shiftless – adj. 1. Lacking ambition or purpose; lazy: a shiftless student.
2. Characterized by a lack of ambition or energy: studied in a shiftless way.
3. Lacking resourcefulness or efficiency; incompetent.

Thanks to Dictionary.com for providing definitions on lots of these.

John Hopkins School of International Studies has been hosting some excellent events recently, this one coming up next Monday.

Former Director of Central Intelligence James Woolsey to Speak About Intelligence and War on Terror at JHU SAIS

R. James Woolsey, former director of Central Intelligence, will speak at the Johns Hopkins University Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) on Monday, January 30 at 5:30 p.m. (a reception will precede the event at 5 p.m.)

Woolsey, currently a vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton’s Global Resilience practice, will speak at the inaugural lecture of the SAIS Intelligence Forum, addressing the topic of “The Long War of the 21st Century: How We Must Fight It.” He served as director of Central Intelligence from 1993 to 1995.

Read more... | No Comments »

I went to the forum at John Hopkins with Bernard-Henri Lévy and William Kristol.

I will write a more thorough report that will be posted on Ablogistan.com and on PBH in the next couple of days. Until then, you can read my letter at Salon.

But the son of God sure is looking funny…

Kanye West appears on the cover of this month’s Rolling Stone as Jesus, complete with thorny crown and blood, but the Catholic League’s William Donohue isn’t outraged, he just feels sorry for Kanye. “It’s one thing to rip off Catholic iconography. It’s quite another to exploit a poor soul like Kanye West. Anyone who is this morally and mentally challenged deserves our sympathy not our derision.“

Hey Mailbox Fans and Hands;

I had my first letter published today, check it out:

no need TO WRITE MORE THAN ONE WORD HIPPOCRITE AGAINST DEATH PENALTY BUT IT IS OKAY FOR BUSH ET AL TO GO IN AND KILL WOMEN AND CHILDREN (COLLATERAL DAMAGE ) IN THE OILY NAME OF JEWS .. FORGIVE ME LORD FOR I KNOW NOT WHAT I SAY … LETS HOPE CANADA STAYS WITH MARTIN TODAY OR ANOTHER RED STATE OF IGNORANCE WILL FLOURISH

You sir, are dead on:

My line was that the war in Iraq was morally right and politically wrong. I said this six months before the war started, and I did not change my mind. Morally right, because it’s always right to overthrow a dictator, one of the bloodiest regimes in the world, but politically wrong because I knew it would produce more chaos, more terrorism. It would make the world even less safe than it was.

What I don’t understand is why you cannot at the same time denounce economic disparity, the anti-abortion movement, religious fundamentalism, the widespread domestic availability of firearms, and so on. An intellectual is someone who is able to count past two. And even three, sometimes. The intellectuals we’re talking about seem only to be able to able to count to one. One — finished. No, please! I want to say. Let’s count to two! I am in favor of the war in Iraq, but I am against economic disparity. I am in favor of prisons to protect the general population, but I am against the death penalty.

Read more... | No Comments »