Opaque Lucidity

Lone Star And Other Thoughts

We have arrived home, safe and sound, from our long weekend in Texas. It was the best trip we have had in a while, for a variety of reasons. In the end, things change but what is important remains.

Sean Penn, that mightly tower of intellect, got angry at Chris Rock for making a joke about Jude Law during the Academy Awards last night. Wow...not only is he a foreign policy expert, but he's the conscience of Hollywood as well.

Finally, these boots make me feel....unworthy...somehow.

Coaching The Loss

The last organized sport I participated in was wrestling. A bout of mono during my freshman year of high school ended that---I moved on to theatre, of all things. Nowadays, most of my exposure to youth sports involves soccer. My best friend Peter is a full-time coach now, so each trip to Texas involves seeing at least one game.

My parents were always more or less neutral about my participation in extracurricular activities. That and the fact that Kelli and I have no children of our own means that I don't have much experience with the parents of sports players. Most of the people I have come to know through Peter's work are mainstream America: level-headed, kind and polite, even when their kid's team is losing and the officiating is bad. But I saw something today from an opposing team that, while I knew it happened, I had never really seen firsthand.

The opposing team was from a town not far from Dallas. As the game progressed, I noticed the parents from that team becoming more and more boisterious. One woman was even yelling coaching instructions to the kids in a voice that could peel paint. What shocked me was not that grown adults would act like that in public (I have seen worse), but that would put on such a display in front of a group of very impressionable ten year-old girls.

To me, child and adolescent sports should strive to teach several things: discipline, teamwork, loyalty and pursuit of excellence. It is my belief that if these things are taught along with the mechanics of the sport, victory will come. And I'm NOT one of those people who believes that we shouldn't keep score. Score is kept in life: reviews, contract renewals, etc. One of the most valuable lessons one can learn from sports is how to be both a gracious winner AND loser, for everyone experiences both in life.

It seems as if those rowdy parents I saw today had lost sight of what the game is about. Yes, the girls should play as they are coached. However, is it the place of the parents to correct a wrong or the coach's? If you need to constantly correct your child from your seat, should you even have a coach? I think that part of being a mature parent is letting your child participate in an environment where the parents are not in command. After all, little Johnny and Susie are not always going to be able to hide under your wings.

I read an article several months ago concerning the problem of parents who continue to directly handle their childs' problems even after they go away to college. One university (which one I don't remember) sent out a memo saying that parents would no longer be allowed to call the housing office and complain about dorm conditions; the student would actually need to call. Is this a problem?

There is, of course, an aspect of parenting which truly frightens me: the parent who is living through his child. I don't know if this helps to explain today's outbursts, but I pity the children if it does. What's worse, as I see it, is what is surely going to take place when mommy and daddy's little girl/boy takes a decision that mommy and daddy don't like.

More Shameless Self-Promotion

This blog was mentioned and quoted in a Washington Post article on Monday. Of course, the quote that Kurtz pulled contained a little chastisement of the blogosphere, which is not something I do very often. But I'll take it. Kurtz is one of the biggies, so I feel honored. My quote is about 4/5 of the way to the bottom.

Vox Blogoli 2.2

Hugh Hewitt has thrown down the gauntlet once again, challenging the blogosphere to comment on Harry Reid's assertion that he will "go Gingrich" if the Senate rules that filibusters are out of order (meaning he would stop Senate business). Why would they do that, you ask? Because Senate Dems are using the filibuster rules to keep the Senate from taking an up and down majority vote on President Bush's fed court nominees. Somehow, the Party of the People believes that keep the People's Representatives from doing their jobs is serving a higher purpose.

Hewitt asks the following: should the Repulicans go "McClellan" or "Grant", meaning plan and stall, or slash and burn?

Intersting question. As my mother is always fond of saying, Republicans are very good at stealing victory from the jaws of defeat. But judge appointments are important not just for now, but for the next generation as well. Blocking a vote on a nominee represents a fundamental seizure of representative rights granted to the people of this nation. In my opinion, there can be no legislative action considered too extreme when the fundamentals of Senate operation are at stake.

I hope they Grant the hell out of 'em. But I doubt they will. Republicans still haven't gotten used to being in the majority.

Pro-Confusing The Issue

Since we are in Dallas today and for the rest of the weekend, I thought it would be interesting to have a look at the local MSM paper outlet, The Dallas Morning News. As you can imagine, I was not disappointed. Sarah Zaman, a senior at Duke University, presents a column about her generation's outlook on abortion.

I don't like when people try to speak for entire generations. This was very common about 15 years ago, when people began characterizing my generation, Generation X. The image left was a media-produced slacker who was angry at the Man because he wasn't going to have the same opportunities his parents did. This was all blown out of the water when the Tech Boom occured in the late 90's; it was my generation that led the charge.

So when Zaman says that her generation is reluctantly pro-choice, I immediately question her assumption. She argues that pro-choice advocates need to recognize the grave moral decisions involved with abortion instead of merely saying that abortion is legal and available. She says that instead of arguing about when life begins, we should recognize a pre-born child as a vital organ, like a liver. It may be morally wrong to drink your liver away, but it isn't illegal.

Well, this former vital organ doesn't buy the argument. Zaman is coming from the wrong place, as she will discover when she gets out in the real world. Abortion is big, big business in this country. Groups like NOW and NARAL don't want the evil side of abortion brought to the fore because it's bad for business. If they could, they would make abortion into a sort of all-girl vacation complete with pedicure and back rub. They are not interested in women's "rights" or health.

One thing they have been very good at over the years is somehow convincing the American public that abortion is, indeed, a right. A hundred years from now, constitutional scholars will scratch their heads and wonder how such a right was derived. Until then, women like Sarah Zaman need to realize that abortion is not about their uteruses, but about their wallets.

Gannon-Bashing

Ann Coulter has chimed in on the Jeff Gannon "controversy". Coulter, as usual, mentions several critical points convienently left out of the breathless MSM reporting. First among these points is that Gannon did NOT have a permanent pass to the White House but a one day pass that had to be renewed, well, daily. These are easy to come by because this White House, like all administrations before it, likes to bring journalists from small papers/websites to the table. The fact that he may have asked softball questions compared to the snide remarks of the permanent members is neither relevant or nor controversy-causing. As Coulter mentions, Helen Thomas sits mere yards from the President and asks questions so hate-filled that they make you wonder how far her senility has progressed.

