annika's journal
annika's journal
...it's not dark yet, but it's gettin' there...
Today is moving day. i'll be back on Tuesday after i'm settled.
Here's a not-so-dumb-ass political quiz that i found on NakedVilliany, which was created by Tony Pierce.
1. Which political party do you typically agree with? The Republican Party.
2. Which political party do you typically vote for? The Republican Party. The only Democrat i have ever voted for in any election was Diane Feinstien.
3. List the last five presidents that you voted for? In 1996 i voted for Bob Dole in the general and Steve Forbes in the primary. In 2000 i voted for George W. Bush in the general and Alan Keyes in the primary.
4. Which party do you think is smarter about the economy? The Republican Party.
5. Which party do you think is smarter about domestic affairs? The Republican Party.
6. Do you think we should keep our troops in Iraq or pull them out? Keep them in until there is a stable, pro-U.S. democracy in place.
7. Who, or what country, do you think is most responsible for 9/11? Al Qaeda and violent Islam.
8. Do you think we will find weapons of mass destruction in Iraq? No.
9. Yes or no, should the U.S. legalize marijuana? Yes.
10. Do you think the Republicans stole the last presidental election? Quite the contrary. The Republicans barely avoided an all-out attempt by the Democrats to steal the election.
11. Do you think Bill Clinton should have been impeached because of what he did with Monica Lewinski? No. He was impeached for committing purjury. i believed then, and still do, that he should have been impeached. Although i wanted him to be convicted at the time, in retrospect, it was probably for the good of the country that the Senate acquitted him.
12. Do you think Hillary Clinton would make a good president? Absolutely not.
13. Name a current Democrat who would make a great president: Joe Lieberman or Zell Miller.
14. Name a current Republican who would make a great president: Besides Bush, Dick Cheney, Rudy Giuliani.
15. Do you think that women should have the right to have an abortion? No.
16. What religion are you? Roman Catholic.
17. Have you read the Bible all the way through? No.
18. What's your favorite book? Ana Karenina.
19. Who is your favorite band? Favorite performer? AC/DC, Frank Sinatra.
20. Who do you think you'll vote for president in the next election? George W. Bush.
21. What website did you see this on first? NakedVillainy.com.
Update: Re-reading this entry in January 2005, i would probably remove Zell Miller from number 13, and add Evan Bayh and Dick Gephardt.
Rocket Jones links to a report that Elena, the Chernobyl motorcycle chick, is a hoax.
Bill Whittle's latest, Strength, was posted this weekend. i'm still working through it, but i loved this bit (from part 2):
Let me clarify this if I may. Senator Kennedy claims Abu Ghraib is simply Saddam Hussein’s torture chambers 'under new management – U.S. management.' Taking him at his word – a somewhat iffy proposition right out of the gate – he apparently cannot see the difference between the humiliation and bullying of enemy combatants, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, and the gleeful, mocking murder, torture and gang rape of over 300,000 innocent men, women and children -- which is something worse. So Senator, here is a helpful analogy which you may find useful: The difference is about the same as pulling over and leaving a young female secretary on the curb in the rain, which is shameful, disgusting and reprehensible, vs. leaving her trapped in the car at the bottom of a river while you look at the bubbles and ponder the political repercussions.Which is something worse, Senator.
This week's Huge Comment of the Week® goes to Kevin Kim, for the bawdy poem he dedicated to me in his comment to my May 19 post about his blog:
May I live inside your thong?Interesting . . . um . . . imagery.
Would that really be so wrong?
Laughing, playing, singing songs,
Twanging butt floss all night long?
That doesn't mean that anyone who writes a poem wins the coveted HCOTW award, but it doesn't hurt.
Since Kevin already walked away with the award once, this time he gets a very nice oak leaf cluster next to his name on the sidebar.
Candied Ginger is back online! Welcome back girls. And congratulations on graduation, Ginger. Now go kick ass on the bar! And happy birthday Candace! i missed you both, as you could maybe tell.
And to top it all off, they're having a short story contest, too!
Moxie's Memo to the Media is short and to the point:
RE: Abuse in Iraq, we get it. No really.Why do i suddenly have a picture in my head of Jack Germond with a bottle of rye?. . .
From here on out we only want to see news stories about who WASN'T abused or sexually humiliated in Iraq.
We think this should lighten up your workload and allow you more time with the bottle and redistribution of wealth to the po' folks.
Strange Women Lying in Ponds has a good piece on the problem with Bremer.
