Re: The Nutty Professor
There isn't much more I can add to the Churchill fiasco not stated earlier and more eloquently by David Horowitz or Mark Goldblatt...other than to remind us that we protect the freedom of a third-rate intellect to make an ass of himself in order to guarantee the right for first-rate intellects to speak freely.
Thursday, February 10, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Oh, the Savings we will Save!
W has released his budget. OK... I'm thinking of freshly run-over kittens in order to restrain laughter while I read: there is going to be a big fight over cutting about twenty some-odd billion in domestic spending (flax subsidies, paving West Virginia once again, a compilation of the oral history of mimes in America, etc) out of a budget of 2.7 Teradollars.....Bwahaahaahaaahaaa! Sorry, I wasn't strong enough. Ahem....we are in deep, deep kimchee if we can't cut more than 1% of the budget and not have to commit political suicide.
Everybody's want, er need, is vital. Sir, please lead on real cuts, and we might just follow.
W has released his budget. OK... I'm thinking of freshly run-over kittens in order to restrain laughter while I read: there is going to be a big fight over cutting about twenty some-odd billion in domestic spending (flax subsidies, paving West Virginia once again, a compilation of the oral history of mimes in America, etc) out of a budget of 2.7 Teradollars.....Bwahaahaahaaahaaa! Sorry, I wasn't strong enough. Ahem....we are in deep, deep kimchee if we can't cut more than 1% of the budget and not have to commit political suicide.
Everybody's want, er need, is vital. Sir, please lead on real cuts, and we might just follow.
Saturday, February 05, 2005
We want a purple finger, too!
Even a BS detector with dead batteries would peg its meter when
waved over the following statements from the Sunni Party-Poopers.
I've added some translations of some of the more laughable face-savers:
Even a BS detector with dead batteries would peg its meter when
waved over the following statements from the Sunni Party-Poopers.
I've added some translations of some of the more laughable face-savers:
Translation: "This boycott thing blew up in out faces, and we're getting posteriors handed to us. Please help us save face, and just forget about all those car bombs and dead fellow countrymen. It was just one of those things"
Conciliatory Line Carries ConditionsBy Anthony Shadid
Washington Post Foreign Service
Saturday, February 5, 2005; Page A01
BAGHDAD, Feb. 4 -- Influential Sunni Arab leaders of a boycott of last Sunday's elections expressed a new willingness Friday to engage the coming Iraqi government and play a role in writing the constitution, in what may represent a strategic shift in thinking among mainstream anti-occupation groups.
The signs remain tentative... But in statements and interviews, some Sunni leaders said the sectarian tension that surged ahead of the vote had forced them to rethink their stance.
Translation: "We can't steal the county back through killing the rest of you, and you're winning, so we offer you a draw."..."We are taking a conciliatory line because we are frightened that things may develop into a civil war," said Wamidh Nadhmi, the leader of the Arab Nationalist Trend and a spokesman for a coalition of Sunni and Shiite groups that boycotted the election. "The two sides have come to a conclusion that they have to respect the other side if they want a unified Iraq."
He cautioned, however, that "perhaps it will not succeed."
The Association of Muslim Scholars, one of the most influential groups, sent mixed signals this week -- saying it would respect the election results, while arguing that the new government will lack the legitimacy to draft a constitution. But the sermon Friday at the association's headquarters, the Um al-Qura mosque, was decidedly conciliatory...
A decision by Sunni Muslim and other anti-occupation groups to engage the new government and help draft the constitution would mark one of the most important shifts in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's fall in April 2003 (bold inserted)...
This is the meat of the article: everyday folks in this part of Iraq have had their fill of mindless violence and poser warlords. They were sold a bill of goods about the election boycott and now realize they have been cut out of a say in their future. And they've formed a posse, with pitchforks and torches.....The shift in thinking appears to have arisen from a calculation that the election may have created a new dynamic in Iraq, as the country slowly moves past an emphasis on the U.S. occupation and more toward the blueprint of a future state. The groups do not speak for the insurgency, but the Association of Muslim Scholars, in particular, holds great sway in the Sunni Arab community in central and western Iraq, where there are signs of grass-roots discontent over the boycott.
...The insurgents "made fools of us," said Mahmoud Ghasoub, a businessman in Baiji, a restive northern town. "They voted to disrupt the elections but failed. Now we have lost both tracks. We did not vote, nor did they disrupt the elections."...
