Rusted Sky

Blown tires, wind storms, lots of lost sleep, cold weather we weren't really prepared for, and a water heater that kept blowing out... hey, it was a GREAT vacation! More details later... anything happen while I was gone?

(Aside from the Iranian hostages being released, and a decided lack of MSM news on Iraq, and Anna Nicole Smith being a victim of an accidental OD?)

J,

That when visited, you simply have a hard time processing the experience.

Of course, for those who actually served on the U.S.S. Alabama, they're probably shaking their heads at what a state of disrepair it's fallen into. Although it's pretty well kept up for a civilian work, as far as the military goes there's not much at all that's still functional about it. It's the difference between something that's used every day and something that's been gutted and turned into a static museum piece. (Which is, of course, what the U.S.S. Alabama is at this point.)

I remember visiting this close to 40 years ago, when it wasn't yet moved to Mobile Bay. There weren't many people visiting it then, and thanks to car trouble I had several hours to wander through it. The ship seems a bit smaller in spots than it did to my 12-year old self, especially some of the hatches! (LOL!) But some of the areas are in better shape now than they were then - and it's a bit easier to appreciate just how complex the workings and structure of a battleship are - especially when you're trying to understand it as a floating city maintaining 2700 people along with being an operational firing platform for 16" guns (which had armor piercing shells that could pierce 16 inches of armor at 42,000+ yards. (Over 23 miles.) All of it done without computers (as we know them today)...

I try to imagine what daily life must have been like. We wandered through the galley, saw the heads and the berthing areas (and this is the first time I've seen a trough toilet in anything other than an archeological setting - though I suppose what we were doing could be referred to as military archeology....) storerooms and offices, not to mention the battle bridge, photo studios, radio rooms, clinic and Marine quarters. As a museum it's pretty effective - in that you can ALMOST imagine what it must be like with hundreds of men on board and the ship actually under way - but maybe I was just feeling the echos of the people who lived and sweated in this floating marvel.

It's rather saddening to me at times that it seems our greatest advancements come from times of war, and that our greatest ingenuity seems to be expended on warfare and making engines of destruction that surpass those that have come before - if not in sheer destructive power then in selective accuracy... But then, I think of what would have happened if we HADN'T been quite so... inventive. Sadly, human nature is not something that can be changed through simple slogans (if it could, Communism would have become a viable means of government) and there will always be those who would or will prey on those who are not as powerful on the world scene.

And there will need to be someone to stop them. We have in the past... and we need to be ready to do so again in the future. Simply bending over and spreading them doesn't get reduced aggression, and anyone who thinks so is a fool.

J.

Cartoonist Hart, Creator of 'B.C.,' Dies - washingtonpost.com

ENDICOTT, N.Y. -- Cartoonist Johnny Hart, whose award-winning "B.C." comic strip appeared in more than 1,300 newspapers worldwide, died at his home on Saturday. He was 76.

"He had a stroke," Hart's wife, Bobby, said on Sunday. "He died at his storyboard."

RIP, sir. You had a sly humor and a good style. You'll be missed.

J.

Iran set to announce nuclear plans on Monday

I mean, getting 3000 centrifuges running is certainly nothing to be concerned about - especially when they're underground. I'm sure they're just being overly cautious about environmental sensitivities...

Right?

Update: Okay, 3000 centrifuges, working hard to enrich uranium... Ahmanutcase saying Iran is NEVER going to suspend enrichment. And what's the hottest story in the MSM? Imus being crude.

Man. There's times I wonder if they figure ignoring it all will just make it all go away, or whether they think that we really ARE the bad guys and deserve what we get.

The clock's ticking, and I wish to hell the media would realize that their continued survival requires a rational assessment of what's going on in the world, instead of believing some nice fantasy that if we could just get everyone to sing the "I'd Like To Give The World A Hug" song that everyone would magically get along.

As it is, I'm thinking that we're going to get a real loud wakeup call around 2009 or so. Which is, oddly enough, supposedly the time that the supposed 'experts' once gave as the soonest that Iran would be able to enrich uranium on even a limited scale.