It pains me to write this, but one cannot escape the sense that the Bush Administration is adrift on what to do in Iraq. Bush has allowed the agendas of State, the CIA and DoD to become so alienated and compartmentalized that the acts and omissions of the former are headed toward completely undermining the achievements of the latter. If I were a U.S. soldier or Marine in Iraq right now, I would be very angry at the suits. Hell, I'm not there and I still am angry at the suits. But Bush owes our Armed Forces, who have sacrificed so much, better than this.Sadly, i don't know enough as i should about Bremer and the minutiae of Iraqi politics. Until recently, i always trusted that the guys in Washington were motivated to make sure the job got done right. Now, i'm beginning to wonder if Bush's loyalty is getting in the way. If Bremer, or for that matter anyone else, is not getting the job done, i say fuck 'em. Truman fired MacArthur in the middle of the Korean War. Victory in this war is no less important.
Must . . . have . . . Candied . . . Ginger . . . can't . . . go . . . on . . . without . . .
If anybody's interested, i'll be playing Yahoo Hold 'Em Poker in the "Beginner Lounge 6" room from 9:00 pm to 10:00 pm tonight.
Today's selection is by the great poet of the Harlem Renaissance, Langston Hughes.
Theme for English BThe 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.
In case you didn't check DANEgerous this morning, let me point you to something you might not hear about on the evening news, this pullquote from Blaster's Blog:
Iraq never declared any binary 155mm artillery shells. In fact, they never claimed any filled with sarin at all in the UNSCOM Final report (Find on "Munitions declared by Iraq as remaining"). Not declared as existing at the end of the Gulf War, not having been destroyed in the Gulf War, not having been destroyed unilaterally. The only binary munitions claimed by the Iraqis were aerial bombs and missile warheads. Not in an artillery shell.Make that definitely won't hear about it on the nightly news.
This is classic Kevin Kim, an example of why his blog is on my daily list.
You know how the whole world curdles after a major breakup? That's the culinary abyss I'm in right now. The angels aren't shitting any Strawberry Cheesecake on me; they're just shitting shit. It's a beautiful day outside, but my life has turned into the final act of a Samuel Beckett play. I'm living inside a fucking garbage can. I'm waiting for Godot. All around me, there's nothing but gloom. Demons cackle in dark corners. Squirrels with glowing red eyes wave their freakishly huge, forked dicks at me. Harmonious birdsong morphs into the cacophonous squalling of Satan's fanged, larval children. The Han River runs thick with pus and excrement-- no, wait, that's not a hellish vision; that's actually happening.He's so twisted. He needs to get off of Glogspot, too.
Is it me, or has Michel Moore gotten fatter? The last time i saw him was at the Oscars in 2003. i don't think he looked as humongous back then. What he needs is a personal trainer. A tough one, like at one of those boot camps for fatties, maybe.
i can almost picture it now:
Holy Jesus! What is that? WHAT IS THAT?!And i'd love to see Moore trying to run laps, with the personal trainer alongside to motivate him:Sir, a jelly doughnut, sir!
A jelly doughnut?!
Sir, yes, sir!
How did it get here?
Sir, I took it from the mess hall, sir!
Is chow allowed in the barracks, Moore?
Sir, no, sir!
Are you allowed to eat jelly doughnuts, Moore?
Sir, no, sir!
And why not?
Sir, because I'm too heavy, sir!
Because you are a DISGUSTING FATBODY, Moore!
Sir, yes, sir!
Pick 'em up and set 'em down, Moore! Quickly! Move it up!Yah, boot camp might do him a lot of good, i think.Were you born a fat slimy scumbag, you piece of shit?! Or did you have to work on it?
Move it up! Quickly! Hustle up!
The fucking war will be over by the time we get up there, won't it, Moore? MOVE IT!
Are you going to fucking die, Moore? Are you going to die on me?! Do you feel dizzy? Do you feel faint? Jesus H. Christ, I think you've got a hard-on!
Another great, and historical reference laden, post at Belmont Club:
It was during the Vietnam War that the Left first discovered the potential war-winning ability of media coverage. The concept itself is merely an extension of the blitzkrieg notion that the enemy command structure, not his troop masses, are the true center of gravity on the battlefield. During the campaign of 1940, Heinz Guderian's panzers bypassed many French formations, leaving them unfought, knowing that if their command structure were severed, the whole musclebound mass would fall to the ground headless. What the Left gradually discovered during the course of the Vietnam war was that Guderian had not been bold enough. Guderian still felt it necessary to win on the battlefield. He had not realized that it was possible to ignore the battlefield altogether because it was the enemy political structure, not his military capability, that was the true center of gravity of an entire campaign. It was General Giap during the Vietnam War who first planned a military operation entirely around its possible media effect. The Tet offensive was a last desperate attempt to gain the upper hand in a war he was losing.It's long. Go read it, nonetheless.. . .
