I just heard back from Dale Rogers, the Staff Sargeant who used to run the Beer for Soldiers site. Here's what he told me:
Greetings from Iraq. Although Beer for Soldiers is gone, I am creating a new website so my brothers and I can share with our families back home a little of our lives here in Iraq. The site will have photos and mushy stuff for the women and kids back home, i.e, moms, wives, and girlfriends and the sons and daughters. I have to build it still so I know if I build it they will come.
www.fromiraqwithlove.com
Check it out soon.
I will, Dale. And I encourage my readers to do the same.
Also, Dale confided in me that while he can no longer solicit BfS funds, he still plans on throwing a bash for his buddies when they get home.
Now while Dale can't solicit funds, there's nothing stopping us civilians from scraping together some funds and giving them to him of our own volition. Just saying is all.
More once I've had a little heart-to-heart with Dale.
Tuesday, October 19, 2004
Ch-Ch-Ch-Changes
Time may change me, but I can't trace time.
- David Bowie
I got an email today from my friend Shaun regarding my post on rain. In it he writes:
It's the Brian I remember. The Brian of our young years. I find it hard to ever find poetry in politics, even though many do. Thank heaven for rain.
It got me thinking. First of all, he's right. There isn't much poetry in politics. there is, however, a lot of passion, as I pointed out to him.
Shaun and I have been friends for years -- God, for at least a decade now. When we met, we were both young, and idealistic, and incredibly passionate about all of our beliefs, our pursuits, our aspirations, and in general, about everything we did. He was my best friend. Over the years, our friendship has remained, but has not maintained the same level of closeness. I still love Shaun like a brother, but I don't know him anywhere nearly as well as I once did. Time and distance and circumstances and events have taken their toll on our friendship, even as they have taken their toll on each of us in our own way.
I've never told shaun this, but for the longest time, i blamed him and his circumstances for the change in our friendship. I saw, as an observer, the changes in his demeanor, his attitudes, his personality. And I missed the Shaun I once knew. What I did not see, perhaps COULD not see for the longest time, were the changes in myself.
I suppose one reason that it was easier to notice his changes than my own was the fact that I had to live in my own skin on a daily basis, whereas I only got to see Shaun once every few months at the most, often with years intervening. Gradual changes can seem quite sudden if all you see is the before and after shots.
But eventually I came to recognize the changes in myself as well. And I must confess, some of them disturbed me or disappointed me in ways far worse than anything I observed in my friend. I can't remember when I last wrote poetry. I cry less bitterly, laugh less heartily than I used to. I don't read as often or as voraciously. I look less far off into the distance, and find myself staring more longingly at the past. I think about decisions I've made -- some good, some bad -- and think about the opportunities that I've gained, and the ones I've lost as a result. I think about thinga I'll never have a chance to do again, and others that I never could have done before. I have become all too familiar with regret, but also with wisdom. Perhaps these are the trades we make, the entrance fee into adulthood. Or maybe this is just the vaguely sentimental ramblings of someone who has become something he never expected, and nothing he intended.
When I was in junior high choir, we sang a song that was an arrangement of what has since been one of my favorite poems of all times. But while I've long enjoyed it, it wasn't until recent years that I truly appreciated it. So if you'll forgive any errors, I shall now try to recite it from memory:
The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both,
but be one traveller, long I stood,
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim,
because it was grassy and wanted wear,
but as for that the passing there
had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I save the first for another day,
yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubt if I shall ever get back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
somewhere ages and ages hence.
Two roads diverged in a woods, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference.
- David Bowie
I got an email today from my friend Shaun regarding my post on rain. In it he writes:
It's the Brian I remember. The Brian of our young years. I find it hard to ever find poetry in politics, even though many do. Thank heaven for rain.
It got me thinking. First of all, he's right. There isn't much poetry in politics. there is, however, a lot of passion, as I pointed out to him.
Shaun and I have been friends for years -- God, for at least a decade now. When we met, we were both young, and idealistic, and incredibly passionate about all of our beliefs, our pursuits, our aspirations, and in general, about everything we did. He was my best friend. Over the years, our friendship has remained, but has not maintained the same level of closeness. I still love Shaun like a brother, but I don't know him anywhere nearly as well as I once did. Time and distance and circumstances and events have taken their toll on our friendship, even as they have taken their toll on each of us in our own way.
