Roger L. Simon: Mystery Novelist and Screenwriter

Roger mentions how Ra^therGate are starting to echo the OJ trial. I just want know how long it is before we have a slow speed chase of a White CBS News Van down the Long Island Expressway.

I have always hated microwave popcorn

And I thought the smell was bad.

Studio 54 on 43rd Street

Washington Post reviews the Jayson Blair book. I am shocked, shocked to see this behavior at the newspaper of record. A reporter drinking on the job say it isn't so!

The teen spirit issue

There has been a lot a talk about this Reason review of this book. Here is my take...the left just don't get it. The post boomers have learned the leason "Trust no one" and the left is constantly saying "You have my word on it".

Andrew has finally lost it.

In Andrew's post "The Case Against Bush" claims that he has not read a more case than the one laid out by William Saletan. Andrew, Andrew, baby, sweetheart...I realize the Marriage thing is dear to you heart but I think it is starting to cloud your judgement. The article is full of the standard clap trap. Such as:

He figured that since both Saddam Hussein and Osama Bin Laden were evil, they had to be connected. Saddam must have helped orchestrate the 9/11 attacks. He must have built weapons of mass destruction to sell to al-Qaida.

And this:

That's why, under his plan, the size of the tax cut was to grow from year to year. The point was to keep the surplus from piling up, refunding more and more money as it poured in from a growing economy. That's also why Bush cut taxes across the board instead of targeting middle-class families who would spend the money immediately. He wasn't trying to stimulate the economy. He was trying to give the money back to the people who had paid it in, which meant largely the rich.

Come on Andrew we all know you are smarter than that.

Ugh

How much is wrong with this? Next the crown of thorns tiara.

Glenn Nails It

They don't just hate us...they hate everyone. Glenn is right this is an indication that we are given'emm the what for.

Quik Reveiw: Runaway Jury and Pieces of April

Rented Runaway Jury and Pieces of April last night. Pieces of April is quirky and cute...(might be too cute for some). Runaway Jury has a great cast and decent performances...but is Moore (Michael not Roger) in it's heavy handed preachiness about guns. And guns are exactly what the main charaters could uses cause the keep coming home to thugs in their apartments.

Mmmm...Rummy

Rumsfeld...gotta love him.

Who would have thought the Muammar and the US would ever be on the same side?

This is interesting. The first rule of international relations...trust no one. You would have thought that Muammar would have learned when he trusted Reverend Jim Ignatowski to build him a bomb and all he got was a bomb made out of pinball machine parts.

Kerry and Terror ---- A Fisking

OK here goes my first attempt at a Fisking:

Kerry's laid out his terror plan today.
And oh boy I feel safer already.

We had him in our grasp more than two years ago at Tora Bora but George Bush held U.S. forces back and instead, called on Afghan warlords with no loyalty to our cause to finish the job.

Kerry might complain about arm chair generals...but this sounds pretty Monday Morning QB to me.

In it, we do not face just one man or one terrorist group. We face a global jihadist movement of many groups, from different sources, with separate agendas, but all committed to assaulting the United States and free and open societies around the globe.
As CIA Director George Tenet recently testified: "They are not all creatures of bin Laden, and so their fate is not tied to his. They have autonomous leadership, they pick their own targets, they plan their own attacks."
At the core of this conflict is a fundamental struggle of ideas. Of democracy and tolerance against those who would use any means and attack any target to impose their narrow views.
The War on Terror is not a clash of civilizations. It is a clash of civilization against chaos; of the best hopes of humanity against dogmatic fears of progress and the future.

Wow looks like he just ripped a page from the neocon play book. Some one check to see if there are copies of the Weekly Standard in Kerry's bathroom.
Whoops I spoke too soon...

I do not fault George Bush for doing too much in the War on Terror; I believe he's done too little.
Where he's acted, his doctrine of unilateral preemption has driven away our allies and cost us the support of other nations. Iraq is in disarray, with American troops still bogged down in a deadly guerrilla war with no exit in sight. In Afghanistan, the area outside Kabul is sliding back into the hands of a resurgent Taliban and emboldened warlords.

Which allies?
Schroeder is making nice.
This also begs the question would they be much help? France..in war? That is a recipe for S-U-C-C-E-S-S. If S-U-C-C-E-S-S spells unconditional surrender.
Also the mother of all greased palms scandal might show us that these guys are not our allies at all.

Are Iraq and Afghanistan in disarray?
The first indication of a country in turmoil is refugees. Do they have people flowing in or flowing out? How about capital?
People vote with there feet John and they have voted to stay.

The Taliban are regrouping?
John maybe you should tell Karzai. Yeah he is a puppet but he is puppet that wants our aid and telling us the Taliban are all but gone might not be the best way into our pockets.

In other areas, the Administration has done nothing or been too little and too late. The Mideast Peace process distained for 14 months by the Bush Administration is paralyzed. North Korea and Iran continue their quest for nuclear weapons -- weapons which one day could land in the hands of terrorists.

Boy Bush has not solved the Gordian Knot of Middle East peace....remind me what did Clinton do...oh right cuddle Arafat and bring on the most recent Intifada.

The Iraqi freedom is the best start for bringing a Middle East peace. No more Saddam sponsored Fruit of The Boom underwear.