Although Giap failed in every military respect, he succeeded in providing the press with the raw material necessary to alter the dynamics of American domestic politics. While he could not alter reality, the Giap could alter the perception of reality enough to give anti-war politicians a winning hand which they played it to the hilt.
. . .
But whereas General Giap was forced to rely on the Western media to carry his message home, modern day Jihadis have decided to create their own media outlets like Al Jazeera to shape public opinion. Moreover, they have extended proven methods of intimidating the Western media, described by CNN's Eason Jordan in his article in the New York Times to a standard operation of war. This set up a clash between two forces, one enjoying a preponderance in every area of military capability and skill but failing to recognize news coverage as a strategic weapon; and another whose military strategy was literally made for television.
Link via the most evillest of professors.
Also, do check out Hugo's post on feminist responses to Abu Ghraib, very much worth your while.
i highly recommend Ad-aware 6 for the removal of spyware and hijacker programs such as When-U-Search, the evil dastardly pestilence that had infected my computer. Until last night that is. Ad-aware killed it good.
Like ants when their anthole has been disturbed, the Bush-haters are running around crazy, not quite sure what to make of this Sarin story. From DU:
Call me crazy but the finding of Sarin gas seems to indicate a spiralling decrease in security. If true it simply proves the point that borders are not secure. WMDs that were not in Iraq before are there now. Note to Bush: Be careful what you wish for.Nice spin. Why is it so hard to admit the possibility that Bush was right? DU is a laboratory for cognitive dissonance. It ought to be assigned reading in psychology 101 courses.
When it comes to poison gas discoveries, i'm still holding my breath (heh heh). i'll wait and see if any significant stockpile is discovered. You see, unlike the Bush-haters, i had pretty much accepted that my side might have been wrong about WMDs. It's called intellectual honesty.
On the right, guys like Hannity and Medved were always pretty confident that we'd find the stuff. But even John Kerry was hedging his bets, saying last week that the WMDs might still be found. If you asked me, i would have scowled and said that asshole Scott Ritter was probably right. In fact, i said as much over a year ago.
On the right, the counter-argument was always: "If Saddam didn't have WMDs why did he refuse to allow inspections? Why didn't he cooperate fully?"
Two reasons make perfect sense to me. One, Saddam did finally relent. Just before the war started, i seem to remember a report about Saddam's 11th hour offer to allow full, unrestricted inspections, which we refused. If true, i'm not bothered by our refusal in the slightest. He had to go.
The other reason is that Saddam, correctly as it turns out, believed that we were going in no matter what. Knowing that he had an unavoidable fight coming, and that his military was totally unprepared to resist, much less win, he needed the myth of WMD as a force multiplier. If you know you're going to get rolled no matter what, isn't it a good idea to let the other guy think you've got a knife in your back pocket. It might give you that extra second or two you'll need to get the hell out of Dodge.
Another factor i've considered, in my attempt to explain why Saddam acted like he had WMD's while saying that he hadn't, is an often overlooked rationale behind most inexplicable human behavior: simple incompetence. You've seen it at your job countless times, i'm sure. A huge task is given to be completed within an unreasonably short time limit. Everybody scrambles to put it together, but there are inevitable mistakes.
The better the workers, the fewer mistakes, of course. But in the case of Iraq, these people were all short timers, who knew they were going to be out of a job soon. So the 1441 report they had to do contained a lot of errors, things they just didn't have time to check out for consistency. A lot of it might have been cut and paste. They probably didn't proofread it properly. Then when we got the report we interpreted it as being evasive; they had something to hide. When in fact they didn't. They were simply incompetent.
But, now that i've given my reasons for thinking that there were in fact no WMDs, it appears that i may be wrong again. Hopefully, i am wrong and we will uncover a cache of the stuff, if only to get it out of the hands of the enemy.
Update: According to Michele, now the Bush-haters are saying sarin is not a WMD? That's one for the Huh? files!
Kevin Kim tells of a gargoyle* at Washington D.C.'s National Cathedral, which is carved in the shape of Darth Vader's head. i was skeptical, but it seems to be true. Can anyone verify this? Have you seen it?
