The more I know that this is the central problem we will have for the next months. The "reasonable centrists" who will fall for that crap hook, line and sinker. Be realistic, they'll say, in almost the exact same way these morons were urging Big Dems (Kerry, Clinton, et. al.) to vote for the Iraq debacle, which had to be clearly insane to any sentient being when they took the vote. We see how well being intimidated into going along with a stupid meme serves the party. People don't forget. They remembered Kerry's "flip-flop" -- Rove helped them remember it -- and they haven't forgotten Hillary's either, and Rove will remind them. Pandering doesn't help you in any way.

But the other thing, the "support the troops" meme, is more difficult. We have to meet it head-on for what it is: a near-fascistic ancestor worship; we must follow the Divine Leader, we cannot break with orthodoxy, or we're dishonoring the gallant dead. We must find a way to present the people with what they already know is true: this corrupt reasoning is simply consigning many of those there now, and generations to come, to more aggressive wars, more adventures, and a further brutalizing of the American people. In fact, I think we've somewhat been on the wrong model as we study Bush and fascism: the model isn't at all in Germany, but in Japan. Imagine, if you will, Dobson at the head of a National Church, who blesses the president -- always of the same party -- and keeps those arms dollars going. That's the kind of fascism we're headed for: the Rising Sun.

Remember, the Japanese military, and the Japanese nation, was on a hunt for oil, too.

I've always taken a "pragmatic" view of the subject. However, we may be forced into it by this lunatic. Or tell me, what's the way to invoke the 25th amendment? Or maybe, some carom shot that would take out the Veep with the eventual Fitzgerald charges, and then pop the 25th Amendment on him? Send in the guys in the white coats?

Seriously. I sent birthday greetings to an old friend last week, and left on a vaguely anti-Bush tag line on the e-mail. Well, I might as well have peed in the face of an archangel. Dispiriting when an old friend exhibits crazed behavior. Imagine when the Decider does the same.

The anti-Bush movements have been too meek. He's not stupid, he's crazy.

The PC Guy is sympathetic because Hodgman is a genius, and Justin whoever is not. That's by design. Who's the target audience? The PC guys out there, or anyone who has ever found themselves under the thumb of his ugly bully of a brother, the IT guy.

And Gates owes his massive fortune to leveraging business's adoration of his flat-footed style.

And if Jobs had been at Apple from 1986 to 1997, Apple would have 20% of the market, no more. Jobs is for the consumer and the prosumer. He understands business, but he doesn't really give a crap about Excel and the rest of the stuff the business nerds adore. I think he'd gladly leave those crappy Windows boxes to compute how much ROI there was going to be in the fourth quarter in the Dallas housing market; and the boring business nerds still buy the majority of PCs.

Anybody want to buy a (snicker) coffee table with feelovision?

Stones suck.

How's that for criticism?

Stupid? Yeah. Just like this "review."

It was, quite literally, ground-breaking. Within a year, everybody else had gone psychedelic, they were trying to make complete stories out of their albums, and they were setting their A&R guys free in the studio. Lots of great music.

The Stones are great, too. Just not quite as smart as the Beatles, and besides, they were heroin addicts and crazy. And their idea of a good time led to Altamont.

They like the music where the lyrics are whispered, and oh, so alienated.

But one thing I won't go for: that the "pure" rock sound was ruined by the Beatles, and returned by punk. Bull. Punk was an ideological reaction, quite unlistenable, to the sop of the '70s, just before the idiots and coke fiends took over with disco. There's nothing wrong with overdubbing.

Really good music is a fragile thing, and it doesn't do formulas. The definitive moment in pop music? Bob Dylan getting booed for going electric, because some idiots wanted him to stay in one place and be a predictable product.

I mean, you can question if you need or want one, but this advice was probably good. Before Ms. Huffington and Mr. Manjoo started blabbing it all around. Now there will be a huge lineup in front of the AT&T/cingular/AT&T store, and nobody at the Apple store. Curses!