Fisking Moonbats - Oh What A Joy It Is!!!

Van Helsing who writes the blog Moonbattery posted a well deserved diatribe against the New York Times for this article.

Indeed, as Van Helsing notes, surely the NYTimes could come up with a few "Old Soldiers Proud of Their Scars, but Unsure [Damn Sure] They'd Join Today in a New York Minute!" In fact, this former soldier who spent his entire Army "career" at Fort Polk and Fort Benning is one who would damn sure join up again if the Army would take me.

"Easy for you to say Roper" you may be thinking. Yeppers, it is, but there are many folk my age who are still in the service and are proudly, without doubt, without any degree of hesitation still serving. There are many many more (tens of thousands of them) who are back in civilian life after fighting in WWII, Korea, Vietnam, Grenada, Somalia, Lebanon, Kosovo, Gulf War I, etc., who feel just like I do.

However the Times couldn't be bothered to find any of those folk, that wouldn't be "news." Thus, the NYTimes deliberately, with malice aforethought comes up with their article on the cusp of Memorial Day, an article solely focused on denegrating those who do join up for the fight in Iraq and Afghanistan or anywhere else in the global war on terrorists. {author's note: The term War on Terror is a misnomer, Terror is a technique; this is rightfully called a War on Terrorists, those who use terror. They can be, will be and are being hunted down and killed or captured.)

Which brings me to the purpose of this post. In the comments section of Van Helsing's article one Mike Miller posted this comment (presented in full without change):

"What is wrong with presenting the case of a former Vet who is opposed to the Iraq war? I think it is shameful that opposing viewpoints are chastised and presented in such a partisan war mongering fashion. The War is a failure of epic proportion. Everything about it is unAmerican. The notion that it was undertaken to promote democracy is completly absurd. Oh, excuse me that's right, it was about curtailing the threat posed by WMDs which were going to destroy life in the United States as we know it with a thousand mushroom clouds. 1650 US servicemen and women dead for essentially nothing. Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the neocons had their sights set on Iraq long before 911. All one need do is take the time to read PNAC and any second grade idiot can connect the dots. The lies used to bring us into this shameful war are nothing short of treasonous. The cowardice with which this administration shifts the blame to the intelligence community for the lack of WMDs being present is sickening. And the mainstream media which is controlled by the same corporations which receive tax cuts and special treatment from the administration is complicit in the lack of truthful investigative reporting of the crimes perpetrated Bush and the neocons. The stories are so plentiful for those who care to look where the truth leads them. The aluminum tubes, the Plame case, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo,all of which constitiute an endless litany of shameful lies and deceit perpatrated upon America and the World. The money spent by the US in this illegal and immoral war could have been used for the development of alternative energy and end or dimminish our need for non domestic sources of energy. The moral bankruptcy which is demonstrated by those who claim that we are somehow justified in going into Iraq since we need oil is typical of those who support Bush and his cronies. Galloway should be applauded for his address to Congress in which he told it like it is. It is high time that someone stands up and states what is obvious to those who still hold truth, honor, and democracy in high esteem, that being that the emporer truly has no clothes."

This comment deserves a good fisking and I, though an insignificant blogger, and a member of the knuckle-dragging neandertholic wingnut faction of the slightly right-of-center political faction (Mike, I hope you recognize satrical hyperbole when you see it) will attempt to do so. No doubt my commenters will let me know if I have been successful. So, without further ado let us begin with Mike's opening statements:

What is wrong with presenting the case of a former Vet who is opposed to the Iraq war? I think it is shameful that opposing viewpoints are chastised and presented in such a partisan war mongering fashion.

Mike, Mike, Mike; there is NOTHING wrong with presenting opposing viewpoints, but we may question the reasoning behind, the planning for the opposition at a particular time and the motivation for presenting that viewpoint. That is what Van Helsing did. As to being "shameful" for presenting "opposing viewpoints" in a fashion reminiscent of "a partisan war mongering fashion" (what ever that means) isn't that exactly the stance you are taking in your screed? Isn't your comment a "partisan" attack (using some very strong language I might add) on Van Helsing's point of view?

The War is a failure of epic proportion.

No, it is not! A "failure of epic proportion" is the defense of Troy, the Russian attempt to war against Japan in 1905 at the Battle of Tsushima, the attack at Gallipoli those were failures. The current WOTerrorists is a difficult war, but Iraq has a government, popularly elected, and though the "insurgents" (a misnomer if ever there was one) have the capacity to inflict casualties on women, children and the social system, they do not have the capacity to win and form a coherent government in Iraq.

The notion that it was undertaken to promote democracy is completly absurd. Oh, excuse me that's right, it was about curtailing the threat posed by WMDs which were going to destroy life in the United States as we know it with a thousand mushroom clouds.

Oh please! No one ever said we were faced with any threat of "a thousand mushroom clouds" though if you want to think so, that is your right; just as it is your right to be oh-so-very-wrong. Bush and company indeed did mention the spread of democracy as one of the reasons for invading Iraq, but the WMD issue seemed to be more to the necessity of the invasion. Then too, I seem to recall that many on your side of the political "discussion" (discussion? talk about misnomers!..ed) expected tens of thousands of body bags being filled with allied corpses brought about by Saddam's expected use of those WMDs or don't you remember that? Too, the UN Resolutions mandated that Saddam come clean about his WMD programs, something he refused to do. If he claimed to have them, threatened to use them if invaded and history showed that he had the proclivity to use them, what else would a rational person think? Of course, the key term here is rational.

1650 US servicemen and women dead for essentially nothing. Bush, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz and all the neocons had their sights set on Iraq long before 911. All one need do is take the time to read PNAC and any second grade idiot can connect the dots.

First, it is 9-11 or 9/11. 911 is an emergency call number. Secondly, you are reporting total deaths, some 350 of which were from natural causes, accidents and so forth, not combat caused. 1300+ deaths from combat is a sad thing, but it is the least number of combat deaths in any war in history. Lastly, since you claim to be able to "connect the dots" may we assume that you are a "second grade idiot?"

The lies used to bring us into this shameful war are nothing short of treasonous. The cowardice with which this administration shifts the blame to the intelligence community for the lack of WMDs being present is sickening.

Back with the lies are we? Well, as anyone still rational in their thinking can note, there is a big difference between mistaken interpretation of evidence, mistaken evidence and a lie. I would expect someone of your ability to discern the difference and not be taken in by the meme of the moment. However, I could be wrong. Did the intelligence community get it wrong and present wrong evidence? That would seem to be the case wouldn't it. So stating that fact maybe uncomfortable but is not a sickening blamefest if you will. Treason? OMG, please, present your evidence to congress or the AG's office for prosecution and/or impeachment.

And the mainstream media which is controlled by the same corporations which receive tax cuts and special treatment from the administration is complicit in the lack of truthful investigative reporting of the crimes perpetrated Bush and the neocons.

Gee, where do I begin on this one? Mike, wasn't the purpose of your comment to support the MSM for the NYTimes article? Did I misread your intent? Sheesh, at least you could try to keep your argument coherent. The stories are so plentiful for those who care to look where the truth leads them.

The aluminum tubes, the Plame case, Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo,all of which constitiute an endless litany of shameful lies and deceit perpatrated upon America and the World.

Mike, the aluminum tubes were part of the intelligence community's "evidence." Perhaps it was wrong, but not out of total incompetence, just out of correct interpretation. Palme case? Gee, even the MSM has punctured that one. Abu Ghraib? Reported, investigation started by the military BEFORE it was public knowledge and subsequently charges were filed against the perpetrators; how is that a shameful lie? Guantanamo? Oh, yeah, the "Gulag of our times." Hah! If it were, the author of that would be in one. She isn't, it isn't! Nuff Said on that score!!!

The moral bankruptcy which is demonstrated by those who claim that we are somehow justified in going into Iraq since we need oil is typical of those who support Bush and his cronies. Galloway should be applauded for his address to Congress in which he told it like it is.

Uh, Mike, it was YOUR SIDE who claimed it was for oil. Our side denied it pretty much across the board and anyone with a scintilla of economic understanding would know that that would be one stupid goal. It was NEVER about oil Mike. Never!

It is high time that someone stands up and states what is obvious to those who still hold truth, honor, and democracy in high esteem, that being that the emporer truly has no clothes.

All that evidence you [erroneously] noted and that is all you can close with? Well, you happen to be correct for once, except that it is the left and you who are taking the role of "Emperor."

Rules For COMMENTING

I did something this morning that I have not done in the past, I deleted a comment by someone who I have warned once in the past quite a number of months ago. I don't really like doing that, because I set out to have this blog a free exchange of ideas, left, right or middle/lib/whatever. But something I grow rapidly weary of is the tendency for some to castigate others not of their own political persuasion in terms not usually heard except in drunken bar room brawls.

That kind of language I can do without, and I won't subject my readers to it either. So, I took some rules, revised them (and explained where I got them from and put them here in what I call THE RULES FOR COMMENTING

I welcome any and all comments, but use language and decorum that you would use in a church, synogogue, mosque or your grandmothers home. Argue all you want, but use "couth" language, respect your opponent, he probably thinks you are as stupid as you think he is.

Jane Fonda Films That I Recommend

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How Can They Be So Blind?

A recent blog friend, Miguel Buitrago writes at MABB a blog about Bolivia; it's environs, it's politics and it's peoples. His latest here questions the thinking of a group of "rebels" blocking access to El Alto, a region in Bolivia. The actions of the rebels may end up costing the region most of it's jobs. Not a good way to keep a revolution going methinks. Miguel, perhaps they are indeed blind to the consequences of their actions, much as the so called insurgents in Iraq are murdering fellow citizens and fellow muslims. Perhaps they, like the islamofascists are more interested in attaining power and not really the interests of the people.

"None are so blind as those who will not see."

Worth 1,000,000 Words And Maybe More!!!

Petefrt via Flickr sent to me by a friend.

Bottle of Wine, Fruit of the Vine - When You Gonna...

Paul Deignan that very brilliant worthy who writes Info Theory and the subject of an earlier "Newly Discovered Blogs" has sent me an e-mail:

GM, I got two spots open for this: Wine For Winners Challenge

Interested?

Paul

Imagine that, a fellow blogger enticing an upstanding member of the community and blogosphere such as myself into gambling and imbibing? Hard to imagine isn't it. Paul believes, as I do not, that the Compromise of the Fourteen is a good deal. He seems to think that it will "prevent" future judicial filibusters (at least during the remainder of G.W.Bush's term.)

Paul has set aside a few rules to stack the bet NOT in his favor such that:

1. So let me offer this, should the Dems filibuster more than one judicial nominee without incurring the nuclear option in this Congress from now forward, I will send a bottle of Merlot or some other type of your choice not to exceed $20 (thanks SCOTUS) to the first five right-leaning site owners who respond to the challenge and who are on record against the deal provided they will respond in kind should I be right.
Wine not whine. Takers? Respond here

2. I'll extend the deal to be for the entire current presidential term for those that are hesitant. (I can wait until 2009 for a $20 bottle of wine).

3. Well, despite my best efforts to prod our excitable friends into taking me up on this offer, it looks like they don't quite have the moxy. So caveat emptor of the latest fad political ideas to all those who would follow the first shrill alarm that would stampede the herd--the head is not fully committed to the trials of the hoof.

