Eye on the Watcher’s Council

As you may know the members of the Watcher’s Council each nominate one of his or her own posts and one non-Council post for consideration by the whole Council. The complete list of this week’s Council nominations is here.

The Glittering Eye, “The Judgment Thing”

In my submission for this week I concur with James Kirchick’s assessment of Matthew Yglesias’s “liberal internationalism”, which I see as a stalking horse either for isolationism or putting the U. S. military at the disposal of the United Nations, possibly both alternately.

The Colossus of Rhodey, “In Honor of the Final Season of “Battlestar Galactica” …”

Hube considers the inconsistencies in the Battlestar Galactica universe.

Rhymes With Right, “Air Hypocrisy Radio Suspends Randi Rhodes”

Unlike Greg I see no hypocrisy in Air America’s handling of the Randi Rhodes incident. After all Hillary Clinton is a Democrat. The real targets of Air America are Republicans. that makes all the difference.

Done With Mirrors, “Media Fish in a Barrel”

Callimachus catches The Independent being unable to keep the truth from getting in the way of a good story.

Hillbilly White Trash, “Starts Well, Ends Badly”

Lemuel Calhoon fisks an article by Thomas Bowden on the Second Amendment and the Heller case.

Joshuapundit, “”If You Give A Mouse A Cookie”… Accommodating Islam”

Freedom Fighter notes the potential for a slippery slope in Western universities’ accommodation of Muslim students.

Soccer Dad, “Black, White, Grey”

Soccer Dad is skeptical about liberation movements that have as their objective giving the subjects of their concern the opportunity to be as venal and corrupt as those they oppose.

Bookworm Room, “The Wizard of Ooze”

In a post with the best title of any submission this week Bookworm examines the qualities of the real little man behind the Barack Obama curtain.

Wolf Howling, “Assumptions & Conclusions About Sadr, Maliki and the Basra Offensive”

GW gives his own take on the events in the Basra offensive, ostensibly in response to Rick Moran and me, in a lengthy, excellent, and very thoughtful post. Most of the objections he has to what I’ve written on the subject are things I don’t believe I’ve ever written. My sole points on the matter are that we don’t know enough yet, the actions by PM Maliki were risky, and time will tell. I will, however, plead guilty to the charge that I believe that the Badr militia, baptised to some degree as the Iraqi Army and moreso the Interior Ministry’s Iraqi Police Service, is little different from Moqtada al-Sadr’s Mahdi Army. There’s more to real legitimacy and authority than uniforms and badges and I don’t think that GW has made the case that there is a notable difference between the two militias. If having been absorbed into the Iraqi Police Service were enough to grant the Badr Militia legitimacy, isn’t the solution to the Mahdi Army absorbing its membership into the Iraqi military or security services? I thought that infiltration of the new Iraqi Army and police by militias was a problem rather than a solution but apparently not.

Cheat Seeking Missiles, “Quote of the Day: Unsacrificed Virgins Edition”

Laer posts on the Harvard True Love Revolution and its detractors.

The Education Wonks, “Censorchimps: The East Texas Subspecies”

When I read EdWonk’s post on a Texas student, sued for wearing a John Edwards T-shirt, I could only think if the First Amendment is not intended to protect political speech what in the world is it intended for?

Right Wing Nut House, “Progress In Iraq a Tough Sell for Petreaus”

Rick Moran gives his take on Gen. Petraeus’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee, plowing a field not dissimilar to the one I’ve been plowing here.

Well, I’ve decide which posts I’ll vote for this week. Which posts would get your votes?

1 comment… add one
  • kreiz Link

    Moran, hands down.

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