You know, if I were a conspiracy nut, I'd think that a whole lot of nominally un-religious folks have gotten suborned into the Muslim faith, and are working hard to make sure it becomes the only religion on Earth. But then again, never attribute to malign intent what can be adequately explained by sheer stupidity and wilful ignorance...

J.

I don't listen to him - never have, likely never will. (Rather a lot like Howard Stern in that respect - I know of him, and I'm not interested enough in him to find out more.)

That said, I find it hard to credit the race-baiting poverty pimps like Al Sharpton saying he can't SAY certain words that freely slosh through Black culture like sewage through a large pipe. Okay, so Imus was offensive. Big fat hairy deal - the 'hate speech' Imus uttered is pretty much ubiquitous in the rap world (actually, it would seem to be a lot worse) and I don't see Big Al blowing a gasket over that.

If I were Al Sharpton, at this point I'd be going "Okay, it looks like there's a lot of bleed-over, so we need to change our OWN culture". But then, it's far easier to blame someone ELSE for your problems and demand that they fix them for you, than actually fixing them for yourself. And the Jesse Jacksons and Al Sharptons of the world have managed to have a long, sweet ride on their victimhood status. Admittedly, supporting yourself by being a victim of racism in these days and times requires a LOT of work, but it can be done.

All you've got to do is look at Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson. They've got it down to a science.

J.

Shunning Imus by Baldilocks is a very good analysis of the whole mess. She also has some commentary re black women's hair. As they used to say (and may still) in the SCA re uncomfortable period costuming (Full Elizibethan England outfits in Georgia's summer) "Beauty Knows No Pain." Youch.

However - It really does kind of worry me that Al Sharpton wants to pretty much decide what's acceptable speech and what isn't. Frankly, I think the man's in love with the sound of his own voice, and this mess with Imus has given him a gig he'll milk for as long as he can.

Update: It looks like Imus isn't going to go quietly into exile. Well, more power to him - he's apologized, but he doesn't plan on grovelling, and he shouldn't. But I wonder if those who want him silenced realize that they have no hold on him any more, with the loss of his show - and he's got the attention of the nation for however long it lasts. He's got nothing to lose, and he's apparently got quite a bit of cash, plenty of contacts, and a whole lot of media savvy.

That's a dangerous combination, when pushed too far.

I think Sharpton and Jackson may have pushed things just a bit too far... and if I were them I'd stop fanning the flames they've been so diligently throwing fuel into. What they've done hasn't been to anyone's benefit, except theirs.

J.

Gulf Shores Seafood, at 921 Gulf Shores Parkway, Gulf Shores, AL, .

When on vacation, I like to try the regional specialties, or at least try something I won't be able to get easily back home. I tried a pound of Royal Red shrimp at Gulf Shores Steamers - although the food was pretty good, the less said about the service there the better. (In mitigation of that condemnation, the woman serving us was on her second night of being a waitress, I understand. However - there are some people who shouldn't be in a particular business, and she didn't seem cut out for what she was doing at all.)

The next day, I picked up a quart of gumbo and a quart of seafood chowder at Gulf Shores Seafood. We stuck them in the cooler overnight, and had the gumbo the next day. WAHOO! I rarely get such a combination of flavors - it may have been because it had been refrigerated overnight, but it was incredibly good. If I'd had a half-gallon of the stuff, I'd have sucked it down without stopping, it was so tasty.

The stuff was a bit pricy, but well worth it.

On the way back, we stopped at Streets Seafood in Bay Minette, AL. In all honesty, we were lured in by the signs, saying if you hadn't eaten there you wasted your trip. Eating there... well, it was a waste of time and money. You may notice there are other reviews in the above link... the Waffle House in Bay Minette got 10 stars, while Streets got 3.

Yeah. That bad. And the gumbo was thin, to boot. We won't stop there again.

J.

Snow won't dampen global-warming rallies

The weather forecast for Saturday's global warming rallies in Grand Rapids and Holland calls for snow and cold rain and temperatures in the 40s -- about 10 degrees below normal.

For some, this might make global warming a tough sell.

(grin)

J.

WiebeTech Micro Storage Solutions - Mouse Jiggler - Government and Law Enforcment Drive Imaging Docking Station, IDE 3.5" Drive Office Dock

Prevents a computer from going to sleep while you work or play

Constant mouse activity prevents sleep mode and screen savers (and their password prompts)

(grin)

J.

