July 30, 2004

Entry: I Married David Sedaris

Akamonique says I married David Sedaris:

She handed me a tissue. "Let me ask you a personal question, Monique. Does it bother you that…being labeled ‘the female David Sedaris’ might lead some people to assume you're gay?"

"People can assume whatever they want, Katie, because I'm not gay. I'm not even a Lesbian. I might have experimented a little back in the eighties. But who didn't? Maybe I did sleep with one or two…ok, twenty-seven women in college. So what? It was my freshman year – that doesn't even count."

"Right," she said, staring at her notes. "Getting back to David Sedaris…do you think he would have become such a literary giant if he wasn't gay?"

"Katie, David Sedaris would have been a success if he had been sleeping with goldfish and putting teeny tiny condoms on them with his teeth. Because he's just that talented. A writer, that is.

Posted by Simon at 04:06 AM | Comments (3)

July 28, 2004

Entry: A blogging/new economy thought experiment

The Nomad Tavern is conducting a blogging/new economy thought experiment:

I need your help in a thought experiment that could determine what this blog becomes and how I (and perhaps tom) will support myself...
---
The future is an unknown, a variable, and now I hope to elicit some thoughts from our readership about the future. I’ve left Japan and am in the process of trying to find gainful and enjoyable employment without returning to the drudgery that was so well-captured by the movie Office Space.

The process of finding employment is unpleasant at best. It depends, for the most part, on who you know and what those people can do for you, but the process of finding a new job also lends us the opportunity to examine our own individual philosophies and goals. Or it should. Too many people find themselves in a situation of unhappy employment or unscheduled unemployment and panic. They search and search for some job, any job; they search for a company that will hire them, no matter what the position, as long as their pride isn’t damaged by a cut in pay or prestige; the demands of life and society, the looming shadows of ‘successful’ friends and siblings, the expectations of parents and partners all bear down on the job-seeker and push that seeker to find a job that the outside world will approve of. Or they go to grad school. But some job hunters escape the cycle.

Posted by Simon at 03:22 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Vaccines: Are they more harm than good?

More than Right asks Vaccines: Are They More Harm than Good?:

Dr. Russell Blaylock, says that vaccinations themselves are now causing a major upsurge in childhood diseases, adult maladies – and even deadly ailments such as Gulf War Syndrome and Lou Gehrig’s disease...There have been many others that have believed this to be true. My wife and I have considered the possibilities of vaccinations with our children, and the effects that it could have. We've spoken with several doctors on the subject. As you would expect, they had many opposing positions.

My point in all of this is looking at the situation objectively. Here are some questions that my wife and I discussed when deciding on whether or not to allow our children to have shots.
• What is the purpose for the shots?
• What are the possible side effects?
• What are the risks of not getting the shots?
• What are the legal ramifications?

These are simply my thoughts and opinions.

Posted by Simon at 03:17 AM | Comments (1)

July 27, 2004

Entry: Jimmy Carter Jumps the Shark

Conservative Dialysis says Conservative Dialysis: Jimmy Carter Jumps the Shark:

Jimmy Carter has never been considered a great president by anyone, not even Democrats. He led the American economy straight into the crapper, among other disasters. However, most people, even Republicans, have always admired him as a person. He has always seemed to me to be a very decent man with a strong, moral compass. He is widely praised for his charitable work with Habitat for Humanity, along with other organizations. Tonight, however, I have lost that perception of him. I lost it as I listened to his address to the Democratic Convention.

Posted by Simon at 10:16 AM | Comments (0)

July 26, 2004

Entry: Position Vacant

Will Type for Food has Position Vacant:

Smith Jones, Head of the Department of Sloth, burst into the Chief Sluggard's office at the speed of a sleeping tortoise. He had a newspaper in his hand, and he strode up to the desk of John Smith the Chief Sluggard, waving it around.

"What's this?" he demanded, slamming the paper down on the desk. "Er, it looks like a job-ad to me," said the Chief Sluggard, looking at it. It did indeed look like a job-ad...

Posted by Simon at 07:48 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Interesting Argument

Enviropundit follows an Interesting Argument:

There is an interesting debate going on between two bloggers, Steven DenBeste at the USS Clueless and the Engineer-Poet at The Ergosphere.

DenBeste's argument is that it is impossible to achieve any meaningful energy reductions in this country without first changing the laws of thermodynamics and the universal electrical constant. Everything that can be done has been done already. E-P's first counter is that there are several promising power-producing technologies coming down the pipe which will increase the efficiency of plants. His second is that there are many instances of waste in the country, including corn-based biofuels and incandescent lamps.

Although I agree with DenBeste on just about everything else on his site, I have to disagree with him on this, along with E-P.

Posted by Simon at 03:39 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Orwell on Passive Resistance

Horizon has two entries. Firstly Orwell on Passive Resistance:

One of the things I used to most enjoy over at the Scottish Newsgroup were the interminable (often learned, sometimes silly, but nearly always fun) squabbles over Orwell's ideas. I see no reason to drop the tradition, and I also see that Martha has provided a useful entry into such a discussion with her post about GO over at Harry's Place:

For one thing, he didn't like or understand the kind of nonviolent civil disobedience invented by Gandhi. He repeatedly classed Gandhi with totalitarian demagogues in a way that seems strange now, and the "Reflections on Gandhi" essay itself is mainly critical. I honestly don't know what he would have written about MLKing and the U.S. Civil Rights movement. I'd almost rather not know.

Now, Martha and I have had this out before, but I still think she's missing the point about Orwell and nonviolent civil disobedience (hereafter NCD).

The second entry is Werner Herzog, Non-fiction Part 1:

Sometime in 1995 or earlier, Werner Herzog went to Italy with a small crew to film the old castle of Gesualdo, Prince of Venosa, died 1613. While wandering through the palace, filming cracked walls and collapsed ceilings, the sound of bagpipes rings deafeningly through the ruin. Looking for the source, the crew come upon a man moving from room to room with his pipes, standing in corners as if looking for a particularly interesting acoustic effect. When the stunned crew ask the man what he's doing, he says he's plugging up the cracks in the walls with music so the evil spirit can't escape.

So begins Herzog's portrait of Don Carlo Gesualdo, widely considered the best composer of Renaissance madrigals, foreshadower, two centuries before his time, of Wagner, posthumous recipient, as Gesualdo fans like to remind people, of a "pilgrimage" by Stravinsky, murderer and lunatic.