The tide is turning.
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Roundup for 12 January 2005:
Is Al Qaeda's permit in the mail?
The National Park Service, in a spasm of true stupidity, has granted the Leninist-Anarchist group ANSWER a permit to disrupt the inauguration at some prime real estate along the parade route:
A Wide Variety of Protest Planned for Inauguration (washingtonpost.com)
Perhaps the Secret Service is applying the "Roach Motel" strategy, trying to concentrate all of the vermin in one location where they can be carefully monitored. I doubt it will play out like that, not with droogs like these:
Doesn't this kind of statement fall under sedition laws - go directly to Gitmo, do not pass the welfare office, do not collect food stamps?
So how is it that...
Pathogens like ANSWER can spew their anarchist dreck, and their masked goon squads can bully those bystanders who happen to object to their offal, but a good guy like Thayrone X, host of the rockingest R&B radio show on Earth, gets canned by Clear Channel Communications for playing a song by the musical psychobilly satirist Unknown Hinson?
Is Al Qaeda's permit in the mail?
The National Park Service, in a spasm of true stupidity, has granted the Leninist-Anarchist group ANSWER a permit to disrupt the inauguration at some prime real estate along the parade route:
A Wide Variety of Protest Planned for Inauguration (washingtonpost.com)
Perhaps the Secret Service is applying the "Roach Motel" strategy, trying to concentrate all of the vermin in one location where they can be carefully monitored. I doubt it will play out like that, not with droogs like these:
...Anarchist Resistance said it will stage a "festive and rowdy march" from Franklin Square. A message posted on its Web site says: "There's nothing left to salvage in this empire that is the U.S. government. It's time to bring it down." ...
Doesn't this kind of statement fall under sedition laws - go directly to Gitmo, do not pass the welfare office, do not collect food stamps?
So how is it that...
Pathogens like ANSWER can spew their anarchist dreck, and their masked goon squads can bully those bystanders who happen to object to their offal, but a good guy like Thayrone X, host of the rockingest R&B radio show on Earth, gets canned by Clear Channel Communications for playing a song by the musical psychobilly satirist Unknown Hinson?
Monday, December 27, 2004
A simple and perhaps naive question about the American economy:
During the Christmas shopping hubbub, I conducted a simple experiment - I went into department and specialty stores in our local mall, and examined a cross section of consumer goods that people were certain to buy. Things like household stuff, consumer electronics, clothes, and "cool stuff" gadgets at places
like the Brookstone store. I then looked at the manufacturing label on them. The result of my highly unstructured and uncontrolled experiment: the United States apparently doesn't manufacture any consumer goods any more. The are very few exceptions, such a some brands of washers, refrigerators, etc. But they are the very obvious exceptions to the rule.
So exactly what is it that we supply to the domestic and world markets that generates the enormous wealth to maintain our standard of living and benefits?
The automobile industry is in a shambles, where domestic vehicle manufacturers have steadily lost market share to worldwide makers, and American parts suppliers are in really deep Kim Chee. We don't make steel or other basic unfinished products. IT development and services are now moving overseas, and in any case most middle-class folks cannot be employed in these types of industries. So exactly how do we generate our wealth in a way that allows participation by the majority of the working population of the country?
During the Christmas shopping hubbub, I conducted a simple experiment - I went into department and specialty stores in our local mall, and examined a cross section of consumer goods that people were certain to buy. Things like household stuff, consumer electronics, clothes, and "cool stuff" gadgets at places
like the Brookstone store. I then looked at the manufacturing label on them. The result of my highly unstructured and uncontrolled experiment: the United States apparently doesn't manufacture any consumer goods any more. The are very few exceptions, such a some brands of washers, refrigerators, etc. But they are the very obvious exceptions to the rule.
So exactly what is it that we supply to the domestic and world markets that generates the enormous wealth to maintain our standard of living and benefits?
The automobile industry is in a shambles, where domestic vehicle manufacturers have steadily lost market share to worldwide makers, and American parts suppliers are in really deep Kim Chee. We don't make steel or other basic unfinished products. IT development and services are now moving overseas, and in any case most middle-class folks cannot be employed in these types of industries. So exactly how do we generate our wealth in a way that allows participation by the majority of the working population of the country?
Tuesday, December 21, 2004
21 Dec 2004: Damn bad news from Mosul.
I can't add anything to the news reports and the riveting account from Chaplain Lewis.
