Blogging from Sea
Hello boys and girls. As I look to my left, I see some palm trees, a big industrial lot with nothing on it except two soccer goals ans one lonely weed and a harbor with a bunch of private yachts. To my right is a gift shop but if I walked a little, I'd see the ocean. I'm on a ship docked at Ensanada, Mexico. There's a drink in my hand and the sun is shining. This is the first break from my regular routine that I've had in a pretty long time and I'm off to enjoy it. I'll also take some photos that I'll try to post here before day's end (some time between dinner and my nightly flogging in the casino). OK, time to descend on Ensanada and make sure that Jheka's Girl doesn't try to buy it.
U.S. Soldier Murdered in While in Captivity
I wonder how soon we can expect the Congressional hearings regarding this bit of "prisoner abuse?" I'm going with never. When will Sixty Minutes do a special on what happened to Donald Walters and his fellow murdered soldiers from the 507th? Not any time soon. How much ink will the New York Times editorial page spend decrying this atrocity? Not a drop, boys and girls. Sergeant Donald Walters. Not killed in action. Murdered in captivity for being an American.
Meet the American Marine
Chontosh, 29, from Rochester, N.Y. , received the naval service's second highest award for extraordinary heroism while serving as Combined Anti-Armor Platoon Commander, Weapons Company, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom March 25, 2003. The Medal of Honor is the highest military award.
While leading his platoon north on Highway 1 toward Ad Diwaniyah, Chontosh's platoon moved into a coordinated ambush of mortars, rocket propelled grenades and automatic weapons fire. With coalitions tanks blocking the road ahead, he realized his platoon was caught in a kill zone.
He had his driver move the vehicle through a breach along his flank, where he was immediately taken under fire from an entrenched machine gun. Without hesitation, Chontosh ordered the driver to advanced directly at the enemy position enabling his .50 caliber machine gunner to silence the enemy.
He then directed his driver into the enemy trench, where he exited his vehicle and began to clear the trench with an M16A2 service rifle and 9 millimeter pistol. His ammunition depleted, Chontosh, with complete disregard for his safety, twice picked up discarded enemy rifles and continued his ferocious attack.
When a Marine following him found an enemy rocket propelled grenade launcher, Chontosh used it to destroy yet another group of enemy soldiers.
When his audacious attack ended, he had cleared over 200 meters of the enemy trench, killing more than 20 enemy soldiers and wounding several others.
. . .
"I was just doing my job, I did the same thing every other Marine would have done, it was just a passion and love for my Marines, the experience put a lot into perspective," said Chontosh.
Ladies and gentlemen, I submit that Captain Chontosh and his fellow Marines honored for their bravery are the kind of extraodinary people that represent you and me on the fields of battle wherever in the world they are called upon to do so. I couldn't be prouder of them.
I note that, according to the article, in addition to Captain Chontosh, three other Marines were honored for their valor. If anyone learns their names, please post them in the comments. (Hat tip: Eurabian Times and IraqNow)
Picture of the Day - Untitled
Help Melissa name this picture.
BREAKING NEWS
Item I
Radical (formerly) British Muslim cleric Abu Hamza al-Masri has been arrested in London and indicted by the United States.
Item II
Two bags of explosives and detonation charges found near site of upcoming NATO summit (no link yet). I'm sure it was those damned Amish again.
Discuss.
Update: I heard about Item II on MSNBC this morning and have yet to find anything else about it or even any mention in the news. Has anyone heard anything?
Thursday Poetry
Normally, this would be Friday poetry but it looks like I might be a tad busy that day and I wouldn't want anybody who actually reads this blog to be deprived of their weekly poetic sustenance. This is an old favorite by the quintessentially American poet, Langston Hughes. If you wanted to know what it was like to be black in the America two generations ago, or poor, ever, or how jazz feels, you could do worse than starting with Hughes. This poem talks about America and New York and race and is a good reflection of where we were half a century ago and maybe tells us something about what sort of nation and people we are now. It is also an excellent poem. The pacing is terrific. It flows so well when read out loud. Try it, if you can. You can feel the rhythm, like a jazz beat.
THEME FOR ENGLISH B
By Langston Hughes
The instructor said,
Go home and write
a page tonight.
And let that page come out of you---
Then, it will be true.
I wonder if it's that simple?
