Now HERE'S a "Quagmire"

Here’s a lil something that should really embarrass us as a nation, instead of, let’s say, being embarrassed about certain political leaders and their foreign policy:

WASHINGTON - A record 7 million people - or one in every 32 American adults - were behind bars, on probation or on parole by the end of last year, according to the Justice Department. Of those, 2.2 million were in prison or jail, an increase of 2.7 percent over the previous year, according to a report released Wednesday.

[…]

"Today's figures fail to capture incarceration's impact on the thousands of children left behind by mothers in prison," Marc Mauer, the executive director of the Sentencing Project, a Washington-based group supporting criminal justice reform, said in a statement. "Misguided policies that create harsher sentences for nonviolent drug offenses are disproportionately responsible for the increasing rates of women in prisons and jails."

From 1995 to 2003, inmates in federal prison for drug offenses have accounted for 49 percent of total prison population growth.

“Misguided policies… (concerning)… non-violent drug offenses” and more specifically, the “War on Drugs” that spawned them are hot buttons with me. The “WoD” is perhaps my biggest hot button and is just one example of where traditional conservatives and I part company.

The “War on Drugs” is, has been, and will always be, a miserable failure by any objective standard. Assuming, of course, “objective standard” means stopping the flow of illegal drugs into the country or reducing the number of people, in relative or absolute terms, that use said illegal drugs. The only beneficiaries of the War on Drugs are the bureaucrats and minions of the various government entities (DEA, FBI, and their state and local equivalents) charged with enforcing our bizarre drug policies. The DEA alone employs 10,891 people and will consume $2.4 billion dollars of our tax money this year. The DEA’s growth rate is astounding, as well…up from 2,775 employees and a budget of “only” $65.2 million in 1972. That’s a lot of damned money down a rat-hole, ain’t it? Or, to look at it another way, $2.4 billion dollars would buy a lot of F-22s.

It took the United States 13 years, in the case of alcohol, to realize it is futile to legislate morality when it comes to prohibiting what reasonable and responsible people ingest. People are going to eat, drink, or smoke whatever they want, the law be damned. That was true during Prohibition and it’s true today. And the national crime rate soared during Prohibition. Sound familiar?

I’ve long been in favor of the so-called “Dutch Model.” I’ve seen it and I believe the Dutch policy works, regardless of objections to the contrary found at the Wiki link I’ve given. Yet the American public, and a large percentage of the EU, as well, continue to reject what the Dutch have effectively lived with for years. Deep down inside I think the majority of the American public thinks it’s just OK to persecute “them.” We need someone to kick around, right?

You can find…if you’re interested…additional arguments on drug prohibition, pro and con, here.

Portales WX Report...

The above is what the WX Channel’s web site said about our weather just before I turned in last night, and here’s the “warning” that accompanied the graphic.

/O.UPG.KABQ.WW.Y.0013.000000T0000Z- 061130T1100Z/ /O.EXA.KABQ.WS.W. 0005.000000T0000Z-061130T1100Z/ DE BACA COUNTY-ROOSEVELT COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...FORT SUMNER...PORTALES...CLOVIS 853 PM MST WED NOV 29 2006

...WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM MST THURSDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM WARNING...WHICH IS IN EFFECT UNTIL 4 AM MST THURSDAY. THE WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

AN UPPER LEVEL DISTURBANCE MOVING SOUTHEAST THROUGH CENTRAL NEW MEXICO WILL COMBINE FORCES WITH A COLD FRONT EXTENDING FROM WEST TO EAST ACROSS SOUTHEASTERN NEW MEXICO TO PRODUCE HEAVY SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW THROUGH TONIGHT.

FOR DE BACA...ROOSEVELT...AND CURRY COUNTIES...EXPECT ADDITIONAL SNOW TO BRING STORM TOTALS TO 2 TO 5 INCHES. LOCALLY GUSTY WINDS AND BLOWING SNOW WILL REDUCE VISIBILITIES TO NEAR ZERO AT TIMES.

SNOW WILL TAPER OFF THURSDAY MORNING WITH DECREASED WINDS TO EASE THE WINTER STORM DANGER...AND LEAVE UNSEASONABLY COLD TEMPERATURES IN ITS WAKE.

REMEMBER...A WINTER STORM WARNING MEANS SEVERE WINTER WEATHER CONDITIONS ARE IMMINENT OR HIGHLY LIKELY.

True to form, I woke up this morning to see there’s only about a half-inch of snow on the ground. Gloom ‘n’ Doom, unrealized yet again. WX forecasters: there are no greater pessimists in life. It is bloody cold, though!

Here’s what I woke up to this morning:

You’ll note we had some pretty stiff winds last evening, and I think the wind-chill number in the graphic is understated. The winds have diminished a bit this morning, but as I said: it’s still bloody cold. I popped outside this morning to read the gauge on my propane tank, and I’m good-to-go for another 24 hours or so before I’ll need to give Albert The Propane Guy a call. My “inside gauge” is an LED read-out that’s calibrated in fourths…and I’m showing a quarter of a tank. It can be a problem if one relies solely on those LEDs for tank status, because you can go from 25% to Zero instantaneously if you don’t pay attention. Not good. One worries about that sort of thing when it gets really cold.

A day like today would be totally unremarkable were I still in, say, Rochester, NY. I’d just brush off the snow and drive on in to work: No Big Deal. A day like today would be downright balmy were I still here:

The very definition of cold. “The lowest recorded temperature was -50°F in 1983.” No kidding. I saw temps of -35 degrees-- absolute, not wind-chill -- while I was stationed there, "there" being Fortuna Air Force Station, ND. Coldest weather I have experienced, ever. Makes one wonder why people would choose to live in such a place.

This is Unusual

Dang, but I love weather! It’s a fascinating subject. But…I haven’t seen a forecast map like this in quite a while, not for this part of the country, at least. And most assuredly, not this combination of regional WX…rain, snow, mix, ice, and strong storms. Although I’ve been known to bitch about snow (ed: really?), I deal with it. But I hate ice.

You take care, Lou!

A Change in the Weather...

The WX forecast changed. Now we have this…

O.EXB.KABQ.WW.Y.0013.061130T0000Z- 061130T0400Z/ LINCOLN COUNTY HIGH PLAINS/HONDO VALLEY- CAPITAN/NORTHERN SACRAMENTO MOUNTAINS-DE BACA COUNTY- CHAVES COUNTY PLAINS-ROOSEVELT COUNTY- CURRY COUNTY- GUADALUPE MOUNTAINS OF CHAVES COUNTY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...CARRIZOZO...RUIDOSO...FORT SUMNER... ROSWELL...PORTALES...CLOVIS 1158 AM MST WED NOV 29 2006

...WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM MST THIS EVENING...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN ALBUQUERQUE HAS ISSUED A WINTER WEATHER ADVISORY...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 5 PM THIS AFTERNOON TO 9 PM MST THIS EVENING.

A COLD FRONT ALONG INTERSTATE 40 WILL DROP SOUTHWARD ACROSS SOUTHERN NEW MEXICO THROUGH TONIGHT...PRODUCING SNOW AND BLOWING SNOW ALONG WITH GUSTY WINDS.

FOR DE BACA...CURRY...AND NORTHERN ROOSEVELT COUNTIES...EXPECT 2 TO 5 INCHES OF NEW SNOW THROUGH THIS EVENING.

FOR CHAVES AND SOUTHERN ROOSEVELT COUNTIES...EXPECT 1 TO 3 INCHES OF NEW SNOW THROUGH THIS EVENING.

SNOW WILL TAPER OFF RAPIDLY THURSDAY MORNING WITH DECREASED WINDS TO EASE THE WINTER STORM DANGER.

DRIVERS SHOULD EXPECT THE FULL SLATE OF WINTER DRIVING CONDITIONS...WITH DRIFTING SNOW OVER EXPOSED ROADS... PATCHES OF SLICK ROAD...AND NEAR ZERO VISIBILITIES IN BLOWING SNOW. CONSIDER DELAYING TRAVEL UNTIL LATER IN THE WEEK IF POSSIBLE. THOSE OUTDOORS SHOULD DRESS WARMLY AND BE PREPARED FOR WINTER WEATHER.

MOTORISTS SHOULD BE ALERT TO CHANGING WEATHER CONDITIONS AND TAKE PRECAUTIONS IF TRAVEL IS NECESSARY.

Oh, Goody. P-Town is in “northern Roosevelt County” (should I have made that all caps?), so that means snow. Just how much remains to be seen, because…well...you know how those WX forecasters can be. Doom, gloom, and all that. But: I’m glad I’m not going anywhere. The Green Hornet hates snow.

Back to Normal Again

We lost an F-16 in Iraq yesterday, and the “we” is up close and personal. From yesterday’s Clovis News-Journal:

The pilot of a Cannon Air Force Base F-16 fighter jet that crashed Monday in Iraq is still missing, Air Force officials said.

The pilot was not found at the crash site, the Air Force said. The Air Force has not identified the pilot nor said to which base or unit the pilot was assigned. Cannon officials said the pilot was not stationed at Cannon.

Needless to say, folks in this neck of the woods are relieved, but that doesn’t mitigate the fact we’ve lost another hero. Lex posted a piece on Close Air Support yesterday, and this loss, specifically. He knows from whence he speaks, because, well, he was in the business. And as he said: the news is hard, and it gets harder.

I’ll bet most Congresscritters just hate to see this list come out. Some predictable winners and some interesting categories, e.g., “Meanest,” “Biggest Windbag,” and “Babe” (“Hunk” for men). Maria Cantwell as “Babe?” I’m sorry…I just don’t see it. But Mary Landrieu? In a frickin’ heartbeat!! South Dakota’s Stephanie Herseth, too. Via Real Clear Politics.

I tend to talk more about TV ads I don’t like than those I do. Well, here’s my favorite ad at the moment, and I like it a lot. I’m not alone: the YouTube video has been viewed 33,423 times (as of last evening) and “favorited” 445 times. That’s a lot. The soundtrack to the ad is by a band called HEM; the song is “Half Acre,” and you can hear a 30 second snippet here (requires Real Player); their home page is here. Actually, you can hear more than 30 seconds just by playing the ad, which is a minute long. But nonetheless, it’s truly a beautiful song and the perfect soundtrack to that ad.

The advertisement is a wonderful testimonial to the effectiveness of The Golden Rule. Or, put another way, it’s a series of mutually-reinforcing random acts of kindness. I wish there were more ads like this. Inspirational.

Bravo, Liberty Mutual! If I needed insurance, I’d buy it from you. (Am I the guy that’s supposedly immune from advertising? Really?)

Glenn Reynolds, the Instapundit, writing in his TCS Daily column (“A Second American Civil War?”):

Nonetheless, Card's cautionary tale is worth bearing in mind. Civil wars are, traditionally, among the most bloody, and the hardest to prevent once the ball gets rolling. So what do we do?

One question is "who's 'we' here?" I don't see much of a sign that the American public -- which, after all, overwhelmingly favored centrists in this month's elections -- is as divided as Card suggests. But -- as Card also notes -- the elites are much more divided, and the media tend to play up those divisions, because division and conflict are good story-drivers. ("We live in a time when moderates are treated worse than extremists, being punished as if they were more fanatical than the actual fanatics.") To the "activist" crowd on the left and right, people who don't share their views 100% are evil, and on the other side. This tends to backfire politically, which I think is why the elections favored centrists this time, but that doesn't stop the polarization. In a way, it tends to make it worse.

I’m generally “off” politics at the moment, and will likely remain so for the foreseeable future. Why? I’m simply sick-to-frickin’-DEATH of it, all of it. Most of the political views one reads in the blogosphere are written by the folks Reynolds describes as “activists,” aka extremists. This is especially true on the Left, but the Right isn’t immune. And I’ve had bloody well enough of extreme views for the moment. All that said, Mr. Reynolds’ column struck a chord with me…

So. A major cold-front is sweeping down from the north. The wind is picking up, and we’re likely to reach today’s high temp of 48 degrees sometime in late morning, after which the mercury will fall and keep falling until we bottom out around 15 degrees tonight. Tomorrow’s forecast is for snow flurries, with a high of 39 degrees. I expect no sympathy from you residents of the Northern Tier.

But…I’m steeling myself, psychologically, for the onset of winter. Which means remembering to leave the faucets dripping so as not to freeze up, burning through ten gallons of propane a week, and wearing sweaters and my fleece slippers in the house, instead of summer’s tee shirt and shorts (or less). {sigh}

It is what it is… But that doesn’t mean I have to like it!

Today’s Pic: Art? I post, you decide. A work in SFO’s Museum of Modern Art. Art or no, I thought it was pretty cool. Cool enough for a photo, anyway. August, 2001.

A Lengthy Reminiscence: Part Four (and Final)

The tale continues…earlier installments are just below.

After about five days of work, we (the client and I) finished editing the RFP, producing a final document which was ready to be put “on the street” for prospective bidders. One of the final activities was to wrap up some administrative details, which necessitated a visit to the Chinese government contracting authority who handled the business end of the deal. The contracting authority was an entity separate and apart from the Ministry of Rails and was responsible for oversight of the project. The purpose of my visit with these guys was to verify that the consulting contract had been completed to the MOR’s satisfaction; all items on the Statement of Work, including the deliverables (the RFP), were done; and EDS could submit our bill for services rendered. I delivered a written statement from MOR saying the work had been completed to their satisfaction, and from my point of view that should have been the end of it. But first I had to complete an interview with a contracting officer.

The contracting officer was a middle-aged, bilingual bureaucrat who spoke excellent English, and my visit with him was anything but pleasant. I suppose the guy had to justify his existence, because I was subjected to a half-hour’s worth of what could only be called an interrogation…in the worst sense of the word. While I wasn’t waterboarded or anything, it was close. A clerk or some sort of minor functionary ushered me into a small bare office where the interview took place. The office was furnished only with a desk, two metal chairs, and was lit by a single naked light bulb hanging from the ceiling. The office resembled the set of a bad spy movie, which is one of the reasons I characterize this interview as an interrogation.

As I entered the room the officer, sitting behind the desk, pointed to a chair in front of the desk and instructed me to “sit.” He gave me his name, took a few minutes to read the MOR documents and then began to pepper me with rapid-fire questions about the nature of the work, why it took so many hours to complete, who were my principal counterparts at MOR, did they express any dissatisfaction with my work or the deliverables, were there any loose ends, did I give MOR my very best efforts and so on. The officer asked many of the questions over and over, some were repeated several times. He abruptly concluded the interview by handing me some documents and dismissing me, literally, with a “Very well. You may go.” And that was it. He didn’t rise from behind the desk and there was no parting handshake. Just a curt “You may go.” I walked out of the office, and the building, more than a little angry. This encounter had been completely different than the sum total of my other experiences the past week, and I was mildly shocked. Maybe the guy was having a bad day, or maybe this was just the way they did business. Whatever the reason, it wasn’t pleasant, as I said. But it was over.

I returned to MOR’s offices and gave them their copies of the documents given to me by the contracting officer. I was then led to the same conference room where the week’s activities had begun, and was surprised to see all my project counterparts, the Chief Engineer, Wen, and several other people gathered there. What followed were several speeches (in Chinese) by the Chief Engineer and the junior engineers, many smiles, thank-yous, and handshakes all around. I, in turn, made a brief speech thanking them for their hospitality, cooperation, and hard work. All very formal!

The Chief Engineer presented with me with a parting gift, followed by a brief period of informal socializing, with tea and sweet cakes. The Chief Engineer asked (through Wen) when I was leaving Beijing (day after tomorrow), and what were my plans for the following day? I replied TSMP and I were going to do more sightseeing, after which the Chief Engineer had a brief exchange with one of his subordinates. Wen then told me the Chief Engineer was giving me the car and a driver for the day tomorrow, and we were going to go to the Great Wall and the Ming Tombs. Wen told me the car and the trip were rewards for a job well-done. And then it was time to go. It goes without saying that those two experiences, back-to-back, were as different as night and day…a true “good cop, bad cop” kinda thing!

Wen, car, and driver arrived at the Shangri-La early the following morning and we were off to the Great Wall, which was about an hour’s drive outside of the city. Once again, it was cold. Bone chilling cold, and if that Lada had any heat, it only got to the occupants of the front seat. TSMP and I shivered in the back. We arrived at the Great Wall and spent about two hours there, clambering all around, taking lots of photos, and just generally having a marvelous time. TSMP and I were impressed with the scale and scope of the Wall, its skillful restoration, and the sheer numbers of people that were there. There were literally thousands of people, the crowds were amazing. The majority of the people were Chinese, including quite a few PLA soldiers and officers. There were also many tourists of every conceivable nationality. The people-watching opportunities were unlimited and fascinating.

Wen gave us a running commentary of the history of the Wall all through out our visit and included lots of trivia, including the fact that I was now a “real man.” Say what? Wen explained there’s an old Chinese proverb that says a man isn’t truly a man until he’s stood upon the Great Wall. Well, Allll-RIGHT!!! I’m a man, spelled M-A-N… da, da, da-DAH! (Apologies to Muddy Waters.)

We had lunch and did some shopping at an artists’ mall (for lack of a better word), where we picked up a beautiful large watercolor painting of blooming cherry blossoms, done in the classic Chinese motif. As an aside of no purpose whatsoever, that painting was one of the few items TSMP decided to keep when we ended.

And then it was on to the Ming Tombs (there are great photos and external links at this reference), which weren’t nearly as interesting (to me) as the Great Wall. Whereas the Great Wall was over-run with tourists, we were virtually alone at the Ming Tombs, a fact I found rather strange. The architecture was great, as was the extensive collection of statuary, but the cold was really beginning to get to me by the time we arrived at the Tombs. And, as I mentioned previously, the lack of heat in the car meant that warming up was a virtual impossibility.

We capped off the day with a tremendous meal in a roadside restaurant on the way back into the city. The meal, and the restaurant, seemed pre-arranged. Our driver pulled right into the restaurant’s “parking lot” with no prompting from anyone, and we all got out of the car and went inside. An unusual aspect of this experience is the restaurant’s proprietors wouldn’t let us eat in the main dining room; we were ushered upstairs to a small room where the four of us ate, alone. I though that rather odd. But, that’s a small point. The meal, as I said, was tremendous. The four of us shared what had to be 15 main course dishes, all delicious, and all served up with great flair. There was meat, chicken, a huge baked fish (bass, I think), and numerous vegetables, some spicy hot, and some not. Each dish was deposited on one of those large lazy-susans one finds in Chinese restaurants all over the world, and we ate Chinese style. That meal was the best meal I had while in China.

We got back to the hotel in the early evening. TSMP, Wen, and I got out of the car and said our good-byes. Wen blushed, very visibly, when TSMP ignored his outstretched hand and gave him a hug and a big kiss on his cheek instead. The good-byes were quite poignant, as TSMP and I had become quite attached to Wen during the week. And it all went by SO fast…

And so we left for Tokyo the following day. Our arrival at Narita, and the subsequent bus ride into Tokyo was something of a relief. TSMP and I both arrived at that particular conclusion simultaneously, remarking on that fact to each other nearly at the same time. We agreed that it was largely because we were now in familiar surroundings, the known versus the unknown. It was good to see lots of cars, lots of traffic, and above all, lots of light. Beijing was unbelievably dark.

We spent a week in Tokyo and the surrounding vicinity (including Christmas Day), staying and visiting with friends and TSMP’s host families from her Rotary exchange student days. The week in Tokyo is worth a story all its own, so I won’t go into detail, except to say it was something of a sentimental journey. TSMP and I met in Tokyo in 1975, when she was an exchange student at Sofia University. Yeah, she milked that exchange student thing for all it was worth, and then some!

Some final observations I was unable to work into the foregoing narrative(s)…

Besides being dark and cold, Beijing was also the most polluted city I’ve ever visited, bar none. There was a fine layer of soot all over everything in our hotel room by the end of the day, despite the Herculean efforts of the housekeeping staff.

