Target Centermass

Day: April 25, 2006

  • ANZAC Day

    April 25, ANZAC Day.

    Doesn’t ring a bell? John at Argghhh!!! does an amazing job of explaining a treasured day of some of our staunchest friends and allies, those blokes in Australia and New Zealand.

    As for me, I’ll mark the with the haunting Gallipoli-based tune “The Band Played Waltzing Matilda” by the Pogues.

    And now every April I sit on my porch
    And I watch the parade pass before me
    And I watch my old comrades, how proudly they march
    Reliving old dreams of past glory
    And the old men march slowly, all bent, stiff and sore
    The forgotten heroes from a forgotten war
    And the young people ask, “What are they marching for?”
    And I ask myself the same question
    And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
    And the old men answer to the call
    But year after year their numbers get fewer
    Some day no one will march there at all

    [full lyrics can be found here]

  • Sources: Snow to Be Named White House Press Secretary

    While not a zero-sum game, there’s certainly a downside to this apparent addition to the Bush administration.

    Tony Snow will be named new White House press secretary on Wednesday morning, FOX News has learned. Snow is expected to be at the White House for the announcement. He has been mulling the offer for the last several days.

    Long before the announcement, oddsmakers were banking on Snow, host of FOX News Talk’s “The Tony Snow Show,” to be tapped for the highly visible White House post.

    “I expect to see him at the podium in just a few days, in the press room at the White House,” Fred Barnes, editor of The Weekly Standard and a FOX News contributor, said Tuesday.

    The talk radio host was given a clean bill of health by his oncologist Tuesday, following a CAT scan and other tests that were undertaken last Thursday. Sources said Snow was President Bush’s first choice, but he needed the all-clear from his doctors before he takes the job. Snow is recovering from colon cancer.

    “He would like to do it. If he gets an OK from his doctor, I expect it will be Tony Snow and the press will welcome him with open arms,” Time magazine columnist Margaret Carlson said during the day.

    Loss: my radio, which usually brings me about an informative hour-or-so of the Tony Snow show each weekday. I’d probably go to the effort of catching more if it was carried live on the DFW airwaves.

    Gain: a talented, intelligent and well-spoken frontman for a White House beaten down by a disgustingly-adversarial media. Snow is an informed individual, comfortable in front of the camera, who does his research and has often called out the Bush administration for doing a poor job of rallying support for our military and the administration’s own efforts. If anything is missing, perhaps it was time someone was brought in with a little more willingness to actually confront the White House press hounds when the situation practically begs for it. That said, I probably place a higher value on bitter but well-deserved sarcasm than the average American. On the other hand, just how much does the average American pay attention to press briefings by the White House press secretary? I’ll wager it’s less than I check the nutritional information before doubling the tasty, greasy, strangely-orange chili beef on my beloved Steak ‘n Shake chili mac.

  • McCarthy CIA Leak 101

    Have you fallen behind in the Mary McCarthy story and need to play a little catch-up? Allah, writing over at Hot Air, Michelle Malkin’s new endeavor, has put together a great CIA leak primer.

    This is one of those stories where, if you miss the first 48 hours, you end up feeling so far behind the curve that you tune it out and never bother with it again. So here’s a round-up of news and blog coverage which, while longish, will bring you up to speed.

    Hat tip to Ace.

    Over the last few days, this story has continued to throw chum into the water, and several bloggers appear to be on the verge of a feeding frenzy. Keeping a calm head but happily tearing into the mess, Protein Wisdom‘s Jeff Goldstein adds his thoughts to those of two heavyweights in the political opinion arena, James Taranto and Christopher Hitchens. I highly recommend you start with Allah’s primer before venturing into the world of Goldstein, whose work will be considered extra credit for this intro course.

  • Quote of the Week, 25 APR 06

    Our warfighting concept has to take account of the fact that almost nothing ever works right. As with the game of golf, our only real hope is to make smaller mistakes.

    —General Merrill McPeak