Coulter has a good point in saying that the controversy seems to be about the fact that Gannon is gay and posed naked on a website. Aren't liberals supposed to love these kinds of people and defend them to the death because of their First Amendment right to free expression? Note to self: conservatives don't have rights. Unless they're John McCain.

As I said three weeks ago, there is no "there" there with regard to Gannon. The liberal MSM is so spun up about Rather- and Easongate (and Jayson Blair) that they turned a crack in the wall into a chasm. I received several e-mails (on the same day, strangely) from people wondering why I was not writing about Gannon. If not, presumably, I didn't have any journalistic integrity. Going by those standards, the entire staff of the NY Times should be bagging groceries instead of NOT writing about Rather, Eason Jordan, etc. until the stories were so big they could no longer be ignored.

Let there be no doubt: the attack on the blogosphere is underway in the fever swamp, to borrow a phrase from Hugh Hewitt. You will know them by their works: attack the messenger, create a controversy, etc. But the ship has sailed.

That Violence Machine In Your TV Room

The Boston Globe published a long treatise on console and PC gaming today. If you have children or it gaming is one of your interests, it is definitely worth a read.

I could probably write a book about my gaming experiences, going back to my friend Mike's Atari 2600 circa 1980. I still game sometimes, although I find that most of the stuff out there holds little interest for me. I'm still a sucker for flight simulators and racing games, though. I am of the first generation to have video games, so my immersion was never, and could never, be complete.

I've read many, many stories about video game violence over the years and most of them are ill-informed garbage meant to evoke an emotional response in uninvolved parents. The Boston Globe article is pretty good, although it has the ominous "we need to study this" feel that normally comes before a full-blown attack begins. If a similar article shows up in the NY Times or Washington Post next week, you'll know that the big guns have been turned on gaming. You may find that funny, but do you remember the days when smokers weren't treated as criminals? Thank the MSM for changing that.

A Tip: Tip

Earlier this evening,Hugh Hewitt was discussing the merits of tipping pizza delivery people. He is of the opinion that they should be tipped; I think most non-tightwad people would agree. We can argue about whether or not certain jobs (like waiting tables) should be optioned out of the minimum wage laws, but one thing is certain: tipping makes life liveable for millions of people who work in sevice industries.

I consider myself a generous tipper. Fifteen percent is a bare minimum to me and is generally indicative of merely passable service. Anything less should not only merit no tip, but a discussion with a manager or table captain. A good businessman appreciates constructive criticism, even if it is aimed at an employee.

I have no problem tipping very well (25% or more) if the service is exceptional or if we are in a large group and the other people are being cheap. Cheap tippers bother me a great deal because I believe it represents a certain kind of elitism. The people who are poor tippers are often, IMHO, exercising what little control they have over the situation. If you need to be a baron so badly, stay home and verbally abuse the housekeeper.

I am blessed in that I have never held a job where tipping was involved. I know many of you have and I would be interested in your thoughts. Were certain types of people (bikers, ministers, etc.) better tippers than others? Have you ever waited on someone famous? Do you think that wait staff should make at least minimum wage?

Karl Rove, Mad Genius

A huge tip 'o the hat to Tim Blair for this piece of hilarity.

By the way, we will be leaving for Texas on Thursday evening. Posting for the rest of the week/weekend will undoubtedly be light, although I hope to talk about our trip while we're still there. Be well and thanks once again for sharing your valuable time with me.

F The French

After Germany was defeated in World War Two, the Allies devised a plan to occupy the country. The plan dictated that the US, Britain, France and the USSR would divide the country evenly into different zones of occupation. The Soviets, in a move that someone in the US probably should've emulated, refused to acknowledge France as an equal ally since the French didn't do much besides cut and run in the face of the German Blitzkrieg. Thus, the US and Britain each gave France a share of their zones to occupy. To keep the cheese-eating surrender monkeys from completely losing face, they were given a permanent seat on the UN Security Council.

You would think the Frenchies would've learned a lesson. But, then, they're French, so you can't expect much. President Bush made a trip to Europe this week in an attempt to at least show civility towards a group of people who actively supported Saddam Hussein even after the post-Gulf War embargo was in place and who see China's growing military as a great "balance" against American military might. Decency would dictate that the President of the world's most powerful nation would at least be shown respect.

It was not to be. Jacques Chirac has used the occasion to talk about scuttling NATO in favor of an EU defense pact. To top it off, he spoke only French at a dinner honoring President Bush.

It's time to call a spade a spade. Europe has no future as long as it embraces the type of socialist lunacy endorsed by Chirac and Germany's Schroeder. In 50 years, the western part of the continent will be a muslim enclave. Hell, France will probably be taxing her citizens and using the money to payoff terrorists (if it's not happening already). Trying to manage relations with a bunch of lying, pathetic weasels is just an exercise in frustration.

The US should abandon continental Europe with the exception of the few Eastern European nations (such as Poland) who have shown a willingness to defend democracy. When trouble calls, Germany can call on France for military aid. Or maybe just white flags.

Intro To Evil

I’ve been thinking today about the Underwood murders in Texas. The area where Underwood’s vehicle was found is not far from where I lived in Texas, so this whole thing seems strangely personal and real.

It’s too early to say how strong a case the police have against the man they’ve arrested, but the fact that he has already been charged with murder tells me that they have more than just speculation on their side. We Americans seem to have a weird fascination with murder when it is coupled with a love gone wrong. Witness the fervor over OJ or, more recently, the Scott Peterson case. We will probably know more about Underwood than we could ever have imagined before all is said and done.

I’ve written here before about my opposition to the death penalty, but I will shed no tears if the murderer of this pregnant woman, her pre-born child and her son sees the inside of an execution chamber. I believe we are all born with a natural governor in our souls. This governor keeps us from all the things civilized society finds unacceptable: rape, cold-blooded murder, child molestation, etc. Anyone capable of these things (and I put animal cruelty in there as well) is, in my opinion, fundamentally flawed and needs to be isolated from society. I don’t think they can be “fixed” through therapy.