It's a bit bizzare to see an article where politicians are bemoaning TOO MANY sources of information. What's even stranger, it's the liberal politicians who apparently want to cut back on information sources.... for the good of the community, of course.

The Media Cornucopia by Adam D. Thierer, City Journal Spring 2007

Throughout most of history, humans lived in a state of extreme information poverty. News traveled slowly, field to field, village to village. Even with the printing press’s advent, information spread at a snail’s pace. Few knew how to find printed materials, assuming that they even knew how to read. Today, by contrast, we live in a world of unprecedented media abundance that once would have been the stuff of science-fiction novels. We can increasingly obtain and consume whatever media we want, wherever and whenever we want: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, and the bewildering variety of material available on the Internet.

This media cornucopia is a wonderful development for a free society—or so you’d think. But today’s media universe has fierce detractors, and nowhere more vehemently than on the left. Their criticisms seem contradictory. Some, such as Democratic congressman Dennis Kucinich, contend that real media choices, information sources included, remain scarce, hindering citizens from fully participating in a deliberative democracy. Others argue that we have too many media choices, making it hard to share common thoughts or feelings; democracy, community itself, again loses out. Both liberal views get the story disastrously wrong. If either prevails, what’s shaping up to be America’s Golden Age of media could be over soon.

And apparently Kucinich is looking to get the Fairness Doctrine going again - because there's a dearth of talk radio available from the left side of political thought. Apparently Air America, though it failed in the marketplace of ideas, should instead be state-supported... in the interest of 'fairness'. What's fair about propping up an ideology that couldn't attract sufficient listeners to make a profitable radio network? Is there some special trick to making a go of it?

In my opinion, no. You have to give the consumer what they want - and it would seem that liberal radio just isn't it.

That leftist media critics start sounding so authoritarian is no surprise. In a media cornucopia, freedom of choice inevitably yields media inequality. “In systems where many people are free to choose between many options, a small subset of the whole will get a disproportionate amount of traffic (or attention, or income), even if no members of the system actively work towards such an outcome,” writes Clay Shirky of New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program. Overcoming that inequality would require a completely regulated media.

When Rush Limbaugh has more listeners than NPR, or Tom Clancy sells more books than Noam Chomsky, or Motor Trend gets more subscribers than Mother Jones, liberals want to convince us (or themselves, perhaps) that it’s all because of some catastrophic market failure or a grand corporate conspiracy to dumb down the masses. In reality, it’s just the result of consumer choice. All the opinions that the Left’s media critics favor are now readily available to us via multiple platforms. But that’s not good enough, it seems: they won’t rest until all of us are watching, reading, and listening to the content that they prefer.

Soon, if they've got their wishes met, everything which is not prohibited (badthink...) will be mandatory. (Doubleplusgood goodthink.) The idea of being told what I should listen to by the likes of Kucinich just doesn't set well, and smacks of an authoritarianism which would have fitted just fine in the USSR.

How about this - you don't tell me what I can and can't watch or listen to, and I won't write nastygrams to you telling you to piss up a rope. That seem fair enough to you?

J.

r blog � unreal

Unreal, indeed. No wonder the woman can't understand 9/11 - she can't even apparently figure out how to use her caps key at the beginning of a sentence, and as far as spelling and syntax goes...

u no, y bother? That's the way the world ends - not with a bang, but with a mis-spelled, semiliterate whimper.

J.

It's wierd how it's usually DEMOCRATS who propose stuff like this.

Senators propose labels for adult Web sites | CNET News.com

Operators of Web sites with racy content must label their sites and register in a national directory or be fined, according to a new U.S. Senate proposal that represents the latest effort among politicians to crack down on Internet sex.

The requirements appear in legislation announced Thursday by two Senate Democrats, Mark Pryor of Arkansas and Max Baucus of Montana, that they say will "clean up the Internet for children."

J.

32 people dead.

Recently, the VA Legislature passed a bill easing the requirements a bit for concealed carry permits. The largest exemption - schools and universities, which were established 'no carry zones'. This does two things - it ensures the law abiding won't carry, and the law-breaking have time to do what they want with no possibility of encountering some do-gooder with a concealed gun.

