Moe Lane

I just found out about this. Like Glenn Reynolds, I enjoyed Farmer’s Riverworld Saga; of his other works, I can recommend The Other Log of Phileas Fogg and A Barnstormer In Oz, both of which show one of his strengths (the ability to play in someone else’s world effectively. It’s harder than it looks).

(Via Protein Wisdom)

There are two things about Michael Totten that make his account of Chris Hitchens versus the Syrian Nazis of interest:

1. He’s an on-site reporter for that region for several years now, with a well-deserved reputation of being a straight shooter who reports what he sees as well as what he’s told;
2. He was actually there.

So read the whole thing. It will be unsurprising to anyone reading this that Totten’s account is nothing like the rather fevered speculation that Ace referenced here, and that Dan Collins reaction-lampooned here: it has all the messiness that one associates with a true account. Hitchens got offended by a fascist symbol enough to deface; the fascists got offended by his defacing it, and showed up in enough numbers to let them attack a few middle-aged men until one of their targets could get a taxi to take them away. No Hollywood heroics, just a confrontation where the good guys were in a bad tactical position, and they took some lumps because of it. The good news? Totten learned the right lesson from this: don’t waste time reasoning with fascists. Have your own backup on speed dial, instead.

Yes, that advice scales up.

Moe Lane

Crossposted at RedState.

…and he screams very entertainingly about it here and here. (H/T: Instapundit)

OK, so I’m being unsympathetic; after all…

…nah, I feel like sticking with being unsympathetic. Enjoy the next four years, Marty.

Crossposted to RedState.

You do not expect them to live on their *salaries*, do you?

(Followup to this post)

The bad news, of course, is that majority party Democrats are adamant against having any investigation into whether there are links between campaign contributions and earmarks in bills – which is very interesting, given that they control Congress, and thus can presumably make sure that the proceedings are fair…

The House voted Wednesday to kill a resolution calling for an ethics investigation into potential quid pro quo between lobbyist campaign donations and lawmakers.

Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., sponsored the proposal that would have forced the House Ethics Committee to launch a probe into ties between the source and timing of campaign contributions by lobbyists and subsequent legislator requests for special projects or earmarks.

While open-ended, Flake’s resolution was a direct response to the ongoing federal investigation into the PMA Group, a lobbying company accused of making fraudulent donations to lawmakers using names of people who did not exist.

The firm, which has contributed millions to politicians in the last decade, has close ties to senior Democratic appropriators including Reps. John Murtha D-Pa., and Pete Visclosky,D-Ind. The FBI raided PMA’s headquarters in November and is investigating the group’s founder and president, Paul Magliochetti, a former Murtha aide.

Ah. That might be the problem, right there. (more…)

He might settle for the LA Times, though.

(Via Patterico) Not at all likely, but definitely funny:

Murdoch on the prowl for print sales

NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch’s counterintuitive quest to invest in print media helped drive away longtime lieutenant Peter Chernin.

And now that Chernin can’t intercede, does Murdoch want to follow News Corp.’s $5 billion buyout of Dow Jones by gobbling up the struggling New York Times Co.?

The answer appears to be yes, as impossible as present economic conditions make it for most deals of any kind to get done.

(more…)

I’m not exactly sure why she was sniggering when she sent me the link to these: the “Crew of  Seven Hundred” is a war song about a captain trying to find a way to patch her ship, while “The Small Sword Song” is essentially about a job interview.

Maybe because they were both written for her 7th Sea game?

Moe Lane

PS: Oh, yeah, I’m also supposed to mention that you may want to not click those songs at work.  I’m not sure why: it’s not like there are any dirty words in them.

This was actually written for submission to SJG's Pyramid magazine, but alas, the conversion of that from a weekly e-zine to a monthly pdf made it superfluous. So it goes. This writeup uses the GURPS 4e rules, and is designed...

Cheap Trick.

Smashing Pumpkins.

Hanson.

Fountains of Wayne.

Go ahead. Guess. (more…)

And it’s good, practical advice:

Forget what Obama’s poll ratings are in February 2009. Forget about “Big Picture” questions of grand strategy. What counts is what the generic ballot question shows on Labor Day 2010. Republicans need to raise money, organize and identify at least 50 seats currently held by Democrats that the GOP can win in 2010. Do that basic stuff, and the “Big Picture” will take care of itself.

(more…)

(pause)

OK, yeah, WTF Robots has this one absolutely nailed. This is the one that they’re going to send the time travelers back on a one-way mission to stop, even if it means nuking the entire city from orbit*.

To quote Eric Flint, “Who ordered this?”

Moe Lane

*Because it’s the only way to be sure.

Having read this on Cracked, it immediately became obvious that what it was starkly necessary for someone to look at the “6 Insane Discoveries That Science Can’t Explain” and explain them using the tools designed for such things: ie, roleplaying games.

Well, it was obvious to me. This is going to go unapologetic gaming geek now, so I’m giving the rest of you the courtesy of a page break. (more…)

As in, Obama needs to stay on his side of the line drawn by it:

Byrd: Obama in power grab

Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest-serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama’s appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.

In a letter to Obama on Wednesday, Byrd complained about Obama’s decision to create White House offices on health reform, urban affairs policy, and energy and climate change. Byrd said such positions “can threaten the Constitutional system of checks and balances. At the worst, White House staff have taken direction and control of programmatic areas that are the statutory responsibility of Senate-confirmed officials.”

While it’s rare for Byrd to criticize a president in his own party, Byrd is a stern constitutional scholar who has always stood up for the legislative branch in its role in checking the power of the White House.

Not to mention a former Klansman, but the netroots have never cared about that before; why should they start now? (more…)