A Direct Hit on Western Civ Self-Loathing.

Michael Barone scores one admidships. Hat tip to Dr. Sanity.

Free Speech.

Last Saturday, Deaddrifts personnel found themselves at Herb David Guitar Studio, on Liberty Street in Ann Arbor. We witnessed Ann Arbor's protest march against the War in Iraq. It looked like it was attended by about three hundred persons, with sentiments ranging from the sincere ("We support our troops - bring them home") to the stupid ("Bush's Plan: Start Killing, then Drilling"). And of course the "No Wars for Israel" flatheads. The First Amendment in full display. Just one complaint: please don't have little kids (the under eight crowd) march and hold signs for a political expression they can't possibly fathom.

Dawgrights.

The has been quite a ruckus recently in the Ann Arbor News concerning unleashed dogs in local parks. Some have characterized such canines as the Packhounds of the Apocalypse, or as the direct descendants of the rabid hounddog from To Kill a Mockingbird. Part of this fear is based on experience with dogs with slob owners. If your dog is aggressive, you can't have him off a leash, period. You should clean up after your dog, although the claim that a few dozen dogvistors will choke the local park watershed with poop is far fetched (if not, we had better also round up and cage the permanent park residents like squirrels, raccoons, birds, and the feral cats).

But it's cruel to keep a dog penned, housebound, or leashed for the entire lives. Dogs need to sniff, explore, woof, point, chase things and dig stuff up - much like guys. Unfortunately it is possible in early 21st century OprahAmerica to deny these things to dogs by the compulsive "I must have complete access and total control over my environment on my terms and at my whim" types, assisted by hyperlitigous bottom feeders and spineless bureaucrats. Therefore, we need some natural areas that are off limits to such control freaks but are reserved for dogs and their human companions to explore their universe.

Lent 2007.

Lord, we so easily go astray; help us return home to you. Help us to listen to your words of comfort and solace, and bring us peace.

Scooter 'n Sandy.

Scooter Libby is found guilty. Well, you can't commit perjury. But why was Sandy Burglar given such a mild slap on the wrist - it was a much more grevious offense.

Vegas, Baby!

The Deaddrifts staff visited The City That Never Sleeps, returning with wild tales but thoroughly empty pockets. Most effective tool of extraction was the craps table.

Mr. Tancredo will Enjoy his Cigar.

Congressman Tom Tancredo was approached by Capitol police because some crybaby whined about his cigar smoke. Here's his response.

A Quiet Night with Tony, Silvio, and Paulie...

A quick plate of ziti with sausage, tomatoes, garlic, and parsley. Then, a plunge into the 6th Season!

The Return of Radical Chic.

In his essay "Radical Chic & Mau-Mauing the Flak Catchers", Tom Wolfe describes the bizzare scene of Leonard Bernstein's cocktail party with his guests of honor - the Black Panthers. Wolfe's essay highlights the sad psychological cravings for self-loathing and a dippy romanticism for antiliberal thuggery and totalitarianism exhibited by many of the American Left. And it's a useful lens through which to view much of the dog-piling going on about the current Iraq crisis and the War Against Islamofascism.

From the "Just in Case You Forgot What this was All About" Dept.

UBL reminds us that the Islamofascists aren't letting up.

Dumber than You Can Imagine.

Summaries of the Nut-Fest in DC, and other locations from last weekend, can be found at LGF, Age of Hooper, and Trantor. The events included a throwback to the '60s with Jackass Lefties attempting to spit on an American soldier, Joshua Sparling.

The 2007 Cabin Fever Reliever.

Our local flyfishing rabble get together in the last weekend of January to celebrate the 90-day mark to "Da Ope'nur". This year's fete' was superb, featuring 4-star Man Chow, semi-professional flytying and a mind-bending quiz on fishing facts and lore (who invented the Adams pattern was one of the easier questions). Valuable prizes were awarded, or at least they seemed valuable by the time the whisky was finished.

The fly featured on the bottle is "Jeff's Bonefish Seducer".

Making the Case for Freedom.

This statement by 2Lt Mark Daily (as cited by Michelle Malkin) says it all.

Thoughts on Iraq.

There are very few sane voices in all the cacophony that is now the Iraq debate, whose participants can be broken into three broad catagories. The first, the ever-dwindling number of intellectually honest and fair minded antagonists. The second, the political hacks who will do or say anything to draw blood from their enemies and accumulate power. And the third, the fearful and ignorant. These are the times that try men's souls.

And They Can't Wait for Recess!

Trivial Pursuit.

One of the fascinating stories that surfaced during the Ford memorials this week was one about the foiled coup d'etat to topple the Executive Branch by Congerscritters of the Hard Left. Here's the story: Bella Abzug (Lennist-NY) working in cahoots with another half dozen of the Hard Left in the House of Representatives, approached then Speaker of the House Carl Albert with a plan to stall the confirmation of Gerald Ford as Vice-President (the Vice-Presidency was vacant at the time because of the resignation of Spiro Agnew). Abzug then proposed that the House Judiciary Committee immediately draw up articles of impeachment against Nixon, who would be forced to resign before Ford could be confirmed. The Presidency would fall upon Speaker Albert, and the Democrats could capture the White House without the trouble and inconvenience of an election. Speaker Albert refused to subvert the Constitution and the plot quietly died.

It's a fascinating story that offers a glimpse to a another side of the Watergate affair, namely that some opposing Nixon were not so much interested in preserving the rule of law than in seizing complete power. Alas, the names of the other conspirators have not surfaced by dragging the Web, but we have a hunch that one or two may be still alive. One possible suspect would not surprise us in the least.

The End of the NYT Ombudsman?

Michelle Malkin pointed to this article in the NY Observer.

The Ombudsman and the Old Gray Lady.

The NYT's Public Editor Byron Calame has taken a stand against a serious lapse in editorial and journalistic standards by...the Times. There is a good deal of coverage about this in the blogosphere, so we won't repeat it here. We are wondering whether the experiment in a Public Editor for the Newspaper of Record will now begin to slowly fade away?

Ouch.

USC 32, Michigan 18. No pass protection. No pass rush. No coverage. No imagination in coaching. Ergo, we lose.

A Resolution.

I will try to remember this bit of wisdom before opening my electronic yap:

"...the fact that your voice is amplified to the degree where it reaches from one end of the country to the other does not confer upon you greater wisdom or understanding than you possessed when your voice reached only from one end of the bar to the other." - E.R. Murrow