Lyrics for everyone
06.29.04 (8:29 pm) [edit]
Shadows entertain the unwashed masses
Scholars explain their numb reactions
I don't even know if I can ever find Truth
But I'm sure it won't come from following you
There's a furnace set on high
a yearning undefined
But it's time to turn the tide
it's social suicide.
-- Bad Religion, "Social Suicide," from The Empire Strikes First, Epitaph, 2004
Scholars explain their numb reactions
I don't even know if I can ever find Truth
But I'm sure it won't come from following you
There's a furnace set on high
a yearning undefined
But it's time to turn the tide
it's social suicide.
-- Bad Religion, "Social Suicide," from The Empire Strikes First, Epitaph, 2004
Thanks, Michael Moore!
06.29.04 (1:15 pm) [edit]
At first I didn't realize what a service Michael Moore has done for American society with his new, "edgy" film, Farhenheit 9/11. But after seeing some of the reactions of people who've gone to see it, I finally saw the light. Moore has made it incredibly easy to spot liberals who are incredibly stupid.
Moore's credentials, methods, and integrity have been called into question by plenty of people much more plugged-in than I am. To get it from both sides, you could read the Jonah Goldberg column I posted a while ago, or you could read this Christopher Hitchens [url=http://slate.msn.com/id/21027...]article[/url] in Slate (thanks to [url=http://juniperflux.tblog.com]juniperflux[/url] for pointing this out). Both of these guys make pretty good cases for taking what Moore has to say with several very large grains of salt.
What baffles me is how many people have just swallowed Moore's line without question. I guess the logic runs something along the lines of, "if it's against Bush, it must be accurate." This is nonsense! Michael Moore could say that George W. Bush's favorite hobby is raping babies, and there would without a doubt be an Anti-Bush-Baby-Raping rally in Washington the next day.
Furthermore, there are those (including Moore himself)who'll take criticism of Michael Moore as an attack of Liberal Ideology. Look folks, I hate to break this to you, but if Michael Moore is the new spokesperson for the Left, then we're going to be a very conservative country in very short order.
The thing is, guys, Michael Moore isn't (for reasons clearly stated in the columns linked to above) the greatest choice as party representative. If you're going around shouting, "Noam Chomsky for President," then I know the longest philosophy book you've read has probably been plastered on the rear bumper of some Yugo in Ithaca, New York.
So to those of you who've been singing the praises of this second-rate documentarian, I'm really not too interested in what you have to say anymore. It's not that I'm against free speech or dialogue with people who are left-justified (editorial joke), it's just that Farhenheit 9/11 has been a very effective litmus test. It's determined which of you know what you're talking about, and which ones should be in the chimpanzee training program and the San Diego Zoo.
There are plenty of other liberal apologists out there, and I imagine the ones who've spent their time actually thinking about what they're saying or writing are mighty peeved that Moore's the one getting the attention.
-30-
Moore's credentials, methods, and integrity have been called into question by plenty of people much more plugged-in than I am. To get it from both sides, you could read the Jonah Goldberg column I posted a while ago, or you could read this Christopher Hitchens [url=http://slate.msn.com/id/21027...]article[/url] in Slate (thanks to [url=http://juniperflux.tblog.com]juniperflux[/url] for pointing this out). Both of these guys make pretty good cases for taking what Moore has to say with several very large grains of salt.
What baffles me is how many people have just swallowed Moore's line without question. I guess the logic runs something along the lines of, "if it's against Bush, it must be accurate." This is nonsense! Michael Moore could say that George W. Bush's favorite hobby is raping babies, and there would without a doubt be an Anti-Bush-Baby-Raping rally in Washington the next day.
Furthermore, there are those (including Moore himself)who'll take criticism of Michael Moore as an attack of Liberal Ideology. Look folks, I hate to break this to you, but if Michael Moore is the new spokesperson for the Left, then we're going to be a very conservative country in very short order.
The thing is, guys, Michael Moore isn't (for reasons clearly stated in the columns linked to above) the greatest choice as party representative. If you're going around shouting, "Noam Chomsky for President," then I know the longest philosophy book you've read has probably been plastered on the rear bumper of some Yugo in Ithaca, New York.
So to those of you who've been singing the praises of this second-rate documentarian, I'm really not too interested in what you have to say anymore. It's not that I'm against free speech or dialogue with people who are left-justified (editorial joke), it's just that Farhenheit 9/11 has been a very effective litmus test. It's determined which of you know what you're talking about, and which ones should be in the chimpanzee training program and the San Diego Zoo.
There are plenty of other liberal apologists out there, and I imagine the ones who've spent their time actually thinking about what they're saying or writing are mighty peeved that Moore's the one getting the attention.
-30-
A Joke courtesy of BroAnimal
06.28.04 (5:34 pm) [edit]
My little brother Jake told me this joke on the phone the other night.
The teacher of a first-grade class tells her students that for their homework, they had to go home and ask their parents for a story with a moral to it, which they would share with the rest of the class the next day.
The next morning, the teacher told the class it was time for their homework assignment. Little Johnny raised his hand, and the teacher called him forward.
"Here's my story," said Little Johnny. "My Uncle Joey was a pilot in the Vietnam war. One day while he was flying, he got shot down. He ejected, and when his parachute deployed, and all he had with him was a fifth of Jack Daniels, a pistol, and a hunting knife.
"Uncle Joey drank the entire bottle of Jack Daniels on his way down into the jungle. When he landed, he was surrounded by 20 Charlies. He shot 12 of them dead, killed another 6 with the hunting knife, and the last two he finished off with his bare hands."
The teacher was appalled. "Johnny," she said, "that's a horrible story. What could the moral of the story be?"
Johnny looked at her.
"Don't hang around Uncle Joey when he's drinking."
-30-
The teacher of a first-grade class tells her students that for their homework, they had to go home and ask their parents for a story with a moral to it, which they would share with the rest of the class the next day.
The next morning, the teacher told the class it was time for their homework assignment. Little Johnny raised his hand, and the teacher called him forward.
"Here's my story," said Little Johnny. "My Uncle Joey was a pilot in the Vietnam war. One day while he was flying, he got shot down. He ejected, and when his parachute deployed, and all he had with him was a fifth of Jack Daniels, a pistol, and a hunting knife.
"Uncle Joey drank the entire bottle of Jack Daniels on his way down into the jungle. When he landed, he was surrounded by 20 Charlies. He shot 12 of them dead, killed another 6 with the hunting knife, and the last two he finished off with his bare hands."
The teacher was appalled. "Johnny," she said, "that's a horrible story. What could the moral of the story be?"
Johnny looked at her.
"Don't hang around Uncle Joey when he's drinking."
-30-
America Armed Saddam… so what?
06.28.04 (1:30 pm) [edit]
When it comes to discussing weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, an argument that invariably comes up from the “Leave poor Saddam alone” side runs something like this: yes, Iraq did in fact possess weapons of mass destruction, because the United States gave them to him during the war with Iran. Therefore, they say, it’s our fault he had them, and who are we to say he can’t have them any more?
The ‘80s-era Iran-Iraq conflict is an absolute mess to sort through, but the main concept is the United States’ desire to maintain positive control over the Gulf oil fields despite potential national and regional conflicts – including the bloody war between Iran and Iraq. It’s good to keep in mind that the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were still at Cold-War loggerheads during this period. We began by trying to influence Iran’s government, both by arming the Ayatollah and by supporting the Iranian resistance movement, and when the Iranians leaked the story, we shifted sides to Iraq to maintain some kind of position in the region. It would be ridiculous to think that anyone had any false notions about either Saddam Hussein (who we aided with intelligence and weapons) or the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. Both were known to be brutal leaders more than willing to send thousands upon thousands to their deaths. Everyone involved acted atrociously, but the bottom line was to prevent Gulf oil fields from falling into “hostile hands” and disrupting the global balance of power. There are, of course, countless other intrigues and treacheries involved in this story, but let’s get on to the main point.
Why does this arming of Saddam in the ‘80s matter at all in reference to what we’re doing now? Say what you want about the mistakes Carter and Reagan made in their deal-ings with the region, the origins of Saddam’s arsenal, such as it is, is immaterial now. Does the fact that Reagan gave weapons to Saddam during the Cold War preclude our taking corrective measures now? I don’t think so, and it seems pretty apparent that the argument of “Well, he was our sonofabitch” holds no water. In fact, it would seem to me that correcting mistakes we’ve made in the past should be relatively high on our priority list.
The bloody history of the Persian Gulf over the past 30 years also makes me wonder if folks who cook up theories about Cheney’s schemes to enrich Halliburton are completely ignorant of what’s happened there. We’ve been trying to “control” the Middle East (as has Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) since before Led Zeppelin was touring. This isn’t anything new, and it definitely isn’t some new scheme on the part of the former CEO-turned-vice president.
All I’m saying here is the same thing I’ve been trying to convince people of from the beginning: take a little time to look into things before hopping on some slogan-spouting bandwagon. Things aren’t ever as simple as they’re made out to be on T.V.
