Archive for the ‘News and Commentary’ Category
October 25th, 2004
I’ve got to go, Rock. It’s allright. I’m not afraid. Some time, Rock, when the team is up against it, when things are wrong and the breaks are beating the boys, tell them to go in there with all they’ve got and win just one for the Zipper. I don’t know where I’ll be then, Rock, but I’ll know about it, and I’ll be happy.
October 21st, 2004
It’s been a long time since we’ve had a civil war, but hopefully we learned plenty from the first one to make this one quick and efficient. It will be quite different, though. For one thing, it won’t have a stark geographical divide. Friendly and enemy territory will have to divided on a house to house basis – or maybe even room to room. Also, a big difference is that one side has all the guns since both gun owners and the military tend to be in the right-wing. This should make things easy if planned well.
Read the whole essay…
October 21st, 2004
It appears the Guardian is not having the effect it wanted.
In fact, there is some blowback:
Furious e-mails have reached the Guardian, such as this one from Texas, stating: “Real Americans aren’t interested in your pansy-ass, tea-sipping opinions.”
October 20th, 2004
Chances are, anyone dumb enough to believe that there will be a draft in the next 4 years is too stupid to successfully cast a vote for someone other than Pat Buchanan.
Harsh, but true.
October 20th, 2004
I’ve been wondering why President Bush’s opponents have been so obsessed with his “refusal” to apologize. It looks like how many of President Clinton’s opponents wanted him to say the two magic words, “I Lied”. They approach these phrases almost like they are a talisman.
The funny thing is, because the subject of their opprobrium KNOWS this, he will not give it to them. Kind of like how Superman won’t give Lex Luthor some Kryptonite.
Douglas Kern at Tech Central Station does a good job of exposing why politicians who know that his opponent obsessively wants him to say something,
won’t.
October 15th, 2004
VodkaPundit is not happy.
I agree with him. The difference is I am a socially very conservative, and I just want the government to leave me alone.
I am beginning to think this could be a tectonic shift in American Public Life.
Lets see,
I think a lot of repressed emotion from the last 35 years is finally going to get purged over the new 4-8 years.
Like cancer treatment, it may be necessary, but it’ll hurt and recovery will be long and desperate.
I just hope there isn’t a relapse when all is said and done.
October 14th, 2004
I watched the debate, and thought Pres. Bush had won, but really got mad at Sen. Kerry. I was in the minority. In fact, the conventional wisdom is the Sen. Kerry soundly thrashed Pres. Bush in the first debate (NRO for example).
Now, it is the day after the 3rd debate. I am beginning to think Pres. Bush didn’t do so badly in the 1st debate .
Why do I say that? Quickly, name two phrases from the first debate.
Times up.
What were those phrases? My best guess is they were:
Okay, first things first: these phrases resonated.
Why? For me, because I believe both candidates spoke the TRUTH as they saw it. That is, those statements were real to the candidates, and the sincerity of them pierced the fog on both sides.
Look at the evidence: people who supported one candidate latched onto that one phrase of the other as a phrase of derision, while essentially saying of their own candidate ‘Of course he said that! it’s true! They are just being stubborn and refusing to see it!’
The question is, which phrase is more damaging? My prophecy for the historic judgment is that ‘Hard Work’ is ‘Thousand Points of Light’, a somewhat vacuous, somewhat ridiculous statement that is great for Saturday Night Live parody.
‘Global Test’ will come to be ‘Of course I’ll raise your taxes. It doesn’t matter which one of us gets elected. The difference is, I just told you the truth and my opponent won’t’.
I’m sure Mondale and Kerry both truly believed that they were right when they spoke. And that those statements, spoken in candor, are true representations of what they intend.
My worry is that the lesson the Democrats will learn if they lose on Nov. 2 is that they cannot put up a candidate that speaks honestly. Sen. Kerry is a bridge between the blatant prevaricating of Clinton and Gore and the candor of Mondale and Dukakis. I really believe that Clinton and Gore were a reaction to the drubbing that Mondale and Dukakis got for being honest. I fear the lesson learned will be that if you tell the truth, you can’t win.
And making this nearly inevitable is the “Bush LiedTM” meme. To many on the Left, it’ll be obvious that Bush lied (and was rewarded) and that Kerry was honest (and punished) about the state of the world.
October 13th, 2004
First things first,
Go Yankees!
Owwie, that stings. I grew up a Baltimore Orioles fan.
Did you that the current team known as the Orioles is the 3rd modern era team to have that name? The second most Baseball Fans know was (arguably) the greatest non-ML team baseball team. I think they had 3 or 4 Hall of Famers at one point, while they were still in or near their prime.
The first team known as the Orioles was actually one of the founding members of the American League. They later moved, and became known as the New York Highlanders, later to be known (of course) as the New York Yankees.
Riddle me this: If you gave the average Boston Arch-Liberal a choice of one, but not both, of
or
What do you think the results would be?
Me? I have no doubt they would take a Bush/Red Sox Victory over a Kerry/Yankees victory. But I may be wrong.
October 8th, 2004
Haven’t heard anything from them lately.
It is an article of faith among those on the right that:
Further analysis:
Hence, the logical implication is that they want and will facilitate a John Kerry loss.
Thus, for many on the right, the only remaining questions are how and when?
The time for them to make an impact is getting short.
October 8th, 2004
There is always a price for actions. Some are apparent, some are not.
A result of the last election has been the extremely bitter first term of President Bush. And out country is poorer for it. Much of the debate over policies great and small has been poisoned by actors on both sides.
And both sides are preparing to make it worse.
Are all baby boomers as selfish as the Clintons and Gore?
God Forbid.
