Right Wing Nut House

The blogger known as Wretchard from the Belmont Club, whose incisive commentary on war and international politics makes him one of the most widely read sites in the sphere has decided to “out” himself:

The Belmont Club, or Wretchard rather, was cited in the Times of London in connection with “Downed US Seals may have got too close to Bin Laden”. It’s pretty strange since I’ve neither met Bin Laden nor ever been in Afghanistan, and makes me feel something of a fraud at being cited in connection with something I have no direct knowledge of. (Though the analysis is probably correct). It also reopens the question of whether Wretchard should continue to blog anonymously. Anonymous blogging has proved a good buffer against the petty vanities of authorship. The deal is you don’t do radio interviews, signed articles etc. The upside is that you have no ego to protect. The ideas you articulate are separated from your own personality.

This model is only partially functional now. People who knew me in the past, as well as my colleagues at Pajamas Media, know perfectly well “who” I am, although I think that information is totally irrelevant. Since the model of anonymity is failing, I’ll disclose the boring details. My name is Richard Fernandez, of Filipino birth and Australian citizenship. My interest in history probably began at Harvard, from which I graduated with a Masters in Public Policy. Wretchard is the name of an imaginary cat, the symbol of that entire race of stoic, yet somewhat foolish creatures. Belmont is the name of a suburb I roomed in while at Cambridge, Mass.

I know how it feels to lose that cloak of anonymity. It’s like losing a good friend. And it leaves one feeling exposed and vulnerable.

I would give one piece of advice to Mr. Fernandez. Resist the temptation to pull your punches now that your name is associated with your writing. I was surprised at how my attitude toward criticizing others changed drastically once my name was attached to what I was writing. It took me a while to get over the feeling that someone might not think well of me if I castigated them for something they wrote or said.

I also find it interesting that he chose the name of an imaginary cat for his nom de guerre. I would, however, protest his use of the adjective “foolish” to describe them. I’d like to see Mr. Fernandez jump off the kitchen counter 3 times higher than his height, land on his paws, and walk away as if he didn’t do anything wrong. I submit that takes a modicum of quick-wittedness not often seen in the animal kingdom.

Anyway…one more mystery in the sphere is cleared up. Now if we could only get Ace to out himself….

Our excellent group blog, “The Wide Awakes” has taken on several new members recently with more coming in all the time. If you haven’t already, check out TWA for some of the best writing on the right side of the sphere. And make sure you blogroll TWA and its members!

TMH Bacon Bits is an “old” new member who the House has linked to on several occasions. “Why the Left Doesn’t Understand Bush” is an eye opener.

The Discerning Texan is another blog you should be reading regularly. Here’s a post on why Rove’s comments distress the Democrats.

Mustang’s blog (Sheesh!…Another Texan!)Social Sense has a self explanatory post entitled “We Like to be Lied to.” Mustang’s got a tart, witty style. I think you’ll like him.

Duncan Avatar of Parrot Check can fisk the moonbats with the best of them. He’s posted a response to a letter to his alma mater about Morgan Reynolds, the tin foil hatter with the wacky 9/11 conspiracy theories.

You may have seen Kit Jarrell’s work at either Blogger News or Blogcritics. His Euphoric Reality blog is not to be passed by - especially this post, an interview with a Marine who served in Fallujah.

Daisy Cutter is a great site with a military bent. Check out his post on “Darth Rove” - it’s a stitch!

Clarity and Resolve is another TWA newbie you should have on your blogroll. “California Jihadin’ ” is just one reason why.

As always, check out TJ’s “News - Interesting - Funny” (NIF) for the best media and Shadow Media links around.

While we’re looking at some newer sites on the blog roll, you’ve probably already heard of “The New Editor”. Their links and analysis of news stories and editorials is always interesting. Check them out if you haven’t already.

If you’re a cat lover, you’ve simply got to visit This Blog is Full of Crap. Laurence Simon has posted dozens of fantastic pictures of his cats with clever, humorous, and downright funny captions in conjunction with the Carnival of the Vanities that Laurence is hosting this week.

Along with the usual “bloggy goodness” (HT: Instapundit) you can peruse some really cute pictures of cavorting cats.