-30-
Meanwhile, in Ian-land, I’ve got an interview with the boy with leukemia tomorrow at noon, I may have found a car (’97 Camaro Z28, hardtops, 75k miles, one owner and priced to sell), the hairdresser called yesterday and wants to “hang out” on the Fourth, and Jonah Goldberg has written a great (and characteristically hilarious) [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]article[/url] about Michael Moore and those who love him. I highly recommend it. Thanks, and stay tuned!
The ‘80s-era Iran-Iraq conflict is an absolute mess to sort through, but the main concept is the United States’ desire to maintain positive control over the Gulf oil fields despite potential national and regional conflicts – including the bloody war between Iran and Iraq. It’s good to keep in mind that the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. were still at Cold-War loggerheads during this period. We began by trying to influence Iran’s government, both by arming the Ayatollah and by supporting the Iranian resistance movement, and when the Iranians leaked the story, we shifted sides to Iraq to maintain some kind of position in the region. It would be ridiculous to think that anyone had any false notions about either Saddam Hussein (who we aided with intelligence and weapons) or the Ayatollah Khomeini in Iran. Both were known to be brutal leaders more than willing to send thousands upon thousands to their deaths. Everyone involved acted atrociously, but the bottom line was to prevent Gulf oil fields from falling into “hostile hands” and disrupting the global balance of power. There are, of course, countless other intrigues and treacheries involved in this story, but let’s get on to the main point.
Why does this arming of Saddam in the ‘80s matter at all in reference to what we’re doing now? Say what you want about the mistakes Carter and Reagan made in their deal-ings with the region, the origins of Saddam’s arsenal, such as it is, is immaterial now. Does the fact that Reagan gave weapons to Saddam during the Cold War preclude our taking corrective measures now? I don’t think so, and it seems pretty apparent that the argument of “Well, he was our sonofabitch” holds no water. In fact, it would seem to me that correcting mistakes we’ve made in the past should be relatively high on our priority list.
The bloody history of the Persian Gulf over the past 30 years also makes me wonder if folks who cook up theories about Cheney’s schemes to enrich Halliburton are completely ignorant of what’s happened there. We’ve been trying to “control” the Middle East (as has Britain, France, and the Soviet Union) since before Led Zeppelin was touring. This isn’t anything new, and it definitely isn’t some new scheme on the part of the former CEO-turned-vice president.
All I’m saying here is the same thing I’ve been trying to convince people of from the beginning: take a little time to look into things before hopping on some slogan-spouting bandwagon. Things aren’t ever as simple as they’re made out to be on T.V.
-30-
Meanwhile, in Ian-land, I’ve got an interview with the boy with leukemia tomorrow at noon, I may have found a car (’97 Camaro Z28, hardtops, 75k miles, one owner and priced to sell), the hairdresser called yesterday and wants to “hang out” on the Fourth, and Jonah Goldberg has written a great (and characteristically hilarious) [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]article[/url] about Michael Moore and those who love him. I highly recommend it. Thanks, and stay tuned!
Kilborn speaks the truth
06.28.04 (9:41 am) [edit]
The latest reviews for the new Michael Moore film are in. It got thumbs up from Ebert and Saddam.
-- Craig Kilborn, June 23
Yeah, his late night show sucks, but that there's a gem.
-30-
-- Craig Kilborn, June 23
Yeah, his late night show sucks, but that there's a gem.
-30-
Fourth Street Live! With the Violent Femmes
06.26.04 (9:19 pm) [edit]
I decided to shell out the money for a cab up to Louisville. I was sitting in my room Friday evening and though, "Dammit, I'm not going to endure another Country Music night at the Rocker." So I called the cab company and forked over $42.50 in hard-earned taxpayer dollars.
I got to Louisville's Fourth Street Live! around 7:30. I really had no idea of what it was -- aside from the fact that it had just opened and was covered in bars. As it happens, Fourth Street Live! is a two-block section of downtown cordoned off to vehicular traffic. There's a stage set in the middle of the street at one end, wedged between two skyscrapers. And yes, it is covered in bars. There's a comedy club, a tiki/sports bar called Parrot Bay, a TGI Friday's, and a Hard Rock Cafe, complete with enormous neon Gibson Les Paul (I had never noticed, but the knobs on that guitar all go up to 11. Hooray for Spinal Tap).
Two bands were playing before The Violent Femmes came on -- the Muckrakers, who sound like every other college stoner band, and a band that fused Vegas lounge lizardism with the lyrical sensibility of, say, Sir Mix-A-Lot on quaaludes.
I was sitting at the comedy club's exterior bar drinking a Heineken when two young women sat down next to me. I studiously ignored them at first, and just listened to their conversation a bit while I sipped my beer.
Eventually I asked the obvious question.
"You here to see The Violent Femmes?"
"Yeah," said the very skinny one.
Turns out, these two were a hairdresser and an education graduate student who loved music. We got to talking, and when they found out that I had forlornly gotten into a cab at Fort Knox and come up by myself, they suggested I hang out with them for the evening. Southerners are so friendly!
We had a couple more drinks at the comedy club. The place had only opened on Wednesday so the barstaff was a little inept -- the girls ordered two Tanqueray and cranberries, and wound up with a couple gin-and-Hawaiian Punches. They didn't seem to mind too much, but they did notice, which I thought was very cool.
The Femmes took the stage to collective roars from the packed street. There were all kinds of people there... young mothers, old guys with three-foot beards, and of course, the Concert People (you know who I'm talking about -- they'll be the subject of another post).
After quaffing another beer, the girls and I crammed our way into the crowd in front of the stage as the Femmes belted out their signature alt-rock style, which mixes a little rockabilly twang with some Presidents of the USA rock, all the while taking themselves about as seriously as They Might Be Giants did. They'd play a little hillbilly tune, then burst out with a saxophone and trumpet and melt into a little heavy acid jazz... wonderful stuff. Naturally, everyone screamed along with "Blister in the Sun" and one of my personal favorites, "American Music."
One of the girls got slightly claustrophobic at one point and suggested heading toward the back. I thought this was a decent idea, because I had grooved enough and was getting mighty thirsty. I started creeping my way through the crowd toward the Miller Lite stand.
Unfortunately, when I got to an open space, the girls were gone. This caused me some slight dismay, but I wasn't too worried, since it really hadn't taken much effort in the first place. I went back to the comedy club, ordered another beer, and made a couple phone calls.
About half an hour later I spotted one of the girls -- she was wearing this odd pink and grey-striped top that was easy to see. They were talking with some friends across one of the gangplanks that crisscross Fourth Street. I gulped down my beer and headed over.
It turned out they hadn't really tried to ditch me... the one who'd wanted to leave just changed her mind, and they said they realized I was gone after I was out of earshot (about three feet away). All's well that ends well.
One of their friends, a guy named Tom, turned out to be an Air National Guard DINFOS graduate, which is where I went for journalism training after Basic. We swapped Fort Meade stories, and then someone suggested we all head to a karaoke place.
The last hours of the night were spent in this smoky, out-of-the-way karaoke bar, where some incredibly talented folks sang along to the words scrolling across the screens. One guy in a leather vest got up and sang "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. I was a little dismayed by his choice, but dang, the guy had a set of pipes.
The hairdresser got up and gave a racy, thumbs-up performace to "Personal Dancer," which elicited roars and applause from the bar patrons.
I wasn't standing completely straight by the time my request came up, "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon (ask [url=http://lyondenyit.tblog.com]LyonDenyit[/url] about that one, he loves singing it after a handful of Jack and Cokes).
Around 3 a.m., the hairdresser decided to go and get some fresh air. We'd danced to some crazy song earlier, and she asked me if I would like to go with her. We spent about 15 minutes making out in the parking lot next to her station wagon. She gave me her number and email address.
Then it was time to go home. I was about to call a cab, but good old Tom volunteered to drive the 45 minutes back to Knox. What a guy! We talked for a while, but after a bit I asked him if he minded if I put the seat back and closed my eyes -- I was a little in the bag, and exhausted. He said to go ahead, and the next thing I knew, we were pulling into the security checkpoint at the main gate.
I thanked Tom profusely and dragged myself up to my door. Once inside my room, I fell into bed and instantly went to sleep.
What an awesome Friday!
-30-
I got to Louisville's Fourth Street Live! around 7:30. I really had no idea of what it was -- aside from the fact that it had just opened and was covered in bars. As it happens, Fourth Street Live! is a two-block section of downtown cordoned off to vehicular traffic. There's a stage set in the middle of the street at one end, wedged between two skyscrapers. And yes, it is covered in bars. There's a comedy club, a tiki/sports bar called Parrot Bay, a TGI Friday's, and a Hard Rock Cafe, complete with enormous neon Gibson Les Paul (I had never noticed, but the knobs on that guitar all go up to 11. Hooray for Spinal Tap).
Two bands were playing before The Violent Femmes came on -- the Muckrakers, who sound like every other college stoner band, and a band that fused Vegas lounge lizardism with the lyrical sensibility of, say, Sir Mix-A-Lot on quaaludes.
I was sitting at the comedy club's exterior bar drinking a Heineken when two young women sat down next to me. I studiously ignored them at first, and just listened to their conversation a bit while I sipped my beer.