Posted by Simon at 03:33 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: Terror and Liberalism

Viewpoint has an article on terror and liberalism. It is described as post which discusses a book by Paul Berman entitled Terror and Liberalism. The book was a New York Times bestseller and it addresses the odd fact that the ideological left has evolved over the last hundred years or so into the exact opposite of what it started out as. As Berman puts it the left "began as a champion of the poor and oppressed, [but has come] to ... passionately defend the most brutal of tyrannies, not just in Iraq, but in earlier times, also in the Soviet Union and even in Nazi Germany." The book is his argument in defense of this claim. The author describes himself as one of maybe fifteen or twenty people in the United States who are both pro-war and ideologically liberal/left so his critique of the left is all the more interesting for having been written by a man sympathetic to his subject.

Posted by Simon at 03:26 AM | Comments (0)

July 22, 2004

Entry:

Fuki Blog has Fun With Spam or How to Make Millions in Minutes

As you know, I recently received this email. I did not reply. Then the other day, Rockynoggin at Cornpone wrote this. As luck would have it, I received another chance to follow Rocky's cue and have a little fun. In fact, it was so much fun that I am calling on all members of the Blogosphere (authors and readers alike) to join in the fun.

The next time you receive one of these scam letters, write up a reply and send it off (preferably from a separate account that you use as a Spam dump). Send me a copy of the original letter and your reply to it and I will post it here.

Here is the one I received today...

Posted by Simon at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: American Idle

American Idle presents an example of its political and celebrity satirical content. Go take a look.

Posted by Simon at 01:54 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: Hey Kerry! Which is it?

More than Right asks Hey Kerry! Which is it?:

Hey Kerry! Which is it?
Hey Dems! When will you get tired of this guy?

I mean do you really take this guy seriously? What is your reasoning in voting for him? Is it that he’s not Bush? Wow! That’s intelligent. That’s like saying, “I don’t care who runs this country or what he believes … doesn’t believe… believes. As long as he’s not that Eeevil Bush!” In fact, I think his campaign slogan is: “Vote for me, I’m not Bush!”

Posted by Simon at 01:43 AM | Comments (1)

July 21, 2004

Entry: The Clinton Legacy is Secure

Conservative Dialysis says The Clinton Legacy is Secure:

Most of you know by now that former National Security Advisor Sandy Berger is under investigation by the FBI for pilfering some highly classified documents. These facts are not in dispute, as Mr. Berger and his lawyer have admitted as much. Also, Mr. Berger made notes about other classified materials and stuffed those notes in his socks and pants. Oh yeah, nothing amiss here!

Posted by Simon at 01:56 AM | Comments (0)

July 20, 2004

Entry: Blessed are the Cheesemakers

Biur Chametz says Blessed are the cheesemakers:

The rabbis were definite on this point: Non-kosher milk does not curdle, and thus cannot be used to make cheese: "Kosher milk curdles; non-kosher milk doesn't curdle" (BT Avodah Zarah 35b). In fact, the fact that milk has been turned into cheese is considered ample proof that the milk came from a kosher animal!

Intrigued, I investigated further. Is this true? Why should milk curdle only if it's kosher? And hadn't I heard somewhere about camels' milk cheese?

Well, the main characteristic distinguishing kosher from non-kosher animals is rumination, the chewing of the cud. It turns out that the milk of ruminant animals differs from non-ruminant milk.

Posted by Simon at 02:11 AM | Comments (0)

July 19, 2004

Entry: Conservatism?

Down Range asks about Conservatism?

Young pointy-headed intellectuals are attempting to move conservatism to the left according to the NY Times.

The NY Times calls it "redefining" conservatism. The author cites examples of young Ivy League graduates who are supposedly prominent "conservative thinkers" of their generation. However, their stances on everything from the war on terrorism to government spending are anything but conservative.

This from a generation that has never stared communism in the face, are too young to remember the Cold War, and grew up on video games.

Posted by Simon at 02:12 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Postponing Elections

Southern Watch on Postponing Elections:

At a moment when Tom Ridge is investigating how, if at all, the elections of November 2, 2004 should be postponed in the event of a terrorist attack directly before the date, Europeans seem to be one step ahead (or back) again, with today's call by the Spanish PP's vice secretary-general Jaime Mayor Oreja to 'regulate' postponing elections in the event of terrorist attacks like happened in Madrid on March 11 of this year, and to regulate them preferrably on a European level too.

I've been paining myself in trying to decide where I stand on this issue. Having experienced the attacks up close here in Madrid, and going through the following three days until election day of gruesome and grotesteque politicizing, mainly by, but not reserved to, the Left, I think Lincoln's words set me free.

First off, I do believe firmly that the Madrid bombings were designed to topple the former PP government. Prime minister Aznar's support for the liberation of Iraq and sending troops to both Iraq and Afghanistan, the Spanish population's firm opposing of the latter, an opposition party which vowed to pull out its troops once elected, all made for a perfect moment to kill in the terrorists' eyes...

Posted by Simon at 02:09 AM | Comments (0)

July 16, 2004

Entry: Paranoia will Destroy Ya

Down Range says Paranoia Will Destroy Ya:

Nick over at Conservative Dialysis has written an interesting piece on an article in the Chicago Sun Times concerning how TV news anchors are worried about the impact on journalism of Michael Moore’s movie F/911.


Yes. The elite media establishment is concerned that moviegoers will believe everything they see and hear everything in The Fat Liar’s hit piece on the Bush administration. Therefore, they are turning on their own. In all fairness to Brokaw, Rather, and Jennings, I’ve heard it said they actually believe they are objective in their reporting. That may be true. However, anyone who actually pays attention to what goes on in the world knows better. Otherwise, one would be hard to explain why The Fox News Channel consistently draws more viewers than any other news network.

Posted by Simon at 04:45 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: If you'd like to vote for Kerry press 1 now

Right Wing Duck has If you'd like to vote for Kerry press 1 now...:

If you love George Bush, please press 1 now.

Presses 1.

I'm sorry. You must be stupid. Did you really press 1? If so, press 1 again.

Presses 1.

There must be some technical problem.

Posted by Simon at 02:04 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Why I am Going to Vote for Bush

Conservative Dialysis tells us Conservative Dialysis: Why I Am Going to Vote for Bush:

The other day, when Kerry announced his running mate, a lot of news shows started analyzing how the choice would effect the election. Sometime before I drifted off to sleep, I began to ponder why I wanted to re-elect President Bush. Exactly what was it that made me so adamant about supporting him?

Posted by Simon at 02:00 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Flashback - 1996

Interplanetary cosmic bullspit will be covering the 2004 Democratic Convention. Here's a Flashback: 1996:

We knew about it over a year ago, after all. When former Pennsylvania Governor Bob Casey quit his single-issue challenge to Bill Clinton it became clear that this year's Democratic convention would be as news-free as the even bigger hardware convention that would proceed it by three weeks.

So why go? The answer can be made in two words..

