Hamilton's Pamphlets

Light Blogging

Sorry for the light blogging.  Been fighting a wicked case of "Northwest Crud" (its a miserable lingering cold that just won't go away) and getting ready for Christmas (decorating the house, shopping - but not at Target, Best Buy, Barnes & [not so]Noble, etc.).  So... with the support of family, plenty of room on the credit cards and good over the counter cold meds, I should be back up and at it very, very soon...

End of the Week Thoughts and Round Up on the WA Governor's Race

Washington State Supreme Court hears the case on Monday on whether or not it will allow the Dems to bring previously disqualified and disallowed ballots back into the recount.  Several (17 of 39) have already reported their hand recount results.  What was so important this week that the court couldn't hear the case BEFORE the counties counted?  According to a comment posted at Sound Politics:

The State Supreme Court does not hear the case until Monday. It seems a few of the justices are indisposed while they hear a 'mock' case regarding the mid-19th century hanging of Chief Leschi. Not that there's anything pending of great importance to the state or anything like that...

Sheesh, it's only the closest Governor's race in state history and one of the closest in our country's history.  Looks like their priorities are seriously out of whack.

Interesting week for Gregoirisms.  This week she made the following claims (ht- Josef):

1. Gregoire, who has been Attorney General for 12 years, claimed she had no knowledge of long-standing Attorney General advice that in a manual recount, rejected ballots cannot be introduced and only previously counted ballots can be re-counted. Despite a November 1996 memo from the Secretary of State which included the AG’s opinion, and despite the fact that Gregoire at that time had been AG for four years and presumably would have corrected the opinion if she hadn’t agreed with it, Gregoire now says she’s not responsible for it.

And,

2. Gregoire makes the remarkable claim that she has absolutely nothing to do with the state Democratic Party’s lawsuit in the state Supreme Court to change the rules of the recount.

The [Seattle] Times reports that “Gregoire…said she didn't see the suit before it was filed and wasn't consulted.” Three-term Attorney General Gregoire tells the Times, “I'm not the lawyer here. I'm not the client. I am an extremely interested third party.”

It appears Ms. Gregoire and the Washington Democrat Party must think we have mashed potatoes between our ears.  Come on, can they really believe that we're going to swallow that line of BS?  Even if either statement were true, which I don't believe they are, then (as I have said before) she is either stupid or lying - not the qualities you look for in your state governor.

To the round up -

Stefan Sharkansky has the best analysis and county by county spreadsheet updated regularly going over at Sound Politics.  I won't even begin to try to compete with his stats and analysis.  Go there and check it out.

Josef at Josef's Public Journal has the most comprehensive summary of the news reports, commentary and opinion.  Want to know what the editorial boards of Washington's newspapers think?  Go check out Josef.

Timothy Goddard at Flag of the World has several posts on this and "Operation: Red Washington" as well as a great post on the impending "Democrat Wars".  Go see for yourself, it's worth a look.

Jim Miller of Jim Miller on Politics has an excellent post on Distributed Vote Fraud.  Till I read the post I wasn't even familiar with the concept.  Great work and worth a look.  Jim and Stefan are neck and neck for the "Golden Pocket Protector Award" for the mathematical analysis of the race, right now I think Stefan is ever so slightly in the lead...

Mac at Pull on Superman's Cape has some number crunching as well, if you can get through Stefan, Jim and Mac, surely you went to MIT or you should...

My distillation of all the info I sorted through is this - with 17 of the 39 counties reporting (about 12% of the votes) Dino Rossi HAS A GAIN OF 28 NET VOTES. Given that Gregoire's stronghold of King County already did a partial hand recount on the second count that brought in hundreds of votes for her, so I think that well is tapped dry for "new" votes AND barring serious vote fraud or a pro-Gregoire ruling by the WA Supremes, this race is finally over. 

Of course, there are some rumblings that the Dems may try this (from Jim Miller on Sound Politics):

Even if Republican Dino Rossi wins the hand recount of the state’s extraordinary governor’s race, a never-before-used provision in the state constitution could allow the Democrat-controlled Legislature to hand the election to Democrat Christine Gregoire.

Experts are unsure how to interpret the provision.  But the state Democratic Party says it gives Democrats the ability to contest the results of the election before the Legislature.

The Legislature would hold a trial of sorts, like an impeachment hearing, with lawmakers voting on the final outcome, according to a Democratic Party lawyer.

