tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post113354019342805376..comments2024-03-26T16:03:42.608-06:00Comments on Flares into Darkness: Upturn In Optimism About Iraqambisinistralhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03836786826294202405noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133586216841774832005-12-02T22:03:00.000-07:002005-12-02T22:03:00.000-07:00re 'battle of the narrative' and the power of word...re 'battle of the narrative' and the power of words: sometimes a few throwaway words can ring a person's head like the Bells of St Peters. one such phrase that keeps coming back to me has to do with the OIF "plan" and the hay that the JFkarrions make of the lack of a check-mark column stretching off into the future. If that plan has to be perfect or Bush is scum, then why not DO the plan, and go ahead and check-off "we win" NOW, so that the terrorists can sack up their beans and bombs and head on home to the goatery? But the wortds that come back are something like these: "After 911, Saddam represented an intolerable status quo. Whatever follows could be no worse than intolerable, because the situation was already intolerable." Plan, schplan. Just do it. If it gets us all killed, well screw it, at least we tried.buddy larsenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17760847873026506988noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133569999974412052005-12-02T17:33:00.000-07:002005-12-02T17:33:00.000-07:00KnuckLove the wretchard piece, as usual.Made me th...Knuck<BR/><BR/>Love the wretchard piece, as usual.<BR/><BR/>Made me think of the sudden embrace of Murtha by Pelosi, who just a few days previously had told him he stands on his own out there.<BR/><BR/>It's like she feels the force of her convictions begining to slip so she must, absolutely must, embrace the extreme in order to hold on.<BR/><BR/>And the more who embrace that cut-and-run extreme, the harder and farther they'll fall when our Iraq victory becomes obvious.Sylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069871911665125873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133556090560851702005-12-02T13:41:00.000-07:002005-12-02T13:41:00.000-07:00Rick,Lack of specific knowledge will still not for...Rick,<BR/><BR/><I>Lack of specific knowledge will still not forestall me from facile comment. Why should I be different?</I><BR/><BR/>Lack of specific knowledge is what permits me to bloviate in my little fragment of the Great Blogosphere!<BR/><BR/><I>A little learning is a dang'rous thing.<BR/>Drink deep, or taste not the Pierian spring!</I><BR/><BR/>What the hell did Pope know?<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>Jamie IronsJamie Ironshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483791884102487505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133550746115239342005-12-02T12:12:00.000-07:002005-12-02T12:12:00.000-07:00OK Jamie,I ordered the book - Amazon paired it wit...OK Jamie,<BR/><BR/>I ordered the book - Amazon paired it with <I>Freakonomics</I> which I've been wanting to read. <BR/><BR/>Lack of specific knowledge will still not forestall me from facile comment. Why should I be different?<BR/><BR/>The first critical poll won't be out until March. As promising as Rasmussen's shift looks I can think of a few events which could cause a downturn. <BR/><BR/>The absolutely cool thing about this is that it highlights the diminishing importance of the MSM. The sooner their irrelevance is generally acknowledged the sooner they will take their earned position next to the Dodo.Rick Ballardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082425215912372067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133549827803419292005-12-02T11:57:00.000-07:002005-12-02T11:57:00.000-07:00I think the fact that Iraq is keeping on keeping o...I think the fact that Iraq is keeping on keeping on has a lot to do with it.<BR/><BR/>After all, the pessismists have been promising mayhem and chaos and hundreds of thousands of dead Iraqis for years now.<BR/><BR/>I also think the fact that there is a possibility of a troop draw down makes people think there might really be some hope.<BR/><BR/>Bush getting out there and defending himself and his policy did not hurt either.terryehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16609746018265953069noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133548314820808662005-12-02T11:31:00.001-07:002005-12-02T11:31:00.001-07:00KnuckI love both pieces. In Baker's piece he hits ...Knuck<BR/><BR/>I love both pieces. In Baker's piece he hits the nail for me when he talks about shaking up the status quo. That has been the thought underlying my support for Iraq from day one...and out of that will hopefully come freedom for Iraq and hopefully for others.