I can’t explain it rationally, but crimes such as this reinforce my belief in evil. Not just bad people or evil actions, but evil as a force in the world. I don’t think people are born evil, but I do think that some people are attracted to evil because of those fundamental flaws I spoke of earlier. It’s like gravity in that it’s all around you, but you don’t get hurt by it until you fall down a ladder or something. It takes advantage of our most base selves, promising us rewards for answering our primal urges. Think about a man like Saddam Hussein, who killed without a second thought and lived in splendor while his countrymen starved. No rational person could live that life---evil was in his heart.

The Great And The First

Today is George Washington's birthday (although some historians say that it may have actually been Feb. 11, my father's birthday) and The Big Trunk over at Powerline has a wonderful write-up about it. He talks mainly about the President's visit to Rhode Island in 1790 to celebrate that state's ratification of the Constitution. Washington received a letter from a synagogue, one of the few in the young country. Washington's response, printed below, is both beautiful and timeless:

To the Hebrew Congregation in Newport Rhode Island.

G. Washington

Revisionists have done a great job of pointing out our founders' faults, and they were many. But consider that they came of age in a world full of monarchies where the very thought of self-determination was absurd. And then consider that they risked all for what must've seemed like a remote experiment. They were truly great men.

Not Bad Bill...Not Bad

NASCAR became a corporation today in 1948. It was on that day that racing stock cars become an accepted public sport instead of a back road affair involving men of often dubious legal standing (there were tracks and stock car racing before NASCAR, but it was not organized). It soon became apparent that a truly stock automobile didn't last long on a racetrack (or a beach), so the rules were changed in 1953 to allow what are now called modified stock cars. Today, the Nextel and Busch Series cars have almost nothing in common with their showroom cousins.

I was 20 before I really started paying attention to NASCAR. It was 1991 and I was stationed in Charleston, SC. I began listening to the races on the radio because very few of them were televised on regular broadcast television. It was still a very Southern thing, with ads for Goody's Headache Powder and 76 gasoline being very popular.

The sport is vastly different now than it was even 15 years ago. Salaries are higher, the race restrictions are tighter and there are a growing number of drivers who are beginning to act more like NFL or NBA prima donnas than down-home good ol' boys. While salaries were bound to grow and restricitions put in place to make the sport safer (supposedly; ask the old timers about restrictor plates), it is the accessibility of the drivers which helped to make the sport so popular.

I fear that driver accessibility and the belief that they are just average joes who happen to be good drivers may die with the generation of drivers who are now retiring. Many of the young drivers today began racing at a very tender age and knew success and corporate sponsorship early. Going and gone are the drivers who worked years on dirt tracks for no pay while every spare dime went towards a new rear end or cylinder head. That's not to say that today's "young guns" aren't world-class; in fact, they may be better than their forebearers.

Many true NASCAR fans whom I know don't watch any other sport. To them, the drivers are different than the superhumans who play football or basketball. They are clean-cut, normal guys who could be your neighbor except for the fact that they're on the road 36 weekends a year. They seem real. They are us. If that ever changes (there are signs it is changing now), then the sport will become like Formula One racing in Europe: cold, inhuman, and calculating. And I will have to move on.

Unaware, Yet Without A Clue

Bill Keller, Executive Editor of the NY Times, spoke at Columbia last Friday evening. Keller got at least one thing right: "This is not a time when editors swear off alcohol."

The rest of his speech was littered with the same tired defense mechanisms that we always see from the MSM these days, like this gem:

He noted that, according to a recent opinion poll, the public’s trust in journalists is at its lowest point in decades. He attributed this in part to the increasingly polarized nature of the American public, who look to the press for support of their viewpoints.

Maybe, just maybe, the American public looks to the press to report facts, not thinly-veiled front page editorials.

Keller also sees “blogging,” or online writing that blurs news and commentary, as a mixed blessing. While he celebrated the blogger’s ability to uncover breaking news, he noted that a blog’s inherent bias might be detrimental to the reader. “A blog is still a view of the world through a pinhole,” he said, noting that it can sometimes fall as low as being a “one man circle jerk.”

As opposed to the non-existent inherent bias at the NYT, I suppose. And pushing forged documents out the door as real news was not, in any way, demostrable of a giant "circle jerk" going on at CBS. And one can argue that the NYT is a view of the world through a pinhole of leftist opinion passed off as journalism. At least you know what you're getting with a blog.

And, finally:

“I trust there will always be an opportunity for serious journalism,” he added.

We can ask Jason Blair just to be sure, but I don't think there's much serious journalism going on at the Old Grey Lady anymore. Maybe he's talking about the blogosphere?

Changing, Again

Due to some abuses of our internet access at the office by unnamed employees, I will be forced to seriously curtail my daytime posting. I hope to continue to write every morning and, perhaps, post during lunch or in the early afternoon. Time will tell. As always, thanks for you patience as I figure out another way to get around the system.

So Long, Duke

Hunter S. Thompson is dead. If you don't know who he was, then you owe it to yourself to look up some of his writing, especially the stuff from the summer of 1972. He will be called a genius and a man before his time, but he was probably more a troubled person who exorcised his demons with a pen. Everyone seeks therapy in their own way.

Thompson was born and raised in Louisville. He was born in the summer of 1937, just months after the most devastating flood in this city's history. I heard an interview with him on Larry King in which he said that the Louisville he knew was stuck in time and didn’t show any signs of ever catching up. I guess that was his motivation for joining the Air Force and never returning.

It’s hard to imagine there ever being a replacement for Thompson. Thousands of people have tried his style of journalism, with varying degrees of success. But there is always something different about the first person to tread on unbroken ground and Thompson did that with gusto. It’s also hard to imagine him as an old, frail man. Maybe he couldn’t imagine that, either.

With A Friend Like This...

