Potpourri

I chased a link from Jules Crittenden’s place this morning and found the coolest blog title-header art I’ve ever seen. Period. Full stop. It’s a fairly simple illustration, consisting only of the words “Theo Spark” and “An Englishman’s View” (the blog’s name) along with a diving Spitfire, guns blazing, superimposed on the Cross of Saint George. And the art, as I said, is very well-done. The bonus, if you click the blog’s header, is that you are taken to Mr. Spark’s Flickr page…which has some pretty cool Photoshop work.

Oh. That link I was chasing? Just something to do with The Breck Girl calling Ann Coulter a “she-devil” during a campaign appearance. Crittenden suggested TBG is going down a slippery slope, and “she-devil” could lead to other, stronger, more hateful terms. While speculating on what some alternative words TBG might use, of course. Out of all the alternatives I like “Saucy Minx” the best. But then again, I’ve always liked Saucy Minx and its companion, “Little Minx.” I’ve used Minx, in conjunction with various adjectives, as a term of endearment every so often in the way-back. Really. I’m NOT kidding. I forget where I first heard the term, but I think it was in an old ‘40s gangster movie I saw as a child. Or maybe it was a cartoon. Dunno. Doesn’t matter.

In that fine ol’ SNL “Point, Counter Point” tradition (“Jane T-Rex, you ignorant slut!”) here’s what one of the Leading Lefty Lights has to say on the subject:

I like seeing the Edwards team on the offensive. Especially against the flailing maniacs of far-right broadcasting. Coulter has crossed the line so many times, and yet so few people press back with any kind of insistence. And it’s precisely the, “Oh, ignore her maybe she’ll go away” behavior set that allows her to keep popping up on Good Morning America and The Today Show like herpes.

We try oh-so-hard to be Fair and Balanced, ya know. Besides, don’t you just love a lil bit of unhinged ranting in the morning? Just a little, mind you.

Also via Crittenden, here’s an Iraq-war blog at Popular Mechanics. This is the second time in less than a month that Popular Mechanics has popped up on my radar screen. Excerpt:

War deliberations and post-firefight reactions back home can vanish during the 12-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week base-line duty of the average soldier in Iraq. So when line troops are swamped carrying gear from street patrol to street patrol, village raid to village raid, for up to 20 hours a day, they often don’t have the time for, or the luxury of, Internet access. And when they do get it, they’re not punching up CNN—it’s e-mails from home they’re reading.

During last month’s heated, all-night debate on Capitol Hill about when and if the U.S. should withdraw from Iraq, I asked several military officers of different ages and ranks about their thoughts on a potential pullout. Nearly every one stressed how important his or her work here has been—and will be. “If we leave within months, Iraq will be a province of Iran,” one colonel said. “Everyone with any education or skills who hasn’t already left will end up leaving.”

And there’s more. (This piece is particularly good: “Rolling with Delta Company: High-Tech House Hunting in a Suburb Turned Al Qaeda Killing Ground.”) What you read will be familiar, Gentle Reader, since most of y’all read the same sorts of things I do: Milblogs. The simple fact that this sort of writing is appearing in more mainstream publications is encouraging…at least to YrHmblScrb. And the techie slant PopMech provides in their writing is just cool.

John Hinderaker at Power Line asks “Is Bill Moyers the most contemptible man in American public life?” Well, dang, John…there are a lot of candidates for that particular title these days. But Mr. Hinderaker’s video evidence of Moyers’ contemptible-ness is pretty danged strong. But given there are SO many contemptible people in our public life, the title might have to be shared. Or awarded on a weekly basis, with no limit on how many oak leaf clusters you can add to that particular medal. I’d say Moyers takes it. This week.

Today’s Pics: A couple of granddaughter shots from 2000's “Across the Top of America Tour,” both from Upstate NY. The first is Amanda and Anastasia in a quiet moment on a dock… (specific) location unknown (I take bad notes, if I take any notes at all. Which I usually don’t.) The second is Anastasia at a scenic overlook at one end of Lake George. Don't ask which end, Gentle Reader. Once again: no notes.