April 5, 2005 by s.z.

The Worst Thing Ever Written In the History of Mankind* (*Not this post.  At least, probably not.) As no doubt you're aware, the big news in the blogosphere is that Daily Kos took our country to war under claims that turned out to be untrue.  No, wait, that wasn't him.  This is what Kos did, per The Weekly Standard: The New (Cold-Blooded) Democrats Less than 24 hours after four American civilians working under contract for the U.S. government were brutally murdered in Falluja, Iraq, last week--their corpses mutilated on camera by an anti-American mob--the pseudonymous Daily Kos, a star of the liberal blogger set, chimed in on his website (www.dailykos.com) with this bit of political analysis, headlined "Every Death Should be on the front page": Let the people see what war is like. This isn't an Xbox game. There are real repercussions to Bush's folly. That said, I feel nothing over the death of mercenaries. They aren't in Iraq because of orders, or because they are there trying to help the people make Iraq a better place. They are there to wage war for profit. Screw them. The uninitiated should know that "Kos" is not by reputation a far-left lunatic. He's a Democratic political consultant on the make. "Kos" is the pseudonym for Markos Zúniga, a 27-year-old lawyer in California. He started writing his political blog in the summer of 2002, and in January 2003 became partners with Jerome Armstrong, who had spent the previous couple of years helping Vermont governor Howard Dean cement his Internet presence. Last April, their political consultancy, Armstrong Zúniga, helped orchestrate grassroots efforts to draft Gen. Wesley Clark for president. And last May, they signed a contract with Dean for America. Zúniga told THE SCRAPBOOK that his firm has no ties to John Kerry's presidential campaign. But he's very much in the Democratic mainstream--or at least he was until ...Sorry, the rest of this article is available only to subscribers. You have three options:  Well, the three options all involve signing up with The Weekly Standard, and we don't want to do that.  But we can pretty much guess the rest: Kerry still has an ad at Daily Kos, so all Democrats must hate America.  Of course, Zúniga pulled the post and put up an explanation of why he had saidwhat he had, but the wingnuts are having a feeding frenzy anyway.  To them, if one blogger said he really wasn't that upset about the deaths of some highly-paid goverment contracters at a time when the deaths of American soldiers rate barely a mention anymore, then this proves that the Democrats are all traitors, just like Ann Coulter said.  The ever astute and prescient Julia at Sisyphus Shrugged has an excellent post about this whole thing, so I'm just going to talk about more wingnut reactions.  FrontPage Magazine has a PowerLineBlog piece called "Democrats Cheer Falluja Outrage."  It starts by noting that some blog called "A Small Victory" found six posts at Democratic Underground which expressed no remorse over the deaths of the contractors (or mercenaries) in Falluja. They were all posted by Democrats.  Proving, of course, that the whole left is in league with the terrorists. Powerline then talks about Kos, and mentions the sponsors who had pulled their ads from the site.  And then chides Kerry, for not doing so: So far, John Kerry has done nothing to disassociate himself from Zuniga's hateful reaction to the Falluja massacre.  For him to do so might be dangerous; the truth is that Zuniga's hateful extremism represents the mainstream of the Democratic Party.  Certainly the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee are in no hurry to disassociate themselves from Zuniga's "screw them" sentiment.  Yeah, because you can't spend more than five minutes at DNC Headquarters without hearing somebody say, "Man, I sure hope that more Americans get killed and their bodies are mutilated on camera.  Because if it's bad for America, it's good for the DNC!"  And if each and every person in the Democratic Party (or each and every person who isn't a registered Republican) doesn't disavow Kos's post, then they too want the terrorists to win, and they should be roundly shunned by all decent people. Bobby Eberle, "President and CEO of GOP USA," writes approvingly about blogger Michael Friedman, who took it upon himself to write letters to all of of Kos's sponsors, urging them to pull their ads from Daily Kos.  Four sponsors have, and Friedman continues to "pressure" the others. Eberle concludes: Are these the type of rantings with which Democrats choose to associate themselves? I hope not. As the Internet continues to develop, it is the responsibility of those with reach and influence to act appropriately. Mocking the brutal murders of Americans in Iraq is beyond the pale, and Democrats and left-leaning organizations would do well to disassociate themselves with such irresponsible comments. My personal feeling is, "Any man's death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind."  But until the RNC and the rest of the right disavows Ann Coulter, I'm not disavowing Kos.  I don't care HOW many sponsors that loses me. 8:03:42 AM