* Technically it's a grotesque; gargoyles being a type of grotesque that directs water through a spout, which Darth Vader does not. Kevin correctly refers to it as a grotesque, which deflects, rather than spouts water. Why do i call it a gargoyle, then? i happen to like diphthongs, that's all.
My fantasy team is still mired in 7th place, despite my latest couple of genius moves. i picked up Joe Kennedy of Colorado (hopefully he won't crash and burn*); dumped Mike MacDougal who's never fully recovered from a stomach virus and was sent down last week; i replaced Marlon Anderson at 2nd base with Orlando Hudson of the BJ's (.296-5-21), i got a good feeling about him; and i dumped middle reliever Guillermo Mota for a true closer, Billy Koch of the White Sox, which will hopefully net me more saves.
But today, perhaps you heard, Milwaukee's Ben Sheets punched out 18 batters! Yah, i got 'im! Not only that, but the only run scored against him today was a 410 foot blast by Andruw Jones. Yah, i got 'im too!
What's really holding me back in the Yahoo! league is home runs and RBIs. Thank God for my twin belters: Beltre and Beltran, both of whom i got, and both of whom have 10 homers apiece. Still, i'm waiting for Bagwell and Jones to start hitting like i know they can.
* That was in poor taste, i know.
What M*A*S*H character am i most like?
Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pierce, according to this quiz.
Actually i never really identified with any of the characters in M*A*S*H. The only female, Hot Lips, i couldn't stand. Even during the later seasons, after Frank left and she stopped acting like she had a bug up her ass.
My favorite character was always Lt. Col. Blake. i liked his attitude towards work. "Just let Radar take care of it." He always had his priorities straight.
Got this link off of Pantherpundit.
Kevin Kim and the Air Marshal are talking about me. As usual with Big Hominid, it's a deeply philosophical conversation, and worth your time.
The usual Glogger permalink problem prevents a link to the Air Marshal's post, but it's directly above Kevin's on the main page.
Here's a new dumb-ass quiz, which duplicates some of the stuff you can learn off my 100 Things list, but what the hell. i got this off Glamour Girl.
1. What time is it? Nine twenty-seven, pacific daylight time.
2. Nicknames: Annie, Sissy, and rarely Becky.
3. Birth Parents' names? Richard and Grete (pronounced like Gree-ta, short for Margarethe, ).
4. Number of candles that appeared on your last birthday cake? Twenty-seven.
5. Favorite animal: Wild animal or pet? i love any kind of dog, except for poodles or yorkies. But for wild animal, i like big cats, like lions or tigers or pumas.
6. Tattoo? Yes. A barbed wire design on my right arm and a little tiger's head on my back.
7. How much do you love your job? Moderately. i love my co-workers more than the work. We have a lot of fun together, which keeps the drudgery away. i'm a paralegal.
8. Birthplace? Copenhagen, Denmark.
9. Favorite vacation spot you have been to? Toss up between Spain and Jamaica.
10. Ever been to Africa? No. i'd love to go on a safari, even though it sounds kinda dangerous.
11. Stolen any traffic signs? Yes, as a matter of fact. i stole a street sign with my friend's name on it, as a gift. Also i've spray painted political propaganda on stop signs, but that was when i was in high school and crazier
12. Ever been in a car accident? i would guess about three. Nobody was injured. Two of them were solo spin-outs because i took a corner too fast in the rain.
13. Croutons or Bacon bits? You know that's a tough question. Generally it's croutons because i hate those fake radioactive looking baco-bits. But if it's real bacon, i'll go for that.
14. 2-door or 4-door car? i've had both. Two doors look sportier, but four doors are more convenient. If i had to choose, since i'm an Anglophile, i'll pick Tudor.
15. Coffee? Simple. Grande latte, non-fat. A little sugar.
16. Salad Dressing? Balsamic vinegar and a sprinkling of good olive oil.
17. Favorite dessert? Hot pecan pie with a big scoop of ice cream.
18. Favorite Number? Ten.
19. Favorite movie? The Wizard of Oz.
20. Favorite color? In general or to wear? In general it's blue. To wear it's white or khaki.
21. Favorite Holiday? Thanksgiving. i like it better than Christmas because it's more focused on family and togetherness than Xmas, which is more about gift-giving.
22. Favorite Foods? i had a great butternut squash ravioli just recently.
23. Favorite days of the week? Sunday.
24. Favorite TV Show(s)? Tales of the Gun on the History Channel. No, just kidding. i love Emeril Live, though. And The Simpsons, of course
25. Most recently read book/magazine? Blue Moon by Laurell K. Hamilton. Freaky, kinda weird, vampires and werewolves with a not very likeable main character. i didn't really like it.
