Over at OTB, I round up some thoughts on the latest “these kids today” meme, the idea that our children don’t spend enough time outside.
Are our neighborhoods genuinely less safe than they were a generation ago? Or are parents just too overprotective? And is it really that big a deal?
OTB Radio had its debut on BlogTalkRadio at 7 Eastern yesterday in what I believe will be our weekly time slot.
Ed Morrissey of Captain’s Quarters and political director here at BTR was kind enough to join me and help make the launch go more smoothly. We talked about the 2008 race, especially why John McCain is having so much trouble getting traction and why Thompson is generating such a buzz; the Duke lacrosse rape trial fallout and what its implications are for the American criminal justice system; and the ban on literally any physical contact being enforced by a D.C. area middle school.
You can hear the show in the archives here. There were some minor audio problems and first show jitters on my end but it was an enjoyable effort. I promise it’ll get better as we go forward!
“What if we took the $500 billion we’re spending in Iraq, and suppose we decided to make primary school education available to 100 million children around the world, in Africa, Asia, Latin America? What if we took the lead in sanitation, providing clean drinking water - by itself, that would have enormous impact on third world places in Africa! … We are not the country of Abu Gharib, Guantanamo, torture, spying on Americans… On my first day in office, I will close Guantanamo.”
Hillary believes the same thing, of course. But she’ll never be numbskulled enough to actually come out and say it publicly.
Until about thirty seconds after she’s been sworn in, that is.
UPDATE: Another Opie offering:
“We need someone who can campaign in Kentucky, we need someone who can campaign in Indiana, need someone who can campaign in, let me see… North Carolina! We need someone who can go anywhere so that we can strengthen our presence in governorships, and in state legislatures and in Congress.”
Did that sound as Deanesque as it reads?
Regarding the Hamas move to “kiss & make up” with Fatah, Ed writes this morning:
Khaled Mashaal has seriously miscalculated this time. In one fell swoop, he alleviated Abbas of all the baggage in the Palestinian Authority He no longer has the responsibility for dealing with the catastrophe in Gaza after the Israeli withdrawal. Hamas has to figure out how to feed 1.5 million people during an international embargo that only got worse this week. Even other Arab countries won’t help Hamas after their armed rebellion.
And now, Abbas can get all the international aid for himself and his organization. Free of Hamas, the West can now lift their sanctions; the US already has. That means that Abbas will start paying salaries again, bringing in food, and establishing (unfortunately) a patronage system that will only strengthen his political power. Anyone who wants to eat in the West Bank will eschew Hamas in favor of Fatah, or hopefully an even more moderate and rational organization.
Not to be a complete cynic (though that is where the abundance of my natural temperment lies), but couldn’t this be looked upon as the most elaborate “triangle offense” the Pals have pulled off yet?
….Arthur Branch, that is. And there may be no stopping him. Even Mittsters aren’t denying it.
McCainiacs probably still are. But their collective mental Straight Talk Express rolled out out of Reality Station a long time ago.
We’ve got a new UN Secretary-General, pretty much the same as the last one. And Al Gore is possessing his brain.
Despite how hard we’re trying to lose Iraq, the Surge is succeeding anyway. But nobody here at home will ever know it. That’s a shame, because “forward military deployment” in the War Against Islamic Fundamentalism is the only thing preventing the jihadi enemy from re-opening their North American operations.
But have no fear; we have “courageous” souls like Lindsey Grahamnesty as our last line of defense. Here is his audition to be Hillary’s Homeland Security Secretary.
