Soccer Dad

Submitted 06/06/2007

The Watcher's Council has a new member, Okie on the Lam. Welcome.

And with no further ado, here's a review of this week's submissions to the Watcher's Council.

Let's start with the new guy, Okie on the Lam who treats us to LA Times Jumps the Shark on Global Warming who shows that Global Warming crowd has an additional agenda. It doesn't just seek to prevent the global temperature from going up, they also wish to keep your savings from going up too much too.

As long as we're discussing the environment lets scoot on over to Cheat Seeking Missiles who once again takes aim at one of his favorite targets: environmentalism in Smelt Stink. Years ago when I used to read Mad Magazine there was a Dave Berg cartoon that showed a mother and daughter shopping. The mother is considering buying insecticide only to be chided by her daughter that she could hurt the environment. The mother looks again at the label and concludes that she ought not to buy the product because it could be dangerous to humans. To which the daughter responds (something like) "It's the environment I care about. People can all go to hell." Well Cheat Seeking Missiles found a greenie with that same sensibility.

In "Tweedle," Done with mirrors takes issue with the notion that President Bush has destroyed the Republican Party.

In It's not dead; it's resting Right Wing Nuthouse uses the famous Monty Python skit to come to the exact opposite conclusion.

In almost one of us, the Glittering Eye fisks a column by Fareed Zakaria. Zakaria takes issue with President Bush and all Republican candidates for one thing or another. Glittering Eye skewers him like this, "Note that Fareed Zakaria doesn’t merely argue against overreaction. He’s arguing against reaction ..." If I read the piece correctly the column is a thinly disguised brief for Barack Obama.

Elsewhere JoshuaPundit takes heart in the lessons of D-Day in Loyalty and Love: D-Day 63 years later in which he discusses his personal experiences with veterans of D-Day, Ronald Reagan's speech at Point du Hoc and the American spirit that was on display on Normandy Beach 63 years ago. He is encouraged that he sees that same spirit in today's soldiers and is convinced that they can do what is necessary to win the war on terror.

Big Lizards argues in Salvation a la mode that the "surge" is working so far. It's being helped along by Al Qaeda affiliates who alienated the very folks they claimed they were representing. When the local elders were convinced of the terrorists' bad faith they turned to the Americans. Big Lizards estimates that the "surge" is actually ahead of schedule. I hope he's right.

On the education front, Education Wonks writes about a Middle School Teacher [who] sues students over an offensive film. He understand the offense taken, but wonders if a suit is the best approach.

Rhymes with Right wonders if Diplomas [ought to be] denied over family and friends? New rules in some school districts threaten students with losing their diplomas if their guests at graduation misbehave. Rhymes with Right is skeptical that this sort of punishment/retaliation is proper.

In Well Y'see he has rights Colossus of Rhodey.Hube takes a look at the lawyer with TB and compares it to the opposition to certain public health measures taken when AIDS was starting to get recognized as a public health threat. I agree with Hube that the needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few ... or the one. I'm still not convinced that in this case the lawyer was properly informed of the danger he presented by the officials.

This week isn't just the anniversary of D-Day, it also marks the 40th anniversary of the start of the Six Day War. Bookworm Room takes us back 40 years showing us that the MSM view of Israel wasn't always so jaded as it is now. In the Six Day War in Real Time She quotes from the issues of Life Magazine from 1967 that show an unvarnished appreciation of the Israeli victory. Probably one of those issues had this cover.

Finally, in 3 Spies and Six Days I discuss three significant intelligence coups that Israel scored that helped make their military victory possible.

Watcher's Council