On His Watch

Thanks for the Memory to GOP Bloggers via the Jawa Report:

"It happened on George W. Bush's watch"

It was a popular line of the Left for the last couple of years. So let's just see what else has happened on Bush's watch:

1. Afghanistan held its first-ever modern democratic election.

2. Iraq held a true democratic election for the first time in 30 years.

3. The Palestinians freely elected a leader.

4. Saudi Arabia will hold its first ever national election in November.

5. Lebanon's pro-Syrian government resigned, paving the way for free elections.

6. Libya scrapped its WMD programs.

7. Egypt is now allowing challengers on the ballot, paving the way for the first-ever multiparty presidential elections.

Whither Blogger?

Can anyone tell me what happened to the Blog King of Fools?

A Question Regarding the Stupidity That is McCain-Feingold

So if by blogging for/linking to a candidate's site, I'm making a campaign contribution, do I get to write it off on my taxes?

Verbal Tea

Thanks for the Memory to the Llama Butchers.

I did fairly well on The Commonly Confused Words Test:

English Genius
You scored 100% Beginner, 86% Intermediate, 100% Advanced, and 77% Expert!
You did so extremely well, even I can't find a word to describe your excellence! You have the uncommon intelligence necessary to understand things that most people don't. You have an extensive vocabulary, and you're not afraid to use it properly! Way to go!

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For answers to the Beginner section only (the first ten questions), visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/. I will post the answers to the other questions as soon as possible.

Head... Swelling... Must... Resist... Gloating....

You Can Have My Blog When You Pry The Keyboard Out of My Cold, Dead Hands!

Thanks for the Memory to Ace of Spades.

You may or may not be aware of the McCain-Feingold Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act. It was a law that was SUPPOSED to help clean up our electoral process by eliminating "soft" money, slush funds, etc. What it has done instead is open up a whole slew of new ways for special interests to influence campaigns. Many have argued it infringes on First Amendment freedom of speech. Until now, I didn't know enough about those arguments to agree or disagree. That just changed.

bloggers and news organizations could risk the wrath of the federal government if they improperly link to a campaign's Web site. Even forwarding a political candidate's press release to a mailing list, depending on the details, could be punished by fines.

Apparently a federal judge has ruled that such activity constitutes a contribution to a campaign by the Blogger.

Rubbish.

I do not get paid to blog. I do not pay for the use of the server where my blog is located. I am not contributing anything more than my time and my "voice". The only difference between what I do when I blog about a candidate I support and what I do when I sit at a phone bank and make calls is the medium of communication. Are we then to suppose that next it will be a violation of McCain-Feingold to put a Bush or Kerry sign in our yard? Please.

I'll admit it took a personal touch to get me involved in this issue, but not because I was previously unwilling -- just uninformed.

This isn't a conservative vs. liberal issue. This should matter to you whether you're to the left or the right, red state or blue. This is about an attempt by a small-minded judge to curtail an exciting new avenue for citizen participation in the democratic process.

Bin Kennedy

Thanks for the Memory to James Taranto via the Llama Butchers:

"Our military and the insurgents are fighting for the same thing--the hearts and minds of the people--and that is a battle we are not winning."--Ted Kennedy, Jan. 27

"Thousands of mostly black-clad Iraqis protested Tuesday outside a medical clinic where a suicide car bomber killed 125 people a day earlier, braving the threat of another attack as they waved clenched fists, condemned foreign fighters and chanted 'No to terrorism!' "--Associated Press, March 1

No, Ted, you are NOT winning that battle.

But we Americans ARE.

So the Oregonian's not All Wet After All

Thanks for the Memory to Gullyborg at Resistance is Futile!

The Portland Oregonian has published an editorial by Michael Arrieta-Walden that is guardedly pro-Blogger.

For once I can be proud of news coming out of my home state.

Gray Hair and a Gray Hare

Thanks for the Memory to Woody over at The Inner Dad. He has some good insight on the disturbing news that Warner Brothers is planning to revamp Bugs Bunny.

