Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was going to save this until Friday, but he just can’t. Remember that Friday (November 19) is “World Toilet Day.” It has been thus declared so by the World Toilet Organization. (Which by the way is conducting the World Toilet Summit, even as we blog, in Beijing. NB to the Poet Laureate: If you tried really hard right now you might be able to catch the last day. Go to the airport now! Hie thee to China! Screw classes!)

Want to read some great news releases? Go to the World Toilet Organization’s press page. Brilliant!

And finally… Your Maximum Leader understands that some of the stuffy bureaucrats at the World Trade Organization might not like another group sharing their initials. But really now, your Maximum Leader thinks the World Toilet Organization is doing much more important work for humanity.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader was reading over the news wires today and noticed this headline:

Marines Kill 10 Militants in Fallujah

Hummm… By this time your Maximum Leader would have thought we’d have killed more than ten.

And if you haven’t read the Opinion Journal peice today about killing insurgents not making insurgencies stronger, you should.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has been thinking about Condi Rice becoming Secretary of State for a few days. He’s been jotting down little thoughts here and there in a little notebook. The thoughts, he thought, could be strung together into a nice post later this week. But as your Maximum Leader may not have time this week to string thoughts together, it is time to be derivative.

Your Maximum Leader’s train of thought on the Condi Rice appointment is rather close to Bill’s over on INDC Journal. She has great credentials, and certainly understands the issues. But is her natual temprement agressive enough to deal with the “State’ers” AND promote and advance the President’s foreign policy objectives?

As for Condi’s sex… Well, your Maximum Leader thinks that is less of an issue. The countries we are dealing with in the Muslim world (and by this your Maximum Leader means directly dealing with) are led by, for the most part, secular despots with an affection for the west. They are not the problem. The people who would most have a problem with talking with a woman represenative are the ones most likely to be on the receiving end of fire from a Marine or Ranger.

Your Maximum Leader’s concerns are, as he’s stated above, her natural disposition and if it would help/hurt her effectiveness. And one other. Condi is, obviously, close to the President’s and Vice President’s view on how US diplomacy should be managed. With Powell’s departure, should the President be trying to replace the “voice” he had in the Adminstration. This is not to say he would need to appoint a Secretary of State who shared Powell’s views. But should he have someone in his diplomatic/defence bag of tricks who would reflect a more moderate tone? Your Maximum Leader thinks it would be best if he did.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader recently took a “Compatibility Test” on the Rum & Monkey site. Indeed, here is the post with the results.

Since that posting, some other minions have taken the test and your Maximum Leader will now share some results…

The Big Hominid was 65% compatible with your Maximum Leader.

Our lonely francophone minion, VeronaMercutio was 90% compatible with your Maximum Leader. Who by the way posted a wonderful photo that your Maximum Leader ruthlessly stole. Wanna see it? Well you can go to his site, or you can click here.

The Smallholder was 68% compatible with your Maximum Leader.

And the highly esteemed Bill of Bill’s Comments is 75% compatible with your Maximum Leader.

Well, who’da thunk that so many minions would be so compatible with your Maximum Leader. You all get your own individual doffing of your Maximum Leader’s bejeweled floppy hat.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader has only recently blogrolled Col. Blimpish’s site. But it has been a site that your Maximum Leader has kept his eyes on for a while.

As so many of you know, your Maximum Leader is an Anglophile of the highest order. And a thoughtful discussion of the British Empire is sure to catch your Maximum Leader’s attention.

Obviously, Col. Blimpish aims to please.

Your Maximum Leader wanted to add to the list of philosophical themes in British Imperialism, but really can’t add to the major themes already listed. But he would suggest to Misspent that “drilling down” on Blimpish’s #2 could be interesting. Your Maximum Leader has read some wonderful first-hand as well as secondary accounts of the work of missionaries in Africa particularly. Fascinating stuff really.