32 people died today.

The shooter apparently used a pair of 9mm handguns. The classic 9mm round does a pretty good job shooting holes in targets, but it isn't considered a manstopper round like the .45. The US military went from the classic .45 auto to the 9mm round, to maintain commonality of small arms ammo through NATO. Many have complained that it's not a satisfactory round. Yet apparently it's good enough, when you've got your targets lined up against the wall.

32 people died.

They died... not fighting back. Waiting for help. Lined up against a wall and shot - apparently without any thought of rushing the guy. Waiting for the SWAT team to come in at the last minute, perhaps? After all, that's what's done on TV shows and movies - the calvary always arrives, the hero swings in at the last second... yet they waited, passively, as the killing started and the count rose.

32 people.

It makes you wonder - after 9/11, wasn't it clear that the authorities might not be there to protect you? After Katrina, couldn't it be understood that there will be times when you won't get aid quickly? How are they supposed to protect you against someone determined to kill as many as possible as fast as possible before killing themselves? Wasn't there anyone who thought - "I can stop him, if I get to him and hit him hard enough"? Or did they think "I maybe could - but I might get shot" and not try, even as he killed and killed?

32 people. Who died without knowing why, who died waiting for someone else to stop the killer, who lined up against a wall and died sequentially. Who may have been conditioned to think that their protection is someone else's job, who trusted in the police, who when faced with the need to either fight or die... couldn't or wouldn't fight.

It's easy, and simplistic, to be critical of their choices. How do I know if, in the crunch, I would have done anything different? I don't. I like to think I could, I like to think I would - but I also know I could have been frozen in shock if something like that happened where I work.

32 people.

Defenseless - physically and mentally. Disarmed by a society that sees nothing wrong with rap, and nothing good in self-sacrifice or individual heroism. Which cannot bring itself to acknowlege heroic acts in war, but obsesses over self-made victims like Anna Nicole Smith.

32 people. Who didn't learn that sometimes you have to fight for life - and even if you lose someone else might live.

J.

I was kind of busy in the evening - got home and found I'd lost my cellphone, so ended up having to get a new one and a new SIMM card. It's like losing half your brain, almost - there were a lot of numbers in it that I hadn't bothered to write down, since they were safely ensconced in the SIMM chip...

I was going to write something light on taxes, since yesterday was the deadline for turning them in, and urge you to go to Fairtax.org and fax your Representatives if you support it - but their fax drive is over with only a 34% excess of their target. I'll admit I'd definitely like to see the Fair Tax become law - every year I boggle at the complexity of our tax system and am getting quite tired of seeing tax rates be used as a political football.

But I've been watching a bit of the coverage of the VATech massacre, and I'm pretty saddened both by the event and by the reactions to it. As far as I'm concerned, it's amazing how gun control proponents seem to overlook one very basic fact that's been amply proven in England and Australia. The simple fact? Criminals don't obey the laws. You create a gun-free zone, and you advertize to the criminal that he'll find a large number of helpless victims there.

The VATech campus was a gun-free zone.

In 1981 the city of Morton Grove, IL, declared itself a gun-free zone. Kennesaw, GA in response mandated all households were supposed to have a firearm. By some logic, you'd expect crime to plummet in Morton Grove and leap by several orders of magnatude in Kennesaw. However - Morton Grove's crime rate was pretty much unchanged, while Kennesaw's crime rate (which wasn't high) plummeted. And 18 years later, (in 1999) the number of crimes was about 2/3rds that in 1981, while the population had increased 4 times.

It's counterintuitive to some thinking - after all more guns should equal more crime. Yet - more guns in the hands of responsible gun owners may well be something a criminal would dread. You want your victims unarmed, helpless, unable to fight back.

Yet banning guns supposedly makes you safer. That just doesn't seem to prove out...

Anyway, there's a lot of stuff out there if you're looking for it re VATech, and the political machinations going on by the various gun-grabber groups. I don't find their arguments particularly compelling, primarily because they simply can't bring themselves to comprehend that criminals who won't obey other laws are pretty unlikely to comply with laws requiring them to turn their firearms in.

