“After almost 6 1/2 years, and 4,327 American dead and 31,483 wounded, with a war spiraling downward in Afghanistan, it would be indefensible for the U.S. military — overextended and in need of materiel repair and mental recuperation — to loiter in Iraq to improve the instincts of corrupt elites. If there is a worse use of the U.S. military than ‘nation-building,’ it is adult supervision and behavior modification of other peoples’ politicians.” – George Will

“Just because Usain Bolt sets a world record every time he runs doesn’t make the other runners slow.” - Mark Cuban, explaining why income disparity isn’t a problem.

While it’s a great line, it’s actually a poor illustration.  Races and records are zero sum games.  Bolt’s winning the Olympics and setting a new record deprives other runners of gold medals and records.

Conversely, Cuban’s earning a few billion dollars has essentially no impact on future enterpreneurs getting rich.

What you’ve missed the past week if you’re not reading Manzine:

Features:

• Mad About Mad Men (James Joyner) – “Mad Men” is the hottest show on TV, having somehow captured the zeitgeist with its meticulous portrayal of early 1960s Manhattan.

• Guide to Homebrewing Beer (Tim F) – Brewing your own beer is pretty easy. Here are answers to questions would-be homebrewers often ask.

• The Chrome Dome (Jon Stonger) – A masculine approach to baldness.

• Great Potatoes For Great Steaks (Matt Mehaffey) – Because you need a side dish worthy of your great steaks. And nothing goes with meat like potatoes.

Shorts:

• World Bartender Championships (James Joyner)

• North Korean Compensation? (Jon Stonger)

• Quote of the Day – Drinking Edition (James Joyner)

• Prostate Cancer: Get Checked (James Joyner)

• The Benefits of Starting a Side Business (Alex Knapp)

“I think it would be awesome for Andrew Sullivan if all the documents end up proving that Barack Obama is Trig Palin’s father.” – Jim Henley

If you have no idea what the hell he’s talking about, your life is richer for it.

“[General Stanley] McChrystal is not inclined to draw attention to his storied history as a special operator. But when he tells you that it’s impossible to kill your way out of this war, you believe him — because Lord knows, he’s tried.” – Andrew Exum, reporting back to Abu Muqawama after a month working on a project for ISAF in Afghanistan

“The reforms we seek would bring greater competition, choice, savings, and inefficiencies [sic] to our health care system,….”–President Barack Obama on health care reform.

Obviously the President misspoke, but given what we can see of the current reform legislation, it looks like an accidental bit of truthfulness.

“We completely understand the public’s concern about futuristic robots feeding on the human population, but that is not our mission.” – Harry Schoell

(link via Patrick Appel)

“I just purchased a Routan. I really like it. My friends tell me it’s a Chrysler. I firmly say ‘No!’ to them. I proudly point to my Routan and announce that it’s an American engineered German branded Fiat, manufactured in Canada, using some Japanese parts, by a company that is majority owned by American taxpayers. They stare.” – an AutoBlog reader cited by InstaPundit

Xrlq:

Q: What’s the difference between a pit bull wearing lipstick and a hockey mom?

A: A pit bull doesn’t quit.

Ouch.

“Perhaps South Carolina governor Mark Sanford was moved by the remarks of Sonia Sotomayor …, and decided to study deeply the wisdom of a Latina woman.”
– Emily Yoffe

“We should not allow Republicans to marry. It undercuts the entire institution of marriage.” Michael Reynolds of Sideways Mencken

In order to rebuild, Republicans need to identify the people who have something—good ideas, popularity, vision, and a good record. - Mark McKinnon and Jon Henke

Upon seeing the quote at InstaPundit, my initial thought was, “Duh.” Followed by, “Unfortunately, nobody comes to mind” (or words to that effect).

They proffer six candidates.  Three, I’ve never heard of: Rep. Tom McClintock of California, Delegate Chris Saxman of Virginia, and Sarah Steelman of Missouri. The last two have yet to get elected to statewide, much less national office. Two I’ve heard of but know very little about: Rob Portman of Ohio and Governor Mitch Daniels of Indiana. The last is a potential superstar who had an embarrassing debut on the national stage: Governor Bobby Jindal.

I’m sure there are plenty of young Republicans out there who have what it takes to rebuild the party from within over the next few years.  Out-parties, especially those who have lost a couple of elections in a row, tend to find such people.  But what about a plausible contender for making Barack Obama a one-term president?

Let’s dismiss the first three out-of-hand for 2012.  Obama’s meteoric rise from the Illinois state senate to the White House in four years notwithstanding, these people don’t have the name recognition or organization.  (Obama had already become a household name by this point in 2005.)  Both Portman and Daniels have the resumes to make a credible case they could be president.  Daniels says he’s not interested in running for office again and, unless he changes his mind by next Tuesday, it’s too late for him.