Hemlock Block in the Morning For Bennett, a new 'Morning' A Reagan administration stalwart who often examines the nation's moral bearing takes to the airwaves today on talk radio. Bill Bennett debuts as host of "Morning in America," a three-hour foray into headlines, culture, politics and entertainment airing weekdays from 6 to 9 a.m. in 20 markets.  "I want the show to center on culture," Mr. Bennett said Friday. "I like politics, but I've also spent much time in my life emphasizing its impact on culture. I'm interested in the area where politics, policy, culture and education intersect. So when we go over daily headlines, we'll talk about Fallujah. But we'll also address Hollywood, leisure, music, SAT scores." . . . Blackjack, roulette, loose slots, loose women, mob connections, dominatrixes, naughty boys who need spankings, and other cultural matters. "My model of conversation is the Socratic dialogue. And that entails having a serious conversation with intelligence, candor and good will," he said.   "I will muster as much of those three elements as I can. I will tell the truth. Listeners may be surprised by who I bite on the show. And 'good will' means that we'll come to a conclusion together," he said.  Mr. Bennett cites the audience as paramount.  "The most important voice here is the listener's," he said. He will have an eclectic group of heavy-hitters with him this week. Guests include fellow radio host Rush Limbaugh, Fox News anchor Bill O'Reilly, former New York Gov. Mario Cuomo, Democratic Connecticut Sen. Joe Lieberman, sports personality Howie Long, NBC's "Meet the Press" host Tim Russert and entertainer Naomi Judd. From Tuesday's Show: Bennett:  So, Rush, Bill, what is truth? Limbaugh: Hell if I know. O'Reilly: Truth is whatever I say it is.  Because I have the most popular opinion show on TV.  And because I'm rich. Bennett: Rush, do you agree with Bill? Limbaugh: Yeah, he's probably rich.  Business Week said his various enterprises rake in 60 mill a year. O'Reilly: But I don't keep to keep it all!  When you subtract taxes, salaries, bribes to OSHA officials to keep my Factor factories running, and mistress expenses, I only get to keep about $10 million a year.  Which is still more than what the folks make, though, which is why they look to me for guidance.  Thus, my opinions are truth.  That's why I call my show a "no spin zone." Bennett: Rush, you are rich too, correct? Limbaugh: Yes.  But I don't think I have the truth, for I am only an entertainer, spewing out what my fans want to hear.  You know, my money has never brought me happiness.  Nor has my fame.  In fact, I feel just as empty as I did when I was a lonely, unpopular boy in highschool.  How should I live my life anyway? Bennett: I ask the questions around here, Rush.  So, you are both wealthy men Limbaugh and O'Reilly: Yes. Bennett:  Good.  Then could you spot me a few bucks?  My loanshark is starting to get nasty, and I don't get paid for doing this show until next Friday. Limbaugh:  I guess so.  But I only have $9,999 in walking around money with me.  O'Reilly:  Yes, but you'll have to pay interest, just like my mother. Bennett:  Good.  Then we've reached a conclusion.  Now, let's talk about boobies.  Rush, Bill, are breasts moral?  6:31:00 AM

Updates 1.  I had forgotten where I first saw that  Which NY Times Op-Ed Columnist Are You? quiz.  It turns out it was at Sisyphus Shrugged.  Wasn't it Max Headroom who was advertised as coming to us from "30 Minutes in the future"?  Well, now it's Julia--just a little too ahead of her time to get the recognition she deserves. 2.  There's been talk over at Sadly, No! (where I am one of 3 guest bloggers while the blog's CEO, Seb, is in the hospital) that I promised a position in my administration to regular reader Glenstonecottage in exchange for revealing in his book that second guest blogger, Blair, did little about terrorism prior to 9/11.  Well, there is no truth to this rumor -- at least, not after Glen verbally punched Elizabeth in the stomach just for pointing out that it's illegal to punch women in the stomach even if they're not pregnant.  Well, Elizabeth IS pregnant (and she has our most sincere congratulations, since we know she and the mister will make great parents), and so we can no longer offer Glen a job in our future cabinent.  But we are still committed to beating Blair in the upcoming election, despite his new popularity in the polls.  Of course, Peanut is the most popular of us all, so neither Blair nor I stands a chance against her mighty blogging power.  If you haven't checked out her work over at Sadly, No!, you should, because then you will be able to say you knew her when, after she becomes the Instapundit of the Left (except she's funny, smart, and on the side of good, so she will be nothing like Insta, except in hit numbers).  Oh, and I heard from Seb a few days ago, and he's going to be in the hospital longer than expected, as the doctors want to try even more tests and procedures on him (probably because they enjoy his company too much to let him go).  It doesn't sound all that fun.  He only has occasional computer access, I believe, but if you all send cheery and encouraging messages via telepathy, he'd get them, I'm sure. 3.  And here's an update on our friend Karen Hughes: it seems she was the one who urged the Bush administration to trash Richard Clarke: Last week, Hughes advised the White House and the Bush campaign to go on the offensive against Richard Clarke, following his testimony and book critical of the administration's response to terrorist threats. I guess not everybody who makes brownies (or talks about making brownies) is actually nice. And here's an excerpt from her book, Ten Minutes From Mediocre: At times, it still strikes me, when I'm standing backstage and the band plays Hail to the Chief (which doesn't happen that often because the President is quite humble, and tries to balance the grandeur and stature of the office with his desire not to inflate his own sense of self-importance), and he walks on stage and I am amazed: that is the President of the United States, and I know him, and he knows me. He knows my husband and son. We have had dinners together; I've even cooked some of them, and so has he. I know how he takes his coffee. He knows that I am tall, not big, because we have had that conversation. Women who are 5 feet ten and a half and wear size 12 shoes do not like to be called big. We prefer the more stately, tall. My friend Condi Rice says it's like sweating. Southern women do not sweat, especially if you grew up, as she did, in Birmingham, Alabama. Southern women only perspire. "Tall people in back," the President says to me during the group photograph at last year's senior staff Christmas dinner, winking to show he got it, he remembers. Don't you feel like you're a White House insider, now that you're in the know about Condi's pespiration policy and the President's sensitivity about Karen's size (it was so tactful of him not to say, "Big, hefty women with large feet at the back, folks").  Doesn't it make you want to join the administration yourself so you could hang out with Condi, Karen, and the Prez? If so, here's a comment from Mary Matalin from a piece about George's "valkyries," Condi, Karen, Laura and Bar: "When you grow up with a smart, strong woman who is not reticent about her opinions, then that's what you come to expect from all women," said Mary Matalin, a Bush campaign adviser who worked for Mr. Bush's father and Vice President Dick Cheney. The president, she added, "doesn't pull any punches with women; there's as much towel-snapping with them as there is with the boys." And that's every woman's dream boss: a guy who will towel-snap her!  And men also adore working for that jerk who used to bully them in 8th grade gym class.  No wonder none of George's former employees ever resign and then write unfavorable books about his administration! 5:26:11 AM