Posted by Simon at 01:58 AM | Comments (0)

July 15, 2004

Entry: Shameless huckstering and self-promotion

Norwegianity engages in Norwegianity: Shameless huckstering and self-promotion:

Norwegianity is, quite simply, the cheapest therapy available to me. My conversational ranting, road rage, and compulsive swearing (not necessarily the same as ranting) have all tapered off as a result of blogging (one “fuck” in print is worth 100 verbal curses— I know, I’ve counted while my g’friend had a blood pressure cuff on me).

Posted by Simon at 02:47 AM | Comments (2)

July 14, 2004

Buttons

Thanks to both Pam and Fuki for the buttons that now appear in the sidebar.

I encourage you to use the buttons at your own site. Please download the button to your own server (Pixy's generous with bandwith, but it's just courtesy). To download them, just click with your right mouse button on which ever button you want to save to your own hard disk. Then use your blogging software to add it to your blog. You can include the image with a link back to the Showcase just like you normally link text.

Posted by Simon at 04:53 AM | Comments (2)

Getting traffic

A common woe of bloggers is how little traffic they get despite the high quality content of their site. It all seems so unfair and impossible to do anything about.

However Harvey has kindly presented a sensible list of things you can do to help boost your numbers. These themes are often repeated in many of the entries in the Tips part of the Showcase sidebar. There's a reason why: they work.

Go, read and learn.

Posted by Simon at 04:27 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: The Calculus of the 4-Way Stop

Fuki Blog has The Calculus of the 4-Way Stop:

I love to drive. Generally speaking there isn't much that is more relaxing than jumping in my little convertible sports car and just driving. However, all the joy and relaxation is out the window anytime that I happen across the inexplicably most perplexing situation known to driving: the 4-way stop.

I say this not because I am an idiot, but because most other people seem to lose all faculties when the arrive at a 4-way stop at the same time as me. Unless they happen to be directly across from me (and even then at times), I can see this glazed over look in their eyes. It is almost as if someone just asked them to solve this:

Posted by Simon at 02:32 AM | Comments (2)

Entry: A simple Desultory Philippic: Or How I was Simon and Garfunkel'd into Submission

IntellecXhibitionist has A Simple Desultory Philippic: Or How I Was Simon & Garfunkel'd into Submission

The superficial recollection of Simon & Garfunkel is of two guys on stools, a guitar, a bit of over-reaching radical poetry and some quaint harmonies. In their current "Old Friends" tour Simon & Garfunkel do everything they can to bring life and dimension to explode that misplaced stereotype. While it is accurate to say that much of their contribution was more deliberative and less sensational than so many of their counterparts, the point of last night's Salt Lake show was to fill in all the gaps in our memory.

The pensive songs you remember, like Kathy's Song, Homeward Bound, and the Sound of Silence were all there. If this is how we remember them, it's because they mastered that tone better than anyone else. But the set only had room for so much folksy Scarborough Fair melancholy. The duo hinted at a broader view of their surprisingly diverse catalogue, displaying a phenomenal tonal diversity in their music. We were reminded of the entire range of their work, from the casual anxiety of El Condor Pasa to the hard-rocking riffs of Hazy Shade of Winter, from the transcendant, embattled optimism of American Tune, to the goofy gusto of At the Zoo.

In fact, it was "goofy" that got the spotlight, on a two-encore night that included Baby Driver (a funny medley with At the Zoo), Keep the Customer Satisfied, Feelin' Groovy (accompanied by novelty instruments-- a trombone/kazoo hybrid and some evil spawn of a clarinet and accordion) and a quartet cover of the Everly Brothers' Bye Bye Love, sung with the Brothers themselves. If anything's changed over the years, it's how seriously these guys take themselves. Answer: not at all. You can read it in Paul Simon's weird, effeminate hand motions when he solos, and Art Garfunkel's strange air piano virtuosity, when he has nothing better to do (Which begs the burning question: Why on earth didn't Artie just suck it up and learn to play a friggin' instrument? Sure, he would have been late to the party, but these guys started recording when they were 15! So maybe he's just doing vocals on the first record, but he couldn't have picked up piano or banjo or viola by the time they were 17? Or 20? Or 30? Or 50? Come on, even Billy Joel plays a little guitar now. I will never understand why Art Garfunkel insists on being forever known as the ultimate in obsolete specialization. Impressive how he stuck by his guns, though. Maybe it was that whole burgeoning acting career. . .

Posted by Simon at 02:28 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: The Adventures of Conservative Man

More than Right has The Adventures of Conservative Man

Conner Manly was sitting in his Lay-Z-Boy recliner with his trusty dog Rightie by his side. As he sat relaxed after a long day at work to support his family, and the family across town, and the unwed mother on crack, and the Delusional Leftist Programs at the local Civic Center, the news played before him.

"There has been another law added to our Society of Higher Learning (without education), handed to us by the Judicial Potentates of The Sneaky Court," rathered on Dan Blather.

"Also in the Skew News is a new link proving that there are connections between the Right Wing and the Reputable Party."

Mr. Manly was beginning to doze off until he heard Dan Blather rather on about an organization that would save the world from all who oppose them. The Association of Ultra Commie Leftist other wise known as A.C.L.U...

Posted by Simon at 02:24 AM | Comments (0)

July 13, 2004

Request for button

Is there anyone out there able to create a Showcase button for people to add to their sites? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

Posted by Simon at 02:40 AM | Comments (3)

Entry: A Startling Admission

Lost Vowels has a A Startling Admission:

Ok folks. Fasten those metaphorical seatbelts and batten down those imaginary hatches. Secure your socks tightly and prepare to set your face to ‘stunned’. You may want prepare yourself a drink you can knock over in startled fashion, just for the look of the thing. For I am about to make a startling admission so astounding that those who read it will be forced to question everything they took for granted in the world; a startling admission so shocking that it may cause those of a nervous disposition to wither and die, and cause those normally normally disposed (clever wording, I know) to shriek wildly and uncontrollably, arms flailing, until calmed by a friend’s loving but firm blow to the back of the head with a blunt instrument. It’s the kind of startling admission that will, quite literally, follow this sentence.

Posted by Simon at 02:38 AM | Comments (0)

July 12, 2004

Entry: Taxonomy

Soccer Dad tries to answer questions on Taxonomy

My 11 year old went on a bike ride today. He said that a cardinal flew in front of him. He joked that it was jay-walking. That led to his question: Are blue jays and cardinals of the same family? (He pointed out that their "crowns" tilted backwards look similar.)

Posted by Simon at 09:10 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: CIA finally reveals its grounds for rejecting Ani-Atta

Error Theory has CIA finally reveals its grounds for rejecting Ani-Atta (Iraq-al Queda) link. A precis of the post:

Sleuthing through papers at the Iraqi embassy in Prague, Czech intelligence has corroborated its claim that 9/11 attack leader Mohammad Atta met Iraqi spymaster al-Ani in Prague five months before 9/11. In spite of this corroboration, outgoing CIA chief George Tenet declares the CIA to be "increasingly skeptical" of Czech claims. Surely the CIA must have some contrary information that no one else possesses. In a departing letter to Congress this week, Tenet finally reveals.

