Tuesday, June 03, 2008

Watcher's Council Nominations, 06/03/08


Every week, the Watcher's Council members nominate two posts each, one of their own and one from outside the group for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week's Council nominations can be found at the site of our fearless leader, the infamous Watcher of Weasels

Do take the time to check out the non-Council links as well - they're always worthwhile.


So here's this week's lineup...enjoy!

Worst. President. Ever? JoshuaPundit - Mirror, mirror on the wall..who's the worst president of all? With President Bush headed off into the sunset in a mere 8 months or so,a lot of online polls and articles are being written asking that very question, and the current occupant of the White House is usually fingered as the ne plus ultra of mediocrity.

What I did was to set out my own criteria for the title, and come up with four nominees based on that criteria. I don't know if many of my fellow Council members will enjoy this piece or agree with me, but I welcome them (and you, of course!) to submit their own nominees for the cellar.

Choice and Honor The Razor- Scott has a great post this week that links Scott McClellan and his decision to trash the Bush Administration for profit with Obama's decision to flush Trinity United and Jeremiah Wright when it was to his own profit....and makes the point that character and principles count for something.

Memorial Day Done With Mirrors - A moving post by Callimachus that profiles some of the young men and women, both military and non- military who were willing to put their lives on the line in this war because they believed in something bigger than themselves.

The Costs of Withdrawing from Iraq The Glittering Eye - This week Dave Schuler has something rarely seen - a common sense, facts and figures look at what a precipitous retreat from Iraq would cost us.

You Have To Ask? Hillbilly White Trash - Lemuel looks at the Vanity Fair article on ex-president Clinton and his past career and asks 'why should anyone be surprised'?

More Outrageousness At Trinity UCC -- UPDATED Rhymes With Right - Greg profiles the latest bit o' racist slime to ooze out of Trinity United, Father Michael Pfleger and his long time association with Barack Hussein Obama. I believe there's going to be a lot more of this kind of stuff surfacing. You can't swim in a cesspool for two decades and expect to emerge squeaky clean and without a certain aroma clinging to you.

Brave? Yes. Unique? No. Bookworm Room - The ever scintillating Ms. Bookworm looks at Senator Ted Kennedy's apparently successful brain tumor operation. While willing to congratulate the senator on his bravery, she has a major problem with the way the dinosaur media is making this out to be practically Medal of Honor stuff.

Leveraging -- Reloaded Soccer Dad - This week Soccer Dad does a fine job of sorting out the inconsistencies of a column by the New York Times' Thomas Friedman on the Middle East.

Actually, Friedman is a valuable barometer of sorts, kinda like the WAPO's David Ignatius or the Boston Globe's HDS Greenway. Anytime they write something about the Middle East, you can take a position 180 degrees away from them and be almost certain to be proven correct!

Slouching Towards Statism Cheat Seeking Missiles - Laer contrasts what he refers to as the two basic types of governments - "Statist nations that see the people as a means to government's ends and Individualist nations in which government represents and protects the will of the people."

Which side is winning?

The Media Furor Over McClellan's Book Leads to Whoppers The Colossus of Rhodey - Hube has a wonderful time outing the outright lies and distortions peddled by the dinosaur media in the wake of Scott McClellan's sleazy little opus.

Much Lizardly Ado About... A Little Something Wolf Howling - Ooh, I liked this one. GW looks at a farcical virtual argument between Dafydd at Big Lizards and Thomas Joscelyn at the Weekly Standard over Jocelyn and others criticizing the Department of Homeland Security and the Bush Administration for eliminating terms like 'jihad', 'jihadi' and 'radical Islam' from our official security vocabulary.

Dafydd, of course loves just about anything the Bush Administration does and apparently likes the idea of eliminating these terms on the basis that it conflates Islamist terrorism with the religion itself.

As GW points out, both sides miss the essential point. He cites one of my favorite warriors for a moderate Islam capable of co-existing with the rest of us, Dr. Zuhdi Jasser.

I would however, take Dr. Jasser's argument a step further....and I think that warrants a separate post on the matter by yours truly.

Life Expectancy Down For Some American Women The Education Wonks - Edwonk examines a disturbing trend.

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