NRO's The Corner 2: Ghost Protocol

conservative suspicion of democracy is my favorite thing

the civil war retconning in the comments is just grim

ugh "The Philippines...during the piping days of the U.S. Marines’ occupation" was vietnam beta, almost exactly! right down to its off-the-books nature, absolute butchery of the populace, severely low troop morale, anti-imperialist politics at home. it's really fascinating; i should try to find a good book on this period (what i know came from something on pbs heh)

Robert L. Beisner's Twelve against Empire: The Anti-Imperialists, 1898—1900 touches on domestic efforts to inform the populace about those atrocities.

It must be said that the motives for colonialism were discreditably greedy and largely based on racial and sectarian arrogances.

ha ha haa.

cool thx for the tip

Why would the US being part of Britain mean no World Wars and no Cold War?

because magic

no World Wars and no Cold War?

Apparently the author presumes that the rapid development and population growth of the North American continent would have proceeded under British rule just as they did under USA independence, so that come the 20th century the British Empire would have been so utterly dominant that no other power would have chosen to go to war with it.

Given overall British colonial policy, especially any continuation of the policies in place prior to 1776, that's one very silly assumption there.

ugh "The Philippines...during the piping days of the U.S. Marines’ occupation" was vietnam beta, almost exactly! right down to its off-the-books nature, absolute butchery of the populace, severely low troop morale, anti-imperialist politics at home. it's really fascinating; i should try to find a good book on this period (what i know came from something on pbs heh)

― goole, Thursday, 5 July 2012 18:10 (25 minutes ago) Permalink

Though it is a historical novel rather than non-fiction, and also it covers many other subjects from the spanish american war to jim crow era Wilmington NC, I read and enjoyed John Sayles' A Moment in the Sun. also his most recent film Amigo.

would be interested in that pbs documentary if you know the name of it.

Gore Vidal's Empire covers the war from the pov of TR and the jingoes.

dsb: pretty sure it was an ep of 'the american experience'

cool, thanks will look for that.

hey goole: write yr own dang book

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/308393/obama-s-friends-are-america-s-enemies-michele-bachmann

"Who lost Egypt?"

Revisiting G.I. Joe: Real American Hero.

oh come on, alfred. you wrote that.

Let me assure the reader, the show is worth a gander. It is indeed meant for children — there’s no blood or sex, and the plots are simplified

G.I. Joe also features strong male role models, at a time when many Hollywood action stars are female, such as Angelina Jolie in lots of movies or Merida in Disney-Pixar’s just-released Brave.

2trillionMinus2trillionEqualsZero 07/13/12 16:51
Here's a question for you NRO janes and joes. If you could—Serpentor-style—create an ultimate american leader from the DNA of leaders-past, what would you create?
I've always felt a Reagan-Kennedy-Eisenhower crossbreed would be hard to beat.

The sequence ends with Duke on a jet pack picking up the fallen Old Glory and carrying her to the top of Lady Liberty. If you don't get choked up by that, something's wrong with you.

commenter otm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DN034sBeF4c

Little touches of realism are another great feature of the cartoon. Serpentor, upon taking command of Cobra in the “Arise, Serpentor, Arise!” story sequence (season 2, episodes 1–5), decides to launch a typically unrealistic frontal assault on Washington, D.C. Tomax and Xamot, the leaders of Cobra’s corporate-front operation, appeal to him: “With all due respect, O mighty Serpentor, we beg you to reconsider. Invasion is easy . . . but holding U.S. territory . . . is all but impossible!”

Serpentor vs. Dubya: FITE!

Tomax and Xamot

codename TOMBOT

the story arc of the creation of Serpentor smacks of nothing BUT little touches of realism!

i love things that smack

With five kids of my own now, age 7 and younger, I am constantly looking for wholesome entertainment for those times when we let the kids in front of the TV.

I feel bad for his wife.