And I'd sure like to write about something positive tonight - but it's just not coming.

J.

KnoxNews: State - TN moves to allow guns in public buildings

NASHVILLE — In a surprise move, a House panel voted today to repeal a state law that forbids the carrying of handguns on property and buildings owned by state, county and city governments — including parks and playgrounds.

"I think the recent Virginia disaster — or catastrophe or nightmare or whatever you want to call it — has woken up a lot of people to the need for having guns available to law-abiding citizens," said Rep. Frank Niceley, R-Strawberry Plains. "I hope that is what this vote reflects."

J.

I know it's disrespectful to all you screwedheadajeen, but I don't care.

YouTube - Jeff Dunham - Achmed the Dead Terrorist

J.

Play nice.

If possible.

;-)

J.

Dr. Sanity takes a look at the pathological child-rearing practices in Islamic countries in her post "They Have To Be Carefully Taught".

There's a lot of things that we tend to ignore - but one thing we dismiss or don't realize just how much of an effect it could have on a culture is the course of learning the children proceed through in order to fit them into their cultural roles.

How warped does a culture have to be to get a 12-year old indoctrinated to a point where he'll hack off someone's head?

And how baldly do they have to show their dysfunctionality before we will recognize it for what it is? The examples of child abuse in the above links would have folks here in the US calling DEFACS in a heartbeat, yet we see it excused as an apparently harmless manifestation of their cultures, and we are told tacitly that we shouldn't condemn it because we don't understand it.

I'm sorry, but I have a hard time looking at child abuse and thinking it's harmless, and that it has no effect on the actions or growth of a culture. It takes a lot of twisting to get a head to the point where suicide bombing is considered the highest function of a fulfilling life.

Religion of peace, my ass. Years back I thought it would be possible to coexist - but the more I'm seeing, the more I'm having very, very severe doubts about the ability of Islam to cope with the freedom of thought and function exemplified in Western culture. The examples cited in the above posts show a culture that's very, very insecure, and it's not surprising that there are factions within Islam seeking to destroy that which threatens it and makes it insecure.

The question arises, however, of what will be needed before Western culture reacts, and does what's needed (which I can barely visualize) to survive.

It may indeed come down to an 'us or them' situation. Based on what I've seen and read - I'm on the side of the West.

J.

The Spectator.co.uk - ‘I found Saddam’s WMD bunkers’

It’s a fair bet that you have never heard of a guy called Dave Gaubatz. It’s also a fair bet that you think the hunt for weapons of mass destruction in Iraq has found absolutely nothing, nada, zilch; and that therefore there never were any WMD programmes in Saddam’s Iraq to justify the war ostensibly waged to protect the world from Saddam’s use of nuclear, biological or chemical weapons.

Dave Gaubatz, however, says that you could not be more wrong. Saddam’s WMD did exist. He should know, because he found the sites where he is certain they were stored. And the reason you don’t know about this is that the American administration failed to act on his information, ‘lost’ his classified reports and is now doing everything it can to prevent disclosure of the terrible fact that, through its own incompetence, it allowed Saddam’s WMD to end up in the hands of the very terrorist states against whom it is so controversially at war.

Easy, and wrong.

Before the invasion, I came up with a design doodled on a slow day that would provide secure, hidden storage of a whole lot of stuff Saddam wouldn't want found, with very quick access when desired.

Build a rectangular, concrete lined pit, 10 feet wide and as long as you'd like. Mold in stairs for easy access. Take a 10 foot by 10 foot steel plate it over with a steel plate, maybe a couple of inches thick, In the middle of the opening for the bunker, embed a howitzer barrel pointed up. Load the howitzer barrel with a blank charge. Fix up a rod about the diameter of the barrel, weld it to the bottom of the steel plate, and slap a reinforcing collar (and maybe some struts) to reinforce the attachment and keep the rod from punching through the steel plate when triggered. Run an electrical ignitor into the charge, make sure the wires go outside to a predetermined point and you've got good continuity. After all, you DO want it to pop when you want access. Load up the bunker, grease the shaft, lower it down into the howitzer barrel, align so the corners match, then slap a foot of sand on top and forget about it until needed.

