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Some Call It A Bonfire/Carnival Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."

1.

Tobacco Coincidence-

Division of Labour blog points out an interesting coincidence.

It's not exactly the Virgin Mary, but it's still interesting.

2.

Overcoming Negative Emotions and Boosting Motivation-

Steve Pavlina offers a bit of motivational therapy:

Just like physical exercise should be a daily habit, I feel daily emotional conditioning is at least as important. Whenever I’ve fallen out of this habit for weeks or months at a time, I’ve invariably gotten sucked down into negative emotional states. Then I remember my solution, plug back in, and my attitude and productivity shoot back up again.

If you've ever been around a "Debbie Downer" type, you know that it's easy to get dragged down with a pessimist. A little bit of conscious "mood exercise" might be helpful if you're constantly around those types.

3.

NASA-

The Right Wing Nut House blog ponders whether NASA has become obsolete:

Flying below the public’s radar are a host of NASA successes that have transformed everything from physics to engineering. NASA missions in the last decade have opened up brand new scientific vistas using space based gamma ray and x-ray telescopes, rovers on Mars, a probe to Saturn’s moon Titan, and most recently, the extraordinary achievement of the Deep Impact probe. This is what NASA does best – build and launch probes that private industry wouldn’t touch.

It's been time, for quite some time, to retire the Shuttle and instead build ad hoc space vehicles to suit each mission. It's also time to introduce a little competition into the mix-- somehow.

4.

Allah-

Fred Fry International Blog offers the signs that Allah is not on your side:

*Out of the five sides of the Pentagon, you manage to hit the side that was just renovated, - and reinforced, - and still half empty

A list worth some thought. One of the reasons jihadists use to justify their evil deeds is that they have God on their side. But if you look at the history of even successful terrorist attacks, it doesn't seem like terrorists can catch a break. Unfortunately, it only takes a terrorist being right once, while we have to be right every time.

5.

Random Searches-

I AM (also) CANADIAN blog offers a humorous take on a terrible situation:

Imagine the freedom! With this pack you can not only run when stopped by authorities, but yell religious statements all with the confidence of knowing that you will not be shot.

On a more serious note, it seems completely absurd to a waste precious Homeland Security resources stopping and searching 80-year-old Swedish women for the sake of neutrality and fairness.

6.

Geopolitical Base Realignment and Uzbekistan-

Daniel Drezner analyzes the recent very underreported developments around the world, including German and Korean base realignments and getting kicked out of Uzbekistan earlier than expected:

Another way of interpreting the data is that the administration is actually willing to put its emphasis on democracy promotion front and center, even in regions considered of geostrategic importance. The willingness to leave nondemocratic Uzbekistan while maintaining bases in democratizing Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan suggests that the U.S. is recalculating the requirements to be a long-term partner of the U.S.

Exactly. Walking the walk is far more difficult than talking the talk, but on so many of these developments, the Bush adminstration is doing just that.

7.

Stem Cell Research-

Patrick Ruffini notes that that What We Have Here Is A Failure To Communicate:

Americans like their social issues framed in black-and-white absolutes. Overturning Roe -- on the lukewarm day in hell it would ever come to pass -- is not letting the people, through their elected state legislatures, decide this thorny issue -- potentially giving California more liberal abortion laws than exist today; it is the outright banning of abortion in America. Likewise, opening up federally funded stem cell research to nineteen existing cell lines is not, well, just that. It is an Orwellian prohibition on all research.

This issue is often mind-boggling to me. You have "libertarians" supporting massive government funding of stem cells, just to stick it to "religious conservatives." Meanwhile, Bush is the first president ever to authorize federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, but somehow he is blamed/credited with bannning it?

I distinctly remember Michael J. Fox coming out and saying how excited he was that President Bush had taken his stand in favor of stem cell research. I recall certain members of the media wondering whether this would be Bush's "No New Taxes" Waterloo that would erode his support from social conservatives.

Then, somehow, the issue gets twisted beyond recognition.

8.

Hugo Chavez Channels Nancy Pelosi-

Daly Thoughts notices the uncanny similiarities in rhetoric between Nancy Pelosi and Hugo Chavez:

I do not think it is far-fetched to suggest that Chavez got his ideas from Pelosi.

Our leaders need to be more cognizant of how their words are used as propaganda by unscrupulous foreign entities. And the American people need to pay close attention when that happens, and vote accordingly.

9.

Recess Appointments-

Joust the Facts blog shreds to pieces the various arguments against John Bolton, and wonders if anyone remembers Bill Lann Lee. The best part is the thorough and swift dismantling of the Moderate Voice's bland, predictably safe, and entirely uninspired take on the non-controversy:

8/1/05 2045: Joe Gandelman notes the appointment, and makes several points worthy of discussion.

The bottom line: it is NOT an illegal move.

No, it's not. Nor is it an "abuse of power."

The other bottom line: Bolton doesn't go to the United Nations as someone who enjoys widespread support in the Senate. Nor in opinion polls. Nor, if you believe the testimony, among many people who worked with him.