I remember once reading an essay that argued that Bugs Bunny was the ideal American man -- clever, witty, loyal, resourceful, and unflappable in the face of insurmountable odds. I've been a Bugs fan my whole life, and cried when Mel Blanc died. Even as an adult, watching Bugs Bunny cartoons helped me maintain some tenuous contact with my childhood.

I'm not, you can imagine, thrilled by this news.

Blegging for Info AGAIN

Is there anyone out there with legal training who might give me a bit o' free advice (no, this isn't about the camera)?

A Darned Good Question

Thanks for the Memory to Mark at Head West, Turn Right.

David Brooks asks, or rather repeats, an excellent question:

Why Not Here?

Afghanistan
Iraq
Georgia
Ukraine
Egypt
Cairo

The disease known as Freedom is highly infectious. Where do you suppose it will break out next?

Terri Schiavo: An Update to the Vigil

Thanks for the Memory to BlogsforTerri for the update:

Notice of Hearing - Terri Schiavo Guardianship Case

Announcement from the Schindler's media office
March 4, 2005 at 1.30pm ET (GMT-5) in Judge Greer's courtroom, the following will be heard:

- Emergency Expedited Motion to Compel depositions of Michael Schiavo and Jodi Centonze
- Emergency Expedited Motion to permit Terri Schiavo to receive rite of Extreme Unction in compliance with her religious faith
- Emergency Expedited Motion for permission to provide food and water by natural means
- Emergency Expedited Motion to permit Florida burial without cremation
- Emergency Expedited Motion for limited media access to Terri and visits with her family
- Emergency Expedited Motion to allow Terri to die at home
- Emergency Expedited Motion to not remove feeding tube when nutrition and hydration are terminated
- Expedited Motion for family access to Terri while she is dying
- Emergency Expedited Motion for permission to photograph and video record Terri with her family
- Emergency Expedited Motion to request the appointment of a medical witness

A half-day hearing has been scheduled to address these items.

Keep praying, folks, and keep raising your voice. Time is running short, but while there's life there's hope. Don't let them snuff it out.

Short Circuit Citied

I took the camera in to Circuit City last night. I had purchased what they called a "service contract" when I bought the camera, so I hoped it would cover damage not covered by a warranty. No such luck. Even though they call it a service contract, even though the literatur with it says free repair, it's really just an extended warranty and so does not cover accidental damage. So now I'm out the $319 for the camera, the $109 for the contract, and I have no camera to record the growth of my newborn son. I'm going to scrape up the means to replace the camera, because it means so much to me and TFR to have those memories.

But you can bet money on where the camera will not be purchased.

Waaaaaay Too Much Information

You learn the weirdest things when you check your Sitemeter. Apparently I'm the #1 result ( or at least one of my posts is) if you google "american folklore about farting".

Good News, Bad News

The good news:
The Lad was just at the pediatrician's today, and tipped the scales at 9 lbs. 4 oz. Per the doc, we can now let him sleep until he wakes up instead of waking him to eat every 3-4 hours.

The bad news: She's checking his blood for anemia because he continues to have apneas. However, she suspects it's caused by the quick, shallow breaths he makes when he's hungry and isn't even apnea.

The WORSE news:
I am unable to comply with requests for pictures as I have managed to damage our digital video camera (I use it for stills too). I have a service contract for it, so I'm hoping Circuit City can repair it, but for now it means I don't get to play "Papa"-razzi.

Thanks for the Memory to NW Republican.

If you thought that Washington had cornered the market on election corruption in the Pacific Northwest, you thought wrong:

Secretary of State Bill Bradbury was the recipient of thirteen letters from the state GOP detailing alleged election laws violations, including two candidates, Senator Joanne Verger and Senator Laurie Monnes-Anderson, who spent tens of thousands of dollars of in-kind donations not reported until after the election.
Other campaign in - kind donations received by a number of legislators, including Ryan Deckert, also violated election laws, according to the Oregon GOP.
Laundered campaign money was received by Judy Steigler ($12,300) and others.
Representative Chuck Riley neglected to report $2,000 of media buy expenditures.