I've never told shaun this, but for the longest time, i blamed him and his circumstances for the change in our friendship. I saw, as an observer, the changes in his demeanor, his attitudes, his personality. And I missed the Shaun I once knew. What I did not see, perhaps COULD not see for the longest time, were the changes in myself.
I suppose one reason that it was easier to notice his changes than my own was the fact that I had to live in my own skin on a daily basis, whereas I only got to see Shaun once every few months at the most, often with years intervening. Gradual changes can seem quite sudden if all you see is the before and after shots.
But eventually I came to recognize the changes in myself as well. And I must confess, some of them disturbed me or disappointed me in ways far worse than anything I observed in my friend. I can't remember when I last wrote poetry. I cry less bitterly, laugh less heartily than I used to. I don't read as often or as voraciously. I look less far off into the distance, and find myself staring more longingly at the past. I think about decisions I've made -- some good, some bad -- and think about the opportunities that I've gained, and the ones I've lost as a result. I think about thinga I'll never have a chance to do again, and others that I never could have done before. I have become all too familiar with regret, but also with wisdom. Perhaps these are the trades we make, the entrance fee into adulthood. Or maybe this is just the vaguely sentimental ramblings of someone who has become something he never expected, and nothing he intended.
When I was in junior high choir, we sang a song that was an arrangement of what has since been one of my favorite poems of all times. But while I've long enjoyed it, it wasn't until recent years that I truly appreciated it. So if you'll forgive any errors, I shall now try to recite it from memory:
The Road Not Taken
By Robert Frost
Two roads diverged in a yellow wood,
and sorry I could not travel both,
but be one traveller, long I stood,
and looked down one as far as I could
to where it bent in the undergrowth.
Then took the other, just as fair,
and having perhaps the better claim,
because it was grassy and wanted wear,
but as for that the passing there
had worn them really about the same.
And both that morning equally lay
in leaves no step had trodden black.
Oh, I save the first for another day,
yet knowing how way leads on to way,
I doubt if I shall ever get back.
I shall be telling this with a sigh
somewhere ages and ages hence.
Two roads diverged in a woods, and I,
I took the one less travelled by,
and that has made all the difference.
Monday, October 18, 2004
Rain, Rain, Come Today
Yesterday it rained, and at one point it rained hard enough that even an Oregonian was compelled to call it "rain" (what most people call rain, we call a heavy mist). I'm much happier now -- I prefer it when the morning's cold and clouds actually stay around and put out, instead of burning off into that mid-fall schizophrenic heat I loathe so. I know it's pretty cliche to hear this coming from an Oregonian, but there's some truth in the stereotype -- I love rain. I love all kinds of rain. I love a summer rain with that smell coming up off of the dust when the first raindrops hit it. I love a fall rain when the cloud cover is intermittent and the sun low in the sky shines through so that it's bright and sunny but raining at the same time. I love a dead-of-winter rain when it's coming down in vertical sheets and the wind is howling and driving the rain right through your coat and you come in from it and peel off layers of wet fabric and sit by a fire or soak in the tub with a hot toddy or buttered rum or chocolate, and listen to the angry moans of the storm and smugly reflect on the fact that there are good walls and a roof between you and all of that weather. I love the way the rain showers everything squeaky clean and the way everything smells clean and healthy and the way that any flat surface glows and glistens at night from the reflection of the streetlights or the moonlight in the wetness that the rain deposits on streets and cars and sidewalks. And I love the sense of resolution that is felt after you've watched the sky darken and turn more and more brooding all day, they way the tension builds, giving the weather an almost emotional quality, until it erupts in a liquid tantrum that gets everything off of Mother Nature's chest. And I love the sweet calm that comes after the rain passes.
I can honestly say, God knew what He was doing when he had me born in Oregon.
I can honestly say, God knew what He was doing when he had me born in Oregon.
Hazy, Hazy, Give Me Your answer Do....
Blogging AND training with a bad cold this week. The "Non-Drowsy" cold medecine... isn't. Looked forward to resting up yesterday, but nooooooo.... the Feared Redhead wants the second bedroom cleared out to convert into a nursery, so instead of curling up with a hot mug of tea and a good book, I spent the day sorting through boxes of stuff I forgot I even owned. Sheesh! It's still 4 months out.
The one bright side was I found my favorite Savonelli, so as soon as I can get it to the Briar Shoppe for some maintenance, I'll be a happy man.