4. Alright--I'm dropping the tripwire down to one or more (rather than more than one) unanswered filibusters of judicial nominees in this Congress. I'm not sure that this is theoretically sound, but I would like to have fun with this proposition.

5. Well, I may be irrationally overconfident, but I'll allow that the time period is for the extent of Bush's term or the end of this Congress, whichever occurs later.

6. Now allowing that "Bush's term" is interpreted as this current presidential term, so that the challenge will possibly be determined on the date of the next presidential inauguration for all participants."

Paul has been taken up on his bet by no less worthies than Xrlq (newly added to my blogroll) and the author of Damnum Absque Injuria; The highly talented, pontificating Patterico who writes at Patterico's Pontifications, also on my blogroll and by Flap that industrious dentist [Q: How can you tell a dentist is sad? A: When they look "down in the mouth."] who writes at Fullosseous Flap's Dental Blog [Don't let the name fool you, FFDB is a delightful read - and also on my blogroll]. And now: GM, the wise, the magnificent, the courageous, the charming and oh so good looking accepts the challenge as well.

Hey, why not, I'm risking 20 bucks; if Paul loses, it's gonna cost him a hundred smackers (5 x $20.00 = $100.00 for you graduates of the California School System). $20.00 vs $100.00; whats not to like. Political beliefs like behavior ought to have consequences.

Paul, you understand that the last was tongue in cheek I hope. ;-)

At any rate, given that the Dems have already found the UN Ambassador to be an egregious exception to their "deal" (although they are disguising it as "we need more papers from the whitehouse"). I suspect that Paul will lose - Dems are not noted for keeping their "deals." Come to think of it, most politicians of any stripe aren't noted for keeping their deals.

At any rate, and because I'm getting sleepy again: Paul, I accept!

Going Nuclear?

Iran is going nuclear when everyone knows it shouldn't.

The Republicans aren't going nuclear when any right thinking person knows they should.

Any questions?

War And Remembrance

This is not about national news, partisan bickering, stupidity of government, comedy (oh, wait, is that the same thing?) or any other post I have done. This is about a boy and his dad. I'm was the boy and this is about one of my heroes, my Dad. Forgive me if the title is a little misleading for some, it's not about the current war, but on the effect of war on a single man, one who is gone, but not forgotten. On the cusp of another Memorial Day, its important for me to put this down, and I hope it's message is important to you, because my dad was one of the "Greatest Generation" so eloquently described by Tom Brokaw. A career Army Officer, a patriot, a deeply religious man and my hero.

re·mem·brance (P) Pronunciation Key (r-mmbrns)n.
1.The act or process of remembering.
2.The state of being remembered: holds him in fond remembrance.
3.Something serving to celebrate or honor the memory of a person or event; a memorial.
4.The length of time over which one's memory extends.
5.Something remembered; a reminiscence.
6.A souvenir.
7.A greeting or token expressive of affection.

This is my remembrance of a man who fought in three shooting wars, so that his kids and grandkids and generations beyond would have a life better than his own.

Dad was born in McAlister, Oklahoma where his dad was an assistant warden at the Oklahoma State Prison. He used to say that he wasn't born in Texas, but got here as soon as he could. Grand Dad was a career army officer who after WWI was assigned to "non-military" duties temporarily following a reduction in forces. Grand Dad was recalled to active duty the following year and stayed in the Army until his retirement in 1949. Growing up on a number of military bases, all calvery units, gave dad an early inside look at the functioning of the Army. He decided in High School that he would be a career soldier like his dad, and his dad before him. Joining what would become ROTC in High School, Dad spent his summers training. He graduated from H.S. in 1939 and was off to the University of Texas to obtain a degree in Political Science. He enlisted in the US Army in 1940 recognizing then, even if few else did, that we would soon be involved in a growing war in Europe and possibly in the pacific. He was stationed at Fort Sam Houston as an EM and was commissioned in July, 1941 as a 2nd Lt.

Immediately following dad's commissioning, his dad was ordered to take charge of a battalion of Philippine Scouts on Mindanao Island, Republic of the Philippines.

Dad met mom, got married in 1942 and in 1943 had their first child, my sister Pamela. In 1944 long after Grand Dad had been imprisoned in a POW camp by the Japanese, Dad was sent to England for the invasion of the mainland. I have written about some of the exploits of Dad's unit, the 405th Infantry of the 102nd ID here, here and here.

I don't remember anything about WWII having been born in Germany after the war, but I remember Korea and Vietnam.

We lived in former Army hospital housing in Fort Benning, Ga. where my two brothers Doug and Bert were born. In the fall of 1950. Dad was an instructor at The Infantry School at Fort Benning. The message came down via the routine channels. Ship out to Korea, assignment, communications officer for a Tank battalion, not a great assignment for an Infantry Officer and Dad recounts that he worried about the effect on his career as an Infantryman.

Moving to San Antonio, Texas for the duration of the war, we settled down in a house across the street from my Dad's parents.

Dad landed in Korea where he took part in the breakout from the Pusan Perimeter. As allied forces pushed the PRK forces back Dad was there.

I don't know all of the details of his time in Korea, I recall him talking about the push to the Yalu River with his troops and the "Frozen Chosin" and the battle with the Red Chinese in December 1950 when they crossed the Yalu river in force. One story related the fate of a rather selfish captain who, having received a bottle of booze hid it outside rather than share it with anyone. In the middle of the night, he snuck out for a quick nip. The alcohol was unfrozen of course, but still below zero when the unlucky captain swigged a mouthful. The freezing cold liquid froze his esophagus and stomach and he died in severe pain. After being pushed back from the Yalu Dad given a chance to "volunteer" for a dangerous assignment, one more in keeping with his training in "The Queen of Battle" as the Infantry is known. The assignment? Training and taking Republic of Korea troops behind enemy lines and into North Korea.

In the following summer, Dad and a force of ROK commandoes were "escaping" from a mission in North Korea on a powered junk with the North Koreans hot on their trail. The PRKA began lobbing mortar shells at the junk, one of them hitting it amidships and tossing dad and a couple of others into the water. Dad didn't swim thanks to a real fear of water after nearly drowning as a child. Grand Mom wouldn't let him "go back in the water" and he developed a phobia of water deeper than a coffee cup. Waking up on the deck of the destroyer or some other navy craft sent to pull them out, Dad looked up at an Ensign and asked who he had to thank for pulling him out of the water. The Ensign looked at him quizzically and said "Captain, you were the first to swim to the boat."

Dad returned to the US in 1952 and we moved back to Fort Benning where I entered the first grade. Moving to Germany in 1954, Dad was stationed at 7th Army Headquarters in 1956 when in October, '56 the Hungarian people rose up against their Soviet Oppressors. On November 4, '56 Soviet forces entered Hungry with a mind to crush the Hungarian Revolution. At the same time in Egypt, Israel, France and England invaded and took over the Suez Canal. Crisis on two continents, was World War III about to begin?

Our emergency travel bags were packed, and the possibility of war with the Soviet Union over the invasion of Hungry necessitating the evacuation of American Dependents was a real possibility. Dad worried about our safety, at the same time he had to plan for possible war.

War was averted and the intervention of Eisenhower forced Israel, England and France to withdraw from the Suez. In the summer of '57 we headed home again and Arkansas was our next stop as Dad became the Advisor to the Arkansas National Guard.

More troubles, not long after we moved to Arkansas, the Governor called out the guard to prevent integration at Central High School in Little Rock. All of us had gone to school for years with children of other colors, other races, other religions; we didn't understand the hatred we saw. Years later, Dad recalled the relief he felt when Eisenhower called in the 101st Airborne to protect the students, and Dad did everything he could to keep the Arkansas National Guard in check.

Summer of '61 brought more problems. Despite growing up in a very much "Happy Days" environment in Arkansas, South East Asia was heating up. Our new President ordered American Advisors to Vietnam to assist the RVN forces, Dad received his orders in June and in mid August he landed in the RVN. The next 12 months were an agony for Mom and the four kids. Usually once a week there was a news cast about Vietnam, most of my fellow 10th graders had no idea where Vietnam was or why we were trying to help. That would change.

In March, we received a phone call from a friend who told us to quickly turn to CBS news; Dad was on! Quickly we changed channels, but were too late. I remember Mom crying that night, fearing that after surviving two shooting wars, Dad may not make it home from the third one. He did though and in late July, 1962 Dad returned home two weeks earlier than scheduled, his mom had died and the Army opted to let him come home early for the funeral.

Next assignment, the Pentagon and Washington D.C. Actually, Building T-7 one of the Temporary buildings built during WWII to last 5 years. At 20, this one was still going strong.

Missiles of October, Kennedy assassination, the Congo. I lived in fear that he would once again have to go somewhere and put his life on the line. But the next three years passes without major family disruption. I graduated from H.S. and headed for college. Dad was assigned to Panama. He returned to Fort Sam as Post IG for his final tour of duty. In May of 1972 Dad submitted his retirement papers. "I'm tired he said, I want to enjoy my granddaughter and spend time with your mom."

In June he received a phone call from a Lt. Col. in the Pentagon asking for a copy of his medical records; he was being considered for promotion to Brigadier General. "Go to hell Col." Dad said, "I've put in 32 years in this Army, I'm retiring in 20 days. Of course, the family was disappointed. Knowing Dad would have gone from Private E-1 to General without benefit of a college degree would have been quite an accomplishment, but Dad was adamant.

His retirement years were good ones, he and Mom spent the next 26 years sharing time with each other. He had a stroke in '84 but substantially recovered though now he felt much "sicker". He survived a bout of thyroid cancer. Mom had multiple mini-strokes over a years time and died in '98. Dad was devastated

He never got over his love for mom though, each night he would kiss her picture and say "good night, I'll be with you soon enough." Dad's cancer returned with a vengeance and he refused treatment. "I'm old and tired," he said, "I want to be with your mom."

On September 3, 2000 in mid afternoon, and in his sleep, he gasped one last time and "Slipped the Surly Bonds of Earth."

I learned a lot from my Dad, and the older I got, the wiser he got. I learned to love my God, my family, my country. I learned that all men are created equal and though equal outcomes are impossible, if you try to be the best that you can, you never loose.

I learned that there are truly evil men out there, governments that trample on the rights of their citizens, governments that would love to crush America. I learned too that the American people are the most generous in the world, that we have a way of life that really is, as Ronald Reagan noted "The Shining City On The Hill."

I miss you Dad, and I want you to know that you were really and truly a hero to me, and to others. You didn't die in war, but you gave your life for your country in the best possible way, by living, but by also willing to put your life on the line. Thanks!

UPDATE: Other terrific posts on Memorial Day (and you really ought to read them all) are:

Blackfive

Cathouse Chat

Daisy Cutter Particularly Good

Flight Pundit

Red State Rant

Right Fielder

Stacking Swivel (One for Vietnam, WWII and Korea - Read them all)

If you don't read the above, you are cheating yourself out of a great big lump in your throat. Go!!! Now!!!!

Posted by GM Roper at 11:46 AM | Comments (11) | TrackBack (2)

Chris Muir Strikes Again

Amen Chris, Amen!

Bill Whittle - On Fire and On Target!

Every once in a while you will be lucky enough to read something that will rock you back on your heels. It may be a religious publication such as a bible, a history, a biography or an autobiograpy, a novel, a screen play or, in this case an essay.