So Doug Wead recorded conversations he had with then-Governor George W. Bush. Since it was in the NY Times today, it will be the number one topic among the MSM talking heads on Monday morning. Evidently, the most shocking thing on the tapes is that a) the President smoked pot and b) he thought John Ashcroft would make a good Supreme Court judge or Vice-President.

Both issues are non-starters. First, Bill Clinton's pot admission during the '92 campaign has made the issue passe'. Try to find someone of their generation who DIDN'T at least try pot. As for John Ashcroft, who cares? Not only is he gone now, but the same people who will be crowing about it in the morning are the same people who demonized him in the first place. It's like the choir singing for their own entertainment.

But don't worry; this will get at least four days of coverage by the usual suspects. And when it's over, you won't know anything about the President that you didn't know before.

Sound And Fury

Why, I thought that the British and the rest of the Europe spent their idle time chatting about foreign policy, seeing as they deem it appropriate to lecture Americans at every opportunity. Guess not.

Uncommon Valor Was A Common Virtue

Sixty years ago today, over 100,000 Marines and a naval force of more than 800 ships began their assault on Iwo Jima, a small, rocky island less than 700 miles from the Japanese home islands. The island was defended by 21,000 Japanese soldiers who had dug tunnels into the volcanic rock and had cleared every hiding spot from the beaches. In the first day of fighting, nearly 3,000 Marines lost their lives.

The famous Rosenthal photograph of the flag-rasing on Mount Suribachi happened four days into the battle; the island was not secured for another month. In all, nearly 29,000 Americans were either killed or wounded in the battle for the 8-square mile rock. The three days of naval bombardment turned out to be insufficient for an enemy dug in so well. The thirteen days requested by the Marine Corps had to be cut short by the Navy because of the demand for heavy cruisers and battleships being made by General MacArthur during the advance across Luzon in the Phillipines.

I am currently reading James Bradley's "Flyboys", which is the story of a few American flyers (including future President George H. W. Bush) who were shot down over Chichi Jima, an even smaller island near Iwo. Bradley delves deep into the fanaticism of the Japanese generation who fought the Second World War and traces the source to a culture dominated by the military since the middle of the 19th century. The cruelty shown to the Marines and sailors on Iwo Jima was part of Japanese military life---officers were exceedingly cruel to enlisted men and enlisted men were cruel to each other. This does not excuse the behavior, but it helps provide an answer to those of us who are shocked that human beings could be so base.

In an historical parallel to our own times, the Japanese greatly underestimated American will and courage. To them, we were a merchant society too wrapped up in materialism to be of much use in defending democracy. But as Arthur Herman has written, free societies must sometimes be as tough and unrelenting as their enemies.

By the way, the picture above is of the first flag raised on Suribachi. The second, more famous, flag was raised later in the day. The title of this post comes from a quote by Chester Nimitz concerning the men who fought on Iwo Jima.

Sunday Blues

I thought I was the only one who felt this way. Actually, it's not as bad now as it was at my previous job. Back then, I would be in a bad mood on Saturday.

But You Said...

I've heard this joke before, but I could never re-tell it with all the relevant details. Thanks to Powerline:

When Osama bin Laden died, he was met at the Pearly Gates by George Washington, who slapped him across the face and yelled, "How dare you try to destroy the nation I helped conceive!"

The Angel replied, "I told you there would be 72 Virginians waiting for you in Heaven. What did you think I said?"

Powerline's trackback feature doesn't seem to be working this morning.

P.E.T.E

My drive through Tennessee this afternoon reminded me that one day we will have to discuss P.E.T.E....but I'll have to get approval first.

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past two days. I'm home now, so things should improve.

Ward Churchill

I haven't written about Ward Churchill here before because people of his ilk only exist because of the anger they stir up in people like me. But he has gone so far overboard while hiding behind his perverted understanding of the First Amendment that I can no longer remain silent.

In case you don't know, Ward Churchill is a professor at the University of Colorado. His claim to fame is an essay he wrote in the fall of 2001 when he called the people working in the World Trade Center towers "little Eichmanns", in reference to one of the infamous members of Hitler's inner circle. The comments arose from the dustbin of infamy when they were discussed at Hamilton College about two weeks ago. Churchill has basically been blackballed by the entire universe with a few exceptions.

Before I go any further, let me be clear about one thing: I think Ward Churchill is a racist idiot who will probably turn out to be a complete fraud (there are now people looking into his academic history; he may not have the requirements to actually be a tenured professor). But I disagree with those who say that he should be silenced. It's not that I stand with him on the First Amendment. On the contrary, I believe that his statements have bordered on sedition and are not covered by the Constitution. In a different era, he would probably be in jail.

I believe that every American needs to hear Ward Churchill in a public setting. We need to hear his hated-filled remarks firsthand. Right-thinking people need to turn out in droves to argue with him, belittle him and question the truth of every word that comes out of his disgusting mouth. He needs to be tried and convicted in the court of public opinion.

Rights come with consequences. I think we need to let Churchill experience the consequences of his exercise.

AAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!

I'm tired and I just lost a long post. I may cry now.

The Martians

Interesting. If there is currently some form of life on Mars, then that opens the door for life on any number of planets and moons we thought unliveable. What great times we live in.

Rating The News

I heard a clip from a CNN interview this morning that stirred up some interest in me, something that is rare when CNN is involved. I don't know the name of the interviewer (it may have been Wolf Blitzer) or the interviewee, but the interviewer said something about children and news. This answer came back: "My 6-year old doesn't watch the news, so he doesn't know."

As frequent readers of this blog know, my wife and I have no children, so their TV viewing habits are not something I think about. When I was a child, we had one TV in the house and four channels that came in clearly. If I or my siblings wanted to watch TV, we watched what our parents were watching. We watched every news show then available: the local and national news and '60 Minutes' on Sunday night. I don't remember when I started watching the news, but I don't remember a time when it wasn't a part of my life.

With everything that has changed in the past 20 years (like the birth of all-news channels), news is more available to young children than ever before. It is also more varied (some would argue that it's as much entertainment as information). So, for those of you who have little ones or who used to have little ones, I pose this question: do you let your young children watch the news? If so, how old were they when they started watching? Do you make them watch it with you? Do you discuss it with them? Do you think it's better to shield them or to let them see the brutality that exists in the world?