Please pray for our guys, that God will extend a loving hand to protect them. And that the media harpies just shut up for an hour or two as we mourn our dead in reverent silence. God, give us strength to sustain us in our ordeal. Give people around the world the courage to stand up for what is right, a chance for an oppressed people to seek their own destiny. In the time where we celebrate your glorious Son's birth, bring peace and hope to a part of the world where evil, fear, and death have ruled for far too long.
I can't add anything to the news reports and the riveting account from Chaplain Lewis.
Please pray for our guys, that God will extend a loving hand to protect them. And that the media harpies just shut up for an hour or two as we mourn our dead in reverent silence. God, give us strength to sustain us in our ordeal. Give people around the world the courage to stand up for what is right, a chance for an oppressed people to seek their own destiny. In the time where we celebrate your glorious Son's birth, bring peace and hope to a part of the world where evil, fear, and death have ruled for far too long.
Saturday, December 18, 2004
Oh Come Emanuel (and save me from this nightmare)!
God is wising me up. I have this year developed a profound distaste for the dreck that is America's current expression of Christmas. The incessant droning of "holiday music" on radio and in stores numbs one of any emotion that it was supposed to encourage, and will of course, stop precisely at 12 midnight the day after Christmas. The computer-driven tape loop will then be switched to the generic drivel, and not another tune proclaiming the glorious birth of Christ will be slid into the loop for another 365 days. Because, you see, Christmas - as defined as the time to buy things, travel, party, buy things, take time from work, and buy things - is over on December 26. Then it's time to think about New Year's, and the things to buy for that and whose going to be crowned first in the BCS. And then...white sales! Hum.....bug...!
Well, not me. I going to raise my voice in song in the bloody streets of Saline on December 26, and everyday afterward:
God is wising me up. I have this year developed a profound distaste for the dreck that is America's current expression of Christmas. The incessant droning of "holiday music" on radio and in stores numbs one of any emotion that it was supposed to encourage, and will of course, stop precisely at 12 midnight the day after Christmas. The computer-driven tape loop will then be switched to the generic drivel, and not another tune proclaiming the glorious birth of Christ will be slid into the loop for another 365 days. Because, you see, Christmas - as defined as the time to buy things, travel, party, buy things, take time from work, and buy things - is over on December 26. Then it's time to think about New Year's, and the things to buy for that and whose going to be crowned first in the BCS. And then...white sales! Hum.....bug...!
Well, not me. I going to raise my voice in song in the bloody streets of Saline on December 26, and everyday afterward:
For unto us a child is born...and his name shall be called wonderful,
counselor, the mighty God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace.
Monday, December 13, 2004
Roundup for December 13, 2004
Kyoto! Kyoto!
There's some serious partying goin' down in Lookout, Buenos Aires (as reported in the Grey Old Lady):
however,
Oh really? So just the ridiculous bureaucracy spawned by the treaty has made it impossible to enforce? We also learn that:
Well, we've all heard about the fact that the US didn't sign Kyoto. That doesn't mean that we won't restrict our greenhouse gas (GG) production; in fact US GG production has stayed relatively flat for the last few years. But I wonder how many are aware that India and China can go and burn hydrocarbons as if it were ...going out of style. We know that the West could go and work wonders in GG production, and it won't amount to a whit if China and India grow their emissions to nightmare quantities.
Kyoto! Kyoto!
There's some serious partying goin' down in Lookout, Buenos Aires (as reported in the Grey Old Lady):
...delegates from more than 190 countries have gathered here both to celebrate the enactment of the Kyoto Protocol...
however,
..Many delegates and experts concede that the pact, negotiated in 1997, is deeply flawed and that years of delays in finishing its rulebook mean that many adherents may have trouble meeting their targets for emissions cuts...
Oh really? So just the ridiculous bureaucracy spawned by the treaty has made it impossible to enforce? We also learn that:
...Its impact will also be limited because it exempts developing countries, including fast-industrializing giants like China and India, from emissions restrictions, and lacks the support of the United States, the world's dominant source of the heat-trapping gases...
Well, we've all heard about the fact that the US didn't sign Kyoto. That doesn't mean that we won't restrict our greenhouse gas (GG) production; in fact US GG production has stayed relatively flat for the last few years. But I wonder how many are aware that India and China can go and burn hydrocarbons as if it were ...going out of style. We know that the West could go and work wonders in GG production, and it won't amount to a whit if China and India grow their emissions to nightmare quantities.