The same Bill Bradbury (D) who obstructed the efforts to put Nader on Oregon's ballot.

Oh, I'm sure he'll get right on this.

The Consent of the Governed

Thanks for the Memory to a member of my church for forwarding the following link to me.

On the 17th, William Federer presented an excellent essay over at TownHall regarding the Terry Schiavo case. I commend it to you now. Usually I try to avoid Nazi comparisons when discussing politics (I think the rhetorical tendency to equate ones opponents with the Nazis is usually a cop-out), but in this case, I can see the parallels, especially since Federer actually compares the current situation to attitudes in the Pre-Nazi Weimar Republic. He argues, I believe rightly, that the precendent set erodes further our society's belief in the sanctity of life, and esptablishes a precedent by which those in power can determine who should and shouldn't live based on some esoteric scale of their relative worth as a human.

Terry's case isn't about letting someone who is already dead be removed from life support. It isn't about letting a teminal patient "die with dignity". It's about someone deciding she should die because her life isn't "worth living" anymore. And that is a frightening precedent to set. Furthermore, it flies in the face of the philosophy on which our nation is founded:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.

(Bold added)

Self-evident.
Equal.
inalienable.

Do these words no longer mean anything to us? If we decide that Terry is better off dead because she has suffered brain damage, because her mental capacity is diminished, we have refuted the "truth" that she is our equal, and that her right to life is inalienable. If we deny these truths in her case, what's to stop us from denying them in other cases? And once we've gone there, how long will it be until these truths are no longer self-evident whatsoever? What protection do any of us have under the law at that point?

Electric Sheep

(A Movie Review -- SPOILER)

TFR and I rented and Watched I, Robot this weekend. I had avoided it because I had heard it plays pretty loose with Aasimov's original story, and assumed this meant it wasn't very good. I tend to be a purist when it comes to such matters (I'm still trying to forgive myself for enjoying LOtR), but I have never actually read the original novel, so I gave in and we watched it.

Altogether a pretty entertaining movie. It's morte of an action flick set in a sci fi background than a true SF movie. The issues raised by the Three Laws are actually, within the context of this movie, little more than a vehicle for delivering the car chases, gun battles, super-gee-wiz FX. The "villain" is supposedly taking over as a logical extension of the Three Laws, yet is blithely violating them in her willingness to eliminate those who stand in her way. And the ending was predictable, since the moment they introduced "VIKI" I knew they'd have to destroy her. There's a fine line between foreshadowing and telegraphic the plot.

All in all, it's a diverting movie and lots of fun to watch, but don't expect it to make you think as much as it tries to.

Not Alone

As luck would have it, I've found another conservative Blogger here in Eugene. He's been kind enough to link me, fair's fair. Go give Gullyborg a read.

My Butt is Sore...

Time to get off the fence.

For some time, I have remained silent regarding the Terri Schiavo situation on this Blog. My reason for doing so was that I knew too little about the specifics of her condition to feel qualified to speak. I am a firm believer in the right to make the NHM decision, to specify that if I am ever brain dead and on a machine, TFR is to make damned sure they unplug that machine, since I'll already be home by then. But over the last few days, reading up on the situation, I have reached the conclusion that Terri is not brain dead, she is not in a coma, she is not on life support -- she is still there, in her body, alive, and it is wrong to kill her. Then I came across this post at the rightwing nuthouse, which, along with several others, convinced me it's time to throw in with Terri's Supporters. I know, I know, that carries as much weght as a pigeon in a tornado, but I believe it's the right thing to do. So I am going to apply to join Blogs for Terri. I encourage my fellow bloggers to do the same.

Quote of the Week

Thanks for the Memory to Darth Apathy.

Also unlike Raines, Rather and Jordan, Gannon has appeared on TV and given a series of creditable interviews in his own defense, proving our gays are more macho than their straights.

-- Ann Coulter