The one bright side was I found my favorite Savonelli, so as soon as I can get it to the Briar Shoppe for some maintenance, I'll be a happy man.
The Football Gods Were Angry With Me
Not a good weekend to be a team I rooted for. sure, my Ducks won on Saturday, thus marking the first time this season they've won two in a row, and bringing their record to a dead even 3-3, but that still leaves them with only 2 losses leeway if they want to chalk up a school-record 11th straight winning season. And if they commit the kind of errors they did on Saturday against some of their future opponents, they are toast.
Yesterday, not so good. A run down of the teams I root for, from the closest I have to a favorite on down:
Detroit: Ouch. Green Bay cleaned their clocks. At least they're still over .500 at 3-2
Seattle: They played New England. 'Nuff said. Though I am proud of the way they hung tough.
San Diego: Didn't get to watch this one to the end, and I'm glad. Talk about snatching defeat rom the jaws of Victory.
Minnesota (Hey' I married one, it's a survival instinct. Plus, a former Duck plays for them): The one bright spot on the weekend.
Yesterday, not so good. A run down of the teams I root for, from the closest I have to a favorite on down:
Detroit: Ouch. Green Bay cleaned their clocks. At least they're still over .500 at 3-2
Seattle: They played New England. 'Nuff said. Though I am proud of the way they hung tough.
San Diego: Didn't get to watch this one to the end, and I'm glad. Talk about snatching defeat rom the jaws of Victory.
Minnesota (Hey' I married one, it's a survival instinct. Plus, a former Duck plays for them): The one bright spot on the weekend.
Friday, October 15, 2004
What do CBS News and Iran's Mullahs Have in Common?
They Both Hate Bloggers!
Thanks for the Memory to Bohemian Conservative via Ace of Spades HQ:
Iran cracks down on blog protests
Six online journalists and webloggers have been arrested in Iran recently in a crackdown on dissent on the internet.
BC has a list of other countries where freedom of speech is under attack. Totalitarian and authoritarian governments require a monopoly of information to keep their people oppressed. One begins to wonder if that's why CBS is so disdainful of the competition.
Thanks for the Memory to Bohemian Conservative via Ace of Spades HQ:
Iran cracks down on blog protests
Six online journalists and webloggers have been arrested in Iran recently in a crackdown on dissent on the internet.
BC has a list of other countries where freedom of speech is under attack. Totalitarian and authoritarian governments require a monopoly of information to keep their people oppressed. One begins to wonder if that's why CBS is so disdainful of the competition.
Thursday, October 14, 2004
A Blog is Born
My best friend Scott has just started blogging. He's also a good friend ov Vic over at Darth Apathy. Go check out his new blog, Vulture's Row. He's even tried his hand at ranting. Nicely done -- beginner's luck.
A Lesson from Lessons
My mom sent me the following metaphor via email and I thought it worth sharing:
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat
>and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican which she expressed openly.
One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich & the addition of more government welfare programs. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor she felt that for years her
father had obviously harbored an evil, even selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. The self professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors
had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.
He stopped her and asked her point blank, how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she studied all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really
have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. That she was taking a more difficult curriculum.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your good friend Mary doing?"
She replied, "Mary is barely getting by." She continued, "She barely has a 2.0 GPA," adding, "and all she takes are easy classes and she never studies." "But Mary is so very popular on campus, college for her is a blast, she goes to all the parties all the time and very often doesn't even show up for classes because she is too hung over."
Her father then asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0." He continued, "That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter visibly shocked by her father's suggestion angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I worked really hard for mine, I did without and Mary has done little or nothing, she played while I worked real hard!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said, "Welcome to the Republican Party!"
A young woman was about to finish her first year of college. Like so many others her age she considered herself to be a very liberal Democrat
>and was for distribution of all wealth. She felt deeply ashamed that her father was a rather staunch Republican which she expressed openly.
One day she was challenging her father on his beliefs and his opposition to higher taxes on the rich & the addition of more government welfare programs. Based on the lectures that she had participated in and the occasional chat with a professor she felt that for years her
father had obviously harbored an evil, even selfish desire to keep what he thought should be his. The self professed objectivity proclaimed by her professors
had to be the truth and she indicated so to her father.
He stopped her and asked her point blank, how she was doing in school. She answered rather haughtily that she had a 4.0 GPA, and let him know that it was tough to maintain. That she studied all the time, never had time to go out and party like other people she knew. She didn't even have time for a boyfriend and didn't really
have many college friends because of spending all her time studying. That she was taking a more difficult curriculum.
