the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Strained explanations, cartoonish debates and zebra issues

Just a couple snippets from my dial-up dungeon:

I’ll begin with Arlen Specter offering his two cents on warrantless surveillance, which gave me some sliver of hope that these hearings won’t just be another yes-man forum in our post-9/11 world.*

And then there was Christopher Hitchens writing about the Muslim cartoon controversy. I have to admit I share some of his discomfort surrounding the statement of our government on this front. Are we not allowed to make critical commentary on religion, or is it just “unacceptable”—and what does that mean exactly? **

And then there was the extra-large football game. I’ll confess that I didn’t have a clear rooting interest, so it was hard to be thrilled with any outcome. That said, I feel a little happy for guys like Bill Cowher and Jerome Bettis, even if the game showcased some glaring zebra defficiencies along the way—I’m always left a little unsettled when bad calls play a big part in deciding games.

*Chris seems less optimistic about Specter.

**Cziltang has thoughts on the ‘toon controversy here and here. In addition, The Philadelphia Inquirer (one of very few U.S. newspapers to publish any of the aforementioned cartoons) carried this op-ed on 2/05/06.

Less than optimistic about Snarlin’ Arlen? Me? My dad once tried to buy a pie factory from Specter’s wife Joan. My father owns no pie factory, so I assume it didn’t go so well. I expect Arlen to produce meaningful hearings about as much as I expect my father to produce pies, which is to say, I’m lost in a bad analogy. Anyway, today wasn’t the worst start, so I hope I’m wrong.

The hearings produced some interesting questions, though, in the absence of any binding oath for Gonzo, I’m not sure anyone really intends it to go anywhere.

There were some incredibly simple questions he tried to shield under the “operational” defense, though I can’t imagine a world in which several of those answers would have compromised anything useful.

So, wallow in your despair, Chris. I may be joining you soon.

The older Specter gets, the harder he is to figure out. It’s great that he’s dedicated to speaking his mind without worrying about the political consequence, though. I hope he weighs in on the Sibel Edmonds firing/cover up at some point.