Eventually I asked the obvious question.
"You here to see The Violent Femmes?"
"Yeah," said the very skinny one.
Turns out, these two were a hairdresser and an education graduate student who loved music. We got to talking, and when they found out that I had forlornly gotten into a cab at Fort Knox and come up by myself, they suggested I hang out with them for the evening. Southerners are so friendly!
We had a couple more drinks at the comedy club. The place had only opened on Wednesday so the barstaff was a little inept -- the girls ordered two Tanqueray and cranberries, and wound up with a couple gin-and-Hawaiian Punches. They didn't seem to mind too much, but they did notice, which I thought was very cool.
The Femmes took the stage to collective roars from the packed street. There were all kinds of people there... young mothers, old guys with three-foot beards, and of course, the Concert People (you know who I'm talking about -- they'll be the subject of another post).
After quaffing another beer, the girls and I crammed our way into the crowd in front of the stage as the Femmes belted out their signature alt-rock style, which mixes a little rockabilly twang with some Presidents of the USA rock, all the while taking themselves about as seriously as They Might Be Giants did. They'd play a little hillbilly tune, then burst out with a saxophone and trumpet and melt into a little heavy acid jazz... wonderful stuff. Naturally, everyone screamed along with "Blister in the Sun" and one of my personal favorites, "American Music."
One of the girls got slightly claustrophobic at one point and suggested heading toward the back. I thought this was a decent idea, because I had grooved enough and was getting mighty thirsty. I started creeping my way through the crowd toward the Miller Lite stand.
Unfortunately, when I got to an open space, the girls were gone. This caused me some slight dismay, but I wasn't too worried, since it really hadn't taken much effort in the first place. I went back to the comedy club, ordered another beer, and made a couple phone calls.
About half an hour later I spotted one of the girls -- she was wearing this odd pink and grey-striped top that was easy to see. They were talking with some friends across one of the gangplanks that crisscross Fourth Street. I gulped down my beer and headed over.
It turned out they hadn't really tried to ditch me... the one who'd wanted to leave just changed her mind, and they said they realized I was gone after I was out of earshot (about three feet away). All's well that ends well.
One of their friends, a guy named Tom, turned out to be an Air National Guard DINFOS graduate, which is where I went for journalism training after Basic. We swapped Fort Meade stories, and then someone suggested we all head to a karaoke place.
The last hours of the night were spent in this smoky, out-of-the-way karaoke bar, where some incredibly talented folks sang along to the words scrolling across the screens. One guy in a leather vest got up and sang "A Whole New World" from Aladdin. I was a little dismayed by his choice, but dang, the guy had a set of pipes.
The hairdresser got up and gave a racy, thumbs-up performace to "Personal Dancer," which elicited roars and applause from the bar patrons.
I wasn't standing completely straight by the time my request came up, "Jealous Guy" by John Lennon (ask [url=http://lyondenyit.tblog.com]LyonDenyit[/url] about that one, he loves singing it after a handful of Jack and Cokes).
Around 3 a.m., the hairdresser decided to go and get some fresh air. We'd danced to some crazy song earlier, and she asked me if I would like to go with her. We spent about 15 minutes making out in the parking lot next to her station wagon. She gave me her number and email address.
Then it was time to go home. I was about to call a cab, but good old Tom volunteered to drive the 45 minutes back to Knox. What a guy! We talked for a while, but after a bit I asked him if he minded if I put the seat back and closed my eyes -- I was a little in the bag, and exhausted. He said to go ahead, and the next thing I knew, we were pulling into the security checkpoint at the main gate.
I thanked Tom profusely and dragged myself up to my door. Once inside my room, I fell into bed and instantly went to sleep.
What an awesome Friday!
-30-
A new dateweek
06.25.04 (9:28 am) [edit]
It would be tempting to begin this post with a little something about the “firestorm” that erupted over my “Does this seem strange to you, too?” post, but I figure, the fun’s been had, and it’s time to move on. I will say this, though… thanks to everyone involved (you know who you are!). I can’t tell you how much amusement I got out of it.
Moving right along. Larry liked my [url=http://www.thenewsenterprise....]assistive dog training story[/url] , so he decided I’d be right for a heart-render this week: this 15-year-old who was a student here at a Knox middle school said goodbye to his classmates two weeks ago, and is now diagnosed with lymphatic leukemia. He’s scheduled for a bone marrow transplant, but the prognosis isn’t good. This is going to be a tough one.
While I sit here looking at the phone and the number for his teacher, our new Red Cross intern Jessica is trying to convince me to go to Junior Warped Tour to shoot photos. She says she’ll hold my camera.
Speaking of music, I’ve got to find a way to get up to Louisville tonight to see the Violent Femmes. They’re playing for free at Fourth Street Live, and I’d love to see ‘em. My choices now are either pony up $60 for a cab ride or walk. Maybe I can find someone who’s going from the barracks… although I’m not hopeful. Most of the music I hear pumping around back there is hip hop, and I’d be surprised if I could find another Femmes fan.
I guess I better get going and give this teacher a call. Yikes.
-30-
EDIT - By the way, if you want some entertainment, head on over to SamAdam's blog and check out the vitriol spilled over the afore-mentioned issue. Apparently, I'm a "neo-con fuckwit who isn't actually in the military." (Their words).
EDIT 2 - For a fresh (and, for a change, accurate) take on the so-called "Torture Memo," take a look at this [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]Article[/url]. It's by Andrew C. McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism commission against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. It's a good read, and opens up a few issues that have been ignored by certain major media outlets. -- IB
Moving right along. Larry liked my [url=http://www.thenewsenterprise....]assistive dog training story[/url] , so he decided I’d be right for a heart-render this week: this 15-year-old who was a student here at a Knox middle school said goodbye to his classmates two weeks ago, and is now diagnosed with lymphatic leukemia. He’s scheduled for a bone marrow transplant, but the prognosis isn’t good. This is going to be a tough one.
While I sit here looking at the phone and the number for his teacher, our new Red Cross intern Jessica is trying to convince me to go to Junior Warped Tour to shoot photos. She says she’ll hold my camera.
Speaking of music, I’ve got to find a way to get up to Louisville tonight to see the Violent Femmes. They’re playing for free at Fourth Street Live, and I’d love to see ‘em. My choices now are either pony up $60 for a cab ride or walk. Maybe I can find someone who’s going from the barracks… although I’m not hopeful. Most of the music I hear pumping around back there is hip hop, and I’d be surprised if I could find another Femmes fan.
I guess I better get going and give this teacher a call. Yikes.
-30-
EDIT - By the way, if you want some entertainment, head on over to SamAdam's blog and check out the vitriol spilled over the afore-mentioned issue. Apparently, I'm a "neo-con fuckwit who isn't actually in the military." (Their words).
EDIT 2 - For a fresh (and, for a change, accurate) take on the so-called "Torture Memo," take a look at this [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]Article[/url]. It's by Andrew C. McCarthy, who led the 1995 terrorism commission against Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman. It's a good read, and opens up a few issues that have been ignored by certain major media outlets. -- IB
What a surprise!
06.24.04 (3:22 pm) [edit]
I don't know how long I've been on it, but somehow I made [url=http://whynot.tblog.com]WhyNot[/url]'s list of "Blogs that Suck"! I'm excited. Although, I'm confused by his reasoning, which is that "A Healthy Alternative to Work" combines "the best of fascism and racism in one neat blog." Weird, huh?
Does this seem strange to you, too?
06.24.04 (11:24 am) [edit]
I've been wondering for a while how so many political blogs here on tBLOG could have exactly the same perspective. Now, I've been suspicious for a while, but check it out for yourself. Is it just me, or do these blogs all have striking similarities?
[url=http://winstonsmith.tblog.com...]WinstonSmith's blog[/url]
[url=http://samadams.tblog.com]SamAdam's blog[/url]
[url=http://patriotacts.tblog.com]PatriotActs' blog[/url]
[url=http://checkitout.tblog.com]CheckItOut's blog[/url]
[url=http://usefulidiot.tblog.com]UsefulIdiot's blog[/url]
[url=http://spymaster.tblog.com]SpyMaster's blog[/url]
[url=http://carteblanche.tblog.com...]CarteBlanche's blog[/url]
[url=http://iconoclasticdeer.tblog...]IconoclasticDeer's blog[/url]
There may even be more. Now, what similarities can we find? Ok, don't go for the easy answer, which is leftist/propagandist language. I mean, just look at them! They all look [i]exactly alike.[/i] Even the names are formatted the same way: two names run together, each capitalized. The design, from fonts to colors, is nearly identical, as are the headers. The links on the right margin all draw from the same pond.
What are we to conclude, here? Either a) they're a bunch of completely unoriginal knock-offs or b) they're all the same person. I'm leaning toward b), but a) is certainly possible.
If it is all the same guy, know this: these blogs represent just about everything in the "Politics" section of tBLOG. If you are one person, oh Nation-aping blogger, does it make you feel better to have at least the semblance of the majority? I suppose I can understand that, but still, it's pretty pathetic to have to come up with multiple identities just to appear to have people who agree with you.
I could be wrong. What do you think?
