That's a headline up on CNN right now.

"I think there is no divide today between the U.S. and Europe as far as the main objectives of Iraq," said Solana, perhaps a reference to the differences between some European countries and the U.S.-led coalition during the war.

That's why all those German soldiers were fighting in Fallujah, right? And that explains the French battalions slogging it out in Sadr City. Or the Canadian helicopters airlifting supplies along the Iraq-Syrian border. I must've missed all that while watching the new Battlestar Galactica.

Success has many fathers, but failure is always a bastard. Typically a *European* bastard.

Solana said the delegation is meeting with "everybody," including government leaders and Sunni officials who "are not part of the mainstream of the political system."

"We would like very much to see them incorporated. It will not be a successful transition without the participation of everybody."

Just like how Germany wasn't successfully reconstructed without keeping the Nazis on board. No need to punish the losers or anything. That just wouldn't be fair.

By all means, invite the wolves in for dinner. It's just polite.

---
UPDATE: I've just been reminded that Canada is, in fact, not part of Europe.

Huh. You learn something new every day.

Still, I think that for the purposes of our discussion, Europe's less about geography, and more about a state of mind. "Canada" is more or less synonymous with "Belgium," "The Netherlands," or "Mexico."

What the hell do I care about geography anyway? I'm American. I pay that European Peter Jennings to tell me where these mythical foreign countries are located this week.

Posted by: Ace at 10:16 AM | Comments (13)
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I'm sure that by now you've all heard Howard Dean's recent comments regarding Republicans.

One would think that Mad Howard would follow the golden rule of digging a hole-- when you reach the bottom, stop digging.

However, a throwaway comment by National Review Online's Kathryn Jean Lopez ("And this is how Howard Dean is helpful to Democrats--folks like Barack Obama can position themselves as the sane wing of the party.") got me thinking: what if this is all part of a larger plan?

You know, Mad Howard acts mad so other Democrats don't have to. While we all know that many of them feel the same way-- Hillary! has said as much-- this way, Dean gets to act out his party's frustrations in public at the same time as acting as the lightning rod for criticism. His very presence deflects attention from the moonbat positions taken by others in his party.

Given how Dean hasn't been doing anything else worthwhile (who woulda thunk you could have a worse party organizer than Terry McAuliffe?), in the end, this may be his most productive role for the party. Talk crazy talk, get media attention, make all the other Dems look moderate in comparison, and get ditched before he does any long-term damage to the party's chances in 2006 (or 2008, although I'll be shocked if he lasts until the midterms, let alone past them).

I'm a conservative, and a fairly loyal if skeptical Republican voter, but I'm also a big proponent of a "level playing field." I think that American politics are enriched by having two mature political parties in competition. Thus, I admit to being pained by the elevated stature of someone like Howard Dean. I'm sure he's a fun guy to go to a Wyclef Jean concert with, but that's not important right now. I think he's bad for the Democrats, and thus bad for America. Obviously, the rest of his party doesn't quite feel that way. . . yet.

I think more people should ask them why.

Posted by: Ace at 09:28 AM | Comments (14)
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I read yesterday on The Movie Blog that a big screen version of Hawaii Five-0 is in the works staring none other than Ben Affleck.

I have been on the record more than once referring to Ben as the single most overrated actor working today. It isn't that I think he sucks, which he often does, it is that he is in the category of his ex-girl Jlo who is simply famous for being "famous." I could manage to forgive him for participating in the "Let's Fellate Kerry" tour with the rest of the hollywood nimrods, but I am just not seeing what makes him so fantastic.

Now he is going to play Steve McGarret? A role the late Jack Lords owned. It is like having someone play Sgt. "B.A." Baracus in the A-Team that isn't Mr. T. We all long to see Cedric the Entertainer as the iconic Sgt. Baracus, right? Better yet, P. Diddy.

Who is going to play Danno, Jon Favreau?

[With comments from Dave @ Garfield Ridge] more...

Posted by: Ace at 07:44 AM | Comments (18)
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I wasn't one of the people Ace initially asked to guest-blog while he was away, but I was pleasantly surprised to receive this e-mail last night:

John,

All right, it's a deal, but this time I want the negatives and every single copy that's been made, and I don't ever want to hear about this again.

And it would be nice if you could put up at least one decent post this time. The others told me they didn't appreciate carrying you last time around.

FOAD,

Ace

That was nice of him. I just wish I had a post in me.

