|
Friday, January 27, 2006Shaddeg for Majority Leader?That's what the mighty Instapundit says. I'm inclined to agree. But that's a negative judgement: The more I see of Blunt, the less impressed I am. Boehner never really wowed me to begin with. Shadegg also hasn't wowed me, but he has at least won some confidence from the right people. I suspect, though, that with everybody's pal, Denny Hastert, in the Speaker's slot, the House will plod along regardless, neither as brash nor as exciting or useful, as the House that Newt built. The problem, unfortunately, is that the GOP needs some time in the wilderness. They're too busy protecting the little empires they've built, instead of doing the job GOPers are sent to do. It's our time in the wilderness that brings the GOP back to the Reagans, the Ws, the Newts. Our time in power or even close to it tend to bring us the Doles, the George Herbert Walker Bushes, the Gerry Fords - good men, all, but not great leaders. More unfortunately, it is our time in or close to power that also brings the muck. For the real problem with the Doles and the HWs is not the men themselves but the impulse to get along and do business, which means that too much is overlooked. A few years back, when Trent Lott made an ass of himself, a principled - and agenda-focused - GOP tossed him out on his ear. A few years on, some were acting as though until Tom Delay was sentenced we should protect him, even at the expense of our credibility. My strongest cause for hope for Shadegg is that he's making the right people on the fringes hopeful while, more importantly, prompting skepticism from the right people in the business as usual crowd. Boehner has the right views, but no one is acting like he'd upset any applecarts. And we need some applecarts upset very badly, or in lieu of the Reagan-W agenda that this country needs, the GOP will spend most of its time making the case for the one thing we can least afford: a Democrat resurgence. 
posted by gbarto at 11:59 AM Thursday, January 26, 2006The TurkeyBlogger is taking the same stance on Hamas' victory that it took over results in Iraq:Part of democracy is living with whom you elect. Part of being elected is having to govern. Both the governed and the governing are often chastened by the experience. The Palestinian people have made their choice. If they meant it, they should rightly bear the consequences of their approach to life. If they didn't, they should rightly bear the consequences of their approach to democracy. Hamas, likewise, is in a bind. Either they meant it with their bluster, in which case they will have problems in the international community that keeps the PA funded. Or they didn't, in which case they will face problems with their hardliners. To keep things in perspective, it could be worse: We could have had a narrow victory by Fatah. In that case, we would have had the farce of working with supposedly earnest negotiators who continually used their weakness as justification for extracting concessions and not following through on their own commitments - i.e. what Arafat gave us until 9/11. This way, the cards are on the table. More to the point, the Palestinians can no longer claim to be victims of their leadership, begging the rest of the world to fund their leaders' violent and corrupt ways for the sake of their pitiable selves. This is a course they have chosen whose consequences the world can in good conscience let fall upon them. Let us hope for their sake that Hamas is smarter than it seems.
posted by gbarto at 4:18 PM Instapundit notes that Wal-Mart is one block outside of Chicago, since Chicago was too good to have them. This is a good start for Chicago, but lest Wal-Mart sully the fair city, one presumes that they will also refund any city income taxes for Chicagoans working at Wal-Mart. Right? Hypocritical bastards. Those who find work at Wal-Mart would do well to vote against the alderman who cared less for their livelihoods than the hoity-toity constituencies who think the lower classes should only work in Chicago - for low wages - but not be able to shop there.
posted by gbarto at 3:03 PM Tuesday, January 24, 2006According to the Los Gatos Daily News (no link, sorry), the American Apparel chain store has been kept out of the Los Gatos shopping district in spite of claims by teens that they needed somewhere halfway affordable to shop.Now the store's proposed location may now be taken over by Jos. A. Bank Clothiers, a chain store, but for men's apparel - there is only one other store in the category in downtown Los Gatos. So, what's up? "We're not trying to thwart success. But we don't want to turn Los Gatos into a mall," said Tom O'Donnell, a town planner.Ah, but there is one difference: Best sellers on [Jos. A. Bank's] website showed regular prices for a dress shirt $64.50, wool trousers $175 and wool blazer $350.These prices aren't necessarily excessive. But they aren't cheap either. Perfect to keep out the riffraff that would turn O'Donnell's beloved downtown into a mall culture. Los Gatos is, of course, free to make these choices. And if it appeals to their shopping base, both by what is offered and by who is shut out, more power to them. The TurkeyBlogger has a Los Gatos postmark - he lives in the hills behind the town. However, he shops in neighboring Campbell. He's part of the riffraff, you see, that Tom O'Donnell's careful planning keeps out. But you can help! Click the tip jar or buy the Amazon books and you can be a part of the democratization of Los Gatos, California, where the local Ford dealership is going out of business because everyone's buying Bentleys.
posted by gbarto at 8:08 AM Monday, January 23, 2006Apparently a number of Hamas candidates may wind up in the government of the, er, Palestinian entity that isn't yet a state. But not to worry, some are willing to negotiate with the entity that is a state but that they don't recognize as such, namely, Israel.Says Roger L. Simon, Tony Blair seems unimpressed. Roger doesn't seem to impressed either. But I think there's cause for hope, here. Not, mind you, vis-à-vis Hamas. But the general lay of the land seems better than some might think. All across the Middle East, millions of Israel-haters, Jew-haters, America-haters and others... feel pretty much the same way they did 52 weeks ago. And yet, there's a new talk in town. Something's happening here. Realities are being came to grips with - if the phrase isn't too tortured. It's very nice to chant "Death to America" or whatever. But it no longer gets you a pass on blowing up Brother Ahmed's food cart. Or keeping your Palestinian brothers from jobs in the prosperous non-entity next door. Et cetera. Even the radicals are promising that while they will persist in their radicalism, they'll take pains not to inconvenience anyone in the process. Things aren't great, of course, but they're getting better. In the long run - if my Arabic's right - kullu tamam: It's all good.
posted by gbarto at 5:12 PM |
Archives
|
Day By Day© by Chris Muir.Old TurkeyBlog here.