Her father listened and then asked, "How is your good friend Mary doing?"
She replied, "Mary is barely getting by." She continued, "She barely has a 2.0 GPA," adding, "and all she takes are easy classes and she never studies." "But Mary is so very popular on campus, college for her is a blast, she goes to all the parties all the time and very often doesn't even show up for classes because she is too hung over."
Her father then asked his daughter, "Why don't you go to the Dean's office and ask him to deduct a 1.0 off your 4.0 GPA and give it to your friend who only has a 2.0." He continued, "That way you will both have a 3.0 GPA and certainly that would be a fair and equal distribution of GPA."
The daughter visibly shocked by her father's suggestion angrily fired back, "That wouldn't be fair! I worked really hard for mine, I did without and Mary has done little or nothing, she played while I worked real hard!"
The father slowly smiled, winked and said, "Welcome to the Republican Party!"
E-Specially Offensive Democratic Flyer
Thanks for the Memory to Derek Crane:
Apparently the office of the election campaign of Craig Fitzhugh (D-Tenn.), which also serves as the local campaign HQ for Kerry-Edwards, thought the following image expressed their opinions aptly, and chose to distribute it:
If you can't read it, the caption reads "Voting for Bush is like running in the Special Olympics -- Even if you win you are still retarded."
Very nice. This from the Party of PC Language. I'm sure they didn't intend to mock the special Olympics while simultaneously mocking the President -- of course, I only give them the benefit of the doubt because I don't think they were capable of thinking it all the way through. Either way, it's pretty sad. As one of my readers has said, "It's like the Limbo Dance!"
Apparently the office of the election campaign of Craig Fitzhugh (D-Tenn.), which also serves as the local campaign HQ for Kerry-Edwards, thought the following image expressed their opinions aptly, and chose to distribute it:
If you can't read it, the caption reads "Voting for Bush is like running in the Special Olympics -- Even if you win you are still retarded."
Very nice. This from the Party of PC Language. I'm sure they didn't intend to mock the special Olympics while simultaneously mocking the President -- of course, I only give them the benefit of the doubt because I don't think they were capable of thinking it all the way through. Either way, it's pretty sad. As one of my readers has said, "It's like the Limbo Dance!"
Right Wing Oppression: It's Real Because They Say So
Thanks for the Memory to Drudge via Ace of Spades HQ:
It's been a while since I've blogged on the nasty tactics of the Left to intimidate conservative voters. So let's talk today about the nasty tactics of the Right to intimidate liberal voters.
Haven't heard of it happening? You will -- even if it doesn't:
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU OCT 14, 2004 10:58:04 ET XXXXX
DNC ELECTION MANUAL: CHARGE VOTER INTIMIDATION, EVEN IF NONE EXISTS
**World Exclusive**
The Kerry/Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee are advising election operatives to declare voter intimidation -- even if none exists, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.
A 66-page mobilization plan to be issued by the Kerry/Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee states: "If no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a 'pre-emptive strike.'"
The provocative Dem battle plan is to be distributed in dozens of states, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
One top DNC official confirmed the manual's authenticity, but claimed the notion of crying wolf on any voter intimidation is "absurd."
"We all know the Republicans are going to try to steal the election by scaring people and confusing people," the top DNC source explained.
Developing...
Infuriating. But not too surprising. I've said all along that the things those on the Left scream loudest about are usually the things of which they're guilty themselves. I'm curious to see where this leads, but won't get my hopes up.
It's been a while since I've blogged on the nasty tactics of the Left to intimidate conservative voters. So let's talk today about the nasty tactics of the Right to intimidate liberal voters.
Haven't heard of it happening? You will -- even if it doesn't:
XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX THU OCT 14, 2004 10:58:04 ET XXXXX
DNC ELECTION MANUAL: CHARGE VOTER INTIMIDATION, EVEN IF NONE EXISTS
**World Exclusive**
The Kerry/Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee are advising election operatives to declare voter intimidation -- even if none exists, the DRUDGE REPORT can reveal.
A 66-page mobilization plan to be issued by the Kerry/Edwards campaign and the Democratic National Committee states: "If no signs of intimidation techniques have emerged yet, launch a 'pre-emptive strike.'"