Well, he actually enjoys support of a majority of Senators. You should have pointed that out. Opinion polls don't matter, in that there's been so much sound and fury signifying nothing expended against him that, of course, the opinion polls are divided. And it would be great if all his people like him, but if he's demanding he will make some enemies. There are people I work with who don't like me. Why? Their job performance has lacked, and I've pointed it out.

Earlier, I was on the phone with Blockbuster, because they erroneously sent me a card saying I had failed to return a movie. I was nice. I was cordial. And then, after about 25 minutes of dilly-dallying and otherwise wasting my time, I raised my voice almost to a yell.

Wham. The situation was resolved.

Unfortunately, Bolton is is not the caricature that Democrats have painted. Because that's what me need.

10.

Islam-

The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill asks a series of very straightforward questions:

Simple question for Clifford May, exactly how was Islam spread? Was it spread by armies? If that bit of history is too obscure then explain how Islam is being spread in the Sudan this very second? Is Islam called the religion of the sword for nothing? Does Islam have bloody borders? Did Muhammad himself strike off 800 heads of the unbelievers in Medina? Please explain how that sort of behavior is explained by a religion of Peace? Please explain this startling list of the battles fought by Mohammad's followers over the course of a mere 200 years.

While many followers of Islam do believe, genuinely, that Islam is the religion of peace, and while I think Pierre overstates the case a bit (for example, some Imams HAVE denounced Osama bin Laden), we do need to stop the naive sunshine and lollypops attitude about the war on terror. More of these moderate Muslims we hear so much about also need to stand up, en masse, and be counted.

11.

War For Oil-

Fishkite blog notes that the war for oil meme makes very little sense, given the facts:

Hmm… ya think maybe we had better reasons to confront Saddam Hussein?

Wait, don’t tell me, I’m afraid your answer to that question is:

No… blood for oil.

It was never about oil.

12.

Paul Krugman-

Donald Luskin, in a link-rich post, examines the Francophilic family values of Paul Krugman:

Even with all that unemployment, the French jobs picture is worse than it seems. What Krugman calls the "choice" to work less is, in fact, a case of the employed being underemployed. When the economy can't produce more work for them to do, they couldn't work more than their 1,441 hours a year if they wanted to.

Not that we should ever aim to compare our economy with France's, but it is rather amazing how the U.S. is leaving France in the dust-- and even more amazing how the Paul Krugmans of the world try to argue otherwise.

13.

Haley Barbour-

Riding Sun blog reports on Haley Barbour's visit to a Republicans Abroad event in Japan:

During a cocktail reception after his speech, I asked Gov. Barbour if he had been hinting that he plans to throw his hat in the ring.

"Ha!" he laughed. "There are lots of successful governors."

Hmm...

The respective D and R fields are already looking crowded, so why not? As long as the clear losers withdraw with enough time to size up the legitimate candidates, the more the merrier.

14.

Iran's Nukes-

Roger L. Simon notes that the American media is a little too non-chalant in its reporting on Iran's nuclear program:

When I see a quote atttributed to something like a "U. S. source," I would trust my Aunt Fanny in Nome, Alaska over the speaker or the writer of the article - even though I don't have an Aunt Fanny in Nome or anywhere else. It's time for the Washington Post and the rest of the Mainstream Media establishment to put an end to this nonsense.

Iran is extremely close to "going nuclear." Closer than the reports thus far in the media have indicated.

How do I know? An Iranian agent let it slip. And when Iran announces its capabilities, it will have had them for several months.

15.

Liberal Media-

Oxblog takes on the "he said, she said" defense liberals use to defend the integrity of their biased media:

Only by prentending that American journalists aren't already analytical and interpretive can liberals defend the media from the charge of bias. If they admit that "he said/she said" is a myth, they will begin to understand why the center and the right are so frustrated with the media.

Exactly. There are several defenses of the liberal media that pop up in these sorts of debates. Many of them are contradictory, and most of them are clearly untrue. The he said/she said argument is one of the weaker justifications/denials/excuses for the media's current left-leaning bias.

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, and the Wednesday Caption Contest (entries are due each Tuesday at 11:59 PM Central Standard Time).

Last Week's Classiness Certification from WILLisms.com:

*July 26, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a weekly classiness roundup as a weekly feature, every Tuesday, with 15 blog posts deemed classy. The criteria for submissions: incisive original analysis, quirky topics nobody else is covering, fantastic graphics, or other posts that took a lot of work. We love to spread the word on upcoming blogs, being that WILLisms.com also fits that description. If you would like to nominate a post on your blog or another blog for inclusion, email us at WILLisms@gmail.com. Write "Classy Nomination" in the subject. You can also utilize this page to make your submissions. The deadline is each Monday at 11:59 PM Central Time.

Classy.

Posted by Will Franklin · 2 August 2005 11:30 AM

Comments

Posted by: Am I A Pundit Now? at August 3, 2005 04:45 AM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at August 4, 2005 11:34 AM