Hush.

Darkness gathers.

Flashback: The Onion Point-Counterpoint Sept. 26, 2001

Probably my favorite The Onion piece ever.

"We must retaliate with blind rage" vs. "We must retaliate with measured, focused rage."

Both sides make great points.

Weird Science

Salt water is apparently flammable.

Thanks to Hot Air Headlines for making me wonder what reality truly is.

Never Forget.

Don't Count Him Out Yet! Okay, I Did, and Still Do, But You're Not Me

Senator John McCain isn't the most popular Republican candidate (and has been having various campaign troubles), and for a lot of good reasons. Still:

Having breakfast in the Courtyard by Marriott in Concord with CNN's Candy Crowley when who should walk in the door but McCain himself, arriving to get ready for the afternoon speech in the hotel's ballroom. He walked over to the table to chat.

"Are you all alone?" [Washington bureau chief Susan Page] asked.

"I fired 'em all," McCain joked. (Not really. An aide who had been parking the car then arrived.)

Via USAToday and HotAir. The man laughs in the face of adversity, instead of avoidng the press or sulking or anything. I like that.

Would that he had better positions, but hey. He's better than the Democratic nominees, anyway. (I know, I know. Low bar.)

Movie reviews: Die Hard 4, Transformers

Both were good. Transformers was better.

Transformers was really, really good.

The end.

I'm back.

Yeah, well, I actually got back on Tuesday. Of last week.

Anyway, here's an article about how Things Might've Been if we had never invaded Iraq, from Opinion Journal:

Given the problems and U.S. casualties in Iraq, polls show a large majority of the American people believe the invasion of Iraq was a mistake. Yet if we imagine what the world would look like today if Saddam Hussein had not been deposed, it seems clear that almost no outcome in Iraq would be as adverse to the interests of the United States as today's world with Saddam still in power.

It's a good article, and certainly something to keep in mind when you hear of politicians say the War was a mistake.

I'd like those selfsame politicians (mostly, but not exclusively Democrats) to tell us, on the record, what alternative strategy and tactics they'd've used, and how it would be better. Perhaps, in some sort of forensic debate.

Return to Tunguska

The mysterious event in 1908 has been mysterious for a hundred years. There was some apparent impact, burned trees, and other strangeness. But now, a new lead:

In late June of 1908, a fireball exploded above the remote Russian forests of Tunguska, Siberia, flattening more than 800 square miles of trees. Researchers think a meteor was responsible for the devastation, but neither its fragments nor any impact craters have been discovered.

Astronomers have been left to guess whether the object was an asteroid or a comet, and figuring out what it was would allow better modeling of potential future calamities.

Italian researchers now think they've found a smoking gun: The 164-foot-deep Lake Cheko, located just 5 miles northwest of the epicenter of destruction.

The Tunguska Event has intrigued me for a long time. I never bought the ideas that it was a UFO crash, or a miniature black hole, or a small bit of antimatter, but none of the less esoteric explanations really seemed to explain everything. I'm looking forward to further reports.

Blogging Will Be Light(er)

My vacation starts on Wednesday. I have a lot to do before then, I won't be using any computer much during, and I'll have a lot to do after-- so there won't be much going on here for a while.

Just, you know, FYI.

Open thread, if anyone wants one.