Inquiring minds want to know.

You're A Peach

I'm leaving for Atlanta in the morning, so the posts on Thursday and Friday will be light and sporadic, just like my IT knowledge ;-). I'll have the laptop with me at the hotel and lots of time on Thursday night, so there's no telling what type of trouble I'll stir up.

Trustworthy Computing

SAN JOSE, Calif. - Microsoft Corp. co-founder Bill Gates is expected to give his perspective Tuesday on computer security and provide an update on the software giant's efforts to make computing more "trustworthy."

In the next room, I will be performing surgery to separate siamese twins who are joined at the head.

Talking Points, Indeed

I read Talking Points Memo every now and again just to see how good liberals are at spin. Josh Marshall has an approach to ideas that can best be described as folksy socialism. It's as if he assumes that all of us regular folk (you know, the hard-working Joe Sixpacks that guys like him never could be but want to befriend) are liberals trapped in a conservative world by bible-thumping idiots. So he's really in his wheelhouse when he discusses Social Security, something that he's been doing non-stop since the State of the Union address.

Marshall focuses his attention on two camps: the Conscience Caucus (CC) and the Fainthearted Faction (FF). The CC are Republicans who are in opposition to the President's Social Security plan. The FF are Democrats who support it. Somehow, being a Democrat who believes that Social Security is in crisis and needs saving is fainthearted, but I digress.

Marshall speaks of the President's plan to "privatize Social Security" as if the entire program is going to be dumped into junk bonds. There is no mention of the fact that people over 55 today will not be effected by the changes and that even those of us who are younger will be able to opt out of private accounts. His rhetoric is aimed squarely at what I like to call Reflex Democrats, those souls who don't pay attention to the news or anything past the end of their noses but who scream in terror when Social Security is mentioned.

Marshall and the other babbling brooks of propaganda on the left seem to be saying (actually, they ARE saying) that there is no Social Security crisis and that all that scary talk is just being cooked up by the White House to keep us all in line and voting Republican ("they're trying to pull the plug on Social Security"). It would be laughable if the issue weren't so serious. If you can't agree that there is a problem, are you going to be any use in solving it?

The E-Mail Police

Sometimes, things just set me off. Tonight, it was a piece of e-mail I received from a total stranger. It was the e-mail floating around stating that you can do a search for your phone number on Google and it will show your address and a map to your house. Nothing new here. I have received this e-mail so many times that I can almost recite it in my sleep. I started to tee off on poor John, but instead I will type my response here. Am I an ass? About this kind of stuff, you bet.

John,
Several things here:

Have a good evening.

Let It Go

I was hesitant to write about this because I believe that a)I'm beating a dead horse and b)I'm doing analysis of analysis. But the simple fact is that I am of the opinion that the conservative end of the blogosphere is not doing a very good job of handling the post-game show with regard to Eason Jordan's resignation.

You know the story, so I won't re-tell it here. But if you read the NY Times or the Wall Street Journal today, you know that they made their focus not Jordan's resignation and what it means, but on the blogosphere and how they are in danger of becoming some sort of trophy-seeking rabble. I expected this. After all, the MSM has a very nasty habit of circling the wagons when one of their own is under fire. It is almost always easier to attack the messenger than to work on the problem.

But my usual blog patrol today turned up a lot of posters analyzing the MSM's analysis of their analysis of Jordan and his comments. And I'm not innocent; I lead with a post about Jordan this morning. How far, exactly, does this need to go before we can declare it dead and gone? While I don't think that slandering the US military should go unnoticed, IT'S OVER. Jordan is gone and CNN has done all the apologizing it's going to do (which is none). Look at what's on the plate for this spring: Social Security, North Korea, Dean as chairman of the DNC and a hundred other stories that haven't even developed yet.

There's a saying in football: when you get to the endzone, act like you've been there before. The blogosphere threw a harsh light on a "journalist" who needed a smackdown. Congratulations. But the game has moved on and it's time for the next play. If the blogosphere is going to insist on doing a little celebratory jig every time some liberal ass puts his foot in it, we will all soon look as if we ARE hunting for heads to put on the wall.

There are those of you who will mention something like Abu Ghraib and how it was front page news for six weeks. Yes; I was sick of it and how the MSM tried to make it representative of the entire effort in Iraq. But will imitation in the opposite direction win the day?

Kasserine

Today in 1943, an offensive began that saw the United States suffer its first major defeat in the European Theater of Operations. It happened at a spot in Tunisia called Kasserine Pass. It was at Kasserine that American commanders first faced a full German offensive and the first time that they heard the name Erwin Rommel, the "Desert Fox".

After the German defeat at the hands of the British at El Alamein in August, 1942, Rommel looked for a chance to go on the attack. He saw an opportunity at Kasserine Pass, a 2-mile wide gap in the Doral Mountains in Tunisia. Rommel wanted to drive straight through the American lines and capture Tunis, the capital of Tunisia. His attack on the pass began on the 14th and was, at first, unsuccessful. But with reinforcements, he was able to breach the pass on the 20th and inflict heavy casualties on the Americans (1,000 killed and hundreds taken prisoner). When the Americans retreated, they left most of their equipment behind.

This loss made the US Army take a hard look at its tactics and training. The North African campaign was eventually turned over to General George Patton, the man who helped turn an Army with sinking morale into a world-class fighting force.

Bye-Bye, Eason

While I was in Nashville, Eason Jordan quit CNN. This is the second time in a year that the blogosphere has ended the career of a journalist. It is also the umpteenth time that a major news story was ignored by the MSM until the blog swarm became so thick that it could no longer be ignored. Pajama wearers, unite!

The one line I remember from the first Spiderman movie was the truism given to Peter by his uncle: with great power comes great responsibility. One thing the blogosphere has going for it that the MSM does not is millions of eyeballs and other bloggers who will call down a blog for misrepresenting facts or quotes. But all of us who create, read and comment on the blogosphere must remember what makes this thing different from the old ways of receiving information: honesty and integrity. I have a bias, and I admit it. It will have an effect on what I post about. The NY Times, NPR and CNN all have biases as well; you will never hear that mentioned.