Posted by Simon at 02:40 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: List of irritations

The Dumb Plumber has a List of Irritations:

Memo:

From: The Dumb Plumber,

To: Lawyers, Doctors, and Stock Brokers

And others holding certificates of higher learning and deeds to vacation property in our fair intermountain community.

The following is a short list of facts that was somehow not conveyed to you during your extensive collegiate experience:...

Posted by Simon at 02:36 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: A Blogwarming Gift

Popping Culture has A Blogwarming Gift:

The first season, for me, boils down into two images:

1. The last 5 minutes of the pilot episode. George’s first soul. Her struggles with what will be, unarguably, her toughest soul to take in the entire series. As George finally comes to terms with what she is, how she wasted her life and why she has to do what she has to do, a haunting version of “Que Sera Sera” plays in the background (song version by Pink Martini – the amazing Squirrel Nut Zippers also add a tune to the pilot). There are more details adding to the poignancy of this incredible scene (one of the best written I’ve seen in any format in years) that I won’t give away in case you get to watch for yourself. I hope you do. You will be richer for it, and you’ll be asking “why?” the same way George does.

Posted by Simon at 02:32 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: True Nature of Today's Democrat?

Conservative Dialysis has True Nature of Today's Democrat?:

Looks like Whoopie Goldberg had a little too much to drink last night. According to this report, she embarrassed herself last night at the Democratic fund-raiser that John Kerry thought was more important than a National Security briefing. Let's hear from her directly...

Posted by Simon at 02:29 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Past Inperfect

The Sciolist has Past Imperfect:

The U.S. can invade Iraq, overthrow its dictator, and in time rebuild the country into a free, modern, secular nation living under the rule of law.

Those of us who assert this use Germany in World War II as a comparison. But is it the right one? Iraq today seems little like the Germany of 1945 -- a shattered nation that before its defeat had been tightly bonded by social organization and a strong nationalist tradition.

Instead, what I read and see from Iraq reminds me more of the Germany of 1815: Regionally fragmented, partially liberated from its native petty tyrants, with unresolved issues of religion and politics. It has a civil service in its infancy, systems still corrupt, and a growing middle class restive for rights and reforms. It's a nation vulnerable to neighboring powers, with citizens increasingly maddened by the clash of their foreign liberators' egalitarian rhetoric and the humiliating realities of occupation.

Posted by Simon at 02:27 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: America, etc.

Random Pensees has America, etc. on how a shoe shine renewed their faith in the attraction of America.

Posted by Simon at 02:23 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: The View Through the Windshield

The View Through The Windshield writes about cars, current events, business and life. The entry from July 10th in part:

Last year, James Lileks has bemoaned the return of the trolley to Minneapolis: "Heading into the office today I was startled to see the poles - ten per block, tall and gray, ugly lumps hanging from the wires that laced the poles together. ... And so the intersections now have these latticework constructs, these anal-retentive dreamcatchers, these tic-tac-toe puzzles pasted over your view of the sky." He added recently that "the operating budget requires an $11K subsidy per passenger per year." Ouch!

The 'romance' of trolleys blinds people to their disadvantages - expensive to build or modify a line or route, inflexible, unable pull to side of the road for passengers to embark/disembark, the overhead wires, the nightmare when one breaks down and on and on. When it used to cost a few hundred thou to construct a line, they were called 'trolleys.' Now that the cost is in the billions, they are referred to as 'light rail vehicles' or 'LRVs.' Sounds more sophisticated and NASA-like. I guess bureaucrats think that fancy names and acronyms helps justify the outrageous price. Better and smarter to use low-emission buses, in my opinion. They're cheaper (both capital investment and operating costs) and more flexible.

Posted by Simon at 02:20 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: The Blogger, the Pamphleteer and Mixed Blessings

Shades of Gray has The Blogger, the Pamphleteer, and Mixed Blessings

The expansion of weblogs provides both information and chaos to the intellectual scene, regardless of what particular genre is involved. While earlier eras saw numerous pamphlets and small gazettes, today weblogs appear as almost an infinity. What can one make of all this? While the type of interactions are similar, and indeed surpass, those of previous times, the limits of the medium and the sheer saturation of the field leave the weblog as a mixed blessing. Let us consider the wonder and anarchy that is the modern blogging scene.

Posted by Simon at 02:18 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Tax cuts? They don't need no steenking tax cuts!

Miss Many Toes says Tax cuts? They don't need no steenking tax cuts!

You know, I'm just about fed up with folks advocating getting rid of the tax cuts. If they really want the Government to have that money, I've got news for them: Anyone can donate any amount of money directly to the US Treasury.

Posted by Simon at 02:15 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: The Magnet

The Fourth Rail has The Magnet:

Al Qaeda is diverting valuable resources such as money, arms, training and other organizational support assets to Iraq that could be used in the United States and Europe. These resources are not infinite. And once there, al Qaeda is meeting the combined weight of American power, assisted by local Iraqi intelligence and security services.

Posted by Simon at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)

July 09, 2004

A linking contest?

The Showcase seems to be going well. When I restarted it I specifically did not want it to become a contest. However I'm tempted to now turn into one. The easiest way to make it work would be the simplest: the entry each week with the most links back to its Showcase post would be declared the winner and be added a "Winner Blogroll" on the sidebar. I'd simply total which post has the most trackbacks at a certain time each week and that would be the winner. I'll add Kevin's manual trackback pinger to each entry for those who cannot send automatic trackbacks.

Let me know your thoughts in the comments.

UPDATEAt the moment I'm not going to turn this into a linking contest, especially because of the workload. Thanks for all the comments.

Posted by Simon at 09:13 AM | Comments (8)

Entry: The Cost of Freedom

JusTalkin has The Cost of Freedom:

The cost of freedom is high. Every one of these young men and women had someone who will sorely miss them. No more dinners out with them. No more quiet evenings at home. No more playing ball with their kids.

Posted by Simon at 06:27 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Kerry Plays Games

Right Face! has Kerry Plays Games

Kerry's own comments about his beliefs on abortion show him to be a hypocrite, or worse.

Posted by Simon at 02:02 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Keep Guns in our School!

Good Morning America says Keep Guns In Our School!

