"In fact, the same all-American flag-wavers who called loudest for war against Iraq are now denouncing Wright as a hate-monger and a traitor, and attacking Michelle Obama for saying that only recently has she had reason to feel proud of her country. "

Gary says that flag waivers e.g. patriotic types are angry misguided fools

"They insist that anyone who is not permanently proud of the United States, whose patriotism isn't plastered on his or her face like the frozen smile of a beauty queen waving from a Fourth of July float, is beyond the pale."

Gay says here that patriotism is a binary choice either you are fawing over America (and that's bad) or you're essentially an enemy of the state (and that's good). Also nice touch of Eastern European Jewish history coming from a guy who's about as antizionist as the Arab press ('The Pale').

"Never mind that the glorious results of their debased version of patriotism -- 4,000 American troops dead, a wrecked Iraq, and a greatly strengthened terrorist enemy -- are plain for all to see."

As oppose to what other kind of patriotism. We've already established Gary feels it is an either or proposition.

"You wouldn't expect the Republican Party, Fox News, Bill Kristol or the readers of FreeRepublic to issue any mea culpas -- they don't acknowledge that they've done anything wrong."

No you would not, this is a nonsequitor.

"But the mainstream media's pious tut-tutting over the Wright affair shows that it, too, has learned nothing from its disgraceful post 9/11 performance."

One of these has nothing to do with one another. Does Gary seriously expect us to draw the parallel that NOT claiming the US basically caused and deserved 911 is the same line of thought as criticizing people who do? That quite frankly is either stupid or insane.

"The worst excesses of media groveling -- the flag pins, the instructions not to run anti-U.S. stories -- may be history, but the timorous mind-set remains the same."

Same as what? I would say that the online blogging news world probably runs 80/20 against the war. It's that 20% that actually agrees with 100% of Rev Wright, even the crazy parts. That's just groveling to a different god.

"Its reaction to Wright shows that the American establishment still cowers before the patriotic idol."

No it's a reaction to hate speech. It might be radical liberal anointed and approved PC hate speech but it's still hate speech.

I mean if Gary wants to play these stupid semantic games than I guess we can assert that all those uppity niggers brought lynching down on themselves too, can't we? Oooh but we're not going to do that because that would be un PC.

Wars of revolution and identity and separatism are the same pretty much everywhere. A small group fighting a larger group using brutal indiscriminate guerilla tactics like carbombs, massacres and terrorism. The Tibetans if sufficiently motivated could commit acts of terrorism at the Olympics. There's nothing special about Tibet that precludes that other than their refusal to do so. So again I have to wonder why the leftists, who generally support this sort of thing actively push it off the table in this instance.

Or Honduran nannies, or whatever - a Staff of some kind.

I found most of the authorities reasonably non confrontational and people were generally curious about the world outside the 3CP. The US boycotted that event in protest of the Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan. They tried to put a polish on it but it was clear that the whole workers paradise thing was bullshit and it was going to fall apart. A lot rattier than it is now. But generally the sense of it was, no one cared about the boycott. In fact w/o the US the other countries did well in the games and they simply used it to propaganda effect.

Un/underemployment? Tax cut

Recession? Tax cut

Inflation? Tax cut

Trade deficit? Tax cut

Oil prices surging? Tax cut

Instability in capital markets? Tax cut

Credit crunch? Tax cut

You can pretty much assume that any GOP policy consists of Federal tax cuts that are eventually offset by state and local tax increases or budget gaps.

Like Communism & Marxism and the fact that they are stupid, discredited and insane hasn't stopped anyone from delving into them, embracing them even.

Every few years we swine snort. But we always forget the last crisis or that we called that one the worst ever. The world is always coming to an end, tomorrow. The difference between conservatives and liberals is that conservatives say the future always sucks. Liberals say today always sucks. Me? The good old days, they were terrible.

If my tax on gains drops to zero then its debatable whether losses should carry. There would no longer be an offset. Of course that would crush every person who owns an income generating piece of real estate. Be careful what you wish for, rads, you might just slaughter all small businesses yet.

If you're like me, lazy and you hate to change bulbs. They last thousands of hours. The downside is that I don't have fixtures that cover all bulbs, and if you have to look at them they're pretty ugly. On the upside you can use them at much higher output in enclosed fixtures normally limited to 60W because of the heat those standard bulbs generate.

BTW does anyone remember those tabletop student lamps with the 200W bulbs and a steel plate atop the shade? The kind you could heat up a quick meal on?

Canada is America's bear buffer zone.