When desired, dig out the wires at the predetermined point, and apply sufficent current to blow the ignitor. Charge goes off, expelling the metal shaft, forcing the steel plate off with a bang and a shower of sand.

Presto - you have a pop-top bunker. Sweep the stairs, and you're open for business.

Saddam buried planes - why was it so inconceivable that he wouldn't bury other stuff? And if I can come up with the idea of a pop-top bunker, (there's other ways to do it - take a look at the silo door opening system of a Minuteman launcher for one example - anything that'll move a hundred-ton chunk of steel and concrete several hundred feet in a second or two won't have a problem with a couple of dozen tons of sand.) why wouldn't Sadam's engineers have been able to come up with something similar?

Could be they did. Read the whole article - you'll be surprised. And it wouldn't be at all surprising as far as I'm concerned if the search for WMDs were redirected at a critical point - after all, it'd just be damn embarrasing for Bush if no WMDs were found, considering how much emphasis the media put on them and how little emphasis was put on other reasons...

The writer of the piece, "Melanie Phillips" seems to be a bit on the conservative side and not at all tolerant of govermental foolishness.

Hat tip to Instapundit, and OTPU, who pointed this out to me Friday evening.

J.

Power Line: Preemptive rhetoric, preemptive surrender

John wasn't the only one to discuss Harry Reid's declaration of defeat in Iraq on the AOL blog today. In this post, I argued that (1) losing Iraq means having our enemies accomplish their major objectives in that country, (2) so far our enemies haven't achieved them, (3) the only way they likely will achieve them is if we withdraw, (4) therefore, only Democrats like Harry Reid can inflict defeat on us, and (5) Reid's statement (which he is now trying to walk away from) was probably an attempt to preempt critcism of Democrats if they force a withdrawal and defeat follows (if the war was already lost, then the Dems didn't inflict the defeat).

Perhaps I'm too aware of our past history. Aware of the sacrifices endured to bring down Nazi Germany (hey, we didn't have a dog in that fight, why should we have bothered with France and helped England?) and Imperial Japan (if we'd just let them have oil as they wanted, we wouldn't have had to go to war!) I'm looking at what we've lost in Iraq and wondering how such an incredibly LOW cost (and indeed it is, by any historical war standard) with such an incredibly high return, providing a foothold in the ME and working towards stabilizing a region that's been splintered for years... can be seen as a DEFEAT.

Reid's trying to explain away his statement. But it really doesn't matter now - the damage has been done. Seriously, do you think that the German government wouldn't have LOVED to hear that in '43? Or maybe shortly after D-Day, when we were pressing them back so hard that it was simnply a matter of time before they were defeated?

I know it's all grandstanding politics. Hell, after what we did in Viet Nam I should have figured that the Dems would have found the first opportunity to bail especially if they could hamstring Republican efforts - but I don't see how what Reid's saying (and you can pretty well bet that any 'nuanced explanation' is going to be ignored - "We've lost the war" is pretty straightforward, and quite likely to be believed in certain parts of the world...) is NOT going to have a very negative effect on the WoT in general, and our operations in Iraq in specific. Has he really played the game so long that nothing else matters but 'advancing' the Democratic party? The country, the world be damned, as long as they get control?

And what's this about Dems refusing to be briefed by General Patraeus?

RealClearPolitics - Articles - Funding the Troops

What's curious is that congressional Democrats don't seem much interested in what's actually happening in Iraq. The commander in Iraq, Gen. David Petraeus, returns to Washington this week, but last week Pelosi's office said "scheduling conflicts" prevented him from briefing House members. Two days later, the members-only meeting was scheduled, but the episode brings to mind the fact that Pelosi and other top House Democrats skipped a Pentagon videoconference with Petraeus on March 8.

J.

Meme Cats

Can't be all politics, all the time.

Enjoy!

J.

It's not a terribly long article, but it's thought-provoking.

The Big White Lie
Andrew Klavan

The thing I like best about being a conservative is that I don’t have to lie. I don’t have to pretend that men and women are the same. I don’t have to declare that failed or oppressive cultures are as good as mine. I don’t have to say that everyone’s special or that the rich cause poverty or that all religions are a path to God. I don’t have to claim that a bad writer like Alice Walker is a good one or that a good writer like Toni Morrison is a great one. I don’t have to pretend that Islam means peace.

