-person panel discussion on the subject of Reparations for Slavery. How can four highly educated (note I didn’t say “smart”) individuals devote careers to such a non-starter? Three of the four panel members supported reparations and have written books on the subject, the other panel member was a rather inspired choice to present the contrarian point of view. Three of the four presentations were probably the ultimate Identity Politics dissertations I’ve ever seen. The contrarian professor’s presentation rejected the arguments made by the other three individuals forcefully and factually, and he was hammered by his peers, of course. It was fascinating stuff. I’m sorry I cannot give you names or other citations, the program was a re-run from last month and I cannot find a description on the C-SPAN web site.

On the other (good) hand, C-SPAN had an extensive interview with David Vise, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for the Washington Post discussing Mr. Vise’s book "The Google Story." I heard some pretty interesting things about Google I never knew. I just may read “The Google Story” after I finish “The Last Lion.” Assuming I finish it…the going has been slow. (This show will air again tomorrow [Sunday] at 6:00 and 9:00 p.m., EST)

You’re being misinformed, says Ralph Peters in the New York Post. Mr. Peters files a first-hand report from Baghdad, refuting some of last week’s dire news on Iraq from the MSM. A lot of us have known we’re being misinformed for quite a while. But then again, only 10% or less of internet users read blogs, so I guess there’s a reason Mr. Peters has to point this out.