No, You didn't read the title wrong and no, I didn't type it wrong either. I actually meant "Keep Guns In Our School." The many headlines about school violence, bullying, and the like have sparked a very heated debate here in small town Nebraska, a debate that has had substantial press coverage and outspoken supporters on both sides. The debate concerns the Trap Shooting program at Norris High School.
...
The problem is that certain people are convinced that one day, for no apparent reason, some deranged kid is going to take one of the shotguns
used for trap and go on a shooting spree. The leader of this group of individuals is a certain Sandy Wescott of Hickman. Wescott claims to be a "concerned parent" although she doesn't even have any children that attend Norris. She is very outspoken and had been featured on local TV
station, newspapers, and now even in Reader's Digest Magazine.
...
Now for the truth about the apparent safety issues. First off, all trap team members are required to take a firearms safety course before they can be a member of the team. This effectively eliminates incompetence from the scene. Next, the safety rules are extremely strict, and must be followed to the letter of the law if the students want to remain on the team. There are staff members on hand at all times during practice, and no horseplay whatsoever is tolerated. Thirdly, the Trap team has the best
safety record of all the extracurricular activities at Norris. There have been many more serious injuries to Marching Band members. In fact, there
have been no injury accidents in the history of the Norris trap program.

Posted by Simon at 02:00 AM | Comments (0)

July 08, 2004

Entry: Naked Liberal Watch

Evil White Guy has Naked Liberal Watch

Have you ever noticed how difficult it is to carry on a conversation with someone when your eyes are in your nose? Women immediately assume I'm staring at their breasts, but really, my neck is just so sore, I can't tilt my head back anymore...

Posted by Simon at 03:41 AM | Comments (3)

Entry: Unfairenhate 9/11

Industrial Waste has Unfairenhate 9/11

Nowadays it seems that you either worship Bush like the Second Messiah, or you loathe him like the incarnation of Satan. Politics has become so divided and polarized that it has begun to resemble a savage holy war between two rival religions. And no where is there a more devout or fervent practitioner of the liberal religion than Michael Moore, a disgusting glob of lard who has become the leading jihadist of the Democratic Party.

His film, Fahrenheit 9/11, is not a documentary, inasmuch as a documentary contains some relation to the truth. Rather, it is a vision of a crude, conspiratorial hallucination, presented in convenient theatrical form. Moore despises our President with such pathological fervor that in his eyes, every Administration policy, from the war in Afghanistan to airport security, must be a vehicle for some unknown sinister motive, which, of course, has been dutifully covered up by the media.

Michael Moore, that fat, repulsive slob, lives in a paranoid delusion: a wild-eyed fantasy world in which greedy oil barons with deep connections to terrorist masterminds have seized control of the White House; in which a brainwashed citizenry blindly follows its leaders into an illegal war that, unbeknownest to them, was conceived in Texas by a petrol-thristy elite bent on plundering the Middle East's oil supplies; and in which Moore himself, that lone warrior of truth, is the only man who can rescue this nation of helpless dupes from the grips of an evil, money-grubbing cabal of corporate demons...

Posted by Simon at 03:10 AM | Comments (2)

Entry: Things I have to do before they become illegal

The Nomad Tavern has a list of Things I have to do before they become illegal

So, with the push to make smoking completely illegal, I've decided I have to compile a list of things I must do before the moral, vocal, PC, feminazi, vegan, republican, liberal, and religious minorities (separate groups all acting to make decisions for me) makes them illegal. Some things I've already done, such as eating a fat, juicy steak. Others I'll have to work on. The list so far:

Posted by Simon at 03:08 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: What Did You Eat Under There? Under Where? You ate underwear?

Imaginary Conversations and Random Thoughts asks Imaginary Conversations and Random Thoughts: What Did You Eat Under There? Under Where? You Ate Underwear?

The Classic Hanes have another problem. Now please keep in mind, we’re talking normal, non-boxers underwear here. But these Classic Hanes are somehow cut differently. I mean, when I wear them, it feels like half of my hiney region is hanging out in the wind. Even if I have pants on, I still feel exposed. And the material itself just feels thinner, not as substantial. Maybe it’s summer underwear.

Posted by Simon at 02:47 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: 54,53,52...

Stone Court counts down 54,53,52...

Having now read a bit more of Kopel's Fifty-six Deceits in Fahrenheit 911, I wonder whether it is even worth the time. Look, I don't doubt there are inaccuracies in the film, and Kopel has probably found some of them (many would take more time or effort to investigate than I care to invest so I will remain agnostic) -- but isn't it, er, deceitful, to claim that you have documented 56 of them when many of them are obviously bogus?

Kopel's count includes the following:

...

Deceit 8 -- "Fahrenheit mocks President Bush for continuing to read a story to a classroom of elementary school children after he was told about the September 11 attacks." Deceitful? Yes, Kopel concludes, because the school's principal defended him: "“What would it have served if he had jumped out of his chair and ran out of the room?”…
Bush’s presence had a calming effect and 'helped us get through a very difficult day.'" Well, who cares what she thinks? Wasn't Bush's job to worry about the protecting 275 million Americans from a major attack, not to calm a few first graders? And why couldn't he just excuse himself without upsetting them? Does Kopel really think honesty requires including the principal's views?

Posted by Simon at 02:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 07, 2004

Entry: What would Martin Do?

Mr Minority asks What Would Martin Do?

If Martin Luther King were to come down from Heaven and were to meet up with Jesse Jackson, what do you think the conversation would be like? Well, I have thought about it and I think it would go something like this:

Scene opens with MLK catching JJ outside some farmhouse in Mississippi:

MLK: Jesse! Jesse Jackson! You come here right now; I have something to talk to you about!
JJ: Reverend King? Is that You?
MLK: Yes, Jesse it is I. (MLK grabs JJ by the ear) Come here behind the woodshed, we are going to have a talk!...

Posted by Simon at 02:34 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Twenty-Five Reasons I Might Call You a Jackass

Fuki Blog has another entry, this time Twenty-Five Reasons I Might Call You a Jackass

1. You ask me if I have seen that brilliant new film by Michael Moore.
2. You tell me that the government taxes me for my own good.
3. You look at me with that “you’re eating a poor dead animal” look as I consume my medium-rare rib-eye.
4. You happen to mention that I share my name with that aforementioned ass-clown.
5. You fail to put on your turn signal before turning into the same place that I have been trying for 10 minutes to get out of.
6. You get in the left lane on the interstate and drive at or below the posted speed limit.
7. You leave your shopping cart to roam aimlessly about the parking lot where it inevitably finds my driver’s side door.
8. You spout off some asinine comment about how I am doing my daughter a disservice by keeping her out of public schools.
9. You complain about what a mess our country has become, but you don’t vote.
10. You tell me that the UN serves any purpose other than providing totalitarian scumbags with a pulpit from which to beat the US.

