Links and Minifeatures 09 20 Tuesday

I thought I would give a local fan run science fiction convention a free plug. Conjecture will happen October 7-9 at the Double Tree in Mission Valley. Guest of Honor is Jack McDevitt, whose work I've loved since I started reading it. Assuming the universe doesn't laugh at my plans and I can get a kitchen pass from my wife, I'm going to try to attend Saturday.



(And if you have a FAN run type con to publicize, I'm perfectly willing and happy to give a quick link.)

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Now this is cool! Israeli archeologists unveil Byzantine mosaic, table



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Regarding the North Korea deal I spoke on yesterday, they've reneged (well surprise, surprise, surprise!), or at least upped the ante on the shakedown. North Korea rocks nuclear deal. They now say they're going to keep their weapons until we give them reactors. Thank you soooo much, Mr. Clinton, for allowing this petty tyrant to develop nuclear weapons. Because you couldn't be persuaded to do your job, the people you were supposed to serve are now in greater danger indefinitely, and your successors' options are horribly bad, sickeningly bad, and even worse.



AP has a slightly different version. Chequer-Board has a different take, while Captain's Quarters amplifies.



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Captain's Quarters notes that the Attorney General (Alberto Gonzales) has given the FBI a new, higher priority in dealing with porn. This is stupid political pandering, plain and simple. In case Mr. Gonzales hadn't noticed, we're in the middle of a war on terrorism in which the FBI is a front line defense. Once enacted though, it's one of those things that's politically impossible for anyone to rescind. I wonder how politically popular this will make Mr. Gonzales should the diverted resources have a role in causing a terrorist attack to get through?



Pardon me while I go outside and scream. I formerly thought Mr. Gonzales wouldn't be a bad candidate for SCOTUS, but he has now demonstrated judgement that's about as actively bad as possible, accentuating a personal political goal at the expense of the national necessity. I certainly don't want someone whose priorities are this messed up on the highest court in the land for the rest of his life.



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If there were justice in the world, flags would be flying at half-staff worldwide. Simon Wiesenthal has died. This is the man who became the spokesman for six million murdered human beings, and helped bring over 1100 of their murderers to justice. Fare thee well, sir. You will be missed.



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Captain's Quarters also has a very good article on Air America, and how even one of it's own executives was strongarmed into silence.



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La Shawn Barber has an article about Black Americans and party allegiance, and how those still wedded to the Donkeys accuse those who leave of wanting to swap one plantation for another.



Judging by a compare and contrast of New Orleans with many other cities in the US, I think I'd prefer the putative Elephant idea of plantation to the real, demonstrated one of the Donkeys.



Or has anyone else ever heard of Stockholm Syndrome?



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The feces have officially hit the fan. FEC Sues Pro-Republican Political Group.



For balance, the FEC offical statement is here and the Club for Growth response here



Any why are Club For Growth's relatively small expenditures the first to come up for legal action? Could it be that they're generally regarded as a conservative group, and we all know that MoveOn.org is all about helping the good guys? Especially as there is an obvious prima facie case for coordination against MoveOn in that several affilated persons were also affiliated with Democratic campaigns? Or is it "Get control of the guardians of the political process, and you may not always win, but you'll always get the benefit of the doubt where your opponents won't"?



HT to Michelle Malkin.



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Michelle Malkin doesn't like Bush's new nominee for Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Looking at all the evidence she's assembled against Ms. Myers, I certainly understand why. This looks like a crony appointment, and Michelle says she's gotten emails from rank and file ICE folks who say she's minimally qualified. I suspect Ms. Malkin is correct, but let's give the lady a chance to show us in confirmation hearings that she can handle it. Unlike Supreme Court justices, this appointment doesn't depend upon being impartial with the wisdom of Solomon. It depends upon you being an effective executive with a strong agenda that can make your agency work, and some of our best executives have been minimally qualified by past experience. So, questions for the Senate to ask: Ms. Myers: Do you have a plan? What is your enforcement agenda? How are you going to allocate your resources? What areas do you see ICE falling short in, and what are your proposals to remedy this? What organizations are a threat? How do you propose to deal with them? What holes in ICE do you see, and how do you propose to plug them?



One hopes you get the idea. It looks and smells like a crony appointment, but if she can convince us she can handle the job, let her go for it. The burden of proof is on her; let's see if she can lift it. If she can't, everybody else is better off for finding out now.



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Mark Steyn has an interesting and well-reasoned take on the German elections.



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HT to LGF for the link to Daily Cuz article on parallels between Germany pre WWII and Iran today.



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Jane Novak over at Armies of Liberation has been called a "Zionist" by the Yemeni ruling party's newspaper.



Congratulations, Jane! Considering the source, it's a wonderful compliment, and you're in world class-company!



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OK Cupid Politics test



I am a Social Liberal

(71% permissive)



and an...

Economic Conservative

(85% permissive)



You are best described as a:



Libertarian



You exhibit a very well-developed sense of Right and Wrong and believe in economic fairness.



HT to Eric's Grumbes



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Iraq the Model has a good post on Zarqawi targeting the Shia and prospects for Iraq.



Jihad Watch notes problems in Indonesia. In case you were unaware, Indonesia is the most populous Muslim country in the world, and one of the most prosperous, especially in real terms of the population actually producing stuff that other places want as opposed to merely pumping oil out of the ground. Problems there have the potential for a very long reach.



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Buck Sergeant has a great response for a one-winged Moonbat.



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Jawa Report has the text of an excellent speech about the Constitution. He's right in that the whole idea of Constitution Day is itself, unconstitutional, and he makes several other valid points as well. The Federal government does have the right to encourage where it is forbidden to compel, but that's not the way the legislation was written.