Each city I’ve ever visited outside the US has a characteristic and unique…uh…aroma. Beijing smelled old to me. It was a musty sort of smell, a combination of coal smoke, diesel exhaust, natural dust, and construction dust plus an indeterminate “other.” As I said: unique.

The elevators at the Shangri-La had carpets inside with the day of the week lavishly embroidered on them, i.e., “Monday,” “Tuesday,” etc.. TSMP and I never figured out when, or how, the carpets were changed. We made a game of trying to catch the staff changing out the carpets, hanging out in and around the elevators at midnight, but we never saw them do it. And the “day of the week” changed precisely at midnight!

While I'm on about the hotel, I have to mention the servers in the Lobby Lounge, who were all beautiful, tall young women dressed in qipaos, the silky, clingy, traditional female Chinese dress. The one with the slits up the side…all the way to mid-thigh. And the servers were quite friendly, too, bordering on flirtatious. I got several hard looks from TSMP on account of that fact. Well, that and my trying-not-to-be-obvious leering.

We thought our driver was a member of the Chinese KGB (or equivalent thereof). We always had the same driver, he never said a word, and he was always observing us in his rear-view mirror. We were sure he spoke English, even though Wen said he didn’t. TSMP and I devised several “tests” that convinced us the guy did indeed understand English. That aspect of the trip was kinda strange, yet fun and interesting.

And finally…I replaced that dishrag, the one that started this series of incredibly long posts, with an English tea towel. That tea towel was, up until now, used for the sole purpose of drying my glasses after I wash them. And I’ve had it nearly as long as the dishrag it replaced. Don’t get me started on how I came to acquire that rag. Or where. ‘Tis a whole nuther story, as they say…

Blackbird Redux

Today’s Pic(s): As the title of this post indicates, two more shots of the SR-71 at the Strategic Air and Space Museum near Omaha. I apologize for the quality of the images. The excuse explanation is the photos were taken with a first-generation digital camera, whose sensor sported a mere one megapixel. But, the pics do give one an idea, however grainy, of the subject matter. As always, click the pic for the larger image.

“We must never forget that freedom is never really free.” Words to remember.

A couple of fun links from today’s Lileks: Bollywood action movie FX and Bugger! (an Aussie ad). Both will make ya smile at the very least.

And now it’s off to tap out the final installment of “A Lengthy Reminiscence.” I think.

A Lengthy Reminiscence: Part Three

I have a lot of memories about the Beijing trip, but the one that stands out most is this: it was cold. From the Wikipedia entry on Beijing:

The city's climate is harsh, characterized by hot, humid summers due to the East Asian monsoon, and cold, windy, dry winters that reflect the influence of the vast Siberian anticyclone. Average temperatures in January are at around -7 to -4 °C, while average temperatures in July are at 25 to 26 °C. Annual precipitation is over 600 mm, with 75% of that in summer.

Minus 7 Celsius is 20 degrees Fahrenheit. And keep in mind, those are averages. We were at least that cold the whole time I was there, if not colder. I’m not stupid…I knew it would be cold. Both The Second Mrs. Pennington and I brought clothes appropriate for the weather, as we anticipated we’d be doing more than a bit of outdoor sightseeing. I assumed the Ministry of Rails (MOR) offices would be comfortable (read that: heated), but I was wrong. But I’m getting ahead of myself.

To pick up the tale…

I scheduled our trip so TSMP and I would have one full day to adjust and work off the jet lag after arriving in Beijing and before I began work. The evening we arrived in Beijing was a low-level affair. We checked in, went up to our room, cleaned up and went back downstairs to have a couple of Tsingtaos in the Lobby Lounge, followed by dinner in one of the four hotel restaurants. We turned in after dinner and slept late the following morning.

Our first full day in Beijing was overcast, slightly breezy, and cold. TSMP and I bundled up after breakfast, went downstairs to the lobby and asked the concierge to call a taxi for us. Keep in mind: this is 1991, and as such, was a bit before the economic boom that swept China in the late ‘90s. Taxis, among other things, were a pretty rare commodity in Beijing at the time. If one was smart, one made arrangements for a taxi, including a time and place for the taxi driver to meet you and return you to your point of origin. I learned this from the Shangri-La concierge our first day, and we made our arrangements accordingly.

TSMP and I spent our first day hanging around Tiananmen Square and environs. The square is huge, reputedly the largest open air square in the world. I believe it. We spent the entire day there, doing things like watching the changing of the guard at Mao’s tomb, walking along the moat of the Imperial Palace, scoping out the Peoples Architecture, and wandering around the shopping areas adjacent to the square. We were struck by how friendly the people were and by the large numbers of men in uniform…seemingly every third male we saw was in a uniform of one sort or another. English signage, as may be expected, was in short supply. This wasn’t as big a problem as you might think, because TSMP discovered in very short order that she could read Chinese ideograms quite easily, and that those ideograms were roughly equivalent in meaning to the same, or similar, Japanese kanji. We were also equipped with a copy of Fodor’s Beijing guidebook, so we got around very well. (I’ve mentioned this elsewhere on the blog, but just for the record: TSMP speaks, reads, and writes fluent Japanese. Or at least she used to.)

The day was punctuated with quite a few encounters with English-speaking Chinese, and every single one of our encounters was pleasant and very friendly. With one exception. TSMP attempted to strike up a conversation with a very young, very tall (well over six feet) PLA soldier during the changing of the guard ceremony at Mao’s tomb. He simply glared at her the whole time, acknowledging her presence but refusing her attempts to talk to him. I was decidedly uncomfortable during the whole exchange, which only lasted a couple of minutes. But, hey…that’s her, and that’s her style. She’s a button-pusher from the word Go.

We returned to the hotel in the late afternoon, took a nap, and then went downstairs for dinner. I noticed the type of restaurants have changed at the Shangri-La over the last 15 years. We had dinner our first full night at the Shangri-La in a wonderful French restaurant that’s no longer there. And the cuisine was remarkable, what with a resident French chef overseeing the whole affair. The food was every bit as good as that served in any restaurant in France I ever ate in, and that’s saying a lot. We turned in early that evening, as I wanted to be well-rested for my first day on the job.

I had been given a contact number to call upon my arrival in Beijing to verify I had indeed arrived and was ready to go to work. I made that call our first day “on the ground” and was told I would be picked up the following morning at 0900 and driven to MOR’s offices. I was downstairs at the appointed time when the car—an old, clunky, wheezy Russian Lada—arrived with the driver, an interpreter, and a young female engineer inside. They got out of the car, we introduced ourselves and then piled back into the car for the drive to MOR’s offices.

Ten minutes or so later we arrived. The MOR’s offices were in a low, two-story concrete block building surrounded by a high masonry wall with a steel sliding gate, attended by an armed guard. The offices appeared to be in a residential neighborhood and had no identifying signs (or anything else) to indicate what the building might be. The interpreter, a young man by the name of Mr. Wen, explained that the offices were MOR’s engineering facility. We went into the building, walked down a long, dimly-lit corridor, up a staircase to the second floor, down another corridor, and into a medium-sized conference room, where there were about five people waiting. We made our introductions, passed out business cards, and I made the ceremonial gift presentations (small boxes of Godiva chocolates), part of the ritual of doing business in China. An attendant brought tea, we sat down at a conference table, and we began to go over the schedule for the week.

It was then I noticed that everyone in the room was dressed in parkas and were wearing those fingerless gloves one sees here and there. And that it was cold, very cold, in the room. When I say “cold,” I mean it was 40 degrees F inside, while the outside temperature was in the 20s. You could almost, but not quite, see your breath as you breathed in and out. I had taken off my overcoat when I arrived, and it wasn’t too very long before I put it back on, to many smiles around the table. That morning was the first and last time I went to the office in “appropriate business attire,” to wit: suit and tie. My MOR counterparts were dressed in heavy sweaters and parkas, and although I didn’t bring a parka, I had several sweaters and warm wool casual pants. I dressed accordingly for the remainder of the week. But I was still cold the whole time. I drank a lot of tea over the course of the next week, using my teacup as an impromptu sort of hand warmer.

I’ll not go into detail about the business. Suffice to say that my days were spent doing a tedious, but necessary, line-by-line edit of the Request for Proposal. We edited the RFP as a group, and my primary interactions were with the previously mentioned mid-30s female engineer, an older male engineer, and our interpreter. We were joined occasionally (at least once a day) by the Chief Engineer, a man in his mid- to late 60s, who was obviously idolized by his subordinates. I’ve never seen another senior manager given such deference and obvious admiration by his or her subordinates, ever. I’m sure there’s some sort of back-story there, but I never learned what it was. At any rate, I’d arrive at the MOR offices every day just after 0900, work until 1230 or so, return to the hotel for a two-hour lunch break, go back to the office and work until 1800 or so. Nights were spent incorporating the day’s edits into the master document, which I had on my laptop. Rinse, repeat…until we were done.

Wen (“Please. Just call me Wen, not Mister Wen”) and I developed a close and friendly relationship over the course of the week, primarily because there was not much of a language barrier, and also due to the fact that we spent a lot of time together. Wen would arrive at the hotel by bicycle every morning about a half-hour before the car. I discovered this the second day when I saw him waiting outside the hotel, in the cold. He refused to come into the hotel, even after much pleading and persuading on the part of TSMP and myself. But we finally convinced him to join us inside, and on the third day we talked him into having breakfast with us in the hotel restaurant. That may or may not have been a smart move, as Wen was mildly embarrassed because he had never used a knife and fork before. We solved that situation by asking the waiter for chopsticks, which were delivered with a mild look of disapproval on the part of the waiter. Wen explained to us that “ordinary” Chinese were heavily discouraged from mixing with foreigners and were generally prohibited from entering the western hotels, except on business. We convinced him that it was indeed business when he joined us in the hotel, and he finally, but reluctantly agreed. TSMP and I would pick up quite a few tidbits of information like that from Wen as he became more comfortable with us.

We learned that Wen was from a small village in the south of China and went to university in Beijing. The government assigned him his job as an MOR interpreter following his graduation from university. Wen had absolutely no choice in the matter, at all. He lived in an MOR dormitory with other young males. One evening after work, TSMP, Wen, and I were sitting in the lobby lounge having a beer, and TSMP, in her inimitable style, asked if Wen had a girlfriend. Wen said no, but he used to have one. “What happened?”, asked TSMP. “She wanted too much,” replied Wen. TSMP: “Too much?” Wen: “Yes. She wanted a car! Can you believe that? She actually wanted a car!” TSMP changed the subject…

My, but I do go on, eh? There’s a lot to say about this trip, but I don’t want to write the Not-So-Great American Novel while doing so. One more installment and I think I’m done. More tomorrow.

Blackbird

It’s a gray and chilly day here on the High Plains…winter’s a comin’! There’s actually snow in the forecast for this coming Thursday, and we’re about to endure a run of low 20s and teens for our overnight lows. The heating season is upon us!

Today’s Pic(s): Two views of the SR-71 on display at the Strategic Air and Space Museum (formerly the Strategic Air Command museum), near Omaha, NE. I’ve seen a couple of other static display SR-71s, but this is the only one I know of that’s displayed inside a building, other than a hangar. This SR-71 is the centerpiece of what is a very high quality museum…one of the better USAF museums in existence. If you’re ever on I-80 heading west out of Omaha, you’ll really miss something good if you don’t stop and spend a few hours. They have a B-36, too! Photos taken in May, 2000.

And now to work on the third installment of “A Lengthy Reminiscence.”

Hong Kong and On to Beijing... (Part Two of " A Lengthy Reminiscence")

I tore up El Casa Móvil De Pennington last evening searching for something that doesn’t exist, or at least doesn’t exist in this little corner of the space-time continuum. I seemed to remember examining the contents of a shopping bag while I was looking for something else in the not-so-distant past. That shopping bag, emblazoned with “White Peacock Shopping Center” (or white mouse, white elephant, or something white, anyway) contained some souvenirs of the Beijing trip. I was hoping to find the bag so I could use those souvenirs to jog the ol’ memory as I try to complete the tale begun yesterday. Alas: nothing. Well, a little something, anyway. I did find a box of old business cards printed for the trip, English on the one side and Chinese on the other. And $85.00 in Canadian money, for what that’s worth.

About the cards…Chinese is a phonic language, meaning that various ideograms can be read in entirely different ways and can have different meanings, depending on the context of what you’re writing about. The ideograms on my business card read something like Nō-maan Pen-ling-tōn, and supposedly mean (literally) “Silken Net of Words.” I got the literal translation from someone I trust, but the characters could actually say “Has an Unhealthy Affinity for Goats,” for all I know. No one laughed when I passed them out in Beijing, though, and that’s a good thing.

On with our story.

Flying in business class is most definitely better than cattle-car: service is attentive, the food is actually edible (and quite good), you eat off of real china, using real silver, the drinks are free, and the seats are roomier than those in coach. At least that’s the way it was, it could have changed by now. All in all, the 16 hours in the air between Detroit and Hong Kong, plus a two-hour layover in Narita (Tokyo) passed uneventfully and fairly comfortably.

Flying into Hong Kong, at least into the old Kai Tak airport (now closed), deserves special mention. Since we arrived in the evening, we could literally look into the tower block apartments and see people walking around there in. See this link for photos that explain, in pictures, what I cannot adequately put into words. Landing at Kai Tak was an amazing and somewhat harrowing experience.

Hong Kong was a blur. We arrived sometime in the early evening, say around 1800 hrs or so, jet-lagged and quite tired. Frank Wong, EDS’ manager in Hong Kong at the time, met us at the airport and was a great help getting us out of the airport quickly and efficiently. The three of us took a taxi to our hotel, and Frank waited in the bar while TSMP and I checked in, went up to our room to freshen up and change clothes, and return to the bar in short order. Frank and I did the requisite business over a couple of drinks, and then Frank graciously offered to “show us around.” TSMP’s eyes lit up like the Fourth of July at Frank’s offer, jet lag seemingly gone, and we were out the door and into the street in short order. We didn’t get back to the hotel until the wee, wee hours of the morning…like 0400 or so.

Frank is a Chinese-American, speaks fluent Chinese, and knows/knew Hong Kong like the back of his hand. HK is also one of those “cities that never sleep,” and the three of us spent the night/morning cruising around some of the lesser known streets and alleys of Hong Kong, eating, drinking, and just letting it all soak in. A marvelous time, with lots of laughs, punctuated with Frank’s repeated offers to host TSMP if she’d only stay in HK while I went to Beijing to conduct my business. She kept refusing, and he kept offering…all evening. I half-think he was serious. Anyhoo…the experience was a lot of fun and much, much different from the first and only other time I’d been in Hong Kong.

TSMP and I slept in that morning and took breakfast in our room. Since our flight to Beijing didn’t leave until late afternoon, we checked out of the hotel at the last possible minute, left our bags with the concierge and hit the streets again to do a bit of exploring, and, of course, lots of picture taking.

Our departure from Kai Tak was uneventful…the plane took off on time, and it was a Boeing 7xx, thankfully, rather than a Soviet-bloc Tupolev or Antonov, as I had feared when I learned we were flying Air China from HK to Beijing. The landing in Beijing, on the other hand, was a white-knuckle affair. Our descent seemed to take forever as we let down gradually into the thickest of pea-soup fogs I can remember. The first and only indication we were even close to the ground was the thump of the landing gear as we touched down. I’m not what one would call a comfortable flyer, and that experience was semi-terrifying, especially given the reputation of third-world airlines. But, we made it. I’m still not sure how the flight crew found the terminal, but they did.

Deplaning and walking through the terminal into the customs and immigration area was…uh…interesting. There were lots of young, very young, Peoples Liberation Army soldiers cradling AK-47s in their arms, walking around in pairs, everywhere. And they didn’t look upon the people deplaning with what I would call “kind” eyes. I had never seen as great a military presence in an airport in my life, and still haven’t, to this day. It was chilling.

Passing through customs and immigration was, once again, interesting. The immigration officer inspected our passports carefully, studying the visas for quite a while and asked us the usual questions… “where are you staying,” “the purpose of your visit,” “How long will you be in China,” etc., etc. He finally stamped our passports and we went to the baggage claim area, collected our bags, and proceeded out of the terminal, where we were mobbed by taxi drivers. I negotiated, as best I could, what seemed a reasonable fare into the city, the driver loaded our bags into the trunk of his car, and we were off. (I later found out I had paid three times the going rate for our taxi, but that’s another story.)

I told you it was foggy. It was also dark, what with it being around 1900 hrs in mid-December. And dark isn’t the word. It was pitch-black. Beijing, in 1991, had to be the darkest city I had ever been in. There were absolutely NO street lights what-so-ever, and our driver took what I gathered to be a series of “short-cuts” into the city. We drove out of the airport (which was also very, very dark) down two lane roads, turning into two-lane streets, for about 30 minutes before we got into the city proper, which was also dark. Did I mention it was DARK?? People and animals would materialize out of the gloom, flash by our windows and disappear, to be replaced with more people and animals. There wasn’t much traffic at all, only trucks and the odd bus here and there. There were virtually no cars on the road.

Things brightened up a bit once we got into the city, but only slightly. All in all, it was about a 45-minute trip from the airport to the hotel, and TSMP and I heaved sighs of relief as we pulled up to the door of the Beijing Shangri-La hotel. A bellboy unloaded our bags and we went into the hotel to check in. The first phase of the trip was complete… we had arrived successfully at our destination.

To be continued…but in the meantime, check out that Shangri-La link, and take a couple of the virtual tours. Pretty neat stuff!

A Lengthy Reminiscence...in Two Parts

(Part One of a lengthy two- [or perhaps more] part post.)

Hey, come on try a little
Nothing is forever
There's got to be something better than
In the middle
But me & Cinderella,
We put it all together
We can drive it home
With one headlight

-The Wallflowers

“Nothing is forever.” That was brought home to me (once again) this past week when I got rid of another relic from “Former Happy Days.” This time it was an old, old dishcloth that’s been hanging around for…oh…about the last 15 years or so. I only got rid of it because, in the course of drying a dish, I ripped a big hole in the thread-bare fabric. I probably should have tossed the thing at least a year ago, but…it was special.

And what’s special about a dishcloth, you ask? It was a gift; a gift from a man who owns a construction company in Tokyo, and as such, was emblazoned with his company’s logo and the ubiquitous “Green Cross” signifying on-the-job safety. So, the dishrag wasn’t really a dishrag; I just used it as one. It was actually a small terry cloth towel of a type typically worn by Japanese construction workers under their hardhats, much as we would wear a head-band. The man who gifted me the dishrag/head cloth—at my request—was one of The Second Mrs. Pennington’s “host fathers” from back in the day when she was a Rotary high school exchange student in Japan, and the occasion was a visit to this man’s home outside of Tokyo in the early ‘90s. And, of course, the act of throwing out the dishrag prompted me to reflect on its origins and the circumstances leading up to my acquisition of same.

Along about this time back in 1991 or so, TSMP and I were making preparations for a trip to Beijing. I was working on a consulting project to develop a Request for Proposal for a packet-switched data network for the Ministry of Railways in the Peoples Republic of China. The client requested a final, page-by-page edit of the RFP be done on-site at their offices in Beijing, before the end of the year.

To make a long story short, I convinced TSMP it would be a “good thing” if she came along. It didn’t take much to convince her, especially once I agreed that we would combine the trip to Beijing with a week’s vacation in Tokyo on the way home. We would fly from Detroit to Hong Kong, spend a day there liaising with the manager of EDS’ Hong Kong offices (we had no presence in Beijing), fly on to Beijing, do the job, and then return to Detroit via Tokyo. The only fly in the ointment was TSMP’s reluctance to drop a significant sum of money on her ticket; she saw no value at all in spending the additional money to upgrade her ticket from cattle-car to business class. (EDS’ travel policy at the time provided business class tickets for all flights over ten hours in duration; thus they were springing for a business class ticket. For me. TSMP’s ticket was on our dime.) I finally overcame her objections by pointing out the airline probably wouldn’t allow us to switch seats back and forth during the flight—as she wanted to do—and that 16 hours in a coach seat would be just a bit too much.

