The Great Orator

I didn’t watch the dog and pony show tonight, but I’m reading a lot about how The One completely fumbled the one question his 300 advisors should have known he was going to get.

Whether you are looking at it from a theological perspective or a scientific perspective, answering that question with specificity is, you know, above my pay grade.

McCain HQ must have burst into applause and laughter, not necessarily in that order, upon hearing the Great Orator writing their ad copy for them. Regarding the answers, I’ll leave the theological question for others, seeing as how I don’t have a dog in that hunt. Which doesn’t mean there isn’t a moral case for being pro-life. But McCain’s answer comports with science, at least if you believe modern embryology textbooks.

When asked “At what point does a baby get human rights, in your view?,” McCain answered “At the moment of conception.”

Even if the answer were wrong McCain’s would be better by dint of brevity and clarity.

The Peters Prescription

Thanks to Jonah’s Military Guys over at Castle Argghhh. Worth reading.

It’s from 2004. Anybody paying attention?

Meanwhile, closer to today’s date, Joe Honan reports that it’s good to be the sheik.

Him: “Can we leave now?”
Me: “No sir, the flight isn’t going to leave until later tonight. We need to bus you all to the landing zone after dinner.”
Him: “Well, can you just let us out at the gate? We’ll find our own way back.”
Me: “…..O.K…. how many of you Sunni leaders want to get left in the middle of Baghdad to find your way to Ramadi instead of flying with an armed escort?”
Him: “Oh we’ll all go and rent a couple of cars.”
Me turning to Gunny: “You know, I think this war is officially over.”

Maybe someone was paying attention after all.

Georgia On My Mind

Wow, the streets of Berkeley, near where I live, are just full of “No Blood for Oil” protestors burning Putin in effigy and condemning him for invading a sovereign nation.

Good for them.

Wait – you mean you haven’t seen them?

Huh. Go figure.

Vaccination: The Record

Mark Crislip has an excellent post on the number of lives saved by vaccines. And it ends with this very quotable line:

Green our vaccines? The only green you will see by getting rid of vaccines or decreasing their use is the grass growing on the graves of children needlessly killed by preventable infections.

He cuts Amanda Peet some slack for her off-the cuff “parasites” remark. I’d agree that it’s inaccurate. But people who refuse to vaccinate their children are every bit as reprehensible as parasites. Just calling them “child abusers” doesn’t cover it, because others suffer beyond their own unfortunate children.

If Clinton or Obama had done this

then I’d just be mad. But since Bush just did it I’m beyond mad.

To say that Dubya is a disappointment is really quite the understatement.

Update:

Playing shell games to make it look like payments didn’t come right out of the Treasury don’t help.