-30-
Added on June 25: The upset this post caused has provided a lot of entertainment for me, and, I hope, for anyone else who's bothered to follow along. I'd like to reemphasize the last line for all of you folks who obviously didn't catch it.
[url=http://winstonsmith.tblog.com...]WinstonSmith's blog[/url]
[url=http://samadams.tblog.com]SamAdam's blog[/url]
[url=http://patriotacts.tblog.com]PatriotActs' blog[/url]
[url=http://checkitout.tblog.com]CheckItOut's blog[/url]
[url=http://usefulidiot.tblog.com]UsefulIdiot's blog[/url]
[url=http://spymaster.tblog.com]SpyMaster's blog[/url]
[url=http://carteblanche.tblog.com...]CarteBlanche's blog[/url]
[url=http://iconoclasticdeer.tblog...]IconoclasticDeer's blog[/url]
There may even be more. Now, what similarities can we find? Ok, don't go for the easy answer, which is leftist/propagandist language. I mean, just look at them! They all look [i]exactly alike.[/i] Even the names are formatted the same way: two names run together, each capitalized. The design, from fonts to colors, is nearly identical, as are the headers. The links on the right margin all draw from the same pond.
What are we to conclude, here? Either a) they're a bunch of completely unoriginal knock-offs or b) they're all the same person. I'm leaning toward b), but a) is certainly possible.
If it is all the same guy, know this: these blogs represent just about everything in the "Politics" section of tBLOG. If you are one person, oh Nation-aping blogger, does it make you feel better to have at least the semblance of the majority? I suppose I can understand that, but still, it's pretty pathetic to have to come up with multiple identities just to appear to have people who agree with you.
I could be wrong. What do you think?
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Added on June 25: The upset this post caused has provided a lot of entertainment for me, and, I hope, for anyone else who's bothered to follow along. I'd like to reemphasize the last line for all of you folks who obviously didn't catch it.
Oh wait, there was some other stuff.
06.24.04 (9:13 am) [edit]
Yes, Michael Moore's "groundbreaking" Fahrenheit 9/11 comes out tomorrow. Gosh, I can't wait. Since Moore has always been such a proponent of even-keeled, fair jourrnalism, I'm sure his newest film will be nothing short of a telling portrait of the state of the American presidency.
What the hell did I just say?
I didn't mean any of that, folks. I despise Michael Moore, and not only for his blantantly skewed perspective, but for his rampant narcissism. I see what he's trying to do... he's trying to be a Gonzo journalist. Well, all he's successfully done is become a large pundit. We all know where he's coming from, and his shoot-from-the-hip approach to reporting will only amuse those who already agree with him.
Naturally, I'm going to watch the movie as soon as I can.
What many of you might not know is that another movie is being made, entitled Michael Moore Hates America. Aside from potentially getting the prize for "Most Glaring Restatement of the Obvious in a Title," the film is purported to take an in-depth, "Michael Moore-style" look at Michael Moore's own shoddy reporting methods. We'll all have to see that one, too, won't we?
Another bit of information that's been pissing me off is the recently-passed legislation that bans photos of flag-draped coffins of dead soldiers returning from Iraq from being released. What? Is this a threat to national security? I'm sure you're all aware of where I stand, but this is outrageous. We're given the numbers, and we've seen photos on CNN of dead marines lying in the Najaf dust. What, are we going to be banned from visiting Arlington next?
America NEEDS to be aware of the price we're paying for this war, not so that we can "rise up and put an end to it," but to steel our resolve.
I need to do some Research now, because some of this is reminding me more and more of World War II and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Till then, good bye.
-30-
What the hell did I just say?
I didn't mean any of that, folks. I despise Michael Moore, and not only for his blantantly skewed perspective, but for his rampant narcissism. I see what he's trying to do... he's trying to be a Gonzo journalist. Well, all he's successfully done is become a large pundit. We all know where he's coming from, and his shoot-from-the-hip approach to reporting will only amuse those who already agree with him.
Naturally, I'm going to watch the movie as soon as I can.
What many of you might not know is that another movie is being made, entitled Michael Moore Hates America. Aside from potentially getting the prize for "Most Glaring Restatement of the Obvious in a Title," the film is purported to take an in-depth, "Michael Moore-style" look at Michael Moore's own shoddy reporting methods. We'll all have to see that one, too, won't we?
Another bit of information that's been pissing me off is the recently-passed legislation that bans photos of flag-draped coffins of dead soldiers returning from Iraq from being released. What? Is this a threat to national security? I'm sure you're all aware of where I stand, but this is outrageous. We're given the numbers, and we've seen photos on CNN of dead marines lying in the Najaf dust. What, are we going to be banned from visiting Arlington next?
America NEEDS to be aware of the price we're paying for this war, not so that we can "rise up and put an end to it," but to steel our resolve.
I need to do some Research now, because some of this is reminding me more and more of World War II and Franklin D. Roosevelt. Till then, good bye.
-30-
And this is the news.
06.24.04 (8:26 am) [edit]
This is my second attempt at a post today. The first one was eaten by the Internet. I blame it on Al Gore.
What I had been saying was that since I don’t get much of a chance to look at the national and world headlines on Wednesdays, Thursday mornings are “Internet News Surfing Time.” I normally enjoy this time, but today has been relatively uninspiring.
Most of the news today is centered on the upcoming election and the recently-published “My Life,” former President Bill Clinton’s memoirs. I suppose copies will be flying off the shelves until people realize that it’s not going to be even remotely as graphic as the Starr Report – which was a much better deal, cash-wise, even if it didn’t come in hard-cover and had no pictures.
Personally, I can’t work up the motivation to read a complete story on this subject. Columnists are all spilling copious amounts of ink over it, but am I required to care about what someone thinks about what Bill Clinton thinks about his life?
Anyway, it’s time to start making plans for the weekend. I still don’t have a car, but I’d like to get up to Louisville to see the Violent Femmes, who are playing on Fourth Street Live on Friday for free. Other than that… well, we’ll see.
-30-
What I had been saying was that since I don’t get much of a chance to look at the national and world headlines on Wednesdays, Thursday mornings are “Internet News Surfing Time.” I normally enjoy this time, but today has been relatively uninspiring.
Most of the news today is centered on the upcoming election and the recently-published “My Life,” former President Bill Clinton’s memoirs. I suppose copies will be flying off the shelves until people realize that it’s not going to be even remotely as graphic as the Starr Report – which was a much better deal, cash-wise, even if it didn’t come in hard-cover and had no pictures.
Personally, I can’t work up the motivation to read a complete story on this subject. Columnists are all spilling copious amounts of ink over it, but am I required to care about what someone thinks about what Bill Clinton thinks about his life?
Anyway, it’s time to start making plans for the weekend. I still don’t have a car, but I’d like to get up to Louisville to see the Violent Femmes, who are playing on Fourth Street Live on Friday for free. Other than that… well, we’ll see.
-30-
South Korean civilian beheaded by terrorists... whose fault?
06.22.04 (4:43 pm) [edit]
Well, I just got off an incredibly exciting shift of guarding the countless rounds of ammunition stored here on Fort Knox. And when I say it was incredibly exciting, what I meant was, morbidly boring.
But no big deal. Here, duty shifts are under 12 hours a piece, whereas in Korea they were almost always the full 24. There’s nothing quite like realizing you’ve wasted an entire rotation of the earth in an indoor guard shack with no windows, and only a space heater and lewd graffiti to keep you company.
Now we’re getting this week’s edition of Inside the Turret put together. I have two stories in this week: one on an assistive dog training program, which for several reasons was a bit touchy – not the least of which was the fact that they’ve been running on unauthorized funding for the past ten years or so and therefore have gotten shut down. The other one was on the local semi-professional football team, the Hardin County Wolverines, on which several Fort Knox soldiers play.
And of course there are the chilling, but unsurprising headlines. Kim Sun-Il, the South Korean hostage held by Iraqi insurgents, was beheaded in accordance with the terrorists’ threats to kill him if South Korea did not cancel its order to send 3,000 ROK Army troops to Iraq. South Korea did not rescind the order, and the mutilated (and booby-trapped) body of Kim was found by coalition forces today.
As always, this brutal murder is sure to loose its character as a heinous violation of the rules of warfare and humanity, and turn instead into yet another criticism of the Bush administration.
I’m not going to belabor this point. But I think this bears repeating: people should not be expected to apologize for things they did not do.
Last year, a group of family members in New York City decided that they wanted President Bush to make a public apology to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America. They had a petition and everything. Their reasoning, such as it was, was that if it wasn’t for Bush’s alienation off Arab nations, then psychotic terrorists wouldn’t have wanted to blow up the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
For the slow (and terminally left) among us, I’ll pause a moment for us to recognize the insanity inherent to this claim.
It’s a sad fact, but it’s pretty certain that the vast majority of the Arab/Moslem world despises the United States. They may even have a few valid points, but most of the hatred has been picked up by Saudi propaganda, which is disseminated throughout the poorer Arab countries in missionary schools. Give a large group of poor, unemployed, sexually-frustrated males something to hate and they’ll hate it.