Bill Whittle is the author of Eject! Eject! Eject! I first came across this guy's blog quite some time ago, early 2003 I believe, and shared his essay's with Tad, a great friend and a retired Marine. Tad's note when I sent him the first link was "Where did you find this guy, he is amazing."

I can't disagree with Tad one iota.

The first essay I read was simply titled "Victory". and as I noted at the beginning of this essay, it rocked me back on my heels. Each and every essay by Bill Whittle has done exactly the same thing. This guy is amazing! An exerpt from Victory:

I can’t describe to you what that felt like that night. You really did have to be there, I guess. Not only did you have to be there, you had to know the history, the frustration, the humiliation and the almost unendurable, relentless disappointment that had been part of being a Gator fan for so many years.

You could have watched it on TV, but you’ll never know what it was like to have that grin branded on your face, to walk up to homeless people and 85 year-old alumni and street thugs and kids and adults and everyone, everyone deliriously happy and dancing and hugging each other and just filled with such joy and elation and community. We had suffered together, lost together, come back year after year after year through endless defeats and dreams snatched away right under our noses, hoping together, and now, finally, this night had come. Next Year was here, at last.

I was honored to have done the video tribute to the team a few weeks later, in a celebration that drew 65,000 to the stadium just to say thank you. And when Steve Spurrier got on stage and said, “This one’s for all those Gator fans up in heaven,� I remember thinking, God, if that is not the corniest thing I’ve ever heard before a giant sob leapt out of me and I looked up at 60,000 people crying like babies.

Just like me.

Now it is worse than folly to compare this to the feeling on the streets of Baghdad on April 9, 2003, when the statue came down and it began to dawn on Iraqis that the son of a bitch was really, truly gone. It is an insipid, indeed, an insulting comparison.

So why did I make it? Well, because it’s all I’ve got. And that, in a strange and wonderful way, is exactly the point I want to make, for we have created a society so long immune from fear and repression, a safe and free and prosperous haven so encompassing that the deepest sense of liberation and victory that this American ever got to experience was when my college team won a stupid football game against the guys up the street.

We have been so safe, and so free, for so long, that it has warped our sense of history and human nature. It is, of course, a trade I am happy to make, but this isolation from the true horror and depravity that are everyday experiences in many parts of the world has imbedded in it, like a particularly lethal virus, the seeds of our own destruction. And it is this threat, much more than that from fundamentalist Islam and its organs of terror, that we must look at – closely, and deeply, and often.

I believe that many of those who opposed the war did so because they simply could not -- or in many cases would not – imagine what life under real oppression is like. Remember, these are the people who say, and seem to believe, that we in the US live in a police state, under a murdering dictator, where propaganda is spoon-fed to us like willing idiots and political opposition is crushed mercilessly.

If you say such things long enough, and you spend all your time in the company of similarly tinfoil-hatted comrades, then you actually begin to believe that life in Baghdad under Saddam Hussein wasn’t that much worse than life in Berkeley under the racist, election-stealing, Wellstone-murdering, Earth-destroying Republikkkan administration."

Of course, you really need to read the whole thing. Every word before you make up your mind about it.

On returning from the cruise my bride and I recently too, I read his more recent essay "Sanctuary, Parts I and II" and it too rocked me back on my heels; and has taken a few days for the whole concept to sink in. A taste:

"What’s worse than crawling under your beloved house and seeing the foundations rotten with decades of termite damage?

NOT crawling under your beloved house and seeing the foundations rotten with decades of termite damage.

I’ve been away for a while, doing a little thinking. Usually, my thoughts for these past few years have started at home and then taken me to Iraq, and the war. Lately, though, I have been thinking about Iraq, and my thoughts turn more and more to home.

I started thinking along these lines six months ago, after a young Marine shot and killed a wounded Iraqi in a mosque in Fallujah

The ideas behind this little adventure we are about to embark upon have changed enormously since then. I have, quite frankly, been at a loss to know how to put so many wide-ranging snapshots together into this montage, this image, this idea of Sanctuary that I think holds the key to many of the problems we face today.

Stay with me -- our first stop is not our destination, but it is a necessary one. So let me first take you on that original journey, and show you how events in Iraq can show us how to fight and win a much wider and deeper conflict, right here at home."

This too:

"So why were the Taliban and Al Qaeda and Fedayeen insurgents treated so differently? Why the hoods and shackles? Why the humiliation at Abu Graib?

It is not because these men shot at US soldiers. Regular Iraqi units, NVA units, North Korean Units, Germans, Japanese, Confederates and Redcoats have shot at American soldiers and upon their surrender their treatment has been, on the whole, exemplary. Why are these different?

It is not because they are opposing us. It is – to put it as bluntly as possible – because they are cheating – cheating in a way that none of the above ever did.

They have willfully and repeatedly broken the covenant of Sanctuary.

Let’s speak to the Perennially Outraged as if they were the fully grown, post-pubescent children they pride themselves on being.

What is the obvious difference between an enemy Prisoner of War, and an Unlawful Combatant? Suppose two of them were standing in a line-up. What one glaringly obvious thing sets them apart?

That’s right! One is wearing a uniform, and the other isn’t.

And why do soldiers wear uniforms?

It certainly is not to protect the soldier. As a matter of fact, a soldier’s uniform is actually a big flashing neon arrow pointing to some kid that says to the enemy, SHOOT ME!

And that’s exactly what a uniform is for. It makes the soldier into a target to be killed.

Now if that’s all there was to it, you might say that the whole uniform thing is not such a groovy idea. BUT! What a uniform also does -- the corollary to the whole idea of a uniformed person – is to say that if the individual wearing a uniform is a legitimate target, then the person standing next to him in civilian clothes is not.

By wearing uniforms, soldiers differentiate themselves to the enemy. They assume additional risk in order to protect the civilian population. In other words, by identifying themselves as targets with their uniforms, the fighters provide a Sanctuary to the unarmed civilian population."

A final tease (before I command you to read the rest):

"They violate the Sanctuary of the Uniform. They violate the Sanctuary of Surrender. And the most reprehensible of all is the violation of the Sanctuary of Mercy.

Throughout the insurgency, and especially in places like Fallujah, enemy fighters with real or feigned wounds have called for aid. Not often does a soldier who has been in combat look down upon the wounded of either side without horror and sympathy. In places like Fallujah and Iwo Jima and Antietam it is an easy thing to see one’s own reflection in that grimace and that agony.

So when a soldier out of uniform, who may have faked surrender to kill unsuspecting Americans, calls for aid and then willfully kills medics with a concealed grenade… where does that leave us? What unplumbed depths remain? When mercy is used as a weapon against the merciful, what horrors and abominations remain unplayed?

THAT, dear left-wing Citadels of Conscience, is what we are up against. That is what you support against the decency, honor and kindness you mock in your own countrymen as they build schools and hospitals and, indeed, an entire democracy. That is the definition of “Unlawful Combatant.� It is not a legal nicety, and it is not a rhetorical flourish. It is a pattern of ruthlessness, deception and murder. And regardless of your motive, it is the side you find yourself taking.

These are the kind of men in Guantanamo. Who controls such men? And when busloads of men from Afghanistan and Syria and Jordan and Egypt and Iran, men without uniforms, men not under the control of any officer, men who follow no code of conduct other than an oath to kill any American, anywhere – who among us with a gram of understanding and perspective can be surprised when such men are hooded and shackled on air transports? And being left to sleep in the open air is one thing in Northern Germany in the winter of ’44, and something else entirely in the middle of the goddam Caribbean! I mean, for the love of God, some of the people screaming themselves into a lather over such an outrage will pay tens of thousands of dollars for the same privilege a few miles away on a catamaran anchored off the coast of Jamaica."

I've deliberately teased you with a bit of Bill Whittle, hopefully, if you are as smart as I think you are, you will go read the rest of Sanctuary. It will take about an hour, only an hour, 1/8760th part of a year. It will also take a couple of days for it to really sink in.

Thanks Bill, once again you have provided me and hundreds of others food for thought, nurishment for our minds, and for most of us, reason spread on the tossing waves of confusion, hyperbole and hysteria of those who cannot see the way clear to beating down these islamofascists.

A note to my beloved readers: Read the whole thing before commenting, and when you comment, just share what thoughts you had in your heart of hearts. Oh, and one more thing, take time to read the comments too.

GM & His Sidekick Woody

I've received tens of thousands (well, ok, only thirty two) requests for photographs of both Woody and myself so that our hundreds of thousands visitors (well, ok, only 6,919 as of today) could see what we looked like as we cogitate our many posts on humor, politics, and things that go bump in the night. Click on "Continue reading" immediately below to see us together contemplating the Universe and the Problems of mankind.

Continue reading "GM & His Sidekick Woody"

Bookworm Strikes Again

Bookworm has a delightful entry on Steyn, Englands contribution to conservative literature. I missed this one, spending too much time on the blogs I guess. (Hah, is that even possible?)

Bookworm, I owe you a debt of gratitude for the report, the heads up and most of all for your outlook on life.

Oh, and Steyn's tail end comments?

When Christians get hot and bothered about a horny Jesus (The Last Temptation of Christ), a gay Jesus (Terrence McNally’s Broadway play Corpus Christi), or a Jesus floating in the artist’s urine (Piss Christ), columnists take to the barricades to champion the cause of free speech. When Muslim groups closed down a play in Cleveland because its revolting apologia for a Palestinian suicide bomber was insufficiently pro-Muslim, the silence of the media lambs was deafening.

But somehow, when it’s the merest hint of a rumor of a canard about Bush stooges flushing the Koran down the toilet, Newsweek doesn’t bother thinking through the consequences. That’s the real problem here: not the reflex leftism but the pathetic hicky parochialism of a U.S. media unable to see things except through the tunnel vision of domestic partisan advantage. Who’s really the “culturally insensitive� ones here?

As The Glen would say: "Indeed!"

Progress In Iraq

One of our new but hopefully regular commenters (from the left I might add) made this comment in the posting about Michael Yon's website:

"Well, hang on, there's nothing extraordinary about that, that's the job of an occupier in any event, to provide needed infrastructure to a recovering vanquished country, no? how is it 'news'? News would be the reality that most Iraqis have not seen improvement in health infrastructure or much other infrastructure for that matter. That is news, since it explains much of the fact of a resistance to the occupation by the US."

I need to explain, I think, that 'steve' and I have a long friendly antagonism dating back to my first days as a commenter on Marc Cooper's blog. We seldom agree about anything except our love for those fabulous, world champion Red Sox.

Having said that, I hereby 'report' news from Iraq regarding the improvements in the infrastructure in Iraq. This can all be verified with a little effort with a good search engine. Here goes:

"Vaccinated over 3 million children under five and 700,000 pregnant women with vaccination campaigns that included monthly immunization days.

Provided supplementary doses of vitamin A for more than 600,000 children under two and 1.5 million lactating mothers.

Provided iron folate supplements for over 1.6 million women of childbearing age.

Screened more than 1.3 million children under five for malnutrition.

Distributed high protein biscuits to more than 450,000 children and 200,000 pregnant and nursing mothers.

Provided potable water for 400,000 persons each day in Basrah city and 170,000 persons in Kirkuk and Mosul.

Provided skills training for 2,500 primary health care providers and 700 physicians.

Trained 2,000 health educators, teachers, religious leaders and youth to mobilize communities on hygiene, diarrhea, breastfeeding, nutrition and immunization issues.

Disseminated information on essential health messages to families around the country.