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/309479/against-growth-jay-nordlinger

Truth is, some conservatives lamented that he had indeed “grown” in office. He had gone out of his way to accommodate liberals and moderates, and to accommodate the Kremlin. He was raising taxes, spending like crazy, welcoming wetbacks, pursuing arms control. One common cry from the right was, “None of this would be happening if Ronald Reagan were alive.”

just a little racist alliteration, no big whoop

stupid little shit

holy shit

I like the commenter who said 'but he was being ironic!'

NR must have some sort of internal betting pool/challenge on who can say the most racist things on The Corner without being fired

I was just about to post that! How in the world does he think that Nordlinger was being ironic in that post?

the "ironic!" comment is worth capturing in full:

It looks to me like Mr. Nordlinger used the w-word to be ironic. In the context of the other examples in that sentence, that's how it looks to me. Nothing offensive about it in this instance--and for the record, because I have a feeling that replies to this comment will be loaded with accusations of racism, I am not a racist.

the whole exchange is worth preserving imo:

Bobby Zimmerman
07/16/12 11:15

It looks to me like Mr. Nordlinger used the w-word to be ironic. In the context of the other examples in that sentence, that's how it looks to me. Nothing offensive about it in this instance--and for the record, because I have a feeling that replies to this comment will be loaded with accusations of racism, I am not a racist.

Maledictorian
07/16/12 11:31

Could you explain, in the context of that sentence, how that word was used ironically? Maybe I'm irony-challenged after listening to the Alanis Morissette song too many times, but I really don't see much irony, satire, or any other non-literal intent in the rest of that sentence. If we replaced it with a certain n-word would that have been ironic as well?

Bobby Zimmerman
07/16/12 12:29

"Spending like crazy" is the context: you can't use a phrase like that to make a serious point in an argument because it's pure hyperbole, hence my interpretation as irony. Given the broader context of the article, it made sense for Mr. Nordlinger to go over the top in characterizing the criticism of Reagan back then--and to get politically incorrect about it--to make the point that we look at the past through rose-colored glasses, especially when it seems that our least favorite parts of the past are a lot better than our not-quite-as-bad moments today.
And no, it would not been ironic for him to use the n-word, because the majority of illegal immigrants were and are from south of the border. It would've been stupid.

well, he's clearly writing from the perspective of a mindset, but I don't think that qualifies as "irony"

clearly using other wild hyperbolic and oh-so un-pc language for effect, such as "raising taxes" and "persuing arms control"

Wonder if Bobby is related to George.

i know dylan veered right for a while but shit

My mom almost got in a lot of trouble due to a misunderstanding when she asked a security guard at the school she worked for to "see if you can go borrow a wet vac from the cleaning staff to take care of the spill"

nordlinger to whiners: "Get a life. Get a frickin’ life."

http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/309594/re-against-growth-jay-nordlinger

something about the word "frickin'" codes as very contemporary-conservative to me

What has gotten knickers in a twist is that word “wetback.” What should have been clear is that I was reflecting a certain mentality: the mentality of Reagan’s critics, some of them, at that time. The angst over tax deals, amnesty deals, arms deals, etc.

I have no doubt that most readers knew what I was doing. But I guess you have to issue these little “clarifications” for the benefit of the dim.

Look: I am not a politician. I’m a writer. And if you don’t like what I write — for heaven’s sake, there are 8 billion others you can click on. I would further say to the complainers, using a phrase I’ve never liked, frankly: Get a life. Get a frickin’ life.

One more word: If people wet their pants on seeing the word “wetback,” this country is as far gone as the most pessimistic and alarmist people say it is.

Two more words: Good grief.

love the "yeah but hes always full of shit" defense b/c it is pretty strong :/

Good grief.

the benefit of the dim: a jay nordlinger reader

omg omg you guys dubya's on the hoover institution presents uncommon knowledge with peter robinson. "eight years was awesome! y'know, i was famous and powerful... but i have found that life after the presidency is awesome."