There’s a lot to go in to here, and I don’t have the time. What it translates to is that terrorists will continue to capture and behead their prisoners on videotape. Anyone who thinks that placating them will cause this to cease is kidding themselves. It’s hatred, pure and simple, and it won’t be solved by voting someone else into the White House.
The blame for these gruesome beheadings doesn't lie on this side of the hemisphere, although Bush is much closer and easier to point the finger at. The people who will have to answer for these disgusting crimes are the ones in hoods, wielding machetes and gleefully taking the lives of innocents with their own hands.
-30-
But no big deal. Here, duty shifts are under 12 hours a piece, whereas in Korea they were almost always the full 24. There’s nothing quite like realizing you’ve wasted an entire rotation of the earth in an indoor guard shack with no windows, and only a space heater and lewd graffiti to keep you company.
Now we’re getting this week’s edition of Inside the Turret put together. I have two stories in this week: one on an assistive dog training program, which for several reasons was a bit touchy – not the least of which was the fact that they’ve been running on unauthorized funding for the past ten years or so and therefore have gotten shut down. The other one was on the local semi-professional football team, the Hardin County Wolverines, on which several Fort Knox soldiers play.
And of course there are the chilling, but unsurprising headlines. Kim Sun-Il, the South Korean hostage held by Iraqi insurgents, was beheaded in accordance with the terrorists’ threats to kill him if South Korea did not cancel its order to send 3,000 ROK Army troops to Iraq. South Korea did not rescind the order, and the mutilated (and booby-trapped) body of Kim was found by coalition forces today.
As always, this brutal murder is sure to loose its character as a heinous violation of the rules of warfare and humanity, and turn instead into yet another criticism of the Bush administration.
I’m not going to belabor this point. But I think this bears repeating: people should not be expected to apologize for things they did not do.
Last year, a group of family members in New York City decided that they wanted President Bush to make a public apology to the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks on America. They had a petition and everything. Their reasoning, such as it was, was that if it wasn’t for Bush’s alienation off Arab nations, then psychotic terrorists wouldn’t have wanted to blow up the Twin Towers and the Pentagon.
For the slow (and terminally left) among us, I’ll pause a moment for us to recognize the insanity inherent to this claim.
It’s a sad fact, but it’s pretty certain that the vast majority of the Arab/Moslem world despises the United States. They may even have a few valid points, but most of the hatred has been picked up by Saudi propaganda, which is disseminated throughout the poorer Arab countries in missionary schools. Give a large group of poor, unemployed, sexually-frustrated males something to hate and they’ll hate it.
There’s a lot to go in to here, and I don’t have the time. What it translates to is that terrorists will continue to capture and behead their prisoners on videotape. Anyone who thinks that placating them will cause this to cease is kidding themselves. It’s hatred, pure and simple, and it won’t be solved by voting someone else into the White House.
The blame for these gruesome beheadings doesn't lie on this side of the hemisphere, although Bush is much closer and easier to point the finger at. The people who will have to answer for these disgusting crimes are the ones in hoods, wielding machetes and gleefully taking the lives of innocents with their own hands.
-30-
The Mighty IROC
06.21.04 (9:05 am) [edit]
[url=http://salemonz.tblog.com]Salemonz[/url] and I drove up to Louisville to look at that '89 Camaro IROC-Z on Friday. I took pictures -- here they are.
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
Here's the beast itself. As you can see, there is some missing paint, and the front ground effects are cracked. Plus, one of those fake air intakes on the hood is missing some slats.
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
This lock cylinder is coming out of the door panel. More missing and bubbling paint.
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
Ah, the driver's side. This thing sounds like a herd of rabid pitbulls when you turn it on...
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
...because of the V8 it has under the hood. The engine is in great shape.
![]()
=http://img8.photobucket.com/a...
[url=http://salemonz.tblog.com]Salemonz[/url] wasn't sure this was the car for me.
It's really just the cosmetic problems that keep the car from being truly awesome. I'm going to do some research on restoration and find out how much it would cost in terms of time and money to get this thing drool-worthy again.
Anyway -- time to do some actual work.
-30-
Here's the beast itself. As you can see, there is some missing paint, and the front ground effects are cracked. Plus, one of those fake air intakes on the hood is missing some slats.
This lock cylinder is coming out of the door panel. More missing and bubbling paint.
Ah, the driver's side. This thing sounds like a herd of rabid pitbulls when you turn it on...
...because of the V8 it has under the hood. The engine is in great shape.
[url=http://salemonz.tblog.com]Salemonz[/url] wasn't sure this was the car for me.
It's really just the cosmetic problems that keep the car from being truly awesome. I'm going to do some research on restoration and find out how much it would cost in terms of time and money to get this thing drool-worthy again.
Anyway -- time to do some actual work.
-30-
Music and something funny.
06.18.04 (12:13 pm) [edit]
I picked up "Contraband," the debut album by Velvet Revolver, the bastard child of Guns 'n' Roses and the Stone Temple Pilots. I've given it a listen, and I must declare it to be a Good Thing.
At first, it's fun to listen to each song and say, "Ooh, that's a Guns song. Oh, this one's STP all the way." But after a while, you realize that Velvet Revolver is a thing of its own. Great stuff. I've got to sit down with this disc for a while longer, but my initial impression is good.
Anyway, I was looking around at "Other Users Online," and came across the [url=http://asianboyhero.tblog.com...]Chronicles of Asian Boy Hero.[/url] The title caught my attention, so I checked it out. It struck me as completely hilarious... mostly because it's called "Chronicles." Go ahead, check it out for yourself.
-30-
At first, it's fun to listen to each song and say, "Ooh, that's a Guns song. Oh, this one's STP all the way." But after a while, you realize that Velvet Revolver is a thing of its own. Great stuff. I've got to sit down with this disc for a while longer, but my initial impression is good.
Anyway, I was looking around at "Other Users Online," and came across the [url=http://asianboyhero.tblog.com...]Chronicles of Asian Boy Hero.[/url] The title caught my attention, so I checked it out. It struck me as completely hilarious... mostly because it's called "Chronicles." Go ahead, check it out for yourself.
-30-
Too cool
06.18.04 (10:06 am) [edit]
[url=http://krazedone.tblog.com]KRAZEDONE[/url] made me this a while ago, and I forgot to post it. Thanks a million, KRAZED!
[image]brogonzo_889032777 .gif[/image]
Parade rest and everything. Haha!
-30-
[image]brogonzo_889032777 .gif[/image]
Parade rest and everything. Haha!
-30-
233rd Story Online
06.18.04 (8:47 am) [edit]
That story I wrote on the 233rd Transportation (Heavy Equipment) Company returning from Iraq ran on the front page. You can read the story and see the photo at [url=http://www.turret.com]The Turret Online.[/url]
-30-
-30-
A quiz
06.18.04 (8:31 am) [edit]
Well, here's a quiz I took this morning.
You are a GRAMMAR GOD!
If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!
How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Huh!
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You are a GRAMMAR GOD!
If your mission in life is not already to
preserve the English tongue, it should be.
Congratulations and thank you!
How grammatically sound are you?
brought to you by Quizilla
Huh!
-30-
Deep thoughts on all these links
06.17.04 (2:17 pm) [edit]
As I've been sitting in my brand-spanking-new cubicle, looking at photos of [url=http://www.iroc-z.com]Chevrolet IROC-Z Camaros[/url] on the Internet, I've been thinking heavily about this issue of the prison abuse scandal and what it means in terms of journalism.
After studying and practicing journalism (at least in its fledgling form) for the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that journalism is being able to take a complicated, relevant issue, and present it to people who have no prior knowledge of it in a way that is understandable and contextual. Stories, photographs, newscasts, news packages all should be geared toward that end.
"Total Coverage" is a term thrown around pretty loosely, but what does it mean? Are journalists supposed to go and grab all material remotely related to a certain subject, and then regurgitate it to the public in a five-minute news package or a 10-inch print story? I don't think so.
Stringing together a series of quotations is no way to write a good news piece. It usually doesn't amount to anything other than opinions, and it doesn't give the average reader the context in which to understand the issue.
In the same way, taking graphic photographs of torture and abuse and putting them on display for the minivan drivers of America to see and ponder isn't really journalism -- it's visceral sensationalism, voyeurism, and any number of sick fascinations rolled up into one, gory mess. There's minimal context, and all we're left with is the shock of seeing something so inhuman and out-of-sync with the rest of our relatively padded lives.
These images, as [url=http://juniperflux.tblog.com]Juniperflux[/url] pointed out, elicit a basic emotional reaction in normal people of horror and disgust. And so, before the American soldier's term as TIME Magazine's "Person of the Year" has even ended, the American people are disgusted and horrified at the same soldier who graced the publication's front cover.
So the damage of these images has been done, and the bar, such as it is, has been set at a new level (high or low, depending on how you look at it). Words alone cannot elicit the same level of fear and horror.
Journalism, now, has a problem. Where it wasn't journalistically right to parade the photos of Abu Ghraib around without context, now there's no way to provide that context without giving equal play to this newly-emerged video of dismemberment and killing from Saddam Hussein's Abu Ghraib.