It just doesn't get much crazier than this.  The Democrats (both in the state and nationally) are doing nearly all the hard work to push Middle of the Road Democrats and Moderates of all stripes over into the Red column.  The state GOP (even with "evil genius Karl Rove" helping) couldn't have engineered the destruction of the Democrats better than this.

Rumsfeld's Aw Sh*t!

In my profession (for those not familiar, that would be the United States Navy) there's an old saying that "one Aw sh*t, wipes out a thousand atta boys".  Clearly, SPC Wilson's Aw Sh*t, wiped out thousands of SECDEF's atta boys.

Much has been made of the exchange in the MSM and amongst the moonbats of the left.  While the anti-war, anti-Bush crowd will chant "I told you so" until they pass out from hyperventilation, the reality is that it is "much ado about nothing".

We in the military have known that we had a shortage of armored HUMVEE's, since before the conflict started and had been working like crazy to get more.  But just as SECDEF pointed out, it's a matter of physics.  You can't just snap your fingers and "poof" you're cranking out 450 a month this month where you built 15 last month.  That's the logistics facts on the Humvee's.

What I don't get is how SECDEF and his people lost control of this thing.  I have been an Admiral's Aide in the Pentagon and Military Aide to a Congressman and I have never seen a bigger PR screw up than that Town Hall Meeting.  Three things jump out at me: 1) Choosing the Town Hall Meeting Format, 2) Not vetting the Questions ahead of Time and 3) Allowing the press in the meeting.

I'll take them in order.  Number one, Town Hall Format.  I understand that SECDEF has done this format in the past and that he is a tough, stand-up, no BS kinda guy that is not afraid to do a give and take with the troops.  However, there is a time and a place for every kind of format.  This audience, in this location, at this point in their deployment cycle was NOT the right time for that format.  If SECDEF over-rode advice not to do a Town Hall, well he is the Boss and he's the one that has to live with the consequences. 

Number two, not vetting the questions.  I understand that the SECDEF wants to get the "unfiltered inputs from the troops", but this is what happens when no one screens the questions.  You get uninformed questions based on hearsay, rumor and "legend" and in this case apparently planted by the media.  You also have a very high potential for making the boss look stupid.  He cannot possibly know the details of every gripe, screw up, shortage, or mistake in the entire Department of Defense, but you have the possiblity he'll get asked those very questions.  Had SPC Wilson's question been screened, his chain of command could have answered his questions and addressed his concerns and saved the SECDEF some uncomfortable moments.

Number three, The Media.  If you're going to push ahead into mine infested waters by doing 1 and 2, why in the world would you bring in the MSM to watch you get flogged?  I think there's some folks in the SECDEF's office or whoever set that up that should be looking for employment elsewhere.  That was a colossal screw up.

Monday morning quarterbacking aside, I think SECDEF did a good job answering the questions, even the loaded one from SPC Wilson.  His genuine care and concern for the troops shows through and it is unmistakable.  I think he made the best of a truly poorly managed situation.

As for SPC Wilson.  Clearly out of line.  2Slick nails it and Matthew Heidt (Froggy Ruminations) is spot on as well.  Froggy sums it up best:

I am not going to criticize this National Guardsmen for having a legitimate complaint about the equipment he must use to fight in Iraq, but taking it up with the SECDEF on TV is unsat. Does he really think that Rumsfeld wouldn't rather have 2 armored hummers for every soldier? Like he said, it's a matter of physics rather than a matter of desire. There is a time and place to make these kind of inquiries, but this was neither.

Military bureaucracy is pervasive no matter what branch or field of service, and the troops will always have more than enough things to bitch about. That doesn't mean that they aren't committed to doing their jobs, it's just a way to let off steam and allieviate frustration...

Another saying we have in the Navy is: "A happy sailor is a bitchin sailor".  Froggy is right, it's just a way to blow off steam.  SPC Wilson should have used his chain of command and got answers to his questions and concerns.  But I can't blame SPC Wilson completely, whoever decided that it was a "great idea" to have a "bitch session with the SECDEF" in front of the media should be working for a different three letter organization, like CBS, not the DoD.

So many on the side of appeasement will try to make something of this, I think it will fade quickly and in the end won't have done much damage to SECDEF, the military, DoD or the war effort, but it sure won't have helped.

Darwin Comes to Blogging

Survival of the fitest.  Darwin's theory of evolution seems to fit quite well in the blogging world. 