Those of you who believe that the blogosphere is all about conservative pundits, you're pretty much correct for the moment. The center-left and beyond side of the blogosphere seems to be filled with either psuedo-intellectual ramblers (Josh Marshall of Talking Points Memo)or hate-filled losers (like the punk running www.ihatepatrobertson.com). But this will not always be the case. It will be interesting to see what the next few years will bring about in liberal thought; I hope it brings out good, thoughtful commentators who have answers and not just more unfounded accusations.

Saint Valentine

Valentine's Day is Monday. Despite legend, the Catholic Church actually recognizes three Saint Valentines: one was a bishop in Italy, one was a priest in Rome and one served in North Africa. All were martyred early in the history of the Church.

Valentine's Day is one of the few modern holidays that is still true to its roots. The holiday was first formally recognized in England and France in the 13th or 14th century as a day to give one's lover a token of affection. Today, we do the same thing, albeit with the help of a multi-billion dollar card and flower industry.

So as you celebrate the day, remember that you are actually following a tradition which predates us by 700 years. And don't forget a bow.

Chinese Exports

Cold War, anyone?

A Favor From My Fellow Geeks

I need to ask a favor from at least one of you: explain to me the difference between hits, visits, etc. If you click on the sitemeter link on the left-hand side of this page, you will see that I only average 65 visits a day. Yet, the UCanweb numbers say that I am recieving many more than 1000 visitors a day and that the site gets something like 170 hits AN HOUR. What's going on?

A New Path Down The Old Path

I took a decision during my drive home today and I hope it's one you dear readers can live with. When I started blogging, almost all my posts were of a personal nature or just my observations on life. I now spend a great deal of time on politics because it is important to me (it should be important to you, as well). But I have lost something in the process, something I think I need in my life.

For me, writing is good therapy. However, I find that I now spend most of my time trying to spread a message. That's not bad, but it's not nearly as theraputic. So, starting now, I will try to limit myself to two politics-based posts a day. Everything else, and hopefully the weekends, we be devoted to lighter and more personal fare.

Some of you came aboard during the run-up to the election in 2004; my numbers are down since then, but I retained some of that audience. If you are a regular reader of the comments here, you will find about five people doing most of the commenting. In many ways, I am writing to them and my wife. This is not to say that you are excluded from consideration if you don't post, but I believe that everyone needs to write for someone. There are the people I write for.

So if you don't know me personally, feel free to skip the non-political posts, but I hope you don't leave entirely. I'm not an especially exciting or interesting person and you would probably be bored to tears if you followed my around for a week. But this blog once served as a meeting place for a group of people whom I care about very much. I need it to be that way again.

As always, thank you.

I Am IT, Hear Me Roar

My trip to Nashville went from an 8 hour deal to a 30 hour one. I spent Friday night in a hotel down the street from the office, didn't really sleep at all and crawled back to our house at 4PM. Some oberservations:

-You can not push several gigs worth of data over a 10meg switch from a 200Mhz, 64MB RAM server (running Netware 4.11, no less) to a laptop and expect to be home in time for dinner.

-The Netware client is the coolest thing since sliced bread (other than OS X and Suse 9.2). It will connect to a stone tablet as long as it's running some version of Netware. Try mixing it up with NT 3.51 (comparable in age to Netware 4.11) some time and tell me how fun it is to get everyone talking.

-You should never, ever trust an office manager who tells you that ABSOLUTELY everything is saved to one directory. Nope, no straggling files in the root directory or anything. This reminds me of the tale of the old man and the shark (courtesy of Rebecca Reisert): an old man and a young boy are in a fishing boat. The young boy is worried about sharks. The old man says, "No sharks in these waters, boy. Never have been, never will be." The old man is then promptly eaten by a shark.

-When it's all said and done, I like my job. I replaced a 9-year old server, an even older switch, set up some backup software I had never seen before, learned a lot about Netware on the fly and the office won't skip a beat on Monday morning.

And I get to go to Atlanta next Thursday. I'm quickly becoming the traveling man.

Journalism In Name Only

Those of you who sneer at the mention of bias and/or outright falsehoods in the MSM need to take a look at this post from Powerline. Disgusting. And tolerated by those of you who defend these people as if they have some sort of intergrity.

A New Life

We live in a world full of ends: death of life, death of commitment, death of ideals. So when I hear about a beginning, it makes me happy. It makes me even happier to know that, in this day of single parents and live-in baby makers, that some people still do things the right way.

I have known Patti since she was 16. I found out recently that her and her husband Huntlee are expecting their first child. If this baby is anything like their two nieces, then I think it's safe to say that he or she will have a bright future. And that the world will be better with he/she in it. Congratulations.

On The Road Again

I have to make an unscheduled trip to Nashville this morning to replace a server, so today will be light on posts. If all goes well, I should be back in time to put up some stuff this evening.

Goodbye, Chuck

Charles killed himself this morning. He was two years younger than me, so he would've been 31 or 32 this year.

I knew Charles when he was very young. His father owned land on the Ohio River near what was Rubaiyat Boat Harbor, the business owned by my grandfather, father and two uncles. Charles and I went to high school together, but we became friends when we worked together for three summers on the river. I was older and undoubtedly a pain in the ass to deal with; he was young and not very used to hard work. We had our share of disagreements, but Charles was so likeable that I couldn't stay angry at him for very long.

We went our separate ways when I graduated in 1989. He finished school in 1991 and went to college; I joined the Navy and was out of town for three years. I saw him again during my first semester of college in 1993. He was doing something in Computer Science and told me that I needed to learn Unix ASAP because, as he put it, it was cool as hell. I didn't know what Unix was.

We lost touch again for several years. I saw him again in 1996 at my grandfather's funeral. We didn't discuss careers (which is a good thing---I was flat broke and driving a delivery truck in Dallas), but instead I listened while he told me everything he remembered about my grandfather. I remember thinking that was how visitations should be, full of pleasant and funny memories.