I'd say that anyone who's taken any education about the American military and the American way from the first round of prisoner-abuse photographs owes it to themselves to view this new video. This isn't a matter of "getting all the facts," it's about forming a balanced and correct emotional response to what's going on in Iraq.
-30-
After studying and practicing journalism (at least in its fledgling form) for the past few years, I've come to the conclusion that journalism is being able to take a complicated, relevant issue, and present it to people who have no prior knowledge of it in a way that is understandable and contextual. Stories, photographs, newscasts, news packages all should be geared toward that end.
"Total Coverage" is a term thrown around pretty loosely, but what does it mean? Are journalists supposed to go and grab all material remotely related to a certain subject, and then regurgitate it to the public in a five-minute news package or a 10-inch print story? I don't think so.
Stringing together a series of quotations is no way to write a good news piece. It usually doesn't amount to anything other than opinions, and it doesn't give the average reader the context in which to understand the issue.
In the same way, taking graphic photographs of torture and abuse and putting them on display for the minivan drivers of America to see and ponder isn't really journalism -- it's visceral sensationalism, voyeurism, and any number of sick fascinations rolled up into one, gory mess. There's minimal context, and all we're left with is the shock of seeing something so inhuman and out-of-sync with the rest of our relatively padded lives.
These images, as [url=http://juniperflux.tblog.com]Juniperflux[/url] pointed out, elicit a basic emotional reaction in normal people of horror and disgust. And so, before the American soldier's term as TIME Magazine's "Person of the Year" has even ended, the American people are disgusted and horrified at the same soldier who graced the publication's front cover.
So the damage of these images has been done, and the bar, such as it is, has been set at a new level (high or low, depending on how you look at it). Words alone cannot elicit the same level of fear and horror.
Journalism, now, has a problem. Where it wasn't journalistically right to parade the photos of Abu Ghraib around without context, now there's no way to provide that context without giving equal play to this newly-emerged video of dismemberment and killing from Saddam Hussein's Abu Ghraib.
I'd say that anyone who's taken any education about the American military and the American way from the first round of prisoner-abuse photographs owes it to themselves to view this new video. This isn't a matter of "getting all the facts," it's about forming a balanced and correct emotional response to what's going on in Iraq.
-30-
You guessed it! Another one!
06.17.04 (10:56 am) [edit]
This one is a nod to my rampant anti-French-ism.
[url=http://www.weeklystandard.com...]D-Day, Chirac-style.[/url] From The Weekly Standard.
-30-
[url=http://www.weeklystandard.com...]D-Day, Chirac-style.[/url] From The Weekly Standard.
-30-
And another article.
06.17.04 (8:22 am) [edit]
Folks, I've spent a lot of time discussing the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, but it's not even close to the amount of consideration it's been getting elsewhere. There's been a lot of ink spilled in top magazines on the subject, the issue's been tossed around in the most expensive prime-time slots available on television, and I'm sure when Al Franken hasn't been talking about "lies and the lying liars who tell them" on Air America, he's been discussing Abu Ghraib. In fact, The New York Times Magazine went so far as to run a front-page feature entitled, "We ARE the Photographs" a few weeks ago.
Well. We've spent quite a bit of time in self-flagellation mode. I suggest reading [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]this.[/url] There's another videotape available, ladies and gentlemen, and apparently it makes the actions of the American soldiers at Abu Ghraib look like a tickle contest.
Note: This article, while it does not link to the actual video, describes it in disturbing detail. You've been warned.
-more-
Anyway, I'll try to get an original post up sometime today. I need to freshen up on current events a bit.
-30-
Well. We've spent quite a bit of time in self-flagellation mode. I suggest reading [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]this.[/url] There's another videotape available, ladies and gentlemen, and apparently it makes the actions of the American soldiers at Abu Ghraib look like a tickle contest.
Note: This article, while it does not link to the actual video, describes it in disturbing detail. You've been warned.
-more-
Anyway, I'll try to get an original post up sometime today. I need to freshen up on current events a bit.
-30-
And another article
06.16.04 (7:03 am) [edit]
It's a sorry excuse for a blog, I know, but here's another [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]article.[/url]
The gist here is that the landmark memoranda that supposedly implicate top-level government officials in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal aren't exactly as incriminating as they have been made out to be. There's this common assumption among... let's see, what to call them... cheese-eating surrender monkeys... yes, that works... that Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush conspired to sadistically torture POWs for their own twisted designs.
Naturally, anything that supports this theory will be taken as bona fide fact, including pieces of drafts of exploratory memoranda in draft form, taken out of the context they were written in, which was, to wit, to examine the authority of the president in war time.
This is also a pretty unpopular subject, granted, but it isn't exactly the "smoking gun" of torture authorization it's been made out to be.
-30-
The gist here is that the landmark memoranda that supposedly implicate top-level government officials in the Abu Ghraib torture scandal aren't exactly as incriminating as they have been made out to be. There's this common assumption among... let's see, what to call them... cheese-eating surrender monkeys... yes, that works... that Donald Rumsfeld and George W. Bush conspired to sadistically torture POWs for their own twisted designs.
Naturally, anything that supports this theory will be taken as bona fide fact, including pieces of drafts of exploratory memoranda in draft form, taken out of the context they were written in, which was, to wit, to examine the authority of the president in war time.
This is also a pretty unpopular subject, granted, but it isn't exactly the "smoking gun" of torture authorization it's been made out to be.
-30-
Some apt comparisons
06.14.04 (1:04 pm) [edit]
Victor Davis Hanson makes the comparison between the ancient Greek myth of the Cretan Minotaur and the current pan-Islamic fascism movement in [url=http://www.nationalreview.com...]this article.[/url] I recommend it.
However, as it is in the nature of linked articles to not be read, here are some highlights:
Like Hitler's creed, bin Ladenism trumpets contempt for bourgeois Western society. If once we were a "mongrel" race of "cowboys" who could not take casualties against the supermen of the Third Reich, now we are indolent infidels, channel surfers who eat, screw, and talk too much amid worthless gadgetry, godless skyscrapers, and, of course, once again, the conniving Jews...
It was hard for the Islamic fascists to find ideological support in the West, given their agenda of gender apartheid, homophobia, religious persecution, racial hatred, fundamentalism, polygamy, and primordial barbarism. But they sensed that there has always been a current of self-loathing among the comfortable Western elite, a perennial search for victims of racism, economic oppression, colonialism, and Christianity. Bin Laden's followers weren't white; they were sometimes poor; they inhabited of former British and French colonies; and they weren't exactly followers of the no-nonsense Pope or Jerry Falwell. If anyone doubts the nexus between right-wing Middle Eastern fascism and left-wing academic faddishness, go to booths in the Free Speech area at Berkeley or see what European elites have said and done for Hamas. Middle Eastern fascist killers enshrined as victims alongside our own oppressed? That has been gospel in our universities for the last three decades...
If after four years of careful planning, al Qaedists hit the Olympics in August, the terrorists know better than we do that most Europeans will do nothing — but quickly point to the U.S. and scream "Iraq!" And they know that the upscale crowds in Athens are far more likely to boo a democratic America than they are a fascist Syria or theocratic Iran. Just watch.
The prediction about Athens seems eerily prophetic even now, two months before the Games begin. Anyway... back to work for me.
-30-
However, as it is in the nature of linked articles to not be read, here are some highlights:
Like Hitler's creed, bin Ladenism trumpets contempt for bourgeois Western society. If once we were a "mongrel" race of "cowboys" who could not take casualties against the supermen of the Third Reich, now we are indolent infidels, channel surfers who eat, screw, and talk too much amid worthless gadgetry, godless skyscrapers, and, of course, once again, the conniving Jews...
It was hard for the Islamic fascists to find ideological support in the West, given their agenda of gender apartheid, homophobia, religious persecution, racial hatred, fundamentalism, polygamy, and primordial barbarism. But they sensed that there has always been a current of self-loathing among the comfortable Western elite, a perennial search for victims of racism, economic oppression, colonialism, and Christianity. Bin Laden's followers weren't white; they were sometimes poor; they inhabited of former British and French colonies; and they weren't exactly followers of the no-nonsense Pope or Jerry Falwell. If anyone doubts the nexus between right-wing Middle Eastern fascism and left-wing academic faddishness, go to booths in the Free Speech area at Berkeley or see what European elites have said and done for Hamas. Middle Eastern fascist killers enshrined as victims alongside our own oppressed? That has been gospel in our universities for the last three decades...
If after four years of careful planning, al Qaedists hit the Olympics in August, the terrorists know better than we do that most Europeans will do nothing — but quickly point to the U.S. and scream "Iraq!" And they know that the upscale crowds in Athens are far more likely to boo a democratic America than they are a fascist Syria or theocratic Iran. Just watch.
The prediction about Athens seems eerily prophetic even now, two months before the Games begin. Anyway... back to work for me.
-30-
233rd Transportation Company returns from Iraq
06.13.04 (12:26 pm) [edit]
I went to what's called a Demobilization Ceremony yesterday to take photos of the soldiers returning from their second deployment in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
It was something else. The ceremony was held at Sadowski Field House, which is really just a large, hangar-like gymnasium. Family members and friends were camped out on the fold-out wooden bleachers. Colonels and majors in uniform stood around in business-like little circles, comparing what they'd heard about the 233rd's outstanding record: two deployments, 2 million miles driven, and no major accidents or casualties.