Of course, it also amuses your Maximum Leader that the Episcopalians sent missionaries around the Empire. Episcopalians? Proselytizing? No! Surely not! One would think that you would have to have a certain religious fervor to proselytize. And your Maximum Leader can’t imagine an Episcopalian getting fervent about anything. Well theoretically he can imagine them getting fervent about how poorly the English national team fares in the World Cup; but certainly not getting fervent about anything religious. (It’s that whole Eddie Izzard “Cake or Death!” meme.)

Anyway. Read Blimpish’s bit. Quite good.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is pleased to report that the apple of his blogging eye has returned. She has returned and shows us a photo of her breast adorned with some winged trinkets. Pschaw! If she had wanted breast-adorning trinkets she had to do nothing but ask your Maximum Leader and he would have provided many more. And he might add, many more much classier trinkets. Where did she get those? Some sort of gum-ball contraption at a grocery store? Or did she exploit some Mexican for them.

Unlike the Poet Laureate, who purged the fair Anna from his blogroll; your Maximum Leader couldn’t bear to do it. Yea verily he did drop her farther down the blogroll, but it was all a ploy you see. A ploy to make her post. And it seems to have worked.

Excursus: Hey your Maximum Leader is still holding out hope for Minion & Lackey and The Grand Vizier too. But not for much longer he fears.

Well, your Maximum Leader hopes Anna will make time to post with some regularity. He’s certain that the holidays will provide much material with which she can work.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is putting everyone on notice. He will not be blogging (much or at all) this Thursday and Friday. (November 18 & 19) He will be travelling with Mrs. Villain, and his esteemed Brother and Sister-in-law to Blacksburg, Virginia to participate in the festivities surrounding the Virginia Tech (#15) vs. Maryland football game.

Your Maximum Leader will rely, as always, on his faithful Ministers to pick up the slack.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader gets his fair share, and perhaps more than his fair share (he is Maximum Leader afterall) of spam. Normally your Maximum Leader avoids relating the contents of spam to his loyal minions. And he will continue to avoid discussing the contents of spam here. But if you go over to read Brian’s latest, you’ll be in for a spamalicious treat!

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader might yet wind up producing a thoughtful post today at the rate he’s going.

More on morality and Bill Bennett’s gambling. The good Big Hominid has two posts on this Bennett issue. The first one is here. In this post the Poet Laureate cites the oft-forgotten (or at least not-oft-heeded) instruction of Jesus that “He who is without sin may cast the first stone at her [the adulteress].” In the second post, one of the Big Hominid’s readers wrote in about how Bennett is a hypocrite for railing against sinners while being one. That post is here.

While the Big Hominid is absolutely correct in that your Maximum Leader agrees with Bill Bennett when he (Bennett) admitted that he was not acting admirably. There is, at least in your Maximum Leader’s mind, a distinction here that needs to be made.

Bill Bennett was not acting admirably because he was in the position of role model, and he acted in a way that could promote a bad activity in some. Your Maximum Leader doesn’t think there is anything sinful or immoral about gambling in and of itself. Your Maximum Leader (still true to his upbringing) feels that excessive gambling is immoral/sinful/wrong. Excessive in this case being when money is spend on games and not on the necessities of one’s self or family.

For example, there is nothing immoral/wrong with your Maximum Leader dropping $50 a month at his regular poker game. That $50, if lost, is not going to cause the Villainettes, Wee Villain, or Mrs. Villain any hardship. In fact, that $50 is allocated (mentally at least) by your Maximum Leader every month to his poker fund. (Unless your Maximum Leader won, in which case the winnings roll over to the next month.)

If someone can afford to loose $500, $5000, $50,000, or $500,000 a month at gambling without that loss affecting their family or other financial responsibilities there is nothing immoral about that. In Bill Bennett’s case, the money he lost didn’t impoverish him nor did it impose on his family. And none of Bennett’s writings or public pronouncement ever condemned gambling.

