I bought some Dixie Chicks CDs today. If the best argument one can think of is “I don’t agree with you so I’ll punish you economically,” one doesn’t really have much of a case, does one? Come to think of it, one would — in that hypothetical case — mostly be pouting. The only thing which could make it complete is calling one’s antagonist names.

Time for another quick Iraq rundown. Bush’s promise to unveil a Middle East peace plan (despite what some in his administration think of it (original)) may have been another favor to Tony Blair, as it seems that promise is helping Tony Blair keep Claire Short (original) from resigning. On the flip side, a poll of Labor backbenchers showed 95 out of 129 MPs refusing to support military action without a second resolution. Still, any talk of peace (original) is simply avoiding reality. US bombers took out Iraqi radar systems last night — specifically, those systems which would give warning of a US attack. The Azores meeting is not a diplomatic summit, it’s a planning session for the attack. ...

The last Mr. Sterling of the season and probably for good aired last night, and you know what I did? I watched it. You bet. Most of the hour was spent on the deeply gripping and action-packed story of the Senator’s filibuster, most of which was delivered to an empty Senate. There was a tense little subplot about whether or not he’d be able to go to the bathroom. I think the message of the episode was that if you don’t care whether or not you get reelected, and you can talk for 24 hours straight, you may be able to screw up the budget and cause the United States to default on loans. But the cost will be your hot actor girlfriend. ...

So Charlie Daniels is explaining life to the Hollywood types. Yeah, well. I don’t know about all these people who keep saying “and you risked lives!” I grew up, for some of my childhood, in the small state of New Hampshire. I think it had more of an effect on me than I realized at the time: ten solid years of looking at the damned license plates, see. ...

The good people at CafePress have finally added data CDs and audio CDs to their product list. You have to send in a master, but they’re working on allowing you to upload MP3s instead. CafePress stores will include audio samples for audio CDs, and the packaging is full jewel cases with inserts. I can’t tell if CafePress’s CDs are commercial grade or CD-Rs. The base price for CDs is $4.95, and shipping and handling is $5 for the first item — so pricing is pretty competitive. You could get slightly better prices going with a specialized CD fulfillment house, but the interfaces there are not as slick. ...

I’ve gotta be missing something in this CNN article. Here’s the money quote: The Bush administration believes that it is one vote shy of having nine of 15 votes needed on a U.N. Security Council resolution that sets a Monday deadline for Iraqi compliance, a senior U.S. State Department official said, and officials are focusing diplomatic energies on Mexico and Chile to secure their backing. ...

I think any pen and paper RPG designer could warn these folks (original) about the perils of their idea. But it’d be more fun to watch them cope with finding out themselves. “Hey, let me tell you about my character!”

I got a spam today entitled “bryant, Housing market may be cooling - Rates Tick Up”. Inside there was a lengthy screed regarding Prime Minister Howard Wilson and the CIA. Some investigation on the Web revealed that it’s an excerpt from Chapter 15 of the Unauthorized Biography of George Bush (original), by Webster G. Tarpley & Anton Chaitkin. This appears to have some connection to David Icke. There is no visible connection at all to the housing market. ...

I got sick and tired of reading people talking about this cool Steven Erikson guy, so I drifted on over to Chapters.ca and picked up the first three books of his Malazan Empire series. It’s scheduled to be a 10 book series when all is said and done, with each book standing alone to a certain degree. When I got the first three, I found myself with about 2,800 pages of fiction sitting in front of me, which was a bit offputting. Stubborn, I tucked into the first one. Three chapters in and I was totally hooked. ...

Joshua Marshall has a nice little piece (original) on unilateralism, multilateralism, anti-Americanism, and the UN today. I’m going to offer a couple more points: Tacitus quite accurately pointed out to me that there was a vein of anti-Americanism even directly after 9/11; it’s not as if everyone in the world was our friends. On thinking about that a little more, though, I’m not sure it’s a distinctive statement. One could as easily point out that there’s always been a vein of anti-French sentiment in the world, and a vein of anti-British sentiment, and a vein of anti-British sentiment. It goes with the territory. Humans have a xenophobic streak. Bush should still be held accountable for fanning the spark of anti-Americanism into a roaring flame. ...