Caving In To Islamist Threats

Sam Harris has a piece about the repression of "Fitna", a 15-minute film, linking passages of the Koran to violence. It’s a depressing story of self-censorship:

The point is not (and will never be) that some free person spoke, or wrote, or illustrated in such a manner as to inflame the Muslim community. The point is that only the Muslim community is combustible in this way. The controversy over Fitna, like all such controversies, renders one fact about our world especially salient: Muslims appear to be far more concerned about perceived slights to their religion than about the atrocities committed daily in its name. Our accommodation of this psychopathic skewing of priorities has, more and more, taken the form of craven and blinkered acquiescence.

History Doesn’t Repeat Itself, But It Does Rhyme

From Kauffman’s Ain’t My America:

American flag lapel pins had been distributed to members before the president spoke to Congress on April 2, 1917, requesting a declaration of war. It took a certain obdurate courage to refuse to wear the colors; Senator La Follette was among the refusers, as was the Mississippi senator Vardaman.

(hat tip: Poulos. Title explained here.)

Math, Math, Math

Chuck Todd:

…nearly half of all remaining delegates will get handed out tomorrow. And the math will be a lot more crystal clear after tomorrow, both in delegates and the popular vote. Following Guam, there are now 404 pledged delegates up grabs, and 187 of them will be decided on Tuesday. Plus, per our count, there are 268 undeclared superdelegates. Here are the basics of what each candidate needs: Assuming he wins half of the delegates tomorrow (93), Obama needs just 38% of ALL remaining delegates to get to the magic number of 2,025. If Clinton wins 94 delegates on Tuesday, she will need 66% of all remaining delegates. In addition, assuming that delegate split tomorrow, then Clinton will need 85% of all remaining PLEDGED delegates to catch Obama for the lead in that category. Moreover, if Clinton simply wanted to cut Obama’s pledged delegate lead to 100, she’d need to win 62% of all remaining delegates after tomorrow. As we’ve noted before, the math is certainly difficult for Clinton.

Destroying Herself

Timothy Noah writes:

What would it take for Clinton to start a stampede? A massive, catastrophic drop in the polls for Obama. But the only way for that to happen is for Clinton to tear into Obama so viciously, Lee Atwater-style, that she destroys her own reputation, causing her to lose the general election and very likely her Senate seat, too. Not going to happen. Clinton is determined, but she isn’t insane.

This is part of why I think Clinton may now be running for veep. She may be trying to create a wound in the party that only a unity ticket can heal.

The Growing Gay Diaspora

Many bi-national couples with one spouse who’s American are being forced to move abroad. Former Washington Blade editor, Chris Crain, has to live in exile. So does Glenn Greenwald:

Brazil was a military dictatorship until 1985. It has the largest Catholic population of any country in the world. And yet I’m able to obtain from the Brazilian government a permanent visa because my Brazilian partner’s government recognizes our relationship for immigration purposes, while the government of my supposedly “free,” liberty-loving country enacted a law explicitly barring such recognition.

If the ban on HIV-positive immigrants stays in place, I may be forced to relocate back to Europe as well at some point. My current waiver runs out next March. My marriage and family, of course, count for nothing in the eyes of the US government.

The Hagee Files

This YouTube is surely as damaging as anything Jeremiah Wright has said. Yes: Wright was Obama’s pastor for twenty years, and McCain has no real personal history with Hagee. But McCain sought out Hagee’s endorsement, has appeared with him in campaign settings and has said he is "pleased" and "very honored" to have his endorsement. Blaming Katrina on New Orleans’ "sinfulness" is more specific than Wright’s "chickens". McCain needs, I think, to denounce and reject his support:

Freeze-Drying Pets??

An alternative to burial or cremation:

With this method we can preserve your pet in a restful and peaceful manner. Although they are no longer living, we can keep them in our presence.  A pet is many things to different people.  To  many pet owners burial and cremation are not acceptable.    Very often we receive calls from  grieving pet owners, and many of them tell us "we just cannot stand the thought of burying our pet."

If your pet has passed on to the "Rainbow Bridge" or you are making preparations for the loss of your pet, you may want to consider our service.

Rainbow Bridge? I think that’s the one I jump off of.