The provocative Dem battle plan is to be distributed in dozens of states, the DRUDGE REPORT has learned.
One top DNC official confirmed the manual's authenticity, but claimed the notion of crying wolf on any voter intimidation is "absurd."
"We all know the Republicans are going to try to steal the election by scaring people and confusing people," the top DNC source explained.
Developing...
Infuriating. But not too surprising. I've said all along that the things those on the Left scream loudest about are usually the things of which they're guilty themselves. I'm curious to see where this leads, but won't get my hopes up.
Why This Time of Year Is My Least Favorite Weather Season
7 AM: Heading to work, temp is in the low 50's, maybe the 40's, I've got my jacket on.
5 PM: It will be in the high 60's or 70's, and I'll be sweating.
Hot or Cold, Mother Nature. Make up your mind.
5 PM: It will be in the high 60's or 70's, and I'll be sweating.
Hot or Cold, Mother Nature. Make up your mind.
Wednesday, October 13, 2004
The Way We Do Things Here
Vote by mail.
It has its benefits and drawbacks. One drawback is pople making up their minds and mailing their ballots before the 2nd. The upside is it may reduce last minute nasty surprise tactics. AND it may reduce the number of people who fail to vote based on premature election calling by the MSM.
It has its benefits and drawbacks. One drawback is pople making up their minds and mailing their ballots before the 2nd. The upside is it may reduce last minute nasty surprise tactics. AND it may reduce the number of people who fail to vote based on premature election calling by the MSM.
Open Thread: New Addition to My Current Reading List
I am currently reading Treason by Ann Coulter. Interesting stuff. Here's the open thread part:
I realize that while most of my readers are fellow conservatives, there are a few liberals reading me, as well as some conservatives and libertarians who aren't the staunchest Coulter fans. So my question/challenge is:
Can you refute the claims she makes in the book? Spcifically, and with facts -- address the claims, address the sources she uses to back up her claims, and prove her wrong. Don't tell me why you don't like her, or are offended by what she says, or the way she says it -- I want cold hard facts. So if you've read her claims and can provide relevant, valid counter-arguments, feel free to comment. Otherwise, stay out of the way.
I'm honestly not being cocky about this. I really want to hear he other side of the story. If I don't, I must honestly say I'm compelled at this point to agree with her. If I do, I will honestly weigh both sides.
Help me out here.
I realize that while most of my readers are fellow conservatives, there are a few liberals reading me, as well as some conservatives and libertarians who aren't the staunchest Coulter fans. So my question/challenge is:
Can you refute the claims she makes in the book? Spcifically, and with facts -- address the claims, address the sources she uses to back up her claims, and prove her wrong. Don't tell me why you don't like her, or are offended by what she says, or the way she says it -- I want cold hard facts. So if you've read her claims and can provide relevant, valid counter-arguments, feel free to comment. Otherwise, stay out of the way.
I'm honestly not being cocky about this. I really want to hear he other side of the story. If I don't, I must honestly say I'm compelled at this point to agree with her. If I do, I will honestly weigh both sides.
Help me out here.
Blogging Slow-Down
Due to the work schedule at my new job, I will not be able to blog as frequently during the day as before. Hopefully, I'll have a computer at home soon and can blog some from there. In the meantime, I appreciate the continued patience and support.
Tuesday, October 12, 2004
Maybe They should Have Chosen Julia Roberts
Currently on the ballot here in Oregon is a measure, #35, that will put a cap on non-economic awards in medical liability suits. It's got a lot of support from the medical field and understandably from insurance companies.
Well, recently an add came out opposing it. the add features a "celebrity" spokesperson - Erin Brokovich.
you remember Erin, right? Julia Roberts made her a household name. She's almost universally hailed as some sort of crusading savior of the environment and the downtrodden. I was subjected to the movie, I've heard some interesting points of view from people on both sides of the issue, but that's beside my point right now.
What I find interesting is this: For whom did Erin Brokovich work when she was doing all her crusading? Oh, that's right, a personal injury lawyer. And what group of people might be most interested in seeing Measure 35 fail? Oh, yeah! Again, personal injury lawyers.
So while the pro-measure 35 ads have doctors and lawyers admitting freely that they have a personal stake in this issue, and urging us to side with them, we have on the other side of the fence a spokesperson who is representing herself as an informed but unaffected third party giving us advice, when in reality she has close ties to the one group who would be most negatively affected by the measure. And we're supposed to believe she's telling us for our own good.