Posted by Simon at 02:29 AM | Comments (2)

Entry: When spies were sexy

The Bad Hair Blog has When spies were sexy:

Back when I was a kid I wanted to grow up to be Mrs. Emma Peel of The Avengers. She was witty and had a great voice (still does), wore great clothes, her hair and nails always looked good, and invariably at the end of each episode she drove off into the sunset with Mr. Steed after saving him & kicking the bad guys' butts. Mr. Steed was one of the reasons why I developed early on a liking for British actors (Alan Bates was another one -- Patrick Macnee turns out is Canadian -- but I digress).

I still would like to grow up to do stuff like Mrs. Peel used to. Regrettably, real-life espionage doesn't live up to the 1960s TV version and I never took up Karate.

Posted by Simon at 02:24 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: Cleaning up of Al-Qaeda

Southern Watch has The Cleaning Up Of Al QaedaI'm not a big fan of conspiracy theories, but with regards to Spain's socialist government's and the liberal press' handling of the March 11 attacks, I keep having this feeling that something is very wrong here. It's like they want to forget, move on, hoping -and in many cases believing- that the Madrid bombings were somehow a deserved payback for Spain's support of the liberation of Iraq, so Spain can now be considered safe from Islamist terror. These are things almost impossible to say out loud over here...

Posted by Simon at 02:22 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile, because inside he's hurting

When crustaceans attack says When crustaceans attack!: No, you can't get friendly with a crocodile, because inside he's hurting

Who exactly is sniffing at the top of a crocodile's windpipe, pronouncing the air down there to be rancid and then living to complain about it? 'I mean, jeez, I've smelt some distasteful carnivore exhalations in my time, but crocodylus porosus takes the freakin'
cake.

Posted by Simon at 02:20 AM | Comments (0)

July 06, 2004

Entry: Ms. Thompson Wrote Me

KB Online has nominated Maine Line with his post Ms. Thompson Wrote Me:

I suppose you can guess what she said. "Where have you been?" Mostly, like all women who don't hear from their men when they think they should, she thought I might be lying in a ditch somewhere, or in a alcohol-induced coma, or shacked up with somebody I shouldn't be, or run off with some floozy down to Portland, or dead. Well, I ain't none of them things, and I wrote back and told her so. Of course what she really wanted to know was why did I stop writing? Was I gonna quit the class? She really didn't want me to, she said, because I had a "authentic voice", whatever that means. Sam says it's good but I figure it probably just means I ain't pretending to be something I'm not. That don't make me "authentic", it makes me not a liar, which Sam says these days is practically the same thing, but I don't want to talk politics.

Posted by Simon at 09:13 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: New Gifts Outright

Squaring the Boston Globe has New Gifts Outright:

While taking Australian friends on a walking tour of Boston, we meet hundreds of new American Citizens...

Posted by Simon at 03:21 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: Happy Birthday America

The Daily Blitz says Happy Birthday America:

America is two hundred and twenty eight years old today. Barely an adolescent by the standard of nations. And yet, it has achieved greatness beyond all hope and expectations. It is popular, among a certain segment of society, both here in the United States and abroad, to deride America. To belittle its achievements and demonize both its leaders and its people. I could easily provide links to these mean, small hearted people doing these mean, small hearted things but, in the words of one such individual, screw them.

Today, I'm making a list and I'm going to ask for your help. If you're reading this, take a moment and list something that's right with America. There is so very, very much. I'll start us off with a short list off of the top of my head...

Posted by Simon at 03:17 AM | Comments (0)

July 05, 2004

Entry: I Don't Believe Ashcroft

Random Thoughts says I Don't Believe Ashcroft:

Ashcroft announced a terrorist plot to blow up a mall in Ohio. Here's what I've learned:

This alleged terrorist has been in custody for the last seven months for immigration violations. They're saying he lied to get into the country, except for a few biographical data points.

They say he lied about a trip to Ethiopia, that he didn't go for religious purposes, but went for military training.

The indictment doesn't mention a plot to blow up a shopping mall. That's in the motion to keep him in jail (which I believe doesn't require much in the way of evidentiary support).

The indictment does say that he was an associate of a guy that pled guilty to providing material support to al Qaeda.

They said that this plotter had no bomb making materials and and that they have no proof that he attended the al Qaeda training camp they say he attended.

They say the terrorist plot hadn't advanced beyond the discussion stage.

They don't think this guy had the financial, organizational or technical skills to carry out an attack.

So here's the problem. I don't believe Ashcroft. I don't know if information he released is true or if he's stretching the truth for political gain. I don't know if this guy is really a terrorist or just a poor immigrant who was fingered by a prisoner that was being tortured or tempted. I don't know if he really violated immigration law or if Ashcroft found it convenient to say so, since then he can lock the guy up indefinitely with no due process. I don't know if the intelligence they're using as a basis of arrest is credible. I don't know if he really did get military training in Ethiopia or if he got religious instruction. I don't know if there was really a plot to bomb a mall since there's no evidence of it except maybe a roving wiretap that caught a bad joke or two. I don't know if this guy is a terrorist or a dupe...

Random Thoughts also maintains a repository of documents relating to Abu Ghraib. For example the latest addition:

The DOJ Bybee memo from August 1, 2002. Here's a summary of this memo, which has been covered thoroughly in the traditional press and the blogosphere.
Date: August 1, 2002
From: Jay S. Bybee, Assistant Attorney General, Department of Justice
To: Alberto R. Gonzalez, White House Counsel
Subject: Standards of Conduct for Interrogation under 18 U.S.C. §§22340-2340A
Summary: Written in response to a request from Gonzalez for the DOJ view on the application of international and federal law to interrogations occurring outside the United States. The five part, 50 page memo concludes that acts inflicting and specifically intended to inflict severe pain or suffering, mental or physical, must be of an extreme nature to rise to the level of torture. It also concludes that cruel, inhuman, or degrading acts may not produce the necessary pain or suffering to qualify as torture. …

Posted by Simon at 05:27 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Will Type for Food

Will Type for Food explains why he Will Type For Food:

Hi! I'm Tim Train, 26 years old, living in Newcastle, Australia, and looking for work. As you can see from my resume, I'm appallingly overqualified, shamefully underexperienced, disgustingly overskilled in computing/typing, and disgracefully committed to my work as a volunteer at various community organisations.

YOUR CHALLENGE, IF YOU CHOOSE TO ACCEPT IT, IS THIS: find me a job. I've been looking for work here in Newcastle for a while now. (I'm not picky: I've narrowed down the field of possible jobs to - office work. Anything from filing and answering phones to publicity, working with databases etc. I don't really care what specific industry it's in, or whether it's part time or full time or casual or temporary or long-term. Anything will do. Really.)

