Matt, you're all pixilated! It seems to look good, though.

is the full beard look working for me?

I think so. But I might need a higher-res picture to be sure....

Jesse is me. Bursts of production, lapses into b.org...

I'm the wrong person to ask, Matt. I like the barely there scruff...not the almost an actual beard scruff.

I like it, Matt. I'm a pro-facial-hair kinda girl, and I think it suits you. The only question I have is will it be too much in Memphis summer weather?

I've been BookMooching for a month or two now and have managed to place a bunch of good books to loving homes (and get a couple that I want for my own). Plus you can give away Mooch points for charity, like reading projects and so on....

I would like to exchange this week for a new week. This week is faulty and horrible and wrong.

IOWarCrimeN,

One of Those Rare Instances in Which the Nazi Analogy is Unavoidable

Andrew Sullivan describes the uncanny and chilling correspondence between the Gestapo's "enhanced" (or "sharpened") interrogation techniques, and those that have been officially authorized and used by the United States over the past few years. Not only are the techniques, and the nomenclature, of a piece -- but so are the legal and ethical justifications offered in their defense.

In general, I'm a big believer in Godwin's Law. And the fact that what we're doing is eerily reminiscent of the Gestapo -- and of conduct that the United States has readily and uncontroversially deemed "torture" and war crimes when employed by repressive regimes (and U.S. forces) in the past -- should not be the final word, cutting off all further discussion. Of course, the fact that the Gestapo did something -- even something that was treated as a war crime -- does not necessarily mean that it is wrong or that we should condemn it.

But surely it ought to give one pause. And make one wonder about a major political party debate in which the candidates eagerly brag of their willingness to emulate the Gestapo -- and in which the audience lustily cheers them along.

Andrew Sullivan:

Critics will no doubt say I am accusing the Bush administration of being Hitler. I'm not. There is no comparison between the political system in Germany in 1937 and the U.S. in 2007. What I am reporting is a simple empirical fact: the interrogation methods approved and defended by this president are not new. Many have been used in the past. The very phrase used by the president to describe torture-that-isn't-somehow-torture - "enhanced interrogation techniques" - is a term originally coined by the Nazis. The techniques are indistinguishable. The methods were clearly understood in 1948 as war-crimes. The punishment for them was death.

I would like to exchange this week for a new week. This week is faulty and horrible and wrong.

According to Fry and Laurie, you can always take things back to Marks and Spencer.

The only question I have is will it be too much in Memphis summer weather?

I don't think so heat-wise. I'm keeping it trimmed to about 7 day length (like the goatee) since I don't like the feel of facial hair once it gets long enough to start bending. But I'm not used to the feel yet—it shocks me every time I rest my chin on my hand.

Looks like the scruffiness is working for you to me, Matt.