Right before the election, at the peak of frenzied blogging and at the height of popularity, Allah Pundit stopped blogging.  I asked him in an email what was going on and he replied "Bored and burned out.  May not be back."

Just yesterday I read that one of my favorite bloggers, Lancelot Finn, was thinking about giving up his blog and had this to say: "I've noticed that I can probably get more readers by posting a comment on Belmont Club than by putting a post here. Comments even show up in Google searches!"  Lancelot also pointed out that family, jobs and lots of other things demand our time and it gets tough to post something worth reading every day.

So, will there only be a few SuperBlogs (i.e. Powerline, Instapundit, etc) that everyone posts to, or will the majority of people want to keep their own blogs (and control)?

I think Darwin's Theory sheds some light on this.  As each niche develops, I think that bloggers (like Darwin's birds) will evolve to fill the niche.  Because some people like to have control without censorship, editorial oversight, etc (like me) they will not give up their personal sites and only post on the SuperBlogs.  Others who find that they would rather comment on other peoples sites and prefer the structure and controls will avoid keeping their own personal blog and stick with the comments sections of widely read blogs.  Time is also a factor, maintaining a worthwhile blog is time consuming.  It is a whole lot easier and less time consuming to be a frequent commentor than to maintain a blog.  Just as all of the species Darwin studied filled in all open spaces on the food chain, so have the bloggers Political, sports, military, even knitting (Mrs. Hamilton's Pamphlets has a gazillion knitting blogs blogrolled).

Of course, personal conditions will have an impact as well.  The arrival of a new baby, starting a new job, marriage, divorce, loss of a job, retirement, etc. all play a role in the amount of time and money a person can/wants to spend blogging.

The volume and frequency of blogging will rise and fall based on many things.  In the months leading up to the Presidential election the blog world was on fire.  Everyone was posting several times a day and reading multiple blogs, chasing threads and posting comments.  Since the election things have toned way down.  As we approach the Christmas Holidays, I would expect more and more people will be spending time Christmas shopping, visiting relatives, and spending time with their families and thus a lull in blogging.

Is blogging a "tulip bulb craze" or just a passing fad?  I think not.  There are several blogs that have been around for years and as software and hosting services become easier and less expensive to use,  I think more, not less, will blog.  Sure, Blog was the #1 looked up word this year and may indicate a short term peak in popularity, which logically will be followed by a sharp decline.  However, I predict long term sustained growth (sounds like I'm selling a mutual fund or something...weird). 

Bloggers will come and bloggers will go, but the medium is here for a long haul.  The faces will change and technology will change how we blog, but blog we will.

Solid Analysis on Target

Carol Platt Liebau posted the BEST analysis on why Target's decision to ban the Salvation Army's kettles and bell ringers is so out of step with America and it's values that I have seen yet. I'm calling her post "Tradition", go check it out.  For more background see my earlier post: Target, not on target.

Up here in the Pacific Northwest Fred Meyer and Walmart welcome the "Army of Compassion".  Also see my earlier post for a link to a searchable database of companies that support Republicans for your Christmas Shopping.

Who'd Want to be Governor of this State Anyway?!?

Let's see, we have the Democrat political corruption of New Jersey, the voter incompetence of Florida, and weather like Seattle.  Add in the budget shortfall just announced by lame-duck governor Gary Locke, a state legislature controlled by the Democrats and businesses leaving the state faster than the gazillion salmon fingerlings we just released...

I'm starting to wonder why Dino Rossi even wants the job!

As the senseless "hand" recount begins I'm finally getting around to evaluating the situation.  Josef has been emailing me updates and his blog has some of the best links for up to date press and commentary.  His latest post with excerpts from an op-ed submit is really good. 

I found some of the best mathematical analysis going over at Sound Politics.  Stefan Sharkansky outdid himself in CRUSHING the whole "statistical tie" myth.  Be warned, this is SAT test kind of math be prepared to think or you won't enjoy it! 

Mac at Pull On Superman's Cape rounds out the tour de force for mathematical analysis (and puts most of it in words even I can understand), undoubtedly the most comprehensive collection of math inputs.  After reading those two you may have an uncontrollable urge to buy and wear a pocket protector, don't say I didn't warn you. 

Timothy Goddard has a great piece on the Rossi v. Gregoire/Bush v. Gore? aspect of this race over at The Flag of the World.  Tim does a spectacular job of boiling it down to the basics (and Tim isn't even a lawyer, of course maybe that's why normal humans can actually understand it...).