And if you missed it, here’s this week’s edition of Carnival of the Clueless hosted by yours truly. If you’d like to take part in next week’s Carnival of the Clueless, here are the details.

My hosting company, Blogs About Hosting, is in the process of adding server capacity. Apparently they’ve grown by leaps and bounds since I came on board back in February (I call it the “Ricky factor.”) At any rate, we’ve been experiencing some temporary down time until they get the additional servers up and running.

I apologize for the problems and urge you to come back some other time if we’re down when you visit.

Superhawk surveyed the scene before him and scowled. The louvetrain, a vast plain stretching from Mount Saranik in the west to the River Faan in the east was filled with the massed armies of the Coalition. All had sworn to protect their patron, the Commissar of Politburo.

As he recalled the events of the last month and how his plans had been thwarted at every turn, the Barbarian King’s scowl became darker. His entire scheme to exact revenge on the blogstates for the insult done to him and his people and especially, the Commissar’s failure to recognize he and he alone as the one, true Lord of the Wingnut Hordes had come to naught.

He should have realized the gods were against him when he arrived at the River of Wisdom and prepared to attack that clown King Goldy. The King had played a royal joke on Superhawk for instead of finding a real, live army of fighting men, he found thousands of wax dummies, all bearing a remarkable resemblance to Martha Stewart. It turns out Goldy had fled with his entire army and while this allowed Superhawk to cross the river unmolested, it soured the mood of his barbarian hordes who thirsted for the blood of the civilized tribes of the Coalition.

He could almost hear King Goldy cackling with laughter as his entire army slipped away to fight another day.

Then his warriors moved into the mountains where the Barbarian King planned on destroying the Prince and the armies of Uncorrelatia. Alas, the Prince had let loose huge boulders that caused several devastating avalanches effectively blocking the passes through the mountains. Superhawk was forced to hurriedly backtrack and take the long, tortuous route to Politburo through the Marshes of Mindinik.

It was at this point that the Barbarian King began to doubt that the gods were on his side. Not only did the marshes cause him to lose many horses and men, but his hordes were plagued by hit and run attacks of King Rusty’s Jawa Raiders. Appearing and disappearing in the mist like so many wraiths, his weary army had all they could handle to fight the ghostly figures off.

The final disappointment came when his warriors at last made it through the marshes and emerged onto the louvetrain only to find not only the Prince and King Goldy blocking his way to Politburo, but his once beloved Attila and her Amazonians joining them. Evidently his bribe had failed to entice the former Barbarian Queen to abandon her erstwhile husband, King Rusty’s son, and slip quietly away.

So now here he was on a hill overlooking the plain, surveying the Coalition forces. He was outnumbered at least three to one. His squabbling hordes were becoming more and more restless. And there was word that the Great Lord of the Blog States, King Andy of the Duchy of Insti, was on his way with a powerful force intent on cutting off his retreat.

A commotion in the camp distracted him. As he turned, he saw the faithful Avtari approaching at a gallop, waving a piece of paper.

“M’Lord! M’Lord! It’s from the Commissar! He wishes a peace treaty!”

Avtari jumped from his horse and rushed excitedly to the side of his Lord.

“Speak.” Superhawk commanded. “A peace treaty you say?”

“Aye, M’Lord. It’s signed by all the Kings of all the Blogstates. They want an alliance.”

Superhawk’s eyes narrowed suspiciously. “An alliance?” In the name of Tao why?”

Avtari smiled. “The Kossacs are coming.”

The Kossacs! The beast men from beyond the Moonbat Sea!

“Are you sure? Is this some kind of trick?”

“No M’Lord. The Coalition captured some Kossac outriders yesterday. I saw them with my own eyes. Before being boiled in Torg dung, they confessed that a mighty fleet set sail from Eschaton and will land in Blogland within a fortnight.”

Superhawk thought about that for a moment. Obviously, the beast men weren’t smart enough to come up with something so sophisticated as an attack across the Moonbat Sea. Besides, they had no knowledge of boat making. Their tiny brains knew only of chaos and darkness. King Atrios must be behind this attack on the Blogstates. And where King Atrios led, the Troll hordes from the Underground were never far behind. A wave of revulsion swept over the Barbarian King. No one deserved to be manhandled by the Trolls of the Underground.

