A Modest Proposal

Frank J. says that the military needs to get back to basics:

I, for one, know the military – and especially my brother – would like this policy a lot better. Actually, if the people shouting “Chickenhawk!” all the time got their way and only people in the military made decisions on wars, that’s exactly what would happen. My brother, like many Marines, joined the military to kill evil foreigners, not to build schools. Do you have any idea how few casualties we’d take if our sole goal was to go into a country, kill all the readily available targets, and leave? Do you also know how much cheaper that would be? Plus, if we actually just left Iraq right after we had that infamous “Mission Accomplished” banner, the whole Middle East would be talking about that huge Iraq military win because we totally kicked the crap out of Iraq. The only reason the conflict doesn’t look like a clear-cut victory is because we stayed after the crap-kicking to try and make friends.

America is big; we don

Paris, Not In The Springtime

I know it’s not an edifying subject, but Kay Hymowitz entertainingly dissects the cultural phenomenon that is Paris Hilton:

Now despite her fame and good fortune, for most sentient adults Hilton personifies the decadence of our cultural moment. With her nightclub brawls, her endless sexcapades, her vapid interviews, her rodentlike dog and her lack of ostensible talent, she reeks of every vice ever ascribed to our poor country. She has become a synonym for American materialism, bad manners, greed, “like” and “whatever” Valley Girl inarticulateness, parochialism, arrogance, promiscuity, antifeminism, exposed roots and navels, entitlement, cell-phone addiction, anorexia and bulimia, predilection for gas-guzzling private transportation, pornified womanhood, exhibitionism, narcissism — you name it.

The “rodentlike dog” in particular tickled my funny bone. But as Kay points out, it’s not about worship of her, but hatred. Deserved or not, she’s our Marie Antoinette.

Today’s Media

…reporting World War II. Strategy Page has given me a bunch of satirical essay ideas today:

HUNDREDS OF SAILORS STILL TRAPPED UNDERWATER

Victims’ Families: Pearl Rescue Efforts “Disgraceful”

WHISTLEBLOWER REVEALS SUPERBOMB PLANS

Catholic Bishops Condemn Secret “Manhattan Project”

FDR WITH MISTRESS IN DEATH ROOM

Warm Springs Scandal

Biting Commentary about Infinity…and Beyond!