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Jens 'n' Frens
Idle thoughts of a relatively libertarian Republican in Cambridge, MA, and whomever he invites. Mostly political.
"A strong conviction that something must be done is the parent of many bad measures."
-- Daniel Webster
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Saturday, March 08, 2003 :::
When most CEOs claim to have had a "banner year", it's meaningless. When Warren Buffett does, it's not. He has his usual caveats, but his letter to shareholders reminds me of the scene early on in The Hudsucker Proxy, where Sidney Mussburger (played by Paul Newman) is telling the board of directors how wonderfully the company is doing.
::: posted by Steven at 1:12 PM
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I assumed my brother would have posted a link to Buffett's letter to the shareholders by now.
::: posted by dWj at 1:01 PM
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If you're interested in a defense of the rational markets hypothesis, then you're probably my brother.
::: posted by Steven at 2:36 AM
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ABCNEWS.com: Iraq Giving Own Forces Western Uniforms in Ploy -US
Iraqi President Saddam Hussein has ordered uniforms replicating those worn by U.S. and British troops and will issue them to paramilitary fighters who would attack Iraqi civilians and blame it on Western forces, the U.S. Central Command charged on Thursday.
I assume this violates the Geneva convention.
::: posted by Steven at 2:32 AM
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Lucy's dad writes:
Being friends with sons-of-bitches in order to spread freedom and fight tyranny is entirely defensible; being friends with SOBs because it's convenient is immoral.
That's the most True line, but the whole column is quite good.
::: posted by Steven at 2:27 AM
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Mark Steyn says he's running low on things to say about Iraq, but that at least the anti-war side is tiring, too:
The "human shields" are leaving Iraq, disenchanted after discovering that their Iraqi "co-ordinators" wanted to deploy them not at "humanitarian" facilities but at military bases. One fellow said he was used to working with young children and would have preferred to be deployed at an orphanage. Pity the poor Iraqi official who had to explain to the guy that the orphanage has already got all the human shields it needs: they're called "orphans".
The bewildered Brit seemed to find this hard to follow: here's a man who's convinced that Bush and Rumsfeld are slavering to drop a bunch of daisycutters on Iraqi moppets, but thinks they'll cease and desist just because some droning Welsh Leftist is sitting among all those inviting underage targets.
::: posted by Steven at 2:18 AM
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ESPN.com: NBA - Prank blamed for delay in Celtics' game vs. Clippers
BOSTON -- Noxious fumes apparently resulting from a prank with pepper spray disrupted the game between Boston and the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday night and forced the Celtics to bolt from their bench, gagging and coughing.
For the record, I was not at the Celtics' game tonight.
::: posted by Steven at 2:12 AM
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Friday, March 07, 2003 :::
Nothing restores your faith in humanity like a water-skiing squirrel. Link from Dave Barry.
::: posted by Steven at 7:51 PM
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Lileks discusses, among other things, last night's press conference.
My favorite question came from Terry Moran - and whoever named him bought the wrong vowel.
“Thank you, sir. May I follow up on Jim Angle's question. In the past several weeks your policy on Iraq has generated opposition from the governments of France, Russia, China, Germany, Turkey, the Arab League and many other countries, NATO and the U.N., and drawn millions of ordinary citizens around the world into the streets in anti-war protests. May I ask, what went wrong that so many governments and peoples around the world now not only disagree with you very strongly but see the U.S. under your leadership as an arrogant power? “
Ideal response:
“Oh, many things went wrong, Terry. We failed to understand the extent to which the French are economically entwined with Iraq, and how this war would make their knees vibrate like orgasmic hummingbirds. While we realized the power of Anti-Americanism as a cudgel with which to beat the rest of Europe into accepting a Franco-German hegemony, we didn’t think they’d screw us this hard for short-term political gain. We misunderestimated Turkish protestations of support - although, as you no doubt noted from my earlier comments supporting their EU membership and lauding their role in NATO, we’re certainly not going to kick them in the nads in public like some of our allies have done to us. And while I agree that ordinary citizens have protested our government in foreign capitals, I’d ask you why American security should be determined by 26 year old Belgian college students, and I’d also note that these rallies have been organized by people who’d dance in the street if someone set off a tactical nuclear device in the lobby of the Monsanto corporate office. But more to the point, Terry, I’d ask: What went wrong in your education that you believe that the disapproval of China constitutes failure?”