26. Perfume/Cologne? Tresor.
27. Favorite scent? Roses.
28. When was your last hospital stay? 1990, food poisoning. Bad shellfish.
29. How many times did you fail your driver's test? Passed the first time. i'm an excellent driver. Excellent driver.
30. Where do you see yourself in 10 Years? Married to a handsome literary guy, with two kids in school and a house in the suburbs of a city yet to be determined.
31. What do you do when you are bored? Mess around on the internet. Or do a crossword.
32. Furthermost place you sent this message? Huh?
33. Who will respond the fastest? Huh?
34. Least likely to respond? Huh?
35. Last Vacation? Summer, 2002, Spain.
36. Next Vacation? Not for a few years, until after law school. i'd love to go back to Europe.
37. Last concert? Rolling Stones. i'm not much of a concertgoer anymore.
38. First thing you would buy with a million dollars? A Lexus coupe. Then a villa.
39. What is your favorite meal? You already asked me this. Okay. Barbecued tri-tip, fresh corn on the cob, mashed garlic potatoes.
40. Who is your favorite actor or actress? Bill Murray, or Jimmy Stewart.
41. What is your favorite book? Ana Karenina.
42. Who is your favorite author? John Steinbeck.
43. Who is your favorite poet? Edna St. Vincent Millay.
44. If you could volunteer anywhere, where would you volunteer? i'd volunteer for the Republican National Committee.
45. What is your favorite time of day? Sunrise.
46. What is your least favorite time of day? Three o'clock. i get sleepy or bored. If i'm at work, i've still got two fucking hours left.
47. What time is it now? Eleven forty-two. i got interrupted by my boss while doing this dumb-ass quiz.
What is it about So Cal teams and the last minute, come from behind, miracle shot?
Update: Read ESPN's Page 2 column: "Livin la vida Lakers."
What's Brewing's Jennifer links to a column in the San Diego Union-Tribune by her brother, a former U.S. Army intelligence officer. It's entitled: "Gruesome act will strengthen America's resolve." Click here to read it.
The ghazal is a thousand year old poetic form, which can follow very strict structural and metric rules. It originated in Persia, but was also used by Hindu and other poets, up to today. The poems usually involve a series of couplets and often explore erotic or sensual themes.
i know very little about the form, except that the great Spanish poet/playwright, Federico García Lorca included a number of poems in his 1934 collection De Divan Del Tamarit, which he labeled Gacelas. Many of the poems don't appear to be true ghazals, since they don't strictly follow a couplet format, although some do.
One poem from De Divan Del Tamarit seems especially apropriate to my own dark mood, given the fearful state of our world as i'm looking at it today. García Lorca called it Gacela de la Muerte Oscura. The following translation is by Catherine Brown:*
Ghazal of Dark DeathI want to sleep the sleep of apples,
far away from the uproar of cemeteries.
I want to sleep the sleep of that child
who wanted to cut his heart out on the sea.I don't want to hear that the dead lose no blood,
that the decomposed mouth is still begging for water.
I don't want to find out about the grass-given martyrdoms,
or the snake-mouthed moon that works before dawn.I want to sleep just a moment,
a moment, a minute, a century.
But let it be known that I have not died:
that there is a stable of gold in my lips,
that I am the West Wind's little friend,
that I am the enormous shadow of my tears.Wrap me at dawn in a veil,
for she will hurl fistfuls of ants;
sprinkle my shoes with hard water
so her scorpion's sting will slide off.Because I want to sleep the sleep of apples
and learn a lament that will cleanse me of earth;
because I want to live with that dark child
who wanted to cut his heart out on the sea.
* from Selected Verse: A Bilingual Edition, edited by Christopher Maurer.
This is not a religious war like the Civil War was not about slavery. When the enemy prays to God while slicing off the head of an innocent civilian, you bet your ass it's a religious war. We just don't want to admit it.
The enemy has no problem admitting it.
How many of you realize that when the Ottoman Empire entered WWI on the side of Germany and Austro-Hungary (that's the losing side, for those who slept through history class), they did not do so by "declaring war," like any normal country would. No, the Ottoman Empire entered WWI by declaring "jihad."
It's always a religious war for those fuckheads.
The ultimate goal of the terrorists is religious. It is the establishment of a pan-islamic empire under religious rule according to shari'a law. It is the destruction of all jews. And by destruction, they mean slaughter. It is the forced conversion of Christians and Hindus, etc. to their evil bastardized religion.
