If you are a fan; if you enjoyed Cryptonomicon then it is time to head over to Amazon and pre-order Quicksilver. I’ve been waiting so long I now probably need to re-read Cryptonomicon before the September 23rd ship date for Quicksilver. Via Kevin Drum and Short Hope Unfiltered.
The airwaves and papers are filled this time of year with stories of graduations: college, highschool, junior high, middle school, 6th grade, etc. It seems everybody is graduating from somewhere.
A lot of students put in a lot of hard work to earn the right to walk across a stage and receive some token to represent their accomplishments. Some students don’t get to make this walk because they did not do the required work. Others were prevented because of sheer stupidity. Thanks to Jaquandor for the link to Michael Lopez’s riff on this.
Rand Beers makes a radical jump in allegiances:
Beers’s resignation surprised Washington, but what he did next was even more astounding. Eight weeks after leaving the Bush White House, he volunteered as national security adviser for Sen. John F. Kerry (Mass.), a Democratic candidate for president, in a campaign to oust his former boss. All of which points to a question: What does this intelligence insider know?
For some answers go here. Via Cursor.org.
From the Daily Kos:
Rumsfeld is shifting responsivbility away from his Team B aides at DOD and dumping the mess in Tenet and Kay’s lap. Neither man is particularly respected or liked by Rumsfeld and this political move clearly indicates he’s trying to distance himself and the military from the issue.
If Tenet were smart, he would resign and go after Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush. They clearly expect him to fail, blame him for the failure and then install a puppet who does things their way. This is a naked political move by Rumsfeld and Cheney to cover themselves and place the blame on the CIA, an organization mistrusted by both left and right.
There is more and some juicy tidbits in the comments as well.
Begins like this:
Log 6.9.03 (Monday)
5:05 Awake. Castigate self for sleeping in. Remove snooze bar from clock radio with pliers.
5:05 – 5:15 Bathroom — Brush teeth, massage gums, trim nose hairs. Practice affable grin (in mirror).
5:15 Exchange customary morning greeting with Darby: “Good Morning, Mr. Co-President,” “Good Morning, Mrs. Co-First Lady.”
5:17 Kiss Darby (cheek).
To enjoy the rest go over to Arianna Online. Via American Samizdat.