Around The Intertubes

• James Dobson, the King of Evangelicals, comments on the Christian creds of Fred Thompson and deliberates on who the Christianists will support for president in 2008. Hint re Dobson's candidate of choice: Leaving your first wife (who worked to put you through grad school) when she has cancer and then refusing to pay alimony or child support, and later cheating on your second wife with a staffer while pursuing impeachment of a sitting president for lying about receiving a presidential blowjob, are apparently important Christian values.

• Kerry and McCain? McCain and Kerry? Can't tell if this is a rehash of the wishful thinking in 2004 or if McCain has given up on the Christianist vote and is considering a new path to the presidency. A bi-partisan ticket would probably be good for America but I'm not sure if this one would win.

• The first quarter campaign fundraising milestone is nearly upon us. Will Obama beat Hillary? Inquiring minds want to know. I donated my first ever political contribution this week... $50 to Obama. I don't think I'll be invited to sleep in the Lincoln bedroom anytime soon but I felt like it was time to put my money where my mouth is.

• Is Obama about style over substance? A lie hits the beltway echo chamber and is on its way to becoming Conventional Wisdom. Don't be a sucker.

• Iran is so going to get it. Britain is being interestingly restrained and I'm kind of wondering if they aren't trying to figure out what's going on inside the Iranian government in order to finesse their response a bit. People tend to think of the Iranian government as this big dark monolith but I think it is, in fact, pretty weak. If I recall correctly, power is divided in a strange way between religious leaders and governmental figures, and then subdivided again with a 'reformed' structure overlaid on top of a more ancient "council" structure. It's hard to tell who's driving the bus, so to speak -- whether it's everyone at once or no one at all. Add to that a section of reformists in eternal opposition to the old guard and you've got a situation that should be easy to exploit (which is why I think it is retarded that we refuse to have any dialog with them). Tony Blair is not an idiot so I sort of have faith he'll read the situation correctly, whatever it is, and act accordingly.
  

• Is Gonzales still there? Actually, I hope Bush keeps him around for a while longer -- another albatross to hang around his neck (along with Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, Miers, etc).

• It's about time we stood up to China on something, even if it is a small symbolic tariff on shiny paper.

• Wow. There will be a pundit feeding frenzy on this latest Pelosi Syria maneuver. Despite the fact that I think we should maintain some kind of relations with all countries for strategic reasons (see Iran, above), and as much as I think Bush is the biggest mother fucking moron who has ever stepped foot in the oval office, Pelosi is walking a very thin line here. On the one hand, Bush has undeniably created some strategic blunders that will continue to hurt us for years to come but, on the other hand, this is a bad time to weaken the authority of the presidency (see Iran, above). I understand the intent but I'm not sure if it's going to help us or hurt us. As we've seen, unintended consequences can be the most dangerous kind.

• This is why I feel so strongly about keeping our primary food sources in-country. Besides the fact that a country that can't feed itself is, as far as history is concerned, destined to become inconsequential, we have evolved to a level of civility that attaches importance to the safety and welfare of our citizen consumers. I am always thankful for that most evil of entities, Government Regulation, when it comes to the food I ingest. So what actions can be taken against a non-American food supplier that doesn't hold us in the same regard? Probably not much.