Saturday, December 11, 2004
Roundup for December 11, 2004
Hummer-Armor, Part II:
Michelle Malkin (insert tiger growl here!) doesn't get hung up on where the question regarding Hummer armor originated - it's still a valid question. She provides a good summary of things so far. The WSJ has an excellent editorial that hits the nail on the head.
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh is an administration apologist/shill about this.
The issue is not the origin of the question, it is that this a problem that's been killing guys in the field for over a year, and this is just too damn long to wait for a solution through the military acquisition & procural process. FIX IT, NOW.
Start your day off with inspiration from the Founders...
The Federalist Patriot provides a daily quote from the Founding Fathers, such as
"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin
Realistic Prognostication about the NID:
The WSJ carefully sets all the emotions aside and tells us what is likely to happen with the National Intelligence Directorate.
Terror's Secret Weapon: Illegal "Nannigrants"
Jeesh. With the stealth and efficiency that would make a sniper green with envy, another illegal alien takes out a promising public servant. Jeers to the White House for not fighting for a good man. When will we focus on a nominee's qualities to get the job done?
A Real Plan to Save Social Security...
As a former civil servant, I participated in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), where the Federal Government, inmy name... are you ready... INVESTED IN THE STOCK, MORTGAGE, AND BOND MARKETS! (cue "Psycho" theme here).
I'm happy they did. I did quite well during the Roaring Nineties, and yes, I took a hit when the Clinton Bubble burst. Yet my TSP account still does much, much better than if the money, say, was snatched up and replaced by worthless IOUs to pay for increased wealth-sapping federal spending.
David Brooks makes the arguement that we can pay for Social Security by putting the contributions to work to generate wealth in our capitalist economy.
Hummer-Armor, Part II:
Michelle Malkin (insert tiger growl here!) doesn't get hung up on where the question regarding Hummer armor originated - it's still a valid question. She provides a good summary of things so far. The WSJ has an excellent editorial that hits the nail on the head.
Meanwhile, Rush Limbaugh is an administration apologist/shill about this.
The issue is not the origin of the question, it is that this a problem that's been killing guys in the field for over a year, and this is just too damn long to wait for a solution through the military acquisition & procural process. FIX IT, NOW.
Start your day off with inspiration from the Founders...
The Federalist Patriot provides a daily quote from the Founding Fathers, such as
"They that can give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." --Benjamin Franklin
Realistic Prognostication about the NID:
The WSJ carefully sets all the emotions aside and tells us what is likely to happen with the National Intelligence Directorate.
Terror's Secret Weapon: Illegal "Nannigrants"
Jeesh. With the stealth and efficiency that would make a sniper green with envy, another illegal alien takes out a promising public servant. Jeers to the White House for not fighting for a good man. When will we focus on a nominee's qualities to get the job done?
A Real Plan to Save Social Security...
As a former civil servant, I participated in the Thrift Savings Plan (TSP), where the Federal Government, inmy name... are you ready... INVESTED IN THE STOCK, MORTGAGE, AND BOND MARKETS! (cue "Psycho" theme here).
I'm happy they did. I did quite well during the Roaring Nineties, and yes, I took a hit when the Clinton Bubble burst. Yet my TSP account still does much, much better than if the money, say, was snatched up and replaced by worthless IOUs to pay for increased wealth-sapping federal spending.
David Brooks makes the arguement that we can pay for Social Security by putting the contributions to work to generate wealth in our capitalist economy.
Wednesday, December 08, 2004
Roundup for 8 Dec 2004:
Let's hear it for democracy!
Spc. Thomas Wilson exercised a basic right of democracy - holding elected leaders accountable, in this case Don Rumsfeld as proxy to the President:
real excuse for failing to get highly armored Humvees into the field.
Where were these concerns a few weeks ago?
Now that the 911 Intelligence Bill is a "slam dunk", now we hear questions about whether it will help at all (NBC news and WaPost):
Perhaps we should ask those experts in intelligence, the Jersey Girls?
Home Run Kings...
Hank Arron 755
Barry Bonds 703*
Babe Ruth 714
* undetermined number hit while using performance-enhancing drugs.
Let's hear it for democracy!