“What of my claim, Avtari? Will the Blogstates recognize me as the one true Lord of the Wingnuts?”

“Yes, M’Lord. The Commissar has agreed. There is to be a banquet in the Hall of Revolutionary Heroes tonight. You are to be an honored guest.”

Better brush up on my table manners, thought Superhawk.

And so that night, in the mighty hall named for long dead but not much lamented heroes, Superhawk joined the company of Coalition kings as an equal. Well…almost an equal. For while the food was good and the fellowship was hearty, there was a certain reserve between the leaders of the Coalition and the Wingnuts. A reminder perhaps that after facing the common threat, their “alliance” could very well dissolve and they would once again be mortal enemies.

Superhawk smiled a grim little smile at the thought. He would bide his time. And there would come a day when the Coalition would once again tremble at the sound of 10,000 horses thundering across the louvetrain, his hordes in full-throated howls as his half naked warriors lusted for blood, rapine, and slaughter. And they would once again strike terror into the civilized tribes of Blogland.

“Who is this Commissar!” Superhawk roared. “I will feed his tongue to the parthaks!”

Avtari, being inured to his Master’s temper answered quietly.

“He leads the Coalition, M’Lord.” Avtari shifted nervously and lowered his voice. “He is the King of Politburo.”

Superhawk stiffened and appeared ready to explode. Instead, he allowed a grim smile to play about his lips, like a roarnok about to pounce on its prey.

“And so, the Wheel of Time has come full circle and the murderer of the Judges once again insults the Knutehousens.” Superhawk querried Avtari.

“And this map. You say he has refused to recognize the Knutehousens as leaders of the Wingnut Hordes?”

“Correct, M’Lord.” said Avtari. “And he has gathered a mighty Coalition to protect himself. He is aligned with the powerful Duchy of Insty and has made common defense with other powerful blogstates. He is guarded in the south by King Joe of Gandleman Land and by King Moonbat of ISOU Land to the north.”

Superhawk pondered that for a moment. He was not worried about King Joe. His hordes had exacted tribute from “The Moderate One” in the past. Perhaps it was time to break the treaty and teach the King a lesson he would not soon forget. Besides, he could always take the King’s daughter as hostage…or as a bride.

And King Moonbat? Unpredictable, but I will crush him anyway, Superhawk said to himself.

“What of the Highlands? Who guards the approaches to Politburo?”

Avtari referred to the map. “King Goldy of Proteinsk has an army straddling the river.”

Superhawk roared with laughter. “That clown? I shall raze his castle and feed his children to my warriors. Who else?”

Avtari pored over the map. “Uncorrelatia guards the passes through the mountains.”

Superhawk chuckled. “Methinks the Prince is lonesome. I shall pay him a visit.” The Barbarian King gave his advisor a sharp glance. “Who guards the louvetrain? The direct approach to Politburo?

Avtari blanched when he glanced down at the map. “Attila.” he whispered.

Superhawk contemplated that bit of news for a moment. The former barbarian queen and her horde of Amazonian warriors were a formidable opponent. But ever since her marriage to the son of King Rusty of Jawa Land the Amazonians had forsworn war and taken up farming. Superhawk also remembered Attila’s tender caresses, the warmth of her kisses, the softeness of her…

The Barbarian King sighed. It woudn’t have worked. Both of them wanted to lead. Neither could yeild. Their parting was for the best. Perhaps he could buy her off with chocolates? It had worked in the past. Or some shiny trinket? That’s it!

“Avtari, send a rider and have him fetch the Jewel of Mathwrate. Instruct him to present it to Queen Attila with my compliments and these words; ‘You are my one. I am yours. When next Siddira opens her arms, I will be with you again.”

“But M’Lord, the moon will be full in less than a fortnight. How can…” Superhawk cut him off.

“Leave that to me. Unless I am mistaken, the Queen will take our bribe and slip quietly away. And without her, the Amazonians will not fight.”

“Brilliant, my Master! And that will leave Politburo wide open to attack. But what of King Andy of the Duchy of Insty? He is the most powerful lord in all the blogsates?”

Superhawk grinned. “I will negotiate.”