I am twenty-two, colored, born in Winston-Salem.
I went to school there, then Durham, then here
to this college on the hill above Harlem.
I am the only colored student in my class.
The steps from the hill lead down into Harlem
through a park, then I cross St. Nicholas,
Eighth Avenue, Seventh, and I come to the Y,
the Harlem Branch Y, where I take the elevator
up to my room, sit down, and write this page:
It's not easy to know what is true for you or me
at twenty-two, my age. But I guess I'm what
I feel and see and hear, Harlem, I hear you:
hear you, hear me---we two---you, me, talk on this page.
(I hear New York too.) Me---who?
Well, I like to eat, sleep, drink, and be in love.
I like to work, read, learn, and understand life.
I like a pipe for a Christmas present,
or records---Bessie, bop, or Bach.
I guess being colored doesn't make me NOT like
the same things other folks like who are other races.
So will my page be colored that I write?
Being me, it will not be white.
But it will be
a part of you, instructor.
You are white---
yet a part of me, as I am a part of you.
That's American.
Sometimes perhaps you don't want to be a part of me.
Nor do I often want to be a part of you.
But we are, that's true!
As I learn from you,
I guess you learn from me---
although you're older---and white---
and somewhat more free.
This is my page for English B.
1951
FIRST DAILY BLITZ CAPTION CONTEST
This was just too good an opportunity to pass up so we're taking a page out of our friend Allah's book and holding our first caption contest. Fire away, kids.
On a personal note, I'd like to apologize. I can't believe that I voted for this psycho. I mean, he was supposed to be the steady, boring, rational one. Who knew that he's entirely nuts? Not me. However, even though he (thankfully) lost, I take responsibility for my vote and would like to apologize to my nation for endangering it by voting for this loon.
On edit: Has he endorsed Kerry yet? Is he planning to? After what happened to Dean , one would think that Kerry would run from Gore like Michael Moore from a Jenny Craig rep.
Further edit: Maybe Al was remembering a classic movie line.
Even further edit: Gore, learning anger from the master.
Edit, the Resurrection: Thanks to reader powderfinger for this thought.
Edit, the Final Conflict: What's he pointing at?
Son of Edit: Al Gore, party animal.
Edit's Revenge: Gore on fundraising.
Ask Bogie, Vol. II
It's time for another "Ask Bogie" thread. In this thread you can ask Bogie, who has finally recovered from last weekend's revelry and poker travails (more on that later) anything not related to politics (politics are Rumsfeld's bailiwick) and he will do his best to answer. Fashion? Shoot. Sports? Bring it on. Relationships? Why not? Bogie is on his third double-espresso of the morning, so he's finally ready for your questions.
Dear Brian
One of the most unique blogs on the net belongs to a young lady who lost her beloved brother, a firefighter, on 9/11. In order to deal with her grief and try to come to grips with what happened, she has decided to write him, Brian, letters on her blog. I hope that they are helping her. She happens to be a wonderful writer and reading them brings me back to that day, and to my city (I'm a Queens boy with a Manhattan heart). Today's post, about that awful day, is especially powerful. Go give it a read. Dear Brian will hurt your soul and make you laugh and, sometimes, we need a little of both of those things.
Arabs for Israel
A ray of light broke through the clouds this morning as I found this this wonderful website found through the equally terrific Israellycool. Give them both a bookmark and a link, if you haven't done so already.
Hunter S. Thompson - Shmuck
I gotta tell you, I liked Hunter S. Thompson. Not for his books. Honestly, I haven't read them or seen the movies that were based on them (i.e. "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas"). No, I liked Thompson because he brought to my attention a glaring injustice in the criminal justice system (one of many, to be sure). Specifically, he wrote about the case of Lisl Auman, a young woman who is in a Colorado prison today, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, for the felony murder of Denver police officer Bruce VanderJagt on Nov. 12, 1997 ... when she was not only not involved in any substantive manner in the murder but was, in fact, in police custody when the murder was committed by a psychopath named Matthaeus Jaehnig, who was subsequently killed himself. I recommend that you read about the Auman case if you want to see a glaring example of vengeance kicking justice's ass.