Spc. Thomas Wilson exercised a basic right of democracy - holding elected leaders accountable, in this case Don Rumsfeld as proxy to the President:
..Spc. Thomas Wilson had asked the defense secretary, "Why do we soldiers have to dig through local landfills for pieces of scrap metal and compromised ballistic glass to up-armor our vehicles?" Shouts of approval and applause arose from the estimated 2,300 soldiers who had assembled to see Rumsfeld...Rumsfeld's reply was...weak. And he doesn't get much sympathy from me. IEDs have been blowing our guys up for well over a year now, and there's no
real excuse for failing to get highly armored Humvees into the field.
Where were these concerns a few weeks ago?
Now that the 911 Intelligence Bill is a "slam dunk", now we hear questions about whether it will help at all (NBC news and WaPost):
...The compromise legislation approved by the House yesterday in response to the Sept. 11 commission's findings represents a historic reordering of the $40 billion intelligence community.
But some experts say it is not at all evident how, or even if, the changes would help America's spies obtain secrets and aid analysts in determining the intentions of terrorists bent on striking again or worrisome nations developing weapons of mass destruction...
..This new player is confounding to intelligence experts trying to see how all the new pieces would fit together with the existing system and whether the changes would make anyone safer...
Perhaps we should ask those experts in intelligence, the Jersey Girls?
Home Run Kings...
Hank Arron 755
Barry Bonds 703*
Babe Ruth 714
* undetermined number hit while using performance-enhancing drugs.
Friday, December 03, 2004
Starting a Dialogue with Christians...
Bernard Moon has written a nice essay on Christianity and Christians for easy comprehension by those that are unfamiliar with the faith.
A Holiday card from Jimmy Carter...
My mail was graced with a very handsome envelope with a faux-presidential seal, with return address of Atlanta, GA. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter sent me a card for the season, complete with genuine simulated signature inside. And a letter asking for a $35 (recommended mininum) contribution to the Carter Center, so he can help bring peace to the Korean Peninsula...I kid you not. In fairness to the Carter Center, they have (according to the letter) assisted in nearly eradicating Guniea worm disease from the globe, and good for them. Just please, Jimmy, leave the dealing with dangerous rogue nations to the duly elected leaders of your country.
The best Messiah...
is that recorded by the Gabrieli Consort and Players, with Paul McCreesh. Ev'ry valley shall be exhalted!
Oil for Bribes Update:
Joy Gordon of the Nation, in a classic co-dependent moment, argues that UN/French/German/Russian corruption is our fault.
Reagan Remembered...
on a wonderful CD produced by Bill Bennett's radio program. Great stocking stuffer for that neo-Kirkian!
Bernard Moon has written a nice essay on Christianity and Christians for easy comprehension by those that are unfamiliar with the faith.
A Holiday card from Jimmy Carter...
My mail was graced with a very handsome envelope with a faux-presidential seal, with return address of Atlanta, GA. Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter sent me a card for the season, complete with genuine simulated signature inside. And a letter asking for a $35 (recommended mininum) contribution to the Carter Center, so he can help bring peace to the Korean Peninsula...I kid you not. In fairness to the Carter Center, they have (according to the letter) assisted in nearly eradicating Guniea worm disease from the globe, and good for them. Just please, Jimmy, leave the dealing with dangerous rogue nations to the duly elected leaders of your country.
The best Messiah...
is that recorded by the Gabrieli Consort and Players, with Paul McCreesh. Ev'ry valley shall be exhalted!
Oil for Bribes Update:
Joy Gordon of the Nation, in a classic co-dependent moment, argues that UN/French/German/Russian corruption is our fault.
Reagan Remembered...
on a wonderful CD produced by Bill Bennett's radio program. Great stocking stuffer for that neo-Kirkian!
Tuesday, November 30, 2004
Glib: showing little forethought
Investor's Business Daily recently reported Brian Williams' recent quip regarding bloggers:
Like their video and written counterparts, bloggers are found in all degrees of qualities: wise, witty, prescient, juvenile, bombastic, superficial, and dull. A man who lives in a glass house is wise not to throw stones: how much did that hair cut set you back, Bri?
Investor's Business Daily recently reported Brian Williams' recent quip regarding bloggers:
...When a fellow panelist mentioned that bloggers had had a big impact on the reporting on Election Day, Williams waved that point away by quipping that the self-styled journalists are "on an equal footing with someone in a bathroom with a modem."
Like their video and written counterparts, bloggers are found in all degrees of qualities: wise, witty, prescient, juvenile, bombastic, superficial, and dull. A man who lives in a glass house is wise not to throw stones: how much did that hair cut set you back, Bri?
