"Now we can no longer hold back. It will be a terrible war."*

Steps necessary to start a world war.

1. Have an awful act of terrorism taken against your country by a non-state actor.
2. Proclaim a state of war exists because of this horrible incident.
3. Issue an ultimatum to the country most associated with the suspected non-state actors.
4. Despite the acquiesence to most of the ultimatum, reject the answer.
5. Make sure your allies are ready, and go to war.

*Emperor Franz Joseph, July 1914.

Still thinking

I apologize for not maintaining the incredibly somber mood here. Below this personal bit I am re-starting the search for light faire because I am wanting to entertain and be entertained again. There’s only so much awfulness you can contemplate. In reality, my feelings have changed about the attack from shock to horror to anger to nationalism to something else. I have much to say and few are speaking the way I would about it. The pacifists in this have an excellent point in not responding out of kind, but I resent the justifications they put into the mouths of the terrorists about what we did to deserve what we did. Undoubtedly someone deserves death for this, but whole countries? And after we strike, then what? We need to take a look at the long term policy outcomes likely to result from our short term anger, which is undoubtedly justified.


I recognize also that my questioning of our military and foreign policy can be traced back to a seminal event in my childhood, when President Reagan ordered a major strike on Libya to retaliate for a terrorist attack on discotheques in Germany. My father wrote a letter to Senator Boren expressing his anger and deep disagreement with this step and deploring the loss of lives. The attack was immensely popular, the American people seemed wholeheartedly behind it, so I didn’t understand then why my father would go against what everyone else wanted. Furthermore, I didn’t understand what he thought he’d accomplish by writing that letter, and the form letter he received as a reply seemed to reinforce my thoughts on the matter.


I think I get it now. Thanks, dad.

On your way out, say hello to LARGE MARGE

On this very night...
10 years ago...
along the same stretch of road...
in a dense fog...
just like this...
I saw the worst accident I ever seen...
There was this sound...
Like a garbage truck!
Dropped off the empire state building!
And when they finally pulled the driver's body...
From the Twisted... Burning... Wreck...
It looked like...
THIS!!!!!!

Yes sir...
That was the worst accident I ever seen...

If you know what this means, click here.
If you don’t… I’m sorry.

I was sure this would be a lawsuit when I saw it advertised on late night television. I feel smugly proud to be right.