Federalist X

I'm going on a LONG break from the blogging universe. I won't be back for quite some time. The other bloggers here at A9 will continue to post at this location, please give them your support. And don't forget the Vulture's Corner.

Also, please visit Tim Russo at Democracy Guy, or if you have a Cleveland Sports Addiction, you can find him there too.

I've blogged, like many, since around the '04 election. In that time, A9 has helped spawn at least two other blogs, fought against the insanity of the hard left, stuck up for ol' time Democratic values, reached out to moderates, broken news on distressed securities, and a whole lot of other stuff. I've enjoyed it, but I'm also going to enjoy not blogging (I hope). At some point, we all must decide whether to live in the world of light, or in the world of shadows. At this time, I need to reflect on that for a little while.

In every man's memories there are such things as he will reveal not to everyone, but perhaps only to friends. There are also such as he will reveal not even to friends, but only to himself, and that in secret. Then, finally, there are such as a man is afraid to reveal even to himself, and every decent man will have accumulated quite a few things of this sort. That is, one might even say: the more decent a man is, the more of them he will have. [...]

Now, however, when I not only recall them but am even resolved to write them down, now I want precisely to make a test: is it possilbe to be perfectly candid with oneself and not be afraid of the whole truth? [...]

Snow is falling today, almost wet, yellow, dull. And it was falling yesterday, and it was falling the other day as well. I think it was apropos of the wet snow that I recalled this anecdote that now refuses to be gotten rid of.

F. Dostoevsky, Notes From Underground, Pevear & Volokhonsky trans.

Kos Krazy

[UPDATE: I don't want to detract from the Chriss, Mitya, Sharpie debate on Katrina's economic impact. Good stuff. Chriss's macro view is here, Sharpie's Asian view is here, and Mitya says he'll have the distressed view over the weekend, posted at VC, but cross-linked on this blog as well.]

Its a new style, its called Kos Krazy, and it doesn't much care for principles, logic, or silly things like that. Kos Krazy is coming straight at you! Kos Krazy is orange. Kos Krazy is white. Kos Krazy ain't no average blogger, Kos Krazy is the real deal, dude.

Kos Krazy is also, just that, CRAZY! And it doesn'tseem to matter who writes on the front page over there, they just go bananas at certain times. The latest is this simple assertion:

Oh, and Joe Lieberman was second-most at fault for Brown (after Bush).

Chew this puppy up and spit it out.

If you read the TPM piece, as it appears Kos did not, the writer is a bit more universal in his condemnation than Kos is in his. Lieberman was "second-most at fault"? Is that even a logical possibility? Isn't fault binary? Or is Kos inventing some new comparative negligence standard for his favorite, or least favorite, politicians? If so, he should read his Constitution. The Senate gives advice, the Senate consents, I think Kos and his cronies made a big stink about how UN-Constitutional it was for the Senate to just rubber stamp things a little while back. But here he is now saying that the President should bear the "most" responsibility for an unqualified candidate, and the Democratic Chairman (who Kos has actively campaigned against) of the Committee reviewing the candidate is "second-most". I may sound a little right wing here, but frankly, I don't care. Kos is far over the line, to the point where I think his credibility is jeopardized (what little of it remained).

Here's a little civics lesson to the next person over there infected with the Kos Krazies, all Senators, all 100 of them at that time, are as responsible for Brown being Director of FEMA as President Bush is. Each vote, equally weighted (for instance, Lieberman's doesn't count anymore than Frist's), can register disapproval. Unfortunately for the Kos Krazies, there is no pyramid of fault here. The Senate is a check to the President, and here they completely abdicated that responsibility. I hope any Senator running for the Presidential nomination in '08 will be required to answer why they didn't review Brown's resume a little more closely. Apparently Kos thinks they don't have to, only the Chair needs to do that, but I'd like a little more accountability from my Senators than that. Democrats don't get a free pass when they failed to do their job. Unless of course, you're a Kos Krazy.

Quite frankly, I'm sick of this. This sorta scorched earth rhetoric has turned a large portion of the Democratic party into what looks like a writhing mass of brainwashed, cult-like worshippers of a graven image. Somebody needs to stop them before they permanently wreck the chances of a once proud party with equally proud principles.

A Liability, Again

John Robb calls the federal government an "embarrassment" and a "liability." Strong words, prompted by Chertoff's continual denials. It is deja vu all over again. At least this time they can't say there were no warnings. Or that no one ever imagined planes would be used as missles. They're just saying no one ever imagined a Category 4 storm would hit New Orleans. Apparently Col. Strock begs to differ (and says we knowingly gambled since 1969). I've decided this Administration has the best sense of humor of any in history. Dark humor, but humor nonetheless.