They sliced off a guy's head.
They're barbarians. Brute animals. Worse than devil worshippers. At least devil worshippers only kill cats. These fucks kill innocent humans, and blaspheme the name of God while doing it. What awaits these pig-fuckers when they die? Eternal fucking fire, you can count on it. Hotter than a million mutha-fucking suns.
What does it take to slice off the head of another live, conscious human being? An innocent human being. With a knife. What is involved in that procedure? Could you do it? Do you think Private England would be capable of such a thing? Or Specialist Graner? Or General Karpinski even?
i bet even Scott Peterson couldn't do it. Not while the victim was still alive. Not with a knife.
Cutting through a fellow human's neck while they're still alive, with a knife, means slicing down through skin, severing arteries and veins, loosing a torrent of pulsing blood, sawing back and forth through thick muscle and tendon, crunching through the hollow, wheezing, screaming windpipe, hitting bone and disk, sawing again, pushing down, hearing it crunch, pop, putting your weight into it, slicing through the spinal cord, watching the body go limp, gripping the handle tight in all the slippery blood, sliding the blade through the last cords of muscle and tendon, blade striking the floor, watching the head roll forward, now just an inanimate object, though its eyes are open, then raising it, still warm, up to the camera.
Could you do that? Can you imagine the mind of someone who could? i simply can't fathom that kind of evil.
They chanted to Allah while they sliced off an innocent man's head. You can say this is not a religious war. You can say that God, assuming you believe in Him, doesn't take sides in a war. i say bullshit. God will deal with these unholy bastards. They will die someday, as all men must, and they will be shocked when they are finally confronted with His just punishment. His divine retribution. i pray too, that the United States will become the instrument of their death.
The true atrocities are being commited by our enemies, not by us.
But i pray that they will yet know the terrible retribution that awaits them. We must remain strong.
Strengthen the feeble hands,Be strong.
steady the knees that give way;
say to those with fearful hearts,
'Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
he will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
he will come to save you.'
[Isaiah 35:3-4]
Angry Update: What the hell's wrong with you people?! They fucking beheaded one of our guys! They fucking filmed it. i'm looking around the blogosphere and no-one, save Michele (God bless her), has a fucking word to say about it. Instapundit thinks it's only worth a measly line. Where's the Rottweiler? Where's Finch? Where's DuToit? Where's Lucas? i wanna see some rage, something, anything. Is everybody asleep, too shocked to care? The media will let this slip by if they can. i bet it won't be the lead on tonight's news. i bet it won't make tomorrow's front page. It's up to us to publicize this horror, people. Vent the outrage that the vast majority of non-blogging Americans are feeling right now. Just fucking say something!
Update 2: The Rottweiler checks in. Serenity checks in. Moxie checks in. Zomby too. And Reynolds deems it worthy of a few more lines. Sarah groks. So do Peter and Karol. LGF describes the video for those, like me, who can't watch it. Also, go read Will and Stephen at Vodkapundit. Then of course, there's Lileks. Tom draws strength from Churchill. See also Misha's second take, and Paul's take, and especially Banagor's "The Rage."
And many thanks go to my good friends at Candied Ginger for their link. Please read Candace's piece, perhaps the best of the lot on this tragedy.
As always, Wizbang was on top of it right away. But this morning's post disappoints me. Today is not a day for bikinis.
Sadly, the liberal bloggers that i read regularly have all chosen to ignore this atrocity. It's not a matter of left vs. right, Bush vs. not-Bush. Nick Berg was an American. How can anyone ignore his murder? It was intended as a message to all of us. A noteworthy piece at etalkinghead may explain why the only blogs that want to talk about Nick Berg seem to be on the right.
You know me. i'm a staunch Republican. Although i'd never vote for Nader, i can still listen to the man and put myself in the place of someone who opposes Bush, hypothetically speaking. And when i do, i can't see how any principled progressive can say that the man does not make a hell of a lot of sense.