So, after much preparation, including a frantic one-day drive from Detroit to the Chinese consulate in Chicago and back to get our last-minute visas walked through the bureaucracy, we were off to Beijing. The next installment of this two-part post will contain my impressions of Beijing…as best as I can remember them.

Stay tuned.

Left-Overs?

Bec asked in the comments to "Just Checkin' In," below, if I had any left-overs from T-Day in my fridge. The pictorial answer is on the right!

RV refrigerators are pretty small, unless you're living in a high-end RV, which feature side-by-side "home" size fridges these days. Unfortunately, I don't live in a high-end coach or fifth-wheel. Once I pack in all of life's essentials: beer, Dr. Pepper, milk, half and half, etc. there isn't room for much else.

And another thing: I have to manually defrost the fridge, too. It's a PITA, albeit a minor one.

Just Checkin' In

Black Friday. Both SN1 and SN2 were up at the crack of dawn and out seeking bargains this morning, if all went to plan. And I mean that quite literally: SN1 told me he and the family, which includes Mom this year, planned to be “in line” at 0500 this morning...all the better to get "Early Bird" goodies. I’m glad they’re doing their part to support the economy, because I’m certainly not. I have a built-in aversion to crowds, in the first place. And I hate to shop, in the second place. You might think “hate” is a pretty strong word, but let me assure you: it is not. If anything, the word understates my feelings about shopping. I go to the ‘net if there’s shopping to be done, and have done so since about…oh…1998. Thanks, AlGore.

Two or three times a month I’ll link to Mr. Lileks when he has something particularly funny to say, or an item that’s out of the ordinary in some way or another. While the Bleat is an everyday read for me, there’s more—much more—to his site. Lileks is a one-man kitsch conservatory. One man’s kitsch is another’s folk history, and in that spirit I give you the link to his motels site: a collection of vintage post cards found in Mom ‘n’ Pop motels during the 1950s and 1960s. These cards are pretty danged nostalgic for us geezers folks of a certain age, and interesting, perhaps, for the rest of y’all. I naturally scoped out all the New Mexico entries; this is my favorite. Lord only knows how many of these places I’ve actually stayed in over the years. Hundreds. And not a few were on Route 66, before there was an I-40.

My current lust object: Susan Swain. Actually, Susan has had that status for a while now. (Along with my favorite Weather Babe, who apparently left The WX Channel. Or was fired. But I digress.) Susan is articulate, intelligent, and lovely as all get out, with a killer smile. And there’s an interesting twist here, too. If you clicked the link, you’ll see the article was published in “Connections,” a publication of the Association of Jesuit Colleges and Universities. Ms. Swain graduated from the University of Scranton in 1976. TSMP was also the recipient of a Jesuit education: ND, ‘78. She and Ms. Swain are about the same age and there’s more than a superficial resemblance, too. {Cue Twilight Zone music}

Today’s Pic: The cylindrical fountains in the aptly-named Tranquility Park, Houston. The shimmering effect of water cascading down these 30-foot tall (or so) satin-finish metal cylinders is mesmerizing. I spent the better part of an hour here, just watching the water move. And the people, too. April, 2000. (As always, click for larger.)

Update, 1150 hrs: You need to get over to Laurie's place and view the video she posted this morning. Moving, to say the very least.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Of all the things I’m thankful for on this day…family, friends, reasonable health… I thank God most of all for making me an American. Most all of the good things in my life begin and end with that one single fact.

Please spare a thought today for the soldiers, sailors, airmen, Marines, and Coasties on the front lines defending our way of life, no matter where those "lines" may be. I'm thankful for those men and women, those that came before, and those that will follow in their footsteps.

You could do much worse today than read the editorial the WSJ has published every Thanksgiving since 1961.

We can remind ourselves that for all our social discord we yet remain the longest enduring society of free men governing themselves without benefit of kings or dictators. Being so, we are the marvel and the mystery of the world, for that enduring liberty is no less a blessing than the abundance of the earth.

And we might remind ourselves also, that if those men setting out from Delftshaven had been daunted by the troubles they saw around them, then we could not this autumn be thankful for a fair land.

As true today as it was back in 1961.

Here’s a lightweight Thanksgiving article in the WaTimes: Among other things, it says:

Our gobbler gobbling is considerable. Americans will consume 46 million turkeys today, according to the National Turkey Federation; our troops in Iraq alone will chow down on 20 tons, according to the Army's 1st Calvalry Division.

Oh, yeah, and Republicans are happier and have more to be thankful for than Democrats. Really.

Too late this year, but useful next Thanksgiving: “Happy Thanksgiving from Jalopnik: Engine Hoist Turkey Deep Fry.” Or, how to deep-fry a 17-pound turkey without setting the world on fire. Literally. With pictures!!

Today’s Pic: (Top of the page) A photo from the best Thanksgiving I ever spent away from family. That’s my buddy Dan from Florida on the right, with two friends who I met the first time that Thanksgiving and whose names I don’t remember. And, yes, that’s deep-fried turkey…the most succulent turkey I’ve ever had, bar none. A great day spent with good friends. Thanks, Dan and Marti! Near Fort Walton Beach, Florida. Thanksgiving Day, 1999.

The Incredible Lightness of Being...of Late

From the NM website:

“New Mexico is rich in personality. No other state can claim our geographical or cultural diversity, or match our historic complexity.”

That statement contains more than a little hyperbole. Now I love New Mexico, which should be plain if you’ve hung around here enough to read more than a couple of posts. I’ll concede the web site’s claim of historic complexity; no argument there. But when it comes to geography, California has everything NM has (e.g., deserts, mountains, rivers, etc.) and more, simply because of its wondrous coast line. It’s arguably a toss-up when it comes to cultural diversity. But once again, I’d give California the edge. CA has waaay more moonbats than we do, even when you consider the significant moonbat penetration in Santa Fe and Taos. Proof? One word: Berkeley. All moonbat, all the time.

There. I’ve said something good about California. And they said it couldn’t be done.

Scant consolation…From an AP wire report published in the WaPo:

More than a week after Rep. Heather A. Wilson (R-N.M.) claimed a razor-thin election victory, her Democratic challenger conceded yesterday, saying that a recount would cost too much and that there was no guarantee it would reverse the result.

Well, duh! Too much is $300K and there’s “no guarantee…” Yeah, I doubt if I’d wager MY money, either. But it took Madrid long enough to concede. And the “scant consolation” angle? Just that Republicans have won a few close races. But not nearly enough of ‘em, unfortunately.

A rather touchy subject, but this column by Carol Sarler in The Times (UK) contains some facts of which I was unaware:

By contrast, to have sex with somebody who has passed the age of puberty is merely to defy a law of Man — and a pretty arbitrary law at that. We cannot agree between one border and the next at what age a boy or girl is emotionally developed enough to give informed consent: Malta and The Netherlands think 12, Canada and Italy weigh in at 14, cautious Greece holds out for 15 and the good burghers of Iceland go as high as 17.

A lad in Dover with a girlfriend of 15 may not have his wicked way, but if they hop a ferry to Calais they’ll be fine. Meanwhile, in some American states not only may you have sex at 13 but you may marry at the same age, allowing for the theoretical absurdity that a man could marry in, say, New Hampshire but should he bring his bride to old Hampshire for their honeymoon he could be imprisoned for statutory rape.

The “age of consent” obviously varies widely and apparently has no underlying rationale, beyond the commonality of the woman being beyond puberty. That said, I had no idea that women (and I use the term very loosely) of 12 are legal in some parts of the world. The article is very interesting, in a sociological sort of way.

Also from The Times, this is a pretty funny article: “Go green. Look a complete idiot.” An excerpt:

Anyway, after almost 12 months of Vespa ownership, my provisional licence is about to expire and I must take the California motorcycle test. This has proved trickier than expected. I should mention that California’s Department of Motor Vehicles is one of the most efficient organisations on Earth. The first time I went to the DMV’s offices in Hollywood, I took three newspapers, a book, two copies of The New Yorker and a packed lunch. I was fully prepared to spend the rest of the day (and possibly the day after that) sitting on a plastic chair, waiting. In fact, I’d barely walked through the door when my appointment number came up on the overhead plasma TV. Forty-five seconds later, I was done (perhaps they should put the California DMV in charge of Iraq).

Well, the California DMV may be a model of efficiency, but the Texas equivalent sure ain’t!

The author could have (and should have) opted for another form of two-wheeled transport if his objective was to “go green.” Anyone who chooses to ride a Vespa should prepare him or herself for embarrassment, and lots of it, especially in the eyes of other bikers. Just sayin’.

The Horror! The Horror!

Today’s Pic: From a slender volume titled “Little Known Horror B-Movie Out-Takes, vol. VII.” “The happy couple stood on the valley floor, blissfully unaware of their impending doom as The Blob silently but inexorably approached…”

YrsTrly and Friend at the Valley of Fires, aka the Malpais Lava Flow. April, 2004.

Unmotivated

I’m fresh out of motivation to link and comment on the news. Again. So, here’s a short collection of Random Notes …

“My Lil Reminder” is the top EIP search term of late, what with seven hits in the four days since I posted my mini-rant about same. No comments, though, so I don’t know if the googlers are of like mind or not. The ad is still running, and it’s still as dumb as a box of rocks.

Speaking of ads…Haggar, a men’s clothing manufacturer, has a new series of ads out that are…uh… disconcerting. I’ve seen two of ‘em on ESPN and I’m not impressed. Here’s a quote from AdJab:

I'm not even sure what to do with this new ad series from Crispen Porter and Bogusky for Haggar clothing. It's obviously an appeal to middle-aged suburban men, but specifically a sub-set of that group made up of men who enjoy torturing their children, are mildly misogynistic and enjoy half-naked wrestling with their neighbors. I honestly think CP&B may have lost focus here. The point of advertising is to sell the product, not just to create funny commercials. That's why these ads fail on both levels.

The ad titled “dog crap” is just that: explicit, graphic footage of some jerk letting his dog crap on someone’s lawn, followed by the ad's protagonists acting out a retribution fantasy. There’s not a suburban homeowner in the world that hasn’t had a similar fantasy, yet still… I found that ad offensive, on more than one level. Another ad, “stereo” is also a retribution fantasy. The series of four ads have the recurring theme of “making things right.” You can view all of them here. The ads just don’t work. Not at all. This might be a new low in American advertising.

It’s a short week, leading up to the feast of gluttony (and I use the term lovingly, not disparagingly), as all y’all are aware. Becky is celebrating by treating us to a few of her favorite recipes, doling them out on a one-per-day basis. I strongly suspect Becky is one of those women near and dear to my heart: a Southern cook...and most likely a great Southern cook, from the look of things. As was my Mom. Becky is a Mississippian, not all that far (geographically speaking) from Georgia, which is where Mom was born and raised. Once again, I’m speculating the influences and styles are quite similar. Reading Becky’s recipes makes my mouth water, and summons up memories of Mom’s cooking.

It would be an understatement of gargantuan proportions to say Mom was a “good” cook. She was a great cook, beginning with a solid foundation of old-time southern cooking learned at her grandmother’s knee in an age when there were no frozen foods, no fast food, and no microwaves. But Mom went quite a bit further, adding culinary influences and techniques to her cooking that were gathered during a lifetime of being dragged around the world. She simply got better and better as time went on and we moved from place to place to place.

Imagine, if you will, the unlikely combination of Southern-fried cooking, infused with touches of classic French cuisine, complimented by a side of Tex-Mex, and topped off with a perfect crème brûlée or flaky, honey-soaked and pistachio-laden baklava for dessert. And the baklava had perfect filo pastry that was hand-made, not bought. You can’t imagine it, I’m sure. You just had to be there. Mom sure spoiled me when it comes to other women and their cooking. It’s a given that Mom is the gold standard of most everyone’s cooking, but mine was the real deal.

Colores

Today’s Pic: Inside a Santa Fe glass shop. The picture just doesn’t do justice to the brilliant colors of/in the objécts. Perhaps it was the artificial light (I think so), or maybe it’s just the photographer’s lack of technical knowledge and/or skill. Whatever. It’s sorta close. May, 2005.

Good, Bad, and Downright Ugly

So Lileks makes this offhand remark today after a lengthy rumination on Minneapolis’ urban renewal plan:

Anyway, I see lots of planters and old-timey signs, I calculate the likelihood of getting sapped from behind just doubled. But here’s what really amused me about the plan: greenery will be installed not just to make things green and lively, but to prevent “climate change.”

You could raze the entire downtown core and plant trees, and it wouldn’t effect climate change. I swear, it’s become the secular equivalent of “peace be upon him.”

He’s right, ya know. Environmentalism as religion. It’s not just an issue, it’s a cause theology! And, in so becoming, it’s yet another way to separate the “good” among us from the evil, offering up endless opportunities to praise the former and to disparage the latter. But, all y’all know how I feel about this subject…I’ll not belabor the point.

So over the weekend it was revealed Charlie Rangel will use his newfound position of authority to introduce legislation to reinstitute the draft. I agree with Confederate Yankee:

What doubtlessly disappoints Mr. Rangel is that though Americans do not support the direction of the War in Iraq (as was evidenced in the recent election), they have refused to engage in the massive protests and demonstrations that were key to the anti-war campaign during the Vietnam era. Rangel's primary goal in his call to reinstate the draft is to gin up protests like those of 30 years ago.

Rangel's tactics are particularly loathsome in that he seeks to use our all-volunteer military as the whipping boy for his anti-war politics. He would attempt to pit draft-age Americans and their family members against those who honorably joined the military of their own volition.

I have nothing but contempt for Rangel's transparent demagoguery. He does not wish to strengthen America's proud all-volunteer military, but instead seeks to lessen its will, against its wishes, and against its needs.

Rangel has a history here, trying periodically and repeatedly to revive an institution we have no use for. It’s all too transparent—an anti-war ploy that, thankfully, looks like it has zero chance of success. Thank God for the Blue Dog Dems. Even Nancy knows Rangel’s ploy is a non-starter, which comes as a mild surprise.

Captain Ed adds the following:

If anything, the draft created the kind of disparities that Rangel deplores, through college deferments for people with enough money to go to college. Rangel's new plan removes that loophole by stripping the choice for service from every man and woman in America. He plans on turning the military from the most effective fighting force in world history to the government's biggest social engineering program.

If one wants to see the difference between Republicans and Democrats, this gives a clear example. Rangel wants to solve a social ill that really doesn't exist, caused by too much choice, and use the government to eliminate all of the options available to Americans. Republicans have used a market approach to define the choices available and built the mightiest armed force in the world, by making sure the people who enter want to be there. We can expect to see this same template for health-care "reform", entitlement "reform", and a number of other "reforms" that the Democrats will now pursue.

What he said. It’s an interesting (and above all, true) observation that the Dems are constantly trying to solve (or invent) non-existent problems. More "solutions" to follow, of course. {sigh} “Our long national nightmare has just begun…”

Today’s Preaching to the Choir sermon (“Will the West Stumble?”) comes from the illustrious Victor Davis Hanson, via Real Clear Politics. From very near the end:

So we are at a crossroads of all places in Iraq. The war there has metamorphosized from a successful effort to remove a mass-murdering dictator into the frontlines of the entire struggle between Islamic radicalism and Western liberality. If we withdraw before the elected government stabilizes, the consequences won't just be the loss of the perceptions of power, but perhaps the loss of real power. What follows won't be the impression that we are weak, but the fact that we are--as we convince ourselves we cannot win against such horrific enemies, and so should never again try.

That stumble will send a shudder throughout the so-called West that will be felt worldwide. It will insidiously show that the premodern world proved the master of the postmodern, as al Qaeda's Alfred Rosenberg, the pudgy Dr. Zawahiri, boasted all along--whose followers will not be happy with a successful defense when they think they can go back on an even more successful offense.

There are none so blind as those who will not see. The evidence continues to mount, yet seemingly intelligent people (read: Progressives/Liberals/Democrats) either choose to ignore the evidence or, more plausibly, wish that it would simply go away. The threat will not go away. The threat is real and becoming ever more dangerous as each day passes. And yet…and yet…we have Nancy Pelosi saying things like “Bringing the War to an End is my Highest Priority as Speaker.” If you go to that link, browse some of the comments. And be afraid. Be very afraid.

Let’s end on a positive note. Here’s Michael Fumento's “Return to Ramadi,” in the Weekly Standard. Excerpt:

For this very reason, Ramadi is both a litmus test for the counterinsurgency effort in Iraq and a laboratory. If we can defeat the insurgent and terrorist forces here, there is no place we cannot defeat them. And from what I found, we are defeating them. It's painfully slow, and our men there are still dying in inordinate numbers from a broad variety of attacks. But a multitude of factors, including tribal cooperation, the continual introduction of more Iraqi army and police, the beginning of public works projects, the building of more Forward Operating Bases (FOBs), the installation of more small operational posts (OPs), and plunking down company-sized Combat Operation Posts (COPs) smack in the middle of hostile territory are destroying both the size and the mobility of the enemy. This time the rats are dying in place.

Mr. Fumento writes a lengthy article that names names, includes both the good and the bad, but comes to an interesting—and positive—conclusion:

Put it all together--the Forward Observation Bases, new Combat Operation Posts, new Observation Posts, tribal cooperation, ever more Iraqi army and police, better intelligence, and public works projects. There's no "stay the course" strategy here; the course changes as necessary and it's continually changed for the better. I believe we are winning the Battle of Ramadi. And if the enemy can be beaten here, he can be beaten anywhere.

As I said: positive. You don’t see a lot of that, these days.

Genetics

Today’s Pic(s): A brief photographic dissertation on genetics. The flower bed outside my door. August, 2005.
Update: Added a longer view of the bed.

A Quiet Sort of Sunday

Few things in life live up to their billing, and that’s especially true when it comes to football. But yesterday’s Michigan – Ohio State game was everything it was supposed to be, and perhaps a bit more. Here’s Mitch Albom, from his column in the Detroit Free Press:

But once the game got going, it was all football. And, man, was there a lot of football. You'd need extra projectors to show all the highlights. For a game steeped in the tradition of Bo versus Woody, there was precious little of their style. Defense took a back seat to speedy offense. Running took a backseat to passing. Tackling took a backseat to elusive offensive moves. Ohio State had six offensive touchdowns. Michigan had five and a field goal. There were 900 combined yards of offense. Nine hundred yards?

[…]

It is not the ending anyone in Ann Arbor wanted. And maybe some feel sad for the Michigan players that this game, which they waited all season to play, had to come with the heavy burden of the death of a beloved Michigan family member.

But college is supposed to be about learning. And a real life lesson is that things don't always go the way you want, and the timing of life is often inconvenient, the sad and the wonderful happening within hours of one another. However bad the players feel this morning, there are other things in life that are worse than losing a game. That lesson has been well learned in the last few days.

No storybook ending. But then this was not a storybook. It was sports. And if the heavy-hearted Wolverines fell three points short in the biggest game in this big game's history, well, that is hardly something to be ashamed of, is it?

Nope: Nothing to be ashamed of at all.

There will be a lot of talk over the course of the next three weeks or so about who should play Ohio State for the national championship. ESPN’s talking heads debated the subject of a Michigan – OSU rematch within minutes of the conclusion of yesterday’s game in Columbus. There is absolutely no doubt in my mind that OSU is Number One: they proved that conclusively. And there’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that Michigan is Number Two and should remain Number Two. I haven’t made up my mind about a rematch, but it seems logical. Of all the one-loss teams in Division I-A, there isn’t a single one that could beat Michigan. Shouldn’t the two best teams in the country play for the championship?

(~~La La La~~…) What was that? (~~~La La La~~~…) Why…It’s a FAT Lady! And I do believe she’s singing!