Avtari shuddered. He remembered the last time his master “negotiated.” He remembered how the 10 Barons of the Yeltz had come to make peace. He remembered the banquet Superhawk had given in their honor. And he remembered their screams as they were hacked to pieces by the Somzkrain, his Master’s personal assassins.

Superhawk drew himself up to his full height and unsheathed his sword. Slicing his hand, he let his blood drip on the Commissar’s map. This insult could not go unpunished. He would make an example of this son of a cutis for all the blogstates to see. He was King. He was the leader of all the Wingnut Hordes. And he will be recognized as Lord of the Wingnuts from the Isles of Buzz to the Bloggedy Sea. “I swear by the blood of my fathers that this insult will be avenged!”

“Assemble the tribes.” Superhawk roared. “Recall the Bowmen of Coulter. Gather the Spearchuckers of Hannity. Muster the legions of Rush. Convene the Council of Trent. We go to war!”

Avtari hurried away to do his master’s bidding. Within minutes, the huge camp was bustling with activity and excitement. War! The chance for booty, for women, for glory. They would ride long and hard. They would swim through oceans of blood. And leading them, as always, their Lord and Master whose towering strength and surpassing courage would bring them victory. Of this, the peoples of Wingnut Land were assured.

War! And before it was over, the gods themselves would cower in fear as the peoples of Blogland, one by one, would feel the wrath of the merciless Barbarian King.

From Mike Krempasky, we have the definitive statement by those in favor of regulating blogs on what they really think of us:

Finally, we do not believe anyone described as a “blogger” is by definition entitled to the benefit of the press exemption. An individual writing material for distribution on the Internet may or may not be a press entity. While some bloggers may provide a function very similar to more classic media activities, and thus could reasonably be said to fall within the exemption, others surely do not . The test here should be the same test that the Commission has applied in other contexts - is the entity a “press entity” and is it acting in its “legitimate press function”?

Frankly, I could care less whether they want to define me as a “press entity,” which reminds me of something that Jean Luc Picard would be battling on Star Trek…

ATTACK OF THE PRESS ENTITY! Watch as this evil force consumes entire colonies. Will Data be able to figure out the creature’s weakness in time? Or will Picard succeed in communicating with it and discover it’s just a misunderstood evil force, not really dangerous?

Repeat after me; I will not obey any FEC regulations that restrict my freedom of speech.

I missed this when it came out a couple of weeks ago:

A doomed Queens man’s chilling computer entry led cops to a suspect who allegedly robbed and killed the victim and his sister to finance a return to China, police said yesterday.

Jin Lin, 23, was charged with first-degree murder yesterday in the bloody slayings of Sharon and Simon Ng in their Kew Gardens Hills apartment Thursday, officials said.

Cops zeroed in on Lin, who once dated the woman, because Ng typed a journal entry into his computer fingering his sister’s ex-boyfriend as the suspect, police said.

Here’s the poor guy’s blog entry made minutes before he was murdered:

Anyway today has been weird, at 3 some guy ringed the bell. I went down and recognized it was my sister’s former boyfriend. He told me he wants to get his fishing poles back. I told him to wait downstair while I get them for him. While I was searching them, he is already in the house. He is still here right now, smoking, walking all around the house with his shoes on which btw I just washed the floor 2 days ago! Hopefully he will leave soon, oh yeah working on the jap report as we speak!

I guess it had to happen sooner or later. I’ve seen blog entries when all sorts of things are in progress; tsunamis, riots, ballgames, beauty contests, even sexual trysts (sorry, no link!). But this has to be the eeriest example of the power of the new media. It allowed the young man to reach from beyond the grave and finger his murderer.

Here are some interesting (or not) articles from daily newspapers around the world (or at least here and Great Britain).

Bush Calls Human Rights Report “Absurd”

And so it is. Anyone who would compare Guantanamo with the Soviet gulag is a ninny.

WASHINGTON - President Bush on Tuesday dismissed a human rights report as “absurd” for its harsh criticism of U.S. treatment of terrorist suspects at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, saying the allegations were made by prisoners “who hate America.”

“It’s an absurd allegation. The United States is a country that promotes freedom around the world,” Bush said of the Amnesty International report that compared Guantanamo to a Soviet-era gulag.

Kudos to the Prez for his use of non-diplomatic language to call a spade a spade.