Jim Miller has some general Republican versus Democrat stuff, but some really, really cool stuff (and pictures!) of Mt. St. Helens eruptions.  Doesn't really help with the Governor's race, but the volcano has become the #1 polluter in the state further adding ecological problems to the growing list of reasons NOT to be governor...

Finally, where do I stand on the whole thing?  I say bring it on!  Sure the human error factor is worrisome, but I still think GOVERNOR ROSSI will come out on top.  All bets are off if the Dems win on Thursday in the state supreme court and previously invalid ballots come in to play.  However, this is exactly the kind of thing Washington (and in particular the Washington State GOP) need.  Newt Gingrich and the Republican revolution came to pass because of just this sort of Democrat Double Dealing in an Indiana House race.  I think that the bad behavior and lack of class shown by the Dems in the governor's race will come back to haunt them in 2006 and in 2008.  The "average" tax payer doesn't define themselves by party.  They may be a "Democrat" or a "Republican", but they'll tell you over and over again "THEY VOTE FOR THE PERSON, NOT THE PARTY".  Most folks default to their registered party only if they are unfamiliar with the race or just can't tell a difference between the candidates, otherwise they vote for the person they think will do the best job.  Think they'll trust the Dems by default after this fiasco?  Vote for us, we didn't mean to bankrupt your school district in 2004 with recounts, you being foolish enough to put a bond or a levy on the ballot.  Silly goose!  Vote Democrat we look out for the little guy, except when we don't! 

So go ahead, let 'em do it.  I think Dino will still win and the Dems will kill goodwill towards their party and launch what will be the begining of their end.

UPDATE:  Welcome aboard Polipundit readers.  Glad you dropped in.  Feel free to poke around and read more posts.

UPDATE II:  Just found another blogger commenting on the race (can't tell if they're a WA Stater or not) and since they linked to this (yes I too have an ego to feed...) I thought I'd include them in the "round up".  See  (Largely Ignored) Washington Politics over at ninme (no, I don't know what the name of the blog is about, ask them while you're there...)

UPDATE III:  I know I'm lazy for just doing updates, but I am what I am...  Mac over at Pull On Superman's Cape emailed me that he has an update on his math post: More good math in public check it out.

And They Say the Red Staters Are Dividers!!!

From Craig Newmark at Newmark's Door:

ChoosetheBlue "tells you what corporations donated to political parties."

"If each American who voted for John Kerry spends $100 in 2005 on a Blue company instead of a Red company, we can move $5 Billion away from Republican companies and add $5 Billion to the income of companies who donate to Democrats."

After checking out Choosetheblue and reading about the lists of companies that they say donated to which party, I am amazed.  Choosetheblue is recommending to The Blue Staters that they declare economic war on companies that contributed to Republicans. 

What a bizarre case of projection.  I mean, sure, Red Staters and Conservatives have pushed for boycotts and the like too (heck, I am right now with Target, Best Buy and Circuity City for their PC ban of the Salvation Army Kettles, see Target, not on target) and that isn't really what I don't get.  Here's the rub, when a Conservative gets fired up it's usually about a moral issue.  When a Liberal gets fired up it's about politics, sex or money. 

So what choosetheblue is saying is, "because you don't share my political views, I want to hurt your business".  Now businesses who give an overwhelming majority of their donations to one party or the other has already made a choice.  Knowing that there could be financial implications to their donations, the businesses that gave large percentages to Republicans are willing to stand on principle and take that risk.  Their moral compass is intact and reading very clearly, thank you. 

Blue Staters thinking that if they "hurt them in the wallet" badly enough, then maybe they'll have a change of heart and stop giving to Republican causes/campaigns  are projecting their priorities onto these Conservative businesses.  It won't work.  They don't share the Blue Staters values.  These companies give to conservatives because they believe it is the RIGHT thing to do.  Morally, ethically, in your gut you know it's the right thing to do.  Not because they think it will bring in more customers or make them more money.  By boycotting Republican leaning companies for their political contributions with no regard for the quality of their products or service is perverse.   All it will do is hurt the business, perhaps throwing hard working folks out of jobs (quite possibly a lot of Blue Staters!)  and lowering tax revenues for those precious social programs the Blue Staters are so fond of.