Bernalillo County Clerk Mary Herrera said the county's canvassing board is expected to reconvene Monday to certify the results.

"It could change but it doesn't seem possible at this point," Herrera said.

The overall tally showed 105,916 votes for Wilson and 105,037 for Madrid. That gave Wilson a winning margin of 879 votes -- with roughly 211,000 ballots cast in the race.

Herrera said results from Bernalillo County included all but about 500 provisional votes that were disqualified. Voters who cast those ballots will be notified by certified mail and can protest their disqualification at hearings Nov. 22 and 27.

So Heather Wilson pulls it out, but it certainly was a near-run thing. In true Democrat fashion, Patricia Madrid (Wilson’s opponent) is hanging on and refuses to concede. A spokeswoman for the Madrid campaign said “We can't make a decision about what to do next. Other people can declare victory but we choose to wait and let democracy play its course.” It should be all over tomorrow. Unless, of course, there’s “vote fraud,” or “voter suppression,” or an invasion of vote-snatching zombies from outer space…

An oldie but a goodie, via BlogBuddy Morgan: “Top Ten Worst Company URLs.” And they’re real. What were they thinking? Did they even LOOK at what they did?

Today’s Pic: A rainy, windswept, and very moody sort of day at the south end of Monument Valley, Utah. June, 2005.

RIP Bo, Hype, and Bad Press

Bo Schembechler died yesterday. Here’s an obituary written by Mitch Albom. I cannot improve upon Albom; I won’t even try.

RIP, Bo.

I’ve never seen anything like it, ever. ESPN’s web site is pretty much ALL Michigan – Ohio State…at least on the home page. Including that ridiculous countdown clock—Countdown to Judgment Day!—which I saw for the first time night before last but forgot to include in yesterday’s Miscellaneous Moans post. I should have. Now my memory certainly ain’t what it used to be, but I cannot remember another game that has been hyped as much as this one. Well...perhaps last year’s USC – Texas national championship game got as much (or more) hype; that game was another Number One vs. Number Two match-up, but with higher stakes. But like last year’s Rose Bowl, there’s not a chance in Hell we’ll be disappointed in today’s actual game.

There isn’t a football fan in America that doesn’t know about this rivalry. If you’re not a football fan, it would still be fun to read “Game, rivalry couldn’t be scripted any better,” just for the “fun facts” about Michigan – OSU. Here are two:

It is true that in 1950, the teams played through a blizzard with 29 inches of snow and more than 50,000 fans sat through it. Michigan's Chuck Ortmann punted 24 times, and the Wolverines won 9-3, despite failing to make a first down. Buckeyes coach Wes Fesler quit a few days later. Ohio State hired the little-known Hayes away from Miami (Ohio).

It is true that in 1970, a local judge in Columbus dismissed a charge of obscenity against a defendant arrested for wearing a T-shirt that said, "F--- Michigan" because the message "accurately expressed" local feelings about the university and the state.

OSU is a seven-point favorite in today’s game. I don’t care. I think Michigan can win it, and my heart is with them. I heard on ESPN that there are signs all over Ann Arbor that say “Win one for Bo.” That may be a little bit over the top and a lot maudlin, but I can understand the sentiment. My heart is with Michigan: Go BLUE!

This is just too, too rich: The usual suspects start their whining about how biased the media are against the Democrats! Just a sample:

It's as if all these unpleasant events of the last six years never happened and we are back in the days of endless cable bitch-fests filled with sniggering about unauthorized blow jobs and earth tones and "grown-ups" who eat PB&J's and travel with their favorite pillies.

I knew it would happen in one form or another. (We caught a glimpse of it with the John Kerry apology treatment.) The DC press corps hates having to criticize Republicans. Republicans make them feel all icky and call them liberals (which they so, like, aren't!) I confess, however, that I'm a little bit awed by how smoothly they have transitioned back into their assigned roles. I thought there might be a moment or two of cognitive dissonance as they went from grim and serious reports about terrorism and war to shallow personality politics and tabloid character assassination. I assumed they would at least wait until the presidential campaign took off to contrast the manly Republican Alpha with the loser Omega Dem, but I guess I didn't realize how much they've missed their fast times at DC High.

Well, perception is reality, ain’t it? Personally, I think these guys took too many drugs in the way-back, or perhaps it’s a classic case of selective memory. Coz, if I recall correctly, the MSM (fittingly, as it turns out) bombarded us with predictions of a Democrat landslide during the past month or so, punctuated with hourly calls for Rumsfeld’s resignation and supported by testimonials from every retired Army general whose ox had been gored by transformation. Not to mention the MSM gloating about Dubya’s declining popularity each and every time the poll-du-jour was released. Or perhaps we’re just watching and/or reading different media?

And then there’s this:

"For Incoming Democrats, Populism Trumps Ideology," headlined The New York Times in a front-pager a few days ago: "New Class Promises End to Partisan Tone."

The following headlines appeared in USA Today over several recent days: "Democrats offer to help steer new course in Iraq; some leaders vow to probe 'mistakes'" ... "Republicans lose ground among Hispanic voters; Democrats perceived as being on 'right side' of immigration issue" ... "Democrats: Identify pork sponsors; Pelosi plans to target anonymous 'earmarks' " ... "Public expects the Dems to deliver; 61% prefer party, not Bush, to chart course."

Doesn’t sound like the press is indulging in Dem-bashing, does it? In fact, the author, William Powers, maintains the press (and I’d make an argument by extension, all media) simply loves the Democrats, but it is and it’s gonna be, tough-love:

Tough love. Journalists are more aggressive under Democratic rule. This doesn't jibe with the stereotype of reporters as liberals, but it's the stereotype that winds up undermining itself. When Democrats are in power, there's a huge incentive for reporters not to appear too sympathetic and thereby confirm the old liberal-bias charge. Thus, despite the friendly coverage we're seeing in this honeymoon period, the Democratic restoration will eventually produce tougher coverage than we saw of the GOP Congress, as media outlets strive to prove that they aren't soft on the Democrats.

So maybe the usual suspects have a point. Personally, I don’t think so. We’ll see.

Today’s Pic: The trees have shed their leaves. We’ll see sunsets like this from now until sometime in mid-April. Winter… December, 2004.

The Muse is Still AWOL...

...so the best I can do is assume my curmudgeonly persona and give you an EIP semi-regular feature, to wit:

Miscellaneous Moans, Groans, Bitches, and Complaints Dept: Just a few things that get my goat of late… Let’s begin with Irritating TV ads, Part Four (or is it up to Five?). Always a fertile field, here are two from the latest crop of ads that insult our intelligence.

“Philips TeeVees with Ambilight Technology.” This ad treats us to a TV that radiates pale green light from the back of the TV as the Incredible Hulk morphs from his regular human form into Hulkiness. Just what I need: a TV with a built-in light show. My initial reaction was, and remains, “how stupid.” But not everyone agrees.

“My Lil Reminder.” This ad opens with a shot of some poor befuddled white-haired old lady standing in a parking lot, wondering just where she left her car. Now I can sorta relate to that, me being of a certain age, and all. But I cannot relate to carrying around a small digital recorder and remembering to pull it out and record “Section L-6” before venturing off into the mall. If you’re that damned forgetful, just jot down your location on a piece of paper, nu? And imagine the confusion if, just by happenstance, you forget to record “L-6” when getting out of your car and you replay “C-13” from a couple of days ago. I can imagine police departments getting more than a few panicky stolen-car reports…

And as for recording shopping lists? Right…that’ll work. Let me see you cross off a purchased item on your handy-dandy MyLilReminder. I hope there’s no serious venture capital tied up in this exercise in stupidity.

Moving right along… we come to The Phalanx of Flags. While C-SPAN and I were waiting for yesterday's Democrat press conference announcing their new leadership, we were treated to the spectacle of low-level minions arranging NINE freaking American flags behind the podium. Some off-camera wag commented “Have you got enough flags?” The minion-in-charge replied “You can never have too many flags.” Well, I beg to differ. You can have too many flags. These days, more likely than not, you DO have too many flags. ONE flag does the trick nicely. Any more than that and you look like you took set decoration lessons from Joseph Goebbels.

It’s not just the Democrats, it’s seemingly everyone. Case in point: I watched Haley Barbour and Michael Chertoff address the 2006 Federalist Society this morning and there were eight American flags arranged on the stage behind the speakers (video on the C-SPAN site, RealPlayer required). And again: Anytime a foreign leader visits the White House and that visit is worthy of a press conference, Dubya and said foreign leader emerge from a hallway lined with umpteen soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines, displaying the Phalanx of American and foreign flags. One each would do nicely. Any more is overkill and vaguely off-putting.

Stop it.

And finally, the strictly personal… My microwave is but a month (or so) old and the interior light has already burned out. Not a good sign. And, as best as I can figure, I'll have to disassemble the entire frickin' microwave to replace the bulb. What wonderful, user-friendly product engineering. /sarcasm.

And you know there may be more...

MIA: Muse, One Each.

I’m having a spot o’ bother getting started this morning. I didn’t get up too very late (0830), but my brain is refusing to fully engage. Which isn’t all that unusual, come to think on it.

So, as is my habit, I’ll simply post Today’s Pic for starters, continue working on the coffee, and wait patiently for my muse to arrive.

Oh! One other thing. My buddy Dan in Florida has begun blogging the restoration of an old Honda Gold Wing. I have the feeling his blog will evolve to include more than the bike’s restoration. Interesting stuff! Go check him out!

Today’s Pic(s): Two pics of an immaculately restored ’53 Corvette, including the (in)famous “Blue Flame” Six. Who, back in 1953, would have thought that a car with such an inauspicious beginning would evolve into a world-class sports car? It was (and is) beautiful, though. Amarillo, TX. May of 2004.

Update, 1155 hrs: I've turned off the word verification feature in comments after trying lebbenty-lebben times to post a comment on my own freakin' blog. The word verification jpeg simply wouldn't display, no matter how many times I hit "refresh" and shouted creative obscenities at my monitor. It's pretty hard to "type the word above" when YOU CAN'T SEE THE DAMNED THING! Was anyone else having this problem?

Thursday's Potpourri

Some pretty cool and unusual plane pr0n: The MiGs of Area 51. That lil photo off to the right is a YF-110, the designation for MiG-21s operated by the USAF. Via commenter Beach Bum, at Lex’s place. Lex flew against the MiG-21 during Project Constant Peg. Worth the read, as always.

Hey Bec! Here’s something I found over at The Lileks’ place this morning you might be interested in: The Musuem of Russian Art. I thought the sample paintings were pretty cool, especially “Wet Winter.” What I wanna see, however, is a retrospective of Commie propaganda “art” from the ‘50s. You know the school: all those beefy, grim faced (or would that be stoic?), Heroes of the Soviet Union-types in various worker poses. As James says:

The theme is “Realism,” but that’s not meant in the sense of “realism,” but rather scenes from actual Russian and Soviet life, as opposed to Joe Stalin riding a tractor into the dawn. I always wish they displayed a bit more Soviet Kitsch – it has a strange power both horrifying and hilarious, dead and alive, and for some reason it doesn’t have the same lurking evil you find in official Nazi art. The evil is stillborn and inert; it’s sleeping it off.

I agree wholeheartedly. It may be kitsch, but it’s interesting kitsch!

Pelosi-Murtha-Hastings update…at Captain Ed’s:

If Murtha was an unforced error, Hastings is an embarrassing example of Pelosi's judgment. She needs the support of the Congressional Black Caucus to get elected Speaker, and they want Hastings to succeed Harman, if Harman doesn't get the chair. Pelosi can't afford to alienate them any further after she had the audacity to ask William Jefferson to resign from his committee assignments after the FBI found $90,000 in his freezer. (Jefferson won re-election, too.)

Steny Hoyer and Jane Harman have proven themselves capable party spokespeople, and have a record for independent thinking. Pelosi opposes them both strictly for personal reasons. She doesn't like Harman, feeling that her fellow Californian hasn't been partisan enough in her role on the Intel committee, and Hoyer ran against her for Minority Leader in 2001. For those personal reasons, Pelosi wants to turn to a corrupt ex-judge and a bumbling porker for party leadership positions, making a mockery of her promises of reform.

Democrats are in a bad position. They can't afford to throw Pelosi under the bus after promoting her as the first woman Speaker in American history. They can't afford to have Hastings and Murtha in leadership positions and then face the voters in 2008 who wanted reform and change. They can't afford to undermine her authority and openly campaign for the reversal of Hastings' appointment and the failure of her Murtha endorsement.

What he said.

Heckuvajob, Madame Speaker. After two years of your “leadership,” America will storm the polls. Those that are paying attention, anyway. Who’d a thunk it? Nancy Pelosi: The Republicans secret weapon. Karl Rove is an evil genius, indeed.

Wanna read some serious moonbattery? Better even than MoveOn? Equal to WorldCan’tWait? Then go check out Dennis Kucinich’s site. I watched Mr. Kucinich give his “one-minute” speech on the House floor yesterday morning (a ritual familiar to C-SPAN viewers) where he called on the House to cut off funding for the Iraq war. You can find that rant at his web site; it’s the lead item. But the bit that absolutely astonished me was this:

One of the most emotionally wrenching moments came at 10 o'clock at night as they arrived in the village of Qana, the Cana of biblical lore where Christ performed the first of his miracles, changing water into wine. One of the greatest tragedies of war befell a house in Qana where a 1,000-pound bomb exploded and collapsed the structure, crushing dozens of women and children who had sought shelter in the basement.

Kucinich and his wife went to pay respects to the dead, as a graveyard in the center of the village was lit by automobile headlights. They walked by several rows of graves, each with a picture of someone killed in the bombing. One picture was of four members of the same family. Buried were a mother and her three children. As Kucinich quietly wept, a hand reached around his shoulder to console him. It was the very man who had lost these family members, his wife and three children.

"As Kucinich quietly wept..." Damn, that's romance-novel prose. Bad romance-novel prose, at that. What a maroon. What a freakin’ maroon! You remember Qana, right? All the MSM angst over Israel’s “war crimes” and other atrocities? Yeah, that Qana. Kucinich bought all that MSM hand-wringing and a bag of chips. Ol’ Dennis is worse than a moron…he’s a tool.

A question you never asked… Shoulda mentioned this in yesterday’s Anniversary post, but didn’t. Have you ever wondered about the title of this blog? I was on the phone with an old friend one evening just before I decided to begin blogging. During the course of the conversation (after I bemoaned the fact there was no Starbucks here, restaurant choices are limited, yadda, yadda) she asked “Why do you stay there, out of all the places in the country—the world, even—you could go? Is this some sort of self-imposed exile or something?” Well, now that you mention it, yes. Yes, it is. Exile in Portales.

The baby finds its name.

Today’s Pic: All the Pennington Men (and a couple of Pennington Boys). On the decks of the USS Mason, Port Canaveral, Florida. April, 2003.

A Quick Tour of the 'Sphere Reveals...

So. The wind has subsided a bit, and it’s turned cold. When I say “subsided,” I mean: “Wind: From N at 24 mph, gusting to 29 mph.” (from the WX Channel web site) The current temp is 45, with a wind chill of 36. I just might defer the mini-Grand Tour one more day; it’s not at all pleasant outside right now and it’s supposed to be warmer tomorrow.

I know I’ve intimated I was going to get off politics for a while, but I just can’t help myself. Because there are a few articles in the media today that are just too, too good to pass up (and not pass along). First of all, there’s this in The New Republic (free registration required):

In one of her first important acts since Democrats recaptured Congress, Nancy Pelosi is about to make a decision that is both substantively foolish and politically tone-deaf. The decision involves the chairmanship of the House Intelligence Committee. For obvious reasons, that post has serious implications for national security--as well as the image of a Democratic Party seeking to convince the public it can be trusted to govern. But it appears alarmingly likely that Pelosi will spurn both with a decision based on petty personal and identity politics.

The current ranking Democrat on the Intelligence Committee is Jane Harman of California. Harman is one of the most respected Democrats in the House on national security and intelligence issues--a widely acknowledged expert in a field that Democrats as a whole are woefully unfamiliar with. Given her current seniority on the committee, Harman is the natural choice to become its chair in the Democratic Congress--and she has made clear that she wants the job. But all indications are that Pelosi will deny Harman the job and appoint in her place Alcee Hastings of Florida, a former judge who was impeached on bribery charges--and someone who has left no discernable mark upon the critical intelligence debates of the post-September 11 era.

Ordinarily, few people would take Hastings seriously for such an important job. In 1981, Hastings was a federal judge in Miami. He was accused of conspiring with a friend to take a $150,000 bribe in exchange for issuing light sentences to a pair of mobsters. A Miami jury acquitted Hastings (while convicting the friend), but three different federal judicial panels later referred him to Congress for impeachment.

I’ve written about Hastings before. But I’m just a little bit surprised to see The New Republic, a moderate left-wing periodical, come out against Pelosi’s apparent choice for the chair of the House Intelligence committee. It just goes to show that there are a few reasonable Democrats that are more concerned with the national interest than partisan politics . (hat tip: Glenn, who has some great links on this subject, and more)

But, wait! There’s more! Let’s talk about Murtha, who Pelosi has endorsed for House Majority Leader.

Here’s Ruth Marcus, in an op-ed in the normally left-leaning WaPo:

If she gets her way and helps Murtha win a come-from-behind victory against Maryland's Steny Hoyer in tomorrow's leadership election, she's buying herself -- and the Democratic caucus -- endless news stories about Murtha's ethics. If, as he says, Hoyer has the votes, Pelosi has made herself look weak within the caucus -- not a smart move for any new leader, and certainly not for the first woman in the job. Perhaps the late timing and measured phrasing of Pelosi's endorsement were meant to ensure that it would have little impact. If so, Pelosi failed to recognize that once she weighed in, the vote for majority leader would inevitably be seen as a gauge of her clout.

Here’s an op-ed in the WSJ:

House Speaker-designate Nancy Pelosi's endorsement of Rep. John Murtha for majority leader, the No. 2 position in the Democratic leaderhsip, has roiled her caucus. "She will ensure that they [Mr. Murtha and his allies] win. This is hardball politics," Rep. Jim Moran, a top Murtha ally, told the Hill, a congressional newspaper. "We are entering an era where when the speaker instructs you what to do, you do it."

But several members are privately aghast that Mr. Murtha, a pork-barreling opponent of most House ethics reforms, could become the second most visible symbol of the new Democratic rule. "We are supposed to change business as usual, not put the fox in charge of the henhouse," one Democratic member told me. "It's not just the Abscam scandal of the 1980s that he barely dodged, he's a disaster waiting to happen because of his current behavior," another told me.

[…]

Melanie Sloan, the liberal head of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, was cheered on by Democrats six weeks ago when she helped reveal the Mark Foley scandal. Now she says that "Ms. Pelosi"s endorsement of Rep. Murtha, one of the most unethical members of Congress, show that she may have prioritized ethics reform merely to win votes with no real commitment to changing the culture of corruption."

Freakin’ Melanie Sloan! Remember her? When a former John Conyers staff member has issues with Murtha, you just know something’s rotten in Denmark the House. But…if you go to only one link in all this, read the WSJ op-ed. And wonder why Murtha remains in Congress, let alone how it came to pass he’s being considered for majority leader.

“Culture of corruption,” indeed.

Sad, sad, sad…from the San Francisco Chronicle:

After 90 years in San Francisco high schools, the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps must go, the San Francisco school board decided Tuesday night.

The Board of Education voted 4-2 to eliminate the popular program, phasing it out over two years.

Dozens of JROTC cadets at the board meeting burst into tears or covered their faces after the votes were cast.

"We're really shocked,'' said fourth-year Cadet Eric Chu, a senior at Lowell High School, his eyes filling with tears. "It provided me with a place to go."

Sometimes I wonder if SFO really is part of America, or something else entirely. I cannot begin to express how glad I am that I no longer live there.