I never saw Charles again. There were the second-hand stories about this or that, but nothing of consequence. I did not know until today that he had been married for a while, but divorced. By coincidence, the first person to supposedly hear the gunshot this morning was a next door neighbor who both Charles and I had known in high school. I don't envy him what he saw.

It seems almost trite now, but I thought of Charles last week for the first time in a long time. I heard a song on the radio and it made me think of those humid summer days on that steel barge and how the waves would make it hit the metal pilings with a dull thud, a motion that ended up feeling like a jolt instead of a rock. And there Chuck would be (I don't think he liked being called Chuck), telling me about a plan for something or other while he carved what he thought was a peace symbol into the seat of our only stool only it was short a leg so it came out looking like a Mercedes hood ornament, which seemd ironic. And we would laugh.

Oh man.

Standby For The Ugly American Comment

The wedding bells are a ringin'

All I can say is look who's wearing the colorful skirt. For God's sake, man, you had Churchill to look up to! You had an empire! You had the finest Navy in the world! Nelson is crying right now; I can hear him.

Jeff Gannon And Why You Shouldn't Care

Just when I was trying to figure out who the hell Jeff Gannon is and why it's such a big deal, Hindrocket over at Powerline explains it.

Hmmm, let me check...yup, I still don't care. It's like throwing gravel at an elephant, these feeble liberal attempts at uncovering "scandal".

And, in the future, you seminar e-mailers need to do a better job of making your efforts seem not staged.

Information Reformation

I finished reading Hugh Hewitt's latest work, Blog, this morning. Those of us who have been online since the early 90's (or before) know that while blogging is not new, the effect it is beginning to have on media and the world at large is. This is the message Mr. Hewitt conveys: blogs are going to become a part of your life, even if you don't know it. Get on board.

As a lifelong Catholic, I have read much about the Protestant Reformation, but Mr. Hewitt talks about it from an angle I have never considered and links it to present-day blogging. The point? That the Reformation needed the printing press in order to be successful. Gutenberg's invention allowed the common man to read the thoughts of others in a form that was cheap and easy to produce. In that same way, blogs allow Everyman to communicate with his peers in a way that is unprecedented and shatters the hierarchal nature of the old media.

Mr. Hewitt writes in detail about the four "founding myths" of the blogosphere: the Jayson Blair affair at the NY Times, Trent Lott's comments about Strom Thurmond, John Kerry's Christmas in Cambodia lie and CBS News' forged National Guard document scandal. Without blogs, none of these stories would have ever been front page news. They helped to shape the political side of blogging, linking large blogs read by thousands to the small fry (like me) who measure their readership in dozens or hundreds.

But Mr. Hewitt does not stop with discussing the political. He asserts that, regardless of your career or position, you either need to be blogging, have someone on your staff who is blogging about your company or at least be thinking about how to react to a potential "blog swarm" should it attack your industry or company. The section on 12 blogs he would start were he a musician, book publisher, etc. is pure genius and bolsters his argument that focused blogs can have a place almost anywhere.

After reading his book, I am more enthusiastic than ever about blogging...and you should be, too. Your blog doesn't need to be a rambling mess like this one. It can be focused on your job (like a soccer coach, for example), your hobby (like being a Mac addict) or your faith. No matter the focus, get writing. It's free, fun and you may just change the world.

The Unwieldy Part Of The Axis

Claudia Rosett's column at Opinion Journal today speaks of the possibility for democracy in North Korea. Rosett argues that while there are no easy answers, the UN, the Chinese and other nations could do a better job of helping refugees both leave the country and spread their story once they are free. There are 23 million people in North Korea; it is believed that 2 million people have starved to death there in the last ten years.

It is hard to imagine the nationwide cruelty that must exist in a place like North Korea. The stories that I have read about defectors (most of them from foreign news sources, a fact I find very troubling) are too horrendous to repeat here. The entire nation's output is basically directed towards two things: upkeep of the military and ensuring that Kim Jong-Il and his cronies live in unparalled luxury. It's the kind of villany that has no equal.

One of two things will eventually happen in North Korea. The first, and most likely scenario in my opinion, is that the slow trickle of information into the nation will eventually cause an organized uprising too large to be contained. If recent reports are accurate, the growing number of people trying to escape the country is an indication that things are growing worse. Even the threat of death will only hold back people for so long. If your choice is between starvation or a longshot at democracy in your lifetime, you would probably take the chance.

Second, and more remote, is that a turn of events will force the United States, South Korea and our allies to take military action against the North. If North Korea used a nuclear weapon on a neighbor or sold one to someone who used it, there is little doubt we would act decisively to stop their bomb-making capacity. This is a dangerous and deadly route. The Korean peninsula is a strategist's worst nightmare in terms of geography, North Korea has one of the largest armies in the world (and, by all accounts, it is not a hollow force), and it may possess a second-strike capability. Any such incursion by the United States would mean thousands of American deaths.

Whatever happens in North Korea, the end result will be a nation in need of every basic commodity known to man whose people have been essentially brainwashed for 50 years. It will take a relief effort on a scale not seen since the end of World War Two to save 23 million people from certain death. For their sake, I hope that the end of the Kim regime is swift and soon.

Clarification

Based on a few e-mails I've received, I need to clarify my point from yesterday (see "Blogger Mountains?" below). My point in mentioning Trent Lott was not to compare his comments to Eason Jordan's; I don't think that they are similar in any way. I was comparing the MSM's treatment of Lott with their soft-peddling of the Jordan story. I personally don't think Lott was guilty of anything other than not thinking before he spoke. I think Jordan is guilty of much more.

Constantine

I had the opportunity to see a sneak preview of 'Constantine' last night in Louisville. The film is about John Constantine (Keanu Reeves), a man who has the ability to see beyond the thin layer of our reality into the realm dominated by demons and other evil entities. He makes his way in the world by performing exorcisms, a career that has left him bitter and without faith in God or people.

The fireworks begin when Constantine meets up with Angela Dodson (Rachel Weisz), a police detective who doesn't buy the apparent fact that her twin sister committed suicide. The two quickly learn that the sisters are part of an earth-shattering plot which seeks to upset the "balance"---the agreement between God and Satan stating that neither will directly interfere in earthly affairs, but will rather only peddle influence.