C.I.A. Expanding Terror Battle Under Guise of Charter Flights

“Guise” which is short for “disguise” kinda means, you know, SECRET!

While posing as a private charter outfit - “aircraft rental with pilot” is the listing in Dun and Bradstreet - Aero Contractors is in fact a major domestic hub of the Central Intelligence Agency’s secret air service. The company was founded in 1979 by a legendary C.I.A. officer and chief pilot for Air America, the agency’s Vietnam-era air company, and it appears to be controlled by the agency, according to former employees.

Behind a surprisingly thin cover of rural hideaways, front companies and shell corporations that share officers who appear to exist only on paper, the C.I.A. has rapidly expanded its air operations since 2001 as it has pursued and questioned terrorism suspects around the world

Maybe we could get the Valerie Palme special prosecutor to look into this.

Ex-FBI official says he’s ‘Deep Throat’

Mark Felt? Mark Felt?

W. Mark Felt, who retired from the FBI after rising to its second most senior position, has identified himself as the “Deep Throat” source quoted by The Washington Post to break the Watergate scandal that led to President Nixon’s resignation, Vanity Fair magazine said Tuesday.

“I’m the guy they used to call Deep Throat,” he told John D. O’Connor, the author of Vanity Fair’s exclusive that appears in its July issue.

Felt, now 91 and living in Santa Rosa, Calif. reportedly gave O’Connor permission to disclose his identity.

In recent years, speculation had shifted from the White House to the FBI. This is because of Wood/Stiein’s promise to reveal the name of “Deep Throat” only after that worthy’s demise. And as aide after aide has died over the years, it’s become pretty clear that by simple process of elimination, it had to be someone pretty high up in the FBI or a Justice Department official familiar with the Bureau’s investigation.

No word yet from Wood/Stein on whether this is the rantings of a 91 year old man or if it’s true. If it’s true, I predict the blogswarm of blogswarms.

UPDATE: Washington Post issues “no comment.” Bernstien doesn’t deny it - says “We’re not going to say anything at this time. When the person is deceased we will identify him.”

Let’s see what happens when this story picks up steam. Bernstien and/or the Post may change their tune about commenting if the heat gets too great.

German Jobless Rate Down to 11.6 Percent

Re-elect Schroeder!

BERLIN — Germany’s jobless rate edged down to 11.6 percent in May, government figures showed Tuesday, but the drop reflected a seasonal upturn instead of economic improvement in Europe’s biggest economy.

The unadjusted jobless rate in May was down from 12 percent the previous month. The number of people without a job in Germany dropped to 4.807 million from 4.968 million.

Wow! Looks like the socialist policies of the German Chancellor have finally caused the economy to turn the corner with prosperity just around the bend and German workers able to see the light at the end of the tunnel.

Then again, it just might be a seasonal blip. There are no cliches for seasonal blips.

Face it: this treaty is dead, says Kinnock

We’re going to listen to a guy who lost 3 elections?

European leaders should accept that the EU constitution is dead after it was rejected in the French referendum on Sunday, said the former EU commissioner Lord Kinnock today.
The former Labour leader warned that any attempt to ratify the treaty against the wishes of the European people would merely serve to increase the alienation millions feel towards the EU.

Lord Kinnock called on the British government, which assumes the six-month EU presidency in July, to reconnect the EU with its citizens by introducing reforms to increase employment and prosperity.

Someday - not anytime soon - Europe will be united under one constitution with one currency and one foreign policy. Not even jolly old England can resist the political and intellectual elites who’ve been dreaming of this “Europe thing” at least since the founding of the European Union in 1919. The question I have is what will Europe look like when it occurs? Will it look like the culturally and racially homogeneous Europe of my ancestors or will it look more like a nightmare version of America where diverse peoples fail to assimilate?

Two Terms of Chaos, Comebacks and Crises

Ronald Reagan? George Bush? Nope.

In a new book, the Washington Post reporter John F. Harris, who covered the Clinton White House from 1995 through 2001, focuses on the Comeback Kid’s “survivalist ethic” - his ability to continually bounce back from adversity, his ability to make it to the end of two terms in the White House despite the ravages of impeachment proceedings, the Monica Lewinsky scandal, the Whitewater investigations and a noxious atmosphere of vociferous partisanship in Washington.