Here’s a bit of good news, from The Beeb, no less:

Pakistan's national assembly has voted to amend the country's strict Sharia laws on rape and adultery.

Until now rape cases were dealt with in Sharia courts. Victims had to have four male witnesses to the crime - if not they faced prosecution for adultery.

Now civil courts will be able to try rape cases, assuming the upper house and the president ratify the move.

The reform has been seen as a test of President Musharraf's stated commitment to a moderate form of Islam.

"It is a historic bill because it will give rights to women and help end excesses against them," Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz told parliament after the vote.

Religious parties boycotted the vote, saying the bill encouraged "free sex".

A woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours in Pakistan, according to the country's independent Human Rights Commission.

Maybe, just maybe, there’s some hope Islamic countries will emerge from the 7^th century and join the rest of the world. I’m not going to hold my breath, however.

And so it goes…

Anniversary

The blog is one year old today. I’ve put up 690 posts and been honored with 10,293 visits during the past year. Time sure flies when you’re having fun!

Many, many thanks to Frequent Readers and commenters Bec, Becky, Dale, Dan, dc, Laurie, Lou, Mike, Reese, SN1, SN2, and Steve. And thanks also to the “mystery readers” in California (2), Colorado (2), New Jersey, Texas (2), and Virginia…you who stop by often but never say anything! It’s a toss-up as to the greatest reward I’ve received from blogging… either the new friends I’ve made, or the connections renewed. Both are great, and I thank you.

Today’s Pic: Your Humble Scribe, ostensibly tapping out today’s post. 20 minutes ago.

Understatement

"Fair and Windy." Note the "gusting to" number.

We be rockin'!

Thar She Blows! And Blows, and Blows, and...

I woke up this morning, fired up the coffee, and raised the shades. My initial impression: what a brilliant and beautiful day! Just the sort of day to do the High Plains Mini-Grand Tour, i.e., Portales – Big(ger) City^TM – Cannon Airplane Patch – Portales. And then I read this:

/O.CON.KABQ.WI.Y.0033.061114T1800Z- 061115T0600Z/ HARDING COUNTY-FAR NORTHEAST PLAINS-QUAY COUNTY-DE BACA COUNTY- ROOSEVELT COUNTY-CURRY COUNTY- INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ROY... CLAYTON...TUCUMCARI... FORT SUMNER... PORTALES...CLOVIS 354 AM MST TUE NOV 14 2006

A WIND ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT FROM 11 AM THIS MORNING TO 11 PM MST THIS EVENING.

EXPECT RAPID INCREASES IN WIND SPEEDS THIS MORNING...WITH WEST WINDS INCREASING TO 25 TO 35 MPH. EXPECT LOCAL GUSTS TO 50 MPH...INCREASING IN COVERAGE THROUGH THE AFTERNOON. EXPECT STRONGER WINDS ACROSS THE NORTHEAST PLAINS AND FROM TUCUMCARI WEST...WHERE WIND SPEEDS WILL INCREASE TO 30 TO 40 MPH WITH LOCAL GUSTS TO 55 MPH.

Well, OK. Maybe it’s just the sort of day to stay in and watch the dust swirl by my window as El Casa Móvil De Pennington rocks none-too-gently from side to side. Mini-Grand Tour deferred until tomorrow.

Just Askin’…Why are weather bulletins/advisories always IN CAPS? No one communicates using teletype any longer; we modern folk get our WX briefings information via Tee Vee or the internet, nu? So: dispense with the caps, please. No need to shout, we read you 5x5.

Are you addicted? In the WaPo (Caught in the Web…More People Say Heavy Internet Use Is Disrupting Their Lives, and Medical Experts Are Paying Attention):

Concern about excessive Internet use -- variously termed problematic Internet use, Internet addiction, pathological Internet use, compulsive Internet use and computer addiction in some quarters, and vigorously dismissed as a fad illness in others -- isn't new. As far back as 1995, articles in medical journals and the establishment of a Pennsylvania treatment center for overusers generated interest in the subject. There's still no consensus on how much time online constitutes too much or whether addiction is possible.

But as reliance on the Web grows -- Internet users average about 3 1/2 hours online each day, according to a 2005 survey by Stanford University researchers -- there are signs that the question is getting more serious attention: Last month, a study published in CNS Spectrums, an international neuropsychiatric medicine journal, claimed to be the first large-scale look at excessive Internet use. The American Psychiatric Association may consider listing Internet addiction in the next edition of its diagnostic manual. And scores of online discussion boards have popped up on which people discuss negative experiences tied to too much time on the Web.

[…]

The Web site for Orzack's center lists the following among the psychological symptoms of computer addiction:

· Having a sense of well-being or euphoria while at the computer.
· Craving more and more time at the computer.
· Neglect of family and friends.
· Feeling empty, depressed or irritable when not at the computer.
· Lying to employers and family about activities.
· Inability to stop the activity.
· Problems with school or job.

Physical symptoms listed include dry eyes, carpal tunnel syndrome, migraines, backaches, skipping meals, poor personal hygiene and sleep disturbances.

Hmmm. I definitely have a feeling of well-being while at the computer. Unless my frickin’ connection does its “go-slow” routine or decides to just give up altogether, which is not a rare occurrence. Then I feel like getting in my car, running down to Yucca Telecom’s building and fire-bombing the SOBs. These feelings just might be a problem. Ya think? And don’t go talking about “sleep disturbances,” mmm-kay?

LaShawn Barber has a post on this article, with 39 comments (as of this writing). The comments are most interesting; it seems like a lot of folks spend a lot of time on-line, but few seem to think it’s a problem. (via That Law Prof in Madison)

Where is that Fat Lady, anyway? (via Real Clear Politics)

In New Mexico 1, County Clerks are in the process of counting of the 2,698 provisional ballots and 1,058 "in lieu of" ballots still outstanding. Each ballot has to be scrutinized to determine whether it's valid or not before being added the candidate's final tally. By law, the count has to be done by Friday.

Right now, incumbent Republican Heather Wilson has a 1,487-vote lead over Democrat Patricia Madrid.

Heather Wilson isn’t my representative (and she’s anything BUT fat), but I like her. A lot. Could have something to do with the fact that she’s an Air Force Academy grad, but it’s more likely because she’s all in favor of killing terrorists.

Slow news day in The Big(ger) City^TM …

A Clovis police car was damaged Friday night by a tossed pumpkin, according to police reports.

Around 6 a.m. Saturday, Sgt. Douglas Ford called police to report a tail light on his cruiser had been broken when someone threw a pumpkin at it the night before, the report said.

[…]

There were no witnesses or suspects, the report said.

Sheesh. A crime wave. Good thing I decided to stay home today.

Right on cue… It’s 1057 hours as I put the finishing touches on this post. And the wind is howling!

Today’s Pic: SN1, SN3, and Grandson Sean in a hangar at Cannon. Get ‘em while they’re young, I always say. As always, click for larger. April, 2003.

Lightweight

Well, I’m back. If you’re looking for pointed political commentary and links to illuminating thought on the issues of the day, move on. Nothing to see here. It’s not that I haven’t read a ream or two of news stories and op-eds this morning/afternoon that range from bad to worse. I have. And, wonder of wonders, I have absolutely nothing to say, or rather, nothing to say that hasn’t been said better, elsewhere. And you, Gentle Reader, are just as capable of ferreting out this stuff as I. Better, probably. Some days it just bees like this.

My current Earworm is (arguably) the silliest and most insipid song that came out of the 60s. Ever. Never mind the fact that it was actually 1970.

Almost cut my hair
Happened just the other day
It's gettin' kind of long
I could've said it was in my way

But I didn't and I wonder why
I feel like letting my freak flag fly
And I feel like I owe it, yeah ... to someone, yeah

It’s all because the last time I got shorn was in late May or early June, just before I went out to Maine for granddaughter Anastasia’s graduation. So, yeah, I’m reminded of the fact “It’s gettin’ kind of long” every time I look in the mirror. I guess I am letting my freak flag fly. Frickin’ David Crosby. Fat Old Hippie.

Second Thoughts Dept: Regardless of what I said above, this album remains one of my all-time favorites. There’s not a bad track on that album, not one. And it (the album) helped me get laid. A lot. (See here for one reason why)

Speaking of music… I put away about 90 or so CDs in the course of completing a long delayed project yesterday, to wit: reducing the clutter that’s accumulated in El Casa Móvil De Pennington. “Put away” means returning the CDs to their normal storage space (an overhead cabinet above my couch), which is also generally inaccessible. That inaccessibility means I’ll pull a CD out of its storage space, play it, and set it aside in a pile of “played CDs.” I had accumulated nine such piles over the course of the last two years or so. It was quite junky looking. All fixed now.

In the course of filing all those CDs I pulled out an album from said storage space I hadn’t listened to in quite some time, probably three years or more. I’m still listening to it today, even though there are only about three tracks I really like on the album. The rest of the tracks are throw-aways, at best. But I’ve always liked this song, and hearing it again makes my day quite a bit brighter. So, resurrecting an old blog feature, I give you today’s…

Song of the Day

Song: To Live and Die in L.A.
Artist: Wang Chung
Album: To Live and Die in L.A. (soundtrack)
Year: 1985
Source: My Stuff.

Makes me think of & etc.: Former Happy Days. I’d just moved from OKC to Detroit and begun my post-USAF career with EDS. The song has a sort of hypnotic quality, the arrangement and orchestration are magnificent, and you can just sing along SO easily. The lyrics, on the other hand, take on an entirely different meaning these days.

Lyrics:

In the heat of the day
Every time you go away
I have to piece my life together
Every time you’re away
In the heat of the day
In the dark of the night
Every time I turn the light
I feel that God is not in heaven
In the dark of the night
The dark of the night

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the room I’ll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la
I wonder why we waste our lives here
When we could run away to paradise
But I am held in some invisible vice
And I can't get away
To live and die in la

If I let myself go
And for where I just don’t know
I’d maybe hit some cold new river
That led out to the sea
An unknown sea
I’d either swim or I’d drown
Or just keep falling down and down
I think its that, that makes me quiver
Just to keep falling down
Down, down, down

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the way I’ll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la

In every word that you say
I feel my freedom slip away
I feel the bars come down around me
And I can't get away
I can't get away

I wonder why I live alone here
I wonder why we spend these nights together
Is this the room I’ll live my life forever
I wonder why in la
To live and die in la
I wonder why we waste our lives here
When we could run away to paradise
But I am held in some invisible vice
And I can't get away
To live and die in la

I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la
I can't get away
To live and die in la

Sorry for the lightweight nature of today’s musings. It is what it is…

Marking Time

We dipped down into the low, low 30s again last night. Our forecasted low was 31 degrees and I have no reason to doubt we hit it. It was quite chilly in El Casa Móvil De Pennington this morning, which, of course, encouraged me to remain abed…all warm and snuggly and such. It’s my habit and practice to turn the heat down to about 60 or so before retiring; I sleep best in cool temps. That habit makes rolling out of bed on cool to cold mornings just a little…um…problematic. Much easier to remain where it's warm, nu?

So, here I am, working on the third cup and still making the morning’s virtual rounds. Ill be back in a few, but in the meantime…

Today’s Pic: Some Fall color (and a friend) for you in a spectacular setting—Letchworth State Park in Upstate New York, near Rochester. October, 1999.

Arabic Bloggers, a Follow-Up, and In Praise of Rumsfeld

This is good news. In today’s WaPo:

"Several years ago, Arabic blogs in the Middle East could be counted on one hand," said Haitham Sabbah, Middle East editor of Global Voices Online, a media project sponsored by the Berkman Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School. "Today, they are in the thousands and are becoming a new source for news and information."

Though only about 10 percent of people in the Arab world have Internet access, the rate continues to rise dramatically, having multiplied fivefold since 2000, according to Internet World Stats, a Web site that tracks Internet usage and related information.

The number of bloggers in Saudi Arabia has tripled since the beginning of the year, reaching an estimated 2,000.

I read more than a few English-language blogs written by Lebanese during the Israel-Hezbollah conflict this past summer and was most impressed, generally speaking, with what those folks had to say. I can only imagine what Arabic bloggers are saying, but from what I gather by reading the article linked above, the rise of Arabic bloggers is a good thing. And the authoritarian, totalitarian governments in the Middle East realize this, too. The all-too-predictable government crackdowns appear to be on the way and are already happening in some cases. Here’s hoping the new wave of Arabic bloggers have the courage to persevere. It takes real courage to dissent in an environment where the consequences of opposing or criticizing the government can be a true life or death situation. Unlike here at home, where the tinfoil hat brigade constantly worries about their phones being tapped and/or being shuttled off to Gitmo when the black helicopters come…

An editorial follow-up to yesterday’s post on Michigan’s Proposal Two (the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative), in today’s WSJ:

Ward Connerly has done it again: A striking 58% of Michigan voters gave the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative a thumbs up; only three counties voted against it.

The language of the MCRI closely tracks California's 1996 Proposition 209, also led by Mr. Connerly. It amends the Michigan Constitution to "ban public institutions from using affirmative-action programs that give preferential treatment to groups or individuals based on their race, gender, color, ethnicity or national origin for public employment, education or contracting purposes." The political and business establishments, pressure groups like the AARP, labor-union leaders, religious spokesmen, the professoriat, the major Detroit newspapers--all were opposed to MCRI. But a substantial majority of ordinary voters were thinking for themselves.

[…]

Buried in a lengthy speech to University of Michigan students on Wednesday, Ms. Coleman did say, "of course the University of Michigan will comply with the laws of the state." It was far from her first thought, however, and she has asked the school's attorneys "for their full and undivided support in defending diversity." They'll waste their time. As George Mason University law professor David Bernstein notes, "the chances that the university would ultimately win such litigation approach zero."

Ms. Coleman's other problem is that the much-vaunted "diversity" of the university is something of a sham, as an editorial writer for the very liberal Daily Michigan newspaper has suggested. The campus "is starkly segregated. ... We live in different student neighborhoods. We go to different bars on different nights. We join in different student groups. There are even separate Greek systems." While Ms. Coleman has made the usual noises about building a "community" and "creating a diverse, welcoming campus"--whom was she kidding? Apparently no one.

The author of the editorial, Abigail Thernstrom, is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute and vice chairman of the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Read the whole thing.

A paean to Rummy in today’s WaPo by Douglas J. Feith, a man who knows him well. Excerpts:

I know that Don Rumsfeld is not an ideologue. He did not refuse to have his views challenged. He did not ignore the advice of his military advisers. And he did not push single-mindedly for war in Iraq. He was motivated to serve the national interest by transforming the military, though it irritated people throughout the Pentagon. Rumsfeld's drive to modernize created a revealing contrast between his Pentagon and the State Department, where Colin Powell was highly popular among the staff. After four years of Powell's tenure at State, the organization chart there would hardly tip anyone off that 9/11 had occurred -- or even that the Cold War was over.

Rumsfeld is a bundle of paradoxes, like a fascinating character in a work of epic literature. And as my high school teachers drummed into my head, the best literature reveals that humans are complex. They are not the all-good or all-bad, all-brilliant or all-dumb figures that inhabit trashy novels and news stories. Fine literature teaches us the difference between appearance and reality.

[…]

Rumsfeld had to resign, I suppose, because the bitter political debate of recent years has turned him into a symbol. His effectiveness was damaged. For many in Congress and the public, the Rumsfeld caricature dominated their view of the Iraq war and the administration's ability to prosecute it successfully. Even if nominee Robert Gates pursues essentially the same strategy, he may command more public confidence.

What Rumsfeld believed, said and did differs from the caricature. The public picture of him today is drawn from news accounts reflecting the views of people who disapproved of his policies or disliked him. Rumsfeld, after all, can be brutally demanding and tough. But I believe history will be more appreciative of him than the first draft has been. What will last is serious history, which, like serious literature, can distinguish appearance from reality.

Once again, read the whole thing. In case you hadn’t noticed, I was, and remain, a big fan of Mr. Rumsfeld. Mr. Rumsfeld delivered some of the best, most profound, and seriously funny moments in this long war during his DoD press conferences. His smack-downs of clue-free reporters, who, in most cases were begging for a smack-down, were Churchillian in their delivery and content, not to mention wit. I agree with Mr. Feith: history will judge Rummy well.

Today’s Pic: Seven years ago this week I was hanging out on the shores of beautiful Lake Livingston, about an hour and a half north of Houston. My, how times have changed. November, 1999.

Valour-IT Final Results

That little box above reflects the results of the Valour-IT fundraiser as of this morning. The overall goal of $180,000.00 was handily met...and that's a wonderful thing. When it comes to the teams, you can see the Marines took first place with an 11^th hour surge that took them past—way past—the Navy. Alas, our team brought up the rear. As it is in sports, all I can say is “wait until next year!” There’s a lot of activity going on in the background, and the “lessons learned” will be archived and applied to our efforts in next year’s fund raiser.

The real winners in this fund drive are the injured troops who will receive voice-activated laptops from the Valour-IT project. In the aggregate, the donations you made will buy approximately 280 laptops. That’s a lot of love and support.

Thank you.

Valour IT

It’s that time of year. What with Veteran’s Day approaching—less than two weeks away—there’s NO better way to show your support for the troops than a donation to Project Valour IT. As with last year, the annual fundraiser is divided into four teams…just for fun and to keep that ol’ inter-service rivalry alive. Here are the blogs that serve as “Team Leads” for the four services: Air Force, Grunts, Jarheads and Squids. All worthy standard bearers.

The real message is give. And since you’re gonna give, why not make the Air Force the winning team this year? Hit that donation button on the sidebar and Cross into the Blue!!

Update 10/30/2006, 1230 hrs.: This is a "sticky post," i.e., it stays on top until 11/11/2006. Scroll down for regularly-scheduled blog updates.

Update 11/08/2006: Laurie over at Soldiers' Angels New York has some USAF Thunderbirds memorabilia up for auction, including a very cool "remove before flight" key chain. Anyone who has ever been on a flight line has seen those safety-keyed streamers hanging from ordnance and other places on fighters. Now you can have one for your very own...if you hurry up and bid!!

Here's the eBay site for the Thunderbirds stuff... What? You're still here? Go Bid!

Update, 11/11/2006 0750 hrs: Auction's closed...Laurie made $102.50 for the team. And that was her personal stuff, by the way, obtained during a visit to Nellis AFB on her recent Vegas trip. "Above and beyond," I'd say.

Misc. Stuff for a Saturday

The very definition of mixed emotions: Air Force vs. ND. Today. I suppose I could say my team wins, no matter who prevails. No predictions here…Air Force has a very good option game and ND’s defense hasn’t been all that effective this season. We could see an upset of sorts. Maybe.

We had our first hard freeze last night and I’ve been watching an interesting spectacle unfold outside my window for the past four hours, to wit: leaves are descending from the trees like rain from a dark cloud. I’m not kidding. The trees were fully leafed out at 0600 this morning and they’re about two-thirds denuded as I type. At the rate they’re going they’ll all be bare by this evening.

Today’s Pic: Apropos of nothing…How the Other Half Lives, or perhaps more appropriately, how the other 25% lives. SN2 in his “quarters” aboard the USS Rodney King Davis. Sam was a full Lieutenant at the time, or the equivalent of an Air Force captain. The last time I lived in a space that small and slept in a bunk bed I was an airman—VERY junior enlisted—back in the early 60s. Don’t ask how the Navy enlisted live… Washington (state), June, 2000.

Diversity, Affirmative Action, and Hubris

Well, here's some academic hubris for you. For those of you who don’t know, this past Tuesday Michigan voters approved Proposal Two, which (from the Michigan Civil Rights Initiative web site):

“…is a statewide ballot initiative that will prohibit the state from granting preferential treatment based on skin color or gender in 3 specific areas: public contracting, public employment, and public education.”