Of course, like everything, this candor has its price. A politics that depends on honesty will be, by nature, often impolite. Good manners and hypocrisy are intimately intertwined, and so conservatives, with their gimlet-eyed view of the world, are always susceptible to charges of incivility. It’s not really nice, you know, to describe things as they are.

This is leftism’s great strength: it’s all white lies. That’s its only advantage, as far as I can tell. None of its programs actually works, after all. From statism and income redistribution to liberalized criminal laws and multiculturalism, from its assault on religion to its redefinition of family, leftist policies have made the common life worse wherever they’re installed. But because it depends on—indeed is defined by—describing the human condition inaccurately, leftism is nothing if not polite. With its tortuous attempts to rename unpleasant facts out of existence—he’s not crippled, dear, he’s handicapped; it’s not a slum, it’s an inner city; it’s not surrender, it’s redeployment—leftism has outlived its own failure by hiding itself within the most labyrinthine construct of social delicacy since Victoria was queen.

Guess I'm a conservative, by this definition. I'd rather see what is and deal with the problems that are coming, than have happy little lies shield me until everything falls apart, and the pieces have to be picked up.

J.

Will Media Report Global Warming 'Carbon Credit' Fraud? | NewsBusters.org

It’s conceivable that years from now, America’s media will be reporting one of the biggest frauds in history: the idea that a wealthy person, for instance, soon-to-be-Dr. Al Gore, can purchase “carbon credits” to offset his lavish lifestyle making him quote “carbon neutral.”
Given the media’s love affair with the former vice president as well as advancing man-made global warming hysteria, few American press members have dared to expose this hoax for what it is.
However, on Wednesday, an impeccably reputable publication, the Financial Times, published an article that is a deliciously inconvenient truth for folks like Gore, Laurie David, Sheryl Crow, and all the rest of the alarmists that are actively involved in what years from now will be considered one of the biggest scams ever...

So to go one step further - is the company that Al Gore helped set up something that would actually 'help', or simply help Al Gore line his pockets?

J.

Iraqi spokesman criticizes Senate vote - Yahoo! News

BAGHDAD - An Iraqi government spokesman criticized the U.S. Senate vote to begin withdrawing U.S. troops by Oct. 1.
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"We see some negative signs in the decision because it sends wrong signals to some sides that might think of alternatives to the political process," Ali al-Dabbagh told The Associated Press.

I mean, Obama's damn near gleeful about surrendering in Iraq.

Obama Statement on Supplemental Bill that Sets a Target Redeployment Date | U.S. Senator Barack Obama

WASHINGTON, DC -- U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) today released the following statement after the Senate approved the supplemental funding bill that sets a target date to remove U.S. combat troops from Iraq:

“We are one signature away from ending the Iraq War. President Bush must listen to the will of the American people and sign this bill so that our troops can come home.”

That looks a hell of a lot like a retreat, like a surrender, like a LOSS to me. We'd lose the WoT, and that's apparent to those who want to do us harm.

Of course, it's all simple political posturing for the home crowd, right? I meant it's not likely that there will be a positive effect on the morale of the insurgents - THEY don't pay attention to American politics, after all!

Right?

The Dems need to decide what's more important - their party or their country. They may have disagreements on how the WoT needs to be fought, but if they've got any viable plans they've kept pretty quiet about them. (And no, diplomatic posturing isn't a plan. It simply delays the inevitable.) From my point of view, it seems like they've decided that all they're going for is political power, and the effects of their maneuverings don't matter one bit. At this point in the Presidential horse race, the only Democrat I'd vote for is Lieberman, and maybe Zell Miller if he ran for President. But neither of those are going to be allowed near sniffing distance of a run for the Presidency - because they'll put the country first if elected, and that's just not good Democratic policy.

Their desire is power. All else, even the survival of the emerging state of Iraq, the high probability of terrorist encouragement worldwide, losing the WoT, is irrelevant.

J.