Renovated 110 primary health care centers.

Provided vaccines and cold chain equipment to selected health centers.

Developed a national plan for the fortification of wheat flour with iron and folic acid.

Marshland restoration activities have included surveys, pilot sites, flow and marsh hydrology modeling, and infrastructure needs assessments.

Produced a technical assessment in June 2003 in collaboration with the Ministry of Water Resources and the a major university.
Implementing a strategy for marsh restoration, which includes ecosystem monitoring, wetland reconstruction, hydrologic and hydraulic modeling, agribusiness, fishing and aquaculture, livestock and dairy production, and primary healthcare.

Improving capacity through laboratory and GIS development, study tours, training, and formulation of a strategy for international donor assistance and participation."

To the list we can add tens of thousands of students going to school in refurbished schools courtesy of the US Military, etc., etc., etc. I could go on, but I think my point is made to those willing to listen. To those not willing to listen, well, what can I say?

If You Have Kids, If You Know Kids, If You Were EVER A Kid

Mike at Ex Scientia, Veritas brought to my attention National Missing Children's Day an effort of The National Center For Missing And Exploited Children. They offer a lot of links, but this one for resources for parent's and guardian's is important

I can imagine no worse feeling than having a loved child missing. I've lost to death, over the years, many beloved family members; my sister, grandparents, parents, my first wife, my brother in law. Each brought a great deal of grief, pain and sometimes even anger. But in my heart of hearts, I can only imagine the pain of not knowing where your child is; what happened to them, are they hurt, are they in pain, are they dead?

A friend once said that when you lose your parents, you are an orphan, when you lose your spouse you are a widower, however when you lose a child, we have no word for that.

Thanks Mike for bringing this to our collective attention!

Reporting from Mosul

Michael Yon has an excellent article up on how news actually gets from the battlefields and neighborhoods in Iraq (sometimes the same thing) to the front page in America (be sure and read the whole thing):

"The formula followed by foreign (non-Iraqi) journalists here is different than that used by the local papers back home. Western media cannot free-range Iraq, asking questions and jotting answers on notepads, particularly where insurgents cut off the heads of anyone they do not agree with, later posting "news" videos of their own. Here in Iraq, where bullets are often the background noise, most news agencies get their daily facts spoon-fed straight from the military. The basic building block for just about any news item reported in mainstream press is something called a SIGACT.

SIGACTs are Significant Actions; anything that significantly affects friendly or enemy forces, from sandstorms to IEDs. SIGACTs originate at the smaller units and feed to higher units quickly; sometimes in seconds. If a soldier dies on a dusty street in Mosul, his HQ on FOB Marez might know within seconds, and soon his higher HQ, then various HQs in Baghdad will learn. People at Central Command in Tampa might get the news moments later, as will the Pentagon in Washington. Good or bad, information travels faster than bullets. In fact, SIGACTs travel faster than bullets every minute of the day."

This photo and the caption below explains why much of the "news" is so damned negative:

Photo © by Michael Yon, 2005

"Tailoring Facts to Fit Expectations. This Czech journalist told me the BBC did not believe it when he reported that American troop morale was high. They were concerned he was making friends with soldiers."

Daisy Cutter Launches A "New" Blog Alliance

Always on the forefront of the political arena, Daisy Cutter has decided to launch a new blog alliance for something as opposed to against something. He doesn't really like the "Blogs Against

Banning The Words Racist, Homophobic and Heretic . . . Yeah Man!

Reverend Mike at Rev. Mikes Homiletic Home Page has a post up on words that need to be banned in political discourse. The money grafs:

"In the same manner in which the "N-word" has become unacceptable to use under any circumstances whatsoever, regardless of context, I'd like to propose a couple of others -- "racist" and "homophobic." I might add "heretic" to the list as well. Not because the words in themselves are not appropriate when used in their proper context. Not at all.

I'd like to suggest that these words come to us far too easily outside of their proper context. They're showstoppers. When they enter into the conversation, they end the conversation. It's not that there are no such things as racism or homophobia or heresy. It's that they are incendiary. Because racism, homophobia and heresy are so morally repugnant, the latter more so for its inquisitional past, these words immediately put the person against whom the accusation is directed on the defensive, and they render the conversation untenable. They are the sine qua non of ad hominem attacks."

Read the whole thing.

Caveat Emperor

The word is "Caveat;" the definition is "A qualification or explanation." Everyone understands "Emperor" so the title of this entry "Caveat Emperor" refers to the emperor of explanations, qualifications, obfuscations; to beard, becloud, befog, cloak, conceal, cover, cover up, deceive, dim, dissemble, dissimulate, dress up, hide, mask; or as he is better known Senator John "Do you know who I am?" Kerry (D-Mass.)

Kerry has, according to some signed the Form 180, and he did it on May 20th of this year. Joan Vennochi, columnist of The Boston Globe (from whom I stole the title of this entry) writes:

"At this point it comes as no surprise. John Kerry is releasing all his military records -- but then again, he isn't.

During an interview yesterday with Globe editorial writers and columnists, the former Democratic presidential nominee was asked if had signed Form SF 180, authorizing the Department of Defense to grant access to all his military records.

''I have signed it," Kerry said. Then, he added that his staff was ''still going through it" and ''very, very shortly, you will have a chance to see it."

Why is his staff "going through it?" It's a fairly simple document to fill out, it doesn't leave any doubt as to what needs to be filled out, it is quite straight forward. Don't believe me? Here it is: Form SF-180 Instructions, blanks, information, signature. What could be more clear? Oh, wait, that's the point isn't it. "Staff, I want you to see what I can fill in to keep as much of my record hidden and still be able to say I signed the SF-180."

Hey Senator, release ALL of the records, then your staff won't have to "go through it," and you can keep your promise.

Which makes me wonder of course, other than Mr. Vennochi, who in the MSM is going to make an issue of this?

A Tip of the GM Chapeaux to Woody!

No Comment Necessary

I'm Against It

Compromise?

The Dems and Reps have settled, some court appointees will be voted on, other's remain in limbo, but probably won't get a vote anytime soon.

The Dems claim victory - the filibuster remains in place. The Reps claim victory, several "controversial" judges get an up-or-down vote. The American people get the shaft while the pompous Senators get the gold mine.

(GM, are you being a little hostile?...ed. - Youdamnbetcha; if you look at the history of the Phil-e-buster it has been used most often by ignorant and unprincipled congress-critters to block needed and important legislation. The civil rights bill comes to mind.)

While I recognize that the Senate (and the House for that matter) has the constitutional right to set their own rules, this rule allows a single member to block action on what may be an important and life-changing process, passing of legislation.

Now, there can be an argument made that blocking legislation can be a good thing, in fact, I have iterated that argument myself a time or two. Overall, the filibuster stinks. I would rather the Senate discard that rule altogether.

Come to think of it, I would rather the Senate and the House adopt a rule prohibiting the adding of pork-barrel spending amendments unrelated to the bill being passed. The "Transportation Bill" recently passed comes to mind. Not only is it a budget buster, but a large hunk of the spending is unrelated to transportation but allows some of the congress-critters to claim to their constituents that they brought home some bacon.

Maybe we need a third way. I'm for starting a "Vote The Bastards Out" party. Here is how it would work: If a Democrat represents you, vote in a Republican. If a Republican represents you, vote in a Democrat. A couple of elections down the road and these folk will get the idea that they work for us, and not for themselves. Then maybe, just maybe votes in the House and Senate would be for the benefit of America, and not for the benefit of the congress-critter. However, I am not going to hold my breath!

Others reporting on the compromise: The Pirates Cove, Absinthe and Cookies, One Billion Red Chinese and a Dog Named Liberty, Rambling's Journal, Mark Levin Fan, La Shawn Barber's Corner and The Smarter Cop

The Party Is Just Beginning!

I have asked Woody to continue to post and be a part of GM's Corner. He has accepted... Let the games begin!

Welcome aboard Woody, really glad to have you!

The Complimenting Commenter

While reading comments after my vacation, I came across this comment: "It's great to see kindness between bloggers. I hope that you had a great trip and will be back with good posts. Nice job to both of you," referring to banter between Woody, myself and our terrific readers. What a great concept, the The Complimenting Commenter. Go visit the site, you won't be sorry you did.

Filibuster Settled - Democrats Blinked First

It appears that a truce has been reached between the Republicans and the Democrats over the abuse of the filibuster in blocking judicial approval--and, it looks as if the Democrats blinked first. Well, at least that's my take. My initial conclusion is that the Senate will return to the manner of approving judges as in the past and that the Democrats will stop with their games--giving the President the votes on his judges, who should be approved.

Here's part of the AP report:

Under the terms, Democrats agreed to allow final confirmation votes for Priscilla Owen, Janice Rogers Brown and William Pryor, named to appeals court seats. There is "no commitment to vote for or against" the filibuster against two other conservatives named to the appeals court, Henry Saad and William Myers.

The agreement said future nominees to the appeals court and Supreme Court should "only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances," with each Democrat senator holding the discretion to decide when those conditions had been met.

"In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement," Republicans said they would oppose any attempt to make changes in the application of filibuster rules.

Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., swiftly noted he had not been a party to the deal, which fell short of his stated goal of winning yes-or-no votes on each of Bush's nominees. "It has some good news and it has some disappointing news and it will require careful monitoring," he said,

Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada seemed more receptive - although he hastened to say he remains opposed to some of the nominees who will now likely take seats on federal appeals courts.

"We have sent President George Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the radical right of the Republican party an undeniable message ... the abuse of power will not be tolerated."

So, my quick take is that the Democrats knew that the Republicans were serious about forcing the Democrats to honor the historical precedence for the use of the filibuster unless the Democrats did it voluntarily. Also, the talk about making the President withdraw some names for the purpose of approving others did not materialize.

However, I don't see this as a permanent solution, as rarely occurs in these negotiations, but it is more of a temporary truce to restore the debate to what existed before--thus, allowing President Bush's judicial nominations to receive the up-or-down vote that they deserve and which the Senate is supposed to provide according to the Constitution.

Because this agreement was just completed, it will develop further as each side claims victory and more information is made available in the next few hours. Already, we are seeing claims from both sides, but the claims of victory from the Democrats seem to have less substance. Of course, the Republicans still need to get the names to the floor for a vote, and Bill Frist is right that it will take careful monitoring.

What I presented was my quick analysis on this. How do you see the agreement? Who won or who lost? Do you think that it will last long or was this just a temporay delaying tactic? Will President Bush get the votes and have his judges approved?

Stay tuned for the next exciting episode!

Jamaica Blogging

Wow, what a great vacation, seeing part of the world I've only glimpsed through history books and movies. Jamaica was everything it could be, beautiful scenery, gracious and kind people, and some of the most breathtaking flowers I've ever seen. Herewith, a sample. After two days at sea, relaxing, dining with good company, spending quality time with the bride, a few drinks and a little gambling (I won 5 nights out of seven, mostly at blackjack, some at roulette) we had landfall at Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Nearby is Runaway Bay, the place where runaway slaves often fled their oppressive masters and took boat to other shores. We opted for a bamboo raft ride down one of the many rivers rather than attempt climbing Dunn's River Falls with a bad knee. Dunn's River Falls is perhaps the most visited spot by tourists in Jamaica. Our river guide and "Captain," Claude Johnstone built his own raft and rafts down the river eight or nine times a week in a good week. From this and tips, he supports his family of five. Claude is in his mid forties, but looks to be in his early thirties and during the entire trip downriver gave a terrific running commentary on the flora and fauna of the river as well as history of Jamaica. Here is Claude poling down the river:

Music was being played everywhere, reggae, pop, even country and western with a reggae flavor. These gents had a wonderful sound, even though they didn't look like they were enjoying playing. Yet, with the sounds they were making, they obviously put heart and soul into it.