And the voters approved the proposal in an overwhelming manner, by a margin of 58% for and 42% against. And this, in spite of intense opposition from all quarters, including (predictably) the Democrat party, nearly every institution of higher learning, and a lot of Republicans, too. Were I still living in Michigan I would have voted in favor of Proposal Two, but I’m that kind of guy: I believe in merit, not quotas.

So, what’s that have to do with “academic hubris,” you ask? Just this, from Mary Sue Coleman, the president of the University of Michigan:

I am deeply disappointed that the voters of our state have rejected affirmative action as a way to help build a community that is fair and equal for all.

But we will not be deterred in the all-important work of creating a diverse, welcoming campus. We will not be deterred.

[…]

I believe there are serious questions as to whether this initiative is lawful, particularly as it pertains to higher education. I have asked our attorneys for their full and undivided support in defending diversity at the University of Michigan. I will immediately begin exploring legal action concerning this initiative. But we will not limit our drive for diversity to the courts, because our conviction extends well beyond the legal landscape.

It is a cause that will take our full focus and energy as an institution, and I am ready to begin that work right now. We will find ways to overcome the handcuffs that Proposal 2 attempts to place on our reach for greater diversity.

[…]

We know that diversity makes us a better university—better for learning, for teaching, and for conducting research. Affirmative action has been an effective and important tool for creating this rich, invigorating environment.

We believe so strongly in affirmative action that we went before the United States Supreme Court to defend its use, and we prevailed.

Today, I pledge that the University of Michigan will continue that fight.

Just for the record, Ms. Coleman mentions “diversity” in her address 21 times, “affirmative action,” on the other hand, is mentioned only five times. No one said a damned thing about eliminating diversity. No one said they wanted the UofM to be lily-white, or predominately Asian, or predominately African-American, or predominately comprised of any ethnic or racial group. The proposal simply wants state government to be color-blind, in government employment, contracting, and admissions policies for state universities…which includes the UofM. And the voting public overwhelmingly agrees. The hubris comes in when Ms. Coleman essentially says “voters be damned…we will continue as we’ve been doing. Period.”

I find that amazing. But then again, academics and liberals—I repeat myself—know better than we do when it comes to what’s good for us, both personally and as a society. Right?

Veterans Day

Today is Veterans Day (celebrated); tomorrow is the actual date designated by Congress in 1938 as our national holiday. Known as Veterans Day here, this day is celebrated as Remembrance Day in the (other) English-speaking parts of the free world. An interesting lil factoid: I got every single Veterans Day off while I was in the military, and technically not a veteran (yet). And I worked every single Veterans Day after I retired and became a “real” veteran. I always thought that was pretty strange.

Salute our veterans today (and tomorrow, for you traditionalists), especially those of the Greatest Generation. We owe those particular veterans an immense debt of gratitude, and they aren’t going to be with us much longer.

And while we’re on about Veterans Day, what better day to donate to Valour-IT? We’re in the closing hours of the fund drive, and, unless you live under that proverbial rock, you know that Team Air Force is in an unusual and uncharacteristic place: DEAD FREAKING LAST. I hate it when that happens. Won’t you please donate five or ten dollars to this worthy cause? And we’ll certainly accept MORE, if you’re in a space to give more. There no causes more worthy. Please give!

Happy Birthday, United States Marine Corps! 231 years and counting. This is about as good a tribute as you’ll find today.

Scott Ott, aka Scrappleface, has been very good since the election. Case in point:

Pelosi Calls Talk of Bush, Cheney Pardons Premature
by Scott Ott

(2006-11-09) — At a post-luncheon news conference outside the White House today, Speaker-elect Nancy Pelosi, D-CA, said talk of pardoning President George Bush or Vice President Dick Cheney was “premature.”

“Let’s not get ahead of ourselves,” said Rep. Pelosi, who as House Speaker would stand third in the presidential succession line. “There are no specific charges or articles of impeachment at this point, and so it’s silly to speak of pardoning them.”

“Let’s not be too hasty for emotional closure,” the California Democrat added. “Our long national nightmare has only just begun.”

Don’t miss his posts on Rummy’s resignation!

Speaking of Pelosi, there’s this in today’s Investor Business Daily:

WWIII: Clinton thought terrorism was a law enforcement matter. Kerry thought it could be reduced to a "nuisance." Now Pelosi says Iraq is not a war but a "situation." Should we issue car bombers parking tickets?

Gen. Douglas MacArthur once said that in war there is no substitute for victory, but future Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi told Fox News' Brit Hume on Wednesday that in Iraq there is no substitute for withdrawal — that Iraq is "not a war to be won but a situation to be solved."

As Ott, putting words in Pelosi’s mouth, said: “Our long national nightmare has only just begun.”

From a featured article (Bridge to Somewhere; The House GOP needs a new generation of leaders.) in today’s WSJ:

If we had to pick the precise moment when House Republicans lost their way, it would be three years ago during the floor vote over the Medicare prescription drug bill. So unpopular was the bill among conservatives, and rightly so, that House leaders kept the vote open for an unheard of three hours as they dragooned reluctant Members to vote aye.

The other great symbol of GOP failure is the proliferation of earmarked spending. In 1994 there were 1,500 such projects stuffed into Democratic spending bills, and Republicans called this a fiscal disgrace. This year Republicans approved closer to 15,000 earmarks at a cost of more than $10 billion. The current leadership defended this earmarking even after such embarrassments as the Alaska Bridge to Nowhere were exposed. When they finally agreed to minimal transparency, it was too late.

Here's one telling exit poll result: In battleground districts, only one in five voters said Republicans would do a better job to "keep government spending under control"; almost twice as many voters said Democrats would do a better job. Yet this week a separate poll found that 59% of Americans still favor fewer government services and lower taxes compared with 28% who favor more government services and higher taxes. "Big government conservatism" was a nice think-tank proposition; it merely lacks support from actual voters.

It is indeed a sea-change when the electorate views the formerly labeled “tax and spend” Democrat party as the more fiscally responsible party. I also find it absolutely incredible that the congressional Republicans, particularly in the House, were so damned deaf and incompetent, nay: arrogant. There were those who warned, early and often, of the dire consequences of unchecked spending and pork-barrel politics. Over the past four to five years one read editorials in the WSJ at least once a week warning congressional Republicans to change their ways, and then there was the “Pork-Busters” movement in the blogosphere. The Republican Congress had been sowing the wind for a long time. Unfortunately, we all have to pay now that they’ve reaped the whirlwind.

Fort Robinson

Today’s Pic(s): Life on the frontier wasn’t bad at all for Army officers back in the day. Well, after the Indian Wars were over, anyway. A couple of pics taken at Fort Robinson, NE, which is now a state park and one of the finest frontier outposts still in existence. I spent the better part of a fine day in May wandering around this post during my cross-country travels in 2000. As always, click for larger.

Post-Mortems

I’m almost done with the post-mortems. In fact, I am done with them. I’ve read more than enough about the whys and wherefores of this loss over the course of the last 36 hours or so and I just don’t want to read any more. We lost, that’s it. Buck up. Move on. (ed: Did you just say Move On? Why, yes…yes, I did!)

I didn’t link to anyone yesterday, and I had my reasons—chief among them being I wanted to read as much as I could before deciding who best represented my opinion. (Hey, it’s my blog, right?) After due thought and consideration, here are the two post-mortems that resonate most clearly with me. Your mileage, of course, may vary.

First, Dean Barnett writing at Hugh Hewitt’s blog:

Most importantly, we didn’t lose because our countrymen suddenly misplaced the virtues that make America great. It is a distinctly liberal trait to blame “the people” when they don’t vote as one would dictate. I’ll brook none of that from our side. The fact is, we thought our country would be better off with a Republican congress. We made a case to the American people. They didn’t buy it because they thought it was a weak case.

And you know what? They were right. In the closing weeks of the campaign season, I felt like I was a lawyer who had a bad client while writing this blog. That client was the Republican Party which had broken its Contract with America from 1994 and had become unmoored from its conservative principles. As its advocate, I couldn’t make a more compelling case for Republicans staying in power than the fact that the Democrats would be worse. I believed in that case, but when that’s all the party gave its advocates to work with, you can honestly conclude that Republicans got this drubbing the old fashioned way – we earned it.

Second, Fred Barnes, in his usual venue:

THIS ONE IS PRETTY EASY TO EXPLAIN. Republicans lost the House and probably the Senate because of Iraq, corruption, and a record of taking up big issues and then doing nothing on them. Of these, the war was by far the biggest factor. Unpopular wars trump good economies and everything else. President Truman learned this in 1952, as did President Johnson in 1968. Now, it was President Bush's turn, and since his name wasn't on the ballot, his party took the hit.

[…]

Already the wails of the immigration restrictionists are rising, insisting Republicans lost because they weren't tough on keeping illegal border-crossers out. Not true. The test was in Arizona, where two of the noisiest border hawks, Representatives J.D. Hayworth and Randy Graf, lost House seats. Graf lost in a seat along the Mexican border, where illegal immigrants flock.

What Americans want is a full-blown solution to the immigration crisis. And that will come only when Republicans come together on a "comprehensive" measure that not only secures the border but also provides a way for illegals in the United States to work their way to citizenship and establishes a temporary worker program. If Republicans don't grab this issue, Democrats will.

Immigration was a big failure of Republicans over the past two years, but hardly the only one. Republicans cast themselves as the party of reform, but they didn't reform anything. And heaven knows, the public is eager for a lot to be reformed, starting with Congress itself and moving on to taxes and entitlements.

The choir is encouraged to read both essays. You may or may not agree with me, but I think these two guys hit the nail on the head. Back to basics, GOP…back to basics.

Just a Few Thoughts

Wow. SO much to read, and I’ve come to the conclusion that I just can’t absorb it all…not today, anyway. But there’s absolutely no disputing the fact that “we live in interesting times.”

Right off the bat I’ll say this: the Republicans did not deserve to win, period. Their track record over the past two years has been abysmal, particularly in the House. The only bright spots I’ve seen over the past two years have been the confirmation of Justices Roberts and Alito, the renewal (of sorts) of the PATRIOT Act, and the recent legislation concerning GWOT detainees. And that last success depends entirely on the law surviving the inevitable court challenges. Should the Supreme Court strike that law down, the Congress, as it appears to be constituted after last night, won’t go back to the drawing board to craft something in the same vein. So much for accomplishments. Missed opportunities are legion, from Social Security, to immigration, to ethics reform, to curbing pork-barrel politics…specifically, earmarks. ALL of those missed opportunities should have been no-brainers for a party that supposedly espouses limited government, “values,” and fiscal responsibility. And there are a lot more missed opportunities, but I don’t have either the time or the inclination to list them.

I think I’ve made my position clear—for what that’s worth—over the past six months or so. I’ve not been impressed with the Republican Party as it’s currently constituted in the Congress—and I exempt Dubya on that account, for the most part. I think the President could have/should have exercised more leadership to get the Republican congress back on track. But, he did not. Water under the bridge, and all that. Yet, still and even, I swallowed my distaste and voted for the bastards Republican candidates, because I felt there was no alternative. Apparently there weren’t enough people in America with views similar to mine. The results speak to that fact.

Now here’s the kicker: I’m beginning to believe a theory I rejected out of hand some six to eight months ago. The loss just might be a “good thing.” America now has two years to watch the Democrats in action. The Republicans have two years to purge the leadership and get back to the roots of small-government conservatism. Yes, there is potential for the congressional Democrats to do some damage, but I think the potential is small, realistically. We won’t be pulling out of Iraq tomorrow, next month, or even next year, and that’s where the greatest danger lies. If the Democrats win control of the Senate, you just might see some Liberal Supreme Court justices retire…but Dubya will still appoint their successors. There’s some danger, there, yes. But, once again, Dubya holds the cards. That scenario will be most interesting, should it occur.

Already there’s some dissension visible in the Democrat ranks. The ultra-libs, aka the “Progressives,” are at war with the centrists. That rift was visible during the campaign, but it’s louder now that the election is over and will get louder still, as time moves on. The Progressives aren’t interested in bi-partisan politics; they want their pound of flesh. They want investigations. Some want impeachment proceedings. Some of the Lefty blogs I read today are VERY strident on that point. I don’t believe the Ultra-Lefties will get their way because, ultimately, Pelosi and Reid are politicians first and foremost. They won’t cut off their noses to spite their face. Unless, of course, they want to lose the next election, which is far more important than the one we just went through.

Interesting times, indeed.

The Fruits of Another Late Night

As noted in the title: The fruits of a late, late night: another placeholder post. I was up until about 0300 watching the returns from what is turning out to be an election of serious historical import. While yesterday’s vote is hardly the Democrat equivalent of the Republican tsunami of 1994, it is indeed significant. And worrisome. I’ve only been up for an hour or so, and in that period of time I’ve seen Speaker-designate (presumably) Pelosi beaming at a press conference while talking about the “will of the American people” and “bi-partisanship.” We’ll see, now, won’t we?

Another bombshell: Rumsfeld is being replaced by the President of Texas A&M, Bob Gates. Mr. Gates is a former DCI, and that’s about all I know about that. I’m watching the President’s press conference as I tap this out, and he’s delivering about as good a performance I’ve ever seen, especially considering the circumstances.

What a night. What a day. Much remains to be seen, eh?

Back in a few.

Today’s Pic: ROTC Cadets from the University of Nebraska, just prior to a dry run of SN1’s commissioning ceremony, Offutt AFB, NE. May, 2000. They look SO young, don’t they? I thought a patriotic theme would be appropriate for today.

VOTE!!!

Do your duty. VOTE!

This should could might be interesting…CNN is featuring bloggers on election night. From Wizbang:

The cable news network plans to host more than two dozen bloggers from across the political spectrum - including sites like RedState and Daily Kos - at a Washington Internet lounge where they can monitor the election returns on a slew of flat-screen televisions. (Each blogger will get his or her own monitor, which can be tuned to any channel.) There will be free wireless access - and plenty of food and beverages, natch.

[…]

Beltway Blogroll notes some of those represented include (with links to their announcement posts): Althouse, Americablog, Ankle Biting Pundits, Betsy's Page, Captain's Quarters, Crooks and Liars, Daily Kos, Eschaton, FireDogLake, La Shawn Barber's Corner, Pam's House Blend, Redstate, TalkLeft, Townhall (Mary Katharine Ham), Wizbang. and others.

Some bloggers (and their commenters) at the links above speculate that the most interesting scenario is what happens if the anticipated Democrat tsunami fails to materialize. Will there be fist-fights? Much gnashing and thrashing? Or just profanity-laced tirades from the Left, as is their wont? I’m not a CNN fan, but I just might channel-surf on by this evening to see how the bloggers are interacting.

But…before I leave this subject, I just have to include this bit from the Lefty FireDogLake announcement (from that same internet café that will host tonight’s “event”):

Christy: We just finished a fun nosh — Pach and I split a cheese and fruit tray, with some brie, gorgonzola, goat cheese rolled in freshly chopped parsley, fig jam, toasted walnuts, smoked gouda, fresh grapes and pear slices and baguette, and a dish of a tasty warm shrimp and crab dip with more baguette. I had a great glass of chenin blanc, and some much-needed water. (Flying makes me very thirsty.) We've got a lovely slice of double chocolate cheesecake to take back to John Amato.

Make of that what you will. Personally, I find the entry just SO “in-touch” with the common man. And that’s what the Left is all about, right correct?

And one more thing. My absolute favorite television moment during the 2004 election night telecasts was when Ohio was finally declared for Bush. Poor Wolf Blitzer looked like he was going to cry. Seriously. I laughed my a$$ off. Hopefully we’ll see another moment like that this evening or early tomorrow morning.

Über-Lib Michael Kinsley, writing in The Guardian (UK): “Thank God I voted first; The Democrats may be poised to win the House, but their manifesto does not inspire confidence” (that’s the title of the column. No kidding.):

What will a Democratic House of Representatives be like? The Republicans have been painting a portrait of Democrats roasting children on a spit in the Capitol Rotunda. Hoping for a more encouraging view, I picked up A New Direction for America - a 31-page manifesto released by House Democrats in June. All I can say is, thank goodness I voted beforehand.

[…]

Fairness is one of three qualities that need to be restored to American public life after six years of George Bush. The other two are honesty and competence.

Honesty is not just therapeutic. Fiscal honesty is a practical necessity. A New Direction for America rightly denounces the staggering fiscal irresponsibility of Republican leaders and duly promises "pay-as-you-go" spending. But in the entire document there is not one explicit revenue raiser to balance the many new spending programmes and tax credits.

[…]

Competence, of course, brings us back to Iraq. Apparently, and unfortunately, Bush is right that the Democrats have no "plan for victory". (Neither does he, of course.) For national security in general, the Democrats' plan is mostly about new cash benefits for veterans. Regarding Iraq, the Democrats' plan has two parts. First, they want Iraqis to assume "primary responsibility for securing and governing their country". Then they want "responsible redeployment" of American forces.

Older readers may recognise this formula. It's Vietnamisation - the Nixon-Kissinger plan for extracting us from a mistake. But Vietnamisation was not a plan for victory. It was a plan for what was called "peace with honour" and is now known as "defeat".

Sounds a lot like buyer’s remorse to me. The only thing Kinsley doesn’t say (explicitly) is “I f*cked up.” He should have.

And finally…Bill Whittle has a new essay up at Eject! Eject! Eject! As another blogger noted, Whittle doesn’t write often, but when he does…home run. An excerpt:

Are we beating these terrorist scumbags and child-targeting insurgent bastards? Are we winning?

Well, let’s see if we want to switch sides with them. Let’s imagine the war where the insurgents have our cards and we hold theirs.

Imagine the US completely occupied by Al Qaeda forces, subject to Sharia law. We are able to take pot shots at a few of them, and we manage to murder a few dozen of our own people every day in an attempt to stop the population from collaborating with the hated invader. But more and more Americans seem to be turning to Sharia and want to get on with their lives. We find sixty percent of the population wants Al-Qaeda to leave, but hatred for the US insurgent forces – the Wolverines – is at about 98%. The people hate the occupiers, but they despise the Wolverines.

Now imagine that a year into the occupation of America, George Bush’s two daughters were killed in a firefight with the enemy, which had surrounded the college sorority house where they were hiding. A year after that, President Bush was pulled out of a septic tank in Crawford by the Fedayeen, then put on trial and sentenced to hang, which he did on national television to widespread cheering. Condi Rice was captured in an early morning raid several years ago, and Donald Rumsfeld was killed by a suicide bomber this last summer.

Everywhere you turn – in every street and every city in America – Al Qaeda forces run security patrols, training Americans to do this for themselves. The only way to stop this is by killing our own people, which further alienates us from a populace that already despises us.

Does that feel like winning to you? Me neither. Welcome to the insurgency.

Tip of the ice berg, that. Whittle takes apart almost all of the current Leftie memes, and he does it with class and facts. It’s a keeper.

Today’s Pic: Another, longer shot of the British train layout from the Clovis Depot, since all y’all seemed to like yesterday’s pic. April, 2004.

Another Curious Encounter

So…I went to bed around 0730 this morning. I was deep, deep in the sleep of the just, when a strange dream occurred. I was standing at a door, knocking insistently, yet no one was answering. Wait! This is no dream, someone is knocking on my door…insistently. So, I roll out of bed, not bothering to put on my glasses, and stumble to the door, opening same. Standing on my door step (so to speak) was a kindly-looking old girl in her late 50s or perhaps early 60s, nicely done up in a print dress and holding a handful of brochures. The following brief conversation ensued…

Kindly Old Lady: Hello, I’m Juaneema (spelled phonetically, that’s what she said, really) and we’re disseminating an idea world wide…

Me: Really? (delivered in a slight mumble, still shaking off the cobwebs)

KOL: Yes! (extends her hand and offers me a brochure, which says something to the effect of “The Death of False Religion is Near!”)

Me: Why thank you! Won’t you come in and let me tell you about an idea I’m trying to disseminate world-wide?