The speech Bush should give: Murdoc Online

Pres. Bush has been pretty bad on the PR front. The media, bless their little shrivelled hearts, has noticed this and done what they could to make the situation worse and coopt the dialog with THEIR agendas, and that makes things even more difficult when trying to get information out.

We need to learn sound bites aren't the whole story.

J.

I mentioned in reference to the VA Tech shootings that the students were lined up against the wall and executed.

Well, Jason was kind enough to point out to me that nothing like that happened.

Instead - they simply got under their desks, trying to hide... and were killed.

But they weren't lined up against a wall and shot. That makes it better, I guess...

It seems to be an accepted arguing point that if something didn't happen exactly the way you describe it in your entry, that means your entire point is invalid. (Oh, how simple binary thinking is!) The students hid, but they weren't lined up against the wall, so the point I was trying to make about the passivity of their response is somehow negated.

According to the link Jason provided, there was one man who confronted the shooter. Again, that's supposed to be sufficient to blow my point away, that the students didn't fight back.

They didn't fight back.

Think about that. You hear a shooter coming for you - killing people along the way. Killing your friends, your classmates. And you do what you've been taught - wait for the police to handle it.

From Teaching a new doctrine in light of the Virginia Tech massacre

But the facts as they have come in since then do support the notion that the students did not confront the murderer. The Associated Press carried this story yesterday: “Dr. William Massello, the assistant state medical examiner based in Roanoke, said Sunday that Cho died … after firing enough shots to wound his 32 victims more than 100 times. … Those victims apparently did not fight back against Cho’s ambush. Massello said he did not recall any injuries suggesting a struggle. Many victims had defensive wounds, indicating they tried to shield themselves from Cho’s gunfire,” he said.

...

“The gunman circled again and seemed to be unloading a second round into the wounded. Violand thought he heard the gunman reload three times.”

We've carefully conditioned a passive response to crime. Carjackings? Give the criminal your keys. Theft? Give the criminal what he wants. Rape? Lie there, and think of something pleasant. Murder? Run and hide, wait for the cops... but under no circumstances fight back!

At what point is the price of passive resistance to crime insupportable? How many students would be alive today if they'd been taught to fight back?

J.

Expanded offshore drilling plan set - Environment - MSNBC.com

WASHINGTON - The Interior Department has put the final touches on a five-year plan to expand oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico and offshore from Alaska and Virginia.

Interior officials said Friday the plan will include more environmental buffer zones around lease areas and make other minor changes to a previous draft. Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne is scheduled to announce the "major oil and gas development program" Monday, a department statement says.

But there's no two ways about it - if we're to be energy independent, we need a dense, easily transported energy source. Oil's the best bet for now, and we need to start drilling now. Nuclear's fine but has a long lead time - wind is too diffuse, solar's helpful but too expensive.

We'll see what comes of this. If nothing else, prices might drop a bit.

J.

Murtha says Dems could consider impeachment - Politico.com

Rep. John P. Murtha (D-Pa.) said Sunday that Democrats in Congress could consider impeachment as a way to pressure President Bush on his handling of the war in Iraq.
“What I’m saying, there’s four ways to influence a president. And one of them’s impeachment,” Murtha, chairman of the House Appropriations defense subcommittee, said on CBS’ “Face the Nation.”

Okay. We've got age limits for airline pilots. I think it's time for age limits for legslators. If an elderly pilot piles one in, all we lose are the people and the plane. If an elderly legislator looking for air time actually gets his crappy ideas implemented, the cost would be far greater.

I think a '65 and you're out' policy would be just about right. It'd clear out a lot of dead wood - and I just did a quick search on 'representatives ages' and found this.

Age
The average age of Senators in the 109th Congress is 60.4 years, the oldest in history.

The average age of Representatives is 55 (54.99) years, likely the oldest in history. The average age of both houses is 56 (55.98) years.

Representatives must be at least 25 years old when they take office. The youngest Representative, as well as youngest Member of Congress, is Patrick McHenry (R-NC), 30. The oldest Representative is Ralph Hall (R-TX), 82.

Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The youngest Senator is Senator John Sununu (R-NH), who is 41 and a former Member of the House. The oldest Senator, as well as the oldest current Member of Congress, is Robert C. Byrd (DWV), 88.