::: posted by Steven at 7:46 PM
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The article Lily discusses, in the entry Dean just linked to, includes this:
[I]t's hard to stop talking about [Stewart] because she's a Rorschach test, an inkblot for Americans to interpret as threat or validation, inspiration or rebuke. She tells us something about our society and, in particular, about the unresolved question of what women are or should be.
The way this analogy is used strikes me as odd -- an inkblot test doesn't tell us anything about "society", it tells us something about the person interpreting the inkblot.
Lily goes on to say:
It may not be your scene, but I beg you — if it's not, please spare us all this bitter kvetching.
That's my attitude toward Martha Stewart (or was until a few weeks ago) -- it's not my thing, so I'll ignore her. The last few weeks, I've heard her on the radio Sunday morning for a couple minutes at a time with somewhat interesting material, most of it having to do with pretty things, though one was about the differences between black bears and grizzlies (I never did figure out why she was dealing with that). So now I ignore her unless I happen to catch her on the radio, in which case I tend to listen (though I don't tend to remember).
To conclude, I'll add that I'm glad that there are people out there who cook better than I do.
::: posted by Steven at 6:38 PM
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Those of you who want signal, try the Kitchen Cabinet:To all the women who think Martha Stewart's mission in life is to make you feel inferior: it's really not, and if she does make you feel inferior, ask yourself if maybe you're the one clinging to the antiquated notion of femininity. So you couldn't make a pie crust if your life depended on it? Big deal! It shouldn't bother you that some women make pie crusts, and care about their pie crusts, and want to make better pie crusts — unless, deep down, you're insecure about your own unfamiliarity with the pastry world. I've always found it odd that women calling themselves feminists reliably promote the view that traditionally male activities are superior to traditionally female activities. The view makes it easier to leverage victimhood, I suppose.
::: posted by dWj at 5:57 PM
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My semi-perpetual calendar. The signal is low enough today that I thought I'd drive up the noise.
::: posted by dWj at 5:51 PM
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Thursday, March 06, 2003 :::
They're California leftists -- you can't really expect any better of them.
An anti-war march against the U.S. policy on Iraq by about 500 Canoga Park High School students turned ugly Wednesday when some in the crowd started looting a gas station convenience store and disrupting traffic.
Some Berklee School of Music students were disrupting traffic a little yesterday. I just kept going through the intersection at around 5 mph, and they decided to move before I got to them.
::: posted by Steven at 4:04 PM
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This is depressing.
The majority opinions of Americans should influence decisions of the Supreme Court, three-fourths of the people in a new poll say.
What ever happened to rule of law? I know, I know -- Earl Warren.
::: posted by Steven at 2:55 PM
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My brother points me to this, and then this, worrying about North Korea.North Korea may be the "Did you notice I lost weight?" of the international community; it's a question with no good answers. The thing about risking war is that looking as though you're willing to often prevents you from having to, but that tends to work best with rational actors. I'm not sure Kim Il Sung qualifies.
::: posted by dWj at 1:46 PM
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Wednesday, March 05, 2003 :::
Here's a nauseating obituary for Stalin, allegedly from the New York Times around the time of his death (fifty years ago today). I'm sort of inclined to believe it's actually from the Times, if only because it's hosted at www.nytimes.com. Maybe there's a hacker.
At any rate, here's to Stalin's death. May he rot in Hell, and may Saddam (one of his biggest fans) soon join him for tea.
::: posted by Steven at 4:57 PM
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Colby Cosh publishes an anecdote from a furniture retailer in Minneapolis.
Yesterday a customer asked me where one of the dressers was made, and when I said "Canada" the customer frowned and asked for something else--I sold her something MADE IN CHINA instead!