Boy guess what North Korea and Iran still have nuke programs. That "Agreed Framework" Clinton worked out with Kim was genius.. Bush should have just kept being lied to.

Iran is feeling heat both inside and outside. What was that temperature during the Clinton administration?

Oh and you might have missed...Libya just opened up its weapons program.

Yes those weapons might land in the hands of terrorists...but if you live in those countries its too late the weapons are already in the hands of the terrorists.

The President's budget for the National Endowment for Democracy's efforts around the world, including the entire Islamic world, is less than three percent of what this Administration gives Halliburton -- hardly a way to win the contest of ideas.

We passed an 87 billion dollar democracy program...it was called the Iraq Reconstruction Act you voted against it.
We have a bunch of other programs that promote democracy you voted against.
Their names?
- AH-64 Apache
- M-1 Abrams Tanks
- Bradley Fighting Vehicle
- B-2 Stealth Bomber
- F-14 (Come on! What would Tom Cruise have had to fly in Top Gun?)
- F-15
- F-16
- AV-8B Harrier (And what would Arnuld have flown in True Lies?)
(Man air shows would SUCK if you had your way)
- Patriot Missile
- Tomahawk Cruise Missile
- Aegis Air Defense Cruiser
- Trident Missile System For U.S. Submarines

Oh my god...the Haliburton thing..when is that thing going to jump the shark?

End of part one....The fisking will continue tomorrow

High Times as The NY Times

Nice. Man this guy doesn't know that reporters are supposed to be drunk..not high. Mike Royko is spinning in his grave.

Castro Cash

Apparently despot is a pretty lucrative career choice. My mother wanted me to be an accountant. How can the Castro Coddling, Castro Cuddling left justify his life style while his people live in a run down shanty of a country???? Oh I remember cause even if the people live without freedom it is OK if they get free education and universal health care. (Of course I am sure the educations are MIT quality and health care system makes John Hopkins look like a Civil War Field Hospital). I bet if Castro was really sick he would down at Havana General like every other comrade. This is best put here: " Wherever there is a jackboot stomping on a human face there will be a well-heeled Western liberal to explain that the face does, after all, enjoy free health care and 100 percent literacy".

Fun With Math
Now the GWB and Laura's net worth is around 16.5 Million the average American couple their age has a net worth of 221,600.
So about 74 times the amount.

Bill and Melinda Gates to GWB and Laura
46.6 Billion /16.5 Million
Bill gates has 2824 times the net worth of the President

Bill and Melinda Gates to Mr and Mrs Sixpack?
46.6 Billion / $221,600 - made Microsoft Excel crash
Ha Ha just kidding 210,289 times.

OK a couple more....John Kerry!
John hold the Ketchup!
$211 Million / $221,600 - 952 times the Sixpacks

John with that $500 Million in Ketchup
$711 Million /$221,600 - 3209 times the Sixpacks.

Drum Roll for Fidel:
They don't have net worth numbers by age in Cuba so I had to extrapolate from the $35 a month a Cuban household earns.

Normalizing the age numbers the net worth of a Cuban in Fidel's age range is around $674.
$195 Million / $674 = 289,317 times

289,317 Wow Bill Gates must be just green with envy.

Um I can't resist: "All animals are equal, some are more equal than others"

*If anyone wants details on how I arrived at the Cuba net worth number or any other figure I will post them.
Also if anyone has more accurate figures I would love to plug them in.

The Hitcher

As tends to be the case Hitchens is spot on.

Blah Blah Blah

OK comments and trackback have been added....complain away.

I love this plan I am excited to be a part of it.

Seems like someone was actually paying attention in "Winning Hearts and Minds 101". But what they need more baseball. All I can say is can you imagine what Afghani Little League dads are like? The umpire better have on his kevlar chest protector.

Funny

Oh Man this had me in more stitches than Jesus in the emergency room.

Be all that you can be. In the jihadi army!

Willie Sutton robbed banks "cause that's where the money is".
I think that is the plan with Iraqi jihadis. Unable to recruit normal Iraqis to join the Fruit of the Boom army they go to where the hatred is ...Iraqi jails. I think this jail break indicates a weakening of the Jihadi Army. Seems like their "Army of Fun-dementalism" campaign is not taking off.
This is a risky move. Targeting the children of those you want to help you...um sounds pretty last ditch to me.

Winning the hearts and minds of the muslim middle east. I don't think we have much chance without having a couple more hairy guys sitting in 6X6 cells.

Hmmm... This is very interesting is it not? I like to get a tongue depresser down NBC's throat....Saddam Style Yoo-Yah.

I heart my culture. This really is a battle of civilizations. OK not really of civilizations....it is civilization against barbarism.

Well it is official. Liberrocky is Googled. I feel a Sally Field moment coming on.

Ok is Dean really this callow or is he playing to the Rolling Stone subscripership? The picture of the Republican party he paints looks a lot like the Springfield Republican Party .

Hmm I am skeptical of this. When confronted with the Republican VS Democrat Happiness numbers I have a question:
If wealth = freedom and freedom = choice and choice = unhappiness then why are the wealthy Republicans so damn much happier than Democrats?