But so far, I haven't found one. So I've decided to use the power of blog to combat my perpetual state of unjoblessness. Each week, I'll put up a couple of posts about my trials and tribulations looking for work. Since I am a welfare recipient and beneficiary of the hard-earned taxes, due attention will be paid to my profligacy with your money. Every now and then, I'll post up some examples of my idleness and shriftlessness. Along with that will come the usual right-wing ratbag rants, pedantic dissections of newspaper stories, and self-indulgent passages about myself. The horror!

There will only be one way to stop me: help me get a job here in or around Newcastle. Perhaps you need a worker yourself, or perhaps you have friends in Newcastle who need a worker. Point them out to my website. They'll be able to sample a copy of my resume, or read some more about me. I know we can do this! By working together, I'm sure we can wean me off Government welfare and stop my horrific waste of taxpayer funds!

Posted by Simon at 03:31 AM | Comments (0)

July 04, 2004

Entry: The Tao of the Cube

Idle Process gives you The Tao of The Cube, Parts 1&2:

Part 2: The Tao of the Meeting

...In an ideal world, this would be a convocation of ideas for the betterment of the team. In the real world, meetings are rife with infighting, backstabbing, posturing, grandstanding, teet-suckling, and boredom. Such discordance is obviously foreign to the Tao.

So what to do? In a majority of cases, it is unlikely you can do anything to improve the quality of the Meetings themselves. Your best option is to seek the Tao in regards to the Meeting, in such a way that the Meeting passes as quicky and dilutely as possible through your consciousness. While Meetings may seem a good time to meditate, in fact they are not. Often, it is good to appear to pay attention by nodding, smiling, even laughing or looking dour at the appropriate moments. These are obvious impediments to structured meditation.

I would like to introduce to you the state of mind known as The Open Window. The Open Window, as its name implies, means that your consciousness has escaped your body via the Window and is playing outside while the body conducts important Meeting business. In this manner, your body can appear lifelike while your mind is playing in the swingset of the Imagination...

Posted by Simon at 12:45 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: All you need to know about Star Trek TNG

Terran OP has All you need to know about Star Trek TNG...

My wife hates Star Trek. I'm no nut about it, but I used to think it
was fun to watch. I still like the original series, despite its flaws it has some of the most cutting edge writing for the time. Its writers sometimes tackled deep issues with a deftness that leaves modern television writers looking like Soviet propagandists ( an issue of style, rather than perspective) .

But my wife hates all things Trek, so whenever I stumble upon ST:TNG on Spike as I'm flipping channels, it's reflexive that I move on. However, I stopped just long enough for something to click yesterday.

Counselor Troi...with a bridge station. What a perfect metaphor for the era between the 'End of History' and 9/11. For some reason, the Federation's biggest, baddest warship needs a whiney therapist cautioning everyone to be nice..all the time...from the bridge, right beside the captain

Imagine this, if you will, the starship America out on a two-hundred and fifty year voyage to discover, spread, and enjoy republicanism and representative government, runs into a new threat.

Islamist War Leader: "In the name of Allah, you will all convert to Islam or be destroyed!"

Captain Bush: "I'm sorry you feel that way, bin Laden. I'm afraid that's not what we do." [ turns to ship's counselor ] "What do you think, Counselor?"

Posted by Simon at 12:41 AM | Comments (1)

July 03, 2004

Entry: Someone is setting Drudge Up

The Great Satan says Someone is setting Drudge up:

Honestly, who in their right mind would believe that HRC would ever play second fiddle to John Kerry? And lets break it down, is there any other Democrat who is more polarizing than Hillary? She is either hated or loved and there is really no middle ground.

While 44 percent of Americans express a favorable opinion of Mrs. Clinton, 48 percent view her unfavorably an unusually high negative rating, and an unusually strong one.

ABC's unscientific online poll had a 53% no to a 41% yes when asking if:
"Would you like to see Hillary Clinton run for President?" So with Kerry's poll numbers falling based on an utter lack of message or focus, and not to mention utter lack of anything regarding excitement even in his base, why would he even entertain the idea of bringing a mega divisive figure like Hillary into the show? Someone who only gets support in a segment of her base, and has a negative rating higher than Kerrys. I don't see it happening, ever!


Posted by Simon at 10:56 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Yet Again Controvery Stalks Lorna

The Truth About York has Yet Again Controvery Stalks Lorna:

Yet again, controversy stalks Lorna York's president Lorna Marsden is often accused of being too pro-Israel - except when she is being accused of being too anti-Israel. Controversy has popped up yet again in the form of a scandal regarding who gets honorary doctorates.

York's media release describes honoree Richard Falk as "an eminent professor of international law" who "has been highly critical of Israeli policies".

Translation: A man who accuses Israel of attempted genocide has been awarded an honorary doctorate of laws.

The Jewish Tribune article quotes Falk as saying “It was time to realize that the occupation was not only illegal and criminal, but an exterminist one that sought to obliterate the very existence of the Palestinian people.”

The Canadian Jewish News article offers a response by Osgoode's Dean who notes that the complaints are "unfair" since Falk is opposed to suicide bombing.

Well, that changes everything. He opposes suicide bombing. Call the Pope. Maybe there's time to squeeze in a canonization. Or the Queen. Knighthood, here he comes.

Google "Richard Falk" and prepare for some interesting reading.

See the problem with York is that they don't get that there is nothing technically wrong with giving a doctorate to an academic whose views are controversial. But the York admin gets all hot and bothered when people shy away from coming here because of the Mideast tensions on campus.

Deal with it, Lorna. You open the door to controversy, and now it's come in for tea.

Posted by Simon at 10:45 AM | Comments (0)

July 02, 2004

Welcome Instapundit readers

Welcome Instapundit readers.

Please have a look at some of the great entries here, including in the archives. The site has only been up for a couple of weeks and already there are some high quality new blogs on display.

There is a full explanation of the workings of this Showcase here that I recommend you read.

If you know of new blogs that might want to display here please let me know. And please keep coming back often for new blogs and entries.

BLOG OWNERS:

Please follow Glenn's example and post about this at your own blog. While you're at it please add the Showcase to your blogroll and help increase the exposure and linkage for the new blogging talent on display here.

Even better, find some entries you like and link to them. If you link, please link to both the Showcase and the original blog. And then come back and do it again some time soon.

Thanks again.

Simon

Posted by Simon at 12:33 PM | Comments (1)

Entry: King of All Shills

Strange Dog has the King of all Shills:

I'll admit, I am Howard Stern fan. Having said that, as he started to become consumed by Bush hatred, I started to lose interest. When he became the primary promotion vehicle for Farenheit 9/11, I quit listening altogether. He might as well have become Al Franken as far as I was concerned. I drive home in bumper to bumper traffic after working the midnight shift. If you can't keep me awake, I'm not listening. I'll end up asleep and in an accident.