Continue reading "Jamaica Blogging"

Back To Work

There are times in one's life when mere thanks is not enough. This is one of those times. Woody McNair, a really good friend and a fellow conservative commenter on one of my favorite progressive blogs (Marc Cooper) stepped up to the plate when I and my bride of 7 years took a much needed vacation. Woody, I don't know how to thank you enough.

More later today...

Short Survey on Presidents - Part II

Thanks to those who participated in the short survey on presidents from Wednesday. While my government grant for free prizes is still pending, I have looked into the gift bag and see that we have a tape on how to dance the Macarena (Trekkies, be sure to click on the link. Sorry, nothing from Star Wars.), a Zippo lighter with a Confederate flag on it that says "Get 'er done!" when you open it, a tape of the episode of Gilligan's Island where Gilligan did something really stupid and caused problems for the castaways (You may have seen it.), and, finally, some leftover onion rings from Cracker Barrel. If you participated, be sure to let me know which valuable prize you would like!

Your choices and reasons were well thought out. Thank you. I know that you're dying to know my selections. These are my opinions, only, and aren't necessarily better than anyone else's.

On the first quiz where we had to select the best president from a short list of exactly two--Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton....America has voted. Bill Clinton, tonight you are (long pause) gong home. Ronald Reagan is my American Idol President!! (As if you didn't know.)

Neither man was perfect and each had some good points, but here are my reasons. Reagan forced an end to the cold war, he gave Americans pride in their country again after years of malaise after Viet Nam and the Iranian hostage crisis, he reduced taxes (and indexed the tables to inflation!) and helped the country recover from the economic problems, he was able to overcome the spins of Congressional Democrats and win the support of most Americans (even California was a red state then), and he took action when needed rather than avoiding action and forcing the problems on the next administration. Clinton was in office during an economic rise, but his best claim for that was that he got out of the way. The lying and perjury and related impeachment far outweighed the positive points that he had. Clinton, in a nutshell, disgraced the office of the President.

Now, the best president in our nation's history...in a walk, George Washington. Our country was very fragile in the beginning, but Washington was probably the only one who could have guided us through those early days. Furthermore, he refused to allow the Presidency to be turned into a kingship. By refusing full and permanent power, Washington proved not to be a Democrat. Lincoln is my runner-up for maintaining the union and attempting to transition the southern states back into the union before he was assassinated. I'm not as impressed with FDR as some of you, because he implemented many socialist programs--many of which were found to be unconstitutional, he tried to pack the Supreme Court, it took a war rather than his policies to end the depression, he appointed communists to key administration positions, he broke with tradition and ran for the presidency more than two terms--plus, my grandfather couldn't stand him and I trusted my grandfather.

If you're interested, here are two related polls:

The Greatest Presidents - This is a randomly selected site, and the site is maintained by a Democrat, but I think it represents more scholarly conclusions than current polls.
Gallup Poll of Greatest Presidents - This represents people's opinions, which tend to concentrate on more recent presidents

Now, if we had a contest for most overrated president, I would have to think about Kennedy or Wilson.

I did a google search for the "Worst President," and I see that the liberal computer geeks have loaded their sites so as to produce this result as the worst president - George W. Bush's biography. Okay, so that's not a valid conclusion. It is difficult to evaluate a president until many years have passed and you can look at his performance from a historical context. I saw a link that says that historians (academia) ranks "W" as the worst. Here is a discussion thread from a liberal historian that shows a condescending attitude towards the public, which tends to give more credit to the President. Here's one section of that: "What I've really learned from this article is not that historians think Bush is a failure (I already suspected that), but that many, if not most, American citizens think Bush is an okay president. The conclusion: the anti-Bush historians have failed to "enlighten" the public."

What do you think? Do you accept what this historian says? Who do you believe is the most overrated or worst president? (Keep in mind that we might have some more prizes for responses.) Give your reasons.

For an easy contest for the liberals...if George H. W. Bush was the 41st president, what number is George W. Bush (and, don't say he's number two.)

Weather and Braves Dampen Red Sox Fans

Final Score from Saturday's game at Fenway Park:

Atlanta Braves: 7
Boston Red Sox: 5

The bigger story besides the score is that this was the major league debut for Kyle Davies--a local kid, whose family my wife knows. We've kept up with his progress from high school through the minors. When the Braves ran into a problem with its pitching staff--two starters now out on the disabled list--then the team had to call up Kyle up from the Richmond Braves.

Can you imagine being twenty-one years old, being suddenly and unexpectedly called up from the minors, making your major league debut against the World Series defending champions Boston Red Sox at Fenway Park, and having your family and girl friend fly up to watch you? Pressure!? When my wife said he was starting the game, both my son and I said something to the effect. "Well, he's going to be killed. He won't last past the third inning." I'm glad to have to eat my words in this case. Davies pitched five scoreless innings and left with four walks, six strike outs, and a 7-0 lead and earned his first major league win. I'm happy for him.

Today's match-up has the Braves' John Smoltz (3-3, 2.83) going against the Red Sox's Matt Clement (4-0, 3.56) Game time is 2:05 PM EDT.

Go Braves!! And, for the politically correct....Oh, oh, ohhhhhhh..oh, oh, ohhhhhhhh....

Armed Forces Day - Saturday, May 21st, 2005

Today is Armed Forces Day in our country. On this day, we can offer our thanks and recognize the service and sacrifices of those who serve in all branches of our military.

In 1952, the "New York Times" offered its appraisal of this day, which is still true for all who hold gratitude:

This is the day on which we have the welcome opportunity to pay special tribute to the men and women of the Armed Forces ... to all the individuals who are in the service of their country all over the world. Armed Forces Day won't be a matter of parades and receptions for a good many of them. They will all be in line of duty and some of them may give their lives in that duty.

In these times, as throughout our history, brave men and women work and train, are available at all times, put themselves at risk, and go into immediate action when called to protect you and our country. Take a moment to remember them and, today, try to thank someone in the military for all that he or she does for us--and, in accordance with today's theme, let them know that America supports them.

Warning to Criminals - Don't count on Henry Fonda

If you are an accused and your trial is set in the State Court for Fayette County, Georgia during the week of June 13 - 17, 2005 and if you are guilty, you better hope that I'm not on the jury. On the other hand, if you are innocent, you better hope that I am. That's right; I have received a jury summons for that time, and I believe in justice. (Quiz: Define "justice." Answer later.)

Perhaps, there's no danger to those on trial either way. The attorneys never pick me. The last time I was interviewed one attorney asked me if I had any preconceptions of the case, so I pointed to the judge and yelled, "He did it." That'll get you off the jury really fast!

The clerk of court sent me a list of reasons for getting out of serving. Maybe they have already made up their minds on me. However, I feel that it my duty to serve my community and uphold the sixth amendment in the Bill of Rights.

I watched an old movie the other day about juries. It is titled "12 Angry Men" and was made in 1957. One of the stars is Henry Fonda, who is the do-gooder. The story is about a jury of twelve white men (when is the last time there was a jury like that?) who heard a case about a young man's crime. Eleven of the jurors "know" he's guilty from the evidence and are ready to go home to fire up the grills and cook some steaks. But, do-gooder Henry Fonda holds out and, one-by-one, convinces everyone to switch to an innocent vote. He talks about reasons like the kid has had some bad breaks and comes up with suppositions and conclusions totally absent from the evidence presented. I saw some reviews about how good it was, but those reviewers were suckered in by the "feel good" aspect of it rather than the legal aspects. A "Henry Fonda" better not be in my group. I'm planning on cooking out that week.

Now, I remember a good court scene in which Jack Nicholson tells off Tom Cruise in "A Few Good Men" and shouts "You can't handle the truth." I have to say that to liberals a lot.

Does anyone have any tips or stories for me in case the attorneys slip up and select me for their jury? In the meantime, I'll be getting up to speed by watching "Court TV" and watching re-runs of "Matlock" and "Jag." (I had a relative star in "Jag" this season. Impressed?) If Ben Matlock is the defense attorney, the real guilty person will break down and confess before we even get to deliberations.

Just in case, I know I have along way to go, because I thought that O.J. and Robert Blake were guilty when it turned out that they were innocent. With your advice and the examples from California juries, I'm going in prepared.

Democrats Throw Spitballs - Cry Foul on Ban

Okay. Everyone else is talking about the filibuster dispute, so let's clutter up the internet a little more, but do something different by adding reason and honesty. It's great that Al Gore designed the internet to handle this load.

First, I'm going to need some help. I was hoping to find an intelligent, honest, and logical argument from the side of the left--but it has been slim pickings. Part of my problem was that I tried to find the Democratic Underground and accidentally typed "DemocraticUnderground.CON," for which the extension is quite accurate but fails to take me to the site. Let's proceed while I continue my search.

As you are aware, the Democrats have been abusing the filibuster rule by blocking the Senate in its role to provide consent for judges nominated by the President. The Republicans have tried to compromise with the Democrats, but it is expected that they will have to seek a change in Senate rules barring this unique and unintended use of the filibuster. As expected, the Democrats are in a snit and have activated their minions to do what they do best--have a symbolic demonstration that makes all participating feel as if they are important.

I've thought about this in terms of baseball--naturally. Baseball rules develop because someone or some team abuses the spirit of the game and forces a change. We have the political equivalent of the Democrats tossing the spitball to each batter, and it's getting a little messy with their slime flying around. Here's what one sports writer had to say about that pitch:

“The spitball is a freak delivery that was adopted by old pitchers who had gone stale on legitimate deliveries. It is not natural and a mistake was made in allowing its use in the first place. Its use is unsanitary and has an unsavory atmosphere from every angle to both spectators and the players.

Sam Crane, New York Sportswriter
New York Evening Journal
September 16, 1916

Can you relate that to the Democrats of today? So, the Republicans have to say, “Well, if you’re going to play dirty, then we’re going to have to change the rules to force you play fair. The spitball will be illegal.� Now, the Democrats are charging out of the dugout, swinging wildly, bumping the umpires, and kicking dirt on home plate. Got the image?

First, I think it is important to resolve this now, as we are a nation of laws and our laws cannot be made as long as there is a break in the system. For instance, does it take 51 or 60 votes to approve judges? Also, I feel as if the Democrats have abused the gentlemen's agreement that existed concerning the use of the filibuster through this extension of its use. Lastly, I don't think a compromise is likely. To the Democrats, a compromise means giving them everything that they want. I'm predicting that the Republicans will grow a spine and will repeal the filibuster's use for approving judges.

Okay, so let's see how you feel about these questions:

1. Is it important to spend time on this or do we table the debate to address pressing problems like Iraq, social security, schools, etc.?
2. Which side is correct on the issue?
3. How can the impasse be broken?

There is no material or reading assignments for you. I think everyone has gotten the idea and can proceed. However, if you like, this is an open book quiz, so feel free to refer to other resources.