But back to Thompson who, as the post title suggests, is a shmuck. He just wrote an article entitled "Let's go to the Olympics!" for ESPN where he pontificates on, among other issues, the Abu Ghraib (and is that the definitive spelling? Can we agree on one before the place is demolished?) prison scandal. Here is what appears in his article:
These horrifying digital snapshots of the American dream in action on foreign soil are worse than anything even I could have expected. I have been in this business a long time and I have seen many staggering things, but this one is over the line. Now I am really ashamed to carry an American passport.
That's stupid enough. I mean, I haven't neen in the business at all and I have seen many, many worse things than the snapshots that have come out of Abu Grahaib (and, for the record, I believe that what happened there was torture, was inexcusable, and did more harm to our mission and our soldiers than any 100 Jihadis could have ever hoped to do). Nick Berg comes to mind. A video I saw of a Chechnyan Jihadi cutting off a Russian soldier's head comes to mind (there are a shocking number of these circulating around the net). Danny Pearl. An animal sticking his blood soaked hands out a window to the cheers of a mob ... after having murdered two men who made the mistake of taking a wrong turn while being Jewish. Four charred bodies hanging off a Fallujah bridge. It seems to me that that was a bit over the line. There was that whole 9-11 thing. Yeah, I know, I know. I should be over it. Somehow, I'm not. So, yeah, saying that of all of the staggering things that he has seen (and I believe he's seen a few and some were really happening when he saw them) it was those snapshots that went over the line is pretty stupid. But that's not what Thompson said. That's what his editor said.
What Thompson originally said was:
"Not even the foulest atrocities of Adolf Hitler ever shocked me so badly as these [Abu Ghraib] photographs did."
Shmuck.
On edit: You know, I'm not altogether thrilled that he carries an American passport either, so we can at least agree on that.
Picture of the Day - War
Just a guy reading the paper on a warm San Francisco day. Notice the protestors carrying signs behind him ... and the American flag to his right.
Wait ... Don't You Guys Hate Bush Too??
Celebrated author and leftist moonbat E.L. Doctorow decided that being asked by Hofstra University in New York to give the commencement address before a diverse audience of thousands of graduating seniors and their families was an invitation to let loose with an anti-Bush rant. He was a bit surprised when the audience decided that, on balance, Doctorow was a complete schmuck and nearly booed him off the stage. Naturally, most of the faculty gave him a standing ovation.
Picture of the Day - Plenty
Sometimes it's easy to forget just how colorful the world can be. Melissa took this at a bazaar in Tijuana, Mexico. Let me know what you think.
Tens of Thousands turn out in New York in Support of Israel
Today, in the greatest city on earth, tens of thousands of people came out for the 40th annual Salute to Israel parade. But of course, you heard all about this and saw tons of footage on your local news. No? Then on the national news. No? Quel Surprise! Kudos and thank you to all of the New Yorkers and Israelis who helped put the parade together and participated in it and a big thank you to all of the wonderful people who came out to celebrate both of our wonderful countries.
Update: Here is one picture:
According to news reports, there were "dozens" of counter-demonstrators. Let's see. Tens of thousands of people come out in support of Israel, a handful come out against its existance and Yahoo gives the protestors two out of six photos (thanks to Charles of LGF for pointing it out). Which is not as bad as the fact that the New York Times and New York Post (!!) apparently didn't cover the event at all. The Daily News gave it a few paragraphs.
On edit, I am informed that (at least in it's print edition), the NY Post did cover it. Thanks T.
Now THIS is What I Call Patriotism
I honestly don't even know what to say about these brave, patriotic women who have made it their mission to "take one for the country." All I can say for sure is that Bogie approves but then, he would.
Homicide Bomber Explodes at Israeli Checkpoint - Kills Only Himself
Today, a nineteen year old Palestinian approached an Israeli checkpoint south of Bet She'an in the Jordan Valley. Apparently he was nervous enough .. or at least anxious enough that his movements, combined with his inappropriately (for the hot weather) heavy clothes betrayed his intent. The soldiers manning the checkpoint called on him to stop. He didn't. They fired warning shots. He kept coming. Then, before the soldiers had an opportunity to shoot him, he blew himself up (and thank God for small favors; that some young man or woman doesn't have to live with having shot this man and wonder what would have happened had he not had a bomb). He, obviously, was killed. The checkpoint commander was lightly injured. Four Palestinians were also injured, including one who was seriously injured and airlifted, by Israel, to an Israli hospital in Jerusalem, where Israeli doctors are working to save his life.