I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.  Not so long ago when I was serving as the Military Aide to a certain liberal Congressman from New England who shall remain nameless, the VERY liberal office staff was talking about this new phone service they were all signing up for.  I asked what the big deal was and why they would go through all the hassle of using a small and cumbersome provider.  Because a portion of the revenues was going to be given to "Liberal Causes".  I learned very quickly that while their views and beliefs were not in line with mine, they held them very deeply and took action to back their convictions.  I respect that.  I think they were completely and utterly WRONG in their world view, but they were definitely passionate about it.

Call me a hypocrite if you like, but I think the difference is crystal clear.  Conservatives call on like minded folks to boycott certain things/companies/events or promote supporting those entities that share their values based on MORALS.  Liberals call for the destruction of any person, business, group, or organization that does not agree with them.  There's a world of difference in that, nothing subtle or nuanced.  It's I choose not to support you because you don't share my morals and values versus I want to destroy you because you don't agree with me.

All that said, thanks to choosetheblue for giving us Red Staters a list of Companies that share our Conservative Values and identifying those who don't (I'm really disappointed by Arby's, I love their roast beef sandwiches - that's gonna hurt!).  So let's take a page out of their playbook and use this great list (Like Craig Newmark says, I can't vouch for the authenticity of this list, so do research and use your best judgement) so that we can patronize companies that, if nothing else, support the same political idealogy we do.

Crawling Up the Rungs of the Ecosystem

I admit it.  I'm kinda addicted to ascending the evolutionary ladder of the TTLB Ecosystem.  N.Z. Bear at The Truth Laid Bear (aka TTLB) has this really cool way of "seeing" your blog's traffic and links in the blogosphere.  I don't even begin to understand how they do it, but I think it is very, very cool.

However (you knew that was coming), it has really been screwy lately.  Just before Thankgiving I was linked to at least 19 other blogs and getting a fair number of unique visits and I was slithering/crawling up the evolutionary ladder (one very slow rung at time, I assure you).  Since just after Thanksgiving, though, the number of links has dropped and my slow rise has turned into more of a nosedive back into the primordial ooze... But then tonight I check it and it says I'm in the 2000's (hey I've barely made it into the 5000's at this point) and my links are down to 2.  Huh?  Fewer links, less unique hits and astronomically higher in the ecosystem? 

Are the Kos Kidz hacking TTLB and the Ecosystem too like they are over at Wizbang! and the Weblog Awards?

Follow the lights...

Busy weekend.  Took Friday off to try to get some of the Christmas decorations up(yes, that's Christmas, NOT holiday). 

Strung about six miles of lights today... still not done...

Went to the tree place, picked out the tree, went home to get the not so nice SUV and tree saw, cut down the tree, shoved it (literally) into the SUV.  Forgot the checkbook and the place only takes cash or checks (of course).  Gotta love small town America, they let me drive home (with the tree in my SUV) to get the check book and come back and pay AND they gave me free candy canes for the wife and kids (yeah and me too).

Garlands and more lights tomorrow...

Ho, ho, frickin ho...gee only a month till I have to take it all down...

If I do a half-way decent job, maybe I'll post some photos of the final product...

UPDATE:  Three days of work...Hanging like some crazed drunken chimp from the peaks of my roof, freezing by back side off and all I get is this...

You can sorta see the tree in the window...can't see the wreath on the door...

Made Mrs. Hamilton's Pamphlets very happy, but me (who ain't real fond of heights) I'm a little let down and next year I'm hiring somebody to hang those dang things!

Oh well, the wife and kids are digging it.  Ho, ho, ho! Merry Christmas!

The Groningen Protocol

If you only get your news from TV or the papers, you probably haven't heard of this.  For about a week now it has been working it's way through the Blogworld, fueled most prominently by Hugh Hewitt.  Hugh started on Tuesday with The Groningen Protocol, which linked to Ed Morrisey at Captain's Quarters on it, MarkDRoberts on it, our favorite Seal Milblogger Matthew Heidt at Froggy Ruminations on it, and many others.  Soon after some other prominent bloggers picked up on it, Scott "The Big Trunk" Johnson at Powerline and Jim Geraghty at Kerry Spot, and even the "Grand Poobah" of blogging Glenn Reynolds of Instapundit fame (who linked Hugh, but Hugh did not link.  I wonder what's up with that?).

What, you ask, is the Groningen Protocol?

