Via Memepool, an idea whose time has come:

Glyn Hughes' Squashed Philosophers.

A web site which condenses Western philosopher's work down to our current sound-bite attention span. Or something like that. I especially like the reading time icons to the right of each philosopher's entry. A definite keeper.

Today's "Bush Was Right" editorial courtesy the Chicago Tribune.

Um, `Could Bush be right?'
Published March 6, 2005

Who on Earth wants to be known as the last foe of freedom? . . .

No movement has only one catalyst: Palestinians, for example, needed to be free of Yasser Arafat before independence could emerge as an option. But Washington's muscular diplomacy unarguably is playing a crucial role throughout the Mideast. For one repressive regime after another, the sight of American soldiers at long last enforcing United Nations resolutions--and bestowing democracy on a subjugated people--surely must concentrate the mind.

Courtesy the
U.K. Telegraph: "The day Dubya trumped Putin by playing the joker"

(OK, England isn't exactly Europe, but it's close . . . )

As the post-summit press conference got under way in Bratislava Castle, however, drooping heads were suddenly jerked upright. White House correspondents have seen a few taut press conferences in their time. Few had witnessed anything like the electric closing Bush/Putin encounter.

Out of curiousity, I typed
"bush was right" into Google.

The result:

Results 1 - 10 of about 32,400 for "bush was right". (0.49 seconds)

Hm.

Basically, Thomas Sowell has it right:
What "eminent domain" laws mean in practice is that politicians have a right to seize your property and turn it over to someone else, in order to gain campaign contributions and win votes.

Vital data swiped from thousands in Kansas, Missouri.

It is reported that a company called ChoicePoint (spun off from Equifax) got taken for at least 145,000 sets of personal records. Do you shred all of your old bills and statements? Do you really think that does any good? Are you comfortable living in a society where you have no reasonable expectation of privacy? I don't have any good answers for this, but I don't like it. Don't like it one bit.

De Smet keeps busy preparing for return.
DE SMET – There’s a sense of relief and excitement these days among the 1,100 residents of De Smet. The relief comes in knowing that members of the 153rd Engineer Battalion are in Kuwait, a much safer place than they spent previous months while serving their nation in Iraq.

Welcome home, we're proud of you. The Anheuser/Busch Super Bowl ad was for you.

Hunter S. Thompson fatally shoots himself
"For the whole point on this picaresque is that the American-style rogue-hero must not merely tease or insult the Silent Majority, but abuse it, outrage it, twist it, hurt it, smash it," he once wrote.

I'll admit, I'm not a big HST fan. But, he was an icon of antiauthority and the founder of "gonzo journalism" which subsequently metastatized into Dan Rather, Steve Irwin (the "Crocodile Hunter") and reality TV. His passing, by self-inflicted gunshot wound, was probably predictable.

Israel approves Gaza Pullout
Palestinian officials were unhappy with the measures, which they view as an attempt by Israeli leaders to draw borders unilaterally.
It's astonishing to me that the Palestinians are putting up a fuss about this. Would they really rather quibble about a couple of square miles than accept success at last? Maybe . . . long range strategic thinking does not seem to be an Arab strength.
“It's not an easy day, it's not a happy day,” Sharon said at the beginning of his marathon Cabinet eeting Sunday. “But it's a critical move for the state of Israel.”

This is a leap into the dark for Israel. Will the extended hand of peace finally be accepted, or will it again be slapped aside? Stay tuned.