<BR/><BR/>His last paragraph I just have to quote because it encapsulates the fear of the outcome as well as the promise:<BR/><BR/><I>We have, surely, unleashed a violent fury of terrorism and guerrilla war that has a broader reach than Iraq or even the Middle East. But we have also unleashed the great virtue that in time will conquer these vices — not hope this time, though we could use some of that, but freedom. It would be a tragic mistake to cut our losses now, long before we have ensured that the virtue triumphs over the vices.</I>Sylhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03069871911665125873noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133547856054500772005-12-02T11:24:00.000-07:002005-12-02T11:24:00.000-07:00Tara,Just post in the vicinity of one of my commen...Tara,<BR/><BR/>Just post in the vicinity of one of my comments, you're bound to come off loooking good in comparison to the gibberish I come up with.<BR/><BR/>As for when crowds become mobs, I love the portrayal of crowds in the Simpsons -- basically the last person to give them bad advice always turn them into a lynch mob.ambisinistralhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03836786826294202405noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133546206802105342005-12-02T10:56:00.000-07:002005-12-02T10:56:00.000-07:00Knuck,Was that too harsh?One can never be too hars...Knuck,<BR/><BR/><I>Was that too harsh?</I><BR/><BR/>One can never be too harsh in criticizing fools!<BR/><BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/>Jamie<BR/><BR/>P.S. I've enjoyed TmjUtah, too.Jamie Ironshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483791884102487505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133546037320043742005-12-02T10:53:00.000-07:002005-12-02T10:53:00.000-07:00Knuck,Thanks. Those were great essays!JamieKnuck,<BR/><BR/>Thanks. Those were great essays!<BR/><BR/>JamieJamie Ironshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483791884102487505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133544925032311172005-12-02T10:35:00.000-07:002005-12-02T10:35:00.000-07:00Rick and David,Your objections are valid, and Suro...Rick and David,<BR/><BR/>Your objections are valid, and Surowiecki deals with them. The point of his book is definitely <I>not</I> that "The crowd is always right."<BR/><BR/>He's worth reading.<BR/><BR/>JamieJamie Ironshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483791884102487505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133543968254726132005-12-02T10:19:00.000-07:002005-12-02T10:19:00.000-07:00Hi Tara,Honesty outweighs wit here. It is always a...Hi Tara,<BR/><BR/>Honesty outweighs wit here. It is always a pleasure to hear an honest opinion, whether in agreement or in disagreement.<BR/><BR/>Jamie,<BR/><BR/>This piece returns us to the "weight" of the MSM. All the huffing and puffing and howling and scowling of the "opinion setters" is of little consequence when the truth cannot be suppressed.<BR/><BR/>I don't buy into the wisdom of crowds, primarily because I've watched such wisdom lead to some peculiar behavior. When does a crowd become a mob? What do you say of its wisdom when it heads off of a cliff?<BR/><BR/>The President can turn public opinion because he speaks infrequently (at leasst in comparison to his predecessor). The less that he speaks the more weight is given to his words - the more the MSM nitwits jabber, the more ephemeral the weight of each utterance.Rick Ballardhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11082425215912372067noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133543083112596762005-12-02T10:04:00.000-07:002005-12-02T10:04:00.000-07:00Tara,Thanks! I'm honored.And don't sell yourself s...Tara,<BR/><BR/>Thanks! I'm honored.<BR/><BR/>And don't sell yourself short.<BR/><BR/>;-)<BR/><BR/><BR/>JamieJamie Ironshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08483791884102487505noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-16821859.post-1133542416597448812005-12-02T09:53:00.000-07:002005-12-02T09:53:00.000-07:00Yes..there is a reader of this blog.I read your bl...Yes..there is a reader of this blog.I read your blog often..if not everyday.I just don't post comments because I am not a sharp wit.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com