The problem is that Bennett could be viewed by many as a role model. A person inclined to follow Bennett’s moral injunctions may assume that since he made no injunction against gambling, it must be okay. egardless of how it might negatively affect one’s life. Furthermore, a person who might not have the means to afford to gamble may view Bennett’s behaviour (once it was revealed) and assume that it was/is okay for them to gamble away the money they need to live. And that is not the case.

So while your Maximum Leader will say that Bil Bennett may not have given careful thought to his leisure time activities from the perspective of “I’m Bill Bennett - role model to the masses.” he certainly didn’t taint himself so as to be unable to continue to speak on moral issues as he had before. Frankly, to your Maximum Leader’s knowledge, he still doesn’t condemn gambling or talk about it. (Although your Maximum Leader seems to remember something stating that Bennett has sworn it off now.)

Your Maximum Leader still isn’t sure how Bennett was acting immorally by gambling.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader hasn’t been doing his villainous best to provide you, his loyal minions, with the finest cutting-edge commentary and opinion over the past few days.

And this post will not change that trend. But, your Maximum Leader did want to take a moment to direct his philosophically minded minions to a Christian Science Monitor article entitled, How Homer Simpson can enrich philosophy class.

Your Maimum Leader and his Poet Laureate have talked quite a bit (and perhaps exchanged books) related to the Simpsons and philosophy, or the Matrix and philosophy, etc. And your Maximum Leader will say that he is generally in favour of any attempt by academics to utilize pop-culture examples as a method of stimulating serious discussion. Where the use of pop-culture examples break down is when the examples themselves become the focus of the discussion and not the philosophical concept behind the example.

Your Maximum Leader wonders if Keith Burgess-Jackson uses pop-culture examples in his classes? Hummm… Perhaps it is worth an e-mail to find out.

Carry on.

Update: After reviewing his library some, your Maximum Leader has remembered the two books relating the Simpsons to philosophy about which the Big Homind and he were speaking. They are “The Simpsons and Philosophy: The D’oh of Homer” and “The Gospel According to The Simpsons.” They are well worth your time to read.

The Maximum Leader enjoys Yahoo’s News of the Odd, so his humble minister will offer up:

Man Sues Neighbor For Breaking Up His Marriage

As I had discussed in a previous post, the Mike World Order will repeal all those silly monogamy laws. Unfortunately for the Maximum Leader, the good Sadie at Mirthful Ones seems to be in a relationship and might not be interested in becoming wife number three (after Mrs. Villain and Jennifer Love Hewitt).

Since the Mike World Order will rely on a literal interpretation of the Bible to command obedience from the masses, I suggest he follow the example of King David (sorry, Irish Lad. You seem nice enough, but the Maximum Leader has purge power):

From 2 Samuel:

11:1
And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.

11:2
And it came to pass in an eveningtide, that David arose from off his bed, and walked upon the roof of the king’s house: and from the roof he saw a woman washing herself; and the woman was very beautiful to look upon.

11:3
And David sent and enquired after the woman. And one said, Is not this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam, the wife of Uriah the Hittite?

11:4
And David sent messengers, and took her; and she came in unto him, and he lay with her; for she was purified from her uncleanness: and she returned unto her house.

Heh. Click on the link to read the rest. Luckily, even after David had the husband killed, God didn’t punish David. The child was killed by God for David’s sin and David got to keep his ill-gotten booty.

Wait. This started off as a humorous riff. But now I’m distressed. THIS is the morality Ralph Reed wants to legislate? Stop the world. I wanna get off.

I have been a bit remiss in posting lately - essay tests to grade AND hungry infant.

So here are some quick responses to the prolific Maximum Leader:

Scott Peterson. Glad he is convicted. Didn’t think it would happen. While I oppose the death penalty in principle, this is one I would like to see in reality. This is the problem with having a purely intellectual position; when I see stomach-churning evil, I want to kill criminals on an emotional level. In principle,I believe vigilante justice is wrong. But if it was my daughter at the bottom of San Francisco Bay, Mr. Peterson would not have to worry about old sparky. He might be wearing a vest when he leaves the courthouse, but with my scope I should be able to do a head shot. Just sayin’.