Now, I have to watch the Braves at Red Sox game. I'm a little worried about the Braves pitching staff--especially Tim Hudson who is pitching tonight. Anyway, that is one thing, for now, that is more important than the filibuster issue.

Good luck on your assignment.

Saddam Hussein: New Model for Abercrombie & Fitch Catalog?

In an effort to penetrate the overseas market, Abercrombie & Fitch is expanding its catalog by featuring pictures of former dictators modeling underwear. (Warning: Graphic Image) Women throughout the Mideast are placing record orders for the upcoming issue. This could be a return to the racy catalogs from a year ago that drew protests from churches and parents across the country. Rev. Sid Burge of Attalla, Alabama said, "Dic-tater is a bad enough word without putting images with it." He is leading a fight to keep A&F from putting a store in the city.

Okay, okay, this is sick...and just another problem that our country doesn't need. After all the problems with abuse and pictures from Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, now we have a disgusting picture of Saddam Hussein standing in his skivvies. Give me a break. How did this happen?! I guess that there are going to be more protests against us and more ill will against our country. Maybe we can blame it on Newsweek.

Of course, Aljezerra shows Americans being beheaded but Hussein's picture goes over the line with that group.

Sun managing editor Graham Dudman, whose publication printed the pictures, said, "This is a man who has murdered a minimum of 300,000 people and we're supposed to feel sorry for him because someone's taken his picture? ...This is the modern-day Adolf Hitler. Please don't ask us to feel sorry for him." (Is this the same editor who criticized our invasion?)

Khalil al-Duleimi, Saddam Hussein's defense lawyer "I don't doubt such behavior from the American forces because they don't respect the law. ...They don't respect human rights and I expect them to do anything." (Hey, Khalil al-Duleimi, we didn't murder tens of thousands Iraqi citizens in cold blood like your buddy whom you're defending.)

Since the picture of the former dictator came from inside the prison, the U.S. military is investigating and said the picture violated its guidelines.

Believe me. I have little sympathy for Saddam Hussein, but we need to improve our image in the Mideast. Now, it looks as if we have new problems that we didn't need. Let's hope that it dies and that no more mistakes like this happen again.

This Day in History

It's helpful to look back at our past to understand why we are where we are today. Sometimes it's just entertaining and brings back memories. At first, I intended to focus on just one event, but I recognized that many of the events I scanned might be of interest or could have affected us. So, I am broadening "This Day in History" to several events that happened around today. Most of these were obtained from On-This-Day and The History Channel, whose programming would be mostly empty if not for Hitler and the Nazis.

Of course, I have added some editorial comments and you should feel free to add your comments or reminders of other events.

May 19, 1962 - Politics and Hollywood collide when Marilyn Monroe sings "Happy Birthday" in her breathy voice to President Kennedy for his 45th birthday at a Madison Square Garden fundraiser. It raised more than funds, perhaps including the ire of Jackie Kennedy which, it is rumored, whom the president calmed by telling her that he "did not have sex with that woman." It was Monroe's last major public appearance before her tragic death--which opened up uneasy questions about her relationships. (Kennedy's actual birthdate is May 29, 1917.)

May 19, 1910 Cy Young (Cleveland Indians) got his 500th win. In an ironic twist of fate, he did not win the Cy Young Award that year.

May 22, 1900 - The Associated Press was incorporated as a non-profit news cooperative in New York.

May 22, 1967 - "Mister Rogers' Neighborhood" premiered on PBS. Sudden surge in sales of sweaters and slippers occur.

Continue reading "This Day in History"

Ward Churchill Picks Indians Over Braves

Of course, you remember Ward Churchill, the University of Colorado professor and all-around nice guy, who came under criticism for his remarks on 9-11 victims, plagiarism, copying of art work, and claim to be an American Indian. Recently, his membership to the Cherokee Indians has been revoked. Churchill has issued a rebuttal to his critics and new proof to clarify his claim of actually being an Indian.

I will admit there is some doubt as to the authenticity of the article, as it appears more intelligent than other comments by him. But, while I can't prove that it is or it isn't authentic, what it reports appears to be accurate.

To further support his heritage, Churchill has provided a picture of his original Native American art work below the article. Much to my disappointment, it appears that he has cast his lot with the Cleveland Indians over the Atlanta Braves. (Maybe it's good. He reportedly loses control when he's pitching.)

Below is the link to the article for which no offense is intended and with all apologies to real Native Americans, whom I respect and who deserve better than to be associated with Churchill.

Am I an Indian? Ute be Surprised

Short Survey on Presidents

Okay, it' going to be light today because I spent some time with my youngest son.

Now, let's do a short survey. I'm going to give you a short list of presidents and you rank them in order of best to worst. I promise that this will be easy. Okay, here's the list:

Ronald Reagan
Bill Clinton

Okay, start. (I said it was short.)

..........................

Got that? Now, one more. Considering all the presidents in the history of country, whom do you consider the best? I've seen lists like this and knew that they were made by history professors in our liberal academia. I think we can do better. Think it over and give your choice and reasons.

This will help you:
The best president of the United States was __________________________ because __________________________________ (and, perhaps the fact that he wasn't a Democrat.)

I'll give my answers later, after you have had a chance.

Got your pencils? You may begin.

Help Wanted - Are you the right person!?

HELP WANTED

BE PART OF THE TEAM! A quality major league baseball club located in the southeast has an immediate opening for a closing pitcher. Must be able to hold leads and record saves. Duties include not walking the first batter, not making each outing a nail-biter, and not blowing the games--wasting the efforts of John Smoltz and other quality pitchers. Must have good and consistent location. A 95+ MPH fast-ball is a plus. Excellent pay in the high millions depending upon experience. Benefits include singing "Take me out to the ballgame" each day, playing catch with Johnny Estrada, being featured on the video board, a free jersey, and unlimited Gatorade. Short hours if you do your job. This is a summer position but can lead to permanent employment. Early retirement is your choice. Non-smoker preferred. EOE

Respond in confidence to John Schuerholz-Exec VP & GM, 755 Hank Aaron Drive, Atlanta, GA 30315 or call 404-577-9100.

For faster response, post your qualifications and interest as a comment to this entry.

....................

This might be possibly the person we need.
Link to: "Girl throws perfect game--against boys"

Why I Watch Fox News

Have you ever considered the beauty of liberal women compared to conservative women? Do you think I watch FOX News for its editorial content?

reg brought to my attention a comparison poster at Six Meat Buffet. Until GM returns and shows me how to post a picture, please refer to the originating site or this link to a larger image of this FUN POSTER!

(Thank you, reg.)

Kinky Friedman to Bush--"Burn Cuba's fields!"

California could have a run for its money for the goofiest governor if Kinky Friedman is successful in his bid to be elected governor of Texas in 2006. I think that we need to examine this person who could follow in George W. Bush's footsteps if elected Texas governor.

First, an overview of Friedman may be in order. His father was a professor at the University of Texas, where Kinky studied psychology in the 1960s. His real first name is Richard but his college buddies nicknamed him Kinky for his hair--which seems to have traumatized him ever since.

After college, he formed a band. The band played both kinds of music--country and western. He named it (HE named it--not me!)The Texas Jewboys, whose repertoire included such classics as "They Ain't Making Jews Like Jesus Anymore" and "Get your biscuits in the oven and your buns in bed." You may have heard these offered on the PBS fund raisers for the $500 level. His music career included a stint touring with Bob Dylan.

He moved to a writing career that took off in the mid 1980s. He has authored seventeen mystery novels in which he is the main character, a private detective. He has written for Rolling Stone and Texas Monthly magazines. In the Texas Monthly, his anti-hunting piece (in Texas of all places!) resulted in the most hate mail and canceled subscriptions in the magazine's history. The publisher didn’t fire him saying that the publicity was worth it.

In an early fray into politics, Friedman ran for justice of the peace with the slogan, "If you elect me the first Jewish justice of the peace, I'll reduce the speed limits to 54.95!" Even with that platform, he lost the election.

Throughout his career he has expressed his views on life:

• But if you're paranoid long enough, sooner or later you're gonna be right.
• Every time you see a beautiful woman, just remember, somebody got tired of her.
• I even went so far as to become a Southern Baptist for a while, until I realized that they didn't hold 'em under long enough.
• I'd be a Buddhist if it weren't for Richard Gere.
• On the whole, I preferred cats to women because cats seldom if ever used the word "relationship".
• If you have the choice between humble and cocky, go with cocky. There's always time to be humble later, once you've been proven horrendously, irrevocably wrong.
• Golf is the only opportunity that middle-aged Wasps have to dress up like a pimp.
• Beauty is in the eye of the beer holder.

President Bush invited Friedman to spend the night at the White House. Before going Friedman emailed the president: "I have four women, four editors, and four dogs. Can I bring them all?" Bush replied, "Just the dogs." After the visit, Friedman said, "I didn’t sleep in the Lincoln bedroom, but I did give George W. a Cuban cigar. He looked shocked, but I told him that we weren’t supporting the Cuban economy, we were burning their fields. George W. smoked the cigar."

Friedman is dead serious in his bid to be governor. He hired the campaign manager that helped Jesse Ventura win the governor's seat in Minnesota. His slogan is "Why the Hell Not?" Considering alternatives, it's hard to argue with that.

Education is the biggest part of his platform, and he would pay for it by legalizing casino gambling. He's not against the death penalty but is against innocent people being executed, which spoils half the fun in Texas. On outlawing gay marriage he says, "I support gay marriage. I believe they have a right to be as miserable as the rest of us."

Kinky Friedman is neither a Republican nor a Democrat, but the Republicans are pushing him to join the Democrats.

Bush leads Warriors over Sand Devils

I know that the war in Iraq is very serious, but let's take a time out to consider how a friend thinks that President Bush could better handle the PR side of it.

I was telling Del about Bush visiting Auburn University a couple of years ago. Bush started the speech with a big "War Eagle!," which is battle cry of the school's athletic teams. Of course, with that on film, guess what the athletic department now shows on the big matrix screen before the start of every game. It's almost enough to make an Alabama fan vote Democratic--but only almost.

This made Del think about how Bush could use sports concepts to increase public support--particularly for our mission in Iraq. Here's what he had to say. Keep in mind this is from Del, and not me. He's the weird one.

Maybe Bush's foreign policy would be more popular if he'd only thought to assign mascot names to the various countries. You know, like Iraq could be the "Sand Devils" and then we could be the--well, "War Eagles" actually would work, or maybe "Warrior Eagles." Journalists would be instructed to use sports metaphor. Instead of "A convoy squadron sustained heavy casualties today," we would hear, "Whoa, Bob! The offensive line just fell apart on that last drive, no question about it. Ahmed saw an opening and he went for it! That was almost a turnover!" etc.

Well, Del only saw the possibilities as it related to the military, and that makes sense seeing how football has field generals who attack opponents and drive into their territory with ground attacks and aerial assults. Particularly dangerous is the long bomb.

If the sports tie-in could be expanded so that I could get my news from ESPN or Turner Sports, then I could stay current on events and the baseball standings at the same time. We could have color commentaries by fun-loving guys like Dick Cheney or Donald Rumsfeld cutting up with each other. I'd replace Bill Schneider with Charles Barkley, whose quotes are memorable and smarter.

Of course, though, we would have to keep the traditional media. Someone has to stick around to tell liberals what they want to hear.

Did I tell you that I have weird friends? Go blame them for this.