What do we do as red-blooded Americans who want clean politics and progressive, responsive policies . . . ? We sit around engaging in the 'least worst?' [He imitates a voter, holding his nose.] 'I'll go vote for Gore.' Or do we get out there, like Thomas Jefferson counseled, try to change the paradigm, enrich the dialogue, get more candidates, local, state, national.Democrats gotta be wishing they had Gore right about now. Kerry makes Gore look like Clinton, and everybody knows it. Including Nader, who offers this strategic criticism and advice:
I'm going to say [to Kerry], look, you're not doing that well in the last month. Here's a chickenhawk . . . making you explain your first Purple Heart, and why you did this and that. You've had Dick Clarke . . . and . . . Michael Moore and . . . Bob Woodward putting Bush on the defensive, and you're getting blurred.And you peaceniks out there? You know where Kerry stands on the war in Iraq. How can you support him? Your man is Nader, he will end it now.The problem is these consultants who have got their hooks into the Kerry campaign. I mean, $27 million for a Madison Avenue image builder? He's not his own person. If there's one thing the mass of voters can see through, that's someone who is not his own person, someone who has more antenna than brains. They really see through that.
You can take the greatest country in the world into a war quagmire, based on fabrications, deceptions, and lies.... The one thing you don't want to do when you're fighting terrorism is to produce more of it, and he's doing exactly that. He's now turned Iraq into a magnet for stateless terrorists, and we're stuck, because now collective ego is involved.You disgruntled Democrats, instead of talking about how you can dump Kerry gracefully and replace him with another Democrat, why not take this opportunity to really overthrow the tyranny of the two party system? Don't let the old boy network of Democratic party operatives in their smoke filled rooms dictate who you can or can't vote for.[People say:] 'We're not going to cut and run. We got to support the troops.' To which I say, I want to to protect the troops, to get them out of there. [emphasis added]
Stop voting defensively, stand up for your principles and for what you really believe. You hate the war? You hate corporate power? You wanna see the environment protected? Gotta have those abortions on demand? Do you really think Kerry shares your principles? A former military man who’s admitted to shooting civilians in wartime? An elitist snob who's been sucking off the tit of corporations by way of marriage all his adult life? A hunter who owns guns and SUVs is gonna care about the environment? Can you really trust a churchgoing catholic to defend your precious abortion rights?
You progressives. Why would you vote for the status quo? Another Yale rich boy president who, instead of having cronies in Big Oil dictating the shots will simply take his direction from his Big Ketchup in-laws. Don't play that game anymore.
[Democrats] say, 'support us, we have to beat George Bush.' I'm sorry. We played that game for 20 years. We're not playing it.But isn't a vote for Nader a vote for Bush, you say? Maybe. But not if Kerry's going down anyway. Did you ever ask yourself “why isn't Kerry leading in the polls by 20 points, with all the bad news lately?” Because he sucks, that's why. And people are going to stay home rather than vote for him.
In October there will probably be a last minute surge in support for Nader when people realize Kerry’s going to lose, and Nader will get blamed for blowing the election again. In reality, a surge in Nader votes will be a protest of people who realized that Kerry was going down anyway and they felt free to vote their conscience.
So why not follow your conscience right now and tell everyone that you're voting for the guy who agrees with you the most? Suggest to your friends that they do the same. Build momentum for Nader now, don't wait until it's too late. If Nader starts polling high early in the summer, one of two things might happen. Either his support will snowball and he might win, or Kerry will realize that he needs to move closer to Nader's ideology to have a chance. Either way, you progressives come out ahead!
Seriously. ; )
Garrison Keillor's Writer's Almanac informs us that today is the anniversary of Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle's birth. Who he? Well, he wrote the French national anthem, better known as La Marseillaise. It was originally entitled Chant de guerre de l'armeé du Rhin, which means "War Song of the Army of the Rhine."
Musically, i think the Marseillaise is one of the most inspiring national anthems ever written (i think the Internationale is quite rousing too, even though i hate communism as much as i hate the French). i get goose bumps watching that scene from Casablanca in Rick's bar when the Frenchies try to drown out the Nazis by singing their anthem. But i never knew what the words meant until now.
Garrison Keillor says that the Marseillaise's lyrics "are filled with some of the most bloody and violent imagery of any national anthem." i guess he's referring to lines like this:
The bloody flag is raised,It's also full of typical bombastic French arrogance and ethnocentrism: "Qu'un sang impur?" Gimme a break.
The bloody flag is raised.. . .
They come right into our arms
To cut the throats of your sons,. . .
Let us march, Let us march!
That their impure blood
Should water our fields
The Writer's Almanac also notes that on this day in 1994, Nelson Mandela was inaugurated president of South Africa. There follows a pretty glowing bio of President Mandela, but read this AP story if you don't mind your heroes having feet of clay.