Sorry, Erin, but you're not that good an actress. There's a reason someone else played you in the movie.
Well, recently an add came out opposing it. the add features a "celebrity" spokesperson - Erin Brokovich.
you remember Erin, right? Julia Roberts made her a household name. She's almost universally hailed as some sort of crusading savior of the environment and the downtrodden. I was subjected to the movie, I've heard some interesting points of view from people on both sides of the issue, but that's beside my point right now.
What I find interesting is this: For whom did Erin Brokovich work when she was doing all her crusading? Oh, that's right, a personal injury lawyer. And what group of people might be most interested in seeing Measure 35 fail? Oh, yeah! Again, personal injury lawyers.
So while the pro-measure 35 ads have doctors and lawyers admitting freely that they have a personal stake in this issue, and urging us to side with them, we have on the other side of the fence a spokesperson who is representing herself as an informed but unaffected third party giving us advice, when in reality she has close ties to the one group who would be most negatively affected by the measure. And we're supposed to believe she's telling us for our own good.
Sorry, Erin, but you're not that good an actress. There's a reason someone else played you in the movie.
Monday, October 11, 2004
Monkey See, Monkey Do
The Feared Redhead and I went to Costco today to get our eye exams and order contact lenses, an annual ritual. While I was waiting for her to finish her exam, I moseyed over to the book tables. The had a political section, with an interesting assortment of offerings both conservative and liberal, including Ann Coulter's Treason and Kitty Kelly's book (the title escapes me).
Among the books I found this current hot item:
I'm familiar withthe book, but to be honest, I'm probably one of three conservatives in the country who has not read it yet. Not for any moral or ethical reasons, but just because I really don't need convincing at this point, and I have other things on which to spend my money.
But what caught my attention was the book right next to it:
Mind you, I believe in freedom of speech and the press, and everyone has a right to their opinion. but this is just pitiful. Look at it. The fonts are similar, the picture is similar, the title is similar -- and not in a clever, spoofing kind of way. Even Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" is a somewhat clever play on a book title -- for all of its shortcomings, I'll give it that. But this is not a witty entendre. This allusion to the Swifties' book lacks any semblance of originality of thought. This is the literary equivalent of "I know you are but what am I?" Come on, Left, you can do better than that.
Can't you?
Among the books I found this current hot item:
I'm familiar withthe book, but to be honest, I'm probably one of three conservatives in the country who has not read it yet. Not for any moral or ethical reasons, but just because I really don't need convincing at this point, and I have other things on which to spend my money.
But what caught my attention was the book right next to it:
Mind you, I believe in freedom of speech and the press, and everyone has a right to their opinion. but this is just pitiful. Look at it. The fonts are similar, the picture is similar, the title is similar -- and not in a clever, spoofing kind of way. Even Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 911" is a somewhat clever play on a book title -- for all of its shortcomings, I'll give it that. But this is not a witty entendre. This allusion to the Swifties' book lacks any semblance of originality of thought. This is the literary equivalent of "I know you are but what am I?" Come on, Left, you can do better than that.
Can't you?
Scare-endipity
So remember my post about crappy but catchy songs? Or about the way my wife got the song out of my head?
So I step into Kinkos this morning to fax an acceptance letter to my new job, and to blog for a minute. And guess what Rod Stewart Crappy Song was playing? Yup.
It's a plot, I tell you.
So I step into Kinkos this morning to fax an acceptance letter to my new job, and to blog for a minute. And guess what Rod Stewart Crappy Song was playing? Yup.
It's a plot, I tell you.
Beer for Soldiers Goes Dry
A few of you may remember my post a while back on buying beer for soldiers through a blog called, appropriately enough, Beer For Soldiers. I thought it was a worthy cause, and so I blogged on it. Well, an unforeseen positive result was an increase in my own traffic. Apparently the readers over there follow links a LOT, So I try to return the favor.
Well, the last time I was there, I noticed that they'd taken down the donation functions and were informing us we can't buy them beer. I fired off a "Whisky Tango Foxtrot" email to their blog owner, but nothing in reply. However, I subscribe to a beer drinker's newsletter, and they have the skinny:
Army tells creator that www.beerforsoldiers.com is illegal
According to Stars and Stripes, Sgt. Dale Rogers, in Iraq with Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to retreat from the site after the regimental briefs said it was unethical. A regimental spokesman said that whatever the intentions, www.beerforsoldiers.com was illegal because Rogers seems to be using his association with the Army as a way to solicit funds for beer.
