Allen October 26th, 2004
I was writing about this in an earlier posting when my computer crashed. I became so discouraged that I simply blew it off, assuming most everyone has read the news about the missing 380 tons of explosives.
Now Captain Ed has just covered most of my discussion points in 380 Tons Of Explosives Missing — But When?.
The 48-hour rule. One to remember.
Allen October 25th, 2004
So the secret Kerry-Kandidacy-Killer is out and it turns out to be the senator pumping up his street cred once again.
U.N. ambassadors from several nations are disputing assertions by Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry that he met for hours with all members of the U.N. Security Council just a week before voting in October 2002 to authorize the use of force in Iraq.
An investigation by The Washington Times reveals that while the candidate did talk for an unspecified period to at least a few members of the panel, no such meeting, as described by Mr. Kerry on a number of occasions over the past year, ever occurred.
Kerry’s response from his campaign staff:
When reached for comment last week, an official with the Kerry campaign stood by the candidate’s previous claims that he had met with the entire Security Council.
But after being told late yesterday of the results of The Times investigation, the Kerry campaign issued a statement that read in part, “It was a closed meeting and a private discussion.”
A Kerry aide refused to identify who participated in the meeting.
The Kerry aide then smiled and aimed his finger: “Pow.”
8 more days, 8 more days, 8 more days….
Ah, who am I kidding. The lawsuits should keep this election going until mid-December.
(*sigh*)
[Via BeldarBlog]
Allen October 25th, 2004
For a roundup of state questions on the upcoming Oklahoma Ballot, I point you towards OCPA’s Synopsis of the State Ballot Questions. A supposedly non-partisan view of the questions. I’m fairly convinced that the phrase “non-partisan” doesn’t have meaning, but this site seems pretty even handed with regard to the questions.
I leave it to you to click on the link above (a new window will popup) and then see below how I plan to vote and why.
If the pro-gay lobby was seeking to suppress the social conservative vote this election, I’ve got news for them. This was not the way to do it.
As for me? I’m not sure. I think marriage has (traditionally) been for the children, not the adults. Raising kids is hard enough with two parents. Marriage was a way to encourage the male (who would really like to ensure more copies of himself running around) so stick around with the female (who really has to invest a lot of time and energy into raising a child). The adults are really the the start of the equation, not the end. And no, this doesn’t mean that childless marriages are illegitimate. I’m speaking of original purposes.
Let us assume that this question does not pass. What is next? And please don’t tell me that this is a straw man proposal. You can’t tell me that once gay marriages is allowed, others will not start lobbying and declaiming discrimination. If we allow gay marriages, why shouldn’t we allow polygamy? Polyandry?
I’m not sure the state should be blessing what is (basically) inserting tab A into slot B.
How will I vote? I’m not sure I have a strong enough opinion on this one to vote one way or the other. I would have supported an amendment allowing civil unions with all the rights and responsibilities given to marriage. I’m just not sure we should call it marriage.
[Via BatesLine]
Allen October 25th, 2004
And Greg thinks the MSM doesn’t want to be buried with Kerry & Company this November.
[P]arts of the MSM who look at this coldly and conclude, “Stick a fork in Kerry. He’s done.”
Those people will be looking, in this last week, to start to shift their field and ever so subtly start to build their little media access bridges back to the Bush White House.
The little item on Bush being smarter than Kerry that magically appeared in The New York Times over the weekend is a harbinger of this kind of late-to-the-dance weaseling. There will be more. Depend upon and be alert for it.
Media czars might lust for Kerry-Heinz sauce smothering their news organizations for the next four years, but they begin to see it will not be on the menu, they’d better start playing CYA in the last few days. Otherwise their reporters and media personalities will spend the next four years covering the White House via a remote set-up outside the courthouse in Waco. What scares the networks more than four more years of Bush, is four years in which Fox crushes even their ratings.
It’s one thing to hold a funeral for the Heinz-Kerry ticket, it is quite another to crawl in the coffin, be lowered away, and list to the dirt clods thump down on the lid.
While I’m sure lots of progressives and lefties see nothing but fawning coverage of Bush by the MSM, I see a definite slant to cover news detrimental to him.
