Sadly, No!

Via Hairy Fish Nuts, Juan Cole offers his thoughts on Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11:

So, I think the second half the the film, on Bush’s Iraq policy, has virtues. He turns out to have been prescient about how fictitious the reasons for the war were. But some of the innuendo about the Saudis and Afghans just seems an attempt to damn by association, and seem to me to be based on faulty logic and inaccurate assertions.

Frederick from Beat Bush Blog finds out that the New York Times’ math skills are even worse than those of David Frum.

August J. Pollack wonders if The Smoking Gun’s Michael Moore voter registration find is as big a deal as some would believe.

No More Mister Nice Blog looks at a liberal hawk who is good at stating the obvious and missing the obviouser (yes, we coined that phrase!:)

I’m happy to learn from the article that Ignatieff believes torture is bad, even when it’s done by the government he trusted to bring freedom and human rights to Iraq. But now that Ignatieff has had to acknowledge an unpleasant truth about George W. Bush, he seems ready to canonize … Ronald Reagan:

And while we’re too lazy to comment, Robert at My Blahg has lots of good posts on the Canadian election results.

Picture of L. Paul Bremer sent by the CPA earlier today, titled Ambassador Bremer Departs Iraq. Isn’t he way too kewl for skewl?

David Frum, likely getting ready to accept next year’s Nobel prize in economics, explains why the liberal government in Canada has not been good to the average Canadian family:

Between 1993 and 2003, Canada?s total gross domestic product ? the value of all Canadian-made goods and Canadian-provided services ? rose by two-thirds. […] Where did that extra production go? That?s the question answered by the second number, 45%. The lion?s share of Canadian economic growth in the 1990s was pocketed by government, especially the federal government. Between 1993 and 2003, federal revenues rose by 45%, or almost $60 billion.

Poor average Canadian family concludes Frum — the Liberals have not been good for them at all. [sniff] Which is why we wondered how, using the test offered by David, the average American family fared under Reagan (data from 1981 to 1989:)

US GDP, 1981: US$3.06 trillion
US GDP, 1989: US$5.42 trillion

Increase of: 77%.

US Tax Revenue, 1981: US$599.1bn
US Tax Revenue, 1989: US$991.2bn

Increase of: 65%.

(Source: Excel file 1 and 2.)

Frum adds that disposable income went up by 31% during those ten years, which is apparently not good, though it’s not that much lower than Reagan’s 8 years (31.9%.) [3.1% v. 3.9%] Given how super duper we’re told the Reagan years were, one wonders: why the sad face David?

Frum also bemoans the decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, though it’s not clear what, exactly, he thinks the government should have done. (Nor does he note the fact that the US dollar has appreciated against the currencies of other countries at the same time.) Or note that as the most trade dependent of all G7 nations, Canada does reap some benefits from a weaker dollar.

So in conclusion: David Frum is a giant ass and he hates Ronald Reagan. Thank you.

Added: In the comments, reader dmm makes the obvious (non Reagan related point.) Time for a quiz:

Your income is $100, and your tax rate is 40%, which means (we think) that you pay $40 in taxes. Your income goes up by 40% to $140. Your tax rate remains the same, and you now pay 40% of $140, i.e. $56. So your taxes also went up by 40%. Does this mean that the government took all of your pay raise away? Sadly, No!

Two weeks ago, we looked at the insect-metaphor-filled writing of Shane Arthur Swing. Swing p?re et fils are back this week, and their new adventures are titled “Better Fixed Now Then Later” and “Politics and Poetry.” Shane’s essay is a kind of Whose Line Is It Anyway take on creative writing, and we salute him for his efforts. Buddy’s work, well, we wonder about a little. We were tempted to do a shorter version (Saddam Hussein is a lot like a poorly built garage that George Bush decided to level,) but realized that just didn’t do justice to the last two paragraphs:

Finally, I installed the vinyl siding. The last, and top, piece was noticeably larger under the facer and soffit assembly that inclined dramatically upward at the end where it was attached to the upward slanting roof that was nailed to the end truss that rocked because of the exaggerated hump in the top of the wall that was caused by the hump in the base where it was attached to the bolt that had a small concrete buildup around its base. Now, it was too late to solve the problem.

President Bush was right. He fixed Saddam Hussein while he was still a small buildup around the base of a bolt.

Which leads us to conclude the following:

The New York Times reports on the first day of the New Iraq?:

Already security forces, responding to today’s announcement, were locking down sections of the capital. Several hotels refused to let guests go in or out, thousands of police stepped into the streets and American fighter jets cut arcs in the sky over Baghdad. Both American and Iraqi officials said they were expecting the handover to be marred by significant terrorist attacks.

In related Total Sovereignty? developments:

The new Iraqi government, consisting of many wealthy exiles who spent years away from Iraq, is barred from making long-term policy decisions and will not control the 160,000 foreign troops remaining in the country. The government has the right to ask them to leave ? but has made clear it has no intention of doing so. The government also cannot reverse any of the laws passed by American administrators during the occupation.

[Emphasis added]

Thanks to Blair for the link.

…and then there is the job of highlighting Andrew Sullivan’s internal contradictions, unsupported assertions and pointless awards. SullyWatch celebrates two years of doing all of that (and then some) this week. So why not consider giving something to the blogger who does not have it all?

This would be impressive if it meant something:

Iraq handover of sovereignty completed
Low-key ceremony comes two days early
Monday, June 28, 2004 Posted: 3:22 AM EDT (0722 GMT)

Iraqi President Sheikh Ghazi al-Yawar: “This is a historic and happy day for us.”

BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) — The handover of sovereignty to the interim Iraqi government took place at 10:26 a.m. local time Monday, two days before the June 30 deadline previously announced by the U.S.-led coalition, CNN has learned.

From the needless to say department:

The low-key ceremony happened inside the Coalition Provisional Authority’s “Green Zone” headquarters in Baghdad.

CNN Analyst David Grange opines:

CNN Anchor: [Interim] Prime Minister [Ayad] Allawi of Iraq has suggested that he may have to impose martial law. Do you think it is time that he do so, and do so immediately in order to stop these kidnappings?

GRANGE: Well, you know, that’s not something bad for the Iraqi people. They’re used to a lot of control from someone, and if that control brings some type of order — because that’s the concern of the populace more so than a totally free society. They are used to security, even if it’s imposed by a free or dictator-type government.

So I think that the prime minister could get away with that, and it may be prudent to do that on either side of the transition date, just to maintain rule of law in the situation. [Emphasis added]

In related news:

Allawi’s fighting words may do little to deter the insurgents, but they set off alarm bells among U.S. officials. Bremer’s aides said Allawi lacks the power to impose martial law, and Secretary of State Colin Powell warned that the U.S. would not support such a move. “The last thing we want,” says a senior U.S. official, “is for the world to think we’re foisting a new strongman on Iraq.”

CNN reports:

Handover of sovereignty in Iraq will take place Monday, two days before the June 30 deadline previously announced, diplomatic sources tell CNN. Details soon.

Well, as long as the man sees something, the need to be concerned is no longer operative:

My job is to do my job I’m going to do it the way I think is necessary. I’m going to set a vision. I will lead and we’ll just let the chips fall where they may.

Meanwhile, today in Iraq another two dozen chips fell where they may. For the last time. (Please choose one of the following: desperate or major blow.)

Thanks to Blair for the first link.