The assembled family members had patriotic placards, emblazoned with "You're my Hero, Daddy," and "Jason Chauk, I'm OVER HERE!"
One of the News Enterprise reporters approached a stunningly attractive woman with a toddler in tow.
"What's the first thing you're going to do when your husband gets back?" he asked.
She looked at him and gave him a conspiratorial grin and chuckle.
Afterwards, he told me he had been hoping for something like "a big family dinner" or something. Oh well.
After several delays, three white Bluebird buses pulled into the Sadowski parking lot. They rolled around the building to a cordoned-off area, and as the doors hissed open, the crowd in the gym went nuts. There was screaming, cheering, and chants of "U! S! A! U! S! A!"
I snapped a couple pictures from inside as the company formed up.
Suddenly, the company commander and guidon bearer marched into the gym, and the crowd's noise level multiplied sevenfold.
The company filed in behind them, four abreast, wearing desert camoflague, kevlar helmets and tactical vests. They marched all the way around the gym and ended up in company formation, facing the cheering crowd. A couple short, unintelligible orders were barked, and in an instant, the scene devloved into happy chaos.
I stuck the 300mm lens onto the Nikon, hoping to be able to capture a few tender moments without being intrusive. One staff sergeant was embracing a tiny blonde woman, a lieutenant was hugging his parents, and friends were slapping long-lost compadres on their backs.
Everyone quickly dispersed. On the way out of the parking lot, there was more embracing and cheering. Soldiers peeled off their helmets and vests as quickly as possible, putting on boonie hats or patrol caps, and giving their kevlars to random children to wear.
"Uh oh," on returnee said as he opened the back seat of his girlfriend's car. "Is that a bottle of Captain Morgan I see?"
Congratulations to the 233rd Transportation Company. Welcome back home.
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Air America is a flash in the pan.
06.12.04 (11:41 am) [edit]
Al Franken's "Air America" self-titled liberal radio network is having problems. According to Rolling Stone, paychecks for the network's CEOs bounced in March, and several key exec's are cutting out like rats leaving a sinking ship.
Why isn't it working? Well, since they started their venture in direct competition with radio giants Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, who've spent years building bases of listeners, they had the odds stacked against them to begin with.
Second, it seems to me that liberal commentators have a much harder time being entertaining. Conservatives like Rush don't mind offending people's sensibilites every so often (or constantly, in the case of Stern), and while someone somewhere probably will get pissed off at a misogynistic comment, everyone else probably thinks it's hilarious.
Liberals, however, have to be careful, since the only people they can dog are conservatives and the Catholic Church. Everyone else is off-limits, based on the self-imposed rules of the Liberal Way.
I like throwing the phrase "Communist pinko bastards" around every so often, and I do this because I think it's funny. Al Franken couldn't really do the same thing. If he were to call Bush a "Nazi," that would just brand him an extremist, because we all know he'd be serious, and Nazis aren't funny.
Basically, I think Air America is headed for the big AM network in the sky. They just don't have the initial fan base available to support the battle they've gotten themselves into. Franken and Company have bitten off more than they can chew.
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Why isn't it working? Well, since they started their venture in direct competition with radio giants Rush Limbaugh and Howard Stern, who've spent years building bases of listeners, they had the odds stacked against them to begin with.
Second, it seems to me that liberal commentators have a much harder time being entertaining. Conservatives like Rush don't mind offending people's sensibilites every so often (or constantly, in the case of Stern), and while someone somewhere probably will get pissed off at a misogynistic comment, everyone else probably thinks it's hilarious.
Liberals, however, have to be careful, since the only people they can dog are conservatives and the Catholic Church. Everyone else is off-limits, based on the self-imposed rules of the Liberal Way.
I like throwing the phrase "Communist pinko bastards" around every so often, and I do this because I think it's funny. Al Franken couldn't really do the same thing. If he were to call Bush a "Nazi," that would just brand him an extremist, because we all know he'd be serious, and Nazis aren't funny.
Basically, I think Air America is headed for the big AM network in the sky. They just don't have the initial fan base available to support the battle they've gotten themselves into. Franken and Company have bitten off more than they can chew.
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Saturday
06.12.04 (8:53 am) [edit]
Went to see "Chronicles of Riddick" yesterday -- you know, that sci-fi follow-up to "Pitch Black." It really was a Vin Diesel is a Bad Ass sort of vehicle, but the visuals were good and the action was non-stop.
One of my favorite (?) things about action movies is the fact that when someone escapes from certain death, they always just escape from certain death.
It's pouring rain outside, but I'm still going down to look at that damn Camaro. We need to fix this car situation pronto.
In other news, I'm going to cover the return of a unit from Iraq this afternoon. It'll be a great photo-op, but I'm going to take a long lens, so I can capture those first moments back together without intruding on the families.
Anyway, more later. I'll try to get some photos of the car.
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Car Shopping
06.10.04 (12:47 pm) [edit]
Man, this whole picking out a car thing has been a huge pain in the ass. Trying to balance reliablility, style, and cost is a task worthy of Archimedes. And yet, strangely, people seem to be driving cars everywhere... everyone seems to have one.
My dad has advised me to get something along the lines of a Civic, Camry, or Accord. A Honda or Toyota, he says, would get good gas mileage and break down infrequently. Insurance wouldn't be off the charts, either (my traffic record is less than perfect).
On the other hand, I firmly believe that a car is an extension of wardrobe. You need to drive a car that somehow reflects at least some of your personality. This is why I was looking at that 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic, which had a big-block Buick 455 welded under the hood.
I may have found a compromise. There's this 1996 Camaro Z28 6-speed a little south of here, which I'm going to go look at tomorrow. The miles are a little on the high side, but the car looks badass, and it's pretty new. Repairs, as listed in consumerguide.com, shouldn't break the bank. And it's a manual -- and a 6-speed! -- which is bonus points.
Anyway. Wish me luck with this business.
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My dad has advised me to get something along the lines of a Civic, Camry, or Accord. A Honda or Toyota, he says, would get good gas mileage and break down infrequently. Insurance wouldn't be off the charts, either (my traffic record is less than perfect).
On the other hand, I firmly believe that a car is an extension of wardrobe. You need to drive a car that somehow reflects at least some of your personality. This is why I was looking at that 1977 Chevrolet Malibu Classic, which had a big-block Buick 455 welded under the hood.
I may have found a compromise. There's this 1996 Camaro Z28 6-speed a little south of here, which I'm going to go look at tomorrow. The miles are a little on the high side, but the car looks badass, and it's pretty new. Repairs, as listed in consumerguide.com, shouldn't break the bank. And it's a manual -- and a 6-speed! -- which is bonus points.
Anyway. Wish me luck with this business.
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Pictures.
06.08.04 (6:01 pm) [edit]
Figured I'd post a couple photos to break up the grey here. Ok:
This is a drill sergeant who was at the Memorial Day Louisville Bats game I went to. He had his platoon of trainees, along with a couple more battalions of the little guys, out there for Military Appreciation Day.
This is one end of my barracks on Fort Knox. So you don't have to feel sorry for me for being in the Army. They're pretty nice.
And here's yours truly, screwing around with the camera in his room one night.
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A quick band bio
06.07.04 (10:28 am) [edit]
Taking a cue from [url=http://juniperflux.tblog.com]juniperflux[/url], I figured I'd write up a little band bio on one of my favorites. Unfortunately, I ran out of time, and had to head to an interview about a baseball game. Here's my two cents on:
[b]Bad Religion[/b]
If punk rock were to send a delegation to the U.S. Senate, it would be incomplete without the members of Bad Religion. Cited as an influence for countless rock and second-generation punk bands, Bad Religion has come to be known as “Thinking Man’s Punk,” and for good reason.
Singer Greg Graffin’s lyrics might sound like the preaching of a fed-up college professor - which is because that’s exactly what he is. Years after founding Bad Religion in San Fernando, California, Graffin taught Evolutionary History at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (where he now lives), holds a Ph. D. in biology and is working on his doctorate in paleoanthropology.
It’s been a long time since the band formed in Southern California in 1980. Since the beginning of their musical careers, Bad Religion have used music as a medium for talking about relevant social issues. During the 1980’s, when punk bands were quickly dismissed by major record labels, Graffin and guitarist Brett Gurewicz founded Epitaph Records, which eventually would become one of the most influential indie-punk labels in the world. Epitaph bands now form the "starting lineup" of the increasingly-popular Vans' Warped Tour.
Saying that Bad Religion’s lyrics are “clever” would be like saying that Alaska is “large.” I’ve never heard another band put echoing backup vocals after a line like, “A portrayal of the great dichotomy” (“My Poor Friend Me,” Recipe For Hate, 1993, Atlantic). Verse two of “American Jesus” (Ibid.) bitterly chides:
I feel sorry for the earth's population
‘cause so few live in the U.S.A.
At least the foreigners can copy our morality
They can visit but they cannot stay.