Posted by Simon at 10:33 AM | Comments (3)

Entry: Chomsky Again

Jack of Clubs has Chomsky Again:

There are two ways of defeating bad philosophies. One is to attack them directly and refute them point by point. The other is to promote better and more attractive ideas of your own. We can call these the Military and Marketing metaphors, respectively (if you will pardon the alliteration). I make no secret that I incline to the Marketing approach, but both approaches have their virtues and each may be necessary in any given situation. There are certainly times when a knock-down, drag-out fight is called for, in intellectual arenas as well as physical ones. But one advantage of the Marketing metaphor is that it steals the initiative from the opponent and makes him react to you or risk becoming irrelevant. Though he has not been definitively defeated yet, I think Chomsky and all his ilk are on the verge precisely such an irrelevance in the face of the enormous success of the American vision.

Posted by Simon at 02:54 AM | Comments (4)

The power of blogging

Interesting report on "Big Media" vs Blogging and blogging's influence in shaping opinion.

Posted by Simon at 02:27 AM | Comments (2)

July 01, 2004

Entry: The Stage of Moving

Red Said tells us about the The Stages of Moving:

The ENORMOUS MOVE is happening tomorrow, so right now I’m in the last throes of packing up and surrounded by the chaotic clutter of boxes in different stages of fullness. And I’m wondering – not for the first or last time, mind you – why on earth books can’t be manufactured to be the exact same size for our moving convenience?!?!?

How did all these books sneak into this house to begin with, I ask you!? It’s a great mystery to me… the formerly sweet memories of plundering the shelves of Barnes & Noble, giddy with delight, now very vague and suppressed by the dread and frustration of stuffing coffee table books (whoEVER invented those?!) into a box that is just an INCH too short.

Posted by Simon at 09:20 AM | Comments (1)

Positive Stories about blogging

Trudy of Wolves has started a new blog called Positive Stories, leading on from an idea by Anil Dash. From the site itself:

This is the place to share your positive stories on ways blogs and blogging have helped you – either personally or your group or organization...this could become a worthwhile tool for bloggers who want to see how other organizations and individuals use blogs to aid their cause or promote something.
One to watch.

(via Dean)

Posted by Simon at 08:19 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: On magnetic wands and writer's block

Vindication has On magnetic wands and writer's block:

"As I rapidly become obsessed with 'all things blog' I have become a student of writing. This article addresses writers block and some theories on what may lay behind it. As old wives are so fond of saying " An ounce of prevention equals a pound of cure". Not that I fear I will ever become blocked writing single sentences that consist of "look at this" or "Ain't this interesting".

Just in case, does anyone know where one can find a magnetic metal wand?"

Posted by Simon at 02:51 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Military No Place for Ladies

Cornpone says the Military No Place for Ladies

"Well, well. I guess after viewing "Lynndie does Abu Ghraib" we'll see a campaign letter from *Waffles* that goes something like this:

"Dear DeepPocketedLiberalVoter:

I was outraged by what I have seen and heard recently coming out of Abu Ghraib. Like you, I feel that those responsible should be held accountable for these whoreific actions. And, like you, I feel that a contribution to my campaign is the best way to make them pay!

That's why I'm calling for the resignation of Donald Rumsfeld, and I'm asking you to join me by donating to my campaign.

Clearly, our soldiers weren't properly trained, and as a result, videotaped themselves having casual sex with each other in front of Iraqi prisoners.

Posted by Simon at 02:49 AM | Comments (1)

Entry: On Killing

Digitus, Finger & Co. has a book review about On Killing

Grossman, a former Ranger, paratrooper, and West Point instructor in psychology, begins by iterating little known fact outside military circles: that since the beginning of time, soldiers have been extremely resistant to kill their fellow man in battle. While on its surface this may seem to cleary exhibit the truth of the oxymoron “military intelligence”, it is actually a more astonishing fact than it appears, given popular conceptions of military training and discipline, and the generally ghastly statistics associated with war itself.

Citing interviews with soldiers conducted by the military immediately after WWII, Grossman explains that of the men who were ordered to shoot directly at and kill the enemy (e.g., infantrymen), only 15-20% actually obeyed that order. Distance also played a factor. The farther one was both physically and psychologically from the enemy (like artillery) the easier it was to kill them; the closer one was (like choking someone to death), the infinitely greater the resistance. This aversion to kill one’s fellow man was so great among those not already psychopathic, that many soldiers went to unbelievable lengths to avoid it. They might not fire at all, they might fire in the direction of the enemy with no intent to kill (i.e., above their heads, which is a form of “animal posturing”), and in some cases, they would even kill themselves.

Personally, I’m a Lord-of-the-Flies-kind-of-guy. That is, I am of the opinion that left to their own devices and lacking ethical mores reinforced by the surrounding society, human beings will gladly kill each another. This seems to be a pretty obvious truth, and one that was reiterated over and over in literature classes from high school through college. So then, it goes without saying that the information Grossman was providing genuinely shocked me. And as it turns out, it also shocked the military establishment of the late 1940s. Since (as many a comedic pundit have noted) the whole point of the military is to kill people and to break things, an army can’t very well expect to win a war if only a fraction of its front-line combat soldiers are actually doing what they are expressly there to do. And while the civilian psychologists of the day didn’t give much credence to these findings, the military did, and as a result they began to change their training methods.

Posted by Simon at 01:46 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Care and Feeding of Husbands

Business of Life gives us Business of Life™: Care and Feeding of Husbands

The most popular book on male-female relationships in years, selling to date over 800,000 copies is a book you probably never heard of.

The author says, "I was amazed at the reaction I have had from so many men about this book. So many of them are so unhappy. They feel emotionally abused by the women in their lives"

Posted by Simon at 01:33 AM | Comments (0)

Entry: Why Legacy Matters

Legacy Matters tells us Why Legacy Matters:

A short time ago, a large European investment bank advised its clients to “have sex, ideally with someone they love, reflect on the good things in life, give their bodies enough sleep and exercise regularly.” Major news coming from a bank, so the author explained he “thought it was time that I reminded people there was more to life than watching screens every day." I think MasterCard’s “Priceless” campaign does it better. “There are some things money can’t buy.”

Some things are priceless. The sound of a loved one’s voice, the smile of your first dog, your grandfather’s stories, your daughter’s graduation, your mother’s peanut brittle, your greatest triumphs, your biggest regret, what you love, who you love, who you are. If you fail to capture them in a way that they can be given away or passed on, they lose their value. Worse, you’ll probably forget them and no one will ever know. One of the most haunting quotes I’ve ever read is by Joan Didion, We forget all too soon the things we thought we could never forget; we forget what we whispered and what we dreamed; we forget who we were...

Posted by Simon at 01:31 AM | Comments (0)