If you click on the "Don't buy us beer" link just added at the site, you end up on a page with the word "violation" displayed six time and the message: "We would still love for you to buy us a beer but the legal folks say you can't".
Beerforsoldiers.com previously sent visitors to links that charged their credit cards for anything from $2 for a 40-ounce bottle of beer to $6 for a "tall beer from the bar," to $7 for a six-pack. Other donation options included $10 for a "pitcher" or $20 for a "keg club."
The site includes dozens of photographs of soldiers enjoying the beer.
"I go to a pub where there are 20 to 30 soldiers around the bar. I ring the bell and say: 'Free beer for everybody.' The bartenders think I'm crazy. I get to meet new people and new soldiers and I will buy two or three rounds," Rogers said in an earlier story about the site.
Well, that sucks, but rules are rules, and I respect Sgt. Rogers for obeying. I am curious, though -- if a group of civilians decided to accept donations, and then spend the money on Sgt. Rogers and his buddies, would THAT be legal? Just wondering....
Well, the last time I was there, I noticed that they'd taken down the donation functions and were informing us we can't buy them beer. I fired off a "Whisky Tango Foxtrot" email to their blog owner, but nothing in reply. However, I subscribe to a beer drinker's newsletter, and they have the skinny:
Army tells creator that www.beerforsoldiers.com is illegal
According to Stars and Stripes, Sgt. Dale Rogers, in Iraq with Company C, 1st Battalion, 503rd Infantry Regiment was ordered to retreat from the site after the regimental briefs said it was unethical. A regimental spokesman said that whatever the intentions, www.beerforsoldiers.com was illegal because Rogers seems to be using his association with the Army as a way to solicit funds for beer.
If you click on the "Don't buy us beer" link just added at the site, you end up on a page with the word "violation" displayed six time and the message: "We would still love for you to buy us a beer but the legal folks say you can't".
Beerforsoldiers.com previously sent visitors to links that charged their credit cards for anything from $2 for a 40-ounce bottle of beer to $6 for a "tall beer from the bar," to $7 for a six-pack. Other donation options included $10 for a "pitcher" or $20 for a "keg club."
The site includes dozens of photographs of soldiers enjoying the beer.
"I go to a pub where there are 20 to 30 soldiers around the bar. I ring the bell and say: 'Free beer for everybody.' The bartenders think I'm crazy. I get to meet new people and new soldiers and I will buy two or three rounds," Rogers said in an earlier story about the site.
Well, that sucks, but rules are rules, and I respect Sgt. Rogers for obeying. I am curious, though -- if a group of civilians decided to accept donations, and then spend the money on Sgt. Rogers and his buddies, would THAT be legal? Just wondering....
Football in Review: Better than Expected
Saturday: The Ducks beat WSU (in Pullman!!!) 41-38. Things arestill bad, but not as bad as I'd feared.
Sunday: The Seahawks lost, which sucked, but Joey and his crew beat Atlanta! Woo Hoo!
Sunday: The Seahawks lost, which sucked, but Joey and his crew beat Atlanta! Woo Hoo!
An example of Right and Wrong...
...Or Right and Left, as the Case May Be:
A comment left by a reader in my post on the stolen bumper sticker:
Haha, dude you deserve it. I'm sorry, but if you can somehoe[sic] find a way to rationalize voting for Bush after everything he has done, you deserve everything coming to you. Liberals have bleeding hearts, and Conservatives have whining babies like you, suck it up.
Wow. If this is the argument prevalent from the Left, I'm convinced. Convinced, that is, that it's imperative that we not let people with that mentality anywhere NEAR the halls of power. I didn't think I could get any more enthusiastic about voting against the Democrats. This reader has proven me wrong.
A comment left by a reader in my post on the stolen bumper sticker:
Haha, dude you deserve it. I'm sorry, but if you can somehoe[sic] find a way to rationalize voting for Bush after everything he has done, you deserve everything coming to you. Liberals have bleeding hearts, and Conservatives have whining babies like you, suck it up.
Wow. If this is the argument prevalent from the Left, I'm convinced. Convinced, that is, that it's imperative that we not let people with that mentality anywhere NEAR the halls of power. I didn't think I could get any more enthusiastic about voting against the Democrats. This reader has proven me wrong.
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