Rox Populi

Gas Prices

The answer as to why gas prices are so high (and the answer to a great many questions) still lies in the first 13 pages:

George W. pulled Bandar aside.
"Bandar, I guess you're the best asshole who knows about the world. Explain to me one thing."
"Governor, what is it?"
"Why should I care about North Korea?"
Bandar said he didn't really know. It was one of the few countries that he did not work on for King Fahd.
"I get these briefings on all parts of the world," Bush said, "and everybody is talking to me about North Korea."
"I'll tell you what, Governor," Bandar said. "One reason should make you care about North Korea."
"All right, smart alek," Bush said, "tell me."
"The 38,000 American troops right on the border." ..."If nothing else counts, this counts. One shot across the border and you lose half these people immediately. You lose 15,000 Americans in a chemical or biological or even regular attack. The United State of America is at war instantly."
"Hmmm," Bush said. "I wish those assholes would put things just point-blank to me. I get half a book telling me about the history of North Korea."
"Now I tell you another answer to that. You don't want to care about North Korea anymore?" Bandar asked. The Saudis wanted America to focus on the Middle East and not get drawn into a conflict in East Asia.
"I didn't say that," Bush replied.
"But if you don't, you withdrawl those troops back. Then it becomes a local conflict. Then you have the whole time to decide, 'Should I get involved? Not involved?' Etc."
At that moment, Colin Powell approached.
"Colin," Bush said, "come here. Bandar and I were shooting the bull, just two fighter pilots shooting the bull." He didn't mention the topic.
"Mr. Governor," Bandar said, "General Powell is almost a fighter pilot. He can shoot the bull almost as good as us.

What Becomes a Morass With No End in Sight Most?

Happy Anniversary, Commander Codpiece!

J'accuse!

Happy Anniversary to those very special enablers who helped sell the Iraq War.

[Meanwhile, two black dudes have to crawl on the ground for their love.]

We couldn't have planned this better!

This is What 'Change' Looks Like

And it isn't a bunch of pretty (but meaningless) words strung together.

Sacha Baron Cohen Makes a Fabulous Saddam Hussein

EPIPHANY:

Sweeney Todd:  No I had him!
His throat was there beneath my hand.
I had swear I had him!
His throat was there and now he'll never come again.

Mrs. Lovett: Easy now, hush love hush
I keep telling you -

Sweeney Todd: When? Why do I wait?
You told me to wait -
Now he'll never come again.
There's a hole in the world like a great black pit
And it's filled with people who are filled with shit
And the vermin of the world inhabit it.
But not for long...

They all deserve to die.
Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why.
Because in all of the whole human race
Mrs Lovett, there are two kinds of men and only two
There's the one they put in his proper place
And the one with his foot in the other one's face
Look at me, Mrs Lovett, look at you.

Now we all deserve to die
Tell you why, Mrs. Lovett, tell you why.
Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief
For the rest of us death will be a relief
We all deserve to die.

And I'll never see Joanna
No I'll never hold my girl to me - finished!
(shouted) Alright! You sir, you sir, how about a shave?
Come and visit your good friend Sweeney.
You sir, you sir? Welcome to the grave.

I will have vengeance.
I will have salvation.
(shouted) Who sir, you sir?
No one in the chair, come on! Come on!
Sweeney's waiting. I want you bleeders.
You sir - anybody.
Gentlemen don't be shy!

Not one man, no, no ten men.
Not a hundred can assuage me -
I will have you!
And I will get him back even as he gloats
In the meantime I'll practice on dishonorable throats.
And my Lucy lies in ashes
And I'll never see my girl again.

But the work waits!
I'm alive at last!
And I'm full of joy!

Did Morgan Spurlock Find 'The Holy Grail'?

If you've been wondering where Osama bin Laden's been all this time, you might not have to wonder much longer ...especially if you've got a way to Sundance.

Homecoming

world goes mad someone invited fucking celine dion death-rattle-sabres torture-extracted elastic lies told retold reshaped evolved forgotten bmoc abandons career runs friendly fire meets maker typing monkey mocks anguished mother's muffin top sends her flying monkeys off to play their gotcha game anal cavities scrutinized inventoried reported rewarded theocracy marches on! purple fingers and all boys girls abused maimed raped waterboarded fucked up in the head and dead

you really really really really really really really really care
but not that much
til some over-snowflaked functionary changes the world again

Notable Quotables for $500, Alex

The answer is ...

“I didn’t spend 31 days in Florida,” he said, “to end up where we are now.”

Plagiarism Watch: General Petraeus's Counterinsurgency Field Manual Edition

Oh, man. Curious, if true.

But, you have to admit it takes big brass cojones for the University of Chicago (remember them?) Press to publish unattributed quotes from Max Weber as if no one would notice:

Counterinsurgency Manual, section 3-55: Power and Authority

"Power is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her own will despite resistance."

Unacknowledged Source:

"Power [Macht] is the probability that one actor within a social relationship will be in a position to carry out his or her own will despite resistance." (Weber, Max. Economy and Society. Univ. Calif. Press, 1978 [orig. 1922]. P. 53.)

And as much fun as I've had in the past accusing Chris Hitchens and Andrew Sullivan of having a T.E. Lawrence complex, this bit is almost too good to be true:

Other sections of the Manual have unacknowledged borrowings from other sources. The anthropologist Roberto González found that the Manual's Appendix A was "inspired by T.E. Lawrence, who in 1917 published the piece 'Twenty-seven articles' for Arab Bulletin, the intelligence journal of Great Britain's Cairo-based Arab Bureau." González compared several passages of Lawrence with Kilcullen's Appendix A, and found parallel constructions where paragraphs were reworded but followed set formations between the two texts.  González observed that while these parallel constructions can be seen, "Lawrence is never mentioned in the appendix. González shows that Kilcullen's other written work makes a passing reference, but does not acknowledge the degree to which Lawrence's ideas and style have been influential."

There's much more to unpack here. And I owe a H/T to J--.

Quote of the Day

"We do some silly things, but we didn't do that," Anne Tyrrell, a spokesperson for Blackwater USA, told Politico.