Folks, those of you who have read my postings on Little Green Footballs and elsewhere know that I am very much pro-Israel and have little sympathy for the monsters who try to murder innocents. However, let me take a moment to reflect on the person who died. A nineteen year old man walked out on a summer afternoon with a bomb strapped to his body with the aim of taking life. His life was already gone. His soul was murdered, likely years earlier, by the proponents of the poisonous ideology which sent his carcass out to wreak further mayhem. He was a husk used to spread grief. And this is a tragedy.
I am not a religious man. And yet, I know that you do not have to be religious to see that human life, with all of its amazing possibilities, is some kind of miracle. That by circumstances, divine or otherwise, a billion unlikely factors could come together to allow humanity to exist and flourish, with our capacity to understand beauty and feel passion, for grief and love and compassion and joy and all of the other myriad things that make life, even in its most mundane moments, a barely comprehensible wonder, is no doubt miraculous. That any portion of that miracle is purposely so corrupted as to remove love and compassion and joy and all of the essentials humanity so as to leave only a husk such as the one that exploded today is an atrocity beyond words.
I do not mourn for the murderous, hate filled husk who tried to indiscriminately murder men and women on a sunny afternoon. I do take a moment to grieve for the boy who, some years earlier, before he was infected with the poisonous ideology that murdered him then, was part of a miracle and full of wondrous possibility.
Picture of the Day - Road to Nowhere
Another photograph by Melissa Brizendine. I want to point out that, despite the very interesting colors, this has not been photoshopped or otherwise altered in any way. Let me know what you think.
Chief Wiggles Sheds Light on Interrogators
You might know Chief Wiggles from his blog and the wonderful work that he has done in Iraq. He is, as we Jews like to say, a mensch. Well, what you might not have known about the Chief is that he has been an interrogator for the Utah Army National Guard for over three decades and has conducted numerous interrogations in Iraq qnd elsewhere. In light of the growing Abu Ghraib scandal, what the Chief has to say on the subject of interrogators and their techniques is definitely worth reading. Some excerpts:
. . .
I have worked with soldiers from all branches of the military, regular army soldiers and reservists, interacting with them in a variety of real combat situations and training exercises. I have read books on the skills of interrogation and have taught others the finer points of effective interrogation. While at Camp Bucca in southern Iraq, I spent 4 months, on a daily basis, interrogating 17 Iraqi generals, both Brigadier and Major generals, successfully extracting valuable information which was later disseminated up through the chain. I lived as they lived, endured most of what they endured, feeling their pain, while trying to deal with their diverse personalities, with their idiosyncrasies, intertwined with their culture, tradition, religion, and language.
. . .
I can honestly say that we, a large group of interrogators, treated the prisoners we came in contact with, as humanely as possible, following the Geneva Convention as we have been trained to do. We made every effort to take care of their needs and insure their health and safety. We did instruct the guards in the proper care of the prisoners and responded in every instance to convey the prisoner’s feelings, concerns, and desires.
. . .
Go read the whole thing and spread the word. We have good men and women out there who cannot speak for themselves to the American public. We can speak for them.
Pro-Choice Catholics and the Church
I recently came across this article about Catholic Congresscritters writing a letter in protest of a policy being considered by the Catholic church whereby the clergy would withhold the sacrament from politicians (and perhaps voters) who favored such things as abortion, stem cell research, gay marriage, or euthanasia. Now, I have to tell you that I am pro-choice, pro ambitious stem-cell research, pro-right to die and generally in favor of gay marriage or at least civil unions. And yet, I am having trouble sympathizing with either the 48 Congresscritters who signed this letter or others who are in the same position. It seems to me that they are asking that the Church put image ahead of pretty unambiguous Church doctrine. It also appears that they have the strange belief that the Catholic church is something other than a top-down organization where Rome's word is final and absolute.
You think that abortion should be safe, legal and available? Bravo!! You think that terminally ill people who are suffering should have the power to decide the time and method of their death? I'm with you. You think that religious doctrine should not be an impediment to scientific research? I could kiss you!!