Okay, I can understand irritation with Canada (if less than with France), but if you hate Canada more than China, you're being myopic.
::: posted by Steven at 4:09 PM
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Kate Malcolm points out this article in the Tribune (registration required) in which a judge accused of unethical behavior by an anonymous visitor to a chat room is seeking the name of the accuser. One of Melvin's attorneys, Robert Lampl, argued that although the Internet is a new mode of communication, it should not free individuals to slander public officials. Damn straight; individuals should be free to slander public officials by any mode of communication they choose.
::: posted by dWj at 9:34 AM
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Lileks is having a bad experience with Amazon taking longer than promised to deliver. I've usually seen the opposite from them -- I order a couple things, they tell me, "nine to sixteen days," and three days later I get a package.
In other news, I hope blogger starts using the new template I gave it for this page soon. I changed the quip in the banner to be more Lenty and less estrogeny, and when I look at the template it shows me the new quip, but it's been publishing new entries with the old template. I've seen it take a while to publish before, but I've never seen it publish new blog entries with an old template.
Incidentally, can I claim credit for being the first person to write "estrogeny"? Unless it's a Russian name, I'm guessing I can.
::: posted by Steven at 2:19 AM
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Tuesday, March 04, 2003 :::
Volokh has polls showing that American views on the war are, well, unclear.
::: posted by Steven at 11:59 PM
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ABCNEWS.com : Harry Potter for Governor?
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Harry Potter has captivated readers and cinema-goers worldwide, but a Russian man has decided to see if the famous name can pass an altogether different test -- winning him election as a provincial governor.
After previous unsuccessful election campaigns in the Sverdlovsk region, the 32-year-old hopes to enlist a little magical help from the boy wizard by changing his name to Harry Ivanovich Potter, NTV television reported.
::: posted by Steven at 2:47 PM
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I once read a report of a police strike in the early seventies in New Mexico during which the crime rate went down; this was partly attributed to the pervasive carrying of handguns.I heard on Chicago Tonight the other night that the last major widespread doctors' strike was in Israel in 2000, and that the mortality rate dropped. There's a problem with trying to use a strike to demonstrate how important you are; it might turn out that you're not.
::: posted by dWj at 11:24 AM
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Happy birthday to the city of Chicago, and happy anniversary to my parents, who met a couple blocks from where I am now.
::: posted by dWj at 11:21 AM
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If you've spent the last ten years on Mars with your eyes closed and your fingers in your ears -- or if you just haven't been reading the Kitchen Cabinet, which amounts to the same thing -- you might not know that there's a strike at Yale. Of course, as Lily reports, an other good way not to find out about the strike would be to drop by Yale.
Meanwhile, Instapundit reports:
They had a strike when I was going to law school there. When the janitors left, the students took over cleaning the bathrooms in the dorms. They were much, much, much cleaner during the strike than they were before or after.
Not to Dave Barry or anything, but I'm guessing that if the bathrooms were clean, said students were mostly female.
::: posted by Steven at 2:05 AM
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There's been something of a push lately, particularly by the Instapundit, to donate blood. Harvard Law Republicans are hosting a blood drive this Wednesday, BTW, from nine until three.
I'm, unfortunately, busy during that time period. If you're not, and you're in the area, see if you can't drop in.
::: posted by Steven at 1:57 AM
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Colby Cosh writes on Madonna's new gig.
Deep down, almost everybody thinks they could be a writer if they had nothing else better to do.
I think I could be a writer, if I weren't such a bad writer. But, then, if I only have to be better than the other writers...
At least I'm funny sometimes. Really, I am -- just ask me.
::: posted by Steven at 1:51 AM
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Semi-pro tennis player Anna Kournikova used to be married? She's too young to "used to be" married.
Actually, 21, according to the article Lily links to. I was guessing 19 -- I remember her reaching 18, and something of a deal being made of it, and I thought that was pretty recent. I guess time flies when you don't give a damn.