KOL: What idea is that?

Me: Sodomy! It’s not just for ga—

KOL: ::gasp:: Backs away slowly, then turns and breaks into a full run…

Well, it didn’t really happen like that. I gently, firmly, and politely declined to accept her brochure, she gave me a rather strange look and got on her way. It was over in seconds. I went back into El Casa Móvil De Pennington, returned to bed and fell back to sleep immediately, if not sooner.

But…some day someone is gonna wake me up and suffer the consequences. Maybe.

Some Thoughts on The NY Times and...Trains

So. What a weird day/night this has been. I appear to be going into another period of warped circadian rhythms. I decided to hit the hay a bit early last evening, around 2100 or so. Early to bed, early to rise, and all that. It was just after midnite when my eyes popped open—and stayed open, despite my best efforts to get back to sleep. I’ve been up ever since. When 0400 came and went I knew the game was up; I lit off the coffee around 0430. I’ll probably work on this post as I work on the coffee, put it up, and then put me up. I’m thinking I may last until about 0800 or so. We’ll see.

Well, at least they’ve finally owned up to it…The closing graf in an op-ed in yesterday’s NYT:

This election is indeed about George W. Bush — and the Congressional majority’s insistence on protecting him from the consequences of his mistakes and misdeeds. Mr. Bush lost the popular vote in 2000 and proceeded to govern as if he had an enormous mandate. After he actually beat his opponent in 2004, he announced he now had real political capital and intended to spend it. We have seen the results. It is frightening to contemplate the new excesses he could concoct if he woke up next Wednesday and found that his party had maintained its hold on the House and Senate.

Yep, Pinch and Keller are off to the gulag the day after tomorrow, with Dowd and Krugman in tow (hopefully). Will you miss ‘em? I won’t.

And speaking of the NYT, there’s this:

This fall has been a grand diversion for The New York Times’ left-leaning editorial staff, a metaphorical (or not, in some cases) bender, a prolonged sugar rush as reporters, editors and even some administrators are gleeful in anticipation of the Nov. 7 midterm elections. This column is written eight days before the election, and I’m not as sure as Paul Krugman, for example, that the Democrats will ride the “wave” resulting in Speaker Nancy “This gavel is for the children” Pelosi implementing her 100-hour agenda that will raise the minimum wage and roll back President Bush’s tax cuts, but it’s a possibility for which I’m bracing.

[…]

However, once the election is over, regardless of the results, The Times will be forced to consider its own declining fortunes and reputation, which, of course, go hand in hand.

[…]

What The Times ought to consider, but apparently hasn’t, is that its combination of editorial scandals and frantic political swing to the hard left is alienating a considerable portion of its once loyal readership. I’m not talking about the never-say-die loyalists—who won’t live forever— who still believe Sunday’s Times is a major cultural event, or the pundits from extremist publications like The Nation, The American Prospect, Salon and portions of the youngsters at The New Republic and Slate who continue to treat The Times’ editorial shrieking as gospel. Rather, look at the affluent reader in the metropolitan area who almost always votes Democratic (except perhaps for Bloomberg or Rudy Giuliani in his reelection bid), is pro-choice, against the death penalty and doesn’t mind higher taxes if they’re put to supposed good use.

The NYT suffered a 3.5% decline in circulation this past year, according to the latest audit figures published in October. And their stock ain’t looking so hot, either. I wonder why? Adopting a far-left editorial stance is one thing, and it’s not all that unusual. But when you purposefully and disingenuously publish classified information, in war time, on not one but three separate occasions within a period of one year for the sole reason of discrediting an administration you disagree with…well, you deserve what you get. And that’s a shame. The NYT used to be a great paper.

Today’s Pic: A close up of one of the model train layouts at the Clovis Depot, a railroad museum in…wait for it…Clovis, NM. Philip Williams, the proprietor of the Clovis Depot, is a former National Security Agency guy who was stationed in England and Australia, among other places, during his career. He’s been a model railroader all his life and bought the old Clovis depot from the Burlington railroad to establish his museum. A fine man with a great museum. If you ever come to P-Town I’ll take you over there.

I think I’m gonna go to bed now…

Support the Troops

That Kerry thing just won’t go away. While the Left is doing its absolute best to ignore the flap and dismiss it as “just a blooper,” much ado about nothing, or— if they acknowledge it at all— just more heated rhetoric from the Republican Attack Machine. Pundits on the Right, on the other hand, have moved beyond Kerry himself and are delving into The Deeper Meaning. And I keep reading what they have to say.

I read two such articles yesterday that have the ring of truth. One comes from Mark Steyn, one of my usual Sunday reads. The other is by a guy I’ve never heard of, Dennis Keohane, writing in American Thinker (via Real Clear Politics). Both guys write about the same thing, make essentially the same points, but do so in different ways. Keohane goes a little deeper than Steyn, but both are right on target. First Mr. Steyn:

Whatever he may or may not have intended (and "I was making a joke about how stupid Bush is but I'm the only condescending liberal in America too stupid to tell a Bush-is-stupid joke without blowing it" must rank as one of the all-time lame excuses), what he said fits what too many upscale Dems believe: that America's soldiers are only there because they're too poor and too ill-educated to know any better. That's what they mean when they say "we support our troops." They support them as victims, as children, as potential welfare recipients, but they don't support them as warriors and they don't support the mission.

So their "support" is objectively worthless. The indignant protest that "of course" "we support our troops" isn't support, it's a straddle, and one that emphasizes the Democrats' frivolousness in the post-9/11 world.

Now Mr. Keohane:

There is a clash of cultures at work in this, between the historic Democratic culture of ‘caring’, and those who value the ‘warrior culture’ of our military. Both sides care, but express that care with very different methods.

One can hardly find a Democrat anywhere who, when addressing the topic of support for our troops, does not immediately go to the subject of Veteran’s medical benefits, followed shortly by education and retraining programs. When it comes to addressing actual combat, the Democrats again almost invariably go to a lack of body armor or a shortage of up-armored Humvees and the like. The better of the Democratic left (and they are better than the condescending-to-hostile left from Kerry to numerous KosKids) look at the military and the veterans the military produces as another demographic constituency.

Like any other needy Democrat constituency, military and veterans need their help and care, naturally delivered through the offices of a paternalistic government. The warrior culture of the military rightfully views itself as the protector and defender of citizens, politicians and the state itself. The enormous gap between those two conceptions offers a profound clash of cultures.

Steyn makes a damned good point, and one that’s familiar to anyone who reads milblogs, even casually. The troops, in their wisdom, reject the “we support our troops but not the war” meme. Mike Fay, for one, is very vocal about this subject on his blog, pointedly telling Lefties dropping those sorts of comments on his blog to just STFU, albeit more politely. Lefties, for the most part, just don’t get it when they offer their support and it is rejected. Confusion, hurt, and all the other emotions associated with rejection come to the fore. And Mr. Keohane attributes that to “culture clash.” I believe Keohane is correct.

I only have anecdotal evidence concerning the accuracy of Mr. Keohane’s theory, but it’s pretty damned strong. Roughly half of my friends, interestingly enough, are Liberals. And half of my Lefty friends refuse to discuss politics with me—we’ve agreed to disagree, and I’m OK with that. They aren’t my friends because of their politics, anyway. Of the ones that do discuss politics with me, every single one of them are against the war but “support the troops.” And not a single one understands why this is a contradiction. Mr. Keohane again:

Even if the better Democrats understand that victory is a priority, that priority will always be in competition with another: caring. The shooting will no sooner start than they will want to get the troops out of there, because they care! They don’t want to see anyone suffer!

Yet the warrior culture, when that shooting starts, sees the priority clearly and simply as: we fight to win.

[…]

The better Democrats cannot shake the idea that any time we have taken casualties, it is somehow a military failure. Bill Clinton’s Kosovo Campaign is celebrated in the media as a victory primarilly because the ‘high altitude only’ bombing gave us zero casualties.

That the better Democrats have this attitude should be worrisome. Any Democratic administration will become incapable of fighting any war to victory if the harder left is only confronted by those who just think it is a failure to have to fight, and no casualties should be taken.

The troops want the nation to support their commitment to victory. They do not aspire to the status of needy client, they want to be victorious warriors and commit their very lives to it.

My friends are “better Democrats,” and they DO care. But they don’t get it. We’re in a war, and we’re fighting that war to win. Period. Support the troops, support the mission. It’s that simple.

And then there are the “not so good Democrats,” those that reject the very idea that we’re engaged in a global war. These folks acknowledge the reality of war in Iraq, but they want to put an end to that war, immediately, if not sooner. That war is wrong, it was started on false pretenses, it’s Dubya’s personal vendetta, it’s all about oil, yadda, yadda, yadda. Anything but the frickin’ truth. And here is where Mr. Steyn and Mr. Keohane end up, singing in perfect harmony. Mr. Steyn:

To be sure, like Kerry in 2004 deciding that the murderers and rapists were now his brave "band of brothers," the left often discover a sudden enthusiasm for the previous war once a new one's come along. Since Iraq, they've been all in favor of Afghanistan, though back in the fall of 2001 they were convinced it was a quagmire, graveyard of empire, unwinnable, another Vietnam, etc. Oh, and they also discovered a belated enthusiasm for the first President Bush's shrewd conduct of the 1991 Gulf War, though at the time Kerry and most other Democrats voted against that one, too. In this tedious shell game, no matter how frantically the left shuffles the cups, you never find the one shriveled pea of The Military Intervention We're Willing To Support When it Matters.

Mr. Keohane:

All of this points out why the Kerry kerfluffle may have a bigger impact Tuesday than many realize. Since the Foley imbroglio, the speculation has been that some or even much of the ‘Christian right’ of the Republican base, evangelicals and conservative Catholics, may sit it out in disgust, seeing a betrayal of their moral values by Republicans.

But as demographic groups, these two have had a significantly higher rate of membership in the military than the public at large. They honor their warriors as warriors, not as victims or charity cases, understanding that we have our freedoms because hard men and women are and have been willing to do hard things for our freedom’s sake.

Kerry’s reminder of how their family members in the military may fare under the Democrats will be powerful in an election that is now said to be a battle of turnout.

Bottom line? The prevailing mindset of the Democrat party renders them unfit to govern in war time. They simply aren’t mentally equipped to do so. We don’t need a “caring” government, we need a government that is willing and able to kill terrorists, where ever they are. That ain't the Democrats.

Hang 'em High...

Guilty…and he’ll hang…but we kinda sorta knew that, didn’t we? I happened to be awake in the wee small hours this morning when news of the verdict and subsequent sentencing came in. I watched the mini-drama unfold on Fox News, where the “overnight” crew appeared to be out of their element. Not a particularly inspiring performance by the anchor person, and that’s being kind. The folks “on the ground” in Baghdad turned in credible performances, but the anchor person? Not so much. But, on the other hand, at least Fox News provided coverage. MSNBC and CNN didn’t. Not all that important, then, I guess. What was FNC thinking, anyway?

So, I did a little surfing on the Lefty blogs this morning to see what the reaction is/was, and apart from the general “I question the timing” crap and other BS, I found this in one of the comment sections:

I can only hope that this trial is a preview or GWB’s future war crimes trial at the Hague……or, even better, in a free and independent Baghdad.

After all, W long passed Saddam’s record for number of Iraqis killed.

Another member of the reality-based clue-free community speaks.

I suppose your perspective depends, in large part, upon where you sit. Wanna guess where this writer is sitting?

Right now volleys of bullets ring not far from where I sit, some are fired to express joy while others are fired in a desperate expression of denial but I have no doubt who is going to prevail. Although the road is long but we are walking forward and will not look back.

I salute the honorable special tribunal that challenged threats and risks and insisted on keeping up the work until the end, and today it brought back the pride of the land that wrote the world’s first laws.

I salute the witnesses who risked their lives to reveal the truth and expose the crimes of the dictator.

I salute the brave men and women of the coalition who came to this land and made this day possible.

Congratulations to all my Iraqi brothers and sisters on this glorious day.

Why is it the Left absolutely, positively cannot accept, let alone celebrate, any good news coming out of Iraq? Rhetorical question… we all know the answer.

Another Green Wacko update, by Christopher Monckton, in the Sunday Telegraph (UK):

Sir Nicholas Stern's report on the economics of climate change, which was published last week, says that the debate is over. It isn't.

[…]

This week, I'll show how the UN undervalued the sun's effects on historical and contemporary climate, slashed the natural greenhouse effect, overstated the past century's temperature increase, repealed a fundamental law of physics and tripled the man-made greenhouse effect.

Next week, I'll demonstrate the atrocious economic, political and environmental cost of the high-tax, zero-freedom, bureaucratic centralism implicit in Stern's report; I'll compare the global-warming scare with previous sci-fi alarums; and I'll show how the environmentalists' "precautionary principle" (get the state to interfere now, just in case) is killing people.

It’s good to see the debate continuing, despite the best efforts of those individuals who stridently maintain there is no argument, like our buddy AlGore:

Taking a similar tack, former US vice president-turned-green-warrior Al Gore recently declared: ‘Fifteen per cent of the population believe the moon landing was actually staged in a movie lot in Arizona and somewhat fewer still believe the Earth is flat. I think they all get together with the global warming deniers on a Saturday night and party.’

I got that particular quote from a lengthy essay by Australian columnist Brendan O’Neill, who wrote a piece in Spike titled “Global Warming: the chilling effect on free speech.” Here’s another excerpt:

Whatever the truth about our warming planet, it is clear there is a tidal wave of intolerance in the debate about climate change which is eroding free speech and melting rational debate. There has been no decree from on high or piece of legislation outlawing climate change denial, and indeed there is no need to criminalise it, as the Australian columnist suggests. Because in recent months it has been turned into a taboo, chased out of polite society by a wink and a nod, letters of complaint, newspaper articles continually comparing climate change denial to Holocaust denial. An attitude of ‘You can’t say that!’ now surrounds debates about climate change, which in many ways is more powerful and pernicious than an outright ban. I am not a scientist or an expert on climate change, but I know what I don’t like - and this demonisation of certain words and ideas is an affront to freedom of speech and open, rational debate.

What he said.

Today’s “Preaching to the Choir” editorial, courtesy of the San Diego Union Tribune:

Voters seemingly poised to hand control of the House of Representatives and perhaps the Senate to Democrats should be thinking hard about the consequences on an array of defining issues. The most reliable guide to those consequences is not what Democrats are saying on the campaign stump – or mostly not saying, witness the suddenly missing Nancy Pelosi – but how they have actually voted in Congress again and again on core issues.

Bluntly put, there is ample reason to conclude that the prospective Democratic majorities in Congress would, in fact, be weak on national security, defeatist on Iraq, prone to raise taxes and would lean well to the left on cultural values.

Too harsh a judgment, you say? Consider the record.

“Consider the record.” Yes, please DO. And vote accordingly.

Today’s Pic: Inside the Butterfly Conservatory in Seattle, WA. June, 2000.

The Usual Short Saturday Post

Today’s Big News: Gannett’s Army/Air Force/Navy/Marine Corps Times family of publications will publish an editorial on Monday calling for Rumsfeld’s resignation. This lil item is only big in the sense that a LOT of uninformed folks are probably gonna get this wrong. Just because a paper has “Army Times” on its masthead doesn’t mean it’s an official publication of the U.S. Army. It is most decidedly NOT. Editor and Publisher is the medium breaking this news today, and they properly indicate the papers are owned by Gannett. But some freakin’ paranoid Lefty is sure to miss that point, or extend the point waaay beyond its actual meaning, and rant about how the military itself is turning on Rumsfeld. Example:

Long ago, I worked for the company that owns the military Times publications, although my own paper was aimed at the civilian side of the government (we called our small corner of the newsroom "the demilitarized zone.") Maybe things have changed in 20 years but I can assure you that back then the Times papers were even more mindlessly pro-military than the Pentagon itself (which is kind of like being more Catholic than the pope, but with superior firepower). If they're taking aim at the SecDef -- and timing their battery fire for maximum political effect -- it's reasonable to believe that the generals have reached a point that in many countries would be followed in short order by a military coup.

Disclaimer: Link provided for entertainment purposes only. There’s no useful information at the link, just a few good laughs.

Things may have changed since my day, but it used to be the AF Times was only good for the promotion lists it published. I never subscribed, and I never really had to, anyway. There were so many free copies floating around that subscribing would have been a serious waste of money. It’s the ol’ “cow-milk-free” argument… But I digress. What the sergeant really means is the Military Times family of publications in no way reflect the opinion of the military they purport to represent. They’re just rags, pure and simple.

Glenn has more, including a couple of e-mails from readers with very pertinent comment.

Voted today…and the only significant deviation from The Party Best-Equipped to Kill Terrorists was my vote for Kinky Friedman for guv’nor. Governors aren’t exactly in the bid’ness of killing terrorists, and I hope it never comes to that. You may think I threw my vote for governor away and perhaps I did. But…I think Kinky will make a damned fine governor. We need more cigars and bourbon in our state houses and less focus-group crap.

OK…short post, coz this stuff is distracting me from the usual, customary, and reasonable bid’ness of a Saturday: football!

Today’s Pic: Another pic from the Great European Divorce Tour, this time a lovely Dutch Girl who worked the counter at The (original) Bulldog Coffee House in Amsterdam. June, 1998.

Freedom of the Press...

From Brit Hume’s Special Report:

And the journalism advocacy group "Reporters Without Borders" has issued its Annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index. The U.S. came in tied for 53rd — with the group saying federal courts threaten journalists and refuse to recognize the media's right not to reveal its sources.

Denmark, which is listed in the 19th spot, brought charges against two reporters accused of publishing state secrets in a series of stories about pre-war intelligence.

And in Lithuania, which was 27th, the government shut down a newspaper's Web site, confiscated all 15,000 print copies of the paper, and arrested the editor — for running a story alleging political corruption.

Ah, I see. The US press is “less free” than that of Lithuania, who arrested an editor and shut down the paper’s web site. Look out, NYT…they’re comin’ to get ya! It's only a matter of time.
/sarcasm.

Soo…speaking of the press and such, I was looking for a way to diss this survey (What would we do without surveys?) and came across Norm Geras’ lil piece, of which I’ll give you the opening grafs:

This afternoon I'm ambling home from an appointment with the Singing Christians of Kingsway and I'm accosted not far from my gate by a young whippersnapper in mauve pantaloons and holding a clipboard and modern recording device.

'Sir,' he says, thrusting a mic towards me, 'Do you think The Guardian is the greatest threat to world peace today?'

Me: 'Well, no. I do have my quarrels with the paper, but it isn't the greatest threat to world peace.'

Him (disappointed): 'Oh...'

Not being the nosy sort, I thought I'd hang around a bit anyway to see if he was putting the same question to others, so I crouched behind my gatepost in a way that rendered me altogether invisible to the passing throng, and the thronging thring, and I waited. Sure enough...

I just can’t improve on what Norm did. No way.

(By way of full disclosure: I’m a big fan of British understatement and their dry, wry, wit. I’m much less a fan of The Guardian.)

A short follow-up to yesterday’s Green Wackos post… From an op-ed in today’s Las Vegas Review-Journal:

Anyone who attempts to debunk doomsday predictions is shouted down by the radical greens. Europeans Bjorn Lomborg and Phelim McAleer, loyal foot soldiers in the green movement, conducted their own research to support their causes -- and were shocked to learn how wrong they were. Mr. Lomborg, a professor, dismantled the core "truths" he once believed (including global warming) in his book, "The Skeptical Environmentalist," and now must employ bodyguards when he gives speeches. Mr. McAleer, a journalist, went to Romania to film a documentary about an evil mining corporation seeking to rape the landscape at the expense of peasants, and instead found radical environmentalists spreading lies about the project to keep thousands of people in extreme poverty. Today Mr. Lomborg and Mr. McAleer are viewed by many of their colleagues as traitors.