Bush Newsweek Lied - People Died (Updated)

Good grief. Newsweek magazine, in just another pathetic attempt to discredit our administration, went too far this time. It published a false report about actions of U.S. military investigators causing riots in the Muslim world resulting in 16 deaths and more than 100 injuries. But, everything is okay. Once its mistake was pointed out, Newsweek's editor said that he was sorry--well, sort of.

Here is a link to the ARTICLE just released Sunday night, and this is how it begins:

By David Morgan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Newsweek magazine said on Sunday it erred in a May 9 report that U.S. interrogators desecrated the Koran at Guantanamo Bay, and apologized to the victims of deadly Muslim protests sparked by the article. Editor Mark Whitaker said the magazine inaccurately reported that U.S. military investigators had confirmed that personnel at the detention facility in Cuba had flushed the Muslim holy book down the toilet.

The report sparked angry and violent protests across the Muslim world from Afghanistan, where 16 were killed and more than 100 injured, to Pakistan to Indonesia to Gaza. In the past week it was condemned in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, Malaysia and by the Arab League.

On Sunday, Afghan Muslim clerics threatened to call for a holy war against the United States.

Oh yeah, I didn't mention that this also created calls for a holy war against our country. That, too.

But, the "Newsweak" editor went on to say:

We're not saying it absolutely happened but we can't say that it absolutely didn't happen either.

Judging from that, we can now presume that Dan Rather is helping Newsweek with its damage control. At least when Dan Rather fabricated tales, the only thing that died was his career and CBS News.

For additional information, here is another just released story on this matter: REPORT

Newsweek was very irresponsible and people died as a result. Furthermore, it stirred up more hate against the U.S. Retractions and apologies won't correct that damage. It's like trying to get back feathers scattered in the wind.

Also, don't expect the editor of Newsweek to attend any services for those who died--as was demanded of the President for our soldiers killed in action. That demand was just posturing for them.

And, don't expect a change in the way the media handles reports against this administration and our country in the future. It's more important for them to be the first with the stories than to take the time to get them right--especially if the news hurts the administration and insults our nation. The phony sophisticates of the media just don't think that the U.S. is a good world citizen (according to its definition,) and they want everyone to know.

I have often criticized the mass media in this country for its lack of professionalism and ethics. For that, I have heard outcries that my views were wrong and that the media is just doing its job when it is aggressive against those in power. Well, fine. Do you job, but get it right and get it right the first time. Oh yeah...when a national Code of Ethics is developed to guide journalists, will someone let me know--and let them know, too.

Now that would be news.

=============================

UPDATE - New Survey Finds Huge Gap Between Press and Public on Many Issues

How timely. An article in "Editor & Publisher," covering the newspaper industry, reviews this SURVEY:

•Six in ten among the public feel the media show bias in reporting the news. • More than 7 in 10 journalists believe the media does a good or excellent job on accuracy--but only 4 in 10 among the public feel that way. • 53% of the public think stories with unnamed sources should not be published at all. • Asked who they voted for in the past election, the journalists reported picking Kerry over Bush by 68% to 25%. • 75% (of journalists) say bloggers are not real journalists because they don't adhere to "commonly held ethical standards."

I especially like that last finding. Do 75% of journalists adhere to "commonly held ethical standards" themselves? What are"commonly held ethical standards" for the media. Is that like selective morality?

Hey, I report. You decide.

Sports Update

Atlanta Braves....5
LA Dodgers........2

There was plenty of reason for the Braves clubhouse to be celebratory after their 5-2 win over the Dodgers at Dodger Stadium on Sunday afternoon. The Jones boys had homered yet again, and the Braves had managed to take two of three in a big series. Chipper Jones' blast in the sixth tied the game, and Andruw Jones' blast in the seventh provided the eventual game-winner as the Braves bolstered their road trip with a series win over the defending NL West champs. The Dodgers, with this loss, fell out of first place and landed in third, behind the Arizona Diamondbacks and the San Diego Padres.

(Sorry, Jim. The Starfleet will recover, though.)

Democratic Wheels

Did you survive this weekend's talk shows of Democrats and liberal commentators? As I listened to them, they brought to mind those "street cars" with fancy chrome or mag wheel rims that keep spinning and spinning around when the car is at a full stop! You've seen them stopped at lights. Cool, huh?

Well, those are Democratic Wheels. Just like the party, they keep spinning and spinning with no forward motion. They look great doing it, though.

In addition, the Democrats want to sell me, but as with those wheels--I'll look, but I'm not buying.

The Democrats, not content with nothing to offer, don't want anyone else to move forward either. Maybe we could offer another road symbol to represent them--a barricade. I hope that the Republicans can break through them without going nuclear.

In the meantime, I'll admire their illusions of motion.

Mexican President Fox Slips Past Minutemen

Can you believe the following statement by Mexican President Fox from yesterday?!
_______________________________

May 13, 11:29 PM (ET)
MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Mexican President Vicente Fox called recent U.S. measures to stem illegal immigration a step back for bilateral relations on Friday and said Mexican migrants do jobs "that not even blacks want to do."

See Article
_______________________________

How did the Minuteman border patrol let Fox get over the border to make these remarks?

I don't remember any group coming out and saying that they didn't want certain jobs, so let illegal immigrants have them. Maybe what isn't said but implied is that Americans want reasonable compensation, which is harder to obtain when the job market is flooded with people crossing the border and willing to work for lower wages.

Of course, lower wages are easier to accept and justify when someone is paid in cash and doesn't have social security or income taxes withheld and the wages are not reported. It is a multi-billion dollar underground economy. Look at your pay stub and think what you could do if you had all those withheld taxes back.

Unrestricted immigration costs jobs to our citizens and money to the treasury and social security. Now, President Fox adds to our costs by harming the goodwill between our nations and insulting our people.

As a conservative, I have little sympathy for jobless who refuse work, but I don't think that is the case with the jobs that Fox discusses. Rather, as a compassionate conservative, I do sympathize with people who want to work but are having their jobs cut out from under them because we're not enforcing our laws.

It's time to enforce our laws and our borders. It's the fair and right thing for those who are here legally and who are able and willing to contribute to our productivity.

Commencement Speeches - Last Opportunity to Brainwash

Today I have to go to college graduation events for my daughter. Even guest hosts have conflicts, so please accept this paltry post until I get back tonight.

One thing that I'm not going to miss is some awful left-wing, boring, go get 'em, change the world, Bush is wrong drivel by a wacko liberal that the university thinks would be the perfect commencement speaker who can top off its mission of creating good liberal robots for the good of socialism. It's the last chance to brainwash, so make it good and don't worry about insulting the more intelligent parents who can see through it and who support the institution of higher(?) learning with their taxes and kids tuition. The university already has their money.

Well, my wife is telling me to get going or we're going to be late, and I fear the repercussions from that more than having a short post.

Let me leave you with this, so that you can participate in the research.
What have been your experiences on commencement speakers?
Who is giving the commencement address at your nearby colleges this year?
What are the political persuasions of the commencement speakers?

Stay tuned. There will be more on this.
_______________________

UPDATE: In a reply to a comment, I mentioned the impact that Hillary Clinton had on the graduates at Agnes Scott College, a women's college in the Atlanta area. Here's what the Drudge Report has to offer this next day after that. See what I mean?

'Mass Hysteria' For Hillary Clinton At Commence Day Speech
Sat May 2005 14 20:10:30 ET

"Everyone was screaming and jumping up and down. It was mass hysteria," claims a graduate of a women's liberal arts college in Decatur, GA, site of Sen. Hillary Clinton's commencement day address this weekend.

With her presidential potential adding to the pomp and circumstance of commencement day, Sen. Hillary Clinton on Saturday urged graduates of Agnes Scott College to spread the cause of women's rights and education around the world.

Now, which women's college has invited Ann Coulter?

Wait.... I just found "Accuracy in Academia", the site for a non-profit organization that publishes "Campus Report" and monitors the use of classrooms for indoctrination. Here's a short paragraph from an article from last year that may give me a clue.

Another area where universities demonstrate a liberal bias lies in which speakers get invited to come to campus. The University of Central Florida, De Pasquale said, offered $40,000 for Michael Moore to come speak while refusing to pay for Ann Coulter.

Okay. I'll put that in my "handy-dandy notebook of Blue's Clues" and will determine Ann Coulter's chances of speaking at Agnes Scott next year.

My First Day on the Job

When GM first asked me to fill in for him, I was hesitant, seeing how he has such high standards and sophisticated readers. GM said, "Don't worry. Why, you'll make ME look great!" I think that was a compliment, but GM wanted to clinch the deal, so he let me in on an inside secret. Here it is. Don't tell others.

Chicks really dig bloggers and there's LOTS of money in it!

That did it and I'm in! Let the good times roll!

Now, this is new territory, so work with me until GM returns. It may be like what my grandfather told me after I hit a golf ball in the lake after I came out of a sand trap after I punched out of the rough after a bad slice off the tee--"Bad shots make you appreciate the good ones." By the end of ten days you may appreciate GM a lot!

Did you notice that GM turned this over to me on Friday the 13th? I'm not superstitious, so what could go worng?

Let me share what I admired about this site and why I was happy that GM asked me to help him. GM has adopted honest standards. He also happens to be conservative. In addition, he explains that our different experiences may make one person's "truth" vary from that of another person--thus, encouraging people to share ideas without judging. Let's try our best to maintain these standards and openness. The only thing that I would add is that, if my truth is conservative, then it's probably right. Right?

Now, it's my deep felt belief that sites such as this get their real value, not from the hosts, but from the input of readers and their exchange of information and thoughts. This belief is sincere and that is why I want to encourage your participation and comments. Everyone and every idea is welcome and has value. Liberals are especially encouraged. I think that we can learn from each other, maybe change some minds, and all of us have some fun in the process. In either case, let's keep it clean and positive. My mother may be reading this and she thinks I'm perfect.

Now, some good news. I have great ideas for this week, such as a line-up of PRIZES including: Free gas! Baseball tickets! Bowling with GM! The possibilities are staggering. Seeming concerned, GM wanted to know who was going to pay for all of this. At first I thought, "Well, what about all that money you said that we'd make?" Then I got it. I said, "Well, who pays for anything that's free? We'll get the government to pay for it!" My congressman promised that he would put this on his list right after saving social security, so it might take a few days.

Now, to warn you in advance, some of the posts will be serious and others not so serious. I only hope that you can tell the difference. Consider my two posts below this one. The first person to actually guess which one is the serious post will be declared the winner! Now, I know this will be harder for liberals to analyze, so I'll be patient and may award extra affirmative action credits.

Take out your No. 2 pencils, break the seal, and let' start. Oh yeah...and, thanks for chipping in!

Voting: "You believe me, don't you?�

Well, it turns out “till death do you part� may be true in marriage, but not when voting for Democrats.
The dead are very loyal Democrats.

A recent newspaper investigation into voter fraud in Wisconsin found this.

• 200 felons voted illegally
• more than 100 voted twice or used fake names and addresses
• there were 4,600 more ballots than registered voters in Milwaukee alone (giving it the prize for the highest percentage of voter participation.)
• ballots were cast using the names of dead people
• 1,200 people voted from invalid addresses
• thousands of ballots were cast from people who registered the same day with no required proof of who they are.
• an activist and admitted illegal alien was named a deputy registrar of voters in Racine and worked with a Hispanic organization to meet a goal of 20,000 new voters for their interests--no proof of citizenship required.

