“Al and Tipper Gore, whose playful romance enlivened Washington and the campaign trail for a quarter century, have decided to separate after 40 years of marriage, the couple told friends Tuesday.” [Politico]

We spent a few hours Monday night trying to nail down a few facts — any facts— about Israel’s raid on the “Freedom Flotilla” heading for Gaza.

We gave up.

It’s not just that every fact is disputed — it’s that every fact is part of a larger politically charged narrative, and part of an immediate land rush following the incident. Whoever wins the facts, wins the story.

How bad is it? Well, there are disputed facts about the raid itself. There are disputed facts about Israel’s right to conduct the raid in international waters. There are disputed facts about Israel’s right to blockade Gaza, and disputed facts about Israel’s conduct of that blockade.

Hell, there are even disputed facts about the ships in the flotilla.

We thought we’d spare ourselves a long detour into post-Ottoman Middle East history by focusing on that last fact — the flotilla’s provenance — but even that led us back to Turkey.

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The Megane Renaultsport:

Looks pretty good, eh?

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Believe if or not,  it’s a Buick, circa 1922, and only 22k on the clock.  That’s the year my dad was born. And it’s for sale, although no price is listed.

Wonder if the Chinese would like this Buick as much as they like the others.

1922 Buick [Hemmings Motor News]

Americans killed in Vietnam: 58,193.

Americans killed in Iraq: 4,400.

Americans killed in Afghanistan: 1,087.

Civilians killed: Let’s not go there.

Substantive achievements: None.

On this day we honor our fallen, who sacrificed their lives to the hubris of the American political class.

iCasualties

Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons:

Got the beef stock going early – added a porcini soup cube to up the mushroom flavor.

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Because when SFL demands food pron, I get busy:

Suprêmes de Volaille aux Champignons

2 medium boneless skinless chicken breasts (a.k.a. suprêmes)
5 tbsp. butter
1 shallot, minced
1/4 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
1/8 tsp. salt
1/4 c. beef bouillon
1/4 c. dry white vermouth
1 c. whipping cream
1 tbsp. fresh parsley, minced
big pinch white pepper
salt to taste
pepper to taste
lemon juice to taste

I’m doing 3 chicken breasts w/ 4 breasts worth of sauce, but wev:

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