Monday, November 29, 2004
Carter Dodges Tough Ukranian Election?
I guess Jimmy Carter decided to skip monitoring the contentious Ukranian election. Does Jimmy think that Ukranian democracy wasn't worth the plane fare, or that there wasn't a slam-dunk side he could take to look good? Don't take a pass on the tough ones, Jimmy.
I guess Jimmy Carter decided to skip monitoring the contentious Ukranian election. Does Jimmy think that Ukranian democracy wasn't worth the plane fare, or that there wasn't a slam-dunk side he could take to look good? Don't take a pass on the tough ones, Jimmy.
Saturday, November 27, 2004
Why We Fight:
Perhaps the quest for human dignity and freedom is a not a neo-con pipedream.
We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression--everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way-- everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want . . . everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear . . . anywhere in the world.
Perhaps the quest for human dignity and freedom is a not a neo-con pipedream.
Thursday, November 25, 2004
Moore-ish tactics turned against the Campus Leftocracy:
Evan Maloney is a clever fellow: his "Brainwashing 101" uses the guerilla tactics of Michael MooreOn.org and stomps the toes of the ruling class of academe.
Evan Maloney is a clever fellow: his "Brainwashing 101" uses the guerilla tactics of Michael MooreOn.org and stomps the toes of the ruling class of academe.
Thursday, November 18, 2004
What's new on the Oil for Bribes Scandal:
The Boston Globe reports:
Sure, Carl, like the dam before it burst, it was working perfectly!
The Boston Globe reports:
WASHINGTON -- Saddam Hussein's regime made more than $21.3 billion in illegal revenue by subverting the UN oil-for-food program and other sanctions -- more than double previous estimates, according to congressional investigators...The findings also reflect a growing understanding by investigators of the intricate schemes Hussein used to buy support abroad for a move to lift UN sanctions...
"That humanitarian program was corrupted and exploited . . . for the most horrible and aggressive purpose" of raising money for Hussein's military, said Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Democrat of Connecticut.
But the committee's ranking Democrat, Senator Carl Levin of Michigan, said "for the most part the UN sanctions achieved their intended objective of preventing Saddam from rearming and developing weapons of mass destruction."
Sure, Carl, like the dam before it burst, it was working perfectly!
Tuesday, November 16, 2004
The Queen of Hearts pronounces judgement:
Clue-starved Chris Matthews in a "if I had some ham, I'd have ham & eggs, if I had some eggs" moment in his questioning to Ken Allard:
Let's review the conversation before the shooting. I've attempted to identify one of the voices (not the Marine who shot, I believe), and I've added an emphasis at an important comment:
OK - so this unit had just come under fire from the mosque. So perhaps it's a little more complicated than your cartoon, Chris.
Now, take a deep breath Chris, and we'll all just wait for the results of the inquiry. In the meantime, you may want to contemplate your assinine comment that the Sunni "insurgents" - by this we mean the group who enjoyed having their boot on the neck of eighty percent of the population of Hussein's Iraq, and really don't want to give that up for democracy - just "disagree" with us.
Clue-starved Chris Matthews in a "if I had some ham, I'd have ham & eggs, if I had some eggs" moment in his questioning to Ken Allard:
MATTHEWS: Well, let me ask you about this. If this were the other side and we were watching an enemy soldier, a rival -- I mean they're not bad guys, especially, just people that disagree with us. They are, in fact, the insurgents fighting us in their country. If we saw one of them do what we saw our guy do to that guy, would we consider that worthy of a war crimes charge?
Let's review the conversation before the shooting. I've attempted to identify one of the voices (not the Marine who shot, I believe), and I've added an emphasis at an important comment:
Marine 1: Any Marines in there?
Marine 2: Yeah, they're on the floor, far right, far right.
Marine 1: Coming around the back, hey, who's in here?
Marine 1: Coming around.
VOICE: What are you doing in here? (BLEEP).
Marine 1: That guy shot at my tank!(BLEEP).
VOICE: Yeah.
VOICE: Yeah.
Marine 1: Shot up my tank.
VOICE: Come in here.
VOICE: Yeah.
Marine 1: Did you shoot them?
Marine 1: Did they have any weapons on them?
VOICE: All right. These are the ones from yesterday.
VOICE: These are the ones they never picked up. Bleep.
