Day: May 20, 2002

The Results Are In!

Well, I said I’d keep y’all posted on the relative merits of ™ vs. KausPower ™, and I think we can now reach some conclusions — the graph to the right (subtly annotated) shows my traffic stats for the last few days.

In my objective, dispassionate view, I don’t think there’s any other way to put it but:

Soulless media conglomerate: 1
Noble academic toiling in obscurity: 0

‘Course, Mickey has mentioned that the new Borg implants they’ve insisted on over in Redmond chafe a bit, but I guess everything has its downside.

Memo to Glenn: Now could be the time to hit up AOL for that deal, chief. They’re in desperate need of some kind of turnaround strategy — and I say you were aiming way too low when you thought about “selling out to them”. I’m thinking major New Media company, here:

AOL/TimeWarnerPundit

PS – All kidding aside, sincere thanks to both Mickey and Glenn for their links (not to mention the genuine enjoyment and insight I’ve received from reading their work). It is truly a demonstration of the spirit o’ the blogosphere that someone as new to this game as I could get this kind of attention this quickly.

title=”Rod Dreher over at NRO’s The Corner”>Rod Dreher over at NRO’s The Corner has read John Derbyshire’s latest in which he predicts that the U.S. won’t go to war with Iraq and sees an opportunity for the Democrats to outflank the Republicans if the Bush adminstration does, indeed, go wobbly:

Say the Democrats found a candidate willing to flank Bush on the right regarding the conduct of the war. Say this candidate was able to speak prophetically about the true threat the West faces from militant Islam, whence his tough-minded views on the need for the U.S. to get more aggressive with the Arab world, both militarily and diplomatically. Let’s say he favored slamming the door shut on immigrants from Islamic countries for the time being, and sending Islamic students studying here on visas home — and was able to face down both the media squishes and the left within his own party over this. And let’s say he was able to persuade voters (with the help of, say, another massive 9/11-style attack from terrorists) that the danger of Islamofascism to American interests made conflicts over domestic issues like tax policy, abortion, gay marriage, etc. — on which he could be fairly liberal — not so important. Anyway, if the Dems were able to come up with that kind of Scoop Jackson-like candidate — an American Pim Fortuyn, in other words — do you not think he would be formidable? Do you not think he would stand to win over swing voters, and in so doing move domestic policy to the left? Is there anyone like this on the Democratic horizon — or for that matter, on the Republican horizon (Bush could be challenged in the GOP primary, after all)?

Is it just me, or did Rod just describe John McCain (or at least, an idealized version of what John McCain could be…)? That whole McCain-Should-Run-As-A-Democrat thing was all the rage a few weeks back, but Dreher’s scenario is the first thing I’ve seen that puts in place a realistic set of conditions that might make it feasible…

(be sure to read Derbyshire’s article — it’s excellent, if, as Dreher says, depressing…)

title=”Alex Frantz at Public Nuisance”>Alex Frantz at Public Nuisance writes in with additional detail on the WWII precedent for a creative task force, indicating that in WWII, exactly such a team was assembled to brainstorm possible methods for preventing suicide attacks by Japanese kamakazi pilots.

The team was headed by (you guessed it): Robert A. Heinlein.

Now, it’s unclear to me (and Alex, apparently), whether this is the same group I mention at the Naval Yards or not — to me, it sounds different. Anyone with additional info, please let me know, and check out Alex’s site for a bit more detail…

Several readers have pointed out that the government creation of a “threat team” of science-fiction writers was discussed by Niven and Jerry Pournelle in their classic Earth-gets-invaded-by-aliens novel Footfall.

I get major geek demerits for not remembering that. Ouch.

Pournelle also has a blog (which he calls his daybook) here.

Sean Roche sends this commentary on the dream team concept:

Why do you need to “staff a government dream team” to tap into the creative intelligence of the country. The Office of Homeland Security should put up a web site with an e-mail link: Send us your terrorist plots. Give a $1000 bounty to anyone who submits a new one, $250 to anyone who suggests a new twist on an old one.

If we weren’t worried about giving the bad guys the wrong idea, it would be a great ‘blog. Call it “The Red Team” after the intelligence groups supposed to imagine scenarios for the blue team to counter. Solicit ideas from anyone.

A big ‘yup’ there. I agree with Sean that a blog — while it would make a mighty interesting read — isn’t such a great idea, but I’m not sure I see any downside from a submit-only website. (And let us not forget the less geeky among us — a nice old analog phone number would be helpful as well). I do think, though, that this idea is complimentary to the dream team concept, not a replacement — I think creative types in collaboration can end up with a “greater whole than the sum of its parts”, in some cases.

A common theme seems to be emerging here — why isn’t the government of the most creative, cantankerous, and skilled nation on the planet actually leveraging the skills and talents of its people? (For another spin on this theme, points us to David Rothkopf’s piece in Foreign Policy, which makes the case for leveraging the talents of America’s business community to fight terrorism).

You can also check out Sean’s blog here.

The Washington Times’ Inside The Ring column on the Pentagon reports that is in possession of several bright and shiny new Chinese missile patrol boats. (Found via Rumination ).

Wondering what’s up with the trial of Slobodan Milosevic and his gang of thugs? Don’t wait for Big Media, see for yourself at the tribunal’s extensive web site. Has the full indictments for Milosevic and others, as well as transcripts of court proceedings.

Update – I made a snarky comment about Tom Clancy in my original list for the creative dream team, which I’ve now removed. It was off the cuff and has been bugging me as being unwarranted. To be clear for the record: I haven’t closely examined Mr. Clancy’s politics lately, so I won’t endorse or reject them. I have enjoyed many (but not all) of his novels; thought Hunt for Red October was an excellent film (but was disappointed with the Harrison Ford versions), and hear that Sum of All Fears with Affleck is supposed to be good. So if Mr. Clancy does happen to stumble upon my humble page: my apologies.

Congratulations to the people of the independent nation of East Timor.

Just to be extremely clear, particularly for those following Kausfiles’ link this way: I wasn’t the first to bring up the idea of roping in creative types to scenario plan for terrorist attacks. reader Harry Helms was (whose site I’d be happy to link to, if he has one, and I knew the link).

Today on WebLog SmackDown ™: vs. KausPower!

Well, I was blessed with a Instapundit link last week, and this morning I awake to find Kausfiles has sent a reefer my way (the, uh, Internet kind, I mean).

Does mild-mannered law professor Glenn Reynolds have the mojo to go up against Redmond’s new media giant? Or has the absorption into the collective hive mind of Slate drained Kausfiles of its cache?

I shall monitor the traffic stats with great anticipation — watch this space for updates!