Weasel results

Despite the press of Thanksgiving, the Weasel crew managed to get its votes in. I have to say, Thanksgiving must have been inspiring because, from my point of view, this is one of the best crops of articles I’ve read since I became a Weasel Watcher. I am, therefore, very proud to have placed in this week’s election. You can unbate that breath now, ‘cause here are the results:

On the Council side, first place went to Cheat Seeking Missiles for Charting a New Course in Iraq Messaging, a scathing denunciation of the way in which the Democrats, deprived of their chance to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory, are now attempting to ensure that, even if America leaves Iraq successfully, she is still perceived as the loser. It’s an impressive performance (in a very negative way) from the Democrats, and an impressive post (in a very positive way) from Laer.

Given how good that post was, I’m pleased to have come in second with my Prophets in a Freudian Age, which actually tied with Laer’s post, until the chief Watcher cast the deciding vote (a vote I heartily second). As for my post, you may recall that I starting thinking about how impossible it is for prophets to be taken seriously in an age that brings all deviations from the norm — and hearing God’s voice is one of those deviations — down to mental illness. From that point, I figured that, if I were forced to follow someone the Freudians had diagnosed, I’d much rather follow the humane delusional man (that would be Jesus), as opposed to the violent paranoid schizophrenic (that would be Mohammad).

On the non-Council side, first place went to The Van Der Galiƫn Gazette for its post, The Irrationality of Europe, which examines how so many of the overarching political positions in Europe are at odds with the facts on the ground and defy rationality and logic. In this regard, the post focuses on European hostility to America, Israel and Turkey, despite the fact that these nations should be their friends given the values the Europeans claim to espouse.

Second place went to Cracked.com for The Ultimate War Simulation Game. In a tongue-in-cheek post, David Wong demands a real war game, that isn’t just for testosterone driven teenagers, but that actually simulates war, right down to all the propaganda moments: “On the very next level I want to lose half of my units because another ‘orphanage’ turned out to be an enemy ambush site. I want another round of hearings asking why I didn’t level that orphanage as soon as I saw it, including tearful testimony from a slain soldier’s daughter who is now, ironically, an orphan.” Sounds real to me!

Did I mention at the start of this post that it was an exceptionally rich week for Watcher’s contributions? Let me check. Yup, there, in the very first paragraph, I said just about that. And I meant it. If you’re hungry for good reading this weekend, you should check out everything there, not just the winners and the placers.