After setting up the audience for what could have been very deep, thought-provoking second and third acts, the film becomes very ordinary. The special effects are, as we have come to expect from every movie, stunning and the scenes of hell are appropriately Dante-like. But the screenplay itself becomes little more than a complicated shoot-em up with the usual demon/vampire/underworld cliches thrown in for good measure (holy water will make a demon's skin burn, they are scared of crosses, etc.). Many avenues are left untraveled, such as the relationship between Constantine and his close circle of equally-weird friends. The film is based on the 'Hellblazer' comic book series, so comic devotees may already know the background of the main characters. I didn't and it left me wanting more.

That's not say this is a bad movie. It is fast-paced, a little quirky and, thankfully, there is nothing overtly offensive towards a religious (especially Catholic) audience. But if you are looking for weighty discussions of heaven, hell and the battle for souls, you need to look elsewhere.

Blogger Mountains?

Deacon over at Powerline has posted an e-mail from a reader complaining that the blogosphere's continuing pursuit of Eason Jordan is making a mountain out of a molehill. I'm sure that many in the MSM would agree.

Let's put this in perspective. When Trent Lott made a thoughtless alternate history comment about Strom Thurmond in 2002, he ultimately resigned from his position as Senate Majority Leader. His comment, although unfortunate, was made with the intention of saying something positive about a retiring fellow Senator. I do not believe that he meant it to be a slam against the last 50 years of civil rights progress, but that's how it came out. The blogosphere was all over the story, as was the MSM. The damage was done.

Eason Jordan made an undeniable comment: the US military has targeted and killed 12 journalists in Iraq. He said this in a foreign country in front of an audience that contained a US Congressman and Senator. His statement leaves very little room for broad interpretation. He is a top level executive for one of the largest news networks on the planet. The blogosphere is on him like grease on a Whopper.

What's the difference? Eason Jordan is a "journalist" and his comments were very, very specific, so specific that several Middle Eastern journalists thanked him afterwards for saying what they had known for so long. Did he say it in front an audience for effect? Maybe. But the fact remains that he said it, he shouldn't have, and it's probably going to cost him his job.

To those who say we're blowing this out of proportion: if you don't like it, don't read it.

Advice From The Unconverted

There is someone in my family who is going through a bit of a career crisis. The person's name and relation to me are unimportant, for this person's dilemma is ageless. I have not given any advice on the issue because I'm not sure I'm the person who should pass on any wisdom, even if I had any.

But my father does have a lot of wisdom, and so I'll talk about him for a moment. He has this saying: time goes by no matter what you're doing. He told my sister this when she was having a tough time in nursing school. She's a very competitive person and was driving herself beyond her limits to be the first in her class (she graduated second; the woman who was first had already been through pharmacy school). She has now been a nurse for twenty years and is highly respected in the field. I don't know what would've happened had she given up school and done something else, but I'm sure there are hundreds of former patients who are glad she became a nurse.

There are many who say that you should do what makes you happy, and I agree with that. The problem is that what makes us happy changes as we grow and mature. I enlisted in the Navy instead of going to college. When I came back home, I started college as a 22-year old who wanted to be a history professor. Certain people in my life convinced me that this was folly, so I went into business management instead. I despised it, so I quit when I moved to Dallas. I eventually went back, but my heart was no longer in it. Should I have stayed with history? Yes. Would I be happy today as a history professor? Having seen the demise of higher learning in the liberal arts, I would have to say no.

Though every person's situation is different, my life has shown me that I should've dealt with more short-term suffering to attain long-term goals. There are too many times that I have moved on from something because it became too time-consuming or difficult. So if I had anything at all worthwhile to add to this, it is to say that you must weigh the value of temporary unhappiness against whatever long-term positive may arise from the endeavor.

And always remember that there are people who care about you and love you.

An Open Letter To Howard Dean

Dr. Dean,
You've all but won the job to lead your party. As I'm sure you know, you're inheriting a group that is a shell of its former self. Tim Roemer, your last opponent in the race for the job, was right when he said that the Republican Party is stronger now than it's been in the last 100 years. You also lost 97 of the top 100 fastest-growing counties in the nation last November. If this trend continues, you'll soon be fighting Ralph Nader for air time.

Senator Kennedy said that Democrats shouldn't become a Republican-lite party, and he's right. Liberalism has its place in politics, even if it's just to make conservatives thoughtfully defend their positions. But you have done a good job of shedding light on parts of the Left that were best left in the dark. Every party has a kooky, fringe element; holding it up to the light and trying to bring it into the tent is a bad idea. Some concepts and beliefs are not worthy of serious consideration. The sooner you learn this, the better off you'll be.

Above all things, you must be decisive. One of John Kerry's many weaknesses was that he was seen as being weak-willed and indecisive. Part of the reason is because he probably really is weak-willed and indecisive, but he let his opponents brand him thus and no action he took could prove them wrong. Fight over a platform, agree to it, and then push the hell out of it. People may not agree with you, but at least they'll know where you stand.

Get some new spokespeople. I know that Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi are in positions of leadership in Congress, but putting them on after the President's State of the Union speech was political suicide. Reid is as animated as a column of granite and Pelosi comes off as an under-qualified soccer mom. You have better representatives in your party, people who are respected. Ted Kennedy is not one of them. Bring in new blood and push them out into the light. Look to Illinois; your future is there.

Open up the tent. Your party has done a great job of embracing every whacky conspiracy nut around since 9/11, but you still shun pro-life Democrats. Are NOW and NARAL running your party? We have pro-choice Republicans in our tent. They don't get their beliefs stated in the platform, but they do get a voice at the table. And they're loyal. Don't seat Michael Moore next to Jimmy Carter; put Joe Lieberman there instead and see what happens.

Be strong on defense. Your party has become the party of the peace, which translates to many in this nation as the party of the hippy. John Kerry did not make people feel safer; George Bush does. There is no peace to be had now, so you must find a way to win the war. Ignoring it will not make it go away.

You have a choice, Dr. Dean: you can push this party kicking and screaming t