But if you believe all of this and you call yourself a Catholic, perhaps you have a problem that needs to be addressed. From a purely theological/philosophical point of view, how far can one stray from a Church's core doctrines and still consider themselves members in good standing of that Church? At what point is the Church accepting such members, who repudiate its tenets, acting less out of theological interest than political and economic? And at what point are politicians who claim to be members of a particular religious community while rejecting the principles central to that community, engaged in little more than political pandering? It seems to me that, as much as I agree on the issues with the signatories on the above referenced letter, Rome, from its point of view, is right in drawing the line in this instance. If it does not, it will eventually stop being the Catholic Faith and turn into the Catholic Political Action Committee. The Church, if it adopts the hard line that many of its most senior members are advocating, will be telling its members that they can accept Catholicism and all that it encompasses or they are free to leave the Church. That seems like a reasonable choice. Thoughts?
Friday Poetry - The Wish
I'll try to post a poem every Friday or so. I hope that you enjoy them. This is a favorite of mine called "The Wish" by the brilliant Ellen Bryant Voigt. It can be found in "Lotus Flowers: Poems" which is a very good collection of her work:
THE WISH
My daughter comes to me
with her sorrow. She is
not yet ten, not yet
insistent for her father.
As if waiting out a sentence,
she sits at the round table,
her long black shawl of hair
framing high cheekbones.
She thinks she is ugly,
thinks she has no friends.
How can I comfort, what should I
try to tell this radiant
coincidence of genes?
That children can be beasts
to one another? That envy
eats us from the inside?
"All great beauties
doubted their beauty," I tell her.
but why should she believe me:
I am her mother, and asked
repeatedly for beauty,
meaning happiness.
Top of the World, Ma; I'll be home for Dinner!!
This story is simply unbelievable. Apparently a local Sherpa scaled Mount Everest in just over eight hours. How unbelievable is that? Sir Edmund Hillary needed more than seven weeks. Modern climbers typically take two to three weeks. He did it between meals. How unbelievable is it? Read this great book by Jon Krakauer or, if you can, watch this film to get an appreciation of what that big rock is all about. Like I said, amazing.
Picture of the Day - Harvest Moon
Once again, taken by Melissa Brizendine. Let me know what you think.
Oh, and while we're on the subject of photography, allow me to introduce you, gentle reader, to the work of Sun Lee who, in addition to being an incredibly talented artist, is a class guy. Check out his work and, if you're interested in having it periodically featured at this site, please let me know and I'll see what I can do.
Stupid Politicians or Bad People? Part II - Fritz Hollings
Fritz Hollings is leaving the Senate at the relatively young age (by Byrd and Thurmond standards) of 81. Hollings has been a shill for the entertainment industry and a hero of protectionists and economic isolationists everywhere for nearly forty years. However, it was not his lousy record but, rather, his latest quip that got my attention:
Of course there were no weapons of mass destruction. Israel's intelligence, Mossad, knows what's going on in Iraq. They are the best. They have to know.
Israel's survival depends on knowing. Israel long since would have taken us to the weapons of mass destruction if there were any or if they had been removed. With Iraq no threat, why invade a sovereign country? The answer: President Bush's policy to secure Israel.
You hear that boys and girls? Israel knew that there were no WMDs because them smart Jews "have to know." In fact, the Mossad is so good that, had there been any WMDs, they could have taken us right to them. Those sneaky Jews ... they let us go to war for them just to secure Israel. Hollings goes on:
Led by Wolfowitz, Richard Perle and Charles Krauthammer, for years there has been a domino school of thought that the way to guarantee Israel's security is to spread democracy in the area.
Did you catch that? Wolfowitz, Perle and Krauthammer. Three Jews. Not Cheney or Rice or Rumsfeld or Hughes or any one of a dozen other influential men and women but these three Jews. Welcome to the Pat Buchanan wing of the Democratic party.
More from the good Senator, who, not worrying about re-election, is really letting his hair down ... and his roots show:
He [Bush] came to office imbued with one thought -- re-election. Bush felt tax cuts would hold his crowd together and spreading democracy in the Mideast to secure Israel would take the Jewish vote from the Democrats. You don't come to town and announce your Israel policy is to invade Iraq.