Bill Bennett. I have blogged before that I did not have a problem with his gambling. The Big Ho relates that he initially lied about his games-of-chance-addiction. If so, the immorality is in the lie, not the game. I agree with the Maximum Leader that the gambling, by itself, is not immoral. It may shock our readers, but I assure you tat Mike and I actually do agree on quite a lot. We just don’t blog about those issues ‘cuz it t’aint no fun.

Cockfighting. Ban it. Take the spectators, attach metal spurs to their feet, handcuff their hands behind their back, and drop the lot of ‘em in a pit. Wait till a winner has emerged. Fill in pit.

Arafat. Was it wrong for me to take pleasure in the death of another human being? What particularly amuses me is the idea that somewhere in a Swiss bank is a huge chunk o’ embezzled cash AND Arafat’s paranoia preventing him from giving the account number to anyone. Some Swiss bankers are quite amused.

Arafat was not a good leader. His people’s misery has continued because of his unrealistic goal of committing genocide. Continual struggle against the oppressor with no hope of success is immoral, even if you don’t target children like the Palestinians do. They, as a people, would be better off if they realized that Israel is here for the long term and started building a new, accomodationist nation.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader cannot resist one more story off the wire. Trial Starts in Alleged Rent-For-Sex Case.

So scummy landlord agrees to have sex with female tennants in exchange for waiving deposits or monthly rent. Was that written into the contract? Your Maximum Leader is not a lawyer, but if something was agreed to in writing and not against the law… Well… Where is the case? Now if the scummy landlord did, as alleged, enter some tennants’ apartments and steal things when they refused sex that is a crime. But why not just evict them? They weren’t living up to their end of the agreement.

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader felt it would be a good thing to give his minions a quick rundown of news items they may have misse. (With pithy Reynolds-esque commentary)

Lionel files for bankruptcy. Very sad. Right before Christmas too. One would hope some big conglomerate would buy them up and keep them going.

This must be Photoshoped.

Wanna see one hell of a wild hog (but not wild boar)? Click here. Can you imagine having a hungry pig that large coming after you? Eeek!

One person stabbed at Vibe Awards. Only one? And they didn’t die? How disappointing. Your Maximum Leader suggests they practice their technique.

The Who is in the studio again. Why? Please no. Who needs the money now?

All you Scottish Smokers give us your best Gibson-as-Wallace cry now: “Freeeedoooommmm!” Heh. Not likely.

David Lee Roth trains to be paramedic. Why? Van Halen kicked him out again? College bars don’t need “house singer?”

And finally, your Maximum Leader would caption this photo, “No Saut! Not in front of the baby!”

Carry on.

Greetings, loyal minions. Your Maximum Leader is disgusted. He normally holds the Queen of Great Britain in rather high regard. She is an intelligent woman who knows much more than people give her credit for. (Did you know that during WWII she was a truck mechanic? And she’s been known to work under the hood from time to time… And your Maximum Leader isn’t talking about Prince Phillip’s hood either…) Well, your Maximum Leader is just disgusted to hear that on an impending visit by French President Jacques Chirac to Windsor to visit the HM the Queen, the name of one of the rooms of Windsor Castle will be temporarially renamed. The “Waterloo Chamber” will be renamed (for Chirac’s visit) the “Music Room.”

Great Jeezey Chreezey! Your Maximum Leader can hardly fathom it. He only hopes that it was some hypersensitive protoccol droid that felt this change had to be made so as to not offend the French. Your Maximum Leader wonders, does Jacques Chirac go around with some sort of inferiority complex because of Napoleon’s defeat? If he doesn’t feel chronically inferior due to Napoleon, perhaps he should for French collaboration in WWII.

Ack.

And your Maximum Leader doffs his bejeweled floppy hat to Rachel for posting the article on her outstanding site.

Carry on.