October 8th, 2004
Here’s where the Kerry/Edwards campaign really frosts my drawers: They missed a majority of meetings and votes with respect to the war. They only voted in really high profile ones, and inconsistently at that.
Kerry/Edwards say they have plans, yet where in the (expletive deleted) were they when the original plans were being drawn up? It is all well and good to say, after the game, that running that particular play on 3rd and 13 to go was wrong. But why didn’t they tell the coach at the time of the call?
This is worse than what I do Mondays and Tuesdays, because I am not part of the team. But Kerry and Edwards are! And when they were needed, they couldn’t be found.
So, let me get this straight: They *KNEW* the plan wouldn’t work, and that people would die unnecessarily as a result. And they did nothing. So in effect, they claim in their near infinite wisdom they could have run the war better. But they chose not to help so they could get a political advantage. Words cannot begin to express my disgust.
And for what its worth, Howard Dean at least was more pure in this case. He not only was he against war before the war, he was not a member of the Federal Government. So was not able to influence the plans (other than how he tried: through publicity and the media).
October 5th, 2004
Paraphrasing ‘The Untouchables’ (Cheney as Malone talking to an intruder):
‘Isn’t that just like a Dem? Brings a knife to a gun fight.’
Of course, then he dies to a guy with machine gun…
Anyway, John Edwards is not ready for prime time yet. Lucky for him, he is not at the top of the ticket. Unlucky for us, he may be a heartbeat away.
October 1st, 2004
Holy Cow! He looks like someone on the way to the ‘Rocky Horror Picture Show‘
I may have to take back my previous assessment of the only issues from the first debate will be talked about.
October 1st, 2004
I thought the debate was very good. This wasn’t about humor, or personality, or debate tricks, but Pres. Bush and Sen. Kerry just talking about the American foreign policy. We needed this debate, and we needed it to be legitimate. And, to their credit, both candidates delivered. Both comported themselves in a manner that would allow, or even require, that we take what they said seriously. The post debate talk will not be about tans, sighs, huffing, “Why am I here?”, “Won’t attack my opponent’s youth and inexperience” moments. The discussion will be about the actual substance of the debates.
And in the end, I think Bush wins, and wins big.
Why? Because this debate crystallized the difference between a Sep 10 and a Sep 11 world view.
I see a lot of commentators talking about how Kerry won on points. Err, nope. See, people aren’t dumb. They can see when candidates are sincere. Kerry was a lawyerly, and put up and excellent defense of his clients positions. Problem is, his client is, in fact, guilty of being weak on defense and overly defferential to World Opinion. And it came through, sometimes in big ways, sometimes in small. For example, the ‘Global Test’ and ‘Summits’. These are not forceful responses to threats. This is Sep 10.
Bush, though not overly militant, made clear the US will respond to threats, and that with the BELIEF of an American response burned into the hearts of our enemies, we face fewer states willing to risk the consequence, like Libya. Further, he reinforced that American security may require activist policies, and that though he was loathe to pursue them, he would. The discussion of meeting the widow helps emphasize that President Bush is not isolated and un-moved by his responsibilities, but that he takes them seriously. Most importantly, he emphasized serious decisions must be made by a leader with the moral clarity, conviction and strength to defend the America against enemies and erstwhile allies. This is Sep 11.
I believe that Sep 11 beats Sep 10 like a rented goalie.
September 30th, 2004
Wizbang: Fact Checking the Boston Globe – in Advance
The Bush Doctrine at work! BTW, and how dumb do you have to be to put forgery info on a Public Web Server, in a publicly viewable directory. Oh, he’s an English Professor. That explains it.
It actually kinda sad…[T]he first time as tragedy, the second as farce.
Of course, the fist time was farcical…
September 30th, 2004
If I were still a betting man, here’s how I would handicap the first debate:
Most intentionally funny line: Bush
Most un-intentionally funny line: Toss-up
First to look puzzled by a question: Bush
First to filibuster a question: Kerry
First to go over time: Kerry
First to mangle English grammar: Bush
First to mangle English grammar and still get his point across: Bush
First to mangle English grammar and leave no idea what he meant to say: Kerry
Number of funny jokes/statements (both candidates combined): 2
Number of Viet Nam references by John Kerry: 7
Time until first murder of the Queen’s English: 8 mins
Time before audience checks watch: 11 mins
Check back after the debate for scoring/payoff information!
September 23rd, 2004
CNN.com – Debate on Iraq intensifies in campaign – Sep 23, 2004
Hmm…
Underscoring the Bush attacks was a new television ad showing Kerry windsurfing to the strains of the “Blue Danube” waltz. A narrator reads a list of what the Bush campaign contends are the senator’s vacillating positions on the Iraq war, education and Medicare.
The ad ends with the tag line: “John Kerry. Whichever way the wind blows.”
The Kerry campaign reacted angrily to the ad, charging that its “lighthearted” approach was inappropriate in the middle of a war.
“This is a shameful advertisement that shows a disturbing disregard for those fighting and sacrificing in Iraq,” said Kerry spokesman Mike McCurry, who demanded that the president repudiate it.
Now really, who is the “lighthearted” one? The person who windsurfs in the middle of the war, or the person who plays back a video of the windsurfer?
September 23rd, 2004
Was listening to Glenn Beck on the way into work this morning. He said that there is a report out that the Ed Bradley story BUMPED for the RatherGate story was….
“How the Bush Administration was duped by” *now don’t miss this!* “forged documents”!
You can’t make this stuff up…Oh, wait….
September 22nd, 2004
Text of speech (01-Sep-2004 Keynote address at RNC) by Sen. Zell Miller
I really like Zell. He was very Jacksonian.
As a friend would say, “Don’t Miss this:”
It is not (Democratic Leader’s) patriotism — it is their judgment that has been so sorely lacking.