Bad Religion’s material runs the gamut from personal addictions to social injustices to the integration of science and religion. The band’s logo is an instant attention-getter itself: a Christian cross, covered by a red universal negation symbol.
Anyone who’s read a post or two of mine knows I’m not to most liberal of individuals, but one of the most convincing arguments I’ve heard from the opposing side hasn’t been in The Nation… it’s been Bad Religion.
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[b]Bad Religion[/b]
If punk rock were to send a delegation to the U.S. Senate, it would be incomplete without the members of Bad Religion. Cited as an influence for countless rock and second-generation punk bands, Bad Religion has come to be known as “Thinking Man’s Punk,” and for good reason.
Singer Greg Graffin’s lyrics might sound like the preaching of a fed-up college professor - which is because that’s exactly what he is. Years after founding Bad Religion in San Fernando, California, Graffin taught Evolutionary History at Cornell University in Ithaca, New York (where he now lives), holds a Ph. D. in biology and is working on his doctorate in paleoanthropology.
It’s been a long time since the band formed in Southern California in 1980. Since the beginning of their musical careers, Bad Religion have used music as a medium for talking about relevant social issues. During the 1980’s, when punk bands were quickly dismissed by major record labels, Graffin and guitarist Brett Gurewicz founded Epitaph Records, which eventually would become one of the most influential indie-punk labels in the world. Epitaph bands now form the "starting lineup" of the increasingly-popular Vans' Warped Tour.
Saying that Bad Religion’s lyrics are “clever” would be like saying that Alaska is “large.” I’ve never heard another band put echoing backup vocals after a line like, “A portrayal of the great dichotomy” (“My Poor Friend Me,” Recipe For Hate, 1993, Atlantic). Verse two of “American Jesus” (Ibid.) bitterly chides:
I feel sorry for the earth's population
‘cause so few live in the U.S.A.
At least the foreigners can copy our morality
They can visit but they cannot stay.
Bad Religion’s material runs the gamut from personal addictions to social injustices to the integration of science and religion. The band’s logo is an instant attention-getter itself: a Christian cross, covered by a red universal negation symbol.
Anyone who’s read a post or two of mine knows I’m not to most liberal of individuals, but one of the most convincing arguments I’ve heard from the opposing side hasn’t been in The Nation… it’s been Bad Religion.
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The First Brick Falls
06.04.04 (1:16 pm) [edit]
So... startling headlines... "George Tenet resigns as CIA Director." Funny, Bush said Tenet told him he was resigning for "personal reasons." Strange, I would have thought it would be for being a screwup.
I'm sure Tenet's is only the first in what is likely going to be a lengthy line of resignations. But if one guy had to go, I'm glad it's him.
See, the CIA has been something of an anachronism since the Cold War ended and the Berlin Wall came down. They're still using the same tactics they used during the height of the Red Scare, and have been monumentally slow to make changes to this modus operundi.
Of course, Tenet is just the "fall guy," a talking head who the American public associates with the CIA... he's like the Big Bird of the intelligence community's Sesame Street. But he is the top dog over there, and has been for seven years, so I'd say some fresh blood could be the shot in the arm the decrepit Agency needs.
I'll ramble here and cease to make any specific point, but maybe the CIA -- despite their years-long, childish squabbles with the FBI and State Department -- aren't to be blamed quite as much for the intelligence mess that led to our completely missing the boat prior to September 11. According to Bob Woodward, messages like "Tomorrow the war begins" and "It has begun" characterized the type of intelligence intercepted regarding the attack: vague, cryptic, and completely uninformative.
But in the Eyes of the Public, someone has to take the fall, and this time, it's George Tenet. Why we spend so much time backtracking and pointing fingers is beyond me, especially when the same amount of effort could be put to use improving and streamlining our intelligence-gathering methods and doctrine. Instead of finding out who dropped the ball (which has dropped more times than Dick Clark's very special Times Square version), why don't we dig up the ancient policies and protocols that prevented the Agency from carrying out its mission?
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I'm in for it now
06.03.04 (9:02 am) [edit]
My editor has mentioned the fact that he expects Turret staffers to produce commentaries periodically. While this is an exciting idea for me, I'm thinking I'm going to run into the same problems I did with the Dear Mom column from Korea -- what the hell am I going to write about?
See, I can hop on tBLOG and write about whatever is currently on my mind. I can use "curse words" if I want (my apologies to the members of the under-18 crowd who might find themselves here), I can talk about getting roaring drunk if I feel like it, or I can make references to Ernest Borgnine while I rip on people like Al Franken and Jeannine Garafalo (upcoming entry, "Why Air America is a horrible idea").
But for an actual newspaper, there are a lot of limits on what I'm allowed to write about and how I write about it. Furthermore, I'm not just working for a newspaper, but a Department of Defense publication. I'm certainly not the kind of guy who's going to be quoting Bad Religion in a column (upcoming entry, "Why Bad Religion is an awesome band even though I disagree with some of what they say), I still don't like the idea that I'm not really going to be exercising "free speech." There are a lot of things about the Defense Department and the Army that piss me off, but since I work for them, that's sort of a taboo subject.
So what, then? I can't write scathing indictments on politicians who I think suck (upcoming entry, "Why Ted Kennedy sucks"), and straying from the company line on foreign policy is, shall we say, discouraged.
And that's just one quandary. I'm also going to have to come up with a weekly sports commentary for the B section, complete with mug shot. Great. My plan at the moment is to plagiarize Hunter S. Thompson's "Hey Rube" column on ESPN.com's Page 2.
Then there's the Picks-4-Kicks. The editor comes up with several random football matchups, and each week I'm supposed to make predictions. I like football. But keeping tabs on players and stats and rankings has always seemed to me to be too much like work to be fun. The plan right now is to invest $15 in a Magic 8-Ball and have that be my gimmick. If I can't be right, at least I'll try to be funny.
Anyway, you faithful-type readers are hereby officially encouraged to make suggestions as to appropriate commentary subjects. I don't think I'll be able to credit you in the paper if you come up with a great idea, but know that you'll have my eternal gratitude.
Amen.
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See, I can hop on tBLOG and write about whatever is currently on my mind. I can use "curse words" if I want (my apologies to the members of the under-18 crowd who might find themselves here), I can talk about getting roaring drunk if I feel like it, or I can make references to Ernest Borgnine while I rip on people like Al Franken and Jeannine Garafalo (upcoming entry, "Why Air America is a horrible idea").
But for an actual newspaper, there are a lot of limits on what I'm allowed to write about and how I write about it. Furthermore, I'm not just working for a newspaper, but a Department of Defense publication. I'm certainly not the kind of guy who's going to be quoting Bad Religion in a column (upcoming entry, "Why Bad Religion is an awesome band even though I disagree with some of what they say), I still don't like the idea that I'm not really going to be exercising "free speech." There are a lot of things about the Defense Department and the Army that piss me off, but since I work for them, that's sort of a taboo subject.
So what, then? I can't write scathing indictments on politicians who I think suck (upcoming entry, "Why Ted Kennedy sucks"), and straying from the company line on foreign policy is, shall we say, discouraged.
And that's just one quandary. I'm also going to have to come up with a weekly sports commentary for the B section, complete with mug shot. Great. My plan at the moment is to plagiarize Hunter S. Thompson's "Hey Rube" column on ESPN.com's Page 2.
Then there's the Picks-4-Kicks. The editor comes up with several random football matchups, and each week I'm supposed to make predictions. I like football. But keeping tabs on players and stats and rankings has always seemed to me to be too much like work to be fun. The plan right now is to invest $15 in a Magic 8-Ball and have that be my gimmick. If I can't be right, at least I'll try to be funny.
Anyway, you faithful-type readers are hereby officially encouraged to make suggestions as to appropriate commentary subjects. I don't think I'll be able to credit you in the paper if you come up with a great idea, but know that you'll have my eternal gratitude.
Amen.
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News of my old unit
06.01.04 (10:50 am) [edit]
I read a news release yesterday that said the 2nd Infantry Division's (my old division) Second Brigade was being deployed to Iraq. That stopped my in my tracks on its own, but later on I got an email from Jonesy the Mechanic, who said that several folks from my old company are heading out too, soldiers from G1, G2, and G3.
Jonesy himself got a set of orders to a Special Forces unit out of Fort Bragg. See what a pair of Airborne wings gets you?
It's sobering to think that I was there just three months ago.
In a way, I feel sort of guilty that I'm not getting deployed in the immediate future, and truth be told, I requested Fort Knox partly to avoid deployment. It's not as if I wouldn't go if I got orders to, but it feels a bit like I copped out.
Then again, I didn't join the Army to help fight wars. I joined to write, to be a journalist. I swore the oath of enlistment and all that, and I'll go where they tell me to. But I guess I'm not actively seeking out a trip to The Big Sandbox, as it's come to be known.
That's why it's tough for me to hear the accolades and national praise lavished on "Soldiers" in general. Sure, we volunteered, and sure, we wear a uniform, but I guess I just don't see a comparison between what I do on a daily basis and what goes on in Mosul, Tikrit, Kandahar and Fallujah.
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