So, to sum up, Fritz Hollings is saying that President Bush took us to war, caused hundreds of U.S. soldiers to die and thousands to be injured in order to appease Israel, thereby swinging the Jewish vote from the Democrats to himself and securing re-election. Wow ... there must be what? fifty, a hundred million Jews in the United States? No? That's not right? There are only about six million Jews and they are only about two percent of the population and they are generally concentrated in safe Democratic states such as New York and California? Well then, Hollings' thesis doesn't make a lot of sense, now does it? Of course, that never stopped these sorts of comments before
Now, this latest garbage is nothing new for Senator Hollings. In fact, he has quite a history of bigotry, anti-Semitism and general stupidity but it's always interesting to watch another sad little man take a parting swipe at the Jews. The only question that remains, especially in light of another old Southern bigot's recent passing, is whether Fritz Hollings will finally tell Cynthia McKinney that he is her father?
Posted by: Jheka at May 21, 2004 00:50 |
link | comments |
Stupid Politicians or Bad People? Part I - Nancy Pelosi
I say, a little from Column A, a little from Column B.
First, the local news: Local (San Francisco) congresswoman and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has decided that it would be politically expedient to throw some good old-fashioned Bush hating red meat to her base. Specifically, Congresswoman Pelosi spewed as follows:
"I believe that the president's leadership in the actions taken in Iraq demonstrate an incompetence in terms of knowledge, judgment and experience in making the decisions that would have been necessary to truly accomplish the mission without the deaths to our troops and the cost to our taxpayers."
She goes on in this vein but here is the message in a nutshell: If we had had a wiser leader in office (Al Gore, logically), we would have ousted Saddam Hussein and defeated Islamofascism without loss of life or treasure. Now, not only is this patently untrue, as there is no leadership superman who would have magically talked the Islamists into abandoning their war against Western civilization, but Pelosi knows its untrue and that makes it dishonest. I am a frequent critic of President Bush but in order for criticism to be valid, it has to at least be hinest on its face. This is not. This is nothing but using the deaths of our soldiers to try to take a few more votes from President Bush. She does not say (typically) what should have been done differently or offer a plan for the future. Moreover, Congresswoman Pelosi shows herself to be a coward. She attacks the President in the local paper but when it comes time to speak up where it counts, Congresswoman Pelosi, on March 20, 2003, voted in favor of a Congressional resolution expressing "unequivocal support and appreciation of the Nation to the President as Commander-in-Chief for his firm leadership and decisive action in the conduct of military operations in Iraq as part of the on-going Global War on Terrorism." Pelosi, in commenting on her vote at that time said:
"When we go into battle, despite our differences on policy, when we go into battle, it will be one team, one fight."
Ah, but we're a bit closer to election time now, aren't we, congresswoman? Pelosi also wanted to send a message to our troops:
"There is no heavier burden for a President, and no more solemn choice for this nation, than to send these brave men and women into battle. As Commander in Chief, President Bush has made that decision. As leaders in Congress, we pledge to our forces and their families: You will have all the support you need to win this war and to win the peace.”
Was she being dishonest then or is she being dishonest now? Like I said, a little from column A, a little from column B ... and a dash of VP wannabe.
Open Discussion: Silliest Fashions
So I was out yesterday with my girl at the Metreon when a couple of teenagers walk by wearing their jeans seemingly around their knees. Now, not to sound like an old fogie (though perhaps that's inevitable), but unless you're trying to teach yourself to walk like a penguin, I just don't see the point of wering multiple pairs of boxer shorts while keeping your jeans cinched with a belt at knee level. You can't really run well, pockets are hard to get to and, whether you know it or not, there's a line between rebel and dork and you can't see it from where you're standing. So that's my current fashion pet peeve. Of course there are the classics, like spandex on virtually anyone, the dickie, knit ties (another pet peeve of mine in the late seventies and eighties ... they looked like someone cut the bottom off of a sweat sock and decided to use it as a tie), sweat sox with dress shooes (I had a good friend who did this ... I hope that his wife has broken him of this habit) and the Michael Jackson "Thriller" jacket that was wildly popular around 1983. Your thoughts?
WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN IRAQ???
Chalabi's home was apparently raided by U.S. and U.S. backed forces and, no surprise, Chalabi is not at all happy, saying that he is severing ties with the Coalition Provisional Authority and calling upon the U.S. to "let my people go." An Iraqi judge claims that the raid was conducted in relation to the theft of "state owned vehicles." Are they kidding??? How on earth was this permitted to happen? Now THIS is a big screw-up and someone's head should probably roll.