There is nothing terribly new about Mr. Harris’s assessment of Mr. Clinton in this book. Nor are there insights into his presidency that haven’t been served up many times before - in books by reporters like Bob Woodward, Joe Klein, Elizabeth Drew and John Brummett, in memoirs by former aides and administration members like George Stephanopoulos and Robert Reich, and in the reams of newspaper and magazine articles written about this most psychologically dissected of presidents.

Un. Be. Lievable. Note that the cheerleaders at the Post fail to put “Comeback Kid” in quotation marks. And the easy, dismissive tone about a book that promises to be an eye opener about our putative President in ‘08 as well as her jocular husband.

Some love affairs, you never get over. Just ask the Post.

We’re slouching toward Memorial Day here at the House and yardwork has occupied most of my weekend. Sue is a radical green - gardner that is. By radical, I mean she’s the Ward Churchill of cucumbers, the Nancy Pelosi of Tomatos, and the Barbara Boxer of radishes.

Here’s me yesterday:

ME: Can’t we just like, you know, buy the frickin’ food at the grocery store? What’s the point of all this work? My back hurts like hell, I’ve got blisters on my hands from the damn shovel, and I think I feel my heart palpitating.

SUE: Just think how delicious it will taste!

ME: I’m thinking of the hospital bill if I get a heart attack!

SUE: (Laughs) I love you!

What man can resist the cold, unemotional logic of a woman?

More quickies from blogland.

Maggies Farm is tractor blogging. Huh? Just read it and laugh at that group of very strange, but very nice people. They seem like the sort of folks you’d want to live next door to but wonder if they don’t carry out some kind of weird Wiccan rituals from time to time. In the middle of the night. Naked.

Basil comes clean about his fake sites. One seriously wonders about all that talent locked up inside, ready to explode into some gigantic creative atomic blast that bathes the Shadow Media in an unearthly glow…

But then you look at his site and see he has a picture of himself as a baby. Where’s Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred when you need them?

Wuzzadem: I’m Monty McCain, America’s favorite deal-maker, and it’s time to play Let’s Make a Deal, where everyone is a winner. Let’s go out into our studio audience and find our first lucky contestant.

Channeling Monty Hall is one thing…putting Robert “Sheets” Byrd with Barbara Boxer in the roll of contestants is nothing less than inspired genius.

The guys at Q & O are all over the non vote for the EU Constitution in France. And Llama Butchers has the Netscape market report on the disaster. Pretty graph showing the price going in the toilet the last few days.

God I hate the French! In this one instance though, I’m glad they have their heads so far up their tight little arses that they ruined one of the truly bad ideas in history - a united Europe. Individually, the Europeans are insufferable enough. Can you imagine a whole continent of obscenely self righteous, cynical, lazy, disdainful, anti-American dilettantes whose culture is decaying so fast that in 50 years it will be indistinguishable from the culture of the sheiks, imams, holy warriors, and mullahs of the middle east?

Makes my heart go pitter patter in anticipation.

Beth is doggy blogging. She’s also dog tired which might explain why she linked to Carnival of the Dogs twice in the same post. That’s right…she double linked Carnival of the Dogs. Another patient for Sigmund, Carl, and Alfred. (Did I link them already?)

I know it’s Sunday, but take a look at Mad Tech’s “WTF Friday Rant.”

I was disappointed that I was one of the only bloggers trying to write about the Lebanese elections held today. I say try because trying to make sense of that political muddle is a monumental task. Maybe it’s because there are no protest babes?

Not to worry. Publius Pundit knows what he’s talking about. And he’s got some great links. And he’s a got a picture of Lebanon’s entry for the Miss Universe pageant.

Who needs protest babes when you got eye candy like that?

Pat over at Brainsters puts Robert Kuttner over his knee and spanks him…hard:

You ever notice that economic populists all pine for the glory days of the Depression? So much so that they are constantly seeing just around the corner, like Paul Krugman, still holding out hope for his long-awaited double-dip? Is it because those were great times to be a working man in America? Obviously not. But they were great times to be an economic populist.

So much for blogging today. Maybe one post tomorrow as I wrestle with trying to plant flowers whose names I can’t pronounce and that I’m probably allergic to anyway.