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Some Call It A Bonfire (Or Carnival) Of Classiness...

We call it "Classiness, All Around Us."

Hilariously Weird Korean Propaganda-

One Free Korea blog points out some crazy Korean propaganda:

Must see to believe. Given the way U.S. troops are being treated in South Korea today, one is entitled to question what kind of future a U.S.-Korean alliance still has, and what values and interests these countries share. I admit that I had to see this thing to actually recognize the sheer depravity of it.

Weird.

2.

Blogging Blues-

Wunderkraut chronicles the frustrations of being a blogger:

Maybe all bloggers go through this at some point. This must be where most give up, while others stick it out. You reach a point where you have written about the things that most interest you and you feel like you are repeating yourself. What more is there to say? How many more times can one point out the bias in the MSM? How many more times can you point out the hypocrisy of the Democrats in Congress concerning the war in Iraq? How many times can you bash Republicans for selling their souls and spending like drunken Democrats? How many times can you criticize President Bush for failing to use the bully pulpit to explain his positions on the war and on Social Security?

How many times?

Blogger burnout affects all of us, especially in odd-numbered years. No elections to pick apart. The same media lies and errors and omissions, over and over. Sometimes current events can become a broken record, but eventually-- and sometimes suddenly-- blogging becomes fun and interesting again.

3.

War On Terror-

Vodkapundit explains that we've all failed to really articulate what will be required to win the war on terror:

Four years into the Terror War, "What's the most important element for victory?" is a question long overdue. It's also a question our national leadership, nearly all of our intellectuals, and none of our mainstream media have yet to answer....

Our public thinkers – pundits, intellectuals, whatever you want to call them – are the people we should most rely on for guidance in times such as these. However, they've come up short even using the pathetic standard by which this blogger measures them. Too many of our intellectuals are caught in the past, real or imagined.

Ultimately, Vodkapundit is right on about this war being a media war. And our media don't quite yet get it.

4.

Secret Agent Girl-

Right Wing News points out a collection of quotes pointing to the face that Valerie Plame's covert CIA identity wasn't exactly a secret:

...there are now multiple people on the record saying that they knew Valerie Plame was a CIA agent before Robert Novak's original column revealed that fact to the world. Quite frankly, if it had been widely known that the press, Valerie Plame's neighbors, and even people Joe Wilson blabbed to in the Green Room at Fox News all knew about her "secret identity," a special prosecutor would have never been appointed in the first place.

Valerie Plame's CIA status was clearly common knowledge. And entirely relevant to the Joe Wilson trip to Africa. It was either a botched hatchet job against the president, or an odd case of nepotism and incompetence. Either way, the CIA looks terrible.

5.

Tax Cuts Making Jesus Cry-

Patterico explains how a church's left-wing political activism was framed favorably by the Los Angeles Times:

Reasonable people can debate whether the IRS should be going after this church — or whether the government should be in the business of granting and denying tax exemptions based on speech so intertwined with the First Amendment.

But let’s not make it seem like it’s all about a church supporting peace over war, L.A. Times editors. There’s a leetle more to it than that.

Mixing up your church into the business of crass partisanship is never a good idea, especially when your tax exempt status is on the line.

6.

Riot Party-

Asymmetical Information blog offers a different take on the Muslim riots in France:

Let me suggest another possibility: Muslim youth are rioting in France because breaking windows and setting cars on fire is fun.

Everyone who has ever taken their .22 out to the back forty and shot up a line of old bug spray cans knows this. Seeing things break, disintegrate, or explode, at absolutely no personal risk to yourself, lights up some primitive reptilian part of our brain with searing glee. I've often thought there would be big money for the firm that figured out how to build an adult recreation center where frustrated Americans could go to have a beer, take a sledgehammer to a used computer, and throw some glassware at the walls.

She may be onto something.

7.

Dodging Responsibility-

The normblog blog takes on liberal hawks who supported the Iraq war but now claim that the execution of the war has been flawed:

It is not an effort at serious discussion, but a rhetorical blaming move. So, I do not regret the positions I took and have again summarized here. On the contrary, I will always be glad that I knew from the beginning which side I was on in this particular battle.

In recent months and even years, we've seen supporters of the liberation of Iraq backtrack. They've given various excuses and justifications for the changes of heart, but almost all have been weak cop-outs.

8.

Handy French Travel Phrases-

The neo-neocon blog offers a few French phrases that may come in handy. Here are one of each:

A phrase to use-

In my next life I hope I am French.
Pour le future J' espere etre francais.

A phrase to avoid-

California wine is better.
Le vin de California est le meilleure.

Or vice-versa. Whatever.

9.

Tax Cuts For The...-

The Skeptical Optimist fills in the blanks:

Like Pavlov's dog, we've been successfully trained by our politicians how to fill in that blank. It requires no thought; it's a reflex. It fits on a bumper sticker, it evokes powerful emotions, it's a mental shortcut for sorting our politicians into the good guys and the bad guys, and it supposedly fingers the culprits responsible for the cancerous, grandchildren-eating deficit.

For those of you who have been vacationing incommunicado in Antarctica for the last twenty-five years, the word that correctly fills in the blank is “rich.” More specifically, “Tax cuts for the rich” is the politically correct answer. It's part of our culture.

A nice examination of the economically correct reality versus the politically correct perception.

10.

The Elites-

Political Calculations blog notes that, "It is scandalous that urban intellectuals, living privileged lives, want to stop people from getting out of poverty....":

While Fareed Zakaria's words apply specifically to India, how hard is it to find domestic equivalents of Zakaria's "urban intellectuals" in your country? In your state? In your city?

Something to think about....

Precisely. Rich white liberals clearly do not have the answers to the problems of poverty.

Also, don't forget to check out all the old Trivia Tidbits Of the Day, the Reform Thursday series, the Quotational Therapy sessions, the latest Pundit Roundtable, 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:

*November 1, 2005.

WILLisms.com offers a weekly classiness roundup as a weekly feature, every Tuesday, with 10 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 · 8 November 2005 03:20 PM

Comments

Posted by: Hoodlumman at November 8, 2005 03:45 PM

Posted by: Mick Wright at November 9, 2005 12:25 AM

Posted by: Zsa Zsa at November 9, 2005 05:30 AM