JUST SAW HILLARY ON O’REILLY talking about Iraq. She was better than Obama, but I still think she was wrong, and I encourage her and her advisers to watch this excellent video from Austin Bay on the consequences of a premature withdrawal from iraq.

UPDATE: Related criticism from Abe Greenwald.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Okay, this is weird. Hillary is gone, and O’Reilly is talking about D.C. Madam Deborah Palfrey and seems to suggest that her suicide was “karma” for threatening to expose her clients: “This woman was threatening a lot of people’s lives. . . . If you’re doing something wrong, you get caught, you pay the price, you shut up.” Omerta lives.

MORE: Further comments on Hillary, and video, at Gateway Pundit.

DUDE, WHERE’S MY RECESSION? (CONT’D) I don’t think it’s online anywhere, but I just got my latest Aviation Week and here’s a report that suggests things aren’t too slow:

G650 Customers Wait in Line

Gulfstream’s planned output of 83 G650 business jets in the first 2.5 years of production is oversubscribed by a factor of six to seven, says parent company General Dynamics. Gulfstream began accepting $500,000 refundable deposits on the new $58.5 million ultra-long-range jet on April 15, signing time-stamped letters of intent with customers that it is now working through to convert to orders.

Seems like this is one of the first places a business could cut back. Am I wrong?

UPDATE: Maybe. A reader emails:

The G-650 is an awesome airplane, and it fits a market niche that currently has no competition. In re:
recession, the Gulfstream customer generally doesn’t worry too much about recessions, so I’m not sure if it’s a good indicator. I don’t imagine Ferrari is feeling much of the pinch of any recession either.

One thing to mention though, the G-650 will have a lower carbon impact than any other large corporate jet. Maybe we can sign Al Gore up for one!

I can’t speak for Al, but if Gulfstream wants to lend me one, I promise to blog evenhandedly about the experience. I could use a lift for my next dive trip!

UPDATE: The full story is online now. Thanks, AvWeek!

PERRY DE HAVILLAND: “The prime motivation of government is . . . to be in government. Making the country a ‘better place’ comes a distant second.”

“RIGHT WING” ATTACKS ON OBAMA, via Sidney Blumenthal.

UPDATE: From Mickey Kaus, a reminder: “If we elect Hillary, we’re going to get Sid as part of the package.”

WHAT OBAMA wishes he could say about Hillary.

OKAY, ACTUALLY THIS DOES SOUND SORTA COOL: “I was amazed at how thin you could slice your produce. Think of the thickness of the ginger you get on the side of your sushi order. This mandoline could slice thinner than the thinnest slice of that ginger.” Not likely something I’d buy, though.

UPDATE: Reader Sung Chun Kim emails: “I just put in a comment on that ridiculous Shun mandoline you linked. What a crazy expensive device! I use an old Benriner mandoline that cost me $20 back when I bought it ten years ago, and it’s still going strong. I can still cut paper-thin potato chips (as well as julienned carrots, daikon, etc., with the included guides). The thing is made of plastic, but then plastic lasts forever, right? The key to not slicing your fingers is to slow down when the vegetable gets thin and then to stop completely and toss away the excess when it gets too thin. Veggies are cheap, fingers are not–although you do link to that finger-growing article… who knows, maybe it’s still cheaper to grow back your fingertips than buy a $350 mandoline!.” Heh. Not yet.

BILL ROGGIO: US troops kill 28 Mahdi fighters in Sadr City. Follow the link for the context.

GENERAL PETRAEUS: Man of no influence?

HILLARY’S Hoosier momentum.

GERARD VAN DER LEUN: The Banality of Sedition.

THE MAN WHO grew a finger.

Mr Speivak’s brother Alan – who was working in the field of regenerative medicine – sent him the powder.

For ten days Mr Spievak put a little on his finger.

“The second time I put it on I already could see growth. Each day it was up further. Finally it closed up and was a finger.

More of this, please.

UPDATE: Some skepticism.

ANOTHER UPDATE: This comment suggests the story is genuine.

MORE: Further thoughts here.

STILL MORE: A report from Scientific American.

CAR LUST: Remembering the 1971-74 Dodge Charger.

RUNNING OUT OF GAS? “Not knowing the exact city could be excusable in the grind of a presidential campaign, although it’s not exactly flattering, either. Not understanding what month it is — getting it almost two months off — and miscalculating the amount of time left for the general election looks more problematic. . . . Obama’s the youngest candidate in the race. He’s the one who should be showing energy, enthusiasm, and presence. Instead, Hillary Clinton and John McCain have shown more of all these qualities, especially of late.”

AUSTIN BAY: What Powers — And What Weakens — Terrorist Organizations?

“D.C. MADAM” commits suicide.

UPDATE: “Was it really suicide?”

THOUGHTS ON love and marriage in Britain.

TOM MAGUIRE changes the subject at Michelle Obama’s suggestion.

MANUFACTURE AND SELL ANYTHING: In minutes. “Welcome to the age of the instapreneur.” I like the sound of that!

A LOOK AT THE REZKO SCANDAL’S SOUTHWEST CHICAGO ROOTS:

Tony Rezko may have lived up in wealthy Wilmette, but many of the key players around him are from the Southwest Side and suburbs of Chicago.

Some have been named and others are only identified as Individuals “A through E” in a guilty plea agreement signed by Ali Ata, a Palestinian American from Lemont who was active in Southwest Side Arab American circles.

Much more at the link. (Via NewsAlert).

THE ALGAE ECONOMY?

MY LAW SCHOOL CLASSMATE, Superdelegate and former DNC Chair Joe Andrew, explains why he’s switching from Hillary to Obama.

YOU DON’T EVEN NEED THE HYBRID PART: Saving gas with start-stop technology.

SPACE BOOMERANG VIDEO.

IN THE MAIL: Alex Bella’s Soldiers of Reason: The RAND Corporation and the Rise of the American Empire.

DISCIPLINE: Some people say that regular blogging takes discipline and stamina. And it does. But I was at the gym yesterday on the machine next to Jessica Paxson, who’s a professional fitness competitor, and I’m absolutely sure that what she does takes a lot more discipline and stamina than blogging. I asked her how she keeps it up and she said “I don’t know.” Neither do I!

The constant working out is one thing — I’ll often come in, do my entire workout, stretch, and cooldown routine and she’ll have been on the step-mill the whole time without slowing down — but it’s the incredibly restricted diet that I don’t think I could handle. Then you have to travel somewhere, miss sleep, eat with incredible care and then show up looking fresh and vital.

Blogging isn’t nearly as hard. Trust me.