OK - so this unit had just come under fire from the mosque. So perhaps it's a little more complicated than your cartoon, Chris.
Now, take a deep breath Chris, and we'll all just wait for the results of the inquiry. In the meantime, you may want to contemplate your assinine comment that the Sunni "insurgents" - by this we mean the group who enjoyed having their boot on the neck of eighty percent of the population of Hussein's Iraq, and really don't want to give that up for democracy - just "disagree" with us.
Saturday, November 13, 2004
Cognitive Dissonance and Terror
Our man Jimmy Carter, The Smartest Man to be President, summons all of his rhetorical powers in his Jellospeak on Arafat:
The Jerusalem Post reports a different point of view, stated with the utmost clarity:
PS - I actually worked for this guy's campaign in '76...I can only shake my head and wonder what on Earth I was thinking...
Our man Jimmy Carter, The Smartest Man to be President, summons all of his rhetorical powers in his Jellospeak on Arafat:
"Yasser Arafat's death marks the end of an era and will no doubt be painfully felt by Palestinians throughout the Middle East and elsewhere in the world.He was the father of the modern Palestinian nationalist movement. A powerful human symbol and forceful advocate, Palestinians united behind him in their pursuit of a homeland. While he provided indispensable leadership to a revolutionary movement and was instrumental in forging a peace agreement with Israel in 1993, he was excluded from the negotiating role in more recent years..."
The Jerusalem Post reports a different point of view, stated with the utmost clarity:
Drop a line to Jimmy at the Carter Center and remind him of some of the facts his statement ignored."He (Arafat) had more Jewish blood on his hands than anybody since Hitler. He was a strategist of the murder of women, children and the aged. No normal nation would have dedicated this amount of endless broadcasts to a person responsible for the deaths of so many of their kin," aides close to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said in what appeared to be a rebuke to the media for its exhaustive coverage of the burial of the Palestinian leader on Friday...
PS - I actually worked for this guy's campaign in '76...I can only shake my head and wonder what on Earth I was thinking...
Monday, November 08, 2004
More comment on the "Values Vote"
David Brooks has an interesting take on this:
NYT Column, 06 Nov 2004: "The Values-Vote Myth"
Brooks' entire column is here.
David Brooks has an interesting take on this:
NYT Column, 06 Nov 2004: "The Values-Vote Myth"
Every election year, we in the commentariat come up with a story line to explain the result, and the story line has to have two features. First, it has to be completely wrong. Second, it has to reassure liberals that they are morally superior to the people who just defeated them...
...In the first place, there is an immense diversity of opinion within regions, towns and families. Second, the values divide is a complex layering of conflicting views about faith, leadership, individualism, American exceptionalism, suburbia, Wal-Mart, decorum, economic opportunity, natural law, manliness, bourgeois virtues and a zillion other issues.
But the same insularity that caused many liberals to lose touch with the rest of the country now causes them to simplify, misunderstand and condescend to the people who voted for Bush. If you want to understand why Democrats keep losing elections, just listen to some coastal and university town liberals talk about how conformist and intolerant people in Red America are. It makes you wonder: why is it that people who are completely closed-minded talk endlessly about how open-minded they are?...
Brooks' entire column is here.
Sunday, November 07, 2004
The Dems respond to the "Values Voters"
The "reasonable" Democrats (the "Bush May Not Be a Fascist" caucus) have formulated a response to November 2nd's Right Hook, namely, that morality and values also include health care for those in need, growing quality jobs, and better public education. Ahem - they really don't get it, do they? Everyone understands that these issues need to be resolved, but it's demagogic to define the Democratic solution to these problems as the moral position. That is, in part, what Redland is revolting against. Reasonable, equally moral people can differ as to the solutions here. Equating universal "free" prescription drug coverage and radical redefinition of a marriage as a taproot societal value is - shall we say - foolish.
The "reasonable" Democrats (the "Bush May Not Be a Fascist" caucus) have formulated a response to November 2nd's Right Hook, namely, that morality and values also include health care for those in need, growing quality jobs, and better public education. Ahem - they really don't get it, do they? Everyone understands that these issues need to be resolved, but it's demagogic to define the Democratic solution to these problems as the moral position. That is, in part, what Redland is revolting against. Reasonable, equally moral people can differ as to the solutions here. Equating universal "free" prescription drug coverage and radical redefinition of a marriage as a taproot societal value is - shall we say - foolish.
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