Portman is well regarded by young GOP insider types and U.S. Representative, Trade Representative, and OMB Director provide a very interesting experience portfolio.  He’s running for the Senate and, if he wins, he could be intriguing, indeed.   True, governor is a better platform than senator.  But Obama was a senator and won, so it’s doable again.

Jindal is a genius, an amazingly competent executive, and has a personal story as compelling as Obama’s.  He’s got some baggage, notably the weird exorcism thing, but who doesn’t?  And he’s clearly toying with the idea of running.  He’s going to have to get much, much better at reading a teleprompter, though, if he’s going to have a shot.

At some point they are going to realize that making random crazy people the face of “teh movement” is a bad idea. – John Cole

He’s referring to yesterday’s firing of Carrie Prejean as Miss California USA, not for her controversial political statements or for embarrassing nude photos that are all over the Internet, but because she was a prima donna who frequently blew off appearances without notice and was insubordinate and incredibly arrogant towards her superiors.  (Also, she’s a horrible speller. That was not cited in the dismissal notice, however.)  He also cites, in passing, Joe “The Plumber” Wurzelbacher.

UPDATE: Charles Austin in the comments below and Kevin Holtsberry via Twitter correctly point out that “face of ‘teh movement’” is overstating Prejean’s prominence.  While I do seem to recall a blogger or two touting her for public office, most of what we got was a defense of her comments as “patriotic” and “you go girl” type exhortations in the face of some pretty over-the-top treatment from those on the left.

Still, I wish conservatives would be more careful about the figures they embrace and quicker to distance themselves from unseemly conduct on their part once more is revealed.

The shooter “at the U.S. Holocaust Museum is not a Muslim but a White guy, James W. Von Brunn, who is a neo-Nazi. But that is a distinction without a difference.n fact, it is because of Muslims–who are the biggest contributor to the worldwide rise in anti-Semitism to Holocaust-eve levels–that neo-Nazis feel comfortable–far more comfortable!–manifesting their views about Jews.”  – Debbie Schlussel

Huh?

I don’t blame Christianity or Christian leaders or even white supremacists generally for Von Brunn’s murderous action.  He is, so far as we know, a lone kook and part of no organized conspiracy.  But, really, it’s the Muslims’ fault?!

Schlussel explains,

Until 9/11 and our resulting new tolerance for Islam, the neo-Nazi types were marginalized and howling at the wind. We know who has been targeting Jewish museums and centers affiliated with Jews in recent years. And it hasn’t been, in general, 89-year-old White guys telling people at churches worldwide and in religious schools that the Jews are the devil incarnate, a filthy tribe, the sons of pigs and monkeys, subhuman, etc.

No, it’s guys with names like Mohammed and Ahmed on our own American streets who make Mr. Von Brunn far more at ease in 2009 than he was even in 1999 to attack places associated with the Jews. They created the comfort zone for James W. Brunn to engage in today’s shooting.

The rash of anti-Semitic attacks in America, with a frequency unheard of in previous contemporary U.S. history–on synagogues all over the country, a Jewish community center in Seattle, and now this Holocaust museum–have all happened since 9/11 and our new tolerance for Islam and all of its intolerant extremism. This is no coincidence. It is a correlation.

Unless I’ve missed something, neo-Nazi types are still marginalized and howling at the wind.  This is made abundantly clear by the fact that there has in fact not been a “rash” of attacks on Jews in the United States since 9/11.  Wikipedia devotes an entire category page to this subject and I count nine domestic attacks over a span of nine years, including yesterday’s incident.  Almost all of them have been by neo-Nazis, white racists, or ordinary vandals.

Further, if you click through to the individual entries, we see that some of these places, such as Temple Beth Israel (Eugene, Oregon), were attacked multiple times before the 9/11 attacks.  All by non-Muslim white anti-Semites or ordinary vandals seeking to create mischief.  It’s hard to argue that the 1994 attacks were caused by George W. Bush being too nice to Muslims seven years later.

DougJ makes a similar point:

I hate to bring Hitler into this, though, as T Paine points out, it’s hard to avoid bringing up Hitler when you’re talking about Nazis, but I have to wonder, does Schlussel believe it was the presence of Islam in Germany that created the comfort zone for Hitler to begin perpetrating the Holocaust? After all, he had been on the planet for over 40 years before he felt comfortable doing it. And what about the pogroms that went on in Europe for hundreds of years? Were they also caused by tolerance for Islam?

Indeed.  And, is it just me, or should people who toss around ” the JOOOOOS” to make fun of anti-Semitic views be careful about ascribing views to entire religious and ethnic populations?

Photo by Flickr user Accent on Ecclectic under Creative Commons license.

“Why is it that the people who most insist the Holocaust didn’t happen in the past most want it to happen in the future?” – Josh Marshall