[…]

The punch line to all this? The British report acknowledges that even if the United States, England, Japan and all of Western Europe cut the ignition on every internal combustion engine forever, the developing economies of China and India -- granted exemptions from the Kyoto accord -- will still produce more than enough pollution to make up the difference.

For all this, the United States should cripple the world's largest and most productive economy? A better alternative is to tell the environmentalists spreading this global warming panic to get in touch with nature -- by jumping in a lake.

Not everyone have lost their marbles, thank God. We need a few more good heretics. Just sayin’.

Today’s Pic: A view towards Wenceslas Square, Prague, Czech Republic. Taken during the Great European Divorce Tour, June, 1998.

Message Received

This just in:

Click for larger, as usual. I doubt that anything will be done about my complaint, but Hey! It's nice to know I was heard. At the very least.

The Secret Letter from Iraq

My Buddy Dan in Florida just e-mailed me an item that’s worthy of being read by the entire US of A. The “Secret Letter from Iraq” is much too long to publish in its entirety on the blog, but a little judicious googling on my part turned up the link. You should go there and read… Here’s an excerpt:

Rather than attempting to sum up the last seven months, I figured I'd just hit the record-setting highlights of 2006 in Iraq. These are among the events and experiences I'll remember best.

Worst Case of Deja Vu — I thought I was familiar with the feeling of deja vu until I arrived back here in Fallujah in February. The moment I stepped off of the helicopter, just as dawn broke, and saw the camp just as I had left it ten months before — that was deja vu. Kind of unnerving. It was as if I had never left. Same work area, same busted desk, same chair, same computer, same room, same creaky rack, same... everything. Same everything for the next year. It was like entering a parallel universe. Home wasn't 10,000 miles away, it was a different lifetime.

Most Surreal Moment — Watching Marines arrive at my detention facility and unload a truck load of flex-cuffed midgets. 26 to be exact. We had put the word out earlier in the day to the Marines in Fallujah that we were looking for Bad Guy X, who was described as a midget. Little did I know that Fallujah was home to a small community of midgets, who banded together for support since they were considered as social outcasts. The Marines were anxious to get back to the midget colony to bring in the rest of the midget suspects, but I called off the search, figuring Bad Guy X was long gone on his short legs after seeing his companions rounded up by the giant infidels.

Thanks, Dan! Much appreciated!

Green Wackos

Global Warming is a minor hot button issue with me. Not the fact that the climate is getting warmer, but all the politics surrounding the fact, and the science/pseudo-science associated with the phenomenon. There’s some debate going on here, but not a lot. What little dissent one sees to the received wisdom about the causes of global warming is immediately pooh-poohed by a host of experts as “uninformed,” or worse. Witness our Bud AlGore, perhaps the leading light in the pantheon of Green Demagogues. And the previous link is old, predating the release of “An Inconvenient Truth.” Don't get me started on that subject. Please.

And so yesterday I learn, from the flippin’ Weather Channel, of all places(!), that Tony Blair “enlisted” AlGore to lobby the US on climate change. The Irish Times:

The British government has hired former US vice president Al Gore as a lobbyist to convince the American public that action must be taken urgently to combat the "disastrous" threat of global warming.

The unusual appointment was announced yesterday following the publication in London of a major review by the government's chief economist warning of the dire consequences of failing to deal with climate change.

Sir Nicholas Stern's review starkly warned that the world was entering "dangerous territory" unless urgent action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and prevent the rise in global temperatures.

[…]

The review was published just a week before the latest round of UN talks on climate change starts in Nairobi, Kenya and on the same day that the UN secretariat in Bonn released data showing an upward trend in emissions between 2000 and 2004.

The weighty review provides ammunition for Mr Blair's drive to persuade the US, as well as fast-growing developing countries such as China and India, to sign up to a new global framework to curb greenhouse gas emissions.

Well, now. That’s pretty interesting, isn’t it? Now about that Stern report…Here’s an op-ed in the WSJ on that subject. It’s a fairly long read, so it’s work. But Bjorn Lomborg, author of "The Skeptical Environmentalist," read the Stern document so you don’t have to. Thank him for that, and read his critique. I’ll give you the executive summary, according to Mr. Lomborg: the Stern report suffers from errors, bad data, bad assumptions, and worse…bad prescriptions for a solution to “global warming.” The “solutions,” if implemented the way the Green Wackos want, would be worse than the cure. More debate on this subject, please. Convince me, because I’m sure as Hell not there yet.

Oh, and for the folks at The Weather Channel: stick to your knitting and spare us the global warming sermons. You’re very good at what you do, which is weather reporting. On the other hand, I find Dr. Heidi Cullen, Climate Expert, and her "commentary" annoying as all get-out. Stop it.

Another Placeholder

Another one of those sleep-in kind of days. I’ve just poured my second cup, answered the overnight mail (always dangerous when one isn’t fully caffeinated yet) and am almost prepared to see what’s in the news. Almost. More J-F(rickin’)-Kerry, probably. Arrgh.

Today’s Pic: Apropos of nothing—it’s not raining, I’m not in California (Thank GOD!), and the current view out my window is nothing like this. However. I must have taken this picture for a reason although that reason escapes me now. Outside the window of my apartment in Berkeley, CA, two streets south of the corner of Telegraph and Ashby Avenues. A rainy Sunday in February, 2001.

Kerryism

Lord, please stop me before I blog about Kerry again. But wait! This is less about Kerry than about Kerryism, a new term coined by the inimitable Victor Davis Hanson. Here’s the closing graf from VDH’s essay (on The Corner, at NRO):

The Democrats should use this occasion to have an autopsy of Kerryism, or this strange new tony liberalism, that has turned noblisse oblige on its head. It used to be that millionaire FDRs and JFKs felt sympathy for those of the lower classes and wished to ensure that the hoi polloi had some shot at the American dream. But today's elite liberals-a Howard Dean, Al Gore, Ted Kennedy, George Soros, Ted Turner-love the high life and playact at being leftists simply because they are already insulated from the effects of their own nostrums that always come at someone poorer's expense while providing them some sort of psychological relief from guilt. Poor Harry Truman must be turning over in his grave-from bourbon, cigars, and poker to wind-surfing and L.L. Bean costume of the day says it all.

Ya know, the Dems could do a lot worse than emulating Harry Truman, or trying to emulate him. As a matter of fact, they have done a helluva lot worse, ever since Bubba left office. And Bubba was no role model. Read the whole Hanson piece.

Front and Center!

Bec, in the comments to a post immediately below, gives us this, and it just HAD to come up front:

I had to bring this over from Big Pharaoh. Big chuckle from me. I love our military! :)

Get over to Big Pharoh, right now! You'll laugh your a$ off. John F(rickin) Kerry won't.

Update 11/02/2006: The story about the photo is here.

Staff Sgt. Erik Holtan, a member of the Minnesota National Guard, says he saw the picture and recognized the insignia as that of his fellow Minnesota guardsmen - and he immediately put it up on his own blog site.

"It's awesome," he told The Post. "The troops over there have to be livid because of what [Kerry] said. I don't know why he would say that."

Holtan, who works at Guard headquarters, said he believes the troops behind the Kerry sign are in Iraq, since all the members of the unit in the shot - the 1/34 Brigade Troops Battalion - have been deployed.

[...]

Without citing sources, ABC News in Washington said the photograph was taken in Talil, several hundred miles south of Baghdad, where members of the unit are located.

Update, 11/02/2006, Part Deux: Victor Davis Hanson, at The Corner:

One of the things I love about America is the spontaneous brilliance and humor that undermine all pretension. No better example was that wonderful banner from our brave and ingenious soldiers in Iraq, blaring:

"HALP US JON CARRY-WE R STUCK [backwards k] HEAR N IRAK."

20 million Americans must have seen it all over the Internet, and nothing sums up the nothingness of Kerryism better than those smiling soldiers. After seeing that, no wonder he's offering deer-in-the headlights apologies. This is a man who remembers everything and learns nothing.

Then there was the finger-in-the wind initial Democratic response: their supposedly slight ill breeze suddenly became a Katrina hurricane, and, Presto!, they were all over the airwaves demanding from poor Kerry the apologies that just a few hours ago they thought were not necessary.

As for Kerry — how quick the 24-hour metamorphosis from smugness to defiance to purported contriteness! At his earlier blame-the-wing-nuts-and-Rush-Limbaugh press conference, he thought he was a strutting, strong-jawed Napoleonic general leading his troops to rout the evil Bush-Cheney Prussians, and then, alone, suddenly turned around — and Mein Gott in Himmel!! — his Old Guard was heading for the hills.

I’d wager many more than 20 million Americans saw this wonderful photo. It was the lead item on several Fox News Channel shows yesterday afternoon/evening.

A Curious Encounter

I had to go out to the base this afternoon… mainly because the G-4 told me during today’s staff meeting it was time for a supply run—for fuel, medical supplies, and consumables. (All other areas were 5x5, but those staff guys always tell me that.) So, run I did, making stops at the Class VI store, the gas station, the hospital clinic, and the commissary, not necessarily in that order. I got home about an hour ago.

I had a sorta curious encounter immediately after I pulled into the clinic parking lot. I met Col. Ken Hall, commander of the 27^th Medical Group, and had a very pleasant conversation with him while walking from the parking lot into the clinic. The walk was longer than you might think as the clinic has two entrances and two parking lots, one in front, and one in the back of the former hospital, now clinic. I parked in the back lot, which is near the pharmacy, which was where I was going. Unfortunately, the whole damned base was in exercise mode, and the back entrance to the clinic was closed as a result. Col. Hall intercepted me in the parking lot while I was on my way towards the back door and explained I was going to have to go in the front door because of the exercise, offering apologies. He suggested I drive around to the front parking lot but I demurred, saying the walk would do me good.

So, the colonel (who was in uniform, by the way) and I walked all the way around the clinic and went in the front door, about a four minute walk. We introduced ourselves (“Hi! I’m Ken Hall,” sez he, extending his hand) and began chatting. He asked if I was a retiree, when did I retire, what did I do in the AF, what brought me to Cannon, and so on and so forth. As soon as I answered one of his questions he was firing off another. I found it difficult to get a word in edgewise, only barely managing to find out he was the Medical Group commander. Colonels are like that, for the most part. Don’t misunderstand me…the conversation was brief, non-stop, but good. Col. Hall seems like a great guy.

So, what’s curious about that, you ask? You meet people every day, right? Well, yes. But I realized something was different about this encounter as I walked out of the clinic, replaying the conversation I had with Col. Hall. First of all, I replied to all his questions requiring a “yes” or “no” answer with a snappy “Yes, sir” or “No, sir.” Emphasis on the sir. I realized I had immediately fallen into step with the colonel and matched his gait. I was slightly uncomfortable because I was on his right, when I should have been on his left, him being senior and all. In other words, I had fallen back into the role of Buck Pennington, MSgt, USAF, rather than Mr. Buck Pennington. Immediately, unconsciously, and naturally. I find that rather curious, given I’ve been retired from the Air Force for over 21 years.

I haven’t been a sergeant in a helluva long time, in more ways than one. Without going into too much detail, I was extremely fortunate in my civilian career. In the last year of my working life I carried the title of Director (rather miraculously, in retrospect), which is roughly equivalent to a senior field grade officer. Guys like Col. Hall were my peers in civilian life. But during my brief encounter with Col. Hall all that went by the boards and I became a sergeant again. I never even gave it a second thought as it happened, only afterwards. I suppose you can take the sergeant out of the Air Force, but you can’t take the Air Force out of the sergeant. And that’s not all bad.

But...whatever am I going to do when one of the Boys makes Colonel/Captain (USN)? THAT will be interesting!

Kerry, Kerry, Quite Contrary...

Jeez. Ol’ J-Frickin’-K sure lit off a firestorm, didn’t he? At one point yesterday fully half of memeorandum’s page was nothing but Kerry, Kerry, Kerry. And the poor SOB actually made things worse with his “statement” about how the Republican Smear Machine misquoted him; that he didn’t insult the troops, he was actually insulting Dubya, Dubya’s war policy, the President’s men, yadda, yadda, yadda. And the usual suspects rose up to defend Kerry for “fighting back.” (no links, I’m sure you know who I mean) One of the funnier things I read is that this lil flap is Kerry’s “Fox News Moment,” referring to Bubba’s calculated blow-up vis-à-vis Chris Wallace on Fox News Sunday a while back. The key difference, of course, is that Clinton has more political skill in his little finger than Kerry will ever have. Proof? Kerry is withdrawing from the field, temporarily or otherwise, canceling all of today’s political appearances in Minnesota and one with/for Bob Casey in Philadelphia this evening. Kerry’s cancellations came after Iowa congressional candidate Bruce Braley cancelled Kerry’s invitation to appear at a rally, a fact not noted in the CNN link, above. CNN would like you to believe Kerry did the canceling. But, I digress. CNN:

Kerry's office said two House campaign appearances by the senator also have been canceled -- by mutual decision -- so as not to "allow the Republican hate machine to use Democratic candidates as their proxies in their distorted spin war in which once again they're willing to exploit brave American troops."

The SOB Kerry really is tone-deaf, isn’t he? Republican hate-machine exploiting the troops. Oh, that is just SO rich! That aside, I think the Dem (Dim?) power-brokers just might have been in contact with J-Frickin’-K last night. Just sayin’.

Stealing a line from Bill O’Reilly, I’ll “give the last word” on this subject to Jonah Goldberg, who wrote an op-ed in the Salt Lake Tribune:

But whether or not it was a joke, it certainly sounded like Kerry was talking about the troops, because that's the way Kerry talks about everything. Kerry's a bit like one of those cavemen from the Geico commercials, only he's a throwback to a slightly more recent era: Vietnam. All of his ideas were formed from his experience as an anti-Vietnam crusader. He may have run as a born-again war hero in 2004, but his political career was founded on his activism against a war he repeatedly labeled a crime.
That's why few gave Kerry the benefit of the doubt. The idea that the military is the last refuge for the lumpen-proletariat is a Vietnam-era chestnut that continues to pop up in liberal talking points. It wasn't very accurate during Vietnam, and it's even less so now. A timely study of the demographics of enlistees in our all-volunteer military found that the share of recruits from the poorest American neighborhoods has declined steadily since 1999 and throughout the war. Moreover, "U.S. military enlistees are better educated, wealthier, and more rural on average than their civilian peers."
Kerry thinks it's unfair for Republicans to seize on his comments, and to an extent he's right. He obviously didn't intend to insult America's servicemen and women. But Kerry fails to understand that he -- like so many fossils of his generation in the Democratic Party -- sounds like he's frozen in the past. The Democratic position on Iraq is that it's Vietnam all over again, and the only time Kerry ever seems sure of himself is when he's reprising his anti-Vietnam schtick.

Goldberg is correct. OLD liberals still believe that ol’ chestnut, as Jonah calls it. The younger ones? Not so much, I think, but that’s my gut call. But Kerry is an OLD liberal, and he’s repeatedly demonstrated old-line Liberal thinking, to his detriment. And by the way, that study Goldberg quoted? It’s here.

This is very interesting. Ruth Marcus, writing in the WaPo:

If Democrats win control of the House next week, Nancy Pelosi's first test as speaker will arrive long before the 110th Congress convenes. Her choice to head the House intelligence committee -- unlike other House committees, this one is left entirely up to the party leadership -- will speak volumes about whether a Speaker Pelosi will be able to resist a return to paint-by-numbers Democratic Party interest-group politics as usual.

Pelosi is in a box of her own devising. The panel's ranking Democrat is her fellow Californian Jane Harman -- smart and hardworking but also abrasive, ambitious and, in Pelosi's estimation, insufficiently partisan on the committee. So Pelosi, once the intelligence panel's ranking Democrat herself, has made clear that she doesn't intend to name Harman to the chairmanship.

The wrong decision, in my view, but one that's magnified by the unfortunate fact that next in line is Florida Rep. Alcee Hastings. In 1989, after being acquitted in a criminal trial, Hastings was stripped of his position as a federal judge -- impeached by the House in which he now serves and convicted by the Senate -- for conspiring to extort a $150,000 bribe in a case before him, repeatedly lying about it under oath and manufacturing evidence at his trial.

Ordinarily, that might doom Hastings's chances, but the situation is further inflamed by racial politics: Hastings is African American, and the Congressional Black Caucus has made it clear that it will not tolerate his rejection. Another black lawmaker, Georgia's Sanford Bishop, was passed over to accommodate Harman, who reclaimed her seniority when she returned to Congress in 2000 after a gubernatorial run. And the black caucus is still smarting over Pelosi's move to oust Louisiana's William J. Jefferson from the Ways and Means Committee after the FBI found a freezerful of cash in Jefferson's home.

Ms. Marcus goes on to detail the specifics of Hastings’ trial and the subsequent congressional investigations that ultimately led to his impeachment, conviction, and removal from the federal bench. What troubles me is the intransigence of the Congressional Black Caucus. Their backing of Hastings as the potential head of the Intelligence Committee, and their anger at Pelosi’s appropriate actions against Representative Jefferson sure as Hell doesn’t look good. Not at all. From where I sit, the CBC’s actions look much more like “defending their own,” rather than serving the needs of the country. I have a problem with that. And so does Captain Ed:

The CBC's spokesperson told the Post that its first order of business is to protect its members. Apparently, that takes precedence over protecting America, and the CBC views Intel as just another means to divide spoils. They also insist that Hastings has the knowledge and the experience in intelligence work. If they're referring to his clandestine work, they certainly have a point.

This is what a Democratic majority will bring.

What he said.

Today’s Pic: One of those guys Kerry insulted in his Class A Uniform, taken last month in San Antonio. Lookin’ Good! As always, click the pic for the larger version.

BTW, The Captain posted his quarterly update, in case ya missed it.

Valour-IT Update

Do you want to do well and do good, too? Well, if you’re a military history buff, a Marine, a fan of the Marine Corps, or simply someone who wants to know as much about the current Iraq War and/or Gulf War I, this is your lucky day! You can help buy voice-activated laptops for our wounded heroes and do something good for yourself…at the same time!

Richard S. Lowry, a prominent historian and author of “Marines in the Garden of Eden” and “The Gulf War Chronicles” generously donated two personalized (signed) copies of each book to Valour-IT. Team Air Force member Fred Griego volunteered his eBay sellers account to auction off the items, thereby raising money for Valour-IT.

About “Marines in the Garden of Eden” (from the official book web site):

The (book is the) true story of the bloodiest battle in the campaign to oust Saddam Hussein.

It began on March 23, 2003, a clear Sunday morning in the city of An Nasiriyah, Iraq, where members of the 507th Maintenance Company had become hopelessly lost on their trek through the desert. The enemy ambushed the 507th at first light, killing and wounding twenty-one soldiers and taking six prisoners, including the now-famous Private Jessica Lynch. By nightfall, 18 Marines had given their lives in what would become the battle for An Nasiriyah.

For the next week, An Nasiriyah was rocked with gun and mortar fire, as the Marines of Task Force Tarawa fought to wrest control of the city from Saddam's fanatical followers.

This is the story of the battle for "The Nas," as seen through the eyes of the soldiers, sailors, Marines, and newsmen who made it through those terrible seven days, and would never forget what they experienced, what they learned-or those they lost in the name of freedom.

Follow this link to bid on the signed copy of Marines in the Garden of Eden.

About “The Gulf War Chronicles” (once again, from the official web site)

The Gulf War Chronicles opens with the first Tomahawk missile launches that began the war. From there, readers are walked through the myriad of events and battles that occurred between January and March of 1991. The book ends with the return home of the 34 POWs who were captured during combat.

Richard’s attention to detail will satisfy even the most curious military historians. He breaks down events as they unfolded in the air, on land, and via the sea. The stories provide not only high level information about different engagements, but also take readers right into the events that occurred with small special operations teams trying to fulfill their missions.

Follow this link to bid on The Gulf War Chronicles.

Bid HIGH, all y'all. And good luck.