Irish Trojan in Tennessee

Phone-a-Loy

By Brendan Loy

My fellow Nutmegger and lifelong friend Diane Krause, formerly Diane Huffman (she got married over the summer), will be in New York City tomorrow for a taping of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire? -- and she's asked me to be one of her phone-a-friends! I guess they don't do the "fastest finger" thing anymore, so Diane will definitely be on the "hot seat" at some point between 11:00 AM and 7:30 PM tomorrow. From my perspective, the only question is whether she'll call me or one of her other two phone-a-friends. It'll depend on the topic of the question. Anyway, the show will air sometime in January.

Oh, and speaking of Millionaire, NDLS 1L Jaclyn Sexton will be on it this Friday and next Monday. (Hat tip: Lee Ann McGinnis.)

In other NDLS-related news, the late Ryan Rudd gets a mention in this article about an American Cancer Society benefit concert, Cure-A-Palooza.

Oops, she made a fool of herself again

By Brendan Loy

Britney Spears is embarrassed. Meanwhile, TMZ is issuing an R.I.P. for her career. More here.

Meanwhile, the AP looks at the catty commentary about Britney's figure and asks:

Did Spears, lest we forget a mother of two, deserve to be held up against the standard of her once fantastically toned abs, sculpted by sessions of 1,000 tummy crunches? Or was she asking for it by choosing that unforgiving black-sequined bikini?

More profoundly, in an age where skinny models and skeletal actresses are under scrutiny for the message they're sending young girls, what does it say that we're excoriating a young woman for a little thickness in her middle?

I'll admit, some of the commentary on her appearance did make me squirm. That she would be called "fat," or "lard," or "like a house" -- I don't know if I'd call it "unfair," I'd just say its inaccurate. Utterly factually inaccurate. She's not "fat." Good grief! ... That said, whether she can pull off that particular outfit is an entirely different question, to which I daresay the correct answer would be a resounding "no."

The more pertinent issue, IMHO, is that she sucked. Sucked monkey balls, in fact (as the Loy family's resident Britneyologist, Becky, would say).

The surge is working

By Brendan Loy

John McCain and Joe Lieberman:

The Bush administration clung for too long to a flawed strategy in this war, despite growing evidence of its failure. Now advocates of withdrawal risk making the exact same mistake, by refusing to re-examine their own conviction that Gen. Petraeus's strategy cannot succeed and that the war is "lost," despite rising evidence to the contrary.

The Bush administration finally had the courage to change course in Iraq earlier this year. After hearing from Gen. Petraeus today, we hope congressional opponents of the war will do the same.

Some of that "rising evidence to the contrary" can be found in Michael Totten's absolutely fascinating first-hand account from Ramadi, a city once written off by the Marines as irretrievably lost, but now reclaimed thanks to the surge. It's the most convincing account I've read of the success we're (finally) having in Iraq, and frankly, I don't understand why the hell it's being left to individual conservative bloggers to write accounts like this. Where is the media? Where is the Bush Administration's vaunted propaganda machine? Seriously, why aren't we hearing more about this sort of thing? If we were, I think it would go a long way toward convincing Americans that there actually is a purpose to remaining in Iraq, that there are real, attainable goals we can achieve by continuing the fight -- that we can still win, and that "victory" actually means something real and tangible.

Anyway, whatever you think of the war, Petraeus, or the "surge," Totten's article is excellent and I highly recommend it. (Double hat tip: InstaPundit.)

CORRECTION: In comments, Totten himself writes, "for the record, I am neither a liberal nor a conservative." Well, I for one certainly know what that's like. :) I stand corrected, and I apologize for the error.

Coming soon to a law school near you...

By Brendan Loy

The Law of "24"! (Hat tip: Joe Mama.)

I think this brilliantly conceived Georgetown Law class could start a trend at universities nationwide. Study of "24" could become a major, or at least a minor, all unto itself. Imagine the possibilities: The Theology of "24." (Is Jack Bauer a god, or merely a demigod?) The Philosophy of "24." (Who are we? Why are we here? How did Jack Bauer get to be such a freakin' badass?) The Biology of "24." (How does Jack Bauer's body sustain itself despite being constantly tortured and mutilated?) The Physics of "24." (Why don't the laws of physics apply to Jack Bauer?) Etc., etc.

What should I auction off to raise money for the environment?

By JLR

How about a Hummer H2?  Nothing says "environmentally-conscious" like a gas guzzler that gets 2 miles to the gallon!