[Posted by John from WuzzaDem]

Posted by: Ace at 07:41 AM | Comments (6)
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Saw Russell Crowe apologize on Letterman last night. I was kind of impressed, except for the bit about missing his family. Just apologize. No excuses, eh mate?

Then I remembered that he is a dick to everyone, all the time, 24/7.

"Are you not entertained?"

Crowe is a dick to male acquaintances in bars.

Crowe is a dick to British television award show directors.

Crowe is a dick to his bodyguard, who he tried to bite.

Crowe is a dick to his crew.

Crowe is a dick to unsuspecting women in bars.

Most unforgivably, Crowe is a dick to strippers.

Posted by: Hoke at 07:11 AM | Comments (14)
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I think Ace gets all cranky pants when there is cursing on the blog, so I suppose I should put some sort of nonsensical warning on there... "Warning! Warning! Sarcastic Cranky Female Posting to Follow."

First of all, I have always wondered what MT's GUI looked like and this is pretty swank, though really too much floof for me, I'll stick to Textpattern. That said, thanks to ACE for inviting me to blog and perhaps now there will be someone here when Ace is not around to keep Dave in line.

For the record, Demure Thoughts has always been the name of my blog. Temple of Jennifer is just my domain which I have owned since the beginning of time. As a result of horrible inconvenience to Ace I was forced to register "Demure Thoughts," because those of you who read my blog know I am all about making it easy for everyone else. It is part of my more demure nature.

About my potty mouth... more...

Posted by: Ace at 07:02 AM | Comments (4)
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Hey, folks. New Vintage here. Long time reader, first time poster. I'd just like to say that I actually know Ace live, in the flesh, and that he looks EXACTLY like his South Park pic on Hoist the Black Flag. Only a bit taller, a bit more badass, and way hotter.

Since I tend to annoy Ace with too many weenie European sports posts, I thought I'd annoy him a bit more by posting about the French, in a good light for a change.

It looks like some French journalists fully supported their Israeli colleague at a Paris news conference. When a member of Hezbollah refused to respond to a journalist after learning of his Israeli nationality, several French reporters not only left the room in protest but also reprimanded those journalists who stayed for the remainder of the interview.

"He refuses to respond to a Jewish Israeli journalist and you stay! It's scandalous, it's shameful!"

I know. I'm just as surprised as you are.

Posted by: Ace at 06:47 AM | Comments (3)
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Bush Open to Possibly Closing Gitmo Camp

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Wednesday left open the possibility that the U.S. prison camp at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, could be shut down.

"We're exploring all alternatives as to how best to do the main objective, which is to protect America," Bush told Fox News Channel's Neil Cavuto in an interview.

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said he did not know of anyone in the administration who was considering closing Guantanamo.

I'm not sure that the President's words support the idea that he's open to closing Gitmo at this point. Here's the entire exchange from his interview with Cavuto:

[Additional comments by Dave at Garfield Ridge] more...

Posted by: Ace at 06:26 AM | Comments (8)
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When the filibuster deal went through, the conservatives screamed like

Lindsay Lohan.

With Owen and Brown through and more coming, the Democrats are rethinking their "victory".

Posted by: Hoke at 05:59 AM | Comments (15)
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The University of Oregon will soon be basing the pay and promotion of faculty not on how well the teach their students but rather on how well they "get along" with people of "different backgrounds."

Which makes me wonder: Will liberal professors be docked pay for not getting along with their more conservative-minded colleagues and students? I'm guessing no.

The faculty is, obviously, pretty upset by this. They're also upset at the fact that the University will be hiring forty new faculty members to teach courses in "diversity-related topics, including race, gender, gay and disability studies."

Disability studies? What, pray-tell, is that? Are we teaching people how to be disabled now? Maybe its a class for disabled people teaching them how to succeed despite their infirmities, which would still seem like an odd choice for a college course.

But these odd courses aside, the University of Oregon also has a policy requiring non-minority students (read: white students) signing up for certain math or English classes go to the end of the line until their minority counterparts have had a chance to get signed up.

A few decades back some places in this country required that their minority citizens sit in the back of buses and use facilities separate from those utilized by whites. Rosa Parks and other brave civil rights leaders of the day fought against this sort of discrimination. Is the administration at the University of Oregon really telling us, through their actions, that the cure for these past injustices is to perpetrate the same kind of injustices white students on their campus?

If so, that's more than a little bit ludicrous. When are these people going to learn? If you want equality, you must treat everybody equally.

Posted by: Ace at 05:48 AM | Comments (13)
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