Of course, this may be simply a slant to cover news detrimental to the current holder of the office. I think if Kerry is elected, he will not find such a responsive and supportive press as he might currently expect.
Read “HOPE IS ON THE WAY!” for the full article by Mr. Van der Luen.
Allen October 25th, 2004
No PBS special will air.
And an NPR interview will not examine the thoughts of one improvised medic in Iraq.
But his story needs to be told anyway.
In The Combat Life Saver, the Questing Cat (a soldier serving in Iraq) was with his company checking out a quiet village during Ramadan.
You want to know the most terrible moment of a disaster? It is that split second when it begins. When all of a sudden there is a bright flash, that is nothing special except that it is the big break with reality to the ****ed up world you are about to begin. A split second of bright light, and for the briefest second, there is no thought in your head, everything in you braces for….for what?
Glass and sound rain down on me…I know it was bad, I have NEVER heard anything so loud and light debris is falling all around me. I get off the stairs, and get my ****ing helmet on. wouldn’t it ****ing figure, walk around ALL THE ****ING TIME WITH THAT THING ON AND THE ONE TIME I MIGHT REALLY HAVE NEEDED IT, I WAS RELAXING.
Questing Cat training as a Combat Life Saver (CLS) now kicks in and he goes to work saving one of his fellow soldiers from Tennessee. Read the entire article for the full details.
For those of a more delicate nature, the **** above are replacements for authentic GI slang. I guess the **** key was missing from the Questing Cat’s keyboard, so he had to use the words. Read at peril to your mortal ears.
And the moral to this story: Always wear the trauma plate accessory to your IBA.
Perusing though the comments and came across this posting that sums up a lot:
Nobody wins them all but you won this one. A Mom in Tennessee won’t get a neatly folded flag. That, young soldier, is a Big Deal. It’s a Big Deal to a family and it’s a Big Deal to the guys you serve with. Every swinging *** in your outfit knows something valuable, now. When the **** hits the fan and somebody goes down, they know that The Cat isn’t going to be ****ing the duck.
You didn’t fall apart, you remembered your training and you did your best and your best was good enough.
You done good. An award? Hell, some kid in Tennessee is gonna end up named after you.
[Via Mudville Gazette]
Allen October 24th, 2004
Scene: A father enters the room where his two loving daughters are lounging in chairs. He proudly announces that he has signed up the family for a cellular phone plan. This results in (drum roll) free family talk time. Luckily the mother saves the day by announcing that the girls can talk to their friend (rather than their lame dad) with this plan. Group hug ensues — sans Dad. The commercial finishes with Dad plaintively asking, “Call me?”
Who, exactly, is this commerical aimed at? The father that is going to sign up the family with a phone plan? Oh, yeah. I want to swing my business to a company that rubs my nose in the fact that my young princesses no longer think I’m cool and no longer wants to talk to me.
Funny? Perhaps. Effective? I doubt it.
Allen October 24th, 2004
I’ve seen the new When the Man Comes Around animation featuring the Johnny Cash song of the same name.
While I do support George Bush in the upcoming election, I want to make one thing clear. George Bush is not the person that Johnny Cash is singing about in the song. Yes, yes, I know that everyone realizes this, but I do want to make sure.
So everyone, let’s all say this together: George Bush is not Jesus. Johnny was singing about Jesus, not George.
I realize some of George’s more ardent supporters might blend these two, but they’re not the same.
Just so we’re clear, OK?
Allen October 24th, 2004
With links to toons both wholesome and wicked, Don Markstein’s Toonopedia is a invaluable resource for those who love toons both on-screen and on-paper.
While some of my later favorites (Bone, in particular) is not present, Don has done an outstanding job cataloging all kinds of toons:
Actually, I made the last one up. I re-found some old characters that I had long forgotten and I hope that you can discover (or re-discover) some toons at Don’s great page.
Allen October 21st, 2004
Just when you thought the ALCS was all over, it turns out that the Yankers won after all.
Allen October 21st, 2004
Stephen Green thinks Jimmy Carter should just Go Back to Carpentry.