Obion County, Tennessee homeowner Gene Cranick called the fire department of nearby South Fulton when his house caught fire last week, but the hadn’t paid the $75 subscription fee that allows county residents to use city fire services. Consequently, firefighters watched as his home burned to the ground, only interceding when the flames spread to the yard of Cranick’s neighbor, who had paid his fire subscription. Props to Bag-‘Em Ben Gabriel for the link.
Author: Dan Brooks
Department of Aiigh!: Christine O’Donnell is you
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uxJyPsmEask&feature=player_embedded
Let’s talk about first impressions. When I’m suddenly confronted with the image of a woman looming in a featureless null-space, the most reassuring thing she can say to me is not, “I’m not a witch.” Behold Christine O’Donnell, starting from scratch. She’s nothing you’ve heard—a statement immediately punctuated by the appearance of the words “Christine O’Donnell” next to her. Clearly, we are rebuilding Candidate O’Donnell from the ground up. She’s done some experimenting, she’s shopped around, and she’s finally settled on an identity that she thinks she likes: yours.
Missing laptops a portrait of Iraqi corruption
In our general dissatisfaction with the vagaries of American government—stuff like this, for example—we sometimes forget what a genuinely nonfunctioning state looks like. Fortunately, we made one seven years ago. Last week, the New York Times ran this fascinating story about the fate of approximately 8,000 laptops—purchased with $1.8 million of your tax money—donated to the children of Babil. In this case, “donated to,” means “denied to, because they sat in customs for weeks before disappearing.” Don’t worry, though; Iraq’s Commission On Integrity is on the case. “We are still investigating,” an official from the commission told the Times. “We cannot give anymore information now, but soon you will receive a lot of information about this issue.” He forgot to say “my friend,” but presumably that was because he was in a hurry.
Friday links! Everybody take a deep breath edition
The end of September has brought with it the end of Deadline Week, and now the interns and I relax amid the tropical plants and exotic lizards of the Combat! blog offices. Everyone has been given coffee and donuts—except for the tiger, who is being punished—and the sound of relieved sighs fills the air. Now seems as good a time as any to step back and get a little perspective on the week that was, so terrible in its enactment and so mild in its repose. As we ease into what will surely be a shrill October with one last beautiful fall weekend (Missoula only,) let’s take a moment to calmly consider good news, responsible analysis, irrelevant fluff pieces and, okay, one harrowing story of official irresponsibility. Won’t you take a breath with me?
Tea Party still the philosopher’s stone of political analysis
In a simpler world, this post could begin with, “There’s no denying the popularity of the Tea Party,” but even that aspect of the movement is up for denial. Even after several high-profile primary victories, the size of the Tea Party—composed of disparate groups with neither national hierarchy nor local registration—joins the movement’s platform, origins and political impact in the realm of conjecture. The Tea Part isn’t even a party. It is either a grassroots uprising of constitutionally-minded Americans or a series of puppet shows by Republican flacks or a fringe movement exaggerated by a desperate media or some combination of the three, and no one will really know until the midterm elections, if then. Meanwhile, we have analysis. As with any inquiry into the totally unquantifiable, that analysis has taken on an element of the aesthetic.