Speaking of married, my parents still are. March 4, 1972. Happy anniversary to the folks.
::: posted by Steven at 1:39 AM
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Monday, March 03, 2003 :::
I won't be watching Fox's "Married by America" tonight, but I have been watching the promos, and I'd like to vote to have Billie Jean spayed.
::: posted by Steven at 6:50 PM
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I should have known Dean had already seen it. His link is better than mine, BTW.
History teaches us that a crisis often causes problems to correlate in a manner undreamed of in more tranquil times.
That doesn't need context to ring of truth.
::: posted by Steven at 5:16 PM
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Excerpts from Warren Buffett's upcoming shareholder letter appear to be available. He worries about derivatives, thinks stocks are still expensive, and has been buying junk bonds lately.
::: posted by Steven at 5:11 PM
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Excerpts from Buffett's upcoming letter to shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway. That comes out on Saturday; it's like Christmas in July, only during the winter.
::: posted by dWj at 5:04 PM
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Reader Pamela Siska, upon noticing the entry about Dr. Pepper's new "milk-based product with an attitude", remembers that Laverne of "Laverne and Shirley" drank milk mixed with Pepsi.
That show is before my time, but I hope they showed it at the late hours, to avoid the damage that this sort of thing might do to a child's psyche.
::: posted by Steven at 4:23 PM
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Over at NRO, they're discussing whether Khalid Mohammed looks most like porn star Ron Jeremy, John Belushi, or a khlav kalash vendor from an episode of The Simpsons.
::: posted by Steven at 1:51 PM
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Max Boot opines in the New York Post on the recent capture of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed:
So much for the argument that Uncle Sam can't walk and chew gum at the same time.
For months, supposedly hard-headed national-security types - including a coterie of former Clintonites - have been arguing against an invasion of Iraq on the grounds that the United States should concentrate its resources instead on al Qaeda.
He goes on to detail the series of recent successes against al-Qaeda. Link from Instapundit.
::: posted by Steven at 1:23 PM
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On the radio this weekend, I heard a reporter who was with American troops in the middle east. He reported the number of the Marine Corps unit he was with, he reported its location, and he reported that it (along with an other Marine unit, whose number he gave) would lead any charge into Iraq.
I think reporters should offer as much information as possible, so long as it doesn't help the enemy. I'm wondering if he's crossing that line.
(Incidentally, I remember all of the information which I didn't repeat, but I didn't want to repeat it. I don't really think Saddam's men are nearly as likely to read this site as to listen to a major Boston radio station; it's just a matter of principle.)
::: posted by Steven at 1:00 PM
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Pop star Madonna turns hand to children's books. No kidding.
I feel vaguely ill.
::: posted by Steven at 12:52 PM
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Lily Malcolm reports on an old David Brooks article about Red America v. Blue America. In conclusion, she says:
I know that I'm glad to have experienced both worlds. I feel sorry for those people who imagine they're in a quaint, scary, or exotic environment whenever they leave Manhattan. And on the other hand, I wouldn't want to spend my entire life in a small town, knowing there's a big world out there and feeling vaguely afraid of it.
In my experience, Red America knows a heck of a lot more about Blue America than the other way around. This may be largely because of the "urbanist bias" in the media that my brother has written about, and about which I think he's right.
I, like Lily, think having lived in different cultures is broadening -- and while the Red America / Blue America divide isn't as stark as, say, Red America / France, it gives me a broader perspective than someone who's lived in Cambridge all their life.
::: posted by Steven at 12:32 PM
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Dr. Pepper, reports Instapundit, is planning to use blogs to promote a new product which they describe -- no kidding -- as a "milk-based product with an attitude". Just mulling over that phrase gives my stomach something of an attitude.
I'd like to bring up "OK", a soft-drink/marketing campaign from the Coca-Cola company back in the mid '90s. It was only on the market for about half a year, IIRC. Sort of a mild, fruity cola type of thing, as far as I can remember. I liked this beverage, and was disappointed that they pulled it.
::: posted by Steven at 1:53 AM
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