From the AP: A hospital in the Netherlands(Groningen Academic Hospital) - the first nation to permit euthanasia - recently proposed guidelines for mercy killings of terminally ill newborns, and then made a startling revelation: It has already begun carrying out such procedures, which include administering a lethal dose of sedatives.

The Groningen Protocol, as the hospital's guidelines have come to be known, would create a legal framework for permitting doctors to actively end the life of newborns deemed to be in similar pain from incurable disease or extreme deformities.

The guideline says euthanasia is acceptable when the child's medical team and independent doctors agree the pain cannot be eased and there is no prospect for improvement, and when parents think it's best.

I've heard lots of people joke about "retroactive abortions" (especially when their kids hit the teen years), but this is serious.  This is POLICY.  This is Socialized Medicine.  This is a morally relavist secular society.  This is Orwellian with a strong dose of Soilent Green (the sci-fi movie, not the heavy metal band).  This is WRONG!

What if the parents don't "think it's best"?  Do the doctors have the final say?  The Government?  Your HMO?  Matthew Heidt (Froggy Ruminations) puts it in perspective:

Let me lay out a scenario that incorporates this scary confluence of government healthcare, and third party euthanasia committees. An unfortunate child is born in Holland with a serious heart defect that may or may not be correctable, but is certainly fatal if left unresolved. The Death Squad (my affectionate term) meets to consider the case of this deformed child with the goal to determine its candidacy for treatment or extinction.

Initially, the Death Squad must consider the seriousness of the deformity, the prognosis if treated, and ostensibly they are going to make some kind of judgement as to the child's quality of life as well. Liberals love to do that. So having addressed those preliminary issues, they now take into account the fact that they are living in a nation with total government monopoly on healthcare, and that they are themselves government employees. They are certainly well aware of the limitations on the delivery of healthcare in Holland and the effect of rationing on the general public, in fact they are acutely aware of this.

Taking these facts into account the Death Squad now decides whether this quite unfortunate child ought to be allowed to expend precious and finite medical resources. The Death Squad cannot be sure that some other less unfortunate child might come along at any time with a better prognosis, and that child's care could be adversely affected if both children are in the same hospital together. Since this most unfortunate child hasn't much of a shot at a quality life, and since, well, the budget is tighter than usual this year, we had better just euthanize this child. It's nothing personal mind you, it's just the way things worked out. Very unfortunate.

Also unfortunate is the liklihood that as medical gatekeepers (and heaven's gatekeepers for that matter) the Death Squad is under some amount of pressure to take the "economic" issues into account with respect to their decision. Which is the sensible thing to do afterall, deficits and whatnot. Never forgetting but not quite remembering that theirs is a very secular nation, and that they are in a very secular position as doctors, these decisions aren't quite as agonizing as they might be, which is helpful ... for them.

Many bloggers are comparing this to the actions of the Nazi doctors in the death camps and rightfully so. 

I admit that I am somewhat conflicted, in that I don't want to see helpless infants suffer needlessly (or anyone for that matter - with the exception of some Islamist Terrorists, but that's fodder for a different post) .  I take exception that a group of people have written down a "protocol" to follow.  Each case should be evaluated on it's own merit and issues.  Protocols and guidelines have a nasty way of becoming "standard operating procedure" that no one dares deviate from.  I believe that there is a way (not exactly sure what it is) to protect doctors AND put an end to needless suffering of those who cannot speak for themselves, The Groningen Protocol, however, IS NOT IT.

UPDATE:  What I'd like to know is why the news has all this crap about the BTK strangler and the Laci Peterson case (heart breaking yes, but way, way over covered) and loads of other BS that I care nothing about and yet this hasn't even been whispered about?  I guess all the producers and editors must be suffering from P.E.S.T. or still digging for dirt on the TANG story down in Texas...

UPDATE II:  I got an email from Hugh (which, by the way, I thought was very cool) in which Hugh says that he and Glenn Reynolds are NOT fueding, but that Glenn's post on Groningen was pretty short and that he had been trying to link to the "longer stuff".  Whew!  I was a little concerned that there was some kind of underground Blog War going on that I was blundering into...

UPDATE III:  Mrs. Hamilton's Pamphlets said she read about this on Drudge.  Sure enough, there it was on Tuesday's headlines:  Netherlands Hospital Euthanizes Babies.  Not much gets past Mrs. Hamilton's Pamphlets, especially stuff about kids (and knitting, but that's a road I don't want to go down...)