Update: CIA: Chalabi Possibly Spied for Iran. This is getting very interesting and could get very, very ugly as June 30th approaches. I have long thought that setting a hard turnover date before stability was achieved or even a decent plan as to who would be in control was in place was foolish. I fear that events may be proving me right. If Chalabi is really a big problem then someone really dropped the ball in promoting him as we did. On the other hand, what's done is done and if he is a problem the time to solve it is now and not once he has international legitimacy as a leader or the leader of Iraq and its people. Thoughts?
A Rummy Diary: Olympian Stupidity
First, thank you to the brilliant team of Cox and Forkum, for allowing me to publish their work on this blog. I originally discovered their work through Little Green Footballs more than a year ago (when they were still having their work published on The Intellectual Activist website. If you want to see more of their great work, you should immediately purchase their outstanding book, A Black and White World.
Now, on to the commentary:
The USOC recently told U.S. athletes that, in the unfortunate event of a U.S. athlete's victory over the beleaguered representatives of the oppressed peoples of the world that they are helping to keep under the Yankee boot heel, the "winning" "American" athletes should be careful to not celebrate too much lest their imperial Yankee pig enthusiasm unduly offend the peoples of the other nations and their poor, bedraggled, "athlete" representatives. Rather, the "American" oppressors should make an effort to flog themselves with the UN flag and carry a ninety pound globe on their backs (it was a one hundred pound globe before the "United States" was removed) until they have felt the pain and the weight that the rest of the world bears because of them and the playing field is levelled. Now, I want to point out that it is not the UN or at Arab League or the Greeks or the IOC that is asking the U.S. athletes to "cool it" but the United States Olympic Committee; That's right; it's those sorry State Department wannabes that are supposed to be looking out for the interests of OUR ATHLETES and not the delicate feelings of the Sudanese delegation or anyone else that issued this lame brained communiqué.
Ladies and gentlemen, flag waiving and exuberant national pride are what the olympics are all about. Without national pride and enthusiasm on the line, the Olympic would be another largely ignored athletic event. Who doesn't know the names Mary Lou Retton, Kerri Strug and Nadia Comaneci? Now, who can name, off of the top of their head, any of the winners of the gymnastics world champions of the last 10 years? Twenty years? Who doesn't know who Mark Spitz is? How about Bonnie Blair? Would you have ever heard of them but for the Olympics? Does anyone know who won the swimming and speed skating world championships in the years that Spitz and Blair dominated the Olympics? No? There's a good reason for that.
Without national pride on the line the Miracle on Ice would have been the surprising upset on ice and would have been largely forgotten within a month of the final buzzer. The Soviet basketball victory in 1972 would have been a nice game with a quirky ending and not the subject of heated debate more than thirty years later. Jesse Owens would not have the legacy that he does today if he didn't take American pride and values of equality into the heart of Hitler's Germany and exposed the Nazis' racial superiority doctrine for the complete horseshit that it was. Nobody but avid followers of the particular sports in question would have ever heard of Dan Jansen or Picabo Street or Alberto Tomba or Dorothy Hamill or Greg Luganis or Bruce Jenner or Mike Eruzione or any of the scores of athletes that are sources of national pride and national unity for their countries.
Look, what some members of the U.S. track team did during the last olmympics was obnoxious and uncalled for. They celebrated themselves rather than their nation. They acted like a bunch of three year olds. But let's not confuse that sort of adolescent behavior with genuine, honest, heartfelt exuberance and national pride. I believe that in a world of bad countries and good countries the Unites States, for all its many flaws, is simply the very best there is. If our athletes (or any nation's athletes, for that matter), upon defeating the very best from all over the world, cannot show pride and love and gratitude for their nation, then the Olympics becomes just another globally irrelevant competition. The athletic equivalent of the U.N.
Picture of the Day - Green Window
Another photograph by Ms. Brizendine. Let me know what you think.
A Rummy Diary - The Owl and the Pussycat ... And Government Cruelty
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 The Owl and the Pussy-Cat
Edward Lear
The Owl and the Pussy-Cat went to sea
In a beautiful pea-green boat:
They took some honey, and plenty of money
Wrapped up in a five-pound note.
The Owl looked up to the stars above,
And sang to a small guitar,
"0 lovely Pussy, 0 Pussy, my love,
What a beautiful Pussy you are,
You are,
You are!