Lately, whenever i'm feeling a bit tired, confused, or overwhelmed by the news of the day and/or my own problems, i pay a visit to Rocket Jones' great blog. He's always got something posted that's worthwhile reading, friendly, never overwrought, and often worth a chuckle. Like this interesting little piece about the bald eagle. i don't know, there's something about Ted's writing that has a calming effect on my spirit, and i'm sure i'm not alone in that. He's the great elder statesman of Munuviana, after all.
Good thing they caught the Sasser Worm author. My brother's laptop got the Sasser virus last week. i spent a night removing it for him. It had all the classic symptoms: slow performance when not on the internet, shutting down when logged on after a dialog box opens with a countdown timer.
He's a computer illiterate and had no idea what was wrong. i'm a little more knowledgeable than he is, but at least i had a working computer of my own to get help with. i did a control-alt-delete just to see what was running and i saw some suspicious looking exe files. Then i did a google search on my own computer using some of the file names, and the message in the dialog box that kept popping up.
i found a site called annoyances.org, which contained very helpful instructions and a link to Symantec's downloadable Sasser removal program. i shut off my brother's Sasser file temporarily, which i did in safe mode, then downloaded the removal tool and fixed the thing. It took me all night, because i had no idea what i was doing, but the Symantec instructions were surprisingly figure-outable.
Anyways, i think it worked, and his laptop is fine now. Next i think i'll try to find a better program to remove the lingering effects of my recent When-U-Search infection. i hate that thing.
The calls for Rumsfeld's resignation seem to be nearing the point of critical mass. i'm as yet undecided on the issue. i've always liked the guy, and i think he's been a great Secretary of Defense. i think it's unfair to blame him for what happened at Abu Ghraib, yet i understand the doctrine of accountability. The demand that he resign is mainly hardball "gotcha" politics, in my view.
Yet i don't see the demands lessening any time soon. Rummy did not make friends among the uniformed elite, with his abrasive management style. i doubt they'd go to bat for him. The left is salivating at the chance to force a resignation, because they so desperately want to recapture the power they think they had back in the days of Vietnam.
Ideally, i'd like to see Rumsfeld stay, but CENTCOM go, along with a lot of the top brass over in Iraq. Sacrificial lambs? Maybe, but i think there's plenty of legitimate criticism regarding the post "end of major combat" phase, which would justify an overhaul of the leadership now. Often in war -- and you saw this in WWII a lot -- turnover at the top is the only way to get younger, more effective officers into command positions.
However, i'm afraid that the chant "Rumsfeld must go" may get so loud that politically, Bush may have no choice but to get rid of him. Unfair as i think that would be, it might also be the best thing for our country.
Here's a bit of good news out of LAX, if you can believe that. Six French journalists were arrested and deported when they tried to enter the country to cover a trade show.
Six is definitely a good start. Now, how quickly can we round up the rest of the journalists and Frenchies and kick them out too?
"Here is the most powerful guy in the world, and he wants to make sure I'm safe."
Via Blogs for Bush.
Thanks to Sarah for pointing out this heroic member of the Salvadoran military, serving in Iraq. It's a story you won't hear Don Rather talking about, or Seymore Hirsch writing about.
i should do a Friends post. But really i'm waiting for Ginger and Candace to weigh in on tonight's historic end to the iconic TV sitcom. i'm torn between wanting to watch it and wanting to resist participating in a cultural phenomenon. i watched the Seinfeld final episode and i felt robbed afterwards. If i refuse to watch Friends tonight, it will be my curmudgeonly protest over all the hype surrounding this show, which "jumped the shark" years ago. But since the Lakers aren't on tonight, i'll probably tune in for a little bit, just so i'll be able to participate in the watercooler debriefing tomorrow at work. Maybe the cast will get drunk and make fools of themselves in the final minutes, like they did when Cheers ended.
This idea is not only idiotic, it makes me a bit queasy in the tummy just thinking about it.
A Dutch artist has used a flap of her own skin to make a replica pistol to be shown at an Amsterdam art show. . . .It's fucking unbelievable what passes for art these days.. . .
[S]he made the tiny replica pistol with a piece of skin . . . surgically removed from her abdomen. The puckered skin was stretched and sewn over a plastic and fiber pistol mold.
Meester said she had the flap of skin removed under local anaesthetic to allow her to make the pistol. The surgery left her with 16 stitches. She froze the skin, then defrosted it to make a replica weapon preserved in formaldehyde.
And here's the funniest quote i've seen in a long time:
If everyone made a pistol from their own skin, I think they would think twice about using a gun. I think there would be less violence in the world.Brilliant woman, just brilliant.