Just which party do you think benefited the most from this?

Let’s see, John Kerry won Wisconsin’s ten electoral votes by 11,000 votes�an improvement over Al Gore’s winning margin of only 850 votes. In the Milwaukee area, there were 277,000 ballots with Kerry receiving 71% of those. There were a minimum of 36,000 votes in that city for which no voters could be produced. I suspect that Bush had the majority of the honest votes in that state, and it would have been another stolen election by the Democrats if Wisconsin had tipped the presidential election in their favor.

When the Democrats say that we don't need to fix the election process, what they really mean is that they want to fix the elections.

But, the task force looking into this blamed the problems on “sloppy record-keeping and poor training for poll workers, who were overwhelmed by thousands of absentee ballots.� So, there will be no criminal investigations or arrests. That reminds me of the scene in “National Lampoon’s Vacation� when Clark Griswold gives his son, Rusy, an incredulous reason for being caught naked in the pool with Christy Brinkley. (Any reason is good enough for me.) Clark asked, “You believe me, don’t you, Rusty?� Rusty replied with something like, “I believe you, Dad. (Then pauses.) Do you think Mom will buy it!?� Well, I feel as if the voter task force is standing there dripping wet and asking me to buy it. Only in the movies should that work.

How serious is this Wisconsin vote problem (can we call it fraud, yet)? Well, I did a google search with the words “Wisconsin,� “vote,� and “fraud.� Since that turned up 291,000 results, I can’t post this under breaking news. Fraud was predicted before the race because of loose elections laws. The dire predictions became true. Here’s a site that has a chronological series of posts on this -- “Pull on Superman’s Cape.�

How can this be corrected? Well, the Republicans in the state legislature passed bills this year requiring identification to vote, but the Democratic governor, not wanting to lose a large voter base (felons, illegals, the dead, etc.), vetoed that. The Republicans will try again, just as Congress should be trying to insure a correct voting process.

This is important for another reason. When the Democrats pretend to care when they say, "Count every vote and every vote counts," they forget that when you count illegal votes, then that makes yours and my legal ones worth less.

If this isn’t corrected soon, after 2008 you might be hearing the term “Madame President.�

Sports and Politics

I often see connections between sports and politics. Politicians see this, too, and play on it. For instance, they attend sports events and have photo-ops with teams that win championships. President Bush attended the Daytona 500 for the NASCAR dads, while Kerry went snowboarding and cycling for....for, I have no idea, but he looked real cool. Kerry also posed with the Boston Red Sox after they won the World Series, but that ended after the winning pitcher Curt Schilling backed Bush. But, you can tell more about politicians from a baseball perspective.

Did you see President Bush throw out the first pitch at RFK for the Washington Nationals last month? Great throw over the plate (maybe a little high, but it’s harder with that protective vest he has to wear.) Just like his agenda, you knew that he could put it across. In contrast, did you see the clip of John Kerry throwing a baseball when he was running for President? If his pitches are like his campaign and his friends at MoveOn, then they are far to the left and in the dirt. Also, he threw like a girl. Maybe that impresses Jane Fonda, but not me.

Men can look at how someone throws and instantly know who will get his vote. In fact, we could quit worrying about problems with voting�confusing machines and instructions, long lines, required identification, going to the wrong polling place, and explaining how dead people voted solid for Democrats and in alphabetical order. (Of course, all those are just problems for the Democrats. Smart people don’t have those same issues.) To get around this and put in a new way to pick presidents, let’s just have the candidates go to the pitcher’s mound and show us what they can do.

Here’s how it works. You get one pitch for each state with a red ball for the tie-breaker. (You can’t have one ball per electoral vote because that exceeds the allowable pitch count unless you allow the Vice Presidents to step in as relievers and a judge to be the closer.) Getting back, whoever gets the most strikes wins! I’ve looked back over the elections and the candidates. This method would have gotten the same result for each election over the last fifty years--except when limp-wristed Jimmy Carter was elected. In that case, the baseball method would have proven to work better and would have saved this country four years of agony. Do you think some activist judge could re-interpret the Constitution to get this change?

Let’s hope it’s in place by the time Hillary runs for president in 2008. The Republicans could run Curt Schilling against her.

Off To See The World - Well, The Caribbean At Any Rate

Bills paid, cats arranged for, bags packed, last minute stuff arrainged off in the morning to see the Caribbean and Cancun, do a little gambling, a little deep sea fishing, a little vodka and tonic and hold hands with my beloved as we walk the deck. Ship leaves Sunday, tomorrow we drive to Beaumont to see my former Mother-In-Law. Saturday Houston for some shopping and see an aunt and uncle I haven't seen for far too long, Sunday, we're off.

I've left the blog in excellent hands with Woody. Woody is a conservative with a heart of gold (my kind of guy) who practices as a CPA in Georgia. He is working hard at learning the blogging routine and I think he will do fine. Come and visit him often, leave comments (and more comments) so that Woody knows he is appreciated. He really is a fine guy. The only thing we disagree on is he is a Braves fan, I'm a Red Sox fan, but because I really like Woody, I allow him the opportunity to be just "wrong."

I'll be back in 10 or 12 days. Y'all take care now, ya heah?

DUmmies at DU Invert Reality... but why?

I don't get over to LGF as often as I used to, but when I go I get lot's more to read. This was from today's reading. I'm glad Charles Johnson goes to DU so I don't have to.

At the inverted-reality-based community of Democratic Underground, the inmates take a poll: What do you believe Al Qeada [sic] is? (Hat tip: freedomplow.)

* A real terrorist organization (25 votes, 19%)

* A once real terrorist organization that the administration is now using to get what they want (30 votes, 22%)

* A completely fictional organization (80 votes, 59%)

yeah, 59% of the "voters" in the DU poll believe that Al Qeada is a fictitious organization. What have they been smoking? Oh, wait, that funny herb?

Hillary Visits An Elementary School

Gleefully stolen from David at Third World County And, while you are at it, go take a look at Third World County, it's a great site, lots of good reading and an eye pleasing design.
Like David, I have no Idea At All if this story is true or not, but it could be. It could be!

So, like, Hillary Clinton goes to an elementary school in New York to talk about the world. After her talk she offers question time.

One little boy puts up his hand. The Senator asks him what his name is.

"Kenneth."

"And what is your question, Kenneth?"

"I have three questions: First - whatever happened to your medical health care plan?

Second - why would you run for President after your husband shamed the office?

And, Third - whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?"

Just then the bell rings for recess. Hillary Clinton informs the kids that they will continue after recess. When they resume Hillary says, "Okay where were we? Oh, that's right, question time. Who has a question?"

A different little boy puts his hand up; Hillary points him out and asks him what his name is.

"Larry."

"And what is your question, Larry?"

"I have five questions: First - whatever happened to your medical health care plan?

Second - why would you run for President after your husband shamed the office?

Third - whatever happened to all those things you took when you left the White House?

Fourth - why did the recess bell go off 20 minutes early?

And, Fifth - what happened to Kenneth?

Newly Discovered Blogs

One of my favorite sites is Marc Coopers Blog I mean after all, you have to know what the other side is thinking. And Marc writes very well thank you! Having said that, while surfing there the other day, I came across a new commenter and the comment was labled blue, meaning there was a website or an email address attached. So, being the ingenious, curious fellow that I am, I clicked on The Protrusion and discovered another "ugh" liberal website. But guess what? This one was well written, humorous, creative, sassy and just outright good, and I said so in a comment in Marc's blog. The Protrusion, in an e-mail back noted

"Posted a small thank you on Marc's site, but let me again say that it's really wonderful to hear that you enjoy the site in spite of disagreeing with the its politics. Maybe I find it such a nice surprise because I fear I might not be as open-minded if the roles were reversed. That's my thing to deal with, I suppose. For now, I hope you come back often, and stir up as much trouble as you like."

Yeah, I think he would be as open-minded, class ALWAYS outs. Always!!!

Now, I'm not sure that you understnd how delightful a discovery this was. Here is a site that is well written. Not like dailyKos who's invective is spitefilled and meanspirited - despite (because?) it being the most clicked on website in the liberal field. Not like Democratic Underground, a playground of deranged, G-dawful delinquents who think nothing of verbally bashing anyone who dares to disagree with their profoundly idiotic take on political life. Not even close to the pseudo-intellectual drivel of folk like Juan Cole or Edward Said.

Nope, The Protrusion is a GREAT read.

The author, who I would guess would be The Protuder(?) describes himself as:

"I'm 31. I went to film school, where I got a Masters. I'm not sure what to do with it. I live near L.A., but I don't have an agent. I've written a lot of different things, from screenplays to novels to some fake news stories with over-pixelated drawings, but I haven't made any money.

I'd like to change some of the above."

I wish him the best in making money, a name for himself and spending the next 70 years in a delightful enjoyment of life. Welcome to the Blogosphere!

UPDATE: I thought I'd show you a sample of The Protrusion's creativity. Don't get from the "photo" below that he is a conservative, he is not. But the mark of a really good writer is the ability to skewer both sides of an issue.
As I said, you gotta go see this site.

Shoot Out At The OK Corral

I have a confession to make. One of the reasons I started this blog was to verbalize my rather conservative political thoughts. I was encouraged in this by Marc Cooper, a rather progressive, individual who writes a really good blog at Marc Cooper.com Now, Marc is a liberal and there is no mistaking his intent in his political commentary. It is a mark of his professionalism and kindness that when I first thought about blogging he was encouraging, encouraging, encouraging!!! Too, he didn't let my politics interfere with his advice to me regarding selection of hosts, blogging programs, costs etc. He couldn't possibly have been more helpful if he tried.

When I started my blog, he was gracious enough to put it on his "front page" and encourage his readers to check me out. that was in November, and since then I have had a small amount of success with over 6000 visitors, 10,000 page views, 275 referring URL's, and links from 260+ blogs/sites.

Marc recently reviewed Arianna Huffington's new groupblog and did a terrific job (as he usually does) giving both good and bad points. Marc also noted that a fellow LA Weekly writer, one Nikki Finke disagreed with his POV and wrote a fairly nasty post regarding Huffington. Well, Ms. Finke responded with a caterwauling that wasn't to be believed and Marc, with his usual aplomb and verve posted her e-mail to him on his "front page" leaving the reader no doubt as to what he thought about it. The resulting catfight/shoot out in the comments section is absolutely the most fun I've had in a few days of having a lot of fun. Go, read, comment and tell Marc GM sent you. You won't regret it.

Seipp vs. O'Donnell

One of the first things I do every morning is check in with Chris Muir's comic Day By Day If you aren't familiar with this comic, you haven't been browsing the blogs/internet very long, or you just haven't been very lucky. It is an absolute joy to read every day (unless you perhaps are a curmudgeonly liberal type). Today's comic is no different, but I wasn't sure what the reference was regarding the inestimably delightful Cathy Seipp who writes in Cathy's World. Here is Chris Muir's comic for today:
Cathy Seipp's take on the whole episode is a delightful read and she skewers the bombastic (though talented) O'Donnell with the precision of a laser aimed at a tiny dot; and the dot (O'Donnell) goes poof in a tiny puff of smoke, rapidly dissipating in the wind. Heh! Go Cathy!!! Go Chris!!!

Who's On First - Abbott and Costello Revisited

"Who's On First" revised for the computer world....

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