What a beautiful Pussy you are!"
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Yesterday afternoon Jheka was out of the house and Bogie was chatting up some kitten so I had a chance to relax, catch up on some reading (currently, Will Durant's classic "Ceasar and Christ") and listen to the local news on the radio. Well, one subject which has always fascinated me is animals and their people and an interesting item caught my attention about a local owl named Mister (full name, Mister Owl). It seems that some seven and a half years ago Ken and Darlene Marks were driving down a road in Guerneville, California when they noticed something in the road ... right before running over it. Luckily (for the "it" in question), they didn't hit it but just actually ran right over the top of it. Even more luckily, they stopped and discovered a tiny owl chick, barely out of its egg, fuzzy and scared, inexplicably lying injured in the middle of that road. Who else was there? Just a few hungry raccoons, crouched just on the side of the road, waiting for Ken and Darlene to move along.
Well, as you have probably guessed, the Marks (Markses?) didn't leave the owl chick to the raccoons. Instead, they took it home and fed it and gave it water and nursed it back to health. Then, when it was completely healthy and could fly, Ken took it outside and released it. And Mister, as the owl had been named, circled a couple of times and came right back to Ken. Well, Ken threw it towards the sky again. And Mister once again flew a few meters ... and came back to Ken. Mister had decided that he wasn't going anywhere. So Mister became part of the family. Ken built a place for him in the house and Mister came and went as he pleased, occasionally hunting mice and crickets and such outside and occasionally staying indoors and letting Ken or Darlene or, often, one of their three children (or their friends, who often visited Mister) feed him. This went on for over seven years. Then, recently, the Santa Rosa Bird Rescue Center did a presentation at a local elementary school where the Marks' ten year old son (who had grown up with Mister) was a student. The bird rescue people brought some stuffed owls to show to the children and the enthusiastic Marks boy prodly announced that his family had a real owl.
Well, you know what happens now. The bird rescue people, who obviously know what's best, contacted the California Department of Fish and Game, who promptly descended upon the Marks hope and took Mister away, stating that "We can't send the message that Average Joe Citizen can keep a wild animal." That's right, Average Joe Citizen, you moron. You don't know what's what and to prove it, we're going to take away something that you've nurtured and loved and that's part of your life. Next time, you'll know to let the raccoons eat. As Lt. Sherri Howell of Fish and Game said "We can't have wildlife taken from the wild and falling into the hands of people who may not give them proper care." Darlene, Ms. Average Joe Citizen said, "We saved Mister's life and loved and cared for him for seven and a half years. We thought we were doing a good thing for nature by keeping him alive," Marks said. Shows what "Average Joe Citizen" knows, because seven years of care is obviously not relevant at all.
And what do the geniuses at Fish and Game intend to do with Mister (who, by the way, is a Western Screech Owl; a species that is not even remotely endangered). Well, they hope to release it into the wild (where it didn't want to go in the first place). Or, if that doesn't work, they'll take it to schools and fairs so that strangers can gawk at this entirely common bird. Unless it's found to be somehow disabled. Then they'll destroy it. Returning it to the family that loves it and that it's attached to and to the home where scores of local children have been safely interacting with this little owl for years? Out of the question.
Once I hit eighteen in human years, I'm registering Libertarian. I think it's what Mister would do.
P.S.: Contact info for anyone who is interested:
Department of Fish and Game
1416 Ninth Street, POB 944209, Sacramento 94244-2090
Ph 916-653-7664 / F 916-653-1856 / www.dfg.ca.gov/
Central Coast Region: PO Box 47, Yountville 94599
Ph 707-944-5500 / F 707-944-5563
Regional Manager: Rob Floerke -- Ph 707-944-5517
Warden: Karen Maurer -- Ph 707-894-0533 / F 707-944-5554
Warden: Mike Otto -- Ph 707-527-1738
Dispatch: Lt. Sherry Howell -- Ph 707-944-5512
Sonoma County: Liam Davis -- Ph 707-944-5568 / F 707-944-5595
Sonoma County: Serge Glushkoff -- Ph 707-944-5597 F 707-944-5595
Wildlife: Alan Buckmann -- Ph 707-944-5537 / F 707-944-5563
Update: Corrected phone and fax numbers. Thanks to reader annelemos1 for pointing out my error (wrong area codes).
