General

I saw him dancing there by the record machine
I knew he must have been about seventeen
The beat was going strong, playing my favorite song
And I could tell it wouldn’t be long
till he was with me, yeah, me
And I could tell it wouldn’t be long
till he was with me, yeah, me, singin’

CHORUS: I love rock ‘n’ roll
So put another dime in the jukebox, baby
I love rock ‘n’ roll
So come and take your time and dance with me

He smiled, so I got up and asked for his name
“That doesn’t matter,” he said, “‘cuase it’s all the same.”
I said, “Can I take you home where we can be alone?”
And next we were moving on
and he was with me, yeah, me
And next we were moving on
and he was with me, yeah, me, singin’

CHORUS

I said, “Can I take you home where we can be alone?”
And next we were moving on
and he was with me, yeah, me, singin’

Rumsfeld Orders War Plans Redone for Faster Action. The defense secretary ordered the military’s regional commanders to rewrite their war plans to capitalize on precision weapons, better intelligence and speedier deployment. By Thom Shanker and Eric Schmitt. [New York Times: NYT HomePage]

Carter wins Nobel Peace Prize

Only the third US President to receive the Nobel Peace Prize, after Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson, Jimmy Carter had an imperfect presidency, followed by a lengthy career as an ambassador for peace on behalf of the United States. His political fortune rose in the aftermath of the two humiliating defeats for the US, the war in Vietnam, and the Watergate scandal and Ford’s pardon of Nixon. Carter was the first presidential candidate I voted for. Like many others, I came to see him as a weak president, but in later years came to appreciate his values of honesty, hard work, and an uncompromising sense of what’s right. It’s unfortunate that his award was tainted by politics from the awarding committee, but the award stands on its own. As an American I am proud that Jimmy Carter, who represents what’s good about my country, is this year’s Nobel Laureate. [Scripting News]

I agree that he wasn’t the greatest President, not by far.

But he is, undoubtedly, our greatest former President.

President Jimmy Carter was awarded the Nobel Prize For Peace today. I voted for him in the 1976 election. I haven’t forgiven myself yet for that mistake in thinking. I do not look upon his Nobel Prize recognition as something to be proud of as an American. I think President Carter’s approach to the American problems during his term were all wrong. He badly mishandled the economy and completely was impotent about the American hostage situation in Iran. Previously, President Carter didn’t help the Shah of Iran when Iran was under siege by Islamic fundamentalists. He made America look weak, not strong. By letting Iran fall to dangerous fanatics, he implied the message that to be aggressive towards America was proper and wouldn’t be challenged. He, in my opinion, helped create the ‘safe havens’ of radical Islamic fundamentalists we are now at war with. Why he should be awarded a prize for peace when he helped create war is confusing to me. I do give President Carter credit for helping the homeless, but that has nothing to do with world peace. [Donald W. Larson’s Radio Weblog]

kuro5hin: Lawrence Lessig makes his debut before the Supreme Court [Lawrence Lessig]

A Great Thought from John Robb…

Larry Lessig writes:

It is the particular hell for lawyers that after an argument, we live in the purgatory of constantly reliving the argument. Every night since Wednesday I have awoken in the middle of the night, to spend the rest of the night reanswering Justice Ginsburg, or asking Chief Justice Rehnquist just how he could distingiush Commerce from Copyright. The kind words of so many notwithstanding, I know and have always known I am not Larry Tribe, or Kathleen Sullivan. And if, after getting this so close to the right result, I have lost this by not being them, then I am not quite sure how I will live with that fact.

Larry, be confident of one thing:  you did your duty.  It was the right thing to do.  What more can you can you be expected to do?  This isn’t a one shot deal, this is a multi-generational battle for the heart and soul of ideas.  Nobody expected it to be won in a single shot. [John Robb’s Radio Weblog]

Nobel Achievements: A Lifetime of Public Service. Jimmy Carter well deserves the Nobel Peace Prize awarded him on Friday. [New York Times: Opinion]